Happy holidays and a happy new year, everyone! Your gift from me: a double length chapter, and in half the time! The song used in this chapter is Love Train by Street Corner Renaissance. It should be fairly easy to find on Youtube. Also, I'm sorry the lyrics are off; the lyrics for the version I used aren't on the internet, so I had to copy n' paste the original lyrics and edit them myself, which is a thing I'm not the best at.
. . . .
.: 7 Days Later:.
Kestrel and Blu glide through the tribe, the day is nearly done; the sun has just begun to set. Every goes about their evening business like normal as if Carnival isn't right around the corner.
"Doesn't this tribe celebrate Carnival?" Kestrel asks.
Blu shakes his head, "I don't think so. Especially with this feud with the Scarlet tribe going on, I don't think they have time for celebrations."
They land in a central gathering plaza, where bustling birds socialize, talking about their day, their life, normal things like that; though most were still talking about the fight that had happened the week before. Kestrel shakes his head, "I still don't see why they wouldn't have time for a single day of celebration."
"Aren't you on patrol tonight?" Blu asks.
Kestrel nods and looks at the sun as it falls lower and lower in the sky. "Yes. And my shift starts..." A few seconds later, the sun finally dips down below the horizon and out of view. "Right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He says before taking off and flying to his designated patrol route.
Blu nods, "Bye!" he says forlornly. He sighs and takes off, only to have another bird crash into him. They both tumble to the floor, then get back to their feet, disoriented but unharmed. Blu turns to look at the other bird to find that its Sapphire. "I'm so sorry, that was my fault; I should have been watching where I was going!"
Sapphire looks surprised, "Wow.."
"What?"
"You actually apologized. Most of the guys around here just assume it wasn't their fault and continue on their way without saying anything at all. Modesty is a hard trait to come by these days."
Blu shrugs, "Well I'm not from around here-"
Sapphire smiles and nods, "I figured. Where are you from then?"
"Minnesota.. You know where that is right?"
Sapphire's face lights up with amazement, "You're from Minnesota?! I'm from Wisconsin!" She says with joy, "And here I thought I was the only American in this tribe. You ever been to Wisconsin?"
Blu nods, "Once. It was the coldest winter I've ever experienced. The temperature was down to thirty below at one point!"
"I remember that year. All the kids got the whole week off school because it was so cold."
Blu smiles for the first time in a long time. "Ya know, until I moved here, I never thought I would miss the cold."
They both share a laugh and agree on Blu's last statement before Sapphire remembers something. "Oh, I have patients to tend to; but I'm free tomorrow night if you'd like to talk then. I have a feeling we have more in common than we realize."
Blu nods, "I'd like that."
. . . .
It's a black, gloomy night that night. Clouds roll in and obscure the moon, making the sky around it glow and eerie gray color. Kestrel soars high above the ground, keeping an eye out for any sort of discord among the tribe. He's never done an all-night patrol before; flying the same route all night with no landmarks for reference can get a bit difficult. He's also getting very tired, flapping his wings as little as possible and relying exclusively on the Amazon's rising heat thermals to keep him aloft. There are even moments where he nearly falls asleep in the air.
Out of nowhere, he feels a sudden sense of extreme alertness, as if something is wrong. He starts to circle in the air, looking for signs of distress.
"This could easily be nothing." He says to himself. "Sapphire said that spending too much time in the air could make even the strongest willed birds start seeing things that aren't there, or hearing voices that don't exist."
But this isn't something that he's seeing, or hearing. It's a feeling somewhere in his mind that let's him know something isn't right. He's so focused on figuring out what this feeling could possibly be, that he almost doesn't notice the bird gliding silently from tree to tree, apparently trying to sneak across the border in the dead of night.
Kestrel tucks his wings and nosedives to investigate. He flares his wings, and lands hard on a branch directly in front of the bird, whom appears to be a macaw. The colors are hard to make out in the dark, but the macaw seems to have a white beak, crimson red feathers, and blue and yellow stripes on his wings. Kestrel had never seen a bird like this but he knows from Eduardo's descriptions and stories that this is a Scarlet macaw. Kestrel doesn't hesitate to pin the bird to the trunk of the tree, his powerful wings holding the stranger in place.
"Why were you trying to cross the border?" Kestrel demands.
"Uh, I.. I'm-" He stutters.
The next moment, Kestrel is pinned down by a very familiar golden hawk. Her metal mask glints in the shallow moonlight.
"Phoenix?" Kestrel says in shock, "What are you doing? I had him first."
Phoenix nods, "I might ask you the same question. What are you doing so close to Scarlet territory?"
Kestrel gestures to the macaw, "He was crossing into Spix's territory. I'm just trying to do my job."
Phoenix looks to the terrified and confused bird, "Are you okay, Alex?"
