Can I have a do over?

Vi awoke with a start. Though she didn't give her self time to let anything sink in. Instead it was when she rose suddenly that the blood rushed in to her head and she staggered from the sudden blindness. Even so she moved forward as it faded.

She took a bath and brushed out her long hair. Then instead of bothering anyone she instead went in search for a new dress. It was actually quite easy with the hugeness of the place. Looking through a few drawers there was lots of clothes and nothing that was really moth eaten.

She slipped on the simple green dress. Her thoughts smacked her then as she fit the dress in to place. Her father was here. Her feet itched to run and so she did. Running out of the caves and in to the garden.

"What's up?" The calf said to her though she couldn't see it. The voice emanated from a bush. Cautiously she peeked through and somehow recognized Captain Carbonbuckle. A smile and her thoughts were lost as she moved around the bush to pat the calf. He wasn't colored but instead looked relatively normal and seemed to perfectly enjoy her hand.

"You missed a lot," Vi stated after a while.

Captain Carbonbuckle made a face, "Dang-it." Vi smiled and didn't say anything in return.

"Yeah. There are more..." Alar struggled to remember. "Hoo-mahns?"

"The correct term is 'humans,'" Pernas said, walking out. "But I don't like using the term. It's too condescending..." he stopped talking as he saw Vi. "Good morning, Vi." he said, smiling lightly.

"So, what should we call them?" Alar asked.

"Their names are Ralph and Mr. Yevon." Pernas said.

"Yeah, but the whole... 'collective' name thing... If human isn't a polite term..."

Pernas sighed. This was a conversation he was not used to having. "People." He caught sight of Captain Carbonbuckle.

And things become more awkward.

Captain Carbonbuckle instantly stuck his tongue out at Pernas with a smart allec look on his face. Vi smiled at him before looking up at Pernas, "Well, I might as well call you birdy, right? Collective name is bird after all."

She patted the Captain and he looked a bit like a dog the way he tilted his head with his tongue still sticking out at Pernas. He knew full well that Pernas wouldn't eat him with him as small as he was.

"Good morning Pernas. I helped my self," She pointed to the dress though wondered how she could be so calm and well confident. Looking away she looked back at the Captain.

"Watch it pal..." the hummingbird said, looking down at him and puffing up his feathers. Pernas chuckled lightly to himself. "Least I have a higher life expectancy."

"Good." Pernas said, looking at Vi. "So, I see you're doing alright. Is everything to your liking?" he asked politely.

Somehow Captain Carbonbuckle managed to get at the bird and licked his feathers up. With a twitch of his tail he spoke, "Watch what? I blinked, sorry."

Vi nodded solemnly, "Yes. It's very big here." She looked away again. Okay so maybe she wasn't so confident. The itch was there the one to run but she ignored it this time.

No use running besides where would she go? No way would she make it out in the wild plus she would always be found. It was an island after all.

"My father will want off the island and he will take me with him. Are you going to search for a way off?" It was a bit of an offhand question as if she was asking more then what the question but she was looking back at The Captain.

Alar flitted off, squawking (which is something that no hummingbird should ever do). "Hey, get away you big oaf!" he peeped angrily, getting to a safer, higher branch.

"Knock it off, you two." Pernas said, not even looking at them. He looked at Vi. "You don't want to go?" he asked. "Well... I'll see. I... I don't know..." he said. "I honestly think that even if I tried, I wouldn't find a way off... but if they don't want to stay, well..."

He paused, thinking. "Well..." he lowered his voice. "I could just...pretend..." he said. "Say I'm looking for a way... but not actually doing it."

"Knock it off? Sure thing Boss," Captain Carbonbuckle wound around the tree a few times. Then leaped up with a kind of grace that was very ill fitting for the gangly cow. Even so he had to reach to his limit to wack at the branch with a hard hoof. It cracked and actually hit The Captain as he landed but he shied away. Then went straight up to Pernas. If he could salute he would have, "All done boss."

Vi looked surprised and was briefly distracted by The Captains antics. He obviously didn't like the bird. She wondered if birds could be reborn like the cows.

Though she had been listening, "Lie?" She frowned not liking it. She wouldn't be able to lie to her father but as long as he didn't expect it then he wouldn't ask, "How are you going to take care of the three of us?"

Alar buzzed around them.

"Lord Dragon, make him stop! Eat him! Do something!" He twittered. Pernas ignored him.

"I can provide. This place has plenty of abundance." Pernas said. "There's nothing to worry about as far as providing. The only problem is, well... I could lie. But I could simply refuse to look for anything and just have things move on here. But they wouldn't like that..."

"Why?" Vi asked simply. Wondering why he would do it and even more if he would do it to her. Though it seemed very clear to her that he was just talking about them.

Captain Carbonbuckle made a sort of half cow half snicker type of noise, "Sorry little bird. Scaly Butt doesn't like veal."

Vi couldn't help but laugh at that. The conversation somehow lighter just because the two were around.

