Here's chapter 4. I'm a bit stuck on 5, though I know what I want to do with it, so if it's not out by tomorrow, I'll try to post it the day after.
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"On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me . . ."
Oh, for the love of-
"4 Colly Birds
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree"
Ace lay back down and closed his eyes, not bothering to wake up completely. It wasn't worth it.
"Shishishi!"
And with that, Luffy left the treehouse.
oOo
Ace and Locks were looking for wolves (for skins) when it occurred to Ace that he didn't have an idea of what colly birds were. Feeling a little frustrated, he stopped dead, causing Locks to walk into his back since she was too busy staring up at the trees to pay attention.
She tugged on Ace's shirt. When she had his attention, she pointed up. Following her finger, Ace had to stare as well.
The forest was eerily silent as the birds looked down on them with beady eyes. They were completely surrounded.
oOo
Luffy peered down holes and under rocks. But he couldn't find any colly birds. He didn't know what a colly bird was either, yet he was determined to find four of them.
oOo
Ace decided to ignore the birds. He kept walking, quietly. Locks followed, still looking uneasily up at the birds.
"I don't like them." She whispered nervously.
"They're just birds." He replied.
oOo
Luffy returned to the treehouse. He peered through the doorway to see if the mystery birds had magically decided to roost there. Unfortunately, there were no birds in the treehouse.
oOo
"Colly."
Ace stopped dead, though Locks didn't walk into him this time.
"Did you say something?" he asked.
"It was one of the birds." Locks informed him.
"Birds can't talk." Ace said.
"What about parrots?" she questioned.
"These birds can't talk." He assured her.
And they kept walking, the creepy beady-eyed birds following them. Apart from their footsteps, everything was quiet.
oOo
Luffy found himself on a clifftop. No mystery birds here. Although, there was a giant bird chased him, and he screamed in excitement as he raced away.
oOo
A scream echoed through the woods, sending shivers up Ace's spine. He pretended not to hear it, though he heard Locks mutter something in her language, a series of strange rustles and hisses he didn't understand even if Luffy could. Ace decided then and there that he would get Locks to teach him her language, if only so he could insult people and birds without them understanding him. The likelihood of him meeting anyone who could speak the language was lower than the chance of him meeting another dragon, if some of the things Locks said were anything to go by. She was happy to share stuff about dragons, though it was mostly folklore and social customs. He especially liked the story of the Queen of Thunder, because-
"Colly."
Ace was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound.
"Stop that." he said to Locks irritably. She scowled at him.
"Wasn't me. It was the bird."
Before he could reply, the sound came again.
"Colly."
Ace froze. Since he was looking right at her, he knew that Locks hadn't said that. he slowly looked up, right into the beady eyes of one of the birds.
"Colly." The bird said.
oOo
Luffy sat on a rock, pouting as he pondered where he could find four mystery colly birds. He'd looked everywhere, except for the-
Trees. Duh! Birds lived in trees!
Luffy scaled the nearest one.
"Here, colly! Here colly bird!" he called, going from tree to tree.
oOo
"Colly."
"Colly!"
"Colly."
All around them, the birds sang out the same word over and over again.
"Colly!"
"Colly!"
"COLLY!"
They were getting louder and louder. Beside him, Locks grimaced and covered her ears.
"Can I electrocute them?" she asked.
"Colly!"
"COLLY!"
They were driving Ace crazy.
"Go ahead." He muttered through gritted teeth. Just before Locks could do anything, however . . .
"Colly birds! I found them!" Luffy yelled happily as he fell out of a nearby tree. Ace face-palmed.
Then the fireworks began, the three running for their lives as the enraged birds chased them. Apparently, colly birds don't like it when you electrocute their friends.
