YTZ#05:

A New Chapter

Welcome back to my Birds of the Basin short story.

Catch up on Part 1 if you missed it.

Now to the story.

(What follows is a fictional account.)

The Birds of the Basin, Part 2: The Flight

“
It was just before sundown when the Saddlebill Stork and the Demoiselle Crane leaned heavily on the stone wall of the monument at the top of the hill. The sky was cast in deep oranges, reds, and purples.

Hewn pillars held the top of the square structure overhead, with branches of ivy hanging off on all sides.

In the middle of the ground was a large orb, which was attached to the top of a pedestal by a talon-shaped fastening.

“Curse them, Dem, where are they?” sputtered the Saddlebill.

“Who cares?” shrugged the Crane. “We should hope they don’t show.”

“Yea, you’re right about that,” the Stork joked back.

“Hey Bill, you remember the last time we got stuck with them?” laughed Demoiselle.

“At that Bridger’s rally, right?”

The Crane smiled broadly. “Yea,” she said. “Bluefoot crashed into the stage and knocked over the speaker.”

“And Shoebill ate the whole table of lungfish, didn’t stop to help us contain the crowd. I remember,” Bill answered.

The two bird people had a shared laugh for a moment. Then they heard the squawking.

“Pfaw!” chortled a familiar voice. “Get off me, you clutz!”

“Sorry, Shoe,” moaned another familiar voice. “I didn’t mean to crash into you, honest. I’m real sorry.”

“Yea, yea, I know you’re sorry!” the old Shoebill continued to groan. “Just next time watch where you’re going. Can’t even land your fly, you call yourself a bird,” he said, trailing off and shaking his head. He was laden with some heavy bronze mail.

“Hey guys,” the deep voice of Bluefoot called out when he saw Saddlebill and Demoiselle. His suit was loosely hung from his body, greaves and gauntlets askew.

“Bluefoot,” said Saddlebill. “Bill,” he continued, looking to the Shoebill.

“Bill,” the Shoebill said back. They stared quietly and knowingly at each other.

“So you guys got the brief, right?” asked Bluefoot.

“Yea, Blue,” Demoiselle answered. “We got it earlier.”

“Good, can you fill me in? I lost my copy when we left the dining hall,” said Bluefoot.

“Are you guys ready to leave?” asked Demoiselle.

“What, we’re headed out right now?” Shoebill grumbled.

“That’s right,” replied the Crane. “Red eye to the Basin, flight’s leaving now.”

“Why did we ever have to get an airport night crew? Can’t this stuff wait for the morning? What good does it do ta…” the Shoebill carried on, still walking in the direction of the landing platform at the base of the hill.

“It’s good to see you guys,” Bluefoot said fondly as he neared Saddlebill and Demoiselle.

Saddlebill sympathetically patted Bluefoot’s plumage with his wing.

“It’s good to see you, too, Blue,” Demoiselle smiled in response.

The three followed Shoebill down the hill towards the landing platform.

Number 3.

“Welcome to your midnight flight, I’ll be your kite,” crooned an enormous bird who paused for comedic effect. He held his wings wide as in jest, like he was waiting for a laugh.

“Come on, tough crowd,” he said. “We got a long night ahead of us, lighten up guys.”

“Who are you?” asked Bill.

“You can call me Al.”

“What happened to Ross?”

“He went to bat and never came back,” said Al the albatross, hanging his head in respect.

“Fine, we are going to the Yute,” explained Demoiselle.

“The Basin? Yea, I know. They already gave me the flight path.”

“You mean you don’t know the way already? What is this, your first flight?” Dem pressed him.

“Please, I am a professional,” the huge bird tried to soothe her with calm waving flaps of his long wings.

“Central always gives us the most updated information for our trips,” he continued. “Anyways, how often do you think I fly to Mogra Yute? Not a lot of vacations going that way. Endless miles of life-endangering wilderness ain’t such a pleasure cruise, if you know what I mean. No, people want beaches, they want luxury. Me, I’m a bird of leisure, prefer the finer things in life. An albatross with style.” He puffed his chest proudly.

“Great, thanks for that, Al,” interceded Shoebill impatiently. “Let’s just get a move on it.”

