A/N: The events in this chapter occur at different times, starting from the end of the last chapter. They lie on three separate timelines, rather than each picking up where the previous one left off. I just had to clear that up to avoid confusion.
A massive author's note is waiting for you guys at the very bottom, but don't rush. The marvelous content of this update may stand in your way, but you'll get there eventually.
As always, enjoy, and review.
Chapter 25: The End
Flashback: One month ago…
It took my eyes a full minute to open.
My world was so hot, so confined, and it smelled of smoke and burning things. To raise just my head off of whatever material was beneath me robbed me of my stamina, and my skull was so heavy I thought my neck would break trying to support it.
Chilling pain radiated all over my body, concentrated in a line down the front of my body, the back of my head, and worst of all, the spot just past my legs. I pushed up with my wings to lift my battered body off the floor; the required effort strained my injured skin and forced me to moan uncontrollably in agony.
I grated my beak halves together until I felt the lower half chip, but it did no good.
My head drooped as I stopped to rest, gasping for breath. Drops of scarlet fluid were dripping from my chest and stomach, and I realized I had been soaking in a pool of my own blood.
That same fluid was also running down my face like a tribal warrior's tattoos and dripping from the sharp tip of my beak, plopping constantly onto the hard surface. I was so weak, so delirious, and I feared that my heart would give out at any moment, and I would perish.
My mind was drowning in confusion and pain, and many of my short-term memories were too blurred to be recalled. But there were a select few that stood out, and even in my grave condition, rage flared up inside me.
"Ronaldo… he… he did this… to me. He assaulted me… scarred me… for life. I will find him… tear into… his chest… and rip his… beating heart… out…"
Deadly revenge… I desired it, craved it, and that slimy macaw was going to pay the ultimate price. I was beaten down and on the verge of dying, but I wasn't dead yet.
And as long as there was a single shred of life left in me, I was not going to give up until I was standing over his corpse.
Where he was I had no clue, but once I escaped this hellish prison, it would only be a matter of time until I crossed paths with him. I set my sights on just that: escape, and prepared my body for the grueling task of finding a way out.
I had lived too long and seen too much to quit now, and I couldn't rest until my mission was complete.
I inhaled a deep breath, holding back the tears that came as my chest exploded with searing pain. I blasted it back out and squinted my eyes, dragging one foot along the ground and setting it down in its proper position.
I did the same with the other, and ordered my body to stand using every ounce of my will. Chilling pain borne from my bruised cloaca gripped my lower body and squeezed my spine, and I squawked a guttural squawk of unending torture.
I staggered to the right as my legs buckled, slamming against the wall and sliding halfway down before my claws dug into the floor and braced me. I reached down with my wing and held it tenderly against that specific part, hoping to stifle the throbbing and dull the pain.
I gently massaged it to further speed up the process, the tissue too swollen to convey any sexual pleasure to my brain. When at long last it was warm and the agony had subsided, I heaved myself off the wall.
I wiped the tears away with my right wing and limped for the only opening in sight, where a flickering orange glow poured in. Every step was near impossible, and I was crawling so slowly that I wondered if I would ever make it even that far.
When at last I reached the first exit I would have to pass through, I paused and purposefully hyperventilated to consume the oxygen I needed. The ceiling was no longer visible, being cooked to a crisp by the roiling flames visible through thin areas in the otherwise dense smoke.
The clock was now ticking, and the whole place would come crashing down sooner later. And if I was still inside when that happened, there would be no hope for me.
Grinding my rough beak halves together, I reached up and grasped the rim with my wings. I performed a mini-jump and pulled with all my strength, trying desperately to hoist my weight out onto the fallen tree I was in.
My feet scrabbled to get a grip, flailing about in the air. My shoulder muscles fatigued almost immediately and screamed silently to relax.
I was three-quarters of the way out, but it wasn't enough.
My muscles suffered a spasm and went limp, and gravity took over. I dropped the six inches or so that separated the rim from the floor, and it felt like the farthest fall of my life.
My back hit first and absorbed the impact, but my head kept going and smacked against the fake wood. The gash on the backside of my skull met the solid material with a thump, and it was as if lightning had struck me.
My back arched as I yelled my lungs out; if only I had died right then and there, just to be rid of the indescribable agony. But as fate would have it, I survived. My voice cracked and trailed off to a hoarse groan, and I sank back down.
I lay there for an eternity, paralyzed and unable to even twitch. The room vibrated around me, coupled with the thunderous roar of crumbling stone. A blast of heat swept over me and threatened to bake me in my feathers, and my survival instinct kicked in.
I tied a rope around my consciousness to prevent myself from blacking out, knowing that if I did, there was a chance I would fail to wake up. I rolled onto my belly and struggled to my feet, fending off a combined wave of sickening pain and déjà vu as I made for the oval-shaped hole in the trunk.
Steeling my mentality, I attempted my previous maneuver. I succeeded in my task, but I collapsed onto the trunk a moment later from sheer exhaustion. My wings drooped over the sides, ragged and covered with soot, and it felt like I was inhaling shards of glass with each mandatory breath.
The smoke was building and sinking lower and lower, and would probably suffocate me before the building caved in and crushed me out of existence. Gathering the pitiful stamina that was left in my muscles, I then sucked in a lungful of air to combat the coming pain, then stood and waddled down the trunk.
I made it to the base that was a mass of melted plastic, hunching over and panting madly. When the pain level was under control and I was fit to move again, I jumped off the base and landed hard, twisting my leg.
I cursed my misfortune and grabbed at my limb, rubbing it furiously. After tiring my wings out, I looked up and saw that the whole front wall of the room was gone, shattered rock and glass everywhere.
About twelve feet of ground lay between me and the first checkpoint of my trip, and I was murderously determined to make it. But as I took the first, comparatively tiny step, chaos showed its ugly face.
A rumble resembling thunder shook my eardrums, coming from everywhere at once. I had no idea where to look, but my instincts yelled at me that the roof was on its way towards me.
I hurled myself forwards, throwing my wings over my head as I skidded along the turf on my side. A series of booms went off behind me, and the next thing I knew, I was choking on a newly-formed cloud of dust and smoke.
I fanned it away with my wings before getting up, but something wasn't right.
I felt a tug at my tail when I attempted to move forwards, realizing I couldn't. I turned around to see what the hell was wrong, and I was gripped with a class of horror I had never known before.
A chunk of rock as big as I was had landed on my tail, pinning it.
I pulled a second time, but my feathers would not come free, and I went nowhere.
"No… no no no. This can't… be happening. Not to me… not now…" I pleaded to myself in the midst of the firestorm.
Left with no other choice, I went over to the damning boulder and tried to tip it over or otherwise move it. How foolish was I, trying to dislodge the boulder that probably weighed five times as much as I did.
I pushed and pushed with my wings and then my back, but to no avail. The leg I had twisted cramped up and slid out from under me, and I lost my balance. I smacked my beak against a flat side and felt the pointy edge break off.
I couldn't get away to obtain my revenge, and a hundred blades of dread impaled my soul. I hammered my wing against the boulder in mournful fury, bursting into tears.
I had lost my slim chance at escape, and I had failed the one mission I had sworn I wouldn't.
There was no one left to help me, and there was nothing I could do but drown myself in sorrow. If only I had jumped farther or jumped to the side… if only my tail had been shorter… if only Ronaldo had not savagely mistreated me.
If only…
"Why… why did this… have to happen... to me? This is not how… I wanted… my life… to end…" I sobbed to the inconsiderate debris.
