Arrival by Night
(A/N: O.K, second chapter up! I'm sorry if the last one went on for quite a long time, this one is a little more promising, and it actually begins to go somewhere. I'm grateful for at least getting one review! Really, I don't mind. At least it wasn't a flame, I don't mind getting those but as long as they're not too bad. I'll be writing the third chapter soon!)
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Night was now beginning to fall among the sanctuary, and most of the hens and their chicks were thinking about making their way to bed. It was always a funny sight for anyone to see, children complaining that it was still too light, trying to tug away from their parents as they were almost forced into the huts. Often, especially for the little ones, it usually ended up in tears, or some form of harsh argument, which then decided to leave for punishment.
But as soon as the chicks were at rest, quiet descended on the island. The silence of the night was a time that many enjoyed, for it held quiet comfort and solitude, the peacefulness was wonderful, though many up goers were held responsible for any loud noises or as Fowler said; 'Improper respect for other's slumber, raising uncanny clatter.' So it was usually on your head be it if so much as a shout disturbed the chickens and Nick and Fetcher from trying to sleep.
Recovered from the escapade on the grassy hill, Rocky and Ginger were still sitting out on the ground, in a corner of the island not too far from the water. Ginger had insisted of sitting out here tonight because it was one of her favourite spots. They could see the soft, hazy moon reflecting down on the water, causing it to become shattered as it rippled along the calm waves. It was rather a cold night, with a gentle breeze blowing along the grass and causing it to twitch, but neither chicken suggested on going back to their hut.
Ginger had been so happy when Mac had recommended for her and Rocky to both share a hut together that she was absolutely speechless. It was either that or to hide the fact that a sudden blush had arrived to the young hen's cheeks, which would have made her tone of voice sound embarrassed and rather squeaky. For this, Mac had extended their shelter to be twice as wide, and added with a sly look that it was mainly for 'oncoming visitors', which caused Ginger's blush to grow twice as strong and a slight giggle to escape.
She still was a little uncertain about the subject of children. What would Rocky think if she just suddenly asked him about what names he liked? She didn't even know if he was keen or not...in fact, she wasn't quite sure herself. She didn't want to lose what she already had, and she didn't want to make it worse for the both of them either. She was unsure about how Rocky would react...if he grew embarrassed, or cross, maybe even too happy that it darted Ginger away from the idea. I don't want him to think I'm rushing into everything, she thought to herself. We haven't really been here that long...what would he wonder if he knew I was thinking about children already? I'm being silly about the whole thing. Like I've said, it just needs some time. I don't know why I worry.
"You're thinking again," came a playful deep voice from her side.
Ginger didn't even know her eyes were shut until she felt them opening in surprise. She jumped a little in shock and darted her green eyes towards the sky mindlessly. Rocky. He's gotten so used to me now, he knows me inside out, she told herself mentally. I didn't even know he was watching me. I was a million miles away. "What?" she asked quietly, pretending as if she hadn't a clue what her boyfriend had just said.
Rocky smirked cheekily. "Ya are, aren't ya? Knew it. That's why ya looked as if ya was in your own little world, dreaming about me...and life...and stuff...and me..."
Ginger laughed gently at Rocky's sentence. How that he never runs out of jokes is beyond me. she thought as she turned to look at Rocky with a sweet smile. "How do you know what I'm thinking about?" she wondered sweetly.
"C'mon, it's not that difficult to tell, is it? I mean...you've got this faraway look..." Rocky pulled a ridiculous face, trying to imitate Ginger. He crossed his brown eyes awkwardly and presented a mischievous grin. "See? I'm thinking now...'bout stuff...hold on..."
Ginger began to laugh again. "I do not look like that!" she sniggered harmoniously, hitting Rocky playfully on the wing, causing him to break out of his impersonating trance and laugh along too. Ginger loved to watch Rocky laugh. He just makes me want to melt down from the heat. she pondered. I love the way his eyes scrunch up...gosh, he's handsome. No wonder people love hearing his jokes.
