Azure paused before following Bia into another hollow, stopping to stare at the scene. The Kapok trees that had been the home of the Scarlet and Green-Winged macaws were deserted. He had been here once with his parents and siblings to visit Felipe and Azalea, but then, it had been bustling with life. Couples preened each other's feathers, chicks played and learned to fly, elderly told stories of their youth to the younger generation. The atmosphere had been bright and happy, and they had been greeted with smiles. The tree branches were dotted with countless red feathers, and macaws chattered away without a care in the world. But not now - it was lifeless. The Kapoks were silent. No red bodies moved in the leaves, no squawking. It was empty. This was wrong - it was never empty, surely?
"I've found something." Tiago emerged from one hollow, and Orchid turned to look. Tiago was holding something 'Y' shaped; roughly cut from wood, with a vine stretching between the 'Y' split. Orchid's eyes widened, fascinated, and she looked over his shoulder to look more closely.
"What is that?" She asked, curiously. Tiago frowned, hooking a talon onto the vine and tugging it. When he let go, the vine snapped back into place.
"Looks like what humans call a slingshot - I remember Fernando had one of these, before he broke one of Linda and Tulio's windows with it. He threw it away, afterwards, so that they wouldn't suspect it was his fault." Reminded of how Fernando had used it, he stooped and picked up a small pebble, placing it in the vine and pulling it back. After a moment, he took aim, and let it fly. The pebble whizzed through the air, and as Bia emerged from a nearby hollow, she threw herself on the branch beneath her as the pebble flew where her head had been seconds before. Tiago gasped. "Sorry, Bia!" His sister glared at him, before flying into the adjacent tree to search again.
"Woah." Orchid said, watching how far the pebble had flown. "If you used a bigger rock or a Brazil nut, that could be dangerous..." She took the slingshot, turning it over; then she frowned. "Look." She turned it upside down, running a talon over some scrape marks. The owner clearly had little respect for it, as the wood was covered in cracks and claw marks. Orchid peered at the claw scrapes. "Whoever this belonged to had bigger claws than a Red or Spix's macaw. And a large beak." The wood had also clearly been chewed - as if the user had been bored and started to gnaw on it. Tiago rested his beak on the wood to mimic the action, and his beak barely filled half the chew mark. This beak was that of a larger bird.
While the pair inspected the object, pondering over it's owner, Bruno and Carla were looking around the other hollows - every one they entered was shadowed by a sense of sadness. All the other hollows had red feathers strewn over the floor, and a dried red liquid they prayed was only fruit juice. Carla was crouching over something, shoulders slumped. Bruno frowned, before he walked to her side, looking down. His heart twisted in sorrow and pity. A shattered eggshell, but that was not all. The yolk was lying on the ground, shiny and yellow. When eggs hatched, a hatching emerged, and not the yolk. "It was broken before it had the chance to hatch." Carla murmured. Her head hung, and her eyes glistened with tears. "The poor parents." Carla couldn't imagine how the shattered egg's parents were feeling. She casted her eyes over to the nest - four egg-shaped dips were visible. It was untidy, nest material sprawled, as if the parents had been in a panicked rush to collect the eggs and get out. They must have dropped one in their frenzy.
"Oh, no..." Bruno whispered, feeling a pang of sorrow. Carla looked at him, before she wrapped her wings tightly around him, buried in the feathers of his chest. For a few moments, they remained there, before Bruno reached up to a flowery plant growing over their heads, placing it amongst the broken egg remains. It was only right. "Hopefully this was the only one." He said, praying that he was right.
Bia and Azure stood in what had been Felipe andvAzalea's nest. It was silent and empty, eerie. A few colourful pebbles lay in the corner, with small talon marks in the wood around it - it was likely that the pebbles had been played with, by Adele and Leti. The two young chicks were no where to be seen, and they prayed that the pair were safe. Bia noticed something on the wall, walking to it and managing a small smile. Fruit paint was streaked across this side of the wall, made by little claws - flowers, animals, stars. She had been the same at their age, painting over the walls of her room in their birdhouse in Rio.
"They've got talent." Azure remarked, looking at the paintings, hoping to make the atmosphere less depressing. It worked briefly, but they sank back to sadness within seconds.
"I just don't understand it." Said Bia, picking up a red feather, which she suspected was Azalea's. "What on earth happened? Everything was so positive when we left, other than mom... and..." Bia frowned. Dropping Azalea's feather, she noticed something dark in the corner of her eye - it didn't belong here. Slowly, she reached down, wrapping her talons around it as though it were made of the most delicate glass. A navy blue feather, long and belonging to a large wing. She compared it to Azalea's - the Red macaw matriarch's was still glossy, but this one had ragged edges, and it felt far from soft. She turned to Azure, raising it for him to see. "When we left, Azure. What was happening at the borders?" Azure was frowning at the dark blue feather.
