All right! I'm back, you guys! While you were all busy reading down other fanfics, I got some things running in the shadows and during that time, I got authorization to use a character from a user here on . Please welcome Dimitri, a rare black and red Spix's Macaw. I will introduce him later in the chapter, so for now, just sit back and enjoy the show!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rio nor the Guardians of Ga'Hoole; they belong to their respective owners. Dimitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw (applause please). I only own Kurth, Serenade and the plot. Everything else is NOT under my ownership! Sad, but true...
I do no own the song in this chapter.
The song, titled Untitled, belongs to its rightful owner:
Simple Plan
—
Chapter 7: The Foreigner
Lost. Stranger. Sad. Enraged. Heartbroken … Kurth was all those things. The misfortune that befell on him made him lose his own self-confidence. He hadn't been able to protect his memento nor his pride. He began to think that maybe what Nyra had told him long ago was right after all. Maybe he was just a failure. Maybe he was spineless. His shame was immense and it pathetically drowned him in a sea of melancholy.
Despite his looks, he had never wanted to fight in the first place. His life was just filled with events that forced him to use violence. He had always preferred to stay away from everyone, to live a life of peace, but with the mother and surrounding he had, it was hardly an achievable goal. His meaning of life had all but left his mind and gizzard.
He wandered through Rio's streets for what seemed like an eternity and not once did he find a lead as to where Nigel or the humans that owned him could be. All he had been able to find was emptiness and the freezing touch of the rain that fell. It soaked his feathers and made him look like a fluff ball, but all of that didn't matter to him anymore. He was empty and most of all, torn from the inside.
Because of the rain, most of the humans had taken shelter in their homes or in any other place that offered some protection against, so Kurth was nearly left all alone in the street. As he was alone, he tried to find a meaning to his life. He had mostly lived his life to protect those he cared for, but he wondered if he had anything left to protect.
"Could it have been that I was wrong to come here?" Kurth spoke to himself. "That I should have listened to Nyra or that I should have stayed by Eglantine's side after she admitted loving me? There are so many things that I could have done differently!"
Then, all of a sudden, a melody filled his mind. He didn't know how it came to him, but he recognized its rhythm instantly. It was the same melody that tied his and Serenade's path together. Just like he had done then, he just let the song's melody overwhelm him and within seconds, he was softly humming. The lyrics soon followed the simple melody.
I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white lights
I can't remember how
I can't remember why
I'm lyin' here tonight
And I can't stand the pain
And I can't make it go away
No, I can't stand the pain
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?
Everybody's screamin'
I try to make a sound
But no one hears me
I'm slippin' off the edge
I'm hangin' by a thread
I wanna start this over again
So I try to hold
Onto a time when
Nothing mattered
And I can't explain what happened
And I can't erase the things that I've done
No I can't
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?
It felt somehow calming to repeat the same song as he once did so long ago. He had sung that song, one he learned was amongst the most revered by Michael, only once and it had been after he had first met Serenade. How could he ever forget the cheerful Great Gray Owl. She had taught him so many things and he never had the opportunity to repay the owl for her kindness.
However, his peace of mind was soon troubled by another presence. It wasn't one that he saw, but rather one that he heard. It came from behind him and for a moment, Kurth was sure that the darned cockatoo was back to taunt him even more. Not even thinking about it, his instincts kicked in and in a flash, he turned around and took a menacing stance.
What he saw, however, was not the bird he thought it would be. Instead, it was a macaw, but a very peculiar one. The macaw's resemblance to Blu was great but of it didn't have blue feathers like the Spix's Macaws. No, the macaw's feathers were black and red. A very special macaw according to Kurth. The Barn Owl still was on his guard, though.
"I mean you no harm, owl," the macaw said.
"Why should I trust you? You could very well be one of Nigel's goons sent to get rid of me!" Kurth scoffed.
"Nigel? Ah, you mean zat cockatoo? You don't have to vorry about that—I never liked zat bastard."
"What do you have to prove your words? The last thing I need is to get stabbed in the back. Plus, I don't trust you enough to let you near me yet."
