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writingdevil · 2 months ago

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Clinging to the Nest (STP) (PT.1)

(I'd like to dedicate this fic to @flowersandmiel and this post for nudging me to make this little Oppy hurt comfort piece. It's people like you that keep me insane about that little rat and make me love him even more. So I hope you all enjoy!)

(Warning-Injuries (broken bones), violence)

(Part One of Two)

Opportunist loved to be busy, to be working hard at something that would make the flock happy. There were a lot of things Opportunist could do- he could help Smitten gather ingredients for dinner, he could help spot Stubborn while he was working out, and he's even offered to join Hunted while he was doing his patrols around the house.

It made Opportunist feel good to do these things for the others, to give them his service whenever they struggled, so that they could all work in harmony, because they were all valued for their skills and considered useful. Especially Opportunist.

It's definitely not because Opportunist worries about his place in the flock. What would Opportunist have to fear, when there was clearly no need for someone who's skills specialised in backstabbing and lying? He could still be useful!

Like today-Opportunist was being extremely helpful to the flock.

They had decided that they needed more space, because their current garden for farming was becoming too small, so they needed to build a bigger one.

They didn't want to build the garden too far away, but with the woods surrounding almost every corner of their home and their current garden taking up the one patch of empty land , there weren't many options.

So they decided to make room.

There was a cluster of boulders next to their house, and Stubborn had the bright idea to simply just move the boulders aside- by throwing them.

One group, consisting of Hero, Skeptic, Cold and Stubborn, were in charge of the boulders and making sure that Stubborn didn't hurt himself in the throwing process. Well, Hero and Skeptic were in charge of that. Cold just wanted to see what happened.

Unfortunately, Opportunist knew that he would be of no use to that group, but he could do other chores around the house now that others were more preoccupied.

He and a few others decided to get everything ready for when the new patch of land was ready to be used for gardening-particularly Smitten.

"Oh, I cannot wait!" Smitten exclaimed happily, gazing ahead at how Stubborn picked up a boulder with a grunt, and then tossed it far into the distance.

"What do you think we should plant when the garden is ready?" Smitten asked them, but before someone could even open their mouths, he was already off babbling again.

"Should we make a pumpkin patch?" Smitten asked excitedly, giving Cheated an intense look while holding a bag of seeds to his chest.

Cheated just smiled nervously at Smitten's expression and nodded without saying a word, and that was enough for Smitten, who started to pace around outside their house, going on and on about the new garden.

"I've always wanted to try and grow watermelons, and now we'll finally have the space!"

Contrarian, who had been resting on the grass, chuckled at Smitten's enthusiasm. "You're really that excited about mud and leaves?"

Smitten gasped dramatically as he spun around to face Contrarian. "Of course I am! Now we can grow and nurture even more beautiful creations! Does the thought of bringing something to life with your bare hands not spur you with love and excitement?"

Contrarian shrugged, and Opportunist winced at how Smitten deflated at that response.

Contrarian then shot to his feet, stretching his arms out with a loud and satisfied whine. His eyes were immediately drawn to the bag in Smitten's hands, and he asked, "What ones are in there?"

"These?" Smitten said, looking down at the bag, and then handing it to Contrarian which Opportunist knew was a terrible idea.

"These are just carrot seeds, my dear," Smitten answered as Contrarian took the bag.

But the second Contrarian heard that, he made a loud gagging sound, sticking his tongue out and all. "Ugh! I hate carrots!"

"Are you a fledgling?" Cheated snapped at him with a scowl. "Are you that childish that you won't even eat vegetables?"

Contrarian started to toss the bag between his hands, and Opportunist saw the way Smitten looked at it in worry.

"Not all vegetables. I like tomatoes-they're good for throwing."

"Tomatoes are actually fruit, you know" Smitten piped up, but deflated once he realised that neither one of them were listening to him.

