Virgil needed to stay calm.

Now was not the time to freak out.
But how could he not freak out right now?!? He had three men from the outside laying unconscious in the middle of his living room!

He leaned back against a wall, dropping the frying pan he'd grabbed earlier with a clang as he covered his face with his hands and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his knees pressed to his chest. He took a few deep shaky breaths, doing his best to remain calm and not panic.

There was no need to panic. None at all. He had sent Remy out to see if there was anyone else outside, and the raven would be back soon, hopefully to tell him that there was no one else.

He slowly spread his fingers and peaked through the cracks to look at the stone still bodies in front of him.

Wait...bodies shouldn't be that still should they?

What if he had killed them??? He didn't check if they were dead or not yet!

He groaned and recovered his face as he curled up on himself even more. No no no, he couldn't have killed them, right? A small whack to the head couldn't kill someone, right?

That sounded actually rather violent now that he thought about it.

He shuddered and began to take deep breaths in order to help himself calm down and focus on the current situation he was in.

He continued to breath deeply for a few minutes as he slowly began to calm down.
He finally uncovered his face entirely and looked out the window right as Remy was flying back inside.

He sighed in relief as the bird landed on his knee.

"Is there anyone else?" He asked as he gently scratched the top of the birds head.
Remy shook his head no and flapped his wings a little bit.

Virgil smiled and let out another relieved sigh as he leaned back against the wall."thanks rem, I'll give you those sweet berries you like and a small slice of bread later." He said, which made the bird hop around on his knee excitedly, making Virgil's smile grow a little bit.

He eventually looked back at the three, hopefully, unconscious men and took a deep breath before standing up, making Remy fly off of his knee and a few feet away to perch on the back of a chair to watch.

Virgil picked up his frying pan and cautiously stepped towards the men.
They didn't look as dangerous as father had made them seem when he talked about people from outside.

Remy cawed at him, gaining Virgil's attention.

The bird then flew towards the crude painting of the man with sharp pointy teeth his father had shown him earlier, and pecked at the figures mouth a few times before turning to look at the men.
Virgil nodded in understanding, and turned back to the men.

He kneeled down to the one with fluffy blond hair and glasses, he looked the least threatening compared to the other two, and hesitated for a few seconds before carefully using the handle of the frying pan to move his upper lip up, revealing the mans teeth.

Huh.
They were flat, just like Virgil's and father's, nothing at all like the painting or what father had said.

He pulled the frying pan back and stood up as he took another shaky deep breath.
He looked at the two other men before groaning softly and moving to sit in the chair Remy was perched on.

How did this happen?

Why him?

-not that long ago-

Virgil was woken up by Remy urgently pecking at his ribs. And not the fun little playful pecks he usually did, but sharp painful ones that quickly had Virgil awake.

"Woah rem," he began as he sat up with a yawn."what's wrong?" He asked sleepily.
Remy flapped his wings before flying out of Virgil's room.

Virgil followed him but didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the living room.

He frowned slightly and moved to the kitchen. Maybe Remy was hungry?

He got out a handfull of nuts from the cupboard when he heard a soft thump, he glanced over at Remy -who was perched on the back of a chair behind him.

Panic began to run through Virgil's veins, making the teen freeze as he breath caught in his throat.

What was that noise? Could it be Father? No, no father would have called him for the ropes.....

Could it be another bird? No, that was to loud to be a bird-

His thoughts were cut off by another soft thump and Virgil quickly looked around for anything to defend himself with, his mind instantly going to a worst case scenario situation.

He reached over and snatched the frying pan off of the stove and held the object close to his chest as he slowly creeped forward, staying in the shadows near the walls.

He peeked around the corner and saw an unfamiliar man standing there with his back to him.

Virgil glanced over at Remy, who puffed out his chest and ruffled his feathers.

Virgil bit his lip and nodded. He took a deep breath before slowly creepy forward, staying behind the man as he raised his frying pan.

