Acapella opened the front door of the house as quietly as possible. She was carrying a massive amount of full plastic bags in one hand, and a mysterious giant sphere covered with a tablecloth in the other.
The Pearl looked around with panic and guilt, just to make sure Gamma and Toaster were nowhere in sight. Lilly was still asleep on the floor.
Acapella tip-toed around the courrupted monster, and slowly climbed up the stairs, before quickly running into her room. She slammed the door and locked it quickly.
Acapella's room was...underwhelming (for lack of a better term). It was at the very end of the hall on the second floor. NO ONE other than Acapella (of course) under ANY circumstances was allowed inside.
Why?
This room was HER room. She had set ground rules when first arriving at the house. The Pearl never had a private space to call her own on Homeworld, and was incredibly protective of it.
So what precious treasures did the room hold?
4 cook books stacked on the floor.
The white carpet...
...and the white wall.
There was no furniture, no bed, no posters. It was almost as if the room had never been lived in at all! It was spotless.
Most of her important tools were in the kitchen, and (on the rare occasion) she needed sleep, the Pearl simply used the couch on the first floor. It was somewhat sad how plain and empty the space was...
...until today.
Acapella took the tablecloth off the sphere. It was a yellow bubble- one of her own. On the inside sat the cockatiel in the cage. The bird seemed quite excited about its new home, and was chirping loudly while bobbing its head in agreement!
"Shhh! Shhhh! Hush now!" Acapella attempted to get the organic animal to calm itself. The bubble was doing an excellent job of muffling the noise- but the creature was SO loud, some of the audio evidence was still pressing through.
Acapella wanted to keep her new friend a secret. If Toaster caught wind of a new Earth animal living in the home...well...Acapella would be labeled as a hippicrite. It would also give the Ruby excuses to bring more fauna into the house.
Acapella placed the bubbled bird cage on the floor, and scooted it against the middle of the far wall.
The Pearl took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, attempting to calm herself. "Alright. Let's see...what to do first..." Acapella unloaded all the nessesary tools for the bird's care from the bags, and began to read her new book. It was quite fortunate that the lady at the pet store knew exactly what was needed in order to take care of the creature.
Yellow Pearl began to read: "OK..."it is recommended that cockatiels eat small pellets made from seeds..."
Acapella looked at the bag of green pellets with the bird silhouette on the front before nodding. "-however, it is wise to give the bird a variety of food. Fruits and vegetables are a good choice, as well as certain kinds of meat in moderation. Avoid avocados."
The Pearl suddenly found herself craving a fruit salad, but ignored her urges. This matter took priority.
"Be aware - powder forms on the feathers that can fall off while grooming. It is wise to play with your bird and give it exorcise every day. Cockatiels are known for their ability to mimic. While they can copy Human speech, they are much more skilled at whistling!"
This fact surprised the Pearl! She internally wondered to herself if the bird could perfectly mimic her sleeping tones...
...
...probably not. The animal would (more than likely) just fall asleep like everyone else. This was a living, breathing, animal...NOT a CD player...
"Give the bird fresh water and food everyday. Use a non-toxic paper product to line the bottom of the cage for easy cleaning." Acapella stuck out her tongue. Cleaning the cage was NOT something she was looking forward to doing. Still, she had (ocationally) seen Toaster take care of Chirp...certainly this would not be terribly different?
"ALRIGHT!" Acapella attempted to look confident! "Seems easy enough! Just think of the creature as a small Yellow Pearl! YEAH!"
Acapella fixed the bird a tray of pellets and water- prepping to put both in the cage.
She cautiously popped the bubble...
"WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH!..."
Acapella's eyes got small in annoyance. The bird's cry was certainly...DIFFERENT from Chirp's...
"Wha...why do you keep saying the same thing over and over?! Stars!"
"WE-AH!"
"What are you trying to tell me?!"
"WE-AH!"
"...I gave you food and water...the cage came with a little mirror...which the lady at the pet store said you would like..."
"WE-AH!"
The bird tilted its head toward Acapella in intrigue! "WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH!"
"Do...do you want to come out of the cage?"
"WE-AH!"
"Erm...well...okay then...here it goes..." Acapella squinted in fear as she put her pointer finger in the cage. The bird suddenly froze in fright! It was obvious that this was a new activity for both of them...
"HONK!" The cockatiel bit Acapella's finger, and quickly bolted to the other side of the cage!
"OW! YOU STUPID...INSIGNIFICANT...CLODDY..."
"WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH! WE-AH!" The bird bobbed its head up and down and cackled in amusement!
"IT'S NOT FUNNY! THAT HURT!"
"WE-AH!"
"OH...HUSH YOU!"
"WE-AH!"
Acapella thought to herself. The animal obviously wanted...something...but WHAT?! The Pearl decided to try a different tactic!
In a magnificent bright light, Acapella transformed herself into a cockatiel. She looked nearly identical...other than the obvious gemstone and yellow cheeks of course.
At first, the pet seemed fascinated! However, as the new bird wattled toward the cage, the cockatiel began to puff up in an angry defense!
"WAAAAK! WAAAAKKK! WE-AH!" The bird spred its wings, and fluffed its feathers in order to look intimidating and big.
Acapella backed up slowly in fear, before another bright light engulfed her. She changed back into her normal self.
The bird looked for its rival in confusion! It sighed in a huff, before all the feathers went back to their normal state. "We-ah..." The bird closed its eyes in content. The creature seemed proud of themself. They had scared the other bad bird away!
"Hmmmmm...perhaps bribery is the way to go?" Acapella had an idea...
The Pearl used two bread ties in order to keep the bird cage door open without using her hands.
The Gem than retreated to the kitchen, and managed to find a seedless grape. She washed the fruit, and walked back upstairs, before placing it in the middle of the floor.
...and then, she waited.
It took a good twenty minutes for the bird to realize that the cage door was open. The cockatiel looked left and right, cautiously, before exiting the carrier, and wattling about the floor. The animal found the green grape easily. It stood out like a sore thumb on the white carpet.
The bird pecked at the grape, before breaking the skin. The animal seemed to have a massive amount of joy while eating the sweet pulp on the inside! "WAH!" The creature seemed satisfied with the treat!
Yes...good...the plan was working...
Acapella lowered her hand-another grape treat in tow. The cockatiel approached the Gem, nervously...before pecking at the fruit, climbing on the Pearl's hand, and eating the pulp again.
"T-there! S-see nice bird-birdy!" The Gem was obviously still nervous.
The bird looked up at Acapella with admiration! "WE-AH!" The cockatiel proceeded to rub and itch its head on one of Acapella's fingers!
The Pearl sighed in relief. If nothing else, the bird seemed to trust her more now.
Acapella figured that this friendship would take some time and patience to evolve...
Hey guys Toonfreak here again! I always thought a Yellow Cockatiel would make the perfect pet for Acapella. I have never owned a cockatiel before, and decided to do some research by watching cockatiel videos on YouTube!
...
After watching said videos, I quickly found out that cockatiels are...like...the most ANNOYING PET EVER! LOL!
They like to repeat themselves with the same bird call...over...and Over...and OVER again! When not making constant noise, they enjoy pecking their beaks on any surface...just to be annoying-mirrors, cans, even computer keys!
Yup...Acapella is going to have her hands quite full with her new pet...
XD