Attack of the Flying Foxes and the Battle for the Sanctuary- edited

by VPVPVP

The Sanctuary de Amazon becomes threatened with takeover by a colony of winged mammals who view all birds of the rainforest as vermin. When all peaceful shots fail and the threat becomes critical, the avian inhabitants are left with no choice but to resort to extreme measures to protect their homes, even if it means using violence and waging the biggest war in history.

20. 20- vexing revelation

Chapter 20- a vexing revelation about what the flying foxes had done

The Navyfeather Clan and the glaucous tribe's home patch

The Navyfeather hyacinth macaws and the glaucous macaws of Rudi and Valeria's tribe, together with some other bird species, non-tribe and clan residents that lived on the territory that were visiting them, swarmed the trees. Hyacinth macaws and some glaucous macaws were busily hoarding fruit from the territory into a storage tree based on safety concerns for the regular foraging groups with the flying foxes continuously roaming around. Among the non-tribe and clan birds visiting were Falkor the milicinth macaw, Fedor the hoatzin and his family consisting of a female hoatzin named Rafflesia and their son, Hedor, who resembled his father to a very great extent, and Ámbar, the lutino blue-and-gold macaw. Falkor, Ámbar and the hoatzin family had moved in with the Navyfeathers and glaucous macaws with the other non-tribe and clan birds for their safety.

Falkor the milicinth macaw was talking with Flavio, Marinho, Phoebe and Cobalto and Rudi, Valeria, Levi and Lapis Lazuli about the flying fox situation while Phoebe and Cobalto's offspring, Zebedee and Indigo and their younger sister Violet, Levi and Lapis Lazuli's offspring Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie and their closest friends, Neytiri and Aiden, Victor and Penelope, were chatting together. Juan, the cousin of Neytiri was helping his mother Michelle with the hoarding of fruit and other food but he and Neytiri had been banned from leaving the home patch, especially after what had happened to a class at the wings of a group of flying foxes, as well as the fact that the attacks had become more violent for the bats now had a goal in mind; kidnapping some individuals to haul back to their colony's territory for interrogation. With Tristan's group was Hedor, Fedor and Rafflesia's young son who had just reached maturity. However, when he had been very young, at least a few days after his hatching when Levi, Phoebe and their families had met him first time, Hedor's plumage was nothing more than a covering of chocolate brown downy feathers and fringed feathers along his wings. Hedor also had two clawed fingers on his wings, which Fedor and Rafflesia had noted to the former city birds that this was a normal feature of hoatzin chicks and that they soon disappear as they mature. As Hedor grew up, like all hoatzins, his wing fingers vanished and his fluffy brown down became replaced with the adult plumage. Archaeobird chicks also had unfused fingers but those fingers were a permanent part of those birds, unlike hoatzins whose fingers eventually reduced as they matured. Because Hedor was only little more than a year old, he was still quite small, almost like a mini version of his father. As he grew up, he had become friends with Levi and Phoebe's offspring and friends.

"I can't believe we have had to leave behind our living spots to move here for our safety," muttered the young adult hoatzin with yearning to return to his neighbourhood where he and his parents lived, "I miss our tree and flowers so badly. So do most of the other birds including the red-fronted macaws."

"After that attack on the class of hyacinth macaws by a group of flying foxes the other day, Hedor," said Aiden as he sat with Trixie, "There's no chance." His gaze then turned to Tristan, Quincy, Larimar, and Trixie next to him. "And I'm so glad that your mother wasn't present when it happened as well," he continued, "Had she been there, I think the awful memories of the previous siege on our tribe when she was an adolescent would have been greatly triggered."

Then Trixie breathed a sad sigh, a sombre look overtaking her face.

"But though we have not had a direct attack from a group of those bats," she said, "We did suffer an indirect blow from another group of those winged mammals."

The others immediately knew what she was referring to: the deaths of Trixie and her three siblings' younger brother, and Levi and Lapis Lazuli's younger son Charlie and Ozzy, the younger brother of Miranda, Jasmine and Annette and D'Artagnan and Sapphire's youngest son. Since that day, Lapis Lazuli had spent most of her time in the hollow weeping with Levi trying to comfort her and Miranda, who had completely blamed herself for these losses, had completely remained in her family's hollow refusing to speak to anyone as reported by some visiting Lear's macaws yesterday and at one point she had had a bitter falling out with her sisters Jasmine and Annette who had tried to comfort her only to be pushed away by the harsh outbursts from their older sister. D'Artagnan, Sapphire and even Waldo and Monique had also been deterred by Miranda's angry demands that they leave her alone. Trixie's eyes stared sadly into the air as she imagined the depressed Lear's macaw as she continued to drown herself in utter self-pity and blame over the loss of Charlie and Ozzy. Tristan then shook his head in disgust.

