A Story to Tell

(A/N: I've decided to focus most of my long writing attention on this story for a while, though I may write a few chapters now and again for other things. So if I take a break from this for a while…you'll know why. Lol. I've decided to put up this next instalment quickly, as it's a chapter I've wanted to write. I hope you like it!

This is focused mainly on Azul. There is no Rocky or Ginger in this chapter, so it is something very different for me.)

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It was a cloudless night that evening, as no one made any moves to depart for bed, they were so into what was going on, that they hadn't even bothered to strain their hearing to eavesdrop on Rocky and Ginger, whose argument had flown in and left them now for their own hut, still being surely cold towards the other.

The sky darkened gradually as Azul's tale grew into its terrific climax, enchanting and sometimes startling the listening chickens. They now looked up to this rooster as a gentle mind with a healing soul, and knew that his clearest descriptions were from the heart. Never had they heard someone spill out their truest feelings so deeply as he did, he sounded as if he had experienced and spoken to real love.

He laughed again now, his voice polite against the wind. "Of course," he was saying, "That is only the brief section of the story. The rest of it is yet to come. That is, unless…" he trailed off, staring around at the others with watchful and concerned eyes. Most of his audience were close to tears already.

"It all depends on whether you want me to proceed," he finished, not wanting to be the bearer of upsetting the rest of the group. He glanced to his right and for the first time noticed that Rocky and Ginger had disappeared.

One hen was sniffling a little. "No, no!" she cried out. "Go on!"

"Yes, please do!" another one insisted, wiping her eyes.

"We'd orl like t' hear the end, ducks," Bunty added, though she wasn't crying like most others it could be said that the story touched her deeply. For this moment, her emotions hung on her face and she looked seriously into it.

Azul shifted a little. "All right, if you say so. But…I'm a little unsure of where to begin, you see." This comment was greeted by many protests.

"Start at the beginning, old chap!" Fowler proclaimed, raising his cane high into the air above his head for all to see. "That's usually the best place to start. I haven't heard a good story for years, why, back in my day - "

At this, there was an instant uproar of noise, much moaning and groaning from the hens at Fowler's words, and just anyone making noise to drown out the sound of his rambling. They certainly didn't want to hear one of his old war stories when they could have some new, fresh romance from Azul. It was something they hadn't heard before and the tale interested them.

"Well," Azul started, watching the eager expressions on the girl's faces, "All right. It began a few months ago, on a darkened day it seemed. I was out for a morning stroll, though I didn't mind the weather…it never seemed to bother me. The clouds were high, the hills rolling. Everything seemed normal, ordinary.

And then I saw her…"

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The young, black-feathered rooster stopped and stared, his position halting as his eyes landed on the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was sitting in the scrabble of the meadow, picking petals off discarded flowers. Azul couldn't take his eyes off her, even though he had only seen her, he felt as if he had been looking all day.

Her feathers were a gentle golden like the sun, and her posture structured. She carried a feel for the surrounding; she gave off a wonderful sensation. The rooster knew that he must have looked like an idiot, standing there, but it was all he could do. His mouth was open, his eyes were wide. He stood there for another five minutes.

He was only snapped out of his daze when he heard her voice close to him, and then he realised that she was standing in front. "Like to stare, don't you?" she said a little coldly, and frowned a bit. Azul stared down and landed in two chocolate brown eyes. He blinked, listening to the harmony of her voice.

"Oh…I - " was all he managed to say, before she had already begun to make her way onwards. Azul couldn't move to go after her; he could only watch her leave. And he knew for that moment, that he had fallen for her. He just had to know her name; he spent the rest of the day wondering what it could be.

Something beautiful…it had to describe her in every way imaginable. He wondered what he would call her, if he knew her as a friend. What he would name her if she were his own daughter. He thought of everything to do with her that night. He had often heard of love at first sight, but had never known it would happen to him.

He could barely breathe; it had hit him so hard and fast. How could something so amazing enter and leave his life so quickly? What if he were to never see her again? The very thought left him with shivers and a sense of fear. That could never happen, he wouldn't let it happen. He spent the next week searching for her, his mind racing after every unsuccessful day. Where was she?

The next time he saw her, he could hardly believe his luck. Their paths were ready to cross down a narrow road, and he quickly sped up so that they met in the middle. There was only enough room for one chicken to walk at once. The hen looked him in the eye, and sighed impatiently.

"P-please…" Azul began, completely lost for words. Now here was his chance and he was blowing it like a fool. He had no idea what to say to her, now she was here, his heart was racing and his throat was dry. He had to say something! Something to impress her, something to make her smile…anything!

The hen had a glower in her eyes. "You again," she said in a quiet voice. "I thought I wouldn't be seeing you after that day in the meadow. I must say I'm rather surprised." Her voice held a strong British accent, clear and precise, and very formal. To Azul it was a melody to the ears; he would have given anything right at that moment for her to speak again.