"I can't really promise you anything, in fact I don't exactly remember most of my past before I was brought here by zose humans," said the macaw.
"I know what you must feel. I've been through something like that some years ago. But enough with that, I'd like to ask for your name, macaw, or at least if you remember what it was.
"And vho are you to ask for my name?" replied the macaw, daring his luck against Kurth.
"You stand before a hero of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Kurth is my name and as of recently, I've fallen quite deep from what I used to be. Now, tell me your name! I hate to be kept waiting," Kurth said, eliminating all emotions from his voice.
"My name is Dimitri, if I can remember right. Like I said before, I don't have recollection of my past and when I do, it is usually scrambled and incomprehensible."
"Hmmm, your accent is not from the States nor is it from Germany..." Kurth stated. "...could you be from Russia? I can see no other place where there are accents like yours."
"Zat, I do not know. All I know is zat I was brought here from a very cold place," Dimitri answered.
"There are quite a lot of cold places on Earth, but to figure out the one you came from would be far too long. In any event, what's your story? How'd you get here if you were back in that room? This reminds me, I never saw you in that room with all the other birds."
"I escaped some right after you made your exit. If you didn't see me, I guess it vas because my cage vas hidden by ze dark. I could see you, but you veren't able to see me. Vhen your cage knocked zat cockatoo, he vas sent straight against my cage, knocking it down to ze ground. Ze lock broke and after zat, I followed you. You seemed to know vhere you vere headed," explained Dimitri.
"Well, you were wrong!" Kurth let out. "I do not know where I am headed nor do I know anything about this frinkin' city. I'm both enraged and heartbroken. But I'm sure you couldn't understand what I'm going through!"
"Vhy couldn't I be able to understand vat you are feeling?" Dimitri queried.
"Because that frinkin' cockatoo crushed my pride, stole the thing I cherished most and now, I'm left with nothing to fight or live for!" Kurth burst into tears.
"Get yourself together, owl! You are still alive and zat's vat matters most! If you have ze will to keep moving, go on!"
"If I just had a simple glimpse of what I should be doing right now, do you honestly think I would be standing here right now?" Kurth threateningly queried Dimitri.
"I suppose not, but zere are some choices zat you must make for yourself when all seems lost," Dimitri replied.
That comment made Kurth think about the last words his father had told him when he was still just an owlet. He remembered that his father had told him that when all seemed lost, to think about one he truly loved or about his goal. Right now, he did not have anyone he loved as he was away from the two he had ever truly loved as mates. Well, Eglantine and he had never mated, but they were still considered by many as mates.
He did have a goal, though. It was a simple one and yet, it was extremely difficult to accomplish. He wanted to retrieve what he cherished most—in short, the star sapphire that Serenade had given him before she died—and bring upon the death of Nigel, the cockatoo he loathed, even if he had met him only a few hours before. Identifying them wasn't hard. Finding them was a totally different story.
With that in mind, he decided that he would donate most of his time searching the surroundings, including the rainforests, so he could have a chance of finding what he was looking for. And if the opportunity presented itself, he could maybe meet up with Blu and Jewel on his search.
"Thank you for the advice, lad. I'll be going now. If you want to accompany me, feel free to do so for I see no harm in that," Kurth said as he led the way.
"I like zose kind of birds," Dimitri muttered as low as possible so that Kurth would not hear him. "always so easy to manipulate!"
—
The rain had stopped and nearly all the lights from the city had been closed, except for those needed to help the vision of those in cars. As an owl, Kurth was mainly a nocturne bird so his vision was adapted for the darkness. For his part, Dimitri, who had decided to stick around, had some more trouble than Kurth as he was not used to the darkness as the owl was.
Many times did Dimitri complain and many times did Kurth ignore the macaw. The owl had no time to spare if he were to find his memento in time since he had heard the humans in that building with the cages say that they would ready the shipment scheduled around the same time where Kurth and Dimitri were exploring Rio.
