Author's Note: I believe it is the least I can do right now, to thank Rapture at Sea for his help with the editing of this story, for which I am very grateful! Still, I doubt this will be the last time I need to mention Rapture to thank him for his numerous contributions to this story! Another thank you to Holospartoi258-Alpha01, who also assisted me in the plot-planning and brainstorming stages, and continues to offer his assistance! Very well, I'll not bore you with my tedious droning anymore...read on and find out what happened to Blu...Oh, and just to clear a minor misconception, I am grateful to both of the authors mentioned above, but this does not mean that this story is a collaboration. Not being defensive, and not saying that it would be a bad thing, just clearing that up! ;D! Now, back to the story!

CHAPTER 11

Time meant absolutely nothing in my stupor. My mind was on a delusional joyride through the cruelest levels of my subconscious. I opened and closed my eyes, or at least I thought I did. There was no way of telling if what I saw was reality or just another hazy dream. I preferred the hazy dreams.

The snake's poison had already reached my most important organs: My lungs, my heart, and my brain. My only wish was that it didn't kill me just yet, as there would be plenty of time for dying later. But I couldn't just lie here and go peacefully knowing that Jewel was out there, most likely hurt and in unbearable pain. She needed my help, however small and useless it may be.

The dancing sunlight only managed to highlight the disastrous remains of my life, scattered throughout the hollow's floor. My usually punctual ability to tell the time based on the sun was off, and I couldn't have possibly guessed how long I lay there, in a pool of blood and feathers. It might have only been a few minutes since the attack, or it might have been weeks. All I knew was, I didn't have any more time to waste.

My entire body ached, painful spasms causing my attempts to pick myself up fail miserably. The pain seemed to emanate from my upper right shoulder, yet where the snake had bitten my wing, I didn't feel anything at all. It was all simply numb, yet I could feel the flesh around the puncture wounds burn as if dipped in oil and set alight. It was torture, and as I tried to focus on it, I nearly emptied my bowels.

The flesh around the wound seemed to be rotting almost, like a nasty bruise, which also populated most of my body as well. I looked away from the grisly sight, knowing full well, what it meant if it became infected. Amputation.

Oh, at this point, dying would have been so easy. Simply lay down, close my eyes, and wait for that relief to come over me, to join my children where I could live in peace. But for as long as Jewel was still alive, I couldn't leave her, I just couldn't. We were chained to each other by an unbreakable link. Nothing, not a single thing in the world could break that connection.

Using the last reserves of my energy, I finally managed to lift my sorry excuse of a carcass from the floor, and tried breathing deeply to ease my suffering. Worst. Idea. Ever.

It was like breathing in shards of glass, my entire throat burned and itched as I inhaled the precious and necessary oxygen, and once it settled in my lungs, they tried an improvised mutiny. My chest froze, and my lungs contracted, trying to rid themselves of the pain. I doubled over in pain, and clutched at my sides. I didn't know how much longer I could possibly go on. I coughed by reflex, covering my beak with my wing. Why? I guess I was so used to covering my beak when coughing or sneezing, I just did it automatically. It was even worse when I looked at my blood covered wing. I wasn't a veterinarian or ornithologist, or any of those fancy things, but I definitely know that coughing up blood was not a very good sign of my health.

I stepped towards the edge of the entrance, and peered outside, hoping to catch a fleeting sight of my mate. Instead, I saw the shattered remains of my egg laying there on the jungle floor, being washed away by the rain, which was by now increasing in force. My gag was punctuated efficiently with a thunderous boom as lightning struck the once-peaceful rainforest. No. There was no time for illness, no time for weakness. I had to find Jewel. I flapped my wings, my right wing almost collapsing internally from the pain, and took off into the air. I fought as hard as possible against the pain and the pouring rain, which actually alleviated some of the superficial agony in my aching body. Still, it was like flying through Hell.

I flew for as long as I could, punctuating every flap with a single scream, my voice shaky from pain and grief.

"Jewel!"

My search was in vain, and all I earned were quite a few unfriendly stares from neighboring nests. The pouring rain seemed to be conspiring against me, begging for me to call off my search. A sane bird would have given up long ago. I knew the only reasonable thing to do was wait for the rain to cease, for my wounds to heal, for my body to recuperate…but grief had long ago twisted all the sanity from my mind. I was left with a raw animal mind, whose only goal was to get back the bird he loved.

But no matter how much you want something, life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. My navigational sense was affected by the foul venom, as were my other six senses. All my strength seemed to be fleeing from me, sapped by some unknown force, leaving my body in the form of scarlet tears from my various wounds.

It was all too much. The grief, guilt, and a general sense of hopelessness weighed me down, gravity pulling strongly on the water in my wings. My right wing was almost stiff by now, barely mobile. And then, thunder struck the earth, like the pain struck my body and my heart every now and again, and I saw a tower. The very same viewing tower where Jewel and I had spent our first night together…it drew me closer to it.

I felt a tug, leading me closer and closer to the muddy ground down below. It was useless, I would never find Jewel like this, and I needed rest, but my heart wouldn't give up on her so easily. I landed quite unceremoniously, yet not too bad considering my condition.

I felt my beak fill with humid earth and rain, which I promptly spat out as I tried once again to lift myself from the ground. This time it was useless, my wings were heavier than ever, coated in mud, and my wounds burnt like Hell hath not, as the infectious outside factors seeped into my open lesions. I would soon become infected, and from then, my time on this earth would be limited to a few more grieving days.

In my desperation, I let out a whisper, calling out uselessly to the world to return to me the thing I treasured most in this sad world; the only thing I truly cared about now. My children were gone, but there was still hope. There was one life that I hoped survived, and it was not mine.

"Jewel….."

End Note: This will be the last of Blu's POV...for now...Get ready to switch back to poor Jewel in the next chapter!