Disclaimer: I don't own The Future is Wild or any of its characters.
Character(s) from the Show: Nix and the other beetles, and the Falconfly
Now for this chappy:
A Spitfire bird has a very confident attitude. After all, who'd attack a bird that can spray acid? One bird is about to find out the answer. Spitfire Beetles, she can handle...However, the young bird's much practiced abilities are put to the test when facing the apex predator of the forest. Will she be able to fend off the killers, or will things take an unexpected turn?
Rena
I woke up, yawning and stretching my wings. Dawn has arrived and it's time to start another day. In preparation for my daily activities, I preened my white and orange feathers, also keeping a sharp eye for any approaching Falconflies. Like myself, these predators are active during the day, and although that can be a bad thing when one thinks about it, it also means that we can sleep very soundly during the night without fear of being attacked.
Ready to get on with my routine, I took flight, hurrying to complete my first 'chore' of the day. Although I was very hungry (as I usually am in the morning), I had to renew some of my supply of chemicals so I myself won't be the one to satisfy someone else's hunger.
Finding my favorite Spitfire tree, I hovered from flower to flower, using my long tongue to lap up every drop of valuable liquid the bright orange flowers had to offer. As I rose higher, I caught sight of an innocent looking plant and grinned inwardly. Ready to begin my practice, I came closer, implying that I was fooled. The 'flower' lunged out and I, not even giving a cry, threw myself backwards. Four beetles fell to the ground, now stuck on their backs.
I laughed and spoke at the same time. "Ha! Nice try, but not today, fellas." Shaking my head, I continued with a mutter. "This never gets old."
One of the Spitfire Beetles righted himself and responded right back in the universal animal language. You see, each of us knows about two dialogues. One for our own kind and one for all other animals. That means I know how to communicate with fellow Spitfire Birds and other creatures. That's how it works...Anyway...
"We'll get you one day, Rena!"
"Right, you keep thinking that, Nix." I replied, rolling my dark colored eyes. I watched in amusement as the four climbed the tree's trunk, chuckling lightly. Nix looked at me as he continued his ascent.
"Everyone has a bad day! We'll be waiting for yours!"
I turned away, about to go hunt for other insects...ones that won't try to eat me. "Talk to the tail feathers." As I flew off, I recounted my encounter proudly. Those particular Spitfire Beetles and I have a rather odd relationship. I knew Nix and his posse for about a month or two, having plenty of confrontations every day. The insects are always trying to hunt me, but I always evade their attacks. It even became something like a game for the both of us...although it's a high stakes game on my part.
But where's the fun without risks?
--
Third Person POV (Some later chappies will be in this POV, so I'm trying to get readers used to it...)
Nearby Rena's favorite Spitfire tree, a Falconfly hovered thoughtfully. He had stuck around silently during the word exchange between bird and beetle and was overtly curious about it. It seems the members of the two species have become something like 'friends' even. Or as close to friendship as predator and prey could get.
What was the point of it all? Why even bother talking to food? Perhaps he should find out...Could be interesting...
Flying towards the tree, he found the beetles in their little flower disguise. They didn't acknowledge him and was probably hoping they wouldn't be noticed.
That was exactly what they were doing. Falconflies and Spitfire Beetles don't prey on one another, but the beetles, especially Nix, knew the giant wasps have a bad attitude and short tempers. Hopefully, the larger predator will go away. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. They weren't fooling this insect.
The Falconfly shot one of his two spear-like appendages forward, the sharp weapon zooming dead smack in the middle of the flower formation, purposely missing the four beetle's heads by a breath. "Bull's eye!" the Falconfly exclaimed. Nix and his friends scattered in surprised panic and hovered in the air, facing their tormentor.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Nix asked.
"Nothing, Beetle Brain," At this point, Nix recognized the Falconfly as the one that attacked him when he got separated from his friends...He hoped this wasn't going to be a hostile visit. "Except, why were you talking to the Spitfire Bird?"
