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Lavender (25 days after)

"That was some strange earthquake," I muttered, lifting my head up a bit. The ground shook for an hour this time, the longest one I've ever felt, but also the weakest. My babies slept soundly nearby in the nest, cuddling up with little squeaks and moans. They were awfully tired anyhow, they had a long day today.

And so did I.

Chasing after them.

They started to talk a few days ago, and I could make out little bits of their language into clearer words. Cal helped me a bit, like a second mentor or teacher, and I was surprised on how he taught my younglings the same way as his own, and the fact that it worked. I just needed to keep up with the program a bit.

Morning was just around the corner as I suspected, since a faint glow turned the clouds light grey with small transparent hole that still prevented light from seeing the world it lost. The ocean still flowed and crashed into the shoreline, then sprinkled salt upon the island's cliffside, bleeding rocks and soil back into the ocean to renew the process. The air was chilly and frosty, and a newfound coolness froze the plants that still stood drying but very much alive in a whitish outline. A faint ocean breeze of salt fizzed into the atmosphere, and for once, I felt peaceful.

For now.

Nighttime was the only time I could relax.

Morning rose into the new day, and everyone awoke just in time, Cal setting out to catch fish with Hope, who now was allowed to fly and hunt with her father, while me and Trixie cared for my younglings.

"They have incredible colors," She grinned, nudging Sunspot, the one with the red-ish outline, "You decided names for them right?"

I nodded, pointing with my beak, "The blue one's Crystal. Sunspot's the orange Quetzalcoatlus near you, Ava's the lavender one, and Major Jr. is my youngest one, he's black and white."

"Albino?"

"I don't think so," I frowned peering at Major Jr.'s exotic colors, "He's black and white, and has orange. It's weird though, how they got these vibrant colors. Its pretty cool..."

"Well I've never seen your kind all the time. So I'm sure the colors will go away after a while, and turn into yours. They're going to look just like you," Trixie grinned.

"-YY'think?"

"Well sure! If they have the same genes as you and Major, perhaps they'll turn out to be similar to what you are today." I shrugged back as an answer.

I guess so. She glanced at me, cocking her head, before pulling back with Crystal beneath her wing.

"You felt the earthquake last night, didn't you?" She wondered, "You look worried."

"How'd you know?" I questioned back, tilting my head in a frown, bobbing my beak a bit.

"I saw you wake up Lavender, and you never went back to sleep until it morning. Besides," She pointed to my eyes with her free, "Your eyes are pretty red, so you must be tired."

"I'm not tired."

"C'mon Lavender," Trixie muttered, flashing her glimmering eyes, "You can't spend your life resisting sleep. You'll get sick!" I looked at my sagging wings, then stared at Trixie's healthy ones, flowing like the leaves upon the trees. I sighed softly, letting my visible breath puff up like smoke.

I was losing myself a bit from my restless nights.

And if I were to survive, I needed to wake up and come to my actual senses.

"All I want to do is protect them," I whispered to Trixie, staring at Major Jr. as if a past reflection stared back at me. He opened his wings, then flapped them, making me smile.