darkSpyro

The cockatoo was about to response, but realized he had it coming. Mambo was seemingly upset with him, and that really was rare. He still responded though;
"Look here kea, when we had a deal, you never mentioned..." but then he was suddenly interrupted by a female cockatoo, probably his age.
"There you go again you old coot, judging by appearances as always."
"You again woman? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" the male cockatoo replied, though with a much calmer tone of voice. The female gave her a glare that made him retreat to his tree. She then approached Mambo and Rose.
"Forgive my husband Mambo. He had a terrible experience with a predator once. So, who do you say this was again?" she asked, obviously far much kinder than her bitter husband.

"The name's Kali. That cuckoo husband of mine is Barloc. I do apologize for his behavior, but it's understandable. Still, seeing Mambo so comfortable around you it's no doubt you don't mean any harm, predator or not." Kali analyzed, showing a very trustful side.
"Well it was true then. A civet has a haven. Say Mambo, when are we going to meet this civet friend of yours? Seeing this little tiger really demonstrates she is willing to accept and protect anyone. Now that is one noble cause. Can't wait to meet this Sybil too." she expressed, very exited with the thought.

Barloc simply turned his back on her, with Kali rolling her eyes in annoyment. But now that every cockatoos were sure Rose meant no harm, they all approached her, exclaiming in exitement. She has become the sensation of the afternoon.

"Well, apparently you mooch food off the other residents, too. That's a lot of flipper for one fur bag," the serpent remarked, referring to the two fish at Sayan's paws. "Maybe you're just eating so much to fill that dark, empty hole of- YEAAAOOWW!!" she shrieked, recoiling and rubbing her reddened eye with her tail. The offender in question was a white and sticky substance. "Speckles! How many time do I have to tell you to STOP SLIMEING ME!"
The velvet worm rubbed off the lingering goo from the slime ducts on his face with a wide, cheeky grin. "You're not the only one, handbag. You ate more than your fare share last night."

All the commotion attracted Sybil, who was nearby. She was returning to the beach after supervising the orcas a little bit. "You guys fighting again?" she asked, though she was not surprised. Those two fighting was quite common in the haven.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

At first Rose was a little nervous with the sudden attention she quickly brought but she slowly got used to the attention. She actually liked all the attention."So where are these so called cocktails I've been hearing about?" She asked.

The cockatoos looked at each other, with cheeks full of air. It then turned into a snicker, and finally into a very huge burst of laughter that lasted for almost a minute. Kali, who didn't laugh, but game a minor chuckle, then proceeded to explain once all the laughter mellowed. "Cocktails? Oh no whiskers. What Mambo probably said to you was cockatoo. It's what we are, see? That is what our species is called." she said, though hoping that the others laughter didn't offended her. She was still a cub after all.

"Cats are nocturnal, aren't they?" Kali asked, but then she imagined Rose has become diurnal during her stay in the Haven. "Never mind. Look there." she said, signaling an arrangement of leaves and twigs. It almost looked like a big nest. Some of those things form when the wind is blowing hard, as if the fog in here wasn't enough of a bad weather." she complained, assuming that their island wasn't discovered earlier because of that.

Since nightfall was coming, all the cockatoos were returning to their trees. "Now don't do anything stupid. I swear I'll pull your whiskers off if you do!" Barloc threatened, still not trusting Rose at all. "BARLOC, you bitter ham! Will you stop that already and get to sleep?" Kali yelled from the tree, obviously tired of her husband's behavior.

"Sorry about all that Rose. I never would have expected that from Barloc. He was so kind to me when I arrived, but never did I expect he had such a heavy grudge against predators." Mambo apologized, knowing that Rose was very sensitive.

Mambo was not sleepy yet, and even less now that Rose reminded him of Cole. "Oh Cole, better go look for him before he gets seriously lost... not that I am worried about him. He can take care of himself... or should I return to the Haven and tell Sybil that Rose is here?" Mambo asked in a monologue, having way too many thought. He was even starting to feel a little bad for not letting Cole know where he was...

Just as Mambo spotted Cole, he landed to speak to him, but Cole already knew what was in his mind. "Yeah boss I know. You feel bad for not letting me know of your whereabouts. Well don't. I heard the cockatoos and imagined you were introducing Rose." Cole explained, knowing Mambo way too well. The kea leader opened his beak to interrupt, but Cole spoke again. "Well, the little tiger found you, I won't be staying here. I should go check for Cheryl." he then commented, feeling like a very responsible brother, and leaving his dear leader with the word on his beak...

"Well, not the meal I hoped for, but it will have to do." Mambo said from a tree branch, cleaning his beak. Just like his species fed on sheep, he had a little fur seal meat. He wasn't so proud of it, but he was simply tired of fruits.

Mambo was a little startled by her sudden appearance, but then believed he owed her an explanation. "Oh, sorry Rose, but I better tell you. You see, we keas don't need to kill to eat meat. See we have this method with our beak that allow us to eat meat without disturbing the creature. Of course, at night. We don't hunt if that's what you expected." Mambo explained, believing that Rose thought he hunted something.
Little did he knew that when his species do that, there are several cases where the animal they fed on do die sometimes.