"Oh uh...No reason...Why?" One of Nix's friends answered. The Falconfly snapped his angered gaze at the beetle, reaching out with his deadly spears until they were very close to the other insect's body.
"Was I talking to you?!" he hissed. Nix pushed himself between the two. As a foursome, they can't afford to lose a member. If they did, they'll starve.
"Whoa! Let's not be hasty!" Nix said hurriedly before harm could be done. "Let's start over, shall we? Can we help you?"
The Falconfly gave a growl, retracting the weapons and lowering them in a less threatening manner. He was still angry, but figured that these beetles wasn't worth the effort. He too recognized Nix as the beetle that interrupted him during his hunt of the large feather-less creature, asking him ridiculous questions about seeing a three-petalled flower. He basically lost his chance at finishing off his prey because of Nix. Said beetle was lucky that revenge wasn't the typical way of insects.
"That Spitfire Bird. Why talk to it?" he asked in a more calmly manner. Nix lowered his antennae nervously. He had an answer, but it was kind of embarrassing and more than a little disgraceful.
"Well, we're trying to catch her for our lunch, but she's very hard to get a hold on. One day, she spoke to us; We answered back. Now we have little talks whenever we meet." Nix explained as best he could.
"So you basically did become friends." The wasp muttered in obvious disgust. What was wrong with these beetles? Talking to a bird...and they call themselves predators...Even worse, they called the feather ball a 'her' and a 'she' instead of an 'it'. That is a serious problem.
One thing's for sure, Nix was quick to be defensive. "No! Just because we talk and play around doesn't mean we're friends. We just have a hard time catching her, is all."
"Uh huh." The larger insect breathed doubtfully. He backed up, getting ready to depart. "By the way, not being able to catch a Flutterbird is pathetic. Even Spitfire Birds are easy game. I'll show that to you weak little beetles." He flew off, following the bird's route.
"Hey! We're not weak or little!" the four beetles exclaimed as he left.
"And stay away from that Spitfire Bird! She's OUR fr..." Nix started, but he trailed off as the wasp turned around to wait for the word. He covered himself with a soft mutter. "...food..." At this, the Falconfly took off.
--
Rena
As the heat of the forest began to rise, I made my way to a much used resting tree of mine, veering off to catch food along the way. It's funny actually...How we Flutterbirds eat bugs, but then we get eaten by bugs. It's something to think about on ones free time and ponder on the irony.
Arriving at my landing branch, I flared my wings and tail, stalling in midair before touching down. Settled, I went over my day and the status of my being. A stuffed belly and a beakful of acid. Considering the fact that I had not used a single drop of it, today can be labeled a pretty good day. Until a certain bird ruined it.
"Hey! That's MY perch!" It was a False Spitfire Bird. I never liked them. They look like us but that's just a cowardly little disguise. I've been taught that they can't even shoot acid like we can and essentially, they lie to save their sorry feathered skin from predators. Lousy impostors...Practically stealing my identity.
"No it's not! I've been using this since the day I fledged." I informed. There was no way I'll even think about sharing MY tree with this vile bird.
"And you're still practically a fledgling. I'm an adult and I've been roosting on this tree since before you even hatched." he pointed out. I took to the air and hovered protectively over my branch. I never saw another bird use this branch. So as far as I was concerned, his statement was just another lie.
"Yeah right. Listen, I'm having a pretty good day and I'm in a generous mood." I started to negotiate. "So I'll give you a chance to fly away before I use my acid on you." Consider him warned.
Either this bird was in a bad mood or was just naturally defiant. Because he dive bombed me, calling loudly. I dodged to the side and, seeing no other options, I took aim and sprayed some of my acid at him. The other bird rose higher and my attack missed. Instead, the acid hit a tree and began burning the bark. He charged at me again and again, and I kept on evading, using the reflexes and agility I've been practicing with the Spitfire Beetles.
Finally, things ended when I fired my chemical weapons again. He zoomed sideways and I gave chase, spraying more acid. I even managed to graze his tail feathers and he yelped before speeding his retreat. Starting to get exhausted, I disengaged and flew back to my prize, trying to catch my breath.
