Author's note: Hi Everybody Strykeruk here. Sorry about the massive gaps between updates. This is gonna be a text heavy chapter as there isn't much actually happening but I had to figure out a way to get the story where I wanted it going.

They'd managed to get Pedro out of the sand quite quickly. Apparently it hadn't been that deep and Pedro had been able to pull himself out after only a little sand was removed. After a small dash away from the slowly approaching people they'd settled down with all apparently forgiven. Frankie had just alighted down on the sand again when Pedro cleared his throat.

"Well I think it's time for that swim." He said stretching. "Who's game?"

"You bet!" Replied Nico "Race you!" he shouted before zipping toward the water and leaving Pedro surprised. He quickly recovered and charged after Nico.

Janet chuckled. "I have no idea where he gets the energy. Me I'm happy relaxing in the sun." Frankie could only nod in agreement as she proved her point by reclining backwards. However she quickly sat up again clearly struck by a thought.

"Hey Frankie, how's the search for a partner going?" She asked. Frankie sighed inwardly. Ever since losing to Nico a year ago Janet had hoped to find a singing partner to level the playing field. The problem was, like Pedro before her it wasn't a simple case of just finding a good singer, there were plenty of those. It was more complicated as they needed to have a good chemistry on stage. The only person who was close was Flora but she was already part of a group.

"It's tough." He replied but seeing her expression fall he quickly tried to change the mood. "But hey it's carnival! If ever there was going to be a time to find a partner this is it."

"I suppose" She replied but Frankie could see she wasn't convinced.

"Tell you what, if I find anyone I'll direct them to the Branch, it seems to be one of your more regular haunts. I'll even go home and note it down." He started to stretch and stand up to go.

"Are you sure?" Janet said "You only just started relaxing."

"It's fine, I needed to get some things done anyway". He gave his best reassuring look. "honest."

Janet finally seemed to relent but just as Frankie turned to leave something occurred to her. "How will I know if you do find someone. I can't rely on you telling me."

"Don't worry I'll give the backstage guy at the Branch, Jasper I think, a password. He's got a good memory." Frankie said.

"Sounds good" Replied Janet "I'll probably head over there later, the rest is nice but I can relax when Carnival is over" she said with a smile.

"Awesome, hopefully I'll catch you later." Frankie finally finished before launching upwards and heading for home.

XXX

Jericho sat patiently watching the entire conversation from his perch on the shorefront. Lip reading was a difficult art from this distance but it was a skill he'd perfected over time. It had helped him gather all the information he needed, to know he should follow the sparrow carefully. Therefore when it took flight Jericho spared one more glance at his canary quarry before heading off in pursuit. As before the sparrow didn't seem overly concerned about potentially being followed only making a couple of detours, plenty to lose any casual followers, Jericho however was not easily eluded and effortlessly kept pace. Fairly soon they arrived at small clearing in the jungle wherein the sparrow landed outside a tree hollow before casually entering.

"So this is where the famous Janet and her relations hide?" Thought Jericho to himself. It was certainly secluded. He looked at the hollow where the sparrow had entered and decided that he'd take the time to do some searching rather than more idle waiting. A cursory glance showed half a dozen hollows even though only 4 showed any signs of habitation. Checking the top hollows entrance to make sure the sparrow still hadn't left he darted down to the lowest habited hollow and ducked inside.

The inside of the hollow was sparsely decorated; the main feature was a single nest at the far side that was surprisingly well kept, someone clearly valued a good night's sleep. There was a small branch stuck into the wall as if to hang something on with a small cloth and what looked like polish nearby but otherwise it was clear that whoever lived here spent much more time out and about. Slightly disappointed Jericho quickly flitted to the next hollow, only slightly higher than the last, after quickly listening to make sure the sparrow was still in place.

This hollow, whilst still clearly more of a resting place rather than a home, was far more cluttered than the last. There was what appeared to be memorabilia from competitions against one wall whilst there were also the remains of food wrappers and containers, none of it too healthy. Jericho slowly shook his head in despair. Whoever 'lived' here clearly had body mass to spare. He was starting to get concerned at the lack of sound coming from the top hollow but nevertheless he left the hollow he was in a flew up to the penultimate one.

This hollow was on the opposite side of the clearing to the other two. Despite this it had a good view of them and it was immediately apparent that it was far more of a home. The outside branch leading into the hollow was clear of debris and the entrance itself had a curtain of leaves. Pushing this aside Jericho whistled in approval at the home he found himself in. As with the other hollow the main feature was a nest to the far side. However the major difference was in the décor. There was a small stainless steel tray propped against the wall next to the entrance which acted as a mirror of sorts. There was also a small assortment of cosmetics next to what resembled a table lent against the far wall. The table obviously doubled as a kitchen and dining space as it had dozens of talon marks from food being chopped. The nest itself was also quite well kept with barely any stray twigs pointing out of it. All in all, despite having the most in it, the hollow seemed the best utilised. Finishing looking around Jericho couldn't help but remark on the lack of noise from above.

