4 Wiki, SAT, and Ed

Now that Wiki had mentioned it, Polly was quite conscious of her footsteps. Compared to the bird, she was a speaker on full blast at a college party. By either masterful skill or the fact Wiki was Sea Island 4 born and raised, the kiwi navigated the pair speedily through the maze of trees.

When at last the bird came to a halt, Polly was cherry-cheeked and gasping for air. They stood before a stunted tree that looked positively dwarfed by the giants around it, Polly and the bird included. Even its hideously hued bark looked a shade paler than its taller counterparts. Polly arched a brow at her guide who shrugged as much as a bird could.

"We work underground. The Triy may be a tad malnourished because of that."

Polly arched her other brow in response to the understatement.

After a few moments, a clump of soil to the left of the tree trembled before rising up and away. A beak, soon followed by a head adorned with a black string popped out.

"Log in?" it chirped

"Wikipedia," replied Wiki.

"Password?"

"The free encyclopedia."

The headband wearing kiwi nodded and disappeared back into the hole leaving the entrance open. Kiwi hopped over and jumped in feet first. Polly, feeling that she should follow, did the same.

The opening led to a well lit tunnel that was classy enough to have a paved tile path. Wiki was already quite far down the path, so Polly had to push her exhausted legs a mite further than she would have liked in order to catch up. The girl and bird walked until they reached an intersection with staircases sloping down from both of the two ends.

Polly counted three of her lucky stars as she saw a bird making their way over to them, signaling that they were nearing their destination. Her feet were sweating heavily in her boots, and she wasn't sure how much more movement she could handle before she would be using them as personal reservoirs.

The incoming bird looked as if it had taken a trip to an art museum and proceeded to douse itself in every color it saw. In short, it looked like a tragic mess. It was all Polly could do not to gasp in horror, though really she shouldn't have been judging as her own fashion style left a little (or perhaps a metric ton) to be desired.

"Wiki, my man, " cawed the bird with its wings spread as if to engulf its friend in a hug. However, it was not a warm embrace the winged creatures shared. No, it was a chest bump.

"Sepia Auburn Tan, good friend, it's been way too long. How's everything going down under?" inquired Wiki.

"All is not well in Waffleville," replied the other grimly. "Who's this fledge? She here to help?"

Polly seized this moment to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Polly. Pleasure to meet you Sepia Auburn Tan. I'm not quite sure what's going on with you and your dictator, but I suppose I'd be happy to help with the liberation of a people."

The kiwis chuckled.

"No need to call me by my full name, fledge. You can call me SAT, or if it's more to your liking Standardized Testing. Anyways, it's good news to hear we have another fledge for the fight. The Dictator’s been growing stricter daily."

"Yikes," replied Polly. "So just how do you plan on getting rid of that wretched wretch? She seems like a tough cookie if I must say so myself."

"A tough cookie doesn't even begin to cover it," muttered Wiki. "Try a thousand year old slice of stale bread left in the sun to bake for a century."

"If you're really sure about helping us, you won't mind if we blindfold you and take you to our discussion chambers," interjected SAT.

Polly shrugged. She was curious to see where this was heading.

The bird wrapped a piece of cloth around the lass's head, and Polly didn't have it in her to mention that the material was more than sheer enough for her to see through it. She was led down a corridor that got progressively dustier and wider with enough twists and turns to confuse even a soul with a ball of string to aid them.

Her eyes were released from their ineffective trappings after they stopped in front of a short wooden door adorned with a simple stone knocker. As expected, SAT was somehow able to defy all human beliefs and use a wing to bang the knocker on the defenseless piece of dead tree, and just as expected, the door swung open.

At the grand reveal of the discussion chambers, Polly was not quite sure how to feel. There was no doubt the room was tastefully decorated with its throw pillows, mural of an abstract apple, and questionably tall table, but it was also remarkably. . .empty.

"Are the other members on a scouting trip?" asked Polly hesitantly.