"About that- stop throwing shit at people! You'll hurt someone!" Cheated snapped, and Contrarian rolled his eyes, his tossing getting longer in length.

"It's not like I'm throwing rocks at anyone," Contrarian argued, "and besides, it's funny to see people's reactions- like this!"

Then Contrarian grinned cheekily as he pulled his arm back, and then threw the bag of carrots straight up into the air, coincidentally lining up exactly for when Stubborn grunted as he threw another boulder.

Contrarian giggled, until he realised that the bag was actually going way farther than he thought, and then his laughter died completely.

Cheated immediately launched into a rage, lashing at Contrarian and defending Smitten at the same time, but neither moved to actually retrieve the bag.

Opportunist, on the other hand, took one look at Smitten's downcast eyes, and sighed.

"Don't worry! I'll get the bag back," Opportunist reassured them all with a confident grin, spreading his wings wide and hitting Cheated in the face.

Smitten's face perked up instantly as Opportunist's feet began to leave the ground. "You would do that for me, friend?"

"Of course," Opportunist said, shooting Smitten his most caring smile that he could muster. "Don't you worry a pretty little feather on your pretty little head. I'll get your precious seeds back in no time."

With that, Opportunist swiftly launched himself into the air.

Opportunist took a moment to just enjoy the feeling of the wind against his feathers, before he quickly got to work, flying in the direction that Contrarian threw the bag.

It was relatively easy to find the bag-it being a spot of dark brown amongst all the rich green. He swooped low, snatching the bag up and then gliding back up and around to the others.

He held the bag up victoriously, soaking in the cheers that Smitten let out for him. He took a moment to just stay like that, letting the feeling of pride and warmth flow through him.

Opportunist was needed here, which meant that he was wanted here.

He decided to show off, doing a few impressive spins in the air which both Smitten and Contrarian cheered at- and that Cheated was rolling his eyes at, most likely.

Opportunist chuckled to himself, thinking of what other flying tricks he knew- when Smitten's cheers suddenly turned into terrified screaming, waving at him in a panic, and even Cheated and Contrarian started to yell for him.

Opportunist wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't left in confusion for long, as he turned around just in time when he heard something approach him.

He twisted around, and was immediately met with a boulder slamming into him, pain exploding all over his body as he rapidly approached the ground.

The last thing Opportunist heard was a blood-curdling, "OPPY!" before everything soon went dark.

Opportunist groaned, waking up to aching pain and a spinning head. He was laying on something soft, but it was hard to feel comfortable with how stiff his body felt, like his limbs had been tangled into an uncomfortable knot and they hadn't moved in hours.

It took a few minutes- or it felt like a few minutes- but Opportunist eventually managed to open his heavy eyelids, blinking furiously as the room blurred around him, and all he could make out was a dark figure in the room with him.

He groaned again, letting his head fall back into something soft- pillows, he assumed. He then felt a hand grip his, and Opportunist was filled with relief at the fact that he wasn't alone right now, that someone was here by his side.

Slowly but surely, Opportunist came back to reality, taking deep, steady breaths in, squeezing the hand to ground himself to this moment.

Finally, Opportunist felt awake enough to attempt opening his eyes again, and when he lifted his head, the room didn't immediately spin wildly for him.

He was in his bedroom, but it looked like a tornado had gone through it, drawers flung open and blankets either half hanging out or scattered at the bottom of his bed.

Opportunist would normally be horrified at the fact that someone had gone through his room, if it weren't for Hero sitting on the edge of the bed in front of him.

As soon as their eyes met, Hero released a shaky breath of relief, giving him such a soft look that Opportunist wasn't used to.

He gripped Opportunist's hand tight, as if he'd disappear if he let go, and even put his other hand on top for good measure.

"Thank goodness you're awake, Oppy," Hero said, small remnants of fear in his voice. He scooted closer to Opportunist, smiling down at him in a way that made Opportunist's chest feel warm. "I was so afraid we'd lost you. You've been out for days."

