What a twist, huh!
"A Hork-Bajir egg? Gross!" Rachel said.
"Rock-a-bye baby,
With all the blades,
Daddy will love you
When he needs a shave." sang Marco.
Rachel and I laughed.
"Well finally, another sane person with a good sense of humor."
"Obviously, we're the only two here who fit that description." Rachel joked, putting her arm on my shoulder.
"Ha ha ha."
Jake looked worried.
"A Hork-Bajir egg? Four eggs to the box, and from these pictures, there must have been hundreds of boxes."
Marco became serious too.
"Two hundred boxes makes eight hundred eggs. Eight hundred Hork-Bajir."
"I didn't know you could sleep in math class and learn at the same time, Marco."
"Not counting twins. Ing. Iiiiiinnng. Inguh." said Ax in reply to Marco.
"What are we going to do with these four?" asked Cassie reasonably.
"Give them to Tobias. After all, birds are meant to sit on eggs, right?" Marco joked.
Ax smiled. He shook his head.
"Prince Jake, we don't have to worry about eight hundred Hork-Bajir hatching at once. Hork-Bajir eggs take 1 year to hatch. And these are about two weeks old."
"How can you tell how old they are?" asked Cassie.
"By the color of the spots. The spots grow darker as the egg matures, then disappear completely just before it hatches."
I watched how well the group worked together. You'd almost think they were the perfect actors, with the perfect script to act out. I wished that someday, I could fit into a group like that. I realized, later, that if one person had been missing, the conversation would have been fruitless.
"What are we going to do with these eggs?" I asked.
"Give them to the Hork-Bajir, in the valley. They're a colony of free Hork-Bajir. Four eggs would help them a lot."
Everyone smiled at that. But then I realized.
"But eight hundred eggs would help them more."
Everyone looked at me.
"If we can get all the eggs to the Hork-Bajir, then they can hatch them. In a year, they'll have eight hundred more Hork-Bajir to fight the Yeerks." I said. Then I remembered a problem.
"Yeah! Then we can beat the Yeerks by storming the Yeerk Pool!" exclaimed Jake. But then, he, too, realized why it wouldn't work.
Cassie voiced our thoughts for us.
"In a year, when they hatch, the war might be over. When they hatch, it might be back into slavery by the Yeerks. Or, if we win, they'll hatch, and be found by humans."
Everyone quieted down. Then Jake turned to Erek.
"Erek, you haven't said anything yet. What do you think about all this?"
Erek was silent for a minute, then he replied:
"If the war will be over in a year, why do the Yeerks want eight hundred Hork-Bajir eggs?"
Everyone thought a minute. Then I looked at the clock.
"It's four thirty. You guys better leave, especially if you're flying home."
"Alright. We'll be back at seven o'clock to check out the accident?" Jake looked at all the members of the group, and all of them nodded. "Meet us outside. Do you have a bird morph?"
I stated, with as much dignity as I could. "I have a parakeet morph."
Marco, Rachel, Jake and Cassie all smiled. Cassie coughed and Marco giggled.
Jake said. " A parakeet. Great. Listen, you need a better flyer. Cassie, can you hook her up with a owl, or at least a hawk?"
Cassie said yes, she had one in her barn.
"Alright. Jacqueline, get a bug morph. Ride on Cassie to her barn, get the owl morph, fly back here on your own. Better yet, Tobias, fly her here and back. Got it?"
"Sir, yes sir!" said Marco, causing everyone to giggle again.
"A Hork-Bajir egg? Gross!" Rachel said.
"Rock-a-bye baby,
With all the blades,
Daddy will love you
When he needs a shave." sang Marco.
Rachel and I laughed.
"Well finally, another sane person with a good sense of humor."
"Obviously, we're the only two here who fit that description." Rachel joked, putting her arm on my shoulder.
"Ha ha ha."
Jake looked worried.
"A Hork-Bajir egg? Four eggs to the box, and from these pictures, there must have been hundreds of boxes."
Marco became serious too.
"Two hundred boxes makes eight hundred eggs. Eight hundred Hork-Bajir."
"I didn't know you could sleep in math class and learn at the same time, Marco."
"Not counting twins. Ing. Iiiiiinnng. Inguh." said Ax in reply to Marco.
"What are we going to do with these four?" asked Cassie reasonably.
"Give them to Tobias. After all, birds are meant to sit on eggs, right?" Marco joked.
Ax smiled. He shook his head.
"Prince Jake, we don't have to worry about eight hundred Hork-Bajir hatching at once. Hork-Bajir eggs take 1 year to hatch. And these are about two weeks old."
"How can you tell how old they are?" asked Cassie.
"By the color of the spots. The spots grow darker as the egg matures, then disappear completely just before it hatches."
I watched how well the group worked together. You'd almost think they were the perfect actors, with the perfect script to act out. I wished that someday, I could fit into a group like that. I realized, later, that if one person had been missing, the conversation would have been fruitless.
"What are we going to do with these eggs?" I asked.
"Give them to the Hork-Bajir, in the valley. They're a colony of free Hork-Bajir. Four eggs would help them a lot."
Everyone smiled at that. But then I realized.
"But eight hundred eggs would help them more."
Everyone looked at me.
"If we can get all the eggs to the Hork-Bajir, then they can hatch them. In a year, they'll have eight hundred more Hork-Bajir to fight the Yeerks." I said. Then I remembered a problem.
"Yeah! Then we can beat the Yeerks by storming the Yeerk Pool!" exclaimed Jake. But then, he, too, realized why it wouldn't work.
Cassie voiced our thoughts for us.
"In a year, when they hatch, the war might be over. When they hatch, it might be back into slavery by the Yeerks. Or, if we win, they'll hatch, and be found by humans."
Everyone quieted down. Then Jake turned to Erek.
"Erek, you haven't said anything yet. What do you think about all this?"
Erek was silent for a minute, then he replied:
"If the war will be over in a year, why do the Yeerks want eight hundred Hork-Bajir eggs?"
Everyone thought a minute. Then I looked at the clock.
"It's four thirty. You guys better leave, especially if you're flying home."
"Alright. We'll be back at seven o'clock to check out the accident?" Jake looked at all the members of the group, and all of them nodded. "Meet us outside. Do you have a bird morph?"
I stated, with as much dignity as I could. "I have a parakeet morph."
Marco, Rachel, Jake and Cassie all smiled. Cassie coughed and Marco giggled.
Jake said. " A parakeet. Great. Listen, you need a better flyer. Cassie, can you hook her up with a owl, or at least a hawk?"
Cassie said yes, she had one in her barn.
"Alright. Jacqueline, get a bug morph. Ride on Cassie to her barn, get the owl morph, fly back here on your own. Better yet, Tobias, fly her here and back. Got it?"
"Sir, yes sir!" said Marco, causing everyone to giggle again.