9... That's the number of times I've wrote out and scrapped this chapter, I had given up on this for a short while, but hopefully I'll be back into it. (Hopefully)

I haven't updated this story in a long time, so let me use this chapter as a "getting back into it" chapter. Hope it lives up to the standard I set previously. ALSO I have a few messages at the end for a certain few people as well as a question.

So without further ado, read on my friends. Hope you enjoy.

(Oh and here I go at poetry again, inspired by music of course):

Moments of the day,

Spent suffering away,

Can't hide this pain,

When will I leave this place?

It breaks my heart,

as we rip this worldly hollow apart.

...

I tore up the paper which held the painful poem I scribbled down. I've never quite been much of a philosophical type, but my feeble attempts to add meaning to my life again consisted of a bit of soul searching.

Alex had taught me this, for where he led me, I remained hidden away from the world. It was all in the hopes of healing over the scars that were left behind.. In the hopes of moving on.

Alex, from what I've learned, is a very scarred bird as well. He, too, lost everything to humans but instead of going off the deep end and nurturing the hatred that followed such acts, he turned everything around in an attempt to better the world.

He was a very wise bird, and what views he did promote about moving on and bettering myself as well as the world appealed to me. However, life is much more complicated than that.

There is a sinister dark side behind Alex, I've noticed. Some kind of underlying dark force that is suppressed by the guise that he puts forth regularly. It's like some kind of old darkness that haunts him constantly as he tries his hardest to better the world around him. It comes in small glimpses, but it's definitely there and from what I've gathered, it terrifies me beyond any recollection of thought. The damage of losing everything, I determined in the end, doesn't go without its consequences.. No matter what.

As for me, I've tried to move on myself. I've tried and tried again and again, but she keeps coming back to me. It's such a profound feeling of hurt and loss, one that you know you'll never recover from because you won't see her again. Such a terrible thing of having your one true love ripped away from you. You truly can't compare it to anything else unless you've experienced it before, a side of you dies on the inside and you become hollow.

And the scariest part? Every passing day just piles layer upon layer of haze, covering any past thoughts of happiness and joyful bliss. There is no such thing as moving on and healing up, I've discovered... oh no. Covering up the past is the only way people with loss cope. It terrifies me as I look to the future... In 10 years, will I even remember her name? Would I even want to live to be that way?

I've become a master at masking my feelings, but sometimes there are points where I relapse and cry uncontrollably. There truly is no cure for a broken heart, for not even time itself can fill the void a lover leaves behind, and truly there is no worse a fate than being separated from what defines you.

Fate...

Is it true that one can control such a concept? What more could I have done to save her? What if you can't actually change fate, and destiny plans out your life before you're even born? Was this the plans that were made for me, forcing me into a solitude of suffering until the end of my days?

On the other side, what if you do control your fate? What did I do to deserve this, and what could I have done differently?

Jewel...

Tearing away from the small trance I was in, I quickly surveyed the small hollow I was in. Alex had brought me here in the most remote part of the jungle. I remember flying so deep into the jungle that night, I honestly have no inkling of an idea where civilization lies. If one were to fly above the tree line, all you would see is green stretching out for miles in any direction.

Morning... Such a peaceful time, yet it always marked the beginning of my daily mourning...

I was left in solitude, but oddly enough I always felt as if some presence was watching me, making sure I didn't try anything rash. Alex himself kept me company whenever he wasn't off and about, and I didn't mind much. He was a very intelligent being, one of a vast wisdom that far surpassed my own. In terms of technical intelligence and knowledge revolving humans, I exceeded him. But in terms of life, and philosophy, I had a lot to learn from him.

It was this, I deemed, a suitable stepping stone to recovery. However the scars that still haunt my soul will never be totally filled, but suicide, I figured, would be a complete waste... Not yet anyways.

I'm not a violent bird, nor have I been one to hold meaningless grudges... Yet deep down, behind the hopeful guise of recovery, was a burning thirst for revenge.

