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The day started like any other: early.
Theo put his sword back in its sheath, slightly warm from where it'd been resting all night under his pillow. He considered bringing his flame bow down as well, but decided to come back later. With the rainy season slowly coming to an end, business usually slowed down a bit, but since it hadn't ended just yet, there was still business trickling in usually as soon as the shop opened. The cockatiel had successfully started some brews after doing some morning inventory, then wrote down a note asking Parrot to get some supplies they were low on before going into the kitchen to make his breakfast. Today he just decided to snack on some kelp; he wanted to get rid of the stock they had once and for all after the friends had realized they both hated the taste.
By sunrise, the shop was ready to open. Cauldrons full of water, potions still brewing in the back, and sellable bottles all filled neatly and with color-coded bows. Today would be a good day, Theo reckoned. The morning rush had finally slowed down, with people no longer getting sick from the heavy rains, but adventurers still came in from all sides of Capitol City. After all, with such low prices, it became much more affordable for people to go out and do their own things, leaving the city's bustling streets a bit quieter, more so without all the rain suppressing the noise.
Parrot usually didn't get up until the sun had fully crossed the horizon, which was still early enough for him to eat and get ready to go out for supplies. However, the macaw was a yapper, and that meant he was largely slowed down by chatting with customers while Theo was in the back grabbing their potions. There was a contactless way to pay, grabbing potions (usually of the health kind) out of a chest and leaving diamonds, but Parrot prided himself on "customer service" and such, meaning that he made sure every customer felt welcome back in their store (even if Theo had unintentionally stared daggers into them).
"Theo, I'm headed out now," the macaw called out.
"Have fun," the cockatiel replied from the back room. "Don't blow yourself up out there!"
Of course, the teases were always made in jest, but that didn't mean Theo wasn't a bit worried about Parrot. Did he forget his sword again?, he wondered, before climbing up the ladder to check behind his friend's door. Of course he did. He always forgot.
Making conversation wasn't Theo's strong suit, so other than greeting customers, Theo would mostly stay behind the counter, practicing his handwriting for receipts. It had become better with practice, of course, but at the moment it was less "chicken scratch" and more "cockatiel scratch." Which was legible to no one except Theo (half the time) and Parrot, who figured out how to decipher Theo's runes long ago. He'd gotten much better at reading though, and was now able to fully follow a new potion recipe, so long as the macaw had written it down for him. Theo didn't have the heart to tell Parrot that half the time, the recipes didn't make sense until he saw the steps listed out.
By lunchtime, Parrot hadn't returned. Usually this would worry Theo, until he checked the calendar and remembered that it was Wednesday. Wednesday was always baked potato days, when the two would always get a bunch of potatoes from the other side of town to make into baked potatoes whenever they didn't feel like making a harder meal. This did also include getting two baked potatoes for lunch, though, which made the cockatiel's wings ruffle in excitement as he remembered.
When the door jingled, Theo looked up, and was happy to see Parrot home with their coveted weekly lunch. The macaw flipped the store sign to "CLOSED" behind him, then placed the bundle of potatoes on the counter. Theo grabbed the bundle and brought it to the kitchen as Parrot set his things down behind the counter.
"You'll never guess what the shack had on sale, bro," Parrot said.
"What?"
"Open the bundle."
Theo hesitated for a moment, eyeing the macaw, before opening the bundle and reaching into the bag to start putting some potatoes in their designated barrel. Instead, his hand found thorns.
"Ow! There's no way, dude!"
"Sweet berries are in season early!"
"That's great, thanks man!" Theo set the berries in a bowl that had previously stored golden carrots, but had long since been abandoned in favor of some shulkers they kept on them. Berries had become Theo's favorite fruit snack as of late, and Parrot joked that while he loved berries as much as the next guy, Theo was his favorite fruit (earning a shoulder punch every single time, not that Parrot really cared). Theo would joke back that only he could make that joke, and Parrot would just roll his eyes at the cockatiel, who'd relent and say that it was fine during pride month, he supposed.
"How was it this morning?" Parrot looked over to Theo, who was still returning potatoes to their rightful barrel. "Hopefully no one gave you trouble while I was out."
"Not with the biggest bird protecting the shop." Theo heard Parrot giggle, which made his wings ruffle again. He could listen to that man's laugh all day.
"Well, I have a proposition for you, Theo."
Theo looked over his shoulder, half expecting a joke. "What would that be, Parrot?"
"Well, you've got the rest of the day off, and I know you've been saying that this place has felt kind of empty," Parrot began, watching the confusion rise in Theo's face. "Well, on my way to the shops this morning, I happened to see these little kittens who looked sick, hiding behind a tree by the melon stand. One was all black, and one was all gray. I asked, and the lady there said mom hadn't been back in like two days, and she'd already seen another two kittens pass away. She asked if we knew anyone who would have enough free time to help them out."
"There's no way you're letting me get a cat bro."
"You're getting a cat, and so am I."
Theo's attention was fully on Parrot now. "Are they social enough for me to go grab them?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't know that they'll make it much longer if someone without a savior complex doesn't go help them," Parrot said.
"Well, good thing I'm a fast flier, huh?" Theo started grabbing bundles, one for each kitten.
"Theo, eat your lunch first bro. They'll be fine for the five minutes it takes you to eat this thing anyways."
The cockatiel sighed and sat down. He was excited, yes, but he had to be completely ready for these guys no matter what condition they were in. He very well may not get the next 24 hours to himself, which in his mind, was a small price to pay for the cuteness that was sure to follow. Plus all the food the kittens would take up.
"Please take your time, Theo. They could end up in a much worse situation than before if you're not careful." Parrot looked at him with worry.