I turned and hobbled as far as I could go, and then gave my hopeless, hideous body to the hands of fate. I sank down onto my knees and let my wings sag to the ground, shedding copious tears that mixed with the dried blood on my face and left light pink spots on the gray turf.
I was empty on the inside like a mountain cave, doomed to spend my last miserable moments alone. Every nerve in my body cried out in agony, an automatic reaction to the epiphany that I was going to die.
There was no point in me living anymore, and I commanded fate to bring about my slaying. But fate claimed one last triumph over me by ignoring me, the aviary continuing to burn as other sections of the ceiling broke away.
Three minutes… five minutes… eight minutes came and went, and by that time, my tear supply had run dry.
My constant blinking kept my vision clear, and I would have picked up a nearby fragment of rock and committed suicide if I could have reached it.
"Please… just stop… taunting me. Kill me… already. I don't… care… anymore. Do your worst. Make it… grisly. Just kill me… damn it…"
I stared at the crack-riddled ceiling and challenged it to crush the life out of me. True to form, several slabs shifted loose and got stuck there, but they had passed the point of no return.
They then fully separated from the rest of the ceiling in a shower of pebbles and noise, and one in particular did a half turn and aimed its narrow edge at me.
"Thank you…" I whispered, hanging my head.
One blink of an eye later, the slab burrowed into the back of my neck. I felt a spurt of pain, and the lower half of my neck, along with the rest of my body, had been disconnected from my brain.
One second later, my head hit the floor and rolled to a stop. I looked on in frozen terror at my decapitated body, blood spouting from my severed neck like a fountain.
My other half toppled forwards and landed in the pool of blood with a gory splat. Even though my eyes were wide open, everything went dark and cold, despite the light and heat that engulfed me.
My head swam, and I lost consciousness for the very last time.
One Month Later…
For roughly a few days after his capture, Nigel was filled with cold fury as he evaluated the human who had snatched him up against his will.
All he remembered was scavenging some fresh meat off of a farmer's dead chicken, and then feeling a blow to the back of the head. Upon waking up, he found out he was in that same farmer's very house, contained in a standard wire cage.
He craved payback on the bipedal cretin in the beginning and attempted many times to break out of the cage, but he accomplished neither mission. The farmer was oblivious to his constant screeching and flouncing about – which irritate Nigel even further – and did not hand him one shred of food.
But later, when his rage had been exhausted and he had partially de-feathered his frail body, things changed. The human male – who went by the name of Abílio – finally paid attention to him and provided him with sustenance.
It was a shaky bond at first, but when Nigel – who had gained the alternate name of Gustavo, courtesy of Abílio – understood that endless chicken legs, company, and shelter would be provided to him, he embraced his new way of life.
It reminded him of the years he had spent with Marcel in the past, and the nostalgia was one motivating reason that convinced him to stay. Nigel had never enjoyed working too hard to get what he wanted, and Abílio was clearly okay with catering to his desires.
In essence, Nigel had become a "pet," but that label would not last long. Once the cockatoo had gained the trust of his new owner, he was allowed to roam free around the not-too-shabby house and perch wherever he pleased.
But there was one fact that displeased Nigel: he was not alone.
A female Scarlet Macaw named Noela lived there as well, and had been doing so for much longer than Nigel. Nigel had learned from Abílio that she had grown up there, as the farmer had stolen her from the jungle when she was just a chick.
The two were very similar in their deviousness and brashness, and although Nigel disliked her for being a "pretty bird," he coexisted with her, if nothing else.
Something that prevented him from hating her outright was that she was a carnivore, and her favorite meal was warm chicken. He knew Abílio would most likely kill him if he found out that Nigel's claws had ended her life, and Nigel did not want to die just yet.
He bickered and squabbled with her, other times shunning her, and they were simply classified as two birds who occupied the same space, and nothing more.
Nigel's relations with Abílio were one day deepened and fortified, and the cockatoo suddenly found himself very proud of the gruff chicken farmer.
He had brought home a petrified and noisy male Blue-and-Gold Macaw in a wire cage, and Nigel instantly knew that the pitiful pretty bird had fallen victim to a devious trap. This was one of the instances when Noela and Nigel teamed up and taunted the contained macaw until he cried, or until his voice gave out from squawking at them.
But curiously, after Abílio had generously stuffed him with all sorts of fresh fruit and let him recover from his ordeal, he did something unexpected. He took the macaw out of the cage – Abílio's hands restraining his neck and feet so that he could not attack – led him over to another room, opened the door slightly, and tossed him in.
Nigel could not divine what happened to the two-tone macaw, as he was never seen again.
When the cockatoo asked Noela what had become of him, she replied cryptically, "You don't want to know. Let's just say he served his ultimate purpose as a bird."
She finished her statement off with a wink, and Nigel was absolutely perplexed. In the wake of that exchange, he did not press her for the true answer, since she would never let it slip.
That innocuous beige wooden door was the pathway to a burning secret, and the few times Nigel tried to peek in, Abílio sternly warned him to stay away. The ashen bird's efforts were fruitless, and he soon abandoned them.
The cockatoo had not witness another bird being brought in for a month, and he stowed his musings about what lie behind that door away in a corner of his dark mind. He simply went on living his life, respectful of Noela but unable to resist arguing and knocking heads with her many times a week.
After all, it's part of what he did best, and what's life without regular doses of excitement?
They weren't friends or enemies, but at least they held each other in high enough regard that neither sought to claw the living daylights out of their opponent. Nigel had not experienced heated peace such as this since Marcel and his goons were arrested, and he was thankful that a second opportunity had been granted to him.
But unbeknownst to him only, his fate had been sealed from the moment he entered Abílio's residence. Since the day Abílio placed the cockatoo under his deceitful care, it was only a matter of time before the abode's owner concluded that Nigel was fit and ready to be offered up to the demon that resided in the off-limits room.
And may ultimate woe be placed upon Nigel, for that very day was today.
The last strip of juicy, steaming chicken slid down my gullet, and I smacked my beak loudly, much to Noela's annoyance. I tossed the bare leg bone onto the floor of my cage and exited through the always-open door.
I had woken up at promptly ten o'clock, for that was shortly before Abílio himself roused and offered me breakfast. My female companion, however, was usually fed an hour later, after our "owner" tended to his animals.
While I ate, she had glared at me and attempted to swipe my half-eaten morsel. I shoved her away with my wings forcefully, sending her tumbling through the air and causing her to hit the floor near the base of my cage quite hard.
She screamed at me, but stalked off to her favorite perch to preen her ruffled feathers and repair her ego
I had pointedly consumed my meal with an air of ostentation to jostle her emotions further, a wicked style of torture I very much relished. Abílio had not yet returned from feeding his quarry, and she had no choice but to endure her hunger until he rectified her situation.
"Hm, feeling a bit empty, are we? What a pity. Perhaps you should take a bite out of yourself…" I declared, my eyes narrowed into slits.
"Shut your beak, Nigel. I didn't ask for your opinion."
I rolled my eyes and nonchalantly picked at my scaly foot with my beak.
"It seems you have learned little during our time together. I don't care one bit, pretty bird. Sorry to spoil your fun."
"That's not my name, you feathered rat!" she fired back, her plumage puffing up in anger.
"Need I repeat myself again? I suggest you devote some time to locating your brain, as it is clearly not inside your head," I stated, pausing and staring her down with my left eye.
"Ugh! You're such an asshole!"
She lifted her right foot and curled in all but one of her claws, imitating the derogatory gesture humans tend to use.
I merely brushed off the unspoken insult and said, "You'll have to try harder next time. Not good enough."