"Well, you were the one who begged to sit here," Rocky said, still smiling playfully, tearing up a blade of grass. "Who was the one who dragged me away from a nice, soft bed, and said; "Oh, Rocky! Let us sit out by the water's edge! Let us bask in the glorious rays of the moonlight!" All while Rocky was imitating Ginger's words, he sent his voice up to an annoying high pitch, which sounded irregular and cracked in places.
Ginger laughed as she placed her wings over her ears. "Stop, please! It's horrible!" she joked.
Rocky pretended to sulk and look rather hurt. "Aw, c'mon. My voice ain't that bad."
"It was...just then!"
"It can't be any worse than Gramps!" Rocky shot back rudely, referring to Fowler during a time when he wanted to do nothing more than rant and rave, about his days back in the R.A.F and now...how he helped in the rescue mission of his fellow chickens.
The young hen tried not to laugh but she couldn't help herself. "I'll tell him that you said that!" she giggled, her bright green eyes lighting up in harmony.
"Who cares?"
"You will, when he finds out!"
"Yeah, right," the rooster sighed as he threw the remains of his torn blade of grass over his shoulder and staring at Ginger as if he had just struck onto something funny. "You're telling me about people finding out about stuff? What about you and your precious hat, huh? Tell me that!" His brown eyes darted to her head, where her hat now sat firmly in place. What was the deal in her taking it off? he wondered curiously to himself. It wasn't that much of a problem. I still think she looks cute without it, no matter what she says.
Ginger followed Rocky's gaze to the top of her head, placing a wing over her green woven hat for protection, just in case he tried another attempt to steal it. She had picked it up after the hill and was planning on keeping it where she believed it belonged.
"Yes, well...that's different," she remarked huffily, though trying not to blush as she caught Rocky's stare on her. "You weren't supposed to see me without it."
"Why not?" Rocky fired back adorably, his question catching Ginger by surprise.
It took a while for her to find words to fit. She opened her mouth but then shut it again, trying to think of a decent answer. How can he always find something to say back to people, no matter what the question? she thought in frustration. He's so witty...he just says the first thing that comes into his head. Oh, if I don't think of something to say soon he'll take over the conversation again...
Rocky was just about to share his winning comment when Ginger suddenly interrupted him with her own. "It's just something that shows who I am," she told him softly. "A sort of symbol, I suppose. It's just what others know me by." Her own answer even astonished herself. Did I really say that? Is that even true? I don't know what others know me by...but I hope to the high heavens that it's not this godforsaken hat! She laughed again at Rocky's speechless expression.
"They shouldn't, Ginge," he said in his rich voice, his tone sounding sincere. "I know I don't just know ya by a hat. You're more than that to me." Much more, he thought privately. I think that she's the only chick I've ever fallen for...excluding the crushes and all that garbage...but somehow...this feels like it's...what people call it. The right...or real thing. Something like that.
Ginger's heart fluttered inside at her boyfriend's words, leaving her feeling as if she were on fire. "Oh, Rocky - thank you," she murmured shyly, staring at the grass mindlessly and pulling up a blade of her own. She remembered how Rocky had looked at her without her hat. Sort of surprised...but enchanted all at the same time. He really does see me more than what some of the others do, she thought to herself happily. He doesn't know me as just a leader. He knows me as Ginger. Some of my closest friends do too, but Rocky is somewhat special to think that. I don't know why.
The young rooster smirked slightly as he watched Ginger tear the blades of grass in embarrassment, trying to avoid his eyes as her cheeks burned. "If ya keep doing that, ya won't have any grass left," he joked kindly, taking her by the wing to halt her actions, for she was now ripping the blades into tiny pieces, and then ripping those into even smaller ones.
