Chapter 10 'More Than a Pet'
Well, we reached the 10-chapter mark. This is the second story I've written that's made it to 10 chapters, the other being Reborn. (17 chapters)
While I could've done a Halloween (Hallowe'en, as its technically spelled) special, I didn't have much inspiration to do so. But with some bugs with that didn't allow me to view new chapters (rarely would I be able to do so, but I couldn't write a review for those chapters) and some personal issues, I have been on hiatus. But now, I feel as though I should write again.
Anyways, without further ado, let's get on with it! Enjoy or suffer.
15/11/2020
The sound of banging jutted Bluey out of his slumber. It was a somewhat sharp, clanging sound, and Bluey identified it as something hard, like a rock, being smashed against metal. Bluey rubbed his eyes and got out of his leaf sleeping bag of sorts, and looked around, following the rough direction of where the noise was coming from.
It was a bit harder to see, as it was clearly night now. But at least there was a clear illumination, almost like a full moon. That way, they'd be able to see. Bluey had no idea if this light would be necessary for Jewel or Jacques, as they were wild birds and probably had the senses to see relatively well at night.
Bluey saw Jewel banging a rock against the metal bars of an air vent, clearly trying to escape. It was the same vent that he got attacked nearby by Jewel.
''Hey, can you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep!'', Bluey called out to Jewel in a slightly tired and irritated voice. Jewel stopped what she was doing, and snapped around, looking at Bluey with an irritated expression.
''Oh, I'm sorry sleepyhead, I'm trying to escape!'', she responded in a sarcastic manner. Bluey screwed up his face slightly, cocking his head to the side. Why would she want to escape from this place? However, he knew he probably shouldn't ask her that, so he decided to crush her hopes of escaping.
''You do realise that you'd probably not be able to break those bars?'', Bluey told her, and Jewel let out a grunt of annoyance.
''I know YOU wouldn't be able to, but I can.'', Jewel countered, and Bluey shook his head. Sure, Jewel was strong – far stronger than he was – but surely, she wouldn't be able to break through metal bars; she's a bird!
But then again, Bluey did notice the bars were bent, so she has made some good progress, so she may very well be able to break through given enough time and assuming the humans won't replace it, effectively erasing all of Jewel's progress and forcing her to start over again. Which may start a cycle of her trying to break the bars, and them getting replaced.
Hopefully, she'd give up eventually, that way she doesn't waste her time trying in vain to escape. But she probably was stubborn as all hell, and she'd probably be perseverant and would try to escape, despite the bars being replaced whenever she gets close to breaking them, verbatim.
''Okay, but why would you want to escape from this place? This cage is awesome!'', Bluey blurted out without thinking, ''Ugh, I wish my cage were like this.'', Bluey complained. Jewel giggled a bit in a weird mix of amazement, shock, horror and anger.
''Oh wow… I wouldn't expect a pet to understand!'', Jewel's voice turned bitter, and it stung Bluey as she used a word he hated with a passion. Bluey regarded the word 'pet' as a slur of sorts, even though it was technically true, he felt as though he was more than a pet.
''Pet? Did you just call me a pet? I am not a pet; I am a companion parrot. There's a difference.'', Bluey retorted. As mentioned before, he saw himself not as a pet, but as a companion. For him, being called a pet was undermining the relationship and friendship that was between him and his owner, Martin.
The bond between the two was far closer than a pet's, it was like they were family. Him and Martin were the best of friends, far closer than a pet would give credit for. So, the term 'companion' was more fitting to describe him. Unfortunately, Jewel or any wild bird that Bluey had spoken to failed to see that.
''Oh really? Well what's the difference then?'', Jewel countered. Bluey hadn't really come prepared to answer that, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to articulate his argument as well as he did in his head, and she probably wouldn't listen or care, just like all the rest.
''You wouldn't understand…'', Bluey sighed out loud, a hint of anger and defeat was in his voice. Jewel laughed, mocking him.
''Wow, what a great response!'', Jewel sarcastically praised him, ''Huh, whatever you say, pet.'', Jewel rolled her eyes and went back to trying to break the bars. Bluey sighed and walked away. He mentally kicked himself for not actually arguing with her, but he also knew it would probably be in vain, as she'd probably come up with some other argument against him.
Bluey walked back to the 'bed' he had made for himself. The sound of Jewel banging the bars was still clear as day, so he probably wouldn't get a good night's sleep. Not like he would anyway, as he was used to sleeping in a cosy, warm pouch, rather than on the ground of a fake jungle.
Why couldn't wild birds see that he was more than a pet, and why were they so judgemental? At least being judgemental towards humans was understandable, as they have destroyed many ecosystems, but domesticated animals don't. Well, some grazing animals do, but that's mainly the fault of humans.
Bluey is a bird that lives a quiet life indoors, so why would others hate him for something that isn't even his fault? It just doesn't make sense to him. Bluey looked at his makeshift bed, with the sound of a rock banging against metal bars sounded. He just wanted to go home.
Saving the species wasn't an option it seems, as he doubted she'd want to mate with him, and she'd probably be too stubborn to do so even if he told her about how their species would be gone if she doesn't mate with him.
To be fair, she would have more responsibilities in reproduction. All Bluey needed to do was to put them in there, while Jewel would have to carry them, lay the eggs and keep them warm for weeks until they hatched.
