Finding Them

          Today the four were going to the market for groceries. Techno wanted to try out a new potato stew recipe and Wilbur needed new guitar strings. Tommy followed closely behind the three who were figuring out what they needed. The market was bustling. All of the stands had products, and there was a surplus of people who wanted them.

Tommy didn't like it when the market was busy. There were too many people, perfect for pick pocketing, but Tommy didn't need to rely on that anymore. He still kept his guard up, who knew what could happen with this many people in one place. He knew there were people scheming, he had been one of those people a month ago. He also knew that someone carrying a large piece of metal that had gotten caught on Phil's satchel was also a possibility.

Said man just continued walking after pulling on the metal a bit to get it unhooked, but it ripped a hole in Phil's bag. Scrolls, papers, money all of Phil's belongings were scattered behind him. Tommy snapped out of his head rushing to grab what he could.

"Phil!" The blonde man whipped around concerned. Soon all four were running about trying to retrieve the dropped items. Tommy had grabbed multiple things, but what caught his eye was the scroll Phil had originally asked him to read when they met for the second time. He had enough knowledge of how to read now, didn't he? He could, Tommy decided. He was curious, why had Phil asked him to read it in the first place? They never really had explained anything to him, other than they were looking for their brother. But he could read this now. He could read it and prove to the three just how far he had come. Tommy had some planning to do that night.

When night fell Tommy headed to bed just like he always did, cuddled up next to Wilbur. He waited and listened for Wilbur's breathing to even out before, as naturally as he could, flipped over. He laid in the bed waiting for hours until he knew everyone was asleep. Tommy didn't have to worry about Phil or Wilbur, but Techno was another case. The man looked like he slept like a rock, but woke up to almost every out of place noise.

Tommy carefully pulled back the blankets, slowly getting out of the bed. If he remembered correctly, Phil's satchel should be somewhere by the table. The only problem was he couldn't see anything. If anyone could see him, they'd think he was a zombie with the way he was walking. Eventually, with a lot of care, Tommy found the bag. He quickly grabbed his coat and shoes, taking the satchel with him outside.

Under the light of the moon Tommy found the scroll that Phil had asked him to read a month ago. It was kept nice and neat, but he knew it was old. Should he really be doing this? Was there a reason why Phil hadn't shown him the scroll since? No, if Phil hadn't wanted him to see it, he wouldn't have shown it to him in the first place.

His hands held the scroll tenderly, there's no going back now. He opened the scroll carefully; it wasn't that long but still decent sized. Unlike the first time Tommy was in possession of this scroll, he actually looked at it. The words and markings actually made sense to him.

Years before the king was assassinated, he took the very thing this kingdom was known for, he took the memories with him as well. Restore the balance, starting with yourself.

"ipsum revelare"

Tommy whispered the last line, the moment the words left his mouth a searing pain spread through his shoulder blades. His hands flew to his back, desperately trying to sooth himself. His eyes watered while he frantically tried to pry his coat and shirt off. The top half of his clothing was suffocating, trapping him. Then as quickly as the pain came, it stopped the moment his shirt was thrown off. Tommy sighed, finally, it stopped. When he reached behind him to feel where the pain just was, he was very, very confused, and scared.

What is on my back.

"What the fuck? What the fuck!?" Tommy's hands grasped the soft feathers upon his back. He felt warm despite the snow falling from the sky. When the flakes landed on his skin they melted, instantly evaporating into the air.

Craning his neck, Tommy tried to get a better view of the wings that had sprouted out of his shoulder blades. From what he could see they were a gradient of red to yellow, it almost gave them a glowing effect in the dark night. How did this happen? Two minutes ago he was sat reading a scroll and now he had wings. Tommy was in hysterics, trying to understand what had happened, how it happened. A puddle of water gathered at his feet from his radiating heat. How is this happening?

What was he supposed to do now? He definitely couldn't fit his shirt back on but he could put the cloak over his wings. Maybe that would be enough to conceal them, he hoped so at least. Step one; get his wings to fold down. After five minutes of wrestling with them he finally got them into a somewhat decent position. Once he could keep his wings in place he put on his cloak. The black fabric draped over him, thankfully it hid his wings quite nicely.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't go back to bed; they would find out almost instantly about his two new appendages. He could only imagine what they would do to him if they found out. Tommy decided the only thing he could really do was wait for morning and try to come up with a believable excuse.

He gathered up his shirt and haphazardly threw the scroll back into Phil's satchel before heading back inside. Tommy shut the door behind him as quietly as possible, this consisted of him watching the door continuously until it was shut.

The moment Tommy turned around he was caught like a deer in headlights. He froze, the bag dropping out of his hands. The three he thought were sleeping were sat at the table with a candle lit. Scowls painted Phil's and Wilbur's faces, and if you looked close enough you would see one on Techno's as well.

"What the fuck Tommy?!" Wilbur was the first to say anything, and it just so happened to be yelling. "You're up in the middle of the night, steal Phil's satchel, go outside in the freezing snow and come back shirtless!" Wilbur was seething.

Run.

The room was so hot, the heat was encapsulating his lungs. He tried to breathe, tried to comprehend what they were saying but everything was a blur. He couldn't hear, he couldn't see, he just felt. He felt so hot. It was like someone took his body and threw it in an oven, he felt like he was on fire. Was he on fire? If so, he couldn't remember anymore. Every moment he spent awake, breathing just became more difficult. Like he was trying to inhale underwater, the liquid filling up his lungs and drowning him in the process.

What?

Why are there black dots now?

Why is everything so da-