Azul

(A/N: Finally, the third chapter! I'm sorry about the long wait (I think it was April when I last updated…my word.) and from rumours I've heard the CR section is beginning to fade. I hope this makes up for it, and will entertain the waiting crowd!)

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Ginger froze, continuing to stare into the night. She had never felt so frightened in a long time, not since she had been at the farm and had dreaded the thought of death and the lives of her friends. Maybe it had been nothing, and she was just getting flustered for no purpose?

Struggling with her unmoving thoughts, she thought back to the time when she had felt afraid, and her heart had last frozen like this. Mr. Tweedy had discovered them all, working away with his tools on their flying machine. What had she done then? Stood her ground? Shivered in a corner? Gave herself up?

No. She had fought. She had commanded revenge, and it had worked. Ever since she had stood up to the blustering farmer she had felt a sense of victory last night, and not just because of their success, not because she had left the Tweedys far behind in a pool of gravy, but because she had conquered her fears and left her feeling proud of herself, of everyone for trying.

Though her mind was screaming at her, Ginger found herself rising quickly from the grass and forcing courage within. Gathering what frown she could manage, she rushed quickly over to the water's edge and found herself shouting in her own voice, a voice harsh and brave.

"Hey, stop! Who's there?"

She heard the sounds freeze in place before she turned and confronted the shadow, now backing off from her in the dark but heading away from the water. Ginger marched after the stranger, fire in her eyes, and caught up behind, easily surprising the intruder as they had not expected her to follow.

She reached out a wing and took firm hold of the other, noticing when she had first seen it that it was at her height, only a little taller. It was a chicken, then. There was no mistaking that. She pulled roughly to bring the stranger backwards, and to halt their movement. A cry of astonishment came from the new chicken, as this was also startling.

"What? What?" the voice demanded quickly, and rather out of fear. "Let go of me!"

"No! Not until you tell me who you are!" the young hen snapped back, her determined voice sounding hard and clear against the night. She felt shocked at her words but persisted not to care. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"I – I'll tell you if you let me go," the voice said, quietly stammering. It was a strange voice, Ginger had never heard of it before, it was not a foreign accent…she was aware of it, it sounded English. It was higher than she was expecting, though at times it fell into deep tones. Now that they were in way of the moonlight, she was starting to see his appearance a little.

Yes, his appearance. It was a rooster.

Ginger, though not entirely satisfied, studied the statement carefully. Her green eyes always twinkled when she thought over something, and they did so now. "You won't run away?" she asked, her suspicion creeping in. He could take off the minute she let go. She hoped it wasn't another thief on his way, or something like that. Rocky had told her about them.

"No! No," the rooster begged blandly. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"I promise you, I won't."

Sighing slowly, Ginger released her hold on the rooster's wing, noticing how he stood his ground on steady feet and turned to face her. She felt pleased with how she had handled the situation, he didn't seem dangerous or ready to fight back, and was ready to listen. He hadn't spoken until the promise and made no chance to run.

Well, no wonder he had appeared as a shadow – his feathers were black! They were the colour of a raven's, and stuck out strikingly in the light. The top part of his ruffle was a lighter brown colour, which protruded from his head down to his neck and consisted of neat feather arrangements, which stuck out from all sides. He wore a faded violet bandanna around his neck (the knot facing the front), and his plumage tail was of a green-teal shade.

Feeling a little calmer, Ginger let her temper settle and looked on at the stranger with an apologetic look in her eyes. It wasn't usual for the island to have visitors, so often she would snap whenever something unordinary happened. She hoped she hadn't offended him.

"I told you I wouldn't run," he said with a humble smile.

The hen laughed, almost instantly. "I'm sorry," she giggled meekly. "I didn't know what to expect, I thought you were sneaking up from behind me."

The rooster smiled, a very polite and sophisticated smile, to note. "That's perfectly fine, m'am. I wasn't intending to receive the warmest welcome at once," he told her. "I tell you I was shocked though, when you pulled me back like that. I was beginning to think I was under arrest."

"I'm…really sorry…" Ginger trailed off, feeling silly, and casting her eyes to the ground. "It's not often we have others come here, you know…it's sort of a sanctuary to us. We were hoping for the chance of new arrivals to come by it soon, but maybe we waited too long before we were ready for that hope."

He laughed, "I see what you mean."

She smiled, and cleared her throat. "Maybe you were surprised as much as I was," she began kindly, straightening out her hat, which was beginning to slip. "I never really explained who I was, did I? I could have been anyone who slipped out of the dark."

"You could," he agreed, laughing a little at his weak jokes.

"I apologise," she said again, wanting to make up for her actions as much as she possibly could. "It was my first thought. What would you have done if I hadn't come to see who you were? Where would you have gone?"