Azul could only smile. What a voice she had! He studied the colour of her eyes, hoping to make her laugh so he would be able to hear that too. "I-I'm quite pleased that we met like this," he managed to stammer out. "Now I can ask you for your name…I never did before and I regretted it at once."

Scoffing, the hen leant back a little. "You're very quick on the uptake, aren't you?" she said. "Why do you want to know my name?"

"Because…" Azul began, stopping himself just in time. He wanted to say; "Because I love you," but all he could get out was; "I would like to know who you are." At her confused look, he went on, hoping that he wasn't scaring her. "You seemed pretty upset the first time I met you. It looks like that you could use a friend around or two, just to cheer you up."

Now the hen rolled her eyes, not looking him directly in the eye. "Just the same as any other day," she muttered miserably. "Hardly important. Though I must say I've never been confronted by a unrelenting rooster such as yourself." She tried to move around him to walk by, but the path was still blocked tight.

She coughed in exasperation. "Would you please move?"

"I thought you might need someone to talk to," Azul started. "Someone who will listen to you, and understand you. Someone who will call on you even when you're feeling down in the dumps, and you feel like the whole world is against you. That could make you feel better about yourself, and maybe you won't sound so bitter all the time."

He instantly regretted it. The hen's eyes flared up and she scowled again. "Bitter? How dare you!" she began, but then her expression softened as her mind must have changed. Her voice lowered and she stared at him again, not seeming so angry anymore. "And where would I find someone like this?" she questioned.

Azul's heart was thumping madly in his ribcage, he wondered if she could see it trying to get out of his chest. He managed a weak smile, and found his voice at last. "Well, um…what about me?" he asked slowly, trying not to sound too desperate for her attention, and all the while staring her in the face, so she would know that he was sincere.

Now she seemed uncomfortable. "Oh. I, hmm…"

Afraid of her refusal, Azul prompted in quickly. "I know you might be thinking that I'm a complete stranger bringing you on like this…and that I must be getting rather tiresome right now, but…if you would only give me a chance, I'd be there by your side for support anytime that you wanted," he blurted out, feeling himself turning crimson for every word that he spoke. At her slight pauses, he felt his heart drop lower. "If you don't want anything to do with me - "

"No," the hen interrupted him, halting his words with a swift motion of her wing. "No, it's all right. I can see that you're trying." She looked up at him again, her eyes showing such emotion that Azul thought he might explode on the spot. "You seem to be showing enough effort…I can see that you badly want me to agree to this." A small giggle escaped, but it was still a recognisable giggle.

She held her wings out in front of her, crossing them. "What's your name?"

Azul froze. His name...his name? What was it again? He couldn't remember! He started to talk, but found that no words came out. He stared awkwardly at the hen, feeling his legs go numb with embarrassment. She gazed back, seeming impatient. There was a hefty silence between them both; it felt as if it were getting louder with every passing second.

"Um…" Azul started. This was so humiliating! In the end, he decided to wait until he'd calmed down a little, and until his emotions had settled. Too much excitement sent him into a ludicrous frenzy. "I-I thought I asked you for yours," he quickly recovered, gaining his balance before he could fall flat on his face.

She sighed now, probably telling herself not to lose control. "You change your mind a lot!" she said rashly, but there was a hint of admiration in the way that she'd said it. "If you really want to know so badly, my name is Strega," she continued, obviously trying not to sound so impressed by it in any way. "Does that make you happy now? Do you think it'll get you talking again?"

"Strega…" Azul whispered out, almost feeling himself floating away. He couldn't care how she was looking at him; he knew her name! And what a glorious name it was! He managed a toothy grin, smiled down at her and felt his eyes burning with fascination. He could almost feel them twinkling, like the stars on a black night. "That's beautiful…" he said, under his breath.

Strega actually looked surprised. She blinked a few times, regaining herself. Then she darted her eyes away, suddenly interested in the ground. "Oh. Well, thank you," she quickly said, not wanting to glance up just yet. "It's Italian. My parents were very fond of the language, it's something after a herb…I think." Here she paused, suddenly looking flushed, "W-what about yours?"

This time, the rooster remembered. Maybe it was because of his new discovery, his newfound friend or some new spark from her that startled his own mind. He answered anyway, maybe quicker than he wanted. "Azul."

"And what does it mean?" Strega whispered.

"It's 'blue' in Spanish. My parents said it was for my eyes," Azul replied, unbelievably comfortable now that names had been given out. Suddenly, everything had changed…there wasn't a sense of uneasiness. They weren't strangers anymore.

There was a quiet pause again, broken by Strega's soft, soothing voice. "Hmm. Azul," she said the name over again on her tongue, thinking it over in her head. Her chocolate brown eyes lit up as she stared at him. "I like it."

