Chapter Text
Parrot loosely held the lead of the pure white horse. Theo had woken him up at the crack of dawn, bright and enthusiastic and ready to take on the morning. Parrot, although not exactly a morning person, had dragged himself up and ate the warm bowl of grits Theo had handed him with a smile, and they’d eaten together as the sun rose.
When they were done, the cockatiel had thrown their bowls and utensils in a bucket to ‘wash later’, before Parrot had practically scolded him into washing them properly with him. After drying the dishes, they’d packed up their bags (As in, Parrot had discovered Theo had no real method for the organization of his gear, and was appalled. He had spent at least ten minutes organizing bags before he was happy enough to call it). Theo had spent a minute rummaging through one of the bags, with Parrot, judging, over his shoulder. Ripping open a side pocket, he let out an “Aha!!”, pulling something out, and presenting it to the macaw.
He was holding a knife. It was beautiful, engraved with flowers that Parrot didn’t quite know the names of, but entrancing nonetheless.
“For me?” He’d asked.
“Well yeah. I’ll get you a proper weapon later, but who knows when we’ll run into some law nerds. Better safe than sorry.”
Theo’s voice called him back to the present, looking down at him from his own brown and spotted horse. “You gonna get on, or what?”
“Just taking my time,” he called back, putting his foot in the stirrup and pulling himself up and onto the steed. “Not all of us live life like we’re running late to something.”
“Running late— we are running late!! What, do you wanna miss out on the beautiful golden hours of the morning?” Theo led his horse to stand next to Parrots. Its mane had the same straw-like and spiky qualities of its riders hair. The scent of flowers curled around them both in the crisp, spring-warmed morning air.
Parrot laughed, shaking his head as his horse shifted back and forth on its feet. “Then let’s go! Show me the ways of the cowboy, cowman.”
Theo scowled. “Okay so first rule, never call me that ever again… secondly,” he lifted his head, evaluating the herd of cattle that had been slowly waking up as the sun bled the night from the sky. “Just follow my lead. It comes naturally.”
His face took on a more thoughtful disposition, as he seemed to think over his next words carefully. “The cattle, they’re not mindless, y’know? Some city folk get it in their heads that our job on these drives is to.. just… deliver these beasts from South to North and North to South, they think it’s like a meal being delivered right to their mouths. These animals— I mean obviously they’re gonna be eaten, that’s how life works. But in the time between now and then, our job is to watch over them, keep them safe, not scared. You know?”
Parrot did know. He knew what it was like to be a part of a herd, to belong. He knew how it had felt to feel the most alive he ever has, surrounded by the rhythmic crashing of the waves, with more hands to hold than he likely ever deserved. He had known the fear of losing some of it, and then losing it all, watching life after life slip through his fingers like grains of sand in an hourglass. He knew how important protection, even as just a symbol, like the golden glow of a beacon, truly was. What it meant to people— what it had meant to him. He didn’t say any of that. He didn’t smell the sea anymore. Instead, he nodded.
“Yeah bro. Let’s keep these cows safe.”
———————-
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Parrot swiped away a bead of sweat that had begun to trickle down his forehead. Theo had been kind enough to lend him some riding gear (including a cover for his wings, which he was extremely grateful for. It kept his wings from getting too hot, which they tended to, having such a large surface area. He hadn’t even known they made special gear for avian frontiersmen!), but when it came to headwear, he had shrugged and said he didn’t have any extra brimmed hats, and they could pick one up at the next town they stopped at.
The two of them had spent the morning carefully guiding the cattle on the Northern path, which had been stamped into the ground by previous cowboys and their drives, including Theo, and his former herds he’s led down this path before.
After several long hours of riding, softly guiding the cows in the right direction, and chasing after a runaway who had tried to make a break for it, the two of them were bone tired. Theo had suggested them possibly setting up camp early, but Parrot had disagreed.
“You go take a nap,” he had said. “I’ll keep watch of the herd, and get you up in an hour, or if something happens. You look like you’re about to fall off your horse.”
Theo had grumbled something incomprehensible, but eventually agreed. He’d been dead asleep for the past half hour or so, and every time Parrot passed him as he circled the cattle slowly, he was snoring loud enough to scare away all the small animals in the area. As Parrot circled around this time, the cockatiel called out to him, clearly done with his nap.
“What’d you get framed for?”
Parrot pulled on the reins as he slowed to a stop by Theo’s side. “What.”
