Chapter 35- the aftermath part 2
Meanwhile, Aramis, Phoebe, Ruby, Aloexandre, Spinel and Poinsettia who had been searching the flowing waters of the other split of the stream, had enlisted the help of some of Alonso and Valentino's tribe members to help them look for a lost scarlet macaw that had fallen into the stream. Felipe, Reynaldo and Demetrio had offered to send out some patrollers too to help when he had heard the horrifying news and soon, patrol groups from the red, the green and the Lear's macaw tribes and the Bluewing Clan had been sent out but soon they were joined by patrol groups from Eduardo, Rudi and Soleado's tribes and Flavio's clan. The macaw they were looking for was a tall red male scarlet macaw with a sheet of head feathers, brown eyes and teal wings, in the stream. This done, Aramis, Phoebe, Ruby and her three chicks made their way back to Tulio's helicopter.
Porthos, Aurora and D'Artagnan had also abandoned their search for Athos, especially after accidentally wandering into flying fox territory, and had managed to make it back to macaw territory without getting spotted. Porthos had also collected any moulted feathers to get rid of any evidence of his and the other two's presence. If Cicatriz ever found out that birds had been on his and his colony's turf, even my accident, he would want blood and Porthos did not want to risk accidentally provoking a war between the macaws and other birds and their worst enemies and had hoped that none of the flying foxes had noticed. One of the divisions in the stream actually ran into the territory of the flying foxes which was why Porthos, Aurora and D'Artagnan had accidentally wandered here. After this close call, the three macaws had learned their lesson to be more careful next time and to make sure that they did not do it again in future. They got away unscathed without touching the delicate truce between Cicatriz's colony and their tribes not to trespass in each other's land but if it were to happen again, they might not be so lucky. Frightened by their brush with death, Porthos, Aurora and D'Artagnan hastily returned to Tulio's helicopter.
Later
The atmosphere hanging over Dash, Veggie and the others was as miserable as the weather. The animals had retreated into the cargo bay to stay out of the rain. Levi and Lapis Lazuli lay side by side, the former who had a bandage around his belly to cover the scratch, and Tristan, Quincy, Trixie and Larimar were snuggled up to them. Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also snuggled up to Sunset, tears falling from their eyes after seeing Tornado die. Tornado's body had been taken away by some of the Spix macaw tribe nurses for burial, and Esperanza lay in one corner, her body covered in more bandages. Catina was on a mini-respirator, her serious injury covered by a bandage. Outside, in the cargo bay, the others huddled against one another, trying to keep out of the rain. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago were snuggled close together, Zephyr, with his wings around Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, snuggled up to his mother Gael, sister Brisa, cousin Nuvem, uncle Viento and friend Roberto. They were all huddled together, despondent over the loss of Tornado. Next to them, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Cobalto and Sapphire also lay along the back of the cargo bay, resting with their chicks too. Azul and Wilbur were snuggled up to their mother as were Chlorophyll and Petunia with Esmeralda. Cobalto was cradling the sleeping and exhausted Zebedee and Indigo while Sapphire cradled Miranda, Jasmine and Annette as they wept and cried over the shocking events that had occurred in the past few days. The adult macaws themselves were worried for their respective mates, and for Ruby, Alexandre, Poinsettia and Spinel as well, and of course Athos.
At the front of the cargo bay at the entrance, Dash, Ginger, Avellana, James, Danny and Veggie, Collette and Daisy lay close together, eyes either gazing into the sky or staring into space, and Cometa stood propped against one side of the entrance, staring into the grey thunderous sky, her mind turning with all that had happened. Occasionally, her large eyes darted to the cats, dogs and macaws, and each time they landed on them, she felt a wave of sympathy. They had been through such a horrific ordeal, being taken by surprise by her now-former group in their own home, terrorised by Nigel, and even almost killed by the deranged cockatoo when his obsession with getting revenge on Blu and Jewel reached critical. Cometa was especially concerned for the chicks. They will likely be traumatised for a while to come but Cometa had hoped that they would recover. It had been a frightening ordeal for the lot of them. Sighing, Cometa returned to gazing out into space.