He nods, still shaking, "I-I'm fine."
"Wait, wait, wait… You know him?" Kestrel says.
Phoenix nods. "I'm covering all patrol routes for the Scarlets. All day every day. When you do that, you start to learn everyone's name… And you're working for the Spix's I assume. I thought they wanted you gone." Phoenix hesitates before remembering Blu, "Ah, yes… you're friends with that outsider. What's his name? I forget."
Kestrel's muscles tense up as the situation escalates, "Blu."
Alex jumps at the name, "You're friends with Blu?"
Kestrel nods, "What's it to you?"
He still shakes from the trauma of Kestrel's attack, but trusts Phoenix to protect him should Kestrel try anything. "He's… like a brother to me. He's one of my only friends; especially during this stupid war. I came to talk to him, but I have to cross at night since that's when security is at it's least." Alex explains quietly, trying not to make eye contact with Kestrel.
Phoenix finally lets Kestrel up and stands between him and Alex. "It seems this damnable conflict is driving both tribes paranoid. What are we even fighting about anyway?"
Alex shrugs and says in his usual quiet tone, "It used to be about food, but now I'm not so sure."
Phoenix dismisses Alex, "You go. Lisa was looking for you when I last spoke to her." The hawk says in a motherly voice, "She's probably worried sick. You should go check up on her."
"And where's Liz?" He asks.
Phoenix chuckles lightly, "Late nights like this, popular girl like her? Probably out with her friends."
Alex nods, "As usual." He lifts from the branch and starts on his way back to the roost he shares with his sisters. "Thank you, Phoenix!" Alex calls back.
Phoenix gives a coo of acknowledgement and turns her attention back to Kestrel. Kestrel gives Phoenix a smug look and shakes his head, "You didn't need to be so defensive over him. Any friend of Blu's is a friend of mine."
Phoenix gives Kestrel a light smirk as she removes her mask and sets it down. Her silver eyes gleam in the moonlight, complementing the shimmer of Kestrel's beak. She slowly starts to circle him, examining the falcon from head to tail. "You and I… We want the same thing."
Kestrel looks Phoenix in the eye, dead serious, "No we don't. All I want is for my best friend to be happy again."
"That's not all you want." Phoenix assures him.
He quickly changes the subject, "Lemme get this straight. The Scarlet tribe put a blind bird on patrol?"
Phoenix persists with her statement, "That's not all you want." She says again.
Kestrel hesitates for a long time before sighing and nodding, "I want to be left alone."
"And to be left alone, what has to happen?" Phoenix asks expectantly.
"This conflict needs to end."
Phoenix smiles and nods, "There needs to be an arbitrator, or that's never going to happen." She takes a step closer to Kestrel looking him straight in the face, a look of longing in her eyes. "Let it be us. We can end this. Together."
Kestrel huffs and gently pushes her away, "If there's one thing I've learned in nineteen years, it's that 'together' doesn't exist. For the past seven years, I've gone out of my way to protect Blu from that reality, because he's the closest thing to family that I've ever had.
Phoenix takes a step back, tears starting to form in her eyes. "You're a lot more messed up than I thought."
"You don't know the half of it."
She shakes her head, "I'm sure I don't, but that doesn't change what I think of you."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I still want to be with you."
Kestrel laughs, "Why?"
Phoenix lowers her head and says with a quiet tone, "You're the only one who's ever understood me for who I am."
Kestrel nods slowly, "I see now."
Phoenix smiles, "So… what do you say? You and me?"
He hesitates for a long while before nodding, "Let's end it."
. . . .
The following evening, Blu meets Sapphire right as the sun starts to set.
"Hi!" She says, "So where are we going?"
Blu gives her a slight smile, "I know just the place."
He leads her to a secluded perch atop the tallest tree in sight. It provides an amazing view of the entire sky. Sapphire turns all around, taking in her surroundings with utter amazement. "This… This is beautiful, Blu."
Blu shrugs and subtly nods his head, "This is where Jewel and I would come once in a while to enjoy the incredible Amazonian sunsets." He says quietly.
Nico and Pedro sit on a branch next to each other, talk about what they're going to do for Carnival. "We can't just do nothing, man." Nico says, "I mean, I get that they don't have time for celebration and all that, but that doesn't mean we don't. Besides, Carnival has been our thing for years. I just can't believe they don't care about it here. We should-" He's interrupted as Kestrel lands silently beside them, startling Nico. "Don't do that to me! I almost had a heart attack just now, man."
Kestrel takes a step back, "Sorry."
Pedro gets up in Kestrel's face, trying to be intimidating. "What do you want? Huh?!"
Nico puts a wing on Pedro's shoulder and pulls him away from Kestrel, "Tone it down there, Pedro."