"It's horrible what these bats are doing," he muttered, "Attacking innocent chicks and killing them, causing all of us misery and trouble by roaming around our territories…"

"And not making us feel safe out there," added Penelope in agreement. Her gaze then turned to Zebedee who nodded in agreement. He shuddered as he remembered the other day, the same day on which Ozzy and Charlie were found dead, when he was spooked by flashes of drab colour appearing and disappearing in a blink of an eye, and how Neytiri had seen a shadowy figure gaze at her maliciously, leading her to suggest to the others to leave. It was obviously true of the majority of birds. They felt safe when they were with their tribe, clan or group-mates bout out there, even with a group, the feeling of dread and fear clung to them like forest debris. Tristan and the others had noticed this in the faces of the birds that had been out on foraging trips to gather fruit, especially Juan, Neytiri's cousin. His eyes had been flickering about the environment and his feathers had stood on end as though he had expected something to jump out and attack him. It was the exact same feeling Neytiri and Zebedee had felt; the fear that something or someone was watching them from the shadows and poised to pounce on them and attack like a jaguar. It was a horrible feeling and it was very intimidating which appeared to be one of the flying foxes' infamous tricks. Then Quincy moved on to another subject. He began to fiddle with a leaf, his eyes gazing sadly at it.

"I wonder how Eragon and Andromeda's clan is doing," he said, "Apparently, some of our tribe and clan members had been observing groups of flying foxes entering their territory too."

"Probably the same feelings of uncertainty and fear as us, I think," said Indigo, her eyes flashing at Violet occasionally as she sat perched on a small branch watching the food gatherers sort the fruit, nuts and various plant material, not looking at her, Zebedee, Penelope, Victor or Hedor and the glaucous macaws. Victor then gazed this way and that, a curious frown forming on his face.

"Come to think of it, though," he said, "we haven't at all seen much of the archaeobirds as of recent, apart from Spock, Ophiuchus, Honeydew and some other archaeobirds' visit to the Spix tribe the other day."

He then raised a wing and pushed his fruit-shell hat into its place as it went lopsided.

"Perhaps they're trying to stay safe after that flying fox attack on them, Tiago and some others?" asked Larimar curiously, "I've heard that Spock was almost taken away, along with Tiago, Lavender and Azul I think it was."

"One of the other blue-and-gold macaws that had accompanied the foraging group, named Winona had suffered a dislocated wing, didn't she, while Glimmergem had her wing fractured by a club-armed flying fox and Sergio was stabbed by a sharp-stick," said Zebedee, "Glimmergem's bat-bird, however, was fatally stabbed while some others were injured but not too seriously."

"Those three are at the hospital being treated," said Neytiri, "But at least they'll get some respite from the flying fox trouble for a few days or perhaps weeks."

"We heard all about it," said Hedor, "And you should have seen the reactions of Mom, Dad, Mr Falkor and Miss Ámbar when your father told them, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie. They had been utterly flabbergasted."

"And what's even more surprising," added Tristan, "The warning that the flying foxes are planning an attack and invasion of our land as well as kidnapping some of us for information has been divulged by a family of those bats. Now that is unusual…"

"Maybe there are some flying foxes in that colony who sympathise with us birds and disagree with their colony's teaching that we are vermin?" asked Hedor.

"Well, I wouldn't count on that possibility existing," said Trixie with a frown, "Based on the encounters most of our friends have had with those flying mammals, all they've faced was vicious attacks and loss of families and friends."

"One example being Uncle Roberto from the Spix macaws," said Zebedee, "not to mention it happening right before his capture by poachers and whisked away to be sold as a pet."

"And even more unfortunate that he had been purchased by the parents of a human girl who was very abusive to him," said Indigo, growling the last bit of the sentence with disgust. She, Zebedee and the other chicks had been told by their parents about how some humans were incredibly cruel and abusive to their animals and it was one of the things the group had learned from the book Black Beauty which their parents had sometimes read to them when they lived in Rio, and Indigo and Zebedee had come to despise cruel humans. Zebedee then opened his beak to say something but then he closed it, having changed his mind.

