#like preening or puffing up their feathers when startled or Making A Nest

[ghoul--doodle]

Silly scribble!! I think about the dumb fact I gave both Péng and Lychee nests to sleep in rather than beds a lot

I fucking LOVE my silly birds

[thelastspeecher]

NaNoWriMo ‘17 Day 2 - A “Temporary” Exhibit

Day 01   Day 02   Day 03   Day 04   Day 05   Day 06   Day 07   Day 08 Day 09   Day 10   Day 11   Day 12   Day 13   Day 14   Day 15   Day 16 Day 17   Day 18   Day 19   Day 20   Day 21   Day 22   Day 23   Day 24 Day 25   Day 26   Day 27   Day 28   Day 29   Day 30

Summary: Stan and Angie agree to be part of a temporary exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, but something prevents Fiddleford and Stanford from picking them up before mating season starts.  [Phoenix Enchantment AU] Word count: 1754

               Ford parked the car directly in front of the zoo entrance.

               “Stanford, ya can’t do that,” Fiddleford scolded.

               “That’s what they told us to do,” Ford said.  “That way Stan and Angie don’t have to be carried across the parking lot.”  He looked at the phoenixes sitting in the back seat.  “By the way, you two need to get into the cage now.”  Stan hissed.  “This is what you agreed upon.”  Fiddleford turned around in his seat, to also look at the phoenixes.

               “But if ya don’t want to do this no more, ya don’t have to.  We can call it off, say ya came down with somethin’.” Stan looked at Angie.  She shook her head.  “Yer sure ‘bout this?”  Stan and Angie nodded.  “Okay. That means ya have to get into the cage.”  Angie reluctantly stepped inside the animal carrier, closely followed by Stan.  

               “Hey, sir!  You can’t park here!” a zoo employee shouted, walking over to Ford’s car.  Ford got out.

               “It’s fine.  I’m here to drop off some animals for an exhibit?  I’m Dr. Stanford Pines.”

               “Oh, Dr. Pines.”  The employee peered into the car and saw Stan and Angie huddled in the animal carrier. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

               “Good.”  Fiddleford got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat.  He whispered reassuringly to Stan and Angie as he removed the carrier.  “You ready, Fiddleford?”

               “Yessir.”

               “All right, gents, follow me,” the employee said.  

----- 

               Angie skittered across the floor of the animal carrier, accidentally bumping into Stan.

               “Sorry,” she cooed.  

               “It’s fine,” Stan said.  “Fiddleford isn’t being as careful as he could.”  Stan rolled his eyes.  “Would it kill him to keep the damn crate level?”

               “What sort of accommodations do you have for them?” Ford asked the zoo employee.  Angie and Stan stopped talking to listen intently.

               “Their own enclosure, naturally.  Some minor foliage, plenty of materials to build a nest.”  Stan scratched the side of the carrier.

               “Ask about privacy,” he chirped. As though he understood, Fiddleford cleared his throat.

               “And what sort of private areas will they have access to?” Fiddleford asked.

               “The back of their enclosure is all private.”

               “Will they have freedom to move back and forth between the two areas?”

               “During the initial adjustment period, absolutely.  Once they’ve gotten used to the zoo environment, we will try to encourage them to spend more time out in the open.  They are going to be stars, after all.”

               “Better than I thought,” Stan said softly.  Angie let out a small sigh.

               “I’m just glad our babies are on the farm right now.”

               “Like Fidds and Ford would make kids be on display at a zoo,” Stan said with a scoff.  

               “Fair enough.”

               “Of course, if you extend the contract, allowing them to stay through mating season and potentially laying season, we will increase privacy,” the employee continued.  Stan and Angie froze.

               “That won’t happen,” Ford said immediately.

               “There’s no way we can convince you?  We’d love to be able to observe the steps of the reproductive cycle ourselves.”

               “They’ll come back home ‘fore matin’ season starts,” Fiddleford said firmly. “They won’t like bein’ separated from their chicks fer too long, anyways.”

               “And you won’t bend on the chicks, either?” the employee asked. “We’d be happy to house Pinatubo, Pavonis, and Pyre.”

               “They have other accommodations while Pele and Prometheus are here,” Fiddleford said.  “The zoo is goin’ to be stressful enough fer the adult phoenixes.  We don’t want to subject the lil ones to it, too.”

               “All right,” the employee sighed.  “We were hoping that you would consider our offers, but they are effectively your property.”  Stan and Angie let out a synchronous screech.

