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Void be damned, why the fuck was Ken screaming at 3:37 in the fucking morning. That is some midday behavior, and Wifies certainly did not have midday energy. But the chance that somehow something went terribly wrong while dean was driving was very much a possibility so Wifies very reluctantly pried open his eyes. " Ken is everything alright?” He sounded absolutely awful, and the glare of the street lights definitely did not help their mood.
“I think we missed an exit and were pretty much lost.” Ken looked frantic from his passenger seat, looking at the GPS they had bought two hours before getting on the road. “Ken… where and why didn’t you tell Dean about this sooner?” Dean was looking straight ahead at the road, almost certainly avoiding the conversation if his plugged in earbuds were anything to go by. “ I barely noticed. Fuck this might cost us another two hours.” Ken’s ears were pinned to the side as he gave Wifies an apologetic look. “Can you tell Parrot?”
They took a deep sigh before turning to Parrot who was splayed out on two seats for comfort, with the bright pink sleeping mask he wore covering his eyes. He would have changed shifts with Dean in about thirty minutes anyways, so waking him up wouldn’t be that much of a crime right? Wifies very gently lifted up his sleep mask and immediately Parrot bolted awake. “W-Wifies? What is it now?”
After a very prompt explanation (with a small detail left out) and several sleepy Parrot noises later, they all decided to take a stop and figure everything out before one of them passed back out. “Do you know anywhere we can stop Ken?” Wifies tuned him out slightly looking out of the window and over the little desert town. The crescent moon added perfectly to the quaint and almost eerie atmosphere of the place. Looking like a time capsule for an era long gone, maybe if one day Wifies returns then he’ll be able to enjoy it more. But right now it was too damn early o’ clock for anything.
Ken ended up picking a tiny little dinner near the middle of town, a good place to stop and get directions or an actual map or the perfect scene for a horror movie. Wifies half asleep legs took a moment to adjust to finally being used again, as they walked inside with the little chime of a bell. Now, he would admit that he just a tiny bit embarrassed to be walking in a nice place wearing shorts, an old sweatshirt, and white sneakers that had seen better days, but at the very least they weren’t wearing the equivalent of ‘Live Laugh Love’ pajamas like a certain bird next to them.
“Are you guys going to order food or just drinks?” Wifies asked, sitting down at the dark wood table. The whole restaurant had a sort of desert painting kind of vibe with its several tapestries and cacti “I’m just gonna get some fries if you want to share.” Dean said putting away their lime-green mp3 player. A gift specifically from Parrot so that they would have to suffer his music taste the whole night. " Do you think they have tea?” Ken (if Wifies was being honest) looked the worst out of all of them, something about how driving for a long time made her nervous. If anyone needed sleep the most it was her.
They all sat mostly quietly as they waited for a sever to come by, the toll of a cross country road trip bearing down heavy on all of them. It was all going to be worth it though when they could get away from the absolute shit show that was where they all came from. That is if they managed to survive the drive to Farland in the first place. Wifies was yanked out of his daydreams by a very enthusiastic voice. “Welcome to Cactus Ring, can I get you guys anything to drink?” The waiter had a smattering of scars all over their face and arms, as well as a bright lopsided smile.
“Can I have a-“ He went down the line taking everyone’s order while adding his only little small talk on the side. In the end Wifies just got water while Dean and Parrot got coffee, and thankfully Ken got his tea. “I’ll be back with those in just a moment, feel free to look over the menu.” The waiter left with just as much an energy as he had previously, Wifies would never understand how people functioned this early. “So… Kenadian have you figured out how to get us back on route?” Ken had been messing with their GPS for a while now which was currently beeping angrily back at him. “Not really.”
“Bro we are so screwed, Dean how did you even miss the exit originally?” Parrot shot an accusatory glare at Dean who was studying the menu like a particularly interesting book. “Dude I don’t know, I was just focusing on driving.” If it was going to happen to anyone it would be him so it wasn’t that unexpected. “It doesn’t matter now anyway, you have the next shift Parrot.” He gives Wifies the same look and immediately he it was about to be a long night.
The air between him and Parrot is icy cold. While Ken and Dean plan a different route with fewer delays, Wifies sat quietly both too mentally and physically tired to deal with any of this. “Bro it’s three in the morning, and you woke us up because you missed the exit.” He seemed very pissed off, and of course Wifies got that but also he would have woken up thirty minutes later anyways,“ I could have slept more,” Okay now he had to jump in “You would have gotten fifteen more minutes of sleep, Dean and Ken have been awake for four hours, so you should just lock the fuc-“
“Alright I have your drinks here, two coffees, one tea and water, now can I get you all something else or should I come back later?” The waiter -whose name is apparently Scar- had clearly noticed what was happening, just offered them an awkward smile before walking away. He had to take a breath and drink some water before the situation escalated further, it didn’t work but at least they tried. “Bro screw this, we should just find a motel and figure this out in the morning.”
