Laetitia the
Spectrum Jollin and her sponsor, 
Renaissance, thank you for your help!
Inserting her newly-found key into the rusty padlock, she unlocked it and slid open the doors, dislodging a shower of rust from the door rails. All was dark in the hangar and not a sound could be heard. But Laetitia had seen the sun shyly peeking out over the horizon, waving its golden arms at the world. And so, without wasting any time, she strode in, deftly avoiding the puddles of maroon water she could see in the faint sunlight. Note to self: get Fernando to hire someone to fix the roof.
Closely following the northern wall of the hangar, she leaped up a flight of industrial stairs and opened a small creaky door. Stepping into the room, her free hand groped at the wall until a bright light flooded the interior of the messy room. Cages were stacked in every corner; small rusty ones, larger ones with missing hinges, bits of cage wall. In the middle of this chaos was a table, piled high with a multitude of mismatched cans. And, scattered here and there, were little plastic dishes in varying stages of decrepitude and plastic bottles with chewed-off nozzles.
But the young Jollin didn't see any of this; she headed straight to the central table and, with a sigh of relief, set down her plastic bags. Turning to the south, she pulled aside a pair of heavy navy curtains, letting some of the faint natural light into the small room. Her green eyes briefly surveyed the hangar. Good, none of them are up yet. Spinning back to the table, she shook out the contents of her plastic bags. Bruised apples fell out of one, as well as several bags of seeds. Mangoes and papayas tumbled out of another and several dried-out loaves out of the last one. With little regard for the state of the table, she quickly chopped up the fruits with a knife she had pulled from her tatty handbag. That task done, she pried open one of the many tins scattered around the table and emptied its contents into a dish. An assortment of nuts poured out, landing with a clatter into the red bowl. Cashews, almonds, walnuts... where are the peanuts?
She peered around the room, her keen eyes searching. With a small cry of victory, she trotted over to a brass cage and fished out a large bag of peanuts. Laetitia stood back proudly. In front of her were three massive bowls filled with an assortment of fresh fruit, seeds, bread and dried apricots. This should be enough to tide them over until Fernando comes in with his provisions. Now to load them onto the cart. Where is that one?
Struck with sudden inspiration, the Jollin vaulted nimbly over the table, out the door and leaned over the railing. And indeed, a rickety old cart laid under the stairs, its wheels spinning lightly in the draft coming from a large crack in the hangar walls. Oh Alix, you silly thing. Shaking her head, she headed back into the room and prepared to bring the heavy loads down the stairs. After much struggling (and some choice swear words), everything was finally ready. The sun was fully awake, its rays were poking through the thick shades covering the hangar windows. Laetitia could hear some activity; the rustle of feathers was quite recognizable to her. Suddenly, a small bird flew up to her and perched on her right paw. Bringing her tiny yellow and blue companion up to her face, she giggled and spoke out loud:
-Good morning Ava. Let's wake up your friends, shall we?
And she ducked down underneath the stairs and pressed on a switch. With a crunching noise, the shades began to lift, letting more and more sun enter the area. Slowly, more light poured in, turning the dusty air a sweet gold. The gears clanked noisily: the shades were fully up. For a minute, silence. Then it all began. One brave soul started, letting out a few chirps. Slowly gaining confidence, it burst into a trilling melody. Inspired, the other ones started their own song and what started as a couple of chirps swelled out into a glorious chorus. From a dark and silent hole, the hanger turned into a room full of trills, with melodies echoing from every nook and cranny. Laetitia's sensitive ears quivered, taking in every glorious sound. -I never get tired of this part.
Laetitia twirled around to greet the young Irion:
-Morning Fernando! Came in with the sun I see.
The Steamworks Rreign laughed huskily and replied:
-Well, I wouldn't miss this time for anything in the world.
Laetitia smiled and softly remarked:
-I know what you mean... And together they listened to their rescued charges greet a new day at Ava Bird Sanctuary.
Renaissance.
-Overlay by
Ryxe (full-size).
-Massive thanks to
Pinto for her patience and her amazing baggies!
Click on the cage to release the blackbird!
