Hope is the Thing With Feathers

Chapter 3

"That should be enough to get you a balloon or two," Fuzzle said as she dropped a few bells into Blathers' wing. Blathers had been begging all week to go explore the city, but with his parents' busy schedules, they were often busy. Eventually, his father was convinced Blathers was now old enough to wander the city himself, the city plaza anyway.

"But he's only a chick," his mother had argued.

"I was wandering around there when I was his age," Orbit had answered. "The lad is big enough to do what he wants, and besides, it'll get the chicks out of our feathers for a bit."

As Blathers made his way down the elevator, holding Celeste's wing with his own, he glanced at the bells in his hand. This would be his first excursion on his own in the city, and though bringing Celeste was a downside to his schemes to explore all that he could in one day, he supposed it was at least good enough he was able to get out of his family's stuffy penthouse and explore. His mother had warned him there would be a lack of fossil digging for him to do, but Blathers supposed he could search for other treasures

"Now, listen. We have a lot to do, so you need to keep up, okay?" Blathers told his sister.

She nodded, though he wasn't sure she'd be able to keep up on those tiny yellow legs of hers. Their parents were only giving them until sunset, which was only a few hours away. With Celeste tagging along, Blathers doubted he'd be able to travel as many blocks as he wanted to, even if his father had contained their travels to the city plaza a few blocks down from their apartment complex.

The sound of hooves and pawsteps against the pavement told Blathers they were getting close to the busy city plaza. He could hear the light sprinkling of the fountain now as they approached. A bus was pulling up to a nearby sidewalk, its brakes screeching as it opened its doors to reveal even more city visitors.

"Balloons! Balloons!" Celeste exclaimed happily. She was already tugging at his wing, dragging him to the balloon cart where a brown sea lion with round glasses and a blue and orange suit stood. 

Blathers repressed a grumble, knowing Celeste would be attracted to bright colors almost immediately. Blathers felt the bells in his shirt pocket, hoping they would be enough to fulfill Celeste's desire.

"Hello there, little chicks! What a fine day it is," the sea lion remarked. "What brings you to Phineas' cart?"

Celeste had now grown very quiet behind Blathers, tugging on his wing, but saying nothing.

"My little sister wants a balloon," Blathers explained.

"What color, little one?" Phineas wondered.

Celeste barely hesitated. "Pink!"

Phineas chuckled some, delicately handing the balloon to her. Still crouching down, he eyed Blathers with uncertainty.

"And what about you? Don't you want a prize? They're free, after all."

"The only prizes I want are the ones I can find myself," Blathers told him.

Phineas pondered for a few moments. "I suppose that's a good reason, but you did happen to stumble upon my cart, didn't you? Here, take some bubbles," he stated, handing the small, plastic container to Blathers.

Blathers would rather disagree, but he could already see Celeste's eyes gleaming, so he obliged, thanking Phineas for the prizes, and the nonexistent fee, at that.

For the remainder of the day, Blathers took Celeste around the various shops, to a show or two, all while she clutched her balloon close to her. Blathers warned her that if she didn't hold it close enough, it might fly off, but she retorted by saying she'd just fly after it. Blathers didn't have the heart to tell her that her wings couldn't get her but a few feet off the ground at this point, and his wings hadn't entirely developed yet either. So for the time being, his younger sister kept the balloon tucked closely under her wing.