The Quiet things that no one ever knows [poison-st

Hopefully the statue wasn't enjoying all the seagulls perched on it, because they suddenly flew off. They all flocked to Avian who was walking through the park, looking right and left for her friend. She had been looking forward to this since the day she met Lochlann! A day out in the park with her cute friend, all her bird companions out with her, and lots of yummy food to eat. What wasn't there to look forward to? As she walked, the seagulls perched on her sunhat or hopped along side her, all eyeing the lunch tote she carried.

At last, she spotted Lochlann sitting up against a tree next to a statue. She lit up at the sight of him and began to run over to him, but stopped short when she drew closer. Was he asleep? It was hard to tell from her point of view. His body was all slumped over and his breathing slow and steady as if he was sleeping. Yet she couldn't see if his eyes were closed because of the sunglasses.

Avian slowly leaned forward to study him closer, her one visible cerulean eye gazing intently at him. Before she could decide if he was awake or asleep, her seagulls all fluttered down to Lochlann. He was so still, they seemed to think he was a suitable object to perch on!

"Guys!" Avian gasped, "Lochlann isn't a statue! Get off him!"

But all the seagulls just looked up at her and cocked their heads in confusion.

"Yeah, it's me," she giggled at his funny reaction, "But don't worry, seagulls only like fish and crabs,"

Then she waved her hands at the birds, making them scatter and squawk. They regrouped around her as she took a seat next to Lochlann. She opened her tote and pulled out a packet of saltine crackers which made all the seagulls draw even nearer. Her slender fingers starting crushing the crackers into little crumbs and the gulls watched in anticipation.

It's as much of a picnic for me as it is the birds. She thought to herself as she crushed away.

"You look a little out of it today, Lochlann," she said as she scattered the crumbs a few feet away from her, all the seagulls surrounding it in a frenzy, "You ok? Is it your leg?"

"I think I packed too much food,"

Avian felt her stomach growl at the sound of food and noticed the seagulls were already finishing up the snack she had given her. Even if she couldn't finish the food, she could always find some eagles nearby. Those guys never wasted a single scrap!

"I'm just having a bit of a bad week, but there was no way I was going to miss this. The weather is absolutely perfect today, too. No rain. And i hate when people say not a cloud in the sky because those big white clouds are really cool."

She giggled at his rant, "Well thank you for still coming out here to be with me then."

"I started to read about birds since the last time I saw you. I didn't realize there were so many kinds on the island."

"I know right!" she exclaimed excitedly, "This island has more variety of birds than I've ever seen! I'm still looking for the elusive Hoopoe bird, though. I found one on the first day here, but I haven't since then. What birds did you read about? Which one's your favorite? Oh and hey! If you need books on birds, you should come by my dorm room, I have a whole stack of them that I could lend to you!"

Avian spoke like someone had hit the fast forward button on a remote! She was on a bird rant, again. She would always do this if someone expressed even the slightest interest in birds.

The lid to the panini was torn off and Avian sunk her teeth right in. Her gulls watched hungrily, but kept their respective distance.

"Wow, you really did bring a lot of food!" Avian grinned at the spread, "Hey, did you make this panini? It's really yummy!"

She contently listened to what he had learned about birds. He knew quite a bit already.

"I liked the Macaws--they're really...they're really different. I've never seen anything like that before, I think I'd like to."

"Yeah, macaws come in all shapes and sizes!" she nodded, "No one is the same!"

"What does a hoopoe look like?"

"If you had some of my books, you'd now," she joked, "They're exotic birds about the size of a pigeon but the long, long beak of a hummingbird. They have striped wings a crest on their head that they can fold and unfold like a cockatoo! And their call sounds like a flute. They're pretty hard to miss, but hard to find. So if you see one, make sure you take a picture!"

Now one of the seagulls started gently pecking Avian's knee for attention, so she broke off a bit of her sandwich and threw it to him and his flock. That would keep them busy again.

"I am glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if you were, uh, vegetarian or not. I couldn't remember."

"Nope, I'm not a vegetarian," she shook her head, "Although I don't like eating bird...except for chicken, because they're cannibalistic anyway,"

"Wear do they normally live? They sound really cool, maybe even cooler than macaws. "

"They nest inside trees and like open spaces to forage on the ground," she said.

"We can go bird....hunting? searching? I don't know the right word for this context."

"Yes! That would be perfect! It's so much fun, but I hope you know how to climb trees. I think you'd be pretty good at it actually, the seagulls seem to like you so far. Just as long as you don't turn into a horse, they always seem to get upset when you do that,"

The gulls were just about done with the piece she threw to them and the crust Lochlann had given to them. Now they were pecking at Avian again for more.

"No more," she whispered to them, "No fat seagulls on my watch,"