i know you guys were expecting the race as the next chapter but i cant just jump right into without Nod meeting the bird he has to ride, so heres what you might call a filler...next chapter will be the race,i promise

sorry i dont own anything...

The deal had been made. Now all that was left, was to race the unluckiest bird in the tree.

He was the most beautiful bird Nod had ever laid eyes on. A large but sleek, build of muscles, covered by blue and white feathers, and supported by long, black legs that were about as tall as Nod. His wings had an attractive pattern of black stripes on blue and white, not to mention a long tail that would fan out wide in flight. He had a gleam in his black eyes that suggested curiosity, and when his blue crest rose, it gave him a look of majesty.

The bird was a blue jay, named Flitterbite.

The only thing Nod did not find appealing about this bird, was the long, black beak that kept trying to snap off a part of his body.

A groom had escorted them to the roost. Thryn and Nod had passed by many different bird species that coexisted peacefully together in the different parts of the tree. The races had already begun, and Nod was given only an hour to meet and get to know his mount.

The boy met his bite almost immediately upon entering his part of the roost, and if it wasn't for the groom's warning, he'd be missing something important right now.

It wasn't that this bird was old or slow, that made his odds a hundred to one. It was that he was way to wild and aggressive. He only let the groom get near him, while he kept his black eyes pinned on Nod and Thryn, who had kept just outside his roost.

The roost he occupied had a wall that was open to the air, a perch just outside for him to sit on. It had a view of the finish line, grandstands, and the winner's branch, which stuck out over the grandstands. So everybody could see the winner.

"He's just restless, that's all," the groom reassured. He was flower Jinn with a white clover flower on his head. The boy looked about the Queen's age, and was skinny enough to make Nod wonder how much he ate. He stroked the jay's beak, trying to calm him down, but the jay wouldn't stop shuffling, and he snapped the air threateningly at Nod and Thryn.

"Nod, you can't be serious..." Thryn said, her eyes not leaving the bird.

"He's all we have."

"But he's..."

"Restless."

"I was going to say insane!"

If bird's could glare, then Nod swore Flitterbite was doing it. He inhaled deeply, relaxing himself, just like his dad taught him to do when first meeting a bird. He called upon his inner calmness, knowing the bird would sense it. Yet the jay had his plumage flattened to his body, in the nervous/scared way that birds show.

His father's voice rang in his head, It's all about body language and energy, Nod. The bird wasn't calm, therefore, there was bad energy in the room. Thryn was tense and impatient, and the Jinn boy wasn't scared-he was standing next to the bird after all- but he wrung his hands in anxiety.

"Okay, Thryn, I don't mean to be...mean, but if I have bad energy in this room, then I can't get through to him," he said evenly, hoping he didn't unintentionally set off a bomb.

Fortunately, she understood, "That's fine...I need to get back to my Dad anyway. Make sure he doesn't bet any money on you, or waste himself in the bar. Good luck, Nod." She left, and it was like something exhaled in the room, and Flitterbite calmed down some.

He turned to the Jinn boy, "What's your name?"

The clover boy stood at attention, but kept his eyes to the ground, "Finch, sir."

The Leafman tried not to chuckle at the irony of it, "My name's Nod, and you don't have to call me sir." He held out a hand.

Finch took it, surprised. Being a groom, he had to respect and defer to the jockeys, and they rarely showed him much kindness, being higher up the 'race food chain.' "I know, sir, I've heard a lot about you."

"Right, well I don't have a lot of time, and I need you to tell me everything about Flitterbite. Don't hold back any details, not even the bad ones," Nod said, trying to not sound like a certain commanding person in his life. "I also need you to stop feeling so nervous around me. It's bad for the bird."

Nod gave the groom an encouraging smile, to show he meant no harm or insult. The boy smiled back, and launched into the history and habits of Flitterbite.

"He's fully trained, raised in captivity since he was an egg. His breeders said he acted like a normal blue jay when he was with them, so this increased aggression only began when Bufo bought him."

