Chapter 7- dealing with the incident, the explanation of a story
Later, in the ravine, Carla had told some of the older Spix macaws, including Blu and Jewel, Zephyr, Venus, Roberto and Brisa, and of course, Eduardo and Mimi, everything. When Carla, Tiago, Jojo, Lavender, Felix and Justin, Matilda and Virgil had brought the sobbing Bia back to the ravine, they had bumped into Maximillian, Turquesa's father. When asked what had happened to Bia and Justin explained, Maximillian had rocketed off to get Blu and Jewel and some other adults. Callisto, Ganymede, Mimas, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre stood on the ravine cliffs, not wanting to get involved. The six flinched harshly when they heard Jewel's voice screech, and Phobos and Deimos literally sprang into the air.
"SOMEONE GO OUT THERE AND FIND THAT GIRL AND HER GROUP AT ONCE!"
"Good grief," murmured Ganymede, his feathers bristled from the fright, "Based on my calculations, if Aunt Jewel's temper was measured with the units of temperature, it would be right over the boiling point of water."
"More like the temperature of hot lava," said Callisto. Phobos then shuddered.
"I never liked seeing or hearing Aunt Jewel in one of her fiery tempers," he murmured, "She's even worse than a defensive mother bear over her cubs."
Just then, Alexandre saw a flash of something blue move out the corner of his eye to the left of the group. At this, he turned to face in that direction but whatever he saw fled. The other five saw him gaze in this direction.
"Something wrong, Alex?" asked Deimos.
"I thought I saw something to the left of us," said Alexandre in reply, "But when I turned, it had gone."
"Well, we don't see anything," said Mimas. Then Callisto rubbed her beak with a talon and fluttered over to the spot where the thing Alexandre believed he saw to have a further look. As she flew over to the spot, she bumped into something blue and blue-white. At this, Callisto flapped back in shock but when she found herself gazing at a young Spix macaw with green eyes and a flock of feathers on his head. The moment recognition took hold, Callisto's face morphed from a look of surprise to one of disgust and outrage. Behind her, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Ganymede and Mimas also glared at the chick.
"Do you know what you have just DONE, RAUL!?" bellowed Callisto, her vermillion feathers, which were the same red-orange colour as her dad Jupiter's, bristling like the thorns of a rose's stem. The Spix macaw chick, named Raul, flinched at the chocolate brown storms of rage in Callisto's eyes. He knew what he had done to Bia and he clearly knew that he was in deep trouble.
"Uh… I… um…" he stammered but could not find a selection of words to make a sentence.
"You've just upset one of the granddaughters of the Spix macaw tribe patriarch," screeched Alexandre, his green eyes also ablaze with anger and disgust, "She's heartbroken. How could you do this to her?"
Finally, Raul found something to say but he struggled to formulate the words.
"Well… I… I-I-I just…"
"Just what?" asked Ganymede, "Just trying to get in with a popular crowd at the expense of such a sensitive macaw? A brilliant move (!)"
He said the last sentence with sarcasm.
"Yeah, absolutely," said Callisto, "A brilliant move toward getting yourself into some serious trouble, that is."
"We heard what had happened," put in Deimos, though he felt like jelly on the inside for he did not like confrontations. Phobos and Mimas looked on angrily and said nothing. But those two, along with Deimos knew that Raul had badly upset one of their friends.
"Do you know what Aunt Jewel and Uncle Blu are gonna do?" asked Deimos. Raul was about to answer when he heard his name get called. At this, he darted his gaze in the speaker's direction.
"Raul, come on, before the grownups start looking for us," said the speaker, a female Spix macaw. At this, Raul glanced back at the three green-winged macaws, blue-and-gold macaw and two scarlet macaws.
"Sorry, I gotta go," he said and with that, he took off.
"But Raul," began Ganymede angrily and with that, he and the other five rushed after the blue macaw.
"I gotta go," repeated Raul and soon, he was out of earshot and had flown away with a group of Spix macaws. Alexandre squinted at the group in front of Raul.
"That looks like Aguamarina and her group alright," he hissed disgustedly, "They're a disgrace."