He saw the man turn and quickly swung down, hitting him in the back of his head with the hard iron frying pan, the sound of the metal hitting his skull being a mix between a sickening clang and or crack.

The man collapsed to the ground and Virgil quickly walked around him, holding the frying pan out threateningly just in case he was going to get back up.

Virgil eventually lowered the frying pan when the man didn't move for a couple of seconds, his heart hammering in his chest as he anxiously waited to see if anything would happen.

He turned and looked at Remy, eyes wide.
"What just happened?" He asked quietly as the shock began to to settle in.

"I just...I-I just hit someone with a frying pan." He said as he looked at the kitchen-utensil-made-weapon in his hands before looking back at the body.

"What do I do with it?" He asked the bird as he gestured to the collapsed heap on the ground, not getting a response except for a few blinks.

He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly.
"Oh gosh this is not what I needed right after that argument with father..." he trailed off.

"Father," He said again starting to panic again."oh no no no no, father can't know anyone else was here or he'll lock up the tower or he'll make us move or live underground or something." He said.

He didn't get to see the sun that much as it was, and wouldn't be able to at all if they lived underground.

"Remy what am I going to do?" He asked as he looked over at the bird.

Remy ruffles his feathers before flying over and landing on Virgil's head, where he began to peck at his scalp.

"Hey! What are you doi-" Virgil cut himself off as he heard scraping outside the window.

Was that someone else?!?
He quickly ducked into the shadows and hid behind the mirror, clutching the frying pan tightly and close to his chest.

After a few seconds he saw an arm swing over the side of the sill, and watched as another man pulled himself up and into the tower.

The man wasn't as distracted or in awe as the first, and quickly rushed over to the collapsed man, mumbling something as he knelt next to them and began to try and wake him up.

Virgil looked over Remy, who looked back at him for a second before quickly pretending to smack his head on a book that was on the table.

Virgil gulped but nodded at the bird.
He began to slowly creep forwards the kneeling man, trying to be as quiet as he could so that the man didn't hear him and turn around.

The man didn't react until Virgil was standing right behind him, and Virgil was quickly to slam the pan down onto the back of his head when the man began to look behind himself.

The male fell forwards on top of the other man, his glasses clattering to the ground, and didn't move.

Virgil took a few shaky breaths before moving to set the frying pan down.
"Hey Rem?" Virgil began quietly as he walked over to the bird.

"Would you mind guarding the window? I just need a quick minute." He said as he sat down in the chair and took a deep breath.

Remy ruffled his feathers and cawed softly before flying over to the window and perching on the sill, facing the outside.

Virgil slumped forward and buried his face in his arms against the table, doing his best to calm down and not panic.

He turned his head to look at the two men on his floor after a few minutes.

They could be dangerous...
He stood up and walked over to the storage closet to look around for something to tie them up with, deciding that it would be better to have them restrained in case they woke up and were actually dangerous.

He eventually found some old ropes that had become damaged over the years by the pulley system and were now to worn out to be able to support father's weight and carry him up to the top -but they should work for restraining two men, right?

He turned back to the two still figures on his floor as he began to unwrap the old ropes.

He knelt beside one of them -not until he had grabbed his frying pan again, wanting to be safe than sorry- the one with the dark hair and glasses. He rolled the tall male off of the one with the brown hair, before reaching over for the rope he had set down.

But then Remy started squawking and making a fuss, which in turn made Virgil freeze and jerk his head to look over at the bird.

He watched as Remy pecked at another mans face that had popped up over the edge windowsill, before quickly rushing over as the man lost his grip and began to fall backwards.

He just barely managed to wrap his hands around one of the male's wrists, and yanked as hard as he could, causing the man to cry out softly as he was forcefully pulled through the window.

Virgil, despite being a lanky twig of a human being, was actually decently strong -upper body wise- due to his own climbing of the walls in order to paint more, all of his excessive chores and activities, and needing to pull and lower his 180 pound to 200 pound father up and down the tall tower multiple times a day.

