Snow fell quietly upon the steps of a green and white house. On the porch sat two birds, one blue, black and white with rich brown eyes, the other red, white and black with piercing crystal blue eyes. Mordecai sipped carefully on a up of coffee and pulled his blue jacket tighter around him, glancing at his friend. "Enjoying the weather I assume." He inquires somewhat quietly. Napoleon flipped his emo flop and shrugged, his black jacket slipping a bit off his shoulders.
"It'd be better with Joan around." The Red bellied black bird said, sinking down into the porch swing. "She always seems to make my day better." He added, running his black wing over the yellow scarf he held in his lap. Mordecai breathed out slowly and shut his eyes for a moment.
"Hey man…she'll be back after Christmas. Then we can all have a big New Years party!" The blue bird says, trying to cheer his buddy up. Napoleon offered a small, distant smile and stood up, taking Mordecai's hand.
"C'mon. Let's go see what Muscle Man and 'Five are doing." The slightly shorter bird urged, obviously avoiding the previous topic. Mordecai just allowed himself to be taken across the park, following footsteps that were remarkably similar in size to his own. It was all typical behavior for the black bird; he'd be really quiet for a few days then have a minor emotional breakdown over his strange ways.
Mordecai was trying to think of ways to break the awkwardness, going through the list of things that typically worked. "So uh…I heard the Steelers got to the Superbowl this year!" He said, walking a bit faster to get almost next to his companion.
"Yeah." Napoleon mumbles, digging his hands further into his pockets. The blue jay smiled to himself, believing that the shorter bird would begin to open up by talking about his favorite sports team. "But the Packers beat them…yesterday." Napoleon added plainly. Mordecai flinched and smacked himself on the forehead. The black bird notices and stops and turns around to face him, offering a little seen smile.
"Don't sweat it man." Napoleon said, making sure his smile wasn't forced or awkward. Mordecai smiled back in relief and straightened his back.
"Mordecai! Napoleon!" Came Benson's angered roar. Immediately Napoleon's smile vanished and he tucked his head down a bit as usual. "You're supposed to be fixing the roof!" The gumball machine shouts, pointing at the black bird. "And you!" He switches to pointing at Mordecai, "You should be inside getting that bat out of the chimney!" Benson finished, fixing his purple scarf around his neck.
"Right. Sorry man." Napoleon mumbled, beginning to shuffle back to the house.
"Uh yeah, my bad Benson. I'll just…get to the, uh…bat." Mordecai stuttered, inching past Benson as if he were a pool of acid. But his boss' royal blue eyes just stared daggers at him, prompting a hasty retreat.
Latter, Mordecai was in the sitting room of the boarding house starring at the little used fireplace. "Ugh why do I even have to clean it if we never use it?" The blue jay mumbled to himself, kneeling in front of the stones in front of the fire gate. He stuck his head into the charred brick area and looked up, trying to see the bat.
"This might help." A slightly amused voice said from behind Mordecai somewhere. Suddenly something hard and rough hit the blue jay's back, causing him to cringe and loose his perch on his knees. Mordecai falls forward into the ashes and chard wood, his sides and wings getting scratched by the fire gate. "Jeez man, it's just a broom." Muscle Man said, standing near Mordecai.
"Uhh. What the f*ck?" Mordecai groans, not wanting to move in fear of the gate tips stabbing him further. Muscle Man just laughed in response to his fiend's pain before Benson walks in from outside.
"Muscle Man what are you laughing at?" Their boss asked, throwing his books on the coffee table. The short man moved over a bit when he turned to face the gumball machine. "Mordecai!" Benson shouts, hurrying to the blue jay's side. He lifts Mordecai from the gate and the fireplace all together, also picking him up and moving him to the couch. "Muscle Man go find Skips and bring some gauss and antibacterial wash!" Benson demanded the green human.
"Whatever boss." Muscle Man mumbled, walking out the door in no particular hurry.
"H-Hey Benson. I'm fine. Now worries." Mordecai insisted, trying to sit up, only to be pushed back down.
"No. That gate dug into your side and it may have punctured some internal organ. I'm taking no chances." The park manager explained, taking off his coat and ripping pieces off to tie around the bleeding scratches and stab wounds.
"I didn't know you knew so much about medical stuff like this Benson." The blue jay admits, smiling through the pain.
Benson sighs and wipes his hands on another part of his coat to rid them of blood. "I was in medical school for a semester before I decided that wasn't the thing for me. It was the hellish of all Hell holes." He says, offering a faint smile as well.
The door to the house tears open and Napoleon is standing in the door, covered in snow from being on the roof. "Mordecai I heard Muscle Man mumbling something about you bleeding. Are you alright?" The black bird asks hurriedly as he shakes his loose feathers to clear the snow.
"I'm fine 'Leon." Mordecai repeats to his friend, pushing himself up a bit to be more comfortable. Napoleon kneels in front of the couch and puts his wing on one of the blue jay's scratches, causing him to wince in pain.
"Apparently not. Don't lie ta' me…I always find out the truth." Napoleon says with a faint smile turning and heading upstairs. Mordecai chuckles and turns back frontwards his brown eyes drifting up to look at his boss, who was still sitting on the other end of the couch with a worried look.
It was strange to see Benson upset about anything…well, worried is the better terminology. "Hey, Benson." The bird mumbles, catching the gumball machine's attention. "I'm gonna be fine dude. I'd never think you would get so upset, especially over a lazy slacker like me." Mordecai laughs, being completely honest in his statement. Benson smiles but crosses his arms and stands up in a huff.
"Well, I can't exactly afford to pay for a lawsuit or a hospital bill!" Benson snaps, trudging into the kitchen. There was so much venom and sing in his voice, Mordecai was left gawking. Even that wasn't normal for Benson; sure he would yell, but never so that it made you want to curl up in an f*king corner and cry your eyes out.
Skips walks in a moment later with a first-aid kit. "You doin' alright? Just don't move around too much, alright?" The yeti says, pushing Mordecai to lay flat again. The blue jay's eyes stay locked on the doorway where Benson disappeared. It was strange but, Mordecai felt better when he had been sitting on the couch with him. Like something inside him said that his boss would protect him from further harm, as cheesy as it may sound. Skips presses an alcoholic wipe to one of Mordecai's deep stab wounds, which hurt the bird a lot. Trying to keep out the pain, Mordecai shuts his eyes and involuntarily drifts off to sleep.