Gasping in astonishment, Ginger noticed the torn meadow in her wings and hurriedly dropped them back down to earth. She still felt quite shy from Rocky's earlier comment, even though he spoke it about nearly a minute ago. I've waited my whole life for my feet to be on this grass, she thought crazily. And I'm treating it like I don't need it anymore. Rocky's right. If I keep doing this I won't have any more left. I'm being ridiculous...I bet Rocky thinks that too. She flushed a little dimly this time. "I'm being silly again," she smiled weakly, fingering the grass this time with a feather instead of pulling it up.
Rocky sighed in sympathy and rolled his eyes at her. She doesn't half make people feel sorry for her, he pondered caringly. It's just this look she gets, like as if she's done something wrong. Cheer up, Ginge. Scooting over to her side, he put his wing around her comfortingly and hugged her close. "Come here," he breathed in his deep, kind voice, hoping Ginger wouldn't burst into tears at his words. He gulped before speaking. "You're not being silly, Ginge," he remarked charmingly.
Ginger laid her head onto his shoulder; feeling wanted and loved more than she'd ever done in her life. All of that time she had been in the farm and dreamed of her parents...the way she wished they would burst into the hut and proclaim that they were taking her home, away from all of the torture and pain of the fear she experienced. She remembered that her first friend she had made there was killed within a few hours. Ginger hadn't even asked for her name. That memory seemed to burn into Ginger's head like no other, and she couldn't rid of it. That was the first time she had realised the danger she was living in.
She shuddered a little at these disturbing thoughts, her head still resting on Rocky's shoulder.
Rocky grinned. "Cold?"
"No. No - not really."
"But you're shivering."
"I am?"
"Yeah, ya are."
"Not from the cold," Ginger added hastily, hoping that Rocky would leave the subject where it was and not continue it any further. In truth, she was hotter than she'd ever been this night. She snuggled down further, trying to make it look like she was warm enough as she was.
"Then...what from?" Rocky asked in confusion.
"Never mind," Ginger said shortly, hoping that he wouldn't press it further for another second. She shut her green eyes and settled in the silence, the breezes were hardly up and they seemed to have dropped as soon as Rocky had asked her if she were cold. How ironic, Ginger giggled to herself under her breath. Things seem to come your way when you least expect it.
Rocky just sighed sweetly. "Shoot," he mumbled to himself quietly. "I'll never understand girls." His wing hugged Ginger closer to him, maybe not from the cold but more from protection. Rocky had to admit that he never liked the idea of another rooster getting close to his girlfriend. He didn't mean to be the jealous type, but somehow resentment always overpowered him.
He heard the sound of Ginger's protest. "Rocky! I said I wasn't cold!" Ginger had felt his grip tighten and she wondered if she had been shivering still. She looked up into his handsome features with bemused eyes, wondering what was troubling him. He seems so quiet tonight, she told herself thoughtfully. So quiet. He's trying to hide it with his usual jokes, I can see. What's he really thinking?
She felt her expression narrow itself in sympathy as she noticed how troubled he suddenly seemed to be. "Are you alright?" she asked in a kind, sweet voice, almost a whisper as it contained some of her deepest feelings.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Rocky answered casually, releasing his grip a little on Ginger, suspecting that she had felt his protectiveness for what he had actually thought. He cleared his throat again and drove his gaze up to the stars absent-mindedly. She can always tell when something's up, he said to himself. It's like some sort of thing with chicks. How come girls can do it, but not always guys? Sometimes life isn't fair. He chuckled to himself a little, sharing his own thoughts.
"What?" Ginger pondered gently, watching him laugh beside her. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Rocky - please tell me," she begged, hoping against hope that he would, and stop hiding these sorts of secrets from her own will. So much as I can say, she reminded herself angrily. I thought I told myself to tell him sometime soon. I actually planned on explaining it to him tonight. And I haven't gotten anywhere! I suppose my nerves are getting the best of me. Every time I think about bringing it up, I feel sick.
