Helping Ancelin
'bee-bee-beep bee-bee-beep bee-bee-beep bee-bee-CLICK'
Ancelin's alarm clock went off without fail at exactly 9:01am. The young girls olive hand reached out and slapped the off button, knocking it onto the floor with a light clatter. With a groan An lifted her head out from under her blanket and glared at the machine on the floor. Ugh, she wanted five more minutes.
Never the less the young teenager slowly rolled out of her blankets and scooted over to the edge of the bed. She slipped into her blue half-cut, fuzzy house slippers and walked to the window, ready to let in some sunlight. The young girl opened the window, squinting a bit at the sudden gush of light. She slowly opened her eyes and let them focus on the outside.
"What's that?" She said to herself as she looked to the patch of trees outside leading into the forest. It was.. well, it looked like a nest. But it was freakin HUGE. When did that get there? Overnight? Surely not, what small bird could build a nest that big overnight, in fact, what small bird would need a nest that big?
A small bird that was in fact a big bird. That's what. Just then a large thin bird with stick legs and a long swan-like neck flew into the center of the nest and sat, adjusting it's wings. It's neck elongated and it peered around, not spotting the blue haired girl staring at it in amazement.
"Shi-shi!" Ancelin called out as she dashed out of her bedroom, running to her guardian's door.
Moments later Ancelin returned, dragging a very annoyed, very tired, and very naked looking Tenshi behind her.
"You got to see this bird, Shi." Ancelin said as the older woman rubbed sleep dust from her eyes.
"I already see a bird, one that's acting like a rooster waking me when it's not wanted." She said, before she found herself shoved by the window. Tenshi set her hands on her hips and gazed outside, seeing nothing but the large nest. The bird had apparently flown away.
"All I see is a nest." Shi said bluntly, before turning her head back to An. An gazed out the window and frowned, before she leaned against the window seal.
"Awww man, I was going to go ask it what it was too." she frowned.
"We've got the internet, just look it up." Tenshi said, before she turned around and started walking back to her bedroom. "Next time don't wake me unless it's important."
"Yes, Shi." An said, continuing to stare out the window.. That didn't sound like a half bad idea…
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Five hours spent on the computer and Ancelin wasn't getting anywhere. She had found many pages on parrots and toucans, and even a few flamingos. She had even found some rather disgusting pornography that would surely give her nightmares that night. But she didn't, however, find out what that blasted bird was. It was then that Arukoru walked up behind her, glancing over his younger housemates shoulders, staring at the screen.
"You're on the computer? Why?" he asked, Ancelin looked up at him, and let out a loud sigh.
"I was trying to figure out what kind of bird it is that's built a nest outside our window."
"I thought you could talk to birds now?" Aru asked, before he took a chug from the beer he had been holding in his hand.
"It flew away before I got the chance." she explained. Aru nodded his multi-colored head and stared at the screen for a few moments.
"Here, let me help. Scoot over." the boy said, and Ancelin did just that. She stood and left the chair open for Aru, who sat down and instinctively pulled up a search engine.
"What'd it look like?" He asked. Ancelin thought for a moment.
"It kind of looked like a flamingo in build, only with white, gray; and black feathers, and a little different."
"Like a stork?"
"Sort of, but not quite."
"Hmmm.."
"Sounds like a heron." Came Vincent's voice as he walked into the room. He was, as per his usual, dressed in nothing but a towel and drying his hair with a second. Ancelin blinked and looked over at Vincent, cocking her head to the side.
"A Harron?" Arukoru asked as he typed it into the search engine, and sure enough pictures of the bird Ancelin saw came up.
"It's that one! That one right there." Ancelin said pointing to the screen, Arukoru clicked the small picture and let the next page load.
"Wikipedia says it's a black-headed heron." Arukoru explained, before he adjusted the monitor for Ancelin to see. The pheasant child read it over slowly.
"It says it eats fish and frogs.. I could probably feed it some of my feeder fish I get from the pet store." She said, Arukoru looked at Ancelin with a raised eyebrow, before he nodded his head.
"I suppose so, but it's probably just migrating. I mean, why would a bird like that be out here in the country?"
"But it built a nest, it wouldn't build a nest unless it was planning on roosting." Ancelin retorted.
"It's last home was probably destroyed for human construction." Vincent suggested. "You thinking of turning it into a pet, An?"
"No.. But I'd really like it if it stayed, it's a really pretty bird." An said as Aru skimmed over the page more.
"Well, we could make it a reedbed and put those feeder fish you where talking about in it, give it someplace to feed."
"You're right. I'm going to go to the hardware store and the pet store to get supplies, do you guys want to come with?" An asked, looking to her older 'siblings'. The two men nodded.
"I don't have anything better to do." Aru said.
"Sure, let me go get dressed." Vincent answered, before walking off towards his room.
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After a trip to the hardware store, the pet store where Steve worked, and a few hours spent in the backyard digging and watering with the garden hose, the three young adults stood there wiping sweat from their brows. It wasn't exactly pretty, but it was a reedbed. They had gotten one of those plastic ponds from the hardware store and had but it a few feet from the tree the heron had built it's nest in. After filling it with dirt and some Lilly pads, they had decided to call it quits for the day.
Ancelin stood outside by herself, letting out the last of the feeders from their plastic bags into the water. She had to make sure the water temperature and PH levels where good enough to keep the feeders alive, but feeders where never that difficult to care for.
Just then Ancelin heard a rustling in the tree above her, and she shot her head up to see what had made the sound. It was the heron, and along with it was a second; most likely it's mate. It had returned to it's nest for the night, and was staring at Ancelin with large eyes.
"It's the human that was watching us this morning." Said the first heron, the second arched his head and let out a caw.
"She seems to have built a water pond. Do you think she did it for us?"
"I did." Ancelin suddenly answered, looking up to the two birds. They both squawked in shock that the girl understood her, and looked to each other.
"You did? You did this for us?"
"Yes." Ancelin answered again.
"Why?" Asked the two birds in unison.
"Because I want you to stay." An said with a smile.
"Ancelin, dinners going to be ready soon." said a voice from the back door, it was Tenshi. She looked to the birds with little interest, and then walked back inside. An watched Tenshi, before she looked back to the birds.
"I have to go in and clean up before dinner, enjoy the fish." She said with a smile. "Goodnight." she said, before she walked back into the house. Maybe, just maybe, the birds would stay.