“Earlier, you said you were framed for something.” The cowboy looked up at him, icy blue eyes peeking over his glasses. Did he sleep with those on?? “That’s why Law’s after you, right?”
“Right. Yeah. Um.” He swiped another bead of sweat from his forehead. “Murder.”
“Murder? So you’ve never killed anyone?”
“Those mean different things.”
Theo sat up straighter, suddenly much more awake. “Do they?”
Parrot frowned. “Yes.”
“.. are you going to elaborate?”
The smell of sea salt cut through the spring air. “Murder is holding a gun to someone’s head and pulling the trigger, yeah? Killing someone or— getting someone killed, that’s different. You don’t have to pull the trigger to kill someone.”
“Alright then,” Theo chirped. “Semantics. So you’re not a murderer, then.”
“No, I’m not.”
“But you’ve—“ he cut himself off with a grimace. “I mean. I guess I’m a murderer then.”
The macaw tilted his head. “I mean, I figured. I doubt you’d be able to..survive on your own this long if— yeah.”
“Does that change how you see me?”
“Well I mean— I don’t condone— I don’t—” he shook his head. “Life is hard. Sometimes you have to do hard things. That doesn’t mean I like it, like, at all. I do understand, though. Alright? But when you travel with me, let’s keep any murder to a minimum, yeah?”
Theo grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Parrot smiled “So, are you planning on getting up anytime soo—“
BANG!
The smell of gunpowder swept over them, and for the second time in the past two days, Parrot fell.
Yelping as his back hit the ground, the horse crumpled beneath him, the sickly red sign of death staining its pale white side. Immediately, Theo was at his side, lifting him by the arm and practically throwing him onto his own horse. Gun in hand, he turned to face where the bullet had come from. A Lawman stood about ten paces from them, rifle still held up to face where Parrot’s brilliant steed had been. He felt sick.
About ten paces behind the lone lawman, a group of around thirty law soldiers had popped up from their hiding places in the tall grass, and had begun rushing towards them. He’d bet that person wasn’t supposed to fire just yet, considering the shocked look on their face, and the frazzled dispositions of the other law members.
Theo pulled himself up onto the horse in front of Parrot, and, turning them around, shot at the closest lawman. A pained scream rang out as his shot seemed to hit its mark, and then they were off, faster than Parrot had ever gone on a horse, arms wrapped around the other, just face buried into the golden feathers peaking through his cover.
The lawmen clearly had some horses of their own, as when Parrot lifted his head, he heard the shouts and clatter of several riders, turning around and seeing five on horseback chasing them.
“Theo!!!” He hissed into the cowboy’s ears.
“I know, I know I know. I see them.”
“THEN DO SOMETHING??”
“I’m working on it—“ he whipped around, nudging Parrot to the other side for a better view, and threw two pistol shots over his shoulder. “—I’ve got it. I’ve got it!”
Two more yells behind them, and then their voices faded away. Three more.
He yanked the reins hard, and spun the horse around, almost knocking Parrot off, yelping as he grabbed Theo harder. He raised the gun again, and—
BANG!
BANG!
*click*
Two shots hit their marks, hitting a lawman in the shoulder, and another in the chest, knocking them both off their horses, groaning, to the ground.
The third jammed.
“SHIT!” He swore, bringing his gun back and slamming it with his hand. But it was too late— the lawman brought up his own gun and aimed it right at Theo’s chest. And then–
The lawman fell off the horse, blood dripping from his lips, a knife buried in his throat. Theo turned, and faced Parrot, arm extended, face stricken.
His eyes met Theo’s. “I couldn’t let— he was going to— oh my god, Theo—“
“It’s okay. Look away, dude.”
Theo dropped down from the horse as Parrot covered his face with his arms. He walked, carefully, over to the fallen lawman. He grabbed his gun, ammunition, a sack of food and a flask of what he hoped was water, and pulled the knife from his throat. He made a mental note to clean it properly before he handed it back to Parrot. Maybe in a bucket of water the next morning.
He turned back, and lifted himself back onto their horse, and they began trotting forwards.
Suddenly, Parrot squeezed him again. “Theo—“ he gasped. “Theo, the cows! Bro, we have to—“
“We’ll head back for them, but for now, we have to go, man.”