"What the hell is that Sparrow doing?" he muttered to himself before resolving to wait just a little longer.

XXX

Janet had watched Frankie fly away before turning back to watch her brother and Pedro roughhousing in the ocean. Despite the light of the sun she could feel herself slowly drifting off to sleep in the warmth. However before she got that far she heard approaching footsteps and opened her eyes to see Nico walking over, slightly out of breath.

"Hey sis, where'd Frankie go?" he asked glancing around curiously.

"He said something important had come up that he just remembered about" She replied quickly, not wanting to give away that it was partly her fault.

"Don't worry I'm sure he'll turn up later." She added.

Nico looked at his sister resting on the sand. "And what about you? What're your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Well I had planned on taking the day of and just relaxing..." she trailed off into thought

"But?" Nico prompted, easily recognising the indecision

"but I can rest plenty after Carnival." Janet replied "I reckon I'm going to head back to the branch for the day, see if there's anything going on"

"Sounds awesome. Pedro and I are definitely chillaxing today but tomorrow it's non-stop party!"

"Hell yeah" Pedro said having wandered over and heard what Nico said. "It's gonna be poppin!" He quickly high-fived Nico making Janet chuckle.

Janet stretched making her back click. "Speaking of popping" she said with a smile before standing up.

"Well I'm off" She stated before giving Nico a quick hug and Pedro a fist bump. "I'll catch you guys around" With that she flew into the air and towards the city.

XXX

By now Jericho had gotten highly suspicious of the lack of noise coming from the above hollow. It seemed impossible that the sparrow could have gotten out without his hearing. After waiting another few minutes he decided to risk it and check for himself. To that end he carefully flew up to the edge of the last and highest, of the hollows and pressed himself against the edge of the entrance. Hearing nothing he slowly glanced around the corner only to find, to his shock that nobody was inside. The inside of the hollow was cluttered with odds and ends, trinkets and objects stacked atop each other. A small nest lay in one corner but what caught Jericho's eye was a small simple chest with a clear path through the clutter. Moving around the corner Jericho was suddenly surprised when he felt a noose tighten around his foot and hoist him into the air. Quickly regaining his wits he used his metal talons the slice through the rope that suspended him from the ceiling. Landing on his feet he ensured he wasn't in danger before examining the simple trap that had caught him out and mentally berating himself. Looking back into the hollow with a far more critical eye he quickly spotted several similar traps that lay at varying heights across the room till his destination. It was clear someone was rather paranoid, and for once rightly so.

Steeling himself Jericho took a step into the hollow over the remains of the first now defunct trap. What followed were a series of acrobatic manoeuvres that to an untrained outside observer would have seemed continuous and effortless. However the truth was that it was anything but. Jericho was well aware that triggering one trap could be passed off as someone learning their lesson and leaving, any more and instant suspicion would follow. As such every thought he had was dedicated to navigating the path to the chest. He quickly realised there was method to the seeming clutter of the hollow. Anyone larger than the diminutive sparrow (which was most) would find themselves with very little room to move and certainly not enough to fly. As such the process of working through the room was laborious and intense in the concentration required. However after what seemed like hours but in reality was but a few minutes he found himself standing in front of the solitary chest. After checking it thoroughly for any surprises he cautiously opened it.

Inside the chest was a simple notepad along with several items that meant nothing to him. Carefully he picked up the notepad and flicked through it's contents. He caught a few mentions of Janet and her brother but he didn't want to stay for too long so ignored them until he reached the last entry in the book. It explained Frankie's search for a partner for Janet. It also noted the code he'd arranged with someone called Jasper if he was successful. Jericho quickly memorised the code before closed the pad and putting it back in the chest and closing the lid gently. Checking that he hadn't left anything behind he noticed a small recess in the nearby hollow wall. Pushing it open he realised it was how the Sparrow had left without him noticing as it led straight to the outside. Making sure no one was watching he made to leave when the recess snapped shut rapidly behind him. Checking himself he couldn't see any damage so he promptly decided to take his leave and flew off.

Back inside Frankie's hollow the recess had snapped back into place leaving no trace of having been used, except that is, for a single bright yellow feather that slowly drifted to rest on the ground.

Author's note - Hi everyone, sorry this took soooooo long to publish. One problem was simply being busy. Another is that I just couldn't figure out what to write in order to get the story moving the way I wanted it to. Hopefully you don't mind the text wall haha.

Anyway, as always feel free to leave a review or PM me any questions.

Strykeruk out.