Communication and chickens

Miles looks outside for the boy but doesn't find him. He goes inside the house and searches there. When Miles enters the room, the boy has been sleeping in, he finds that the blanket on the bed is gone. He notices a movement, something moving under the bed. Kneeling to get to the floor Miles sighs. He lays on the floor to look under the bed. There, wrapped up in the missing blanket, is Ezra.

"Why are you hiding? It is only you, me, and the animals here." Miles says to the boy.

Still, Ezra stays wrapped in the blanket under the bed.

"What got you so scared when we were in town?" Miles questioned; a brow raised.

Ezra shrugs.

"Don't give me that, there is a reason. I know you don't talk... not much... or even write well for that matter... but if you're going to stay here then we have to be able to communicate with each other. I don't care how you do it." Miles urges.

The boy pulls the blanket from his face and looks at Miles. Ezra stays still to the point Miles wonders what is going on in the child's head. But after a while the boy drags himself out from under the bed, he raises his hands to the sides of Miles's head. Miles Feels a light tingle over the area the boy touches. Miles sits, curious, and waits. Miles begins to feel a slow trickle. At first, it's a mild worry but then floods into fear so strong that Miles struggles to breathe. The world feels as though it is warping into an unsteady spin of sorts. His head throbs and he begins to see a group of people. They look well dressed and as if they are searching for something they lost. Miles notices that each one seems to be carrying books and papers.

When the world shifts back into Ezra's room Miles release a breath, he had not realized he was holding. He looks down at the boy who sat before him.

"Who are they?" Miles asks after a few moments.

The boy shrugs.

"You don't know them? How are you afraid of them if you don't know who they are?" Miles knits his brows together.

The boy looks off to the side. He frowns and pulls the blanket tighter around him.

"Ezra, I want to understand. Help me to do that." Miles pleas.

The boy sits for a few moments before shaking his head. He holds his head in his hands. Ezra closes his eyes and curls up into a ball.

Miles sighs and pulls the boy into his arms, "Okay, you don't have to tell me now but you should tell me at some point."

With that Miles lifts the boy from the ground and sits on the bed with the boy curled up in his lap.

The room goes quiet. Ezra listens to the sound of Miles's heartbeat. He can feel the pulsing life move through the older male. Ezra sighs and rests his head. It doesn't take long for Ezra to yawn and then falls asleep.

Lost in his thoughts, Miles doesn't realize that Ezra has fallen into slumber until the room goes dark. Placing the boy down on the bed Miles runs off to get the animals fed as quick as he can manage. The animals voice their irritation at the late meal but leave him be once they have their food. Miles then works to get the evening meal ready by himself.

While he works at it, he frowns. He thinks of the times he cooked with Ezra and how much easier and quicker things were. Now each step in cooking seems to take so long. Miles could feel his pulse begin to rush to the rise of his irritation. Forcing himself to continue on he managed to finish making a meal.

He paces back and forth wondering if he should wake Ezra. The boy sleeps as if what happened earlier was only a dream. Miles sighs to himself and leaves the room as quiet as a hunting cat.

He eats his meal alone and puts some food away for the boy to eat later.

Not long after Miles heads to bed. The night goes by much too fast for the older male. He sits up in his bed with sun rays bursting through his window. He forces himself out of bed and starts his day.

During his routine, he takes some time to check in on Ezra. He finds the boy is still sleeping.

Walking over to the bed and taking a seat, Miles tries to wake the boy with gentle shaking. Ezra pop opens an eye and looks at the older male.

"Hey, it's time to eat and take care of the animals," Miles says.

Ezra slides out of bed. Miles leaves the room with the boy close behind. The two work together as they have for the last few days.

When they stop at the chicken's area Miles counts the chickens and finds that his count is off again.

Miles grumbles and looks around the coup. It is full of feathers and some blood. Even a corpse lay still in a nest.

