With the sun starting to set and preluding the end of the festival, most Jaquins try to enjoy as much as they still can during Solyestra, though this might lead to behaviour crossing limits under some watchful eyes…
His brother's words make Kamil sad. He starts displaying a shameful gaze, his eyes starting to look dreary. It would seem the cub's about to start crying. Feeling uncomfortable and not knowing where to look, the little Jaquin directs his attention to the ring hanging above him. "Come down, ring!' Kamil exclaims with a sad tone and reverts to a driveling one even, 'Why is it all the way up there? What is it doo-ing?"
"Whoo-hoo!' Skylar exclaims cheerfully as he swoops in seeing the ring hanging at the top and goes to hover next to Kamil, 'Did you do that? Amazing! Do it again!"
"No, he cannot! Now it is stuck all the way up there like I said." Tudor replies irritably.
Tudor looks at the other Jaquins around the device. Unlike him, they seem thrilled by Kamil's achievement, as well as by Skylar's perky attitude. "Well, look at that!' Migs says lively as he and Dulce arrive just after Skylar and acts thrilled as well, 'This human apparatus seems quite favoured! Who was able to shoot Quita Moz up to the top?"
To everyone's surprise, Tudor energetically replies: "My little brother did! He is the strongest cub!"
"Yeah!' Kamil shouts equally energised yet starts complaining after a brief realisation instead, 'Now it must come down."
Migs chuckles at the ignorance of the cub. Smiling at him, he says: "Does it now? Kamil, that ring represents the Sunbirds. Look closely at the paintings. They depict the four most well-known of them, including Quita Moz himself! Now, since you were able to shoot them up into the sky, and thus toward the sun, you showed a lot of dedication to the Sunbirds! You sort of help them like they help us lead a splendid life here in Vallestrella!"
Hearing all of this, Skylar gives Migs a bored look as he rolls his eyes. As he lands next to Tudor, a thought sends him drifting off with a glazing look: *Ugh, he sounds exactly like Zephyr does! One day, I get to call him 'demaciado gris', too.*
This thought, however, amuses Skylar. It produces a sly grin on his face that would make one think Skylar to be in his happy place… Yet, this changes suddenly upon Skylar noticing Migs is looking directly at him. With a questioning glance radiating from his eyes, it seems Migs knows… "You are – hearing my thoughts… about you?" Skylar asks in confusion.
"What? Uh – no. How would I…' Migs replies frowningly by this random question and shakes off the idea, 'Never mind. I was going to say your presence reminded me of a favour your father asked of me. Just a little something, but since the day is coming toward an end, I better do it now."
"Migs. This is Solyestra! Now is fun-time, so no duties." Dulce replies joyously yet with a commanding undertone to it.
Tudor is quick to step in and adds: "Meh, he only knows Migs-time; no room for fun."
Migs audibly sighs over Tudor's remark and he rolls his eyes. He then rubs heads with Dulce and takes his leave, heading for the food corner.
While Migs flies off, Verago replaces Migs' presence and lands near them. He looks suspicious at first, caring to know what his sons are up to after the talk he had with Skylar earlier today. This changes to an amiable look, however, when glancing at the cubs. He smiles genuinely, seeing that they're having fun. "Ah, I cannot express my happiness more when beholding such a marvelous sight! Seeing all of you helping the cubs being taught important lessons is the pinnacle of Solyestra!' Verago says happily and turns to Skylar, Nico, Dulce, Veje, and Tudor, 'Yet. I came here for a different reason. I want you to know there is still food left to be eaten. It would be a waste if we were to dispose of it."
"Unless if disposed into a stomach." Dulce jests in a witty manner and giggles.
Tudor quirks at Dulce's remark, feeling spoken to the heart. He takes a step towards Verago and raises a paw in a humble manner, stating at a solemn tone: "I humbly accept, and will gladly sacrifice myself for this noble cause."
Verago frowns at Tudor's remark yet nods agreeingly, while Nico bursts out in mild laughter and perkily adds: "Haha! Of course, Tudor. How foretelling you are!"
Skylar chuckles over Nico's remark. In turn, Tudor smirks at Nico and rubs his belly. He then takes off and heads after Migs.
Seeing Tudor fly out, Skylar comes to a realisation! One with how he will make things right with his father again, so he won't receive yet another lecture on responsibility. Being filled with enthusiasm still, he exclaims in full excitement: "Hey! Let us fix this pillar! Someone help me bring that ring back down again so the cubs can play with it again!"