The man stumbled a bit before regaining his footing, but by then Virgil was moving on auto-pilot and already had the frying pan back in his hands from when he'd dropped it in his hurry, and raised above his head -ready to swing as the man turned around.

Which is what he did, accidentally cutting the man off from whatever he was going to say.

-back to the present-

He looked at the ropes he had gotten out to tie up the first two.

"I should probably tie them up shouldn't I..." He mumbled to himself.

He reluctantly stood up and walked over to the three men, carefully picking up the rope.

He glanced over at Remy to see if the bird had any input, but he only stared back at him blankly as he cocked his head to the side.

Virgil sighed before kneeling next to the one with the dark hair and glasses, beginning to tie him up as carefully as he could while still making the ropes tight and secure.

He did the same to the other two, but it took a while, much longer than Virgil would have liked.

"So...what now?" Virgil asked as he looked over at Remy, who did the birds equivalent of a shrug, making Virgil sigh again.

"Well...I can't let father know they are here..." he said as he stared at the men, chewing on his lip nervously.

"And I can't get them out of the tower by myself..." he mumbled as he began to look around.

Maybe he could hide them somewhere in the tower? It'd only be temporary, He have to figure something else out later when he had more time.

He thought about putting them under his bed, but they could roll out when they woke up, and they couldn't fit in the cupboards...

He continued to look until his eyes landed on his large wardrobe that was currently filled with all of the clothes he'd made over the years. That could probably work... if he took some of the clothes out.

He could put them in there and then cover them up with some of the clothes just in case father looked inside for some reason.

He nodded to himself as he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it up.

He took about half of the stuff out and set it all in a large pile on the floor a few feet away, before turning back to the men.

"They can't be heavier than father." He mumbled to himself as he walked over to the smallest one, the blonde with the glasses and freckles.

He carefully hooked his arms under the males knees and under his shoulders before slowly lifting him up, the mans head lolling back limply in a way that made Virgil gulp and shudder as he stood up all the way and shifted his hold on him so he had a more secure grip.

He carefully shuffled towards the wardrobe before awkwardly setting him inside, finding the action to be a little difficult with the mans limp-ness.

He turned back and quickly carried the other two as well, though they were a bit heavier than the first.
He eventually had all three men in his closet, all piled up together awkwardly and he knew that they'd be uncomfortable when they woke up.

He quickly gathered up the clothes he'd taken out of the closet and began to put them back inside, arranging them so that they covered the three men and didn't look too  awkward or suspicious.

He sighed softly as he closed the doors of the wardrobe, and set a chair down in front of it just to be safe.

"That doesn't look weird, does it?" He asked Remy as he glanced between the bird and the wardrobe.

Remy shook his head no, which made Virgil smiled."thanks rem." He said.

He then look around the room to see if he'd missed any sign of the men being there, wanting the room to look as normal as possible for when father came back
His eyes eventually caught sight of a satchel near the windowsill. It wasn't one of fathers, so it must have belonged to the men.

He walked over and carefully picked it up.
Should he look inside of it? Does that count as an invasion of privacy? But, to be fair, they broke into my home which is basically an invasion of privacy.

He decided that he should look inside the bag, but would a few minutes.
He'd open it after he'd gotten Remy his sweet berries and bread like he'd promised the bird he would earlier.

He sat the small dish of berries and bread down in front of the overjoyed bird a few minutes later before pulling the satchel over to him and carefully opened it.

Inside was a few things, a crumpled piece of paper, what looked like a shirt and a small container of food, but something caught his eye deeper down.

He dumped out the contents of the bag, and something large, metal, and sparkly fell out on top.

Virgil picked it up and looked at it curiously, wondering what it was.

It was a ring of metal with some elegant and twists and mends in the metal with several precious gems fitted perfectly into gaps between the twisting and curling silver metal.

It was beautiful.

Remy, who had been previously distracted by his snack, was now staring at it, a low caw rumbling in his throat as he slowly leaned forward and began to peck at one of the larger circular gems, only for Virgil to gently shoo him away.
He carefully put the beautiful object back inside the bag before looking at the other objects.