"Patience is a virtue, Parrot. I got this," the cockatiel replied. "We'll have some new babies in no time." With that, he took off, his wings finally stretching for the first time since the rainy season really began.
It was much easier to get to the potato shop through the air than by walking, Theo learned. He'd missed flying, but finding himself at places faster than he'd planned was almost a downside. He hardly had time to think anymore! Luckily, with a quick introduction, an employee led him to the back side of the building, where two kittens were huddled up next to each other. Their fur looked unkempt at best, and both had their eyes wide open, though not meowing, to avoid drawing attention to themselves. They looked terrified, and completely froze when they saw the tall avian approach their "den".
"Shh, it's okay guys. I'm gonna sit all the way over here and we're just gonna hang out, okay?" Theo sat down once the back door closed again, a quick thank you whispered to the cockatiel. He opened up a package of cod, the only fish the pair happened to have at home. He decided that the best course of action, seeing that these guys looked a bit older, was to lure them over with smelly food, then feed them wet food when they got home. He pondered which kitten would prefer him, and which would prefer Parrot. Honestly, he didn't quite care. He was just happy they were coming home to a loving family.
It wasn't long until the pair of kittens decided to approach Theo and the smelly food. Instincts never lose, huh. He watched as the kittens neared him more and more. From here he could see that their eyes were still the weaning baby blue, but due to their size, it had to mean they weren't doing that bad on weaning until their progress had been interrupted. They both approached one bundle at first, but eventually, they both started leaning into their own separate bundles, sniffing out the food he'd left in them. Theo's lightning fast reflexes came in handy, as he quickly snatched both up into their respective bags for the moment. Of course, there was much protest, but the two quickly mellowed out in each bag as the bundles were mostly closed, leaving them in some soothing darkness. He popped back by the front to thank the workers for keeping an eye out, and they thanked the cockatiel for his service in getting them out of their predicament. As he flew home, he heard some meowing, but although it pained him, he knew that the kittens were on their way to a much better life.
Parrot, always planning ahead, had made a makeshift room for the inbound kittens in the back corner of their storage room. It was hardly a room; more just some fences placed around some walls with plenty of spare blankets and some food and water bowls. As the bundles of kittens were placed down onto the floor, tired of being carried, the siblings bounded towards the dark back corner of their new room. When either avian approached, they would hiss and cuddle up, even if it was just to replace their food for some more crushed up cod. They spent the rest of the day trying to leave the two alone, and failing miserably, cooing as often as they could at the two cuties taking residence in their house.
A week went by like this. Both avians knew it was merely a waiting game until the kittens were social, as kittens born feral are often wary of those not related to them within a month of their being alive. By 12 weeks, kittens are usually feral for life - meaning the pair had caught them at a crucial moment in their development. The vet said the siblings were about 7 weeks old, and while a bit dehydrated, otherwise okay. Developmentally, nothing was wrong, meaning mom hadn't intentionally abandoned them. The macaw sighed when he heard that, leaving the cockatiel to put a wing around the other. Theo reminded him that this was good news - they could finally get attached to these little idiots! Besides, coming up with funny names for them to never listen to was half the fun in raising kittens.
When they got home, Parrot had an idea, one that he'd heard from some customer long ago, when they were chatting about the fellow shop owner's dog. He asked Theo to cut up some strips of paper for him, then left the strips in a stack next to a bucket. Whenever a customer would come in, he'd have them write down a name idea, and they'd go through the names that evening, to celebrate the pair finally being free to roam around the shop as they pleased. The next day, every now and then, a customer would read the sticky note on the bucket, smile, and surely think of some clever or grandiose name to put in the bucket for their consideration. Theo hoped some were duo name ideas, as the two kittens were still practically inseparable. Just like him and Parrot.
At the end of the day, when the shop finally closed as the sun passed the horizon again, they brought the kittens out of their room. By now, they'd began to be curious in what the pair were up to, and both clearly had their preferred person - the gray kitten would sniff Parrot as he passed by, and the black kitten would try to paw at Theo's shoe every now and then. They sat down on the floor of the shop, bringing the bucket down with them. The kittens seemed intrigued, and as the two went through strips of paper and discarded them, the pair began to swat at the avians' hands, as if to say, stop littering in our house!
"Theo, I think I've found the name for Mr. Gray here," Parrot said. Theo didn't need to look up to hear the smile on his face. He did it anyways. He saw Parrot beaming as the gray kitten began to bite at Parrot's delicate fingers, which were apparently the perfect chew toy.
"Please don't tell me it's dumb, Parrot."
"No, I would never." Parrot picked up the kitten gently, supporting his bum and top half with both hands. "This little guy is gonna be named... Swift." The macaw turned the kitten to face him. "Huh, buddy? You like it? You're my little Swift, buddy!" The kitten mewled at the feeling of being in the air, and began to wiggle before Parrot allowed him back on the ground, where Swift promptly began to fight Parrot's hand again.
"I think it's nice," Theo said. "It actually kind of goes with what I liked for this little girl here." He picked up the black kitten in the same manner Parrot had, but luckily for the cockatiel, she didn't fight him nearly as much as her brother fought Parrot. "I was thinking... Robin." He booped her nose before putting her back down.
"Is it possible that we've somehow both picked bird names for our cats?"
"It seems we have." Theo chuckled. "But in our defense, they were both in the bucket. So don't blame it on us."
The pair of avians laughed, the kittens now fully engaged in fighting each other. The rain began to pour, a reminder that there was still time left before they were free of their potion shop.
If you asked Parrot, the kittens were a byproduct of living together. It was only a matter of time until they got a pet, or in this case two.
If you asked Theo, the kittens were simply his and Parrot's new family members.
Birds of a feather flock together, after all.