Thanks to Dimitri, the Barn Owl had been able to forge himself a new will. He didn't want to fail when he felt more confident than ever. At least, if he found the star sapphire, he would be satisfied enough. Although Nigel's death could make a good stress relief. But he knew better than to let anger get the best of him. It had cost him Animae's life as well as his own once. Rushing blindly into danger was something he had thrown away a long time ago.
"Vould you mind slowing down? I cannot see zat vell in ze dark," Dimitri told Kurth.
"And risk losing my only chance to get Nigel back for what he stole and did to me? There's no way I'm stopping right now!" replied Kurth.
"You're an owl and I, a macaw. You can see in ze dark very vell compared to me."
"I'm nearly as white as the moon! Follow me by using the color of my feathers as guide," responded Kurth.
Normally, his feathers would have been sooty due to all the time he spent in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree's forge but the rain had made some of the soot come off, giving his feathers the color they originally were; pure white. And it was true that it was very dark as Kurth remarked that nearly all the lights, at the exception of those that served for the road.
However, even those lights gave way all of a sudden. Nor Kurth nor Dimitri could explain why that was so. The only thing the two, especially Kurth, had heard was something that resembled the sound of an impact. After that, the city was drowned into complete darkness. Something that would quite slow down Kurth as he would have to wait for Dimitri, who wasn't experienced in the darkness as Kurth was.
They decided to take a pause before continuing. A pause that lasted more than two hours as Dimitri fell asleep while they were resting. If Kurth had only listened to his gizzard, he would have left the macaw behind and continued on his way to find Nigel but that wasn't the case. He patiently waited for the macaw to wake up and once he did, the full moon had risen; giving some kind of light whatsoever that could help the macaw travel correctly through the dark.
Having found no success in searching for Nigel in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Kurth opted to go in the rainforests to continue his search. Inside the forest, tiredness began to take hold of both birds. While they knew that they couldn't stay on the ground as there were other predators searching for easy preys such as sleeping birds or other similar kind of preys, they still had to find a shelter or a place to stay for the night.
Kurth had been lucky for he had found a large tower-like foundation in the forest. It resembled a watch tower but he couldn't be sure it that was the case. Still, it seemed like a secure place to go if one desired to be safe from all the other predators that roamed the forest's ground. While Dimitri went for a far higher place than Kurth, the owl instead opted to stab his sword through the foundation's massive bamboo sticks that supported the tower.
Once he was comfortable, Kurth fell into a deep sleep. As for Dimitri, well, Kurth hadn't heard much of him before he fell asleep and therefore judged the black and red macaw to be already asleep. His sleep was unlike others, though. The reason was quite simple; it was because he had a dream. Well more like a fragment of a dream, but it was still a dream nonetheless. In that dream of his, Kurth heard a slow and sweet humming. One that he knew very well and at the same time, ignored.
—
"Kurth, is that you?" someone asked.
Who was speaking, Kurth was still unsure. He knew from the tone of the one that had addressed that he was acquainted to that person, or bird. He opened his eyes in a squint, due to the sun's bright light blinding him, and slowly started to search for the one that had called out his name. He was surprised to see Blu and Jewel standing on the ground, with Dimitri next to them.
"Blu? What are you doing here?" Kurth queried, still surprised to see the two blue macaws.
"We could be asking you the same question, owl," Jewel harshly replied.
"I see you're still as welcoming as ever, Jewel!" the owl sarcastically scowled at the azure bird. "But, from what I can see, you've already met with Dimitri. If you hadn't already noticed, he's a Spix's Macaw, just like you two lovebirds."
"Wait! What? He's a Spix's Macaw?" Blu inquired, under the shock of what he had been told. Up until now, he had always thought that Spix's Macaws were mainly blue, not black and red as Dimitri was.
"And what's that talk about us being lovebirds?" Jewel asked, venom coursing through her words.
"Well, you two seem so happy together so I figured that calling you lovebirds would be quite … appropriate."
"Why, you!" Jewel let out. If it hadn't been for the chain that tied her to Blu, she would've pounded the owl, no matter his size.
