Jay raced to keep up with the others. He hated that he was the only one who seemed nervous. Kai was angry. Cole was annoyed. Lloyd… was a little hard to read. He mostly seemed annoyed. Why was Jay the only one worried? What if Lloyd's bird wasn't in the cave? What if the Loftwing was hurt? What about the monsters in the cave? Yeah, chuchus and keese weren't the most intimidating monsters out there, but the monsters were notably more aggressive recently with no explanation. And there were rumors of a big, scary, never before seen monster lurking around at night. What if that monster was in the cave?
They all jumped across the stones to the other side of the river with practiced ease, then ran up the slope to the cave. A row of logs had been tied together and pounded into the ground to block the entrance. They ignored the sign warning them to stay away and leaned in to examine the barrier.
Cole pushed against it experimentally. "Hm, it isn't in there too deep. If we dig around the bottom, we can loosen it enough to move it."
"'Kay," Kai nodded, throwing himself into digging. Cole joined him. There wasn't really room for more diggers without getting in each others way so Jay held back. Kai and Cole didn't need help anyways, dirt was flying.
Jay fidgeted as he watched them, occasionally glancing over towards the plaza where the crowd was growing bigger. Lloyd was staring at the logs like he could see through them and into the cave.
"He's definitely in there," Lloyd murmured.
Jay perked up. "Really?" Some people said Lloyd was faking his special bond with his bird or just imagining it, but Jay knew it was real. "That's good. Or bad, I guess. At least we know where he is."
"There we go!" Kai cried out triumphantly, pushing the now loose gate forward then helping Cole haul it out of the hole.
Jay had been in the cave before, both for training and exploring, but it looked darker than he remembered. Was that a thing? Could caves get darker over time?
Lloyd went in first and the rest of them followed close behind. They'd only gone a few steps when a keese swooped down at them with a screech. Lloyd batted it down easily with his sword. The next two went down just as quickly.
"There are definitely more monsters in here than usual," Jay fretted, eyes darting around nervously. It was colder in here and damp. Water dripped down the stalactites on the ceiling. There were a few holes in the ceiling throughout the cave so it wasn't pitch black, but it was still very dark, none of the torches were lit. No one was supposed to be in here.
Kai scoffed. "A few keese aren't going to stop us."
"Keep an eye out for chu's," Cole cautioned, gaze sweeping the cracks and rocks on the ground and ceiling for any sign of the blob monsters. Those things could pop up out of nowhere.
As they made their way through the cave they were attacked by more keese and some chuchus, but no new monsters. Jay was very relieved there was nothing worse lurking around. Kai and Lloyd did most of the fighting, cutting through the little monsters with their swords. Cole took down a bunch with his scythe. Jay specialized in nunchucks himself, both bladed and unbladed. He'd brought his bladed ones to the cave, they were fighting monsters after all. He killed a few keese, but he was near the back of the group, most monsters didn't make it that far.
When they were about halfway through the cave, Jay interrupted Kai's grumbling about Groose to point out, "Er, guys? If he were in here, wouldn't we have at least heard him by now? Unless he's knocked out, which really wouldn't be good…" He wasn't even sure how one could knock out a Loftwing besides throwing a boulder at their head which didn't seem like something even Groose could manage. Then again, he hadn't thought Groose was capable of taking on and containing a Loftwing when he woke up this morning.
Lloyd frowned. "We're getting closer… Maybe he penned him up in one of the little caves outside?"
Cole's eyebrows furrowed. "Would any of those fit him? Those are more dents in the wall than caves."
"There's a couple that could," Lloyd nodded. Then, after a thoughtful pause added, "Makes more sense if he's out there actually. Groose wouldn't have had to fight off so many monsters and it's close enough to the waterfalls to help drown out any cries too."
Jay sighed sulkily. "We could've gotten there faster from the sky then." They didn't need to be in a dark cave fending off monsters.
"Well, we're almost out now," Kai noted positively. And he was right, the next chamber looked much brighter even from here. The exit was waiting for them at the back of the last chamber. "C'mon, pick up the pace."
They hurried through the last couple caverns and burst back out into sweet, sweet sunlight. The fresh breeze that brushed against Jay's skin was reassuring. People belonged in the sky, not underground.
The stretch of land they were standing on curled around the island and out of sight. They were lower on the island now, having descended while going through the caves. The upper part of the island jutted out overhead, like a rocky ceiling. The bottoms of some islands floated above their heads in the distance. They'd only taken a few steps when Zelda's voice called out, "Lloyd!"