Deep within another part of the jungle, inside a small hollow, lay another macaw. Her deep blue coat sparkled and shimmered as a spear of radiant light cut past the foliage of the canopy and poured into her small dwelling, filling the hollow and rousing it's lone inhabitant.

Annabelle, a very vibrant high spirited bird, was well known within her own community of surrounding hollows. Famous, as well as very well liked for her caring personality, she had many friends, yet no family.

She was considered the jungle's sweetheart to people who knew her, yet ever since a failed smuggling attempt made towards her, she remained in hiding.

With the disappearance of Cliff, the jungle was a bit safer and more free than before, thus Annabelle once again flew free.

The sound of wing beats gave way to the presence of a visitor as a Hyacinth macaw, Aley, Annabelle's best friend. The two went way back and were considered the best of friends ever since Anna was discovered by Aley's parents. What ever happened to Anna's biological parents is still a mystery today, but the two birds considered each other as much of a sibling as they've ever had.

"Good morning Anna!" Aley chirped in her usual high pitched cheep as she perched in the entrance of the hollow, flashing Anna a giant smile before turning her gaze to the outside.

"Hey Aley, morning to you too," Anna said returning her smile as she rose up and climbed out of her small nest. "So what to do today?"

"Well," Aley said, a devilish grin forming on her face, "I met some cute Hyacinth macaws this morning. I know it's not much news for you, but they invited me to fly around with them," Aley flashed a suggestive look towards her friend, "You're welcome to come if you please."

Anna looked down and away, "Sure, but..."

"Look girl, we already heard back from Blu, he's a loner now," Aley said with a hint of concern in her voice, "You have to look past your own species. Do it for your own sake, girl,"

"It's not just about Blu..." Anna said with a saddened expression, "It's just.. Well what if they don't like me? I mean it's easy for you since they are your species, but what if they don't like me?" Anna shifted a bit and looked away from her friend, her face filled with shameful heat as she prepped her next statement, "What if I'm meant to be alone?"

"No way!" Aley exclaimed as she trampled forth and grabbed her friend with her wings, "You're the most beautiful bird I know! We both know Blu's missing out, forget that old bird!" Aley gained Anna's gaze and forced a smile on her beak, "No one is meant to be alone, everyone deserves love."

"Yea... I guess you're right," Anna said in a sombre tone, "But what about Blu? Does he deserve love too?"

Aley only shook her head, "You can't expect to find it if all you do is push people away,"

"Yea.. I suppose you're right," Anna said smiling again, "I guess I'll go, why not?"

"What else do you have to do?" Aley chuckled as she ushered her friend towards the entrance. "C'mon, let's go grab some breakfast!"

Aley was the first to take off shortly followed by Anna. The two blue birds were a majestic sight against the deep green of the canopy that contrasted their colors. The small rays of light that shone down through the canopy also highlighted and amplified their features and bold color. Aley's spot of yellow that she had around her eyes and behind her beak was abnormally bright and thick and it only added to her vivaciously sleek appearance.

Anna, on the other hand, was a deep almost sapphire like blue. Her plumage was full and exuberant. A perfect match for her effervescent personality. Yet behind all the pure, ebullient temperaments, lies a vast almost irrepressible loneliness.

Anna always knew that she was alone in her species. She was always aware of the absence of her parents, and although she never put much mind to it, it left a depressive slew of questions that went inevitably unanswered. Aside from her outgoing friends, particularly Aley, Annabelle always felt alone in the world and unwanted in terms of courtship.

When word of a single male Spix's macaw got out, it was mainly her friends who advocated her existence to the world, namely Blu. Deep inside Annabelle longed for companionship with one of her own species, however the circumstances to which she found herself, she couldn't help but feel helpless. Blu was on the verge of depression from the death of his previous mate and would have nothing to do with her, so she lost hope.