Then she smiled for the first time.

Azul loved her more than ever after that. He couldn't shake her away from his thoughts; she was on his mind every day, every hour; every minute. Even when they spoke to each other, he couldn't stop wanting to see her again whenever he could. They had become quite close friends, though Strega was known to have a wild temper now and again, but Azul never minded. One time, he had plucked up enough courage to tell her how he felt.

It was barely a month after they had met. They were taking a stroll together, and Azul had suddenly felt a burst of confidence with his last look at her. Even though his pulse was maddening, he had felt braver than ever before. He had to ask tonight…otherwise he would have left it too long.

"Strega…" he began slowly. "There's something I have to tell you."

He had often said this before, so her answer was not surprising to him. She sighed edgily…playfully, and her voice was rich and soft. "Go on, then."

"Strega." Azul turned her towards him so that their eyes were meeting. She seemed confused, astonished. Her emotions showed nothing except bewilderment; she couldn't stop looking at him in the way that she was then. Even though it distracted Azul a little, he managed to finish off his sentence. "I've known you only for a month…and it's been the most wonderful month of my life. Thank you so much for sharing it with me."

"Um…you're welcome," Strega said, and turned to stand by his side again.

"No – wait, I'm not finished," Azul cut in quickly, taking her by the wing and pulling her back to the position again, hearing her sigh another time. "That's not all I wanted to say. I feel as if I've known you my whole life. And I don't want to stop feeling that, Strega. I don't want to stop feeling that."

Strega glanced at him suspiciously. She probably already had an idea of what he was going to do. "What are you trying to say?" she asked carefully.

Azul smiled at her. "I don't care how much it changes, or even ruins what we've got now," he said. "I'm dying from the pain, Strega. I have to say it now or I'll never feel good about myself. I just need to say it…I want you to know, I want you to know that for these past weeks or so, staring into your mind-trapping eyes and gazing at your glossy sun-stripped feathers - "

"Azul," Strega interrupted, wanting him to get to the point.

Taking a deep breath, Azul apologised and decided to finish. "What I'm trying to say is that…I love you, Strega. I've always loved you, ever since I saw you that day in the meadow, picking those flowers. I thought my life had ended; stopped to a standstill at seeing you there. Please, oh, please give me an answer. That's all I have left to hold onto now. Without you, I'm nothing."

Azul's heart was broken that night. Strega had not taken kindly to his confession, and had denied his love. "I'm not worth it, Azul," she had told him. "You'll have to find someone else, you deserve better than me. Someone who feels the same way."

"And…you don't?" Azul asked quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"But what is it? I told you, I'd be there by your side for support anytime that you wanted. I mean to stick to that…to stand by it," Azul muttered desperately, not wanting to let her go so soon. "I don't regret what I said, I mean every word. And I don't intend to take it back."

"I'm sorry, Azul," Strega said again. "I just can't. I don't love you."

Azul felt shattered. How could this be happening? He loved her so much, he didn't want to let her leave. Gulping and forcing back the urge to shed tears, he found his voice. The pitiful tone it had caused sadness. "But I love you," he gasped. "Please don't do this to me, Strega. Please don't do this."

"I'm really sorry," she said again, stepping away, her eyes burning with mixed feelings and her heart somewhere different. "Find someone else."

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Azul took in a deep breath as he finished the most painful part of his tale. Thinking about Strega again made his heart ache all over. "After that," he told the other chickens, "I couldn't bear to see her for the hurting. I fixed up a raft, and came here like I told you. I never looked back, and I don't mean to." Stopping at last, he looked around at his audience, and gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologised immediately. Everyone was in tears. Azul couldn't believe how much he had described in detail, he could practically remember every word. He fumbled for his voice, his eyes already beginning to mist up from the memories. "I-I'm really…"

"Oh, goodness…poor you!" one hen erupted, sobbing so hard that it was strange to hear her speak. "It must have been so hard!"

The hen Agnes was finding it hard to control herself. "You must stay for a while," she said, "To get over this…we can't face turning you away now with this on your shoulders. We'll talk with Ginger and ask for you." At this, there were exclamations of agreement.

"Yes! Yes! Stay! Stay!"

Azul couldn't believe how everyone felt about this. Though it felt good to let go of what had happened and tell everyone else his story, something inside of him felt empty still…hollow and alone. Though he couldn't bear to share his feelings anymore in case of another teary night.

He smiled, hoping it would calm everyone down. "Um…we'll see," he finally said, looking around at all of the miserable faces and wet smiles, and wondering how he was ever going to forgive himself. "We'll see."

To be continued

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(A/N: Wow, this chapter was fast. I was done with it in one afternoon. You see, I can update in less than a month! Lol. I've wanted to write this chapter from the beginning of the story anyway, and I'm glad that it's done. Please R&R!)