While listening to Finch, Nod reviewed everything he knew about jays. They were higher up on the intelligence level when it came to birds. They were bold and naturally aggressive, but only when provoked, and they were known to chase hawks away from their nests. They tended to be bullies towards other birds, but only if there isn't enough space or food to share.

"When Bufo started training him, he...well..." Finch stopped, and glanced fearfully at the open doorway, afraid that someone would hear him slandering his boss. Nod quickly walked over and peered outside. There was no one, but he understood Finch's fear.

"It's alright," Nod said. "Nobody's listening, and I'm not going to tell anyone what you say. There's no love lost between me and Bufo, but you have to tell me everything. I promise no one will find out."

The flower boy swallowed nervously, but continued. "Bufo's trainer for Flit is a bully. Whenever the bird doesn't do something right, he punishes them. Most of the time, it just makes the birds scared of him, and they fly faster, but not Flit. Flit's not scared of anything. He protected himself, and that's what caused this biting problem. Now he thinks everybody's gonna hurt him, so he attacks anything that comes close. It took me forever to gain his trust, and I had to take a couple of trips to the infirmary."

Nod sighed sadly. Biting problems in birds were so easy to prevent, but so hard to break. There was no way he could train it out of the jay before the race.

"Okay, first thing we want to do, is get him to trust me," Nod said, sounding more positive than he felt. "Then we'll see about breaking his bad habit."

"How are you going to do that in less than an hour?"

"I won't, but it's all the time I have. I just need to be able to get on him without getting thrown off," Nod felt a little like a mentor, even though he just met this boy. "Stand to the side, and remember to remain calm, no matter what happens."

Finch nodded, his eyes big with curiosity, as he backed towards the wall. The jay shuffled his feet nervously, feeling vulnerable without his familiar companion beside him. Nod met the bird's eye, but he kept blinking and shifting his gaze. To a bird, a predator held a long, unblinking stare before it pounced. This seem to relax Flitterbite, but only for a few seconds; too many people had destroyed his trust in them, and the jay wasn't going to start now.

This kind of problem could take weeks to fix, but Nod had less than an hour, so he had to speed this up. Body relaxed, he approached the blue jay at a casual speed, not to fast for a charge, but not to slow for a sneak attack.

Nod whispered in a soft tone, "It's alright, Flit. Relax..." He chose to call him 'Flit' because it sounded like a name of endearment when Finch used it. I'm a friend, Nod kept thinking, even though the bird couldn't read his mind, just his emotions.

Flitterbite had never been approached in such a calm way. Even his regular groom, though accepted, still tip-toed around him. The jay didn't know how to react, so he did the same thing he had been doing for years. He reared his head back to strike, the blue crest raised to intimidate the threat.

Nod dodged the bird's beak aimed for his shoulder, but he did it at a casual speed, all the while keeping calm. He did it in a way that made the jay think he moved like he was planning on it, instead of just avoiding his weapon. Nod took another step, hushing the jay in soft whispers. Flit thrusted for his abdomen, again Nod swerved calmly, continuing to say soft words, and blinking his eyes at Flit's.

Finch was fascinated and amazed by the method Nod was using. He spoke up in a whisper, so as not to break the semi-relaxed atmosphere, "I thought you had to let the bird bite you but not back away, so as to not give it the power."

Without skipping a beat or breaking eye activity, Nod responded, "Sometimes that does work, but you run the risk of teaching the bird that it's helpless. The beak is its greatest defense, and showing them that it doesn't work is not healthy for their minds."

Flit struck, Nod dodged, and the blue jay was beginning to get the message, picking up on the peaceful emotions from the Jinn and the Leafman. He didn't know what to do though, so he kept trying to ward off the stranger. Nod kept coming, until in just a few minutes, the teen stood in front of the bird and the distressed creature just stared at him. Still blinking his eyes and whispering soothing words, Nod tentatively raised his left hand, palm up.