She squawked in defiance, but then fell silent and turned her attention to herself. I cracked a smug smile and picked at my other foot to pass the time.
True to form, I heard not one utterance from Noela, who had conceded the vocal fight.
Exactly how many minutes later Abílio arrived I was unaware of, but it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes. He opened the door wide and stepped in, inviting a wave of too-warm, humid, salty air into the living room.
He swiftly closed the door and inhaled a deep breath, visually pleased to be back. His clothes and hair had been coated with a fine layer of dust, no doubt due to the constant scurrying about of his chickens as he moved among them.
"Olá, my friends! Are you happy to see me?" he greeted enthusiastically.
I erected my crest and nodded smoothly, and he chuckled. Noela, however, squawked unpleasantly and flapped her wings. She then grabbed at her stomach with one foot to finish conveying her message.
"Alright, alright, you're hungry! Give me one minute and I'll have some chicken for you, made just the way you like it."
He tromped off into the kitchen, his rapid gate signifying that he had taken offense to her uncouth response.
"É sobre o tempo!"she yelled as he vanished from my line of sight. {It's about time!}
I decoded her Portuguese easily, as both she and Abílio spoke it day in and day out. A month was more than enough exposure to fully grasp the language and comprehend it. She sat there and grumbled to herself the whole time, and I busied myself by preening my back feathers.
I was definitely past my prime in the physical sense, and my defeat at the hands of those notorious azure macaws had caused lasting damage to me. If it wasn't for Abílio's timely intervention, I would most likely still be wandering the streets and slums of Rio as a rotten sack of feathers, scavenging for garbage and fighting to remain alive.
I suppose fate had turned things around for me in the wake of the macaw incident.
Abílio's reappearance grabbed my attention, and I watched as he walked casually up to Noela. He held the sizzling, greasy leg out to her, and she took it with a deft swipe of her foot.
"Thanks a bunch!" she exclaimed, her tone appreciative instead of demeaning.
"You're very welcome, you sassy bird. Now, I'm going to go take a shower."
He turned his gaze to me and added, "You leave her alone while she eats. You've already had your turn."
"Oh, of course. Why would I ever commit an act as heinous as petty thievery?" I answered.
"Good," he replied, and strode past me on his way to the bathroom, which was located on the other side of the semi-small house.
I darted my head back towards Noela, who was tearing into the meaty limb messily. Tiny drops of oil went everywhere, and her face was under heavy bombardment as well.
"What terrible manners! Noela, I am shocked and disgusted!" I said scathingly, flaring my dirty yellow crest.
She halted and shot me a sinister stare, licking her beak twice.
"And what high-class manners do you have, Nigel? None, so don't be a hypocrite."
"An excellent remark, though I care not. Perhaps you do have a speck of useful brain matter in that head of yours."
"Piss off and leave me alone, like Abílio said."
She went back to gorging herself, and I turned a blind eye to her. I let out a gruff sigh and shut my eyes, running through the potential things I could do later if Abílio let me roam free.
I could always head to the market and steal some succulent fruit for a snack, or tour the bustling city and be a nuisance to any and all pretty birds who crossed my path. Or I could even fly up to the towering statue that overlooked Rio and bask under the blazing sun.
The possibilities were endless, and I prayed that he would allow me to spread my wings. I closed myself off from the world, but did not let myself fall into a slumber. Time and the world passed me by, and even Noela was lost in the fog and did not disturb me.
But there was one being who could pull me out of my immersed state, and he did so with his resonant, mature voice.
"Gustavo, Noela, listen up," he called.
I snapped out my trance and located him after blinking my eyes, and Noela trained her gaze on him concurrently.
"I'll be heading out to take care of some important business. I'll be back in no less than two hours. You two watch over this place for me while I'm gone, you hear?"
"Affirmative," I said with a throaty squawk.
"Yeah yeah, I got it," Noela put in idly.
"Good. See you later."
He bid us farewell with a wave of his arm, and then waltzed out the front door. I picked up a stream of clanging and banging sounds from outside, but they died off.
"What was that all about?" I questioned sincerely.
She suddenly grew very haughty and donned a smirk.
"You'll see when he gets back. I forgot it was that time of the month already. Oh man, this day is going to be a hell of a lot more fun that I imagined!"
She gave herself a brisk shake and puffed her feathers up, smiling all the while. Her mannerisms were puzzling, and I could not discern the root cause of her abrupt agitation.
I would be wasting my breath if I tried to suck an explanation out of her, so I decided against it.
"Whatever you say. I will bide my time, then. But if you'll excuse me, I am going to take a nap so that my food will digest properly. If at all possible, do not disturb me."
"Blah blah blah, do what you want. But I can't guarantee that you'll be able to nap around me," she retorted, flattening her plumage and recreating her sleek shape.
"Then I will relocate somewhere else and leave you to your own devices."
"Smart thinking there, Gustavo," she said, referring to me by my adopted moniker.
"Correction, pretty bird. I go by Nigel, and nothing else."
"Sure you do, Gustavo."
My blood began to heat up in my veins, but that was not healthy for a bird my age. I opted to beat a hasty retreat before she flustered me further and directly afflicted me with a heart attack.
"I will be leaving now. Do not follow me, or else."
"Suit yourself. I'm gonna go into Abílio's bedroom and snooze myself. It's too bright and hot in here."
She whipped around and fled, one of her vermilion plumes coming loose and spiraling to the floor.
"Good riddance," I whispered, and then hustled over to my cage.
I entered it and settled on the wooden bar that served as a perch, making myself comfortable. This time I did relent, drifting off into a light state of unconsciousness, but keeping my mind alert in case something out of the ordinary occurred.
Somehow I managed to dream of memories from long ago, memories in which I mistreated those birds that were more aesthetically endowed than I, and I couldn't help but grin and chortle while I dozed.
But while in the middle of the most luxurious one of all, I was awoken.
"Hey! Gustavo! Abílio's on his way! Get up, you diseased old bird!"
I bolted upright and blasted out a squawk of exasperation, my gaze darting first to the intruder of my nap. Like I had done that morning, I made to knock her off the bars around the door to my cage.
Unluckily for me, she leapt backwards and boosted herself to the top of the cage. I righted myself before I drilled my face into the floor and slowed my fall, landing with a loud thunk that was punctuated by the crinkling of the newspaper beneath me.
"Idiot! Curse you!"
She stuck her tongue out at me, and then positioned herself like she was going to relieve herself right on my head.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, I wouldn't, you say?"
She leaned slightly forwards and raised her tail.
"Gah!" I screeched, launching myself out as fast as my stiff wings would carry me. I dashed over to the TV and braked, dropping down on top of it. I whirled around and gripped the slick plastic with my claws, sending an icy leer straight at her.
"Ha ha, got you! Such a gullible little freak!" she hollered, doubling over in laughter.
"You… you filthy bird! Oh how sorely wish I could eradicate you!" I snarled at her.
"Only… as filthy… as you… Gustavo!"
She had duped me, and I was so very close to charging at her and digging my claws into her skin.
Right before I mustered the energy to do just that, the door flew open, pushed by Abílio, who entered backwards.
His arms were extended as if he had cargo in them, but I could not see exactly what he was carrying… until his entire body manifested and he clicked the door shut. Inside the polished wire cage was a male Scarlet Macaw who was glued to one corner, pupils shrunken to pinpoints out of trepidation.
The moment he caught sight of us, he went into a veritable frenzy.
"Help me! This guy stole me from my family! This is a crime against nature!"
So that's why he had made an excursion to the outdoors: To corral an avian being. For what purpose he had done so was not clear at the moment, but Noela's ominous phrase pieced the puzzle together.
