I don't normally write anything, but sometimes I daydream things about my characters that insist on being written.
This is a memory. Hopefully you'll figure out what of easily enough.
The ending is a little choppy and rushed in my opinion, but I couldn't figure out how to make it flow better.

---

"Mother...what are those?"

"Those are birds, dear."

"Birds?"

"Yes."

"...how are they up in the sky like that?"

"They're flying."

"Flying?"

A nod.

"...can we fly?"

A chuckle. "Of course not, dear."

"Oh."

A short pause.

"Why do birds fly?"

A headtilt. "To go places."

"...places outside of here?"

"...if they wish to, yes."

Another pause.

"Do you have to fly to go places?"

A blink. "No..."

"Then...can we go places?"

"...well..."

An expectant look, hoping for an answer.

"...I think that's enough questions for today, deer."

"But--"

"Toukan."

"--..."

A sigh at that chastised look.

"Listen...dear--"

"The humans won't let us go anywhere, will they."

A question that was more of a statement. A statement completely unexpected from a young one.

"...no."

"Why not?"

"They're...keeping us safe."

A sudden pique of interest. "Safe from what?"

"..." A moment of debate, broken finally by the insistence of those pale eyes. "It can be dangerous outside of here."

"But...the humans are outside of here. And they go anywhere they want!"

"They know the risks."

A look that asked, almost demanded, explanation.

Another sigh.

"The world is run by humans. They know how it works. So they know what dangers there are and how to deal with them."

"..." A sudden flash of wisdom to those eyes. "Are they better than us?"

A moment of hesitation, of indecision, of not knowing what answer to give. "...no."

"Then we should be allowed to go where we want like they do instead of letting them keep us here."

A look of surprise...followed by exasperation quickly becoming annoyance. "Toukan. You don't what dangers the world holds. We could quite easily get hurt by not knowing. But, we do know this: here it's safe. Here we have food, a warm place to sleep, and here there is no danger to hurt us. Now stop this questioning this instant."

The questioning did stop.

But the thinking did not.

...and it all started with a bird.