Chapter 202: Having Many Skills Doesn't Weigh You Down...
"Where did Kray learn this set of strange moves and that outrageously ugly look? It's really making me lose face!" Duncan tilted his head back and looked speechlessly at the posturing Kray. He wished he could fly up, yank it down, refit it, and then kick it back up again.
Mori heard what Duncan said and was displeased. Standing on Duncan's shoulder, it protested, "What's ugly about it? It obviously looks great!"
Duncan tapped Mori on the head and said irritably, "So you're the culprit. You don't understand anything, yet you taught it nonsense. What's with that gaudy routine? And have you ever seen a bird wearing a bow tie? Also, where did Kray's bow tie even come from?"
"Found it rummaging through the cabinet in your dorm." Mori thought it over and felt Duncan had a point. It said aggrievedly, "I didn't know how a Thunderbird courts. But Kray insisted I teach it. I had no choice, so I just described a human courtship scene to it."
"Sigh..." Duncan exhaled. He couldn't really blame them. After all, they had been with Newt before—what could they possibly have learned from him? Complimenting a girl's eyes as being as beautiful as a Fire-Dwelling Salamander? Or praising her figure as being as willowy as a Horned Serpent?
"Will Kray's confession succeed?" Mori poked Duncan's cheek with a claw and asked in a whisper, feeling a bit guilty toward its good mate. At the time, it had been full of confidence. It had patted its chest and sworn to Kray that this process had been tested in many places and was absolutely reliable!
"Let's hope he succeeds. Though from start to finish, his movements do look rather odd..." Duncan said this while watching Kray still straining to show off.
A moment later, Kray descended. It seemed to have failed. With a rose clamped in its beak like a defeated dog, all its feathers drooped.
"Kray, we're over here." Mori slid down from Duncan's shoulder and returned to its original form. It said apologetically, "Sorry, I..."
Kray lowered its head and carefully set the rose on a moss-covered stump, afraid the fragile petals would be knocked loose. Then it said dejectedly, "It's not your fault. Your method works. I just didn't execute it properly."
"You told Shanna you liked her, and she clearly refused you?" Duncan darted out from behind Mori to ask. Pro leaned forward on his shoulder, eyes sparkling with gossip.
"Duncan?" Kray looked in surprise at the sudden appearance of Duncan and Pro, apparently not expecting the two of them to be here just now. When the brief surge of surprise faded, Kray continued, "Neither of us spoke, but she didn't accept my rose..."
After speaking, it seemed afraid Duncan wouldn't understand, so it added, "Mori said if Shanna takes the rose, it means she's willing to be my lover. If she doesn't accept it, that's a subtle refusal, showing she doesn't want to. As an old resident of the case, I should be magnanimous and not force it."
Optional Task: Kray has taken the first step in pursuing love, but he seems to have run into a bit of trouble and gone astray—hurry and help him!
Task Reward: Virtual Coins ×100
Letting a Thunderbird clamp a rose to confess—trust Mori to come up with that! Duncan shot Mori a glare, then said helplessly to Kray, "How were you holding the rose just now?"
"Like this..." Kray looked at Duncan in confusion and tried to pick the rose up from the stump. But its beak was too big and the rose too small, so it couldn't manage it for quite some time. In the end, only with Mori's help did it barely stuff the rose into its beak, with just a tiny blossom sticking out.
Duncan raised his wand, turned a dead branch at the side into a mirror, and moved it before Kray. "Tell me, how is Shanna supposed to take this rose out of your mouth?"
Kray stared blankly for a moment. Then its eyes widened with sudden joy, its beak gaped open, and the rose fell to the ground. "Oh! Duncan, does that mean Shanna didn't actually refuse me? I still have a chance?"
Duncan nodded. "And Shanna lived in the wild before and has seldom seen humans. She probably doesn't even know what a rose means. Seeing you hopping around with a flower in your beak, she might even think you've gone mad and lost your wits!"
At that, Kray felt a wave of embarrassment. It quickly asked, "Then what should I do? Duncan, do you know?"
Duncan raised his head proudly. "Of course. I'm a professional in this field. You should've come to me from the start!"
"I was just too anxious..." Kray mumbled, then looked at Duncan eagerly. "It's still not too late now. Tell me quickly!"
Duncan glanced around and waved them toward the distance. "Come with me. We'll find a spacious place for a lesson—and also leave Shanna a surprise!"
Leaving the Thunderbird's open range, Duncan led the three beasts to a patch of open ground beside the work shed. Kray stood before him with chest high and head held up, very obedient.
"I'll teach you a Thunderbird's exclusive courtship dance. Back in the day, your father used it to win your mother!" Duncan said.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Kray exclaimed, not doubting the truth of Duncan's words in the least.
"Follow me." Duncan sized up Kray's build and said, "First, spread your tail feathers!"
Kray nodded rapidly. The feathers, dusted with flecks of gold, pushed hard to either side like a round fan.
"Then stick your backside up—the higher, the better!" Duncan continued.
Kray blinked and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure about this, Duncan?"
"Don't hesitate. I'm a professional—unlike Mori!" Duncan said with utter confidence.
"All right..." Kray dithered for a long while, then timidly raised its rear a little.
Duncan brandished his wand like a pointer in the air. "Higher, higher! How can you still be shy at a time like this? You have to execute the movement properly!"
Kray steeled itself, shut its eyes, and thrust its backside up as high as it could. Pro and Mori looked at Kray's comical pose, both beasts wearing teasing smiles.
"What are you laughing at? We're doing serious work here!" Duncan conjured a big sledgehammer and swung it to chase Mori and Pro away. "Remember to shuffle along with my steps. Don't get them wrong. Otherwise, it could turn into a different meaning, and if you get thumped for it, don't blame me!"
Duncan cautioned him. He bent down and also stuck his backside high in the air. Left a step, right a step, he moved according to a particular pattern.
"Got it!" Kray stared at Duncan without blinking, afraid of missing even the slightest movement. One human and one bird—one teaching, one learning—looked like two ostriches with their heads buried in the earth, gliding along.
Time flew by. No one knew how long it had been when a loud voice suddenly rang out from the work shed. Neville came running, brimming with excitement. Seeing Duncan and Kray wagging their backsides up and down as they danced back and forth, he froze in place in bewilderment, at a loss as to what to do.
Such performance art was a bit too avant-garde for a small wizard of the nineties. His little brain struggled to take it in.
"Duncan, wh-what are you two doing?" Neville said, trembling, afraid Duncan had been bewitched.
"Ahem..." Duncan, who had been dancing merrily, stood up in embarrassment and said to Kray, "That's about it. Off you go. I'll be waiting for your good news!"
Kray nodded excitedly, flapped its wings, and flew off. Duncan walked over to Neville and said, "Kray's getting ready to pursue true love. I'm teaching it a courtship dance."
Neville's eyes widened bit by bit. He asked in disbelief, "You know how to do that?"
"I know loads of things. Having many skills doesn't weigh you down..." Duncan said, recalling the days when Newt had pressed him to study. That truly was an unforgettable memory... Blast that Newt!Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
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