#so jay legitimately saw a bigass bird with bigass talons in that cage

[razzle-zazzle]

Whumptober Day 23: What’s a whumpee gotta do to get some sleep around here?

Exhaustion + Sleep Deprivation

761 words; I have been told by @ninja-go-to-therapy​ to call this thing “Birb Time”

@lovelystressedprincess

TW for creepy captors & dehumanization

Cole was exhausted.

He was also being held captive by a mage who seemed to think he was some kind of bird. Which wasn’t ideal. At all.

The birdcage he was kept in was too small for Cole to lay down fully. He could sit comfortably, but he couldn’t stand. Whenever he slept it wasn’t for very long and it wasn’t very well.

So Cole was understandably very exhausted.

His captor didn’t seem to care. Rather, the mage seemed almost pleased with the dark circles under Cole’s eyes. Said they made Cole “prettier”.

Cole disagreed.

His captor was currently cleaning up for the day, tidying up the room while Cole watched him like a hawk.

“Oh, what a pretty bird you are.” His captor cooed, reaching through the bars to run a hand through Cole’s hair. “Of course, you’re not really a bird, are you?” He chuckled. “Not that anyone but you and me can see that.”

Cole glared at his captor through tired eyes.

“There’s going to be some very special visitors tomorrow, gorgeous.” His captor continued, conjuring a cracker. “A very powerful group of elemental masters are coming to me for some magic advice.”

Cole froze. Were the others coming? Might he finally be saved?

“Can you imagine?” His captor pushed the cracker through the bars, “They’re coming to me for help finding someone. Me.” He practically preened, which was ironic given that Cole was the one in the birdcage.

Cole took the offered cracker, knowing it was better to accept every piece of nourishment he was offered. It wasn’t very bad, as crackers went, but Cole would much prefer not being treated like some pet.

His captor reached in again, giving Cole’s chin a scratch. “I’ll need you to be on your best behavior tomorrow, okay? Can’t have you making a fuss.”

Cole didn’t have the energy to respond.

+=+=+=+=+

The next day dawned as days usually did, with Cole aching all over, exhaustion heavy in his limbs.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” His captor crooned, breakfast in hand. “Who’s a pretty bird? Are you a pretty bird? Yes, you’re such a pretty bird.”

If looks could kill, Cole’s captor would be a smoldering patch of ash right now.

Or maybe he’d have some kind of magical resistance to that kind of thing. That sounded much more in line with Cole’s luck right about now.

His captor only smiled brighter, moving off to get things in order. “Our visitors should be here soon. I’ll want you on your best behavior, alright?”

Oh, Cole would be on his best behavior. The birdcage was in full view of the entrance. There was no way his friends would miss him.

And indeed, they arrived not much later. Well, Jay and Zane had arrived. The others were presumably off doing other things.

Hopefully at least one of them was looking for Cole.

But Jay and Zane were right there, there was no way they couldn’t see Cole, Jay was looking right at him—

And then Jay looked away nervously.

Zane was saying something, but Cole wasn’t listening. What? Why had Jay looked away? Why wasn’t he saying anything? Cole was right there—why wasn’t Jay making a fuss?

“Jay, what the fuck are you doing?” Cole asked. His voice trembled from lack of sleep.

Jay flinched at the sound. “That’s uh, that’s a large bird you’ve got there.” He said, eyeing Cole nervously.

“It is quite strange,” Zane agreed, “But it’s just a bird, Jay.”

His captor laughed. “Ah, but he’s a very pretty bird, wouldn’t you say?” He walked over to Cole’s cage, cooing softly while conjuring a piece of fruit. “An absolutely gorgeous bird, yes you are.”

Jay muttered something about ugly vultures, but otherwise left the subject alone.

This was some kind of prank. It had to be. There was no way—

“Okay, hilarious,” Cole said, his voice trembling from more than sleep deprivation. “Funny joke, absolutely hilarious. Please.”

His captor cooed again. “My my, what’s got you so worked up today? Making all those sounds—you must be stressed out quite a lot.” He turned to Jay and Zane. “Should we continue this in another room? I don’t think my pet is taking your presence very well.”

Jay nodded, seeming almost eager to get out of the room.

Cole watched the three leave in dawning horror. They didn’t… they looked right at him.

Did they not care?

Fuck, Cole was too tired to think. Too tired to try and escape.

Too tired to do anything other than curl into a ball and cry.