Landing, I didn't know whether I should feel proud or not. I defeated a bird that was male and adult, and thus, larger and more experienced than myself. But he didn't have the same advantages that I do. Either way, he started it; I finished it. Heck, he probably wasn't even worth thinking about. Still panting, I halfheartedly put my feathers back in place.
After a few minutes, I heard wing beats and looked up from my preening as a couple of birds landed on either side of me. "Hi Mom. Hi Dad." I greeting as my mother nibbled the feathers on my head lovingly.
"Hey. How's your day so far?" Dad asked. I shrugged indifferently.
"Did any predators give you trouble?" Mom continued the questioning. Thinking back to my beetle 'playmates' I smiled.
"Not really. I met up with the usual Spitfire Beetles, but they're practically harmless since they can't get me. And this False Spitfire Bird tried to take my future nesting site." It's true. This branch is going to hold my nest when I'm old enough to have eggs. Some females prefer to take the nests of our look-alike cousins when they can, but I plan to build my own, just like my parents.
"Did you show 'em who's boss?" Dad asked in interest. I didn't bring him down.
"Of course. Probably scared him right out of the forest." I announced with my head held high. Dad placed a wing on my back and gave me a few pats.
"That's my girl." he said proudly. I felt wonderful at his praise, which he didn't give very often. He must be very happy today.
"We just came by to tell you to keep your eyes open. A Falconfly has been seen around here. Strangely, it ignored our Roachcutter neighbors, and I fear it might be looking for a challenging meal. Don't let that meal be you, okay?" Mom said in concern. I nodded and was quick to reassure her.
"Don't worry. If I meet up with one, I'll fly away as fast as my wings will carry me."
"And if that doesn't work, " Dad butted in. "Don't hesitate to show it all you've got!"
"I will." I agreed.
"Good." Dad continued. Mom gave me another groom on the head before taking to a hover. My father followed suit.
"Be back home as soon after you're done with everything you've got planned." Mom told me. "I don't want to give that Falconfly any opportunity to take my daughter." Dad looked at her.
"Come on. Rena can take care of a Falconfly. She's a tough little bird that I raised well." At this, I saw my mom glare at him angrily and Dad got the intended message. "I mean we raised well." He was also quick to cover. "You know I love you right?"
I chuckled as my parents left while having a kind of lover's spat. Shaking my head, I reviewed my parents' words. My dad has given me two compliments in one day. This was certainly something that should be remembered for the rest of my life. But it's my Mom's warning that should have impacted me most. But it didn't, strangely. I've seen Falconflies before and they were larger than the Spitfire Beetles. And their hunting method was a lot more aggressive while the beetles remained passive.
I've also seen Falconflies kill my fellow Flutterbirds. Instant death from those sharp harpoon limbs. Personally, I felt unfazed at the prospect of facing these predators. I have fast reflexes and a strong body, at least that's what my parents always said. I never had trouble with Nix and his beetles. Then again, the beetles aren't known to give chase. Once revealed, there's nothing they could do to harm us if we managed to get away from their initial ambush. Falconflies, on the other wing, will stubbornly pursue their target and have even been known to continue killing when they've already succeeded in a hunt.
In fact, now that I'm reviewing the differences between Falconflies and the predators I knew, I began wondering about the chances of surviving a Falconfly attack. I mean, I have practice when it comes to beetles...Will I be able to employ the same tactics with giant wasps?
Well, I had my chance to find out. I heard a loud buzzing from behind and from the sound of it, I can conclude it came from no small bug. With a cry, I fluttered off my branch as fast as I could, rising higher. Below me, a Falconfly zoomed passed, barely brushing against my tail. The over-sized bug turned around to face me and hovered no more than ten feet. It stared, head jerking to different positions as if sizing me up from different angles. Suddenly, it raced forward, putting those harpoon legs together.
