Alex.J.Cobalt

Nathon woke to the gentle song of the seabirds harmonising with the lapping of the waves against his boat.

He could pick out the regular Warblers’ crys, mixing with the distinctive shrill call of the Ranyan’s Bird. There was even a little hint of a Maradox in there, distant and barely audible below the deck.

He smiled, eyes closed, listening to the sounds. Enclosed in the dark cabin of his ship, the sounds were clearer to his ear. Less distractions, down below. More room to focus.

Nathon typed with his left hand on his infopad, recording the individual bird calls he heard. Each one would be sent back to the lab, along with the recordings themselves, showing the damn Council of Nine that there were protected species living here on the Lost Islands. That they were alive and well without human intervention and it should stay that way.

Nathon paused his typing. The sound was too loud, clouding over the delicate notes from the Yulabe, a tiny little songbird that was only found on cliffedges overlooking the Everglade seas. He’d only ever seen one Yulabe before, but to hear it-

Divine, he thought, smiling to himself.

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