He quickly glances at Verago to see if his father has heard him. Indeed he has. Verago looks at his son with a stern yet amiable look. Skylar can tell his father's mind hasn't quite settled yet as he sees his tail fidgeting slightly of irritation, nonetheless. Verago, on the other hand, maintains a distance from both of his sons. He wants to see whether they can, in fact, act responsibly. Hearing Skylar saying those words fills his heart with pride and makes him feel content. Nico, on his turn, is the first to respond to Skylar's request and flies up to the ring together with his big brother. Together, they grab the ring one at each side and hold it firmly as both Jaquins start pulling on it. Slowly, the ring starts moving, and with a little more effort both Jaquins succeed in lowering the ring all the way back down. Their triumph is accompanied by cheering from everyone present around the ring. Dulce and Kamil in particular cheer gleefully at the successful attempt as they see the two princes land beside Kamil.
Just as he's done, Skylar starts hearing wing-flapping behind him. He looks up to see who's approaching him. The very moment he does so, he spots Veje holding something. Immediately after, the rose taupe Jaquin makes a hurdling motion and with no time to respond, Skylar feels something smushy hitting a wing of his. "Got you back!" Veje says joyfully.
Looking over his shoulder, Skylar sees his wing has gotten dirty with what appears as some remains of food. He looks back at Veje in disbelief. Those beside Skylar start laughing. Skylar gazes around him and sees them… enjoying themselves to the fullest! *This is – the coolest festival ever!* he thinks in great joy and joins the laughter.
However, one particular Jaquin scowls at this very situation, with an unpleasant thought crossing his mind: *He should not have done that. He knows better! This calls for certain repercussion…*
Meanwhile, Tudor reaches the feeding grounds. There, he sees many a Jaquin feeding still or resting from this activity. Among them are his parents and Zephyr, Luna, Cruz and Vestia, Dióntan and Sienté, Avira and Shaniqua. However, the spring green Jaquin isn't interested in any of them, not even in the latter one who he's been so close with since cubhood. No, Tudor has someone else on his mind. He knows the adolescent Jaquin that preceded him to this area must be here, too. Tudor wants to banter him once more, just for the fun of it. After all, that is what today is all about, it simply comes down to how one defines "fun". Then, he spots his target. Migs has started counting the remainder of the berries at the food corner. He placing those he counted on a huge leaf he laid out next to him. "Migs, Migs! I need to tell you something.' Tudor exclaims in faked fear as he descends and notices Migs' ears twitch in a reaction to his name being yelled, 'Hey, Migs!"
Migs clearly hears Tudor calling for him. Yet, he effectively ignores the mischievous Jaquin. For the remainder of the day, Migs wants peace and quiet and desires none around him that are to bother him. In this picture, Skylar nor Tudor fit. Besides, Tudor's likely to make a fool out of him once more. Therefore, Migs decides to continue counting, trying to completely ignore Tudor. He hears the spring green Jaquin land next to him, and address him yet again in the same tone. Somehow, this makes him rather curious. *What if Tudor acts responsible for once and something is going on? I can ignore him, but I cannot ignore a call for help.* Migs ponders.
He looks up with his eyes squinted to show his irritation with Tudor. "What is it?" he asks droningly.
"Migs… You need to start counting that food again." Tudor says with a serious look on his face.
A look of utter confusion appears on Migs' face. Out of everything he thought he would hear from Tudor, this wasn't what he expected him to ask or say… Unable to comprehend Tudor's reasoning, Migs looks back down at the remaining food. He frowns as he tries to overcome the confusion. He shrugs once and continues counting. "No, I do no…' he insists yet suddenly ceases on both his counting and speaking and releases an irate groan, 'Argh, now I have lost count!"
"Hehe, told you!" Tudor exclaims and starts snickering.
Migs looks at Tudor irritably. Yet, he comments in an almost uncanny calm way: "Know what? Why not eat this all? You never gain weight and, above all else, you cannot resist this idea. What say you, hmm?"
While he says this, Tudor starts liking the words he's hearing. A grin appears on his face, becoming wider as he hears Migs' plans. While also starting to make short but ecstatic-like nods, Migs flies off and almost bumps into Dulce. "Migs! I just remembered something we forgot, something the cubs will enjoy also. Come with!" she says thrilled and takes him to the Palace.
A little while later, Migs and Dulce arrive back at the funfair. They're holding a large wooden board shaped to a head of sorts with a face drawn on one side, including an oval-shaped hole where the mouth is. Upon touching down, everyone at the funfair now gets a good glimpse of it. "What is that?" the couple hear some thinking out loud.
Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice from behind. "Is that something boring?" Tudor asks curiously while holding the remaining food items he's yet to consume.
"This… is a board with a large opening in it as you can see. There is something painted on it – a face of sorts." Migs says cautiously.
"Hehe, you are clueless." Tudor comments and winks at those standing behind Migs and Dulce.
Migs gazes at Tudor, his face displaying a sour look. Dulce steps in and says: "This hole in the board is meant to throw food in. Stay there, Tudor, so you can catch all the food being thrown. Hihi, you seem to have quite an appetite still. Speaking of which, I will take those."
Without waiting for a reply, she takes the food away from Tudor and goes to stand between the others at the funfair. "Hey! Not fair…" Tudor says sulky as he tries following her yet halts next to the board where Dulce was earlier.
