Chapter Text
It was called the Industrial Age. A time of experimentation into machinery and what could be accomplished by harnessing its power. From large machines to the smallest, it was an age of wonder. When owning even the smallest bit of technical marvel was considered to be a sign of wealth and affluence. Something like a clockwork bird, kept in a cage in the parlor, that would sing on command.
Her name was…well. She didn’t have a proper name, but the humans around her called her “The Sparrow.”
Her days were marked by golden light, warm breezes, and children’s laughter. Weeks became months, months became years. Each year passed into the next with hardly a change. Until the year that the oldest boy child was called away to war.
The Sparrow didn’t understand what was going on around her. The oldest human female cried a lot and the oldest male human tried to pretend that everything was okay, but she saw the tremble in his hand when no one else was looking. When she tried to sing for them to make them smile, she was shushed. She didn’t know what to do at those times, because to sing and make people smile was her purpose.
Weeks, then months passed. Her family lived in fear of receiving something called a telegram. One day, there was a knock on the door and a stranger entered the house. Her family disappeared with him into another room. The next thing she knew, a cloth was tossed over her cage and she was taken from her home. There was lots of movement and loud noises, then a long stretch of quiet. When the cover was removed from her cage, she looked into the face of the oldest boy child. She chirped happily and hopped on her perch. He smiled and pushed a finger between the bars to gently touch her beak. “Hush for now, little Sparrow. Save your voice. We need you for a greater mission than singing us a song,” he said.
She was taught a code of chirps, tweets, and whistles. Each sound meant something to the humans. She was given messages and then told to fly to other locations and repeat the message to the humans there. When she finally realized she was being used as a messenger bird, she took to her job with a fierceness. She learned which humans would be friendly to her and which ones would be more likely to dismantle her. The second set she avoided as best she could, but it wasn’t always easy to do when they moved around so much.
It was during one of her flights to a neighboring group of friendly humans that she was unable to avoid a group of unfriendly ones. She tried flying higher, but one of them pointed his long black stick at her. It made a loud sound and only a moment later, something metal and hot scraped along her chest. With a loud cry and a whistle, Sparrow fell from the air and hit the ground.
She lay there, chirping softly until she lost all sense of time. The sky had begun to turn dark when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She scrambled in the dirt, trying to hide, but only one wing would work. Not able to protect herself, she lay there and trembled. The footsteps stopped right next to her and three bright spots of green and one blue one lit up the night.
She heard a soft voice say, “L-l-l-look, Spine. Here sh-sh-she is.”
Two of the green spots came closer and she saw the outline of a face. “Ah, so it is. Hey, there, little bird. Don’t be scared. We were sent to find you.”
She felt herself being lifted in this one’s hands. In the light of the other’s eyes, she could see silver skin reflecting the blue and green lights. Small puffs of steam peppered the air and she could hear the soft, almost silent whirring of gears as each of these beings moved. With a startled and painful jerk, she realized they were automatons, just like her, only humanoid! She trilled softly and settled into the silver one’s hands as he tucked her close to his chest. She heard the other one said, “Th-th-the closest camp is o-o-o-over that way. About an hou-hou-hour’s run.”
“Well, Rabbit, let’s get going. This little one needs attention and repair, quickly.”
Sparrow closed her eyes and tucked her head under her wing as they began to move. Time passed and she was brought back to wakefulness at the sound of the silver one’s (Spine, she had heard the other one call him) voice. “Found her just off the path about an hour away. Looks like a bullet grazed her chest and messed up some of the mechanics of her wing.”
“Yes, that appears to be the case. Doesn’t look too badly damaged, though. Thank you for recovering her. We should have her repaired and back out in the field by tomorrow morning.”
A copper colored face entered her vision. “Hey, there. You-you-you’re awake. These folks h-h-h-here are gonna get you all patched up.”
Sparrow chirped a thank you and wiggled her good wing. Rabbit smiled and said, “You’re wel-wel-welcome, little one. Be more care-care-care-careful out there, okay?”
Spine reached out one finger and stroked her head. She closed her eyes and trilled softly. She opened her eyes to see him smiling gently down at her. “Take care, little bird. We’ll see you on the other side of this thing, okay?”
The two humanoid automatons left the tent, focused on returning to whatever mission they had been sidetracked from. She turned her head to watch them go, knowing that she would never forget their kindness.