Chapter 148
(The Bald Eagle Festival, the next day)
Eevryone has come to the one event where they can see the great avian of American glory compete to see who's aerial skills are superior.
But before the singles Aerial contest, the time has come to see just how skilled two eagles can be in flight.
Eevryone gathers around the outdoor area and go towards the bleachers where they can all see these glorious avians.
Many of the people there are fans, family and/or friends of the local contestants. Along with some Bald Eagle merchandise with them.
Amongst the crowd is Luna Loud who has a Bald Eagle cap on her head, Peter Harris with a Bald Eagle scarf, Rick Rosato with a Bald Eagle logo flag, Former Air force Captain Horace Steiner and his son Michael Steiner both of them sporting blue shirts with the name of the Bald Eagle Festival, also with them is Steve Grey and his bald eagle Reaver.
"This is gonna be the biggest contest Lincoln and Jordan has ever been to" said Peter.
"I hope their not to nervous, this crowd is way bigger than the normal crowds we've seen them perform" said Rick.
"One thing I know, is that Lincoln and Jordan are not gonna back down from this fight. I got faith that they can do this" said Luna.
"They still have some competition ahead of them" said Michael.
"That's true. They may be just two twelve year olds with Bald Eagles, but there are some pros in there with two eagles. Chances they may have more experience than them" said Steve.
"Well then, let's hope they can manage facing the competition" said Horace.
"Speaking of which, did you guys tell the others about yesterday?" asked Peter.
"We did dude, they also wanted to wish Lincoln and Jordan good luck and hope that they do win" said Luna.
"I'm sure they got this" said Rick.
"Just as long as they stick to the rules and regulations of the contest" said Steve.
"I'm kinda surprised they would let two kids join this whole thing" said Peter.
"They heard about the white haired twelve year old who brought his pet Bald Eagle to the Pearl Harbor memorial, so the judges and officials wanna see just how good Lincoln is" said Michael.
"We noticed some soldiers by those tents, what's that about? And the snipers and park rangers patrolling the grounds?" asked Rick.
Steve sighs. "Let's just say, last year was not the best festival for everyone."
"They're taking precautions for anymore wildlife that might come near this place" said Horace.
Luna felt uneasy hearing that. "Whatever happened last year, must've been bad."
Meanwhile there are some tents behind the judges watch tower. These tents are used by the contestants to tend to their birds, each tent has a US soldier guarding, this is a big event and they wanna make sure nothing goes wrong.
The only time a bad incident occurred was last year, when a bunch of Skunk's had stumbled near the festival, they had to postpone the event for five days until they could find these annoying pests.
And now we go to the tent where Lincoln and Jordan are, both kids are checking on Patriot and Valkyrie's conditions.
"They seem healthy, and strong" said Jordan.
"None of them are molting their feathers, or show any signs of stress" Lincoln then pats Patriot's head. "You two are ready, I know it."
"We still got some competition from the other pros with their eagles" said Jordan.
"True, but they don't know how skilled we can all be together, and even though we only met Valkyrie last month during Valentine's Day, she has what it takes to go forth and show them that she is an eagle femme with no signs of surrender" said Lincoln.
Valkyrie appreciated the words Lincoln said to her, Patriot scooches near Valkyrie and they hold onto each other with their wings, as a sign of a hug and to comfort each other that they can do this.
Lincoln and Jordan thought it was cute to see them like this.
"Even though we might lose, or get second place. We might still be recognized as the youngest kids to compete in the Bald Eagle Festival" said Jordan.
"And I'm sure they'll place Patriot and Valkyrie's names in that record book as well" said Lincoln.
Then the soldier outside calls to them. "Sir. Ma'am. It's time."
Lincoln and Jordan grab their eagle perch gloves and they head out of the tent with their bald eagles.
When they leave they see some other contestants, many of them were either men, women, or eighteen year olds who have been living their lives in the wilds with their families and some look as if they are native Indian in origin.
"Wow. Look at them, those guys look like pros" said Jordan.
"Yeah, come on. Let's get going" said Lincoln.
They all gather to the main field, the area is wide and they can see the two large bleachers where he people are all cheering them on. Lincoln and Jordan can see Luna, Rick, Peter, Horace, Michael and Steve with Reaver cheering them on.
Lincoln and Jordan also waved at them, but then Lincoln sees a soldier asking Luna to come with him. Luna gets up and follows him.
"What the heck is that about?" asked Lincoln. Even Jordan was confused.
