Flight 1:
The seven racers all took to the air under their own wing power. Searuff the tern and Gando the goose, the two strongest flyers, gained a temporary lead in the initial beginning of the flight, but Forkera the swallow wasn't far behind them. Sidewind the sapsucker (woodpecker) was doing pretty good, and so was Vulturky the vulture, but Frendo the warbler and Rubie the hummingbird, the smallest racers, lagged behind a little.
"For those of you not so familiar with The Winged Migration Race," said Tutulu, "the race may seem lopsided, with some flyers being bigger and stronger than others. But each racer has his or her own talents in migration, and each one can fly in migration only by day or by night. And each flight takes a day and a night to complete, and ends the next morning, and besides, there are obstacles that must be overcome along the way. There are storms below the clouds frequently, and they may blow the Birds off course. There are also predators, like the Lizards, the Monkeys, the Jackals, and the Cats, not to mention other Birds from the Bird Nation, and they must be overcome or avoided, too. There are all kinds of accidents our racers could meet, as well. And sometimes, when they get close to each other, they may have to get physical and try to hinder each other's flight to the Bird's Nest, although all-out roughhousing is not allowed, for that is the nature of the savages on the ground.
"The Bird's Nest the racers are flying towards in Flight 1 is located on the pinnacle of the mountain peak where the exiled, and most savage, Tiger clan, have made their home, and the racers just have to locate it."
As hovering cameras followed each racer's every moves, the racers flew down below the clouds, and as the first flight was beginning during the height of the day, the daytime migrants, Searuff, Gando, and Vulturky, got a head start on the flight, while the other four Birds had to wait for the cover of the night, and protect themselves from predators.
"See you folks at the Bird's Nest!" Gando couldn't help throwing back at them cockily as he flew on.
"We'll catch up to you!" said Frendo. "You've got to rest during the night, just like we do during the day!"
"The Feather Beacon is within my grasp already," said Vulturky, "I may be a slower flyer, but I can find my way south with the appropriate landmarks. Let's see now," she mused as she examined the ground beneath her, "That's the City of Dogs, right below Avista City. Those trees a ways south of Dog City estimate to be about one hundred miles away, and they're not far from the icy mountaintop where the Tiger clan has been exiled for so long. Just keep my eyes on those trees, and the mountain range behind it, and I'll be there in no time!"
"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice. Vulturky turned and faced Gando. The goose was grinning.
"What is it, Gando?" asked Vulturky suspiciously.
"Thanks for helping me find the place that points to the Bird's Nest, friend," he said, cocky again. "Now," he continued, "I'm gonna get that Beacon long before you can, and you can't stop me."
"Oh really?" said Vulturky, "What makes you think that? Remember, I'm a vulture, and a vulture is a bird of prey!"
"Ah, too true," said Gando, "But you forget, I'm a Canada Goose, and my species can be quite aggressive, and besides, vultures aren't as strong as other birds of prey, especially not smaller ones."
Vulturky blanched. "You're not seriously thinking of-"
Suddenly, Gando launched himself at Vulturky and began squawking and honking at her, slapping her with his wings, too. The two Birds began to wrestle in the air for a few moments, risking a sharp plummet to the ground, until Gando gave Vulturky a kick to one of her wings, making her begin to dive-bomb downwards.
"Adios, sucker!" said Gando, flying on the same path Vulturky was taking a few minutes ago.
After Vulturky got her flying under control and began to fly upwards again, she yelled, "Gando, you dirty birdie! You played dirty, and before the end, dirty is gonna bite you back in the rump!"
Gando just responded with honking laughter. Vulturky hissed like the vulture she was and followed, albeit with a slightly weakened wing.
Both of them were hopeful in winning this first flight, but what they didn't know was that Searuff was an excellent navigator, and he could improvise if one method failed him best of all the Birds in the race. He was keeping his eyes out for the mountaintop at the end of the forest, which was the first Bird's Nest, and he was a mighty strong flyer.
Vulturky eventually noticed this and knew he had to make up for lost time if he was going to get there before the tern did. It took about a couple of hours to get pretty close to his rival in the race, but the darkness of night was approaching, and nighttime was no time for a vulture to fly, or soar, if one prefers that term.
Finally, she couldn't see to fly any further until the next morning, and she touched down on a crag and sheltered in a cave. She was certain by now that either Gando or Searuff was going to beat her to the prize. She was partly accurate, as it happened. Gando didn't realize that his fighting with Vulturky gave him a disadvantage in the flight; in using up some energy to tussle with the vulture Bird, he now became tired, and he too had to hole up for the night until the next morning. He chose a patch of tall, moist grass near a lake and dozed off; he was so tired.
Searuff, on the other hand, as a tern, could continue to navigate through the darkness for a little while; such was the power of an Arctic Tern, and he was certain that he was going to beat all the others.
While he still had a ways to go, though, as darkness fell on the countryside, the other four racers roused themselves and began their nighttime migration to try to catch up to the others. As Forkera took to the skies soonest and fastest, Rubie shouted, "Don't waste too much time showing off your prettiness to the savages down here if you hope to win this race, Forkera!"
"Swallows don't normally migrate at night, for your information," she shouted back. "I'm only doing so this time because I like to start with a challenge!" She then took off.
"Don't worry about her," said Frendo, "This race is for one Bird to win only, and we need to get moving if we're going to catch up in time."
"He's right," said Sidewind as he flapped his small wings in the air and took off. Frendo followed, then shortly afterwards, Rubie.
In the meantime, Searuff was closing in on the Bird's Nest. In his pleasure at being first, he made a few aerobatic moves that teased the exiled Tigers near the Nest. The Tigers were annoyed and tried to claw him down, but he deftly avoided their claws and flew up to the hidden Nest at the appropriate mountain peak, landing on the rug that was the landing pad for the Bird's Nest. Tutulu was up there, along with a Snow Bunting named Willa.
