Disclaimer: "My" Ares is based on how Kevin Smith played him in the Xena and Hercules series.
Dedication: To Kevin Smith - You will be missed
~*~ Thank you Birds of a Feather for the inspiration ~*~
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Good Birds gone Bad.
She felt the sun tickling her beak. She opened her little eyes and saw that it was a beautiful day. She stretched her wings and shook her little tale. Yes… it was going to be a great day, and she was happy to be a Nightingale. First she would go to the lake and take a bath, and then she would find some nice berries to eat. While she was planning her day… figuring out where to take her nap and what tree she would sit in to sing when the sun was going to set… she heard a noise. Humans??? Here??? what where they doing here?? The great thing about this forest was that there were hardly no humans. That was the reason so many birds and animals lived here. It was the forest of the Nymphs, most humans didn't dare come here. She never thought she would see so many humans at once. They were close enough now for her to hear what they were saying. "But… my lord…." One of the men stammered. "this is where the Nymphs live!" She could see that the scared man was talking to a tall, dark haired man. "No buts…" that man said "when I, the god of war, decides on a place for a battle, no one will stop me!" "But… my lord Ares…" the first man tried again… "I could never find enough soldiers to fight here." The Wargod's face turned even angrier than before… "What I say goes… and I say that we fight here!!!" He shouted. "I'll give you your army." Ares turned around and looked at some birds sitting on a nearby branch, he waved his hand and they all turned into humans…. "They will be your soldiers… they will do exactly what you want them to do… catch as many birds you need and I will turn them all into mindless soldiers for you." Everybody around knew that Ares was not going to listen to anymore "buts" so they all nodded and said "Yes, my lord" She saw how the man started to catch birds, good birds and how Ares turned them into bad soldiers. It was horrible. Nobody noticed her sitting there. Nightingales don't have flashy colours and they aren't that big. She new she had to do something. Where to go? Who would help her? The Nymphs!!! They would help her. When she was sure none of the men were looking at her tree she flew away.
It took her about an hour to get to the home of the Nymphs. "Hello!!!" the little nightingale said "any body there?" Three Nymphs appeared. "Can we help you, little bird?" The little nightingale told them what she had seen. "We can't fight Ares." One of the Nymphs said. "But there must be something we can do?" the second Nymph said. The third Nymph said: "Why not use the same weapon he uses?" She looked at the little bird. The other two Nymphs nodded. "Great idea!" They said. The little nightingale didn't understand what they were talking about and why they were looking at her in such a strange way. "We will turn you into a human too… then you can go to Ares and stop him." Before the little nightingale could say anything, she was turned into a human. It seemed that everything was smaller around her… but she realized soon that things weren't smaller, she was bigger. Ohh… she was cold. She looked at her wings, but they weren't there… she had arms now and legs… and no feathers. That is why she was cold of course. The Nymphs gave her some clothes, "thanks" said the little nightingale. Here voice sounded weird and she could speak like the humans do… It was hard to keep her balance though… She had the hardest time not to fall over. "Well, little bird, go find Ares and stop him. You will have until the third sunset before you turn back into a nightingale again. If you haven't changed his mind by then, all your friends will stay soldiers and they will fight his war. Look inside yourself and you will find the strength, you can change his mind." "I will try." She wanted to go back to the lake as soon as possible, so she spread out her arms like she would her wings… but nothing happened. She could hear the Nymphs giggle behind her, one of them said: "Think like a human, little bird. You have to walk there." Ohhh…. Sure… walking, she could do that. She started to hip like she was used to, it wasn't easy in this weird body. Again she could hear the Nymphs giggle… "Not like that, silly!!! Like this." One of Nymphs started walking across the room. That looked hard. She had a hard time keeping balance as it is, but to put one leg in front of the other could be a problem. She tried, first left then right and then left again. She needed to get used to it… but she would do it… she had to!
She was getting tired, she only needed an hour to fly to the Nymphs, getting back to the lake didn't go that fast at all. Here feet hurt, she started to understand why people ride horses… walking wasn't the fastest or easiest way to get around. It did give her time to figure out what to say to Ares though. She was going to tell him about how important the forest is and that birds are not to be used for warfare. He would listen, she was sure of it… well, not really sure of it… honestly she wasn't even sure if she would ever get back to the lake at all. She did decide that she needed a name, she knew that using her birdname would be a mistake… she started looking around the forest if she could come up with a name… "Hi, my name is Tree." She tried.. nope… that is not it. "Hello, I am Rock." No, that didn't sound right either. Then she saw some beautiful flowers… that's it… Orchid. I will use Orchid. She tried it out loud: "Good afternoon, my name is Orchid." Yep… perfect! Well, at least one thing was going to be good… now to stop the war.