The death of Tornado and what had happened to Athos at Nigel's clutches had been a double-whammy for the group, and there were also worries thrown into the mix of negative emotions in the atmosphere too. Catina's critical condition was worrying Veggie, Collette and Daisy and they feared how Broccoli back in Rio would react when they told him what had happened to his mother, but the two grown-up kittens and Broccoli's sisters were also worried about Athos. When Veggie had told Cometa, Dash, Ginger, Avellana, James, Danny, Collette, Daisy and Roberto, Brisa, Gael, Nuvem and Viento and also Sunset, Levi, Lapis Lazuli, Tristan, Quincy, Trixie and Larimar and Esperanza who were resting in the medical facility of the copter about how Nigel had finally lost his mind and tried to savagely attack the group, ending with him bowling off the bank into a flowing stream with Athos, they had all been devastated and had hoped that he was found alive and well, especially since almost half of the adult macaws and three of the chicks were missing for they had gone out to search for Athos. There was deathly silence hanging over the group, with only the sounds of thunder and the pattering of rain on the ground and the copter disturbing it. Finally, Danny spoke.
"I sure hope that Aurora and the others are alright out there," he said, "They should have found Athos by now."
"I hope so too," said Dash. Then Roberto looked up at the greyhounds.
"Do you think it would be a good idea if I returned to the Spix macaw tribe and have Eduardo, our patriarch organise patrols to help find Athos in that stream?" he asked. The greyhounds and the cats shot him a frowned look each.
"Do you mean you want to fly out into this downpour back to your flock?" asked Ginger in disagreement, "Absolutely not."
"You'd seriously get wet and possibly catch a chill," said Collette.
"And besides that, you wouldn't be able to fly very well if your feathers get wet," said Dash. Roberto sighed and looked back ahead, a sombre look on his face. Ginger's eyes then travelled to Zephyr's family as they remained huddled together, tears pouring from their eyes.
"I can't believe that the battle with the poachers has led to a few fatalities," the ginger coloured greyhound whispered. Roberto looked at them.
"It's gonna be a sad time for our tribe, Ginger," he said sombrely, "Tornado was one of the dearest friends of so many of us, especially Eduardo, and he's been such an excellent father to Zephyr and Brisa, mate to Gael, brother to Viento, uncle to Nuvem and grandfather to Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, as well as a good father-in-law to Aurora."
When Roberto mentioned Aurora, a thought entered Ginger's head. How was Aurora going to react when she finds out what had happened to her father-in-law when she returned. As she thought this over, the sounds of frantic wing flaps reached the group's ears. Cometa was alerted.
"I think your friends have returned," the falcon said. Dash, Ginger, Roberto and the others looked up and saw some feathered forms, six of them, come flying towards the helicopter like rockets, desperate to get out of the rain before their feathers became too wet to fly. As Aurora, Porthos, Aramis, Phoebe, D'Artagnan and Ruby who had Alexandre, Poinsettia and Spinel in her talons approached the cargo bay and landed one by one between Cometa and the cats who moved out of the way to make room for them, all eyes converged onto them as they shook their feathers to get rid of the rainwater that had collected in them. Zephyr, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Cobalto and Sapphire went over to their respective mates and hugged and kissed them.
After the reunion moment, Veggie looked at them.
"Any luck?" he asked. However, from the sombre looks on their faces, especially Ruby's, they all knew it meant one thing. Then Ruby handed the now sleeping Alexandre, Spinel and Poinsettia and she took them away to place in a makeshift nest and then sat down to have a cry. Then Aurora saw the saddened looks on her family's faces.
"Has something happened?" she asked. Zephyr and Brisa, however, were too despondent to tell Aurora so Blu walked in and did it for them.
"Your father-in-law's passed away," he said. When Aurora heard this, a sharp but horrified gasp was sucked into her beak and then her eyes began to well with tears.
"Tulio and his team tried their best to save him but the blood loss was too great," explained Blu, "When our tribe nurses had kept him out of the battle after he had been injured by Cazador, some crows attacked and they further damaged his wound. As such, it was too late for our human friends to save him. I'm sorry Aurora."
Upon hearing this, Aurora's wings went to her beak and more tears streamed down her face. Then she walked over to Zephyr to hug him, one or two sobs escaping her throat. As Aurora began to sob and was joined by her in-law family, Blu looked on in sympathy as Jewel went over to comfort Ruby over her loss of Athos. Then Porthos, Aramis, Phoebe and Roberto came in.
"What else have you to report apart from your failure to find Athos, you three?" asked Blu.
"Well, we've told Valentino and Alonso everything that had happened to Athos and have asked them to help us search for him," explained Aramis, "Also, Felipe, Demetrio and Reynaldo have offered to help. They're currently sending out patrols to search that stream so…"
"Oh, that's good, Aramis," said Roberto, "At least that job's out of the way. Eduardo, Soleado, Flavio and Rudi will likely send some patrols from their tribes out as well when they hear about what had happened to Athos."
