Only an hour into the journey and Nico was already bored. He had taken a short nap to catch up on sleep lost the night before. Nerves at being on his own again kept him up all night, and he was woken up not long after by the kids waking up at some ungodly hour.
It was dark now, but the light in the apartment stayed on. The small family inside stayed awake and talked. At least in the parents case, the young boy ignored them both, earphones in and game console out.
Nico had to laugh, the situation reminding him so much of Carla. She loved blocking out the world with her music, and especially loved blocking out her parents. She didn't get to do it often, mostly due to her mother, but whenever she was able to, there she was, humming along to whatever song was playing on the radio.
He wanted to hum right now. Music calmed him. It always did, it was his outlet for anything. It was also a distraction. Stuck in here though, he couldn't do anything but sing in his head. If the humans found him, if he got caught again, there would be hell to pay.
Without the distraction though, he was stuck thinking. Again.
Home was so far away. And although he was getting closer, the very notion of even attempting to cross the Atlantic was daunting to say the least, much less getting to that point. Flying that sort of distance on his own was terrifying.
And then there was Liana. At the moment it was a lose-lose situation with her. If she thought he had died in the fire, she would be on her way back to Rio right this second to wreck havoc and misery. If she knew he was alive, chances are she would be after him to finish the job.
Both options didn't sound incredible. He didn't even want to contemplate Pedro and Rafael getting the news he had died. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought. He knew exactly how he would feel if it was the other way round. His world would end if he lost Pedro.
On the other hand, Liana heading back to Rio, even to give them news like that, meant he was free to get back home and prove her wrong, all the while exposing her for the crazy lady she was. While that was a fairly good plan in all, it still involved his family thinking he was dead for quite some time.
He wouldn't inflict that on anyone. Definitely not them.
Burying his face in his wings, he let out a quiet groan.
Whatever the case, he just hoped the rest of his journey was a little less eventful.
"No, he hasn't been here, not since... well, you know."
Rafael sighed, running a wing down his beak in defeat and irritation. This was beginning to get hopeless. The Alley was his last hope. Pedro was missing and they were beginning to get frantic.
He didn't come home the night before. At first they didn't question it. Since the incident Pedro had been drawing in on himself, hanging out on his own. And while this was understandable, under the circumstances, it was worrying them all. He wasn't opening up, no matter what they tried or said.
And Rafael knew that if they continued on this path, if it got worse, it was going to be irreversible. There would be no way back, not even if Nico came home.
"Thanks anyway," Rafael gave a small smile, sighing and taking off in the opposite direction, trying to picture somewhere that he might have gone. They had checked everywhere, and the city was a big place, not even including the jungle. Eva had the entire family, in-laws and all, sweeping the forest, the Macaws and Rafael had taken to the city. They had ruled out any sort of bird smuggling incident, no other birds had been reported missing. But that didn't stop them worrying.
So far, they hadn't found anything.
Actually, worry didn't even begin to describe what Rafael was feeling.
A thought suddenly occurred, making him stop mid air.
There was one place they hadn't checked.
He almost collapsed with relief when he landed not ten minutes later, seeing Pedro sat on a box, staring up at the sky. He didn't know why they hadn't checked the old runway sooner. It was, after all, the last place he had seen Nico.
"Pedro," he said, catching the smaller birds attention.
"I'm sorr-"
"No," Rafael cut him off sharply, closing his eyes against the hurt look on the cardinal's face, "no, don't say anything, you do not get to do this to me. You do not get to run off and disappear." He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed, afraid that if he opened them his resolve would break and he would just break down and cry. "I understand what you're going through Pedro, I really do. But never scare me like that, I've already lost one of you, don't... just, just don't."
He looked up, feeling slightly guilty at Pedro's chastised expression. He knew he was justified though, he knew he had to let this out.
"I know you're scared, I do, I'm terrified," he said, more gentle this time, stepping forward, "every minute, every day, all I can think of is where is he? Is he safe, is he even alive?" Pedro flinched, but Rafael ploughed on, "but running off isn't the answer, you need talk to us, we can help you. If you keep this bottled up, it's only going to feel worse."
Silence followed his speech, Pedro looking on the edge of a breakdown. Rafael sighed, giving the bird a sympathetic smile and offering out a wing. With a choked sob, Pedro flew at him, burying his face in his feathers and letting the toucan envelope him in a tight hug.