               “They don’t seem to agree with that,” Fiddleford said with a small chuckle.

               “Ah!  Here we are.” The bumping of the carrier stopped as it was placed upon a flat surface.  “Mind letting them out?  I’d love to get a good look at them.”

               “You’ll have ample opportunity to,” Ford replied.  “But we need to allow them to acclimate around familiar faces as much as possible anyways.”  Fiddleford opened the door to the carrier.  Stan took a cautious step outside.

               “My goodness!” the employee breathed.  “He’s magnificent.”  Stan puffed out his chest proudly.

               “During mating season, he grows a train of tail feathers like a peacock,” Ford said.  “It’s quite something.”

               “I do wish we would be able to see that.”

               “He’s already growing a few, since mating season will be in about a month and a half,” Ford pointed out.  

               “Where’s the female?”

               “She’s a bit more shy,” Fiddleford said.  

               “Angie, they set us up in some sweet digs,” Stan crowed.  “Come check it out.”

               “I’ll just stay in here,” Angie croaked.  “I got a bad feelin’.”

               “Should I reach in and grab her?” the employee suggested.  

               “Oh, no,” Ford said quickly.  “Not if you want all your fingers intact.  Fiddleford?”

               “Yep.”  Fiddleford placed a peach slice in front of the carrier.

               “That’s demeanin’, Fidds,” Angie hissed.

               “Pele, come on, get yer treat,” Fiddleford cajoled.  “It’ll be easier if ya walk out on yer own.”  Angie squawked.  Fiddleford placed a second peach slice next to the first.

               “Fine,” Angie muttered.  She walked out of the carrier and daintily picked up one of the peach slices.  

               “Wow, she’s a fine specimen as well,” the employee commented.  “Not as glamorous as her mate, but still, she’s something.”  The employee crouched down to look Angie in the eyes.  “Hello, Pele.”  Angie dropped the peach slice.

               Good Lord.  Is that Clark?  Of course one of my former coworkers ‘ll be takin’ care of me.

----- 

               Angie hummed a few bars of an old family song as she carefully preened Emmett.  Emmett blinked his tawny eyes languidly a few times and let out a tiny chirp.  

               “I admit, Pele, I’m going to miss your lovely voice,” Clark said. Angie looked up, startled.  “Your songs are very soothing.”  Stan, who was perched on Clark’s shoulder, took off and landed in the nest next to Angie and Emmett.  

               “They’re here, babe,” Stan cawed. Angie’s eyes widened.

               “Really?”

               “Yup!  It’s about time.”  Stan bent over and nuzzled Emmett’s head.  “Hear that, kiddo?  We’re finally gonna go home!”

               “You’ll get to meet yer sisters,” Angie crooned.  “They’ll be so happy to see ya.”

               “I apologize again, for requesting the phoenixes stay longer than we originally planned,” Ford said, walking into the enclosure, Fiddleford close behind with an animal carrier.

               “It was no trouble!  Pele and Prometheus were the stars of the show.  Visitors loved them, and they were model in terms of behavior.”

               “Really?” Ford asked.

               “Wow.  Do ya really have to be surprised about it?” Stan squawked.  

               “Yes, they were.  Well, apart from when Pele first started brooding, that is.”

               “Brooding?” Fiddleford asked.

               “Yes, she and Prometheus were very insistent on staying put, when Percival’s egg was first laid.”

               “Percival?  Who’s Percival?” Ford asked.  Clark looked at him.

               “Did you not get the correspondence from us?  Mating season happened while you were gone.”

               “Oh, geez, that’s right,” Fiddleford breathed.  

               “Pele laid Percival’s egg April 23rd.  We were concerned at first, since the egg was malformed.”

               “Malformed?” Ford and Fiddleford asked together.

               “Yes.  A light gray as opposed to dark black, and smaller than your research indicated phoenix eggs are.”

               “Oh, dear,” Fiddleford muttered.  

               “But Percival hatched on June 23rd, right on schedule.  He was rather weak upon hatching, and still isn’t as hardy as he should be, but we’ve been keeping a close eye on him, making sure Pele and Prometheus don’t lose their first male chick.”

               “Was that ever a risk?” Ford asked abruptly.

               “When he was about three days old, he caught a nasty chill, and we had to move him somewhere for his own well-being.  Naturally, Pele came with, and the combination of her excellent mothering skills and our own talented veterinarians ensured that little Percy pulled through.”