Dulce takes half a squash and gives it to Kamil who stands next to her. "Give it a go! Throw the squash at the big head." Dulce says motherly.
Standing next to the figurine on one side with Migs on the other side holding it, Tudor grabs and holds the figurine also. Migs starts encouraging Kamil by shouting: "Go for it, Kamil! Throw the squash into the mouth of this figurine."
"Or throw it against Migs his mouth, hehe." Tudor adds quickly.
Kamil replies with an enthusiastic 'Okay!' and looks at the figurine intensely. He bends both paws so he now holds the huge squash close to his face, effectively obstructing his view on anything in front of him, including Migs and Tudor. Migs looks at Kamil out of pure confusion, thinking: *I dearly hope you were not replying to that foolish remark by your brother…*
Tudor, however, is looking at Migs. Apparently, Tudor has no interest in his little brother. At least, not at this moment. He's solely eyeing Migs, keen on drawing his attention and seeing him get hit by the squash. On top of that, there's this spookily and satisfied-looking grin spreading across his face. Apparently, Tudor has come up with something devious… This seemingly malicious look makes Migs grow nervous as he eyes Tudor from the corner of his eyes and decides to ignore him entirely. At that point, Kamil decides to go for it! He hurdles the squash forward. Apparently, throwing stuff isn't Kamil's greatest of abilities. As the squash flies through the air, it isn't getting anywhere near the mouth of the figurine. Migs carefully watches the squash fly through the air and sees it land… right against Tudor's face. Being so busy watching Migs getting hit, instead, he didn't even bother looking at the projectile coming right at him!
Skylar and Nico go stand beside Dulce, Veje, and some other Jaquins, chuckling along with them as softly as possible. Softly, because they're closest to their father and feel hindered from laughing out loud. Obviously, Verago had witnessed the very same ordeal taking place. However, he isn't laughing. Doing so over someone's misery, how innocent it may seem, is not one of his ways. With a stern look on his face, he watches everyone but isn't intervening to stop them… He simply waits for the laughter over Tudor to fade by itself, which doesn't take too long given the way he eyes everyone with that stern look upon his face. Skylar and Nico look back at their father. Verago sits in front of them and the others. As always, he does so chin up and his regal chest forward, a posture that makes him look rather austere, yet one befitting a king. But no matter how he moves or looks, Verago can make any posture look majestic. Eyeing the pillar first and his two sons after, he makes an even so slight nod showing them gratitude for repairing the device. Then, a Jaquin steps forward. She looks at the pillar and returns her gaze at Verago. "King Verago. All this fun and these games are benevolent and all,' she starts off in a kind manner yet turns to a more serious tone of voice, 'but I have a question. Each year we hold this festival. Each year we come together and celebrate this as a tribute to the Sunbirds watching over us."
Verago remains silent. He solely looks at her, without speaking or blinking even. During this moment of silence, Nico decides to join in on the matter: "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing just now. If this is their festival, then where are they, father? No one has seen even a single Sunbird in…"
He stops himself. He starts pondering on how long ago it was when the last Sunbird, Quita Moz, attended this festival. While doing so, another Jaquin comes standing next to him and raises his opinion bluntly: "You said it right! They no longer are among us. The no longer help us also! We honour… No, we honoured them."
"Silence!' Verago growls with a voice filled with anger that carries throughout the open woodland but then he calms down and looks out over the flock of Jaquins in front of him before continuing, 'Their presence is not the sole reason we are holding this annual festival. If the Sunbirds do not wish to attend, then so be it. This does not mean they stopped caring about us. We live our lives here in Vallestrella in both harmony and good health, something we should be grateful for!"
"Dad, you told us they attended this festival before they vanished. Now we look out for them each year. They never come back to us anymore! Even Quita Moz, who – was…" Skylar says cautiously as well.
He wants to speak more. His mouth is open but no words come out. He simply cannot find the right words to express himself any further. Verago, on the other hand, starts looking troubled when hearing the name Quita Moz. *It has been a long time since I last heard that name.* he ponders.
The black Jaquin closes his eyes. All who are in his close proximity start holding their breath, awaiting what's to come. Verago then reopens his eyes. He avoids eye-contact and seemingly gazes into the distance. Then, he says with a bitter tone: "I know, Skylar. When I was the age Migs is now I saw Quita Moz leave. The Sunbirds left under my rule, vanished from – what seems existence. They went somewhere, to a place where we possibly cannot follow. The Sunbirds have flown away… perhaps even – ran off."
"You cannot have helped it, father. I… You told us what happened… Even if – all that is…' Skylar states hesitantly at first trying to find the right words to speak his mind but then picks himself up and confidently takes a step closer to Verago, 'You are not responsible for the disappearance of the Sunbirds. What happened to mother was not your fault!"