Not eager to be killed, I shot some acid at it, although the amount wasn't as much as it should've been. The predator easily dodged the chemical without even slowing down. I in turn dodged by turning aside and it again shot pass me. All this only took place in a second or two. Once more, it turned and hovered. I attempted to take advantage of the pause and tried to shoot some acid at my attacker. However, no acid came, just air.
Uh oh, I must've ran out. I did use alot during my scuffle with the False Spitfire Bird. Stupid creature. Now I was practically defenseless. I have to resupply NOW!! I risked a glance around, hoping to find a flower. During my distraction, it charged again. In response, my wings folded and I plummeted like a heavy branch breaking away from a tree.
It went right over my body, those harpoons only nicking a feather. I spread my wings and flew off towards my Spitfire tree. Maybe I'll have enough time to take a few sips of nectar and reload so I can better defend myself. The Falconfly was catching up. It was obviously faster than I was. Coming up with a strategy, I increased altitude right into the canopy where there was a tangle of branches and leaves and such. I dipped and ducked and jerked among the foliage, hoping to slow this big bug down or lose it altogether. But the Falconfly was surprisingly maneuverable and agile. My head began racing for another plan to out fly it...
I've got nothing...But luckily for me, I've reached my destination. Speeding up faster than I've ever flown before, I made it the tree and flowers seconds before my pursuer. I made the most of my time and hurriedly lapped up the nectar from the closest flower, then the next. I've never drunk so much so fast before. From above, Nix and his beetles tried to jump down on me, but I backed up in time. Instead, Nix managed to grip a feather with a leg, however I shook him off so he'd fall like the rest.
"Ah man." One of the beetles complained as they struggled to get to their feet. "And we almost had her too..." I ignored the now nonthreatening insects and turned my attention to the danger that has caught up.
"I'm fully loaded!" I shouted at the insect in the universal language. "Don't come any closer. If you do, I'll spray!" I continued the warning. The Falconfly swayed from side to side, its dangerous weapons twitching. At first, I thought it was considering my words. Turned out, it was preparing another attack. It lunged and I gave a yelp and barreled out to the side. I shot acid, but my aim was off and it hit a few leaves.
As the Falconfly turned, I flew to the other side of the tree, hoping to hide. Despite common beliefs, we Spitfire Birds prefer to retreat than attack. The more acid we use, the more visits we have to make to Spitfire blossoms...and Spitfire Beetles. Which is something most of us wants to avoid.
I heard the Falconfly's buzzing on the other side of the tree, heading towards me. I retreated by circling to the opposite side. And this continued. Using the buzzing as a way to pinpoint the bug's location, I always knew when it's coming and I'll go back the way I originally came. Just when I was going to quietly sneak away, the buzzing stopped.
Now unable to tell where the predator was, I paused into a hover. I'm not sure what's going on but I'm not taking off. For all I know, I'll fly right into a trap. Then again, staying here in one place is just as bad. I gulped, trying to gather the courage to take a peek on what's going on at the other side. Fluttering cautiously, I looked around for the Falconfly, not even bothering to look at the tree itself. That proved to be a mistake. It was only thanks to Nix and his friends that I came out of the attack alive. It all happened in a second or less. But to me, it felt like all eternity.
"Rena! Watch out above you!" I heard Nix call out. I whipped my head up to see the Falconfly lunging down from an overhead branch. I could see the harpoon legs ready and knew I'll never get away in time. Suddenly the Spitfire Beetles jumped towards me from the trunk, their strong hind legs allowing them to reach me before the Falconfly did. The beetles collided with me, the force getting my body out of harm's way. One of my wings wasn't very lucky and the Falconfly's sharp weapons struck it.
Strangely, I couldn't feel any pain...
The beetles, taking me with them, hit the ground. The Falconfly only had a feather shish kabob for its troubles. The angered bug gave a growling yell as it tore the feathers away. Then it glared down at us. I was about to move, but the beetles still clinging to me didn't even allow me to blink.