Miles frowned and looked around. He now only had three chickens. He loathed the thought but he decided he should ask for help again.

"Ezra, do me a favor. Keep an eye on the chickens. Keep them alive if you can." Miles says.

Ezra nods and takes his place near the chickens.

Miles smiles at the boy, "Thank you."

He then walks off and looks for Betty. He finds her in the barn.

"Hey, Betty. Do me a favor. You know I get lost. Could you take me to the house you found me at before? Seline's and Emil's home." Miles states.

He stands and watches the cow hoping the cow could somehow understand him. When he feels that he got his hopes up Betty moos at him and walks away. She walks into the woods with him close behind. The walk seems short to Miles and he is grateful for it.

When they make it to the edge of the woods he pats Betty, "Thank you, could you wait for me if it's not a problem?"

She drops her head and eats the grass around her.

Miles doesn't know what to make of this and takes the first step away from the woods. At the door, he takes a deep breath and hesitates to knock on the door. Because of this pause, he hears a woman's laugh.

"Emil, darling come here," Seline says from the other side of the door.

Miles hears shuffling footsteps.

"My dear sweet boy." Seline coos, "I'm so glad we came here."

Miles hears something, he's unsure of what to make of the sound but he figures it's Emil's response to Seline.

"You seem so much better here. Far better than at the old stuffy place." She continues.

Miles wonders if he came at a bad time. He even entertains the idea of leaving and going back to the house. But he thinks of the three chickens. Her laughter fills his ears again. He hears movement from the other side of the door. Miles shakes his head and takes a deep breath once more and forces himself to knock.

It goes quieter than a graveyard. After a handful of moments and impatient waiting, Miles hears some movement again. Soon after the sound, the door swings open. Seline smiles at him. Her hair looks messier than the last few times he's seen her.

"Hello Miles, it's good to see you again. Can I help you?" She asks.

Miles clears his throat, "I wanted to ask... if you know how to keep chickens from being attacked."

Seline's head tilts, "I don't. I've never had them... Do you know what is attacking them?"

"No," Miles answers, his shoulders feeling heavier.

"Let me think a minute. While I'm doing that you can come in," She opens the door wider, "Emil would you go and get the mugs out?"

Miles sees Emil trot out of the closest room and into a further room.

"No... I can't stay long. I only wanted to know what I could do." Miles raises his hands.

"It's fine if you don't want coffee, but I would rather you come in for a little rather than us standing in this doorway." She gestures inside.

Miles gives in and steps into the warm house once more. She leads him into the same dining room as before. She and Emil join him at the table. Seline with hot coffee and Emil with a cup of water.

Seline sips the drink, "How often do these attacks happen?"

"Almost nightly." Miles rubs the back of his neck, "At first I thought I was continuously miss counting but... Well, I had about fifteen chickens. Now I'm down to three. From what I can tell one chicken went missing almost every night. But last night... something attacked inside the coop getting more than the one."

"You should go talk to Martin. He has a large farm. I can take you to him tomorrow. I have to check up on his child anyway." Seline offers.

Miles thinks about her words and tries on to think about the last bit of information, "I would appreciate that."

"Okay, you should get here early tomorrow. Martin prefers we come in the mornings." Seline informs with a warm smile.

"I understand. Thank you." Miles stands.

"You're in a hurry to leave, aren't you?" Seline comments as she too stands.

"I have to get back to the house." Miles fidgets with his fingers, His insides twisting.

Emil stands and follows the two to the door. Seline takes the young man's hand in hers.

"Don't be afraid to come and visit. We don't mind the company." Seline opens the door.

Miles steps out, "I'll... think about it."

Seline releases a short laugh, "We'll be glad to see you if you decide to visit."

Miles waves at Seline and makes it to the edge of the woods as quickly as he can manage. He meets up with Betty. He rests a hand on her, "Betty... Let's get home. See how Ezra is doing." Miles mutters low to the cow.

With that, the two set towards the house.