Parrot didn’t protest again. They rode in silence, as the sun began to dip lower in the sky. Sweat still dripped from Parrot’s face, but this time it wasn’t because of the heat. Thirty more minutes, they rode away, as fast as their lone horse could carry both their weights, the tall grass giving way under the frantic hooves. As they both scanned their surroundings, anxiously looking to see if In the distance, a building emerged on the horizon. Two sets of eyes honed in on it immediately.
Theo turned to face Parrot. “Chances of it being a law outpost?” He questioned.
Parrot tilted his head. “Not high, honestly. It looks like…” he pulled a spyglass from his satchel, the one item he had kept in his first frantic escape from Lettuce, and squinted through the lens. “..looks like a farmhouse. Law outposts are usually much more…”
“Flashy?”
Parrot put his spyglass back in his bag. “I was going to say defensive. But that works too.”
“Sun’s going down soon.” Theo narrowed his eyes at the distance farmhouse. “I say we go see if they’ve got any food for us. If not, we can just steal something and sleep on the plains if we have to.”
“I’m not sure about the stealing, bro.” He glared at Theo, the feathers in the back of his neck ruffling. “But talking to them sounds like a plan. I say we give the horse a rest now, and we walk over with her to the farm.” So we can run if we need to was left unsaid, but heard by both of them.
“Yeah. Let’s do it bro.” Dropping down from the horse’s side, he offered Parrot a hand, which he readily took, and the macaw grabbed the lead on the horse, leading her with them as they walked through the swaying tall grass.
As they neared the building, they walked past fields of clearly well kept fruits, grains, and vegetables. Barley, wheat, corn, sunflowers, pumpkins; the land was a burst of color, a welcome to springtime in tangible form. Vines lovingly climbed up fence posts and the smell of sweet honeysuckle flooded Parrot’s nose. Birds chirped from flowering fruit trees, and dogs barked in the distance. Bales of hay had been clearly hand rolled, and had been left for several sheep to sample. Several cows grazed calmly in a fenced area. At that, a deep ugly grief wormed its way into the pit of his stomach.
The dirt trail slowly turned to a stone path, with small flowers growing in the spaces between each stone. Along came the click of hooves, the taps of Parrot’s boots, and the soft chimes of Theo’s spurs. At the noise, a head popped up from behind a wall of flowers.
Windswept brown curls framed an expression of mild shock, or maybe excitement. The farmer’s hands, pants, and face were covered in dirt; he’d clearly been planting and pruning and weeding for quite a while.
“Hey!” He called out, moving past the flowers to lean against the fence that separated them. “What brings you guys to my farm?”
“We uh— “ Parrot glanced over his shoulder to catch Theo’s gaze. “My friend and I were attacked. Out on the plains. We’re just looking for somewhere for some food and rest. Just for a night, or just some dinner and then we can pack up.”
Golden eyes narrowed. “Attacked? Bro, did they follow you here?”
“No!! No, we uh.. We got away. As long as you’re not… working with them.” The macaw also narrowed his eyes. “Is this an allied farm?”
He shook his head. “Nahh we do our own thing. The law, bat, clown’s guys, they’ve got nothing here.”
Parrot and Theo both practically slumped over in relief, a large amount of tension fleeing their bodies. Theo spoke up. “ Law jumped us, just doing our own thing. Killed our animals, tried to kill us.”
The stranger nodded. “My friend, he’s been jumped by them a few times. I mean–“ he looked to the side. “—Like, he’s no angel, right? But he hasn’t done anything that they should be this mad at him.”
“Sounds like we’re on the same side then,” Parrot chirped.
The farmer’s face lit up, and he nodded. “Well, I’m making dinner soon. My friend and I are here by ourselves, so we’ve got some extra food to spare. I, uh..” He scratched his neck. “.. it just being us means there’s not a lot of extra sleeping space— but I’ve got a spare barn you guys could rest in.”
The birds turned to exchange surprised looks, then looked back at the farmer.
“I think we’ll have to take you up on that offer!”
————
The farmer had introduced himself as Lomedy as he led them further along the path. He’d explained that the Law had chased his mysterious friend out of his usual territories, and that he was staying with the farmer for some time. “Oh, but don’t worry about him. He won’t hurt you as long as you don’t try anything first. Probably,” he had assured with a too bright smile, ushering their horse into a spare stable. Parrot had decided not to worry about it at the time.
Lomedy led them up the steps to a beautiful cottage, and swung the door open wide. It banged against the wall before he caught it, holding it open and letting the other two in. The warm smell of citrus mixed with florals all around them like a hug from a dear friend, and soft sounds of someone speaking and claws scraping on wooden floors echoed from another room.