"Days?" Opportunist whispered, voice hoarse and leaving his throat with a sting. Hero saw this, and had a glass of water in front of him in the blink of an eye.

Opportunist tried to lift his right arm to accept the glass- but he couldn't.

Opportunist made a noise of confusion, trying to sit up and move his body, but that was when his body reminded him of the pain he was in, and he tried his best not to let the pain show on his face, but he obviously wasn't in the best shape right now to achieve that.

Hero quickly set the glass down, cooing at him softly as he helped Opportunist sit up. "Hey, hey, take it easy, mate. You're okay, you're gonna be okay."

Opportunist shouldn't have relaxed at those words. He should've tried to show Hero that he was completely fine and not freaking out, but his brain was still too muddled to do anything but let Hero sit him up on his bed.

His body ached with the movement, but he tried to keep in any noises of discomfort from Hero, but he was probably failing in that regard, judging by the way Hero whispered reassurances to him and handled him so delicately.

Once he was sitting him up properly, Opportunist sighed, already feeling exhausted just from that, and he finally took that moment to look down at himself.

He blinked, but the wrappings around his left foot didn't go away.

It was at that moment that Opportunist realised that he couldn't really feel much from his left foot, other than a faint ache and a tingling sensation. He tried wiggling his toes, but the wrappings were so tight that it didn't leave much room for movement.

He then looked down at himself, noticing some bandages wrapped around his sides, but the main thing that Opportunist was concerned about was the handmade sling around his right arm, and that same soreness as in his foot.

He felt his breathing begin to pick up, but before he could spiral and panic, Hero leaned forward and rubbed his back, and Opportunist hated how much that worked.

"I know it looks bad, but you're gonna be just fine. I promise you."

"What happened?" Opportunist whispered, not able to take his eyes off his broken body.

Hero sighed in irritation, but his hold on Opportunist remained soft and firm. "You got hit with one of the boulders."

"What?" Opportunist blurted out, his body trying to lean forward in shock, but Hero's hands kept him in place.

Hero shook his head in annoyance as he said, "It was this dumb bet that Stubborn made with Cold. Cold wanted to see how far Stubborn could throw the boulders, but when that wasn't entertaining him anymore, Stubborn thought it meant Cold wasn't impressed with his strength or something. So he decided to do a little trick for us. He bet that he could throw one of the boulders straight over our house."

Hero sighed. "He didn't even notice you were in the air when he threw it."

Opportunist got hit with a boulder? Well, it definitely felt like it, but still- it was hard to process.

He tried to smile, to let Hero know that everything was okay and that he was absolutely not freaking out- but then he felt a small sting on his cheek, and Hero gave him a small smile, cupping said cheek with his hand, making Opportunist freeze.

He didn't know why he froze. It was just Hero being concerned for him. Hero was like that with everybody, it shouldn't have made Opportunist crave his warmth and touch, especially when he hasn't done anything to deserve it right now.

"Both your arm and foot are broken, and you've got a few cuts here and there as well, but Paranoid and Hunted say that you'll be better in a few weeks, maybe a month or two."

"A month or two?" Opportunist blurted out in shock, and Hero winced in sympathy and nodded.

Okay-okay-this was fine. This was completely manageable. Opportunist's gone through worse. He can handle some broken bones- that won't stop Opportunist from doing his part and proving his worth to to the flock. If anything, living with these injuries will make him seem even more useful to the others.

He chuckled, if only to get rid of the nerves in his chest, and he tried to distract himself by reaching for the glass of water, but his body immediately screamed in protest at the tiny movement.

Hero was instantly up and moving as Opportunist accidentally let a whimper out, reaching over to grab the glass himself, but instead of just handing it to Opportunist, Hero lifted the glass up to his lips with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Oppy- we'll take care of you. You won't have to do anything while you're recovering, so just relax, yeah?"