"Aguamarina's mother and the parents of those other chicks are a disgrace as well," said Ganymede fiercely, "Letting their chicks upset other chicks."
"I remember Mom (Chiquitita) telling us that the red macaw tribe, our tribe," said Phobos, "also had a group of boastful 'cool kid' macaws when she, Uncle Felipe, Aunt Pearl and Aunt Ruby were our age. Those macaws had left the tribe years ago now but…"
The others nodded in agreement. Just then, the sounds of flapping wings reached the ears of the six non-Spix birds. At this, Phobos, Deimos, Ganymede, Callisto, Mimas and Alexandre turned and saw a patrol group of four adult Spix macaws approach them and then stop into a hover. One of the macaws was Roxie, the Pit of Doom scoremarker for the Spix macaws' team.
"Excuse me, you six," she asked, "Have you seen Aguamarina and her group and where they went?"
Ganymede, at this, pointed a talon in the direction of where the said group was last seen.
"Raul is with them as well," said Alexandre, "He's just left after that group."
Roxie and her three companions then took off in the direction indicated by Ganymede.
"Alright, thanks, Alexandre," said Roxie as she and the other three left. Then another pair of Spix macaws left the ravine. The six macaws flitted to the ravine entrance clifftop to make way for them.
"I can't believe that our son would do such a thing to one of Blu and Jewel's chicks," muttered one of them, a female.
"I know, but when we find him, he's gonna get a good hiding, I can tell you," said the other, a male and with that, the pair took off into the trees.
"They must be Raul's parents," said Mimas, "It's no surprise they look shocked and upset."
Just then, the six birds heard their names get called.
"Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Ganymede, Callisto, Mimas!" at this, the six turned and, to their surprise, saw six blue-and-gold macaws, two scarlet macaws and a scarlet/green-winged hybrid macaw fly in.
"Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Iapetus, Io and Europa and Sheldon?" said Ganymede in surprise. The nine newcomers landed before the six.
"We heard a lot of wailing and crying across the Spix/red border while we were playing tag in the Brazil nut grove on the red tribe's side," said Io, the one who had shouted the names of the first six.
"Has something happened?" asked Europa. Mimas then stepped forward.
"Bia's been betrayed by Raul," she said. When the nine gave her a confused look, Callisto began to explain. Another group of adult Spix macaws left the ravine and entered the outer territory.
"We weren't there when it happened but based on what she told us," Callisto said, "Raul had given up Bia to join a certain group of 'cool kids', which turned out to be Aguamarina and her group who often look down on chicks with oddities such as Bia's intelligence…"
"Aguamarina actually told Raul that of he wanted to join her group, he would have to give up Bia in other words," said Phobos. This was met by a shocked reaction from the nine newcomers.
"No way," gasped Enceladus.
"B-b-but Raul is a nice guy," said Tethys.
"How could he do such a thing?" asked Dione.
"I-I-I thought he liked Bia and found her intelligence fascinating, like how we do," said Rhea. Then Titan's face twisted into a scowl.
"That Aguamarina, honestly," he growled, "She's one word: bratty."
"Not to mention spoilt and snobbish," said Iapetus, "since she's the alleged leader of her clique."
"I certainly wouldn't hang out with a group of kids like that," put in Sheldon.
"Me neither," said Europa in agreement. Then Io asked, "Have the grownups been alerted to this incident?"
That question was answered when a passing Spix macaw said, "I hope we find Aguamarina and her group as well as Raul and bring them in for some serious discipline."
At this, Io, Europa, Sheldon and the six siblings of Mimas all turned and saw a patrol group of three Spix macaws, one of them being Nuvem who had spoken the sentence, exit the ravine and into the outer territory.
"I'll take that as a 'yes' then," said Io. Then Titan shot a worried look into the ravine.
"Do you think we should visit Carla, Bia and Tiago and try to console Bia?" he asked.
"Um, but it's approaching lunchtime, Titan," said Ganymede, wary of the time, "Our parents are expecting us to return to our respective tribes' home patches but we'll check on them to make sure."