While Zebedee and company were talking, Violet saw a flash of colour enter the Navyfeathers' home patch. Immediately, she called the others.

"Guys, look," she shouted. Zebedee, Indigo, Penelope, Victor, Hedor, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, Aiden and Neytiri all gathered around her.

"Aren't those birds some of the blue-throated macaws?" asked Violet, pointing to the figures entering the trees. Zebedee and Indigo both flashed her a surprised glance when suddenly, the air above the Navyfeather Clan's home trees became flooded with horrified gasps, followed by dozens of navy blue and grey and turquoise or blue comets as glaucous and hyacinth macaws left their perches and converged towards the unexpected arrivals. Penelope recognised one of the blue and yellow macaws.

"Isn't that… Mr Reynaldo, the leader of the blue-throated macaw clan and his family?" she asked. Suddenly, several rushes of air made her jump. Zebedee and Indigo, together with Tristan, Trixie, Aiden and Neytiri, had lofted into flight. Penelope, Victor, Hedor, Violet, Quincy and Larimar, who remained behind, exchanged concerned glances with each other.

"By the sounds of things," said Hedor, "Looks like another awful thing has happened."

The others said nothing.

Some of the Navyfeather hyacinth macaws and glaucous macaws, among them Phoebe, Cobalto, Flavio, Levi, and Falkor the milicinth macaw, swooped towards the new arrivals which were indeed Reynaldo, Anita and their son Edson, together with Violeta, Arlo and Vincente, as they wearily flee into the Navyfeather Clan's home patch. When Zebedee, Indigo, Tristan, Trixie, Neytiri and Aiden slowed to a hover, they jerked their heads up and gasped in horror when they saw the state of the group. The three hyacinth macaws and the three blue-throated macaws were covered in half-healed scratches and other wounds as well as bald patches where feathers had been ripped out. However, the hyacinth macaws looked worse than the blue-throated macaws. While Reynaldo, his mate and his son were covered in a few cuts and bruises and a few bald patches, Violeta, Vincente and Arlo bore more serious injuries. A large half-healed gash ran across Violeta's forehead and she looked like she was struggling to fly. Her plumage, which usually had its sleek, lustrous violet-tinted navy blue coat of feathers, was tattered and torn with numerous bald patches, half-healed scratches and blooms of bruises crisscrossing and dotting it like deforested patches of forest, and much of Violeta's tail was missing. Her ponytail was completely in ruins with one or two feathers hanging from where it used to be and her dark blue eyes, which were flooded with tiredness, trauma, hunger and desperation, glided over the incoming Navyfeather macaws and glaucous macaws. Her two sons, Vincente and Arlo, flanked her, their mother's expression mirrored on their faces. Like their mother, their navy blue plumage was tattered and torn with loads of bruises, half-healed cuts and tooth marks and bald patches slashing through the once-sleek navy blue coating. Vincente's eyes were red, a sign he had been crying for hours, and Arlo had a large swelling above his right eye, right outside the yellow ring enclosing it. The swelling was so large that it had reduced Arlo's eye area to about half, like how an eyelid would cover half the eye when one was half-asleep, so his right eye so his eye was partially closed and he found flying very painful. Zebedee then noticed that two of the macaws were missing from Vincente's side. Normally, Vincente was seen with his mate Ligia and daughter Nadia, but they were missing. As he began to wonder why they weren't with Vincente and why his eyes were red, bloodshot and tear-stained, an idea entered his head but it was one that made him flinch.

As the horrified Navyfeather hyacinth macaws, glaucous macaws and some other birds converged on the battered group of six macaws with the rest of the birds looking on from the trees, surprised looks on their faces, Flavio, who was the first to arrive with Falkor, Phoebe and Cobalto, said, "Violeta, Reynaldo, guys! Look at the state of you! What happened?"

The group of Navyfeather hyacinth macaws and glaucous macaws began to help Violeta and company to a branch while Falkor called to a group of glaucous macaws to fetch in some nurses. As the six were helped along, Violeta began to gaze around at the crowd.

"Are you lot able to do us a favour?" she called, "We need a place to stay."

"However, it is not just us, me, Violeta and our families," added Reynaldo, "But our two clans and the other residents who are waiting outside your home patch."