It was almost sunset when she finally got near the place where she last saw Ares and his soldiers. She could hear voices nearby. Yes, they made a camp right here. She decided to first get a good nights rest and then tomorrow she would go find Ares. She looked up at the trees to find a good branch to sleep on, still having problems thinking like a human. Because she was looking up, she didn't see the soldiers walking towards her. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" one of the soldiers said. They startled her. That meant no night sleep… "My name is Orchid and I need to talk to Ares." The soldiers looked at her in disbelieve. "You are either a very brave or a very stupid little girl." One of the soldiers said. "I am NOT a little girl." The little nightingale said. The soldiers started laughing… Well, she wasn't a little girl… but just in time she stopped herself. She almost shouted… "I am a nightingale!" But she didn't. "We'll take you to him." The soldiers had a hard time not to laugh and they were sure that Ares would get some amusement from the young woman. As they pushed her into the biggest tent in the camp, one of them said: "We found this woman snooping around the camp, my lord." Ares looked at her, then turned to the soldiers and said: "You disturbed me to show me a little girl, I am a very busy god you know? I don't have time for little girls." "I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL!" She shouted. The soldiers were sure that Ares would be very angry… but he wasn't. Amused he looked at the young woman. "Oh, I am so sorry. You are a woman of course." With a big grin he bowed to her. She knew he was making fun of her, but he didn't give her anytime to say something. "So, who are you and how can I help you, my lady?" Ares said. "My name is Orchid, and I came to tell you that you can not fight a battle here. Also I demand that you are going to turn all the birds back to the way they are supposed to be. You can't just go around turning birds into soldiers." So… she said it. "What??" Ares shouted "Who do you think you are talking to? I am the god of war, and I can do what I want!" Then he turned to the soldiers. "Take her away and guard her. I will deal with her tomorrow!" Before she knew it she was in a little tent. It didn't really go as planned. But she had two more days before she would turn into a nightingale again. The Nymphs said she could do it. She better just get some sleep. Where to sleep, she thought… think as a human! She looked at the bed and decided that was a good place to sleep.
Then next morning she woke up not really sure where she was… slowly she remembered what happened the day before. Outside the tent she could hear soldiers, frightened birds and shouting. She opened the tent just a little and looked outside. And she could see how dozens of birds were changed into soldiers just by one wave of Ares hand. She looked at it for a while, tears running down her cheeks. She never cried before, birds don't cry, but she felt sad and she felt that this was how humans expressed sadness. She laid back on the bed. She knew that she had to wait until the soldiers came to get her. It was almost sunset when finally the soldiers came to get her. Quietly she walked between the two big man. She wondered why the Nymphs didn't turn her into a little bit bigger woman, maybe then Ares wouldn't laugh at her. She saw how Ares turned that last birds of that day into soldiers. Mrs. Hummingbird was with them. Hummingbirds are much smaller then nightingales, so why was Mrs. Hummingbirds human form so much bigger than hers. "Ahh… Orchid." Ares voice interrupted her thoughts. "Now, what to do with you." "Please…" She started, she would try to reason with him this time. "Just listen to me. Let me explain." Ares thought that it could be entertaining, and he decided to let her speak. Orchid started to talk about the beauty of nature, the importance of birds, animals and trees. And Ares listened. She thought she was getting trough to him. "And that is why you have to stop this war." She concluded her speech. The silence seemed like a hours. Ares could see hope and anticipation in the eyes of "the little girl" like he called her. "No!" he said "I made up my mind, I want to have my battle here." He turned to one of his warlords next to him, "She is very cute though, pretty even" He commented. "Bring her back to her tent. I will have to think a little about how to punish her for being so rude to me."