“Flame!!” Lomedy called out. “We have guests!”
Parrot stiffened. “Flame? As in Flamefra-“
“Loms? What—“ A head of brown and orange hair stuck out from behind an open door to the side. “Oh. What? Who are these—“
“Flaaaameeee! Just listen bro, they’re only staying for a night!”
The tiger hybrid’s face scrunched up. “Bro, how we can trust these people— you just let them in?”
“They’re clearly exhausted— Flame, listen, just for—“
“You’re Flamefrags? The marksman?”
Flame and Lomedy both turned to face Parrot.
“I mean— what would the law want from someone like you?”
The marksman and farmer exchanged a look, and Flame turned to him again. If Parrot could see his eyes under that blindfold, he was sure he’d had fainted from the intensity of the glare. “I might’ve… caused some issues for Letty. What’s it to you?”
“We’re running from law too. Lettuce framed me for a crime and sent his men to kill me.” He pointed to Theo. “He found and helped me, but Law found us again, killed my horse, and chased us here.”
Theo put a hand on Parrot’s shoulder. Warm, reassuring. Alive. “Bro, just one night, then we’ll be out of your hair.”
Flame’s face was deep in contemplation, before he relaxed, caving in to the requests. “ I mean— I guess bro. It’s not my farm.”
Lomedy smiled. “Let’s go make dinner.” He looked to the cowboys. “Are either of you good at cooking?”
Theo nodded. “I’m alright.”
“Alright bro, you’ve been recruited!” He grabbed Theo by the arm, and practically dragged him off to another side room, where Parrot assumed the kitchen was, based on the clattering of pots and pans that shortly followed their entry.
Parrot looked back to Flame, only to see the man was watching him intently.
“Do you need something, bro?” He shuffled his feet awkwardly.
“You’re Parrot, right?”
All the tension in Parrot’s body reappeared instantly, stiffening.
“Yeah, I am. How’d you know that?”
Flame shrugged. “Not that many avians around these parts, and even fewer that’d be on Lettuce’s bad side. You were running for mayor too, right? I got a gig shooting at a show in capital city. Saw your face on some posters.”
Parrot relaxed and lifted his hand to the back of his neck. “Heh.. yeah I was. Guess Lettuce didn’t like any competition.”
“Clearly, bro.”
They stood in silence for a moment, before Flame beckoned him over to the soft looking, worn in couch sitting across the room. “C’mon bro, sit before you fall over, geez-“
Parrot did, and as he settled, Flame lounged in an equally homey plush chair, with patches hand sewn over rips, and claw marks dug into the legs. He let out a low, quick whistle.
At that, a brown and black dog with sharp, pointed ears bounded into the room, rushing towards Flame and throwing herself into his arms. He laughed as she licked his face, and Parrot felt a smile of his own on his face. “Alright, alright, down girl. Lay down, Ashen.”
The dog, Ashen, was clearly well trained and immediately lay on his feet, letting out a soft chuff as she hit the floor. Flame’s hands lazily stroked her fur for a moment, before leaning back in the chair and looking up at Parrot again.
“You know, the people who voted for you in Capital city, they said you were smart.”
Parrot’s heart ached. All those people he had convinced to vote for him, the people he’d promised a better tomorrow, now believed he was a murderer. He supposed that now, that accusation hung heavy with the truth, mind wandering back to the lawman he’s slaughtered.
He nodded. “You could say that.”
“They said you solved mysteries.” Flame gestured around with his hands, stretching out. “They said you found treasures, secret hidden treasures. That you found people that didn’t want to be found.”
A realization settled in Parrot’s mind, bright, like a golden beacon breaking through a dense fog. “You want me to find someone.”
“Not just anyone,” Flame grimaced. “I had a rival. Another marksman, ‘cept I was better than him. I agreed to a gunfight, and he brought a gun I’d never seen before. I swear that thing has explosives in it, it wasn’t like anything I’d seen before. Blew holes in the ground under my feet. It had the power of ten cannons in one shot, so I ran! Obviously, cause it wasn’t a fair fight— it wasn’t honorable.”
He pointed at Parrot. “If you can help me find him, not only can you stay here, we can work together to properly deal with law.”
Parrot had made his decision on this matter before Flame had even properly asked. “What’s his name?”