"It's a deal then but we won't be in there too long," said Alexandre and with that, the group of fifteen birds opened their wings and descended into the ravine. In Blu and Jewel's hollow, Bia was up in her room, tears still falling from her eyes. She refused to talk to anyone, not even her parents, brother or sister. Not too far away from Blu and his family's hollow, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, Jojo, Felix, Lavender and Tyler and Ricardo looked on worriedly. With them were Turquesa, Garrett and Músculo. Charlotte and the latter three had heard Bia's wailing and sobbing as she was brought in by Carla and Tiago and had flown in to see, to their horror, a seriously upset Bia. Bia had gone into her room and had refused to come out, while Carla and Tiago had explained everything to Charlotte, Músculo, Garrett and Turquesa about what Raul had done, leading to Bia's break down. now the four, alongside the others apart from Carla and Tiago were stood a few metres from Blu and his family's hollow, looking on as Blu and Roberto tried to coax Bia into coming out. Jojo looked on as Zephyr and Venus, who wore horrified expressions on their faces, talk with some of the other adults. Jewel had gone out with a patrol group to hunt for Aguamarina and her group, and Raul. She had left with a look of thunder on her face and she was determined to give Aguamarina a right yelling when she finds her, and Raul's parents also had the same thing in mind with their son.
"I can't believe what has happened," Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil heard their father say, "How could Raul just hurt Bia's feelings like that?"
"Is Bia gonna be alright?" asked Charlotte worriedly.
"She's refusing to come out," said Justin, "She's too upset."
"How could Raul do such a thing?" growled Músculo, kicking away a stone in anger. "Bia's a sensitive macaw."
Felix then breathed a sigh. "I had a feeling that Raul's desire to get in with a popular group might flare up."
"Well, it's left Bia in bits, that's for sure," said Lavender angrily, her ponytail feathers spiking out somewhat, "He must think that popularity and winning the favour of the 'cool kids' is more important than the feelings of his closest friend."
"It's disgraceful," growled Jojo, his head feathers spiked out similar to how his father Roberto's did whenever he got angry or scared.
"And to add," said Tyler, "Aguamarina is very snooty towards Bia and often sees her as a freak," he stole a glance at the ravine entrance, "I reckon she'll be smugly laughing her head off now that she has got between Raul and Bia."
"Well, that smug smile is bound to be stripped from her face when Aunt Jewel finds her," growled Virgil stormily, his electric blue feathers puffed out. He seemed to have inherited Venus's occasional short temper.
"Well, let's hope that Aguamarina and her gang will be found," said Matilda, her eyes on another group of Spix macaws as they left the ravine to search for Aguamarina and her clique and Raul.
"And as for her mother," said Turquesa, "She's gonna be in serious trouble, anyway."
"Mr Eduardo is sending out macaws to look for her as well," said Garrett. Just then the sounds of wing flaps reached their ears. At this, the Spix macaws turned and saw a group of scarlet, green-winged and blue-and-gold macaws touch down before them.
"Hi, you lot," said the one at the front, Io.
"Io, Europa?" asked Justin in surprise, "Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus?"
"What are you lot doing here?" asked Turquesa.
"We heard from Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Mimas, Ganymede and Callisto what happened," said Europa, Ganymede, Mimas and Callisto flanking her.
"Is Bia alright?" asked Titan worriedly.
"We decided to come and check on her," said Enceladus.
"But we have to make it quick as it is approaching lunch time," said Tethys. The Spix macaws exchanged glances until finally, Matilda stepped forward.
"Bia's too upset to come out at the moment," she said, "But thanks for showing your concern."
"Mr Eduardo is sending patrol groups out to search for Aguamarina, Raul and the former's gang," said Turquesa.
"I know, we just saw a few groups of grownup Spix macaws pass just as we arrived at the ravine entrance," said Io.
"I'd hate to think what will happen if those brats are ever found," said Europa. "I know I sometimes got up to mischief myself but I never got involved with the wrong crowd, be it 'cool kids', troublemakers like Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva's offspring and their kids, or anything of the sort."