Back in the small tent she was getting desperate now. She had until the next sunset to change Ares mind… and that is not much time. Talking didn't help… fighting him was no option. He would laugh if she would challenge him to a duel. Why did she get a body like this. She noticed that the soldiers looked at her, and Ares called her cute and pretty. Not really something that would help her in a fight. So that was not an option. Maybe if I sleep on it for one more night, tomorrow could be the day she would find the answer to her problem. "Why not talk now, just you and me?" She recognized Ares voice behind her. "I don't feel like talking!" she answered, while the words left her mouth, she knew that she was making a big mistake. "YOU don't feel like talking??" Ares roared. "Don't make me mad, little girl" She turned to say: I am not a little girl… but he was gone already. That was a bad move. She started to panic. What could she do? She wasn't strong and he wasn't listening. She was not really a human… she was just a little nightingale. The only thing she could do properly was sing. That was the last thought before she fell asleep. She had a dream that night. In her dream she saw good birds turning bad, she saw Ares angry face and tons of soldiers. And over and over she heard herself say… the only thing I can do is sing. She woke up with voices saying Sing… sing … SING. "That's it!" she said to herself. Why not try to sing. But could she sing in this body. She tried. Yep… she could. She just tried thinking both as a bird and as a human. And the song and the words just seemed to come right out of her mouth. One of the guards looked inside, and she could see in his eyes that the song got to his heart. Now al she had to do was wait.
When the soldiers finally came to get her, it was almost sunset. She looked at the sun and saw that it would only be an hour. One hour, she hoped it would be enough. Ares looked at her, and he didn't look happy at all. "You have one last chance now. And you better convince me not to kill you." Orchid started to sing. A beautiful song about the forest, the harmony of nature, why not to destroy it with a war. Soon the soldiers got tears in their eyes. Ares couldn't look away, it was like he was under a spell. He didn't make fun of the tiny young women now. He just listened. She sang and sang… and one at the time, Ares started to change all the birds back to the way they are supposed to be. Just a moment before sunset all the birds were good birds again. Orchid kept singing while she felt herself turn back into a nightingale. She no longer sang words, just tones, the songs nightingales sing. Ares stretched out his hand and she flew over to him and sat on his hand. "I guess you really weren't a little girl? You stopped this war and I will not come here to have a war again. But one thing you have to promise me, when I come here you will sing for me again." The little nightingale nodded her head… she could not talk anymore. She sang him one more little song, and than she flew a way and all the other birds followed.
And now, when it seems like war has taken a day off, we know that Ares, the Greek god of war, is in the forest of the Nymphs listening to the song of one brave little bird, who's song turned bad bird back to good.
Dedication: To Kevin Smith - You will be missed
~*~ Thank you Birds of a Feather for the inspiration ~*~
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Good Birds gone Bad.
She felt the sun tickling her beak. She opened her little eyes and saw that it was a beautiful day. She stretched her wings and shook her little tale. Yes… it was going to be a great day, and she was happy to be a Nightingale. First she would go to the lake and take a bath, and then she would find some nice berries to eat. While she was planning her day… figuring out where to take her nap and what tree she would sit in to sing when the sun was going to set… she heard a noise. Humans??? Here??? what where they doing here?? The great thing about this forest was that there were hardly no humans. That was the reason so many birds and animals lived here. It was the forest of the Nymphs, most humans didn't dare come here. She never thought she would see so many humans at once. They were close enough now for her to hear what they were saying. "But… my lord…." One of the men stammered. "this is where the Nymphs live!" She could see that the scared man was talking to a tall, dark haired man. "No buts…" that man said "when I, the god of war, decides on a place for a battle, no one will stop me!" "But… my lord Ares…" the first man tried again… "I could never find enough soldiers to fight here." The Wargod's face turned even angrier than before… "What I say goes… and I say that we fight here!!!" He shouted. "I'll give you your army." Ares turned around and looked at some birds sitting on a nearby branch, he waved his hand and they all turned into humans…. "They will be your soldiers… they will do exactly what you want them to do… catch as many birds you need and I will turn them all into mindless soldiers for you." Everybody around knew that Ares was not going to listen to anymore "buts" so they all nodded and said "Yes, my lord" She saw how the man started to catch birds, good birds and how Ares turned them into bad soldiers. It was horrible. Nobody noticed her sitting there. Nightingales don't have flashy colours and they aren't that big. She new she had to do something. Where to go? Who would help her? The Nymphs!!! They would help her. When she was sure none of the men were looking at her tree she flew away.