               “He’s got some health issues, ‘cause his egg was malformed?” Fiddleford said. Clark nodded.

               “Yes.  We think he’ll grow out of them, though.  He’s made it through the most difficult part now, so it should be smooth sailing from now on.”

               “Did you change Pele’s diet?” Ford asked.

               “No.  Our head ornithologist believes that Percival’s egg was malformed due to stress.  Both Pele and Prometheus became incredibly stressed after mating season ended, and they started nesting.  Our head ornithologist thinks that they were stressed due to being forced to nest in a place they didn’t normally live in.”

               “That makes sense,” Ford said softly.  He glanced over at Stan and Angie.  “Thank you, for taking such good care of them.  We’ll let you know how Percival turns out.”

               “Actually, since he hatched in the zoo, we were wondering if-” Clark started.

               “No,” Fiddleford and Ford said immediately.

               “Percy stays with his fam’ly,” Fiddleford said.  Clark sighed.

               “I thought it was a long shot.”  Clark looked over at Stan and Angie.  “Maybe they can visit again some time.”

               “Maybe,” Ford said.  Stan let out a screech.  “Or maybe not.”

----- 

               “Tate, move so’s the phoenixes have space,” Fiddleford said, opening the backseat door.  Tate sighed and moved over.  Fiddleford placed the animal carrier on the seat next to his son.  Tate peered into the carrier.

               “Oh, yeah, Uncle Harper said Pele and Prometheus had another chick while they stayed at the zoo.”

               “Yes.  Their first male chick,” Ford said, getting into the driver’s seat.  “And the zoo named him Percival, of all things.”

               “That’s way better than…what did you plan on for the next one?  Poike?”

               “We’ll have to agree to disagree,” Ford muttered.

               “Sorry ya ended up stuck with yer uncle fer so long,” Fiddleford said. Tate shrugged.

               “It was all right.  But why were you gone?” Tate asked.  Angie let out a squawk.  “Pele wants to know, too.”

               “Something came up with our research,” Ford said.  “I made the mistake of deciding to examine the Manotaurs, and agreed to participate in their ‘man trials’.”

               “Wait, it was something you could’ve backed out of?” Tate said.

               “If I had, I wouldn’t have gotten such excellent research,” Ford protested.  Tate slumped back against his seat.

               “That’s cruddy.”

               “You stranded us at a damn zoo for months for that?!” Stan screeched.

               “Prometheus agrees,” Tate said.  Ford sighed and started the car.

               “I can tell.”

               “You owe all of us treats.”

               “So, ice cream for the birds, and crickets for you?” Ford asked jokingly. Tate frowned at him.  “…When we get to Gravity Falls, we’ll stop by the store.”

[tokyoteddywolf]

Fishy Feathers Chapter One

FUCK YEAH I ACTUALLY GOT IT DONE!!!!!!! :D Here, have some cute baby Avian Lance and Mer Pidge! Aka Chick Lance and Guppy Pidge, for now. :3 ————————————— She hated thunderstorms. She didn’t like how they made the waves all out of control and rough. Her mother trilled worriedly as the sky darkened and the waves started turning choppy. They had been playing around in one of the rock formations near the coast, the rest of the pod in deeper waters, when her father called a warning about the incoming storm. She whimpered and clung to her mother, her guppy tail not exactly strong enough yet to swim through tough currents like the ones sweeping through the area.

Without warning, a huge wave came out of nowhere and slammed down on her, knocking her grip off of her mother’s fin and sweeping her away. She screamed in fright, her mother’s loud panicked calls fading as she vanished with the wave.

…………………………………………………

Lance whimpered, looking around the trees and cringing as another raindrop landed on his nose. He didn’t mean to fall from the nest! He just wanted to see that pretty bluebird again! The sky was still dark, the sun not quite risen yet, the storm fading into the distance with the occasional rumble of thunder. He didn’t know how to get back into the nest, his oversized brown and tan wings not quite able to lift him yet, so he stayed on the ground, sad and scared little chirps echoing from his throat.

His Mama was asleep with his siblings, his Papa out on a flight to the nearest human city to buy food. So nobody would notice him until they woke up. He folded his wings around his body clumsily, still not quite used to using them yet. He was only six, still a hatchling. He wouldn’t start flying lessons until he was at least ten or twelve. More droplets splattered his wings, and he huffed irritably. He figured there had to be a drier spot to sit and wait, so he got up and marched determinedly through the forest in search of a warmer and less drippy place.