Hero was smiling as he helped him take a drink of water-but the only thing that Opportunist was feeling in that moment was horror.

Opportunist couldn't do anything for himself now. He couldn't work or help out or do anything to show that he was useful to the flock now.

If Opportunist couldn't prove that he was worth keeping, then what was the point of him being here?

An hour or two later, Opportunist was greeted with Paranoid and Hunted coming into his room, worry evident in both of their eyes.

He tried to flash them a confident smile, ignoring how that only made the cut on his cheek hurt more. "Hello, gentlemen!" he greeted cheerfully, but they both clearly had a mission on their minds, giving Opportunist nothing more than a nod and a mumble of a hello in return.

Opportunist had a fairly good idea of what they were here to do. He knew it would be better to just play along.

"How has your day been?" he asked them, watching as Hunted lingered near the end of the bed, while Paranoid walked up to him.

He met Paranoid's gaze, who just gave him the most scathing look he's ever seen. His eyes scanned up and down Opportunist's body with a clinical edge, and Opportunist fought the urge to squirm on the spot.

Paranoid then sat near him on the bed, his attention on the various cuts around his body. "My day," Paranoid slowly said, an underlying tone of anxious frustration to be heard, "started with watching one of my flockmates almost get crushed by a rock."

Paranoid shot him a glare, before taking out a roll of bandages, and Opportunist struggled to keep the smile on his face.

"I need to change the bandages for your cuts," Paranoid explained, and Opportunist just gave him a nod as if he had any say in the matter.

He distracted himself by looking over at Hunted, who's attention was on Opportunist's foot, while holding a pillow to his chest.

Opportunist quickly connected the dots and flashed Hunted a smile that he hoped reassured the other, trying to lift his injured foot up. "Let me help you there-"

But he suddenly hissed in pain as his foot throbbed in protest, and Paranoid sat up with a scowl, putting his hands firmly on his shoulders to stop him from moving too much.

"Stop moving, you idiot!" Paranoid hissed at him, and he felt a gentle hand around his ankle, softly rubbing it up and down, and Opportunist hated that it worked.

While Opportunist waited for the pain to die down, Hunted was quick to carefully rest his foot on the pillow, while Paranoid kept one hand on his shoulder and the other to start unwrapping the bandages.

He felt Hunted's alert eyes on him, and he tried to laugh all of their worries off, trying to ignore any lingering pain.

"I'll be fine, you guys! You don't have to worry so much." He felt Paranoid's hand squeeze his shoulder in annoyance at his wording, but he just continued, "You saw what happened. I got hit by a boulder and I'm still basically in one piece, only some minor injuries to be had. If you ask me, I'd say that just means I'm that sturdy. I could probably endure anything that the flock faces-"

"You were lucky."

Opportunist froze, eyes staring at Hunted in confusion. "W-What?"

"You were lucky, not sturdy," Hunted corrected, keeping a protective hand atop his foot. "If you hadn't turned around when you did, you might not be here right now. Your spine would have snapped in half most likely-not to mention that it would've destroyed your wings beyond repair."

Opportunist suddenly looked down at his wings, trying and failing to imagine a world where he didn't have his wings to flaunt, or to make him look good in front of others. Could that have actually happened to him?

He felt a reassuring pat on his foot, and when he looked up again, Hunted gave him another pat with a nod. "But don't worry," he said. "We won't take that luck for granted."

Paranoid spoke up then, almost finished changing his wrappings, "We're gonna make sure that you heal all in one piece," he promised, and Opportunist believed that that was the nicest thing Paranoid has ever said to him.

But then he continued with, "For once, you don't have to do anything to get us to help you. You just get to sit back and let us do all the work."

That- didn't sit right with Opportunist. The longer he did nothing, the sooner everyone would realise that they didn't need him at all.

