Lately, Falco Lombardi has been more snarky than usual, and that's saying something. He kept making snide remarks, and he seemed constantly on edge. Team Star Fox chalked it up to stress and encouraged Falco to relax, but he merely snapped at them all, insisting that he was fine. So the rest of the crew decided they would help him whether he wanted it or not.

They snuck some quick-setting concrete into the bird's bath, and soon enough, Falco was frozen stiff, and serving as a bath himself in the arboretum! At his angry glares and muffled grunts, Team Star Fox insisted that watching his own kind splash and play would be therapeutic, and that this was for his own good. At the very least, they were glad they wouldn't have to listen to his sass for a while: the concrete shut his big beak up nice and tight!

Fox was particularly amused by the situation. He snapped plenty of photos and threw birdseed on him to make him a popular roosting spot. "Y'know Falco," he said with a smirk, "the others were gonna let you out after a while, but I think you might be more useful to the team like this. We could drain that bowl of water and use you to hold all kinds of stuff...keys, snacks, cement solvent, dirty laundry...the possibilities are endless! And we could give ya a coat of paint to liven you up a bit...I'm thinking hot pink. Whaddya say?"

"Fhhhgg nhhh! Bnnntm mmmm, Fhhhx!"

"I'm not hearing a no! Glad you're on board with the plan." Fox clapped Falco on the shoulder. Falco just rolled his eyes and groaned. Looks like he may be stuck like this for a while...

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Made this quick-and-dirty piece to explore the "bird encased as a bird bath" scenario. I feel like it's not as polished as some of my other recent stuff, but I hope some of y'all enjoy anyway! Falco makes a fine statue, no? Even if he doesn't appreciate it, the other birds certainly do!