Pedro nods, "Yeah, yeah. Lost my cool there for a sec."
Kestrel points a feather up at the perch where Blu and Sapphire sit, talking together while they watch the sunset, "Look." Kestrel says. "He's talking to a girl."
Nico looks at Kestrel unamused, "And?"
Kestrel smirks and gives Nico a nudge, "Ya know… We gotta set the mood.."
Nico nods, "Ohhh, I gotchu. Got anything in mind?"
Kestrel nods, "Follow my lead."
They land in the same tree Blu is in, on a lower branch out of sight. They wait for Sapphire to say the words Kestrel knows are coming. "Wow.. This is so beautiful."
Kestrel takes that as a queue and flies up, landing next to Blu, where he starts humming a bassline for Nico. Nico instantly recognizes it and smiles, "Classic." He flies up and lands gracefully on the very end of the branch Blu and Sapphire are sitting on.
Well, well, well... You know that it's time to get on board.
After Nico says his first line, Pedro starts singing a harmony over Kestrel's bassline, giving the tune a very smooth and mellow feel.
Now, we're gonna go all across this land. From the East, to the North… The South and the West.
The East most definitely.
And we're come to you, and you too!
As he speaks the last line, he points to Blu, and then to Sapphire.
Sapphire looks at Blu, confused. "Did you plan this?"
Blu shrugs and shakes his head, looking just as confused. "Nope."
Nico smiles and starts to sing.
People all over the world (everybody)
Join hands (join)
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world (all the world, now)
Join hands (love ride)
Start a love train (love ride), love train
The first stop that we make will be Memphis
Tell all the folks in shy town, and San Antonio, too
Don't you know that it's time to get on board
And let this train keep on riding, riding on through
Sapphire smiles at Blu, "Are you sure this wasn't staged?"
Blu nods awkwardly, "Uh.. Yeah. Yeah I'm pretty sure."
People all over the world (you don't need no money)
Join hands (come on)
Start a love train, love train (don't need no ticket, come on)
People all over the world (Join in, ride this train)
Join in (Ride this train, y'all)
Start a love train (Come on, train), love train
All of you brothers over in Jersey
Tell all the folks in New Orleans, and Harlem, too
Please don't miss this train at the station
'Cause if you miss it, I feel sorry, sorry for you
You, Oh!
People all over the world (Sisters and brothers)
Join hands (join, come on)
Start a love train (ride this train, y'all), love train (Come on)
People all over the world (Don't need no tickets)
Join hands (come on, ride)
Start a love train, love train
Ride, let it ride
Let it ride
Let it ride
Let it ride
People, ain't no war
People all over the world (on this train)
Join in (ride the train)
Start a love train, love train (ride the train, y'all)
People all over the world (come on)
Join hands (you can ride or stand, yeah)
Start a love train, love train (makin' love)
People all over the world ('round the world, y'all)
Join hands (come on)
Start a love train, love train
The next stop that we make, will be Rio
Tell all the folks in Sao Paulo, and Brasilia, too
Don't you miss this train,
At the station, but let this train…
Keep on ridin'
Ridin' on through…
Yeah! Don't you miss this train!
People all over the world (you don't need no money)
Join hands (come on)
Start a love train, love train (don't need no ticket, come on)
People all over the world (Join in, ride this train)
Join in (Ride this train, y'all)
Start a love train (Come on, train), love train
Let it ride
Let it ride
Let it ride
People all over the world.
As the song ends, Nico looks over to the two macaws just in time to see Sapphire suddenly push her beak into Blu's in a deep kiss that lasts several seconds.
Kestrel lands beside Nico, who just gives a smug smile and says, "Our work here is done." before flying away.
. . . .
Sapphire pulls away with a regretful expression on her face. "I- I'm sorry. That was.. Inappropriate."
Blu shakes his head, "No, you're fine. Really! It's actually kinda nice to know that even without Jewel, there's still someone who feels that way about me." He says. Sapphire smiles gently and kisses Blu once more as the sun disappears below the horizon.
. . . .
A/N
I know the lyrics are way off, and I tried to make up for it by putting some non-american cities in there, but it's still really confusing to read. I hope what you take from this song is less lyrics and more mood, that way you don't need to look at my horrible attempt at lyric writing. Also, it's fun to be able to reference my homestate (Wisconsin) in my stories, which I knew I had to do at one point since it's right next to Minnesota.
. . . .
And I hope you enjoyed Alexriolover95's appearance in the story. I know he was only there for a brief time, but when you think about it, Alex is the reason Phoenix and Kestrel are banding together to end the war! (Also, apologies to Alex if I got anything wrong about your OC, I didn't mean to; I was just trying to get this monster of a chapter done.)
If you'd like your OC in this story, I'm still accepting them; so please, PM me a description, I'd love to do this again.