"She's being a jerk again."
"*HHIIIISSSSS!!*"
"You might want to start getting these eating binges in check, Skali. You're looking a bit... thicker in the middle. Y'know what I mean?."
Skaliscin snapped her jaws at him and darted away with fury. Speckles only stared after her as she disappeared in the bracken, muttering something more or less profane.
"Well... that's not like her at all. She would have bit my head off for saying something like that. You know how females are about their weight," he said with a shrug. "Metaphorically, of course. She would have metaphorically bit my head off... I hope..."

Quote: Waaksian

"She's being a jerk again."
"*HHIIIISSSSS!!*"
"You might want to start getting these eating binges in check, Skali. You're looking a bit... thicker in the middle. Y'know what I mean?."
Skaliscin snapped her jaws at him and darted away with fury. Speckles only stared after her as she disappeared in the bracken, muttering something more or less profane.
"Well... that's not like her at all. She would have bit my head off for saying something like that. You know how females are about their weight," he said with a shrug. "Metaphorically, of course. She would have metaphorically bit my head off... I hope..."

"Didn't mean to start an argument between you two...," Sayan said with a sigh. He pushed the fish away with his paws, no longer interested in it after the previous comments.

"It's not you, Sayan. We always argue," Speckles claimed. "I'm the only one keeping her in check, y'know. Can't let her go around, making people feel like dung." He brushed his antenna back absentmindedly. "So, you three hear the recent gossip? I've heard that Cairo's acting a bit off. I'm sure you've already been told that story, Sybil. He seems really bent towards helping you out. If I didn't know any better, I would say that orca's trying to impress you."

Sybil was having enough of their discussion. "You guys do this quite a lot. Come on, I didn't create this Haven for that!" she then commented, feeling a little offended that even after months of living together, they still discussed. It wasn't until a while that she heard that Speckles said something.
"Wait, what gossip Speckles? Don't tell me the keas are spreading some kind of dumb rumor again. What was that about Cairo?" she asked, not hearing that last sentence.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Quote: Felines

Mambo was a little startled by her sudden appearance, but then believed he owed her an explanation. "Oh, sorry Rose, but I better tell you. You see, we keas don't need to kill to eat meat. See we have this method with our beak that allow us to eat meat without disturbing the creature. Of course, at night. We don't hunt if that's what you expected." Mambo explained, believing that Rose thought he hunted something.
Little did he knew that when his species do that, there are several cases where the animal they fed on do die sometimes.

"Oh I see. Did you see some kind of game or rodents while you were out?" Rose asked.

"Well, unfortunately no. I DID See some crabs though. Don't know if you maybe wanna try, something new?" Mambo suggested, wanting to try new tastes himself eventually. "Careful though, those pincers look like they hurt." he warned, in case Rose wanted to try now...

"Oh no, we're not... arguing arguing. We just tend to be passive when we tease each other. And Skali's just in a worse mood today," Speckles tried to assure Sybil. "Anyway, I think Cario acts kinda different when it comes to you, 'specially with him working his pod so hard. It looks like he's trying to impress you or something." He abruptly swiveled his head behind the group, startled by the sound of a snapping twig. Was it a squirrel? He didn't see very many of them around. A mongoose?
Stop being so paranoid; there aren't any mongooses out here... mongeese... mongi... whatever.

"Oh that. Yeah, the poor guy is so loyal to me ever since I saved his life just days of arriving here." Sybil explained, believing it was time for everyone to know why she had animals as orcas helping her. She was still being completely oblivious of his crush. Jaerl was a weird enough case, so it never went through her head.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"Sounds like a yummy snack. I'm going to try to catch one." Rose said as she went to the beach to catch some crabs.

Mambo followed Rose closely to make sure she did it well. A pinch from those things looked they sure hurt.
Meanwhile, his bodyguard Cole was heading back to the Haven. The fog that formed around was becoming thicker, and he could get easily lost later on. He only hoped his demented leader would be alright...

Mambo was holding the laughter. He was watching from a palm tree, and found the scene quite amusing. Looked like Rose could take care of herself quite well, and he hoped that now she had a new option of diet.

"You saved him?" Speckles gasped, shocked. "How? From what? What could be so threatening to an orca?!" He was always weary of the massive porpoises, ever since the ride he took to the Haven so long ago (or maybe it was the immense open ocean that stroked him as terrifying). How could such powerful creatures need someone so miniscule in comparison as a savior?

Sybil wasn't that surprised that the others went so curious about how someone like her saved something mighty like an orca.
"Well you see Speckles, it is quite a story. It was like two or three months after I settled here. Cairo was quite young and still wasn't the leader. He had some sort of plastic ring around his tail that was threatening his ability to swim. For what I heard, he had it for a long time, and was getting tighter the more he grew. The other orcas tried to get it off, but couldn't do it without hurting him more. I just... armed myself with valor that day, and manage to gnaw that nasty garbage little by little until he was completely freed. As fate would have it, he was to become the new leader of the pod, but little did I knew that his loyalty was going to extend that much, and so there you have it. It began my great alliance with the orcas."
Sybil narrated, lowering her head and smiling as she remembered. What was a little Samaritan action to her resulted into something far bigger than she expected.