Bluey sighed, fully realising just how incompatible they were. He just wished she was a companion too, that way he'd be able to mate with her in the comfort of his home, or at least, her home. It would be even better if she were owned by Luana, that way perhaps Martin and Luana would get together, and it would just be way better for everyone. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
On a whim, Bluey decided he'd have a drink before he tried to go back to sleep, so he headed over to the stream. So far, Bluey hasn't had anything to drink, so it would probably make him feel better. Once he reached the stream edge, he walked in, wetting his talons and he bent down and lapped up water.
It was cool and refreshing, which was a very welcome sensation. It actually tasted pretty good, and he actually preferred it to the tap water he got back in Moose Lake. Maybe the humans put something in the water to make it taste better, perhaps in an attempt to make Jewel more comfortable there.
Or maybe it was due to reduced chlorine, as Bluey realised that the stream wasn't still except along the banks. So, chlorine wasn't needed as much, because the water was always flowing to an extent. Either way, Bluey found himself lapping up a lot of water. He never realised just how thirsty he was until now.
Finally, after he had drunk a sufficient amount of water to fully quench his thirst, he let out a pleasured sigh. Bluey felt a lot better now, and so he went back to his makeshift bed. Jewel was still banging on the bars, and Bluey heard her let out a frustrated growl and he heard a rock hit the ground.
Bluey saw Jewel fly away from the bars and towards the stream, either to have a drink or to get a new rock as she had probably dulled the one she had before. Or maybe it was both. Either way, Bluey sat down and covered himself with the leaf he used as a blanket.
For some reason, Jewel's words sounded in his head, quickly souring his mood. Bluey never understood why all the other birds would judge him so harshly for something he had no control over. He never had a choice in the matter, he was kidnapped as a chick and by chance, was found by Martin who adopted him and gave him love and affection for 15 years.
Its not like he could escape, as he couldn't fly and knew nothing of the wild. Bluey would die out in the wild in Minnesota, and he'd probably wouldn't survive long in the jungle either. The only way he would survive would be from the compassion of others, but then again, most birds would shun him for being domesticated, even if he never had any choice in being so.
As such, he never had any friends except for Martin. Bluey had accepted the fact that he'd probably never have any bird friends a while ago, but it still pained him, especially now. Bluey sighed, as he recalled a moment he had with Martin.
Bluey sat on top of his cage in Martin's room. He looked at the clock, it was 3:15pm, and Martin should be home by now. But Bluey patiently waited for his best friend to come home so he can greet him.
Soon enough, Bluey heard footsteps and faint sobbing, which both excited him and worried him. Regardless, he let out a joyous squawk calling out to his owner.
''Martin!'', Bluey squawked. The door opened, and Bluey saw his best friend in a distraught state. Martin quickly shut the door and went over to Bluey and picked him up and hugged him. Bluey's feathers began to be soaked in Martin's tears, as he carried him onto his bed.
Like Bluey, Martin wasn't very good at making friends. In fact, he had none. His interests were quite different from most other students, and he was very socially awkward, which made making friends basically impossible. So sometimes Martin would come home in a sad mood, but this was far worse than any other time.
Bluey let out a sympathetic coo and rubbed against Martin's face in an attempt to comfort him. Martin had been going through a lot of stress lately thanks to the death of his father due to Alzheimer's disease, which was strange as he was only 40 years old. Bluey felt horrible for Martin, as no one should have to experience the death of their parent at the age of 15.
Now his mother wasn't feeling so well, as the stress of losing her husband was going to take a toll on her. Basically, Bluey was the light of Martin's life, and Martin was the light of Bluey's life.
Bluey continued to rub against Martin's face, as Martin continued to sob into Bluey's feathers, soaking them with his tears. Bluey himself even began to shed a few tears in sympathy for his best friend. Luckily, they both had each other, even if they had no one else.
Bluey always used that moment as an example of how he was more than just a pet. But unfortunately, all the judgemental wild birds failed to see that. Both Martin and Bluey saw each other as their best friend. Bluey saw Martin as his father, and Martin saw Bluey as a brother. That kind of bond was simply ignored by the other birds, all because Martin was a human.
But then again, Bluey usually never told others about just how close the bond was between him and Martin. This was out of fear of being mocked, as it seems other birds would always find something to make fun of him for.
But it didn't matter, because surely tomorrow things will get better, and the humans will realise that this isn't going to work and hopefully he'd just be able to go back home with Martin and pretend like all of this never happened.
In the meantime, Bluey slowly closed his eyes, as the faint sound of Jewel letting out a rather loud resigned sigh signalled an end of her banging the rock against the bars, at least for tonight. Now, with peace and quiet, save for the ambient jungle noises that actually helped him relax better, Bluey slowly drifted off to sleep.
Well, that wraps up this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!
Again, sorry for the wait, but I just had a minor writer's block, and with some personal issues it was a bit hard to write. But now I should hopefully be able to write more.
Also, this chapter doesn't have that much dialogue, and I like that. Because I felt as though the other chapters were too dialogue heavy, and they didn't have as much detail compared to my other stories. This chapter's reduced dialogue wasn't forced, but rather came naturally. I feel this may be the case with my fully original scenes/chapters.
I'll reveal more about Martin's parents in later chapters, so I'll explain why Martin's dad died of Alzheimer's at such a young age in later chapters.
Anyways, I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully it won't be out in too long.
Until next time, goodbye.