Then they heard the voice of the commentator. "Good morning Bald Eagle fans and welcome to the 2020 Bald Eagle Festival here in lovely Yellow Stone National Park, I'm former WWE commentator John Bradshaw Layfield otherwise known as JBL! And it is an honor to be the commentator for this big event!"
Lincoln and Jordan were shocked, the former superstar/commentator of WWE is there and he is the commentator. JBL is the commentator for those who are listening on the radio and TV.
"Now, before we get to the whole contest. Let us all rise to the American National Anthem, performed by …. (Checks his notes) Luna Loud!" said JBL.
Lincoln and Jordan, as well as their friends at the bleachers were shocked.
"So that's why she was called out" said Peter.
They see Luna Loud on a stage who then sings the American National Anthem while playing the piano.
Lincoln was proud that Luna got the chance to do some music for the contest he is going to be part of, and it's the freaking American National Anthem.
Soon, Luna finishes her performance, takes a bow and leaves the stage. Feeling proud of herself, and hoping that someone got it on their phones and might post it.
Luna then returns back to the others and she see Lincoln giving her a thumbs up.
The Commentator then announces the contestants that are competing and the city of origin. And as it turns out, half of them are also using one of their eagles to be part of the singles Aerial contest for later.
JBL then reads the rules. "Now here are the rules of this Tag Team Bald Eagle aerial contest. All of the birds have been checked for any signs of diseases, enhancements and/or stress. Should one of these eagles lose themselves and become aggressive, a sniper will have no choice but to tranq the bird making that contestant disqualified and finally all eagle perch gloves have been checked if they are secure and not damaged, we do not want the trainer to be badly wounded by their own bird."
The first judge, who is a blonde haired woman blows on the horn and they call upon the first person with his eagles.
Lincoln and Jordan watch as each contestant with their eagles take to the skies and perform their tag team aerial tricks. Many of these aerial maneuvers seem like that of a traditional or tribal thing.
Steve has seen these different techniques some are old with some modifications and some are new that need some adjustments.
They even see an eagle tag team almost lose balance because of the sudden change in wind, but they were able to regain their balance and continue.
"Whoa! That was too close" said Luna.
"That's the one thing they have to be careful about. The wind" said Steve.
"He's right, just like when planes fly. The wind can be your friend and foe and you gotta learn how to deal with both sides" said Michael.
"Like flying high in the skies on a Japanese air raid" said Horace.
Lincoln and Jordan could see that some of the eagles were having some complications in flight, some have almost lost balance while others are trying to maintain they're posture.
"This is suddenly not looking good Linc" said Jordan.
But then Lincoln recalls something, during January Patriot would often be calm, when flying high in the skies even when watching over his family.
And at that time of the season, the winds high above Royal Woods would be strong and not quite good for flying.
Lincoln then figured out what to do.
Soon enough, Lincoln and Jordan's names were called by one of the judges who is a middle aged man with light brown hair in the form of a ponytail.
Lincoln and Jordan went to the eagle tower with their feathered friends.
"Okay you two, I know this might look complicated. But just pretend you guys are flying high above Royal Woods" said Lincoln.
Jordan then understands what he was talking about. "He's right, just imagine you two are flying above Royal Woods, and that the wind is at your side and that you're both being cautious about any signs of trouble. Be the eagles we know you two can be."
Patriot and Valkyrie nod, they then wait for the judge to signal them to fly.
The judge then fires his pistol and the two eagles take off, Lincoln and Jordan uses their binoculars to keep track of them.
Luna and the others cheer them on, while Steve watches to see just how good these two can be.
Patriot flies in a barrel roll motion around Valkyrie, Valkyrie spins as she flies upwards.
They then fly away from each other and then turn back to face each other.
Patriot and Valkyrie then fly towards each other at great speeds and at the right moment they split from each other's direction and do some barrel rolls and aerial wings maneuvers as if they are avoiding a large predator.
They then fly towards each other, where they now fly as if they are dancing in the air.
And soon they end they aerial dance with a dive, they both latch onto each other's talons as they dive towards Lincoln and Jordan, both kids are unfazed by their incoming drop.
Then at the last second, both eagles open their wings and take odd once more inches from Lincoln and Jordan, they then fly around the nearest American flag pole, which causes the American flag to also moves around in the air.
Then Patriot and Valkyrie fly high and then drop down, they then land with impact onto the eagle perch gloves of Lincoln and Jordan, everyone is shocked to see that both kids weren't harmed or stunned by the impact.
Lincoln and Jordan proceed to scratch the necks of their birds.