Her question elicited a good few chortles from the birds who led her to the table and retrieved a pillow for her to rest on.

"We're the only members, besides Ed who's making smoothies, " answered Wiki. "The rest of our flock is so scared of The Dictator that we didn't even bother trying to recruit them."

"What about the forces you mentioned earlier?"

"Ed."

Polly was silent for a solid few moments. "Well then, ummm, I might need a moment to process this."

"So, young fledge,” started SAT., “Our plan is to trap The Dictator, though we aren't quite sure how yet, somehow get her off this island, and restore freedom to our people. No deaths or tragic self sacrifices if possible, though The Dictator hasn't been known to kill as of now."

Polly nodded solemnly, just as the occasion called for.

"Do you have any ideas on how we could do that?" prompted Wiki.

The two stared at her with their unblinking, beady bird eyes that caused Polly to feel a return of the sweat that had once filled her boots, though this time it was more from pressure rather than walking. She had just dumped the liquid into a bowl that seemed to have been made for the very purpose, and she was in no rush to empty her shoes again.

Despite never having been the sharpest tool in the shed (even in a shed full of pool noodles), Polly put her brain to work hoping she could whip up an impressive solution. She already knew that The Dictator had it out for her and if possible would flying kick her off the island in a nanosecond. How she would transition from being the one booted out to the one booting out was still quite beyond her.

The door creaked open and the black headband wearing kiwi who Polly assumed to be Ed entered with four wicker baskets full of what Polly decided had to be the smoothies Wiki had mentioned were being made.

"Polly, this is Edsparagus, but Edsparagus is such a fuss to pronounce so we usually call her just Ed."

"My pleasure," cawed Ed extending a wing while holding on to the baskets.

Polly hurriedly shook Ed's wing for fear the bird would spill the drinks. Ed proved herself to be extremely capable and was not only able to miraculously bring in the four baskets, but was able to hold onto them with one wing. Polly allowed herself a swing of the drink, and was not surprised when it tasted like Heaven's gift to Sea Island 4. It seemed that even under a dictatorship, the inhabitants of the island were still able to retain their top tier chef abilities. Or perhaps it was just the rebels who had been dutifully practicing the trade, but either way, the smoothie was divine.

"Anyways, how did you get here?" questioned SAT. "None of the other islands are exactly within walking distance."

"I traveled most of the distance by boat, but I actually did walk some part of the trip, believe it or not."

"Not going to lie," began Wiki, stroking with a wing what could be best be described as a chin, "but I didn't peg you for the type who would willingly choose to exercise."

Polly was hurt, but she couldn't exactly find error in her words. That didn't stop her from making an attempt to defend herself.

"Excuse you, but I'm a pirate, so of course I exercise of my own free will every now and then. If I let myself go, then who would man the ship?"

"You're a pirate?" The three birds gasped in unison and exchanged glances.

It was a bit of a shock to Polly when the trio began conversing in their own language, until Polly reminded herself that Mimglish wasn't her native language either, it was just the second language that every child in Meemonia was brutally forced to learn on top of their island's dialect so that there could be communication across all territories.

"Fledge, we have a plan, and you're of the utmost importance to it," declared SAT.

"Right, I'm all ears.”

"We'll set up a trap, which you will lead The Dictator to as that vile beast attempts to escort you off the island. Once she’s been ensnared, you'll take her back to your ship, and we'll be free!"

"Um what am I going to do with her once she's on my ship?"

"Then she becomes a you problem."

It was obvious the kiwis thought their plan was flawless as a triumphant sparkle gleamed in their eyes. Polly, however, felt that there were at least a few spots that could be worked on. However, as she paused to think about it, she realized she could use another hand, or wing in this case, on board.

Traveling the seas with the dictator of an island and possible enemy certainly sounded better than traveling the seas friendless and alone for eternity. So, Polly nodded her approval. Now all that was left to do was to figure out what exactly the trap would be, how it would function, and pretty much every other detail. It appeared to Polly that she would spending a night at the Triy.