"Sorry, but we can't help you. But listen, you'll be let out of that cage and placed in a nice, big, cozy room. In there you'll come across the surprise of your life. Or maybe I should be fair and call it the most gut-wrenching shock of your life. Either way, be sure to have a nice day!"
Abílio placed the containment device on the floor and walked away.
"What… what do you mean? Where's he taking me? What's gonna happen to me?!"
"I can't tell you right now, big guy. That beats the whole point of a surprise, doesn't it? Just relax. Or better yet, give up, because you are so screwed it's becoming hard not to laugh!"
Abílio then swiftly returned, a pair of worn leather gloves on his hands. He unlatched the cage door and flung it open, reaching in to grab and subdue the panicked bird.
His hands closed around the macaw's tricolor body and, try as he might, he could not bite through the material or get his feet up high enough to scratch Abilio's arms. The dominant human ferried him over to the restricted-access door, the gateway to the unknown.
He freed one hand and squeezed the macaw tighter with the other, causing him to cry out. He silently peeled open that very gateway and chucked the bird in, then closed it with an oddly-gentle clack.
He beat his hands together like a construction worker did after completing a task, and then spun to look at us.
"She's going to enjoy him very much, I can already tell. That bird is healthy and strong, and I'll bet his body is packed full of nutrients."
Abílio then affected a thoughtful expression.
"But lately, I've been wondering if just one bird is enough for her. Maybe I should consider raising the amount to two, because she's growing awful big."
He sauntered over to Noela and leaned down, speaking into her left ear. I could not discern what he was saying from this distance, and I contemplated drifting closer. But then Noela robotically turned her head towards me, and the incredibly-delightful-and-evil smile that appeared on her beak locked up my muscles.
When they were done conversing, Abílio stood up, blowing out a sigh of false regret.
"Well, I guess that means your time is up, Gustavo. Noela agrees that my pet deserves two birds from now on, and it makes perfect sense to treat her right now."
He thundered up to me before I could react and imprisoned me between his oversized hands.
"Argh! What is the meaning of this?! Who is this 'she' he is referring to? Why is 'my time up!?' "
"I knew this day would come for a long, long time, Nigel. You see, there are only two favorite animals in this house: me, and her. As for what she is, I'll leave that up to you to find out. All I have to say now, though, is bye-bye, you asshole. Ha ha ha!"
A sickening feeling dragged my stomach down to my claws, and I gave a shiver of dread. Her words made no sense… but as an epiphany struck, they made perfect sense.
I came to the conclusion that I was bound for death, just like that Scarlet Macaw. There would be no escape from my fate; not now, and not later.
Noela's form shrunk slightly in size as Abílio hauled me over to that all-too-familiar mobile wooden wall, but her menacing, mocking expression was as clear as ever. Abílio rotated me in his iron grip and peered down, his poker face of zero emotion making my blood run cold like it never had before.
"Adeus, my friend. It's been fun, but Noela is the only bird I need to be happy. You're just a temporary addition, and honestly, my pet can get much more use out of you than I can."
He removed one of his hands and fastened it on the doorknob, twisting it and opening the door.
"You look way too old anyways, so I am doing you a favor. Enjoy your stay in the room you've always wanted to see, but never got to, until now."
He drew his arm back and prepared to heave me into it.
"And just for the record, I hate disgusting cockatoos."
He swung his arm like a softball pitcher, and the next thing I knew, I was sailing through the air belly-up. The door slammed shut, and the resonating noise made my ears ring.
My spine met the floor a split-second later, pain coursing through my body as I skidded to a stop. After willing the searing pain to diminish, I stood with a grimace.
Directly above me, entrenched in the ceiling, was a clear glass square that let a generous beam of sunlight in. But aside from the illumination that was currently bathing me, the room gradually faded to a shade of black as deep as midnight.
Scornful, muted laughter from Abílio and Noela slipped past the door, and inwardly, I shouted in rage.
I jumped as I heard heavy breathing noises stream from one dim sector of the room, past a tall, multilevel metal shelf cluttered with all sorts of tools and metal scraps.
"Who's… who's there?" I demanded, my heart racing beneath my tattered chest feathers.
"It's me! The Scarlet Macaw from earlier! Get over here, but be quiet!" came a stifled, masculine whisper.
I traced the sound to its source, walking stealthily. I bumped into a harmless-looking, overturned cardboard box stained with automotive oil, but I could not locate the macaw.
That is, until the box rose, and I spied the macaw hunkered down beneath it.
"Hurry! Get in!" he ordered with a clenched beak.
I obeyed and ducked inside, and he slowly lowered the box back down. I heard a tearing sound as he bit the dense paper and ripped into it, opening up a narrow gash in the side that let in a moderate amount of light.
I could easily resolve his face, and he was still petrified.
"What in the name of all that is foul in this world is going on, bird?" I questioned in a strained voice.
"My name's Valentim. But anyways, both you and I are not going to survive…" he admitted with a shudder, pausing to breathe in a lungful of air. "There's… a snake in here. I saw it. It's… enormous. It's probably at least eight feet long…"
I was unable to formulate a reply for a few seconds, the mental image coercing me to shake as well.
When I secured the resolve to speak, I asked, "Have you searched for an escape route or any opening to the outside that we could breach?"
"You think I haven't tried? I can't break through the skylight, and it's kind of hard to look when a massive snake is snapping at your tail! It's like this prison was built so that that thing can climb and hide wherever it wants!"
"Gah! I cannot believe this treachery!" I mumbled sharply, stomping my foot on the dusty, smelly turf.
"I don't know what to do! I'm only three years old! I'm too young to die! I have to get back to my parents, but I don't know how! This is-"
He snapped his beak shut as a metallic clang reverberated from behind us, most likely along the edge of the wall by the door.
"Oh no… it's coming. We can't stay here. We have to move!"
"Shush! Maybe if we stopped talking and sat absolutely still, it won't find us," I said, my voice barely above silence.
"It won't matter! We're done for! It'll just go after us until we're tired, and then… it will eat-"
A drawn-out scraping sound tickled our ears next… and it was just to the right of our shelter-that-was-not-a-shelter. I gasped and blinked as all went instantly quiet.
And then something smashed into the side of the box closest to Valentim.
It became airborne, exposing us to the vile monster Valentim swore was in here. He shot into the air like a rocket, and right next to the place he had just been standing, I espied the scaly green head of a famished reptile.
I scrambled backwards and streaked around to the other end of the shelf in a blistering low-level flight, demanding that the snake not pursue me. I gulped in a breath and turned around, only poking my head past the shelf.
I could see the creature's tail oozing into the darkness across the room, slithering by the opposite end of the other shelf. I scanned frantically for Valentim, finding him perched on the very top, his feathers sticking out in utter terror. He locked eyes with me and threw his beak open.
"You gotta help me! Distract it or… or… injure it! Try to claw its eyes out! Just do something!"
My muscles clenched as I drank in his choice of tactics, but I could not reply.
Should I risk my feathers and do what he says? Should I try to save his life?
I stood there for an eternity as he awaited my response, but no sound came out of my beak.
Those were two questions I could not answer.
The shelf he was perched on shuddered and groaned, and Valentim almost lost his balance. He screeched and spread his wings to take flight, but it was too late. The serpent's head flashed as it whipped out and collided with his chest, knocking him through the air and into the very structure I was concealed behind.
He squawked in pain as his back met the edge of one of the shelf's ledges, and then dropped to the floor, ending up very close to the square beam of golden sunlight. He was dazed and unable to move, and the snake closed in on its first victim.