Just then, Jojo called the others. "Bia's coming out of her family's hollow, folks," he said. At this, the colourful crowd of Spix, scarlet, green-winged and blue-and-gold macaws gathered around the Roberto lookalike chick and followed his gaze. When Virgil saw Bia enter a group hug with Blu, Carla and Tiago and began to sob, he felt a wave of sympathy come over him. Tethys, Dione and Rhea, shocked at how upset Bia was, attempted to fly towards her but Garrett, Músculo, Felix, Lavender and Turquesa blocked their way. The five chicks shook their heads.
"It might not be appropriate to see Bia at the moment," said Garrett.
"She's too upset for company," said Felix.
"Wait until she calms down a bit first," said Turquesa. The near identical triplet-like sisters, at this, gazed at the five Spix macaws when Mimas put her wings on Dione and Rhea's shoulders.
"I agree with them, you three," she said gently, "It's best if Bia is left alone with her family and friends to receive comfort for the time being."
Tethys, Dione and Rhea, at this, went along with their older but smaller sister's advice and abandoned the idea of going over to Bia. Then Io said, "Well, it's time we were off back to the red and blue-and-gold tribes' territories, anyway. It's approaching lunch time and my tummy's beginning to rumble."
She placed a wing on her growling stomach.
"I agree," said Titan, "Our parents will be wondering where we are."
"Okay, we'll see you guys at the group meeting this evening," said Matilda as the group of green-winged, scarlet and blue-and-gold macaws opened their wings and took off.
"We'll meet you at the meeting tree," said Phobos and Deimos together as they left. As soon as Io, Mimas, Phobos and all their respective siblings were out of the ravine entrance, Turquesa looked on and smiled.
"I do appreciate Tethys, Dione and Rhea's concern for Bia though," she said. She then gazed at Bia as she continued sobbing into Blu's chest feathers, a pang of pity pricking at her. "But I hope Bia recovers from this ordeal," Turquesa's voice tone then became harder, "And that those brats and Raul in particular get found and sought to."
"I agree," growled Virgil, "No-one betrays our friend like that."
Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Jojo, Felix, Lavender, Tyler, Ricardo and Músculo and Garrett all nodded in agreement. Then Garrett turned to Justin and said, "We three would like to come to your meeting this evening as well."
"You're allowed any time," said Justin with a smile. Then Músculo sighed.
"It will do us good to get away from the ravine for a bit," he said, "And also to share the burden of the disappointment of the news about the certain demise of our homes' status as a protected reserve."
The others nodded in agreement. Aside from the incident between Bia and Raul, the crisis regarding the Sanctuary de Amazon and the threat of the debt aiming for its protected reserve status hung over the chicks, and everyone else as well, like a giant black cloud.
Evening meeting time
Evening at last came. The tree where Carla and company met almost each week was in use once again. Carla and Tiago, together with Bia who had managed to let loose the majority of emotional pressure from her heart but was still upset over the betrayal of Raul to Aguamarina and her clique, were present. As usual, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, their cousins and second cousins Jojo, Felix and Lavender, Ricardo and Tyler, and friends Turquesa, Músculo and Garrett were present. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and some of their friends Byron (a male scarlet macaw), Estelle (a female green-winged macaw) and Sheldon (the scarlet/green-winged hybrid) from the red tribe, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus and their friends Brooke and Bastian from the blue-and-gold tribe, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon from the green tribe, Triton and Indigo and their friend Victor from the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan, Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor and their friends Neytiri and Juan from the glaucous macaw tribe, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul from the blue-throated macaw clan, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette from the Lear's macaw tribe and their two non-tribe and clan friends Alessandro the chestnut-fronted macaw and Mariposa the blue-headed macaw were also present.
The meeting group was slightly larger tonight due to some of the main group's other friends attending. The others who had not been there when the incident between Raul and Bia had happened, such as the Lear's macaw sisters, had all been shocked and horrified to hear about it. However, this was not the main reason why the group had gathered tonight, but Bia had decided to come to escape the ravine and seek consolation form her friends for a bit. Like usual, the tree was lit by firefly lanterns. As soon as all the birds gathered were ready, Carla opened up the meeting.
"Saludos, everyone," she said, "I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight."
She then sat down and sighed. "I suppose you all have been troubled by the debt crisis threatening our home, aren't you?"
