Chapter 4 – Runaway Wings, Part II

Dwelling in Paris, France, with a view of the Eiffel Tower across from her home is Kuku Bodine [BO-de-neh], a humanimal—white cockatoo, age eight. The Eiffel Tower was the one place that Kuku loved to go to view the city. It was how she developed her love for sightseeing, whether she was walking inside or flying over Paris. Her parents let her go anywhere she asked about. As a result of this, she has always been a happy, outgoing person. The only strange thing about her was her light pink hair and the way it was arranged. She had two locks of hair held down in front of her eyes by silver barrettes. The rest of her hair was fixed so that if someone was looking directly above her, its form looked like a spider or a scorpion.

In school, Kuku had always gotten along with boys more than girls because she acted like a tomboy. Oddly, the guys loved that, especially when it came to dodgeball. She wasn't the best player, but she was the smartest. With her on their team, they never lost because she analyzed everything that was happening and knew exactly what to do about it. She was not psychic, just tactical and strategic. Most of the other girls were jealous of her; one of them in particular was the class bully. She was a human with a "big" presence—not frail or nice. It was until one day had come where she had wanted to beat Kuku's beak in.

The bell rang, dismissing all the kids to go home. Hearing it, the bully had her plan ready to make Kuku miserable. She found her in the hall.

"Hey Kuku," called the bully, with a light tone instead of an abrupt one, "can I talk with you for a second?"

"All right," Kuku answered skeptically, wondering why she—of all people—would talk with her. She was led to the back of the school.

"What's up?" asked Kuku, who was then immediately pushed onto the ground and against the wall.

"You'll see..." replied the bully, turning around. Kuku was ambushed, as the bully then carried a bucket of thick black liquid, with an "X" marked on the outside. She didn't know what it meant, but she used it anyway. She set it over Kuku's head, and the liquid spread all over her body. The bully laughed, getting she had planned accomplished. But what she had saw afterwards stopped her from laughing. The liquid evaporated instantly, and slowly, Kuku's body was withering downward as black smoke. Seeing this, the bully ran away from her. Kuku was frightened, seeing her body turning into smoke, bit by bit, until she was just a cloud. Yet somehow, she was still alive, even though all she could see was darkness. She wanted to go home and then at her request, the smoke cloud zipped instantly and she appeared in front of her house, with her body intact again.

"I thought I was done for..." she thought. Kuku let out a sigh of relief and turned around to notice a black bracer around her tail. She couldn't take it off for some reason, so she then took a step toward the front door. But she had stepped on something, and found a black watch under her foot. She took it into her room, trying to figure out if it worked or not, as it did not have any numbers showing. She eventually pressed all four side buttons, and suddenly saw a hidden hologramic, but touchable computer network. She called her parents into her room, freaked out about the watch. Once her parents were in the room, she found "The Message" and played it. Her parents listened also, finding that the watch was out of this world.

"Honey," said her mother, "where'd you get that from?"

"I found it in front of the house. But I-"

"Hmm..." her father interrupted, "I want to know a few things: Who's this Sweet Summers? Where exactly is Titans Tower? And what does he mean by 'special talents' anyway?"

"I think he can help me," suggested Kuku, noting the suspicious bracer on her tail.

"What do you mean?" asked her mother.

"I think I know." Kuku then closed her eyes and focused on nothing but the bracer. Then she turned into smoke again, this time without fear. Her parents were shocked, as she then reformed herself again. Kuku knew now that she could do condense into smoke and travel through it. "See?" she added.

"Well now," murmured her father, concerned for her as much as his wife was, "is your heart set on going to Titans Tower and meeting Sweet?" Kuku nodded affirmatively, wanting to go as soon as possible.

"It's settled," said her mother, beginning to tear up and coming to hug Kuku. "Pack what you need. (voice breaking) But promise us that you'll come back whenever possible." She didn't like it when her mother sapped up, but this time, she accepted it. Her father hugged her one last time as well.

