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Another roar of thunder shook the house.
Tommy got deeper into his pile of blankets, trying to burrow the fear away.
He was a big man— he wasn’t afraid of no thunderstorm!
Okay, maybe just a little.
A sudden flash illuminated his room. The storm was over the house now, and Tommy feared it would strike something.
The thunder rolled overhead. Gusts of wind left the shutters swinging back and forth, making the old house creak and groan. His sensitive ears could hear the weather vane spinning.
A squak made its way out of his mouth. He threw a hand over it, hoping no one heard it. Birds tended to hear everything, and he had a reputation to uphold!
Those thoughts were thrown away the instant another flash and boom shook the old house.
Nest nest nest, his instincts screamed, but he disagreed.
Phil wasn’t at the house, out on a trip to the nearby village. The weather had probably caused him to get stuck at the inn.
He didn’t want to go cower in an empty nest.
Techno it was, then.
He set out on his mission with high, marching steps and a slow pace, but quickly dashed forward when another flash and boom left him shaking. He threw open the door and crawled right in next to his big brother.
Techno huffed lightly, but was clearly asleep.
Maybe this is dumb. He was a big man, not some scaredy-bird. He wasn’t afraid—
“Theseus?”
Big red winds engulfed him, and his brain was soothed in an instant.
Another flash of lightning let him see his brother's face for a moment. His brownish-reddish eyes were full of concern, and a frown was present on his lips.
The thunder followed, and he shot into the comfort of his brother’s chest.
“Aww,” he was sure he heard him mutter. A hand started to rub his back, being mindful of his wings. “It’s okay Tommy.”
That was the only word he spoke for the next-however-long he shook in his brother’s arms.
Tommy felt his eyes sliding shut, and he let them. He felt safe— his big brother wouldn’t let anything happen to him while he was in his arms.
❀༄
Eventually, like all storms do, it was blown away and delivered to its next victim.
The house was dead silent now. The wind had gone with it too, apparently.
He withdrew himself from Techno’s chest slowly and rubbed at his crusty eyelids. He shook his wings out, which were still asleep. A few feathers went lose.
His brother sat up, clearly awoken by his shuffling, and did the exact same. Techno reached over to his lamp to pull on the cord, but nothing happened.
“Bruh, the power’s out.”
He pulled on it again just in case. When nothing happened, he turned back to him.
“Do you want to help me check on the animals, Tommy?”
He bit his lip, but ultimately nodded. He was worried about the wellbeing of his cow, Henry, at the mention of the barn animals.
“Go get your coat on,” Techno eased.
The fledgling did what he was told, finding his nice blue raincoat by the door. He then slipped on his mud boots to get ahead of his brother.
“You all ready to go?”
Techno appeared behind him suddenly. It made him jump, with his wings puffing out everywhere.
“Yeah,” he replied.
With delicate hands, Techno lightly preened the now messed up feathers. He quickly gave up, going back to the task at hand.
He opened the door, and Tommy found that outside looked exactly like it had before the storm. There weren't any limbs or trees down. Even the rakes had stayed upright against the shed!
Techno took the lead, and he followed close behind with a hand on the teen’s raincoat. The barn looked fine too, with every shingle still on the roof.
The pinkette began to unlatch the barn door, so Tommy ran off to make sure the gate was closed. That way, no pesky animals would escape out onto the farm.
The two went inside and found all the lights to be out. A wave of sympathy washed over him as he helped Techno push open one of the big doors. The poor guys probably couldn’t see!
He left Techno’s side and went over to Henry's stall. He unlatched the stall door, and Henry let out a questioning moo.
“Shh, it’s okay Henry. The storm’s gone bye-bye now.” He walked over with careful feet and sat down next to the fluffy, black and white cow.
“Moo?” Henry questioned.
Tommy placed his hand on his head and started to stroke the cow’s soft fur. He leaned into it, obviously comforted by his owner’s presence.
“Is Henry all right?”
Techno appeared behind him suddenly again. He was really good at that, and it annoyed Tommy to no end.
“Yeah. I think he’s still scared, though.”
Tommy seized his petting for a moment. Henry followed his hand and leaned into it again with another loud moo.
“Do you want to take him out to the paddock with me?” He nodded.
Techno handed him Henry’s halter, which was a pretty red. He was getting good at fastening the rope so that it was perfect— not too lose, and not too tight around Henry’s muzzle. With a light tug, Henry got to his feet and began to follow him with an amble pace. He walked slowly beside him, whereas Techno and Carl walked ahead.
They reached the paddock in no time. It wasn’t the one that they took the horses out into for practice, but the one with grass in it.
Tommy made his way over to the middle and slipped Henry’s halter off. Despite his newfound freedom, Henry stayed close to him.
He sat down in the soggy grass and Henry followed suit. The two watched as Techno led Carl around at the edge of the fence, and eventually, he got on top of the horse to do a quick ride.
When he was done, he grabbed the bucket he had left by the gate and started to make his way over to him.
“Here, I bought the brushes.”
Tommy grabbed the red brush he had bought for his cow out of the bucket and began to brush him lightly.
He apologized whenever he hit a tangle, and pulled out any wood chips and straw quickly. It was quite calming to sit and brush out a gentle giant’s fur.
“Do you feel better now?”
Techno’s voice cut through the quiet. He didn’t answer immediately, thinking over the question.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You know what, Tommy? I’m going to tell you a secret.” Techno set down his brush and turned his attention to the conversation.
At the mention of a secret, Tommy leaned in to listen.
Techno lowered his voice down to a faux-whisper. “I used to be afraid of the storms too.”
“You did?”
He stared up at Techno with childlike wonder. It was hard to see him in the same position he had been in.
“Yep. Then, Phil sat with me, and we watched one of the storms.” Techno paused, giving Carl some pats.
“While watching the lightning, I realized that it was pretty cool. Those flashes create a sound, but since light travels faster than noise, you see the lighting first.”
“If you watch close enough, it looks like the lightning is dancing, and maybe the noise is the music.”
Tommy looked up to the sky, which was now clear baby blue. No remnants of last night’s storm were to be seen.
Everything had turned out okay in the end.
He thinks, maybe, he might be okay himself the next time there was a storm.
“Tommy, it’s okay to be afraid,” Techno reassured. He put his brush down and ruffled Tommy’s hair. “Everybody’s afraid of something.”
“Like, Dad can’t see glass, so he’s afraid he’s going to run into a glass door one day. And Wilbur hates spiders.”
“He does?”
“Yep. I’ve lost count of the amount of spiders I’ve had to grab from his room.”
Tommy grinned at the mental image that he was provided with.
“Next time you’re afraid, just come and get one of us, and we’ll make you feel better. I promise.”
“Pinky promise?”
He held out his finger.
Techno looked down at it and held out his own.
They connected, and an oath that would last a lifetime was born.
“Wanna help me wake Wilbur up?” Techno grinned.
“Yes!” Tommy smiled, a million possibilities running through his mind already.