He stopped at a hill of rocks that tumbled down to a beach, eyes wide. A huge body of water lapped at the white sandy ground and boulders, smooth and rough and his inner chick wanted to climb all over it! Chirping excitedly, he scrambled down the hillside, yelping when he tripped and landed face first into the sand, oversized wings flapping awkwardly in an attempt to stop his fall. He sat up, brushing grains of gritty sand from his cheeks and rubbing his nose with a soft whine of pain.

His head whipped up suddenly. He could have sworn someone had just gasped… getting to his feet, he shuffled forward in the direction of the noise, soft, inquisitive little chirps leaking from his mouth. His Mama always said to chirp before he talked, that way he could get attention on him when he spoke to an adult or stranger. There was a pause, and then something mimicked his chirps back! It didn’t sound like any kind of chirp Lance had ever heard before, it was kinda hollow and higher pitched than his own. Squeaky, like a baby pigeon. He clambered over the rocks to the source of the sound and…

He stared, star struck. Big golden brown eyes stared back, a soft pink mouth full of sharp teeth dropping open in surprise as the pale skinned, green scaled mermaid noticed the goofy, fluffy brown and tan speckled wings on his back. Realization registered to both children, and Lance shrieked and ducked back behind the boulders while the mermaid did the same, curling up into a scaly ball with fins flared and covering her non scaly torso.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Lance peeked back over the rocks and scanned the ball of green fins warily. Mama had always said that an Avian who got too close to a Mer was sure to be dragged into the sea and drowned. But… then again, Mama said that the Mer were huge and vicious and would attack fearlessly… so why was this one so small? Smaller than him, actually? And… scared? Of him? Why? Plus the fact that she was several yards away from the water, and the rocks looked painful to lay on… and one of her fins, the webbed one on her lower back and further down was bleeding along the base, like something had tried to pull it off. He crawled over, carefully, because he was pretty sure this shaking ball of fish scales couldn’t hurt him right now, plus he couldn’t just stand by and watch her suffer! She probably had a family waiting for her, missing her!

He let out a soft, warning peep before he pressed his palm against the fin covering her face. It wasn’t slimy at all, actually kind of like the really fine spider silk his Mama bought for a dress once, super soft and smooth. The fin pulled back, and the mermaid was staring at him again. Lance offered a reassuring smile. “Um, hi! Are you okay?” He spoke up for the first time that day, words instead of bird sounds. It seemed to startle the guppy girl, because she clicked softly in surprise.

"So, uh, I’ve never met a Mer before, but you look kinda… dry? Do you need anything?” He asked, tilting his head and shuffling his wings nervously. Her eyes followed the movement before she swallowed thickly and blinked back tears. “Wah-der. ’M drai. Owie.” She whimpered, still too young to form proper words but trying to convey the message anyways. Lance recognized the babble as toddler talk, his little brother spoke in it currently. Which meant this Mer was at least two or three years younger than him. “Wah… der? Oh! Water! Okay! I’ll get you to the water then! Um… but first we should bandage your fin… I know!” Lance reached behind his back and tugged at the strings tying his shirt together, the design keeping his front covered and his wings free.

Tugging off the thin fabric, he started tearing it into strips. “Wha’ birdy doin’?” The little mermaid whispered, confused. Lance smiled. “Makin’ a bandaid! Hold still, ‘kay?” He reassured the younger creature, clumsily tying the fabric strips around the damaged fin. He tied it off tightly, so it wouldn’t slip off, and brushed some sand off of the guppy girl’s tail. “Okay, how’s that?” He asked, the mermaid blinking and wiggling her fin experimentally. “Owie bedder!” She squealed happily, propping herself up on her hands to stare to the bandaged fin.

Lance preened, proud of his work. “Okay, let’s get you to the water! I’m gonna hafta carry you though, ‘kay?” The Mer nodded, and Lance wriggled his arms under her body, grunting as he somehow managed to pick her up into a princess carry. “For a small girl you sure are heavy!” He yelped, staggering down the rocks and boulders to the waters edge. She let out an indignant, offended, squeaky pigeon chirp and smacked his cheek with a webbed hand, pouting. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just not used to carrying smaller people with tails. All my siblings have wings you kno- AAAAH!” He cut himself off with a startled screech as he slipped on a particularly wet rock and fell forwards into the shallows of the sea, the mermaid sent flying before she plopped into deeper waters.

