Hello everybird! What's up!?

So still thinking of the idea with Carlos, of course I don't want it to be similar to the stories thus far about his brother and sister. However until than, I'll try to have other things out and here's one of them and well we're going to go back all the way to the beginning, something I didn't even write about with the universe we know from the movies.

And that's expanding upon the day Linda found Jewel in that crate, so without further ado, I hope you enjoy this tale!

From the Very Beginning

Linda, a very young girl, was currently walking down the snowy streets of the small town of Moose Lake, having gone to visit one of her friends, she was on her way home, just another normal day or so she thought…

Suddenly, while coming close to an intersection, Linda saw a truck, with an image of a toucan bird relaxing on a very tiny island under a palm tree, wearing sunglasses and enjoying a nice, cool drink. The words, "Exotic Pets" was written next to the image. And well either the driver was distracted by something or the road was slippery with the snow that the truck drove crazily for a couple seconds. Linda stopped as she saw the back of the truck open up and the motion caused one of the crates to fly from the back and land down on the side of the road in the snow.

Before Linda could start walking again and tell the driver, the traffic light changed from red to green and the driver drove on, not having known about the loss in cargo. Linda knew it was too late to catch up to the driver, but she decided it was best to see what was inside the crate and take it out before someone else bumped into it.

"Okay Linda, what's the worst that can happen?" Linda told herself as she didn't know what was inside, for all she knew it could be a poisonous snake or a large predatory bird… "Okay Linda, be brave…" Linda told herself as with shaky hands, not just from the cold, she grabbed the top of the crate and slowly opened it, peeking inside and to her surprise… It wasn't anything dangerous, what she found was a little bird, just a small baby, who looked right back at her and was now frightened.

"It's okay… It's okay." Linda softly spoke as she reached her hands inside, grabbing the little bird, a bird with all light blue feathers, who tried to resist Linda, but had to give up as Linda gently grabbed and pulled the bird out of the crate, holding the bird securely before giving the bird a light rub against her head feathers. "I'll take care of you." Linda told and promised the scared little bird she just picked out of the crate, then bringing it against her cheek, providing warmth and comfort as Linda felt the bird finally relax.

Linda decided to take the little bird with her home, but she didn't know how her mother would react to this new guest, but well what else could Linda do, she just had to explain to her mother exactly what happened and try to convince her to let them keep her. As Linda arrived at home, standing before her front door, she took a deep breath as she then entered her house.

"Mom, I'm home from Jennifer's house." Linda called out as her mother answered back.

"I'm in the kitchen sweetie." Linda's mom called back as Linda, after taking off her jacket and boots, cradling the little bird, hiding the feathery little bundle in her hands, made her way to the kitchen, to see her mother busy. "Glad to see you made it home safely sweetie, how was it?"

"Good, but mom there's something more important I have to tell you…" Linda said slowly while feeling the little bird in her hands start squirming, tickling her as she clearly didn't like being cramped up. "While I was getting back home, I saw a truck carrying pets drop one of its boxes, I went to it and well…" Linda slowly opened her hands to reveal the light blue feathered bird, who was still a little scared to be in new surroundings and well seeing the bigger human that was Linda's mother didn't help.

"Oh, what a beautiful little thing." Linda's mom smiled as she came closer, putting on a comforting smile. "But you said she was in a truck carrying pets, which means it was being brought to a pets store, she belongs to them. I'm sorry to say this sweetie, but we have to take her back there." Linda's mother delivering the sad news to her young daughter, of course Linda didn't want that, she found the bird first.

"Can we at least keep her for a few days, make her feel comfortable before giving her back, please?" Linda pleaded with her mother as Linda's mother looked back and forth between her daughter and the little bird and sighed as she decided to grant her daughter that.

"Very well sweetie, until this little one is better." Linda's mother giving in while Linda was extremely happy and hugged her mother for the compromise.

And so with that, Linda made the little bird comfortable, feeding her some little bits of apple and wrapping the bird in a small blanket, which the little bird appreciated, of course since the bird seemed like she once lived in the tropics, it would be very cold up north in Minnesota for the chick, not being used to the drastic change in temperature. Linda held the little bird close, not letting go as Linda mostly stayed in the kitchen, watching over her new friend into the night and was still there as the bird finally found some sleep.

