Piv stepped out of the door and felt for his goggles, as he always did when setting off. Once happy that they weren’t going anywhere, he made for Moen. For the most part, Piv was ignored on his stroll, and whilst this may have saddened him on his more introspective days, today it was preferred. He still got the odd look from a Misvan passerby, but nothing he wasn’t used to. The crowded station was always a hassle, and today was no different. Despite their size, nobody makes room for a Togi. The benefit however, of not having to walk hours to Moen, far outweighed the negatives of joining the crowd.

Remembering Spanner’s advice, Piv adjusted course to take ring eight first. Although technically a longer journey, Spanner was correct in thinking it would be quieter. The platform was almost deserted, and Piv was able to get on the first carriage that came through. Ring eight also offered the best scenery. Being the outermost track meant an unobstructed view of The Gouge, as it rushed southwards.

Dozens of smaller rivers and streams joined The Gouge at various points along its journey, adding to the already incredible body of water. From this height above the river, at points it was even possible to make out the smaller town of Barbusk in the Southeast, or at least the clock tower in Barbusk’s central square. In the west, flat plains stretched out as far as Piv’s eyes could see. Although not as exciting as The Gouge, the Maeliv Lowlands offered a calm beauty that inspired almost as much awe.

Piv eventually lost himself to daydreams as he watched the water hurtle down towards the ocean. From up here it almost seemed peaceful. The vast power of the torrent below faded slightly from this vantage. It calmed Piv’s mind to the point that his destination managed to creep up much quicker than expected, startling him back to reality.

Piv continued to laud Spanner’s advice as the changeover was quiet and stress free. Though not as pretty a view as before, Piv still stared out of the window at the river below as he headed inwards. This time he saw his destination coming, and prepared himself for the walk to the Markson’s. As he stepped out of the station, and the familiar smells of Moen’s Baker Street wafted past, Piv sighed and relaxed his shoulders.

After a brisk five minute walk, and one wrong turn, Piv found himself on the Markson’s doorstep. He knocked and stepped back. The door opened within seconds, as though the frail man it revealed had already been waiting behind it.

“Yes?”

“Good day, I am Piv an associate of Ms Rorden. She has sent me to deal with a nest?”

“Oh, she didn’t say you were a t- erm… coming at this time. Come on in.”

Piv stepped back and looked up. “If it’s all the same, I’d like to get a look from the outside first.” Piv gestured towards the iron down pipe that scaled the front of the Markson’s home. “May I?”

“Go ahead, I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

Piv smiled and moved to start climbing. The cast iron pipe made the ascension a very simple process and Piv was on the roof in no time. As he reached the chimney pot, the problem became clear. Two gulls sat either side of it, eyes fixed on Piv. The larger of the two; at least as big as Piv himself, stretched out its wings slowly and stood. Not yet deterred, Piv continued towards them, and began waving his arms. The second stood, flapped its wings and took to flight, squawking incessantly. The first gull however, stayed with wings outstretched, and stepped in front of the chimney pot.

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Piv climbed the roof tiles slowly, and tried shooing the bird even more. Frustratingly, it remained, if anything becoming more and more agitated as Piv got closer. Confused, but determined to get his task completed Piv persevered. Eventually, causing enough commotion for the gull to move away. As Piv reached the top, sounds from the chimney pot made sense of the gull’s odd behaviour.

High pitched, more frantic squawks added to the cacophony now flapping around above Piv’s head. He peered over the edge and found a single chick perched inside the nest. A shadow swept over Piv and he turned to look up, just in time to find a gull swooping down towards him. The bird narrowly missed Piv, who darted to the side. As he gathered himself, he scanned the sky to find three gulls now circling, as well as four others on nearby rooftops. Feeling decidedly outnumbered, Piv resolved to get this done quickly. He reached into the pot and pulled out the nest and chick together as one.

As Piv lifted the baby gull from the safety of the chimney pot, the noise from the other nearby gulls intensified, with all of them now taking to the sky. Fearful, Piv rushed to the edge of the roof, and slid down the iron pipe with nested chick hugged tight under one arm. He knocked on the door, which was opened as quickly as the last time. Multiple swoops came close, but only one gull managed to make contact, leaving a large scratch across Piv’s back. Piv rushed past Mr. Markson into the house.

“Quick, close the door!”

The confused man did as he was told. “What on Misvir is going on?”

“It was a gulls nest!” Piv exclaimed as he presented the chick and nest to Mr Markson.

“Yes, I know. Why’d you bring it in here?”

“The adults were attacking! The nest needs relocating or they’ll be hanging around the house for a good while. Somewhere high, that’s less of a nuisance?”

The old man stared at the chick, still squawking under Piv’s arm. He raised a finger all of a sudden and his expression lifted to match. “What about the flower garden? It’s got an arch at the entrance.”

“How far is it?”

“Next road along.”

“Do you have an umbrella, or a cane at least that I can borrow?”

Piv was met with quizzical eyes.

“I need to bat away the gulls if I’m going to carry this one in the open, otherwise I’ll be torn to shreds or carried off!”

“Oh, of course, well hold on, let me get my boots and I’ll act as your guard.”

Piv’s relief was visible. Though asking a client to put himself in harms way was not at all proper, it did make the whole prospect seem less risky. Once his laces were tied, Mr Markson equipped himself with a large grey umbrella, and adopted a ready stance. Piv gave the nod and the door was opened. As soon as they stepped onto the road, the barrage began. Gulls swooped and dived, as Mr Markson pushed at them with his open umbrella acting as a shield.

“Stay close, I’ll keep em off us.”

Piv, happy to oblige, followed the man’s lead, noticing the odd spring in his step. Continuing down the road, it became clear that Mr Markson was actually getting a thrill out of the ridiculous endeavour. Other pedestrians must have thought them bonkers, as a Misvan skipped down the street waving an umbrella wildly to protect a Togi trying to wrangle a flapping and squawking baby gull. All the while, both trying to avoid persistent dive bombing from its family.

The unlikely pair reached the arch fairly quickly, and without any serious damage to their persons. The umbrella had a few small tears, but Mr Markson had reassured multiple times that this was better than either of them suffering the claws from above. They paused at the foot of the arch and Piv plotted a route he could climb with one arm. He took a deep breath and began.

As expected, once out of reach of the umbrella protection, the gulls became more threatening. Piv frantically climbed the arch using both tails to steady himself and cling to overhangs in the decorated stone. Before long, he made it to a sculpted ledge and lay the nest down. Still wary of the adult birds, Piv covered his face and descended. Once Piv was out of reach a large gull landed on the ledge beside the nest and began adjusting it, and seeing to the chick.

The old man grinned as Piv reached the ground. “Well that was exciting! I think we both need a drink after that!”

With a relieved smile, Piv nodded. “I’ll need to check inside too, but you should be all good now.”