It took her about an hour to get to the home of the Nymphs. "Hello!!!" the little nightingale said "any body there?" Three Nymphs appeared. "Can we help you, little bird?" The little nightingale told them what she had seen. "We can't fight Ares." One of the Nymphs said. "But there must be something we can do?" the second Nymph said. The third Nymph said: "Why not use the same weapon he uses?" She looked at the little bird. The other two Nymphs nodded. "Great idea!" They said. The little nightingale didn't understand what they were talking about and why they were looking at her in such a strange way. "We will turn you into a human too… then you can go to Ares and stop him." Before the little nightingale could say anything, she was turned into a human. It seemed that everything was smaller around her… but she realized soon that things weren't smaller, she was bigger. Ohh… she was cold. She looked at her wings, but they weren't there… she had arms now and legs… and no feathers. That is why she was cold of course. The Nymphs gave her some clothes, "thanks" said the little nightingale. Here voice sounded weird and she could speak like the humans do… It was hard to keep her balance though… She had the hardest time not to fall over. "Well, little bird, go find Ares and stop him. You will have until the third sunset before you turn back into a nightingale again. If you haven't changed his mind by then, all your friends will stay soldiers and they will fight his war. Look inside yourself and you will find the strength, you can change his mind." "I will try." She wanted to go back to the lake as soon as possible, so she spread out her arms like she would her wings… but nothing happened. She could hear the Nymphs giggle behind her, one of them said: "Think like a human, little bird. You have to walk there." Ohhh…. Sure… walking, she could do that. She started to hip like she was used to, it wasn't easy in this weird body. Again she could hear the Nymphs giggle… "Not like that, silly!!! Like this." One of Nymphs started walking across the room. That looked hard. She had a hard time keeping balance as it is, but to put one leg in front of the other could be a problem. She tried, first left then right and then left again. She needed to get used to it… but she would do it… she had to!
She was getting tired, she only needed an hour to fly to the Nymphs, getting back to the lake didn't go that fast at all. Here feet hurt, she started to understand why people ride horses… walking wasn't the fastest or easiest way to get around. It did give her time to figure out what to say to Ares though. She was going to tell him about how important the forest is and that birds are not to be used for warfare. He would listen, she was sure of it… well, not really sure of it… honestly she wasn't even sure if she would ever get back to the lake at all. She did decide that she needed a name, she knew that using her birdname would be a mistake… she started looking around the forest if she could come up with a name… "Hi, my name is Tree." She tried.. nope… that is not it. "Hello, I am Rock." No, that didn't sound right either. Then she saw some beautiful flowers… that's it… Orchid. I will use Orchid. She tried it out loud: "Good afternoon, my name is Orchid." Yep… perfect! Well, at least one thing was going to be good… now to stop the war.
It was almost sunset when she finally got near the place where she last saw Ares and his soldiers. She could hear voices nearby. Yes, they made a camp right here. She decided to first get a good nights rest and then tomorrow she would go find Ares. She looked up at the trees to find a good branch to sleep on, still having problems thinking like a human. Because she was looking up, she didn't see the soldiers walking towards her. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" one of the soldiers said. They startled her. That meant no night sleep… "My name is Orchid and I need to talk to Ares." The soldiers looked at her in disbelieve. "You are either a very brave or a very stupid little girl." One of the soldiers said. "I am NOT a little girl." The little nightingale said. The soldiers started laughing… Well, she wasn't a little girl… but just in time she stopped herself. She almost shouted… "I am a nightingale!" But she didn't. "We'll take you to him." The soldiers had a hard time not to laugh and they were sure that Ares would get some amusement from the young woman. As they pushed her into the biggest tent in the camp, one of them said: "We found this woman snooping around the camp, my lord." Ares looked at her, then turned to the soldiers and said: "You disturbed me to show me a little girl, I am a very busy god you know? I don't have time for little girls." "I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL!" She shouted. The soldiers were sure that Ares would be very angry… but he wasn't. Amused he looked at the young woman. "Oh, I am so sorry. You are a woman of course." With a big grin he bowed to her. She knew he was making fun of her, but he didn't give her anytime to say something. "So, who are you and how can I help you, my lady?" Ares said. "My name is Orchid, and I came to tell you that you can not fight a battle here. Also I demand that you are going to turn all the birds back to the way they are supposed to be. You can't just go around turning birds into soldiers." So… she said it. "What??" Ares shouted "Who do you think you are talking to? I am the god of war, and I can do what I want!" Then he turned to the soldiers. "Take her away and guard her. I will deal with her tomorrow!" Before she knew it she was in a little tent. It didn't really go as planned. But she had two more days before she would turn into a nightingale again. The Nymphs said she could do it. She better just get some sleep. Where to sleep, she thought… think as a human! She looked at the bed and decided that was a good place to sleep.