This made reluctant grumbles roll through the crowd. Zebedee, Indigo, Tristan, Trixie, Aiden and Neytiri, as well as Penelope, Violet, Victor, Larimar, Quincy and Hedor who had joined them, exchanged confused glances. Then Anita began to explain why they were here and how they had been reduced to a wounded mess.

"Last night, we were violently driven out of our homes by a huge cloud of flying foxes," she shouted, loud enough for all the birds to hear. This was met by rolls of horrified gasps and Zebedee and his group actually flinched as well.

"It can't be," whispered Zebedee in disbelief.

"How?" asked Penelope, "How could a pair of tough clans like the Bluewings and the blue-throated macaws be driven out by those bats so easily?"

As Violeta and the other five were placed on a perch, Violeta, wincing from her injuries' pains continued the explanation.

"It happened around midnight," she called, "There was just so many of them. They came upon us so suddenly that we were forced to hastily evacuate our homes. However, over three-quarters of my clan, the Bluewings, had died, having sacrificed themselves trying to protect the blue-throated macaws and the other members of my clan from those savage furballs. Vincente has lost his mate and daughter and Demetrio has gone missing..."

Violeta struggled to balance on the perch for her talons were also covered in cuts and bruises. However, Falkor and Phoebe caught her and helped her to stand on the perch. As Violeta explained what had happened to Vincente's mate Ligia and daughter Nadia, tears began to well up in Vincente's eyes and spill down his cheeks as he began crying again and his brother Arlo also began to weep. Zebedee and his group hovered by, sympathetic looks in their eyes as they gazed at the heartbroken young male hyacinth macaw and his brother.

"Sounds like Vincente has lost his family during that siege his mother was on about," said Penelope with dread.

"Just like how Uncle Roberto lost his family to a group of flying foxes when he was a chick," whispered Zebedee. Victor, Hedor, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, Indigo, Aiden and Neytiri just said nothing and continued to gaze at Vincente as he began to release another torrent of tears and sobs. Based on his bloodshot eyes, it was obvious that he had been crying a lot last night.

As Zebedee's group hovered there, Phoebe and Cobalto's eyes landed on them, as did those of Hedor's parents, Fedor and Rafflesia as they helped Reynaldo and his family, making them flinch.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," said Phoebe, much to the group's relief.

"However, we might need your help," said Fedor firmly. Zebedee and Indigo shot a gaze at Violet, Penelope, Victor, Hedor, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, Aiden and Neytiri who then exchanged confused glances, wondering what the male hoatzin meant by 'needing their help'? However, the answer came when they heard Flavio and Rudi call out to some macaws nearby and give them commands.

"I want you lot to help in Violeta and Reynaldo's clans and the other, non-clan birds that live with them into our home patch," called Flavio, "And also help any parents carry their unhatched eggs and chicks too young to fly and any bird that cannot fly at all due to injuries."

"While you guys," added Rudi to a group of glaucous macaws and a few more Navyfeather hyacinth macaws nearby, "I want you lot to help prepare any spare tree hollows, any space you have in your own hollows and also the small underground caves for Violeta and Reynaldo's clans while they are helped into our home patch. Find any moss and other nesting material and also gather the surplus fruit we had hoarded and bring them to their temporary lodging…"

As the glaucous tribe patriarch said this, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, Aiden and Neytiri heard Levi call out to them. The six glaucous macaws' heads darted to him and they saw Levi who hovered with Michelle and Juan, beckon to them with a talon to follow them. Obviously he wanted the six glaucous macaws to help with the preparations. Tristan flashed a glance at Zebedee, Indigo, Victor, Penelope, Violet and Hedor and said, "We'd better be off. Dad wants us to help set up the spare trees and whatnot."

And with that he, his girlfriend, two sisters and brother and Aiden darted off after Levi while Zebedee, Indigo, Violet, Penelope, Victor and Hedor approached Phoebe, Cobalto, Marinho, Falkor and Fedor. Rafflesia and Ámbar had left to help with the tree setup while Phoebe then led Zebedee's group and some other macaws toward the entrance to the Navyfeather Clan's home patch. As they flew along, Penelope wore a disgusted facial look.

"I can't believe what has happened to Mrs Violeta's clan and the other birds last night," she muttered.

"It's just like what happened to the previous clans and tribes of macaws and other birds," said Victor. Zebedee then flashed a glance at the glaucous macaws and said, "Not to mention Rudi's tribe when they were driven out violently by those flying foxes."

