The morning had gone off to a horrible start-in addition to waking up, still fearing for his life as the shouts of the bullies rang through the air, Blue was also awoken to his best friend, trying and failing to open up a bottle. The sounds of constant whining and something hitting the wall of the shed made Blue wince, it was one thing to know that the outside noises couldn't get him as long as those bullies were too engrossed in beating them up themselves to ask for a key but when people started to make the noises inside, there was definitely a problem.

The reddish black haired male shifted upon his makeshift bed, a simple cotton blanket underneath a bunch of pillows that he had found, presumably in a box titled 'house supplies'. He brought a hand to his eyes, closing them and rubbing his eyelids in mock sleepiness. After a few minutes of hearing Finley kick at walls and whining in confusion, the pop of a lid finally opening made him gasp in surprise as he whirled around to address his victory towards the now awake Blue.

"I opened it!"

Blue tilted his head to the side, eyebrows furrowing before making a very small nod as his voice seemed to become drawled out and sarcastic. He leaped to his feet as he talked, rolling his eyes to the ceiling at the energetic way that Finley bounced on his toes for.

"I can see that." He leaned forward, placing both of his hands on the boy's face and tilting it slightly with a raised eyebrow before stepping backwards, pulling Finley along with him to the point where they both had fallen upon the pillows that made up his so called mattress. Blue brought his lips into a thin line, brushing his fingers against the boy's cheeks and feeling the wetness upon them. His eyebrows furrowed even more as his voice seemed to get even softer than usual.

"Were you crying?"

Finley paused, fingers curling around the hem of his long sleeved shirt as his eyes tried to flicker elsewhere yet every time they did, Blur made it a point to look at him by shifting his head harshly towards the side, eyes narrowing into a annoyed glare. The blue eyed boy gulped softly before allowing his eyes to finally meet emerald green ones and soon enough they had gotten glossy and fogged. His lower lip wobbled, fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt tightly as Blue narrowed his eyes, removing his hands only to snatch up his wrist and pull the sleeve all the way backwards.

Bruises lined fair skin and Blue felt his eyebrow Twitch with each second he took to stare at them. Letting go of Finley's wrist, he leaped up to his feet and brushed off the dust from his pajama pants, suddenly starting for the door, though not without grabbing a wrench from the toolbox lying against one of the small tables.

"Those stupid, pesky, ignorant, cowards."

"W-wait! Blue, I'm fine! It doesn't even hurt that much anymore! Come on, put the wrench back!"

"Fine? Fine?! In what world does almost getting your bloody arm broken considered fine?!"

Finley paused, searching for a excuse to have his best friend sit back down. He rubbed his left arm, wincing whenever his fingers trailed too long upon a bruise before nervously smiling as he inched closer, grasping the boy's wrist to try and tug him over.

"Please?"

Blue brought his lips into a thin line before throwing the wrench into a wall with a low growl of sorts, ignoring the face of jubilance that his friend displayed. Pulling his wrist free from Finley's grip, Blue stalked back towards where he had previously sat, flopping down upon the pillows in a ungraceful heap.

His green eyes scoured the ceiling and walls before suddenly pausing at one of the windows where two pairs of eyes stared back at him and two pairs of beaks pressed against the glass in a tapping manner. Before he could jump to his feet however, Finley had already exclaimed, rushing over and unlocking the glass window in awe.

"Owls!"

Blue paused and tilted his head to the side as two beige colored letters fell upon the ground and the owls were soon gone as quick as they came. He furrowed his eyebrows even further before inching closer to Finley who was too busy inspecting his own letter to notice. He could hear the confused noises coming from his mouth but paid no heed as he snatched up his own letter, blood boiling when his fingers brushed against the last name.

Finley peeked from behind him, staring at his letter with curiosity. He stepped back for a moment, staring at the locked door with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty. Blue breathed in deeply causing the boy to flicker his eyes over in confusion before watching his friend slowly make his way towards the door.

The click sounded throughout the room as Blue could only grip his letter tightly and mumble that they were going to see someone. Once the door swung open however, Blue quickly ducked from a incoming punch, reaching forward to grasp Finley's wrist and pull him over.

"Come on and run!"

The bullies whirled around, intent on wreaking their vengeance yet Blue was already pulling Finley towards the sidewalks, clutching his wrist as the two boys seemed to run for their very lives.

•••

"A letter from Mum's school?"

Finley and Blue both sat upon Arabella's plastic wrapped couch, Finley nibbling on some cracks offered to him while Blue stared in disbelief at the old, cat loving woman as if she had just told him that she was actually some two beaded trolls like the ones in story books.

He brought a hand to his face, rubbing one eye as he thought over the information given to him. It didn't seem too far fetched as he could vaguely remember dreams where magic was used, perhaps these dreams were real though he had dismissed the thought as his two year old mind probably wanted to escape from the harsh reality of the true world.

A slight knock startled the trio from their silence as Arabella slowly limped towards the door, cracking it open to see who had visited and only letting out a short gasp once realizing.

"Who is-"

Blue's voice suddenly went limp, his shoulders tensing as he leaned forward, able to catch a full view of the man standing in front of the old woman's doorway, waiting for invitation to come in. He furrowed his eyebrows, scrambling off the couch to see if he had actually been hallucinating. Dark green eyes narrowed slightly as Blue felt his fingers slowly curl within his palms, nails digging into them.

His eyes stung and as Finley's footsteps sounded from behind him, Blue suddenly felt his shoulders slump, hands flying upwards to cover his face as the gates cracked open, letting floodwater pool out. The only sound being heard seemed to be the small gasp like cries that were muffled by bandaged hands yet only one word could be heard.

"Moony?"