“You think we have enough time or money to get a motel for four people longer than what we already have planned? We’ve been driving for five hours, we all need to make it to Farland before one in the afternoon tomorrow.” It was one of their only chances of getting to know peace even if just for a while; Wifies was not going to give it up so easy. Not after seeing what people who ran their home had planned. " Bro just hear me out-“
“ 'Bro, bro' I ain’t hearing shit out. Commit to the bit like the rest of us, you know we don’t have many options otherwise.” Wifies tone was different from before stone cold and steely, and yet he still felt so guilty when they saw Parrot sink back in the chair and hide his expression with a sip of coffee. “He’s saying you’ll get to take a break Wifies.” If Kenadian of all people was sticking up for Parrot they must have really fucked up bad. “I’m going to the restroom, order without me.” He almost thought he heard someone’s voice call out for him but he didn’t dare look back.
The bathroom kept the same theme as everything else in the dinner even down to the mural on the wall. They stared himself down in the mirror, looking at the sad reflection of themselves staring back. His ears had just started changing into a winter coat before they left shifting from a gray to pure snows’ white. Not like it would have done me any good anyways.
Those memories of heartless people and the worse things they had said still stuck in Wifies mind. He didn’t even have it as bad as Parrot originally did; the way he holds his wings so close to him as an unfortunate reminder. “…They’d have half a mind to leave me here.” Maybe they already did. Wifies was spooked by the noise of the door creaking open, and the clack of boots on a tile floor.
It was another avian hybrid with blonde hair and vibrant scarlet macaws wings (even if only for a second Wifies wanted to believe it was someone else coming to apologize or just say anything.) The restaurant employee paid them no mind as they washed their hands until he noticed them watching his every move.
“I’m pretty sure Scars at your friends’ table talking their ears off by now.” He spoke with an accent that felt so out of place for where they were. " The waiter?” Wifies questioned,“ Yep, one of them thought was a good idea to ask about a ‘Scar special’ you should probably go save them before he starts getting into the concepts behind it.” The avian- Grian gave him a comforting smile. Wifies will never know much he heard, but he’s still grateful for that intervention.
Lo and behold when he walked back to the table there was Scar talking very animatedly at Dean as Ken looked on in mild amusement, and Parrot spaced out. “Scar, leave the guests alone, they do not need to be subjected to more of your cookie ideas.” Grian said playfully dragging him away. “You can tell me all about it when we close up…” and now it was just Wifies and every drop of tension they left behind. “Uh, I got some directions for the back roads instead of having to loop back on the highway.” Ken told him the adjusted route. “Should only take us an hour and a half longer now,”
“I’m ready to go if you are.” Parrots voice was laced with something he couldn’t recognize, yet still hurt all the same. “Bro I’m not done with my fries yet,” On any other day that would have elicited a laugh from him, just not right now. “It’s fine Dean just get a box and let’s go already.” Wasting no time they all grab their stuff, Ken and Parrot heading to the car, while Wifies paid and Dean got his leftovers. “How much will it be for everything?” Wifies asked already getting out his wallet. “Don’t worry it’s on the house, no arguments it’s better for you to save your money.”
As if Wifies didn’t already have enough reasons to thank both Grian and Scar, they offered him one last kindness. “Here, the fae’s blessings are fresh out of the oven. Silly old me messed up the frosting on this one so you can have it.” The little pink cookie came wrapped in cling wrap and was still warm, “I- thank you so much for everything.” As the little bell signaled his departure if only for a moment Wifies thought they saw the faintest blue tint around the whole building. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light or maybe something else.
Parrot was in the driver's seat just as promised, as Ken and Dean sit drowsily in the back leaving only the front passenger seat open. He tried to Ignore the way Parrot looked at him as he closed the door. The words threaten to spill from his mouth, but they get beaten to it. “ Wifies… I’m sorry, I should’ve just taken my turn without fighting. I didn’t think about how much you’ve all already done to get here in the first place.” For as much as Parrot puts on facades to mask his emotions, his apologies were always genuine.
“Yeah, I’m sorry too. I really shouldn’t have blown up on you like that, I was so tired from everything and that wasn’t your fault.” Every bit of uncomfortable, tense air seemed to float away as Parrot wrapped him up in a tight hug. Tears subtly pooled in their eyes but that was still some midday behavior for the early morning. So, when they eventually left the Cactus Ring it wasn’t coincidence how Parrot just thought to give Wifies his sleep mask when he noticed the car light bothered him. Or how the cookie he got was mysteriously gone by sun up. Either way, the new life that was waiting for all of them was just a drive through the countryside (and a lot of bumps) away.