As Linda herself eventually dozed off, her mother came by, seeing her daughter fall asleep, peeking in, the scene putting a smile no the woman's face as she grabbed a big blanket and put it over her daughter. Linda's mother gave Linda a goodnight kiss on the forehead before going up to her own bedroom, going inside and sitting down on her bed as her eyes fell upon a picture on the bedstand…

It was a picture of her and her husband… Who passed away when Linda was still a baby, Linda not having known her father at all as Linda's mother took the picture frame and held it in front of her. Linda's mother thought about what her husband would say if he was still here…

"If only you were still here Henry…" Linda's mother sighed. "And you could tell me wether or not Linda can keep her new friend…" Linda's mother spoke as she stared at the picture for a couple minutes more before returning it to its place on the bedstand before going to bed herself.

Morning came and with Linda waking up, of course to find herself in the kitchen, she found the blanket on her and well the little bird underneath, still sleeping soundly and wrapped up warmly as Linda smiled, feeling relief that the bird was okay. And well Linda's senses came back as she heard the sound of a frying pan behind her, Linda turning around to see her mother cooking breakfast.

"Morning mom, did you…" Linda began asking as her mother knew what she was going to say.

"Yes, I made sure you had something to cover yourself before I went to sleep." Linda's mom answered. "Pancakes?"

"Yes please and can you make an extra for this one here?" Linda asking for the little bird.

"Sure thing." Linda's mom returned as Linda, after carefully setting the bird from her lap to on the table, went to get something herself, or well for the bird.

"What are you doing sweetie?" Linda's mom asked as she was curious to the cabinet her daughter went to, Linda taking out a baby bottle and then going to the fridge and taking out the milk.

"Just making sure this little one has some milk." Linda answered as Linda's mother went back to cooking, but kept an eye on her daughter as the bird woke up, still a little unsure, but feeling better as Linda helped the bird drink up.

As Linda's mother was done cooking the pancakes, Linda was finishing up giving the bird a good drink of the milk from the bottle as well Linda's mom couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the camera and snap off a picture of the moment. If she decided that the bird must be returned, the least she could was leave her daughter a memory of the day.

As Linda's mom took the picture, she remembered that it was getting close to Christmas, with everyone in town getting gifts for others in preparation for the holiday and well Linda already has the perfect gift in mind and it was right here…

As the few days passed by, Linda spent as much of her spare time taking care of the little bird, making sure the bird was warm and comfortable at all times and feeding her enough to keep her happy. And well the bird became more comfortable and open to being held by Linda, even jumping at the chance to snuggle herself into Linda's hands.

However eventually some good things must come to an end as the time came for mother and daughter to take the bird back to the pet store where she belonged. Of course Linda was rightfully sad, but a deal was a deal with her mother and she had to give up the bird no matter what she said. So, with the bird, Linda and her mother came to the pet store in town, speaking to the owner, Linda telling the story of what happened and presenting the bird.

"Well, thank you for returning this one here, we were wondering what happened to the lost contents of that crate that fell out of the truck during the last shipment." The owner spoke with a smile as he held out his big hands to receive the bird as Linda began to hand over the little bird inside to the owner, only that didn't happen as Linda's mother spoke up…

"Hold on…" Linda's mom suddenly said to the surprise of both Linda and the owner. "How much for this one?"

"I'm sorry?" The store owner making sure he didn't mishear Linda's mother.

"My daughter found the bird, been taking care of her since she found her and the bird feels comfortable with my daughter." Linda's mom clearing things up. "We'll take her."

"Well…" The owner stopping for a second. "As long as you pay for the bird and you did find her first, I guess you can keep it." The owner clearing his throat before speaking as Linda had her mouth open in surprise at her mother's sudden change in decision, not knowing what to say…

So, Linda's mother paid the price for the little bird to the shop owner and well mother and daughter walked out of the shop with their new bird, simple as that as Linda held onto the bird, who was wrapped up in a small blanket to keep her warm from the outside.

"Mom, I don't know what to say… Thank you…" Linda told her mother as the adult woman turned to her daughter.

"Well, you have been taking care of this one ever since you found her and it's almost Christmas." Linda's mother replied. "However, you must promise that you'll continue to take good care of this one, don't make me regret allowing you to keep her."

"I wouldn't mom, I'll watch over her and make sure she grows up, we'll be the best of friends." Linda promised.

"Good." Linda's mother smiled. "Now, first thing's first, we need a name for this one, we can't keep calling her "Bird".

Linda looked down at her new companion, seeing the very light blue and beautiful feathers, like shining diamonds, like…

"Jewel, her name is Jewel." Linda announced.

"Excellent and wonderful name sweetie." Linda's mother agreed. "Now, lets get back home and we'll celebrate our new family member with some hot chocolate."

And so, a relationship that would last for years began as the three family members went back home to resume their life together.

And there we go!

I hope you enjoyed this tale, it's nice to finally explore what happened right after Linda found Jewel from the very first story in the trilogy.

With that…

See everybird later!