Surely they'd understand that, in time? Opportunist couldn't afford to let himself relax, not when his position in the flock was on the line. What if the others started thinking that Opportunist isn't actually that important, or that they don't want a repeat of this incident, or that Opportunist was weak for letting this happen to him?

So many possibilities for how this could go, and Opportunist couldn't even attempt to play the game in his favour. He had to just let his worries fester in his head while Hunted and Paranoid tended to him like a helpless fledgling.

One of the things that Opportunist hadn't been prepared for while being bedridden, was how incredibly bored he would be.

Over the past few days, Opportunist has done nothing but sit and stare at the door, waiting for someone to walk in and talk to.

Hero checked in on him every morning, but Opportunist tried to keep their chats short because Hero kept giving him soft and sympathetic looks, offering to help him into more comfortable positions with a gentle touch that made Opportunist tense up.

He didn't like how nice Hero was being, especially when all Opportunist was doing was taking up Hero's day.

Hunted and Paranoid saw him everyday as well, and Opportunist always tried to convince them that his pain wasn't that bad today and he can walk around, or that his healing was going great and that he'd probably be recovered by the end of the week.

They never bought it.

Opportunist couldn't exactly hide a broken bone, and every time that his pain got bad enough that he needed to call for Hunted to bring him a salve, he felt it was just another betrayal of his body.

He hasn't seen Stubborn yet.

Right now, he was flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling and trying to come up with excuses to leave his bedroom. It wasn't going well.

"You've certainly looked better."

Opportunist lifted his head, seeing Cold and Contrarian standing at the foot of his bed, both giving him a curious look.

This was officially his lowest point.

"How's it going there, patient?" Contrarian cheerfully asked, strolling up to him and giving his bandaged foot a interested glance.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you had even a feather out of place," Cold commented, trailing a finger from Opportunist's foot all the way up to his knee. "You've always liked to keep a perfect appearance."

Opportunist shivered at the touch, hoping it didn't show.

"Is there anything I can help you boys with?" Opportunist asked, hearing the sleepiness in his voice, but praying the other two didn't.

Contrarian shook his head, deflating any hope that Opportunist had left. "Nah, we just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"I'm fine," he lied, switching his attention from Contrarian to Cold, who was just staring at his injuries in intrigue.

Opportunist tried to lift his head up enough and put on a steady enough smile as he asked, "Are you here to thank me?"

Cold stopped, blinked, and then looked up at him.

Opportunist smiled wider. "I was told you wanted Stubborn to entertain you. Surely this was the most amusing outcome for you." Maybe if Opportunist just made himself favourable, or at the very least, amusing to these two, then maybe they'll help him get out of the room.

Was it obvious that Opportunist was running out of options?

Cold held his stare for a few seconds, before Contrarian broke the tension by bursting out laughing.

"Oppy!" Contrarian exclaimed in joyous shock. "I didn't know you made jokes like that!"

"I'm a bird of many talents," Opportunist replied, and Contrarian snorted with a shake of his head.

His attention was brought back to Cold when he hummed in thought, and Opportunist watched as Cold studied him, getting closer and closer to his side.

Cold walked until his shadow was practically covering Opportunist completely, and then all he said was, "I would hate to be stuck in this stuffy room all day."

That- sounded like Cold was sympathising with Opportunist. But why? Why weren't they laughing at his pathetic state? Why weren't they giving him something that he could use?

"Yeah," Contrarian agreed with a grimace, glancing around the room. "I can hardly stay still for even two minutes. I dunno how you can deal with this, Oppy."

Quickly, Opportunist shook off the confusion and frustration, giving Contrarian a wink and saying, "Well, you know me- I have impeccable patience, and I have a million ideas for the flock in my head. I'm constantly thinking about how to improve our lives."

Yeah, sure, he was laying it on thick, but how else was he going to convince them that he was trying to be useful even in this state?

Contrarian shrugged as a response, and Cold just stared at him, so maybe his efforts were wasted on these two.

