Gradually, he stopped rubbing at his arms, yet remained silent a moment, deep in comprehension. Yellowed irises trailed to where the cottage's entrance would be before zipping back to Jack's face.
"Bᵢᵣdₛ bₑₗₒₙg ₕₒₘₑ. ₕₒₘₑ."
He finally answered, a nervousness rising in his voice. His jittery frame stumbled back on the rooftop, frightened. If he continued to look down below, he could've sworn Nicodemus would walk out, ready to reprimand him for even considering it. His head in his corpse's hands, or worse, tied together with string.
Jack followed Zion's petrified gaze. Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the doorway.
"He's gone now, yeah?" He said, looking up at Zion with a light-hearted expression one might use when coaxing a child or frightened animal. "He can't hurt you anymore, Zion. Any promises you were forced to make, they've disappeared." Jack brought his hands together and then opened them, as if setting the promises free.
"Gone, as though they were never spoken. I have a home so much bigger than this, one where you could have your own room. Clothes you could wear, all the food you could eat, and I'd keep you safe. Your father will never touch you again."
He reached a hand up and gestured towards himself with a gentle smile. "Come down, I need to show you something. I won't hurt you."
Zion debated to himself for a moment, cautious of the truth, as if a lie would cripple him. He mirrored Jack, folding his hands open to release his own promises, as the man had done. Eventually, he descended from the side of the building and skittered over to the gang leader's side in a half-walk, half-crawl like motion.
As he would to Nicodemus, he held a hand onto the man's pants to keep up with him. Attaching himself to something new.
"Little prince?" Jack repeated to himself, looking down at the strange boy. Very slowly, he crouched down with him.
"Here." He said, softly taking the boys hand in his own before standing, pulling Zion tenderly to a straightened posture. "Walk with me." Keeping hold of his hand, Jack lead Zion back into the house.
"This isn't his house anymore. It's mine. Isn't that right?" He said loudly into the house. When no reply was given, he smiled at Zion. "He has no more power here." Jack pointed to the razor threads that glistened in the sunlight further in the house. "We haven't cleared the entire house yet, but what we have cleared you're free to walk around in. Oh! Let's see what we have in here." Walking over to the cabinets, Jack threw open the doors to find dried fruits, dried meats, and cheeses wrapped in cloth. Grabbing a block of cheese, he took his knife from his boot and carved a chunk out of it. Handing it to Zion, he said, "You must be starving." He'd have given Zion all the food he could find, but he knew a malnourished body needed to adjust slowly.
Straightening himself up with Jack's assistance, he followed him indoors, staring wide-eyed as the leader made his claim. He waited for his Father to jump from the basement, expecting them to fight once again-- however, there was nothing, just as he suggested. Only silence.
"Fₐₜₕₑᵣ."
Zion murmured, his eyes following to the strings Jack had pointed out. He thought of the correct words to say, that of which Nicodemus taught him, but came up with nothing to explain past the sealed-off rooms.
Once he was given the chunk of cheese, he released his hold of the man and split the food into two pieces.
"Fₑₑd ₜₕₑ bᵢᵣdₛ."
He declared, racing downstairs. Moving swiftly through the halls, he only slightly whimpered a bit upon seeing Nicodemus' body. The passageways had less and less light from the opened door, but having memorized the entire layout, finding the birds were of ease. As he reached the moon bird, he held the extra slice of cheese out to her, sharing as he'd always done.
Jack's eyes widened as Zion disappeared through the large basement door. "Hey-!" He hurried after him in alarm, but stopped short at the top of the steps. No way was he going back down there without any light. He left the house quickly in search of tools for a fire.
As Zion approached Lumi's cage, the girl shuffled onto her knees. She cried softly as he drew near and cringed herself away from him. Her hands had been sewn to her face, covering her eyes and leaving only her mouth exposed.
"I can't, Zohn..." She whispered to him. "I cannot tehk it."
Zion insisted, dropping the piece of cheese inside the cage.
"ₘₒₒₙᵢₑ cₒₘₑ ₒᵤₜ. ₙₒw₋ₛₙₐcₖ, ₐₙd. Bᵢᵣdbₐₜₕ."