"We are, yes," said Phoebe who sat next to Jasmine and Annette, "In fact our tribe had been seriously worried and upset over the news."
"Especially Mr Valentino and Mrs Rosalind," said Jasmine.
"The thought of their precious ravine and surrounding trees being open to logging again is seriously preying on their minds," said Annette. Miranda then stood up.
"The same is true for our tribe," she said.
"Mr Alonso and Mrs Verde are seriously troubled by the news as well," said Ariel, "As are the rest of the green macaws."
"But I think the macaws who are most troubled will be the glaucous macaw tribe," said Umbriel, nodding to Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor, Neytiri and Juan. The six young glaucous macaws all nodded in agreement.
"I actually heard Mr Rudi say that we're gonna go back to the old times when our tribe used to live like refugees without a true home," murmured Neytiri. She shuddered at the memories of that time, being born into an improper home and having to share the nest with Juan and her older sister and brother. Most of the glaucous macaw tribe had lived in mere makeshift nests built on branches and only a few actually living in proper hollows.
"There must be some way we could do to help those humans pay off those debts," said Charon mournfully. This was met by the shakes of the heads of most of the other macaws. All but two, in fact.
"I'm afraid there isn't, Charon," said Carla sadly.
"Based on what we've heard," said Titan, "The debt mountain is very high and with only a month to pay it off, it is likely that Tulio and his team will not make it."
"You guys should have seen the state of the poor guy, honestly," said Enceladus, "He was practically wracked with stress and worry for the entire sanctuary, especially for the Spix, glaucous and Lear's macaws."
"I'm not surprised," said Alessandro, "knowing those three species of macaw to be so rare."
"He must have worked ever so hard to set up this whole area as a protected reserve," said Mariposa, "It would be a shame to see it go to waste."
"I couldn't agree more," said Ganymede. Io, Europa and Callisto all nodded in agreement. Then Estelle, one of the friends of Ganymede and his three sisters and Phobos and his two brothers, sighed.
"It seems that we are stuck in limbo as well," she murmured, "We can't evacuate to the safety of the smaller sanctuary next to Rio, we can't simply leave our homes in search of new ones deeper in the Amazon rainforest, and if we stay here, we're still gonna be prone to decimation by loggers."
"Yeah, once our home's status as a protected reserve is lifted," said Phobos, "Loggers and poachers will be over the moon and we'll be facing the threat, particularly from loggers, all over again."
All the others breathed disappointed and despairing sighs. It was at that moment that Triton, Victor and Indigo smiled.
"Hey, you lot," said Triton, "We have an idea. Wouldn't this help to save the sanctuary from losing its protected reserve status?"
"What do you mean, Triton?" asked Carla. All eyes were turned to the three hyacinth macaw chicks, some with very bemused and unimpressed glares.
"You're not gonna give us false hope are you?" asked Tiago with a frown. Bia just looked on and said nothing.
"Well, um," said Victor, the fruit shell hat-wearing hyacinth chick, "It's an old story known by our clan, the Navyfeathers. We believe it might be the solution to help the debt crisis."
This was met with scepticism from the other chicks and some folded their wings. Some hyacinth macaw clans were known for believing in stories called myths and the Navyfeather Clan was one of them, and some of the stories were particularly old. Then Indigo said, "It might take us a while to explain the story as there are two versions to it, but if you're willing to listen, we'll tell you."
"I know your clan believes in a variety of myths," said Turquesa who was sat next to Carla, Bia and Tiago and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, "But some of them are a bit farfetched, according to Daddy's opinion, anyway."
"So what is this story then?" asked Tiago with a frown. The others all cocked their ears (though macaws do not have ear lobes like mammals) to listen. Triton then took in a deep breath.
"The story is known as the Legend of the Bizarre Birds and Treasure," he said, "It is called that because it features a type of bird that is very unusual and not like the birds we are familiar with, and also it features a natural deposit of treasure."
"Yeah, just explain it," said Jojo impatiently. Felix and Lavender also gave the same impatient look.
"Okay," said Triton and then he launched into an explanation.