She surfaced quickly, worried about the fluffy winged boy, and promptly burst out laughing. High pitched, joyful, amused chirruping trills of mirth practically leapt out of her mouth as she took in the sight of the shocked and soggy birdy boy in the water on his hands and knees, wings puffed up in surprise. Lance blinked and sat back on his knees in the water, still a little stunned. It was wet, yeah, but a different kind of wet. Salty and moving and warm and almost alive somehow. And… he loved it! He made an excited little chirp and spread his large wings wide, sweeping them low and getting them wet. The pigeon chirping mermaid swept closer, still making those happy little giggles, and splashed him with more salty water. His face lit up and he splashed her back, laughing. This was so much different from the rain! The ocean seemed to play with them too, small waves crashing into him when he went too far out and pushing him back to shore, tugging lightly at his shorts and wings, splashing him and getting him thoroughly soaked as he chased the little mermaid around excitedly.

A few hours later the sun was fully up, and he was resting against a boulder with his wings and everything under his waist completely submerged, leaning against his new Mer pal. “So… I never learned your name, by the way?” He asked the tired out guppy next to him, and she hummed quietly. “Mom named me-” a series of clicks and squeaks followed her words, and Lance blinked. “-bu’ my Word name is Kadie.” The mermaid finished, smiling. Lance thought a moment. “Katie? Mm… doesn’t suit you. But Pidge does! Can I call you Pidge?” Lance asked, tilting his head towards her in order to gauge her reaction. Katie’s face lit up. “Like a birdy?” Lance nodded. “When you chirp, you sound like a baby pigeon. So, Pidge!” The newly dubbed Mer clapped her hands excitedly. “Pidge! Pidge! I’m Pidge!” She cried, absolutely thrilled with the nickname.

"I’m Lance! And you’re Pidge!” Lance introduced, Pidge grinning enthusiastically. “Lance! Fluffy birdy Lance!” She cooed, and Lance giggled. The happy fun time was interrupted by distant, loud, trilling calls from Pidge’s pod. Lance perked up at the sound of his Mama calling his name nearby. “Aww…. I gotta go home now…” Lance pouted, Pidge drooping as well. “Play 'morrow?” She asked the Avian boy, splashing him lightly again. Lance stood up and stretched. “Yeah! Course we can! But it has to be a secret okay? Nobody can know, they’d separate us.” He made a shushing sign with his hand, Pidge mimicking the signal. “Mhm! Nobody know!” She giggled, as her pod called again. “Bye Pidge! I’ll see you tomorrow!” He said, wading onto the beach as his fishy friend waved goodbye before diving into deeper waters.

…………………………………………………

Pidge pulled the shirt bandage off of her fin, swimming towards her mother. She was instantly engulfed in a crowd of worried pod members, her mother squeezing her tight and clicking furiously about how worried she’d been while her father and brother pressed in close, Matt examining her scabbed up fin. “Where have you been? We’ve all been worried sick!” The pod leader, Alfor, scolded her lightly, and she played with her fingers nervously. “Beached!” She shot back defensively, and gasps of horror echoed through the pod.

Many times a young beached Mer was either killed by drying out or by being killed because of another species looking for easy prey, as guppies hadn’t developed the shifting ability yet. The shifting ability allowed Mer to go on land, but only after puberty hit, around twelve years of age. The first time was pretty painful, and they resembled humans, which is why it was used as a last resort when beached.

Alfor softened instantly. “At least you made it to the water in time… I think you should stay in the cove until you’ve healed, alright?” Pidge nodded, already planning how to sneak out to see her feathery friend on land.

………………………………..

"Goodness Lance, you’re soaked! What where you doing out there, playing in the lake? And where is your shirt!?” His Mama berated him as she flew him up to the nest, his siblings already crowding around and chirping with questions. “Mama! I told you! My shirt ripped when I fell from the tree and I’m all wet 'cuz I fell into a big puddle!” He complained as she fussed over him, ruffling his hair with a towel and drying him off before she bundled him up in warm clothes and blankets, constantly checking for a fever.

His Mama sighed in exasperation. “My little chick, you’re too curious for your own good! Next time you fall from the tree, you climb the branches or wait for someone to come get you, understand? No more of this wandering off!” She scolded him, and he huffed quietly as she started working on drying out his wings.

Now to figure out how to get to the beach tomorrow…

—————————– Chapter one is done and I am taking a nap, goodnight- ugh- *flops onto bed and sleeps instantly* (The Shance comes into play later, I just wanna focus on the Pidge and Lance sibling dynamic for now ;3)