"Now, now. Zere's no need for zis kind of violence, friends. Ve are, if I am correct, all here to survive. Correct?" Dimitri asked all the other birds.
"Exactly!" Blu exclaimed, quite embarrassed by the show Jewel and Kurth had made. "So, why don't we help each other out for now?"
"Consider me out of this little show," Kuth scoffed.
"But why?" Blu queried the owl.
"You know exactly why! And until I do find it, I may be more of a hassle and a threat to you," Kurth explained the macaw.
"Von't you reconsider it? After all, if ve are to survive, ve need to be a group," Dimitri told Kurth.
"A group, eh? Well, I ain't that fancy towards groups so like I said, count me out of this. I have bigger fish to fry!"
"Come on, Kurth. Apart from Jewel, we don't stand a fighting chance!" Blu said, trying to reason with Kurth. "But with your help, we could have more chances of defending ourselves against Nigel, if he ever comes around here."
"If anyone is to fight Nigel around here, it'd better be me and me alone. I have a score to settle with him and I am prepared to use whatever method, if the time comes that I am in need to those methods. Yes Blu, even those I talked to you about on the plane," Kurth told Blu, a hint of distorted pleasure in his voice.
"You would go that far just for a … regular pendant?" Jewel asked, facing Kurth without fear.
"Jewel! Please take back your words…" Blu pleaded.
"I shall not take them back and I will stand my ground! He's just an old owl that still thinks he's on a heroic quest. What is there to fear from such a…" Jewel began before all her words disappeared from her mouth as Kurth crushed her throat with his right talon.
"You would have been wise to listen to him, Jewel! Serenade's memento isn't an ordinary pendant like you claim it to be! Nor am I an old owl that still thinks he is on a heroic quest! You know nothing of me so I would suggest you keep your words to yourself when judging me!" Kurth burst, rage slowly starting to take over his judgment.
"Kurth, let her go! I'm sure she didn't mean to say what she said," Blu nervously told Kurth, afraid of the owl's reaction to his comment.
"Let her go? And why should I do that? She clearly stood her ground against me! Desecrating my memento is the same as insulting Serenade or I and never will I let such a thing go unpunished!"
Blu noticed that some of Kurth's normally white feathers were starting to become completely black. They also began to lengthen a bit more than their original length. But that wasn't what set panic inside Blu's mind. What did what that Kurth's gaze started to have a hint of yellow in them. It resembled the description of the hagsfiends Kurth had told Blu when they were in the plane the day before.
Before Kurth could continue to strangle Jewel, Dimitri intervened and grabbed the leg that the Barn Owl used to hold Jewel. He began to pull it away although the owl applied so much strength that the task Dimitri was undertaking was very arduous. Eventually, he succeeded in making Kurth release his hold on Jewel's neck. Dimitri only had time to take height and evaded by a few inches the cold steel of Kurth's sword.
"Whoa! Calm down, Kurth! You're starting to become like them!" Blu shouted at Kurth in hopes that his words would reach the Barn Owl.
And they did! At first, he seemed unaffected by the blue macaw's words but after a few dozens of seconds, he began to shiver. Soon, the shivers would transform into trembles. The blade of his sword hit the ground as his trembling foot dropped it. When he turned around to gaze at the three birds, they could all see the despair in his eyes. The yellow light that was in them earlier had disappeared and his eyes were once again completely black. He took back his sword and sheathed quickly,
Ashamed of what he had done, he only said, "I'm sorry…"
"Kurth! Where are you going like that?" Blu inquired.
But no response came, all he saw was an owl fleeing from the scene. Even if the cerulean bird was concerned about the Barn Owl, he was also extremely worried about Jewel's state. She wasn't in an eminent danger, but she was still knocked unconscious due to the lack of air when Kurth tried to strangle her. Having no choice but to remain by her side because of the chain that tied them close to each other, he remained next to her and only hoped that she wouldn't have any other kind of wounds.
"Let him go, Blu," Dimitri spoke. "If he had intended on staying, he vould have done so. He fled and has to bear vith his conscience after doing vhat he did."