”Fair enough,” said Al. He flattened his enormous body, spread his vast wings and began circling around. Then he repositioned himself at the start of a runway that pointed straight towards the edge of a sheer cliff.

“All aboard,” he thundered.

The four armored birds clambered atop the rigid back of the Albatross. He didn’t budge or complain at all about their weight and gear. In fact, he seemed to be happily humming a little tune to himself.

After a pause he said, “Alright, folks, welcome aboard the A.A. Blaze, your guiding light through the long, dark night. Keep your wings tucked in at all times, we don’t want any extra resistance in those upper altitudes. And remember, this is my way, not the highway, it’s not a democracy up here. If I say jump, I mean it. Other than that my sensors show smooth sailing tonight on our way towards the South Pole. Feel free to kick your talons back and snooze, I’m estimating arrival time at 0’500.”

“What?” spat Shoebill. “That’s a ten hour flight! I didn’t sign up for this.”

“I know,” Bluefoot blushed. “I did.”

“Yea, thanks pal, real favor,” Bill mocked.

“Thanks, Shoe,” cooed Blue.

“That was sarcasm, Blue, sarcasm.”

“Right, Shoe, I knew that. Sar-casm,” he sounded out. But he still seemed lost.

“Don’t let that bully pick on you, Blue,” said Saddlebill. “He’s just got a big mouth.”

“Hey, watch your language, rainbow snout,” Shoebill yelled back.

“Rainbow snout?” guffawed Saddlebill. “Really?”

“Calm down, you two,” Demoiselle soothed.

“Always the peacekeeper,” muttered Shoebill.

“Always the last word,” Dem intoned back.

Shoebill just puffed his beak at her like he wanted to say something, then forced himself to keep quiet.

“Finally, some peace and quiet,” said Bluefoot lazily.

“For now, Blue,” said Saddlebill.

The four riders soared high on Al’s back, way above the clouds into the jet streams. There the enormous bird certainly made good on his promise as he blazed through the air faster than any of them had ever flown before.

Cold thin winds howled at their jowls. Saddlebill stayed awake after all the others fell asleep. Shoebill snored loudly.

“What’s on your mind, Bill?” sung Dem’s voice as she roused to find her companion sitting up.

“Ah, it’s these guys. I know we joked about them, but they really do mess things up for us every time. I really want this trip to go well. Prove we can get back with the Alphas… And I don’t think the Greatcrest realizes how precarious the situation is down there.”

“Always worried about everyone. That’s what I like about you,” said Dem. “Look, I want to get back on Alpha squad as much as you, but right now we can’t let a small issue get in our way. We can handle this, despite those two clowns.”

“They really are clowns,” said Bill laughing again. “Thanks, Dem, you’re a good friend.”

“Is that all that was on your mind?”

“Well, no,” Bill admitted to her. “Actually, I was just thinking. Well, I was thinking why don’t we just take one of these flights together some time. You know, like, not for work. Just for you and me. To one of those luxury beaches like Al talked about.”

“Bill, are you trying to ask me on a trip?” Dem breathed.

“I guess I am, yea,” Bill stumbled. “You wanna?”

“Oh, you know, Bill. We work together, it’s complicated. Maybe if things were different…” she trailed off.

“Why do things always have to be different?” Bill pleaded. “Why can’t love be enough?”

The two paused as they heard the crunching sounds of seeds being eaten.

“Ah, don’t stop on account of me, guys, you’re doing great. Come on, you were just getting to the good part,” said the Albatross loudly.

”Do you mind?” Dem asked him crossly.

“How are you eating seeds?” Bill asked.

Al, still chewing, said, “Got a backpack full of them, with a straw so I can slide them into my mouth. Like I said, I’m a pro at this.”

“Let’s just get some sleep, Bill,” Demoiselle concluded, “it’s going to be a long night.”

“Sure, Dem,” Bill answered. “Good night.”

The two laid back down into the big, white feathers of their albatross aircraft.

As the cold, night wind continued to ruffle their feathers and soothe their senses, they drifted off to sleep.
“

Stay tuned next Tuesday for the continuation of the story!

Thanks for reading.

Please comment and share if you enjoyed.

Blessings to you all,

Matthew