Kuku flew off the following morning, wearing all white-a blouse, a long skirt, and a beret. She waved goodbye to her parents as she flew. She then pressed the lower right button on the watch, revealing the holo-map. She noticed that she had a long way to go, so she decided to make a rest stop in Andorra. She had a ticket for an all-you-can-eat buffet in the country's capital, Andorra la Vella.

After two hours, she arrived in the city and went to find the restaurant. People from neighboring Spain or France were welcome at anytime, so Kuku had no problem getting around by herself. She found and entered the restaurant. One of the employees noticed her and asked of why she was there by herself. Kuku explained. The employee then took her ticket and told her that she was welcome to have whatever she wanted.

Later on, a red, black-clothed young cardinal entered the restaurant. He didn't seem too happy. The employee noticed him.

"Hiya!" she greeted him, but he didn't answer her. "You look troubled. Here, you can eat whatever you want. It's on the house."

"Fine with me," he answered back in a low tone. He wasn't hungry, but he began to grudgingly take his food from the bar. As he was doing that, Kuku finished her food and got up to dispose of her tray. She eventually crossed by the cardinal and accidently ran into him, causing both to drop their trays. Kuku noticed how intense he looked.

"Sorry, so sorry," she pleaded, crouching down to pick some of the spill up and hoping not to have angered him. He noticed that she had a watch... just like his. The cardinal was Mac. He lightened up slightly, seeing that it was an accident, after all.

"It's alright," he said, getting down to help her. He then wanted to ask about the watch. "Where'd you get that watch?"

"This? I found it at my house in Paris."

"Then why do we have the same one?" He raised his wing to show her the exact same watch in his possession. Kuku was surprised. The employee came to pick up the rest of the spill, allowing the two birds to sit down and talk. The employee looked over and noticed that the cardinal was actually speaking.

"So," said Mac, "you're from France?"

"Yes. My name is Kuku. What's yours?"

"Mac. I'm from Barcelona in Spain. And I don't want to go back."

"So, I guess we're going to the same place, are we?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, just so I know, what can you do besides speak Spanish?"

"Come with me." Mac led Kuku outside and flew to the roof of the restaurant. He was going to show her his teleportation ability.

"All right, I want you to close your eyes until I tell you to open them." he told her

"Okay," she replied, closing her eyes. He was going to warp to the roof of the building across the street when he tells her to open her eyes.

"Open them," Mac said, before he warped instantly. Kuku was trying to find him until she turned around and saw him across the way. Once she had her eyes locked-on to him, he warped again, behind her.

"Huh?" she sounded.

"Behind you," he called.

She jumped when she saw him again.

"How'd you do that so fast?" she asked, astonished by his movement.

"It's called teleportation."

"I can do something like that, but it's a lot slower." She showed him her travel by smoke. Though he could not show it on the outside, he was impressed because he never saw that.

"It just takes practice," he said.

"Yeah." Kuku noticed that they were complete opposites. She was outgoing, Mac wasn't... she wore white, he had black. Her ultimate goal then was to try and get to know him a lot better, no matter what it takes. She could not do that now, as they both had a destination to get to. They both listened to "The Message" again and flew off together, moving directly west.

The birds made two long flights. The first lasted ten hours over the Atlantic Ocean until they caught up to a transport ship, headed for the United States. They slept in a secret spot on the ship. When they woke up the next day, they continued their journey on their second flight, reaching Miami, Florida. That was when Kuku's sightseeing need arose, seeing the glowing lights of the tall buildings of the city. She wondered how the rest of the country would be like. It would mean leaving Mac, but she would always know where to come.

"We're close now," said Mac, intent on getting to Galveston in Texas now.

"Um, I think that you should keep going," she suggested. "I think I need to get a good feel for this place before I do anything first. I mean, I don't have to get to Titans Tower immediately; I can go later."

"Okay," said Mac with his head down, thinking that he would not see her again. Noticing this, Kuku embraced him.

"Don't worry. I'll come back sometime, when I'm ready. I promise." She let go and then waved goodbye to him, for now. Mac continued on, hoping that he would see her again.

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