It piled itself on the highest ledge of the opposite structure and half-slithered, half-fell through the air. The ground vibrated as its huge mass slammed upon the floor, and for the first time, I could visualize its entire length.
Eight feet was too generous; I would have to say at least ten, and there was no doubt it could swallow birds like us whole.
A short section of its upper body had landed on Valentim, pinning him down and knocking the breath out of him. The snake parted its jaws and hissed at him, droplets of saliva and venom plopping onto his chest.
Fearing it was going to nail him right then and there, he yelled, "No! Please no! Why didn't you help?! Do you not care… if I die! Who are you?!"
The snake then lifted itself off of him and wrapped its stocky tail around his neck just tight enough to prevent him from breaking away. It must have enjoyed hearing his tortured screams.
It hoisted him at least two feet in the air, holding him level with its iridescent head. It parted its jaws replete with small, sharp teeth and two needle-like fangs again, and let loose an ear-splitting hiss.
"Mom! Dad! Anyone! Help me! I don't want to die! Please… someone save me!"
The snake lunged and clamped down on his belly.
"Aaaaaaugh!" he screamed, his voice going hoarse.
I expected it to shove the macaw into its mouth, but what it did was 100 times more horrifying. It coiled more of its tail around his throat and constricted it, and then yanked its head in reverse.
He let out a gurgled scream as his body was severed in two, and then fell silent. Some of his organs detached and fell to the dusty ground in a shower of blood, plopping like wet sponges.
His bowels stretched then and then broke, hanging from both ends like wrinkled strings of blood soaked tissue. I had both administered and witnessed abuse back in my day, but this was beyond belief.
His eyes rolled back as the serpent wolfed down his lower half, scarlet leaking from the edges of its closed mouth as its muscular throat pushed its meal down in a series of waves. It then inserted his upper half in headfirst and swallowed it too, blood pit-patting endlessly on the ground.
I wanted to vomit right then and there, both from the carnage and also because I was next.
I ducked behind the back of the shelf, but not before the snake caught sight of me. It went on a blood-fueled rampage and slithered for me, a mini-earthquake being born.
I hustled around the right side just as it barreled past me, and then ducked under the second ledge, beating my wings madly.
If only I had remembered that the snake was so very long.
I flew above the last foot or so of its body, realizing too late my grave error, and it sensed me and reacted accordingly. The muscular tail rose up in the air and came down like a hammer.
It thwacked me right between the eyes and negated my momentum, smashing me into the floor. Sprays of stars lingered in my vision, and a migraine of mind-numbing proportions wracked my brain.
It felt as if my skull had been cracked, and I was immobilized. The business end of the serpent traced my attempted getaway path and materialized under the second ledge.
Its piercing emerald eyes transfixed me and rooted me to the spot, somehow casting a spell that made my muscles lock up.
So it is true. The stare of a snake can induce paralysis in anyone who gazes into its eyes…
My situation was now hopeless, and I was on death's door. But I am Nigel, and it is in my nature to be defiant until the very end.
"Come on… take me! Do… your worst!" I grunted.
The snake flared its mouth, revealing a veritable cave of pink tissue sopping with saliva. It flicked its tongue out and gave a throaty hiss, and then it lunged.
"We shall meet again in hell!" I squawked, and then it closed its mouth around me.
My body was doused with all sorts of bodily fluids as it forced me past into its gullet, its myriad of teeth slicing into my sides. Its throat compressed against me, and everything went dark as I lost the ability to breathe.
My brain, starved for oxygen, winked out.
I cannot say what happened afterwards, for I would remain perpetually unconscious, and that was the end of me.
Four Months Later…
Jewel and I were reclined against the base of the tree that contained our home, relaxing side-by-side.
Her eyes were closed and her breathing was tranquil, but she was hardly sleeping. She was placidly drinking in the smells and sensations of this golden late spring day, letting her mind wander wherever she wished and reveling in nature's calm essence.
My right wing was fanned out in the space between us, intertwined with her left similar to how a human couple holds hands.
I had my eyes trained on the picturesque azure sky, watching idly when vibrantly-colored macaws and other birds soared above the treetops or darted between the trunks, squawking and chirping merrily.
We had greeted the new day about two hours ago and taken in part in a marvelous family breakfast. Ronaldo had stopped by shortly after, and Diamante expressed the urge to spend the day with her beloved uncle.
Her fervor and charm won him over, and he volunteered to take her to the beach and stay as long as she wanted. After Diamante told us goodbye and gave us affectionate hugs, she and Ronaldo departed.
We were delighted that she was not afraid to go out and explore the world, and Jewel's initial belief that our daughter was an extrovert was a spot-on prediction.
Her choice to leave worked in our favor, because raising her consumed so much of our attention that Jewel and I hardly had the chance to interact solely with each other.
We loved our daughter more than life itself, but we craved intimate quality time as mates every now and then.
Being next to Jewel and smelling the dwindling pheromones wafting from her feathers instilled a unique sense of peace within me. I exhaled a blissful sigh and worked my primaries between hers even tighter.
I felt her twitch, and as I turned my head, I saw her readjust her position and sit up straighter.
"Blu," she whispered, getting comfortable once more.
"Yes, Jewel?" I replied.
"Remember how much fun we had last night?"
The "fun" she was speaking of referred to our two rounds of passionate love-making, and my mind instantly recalled every last detail. I was done being unsettled by such memories; now I was only curious as to why she would bring it up.
"It's too soon to forget how good you made me feel. Why do you ask?"
"Because…" she muttered, facing me and opening her eyes seductively, "…I want to have my way with you again tonight. Sound like a deal?"
I held her stare, but wilted under its captivating, irresistible influence.
"I can't say no to a queen like you. Deal, my lovely Jewel," I said serenely.
She formed a smirk on her beak and said, "And here I was, thinking you'd get nervous and come up with some excuse. Well done, Blu. Looks like our mating rituals have helped pound the awkwardness right out of you."
She placed a special emphasis on the word "pound," and this time, I couldn't help but blush.
Jewel being the take-charge female she is, things got… well… out-of-hand whenever I submitted myself to her sexual fantasies. I wouldn't have normally minded, but our previous midnight escapade left me with a bruised stomach, courtesy of my mate.
The ache did not trouble me anymore, but my entire belly was still tender to the touch. In that regard, Jewel's inner wildness was unchained when I handed her the reins.
I sheepishly replied, "Or maybe it's because me becoming a father has matured my soul."
She nonchalantly snorted and leaned back against the trunk, lifting her right wing and placing it behind her head for cushioning.
She closed her eyes and said innocuously, "Suit yourself, Blu. I'm sticking to my explanation no matter what you say. And besides, I know nothing pleases you more than when I play dirty."
For that I had no rebuttal, and the intensity of my blush doubled.
I plunked my spine against the bark and brought my free left wing up as she had done, tilting my head back until they met. I then decided to close my eyes and clear my throat, and then I clamped my beak shut.
The constant hymns of nature, punctuated by the intermittent calls of the local wildlife, ushered in the sense of calm that had been shattered by our conversation. At this moment, when it was just me and my dear, sweet lover basking in the midday sun, I didn't have a care in the world, and life felt like such a breeze.
There was nothing that could replace the satisfaction of being a father, mind you, but the current slice of heaven I was snoozing in was a paradise all its own. I knew it wouldn't last for eternity, but in that case, many hours of private leisure would suffice.
A few moments later, I thought I picked up the staccato rushing noise created by beating wings from somewhere ahead. I peeled my eyes open halfway and scanned my eyes back and forth.