"Play dead." Nix whispered almost inaudibly. "We've got you covered." Literally.
I didn't know whether to trust them, but I knew had didn't have much choice in the matter. In my head, the concept of the situation went like this: Choose either a Falconfly who wants to kill you relentlessly, or Spitfire Beetles that also want to kill you, but was, at the same time, a lot of fun to play with. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing so much, it was barely noticable. I then listened to the following confrontation...I just hope Nix knows what he's doing. Telling from the louder buzzing, I assumed the Falconfly was coming over...Oh boy...
"Give me the bird, you lousy beetles!" I heard the Falconfly say. Ah...so he (I can tell from the voice that he was male) does know the universal animal language...At first I thought he couldn't speak it since he's never talked to me. I even got to thinking that he couldn't understand the language since he didn't much respond to my earlier warning. I guess I was wrong.
"No way! We caught her, so she's ours!" Nix exclaimed.
"Yeah!" the other beetles agreed. I felt the beetles shift their steps back, except for Nix. I dared to open my eyes just a little, enough for me to see what's happening. The Falconfly has come even closer, pointing his harpoon legs at Nix. I began getting worried, but I forced myself to stay motionless. The bigger bug spoke in a slow, very threatening voice.
"Give...it...to...me..." Nix didn't move, but he talked in the same tone.
"No...way..."
The Falconfly growled and shot the harpoon legs forward. But before it could hit Nix (or me), the other beetles took the limbs tightly in their jaws, stopping the attack. The Falconfly lunged his own jaws and my insect saviors let go. The giant bug moved back a bit, amazingly uninjured. He glared at Nix. "You've already ruined one of my previous hunts. You're NOT ruining this one."
Nix paused before responding. "You know the rules between our kind: 'Whoever kills a prey item, the other cannot take it'. You're not allowed to take this bird, just like we're not allowed to take yours." he explained with remarkable calm.
The Falconfly growled, but didn't attack or say anything. I guess this 'rule' was very important...After a moment, wing beats could be heard and the wasp looked over at the source. My squinted eyes followed and saw that False Spitfire Bird...the one that tried to take my tree. No doubt he was going back to try his luck again. Well, he's LUCKY that I'm busy at the moment. The Falconfly looked back at us.
"Fine. Keep it. It wasn't worth the trouble anyway." With that, he zoomed after my rival, who spotted him and tried to fly away. However, he wasn't fast enough and, hidden in the deep forest, there was a pain-filled squawk. I wince. Even he didn't deserve something like that...Poor guy...
Nix and his friends sighed and glanced at each other. I'm sure that would be they would be smiling if they could. They then got off me, at last, allowing me to stand. I did and tested my injured wing. It was gashed, but it will heal if I kept it nice and clean.
Until then, flying's not an option. It was painful enough to fold my wing. But on to more important matters.
"Thanks guys. I don't know what would've happened if it wasn't for you." I said. The beetles nodded.
"It was nothing." Nix said. He gave a mischievous flutter of his wing case. "But if you say anything about this to anyone, we'll deny it. AND when you meet us again, we'll try to eat you."
I chuckled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way…" I paused thoughtfully before reaching out my good wing to Nix. "Friends?"
Nix stared before glancing at his posse. "We still get to eat you right?" I chuckled again.
"Yeah. Of course." I reassured. Nodding quickly, Nix and his companions reached out a front leg and placed them on my outstretched wing.
"Friends." They said at the same time. Afterwards, we went our separate ways: the beetles reclimbing the tree, I walking/hopping towards my flock's roost. It was going to be a long difficult journey, but I'll be okay.
"Can't wait till next time. That's when we'll get you!" Nix yelled from his tree. I smiled and lifted my tail as I continued.
"And you can still talk to the tail feathers!" I returned. Yeah, I have a feeling we'll be great friends…
Correction from the first chappy, THIS is the longest chapter I've ever written. Anywho, feel free to make more animal requests, and I'll write them up ASAP! To request or just say hi, please review! Please!