Mambo lose sight of Rose, but decided not to call for her or otherwise she would have known he was spying. He hated when someone spied on him, and yet he did it a lot with others. Maybe the fog was a good thing in that sense? Either way, it was getting way more thicker, to the point of barely seeing his own wing in front of him. It was no wonder that island wasn't discovered sooner.

Well if Rose was calling her, it was different. He did take his time though, otherwise she would have known he was nearby.
Following her call, he landed right on her shoulders. "Not to worry Rose. I'll protect you." he said, very sarcastically. "You shouldn't be afraid of a little fog. It's just evaporated water." he assured, believing Rose was a little scared due to her tone of voice.

"Actually, I don't know. They won't tell me. They must have a great strategy though." Mambo deduced, having spent little time with the cockatoos to actually know them.

As Rose said that, Mambo was noticing that the fog was not as thick as before. There was still a lot, but you could see your surroundings more clearly. "Oh look Rose, it's getting clearer already. It looks like the thick fog doesn't last that long." he then explained, trying to comfort her. "Let's return to the Haven once the fog clears a little bit more, shall we? At this rate, the bridge must be done." he then ashured, imagining that Rose wanted to go there already, though he wouldn't mind if she wished to stay on the new island a little bit longer. Hel liked it there a little bit more there than the Haven itself, with fog and all.

"She already knows. I told her about the fauna here" Mambo explained, hoping Rose wasn't disappointed. "Oh look, it's getting more clear already. Let's head back now. The mist is quite unpredictable." the kea warned, having experienced it several times.

As it was promised, the ramp around the bridge was done. Now the tide couldn't wash anyone away. That was great and all, but Mambo was beginning to wonder if Cairo rushed his pod a little too hard. He sure worked hard to please Sybil. He was beginning to suspect... no, that was utter rubbish...

"Oh it's nothing, just... thinking that I am beginning to feel chubby. You know what? I should walk. I spent too much time flying and resting on... shoulders." he said, sounding extremely convincing. He was quite a good liar. He then proceeded to get off Rose's back and began to walk on his own two feet.

"Wow, that's really something, Sybil," Speckles complimented. "And human garbage? I've heard stories of animals getting hurt by metal cans, and suffocating on those clear things with circle holes in them! Why do they just dump their stuff everywhere?"

"Oh I am chubby alright, it's just that you keep growing and growing. Once you get older, very few things would appear to you as heavy." Mambo comically explained, walking in a way that almost looked like stomping.

Quote: Waaksian

"Wow, that's really something, Sybil," Speckles complimented. "And human garbage? I've heard stories of animals getting hurt by metal cans, and suffocating on those clear things with circle holes in them! Why do they just dump their stuff everywhere?"

"Believe me, I am trying to answer that myself." Sybil explained, being so enraged how humans were how they were. " Cole tell me recently though, that he supposes that humans, despite their intelligence to create amazing things, have clouded their own judgement with their blinding greed." she then shared the thought, thinking it was a very intelligent way to explain it.

"If you want my opinion, humans not only have overwhelming greed, but have made their lives so easy, that they are beginning to lack responsibilities, especially moral. Why you got this Global Warming thing, they are so concentrated on their quest for easy lives to want to do anything about it. They are not just dooming us, they are dooming themselves as well." she discussed, realizing she was getting very carried away with that human conversation.

Now halfway there, a rather big wave hit the ramp around the bridge. It didn't budge one bit, meaning that the orcas created it very sturdy and safe. "Nice try tide, but you won't be able to get us!" Mambo said, showing it's tail feathers to where the rumble was heard...

Speckles was nodding with every point the civet made. "You're very perceptive, Sybil. I like that about you." He remembered that Sayan and Royal were with them-- particularly Sayan-- and briskly changed the subject. "We have some leftovers if you're hungry," he invites, gesturing to the fish that Sayan was pained to eat, thanks to a certain someone's bad attitude.
Speaking of that certain someone...

--

Skaliscin was resting in the seaweed beds on the beach by the new and improved bridge. She was staring out into the choppy ocean, deep in thought. One could only wonder what the sadistic serpent's dark mind was thinking about. Or rather, what she was trying not to think about.
Long before she resided in the Haven, she traveled the dry, arid wildernesses of Africa with her childhood friend (was he her friend?), Voracivenom. She didn't want to remember the time when they laughed as trapdoor spiders roasted ants on the burning sand, the time when they told each other legends and stories of vicious beasts under the star-spotted canopy, the time when Voracivenom pulled her out of a hollow tree stump with no way out, the time when she... left him to die. After all that he did for her, she let him die, while he sacrificed himself in favor of her and was trampled to death by careless human boots.
Yet here he is, alive and giddy, as if that tragic event never happened. He insists that it's all forgiven. How? How is that forgivable? What could have motivated him to put the past behind him and forgive and forget? Voracivenom was just as much of a mystery as herself...