"Trespassing... it didn't feel safe to go out alone. And it was all because..." Azure's eyes widened as he realized. "Hyacinths." The moment the word escaped his beak, there was a shouting from outside.
"Bia! Azure!" Someone was calling, in fear. "Get out here!" Startled, Bia shoved the feather into the bag, running outside to see what had happened. "Watch out!" She recognized it as Orchid's voice - it was that moment that something whizzed past her head, crashing into the tree trunk behind her. Bia spun round to see where it came from - but she didn't see who it was, as something grabbed her. At first, she was terrified, but she realized that was Azure, shielding her as rocks and all sorts of objects rained around them. Suddenly, wings seized them, and they were hauled out of the way, behind the tree trunk.
"What on earth is that?" Gasped Azure, pressing himself against the tree trunk as all kinds of missiles flew around them - rock shards, brazil nuts, seeds, stones. But Bia knew. They all knew, when Bia whipped the navy feather from the bag. The others stared in bewilderment, before snapping out of their trance. More flying matter pelted around them.
"We can't just stand here!" Carla exclaimed, eyes blazing with anger - she was angry that they were being targeted by stones, but she was also angry that their neighbours had been forced from their home - that was what it seemed like, and what was happening now seemed to confirm it. This had caused the adrupt end of an innocent life that hadn't even begun - she was furious. She wasn't thinking - she spun round, and flew into the open air.
"Carla!" Bruno shouted, startled. "What on earth are you doing?!" There was a series of grunts, from both Carla and somebody else - finally, the group knew Carla couldn't do this alone. But as they flew out, preparing to face an army, they were surprised - and relieved - to see that only two young Hyacinths were shooting at them, with slingshots like the one Tiago was holding. A light blue blur was darting over one, and the Hyacinth in question howling and trying to dislodge her attacker, pleading her companion to help - but he was ignoring her, only focusing at the five macaws flying for them. He tried to get a hit, but the Spix's macaws were too agile, missing each one.
"Nice miss!" Tiago crashed into the male, head-first, and they rolled on the branch, snapping and clawing. Bia shoved the bag of flowers into Orchid's talons, for she was steering clear of the inferno, before she, for the first time in her life, launched herself into a fight. Jewel had taught them self-defence from an early age, so she was prepared. But Bia didn't want to hurt this macaw. They needed answers, not bloodshed. She threw herself onto the male's left wing, only to get smacked as it floundered up and down, but as Azure grabbed the other wing, she got a firmer grip.
"Someone get us a vine!" She called; but then one was thrust into her talons by Orchid. Flashing her a grateful glance, Bia and Azure managed to pin the struggling male's wings against him, before Bia managed to tie the vine, binding his wings to his body. Carla and Bruno had had the same success, and now, the six were facing two Hyacinth macaws, both unable to move. The two glared up at their tribe enemies. This was the closest the group had ever been to their violent neighbours - and they looked fierce, despite the ones before them being not much older than themselves.
"Well isn't this nice?" Said the female, sarcastically. "Exactly what I wanted to do on my weekend. Talking to Spix's flea-bags."
"Enough insults." Said Carla, wings on her hips. The male looked up with a sneer.
"What up, fatty?" He snickered; this caused uproar. Azure grabbed Bruno, for he had surged forward to give the male a piece of his mind; Tiago seized a pebble, preparing it in the sling-shot and holding it there; while Bia and Orchid began calling the Hyacinths every name under the sun. Instead of tears, Carla surprised them. She launched herself forward, slapping and silencing the male. His female companion gasped, and shifted away from Carla. Hurt did not fill Carla's eyes - instead, it was pure rage. The others were shocked - last time she had been insulted in this way, she had fled in tears and refused to leave her room. Had her emotions strengthened since then? Maybe Bruno had had a good influence on her emotional wellbeing.
"Fatty? Your buddies will call you scarface, if you say that lie again." She said, warningly. Her threat wasn't genuine, but the two Hyacinths looked alarmed. Clearly, they hadn't expected the Spix's macaws to be fierce. Carla peered closely at the male's face, eyes narrowed. "Now, you and your little friend had better start giving us answers. What happened here?" She gestured around the Kapoks.
"You think we'd tell the likes of you?" Said the male, rudely, his voice heavy with arrogance. The six looked at each other. Maybe they'd resort to something else - something drastic. Not violent. A few minutes later, the two Hyacinths were shrieking in terror, their mask of ferocity all but gone. A vine was tied between the two, and they were shoved off the sides of the branches. The vine between them lay on the branch, while the two Hyacinths floundered upside-down, unable to fly with their wings bound under the vines.