"Actually..." Pernas said, turning to face the calf. "I quite enjoy it. It's just that I'm courteous enough not to eat you babies." he said, with a condescending tone that indicated that if Carbonbuckle didn't stop, he might revoke that courtesy.

"You don't want to go back, do you?" Pernas asked. "If you don't want to go back with your father, you don't have to."

Captain Carbonbuckle looked annoid by the threat, "Hey I haven't done nothing more to the little feather brain." Though he seemed to head the warming and with a flick of his tail left. Vi suddenly felt at a loss with out the little Captain around.

"I do. He's my father. You have to stay on the island because your father told you to. So I must go with my father if he wants it," Vi seemed resolute in her fate though utterly horrified at it as well. There was no way she wanted to leave. There was so much more she wanted to do on the island. Plus hadn't Pernas mention growing a corral reef? That would be amazing and she really wanted to see that.

Pernas smiled softly. "True... I hadn't thought about that..." he said. "Well... I don't think I can lie. I can look for a way, but..." he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I can. I don't really know how the island... works..." his voice trailed off. "I can look in the library, but..." he shrugged. "I don't know how to look. If things continue like this..." his voice trailed off again. "Nevermind. I talk too much." he shook his head.

Vi let him have his never mind and didn't ask him what would continue. Instead she nodded slowly, "Just say no. Besides what can he do? You can toss him off the side of a mountain and he wont have any say in the matter." She giggled at the thought of it, "Can I ask you to do something for me though?"

Pernas was a bit taken aback at the notion of throwing him off a cliff... seemed a slight contradiction to what seemed loyalty earlier. But he supposed if the two new visitors were problematic, he could simply turn them into cows... if he could figure out how.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Don't let him drink. Not a drop. He'll," Vi looked suddenly deathly afraid, "He'll be angry if he does." He hoped that he got it as her hands instinctivly rubbed the raised scars that lay across her arms. The bruises were all but gone now and all that was left was a map of scars.

Pernas winced at the sight of the bruises. "He gets violent?" he asked. "Well... that shouldn't be difficult to deal with. I just need to hide any and all alcoholic drinks, and make sure he doesn't get them."

Vi frowned at his wince. He obviously didn't like things in pain though it was a bit strange as he was a dragon,"Thanks. I should probably talk to him. I've been avoiding him sense yesterday." She frowned not sure what else to do. She didn't know where he was so she hoped that either Pernas would let her find him or that he would help her find him. The later would be better.

Probably for both her father and her self. Her head tilted down to gaze at her shoes though she tucked the locks of her hair behind her ear.

"Last I checked, he was still asleep." Pernas said.

A thud was heard, followed by an angry yelp.

"Nevermind..." Pernas said.

Vi frowned not yet ready, "Um, would we be able to have breakfast first? If I go now I wont be able to stomach any food after wards." She smiled hopefully though it returned to a frown and she looked nervously down at her feet.

Pernas looked off in the direction where the yelp had come from.

"You just..." Pernas whispered. "Go off in that direction if you don't want to talk to him. I'll stall him." he said, pointing off into the garden.

Vi threw her arms around him in a brief hug but took off with out another word. Maybe she should go find Pip or Alar though she wasn't sure if Alar really liked her or not. Of course he tended not to talk to her much any way.

The she thought about finding Captain Carbonbuckle. He always made her feel better but she wasn't sure where to start looking for him.

Pernas went off in the direction that her father was in, and she could faintly hear them talking as she left.

"Hello again." a voice piped from above. It was Alar. He flitted down and hovered in front of her nose. "I think I lost him..." he said. "So glad..."

Vi walked faster as she heared them speaking and that's when Alar hovered in front of her nose. She held up her hand for him to land on, "Who did you lose?"

Pip had taken up Alar's place and was sitting only one branch above Pernas's head, "'Ello Master Dragon and Vi's Father." Pip did a slight bow sort of thing that looked more as if he was bobbing.

Vi's father took a step back, suspicious. "So you do have talking birds..." he said. He thought he might've been hallucinating the other day.

"Where's Violet?" he asked.

"She took a walk." Pernas said. "I'm not sure where she went, exactly." he said. And he wasn't lying. He didn't know exactly where she went.

***

"Oh, that oaf, Carbonbuckle..." Alar said. "I know that Lord Dragon told him to lay off, but I don't trust him..." he said, puffing up his feathers. "He's never been the most respectful..."

Pip ruffled his feathers up, "Vi is staying with us!" He hopped on to Vi's fathers head, "I'm Pip and I say she stays!" He seemed worked up now and continued to hop around on top of his head in a very adgitated way. He did not want to lose Vi especialy sense she didn't seem to like her father, "The Captain orders her to stay too!" So the cow wanted her to stay as well.

***

Vi shruged, "I kind of like him. He's funny. Wouldn't you be bored if he wasn't antagonizing everyone? All you would have is your other bird friends and the good cows to talk to. You always need someone that's fun." She tried to smile at Alar. He was a very pretty humming bird. Just a bit uptight. Like the kind of person that wanted things a certian way and if they weren't he got agitated.