Rocky looked down at her with a deep sigh. As usual his heart pitied for the young hen, her bright green eyes glistening up at him as though she was almost expecting to bust into tears. The rooster's heart contracted with emotion, the expression being far too painful. He shifted a little and gulped in a way that made Ginger smile. "I can't, Ginge," he finally muttered.
"Why ever not?"
"Because..." he strained his hardest for a reasonable answer. "...I forgot."
Ginger couldn't help it. She had to release a soft, comforting laugh, which rang through the breeze at a beautiful tone. It made Rocky feel a lot more comfortable and less fidgety, which he was immensely grateful for. He chuckled handsomely so that their laughs echoed in the night sky.
"I should think you have!" Ginger giggled gently, hugging Rocky close, completely forgetting her whole wanting of need for the answered question. "The time it took for you to tell me...no wonder you can't remember - " Her eyes widening, she trailed off, suddenly glancing at him quite suspiciously, staring at him as if she had uncovered something. She gave him a tease of a glare. "Or can you?" she wondered slowly.
"What?" Rocky was completely at a loss.
Instead of a sneaky comeback as he was expecting, Ginger just gave him a pleasant beam. Always acting so innocent. Don't play this one on me. "I can never tell what a Lone Free Ranger thinks of in his spare time," she concluded, sighing softly through her words, taking heed to notice how bight the stars were in an excuse to avoid Rocky's dark brown eyes, which were making her set alight from the inside.
Rocky gave her a cheeky grin. "What do ya think?"
"Oh, be quiet," Ginger teased, playfully reaching up a wing and ruffling Rocky's red comb as a joke. Sometimes he can say the rudest things, but he still manages to bring a smile out of me. I'm sure that he wasn't thinking about anything too offensive. She let out another harmonious titter as she witnessed her boyfriend's dishevelled appearance. The strands of his comb stuck out at odd angles and gave Rocky sort of a laid-back style, untidier than usual.
Rocky however, didn't find her act amusing. With a small, shocked look crossing his face mildly, he reached up his wings to his comb and felt about frantically. Doesn't she understand how I feel about these sorts of things? he thought hysterically. Geesh, it takes me forever to get this just right and then she goes and ruins it! He wasn't really angry, just annoyed at what was going on. After all, it could always be sorted in under a minute easily, it was just Rocky's failing part of his personality...he was extremely proud.
"Ginge!" he exclaimed aloud. "You've messed it up!"
Ginger was used to his outbursts and didn't take this seriously as she did when he first began his tantrums. Instead, she gave him a glare that read; 'Serves you right' and tried to hide the creeping smile that was slowly appearing on her face. "I see no difference, Rocky. Really," she encouraged, wishing and longing to bring his wings back down to his sides, for his fidgeting was really beginning to irritate her the slightest. "You still look handsome."
"I'm serious, Ginge!" he argued defensively. "I know what ya said about the hat thing...but this is getting too far!" He lowered his wings finally, though his comb was still vaguely out of place. He gave her a playful glare. "I can't even see what's wrong with it," he drawled deeply, catching Ginger's eye inspecting it closely.
"Nothing! It looks fine!"
"Says you," he backfired, once more raising his wings to the top of his head, pulling and trying to straighten each comb strand individually, praying with crossed feathers that his new solution of neatening was improving. Ginger watched him closely, smiling. Rocky thought that he was making the situation better, well in fact, now it looked positively ten times worse, though Ginger didn't want to disappoint him by offering her own opinion.
"Well?" he asked hopefully, lowering his wings and showing her the result.
Ginger tried to hold back a smirk. "It...it looks fine," she repeated barely.
Rocky brought his wings down into his lap, giving his sniggering girlfriend a meaningful glare. "I know ya lying, aren't ya? I knew that ya would - right." The rooster halted his sentence abruptly by rapidly turning his head from Ginger and rising from the floor, so he straightened up tall.