Realizing he hadn't his keys on him, he bolted out of the room and back through the halls, headed to his own area to grab where he held his copy. The spider had to keep the cheese hidden in his hands as he did so, afraid that the chicks would start to squawk, pleading for the food he held.
As quickly as he'd left, Zion returned for the bird, fidgeting with her lock and opening the cage.
Lumi tried to stand, but as her cage swayed, her legs buckled beneath her and she fell onto him. Her elbows held onto Zion's head tightly and blood seeped between the stitches sewing her fingers to her face as she squirmed onto him.
"Ah can't stand ver well..." She whimpered. "And Ah can't hold on.."
As she crashed down, Zion did his best to pull her back up with his four arms while she squirmed, placing her to sit at the edge of her cage, legs to dangling out from its open door.
"ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ⁿᵒʷ⁻ˢⁿᵃᶜᵏ."
Firm in his insisting, he reached for the small piece of cheese before coming up with nothing. It'd fallen onto the stone flooring, bouncing away from the two. Instead, he dared to offer his own slice, bringing it close to her mouth. His extra set of hands wiped away blood, yet were careful not to provoke the strings themselves.
As she felt the cheese touch her lips, Lumi carefully took it into her mouth.
"New Fah?" She asked through her chewing, her legs kicking in the wonderful open space that they dangled in.
Far behind them and down the halls, Jack was descending the stairs with his newly made torch. "Zion!" He called, grimacing down at Nico's bloody heap as he walked past it.
Reciting what he understood of Jack's words, he shifted her to lean on the cage's frame before putting one last tinier piece of cheese into her mouth.
"ˢᵗᵃʸ. ᴵ ᵇʳⁱⁿᵍ ⁿᵉʷ ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ."
He directed the frail girl, setting the rest of the cheese down beside her before scampering out of the room. As he spotted Jack in the distance, he straightened himself up and waved an arm, beckoning him over.
Lumi could hear the heavy footsteps of the stranger come close, followed by a muttered, "Oh god..." She flinched in fear as Jack's large hands scooped underneath her and she was lifted up.
"I've got you, sweetheart." The man said to her softly. "We're gonna get you fixed up. Come back upstairs, Zion. There's more food up there." Lumi liked the sound of the man's rough voice. It was soothing to her, compared to the silky wickedness of Nico's. She rested her head against him, letting herself go limp.
Jack was hurrying back up the stairs, unable to ignore this poor deformed girl. Coming through the doorway, he laid her down onto a nearby velvet couch. "You stay here, alright?" He told her, before heading back into the kitchen. Ripping every cabinet door open, Jack pulled down boxes and wraps and jars. "Here, Zion, you be my helper, alright?" He called to the boy.
Zion followed closely behind Jack as he carried Lumi up the staircase, munching on the rest of his held cheese. His face lit up completely as his tongue lathered over the tangy substance, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel with nuts in its mouth.
"ᴴᵉˡᵖᵉʳ. ʸᵉˢ. ᴸⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵖʳⁱⁿᶜᵉ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ʰᵉˡᵖˢ."
He replied after swallowing down the last of the cheese.
He fumbled through areas of the home without webbing, trying to find a route to the wardrobes. Alas, the strings were everywhere towards the bedrooms, making them completely inaccessible. Instead, he returned to Jack, seeking orders-- but not without running to the pantry and gazing at the leader for permission.
"We don't call them birds anymore, they're children." Jack decreed, turning to the young man with a few baguettes. "And I'd like you to take these to them. Don't let any of them out, but give each one of them a piece about this size, alright?" He broke off a small palm-sized portion of bread and held it up to show him. "You can have some too, but not too much. It would hurt your belly more than it's probably already hurting." Handing him the bread, Jack added, "Thank you very much, you're being a great helper, Zion."
Zion's jaw dropped as his new father corrected him and presented more bread than he'd ever had the chance to hold in his life.
"ᴳᵉⁿᵉʳᵒᵘˢ ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ."
Bony hands clutched at the bread, as if it were his lifeline itself. He nibbled at one of the baguette's ends, the first of which he'd gotten to ever try.
"ₕₑ ₕₑₗₚₛ, Zᵢₒₙ ₕₑₗₚₛ."
He repeated, acting as reassurance to himself.
With food and a key in tow, he scampered down the stairwell, whispering to himself that the birds are set free.