"Welcome to the home of the Tiger clan," she said to Searuff.
"Thank you," said Searuff, "I really appreciate it."
"Have you ever witnessed a migratory Bird with as much beginner's skill as this one?" asked Tutulu.
"Nope. Never," said Willa. "I've seen a few close competitors, but never one quite as good as him."
They laughed in their own respective Bird languages.
"Well," said Tutulu to Searuff, "It's officially true. You are the winner of Flight 1!"
"YES!" shouted Searuff, kipping into the air like a real tern.
"And because of that," said Tutulu, "You have just won the official advantage in this race, the Feather Beacon!" He handed over a piece of technology with a red blinking light and an on/off switch. It was the color of silver.
"Remember," said Tutulu, "you can use this only once on the race, and then, after it's used, you have to return it to me. And you can use it up until the end of the fifth flight."
"Got it," said Searuff, smiling.
"So how do you feel?" Tutulu asked curiously.
"Well, with my innate talents that I already possess, and now having the Feather Beacon added to it, I feel virtually unstoppable."
Searuff made a pose with the Feather Beacon. The white parts of his plumage shone brightly even in the darkness.
Forkera was honest when she said that she liked a challenge, but migrating by night was trickier for a swallow than she thought. She couldn't see very well in the dark, so she looked up to the sky. Fortunately, there were some breaks in the clouds, and she could se some stars. She also knew a constellation Third Earthers called "the Tigress," and its point at the end of its "head" pointed to the mountains near the Tiger clan's home.
Taking this information to heart, she decided to follow the stars to the Bird's Nest. Still, she was flying almost blind, and the other three Birds were more used to navigating in the dark.
Frendo looked up at the same stars Forkera had examined, but though warblers were not known for being highly intelligent, Frendo was very thoughtful, and he could feel the magnetic field of Third Earth like a compass. He used this to probe around in the dark for the Nest.
Sidewind had this same ability, and managed to find the correct route after about one hour of searching. And Rubie? No one's completely sure how a hummingbird navigates when it migrates, but according to something she said after the race, Rubie was able to follow the stars (and better than Forkera), and she was just able to hear the noise coming from the Tiger camp from so far away.
From here, it was a race to the finish for these four nighttime racers. Despite her tiny size, Rubie was eventually in the lead, followed by Sidewind, and then Frendo. Forkera, who was still batting around the darkness (figuratively), decided that she wouldn't do such an adventure as migrating at night again, if she stayed in the race.
Fortunately, the sun was starting to rise as they got pretty close to their destination. The first of the later racers to make it to the Bird's Nest was Rubie, who was ecstatic for coming in second, even though it cost her the Feather Beacon. A little while later, Sidewind came in third, and expressed joy, as well.
At about this time, Vulturky and Gando were slowly rousing themselves from their own rests. Vulturky knew that as the warmth of the sun made heat currents in the air, that was the time for her to move. Gando, in turn, was still very tired, but he managed to wake up enough to get moving again, too.
First Vulturky, and then Gando, who was still a little ahead of her, took off to finish the first flight. As they were within sight of the Nest, Frendo happily came in fourth, and a short while later, Forkera, whose sight finally returned with the rising of the sun, along with her ability to navigate, came in fifth, and even she was pleased to still be in the race.
But try as he might, Gando just hadn't recovered all his strength from the day before, and he was too weary to move fast. Vulturky, on the other hand, didn't need to use much effort to soar in the air, and coasted along just fine. Soon, he was catching up with Gando.
Gando noticed this and said to Vulturky, "Vulturky! Have sympathy for me! I don't know if I'm going to make it to the Bird's Nest under my own power. I'm too pooped out. Can you give me a lift?"
Vulturky blinked. "Why? You played dirty with me once before, and I haven't entirely gotten over it. Besides, we can't both land on the rug at once. One of us has to be last, because I have a feeling that the other racers have all made it to the Nest by now."
"Oh, come on, Vulturky," complained Gando, "Do you think I'd appeal to you if I weren't in great need? Come on, help me! I'll let you take the next spot in the race if you do; that's a promise."
"Really?" asked Vulturky, still a little suspicious.
"Really," said Gando, extending a hand. Vulturky flew over and took it. But as she did, Gando clutched it and attempted to turn her upside down and push her in the direction of the ground.
But this time Vulturky was ready for it. She tackled Gando and tangled his thin arms together, and the slippery goose struggled to untangle his arms and still stay in the air while Vulturky flew on to the Bird's Nest.
"Hey!" yelled Gando, "Now you played dirty, you scrounging scavenger!"
"You did it first," Vulturky reminded him as she flew away, "And now, karma's coming back to bite you in the rump, just like I said."
Gando made a growl-like honk and managed to untangle his arms after thirty seconds, and then he continued on to the Bird's Nest. But by then, it was too late. Vulturky had made it there before him, and was declared racer number six. Vulturky felt great satisfaction at this, to say the least.
A few minutes later, Gando flew in and touched down on the rug. Tutulu looked sad, but also disappointed.
"Gando," he said, "I am sorry to tell you that you are the last racer to arrive." Gando nodded moodily. "And you have been eliminated from the race. I don't think anybody expected you to be the last racer coming today."
"Nope. Figures," said Gando, "To think that a Bird of Avista would believe in revenge for so-called dirty play in a race. I thought only the other Animals were subject to things like that. But then again, I guess you have to expect that in a vulture, even one from Avista. I always prided myself on being a winner at so many things because of my popular species, and let me tell you, this is a humiliation I can't take. I'm just not used to losing."
End of Flight 1