I caught sight of a blur of green near the crown of a tree about fifteen feet away, but I dismissed it as probably a random macaw that had no idea we were here.
"Boa tarde, vocês dois! Sou eu, Isabel!" {Good afternoon, you two! It's me, Isabel!}
Or maybe it wasn't a random macaw, and was someone who definitely knew we were here.
With a start, I perked up and locked onto the Military Macaw who came sailing in. To avoid showing off the parts of our bodies no one else needed to see, Jewel and I hopped to our feet none-too-briskly.
We separated our wings and tucked them against our bodies, maintaining our composure as Isabel alighted one foot in front of us. I expected Jewel, of all birds, to chide Isabel for spoiling our siesta, but she held her tongue.
She could have at least approached us more sensibly, rather than yelling at us… I thought to myself.
My mate and I greeted her with a pair of welcoming smiles, and I spoke first.
"Hey there, Isabel! Good afternoon to you too. What do you need? Where's Marquez?"
She looked as happy as a bee in a field of flowers, and I prayed she would reveal the reason why very soon.
"Oh, he's… around. He's nearby, actually, but just hear me out. He and I have an awesome surprise planned for you both, but you have to close your eyes first!"
Jewel gazed at me skeptically, and I shrugged in ignorance.
Like I would go behind her back and involve myself in something like this… I quipped in my head.
"Surprise? What kind of surprise? You know, I thought Blu and I-"
"Ah ah ah, Jewel!" she retorted playfully, waving her longest primary back-and-forth.
"A única maneira de você saber é se você fechar os olhos. Come on, close them, please." {The only way you'll find out is if you close your eyes.}
"Fine, Isabel. I'll do what you ask."
Jewel obeyed, squinting her eyes hard.
Isabel then whipped her head in my direction and said staunchly, "You too, Blu!"
I sealed my eyes shut, and I heard Isabel clear her throat sharply.
She then squawked, "Tudo bem, Marquez! Você pode trazer as crianças para fora agora!" {Alright, Marquez! You can bring the kids out now!}
My mind was instantly set abuzz as I registered the word "kids," and in the wake of a rush of sheer curiosity, my heart took off sprinting inside my chest.
My ears picked up an unknown number of birds, their countless wings stirring the air and making it too difficult to judge how many pairs there were.
When the whooshing din died off, there was some shuffling and grunting, and then silence.
"Blu, Jewel, you may open your eyes and meet our new family," Isabel instructed genially.
I complied, and the sight I imagined I would behold turned out to be an underestimation.
Grouped together around Marquez's figure were not two, not three, but five additional Military Macaws. The batch was composed of three males and two females who were all three-quarters as tall as their father, but their similarities as siblings ended there.
My lower beak hung down, indicating that my mind was thoroughly blown. I was too riveted to them to divert my attention and espy Jewel's expression, but I wagered it wasn't that different from mine.
Indeed a surprise it was, for neither of us had ever known that Marquez and Isabel had elevated their status to mates and created offspring. I was too stupefied to complain about the secret they had hidden, and so was Jewel.
"Marquez… Isabel… wow… just wow. When did… you and her…"
"When did we bring these five into the world?" Marquez stated pointedly, finishing my fragmented sentence.
I nodded, and he gave himself a preparatory, full-body shake.
"Friday of next week, they will all be three months old, or in other words, they hatched about one month after you were released back into the jungle with Jewel."
Isabel went over and squeezed between her children to stand by Marquez's side, and he drew in a deep breath.
"Isabel and I didn't plan for this to happen at all, Blu. We were both dropping so many hints to each other that we wanted to take that last big jump. I could see it in her eyes, and she could see it in mine. I still remember everything that went down like it was just yesterday. She and I had spent that whole day at the beach, and we French-kissed as the sun went down. When we got back to our hollow, she took me in her wings and said, "Marquez, eu te amo mais hoje do que ontem, mas agora, eu não te amo tanto quanto eu vou amanhã. That was all I had been dying to hear from her. One thing led to another, we claimed each other as mates for life, and she ended up pregnant." {Marquez, I love you more today than I did yesterday, but right now, I don't love you as much as I will tomorrow.}
"Ahhh, the story of our creation is so romantic…" one of their daughters said in a silky voice.
"Pfft, no it's not. It's too sappy. You won't catch me drooling over some female and giving up free will," fired back one of their sons, his accent somewhat weak.
Their other daughter rebuked him in a heavily-accented tone.
"Oh would you put a mango in it, irmão? You always say the opposite of what any of us say, and it's annoying."
The smart-beaked male stuck his tongue out at her, and she derisively rolled her eyes.
Marquez stepped in and warned, "Acalmem-se, vocês dois. Você não vai lutar na companhia de nossos amigos." {Settle down, both of you. You're not going to fight in the company of our friends.}
Isabel cast them an unimpressed frown to reinforce her mate's words, and then looked our way. She changed her demeanor from stern to gentle, and then spoke.
"When I realized I was pregnant, I was ecstatic at first. That very same morning, after breakfast, I told him. He fainted, and I had to slap him in the face several times to get him to wake up. But in the days to come, my stomach kept growing and I kept getting heavier. I took the time to count and recount how many eggs were inside me, and when I arrived at the total, I went from feeling thrilled to feeling very irritated. I'll let Marquez elaborate."
She cast a certain gaze at Marquez, a gaze that was equipped with a devilish smirk. He focused on us and parted the halves of his beak.
"Let me tell you, it was not a good day to be me. I had gone out to bring her lunch, and I'll never forget all the things she told me when I got home."
He chuckled, and then sucked in a lungful of air.
"'I can't believe you did this to me!' she yelled, yanking out the star fruit I had in my beak and throwing it at me. I was confused and afraid she was going to claw me or something, so I asked loudly, 'Did what, Isabel, meu amor?!' 'Get me pregnant with five eggs, Marquez! Five!' she screamed back. I answered, 'Hey, I can't control how many you end up with! And isn't what this what we basically agreed to when you held me down that one night and mated with me?'"
Marquez began to shake as he held back laughter, and many seconds passed by until he caught his breath and continued his tale.
"She wasn't convinced, and she grabbed my chest with her foot and twisted my skin. 'Ow! Calm down, Isabel! Meu Deus!' I squawked, but she didn't let go. 'I've had a few friends of mine tell me how much it hurts just to lay one egg, and I have to lay five of them in a row?!' And for the grand finale, she pressed her forehead right up against mine, stared evilly into my one eye, and said, 'I'll kill you later.' I kept my distance from her for the rest of the day, doing anything and everything she wanted me to so that I could save my tail-feathers.' "
Marquez couldn't hold his emotions back anymore, and he burst out laughing. His kids shifted closer to their mother, most of them giggling, but they quickly stopped.
Isabel folded her wings and glared daggers at him, clearly perturbed by his display.
"Eu vou matar você agora se você não se comportar, senhor Marquez," she threatened. {I'm going to kill you right now if you don't straighten up, mister Marquez.}
Rather quickly, he snapped his beak shut and steadied his breathing.
"I'm sorry, meu amor. But the way you were acting back then was amusing, and I couldn't help myself."
She loosened up noticeably, but it was evident she wanted more from him. He sidled up to her and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm very sorry, Isabel. It won't happen again. Eu prometo," he affirmed with a juicy smile.
"It's alright, Marquez. I was just teasing you. When I look back on it, I want to laugh at myself! Meu Deus I was crazy when I was pregnant."
She wrapped one wing around him and nuzzled her head against his neck. She then coughed once and affected a resolute stance.