"In the first version, millennia and millennia ago, giant lizards roamed the earth and bat-birds flew in the skies. Those lizards were not like the lizards we are familiar with today, and the bat-birds resembled birds but did not have feathers and had membranous wings like a bat. Alongside those giant lizards and bat-birds lived many species of smaller creatures, among them feathered creatures that were totally unlike any of the birds we know of today. They had feathers but their features were radically different from a typical bird. One day, a comet crashed into the earth and wiped out the majority of the species of giant lizards, bat-birds and other life that lived alongside them. However, some of the bizarre birds, smaller species of weird lizards and bat-birds managed to escape the catastrophe and continued to live on. Millennia and millennia later, those bizarre birds, lizards and bat-birds and some other creatures continued to live and when humans appeared, they retreated to remote areas such as isolated rainforests and islands. One such group is believed to live in a secluded patch of rainforest in Guyana. That habitat is said to be inaccessible to humans due to high cliffs enclosing it and any humans who do infiltrate it from the air are said to never come across the bizarre animals…"
The other macaws listened intently, some changing their expressions from reluctance to intrigue.
"The second version has the same ending as the first," continued Triton, "But the storyline is different. In it, the giant lizards, bat-birds and strange birds lived alongside humans and the other animals. However, the face of the earth changed after a catastrophic global flood which killed all of life that breathed air except those that had boarded a giant boat with some humans…"
"That sounds like the story of Noah's Ark in Genesis," whispered Mimas with intrigue.
"…among those animals taken aboard that boat," said Triton, "Each type of giant and bizarre lizard, bat-bird and strange feathered creature, or rather younger versions of them were present. Then after the flood had finished and the animals and those humans came off the boat to repopulate the earth, over the centuries, humans started hunting animals for food and their hide, pelt or other things. Many of the animals were hunted to extinction, including the majority of the giant lizards, small weird lizards, bat-birds and bizarre birds, but some managed to escape to hidden places away from humans where they thrived. From the humans' perspective their species are extinct. One of the remote places is believed to be the patch of jungle hidden in a large ravine in the rainforests of Guyana."
"And there," added Triton, "It is believed that an enormous natural deposit of treasure, namely gold and precious crystals not unlike those used by humans in making jewellery, exists somewhere in that spot."
It took a while for the listeners to absorb all this information and a cloud of silence hovered above the group. Finally, Neytiri broke it.
"It sounds plausible," she said in fascination, "It doesn't sound entirely farfetched."
"I agree," said Charon, "If we could find that isolated patch of rainforest and its deposit of treasure, maybe we could bring some of it back to give to Tulio and his team to sell, make enough money and pay of the debt before the deadline?"
Blueberry, Quincy, Flor, Juan and some of the others, including Phoebe, Tyler and Ricardo, all nodded in agreement. The rest, however, looked sceptical about the possible existence of the mythical place.
"Well, it sounds more like something straight out of a fantasy story," said Carla with a frown, "A habitat inhabited by a bunch of birds not like us, featherless birds with wings of skin and other strange animals, with a natural deposit of treasure somewhere? Sounds like Jurassic Park crossed with Treasure Planet."
"I agree," said Ganymede, "Based on the description of 'giant lizards' and 'bat-birds', it sounds like the story is describing dinosaurs and pterosaurs, extinct groups of reptiles only known from the fossil record."
"I've never heard of animals like those," said Alessandro, "Birds without feathers that fly on wings of skin? I always thought that bats are the only creatures that fly on skinned wings."
"The idea of featherless birds with bat-like wings sounds just as farfetched as the whole story," said Mariposa. Garrett, Músculo, Turquesa, Estelle, Sheldon, Byron, Brooke, Bastian, Neytiri and Juan all nodded in agreement.
"No, such animals did exist millions of years ago," said Bia, the pain from the incident with Raul briefly forgotten
"Or a few thousand years ago, depending on one's perspective," said Ganymede.
"They're called pterosaurs," said Justin.
"Ptero- something?" repeated Alessandro confused. Then Jojo spoke.
"Well, if that is true, then they must have been terrifying," he said, "I wouldn't like to meet one of those featherless bird beasts. They'd remind me of those flying foxes."