The judges and other competitors are stunned by this, these two twelve year old kids just took in the impact of the these two birds landing onto their heavily gloved arms. It was impressive to see the two eagles not lose their balance even with the winds changing, but that was shocking.
Rick, Peter, Horace and Michael are shocked at what just happened.
Steve is confused and his jaw almost drops, so dos Reaver.
Luna smirks. 'I guess dodge ball made them durable against impacts.'
Lincoln and Jordan then go back to the other contestants.
JBL then reads his notes. "The winners of the Tag team eagle aerial contest will be announced after the Singles Aerial contest."
They all head back to their tents, Lincoln and Jordan are then met by Luna and the others.
"That was the best thing you two have ever done, well music was amazing and all but that was just awesome!" said Luna.
"That was unbelievable. How on earth did you two manage to survive all of that" said Peter.
"Now that was incredible you two" said Rick.
"I don't even know how you two kept your stance" said Michael.
"Like a Sherman tank driving through a Stuka bombing run" said Horace.
"Thanks guys, I guess you can say we both stand tall when trouble is coming" said Lincoln.
"And it's all from our many experiences with many enemies" said Jordan.
Then Steve Grey and Reaver approaches them. "Okay, in all my life with Bald Eagles, that was pretty intense. You two were strong and pretty good as a team. But the real competition begins for you Loud, and I hope you can beat me and Reaver at our own game."
Lincoln smiles and has a determined look, so does Patriot. "And I look forward to seeing how well Reaver is, I know that an old bird like him knows a lot about aerial tricks, and new comers will always learn or get their egos beyond them." Patriot nods in agreement.
Steve and Reaver were impressed by their determination and will to keep going. "A fighting spirit, you got my respect and chances you might get the respect of the other contestants here kid."
"I'm just here to prove how great Patriot is, and I know Valkyrie did well" said Lincoln.
"Well then, I will see you in the contest" Steve then walks to his tent with Reaver.
"Wow! That was some competitive words their handsome" said Jordan.
"Just trying to up the ante and make it a real competition, bald eagles are all about dominance and superiority" said Lincoln.
Michael and Horace chuckle. "Kid, you sound like a soldier with those words" said Michael.
"A soldier who wants the enemy to have the advantage as you do, talk about taunting" said Horace.
"And I could only assume this may have something to do with past experiences with some enemies of yours" said Peter.
"You can say that" replied Lincoln.
They then head back to their tent, while the others head back to the bleachers. But then Luna goes to Lincoln and hugs him.
"Stay strong baby bro, you and Patriot got this" said Luna.
Lincoln also embraces her. "Luna, I don't need a good luck hug, but I know this is just a way to make me feel comfortable. So thank you sis."
They then break away from the hug. "We're roomies and best of sibs, I got your back bro." Luna then heads back to the others.
Lincoln smiles and heads back to his tent with Jordan, they take some time to look over Patriot and Valkyrie if they have any small injuries, and luckily they don't have any.
They even take this time to refresh their strength with some food and water.
After thirty minuets of break, they hear JBL announce. "Attention all contestants, the Singles Eagle Aerial contest is about to commence, please come to the field."
Lincoln leaves the tent, Jordan then gives him a kiss on the lips. "Good luck out there, both of you."
Valkyrie does the same for Patriot.
"We will my love, we will" said Lincoln.
They then proceed to the field, both of them stand next to Steve Grey and Reaver. Both competitors give each other a nod.
Lincoln and Patriot have noticed that they have placed some obstacles in the field.
Ground level wooden poles that look like the world's longest limbo line, long poles to maneuver through, multiple hoops on different ground levels, aerial hoops attached to balloons and finally a prey chase scenario to test the ferocity and speed of the Eagle.
"Wow, this looks more like a dog show" said Jordan. Valkyrie also agrees. This was not like the aerial tag team contest.
"Alright contestants, the judges will announce who goes first" said JBL. "Rules are simple. All eagles have been tested for any sings of disease, stress, enhancements or abuse. All eagles must not show signs of aggression, especially at the chase scenario and finally no cheating through the course, otherwise your disqualified."
The judge calls up the first contestant.
Lincoln and Patriot watch as each contestant with their eagles try to go through this obstacle course, they were all timed to see who was the fastest through the whole thing.
Some have a hard time, mostly with the low flying under the line of poles, the aerial hoop maneuver wasn't so hard and they're speed was tested when they chased the fake rabbit.
"This isn't gonna be like anything we've faced Patriot, but at least we competed" said Lincoln. Patriot snickers, he has some tricks up his feathers that Lincoln has no clue about. And no it's not cheating!
The next ones to go is Steve Grey and Reaver.