Something unheard of happened next. Instead of backing away or trying to bite him, Flitterbite's crest rose and he cocked his head to the side. He stared curiously at Nod's bandaged arm, like he was listening to something. Then, the bird lowered his broad head until it rested in Nod's palm, chirping affectionately, his eyes half-closed. Nod's heart sped up in his chest with shock, but the jay didn't notice the change.

Nor did he pick up Finch's exciting, "That was amazing! How did you do that?" The boy jumped up and down, his calmness thrown out the window.

"Uh well...it's all about the energy really," Nod stuttered, still stunned. What just happened, never happens! Nod knew he was good with birds, but he wasn't the bird whisperer. It had to be the rose, he knew it was the rose, but how could a plant talk to an animal? Especially an animal like Flit.

A horn sounded from higher up the tree, proclaiming that the race would begin soon, and jockeys should prepare their mounts. "Just in time!" Finch said and skipped over to the jay's perch. Hanging on it, was a big bridle and saddle, and the groom picked it up with ease, despite it's size.

"This is his tack," Finch said. "We better get it on."

Together, the two fastened on the saddle, the straps five times the length of a hummingbird's to reach over and under the bird's large body. The actual saddle was small, light, and had no pommel, so as not to jab the jockey in the stomach when he bent over. It was meant for speed, not comfort. Flit shuffled his feet in anticipation of a race.

Finch got the blue jay to lower his head, enough for Nod to slip the bridle bit through his beak, and the reins over his head. When they finished, they stepped back to admire the handiwork. The leather was black, and looked good against the blue and white feathers. Flit's crest rose, completing the image of a handsome and mighty steed.

"Does he have any habits in a race?" Nod asked Finch. "Besides biting?"

"He likes to fly high above the other birds," Finch scrunched up his face in thought. "And he sometimes throws his head and jerks the reins out of your hands. Other than that, he's fine."

"Great," more things for Nod to worry about. The horn sounded a second time, meaning that the jockeys should head down to the starting line now, if they hadn't already. Flitterbite lowered his body, inviting Nod to get on. The teen swung a leg over, fitting his feet into the stirrups. He remembered riding that screeching bat when they battled the Boggans, and hoped Flit wasn't as wild as that creature had been.

Flit walked towards the open side, and being up high, Nod saw the grandstands and branches packed with Jinn. Nine birds were lined up on a log on the ground. It was just him they were waiting for. He wondered where Thryn was in the crowd.

"Sir...I mean, Nod?" Finch looked up to him.

"Yeah?"

"No pressure, but...could you win? For Flitterbite?" the clover flower asked. "Everybody thinks he'll never win a race, but then you came, and stood up to Bufo and...please win."

Inside, Nod was screaming, 'no please don't make me promise that!' but on the outside, he gave the boy a confident, 'no problem' smile. "Say no more, kid!"

Before his inner despair could reach the surface of his face, Nod flicked the reins, and Flit took off. The volume of the spectators rose at his entrance, becoming one single roar of approval. By now, everybody would have heard of his bet with Bufo. The energy of the crowd was making Flitterbite excited, and Nod had to keep checking him with the reins.

The pair reached and landed on the starting log. The other jockeys snickered at the sight of the young boy on the huge, uncontrollable blue jay. Piece of cake, they were all thinking. Nod ignored them, focusing on the track before him.

It was that moment that every racer loved and hated. The crowd quieted down, the birds froze, and each racer could hear their heart beating and felt each droplet of sweat run down their backs. It gave a new meaning to anticipation. Ironically, the excitement didn't build in the clamor of the crowd, but instead in the silence, before the start.

The calm before the storm.

In that moment of reflection, Nod had a premonition; the peace in his life was about to be disrupted. The storm was about to be unleashed.

arent I so evil for stopping right there? Mwwwaaahhhaaah!

Review, as always and dont worry...the next chapter is on its way :)