"I-I just w-want him back," he cried, body shaking with sobs.
"I know," Rafael soothed, feeling his own tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, "I know, it's not fair for this to happen, it's not. But we're gonna get through it, okay? Whatever happens we will be alright."
"I- I- I-" the smaller bird couldn't get the words out, instead resorting to simply crying harder. Rafael tightened his hold, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.
"I know," he said softly, "I know, this sucks."
"I wish I was there with him," Pedro murmured, so quietly Rafael barely heard it.
"Me to," he said, "I mean, ultimately I want you both here, safe," Pedro pulled away to look up at him, and Rafael gave him a small smile, "but if this really had to happen, I would rather you two were getting through it together, like you always do."
Pedro gave him a look that made him immediately retract his last statement.
"Don't even think about it," he said, raising an eyebrow, "it might actually kill me if you disappeared too. Like, complete heart attack, six feet under. Then I will come back as a ghost and haunt you for doing that to me."
Pedro snorted, letting out a watery laugh. "Don't worry, I wouldn't even know where to start looking."
Rafael just gave him a dry look.
"Really," Pedro assured him, holding up his wings in surrender, "not going after him, I'm not that stupid."
"Okay, okay," Rafael smiled, "shall we get back? Half the forest is looking for you."
"Yeah, come on."
'Rome is certainly impressive,' Nico thought as he landed on top of the highest edge of the vast Colloseum not long after the train finally arrived the next day. He sighed, at least in Paris he immediately had someone to lean on, someone who knew the city and helped him figure out what to do next. Here as a completely different story. Not only that, but he came across another problem.
Another country, another language.
Cosette spoke English, there was bound to be someone here who could too. The only question was who?
His thoughts were interrupted when a loud rumble came from the general direction of his stomach, and he couldn't help but groan, remembering that he hadn't eaten properly since yesterday morning. Flopping on the warm stone, he slipped his pack off, digging through it for the rest of his food. Once he found what was left; a few pieces of biscuit and some dried apple, he settled down and watched the city while he ate.
He fluttered around the city for several hours after that, apparently looking so lost that several birds approached him, concern clear in their eyes, but only ever speaking a language he didn't know. They all eventually left him alone after a very awkward conversation in which neither party knew what the other was saying. It was early evening and the sun was just beginning to set by the time Nico slumped back where he had started, feeling slightly hopeless. He shut his eyes tight, wishing he could block out this nightmare.
That was when he heard it. The ever-so-faint sound of music. It wasn't quite the music he was both used to and in to, but it was upbeat and had a good rhythm.
The canary sat up, wide-eyed and suddenly not quite as tired as he was before. There was always something about music that woke up something inside him, whether it was samba or rock, a ballad or trance, he always felt alive when there was music playing.
He took to the air, following the sound deeper into the ancient arena, diving into the maze of stone in the centre as the sound grew louder and louder.
As he turned into a small gap bright lights attacked his vision, deep within the walls of the Colosseum and far away from prying human eyes. A club crammed with birds of all shapes and sizes, brightly coloured lights and lasers lit up the surprisingly large space.
It looked so much like the Alley back in Rio that he almost backed out of going in, but he steeled himself and moved forward, blocking out memories of home as he squeezed through birds. A sort of techno beat was blasting out of obviously stolen speakers, bass fast and heavy. It wasn't the sort of music he would usually enjoy, being a samba bird through and through, but he could help the smile and the bob of his head as he moved through the dancing crowds.
On the far side of the room, the furthest away from the loud music blasting into the space was what looked like a drinks bar. Nico made a beeline for it, hoping against all odds he could find someone who could help him out.
"Ciao, cosa posso ottenere per te?" the bartender, a large, thin bird with a long beak asked as the canary sat down on one of the higher stools. The bird was met with a completely blank, wide-eyed look, and he sighed, smirking a little with a shake of his head. "English?"
Nico almost sagged in relief, nodding with a sheepish smile.
"I'm Anthony, but most just call me Ant. Where ya from kid?" The bartender asked, talking with a thick Italian accent but speaking in clear English. He was smiling fully now as he leant on the bar.
The yellow bird was slightly startled by the question, not quite expecting it, but answered in his usual confident fashion none-the-less. "I'm Nico, from Rio," he said, almost proudly.