Cold looked him up and down, gaze lingering on the many cuts on his body, making Opportunist squirm and want to just turn invisible at this moment, and said, "The last thing I would be thinking about in your state, would be other people's lives."

Opportunist gulped, trying not to let his nerves and fear show in that moment, at the fact that not only did Cold and Contrarian not care about his problem, but that they were also seeing through his words.

Maybe Opportunist was too emotionally and physically tired to notice how bad his persuasion had gotten, but it was clear that these two would be of no use to him.

He waited for them to grow bored and leave, but instead, Contrarian smiled down at him and said, "Well, it's your lucky day, dear patient, because we've decided to keep you company!"

"What?" Opportunist blurted out, unable to hide his surprise. Cold and Contrarian wanted to hang out with him?

"Yeah," Contrarian said with a grin, and then casually sat on Opportunist's left, making himself comfortable as he leaned back against the bedrest. While Opportunist was struggling to sit up properly, Cold silently came up to sit on his right, effectively trapping him between them, with no way to sit up and face them normally. Great.

Contrarian continued, "We figured that you'd be going crazy in here all on your own-"

"I am perfectly fine-"

"-and we decided to hang out here with you."

Opportunist waved his good hand in the air. "Oh, you boys really don't have to do that. I'm managing quite well on my-ow!"

Opportunist glared up at Cold, who had started to poke at his broken arm, and he attempted to lean his body away from Cold's curious fingers, but then that only pushed him further into Contrarian's side, and that instantly had him flushing in mortification.

"Could you please stop doing that?" Opportunist asked sternly, and Cold obliged, but his finger still hovered in the air menacingly.

Opportunist sighed deeply. "Look, I appreciate the concern, boys, but-"

"What was it like when your bones snapped in half?" Cold suddenly asked, and Opportunist was left dumbfounded for a second, before he collected his thoughts and shrugged. "I don't remember much of the moment. It was like I blinked and then there was darkness."

Cold slumped back against the bed. "That's disappointing."

"Yeah," Contrarian agreed, folding his arms behind his head. "I bet it was like, the second you touched the rock, because Hero said birds have hollow bones, so it must've been easy to break."

"Do you think you would've lost consciousness?" Cold asked, and Opportunist just stared at the ceiling, wishing he could contribute something meaningful to the conversation, but coming up with nothing.

"I don't think I would've," Contrarian replied, "I would've wanted to see all the action, from start to finish!" Then Contrarian lightly nudged Opportunist as he added, "I would bet an arm and a leg on it!"

Then Opportunist laughed.

No, what's worse-he snorted.

He froze as soon as the sound left his mouth, and then there was silence in the room, and Opportunist could feel their shocked eyes on him.

He blamed his boredom. He blamed the exhaustion and pain his body was in. He blamed anything and everything because how could he have slipped up like that?

Opportunist waited for the moment that they started to mock him-but to his surprise, Contrarian just chuckled, ruffled the top of his head, and kept talking.

Opportunist didn't trust himself to speak from that moment on, so he just kept quiet, letting Cold and Contrarian talk amongst themselves, appalled at himself for doing something so stupid and unheard of from him?

But as the minutes passed, Opportunist's mind was struggling to continue berating him, as he was slowly being lulled to sleep, the warmth of the other two pressed against him, and the gentle sound of their voices, all helped to make Opportunist fall asleep.

He knew it was dangerous to fall asleep so vulnerable around others, but the other two just made everything feel so light and carefree, and Opportunist's mind was starting to feel calm for once.

He fell asleep between Cold and Contrarian, and it was a much more peaceful sleep than he's had in a long time.

(To be continued)

#slay the princess #stories #my writing #stp opportunist #stp #stp voices #stp hero #stp hunted #stp cheated #stp cold #stp contrarian #stp paranoid #stp smitten #Wow Devil why do you keep slamming Oppy into rocks? It's because I couldn't come up with another way to break that rat's bones

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