"Bats do not have beaks," said Indigo, "But these bat-birds were believed to have had beaks. They're called bat-birds because they were believed to have wings and beaks like a bird but featherless bodies with wings of skin like a bat."
"Well, I think that's enough talk about bat-birds," said Carla, her eyes on the setting sun, "It is getting quite late. Any last ideas to discuss?"
At first there was silence until Neytiri finally broke it.
"Why don't we give it a try and find this place in Guyana?" she asked excitedly. This was met with shocked gazes from the others.
"What? You mean venturing out to Guyana to find some place that might not exist?" muttered Titan with a frown, "I don't think so."
"And besides that, Guyana is far away," put in Enceladus. Justin, however, began to agree with Neytiri.
"I think that might be a good idea, actually," he said, "Considering the fact that our human friends might not pay off the debts by the deadline."
"I'm willing to go as well," said Charlotte.
"Me too," said Matilda. Virgil, Jojo, Felix and Lavender nodded in agreement, as did many of the others despite their scepticism.
"But first," said Io, "How are we gonna get there, and what will we need to carry the treasure back with us if we do find it?"
This was met by a perplexed silence.
"Well, it would take us ages and ages to get to Guyana if we were to fly there," said Ganymede, "That's for sure."
"And furthermore," said Miranda, "We would need to carry the treasure back with us and that might be a problem for the return journey since the treasure's going to cause weight problems."
"Yeah," said Azul, "Hauling back a tonne of heavy material is seriously an impractical task."
As he said this, Titan began to think. After thinking, he said, "That's it."
All eyes turned to him.
"What is it, Titan?" asked Carla.
"Just as I, Enceladus, Iapetus and Dad were leaving to return to the patrol group the other day," said Titan, "I overheard Tulio mention about going to Guyana to pick up some Lear's macaw there. Maybe we could hitch a ride with him when he catches a plane to the country?"
"That sounds like a good idea," said Enceladus, "But where will he fly from, and when will he take off?"
"I think it's best if we save this planning until tomorrow evening, folks," said Carla, her eyes on the sun which was by now half-way in its sinking into the horizon. "We need to head back to our respective tribes, clans and groups."
"So, we're gonna meet and discuss this tomorrow evening?" asked Alessandro as he and Mariposa prepared to return to their respective small groups of chestnut-fronted macaws and blue-headed macaws.
"Yes," said Carla, "We'll meet again at that time. Let's go before our parents wonder where we've gone."
The group was about to take off when they heard a scornful female and bratty voice, much to the disgust of the group and Bia's fright.
"Well, well, if it ain't Carla the Fatty and her clique," it said, "Hanging around in their usual spot like usual."
At this, Carla and Tiago glared at the speaker, their feathers bristled while Bia hid behind Virgil and Charlotte, not wanting the speaker to see her. The others also looked on bemusedly as a familiar group of a few macaws, led by the familiar queen bee, melted out of the darkening jungle. When Jojo recognised the macaw at the front, his head feathers spiked out as he became angry.
"Aguamarina!" he growled, "What are you doing out here with some of your friends!?"
"Shouldn't you be back at the ravine facing discipline after the trouble you've caused Bia!?" put in Io fiercely, "Mr Eduardo's patrols are out looking everywhere for you."
"Mom and her friends had decided that she had had enough of the barrage of accusations hurled at them, especially from Carla the Fatty's Mom and Dad," said one of the macaws behind Aguamarina named Claudia, "So we're moving to a quieter spot where no-one will bother us."
This sent disgusted shock and disbelief exploding like a shockwave through the group.
"Did I just hear that right?" asked Mimas incredulously.
"Are you meaning to say that your parents are taking you out of the ravine to avoid discipline!?" shouted Justin angrily, "What cowardice!"
"We're not cowards," snapped Benita, another of Aguamarina's friends, "We're just trying to get away from the other Spix macaws' accusations as it is driving us around the bend."
The other two behind the three girls nodded in agreement. Turquesa, Músculo and Garrett exchanged glances with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, Jojo, Felix, Lavender, Tyler, Ricardo and Tiago, disgusted looks on their faces. Then Io said to Carla, "I don't believe this. First one of this girl's friends treats me roughly, then her friend causes Bia heartbreak by turning Raul against her and now she and her group are escaping punishment? What's wrong with those birds?"