Reaver flies under the poles with ease, as if he were gliding and not even flinching from the chance he might hit the ground underneath him.
Reaver flies past the obstacle poles and even barrel rolls through.
Reaver flies through every hoop in the course with ease and none of his feathers touched the hoop edges when he flies through.
And finally Reaver dives down with great speed and is able to take down the face rabbit, or in this case it was almost destroyed by his large talons.
The judges check their stopwatches and they put in the time of Reaver: 18 seconds through the whole course and 8 seconds on the rabbit dive strike, a new record for Steve and Reaver.
"That's my boy right there now!" said Steve.
Next was Lincoln and Patriot. "You ready?"
Patriot nods.
Lincoln then passes by Steve. "You got this kid" said Steve. Reaver also nods to Patriot.
They were glad that he was supportive of them, whether they win or lose.
Lincoln then pats Patriot as the eagle sits onto his glove, they look to the judge who is now getting ready for the judge to give the signal.
The judge then fires his pistol and Patriot immediately flies off of the eagle perch glove, Lincoln is shocked at how fast he sped off.
He low glides with great speed underneath the pole and his lower feathers don't even touch the ground, as if he is stalking Hank and Hawk to the warehouse.
He then flies past all of the obstacle poles, as if he is trying to hunt for a bratty kid with yellow hair and a white hat through the trees in the park, and he's doing great progress and barrel rolls past all of them.
He goes through all the hoops on the ground level and the ones attached to balloons, like Reaver his feathers do not touch the edges of the hoops, almost like he's flying past a warehouse infrastructure to see what Chandler is up to.
Then he flies high and dives down immediately as the fake rabbit on the ground runs for it, he then sees only Boy Jordan, trying to hurt Jordan Rosato. He dives bombs with great speed and impunity and slams his talons down onto the rabbit.
All three judges stop their stopwatches and look at the time, they gasp in shock and write it down.
Patriot returns to Lincoln who is shocked at how fast Patriot was. "What the heck was that all about buddy?" asked Lincoln.
Patriot just smiles, they then look to the scoreboard and see what their time is. Nine seconds!
Everyone gasps and cheers. Steve Grey and Reaver are both stunned, they broke their record. In fact this was the fastest for an eagle to do.
The time in his dive strike is. 2 seconds. Reaver is in total shock and also impressed, that's a record almost hard to beat.
Everyone starts cheering for their victory, but then JBL uses his microphone before they all rush to Lincoln for winning.
"Attention, the winner or should I saw winners of the Tag Team Eagle aerial contest are ….. Lincoln Loud and Jordan Rosato!"
Lincoln and Jordan are shocked, and everyone else cheers. They are not just the youngest eagle trainer contestants, but they are also the youngest winners to be there.
They get on stage and are handed their trophy for the eagle tag team aerial contest and a gold ribbon medal to Lincoln and one to Patriot for the singles aerial contest.
This was something they did not see coming, nor did they expect Patriot to be that fast.
And Lincoln also sees the other competitors and their eagles tipping their hats and bowing in respect. Steve Grey was right, he did gain their respects.
Along with the medals and trophy, they were also given one hundred fifty thousand dollars cash prize.
Jordan felt like fainting, but Peter did that already and so did Rick Rosato.
Many camera crew come and take their pictures and people start video recording them.
"Looks like Royal Woods might see this on social media, and the news" said Lincoln.
"Chances we'll be met by a heck of a surprise when we get home" said Jordan.
Lincoln, then sees Steve Grey smiling at him and clapping. Steve and Reaver knows that what Patriot did was get empowered by his drive to keep his new family safe, from any form of trouble/
They both knew that someday Lincoln will find out, but until then they cheered them on for their amazing win.
Jordan then grabs Lincoln by his collar. "Let's make this a social media known thing about us."
"What?" Lincoln is then interrupted when Jordan kisses him.
Valkyrie also does the same to Patriot, getting some awe's from the crowd.
Luna claps and cheers for Lincoln and Jordan, her brother may have found his talent in music, but she can see he has a new found love and calling for making his new life extraordinary with Jordan. And this might just be the beginning of future things to come.
AN: And that ends the contest, come tomorrow is the last day they will spend at the Bald Eagle Festival in Yellow Stone Park. I thought that maybe Patriot would be faster after all that he has been through.
From the wrath of Boy Jordan, Chandler's revenge, Hank and Hawk's return and the bratty kid Tyler's crimes on them, and as well as the Lana and the Burpin' Burger winter chill situation.
Leave a review and tell me what you all think.