PJ Masks: Strangers in a Strange Land

Nightingale's First Client

Another night in Tarabiscoville. Nightingale was relaxing on the cliffs by the moat surrounding HQ, listening to his audio player, one of the items he 'commandeered' during his days as a bandit. He was currently listening to one of his favorite songs, You're My Heart, You're My Soul.

Suddenly, Percival came out of the moat and swiped a gold coin from his pocket. Nightingale tore his headphones off almost immediately and saw the yellow lobster make a run for the water. He managed to grab him just a second after he dived in, causing him to drop the coin into the very bottom. Infuriated, he tossed the shrimp aside, took a deep breath and dived into the moat. By the time he reached the bottom, he had wasted about half of his oxygen. He had just enough breath left to retrieve the coin and swim back to the surface. But as soon as he grabbed the coin, he was suddenly picked up by the crystal current that carried him into a nearby cave, inadvertently depleting the rest of his oxygen. Eventually, he was thrown onto dry surface within the cave's air pocket. Once he finished coughing and regained his breath, Nightingale looked up and was startled to see a beautiful young cecaelia standing right in front of him. He came to his senses when she introduced herself as Octobella. He took off his fur cap and bowed in an Old Slavic manner.

"I am Nightingale, your humble forest-dwelling bandit trying to find his way in this country." He said with a respectful tone. "And you are most beautiful creature I have ever seen." But just after she thanked him for the compliment, Percival came along and swiped the coin right out of Nightingale's pocket and brought it to his master.

"Hey! That is MY coin!" Nightingale snapped.

"Everything that falls in the moat belongs to me." Octobella responded. "By the way, why would you put yourself in danger like that for one little coin?"

"That coin means a lot to me." The young bandit explained. "It is priceless."

"Well, if you're willing to do anything to get it back, why don't we strike a deal?" Octobella suggested, an idea forming in her head.

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I am in." He agreed.

"Would you even be willing to capture those PJ kids, all three of them?" She asked. But despite finding it tempting, Nightingale was all too cautious to make the same mistake twice.

"Well, that where we have a problem." He said. "You see, I am match for them one on one. But when they work together, there is little I can do. This is going to cost you extra." Of course, Octobella isn't too quick to giving up. So, she thought of a way to make this fight easier for him.

"Wait here." She told him before leaving for her crystal garden, cautiously taking the coin with her. After a couple of minutes of going through her collection, she finally came back with a crystal that emits its own unique energy in response to external vibrations. To demonstrate this, she instructed Nightingale to whistle at it, if he could. Living up to his namesake, he did as instructed, causing the crystal to glow and irradiate with energy. Then, Octobella heated up her cauldron and placed the crystal in it, mixing it up with some other ingredients from her shelf. When she needed a final ingredient, she turned to Nightingale.

"I need a lock of your hair." She said.

"Excuse me, my hair is not to be toyed with." Nightingale protested, but much to his annoyance, Percival sneaked up his shoulder and snapped a lock right off his head, handing it over to Octobella. Once she added it as a final ingredient, she pronounced a spell.

"Crystal power, forge me an arrow. One that obeys the songs of the sparrow."

With a bright flash, the mixture forged into a bronze colored arrow, with a crystal neck and tail feathers.