"But seriously, I did have a reason to be upset over having to get rid of five eggs, even if my hormones blew things out of proportion. From what I've heard and felt, and I'll bet Jewel can back me up on this, laying just one is like trying to push out a flaming mango. Multiply that times five, and the words 'incredible pain' gain a whole new meaning."
Okay… Isabel… no need to get that descriptive. Yeah… I think I get the picture. I am so thankful I'm not a female… I stuttered in my head.
I was deeply unnerved, but I stayed strong and prevented a scowl from erupting onto my beak.
Isabel declared, "Anyways, now that we've told you the story of our family's birth, we should introduce our children. Or better yet, let them introduce themselves."
Her mate replied, "Good idea, meu amor. They're old enough. They don't need us to speak for them."
Their children got the hint, and a male with sky blue eyes stepped forward.
With enthusiasm, he said, "Hello, Blu and Jewel. I'm Lúcio!"
"Hello, Lúcio. Nice to meet you," my mate and I responded.
One of the females then wriggled out from behind her brothers and took center stage.
"Olá! My name's Sonia!" she declared ardently, her glacier-blue eyes sparkling. {Hello!}
"Olá, Sonia," Jewel and I answered simultaneously again.
The other female with the sharp tongue weaseled to the front as Sonia retreated, an air of dominance about her as if she was the boss.
"Olá, Blu and Jewel. I'm Renata, and I am the oldest."
Her piercing emerald eyes and richly-accented voice was slightly intimidating, and I, at least, instinctually felt that she was definitely a troublemaker type. But I did not say my opinion out loud, naturally.
"Hello, Renata. You have a lovely name, and it fits you well," I said with a smile.
"Obrigado, Blu." {Thank you.}
She went in reverse to her former territory in front of her father, and I saw Sonia shift to the right a few inches.
Her equally-aggressive brother bounded closer to us and squawked, "My name's Maximino, but I mostly go by Maxi."
"Except when he gets in trouble, which is often," Marquez put in none-too-mildly.
"Nice to meet you, Maxi. Your father has given you a very unique name. I like it," Jewel stated.
"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Jewel…" he said dully.
Maxi then huffed and went to stand next to Lúcio, a scowl fusing itself to his face. Two of his sons and daughters had greeted us, but that left one more male. I spied him partly hiding behind Lúcio, and even though he wasn't crouching, he wasn't as tall as his brother.
"Yep, I knew this would happen," Marquez admitted, placing his wings on the secretive macaw's back.
"He's the shy one of our family. Hardly like either of his parents. It makes me wonder why he's so timid…"
Marquez glanced down and said encouragingly, "Go on, son. Tell them who you are."
He donned and unsure smile and waddled forward, squeezing past his two male siblings.
"He-hello. My name is… um… Tomas…" he squawked meekly.
His sapphire eyes nearly matched the color of my feathers, and his voice had just a hint of a Portuguese accent to it.
Jewel said in a mellow tone, "Hello there, Tomas. Don't worry, Blu and I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. Just be yourself, alright?"
"Alright. Thank you. That makes me feel better…" he replied quietly, jogging around Maxi and obscuring himself behind the bodies of his brothers.
"Well, there you go, my friends. That's the whole crew we're responsible for creating. Isabel and I got more chicks than we bargained for, but hey, that's life. I never thought I'd be saying this, but Meu Deus, I love all of them so much."
"He might be big and tough, but Marquez would be lost without my help. They really are a handful to take care of and keep track of," Isabel remarked, patting Lúcio and Maxi's heads.
Renata shook her head and countered, "Not really, mãe. It's all Maxi's fault. He's the one who likes to argue and fight with the rest of us." {Mother.}
He whirled around and glared at her with hostility.
"Você é um mentiroso. You're the one who always has to have the last word. You can never keep your beak still, irmã." {You're a liar.}
"Ah, cala a boca, você vai? Você ouviu o que o pai disse. Nós não deveríamos estar discutindo." {Oh, just shut up, will you? You heard what Dad said. We're not supposed to be arguing.}
Maxi was close to fuming now, and I shot a worried glance over at Jewel. She returned that same expression, and it seemed we were both fearing that some fireworks were about to happen.
"You started it!"
She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, exhaling as if she was tired of him.
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did! Liar!"
She took little head of him, brushing off his insult like a pesky fly.
And then he snapped.
He barreled straight for her, gathering as much sped as he could in the short stretch of ground available to run on. He rushed past Tomas and nearly knocked him over, and Sonia scrambled out of the way in the nick of time.
Maxi lowered his head and rammed it into Renata's stomach, flinging her to the ground and sending her skidding a good foot or so on her back. She groaned and lifted her head up, seriously angry and in a state of shock.
"Meu Deus, Maxi! You hurt my back!"
"That's what you get for lying! And it's really going to hurt when I kick you right in your-"
"ENOUGH!" came Marquez's near-deafening squawk.
Jewel and I gulped automatically as Marquez's feathers rose in bristling anger. He seized Maxi's right wing with his foot and spun him around, his father's right eye blasting him with a deadly stare.
"Now you've gone too far, Maximino! I expected you to try and show some respect to everyone here, but you can't even do that! Who do you think you are, attacking your sister like that?!"
"Why doesn't she ever get in trouble? You always go after me! You're not being fair… and you never will-"
Marquez drew his right wing back and swept it in an arc, nailing the side of Maxi's face with a thwack. The slap instantly silenced the belligerent chick, and he lacked the courage to turn his head and face his father again.
Marquez lowered his voice, but its vicious bite had not been diminished.
"I'm done. I've reached my limit now. You have a major attitude problem, and I'm going to fix it, starting right now. Go stand over by that tree and don't move until I say so."
Marquez released Maxi's wing, and the dethroned macaw limped over to said tree like a zombie. He did not say a word, and when he got there, he went as still as a statue.
Isabel went over to her daughter and pulled her up, rubbing her back and comforting her. Marquez ran his wings down his face to do away with his frustration. After ballooning his chest out via a deep breath, he looked our way without rotating his body.
"I sincerely apologize, Blu and Jewel. I don't understand why he has to get so violent. I have to cure him now, or he will be like that for the rest of his life. And by then, no other birds will want to even know him…"
Jewel replied cautiously, "It's… it's alright, Marquez. We won't judge you or him. I'm not trying to defend him, but… everyone is different."
"Being different isn't always a good thing, Jewel. I figured raising kids would be hard, but this is almost too hard."
My mate and I were at a loss for words, sadly. Marquez blew out all of his air with a sigh and cast his one-eyed gaze over his other offspring.
"Ele ainda é seu irmão, e todos vocês devem continuar a amá-lo. Basta tratá-lo da maneira que você gostaria de ser tratado, e sua mãe e eu vou lidar com o resto." {He is still your brother, and you all must continue to love him. Just treat him the way you would want to be treated, and your mother and I will handle the rest.}
He directed his focus to his shaken-up daughter and said, "That includes you, Renata. Leave him alone. If I see you provoking him on purpose, you're not going to stay in our hollow. I will take you to Mônica's myself and have her watch over you until you've learned your lesson. Understand?"
"Sim, pai," she said dejectedly. {Yes, Dad.}
"Good answer. Now, are you alright?"
She chirped melancholically, "Sim." {Yes.}
Marquez nodded and went over to her, stroking her head a few times as his mate scooted back to give him room.
She then said, "I'll be right back, Marquez. You know why."
She turned and stalked off into the bushes, the rustling of the foliage continuing even after she hid herself completely. Silence descended upon the area, Marquez's children scrunching closer together to help appease their sister.