Turning, they saw Zelda and her bird gliding towards them. Jay cast a worried glance at the rocky ceiling not too far above them. That was going to be a tight landing, there wasn't much space… The section of land they were standing on only went about thirteen feet out. She managed it fine though, flapping to a careful stop and hovering to let Zelda hop off.
"Lloyd, I was hoping I'd find you here," Zelda said, hurrying over. "I heard you'd gone searching for your bird around the waterfall, so I thought I'd fly around and help you look."
"Did you see him then?" Cole asked hopefully.
Zelda's expression drooped. "No. Though there was a spot I didn't have a good view of. The waterfall and rocks get in the way. I take it you haven't found any sign of him yet then?"
"No," Lloyd confirmed, but he didn't sound upset about it. "He's definitely close though. He must be in that place you couldn't see. There's a little cave that could fit him there and Groose and his gang hang around there sometimes."
"Let's hurry then," Zelda pushed eagerly. "Practically everyone's already waiting at the plaza for the race to start."
They heard it even before they rounded the bend. It was semi-muted by the rushing water of the falls, but the unmistakable screech of an enraged Loftwing could still be heard. Lloyd sped up, and the rest of them ran to keep up.
Jay let out a gasp at the sight. Large metal nails had been pounded into the stone wall. Ropes tied between the nails were holding several large wooden boards in place. And behind those boards was Lloyd's emerald Loftwing, trapped in a cave so small it could barely turn around. Jay couldn't remember ever seeing a Loftwing look so furious. The bird was screeching, feathers puffed out angrily, flapping its wings, scratching at the boards, clearly doing everything it could to escape. Jay couldn't fathom how Groose and his gang had managed to get the bird in there and keep it there while they put up the boards.
When the bird saw Lloyd though, he immediately calmed down. Tucking his wings to the side, he cooed softly, looking expectantly at Lloyd.
For a moment, real anger glinted in Lloyd's eyes. It was a rare expression on Lloyd. It made him look a bit scary.
All the guys threw themselves at a different set of ropes, hacking away at them with their weapons. It was easier than trying to dig the nails out of the stone wall. Zelda held back, watching them anxiously.
A minute later, the boards fell to the ground and Lloyd's bird stepped out of the cave. It spread its massive wings and let out a pleased cry. Jay was struck with the reminder of just how big Loftwings were. He knew they were big, of course, but it wasn't something someone constantly thought about.
The Loftwing stepped forward to nuzzle Lloyd, who grinned and patted its beak. Zelda began checking it for injuries. Thankfully, the bird looked fine as far as Jay could see. He, Cole, and Kai moved away to give the trio more space.
Kai smiled viciously. "All that idiot Groose did was delay the inevitable. He's going to look even more stupid and pathetic when he loses now."
"How in the skies did Groose pen him up without getting his arms torn off?" Jay wondered aloud quietly.
"It's Lloyd's bird," Cole answered. "The bird reflects its rider. It didn't want to hurt Groose."
Jay half grinned. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Kai huffed. "I wish the kid was less passive with those morons. What I would give to see him clock Morro in the face just once…"
That was the funny thing. Lloyd was very capable of taking his bullies on. It wasn't that he was scared, like Jay. Or too weak, like Jay. And it wasn't even fear of punishment either. With Lloyd's dad being headmaster, Lloyd being on such good terms with the mayor, Morro and Groose being unpopular whereas Lloyd was very well liked, and Morro and Groose's bullying ways being well known, it would be a minor punishment at most. But despite all of that, Lloyd still never smacked back. He was too softhearted for it. Jay wished he would sometimes, it was the only thing that would ever make them stop. Words never worked.
"It would have to get really bad before he even considered it," Cole shrugged.
"He better not go easy on them in the race," Kai grumbled.
"I don't think you have to worry about that," Jay said drily. "He isn't that much of a pushover. I think he's been looking forward to this."
"We should go tell everyone that Lloyd's found his bird," Cole suggested suddenly.
Kai's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah."
Cole started tugging them towards the island's edge. "We're going to go tell everyone you've got your bird back, Lloyd," he called over to the boy. "Get to the plaza as soon as you're sure your bird's alright."
Lloyd glanced up from his bird. "Okay, thanks."
"Um, do all three of us need to go to deliver a message?" Jay asked, confused.
"Ugh," Kai whisper-groaned. "Honestly, Jay, you have zero sense of romance. We're trying to give Zelda and Lloyd a chance to have a moment before the race, obviously. No wonder you've never had a girlfriend."
Jay blushed a deep scarlet. "That's not-" Could he and Nya have a special moment before her race? Would he be able to get her alone? What should he say? What if he said something stupid? Should he wait until after the race? But what if she lost? No, what was he thinking, that was crazy, she was definitely going to win. "Ugh, let's just go."