Book One: Lost and Found: An Angry Birds Fanfic

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Red

"Eating with the enemy? Are you insane!"
Whoever just screamed, please shut up.
I'm tired, really tired, and I just want to sleep.
"Well he wasn't lying," I hear Tamahara say.
"He's a pig! Pigs are liars!" Lolan snaps at her.
"He wasn't lying though," Tamahara continues, annoyance filling her voice. "We literally saw the servants setting up an entire buffet. Just ask Draven. He was there too."
Irritation slowly stirs me awake, although I keep lying on the bottom of the cage, barely opening my eyes as light streams in from the open door.
Can we all just shut up, shut the door, and go back to sleep?
I need to catch up on some z's that I missed.
"Really? He seems a bit dazed," Lolan says flatly. "Hey, Draven, was Mudbeard lying?"
"I don't know nor do I care, cuz I'm the happiest bird on this ship," I hear Draven sigh happily.
Tamahara giggles as Lolan groans.
"Nevermind," she says.
Despite all the talking I hear, I don't answer as I shake my head to clear the grogginess.
"But still," Lolan continues. "Eat with Mudbeard? A pig? The same pig that took all of us plus the eggs! Does this ring-a-ling-ding a bell to any bird?!"
"Well, I'm pretty sure we're all a little hungry," Matilda interjects loudly, but slowly.
All the birds cheer in agreement as I sit up and rub my eyes.
Why don't we just just quit the chirping and go get something to eat?
"I say we go," I yawn, stretching my wings up. "I'm tired, hungry and sick of arguing."
"But you know off first-wing what he did!" Lolan exclaims.
I know what he did bird brain!
Anger fills me as I somehow keep my cool.
"Well, we're gonna need to keep our strength up when we get to Bird Island," I point out to her. "So I say we eat."
She glares at me, not wanting to stop arguing.
"I refuse."
                                           • • •
"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I didn't stay in that cell," Lolan sighs in content as she slouches in her chair at table beside mine.
I facepalm.
And just thirty minutes ago, she was saying how bad it was to eat with the enemy.
Large, round tables were set in a large hall, complete with a white table cloth and silverware neatly rolled in black napkins, which were tied with a purple bow. Small platters of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and small candies are on the tables, along with pitchers of water.
The hall is carpeted with a scarlet red rug, and the walls are covered in paintings as gold columns reach up to the ceiling. The ceiling is embellished with gold patterns, and along with some paintings.
The entire hall sat all the birds, so it was loud with chirping, talking, shouting and laughing.
Ruby, Bomb, Terence, Matilda, Chuck, and a bird named Tim all sit at the same table as me. Although, Ruby is the only one that talks to me.
"Red, are you okay?" Ruby asks quietly as she shakes my shoulder.
No, I'm not.
I look her and nod my head instead.
"I'm just tired," I tell her before yawning.
"Are you sure?" She asks, concern filling her gravely voice as she sets down her fork.
I look down at my plate of pineapple and watermelon.
What if the enemy isn't who we think it is?
"What if we're wrong?" I ask her quietly.
She doesn't say anything for some time.
"Like, is Mudbeard really the enemy here?" I ask, looking up at her. "Yeah, he took all of us, along with the eggs for his plan, but what if he's in some sort of trouble?"
"Red, you can't serious about that..." she starts.
"We all do things for certain reasons," I say, cutting her off. "He said he was gonna fulfill his father's plan. Don't you think that maybe..."
"You're tired and are talking nonsense?" Ruby finishes my sentence quietly as she gets up, her blue eyes looking into my brown ones.
I don't feel anything.
"Red, you just need more sleep, and you'll realize that Mudbeard is the enemy. He doesn't need help, he just wants power."
With that said, she goes over to Hope and Tori, who cheerfully greet her.
I take one last look down at my plate before pushing it away.
Maybe I am just tired.
Or maybe I'm just stressed out.
I still can't believe that Crimson kept back the fact that my father passed away. Why wouldn't she tell me? It would've helped us all in the first place. I wouldn't be mad at her, none of us birds would be going against her, and she wouldn't be alone in her cage right now.
It's her fault though.
Why did I think I could trust her?
Maybe I just got excited over the fact that I actually have a family and was totally overlooking the negative possibilities.
All my life, I believed that family would tell the truth right off the bat, but no, that doesn't happen with mine.
Heck, Crimson is a better liar than a sister,
and I didn't even know she was lying.
"No worm in your apple?" Draven's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
"There was one until it was stolen," I sigh slouching in my chair.
I feel like I really don't care about anything anymore, as though I've given up on everything.
Have I given up already?
I stare at the plate in front of me.
"Mind if I take a seat?" The black bird asks carefully.
"Help yourself," I tell him, no emotion in my voice as I continue to stare.
"You wanna talk?"
No, not really.
But I shrug my shoulders.
"I don't know," I start. "I was just talking to Ruby, and well..."
I stop myself as Mudbeard walks by, laughing and toasting to a bird before going on his way. His tall golden crown isn't atop his head anymore, and he doesn't have his robe on.
He looks like a normal citizen.
"What if Mudbeard isn't the enemy?"
Draven doesn't say anything for some time.
Maybe it was a bad idea to talk about this.
But I'm hoping that he'll see where I'm coming from.
"Well," he begins. "He might be doing this to prove something, ya know? Or prove to some bird, or well, pig possibly."
Well, he did say that this is his father's plan.
"His dad you think?" I ask him. "I know he's dead but still."
"Probably," Draven answers. "I don't know details, but I know he didn't have too good of a happy childhood with his dad. But maybe he's trying to prove to all the islands that he's stronger than what his dad was."
