The sound of thunder echoed in her ears again, and Lady couldn't help but furrow her brows.
What happened?
Are the auditory hallucinations still coming in waves today?
He's never done anything like this before!
Before Lady could figure it out, she heard Old John coughing again.
"Are you alright, old John?"
As he was speaking, he was about to turn around to look behind him, but he had only turned halfway when he suddenly remembered that he was driving the carriage, so he immediately turned back.
Old John was startled by Lady's actions and broke out in a cold sweat, then coughed even louder.
"No, it's nothing, I just caught a whiff of the wind!"
To make it easier to chat with Lady, Old John had just opened the door to the carriage's inner chamber, so a draft was indeed blowing into the inner chamber from time to time.
Old John was telling the truth, and Lady didn't doubt it.
Seeing that he was alright, Lady began to express her doubts.
"Old John, I just heard thunder again, did you hear it?"
Although Lady had seven or eight points of doubt that the thunder she had just heard was real, she still wanted to see what others had to say to corroborate her opinion.
Lady was still looking straight ahead, so she didn't see what was behind her. Old John stiffened at her question.
Old John didn't answer Lady's question immediately, and Lady assumed he was still a bit too windy to speak, so she didn't think much of it.
Old John first winked at Ella, signaling her to cover the little one in her arms.
Seeing her nod, old John turned around and slowly moved toward the door of the inner room.
He coughed twice as he moved over.
Once he returned to his previous position, he made a point of explaining a couple of things.
"The wind just got into my throat, and I'm having trouble breathing."
Lady didn't notice anything unusual about Old John at all, and even said with understanding, "I knew it was because you hadn't said anything!"
Seeing that Lady didn't suspect anything, old John breathed a sigh of relief and then asked Lady about what she had just said.
"By the way, what did you just say? What thunder?"
Old John asked, feigning curiosity, while subtly implying that he hadn't heard anything.
"It was thunder, didn't you hear it?"
"No."
As soon as Lady finished speaking, old John answered without hesitation.
If Carl were here, he would have noticed that old John was rather anxious.
Unfortunately, Lady is now driving the carriage.
Although Lady noticed that Old John was speaking much faster than before, she was carefree and quickly dismissed the thought.
When Old John said no, Lady assumed she was just hallucinating again.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Just how much do I love Thunderbirds? I'm having auditory hallucinations so often!
Fortunately, Lady didn't think for long before she came to her senses.
"Then I must be hallucinating again."
Of course, he didn't forget that Old John had been constantly blown by the wind, so he said, "Oh, right, Old John, why don't you go inside and rest for a while? I can manage on my own now."
"Really? Or shall I chat with you a little longer?"
Although Lady said that, old John didn't move.
His answer just now came across as too eager. Although Lady didn't seem to mind, she knew that if he continued like that, Lady would notice.
Therefore, even though he was very anxious, he remained calm and unconcerned on the surface.
Lady smiled, indicating that it was nothing.
He had forgotten that while the wind posed little threat to explorers, it was far too fierce for ordinary people.
Old John declined several times, but finally Lady insisted that she didn't need it, so he reluctantly agreed to go back to his room to rest.
"Oh, and don't forget to close the door when you go in."
Perhaps because old John was too friendly, Lady showed him unusual concern.
"OK."
The door to the carriage slowly closed, and old John did not immediately turn around.
He sat quietly by the door for a while, and when he found that Lady was still the same as before, he slowly turned around.
He tried to move as quietly as possible and avoid making any other noise.
Inside, Ella remained still in the position of holding him.
She gently stroked the little creature in her arms, trying to soothe it.
Inside, all was quiet, save for the howling wind outside.
Old John slowly approached Ella, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Where did you come from?"
Although old John asked the question cryptically, Ella knew what he meant.
Ella's lips moved slightly, and she uttered a few words softly.
"Appeared suddenly".
This answer was unexpected.
Old John couldn't help but show surprise.
However, under his suspicious gaze, Ella nodded with a serious expression.
Clearly, Ella wasn't joking; she was serious!
That's strange. Where did this Thunderbird come from?
Old John stroked his chin, his eyes deep in thought.
Seemingly unsure of his own judgment, old John couldn't help but glance at the little one in Ella's arms again.
It was midday, and the sun was shining brightly both inside and outside the carriage. A few rays of sunlight occasionally slipped into the interior through the gaps in the windows.
Although there were only a few strands, it was enough for old John to see the little thing in Ella's arms.
This is a young bird with pure black feathers, almost without a trace of other colors, which is almost no different from the plumage of the Thunderbird that Lady had mentioned unintentionally earlier.
Moreover, the young bird's eyes were golden, just as Lady had said, which was consistent with the characteristics of a Thunderbird.
Of course, the most important thing is the chirping sound of the fledgling.
Although the sound caught Lady's attention, it also proved that the chick's voice was like thunder.
Therefore, the fledgling in front of us is a ptarmigan fledgling!
So, how exactly did this baby bird get in?
Old John looked around the inner room, trying to find a place where the baby birds could enter.
However, old John looked and looked, but could hardly find any gaps that the fledglings could squeeze through.
He had left the inner room door open earlier because he was chatting with Lady.
Did the baby birds fly in through the main gate?
However, the idea was immediately rejected by old John as soon as it appeared in his mind.
No, if the fledglings had flown in through the gate openly, Lady wouldn't have been unaware of it.
Since even the explorer Lady couldn't find it, it's conceivable that the fledglings couldn't have entered through the main gate.
So where did it come from?
Old John racked his brains but couldn't figure it out, so he had to give up for the time being.
The important thing now is not to figure out where the baby bird came from, but to find a way to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Old John wasn't oblivious to the envy in Lady's voice.
This shows that the Thunderbird is a magical beast that everyone is eager to obtain.
It would be a lie to say that old John wasn't tempted.
However, even if he were to keep the chicks out of greed, he and Ella, being commoners, simply did not have the ability to keep them for long.
Since we'll lose it sooner or later, we might as well let it go.
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