The shirt and food was quickly put back into the bag, along with a couple more little trinkets.

He unfolded the paper, carefully smoothening out the creases so he could clearly see the poster.

It was a wanted poster, with three men on it.
Two had glasses, one tall with dark hair, the other slightly shorter with curly hair, the third didn't have glasses, but his hair swooped up in a messy yet elegant way.
They were the same men he currently had tied up in his closet.

"Remy they're criminals." He said as he held the poster out to the bird so he could see.

Remy stared at the poster before pecking at it a few times before losing interest and turning back to his berries.

"Oh come on rem, don't you think that's a little important? I have literal criminals in my closet." He said as he waved at the closet.

Remy shrugged as he ate his berries, which annoyed virgil.

"Fine then, I guess it's okay as long as you're not worried..." he said, although he still glanced over at the closet warily before stuffing the poster back into the satchel.

The two eventually began to chat about random things, Virgil wanting to distract himself so he could stay calm.

"No remy, we are not going to make another pie -or a cake." He said with a laugh as the bird huffed."I'll make one tomorrow or the day after though." He said, which seemed to make the bird happier.

He cawed at Virgil while also semi-miming what he meant to help the teen understand.

"What about the three of them?" He asked as he glanced over at the wardrobe.
Remy puffed out his chest and began to strut around proudly before gently pecking Virgil's hand.

"...Are you saying I was brave?" He asked, earning and eager nod from the bird.

"Okay, um, thank you?" He said, growing confused as the raven flew towards the windowsill and nodded his head towards the outside while looking at Virgil.

"You want to go outside now?" He asked.
Remy shook his head before nodding as well, which only confused Virgil more, which in turn frustrated Remy.

He puffed out his chest and acted 'brave' again before nodding outside.

"...You're saying I'm brave enough to go outside?" He asked warily.

Remy nodded vigorously.

"But father said I wasn't." Virgil argued, earning the birds equivalent of a glare that practically said 'are you kidding me?'.

Virgil sighed."I don't know rem...this was different." He said."I had the upper hand, and they weren't armed." He said as he looked at the closet.

Remy huffed and flew back over to Virgil, where he began to peck at his fingers in annoyance.

"Hey, stop that." Virgil said with a small glare as he pulled his hands away and tucked them into his sleeves so the bird couldn't get them any more.

Remy stopped his foot angrily and turned around so he wasn't looking at Virgil, his feathers puffing up a clear sign of the birds annoyance.

Virgil sighed, and hesitated a few seconds before speaking.

"Here," Virgil began, biting his lip."I'll...I'll try to talk to Father about it again when he gets back," he said reluctantly."Alright?"

Remy turned around to look at Virgil and did a little happy hop dance before flying up and on to his shoulder, butting his head against his cheek.

Virgil laughed softly at the birds antics as he reached up and gently scratched the top of his head, the bird preening proudly in response.

The two continued to chatter for a bit, Virgil occasionally stealing one of Remy's berries, much to the birds annoyance, prompting him to playfully peck at Virgil's fingers as pay back.

Virgil had relaxed and had almost forgotten about the men and the closet and his father, until he was abruptly reminded.

"Oh my little flower!" A voice called from outside."please don't help me up!" His father called.

Virgil gasped and shot up out of his chair, grabbing the satchel and wildly looking around for a place to hide it.

He quickly ran over to the stairs and shoved it into the broken step where he hid all of his secret things -mostly little trinkets Remy brought him from the outside. Father didn't know about it so he wouldn't look there.

"Coming Father!" He called as he scrambled to grab the rope and quickly threaded it through the pulleys to send it down to his father.

"I don't have a surprise for you!" He called as Virgil began to pull him up.
"Really?" Virgil asked as he quickly finished pulling his father up.

"I didn't bring back parsnips." His father said as soon as he stepped inside."I'm not making hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite -surprise!" He said with a grin as he set about helped Virgil pull the rope back out through the pulleys.