"Those bats are a bunch of savage FURBALLS, honestly," snarled Falkor stormily, his amber eyes ablaze with amber flames and his green and teal plumage with a sprinkle of navy blue tips on his chest feathers, all showing his military/hyacinth heritage flared out like the fur of an enraged city cat. Indigo and Violet slowly distanced themselves from the enraged milicinth macaw. Falkor rarely got angry or lost his temper but based on what had happened to Violeta and Reynaldo's clans last night, he was truly furious and the look of thunder on his face was like a storm cloud flashing lightning. Furthermore, his puffed out appearance made him look terrifying. But despite his frightening look, it was understandable; what the flying foxes had done was utterly abominable. However, Falkor had to remain focussed on helping the devastated Bluewing hyacinth clan, or the survivors of it, and the blue-throated macaws and the other birds.

Soon, a colourful cloud of birds, the majority of it rich blue and yellow-orange and some splashes of turquoise from the blue-throated macaws and some navy blue from the Bluewing hyacinth macaws, with the remaining different colours due to various species of non-tribe or clan residents that resided on the territory of the Bluewing and blue-throated macaw clans, slowly entered the Navyfeather Clan and glaucous tribe's home patch, where the Navyfeather hyacinth macaws and glaucous macaws began to guide them to either their hollows, unused hollows in the spare trees yet to be used and the small caves where nests, food and bedding were being set up and prepared. Chicks too young to fly (often referred to as 'under-flight aged chicks) and eggs were carried by some hyacinth and glaucous macaws, the parents of those eggs and chicks flying close by to prevent mix-ups. Many of the surviving hyacinth macaws of the Bluewing Clan were, like Violeta, Vincente and Arlo, covered with bald patches, tattered feathers, half-healed cuts and bruises and looked very weary. Like Violeta had said, around a quarter of the clan had managed to escape the siege of the flying foxes last night. Most of the blue-throated macaws, however, had survived but quite a few of them were also covered with cuts, bruises, bald patches and tattered feathers. All of the birds wore facial expressions consisting of a concoction of devastation, heartbreak, tiredness, fear, trauma and desperation, all the result of the unexpected attack from a bunch of black and red war-paint donning bats that looked terrifying in the light of the full moon, armed with various weapons, mostly sharp-sticks and the subsequent loss of their home and friends and family. Many of the birds also had bloodshot eyes and young chicks and adolescent Bluewing hyacinth and blue-throated macaws bore extremely frightened looks on their faces.

Zebedee, Indigo, Penelope and Victor helped to carry a clutch of eggs and a chick for a blue-throated macaw family, the parents of the chick and eggs nearby along with an older sister while Hedor and Violet were somewhere else helping with other things. The four young hyacinth macaws, together with Cobalto and Pedro, Victor's father, guided the blue-throated macaw family towards Rodrigo's hollow where Rodrigo, Lapis Lazuli's childhood friend and ex-boyfriend who had a mate and two chicks, were waiting, for he and his family had three spare rooms in their hollow, plenty of room for a family of macaws their size. As Zebedee gently placed one of the eggs into a nest constructed by Rodrigo in one of the spare rooms with the help of Rodrigo's mate for he was small enough to enter a glaucous macaw's hollow, much to the grateful gazes of the egg's parents and its older sister, he turned to fly back out and help another group of macaws or family when his eyes landed on someone familiar. As recognition took hold, he drew in a horrified gasp.

"What is it, Zebedee?" asked Penelope. Suddenly, a sharp gasp entered her beak when she heard Tristan's voice ring out, alongside a teal-tinted turquoise and grey comet, followed by five more similarly coloured comets, behind him rush towards a certain group of blue-throated macaws.

"It's our friend Ariel's family!" shouted Tristan to the group, before his gaze whipped to the family of blue-throated macaws and he called out their names, "Eriko, Carolina, Fernanda, Peitro, Wanda!"

Immediately, Zebedee's wings shot open and he hastily took to the air. Indigo, Victor and Penelope followed against Cobalto and Pedro's protests.