Then next morning she woke up not really sure where she was… slowly she remembered what happened the day before. Outside the tent she could hear soldiers, frightened birds and shouting. She opened the tent just a little and looked outside. And she could see how dozens of birds were changed into soldiers just by one wave of Ares hand. She looked at it for a while, tears running down her cheeks. She never cried before, birds don't cry, but she felt sad and she felt that this was how humans expressed sadness. She laid back on the bed. She knew that she had to wait until the soldiers came to get her. It was almost sunset when finally the soldiers came to get her. Quietly she walked between the two big man. She wondered why the Nymphs didn't turn her into a little bit bigger woman, maybe then Ares wouldn't laugh at her. She saw how Ares turned that last birds of that day into soldiers. Mrs. Hummingbird was with them. Hummingbirds are much smaller then nightingales, so why was Mrs. Hummingbirds human form so much bigger than hers. "Ahh… Orchid." Ares voice interrupted her thoughts. "Now, what to do with you." "Please…" She started, she would try to reason with him this time. "Just listen to me. Let me explain." Ares thought that it could be entertaining, and he decided to let her speak. Orchid started to talk about the beauty of nature, the importance of birds, animals and trees. And Ares listened. She thought she was getting trough to him. "And that is why you have to stop this war." She concluded her speech. The silence seemed like a hours. Ares could see hope and anticipation in the eyes of "the little girl" like he called her. "No!" he said "I made up my mind, I want to have my battle here." He turned to one of his warlords next to him, "She is very cute though, pretty even" He commented. "Bring her back to her tent. I will have to think a little about how to punish her for being so rude to me."
Back in the small tent she was getting desperate now. She had until the next sunset to change Ares mind… and that is not much time. Talking didn't help… fighting him was no option. He would laugh if she would challenge him to a duel. Why did she get a body like this. She noticed that the soldiers looked at her, and Ares called her cute and pretty. Not really something that would help her in a fight. So that was not an option. Maybe if I sleep on it for one more night, tomorrow could be the day she would find the answer to her problem. "Why not talk now, just you and me?" She recognized Ares voice behind her. "I don't feel like talking!" she answered, while the words left her mouth, she knew that she was making a big mistake. "YOU don't feel like talking??" Ares roared. "Don't make me mad, little girl" She turned to say: I am not a little girl… but he was gone already. That was a bad move. She started to panic. What could she do? She wasn't strong and he wasn't listening. She was not really a human… she was just a little nightingale. The only thing she could do properly was sing. That was the last thought before she fell asleep. She had a dream that night. In her dream she saw good birds turning bad, she saw Ares angry face and tons of soldiers. And over and over she heard herself say… the only thing I can do is sing. She woke up with voices saying Sing… sing … SING. "That's it!" she said to herself. Why not try to sing. But could she sing in this body. She tried. Yep… she could. She just tried thinking both as a bird and as a human. And the song and the words just seemed to come right out of her mouth. One of the guards looked inside, and she could see in his eyes that the song got to his heart. Now al she had to do was wait.
When the soldiers finally came to get her, it was almost sunset. She looked at the sun and saw that it would only be an hour. One hour, she hoped it would be enough. Ares looked at her, and he didn't look happy at all. "You have one last chance now. And you better convince me not to kill you." Orchid started to sing. A beautiful song about the forest, the harmony of nature, why not to destroy it with a war. Soon the soldiers got tears in their eyes. Ares couldn't look away, it was like he was under a spell. He didn't make fun of the tiny young women now. He just listened. She sang and sang… and one at the time, Ares started to change all the birds back to the way they are supposed to be. Just a moment before sunset all the birds were good birds again. Orchid kept singing while she felt herself turn back into a nightingale. She no longer sang words, just tones, the songs nightingales sing. Ares stretched out his hand and she flew over to him and sat on his hand. "I guess you really weren't a little girl? You stopped this war and I will not come here to have a war again. But one thing you have to promise me, when I come here you will sing for me again." The little nightingale nodded her head… she could not talk anymore. She sang him one more little song, and than she flew a way and all the other birds followed.
And now, when it seems like war has taken a day off, we know that Ares, the Greek god of war, is in the forest of the Nymphs listening to the song of one brave little bird, who's song turned bad bird back to good.