"But…"
"He broke your trust, Blu. He even tried to kill Jevel. You still vant to forgive him after zat?"
"I've been with him for five years now and never before has he shown such a behavior"— Blu stated— "but maybe the stress from losing his memento made him become like that. Either way, he wasn't himself when he attacked Jewel. Something changed him, something of someone with dark intention."
Unbeknownst to Dimitri, Blu was being suspicious of the innocence the weird macaw claimed to have. Before meeting him, Kurth was still very much in control of his behavior. It wasn't until he had met together with him a few hours ago that he noticed that the Barn Owl had drastically changed. He didn't know if the black and red macaw could be of trust. His heart told him that he could be searching repentance for something he might have done while his mind was telling him that there was something out of the ordinary about that macaw.
—
Kurth had left immediately after he heard Blu tell him that he was starting to resemble them. The Barn Owl understood the reasons his friend had to keep the name of the hagsfiends hidden. It was a rather wise choice as hagsfiends were not birds to be talked lightly off. When he looked at some of his own feathers, he noticed that some of them had started to lengthen. Some others had turned as black as the night. Of course, those were only a minority of feathers.
However, the thought still frightened Kurth. To think that he was harboring so much anger, so much rage that he was slowly turning into a hagsfiend was not a very pleasant thought. If he still carried the presence inside his being, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he could become a hagsfiend without the need of nacthmagen. He had learned nacthmagen from both Lutta and Kreeth but he never truly had the opportunity to use it.
But that behavior, he thought, wasn't like his usual behavior. He was easily annoyed and angered, but to go as far as to say he would try to kill an innocent bird just for his petty sake of revenge and hate was beyond his what he normally did. He even tried to cut down Dimitri. In cold blood! He never felt an ounce of regret when his attack missed the black and red macaw by a few inches.
His introspection still led him to nothing as he couldn't find out what had caused his loss of temper and transformation. All he could think about was his shame and regrets. He deeply regretted his actions and he would pay dearly to get a second chance. The thought that Dimitri could have influenced him somehow was absent from his mind. He had not yet thought of such a possibility for he had somehow come to trust the black and red macaw.
The only possible thing he thought he could do was to dwell upon his actions and somehow try to repent to Blu and Jewel for what he had done against them, especially Jewel. He was uncertain if the azure feathered macaw would forgive him for his actions one day. All he could possibly do was ponder on what he had done and think about what he should do next. He would still continue searching for Nigel but he would be careful of his behavior in the future.
He didn't want to hurt anybody anymore. After he had killed Nyra, he vowed to himself that he would not hurt anybody else, even under the influence rage and anger could have on him. He didn't want to be involved in any war or battle anymore. All he desired was a peaceful life but would he have been able to obtain such a life at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree? He guessed not and that saddened him because not only was he alone once more, there was no one he truly trusted to whom he could talk to in his darkest hour.
Just like when he had escaped from the smugglers' residence, the Barn Owl wandered through the rainforest, devoid of any kind of feelings whatsoever. He was lost in his own mind, so deep that not even reality could bring him back. He had begun to wonder about another matter: the sweet humming he had heard in his dream. It had been the first dream he had in ages and for a certain reason, there was something he recognized in that humming; something extremely familiar and yet, very distant.
All he could do was to wander and grief. All he wanted was to be forgiven but he felt as if Jewel would hold a serious grudge against him. All he could do was to hope everything would turn out fine and that he would soon earn his forgiveness…
—
So, what'd you guys think about this chapter? Pretty … dark, eh? Well, there a lot more where this came from and they will all make their appearances soon enough. For now, just bear with the wait and I'll try to work things out on my end. And please guys, review. I can't tell if you like or not so depending on how you liked my story, leave your creative/constructive/positive reviews in the space reserved for that. As for the flames and negative comments, have some common sense and do it anonymously. This was all for this chapter, folks. May we meet again soon in another chapter.
The 'Other' Guardian
LordKurthnega46
