"Well, they're birds, so not really like either, but they are prey like cows." She explained, leading him over and watching through the tall fence around the coop. The fence was quite tall, around the height of Honor's shoulders, and made of chicken wire so the chickens were easily visible. "What do you think of the chickens so far? Maybe you can help me collect eggs from them in a few minutes."
%20pngg.png)
Oscar put his hand against the fence and leaned closer, tilting his head. "They're covered in….something that's not fur. What is that? And yes, I'll collect eggs with you, if you show me how." He found he was a bit wary of the chickens for some reason, but still wanted to get a better look at them.
She crouched down and immediately some of the chickens came over, clucking and looking at them curiously, "They're covered in feathers, did you read about them? And yes, I'll show you how in a few minutes." Honor had no problem with teaching him how to collect eggs, but she wanted to make sure he was comfortable around them first.
A memory of a kid's book about chickens sprang into his head, and Oscar nodded. "Oh right, I did read about them. Do you have a rooster? I read that sometimes they're not very friendly…."
"No, there isn't a rooster here, just hens." She replied, standing up again and leading him over to the gate. Honor opened it and stepped inside, motioning for him to follow her. "Do you want to hold one of them? They're pretty harmless."
"Sure," Oscar said, walking in after her. "Is it much like holding a cat? Chickens don't purr, do they?"
(Catching chickens is crazy difficult XD Honor how are you doing itttt)
She shook her head, closing the gate after him and scooping up one of the nearby birds with only a little chasing, "They don't purr, they just cluck or occasionally squak." Honor pinned the chicken's wings to it's side with her hands before holding it out to Oscar, "Now, you have to make sure you have their wings under control like this, otherwise if they can flap them they could break their wings from the force."
(lol so true XDD)
"Really?" Oscar hesitated, then cautiously reached around and took ahold of the chicken, trying to find that balance between gentle and firm. "They must be pretty breakable, if they can hurt themselves that easily. Oh wow, it's a lot warmer than the cat was." He lifted it up to examine it, keeping a wary distance between his face and the chicken's sharp beak. "And lighter. It weighs almost nothing. I read that chickens can't fly very well, so why does it have wings?"
(I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to respond, life has gotten crazy lately, with track and finals, I promise I'll try to be more consistent after friday (That's when finals are))
"Their wings are pretty fragile, and the only reason they can't fly well is because of their body size. Their wings are too small to lift them." She explained, scooping up another chicken and tucking it under her arm, supporting it with one hand while stroking the feathers on its head with the other.
(It's okay fam! I totally understand ^^)
"Huh." Oscar copied her, trying to pet the less-than-thrilled chicken gently. "So, where are the eggs? I'm ready to help collect them now. Will the chickens be upset if we take their eggs from them?"
She shook her head, setting the chicken on the ground and watching as it dashed away to join the other ones, "No, they won't be upset, and all of their eggs are in the chicken coop." Honor pointed to the shed like building in the corner of the fenced in area, as the chickens went in and out through a doggy door contraption on a regular door.
"Okay," Oscar said, and started heading over, but then something made him stop in his tracks and look up abruptly. He stared off at the horizon, wearing an odd expression. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" She asked, stopping slowly and turning to see what he was looking at. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her, and she heard nothing besides the clucking of the chickens and the occasional moo from the cows in their pasture.
Oscar stood as still as a statue for a long minute, not even blinking. "There's a car coming," he said eventually, narrowing his eyes. "The people in it are dangerous. They're coming down the road towards the house."
Honor's eyes widened and she reached for her keys instinctively, "How far away are they? And can you tell how many of them there are?" She pulled her keys out of her pocket and hooked them on her finger, not hesitating to walk out of the coop, motioning him out before closing the door behind them.
Oscar followed, his eyes still locked on some point in the distance. "There are two humans in the car. They're not far…..I think they're approaching the far side of the house, on the same road we came from." He was tense, caught between the instincts of fight and flight. "What are we going to do?"
(Speaking out of character for a minute, these guys are mostly just here to talk, as long as they can't actually confirm Oscar's nearby. Honor can choose to either get the heck out or speak with them if she wants.)
(Lol ok, I'm just thinking the thing she would most likely do is get as far away as possible, mostly because in her mind Oscar is still learning and probably wouldn't know enough to stay away or hide.)
"I'm thinking we have two options, either get in my truck and book it away from here or risk staying and hope they aren't looking for you. What do you think?" She asked, her choice very clear as she headed on a straight path back to the truck. She would leave it up to him though, as long as if they stayed he would stay hidden away and quiet.
(That makes sense, she has good logic xD)
"I think we should go, if that's what you think. But….." Oscar glanced at the house, doubtful and worried. "…What about your parents? Will they be safe?"
Her steps faltered and she glanced between the house and her truck, letting out a frustrated noise and walking to Oscar. She pressed her keys into his hand and pointed to the truck, "I'll be right there, you get in and start up the truck if you know how, I'll be no longer than a minute or two."
Oscar's eyes widened at being given such a great responsibility, and he nodded quickly. "Okay. I'll wait right here. Be careful." He loped over to the truck and scrambled into the driver's seat, already whipping through his mental catalogue of driving manuals.
She jogged off to the house without a second thought, bursting inside and hastily saying goodbye from her parents before grabbing a few things for them to eat and an extra hoodie for if it got cold. Who knew if they would even be able to get back to her house and get things, so, for now, this would have to do as she gave her parents a tight hug and dashed back out to the truck. "Do you want to try driving? Or should I?" She asked, dumping the things onto the floor of the passenger's seat as she hopped in.
"Uh….." Oscar was about to ask her to drive, but he could sense the intruders getting closer every second and he didn't know if they had time to switch seats. "J-just tell me where to go and I'll drive us there." He remembered to buckle up and adjust the rear-view mirror so he could see behind him, then clunkily shifted gears and started backing up the truck.
"Well, I guess this will be a quick lesson." She muttered, buckling in herself and letting her foot bounce anxiously, "Just head the opposite way that these people are coming from." Honor wished she could teach him to drive when they weren't being possibly chased by people, but that didn't seem like it would happen, so now she could only hope that he remembered reading about driving somewhere.
Oscar managed to get the car pointed in the right direction and set off, accelerating unsteadily. Soon they were rumbling down the gravel road, and the farmhouse was slowly shrinking way behind them. Oscar gripped the wheel tightly with both hands, his eyes darting from the road to the mirrors to the dashboard and back. "Uh…..what's the speed limit here, Honor? I don't see any signs…."
Honor was visibly anxious, answering his question after a moment, "Fifty-five I think, that's what it normally is…which means if they get close or if there is an exit to a highway, take it. The speed limit is higher there and we can get away better." She really had no clue what to do if they actually got close, mostly because this had never happened to her before.