"Um, guys, you're not…" began Cobalto but he felt a wing on her own wing. Feeling this, he turned to Rodrigo who shook his head which spoke, "Let them go to Ariel's family". Cobalto then abandoned his plan of chasing down the four young hyacinth macaws and returned to helping the blue-throated macaw family settle into Rodrigo's hollow, Pedro (Victor's father), helping. Seconds later, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, together with Neytiri and Aiden and eventually Zebedee, Indigo, Penelope and Victor who joined the six glaucous macaws seconds later, hovered around the weary Eriko and his remaining family. Like most of the other blue-throated macaws, Eriko, Carolina, Fernanda, Peitro and Wanda looked weary, battered and traumatised, the look of trauma especially plastered on the faces of the two youngest members and Tristan gasped when he saw that Wanda had a small cut on her face. However, it wasn't too serious and her brother Peitro looked unmarked as well. But their older sister, mother and father looked worse.

Small half-healed cuts and grazes marked their rich blue and yellow-orange plumages, alongside some bald patches where feathers had been torn out, but Fernanda bore two larger and longer gashes running from her left cheek, down her neck, slicing through the blue patch on her throat, and ending at her chest. When Zebedee examined where the gashes ran, he flinched as he realised that one of the two gashes ran dangerously close to a critical area of the neck. He knew that an important artery and vein of the neck, the carotid artery and the jugular vein, ran through there and the edge of the gash was a few millimetres from them. Had the injury been inflicted those millimetres closer to the critical area, the result would have been fatal and bloody. Fernanda's left eye was surrounded by a purple-black bloom and her crest had been reduced to nothing more than a single feather. Carolina, the mother, looked bedraggled with cuts and bruises marking her body and some of her crest feathers were missing. Then Zebedee and the other three hyacinth macaws and the six glaucous macaws, as they surrounded the blue-throated macaw family who only wearily gazed back at them, noticed that Ariel was not with them. Where was she? Before Indigo could deliver that question, Levi and Lapis Lazuli flew in and began to help Eriko and his remaining family members. It was at that moment that Neytiri's eyes caught sighted a flash of blue and yellow nearby. Immediately, she gazed at the blue and yellow form as it flew alongside two larger hyacinth macaws. Another hyacinth macaw, a chick, was nestled in the toes one of the larger one's talons and flying alongside him was a male aqua blue and yellow bird. At first Neytiri thought he was a blue-throated macaw but then she noticed something different about him. She noticed that his throat patch was black and not blue as in a blue-throated macaw, and that his forehead was green, a feature that the similar blue-throated macaws lacked. His wing feathers were a darker aqua blue than the rest of his back plumage and he had pale pink eyes. Like everyone else entering the Navyfearther Clan's home patch, he looked weary, traumatised and was marked with a few cuts and bruises, bald patches and his back bore some larger scratches.

Neytiri then felt recognition sweep over her like a gust of wind.

"Guys," she called the others, "Isn't that…?"

Suddenly, someone's voice blasted out the name of the macaw, finishing Neytiri's sentence and answering the question for her friends.

"WILBUR!"

Zebedee, Penelope, Indigo, Victor, and Tristan, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie and Neytiri as well all flinched. Then a turquoise and grey blur shot towards the blue-and-gold macaw, followed by a rich blue and yellow streak. Zebedee and the others then darted off after Eriko (who had handed Peitro and Wanda to Carolina) and Levi as they rocketed towards the aqua blue and yellow macaw with the three hyacinth macaws, two males and a female, one of the males being a chick. As soon as Levi and Eriko had reached Wilbur, who was accompanied by the badly shaken Gloria, Buddy and Matheus, the chick in his talons and his younger brother, the blue-and-gold macaw was met with a relieved hug from Levi, moments before Zebedee's group came in. Wilbur squirmed as his glaucous 'uncle' almost suffocated him. Then after Levi broke his hug with him, Eriko began to weep over indescribable relief that Wilbur had managed to survive the siege last night.

"I thought you'd have died last night when you came to visit us," he cried in a splintered voice, tears falling like rain from his eyes.

"When Violeta explained what had happened to these clans last night," said Levi as the group landed on a branch to talk, "We had been utterly horrified."

Wilbur wearily looked up at his glaucous macaw 'uncle' and sighed. Next to Levi, Zebedee and his group perched to hear the traumatised blue-and-gold macaw's explanation.