"Okay! Okay!" Sqeauled the female, in fear. If the vine snapped, they would plummet toward the forest floor, and be unable to fly to stop themselves hitting the ground. Bia, Carla, Tiago, Azure, Bruno and Orchid stood on the branch, watching with a mixture of reluctance and amusement. They hadn't wanted to resort to these measures, but they weren't going to get the answers any other way. They wouldn't really cut the vine, obviously. "We'll talk!" The female continued. When helpless, the Hyacinths weren't as fierce as they made out. "Kerja - our leader - she devised a plan, which we dubbed the 'One at a time' plot." She ignored the glares and mutters of protest from her male companion. "Basically, she's driving you all out, one by one - the Reds, Spix's, and then the Blue-and-Golds. The Red macaw tribe haven't been here for over a week and few days - the adults all went in and flushed them out." The Spix's macaws couldn't believe their ears. What had happened, while they were gone?
"What happened to them?" Azure demanded. The male looked up, squinting to see him properly.
"They're with your tribe." He replied, bitterly. He narrowed his eyes, faint recognition lighting in them, looking from Azure to Orchid. "You two look familiar... are you Sophia's kids?"
"Ssh!" Hissed the female; but Orchid wasn't satisfied, upon hearing this. She moved her talon toward the vine, and the female hurriedly rushed to answer. "Okay! Uh... Sophia... she's fine now, but - " then there was a strange sound. They all lifted their heads. The two Hyacinths squirmed, trying furthur to free themselves. "That's the shell call... they use it to gather meetings - hey!" The female and male began protesting, when the six Spix's macaws raced toward the sound. "Don't leave us hanging here!"
"Be smart and use your beak!" Tiago shouted over his shoulder, before following the others. If they were to find out what was going on, this gathering would be the answer.
Meanwhile
Mimi rolled her eyes. This was getting boring. It had taken a few hours to gather all the kids in the ravine together, and unlike the elderly, who only complained about the long journey, the kids were restless and many kept trying to sneak away. There had been debate over eggs; the Red macaws were especially fearful, as one unfortunate family had accidentally dropped one in their frenzy to escape the seiged Kapoks. The egg problem had later been resolved by the eggs being guarded and hidden deep within the secret cave, behind the waterfall. The eggs had the parents' names carefully written on the surface with fruit paint, to avoid mix-ups. That would be a disaster. She cleared her throat, and, for the sixth time, tried to address the kids before her without being interrupted. "Right, littleuns! Stay still, we need everyone accounted for - we'll start with the ladies! Right, in alphabetical order -"
"Littleuns? There's teenagers here!" Someone protested, from the back of the crowd.
"Who cares what we call you, Augustus? This is very important! Now, as I was saying - when your name is callled -" Mimi held up the long list, a large palm leaf scribbled with names. "You are to say 'Present!' Or something suitable and similar, nothing silly! Now, I will begin! You know what, forget gender and alphabetical order - Echo... Deltia... Elsa... Isaac... Bromeliad... Bromeliad?"
"Psst!" A young male named Kai poked Bromeliad. Bromeliad jolted out of her daydream, startled. Isaac pointed to the front, where Mimi was craning her neck and searching.
"Present!" Bromeliad exclaimed, before sinking back into her mood. She wasn't happy, and neither were the crowd around her. The crowd consisted of young chicks, and teenagers like herself and Isaac. Her brother stood on her right, while other kids huddled on her left, Green-Winged, Scarlet and Spix's. She wasn't usually claustrophobic, but since there were over a hundred young macaws gathered around her, this was an exception.
Bromeliad didn't want to be separated from Isaac, so she had to cling onto his wing like she was a kid. It was embarrassing, but they had almost lost each other in the crowd more than four times. Anxious parents were gathered in the trees around, keeping eyes on their children to ensure they didn't wander off. Bromeliad could sense that Roberto was watching them, from somewhere. She missed him and Sophia already. But at least Sophia was safe, and away from the inevitable battle. Bromeliad missed her terribly - they had only been reunited for a small amount of time, afterall.
In front of Bromeliad and Isaac, Adele and Leti looked tiny, amongst the older teenagers. They were very young, barely over half Isaac's height, and they should've been with the younger kids, but they wanted to stay close to somebody they knew well. Bromeliad and Isaac were like cousins to the pair, and they wanted to keep an eye on them. It took almost ten minutes for Mimi to finish striking off names on the list - but finally, every child was gathered, and they were ready to go. Isaac looked up, beside Bromeliad, frowning at the sky. "Look at that cloud... I think there's a storm coming." Bromeliad looked up, the feathers on her neck pricking. It was getting close to evening, but the sky was already dark - darkened from storm clouds. She had a terrible feeling that today was the day. The day of Kerja trying to begin her reign of tyranny.
As Bromeliad felt the crowd begin to move toward the ravine entrance, she clung onto Isaac even tighter, trying to stay by him as well as keep an eye on the red feathers of Adele and Leti. As they moved, Bromeliad's sense of terror intensified. Her two missing siblings and her other friends were still missing. Jewel was in a critical condition. A storm was coming their way, promising rain and thunder. And another, made of feathers and talons. One of those storms was about to unleash havoc upon her home.