Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Ashley

Anna gave the birds the signal, and off they flew, coming towards me while I signalled them from over here. They took a wide turn, going over the heads of the guests, one on either side, of the Crocoseum. They flew perfectly to me, landing beautifully on the railing that was wrapped with rope, in front of me. I sat down in front of them, giving them each a macadamia nut and scratching their heads.

Robert and his family came running out of the smoke cloud coming from the tunnel where I was just with them.

"G'day everybody! What did you think of those birds? Wasn't that cool?" Terri said excitedly, the crowd giving a cheer in response. She went on to introduce herself, as well as Robert, Bindi, and Chandler, as well as their mission in Wildlife Conservation.

The rest of the show went perfectly. Graham put on some good hits, which amazed the crowd, but Robert was always in control. I loved watching the croc shows, and I always have. As Robert's best friend, and as someone so close to his family, I rarely missed a croc show. It was incredible watching Robert work with the crocs, and I was always in awe of him. Sure, I worked at the zoo and did a lot of the same things he did, but I could never imagine feeding a croc myself. I wasn't sure if I wanted to. I mean, it seemed cool and like a great experience, but I don't know if it was meant for me, and so far it hasn't felt right for me to try to do it. Maybe one day I could work up to it and feed a croc, although I'm not sure I'd ever have the confidence to put on a show like Robert does. And I knew for sure it wouldn't be as good as the way he does it. 

I walked down the steps of the stands with Queto on my arm. Most of the guests had cleared out, and Robert and his family were doing pictures and a sort of "meet and greet" type thing with some of the fans outside of the enclosed grassy area that is used for the croc shows. My mum grabbed Peppe and walked behind me with her on her arm. I honestly hadn't noticed my mum come up into the staff section, so I figured she sneaked in at some point during the show, and I was just so mesmerized but Robert and the croc that I didn't notice her. 

We had finally got to the ground and were about to walk out of the Crocoseum when I glanced back over at Robert and his family. He and I made eye contact, and he discreetly waved me over to where he was. 

I looked back at my mum who had also noticed. So maybe Robert wasn't being too discrete with waving at me. 

"Go on, go see him. I'll see you at home this evening, okay? I love you," my mum said, smiling at me. 

"Thanks, mum, I love you too," I said, before walking towards Robert and his family. 

"This is Ashley, she's the one who signalled the birds from up in the stands," Bindi said, introducing me as I walked closer. "And this lovely little guy is Queto! You're more than welcome to get photos with both of them." 

"Thank you, Bindi," I said, "as she said, this is Queto. He's a blue and gold macaw, and he's just incredible. They're actually not classified as endangered, but there are other species of macaw that are. A lot of people don't know this, but birds are actually incredibly intelligent. He knows quite a few tricks and loves Macadamia nuts." 

I noticed that the small crowd of guests that were wanting to meet the Irwins were now all gathered around me and hanging onto every word I said. I started to get nervous, but I saw Robert standing toward the back of the crowd, probably just making sure Queto was going to be alright. But it felt nice to see his face in the back of the crowd and to feel like I was speaking directly to him, rather than to this group of 10 or so people. I know it wasn't that big of a crowd, compared to the ones Robert talks to on a regular basis, but this was a lot for me. I kept getting Queto to do some tricks and rewarding him with macadamia nuts.