"Rio, huh?" the other repeated thoughtfully, "I went there once, about a decade ago now, took my girl to the carnival. Week long party," he chuckled at the memory, "best week of my life, but not long after I was married with kids." He grinned as Nico simply raised an eyebrow, smirking.
"Sounds familiar," Nico laughed, remembering the story of how Rafael and Eva got together. One moment they were living the high life, the next they were married and had eighteen kids to look after.
"I want to say you're here on holiday, but the expression on your face when I spoke to you in Italian says otherwise."
Nico shook his head, "I'm trying to get home," he told Ant with a shrug, "there was a bit of an incident with bird smugglers a few months ago and I ended up in England, been trying to get back ever since. Harder than it looks."
"Well if it's taken you that long I wouldn't have guessed it was easy ride," Ant said, "that or you got seriously distracted," he added with a wink.
"Unfortunately no such luck," Nico chuckled. It was then someone from further down the bar called for the tender.
"I know a couple of guys that could help you," Ant told him right before he left to serve, "hang around here and I'll throw them in your direction."
Several hours later, Nico was sat on a thimble, leant against the bar and watching the crowd thin out as everyone began to go home. The music had mellowed out, a live Acapella band having taken over. He yawned, the very long day beginning to catch up with him.
He tapped his foot to the music, enjoying the sound. The group was ten strong, and their voices blended together perfectly and the lead had a very good voice.
The song choice however, had a lot to be desired.
He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the backing music rather than the lyrics. Not that he had anything against older music, only if he had the choice, he just preferred stuff from this century.
Before he could think anymore on it though, he found himself tackled to the ground, two heavy weights on top of him.
"So, I hear you need to get to Rio," a low pitched voice came from somewhere above his position on the floor.
"in which case you came to the right birds," it was a different voice, he was sure of it. It sounded almost identical to the first, but the canary picked up the slightly higher pitch.
"Do you mind getting off me?" Nico asked, his face squashed against the floor. He tried to sound polite, but the tone was bordering murderous. He was tired, hungry, had nowhere to sleep, he wanted to go home and had been waiting for near on four hours for this mysterious 'help'. Needless to say, he was not in the best of moods.
"Now, now, that's really no way to speak to your saviours now is it?" The first voice commented, neither moving from their position on top of him.
"Not at all, maybe we won't help you after all," the other remarked.
"Boys, don't kill the poor kid, I think he's been through enough." Ant's voice drifted from nearby. His tone suggested this was something that happened on a regular basis.
Thankfully the two weight's listened and clambered up and off him. Nico sucked in a lungful of air and pushed himself into a sitting position, coughing a little as he tried to breathe normally again. He turned to look at his attackers, raising his eyebrows as he saw a pair of identical owls, both brown and white, sitting side by side with wide smiles on their faces. They were about twice his size, though in owl sizes, this was still pretty small. They had wide, dark eyes that had a glint of mischief. Any other day, he would probably get along with the pair from the moment they met. But unfortunately, today they met the tired and irritable Nico, who only wanted a nice warm bed and a long, long sleep.
"I'm Joe," the one on the left chirped
"and I'm Josh," the other added. They both looked so happy and so...awake, that all Nico wanted to do was strangle them both.
"Look, sorry, it's been a long day, I just need to find somewhere to sleep and we can pick this up in the morning. Sound good?" He asked, voice strained as he tried to be civil. "Trust me, I'm usually a nice guy, but I get grouchy when I haven't had enough sleep, so how about I'll see you in the morning and we can sort everything out then?"
Both owls looked at each other nervously. They wanted to help, they always did, but despite the small size, this one was scary. Ant had told them he was just a nice bird trying to get home.
"Alright."
"I suppose we don't have a choice"
"I mean, I do want to live."
"So I guess we can wait."
Nico's gaze flicked between them both. All he could think of was physic link, since they were finishing each other's sentences without hesitation. That or they were actually one bird and he was just that tired.
"You can stay at our place."
"If you want." They smiled, trying to get back into the small birds good books.
"Thank you," Nico sighed, a small smile of his own gracing his features.
The birds glanced at each other, grinning.
This was going to be fun.
So...part 4 :) Short one, next one is quite long, and I don't really wanna break that up, so this is all for now :)
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, always appreciated :)