This shocked Ginger a little at his actions. "Where are you going?" she asked worriedly.
Rocky tugged frantically at his tousled comb, now beginning to stick up in places that he would never have stepped outside in if it was up to him...besides the fact that the young rooster would always make sure that he appeared suitable and decent outside of the bunk was beyond the question and beside the point. "To find a mirror," he replied with a half-smarmy grin. "I wanna inspect the damage and sort it out. Won't be a sec."
Ginger giggled again in a soft melody as she watched Rocky slowly make his way back to their hut, still trying to recover his pride by arranging his comb in the stylish way that he liked and held it in that order. She saw him muttering curses under his breath as one separate strand kept flailing down inconveniently in his dark eyes.
Finally, the speck that was Rocky vanished from her view as he stepped into the hut, and she saw a light appear, as he must have turned the lantern on that they kept. She sighed slowly and shook her head in humour. I wish I had never messed it up; he made such a fuss about it. He can act a little childish when worst comes to...well, worst. If that's what he thought was worst. In telling truth, Ginger wanted a little peace for a moment, to clear her thoughts. These were the only things in which she discussed her private feelings, happenings and emotions.
Ginger returned her gaze to the water's edge where she insisted on staring upon the brightness of the moon and the twinkling stars. For the first time she wondered what time it was...surely it was past midnight. She thought about her and Rocky sitting out until daybreak, when the sun would rise over those green, lush, beautiful hills of hers. Maybe they could watch it...a sunrise...that would be nice. No, marvellous. Ginger thought day dreamingly.
She let out a satisfied sigh and leant backward on the grass, small strands of it tickling her feathers. She was in paradise...and she knew it. Ginger recalled how the farm had seemed almost like torture...pain...fear...a prison. She and her friends were always treated not respectfully, every day, cowering in tight groups, wondering if their very lives would be destroyed. And they almost were... Ginger's voice in her head rang out, giving her a tiny shiver.
Pushing the thoughts away, she let her fright and worry float away on the breeze, so that she felt free again. She should relax now...not think about the farm and it's terrifying moments, they were in the past. And the past should be placed behind you. Ginger told herself properly. All that there is for me to do now...is to look towards the future, and be prepared for it too.
A nearby splash suddenly sounded abruptly, casting Ginger out of her peaceful thoughts and opening her bright green eyes in shock. She spun her head in the direction of the sound, which came from the right to where she was sitting, further down the lake and behind the hill. Moments later after silence, the splash was followed by a low thump and a deep groan.
Ginger's heart thumped in her throat as she listened intensively. "H-Hello?" she whispered out nervously, her senses felt completely numbed. "Is anyone there?"
No answer responded. Oh, gosh...she panicked in her thoughts, her head racing with confusing ideas, Someone's out there...I can feel it. Oh, Rocky - where are you? Why are you taking so long? Ginger shivered, feeling cold and afraid all over. Her nerves gave a second, sudden jolt as her eyes wandered onto a new lone shadow, making its way steadily up the bank, upon the lush, night time green bank. It appeared unrecognisable, she couldn't make out what it was.
Though in the position where she sat, Ginger didn't move. She just couldn't. Oh, no…she moaned finally in her thoughts as the silhouette reached the up most of the edge's shore, and was already halfway up the hill. Whatever it was...didn't seem to be injured, Ginger could tell that from a distance. It wasn't hurt, and it looked altogether strong. It came ever closer, unaware of another presence.
Oh, Rocky... Ginger prayed in her thoughts, despite that her heart was already considering the bravest options for her to choose, Come back...come back...where are you? Please, come back...
To be continued
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(A/N: Ooh, whatever could it be? I'm currently writing the third chapter, so it could take longer than this one did to post up. It would be so nice if I got to thank lots more readers at the beginning of the next chapter, though it's really up to you whether you want to read this or not...I'm no judge, lol. The plot is beginning to thicken as you've noticed. Thanks everyone!)