He raised his blue eyes upwards, as if searching for an answer. Finally, a small, confused smile played upon his face, his beak shifting into an amusing grin. "Frankly, I wouldn't be sure," he admitted honestly, his light red comb hung back behind his head. It didn't stick up like Rocky's always did. "Maybe I would have asked for help on one of these huts. Did you build them yourself?" He gestured towards them as if in marvel.

"Well, Mac designed them, and…" the hen stopped as she noticed the puzzled look on the stranger's face. He obviously had no idea what she was talking about. She shook her head, remembering he was new. "I'll tell you more later. Yes, they were built," she said.

The newcomer approved them with a nod of his head as he inspected the lot. "Very good craftsman work," he praised in his classy voice. "I find it a hobby of mine to construct objects like this…possibly like your friend 'Mac'." His eyes shifted as he looked back once again to the water's edge, his smile fading a little as he spotted another shadow on the hillside.

"I can't say the same for my raft," he muttered gloomily. "It must have dashed against the bank or something, many of the logs have come loose from the rope. It wasn't very well done together though, I might add. It was a quick job, really. More of a test run, if you will." He let out a low sigh and shook his head a little, his eyes turning away from the bank.

"Oh, you came on a raft?" Ginger asked curiously, only just realising that she hadn't even bothered to ask how the stranger had come to find this place. It was surrounded by water, after all…maybe the shock just send her into questions at first, it had never occurred to her at all. "It's not too badly damaged?"

"Possibly not," the rooster sighed out. "I'll be able to fix it. It was just happening to fall apart within feet of this island…I had to stop somewhere or there might have been the chance that it had run aground." He suddenly laughed, as if only just hearing what he had said. "I suppose I'm the same, now," he joked.

Ginger smiled again, feeling sorry for his predicament more and more with every sentence he spoke. "I can't really offer anything," she began slowly, "Then to ask you to stay for a while until you're ready to return on your way?" she quickly stopped, feeling a little flushed at her dismiss. "I mean," she corrected, "Unless you plan to stay, or something."

"Thank you, m'am," the rooster replied, his eyes gleaming. "I do intend to stay for a while, until my raft is mended for repair. It's quite kind of you. I cannot thank you enough."

"You're welcome here," Ginger said kind-heartedly. "I'm sure we have a hut nearby that we can spare for you. It's the least I can do for my behaviour earlier, and I'm sure I'll tell the others in the morning of you." She darted a glance upwards at the full moon. "Now may not be the best of times to wake them," she smiled.

He only chuckled a little, his laugh high and ringing.

"I'll have to make a proper introduction for you tomorrow, then," said Ginger, getting down to the facts and settling things in an orderly manner of hers that she often went through. "It would be best if I got everyone together and arranged some time for you with them, just to keep things calm and everything – oh! The time that we normally all wake is when Fowl – when the rooster crows in the morning. You'll be able to hear it, all right," she added.

The rooster grinned, nodding his head. "I'll make a note of it."

"Good," Ginger began, turning back again to the waterside. "I really am sorry about your raft. Should we move it clear for the night or…shall the next day be better for you?"

"Leave it," he answered, waving it away and smiling. "It'll be fine for now, I'll get working on it tomorrow. It's not my first time repairing it, I'll have to say…it's not the best mode of transport but at least it gets you somewhere."

The hen nodded in agreement. "Which hut would you prefer to sleep in?"

"Well…which do you recommend?"

"Um…" Ginger trailed off, searching around her. Finally, her glance landed on one in the far corner from her own, not such as a great distance from Fowler's, and then Mac's own a few feet away. It was empty for the time being, Mac had designed it for a spare just in case the plan arrangement went haywire, but it turned out to be an extra in it's own cost.

Her eyes brightened. "That one, I should think," she pointed out. "It's large and empty and it's suitable at least." She turned to face him, a smile upon her face. "Take this as a further apology for my bombardment," she giggled. "It will be good to have someone new on the island."

The rooster smiled again, delighted with the offer. "Very well, I'll take it."

Ginger beamed comfortingly, the escapades of the night remembered inside of her mind. It was only when she had thought a few pregnant moments had passed, when she had forgotten something important…probably one of the most important things she had to say. Cursing herself silently, she finally spoke up. "You'll meet the others tomorrow, I hope. Just to know I'm a friend, my name is Ginger," she smiled at her response and hoped it didn't sound too rushed. "What might yours be?"

It took a while for the rooster to reply, possibly a few seconds or so, but in the end, he at last replied, his black feathers highlighted against the moonlight and his blue eyes sparkling. "Azul," he said quietly, his voice dropping down to a friendlier level. "My name is Azul."

To be continued

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(A/N: Well, the third chapter is finally done! Are you pleased with me? I hope this awaits those who were so patient for it, and sorry it took so long. Life shall be returned to the CR section!)