Jewel and I waddled closer as well, stopping abruptly as Isabel materialized eerily from the undergrowth that camouflaged her due to its color.
"Ah, that's better. Well, um, what should we do now, Marquez?" she asked.
He stood up and faced her, ready to reply, but Jewel spoke first.
"Isabel, Marquez, your son's gone."
Maxi's parents immediately looked in the direction of the tree, and I did the same, staring past Jewel. Maxi was no longer in sight, but I thought I could see some dark spots on the otherwise green turf.
"He didn't scream or call for help, so… maybe he got upset and ran off."
Marquez frowned.
"I think you might be right, Blu. I guess our mission now is to look for him. Would you and Jewel mind coming along?"
"Not at all, Marquez. We'll stick right behind you and help you find your son," I answered.
"Obrigado, meus amigos." {Thank you, my friends.}
The six moss-tinted birds began walking towards the jungle ahead of Maxi's last known location, the adults in the lead. Jewel and I jogged to catch up, slowing down before bumping into Sonia and Tomas.
Marquez and Isabel paused, and the rest of us halted accordingly.
Marquez stated, "All these wet spots are in a straight line. I think… I think they're Maxi's tears. If we follow them, I bet they'll lead us right to him."
The couple resumed walking, armed with the knowledge that would guide them to their crying child. We traveled steadily through the undergrowth, unchallenged by barriers in our path or hungry predators.
After about one-and-a-half minutes of walking, the maze of leaves and bushes began to thin out. I could see in between the gaps in the plants, and up ahead was the telltale glimmer of a concealed jungle pond.
The bodies in front of us ceased all motion, and I heard the senior macaws gasp.
Jewel and I walked past the chicks and came up on Isabel's left, looking out across a small clearing with a pristine pool of water sitting in the middle. And sitting right on the edge, with his feet straight out in front and his tail straight out behind, was Maxi, his wings and head hung down as he peered listlessly into the liquid.
He was no longer shedding tears, but the feathers on his cheeks were ruffled from being wiped repeatedly. He looked miserable, and though I didn't condone his assault on his sister, I felt bad for him.
He had made a poor choice, and I believe the shame and regret had strangled him and driven him off.
Isabel and Marquez stared at each other for the longest time, conveying a range of emotions with their eyes – or eye, in Marquez's case – until one of them gave in.
"I'll go talk to him, meu amor. Just stay put."
Isabel strode forwards at a turtle's pace, sliding in on his left side and crouching down next to him. I opened up my ears as I waited to see who would speak first… and it happened to be Maxi.
"You caught me. I didn't… listen to Dad. I left… without permission. Are you going… to slap me… too?" he mumbled, heartbroken.
"No no no, Maxi. Of course I won't. It's just that…"
She placed her left wing on his right, caressing it soothingly.
"You can't behave like that towards anyone, especially a member of your family, son. Violence isn't the answer."
"But… but… I can't help it. I get mad… and I can't… hold it back. It's who I am. What if I… never change? Every single bird… in this jungle… will hate me."
She went to massaging him up and down his back.
"You're still young, Maximino. Maybe you're going through a phase, or maybe what you said is sort-of true. But if you truly want to become a more likable macaw, your father and I will help you as best we can. You're our son, and we owe that to you."
For the first time, he tore his gaze away from the placid water and locked eyes with his mother.
"I… I do. I can't stand… who I am. But what if it's… too hard? Will you… and Dad… give up on me?"
"No, dear Maxi. Not now, not ever."
In a calculated motion, she enfolded him with her wings and hugged him.
"I love you, Maxi. Your father does too, and that's why he's trying to teach you to act better. It's called tough love, and it helps shape who we are."
There was a dramatic spell of silence, and Maxi showed his inner self when he sniffled and wept into her feathers.
"I'm sorry… Mom. I'm so sorry…"
"I forgive you, Maxi. It's alright. But go ahead and let it all out…"
He did so for a few more moving seconds, and then broke away from her. He made a beeline for Renata and casually approached her, surrounding her with a hug from his wings.
He whimpered, "I'm sorry… sister. Please forgive me. I'll never… hurt you again. I promise…"
"I accept your apology, brother. I still love you too," she confessed, minuscule tears forming in her eyes.
"So it's finally over," I said mutely, an endearing smile creeping onto my beak despite the circumstances.
Unfortunately, Isabel and Marquez heard me.
"I believe it is, Blu. Sometimes I wonder if all these kids will give me gray feathers early. Maybe I'm already doomed…" Isabel trounced up to him and pinched him in the side with her claws.
"Ouch! I was only joking, meu amor. C'mon, that wasn't nice," he squawked, rubbing the tender piece of skin with his wing.
"Oh, I know you were. I just did it anyways."
She smirked and hip-checked him lightly, then brushed her tail all over his stomach purposefully as she walked back to her children. Renata and Maxi were done embracing, the latter having mopped up his tears.
"You know, I'd like to head home and relax with the kids. It would be super nice if you and Jewel tagged along, Blu. Come to think of it, we've never hung around as one great big pile of birds before. What do you say?"
"I'm all for it, Isabel. It's a great idea."
"Wherever Blu goes, I go. Otherwise, I'd get lonely and start feeling gloomy."
I hobbled up to her and pecked her on the cheek.
"That was sweet, my angel. Thank you."
"Anytime, Mr. Lovehawk. Anytime."
"Well then, I guess that settles it. Off to our home we go! Just fly behind us, and we'll show you the way."
"You got it, Isabel," Jewel replied.
She spread her wings and blasted off first, Marquez chasing her. We waited until all five of their offspring had left the ground before doing the same. We formed a train of nine macaws, comprising one whole exuberant family, and in me and my mate's case, two-thirds of one.
As we flew, I spent some of my time checking up on Jewel behind me, and spent the rest staring at the backs of the toddler macaws. A thought congealed in my head, and right off the bat, I took it to heart.
One child isn't enough. I'll work hard next year to convince Jewel that we should try for more. The more, the merrier, as they always say back in the U.S.
I locked that thought away for safekeeping, and then another swooped into replace it.
But for now, I'll enjoy every moment I spend with my little Diamante. Wait, scratch that, our little Diamante. I already miss her, and I can't wait to see her again. But Ronaldo will take exquisite care of her, and she'll be back in a few hours. Ahhh, my life couldn't possibly be any more superior. Here and now is such a lovely place to be…
Final A/N:
Just ignore the cheesiness and predictability of what I am about to say. ;)
For all those who reviewed this fic, I must thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I would have lost the resolve to keep going if it wasn't for your perpetual support, and if I could, I would give each of you $1000 in cash. But since I can't, endless gratitude is all I have to offer. I salute you all for sticking with me through this journey as much as you stuck with the story I wrote.
Lastly, how can I forget hspar, the one who in essence loaned his story to me. It would have withered and died if he had not done so, and what may be one of the most renowned fics in this archive would have never existed. As for who is owed more credit, me or him, that is up for you all to decide.
Hspar, if you're reading this, I have to send you a humongous "thank you," as well as a "you're welcome." It was my honor and my pleasure, and despite the falling out we've had, I hope you will "walk away with this story in your heart forever," as you wanted it to in regards to the Rio audience.
However, there ain't no rest for the wicked authors like me. I still have The Warrior From Cydonia and Brave New World to finish, so I will be here for much longer.
P.S. Let me know in your reviews if my characterization of Nigel was correct. He speaks and thinks archaically, so I did my best to represent that. What do you guys think?
But for now, this is TS signing off. And in reference to NtY: TSC, I can finally say with glowing pride that we have finally reached...
THE END.
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