Seems like every bird and pig has issues with their fathers.
"And by the way, he wasn't lying about this," Draven tells me. "He was honest about the buffet and taking the eggs to Bird Island."
I look at him in total confusion.
That's not possible, no, just no.
"No bird can just 'know' if a bird or pig is telling the truth," I groan as I roll my eyes.
"Oh, yeah, I just found out that that's one of abilities," Draven laughs. "Knowing whether or not some bird is lying. Although I'm not quite sure what you'd call that?"
I shrug my shoulders.
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Well you're smarter than me so I thought maybe you'd have an idea."
"Well, surprise, I don't," I sarcastically respond. "And I wouldn't go too far with the whole smart thing."
"Oh c'mon, you saved an entire island," Draven tells me as he throws his wings in the air. "At least take some credit for that."
I roll my eyes, but I actually think about it.
If I hadn't paid attention to my surroundings, or planned everything on time.
Who knows what would've happened to me.
More importantly, the Blues.
"Okay, fine, I'm smart," I force the words out, although I'm not too fond of saying them.
"They're ya go!" Draven exclaims happily but his smile quickly fades. "I never said this, but I'm sorry about your dad, it must've been a huge shock..."
"Thanks, I guess, and yeah, yeah it was," I respond, not really knowing what to feel. "I never knew him though."
Draven is quiet for a few moments.
"I bet you wanted to though," he says quietly.
I let out a small sigh.
"Yeah, I really do," I admit to him, not really knowing what else to say.
"Well, he was pretty cool," Draven starts. "Ever since the day I met him, he inspired me to be better than my own father. Strong, sharp-tongued, humorous, dauntless, amazing with a sword. A lot like you."
My eyes widen with shock.
Draven knew my dad?
"Wait, so you've met and spent time with my dad?" I ask, my eyes still wide.
"Well, yeah," he answers. "It wasn't like my own dad..."
His voice trails off as he shakes his head, making me confused.
"Yeah, I spent a lot of time with him," Draven quickly says with a smile. "He actually trained me how to use a sword."
"But what about your own dad?" I ask him.
Draven looks at me with a look in his eyes that couldn't be missed.
Pain?
Anger?
It could be anything like that, and it was as clear as day his dad did something...
"He wasn't a father," Draven bluntly tells me.
Or it's because he wasn't a father...
Which is something he didn't do.
Regret fills me as I apologize.
"Draven I'm sorry," I start but he cuts me off.
He gives me a small smile.
"It's fine," he starts. "It's all in the past, and none of it was your fault. You don't need to say sorry. Also, you didn't know."
Even though Draven told me that he practically didn't care, I still can't help but feel bad.
Like yeesh.
"Ew, kiwi," Draven spits as he pushes the platter away from him.
He hates kiwi?
"Why don't you like that?" I ask him as I take a piece of the sweet fruit.
"I'm allergic to it," he causally tells me as he pulls a plate of chocolate covered strawberries close to him.
I raise an eyebrow at him.
"You're allergic to kiwi?"
"Well, it'd be like how you're allergic to these amazing delights right in front of me," Draven tells me. He stops and looks at me.
"You're not allergic to these, are you?"
I shake my head.
"Nope," I answer him.
"Good, cuz try one," Draven passes the platter to I'm front of me.
"I've had them before," I point out to him.
"Oh... well, eat one," he tells me, shrugging his shoulders.
I look at the plate.
Well, I guess one wouldn't hurt.
And I did say that we need to keep our strength up.
"Go on," Draven urges me with a smile on his face.
I look at his plate, and it's heaped with strawberries.
"They're really good, unlike grapefruit," Draven tells me. "Grapefruit is just absolutely disgusting. Don't ever try it."
I laugh as I pick up a medium sized strawberry.
The chocolate is a perfectly smooth, hardened layer that covers the bright red fruit.
"What am I waiting for?" I ask aloud as pop the berry into my mouth.
I almost steal Draven's plate.
They're so good! Juicy, sweet, tangy all in one little dessert.
I grab another off the plate and throw it into my mouth.
"You like them, I'm guessing," Draven laughs as I eat another one.
"You better keep your plate away from me, I might eat them," I joke after swallowing the fruit.
"Not unless if I eat them first!" Draven laughs as he takes five and eats all of them at once.
"What..." I ask, shaking my head.
"What?" He asks back, his beak full.
"You just ate five at once," I mumble in confusion.
"He's got a big beak," Tamahara says as she walks by with a plate of food.
He swallows his berries and looks after her.
"Okay little miss 'let me complain about everything,'" Draven jokes as he laughs, turning back to me, but once again, his smile is gone.
"Do you think there'll be a war?" He asks me.
"If I'm being honest, I wouldn't be surprised," I tell him truthfully, confused about his sudden change in behavior.
"Well, if there is to be one," he starts. "I just wanna let you know that I'd follow you."
I blink in shock.
He'd follow me?
Why though?
"Why me? Wouldn't you wanna follow the bird who's leading Poldras Island, or maybe even Kaelon Island?" I ask him, wondering if I heard him right.
"Poldras Island has nothing for me," he states bitterly as he looks away. "The entirety of that island hates me."
"And what about Kaelon Island, since that's where Tamahara is from," I ask him, waiting for him to go on.
"They sided with the pigs," he tells me. "I'm not following the pigs. Also, Tamahara hates Kaelon Island. But like I said..."
Draven pauses as turns to fully look at me, no humor or sarcasm is in his voice.
"I'd follow you."