Upon arriving to their usual eating spot, the two macaws carefully alighted down on a branch. Aley was the first to procure a decent fruit from the tree and when she found her prize, she quickly gobbled it down. Anna wasn't far behind and enjoyed herself a nice mango as well.

The friends sat in solitude, exchanging few words about the scenery as they ate, and upon finishing their breakfast, they were greeted by three male macaws as if on cue.

Two were Hyacinths just like Aley had told Anna before and the third was a Lear's macaw.

When the three males landed close by, Aley was the first to notice and raised a wing in a wave as to greet the three, "Hey guys! Glad you caught up with us again," Aley called out as she dropped the remnants of her breakfast to the forest floor below. "This is my friend, Annabelle."

Anna just blushed slightly as she averted her gaze slightly, "Oh, just call me Anna." Despite the species gap, Anna found the three males quite attractive, namely the Lear's macaw.

"Hey Aley," called one of the Hyacinths, "Me and the guys were going to head into Rio for today. Care to join?"

"Sure, Sam." Aley said. Anna noticed a strange tone in her friend's voice, yet she couldn't quite put a talon on what exactly. She also noticed a certain way Aley started holding her posture ever since the three arrived. This, she concluded, must have been her trying to impress and look her best for the three males.

"And what about your friend, the famous blue macaw?" Sam said as he shot a weird smile to Anna. His smile, she figured, was between a smug and accepting expression.

"Well..." Anna said rolling her eyes back and away as she considered the proposition.

"Sure she will, right?" Aley said refocusing on Anna with a pleading puppy dog look.

"Guess I will, count me in." Anna said shrugging to herself.

"Well then it's a plan," Sam said in confirmation, "By the way, I'm Sam as you could tell. My buddy here, the other Hyacinth macaw, is Roy. And lastly, we have Mason, the Lear's macaw.

"Nice to meet you guys," Anna said bashfully.

"Great, so let's get going," Mason said, stretching his wings out preparing himself to fly.

"Yea, I'm ready to get my drink on!" Roy said mirroring Mason.

"Haha, we'll get to that," Sam chuckled as the three males lifted in the air, "C'mon guys,"

Aley turned to her friend and flashed her an expression of joyful anticipation, "Let's go!" She too, rose into the air after the other macaws.

Anna gave one last doubtful look down to the ground below before she followed her new found friends towards the great city of Rio.

Alright well, for lack of a better way to ask it, "How was that?" Go easy, it was late when I wrote this :(

I'm gonna start off by saying that I literally have no idea where I'm going to take this story anymore. I had so many collected ideas but I decided that they were either too expansive, or too outrageous to carry out. I never intended on making the character of the other Spix's macaw in which I mentioned at the end of the first story, yet due to many people mentioning it the reviews, I decided it would be best to add.

Due to my lack of direction with this story, I've ultimately decided to let you guys decide where I'll take this story. This will be done with a simple question: Which character would you like to focus more on? Blu, or Annabelle?

The end result will also influence the direction and possibly the ending, either sad and depression OR hopeful and "Happy", respectively. (The word happy is used quite lightly, but ultimately that's what Anna's outcome would be more like)

The choice is yours.

I don't usually do this, but I need to give a few words to some people,

Nickel531: Usually I pm my response to reviews, but I dedicated this space for you. Your intelligently eloquent review came at just the right time, in fact, it's the reason I finally got around to finishing this. Reviews like that are far and few between, and man they really do have that satisfying "feel-good" sense of accomplishment to them. Thank you. Also, I probably laughed for about five solid minutes when you said you had an idea as to what was going to happen. I sure have no clue, so if you have an idea, feel free to fill me in XD

Rapture: I really didn't mean to upset you as much as I think I did, but just know that what I said was mere speculation and that I am, by no means, reverting to leaving fanfiction. Nor did I expect quite a powerfully negative response, lets me know that people actually care. Thanks.

And to everyone else, LEAVE A REVIEW ;)