"It was like living in a horror story, honestly," said the oldest son of Porthos and Orquidea, shuddering at what he had witnessed last night. "Those bats were absolutely terrifying. They were entirely black from head to foot with red streaks on their faces, wings and bodies, and all of them wielded spear-like sticks and other weapons which they used to slaughter countless hyacinth macaws in a bloody massacre." He then nodded to Buddy, Gloria and Matheus who squirmed in his brother's wings, "I tried rescuing my friend Casper's girlfriend and his family while Casper himself went to rescue the golden conures and some of the other residents but sadly, I only made it out with these three here. Both the parents of Buddy, Matheus and Casper, as well as Gloria's parents, were sadly killed…"

"Do you know where Casper is now?" asked Zebedee. Wilbur at first gazed at the young hyacinth macaw but then tears welled in his eyes as a feeling of dread came over him. Then when his emotions reached breaking point, he began to break down. He fell to his front; wings clasped over his face and began to sob uncontrollably, loud sobs escaping his beak. Buddy, Gloria and Matheus went over to hug him, Gloria especially weeping over her boyfriend's apparent demise. Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie did the same. Levi and Eriko gazed at each other, sympathy flooding their faces but Eriko understood the horrors Wilbur faced last night but could not believe that he was actually there when it happened. It was then that the branch shuddered as a heavy teal and green bird with navy blue wings and chest landed.

"I can't believe how many lives had been lost from the Bluewing Clan from the siege last night," said Falkor, "But I believe the Bluewings had been incredibly brave to protect the blue-throated macaw clan from certain complete slaughter…"

"We're the only clan of blue-throated macaws alive in Brazil anyway," said Eriko, "Descended from the only flock of blue-throated macaws that live in Bolivia when our ancestors migrated to here, similar to how the Lear's macaw tribe's ancestors had migrated from Bahia to settle here…"

"Your species is incredibly rare and critically endangered too," said Falkor, "Sort of like the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws…"

Eriko sighed in agreement.

Suddenly, more commotion arose near the entrance of the Navyfeather Clan's home patch entrance. Aiden traced the focal point of the commotion and when he recognised someone familiar enter the home patch, he gasped in immense surprise.

"Guys, LOOOK!" he cried and pointed to the said focal point. Zebedee, Eriko, Wilbur, Levi and the others all followed Aiden's point and when their eyes landed on another cloud of birds, this time with more colours with fewer blue and navy blue forms, led by a large, navy blue form at the front, they, especially Buddy, Gloria, Matheus and Wilbur felt immense joy and relief splash over them.

"CASPER!" cried Wilbur and Gloria at the same time and with that, their wings shot out and the two rocketed towards the hyacinth macaw at the front. Buddy, with Matheus in his talons again, followed closely behind. Levi, Eriko, Zebedee, Falkor and the others also took off after them. Around the group, more hyacinth and glaucous macaws converged on the newcomers. Casper, who flew at the front, gazed around at the wave of birds approaching him. Behind him flew dozens and dozens and dozens of birds of various species, most of them golden conures. Among the conures were Citrine and Caspian. Like the remaining Bluewing hyacinth macaws and the blue-throated macaw clan, the non-tribe and clan residents and Casper wore traumatised and tired looks and some of them, including Casper, appeared bedraggled with cuts, bruises and bald patches marking their bodies. Caspian's right eye was surrounded by a blue-black bruise and Citrine was missing most of her crest. However, they were glad to be in the safety of friends.

Wilbur, Gloria, Buddy and Matheus rocketed towards Casper, shouting his name. Casper looked up and when he saw four familiar forms, one of them his girlfriend, joy explosively broke through the rock of sadness, devastation and trauma. Without hesitation, he shouted back the names of his girlfriend, blue-and-gold friend and brothers and the moment the five met, they were locked in a group hug with Gloria and Casper especially sharing a tight one. While the four hyacinth macaws and blue-and-gold were locked in their group embrace, Zebedee, Victor, Penelope and Indigo flew over to Caspian and Citrine while Falkor and some hyacinth and glaucous macaws began to guide the other non-tribe and clan residents to various refuge spots. Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie, Neytiri and Aiden had been called by Levi to help with this. Flashing a glance each at Zebedee and the other three as they flew away, Tristan promised that they will see to Citrine, Caspian and Casper later. Then after Casper, Wilbur, Gloria, Matheus and Buddy had broken their hug, Casper saw that his parents, and those of Gloria, were missing. Turning to Wilbur, he asked the silent question. However, Wilbur, Gloria and Buddy only replied with looks of sombre, which implied to Casper only one thing. When realisation came over the male hyacinth macaw, his joy melted to immense grief and anguish.