Carla just angrily shrugged when Aguamarina rhetorically said, "What's wrong with us, red feathers? I think you ought to ask yourselves that question."
At this, Io and Carla slowly turned and glared at Aguamarina who said, "I think you lot have something wrong, not us."
"Yeah, you're nothing but trouble," said Claudia spitefully. This sent hot rage burning through the group.
"'Nothing but trouble'!?" retorted Felix, his three-layered crest feathers spiking out all over the place. Aguamarina, at this, backed away as the teal-tinted turquoise middle chick of Roberto and Brisa, his ocean blue eyes ablaze with fire darted towards her and began to lambaste her with words flowing as fast as a rapid in the Amazon River.
"If there is any group of macaw chicks that are nothing but trouble, you brat, it is YOU and your CLIQUE!" Felix bellowed, "You've been mocking us, especially Bia, Carla and Tiago, over the past few years and you've caused Bia a serious heartbreak by getting Raul to turn against her…"
Aguamarina's face remained in its nasty stare as Felix continued, "And you're say we're trouble? What cheek!"
"You're nothing but a bunch of bullies!" yelled Azul at the top of his voice.
"Just wait till Aunt Jewel finds you," put in Charlotte, "And boy is she gonna give you a yelling at."
Virgil then looked around for any sign of Raul. When he saw that Raul wasn't with the group, he said, "Well it seems that Raul and some of your other friends had been found and are currently being dealt with," he said, "But I hope you get dealt with too…"
Aguamarina was about to retort when suddenly, she heard her mother, Mertle, call her.
"Aguamarina, come on," shout Mertle, "It's getting late."
Aguamarina flashed a glance at her mother and then glared back at Carla and company, their eyes blaze with anger.
"We gotta go," she said, "It's pointless arguing with you lot."
"Yeee-aaaaah," said Claudia and Benita in agreement and with that, the three girls, together with the other two accompanying them, left the dumbfounded group and followed Mertle. Io stepped in.
"That went well," she said flatly.
"I think you should tell your grandpa about where they are heading," said Europa to Carla and Tiago as Bia emerged timidly from behind Charlotte and Virgil.
"Yes, thanks, Europa," said Carla. Seeing now that the sun had almost completely set, Carla knew that the group must be back with their respective tribes, clans and groups before darkness fully enveloped the jungle.
"Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow evening," she said to the non-Spix macaws, "You'd better head back now before it gets too dark, but between now and tomorrow evening, I'd like you all to brainstorm some ideas about our plan to go to Guyana."
"Okay, we'll see you then," said Io as she, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre left for the red tribe's territory with Estelle, Byron and Sheldon in tow.
"We'll see you tomorrow," said Miranda as she, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon left for the green tribe's home. Titan, together with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Iapetus, Brooke and Bastian also left for the blue-and-gold macaws' territory while Phoebe Jasmine and Annette left for the Lear's tribe's home.
"I hope Aguamarina gets found," said Triton as he followed Victor and Indigo back to the Navyfeathers and the glaucous tribe's home with Charon, Blueberry, Quincy, Flor, Neytiri and Juan. Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio then left for the blue-throated macaw clan and their Bluewing neighbours' home while Alessandro and Mariposa left for their small groups as well. As soon as all the non-Spix macaws were out of sight, Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and Jojo, Felix, Lavender, Tyler and Ricardo, Turquesa, Músculo and Garrett began to make their way back to the Spix macaw tribe's ravine.
"I wonder what we'll need for this trip to this… mythical place," said Tyler as the group flew along.
"We'll have to discuss that tomorrow," said Ricardo. He then let loose a yawn for he was getting tired. Jojo then gave a doubtful frown.
"I'm not sure how our parents are gonna react to the story, Carla," he said, "It sounds cleverly fabricated."
"I don't know," said Carla, "But let's get back to the ravine. Darkness is quickly coming over the jungle and the last thing we want is us getting into trouble as well for staying out late."
The other Spix macaws nodded in agreement and soon, the group vanished into the darkening rainforest.