"Thank you father." He said with a smile.
"Listen, there's something I wanted to talk to you-"

"Oh you know how I don't hate leaving you right after a fight, especially when I've done everything wrong." He said as he moved to set his bag done on the table, luckily Remy had been smart and had already flown up into the rafters.

"um, well...yes father...Um, so I've been thinking about what you, um, what you said earlier..." he began nervously.

"I hope you're still talking about the stars." His father said, his joyful tone now gone and replaced by a more serious one as he stopped unpacking his bag.

"Well, um floating lights, actually, and i-it kind of is, but father-"

"Cause I thought we hadn't dropped the issue sweetheart." His father continued.

"I-I know Father, but I'm um I'm just saying that...well you had said that I wasn't really strong enough to handle myself out there-"

"Oh I don't know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there." His father interrupted again with an eye roll.

"I know, but father if you'd just-"

"We're not done talking about this-"

"But-just trust me, I know-"

"I said we're not done talking about this-" his father interrupted, this time growing angry.

"But father I-"

"Not enough with the lights!! You are leaving this tower! Ever!" His father yelled, finally losing his temper and shouting at him while also slamming his hands down on the table as he turned to face him.

Virgil sucked in a breath, his eyes widening as he froze, staring at him fearfully. Father got truly terrifying when he was angry.

His father looked at him for another few seconds before groaning softly and rolling his eyes as he moved to sit in a chair.

"Great," he muttered."Now I'm not the bad guy." He said as he rubbed his face.
Virgil bit his lip and hesitated before speaking again, his voice small and quiet.

"A-all I was going t-to say was that...I, um, I f-finally figured out what I wanted for my birthday...." he said as he nervously sat down in the chair in front of the closet, his hands shaking as he took shallow breaths.

"And what isn't that?" His father asked tiredly.

"...n-new paint..." he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around himself so his hands would stop shaking."the um, the one made f-from the white shells you once brought me..."

"Well that isn't a very long trip, almost three days time." He said as he moved his hand and looked at Virgil.

"I just...I thought it was a beater idea than the lig-...the stars." He said as he looked down at his lap.

His father sighed before standing up and walking over to Virgil, who was still looking down, not really wanting to look up.

But, his father put his fingers under his chin, gripping it gently, before turning and tilting his head up so he was looking up at him.

"Are you sure you won't be alright on your own?" He asked, no longer sounding angry.

Virgil hesitated."...I know I'll be safe as long as I'm in the tower." He said.
His father nodded and pulled his hand back.

"Don't come help me pack." He said as he walked back to the table so he could grab his bags again.

Virgil nodded and quickly got up and set about helping his father pack for the long trip.

It took roughly twenty minutes for them to pack everything.

"I won't be back in three days time, on the even of the third day." His father said as he stood in front of the windowsill with Virgil.

"I don't love you very much," He said as he looked down at him.

"I love you more," Virgil responded, looking up at him.

"And I love you most." He father said before climbing out the window and grabbing on to the rope.

Virgil began to lower him down slowly, and waited until his father was all the way down before pulling the rope back up.

He watched his father go, and waved goodbye when he waved at Virgil, before disappearing into the small tunnel that lead to the outside.

He sighed as he pulled the rope out and set it on the table next to the frying pan that was still out.

Remy flew down from the rafters and perched himself on Virgil's shoulder, cawing softly as he butted his head against his cheek comfortingly.

Virgil smiled weakly."thanks rem." He said as he gently scratched the top of the birds head.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at the wardrobe with the three men inside.

He grabbed the frying pan again and slowly walked over to if, pushing the chair aside so that the doors weren't blocked.
He took another deep breath and glanced at Remy before carefully opening the doors to the wardrobe.

Nothing moved for a few seconds.
He then carefully reached forward and shoved the clothes out of the way, only to jerk his hand back with a small gasp once the three men were revealed.

He held his frying pan out threateningly as he look at them, three pairs of wide and somewhat curious eyes blinking back at him.