"I'm so sorry, Casper," said Gloria quietly, tears beginning to well in her eyes again. Wilbur, Buddy, Matheus and Casper's eyes also began to well with tears and soon, the five began to release sobs and break down, the others looking on with sympathy.

Flavio flew in with Phoebe and Cobalto and looked on, sympathy also written all over their faces as Casper, his girlfriend, two brothers and blue-and-gold macaw friend began to sob uncontrollably. Zebedee, Indigo, Victor and Penelope also exchanged glances.

"Uncle Porthos, Aunt Orquidea and Azul, Wilbur's family, are gonna be seriously horrified when they hear about all this," whispered Indigo with dread. Zebedee, Victor and Penelope only gazed back at her, worried looks on their faces. What were Porthos and Orquidea going to say and how were they going to react after they hear what had almost happened to one of their sons? The four young hyacinth macaws dreaded to think of their reaction. Then Eriko came forward and placed a gentle wing onto Wilbur's shoulder as he continued hugging Casper and weeping.

"You were very brave, Wilbur," he said gently. Wilbur, feeling a warm pulse of comfort roll through him from Eriko's wing, slowly looked up at the blue-throated macaw and Ariel's father. Then Flavio came in.

"At least you've managed to get your friend's girlfriend and brothers out of that hellish night last night," he said. Wilbur just sighed.

Mom actually sacrificed herself to save Wilbur from being impaled by one of the flying foxes with its sharp-stick," said Buddy in an edgy voice, "Had she not done that, Wilbur would have been…"

He daren't say the dreaded 'k' word and the very thought of that bat harvesting one of the young blue-and-gold macaw's feathers as a trophy, gloating over his death, made him wince with immense revulsion. Then a look of immense outrage crossed Flavio's face. Hearing the sobs of the surviving hyacinth macaws of the Bluewing Clan, the blue-throated macaws and the resident non-tribe and clan birds who lived on their territory and seeing the looks of devastation, trauma, distress, anguish… I could probably fill half a page with all the emotions the poor birds had on their faces but I don't have time, but in a nutshell, the immense concoction of negative emotions on the faces of the macaws and the other birds especially the chicks, as well as their injuries and the loss of families and friends many had faced had finally pushed the Navyfeather Clan patriarch over the edge. The pressure inside the volcano of wrath began to build up at an alarming rate within Flavio. His eyes became violet flames and his body began to tremble like a leaf. Zebedee, Indigo, Penelope and Indigo, wary of the former two's great-uncle's temper about to explode, backed away timidly while Phoebe and Cobalto flew over to the four to guide them away. However, before Flavio allowed his temper to finally erupt, he warned the others around him of the imminent explosion.

"Excuse me, you lot," he growled under his breath but loud enough to be heard, barely controlling the pressure of rage building within him, "And make sure you keep WELL away from me until I have calmed down."

Then without wasting another second, the patriarch's wings shot out and within seconds, he was airborne. Flavio retreated to a spacious area where no-one else was present and there he began to vent his fury.

Phoebe, Cobalto, Zebedee, Indigo, Victor, Penelope, and Gloria, Wilbur, Buddy, Casper, Matheus and Citrine and Caspian then stood there as extremely loud and aggressive screeches exploded from the Navyfeather Clan's patriarch's beak. Sounds of something wooden slammed against wooden arms and leaves were torn off, accompanied by fiery, vitriolic words spewing from his beak. These words were so caustic that Buddy had to cover Matheus's ears to prevent him hearing the too-mature music. Caspian looked on in utter shock.

"I'd never known your leader get so angry," he said to Phoebe and Cobalto. The two hyacinth macaws, however, wore unsurprised looks on their faces.

"I'm not surprised one bit," snapped Phoebe, "What those flying foxes had done last night was absolutely vexing."

"Vexing isn't the word," snapped Cobalto angrily, "It's absolutely unforgivable! Those deranged colony leaders should have heeded our warnings by now but based on what we've observed and heard from Violeta and Reynaldo, it seems that they hadn't."

"Absolutely not," said Eriko, backing up this statement. Phoebe and the others just flashed him and Cobalto a glance and said nothing. Then the group continued standing there, waiting for Flavio to burn his temper out and calm down while the other Navyfeather hyacinth macaws and glaucous macaws continued helping the Bluewing hyacinth macaws, the blue-throated macaws and the other bird residents into their temporary homes as well as treat their injuries and reconcile them. However, all were aware that Flavio was having a volcanic outburst and kept well away from him until he calmed down.