Aramis breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of enlisting the help of the macaw tribes and clans to help find Athos has brought some hope for the group. Then Roberto saw that Porthos was trembling slightly. His feathers were flattened and he looked very pale under the aqua blue and rich yellow feathers.
"Why are you trembling like a leaf?" asked Roberto. Porthos shot him a look.
"I'm just cold," he said but Blu could tell there was more to his shakes than just the cold weather.
"You look as though you've seen a monstrous harpy eagle," he said, "Are you alright?"
Aramis and Phoebe also flashed a concerned look at Porthos. The same look was also plastered on Aurora and D'Artagnan's faces and they looked fidgety. Porthos finally decided to admit why he was feeling like jelly.
"You're not gonna like this," he said, "But while we were searching for Athos, the stream bifurcated and I, Aurora and D'Artagnan opted to search down one branch while the others left to search the other branch. However, the branch that we were following happened to lead straight into flying fox territory…"
The moment those three dreaded words left his beak, utter horror and astonishment splashed over Roberto, Blu, Aramis and Phoebe. The other macaws also gawked at Porthos and then at Aurora and D'Artagnan and silence fell on the group but Porthos continued before any of them asked.
"But we managed to fly back as quickly as we could before we were spotted. I made sure that any feathers shed by us were not left behind or else Cicatriz's bats would discover that we had been in their side…"
"I should think so and all!" said Blu harshly, "You honestly could have been killed…"
"If any of those bats ever saw you in their territory, even if you strayed there by accident, you're dead on the spot," said Roberto. His expression then softened. "But at least you've managed to escape without being seen."
Porthos breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down. He just could not believe that he had accidentally strayed into Cicatriz's side with Aurora and D'Artagnanbut then a horrible thought crossed his mind, but it was a thought that he didn't like one bit at all. What if Athos had been carried down that branch… into flying fox territory!? Porthos daren't think of what would happen if poor Athos were found by a group of flying foxes over there, and seeing that Ruby was already heartbroken enough as it was as she continued sobbing her heart out in Jewel's wings, he didn't want to tell her.
Meanwhile
Athos broke the surface of the rushing water, trying to gasp for air or look for a vine that dangled from the branches above the stream to grab hold of. He had no idea how far he had been carried downstream from the point where he and Nigel had fallen into the river, nor did he have any idea of where Nigel was but he didn't care about that anymore. His top priority was getting to shore. However, after so much struggling in the stream and fighting the turbulence and the current of the water, exhaustion was beginning to set in. Athos then became desperate. His talons, including his injured one that Nigel bit, scrabbled on the floor of the stream, whipping up silt into a brown cloud for he had drifted into a shallower part of the stream. Athos struggled to search for some sort of lifeline to grasp until finally, he felt something tough under the water. The moment his talons touched the thing, which was an underwater root, Athos hooked his claws onto it and began to try and drag himself ashore. However, it was not easy for the current was quite strong. With the water flowing turbulently around him, the desperate macaw began to expend every last drop of his strength in dragging himself ashore despite not having much left. Bit by bit, Athos moved closer and closer to the bank as his talons pulled along the root like a rope until finally, his talons rose out of the water as the root ran from under the stream and onto the shore, and towards a tree nearby. Seeing that it was now or ever, Athos gave a few more final mighty pulls until he was at last on the edge of the bank and out of the area of the stream where the current was strongest. Rain poured onto his face and body as Athos continued to drag himself along the root with his talons despite the weakness of one of them with its injury from Nigel still healing.
As soon as he was finally and completely on the bank, Athos rolled onto his front and began to gasp for air and caught the water out of his lungs. His red, yellow and teal feathers were absolutely sodden wet and caked in brown mud and silt and he was shivering, having been exposed to the water's colder temperature for so long. After coughing the remaining drops of water from his lungs, Athos began to struggle to stand up. His wings and talons shook as they took the weight of his body but because his strength was mostly gone, Athos collapsed back into the wet mud as his wings gave out. He then entered another bout of gasping as he lay on his front, his sodden wings sprawled out with the teal primary flight feathers of one of them dipping into the water. Then finally, exhaustion unleashed its full cloak over Athos and he began to pass out. His vision became enveloped in blackness, first from the periphery and then towards the centre. However, before he passed out completely, Athos thought he heard the sounds of flapping wings through the pattering of rain and the rumble of thunder but did not have time to deduce the flapping wings' owners and he tumbled into the blackness of unconsciousness.
As Athos lay still on the river's banks, his chest still moving as he continued to breathe, the sounds of flapping wings grew louder until finally, the owners of the flapping wings came into view. However, the owners weren't feathered and did not have beaks or talons. Instead, they had fur, membranous wings supported by four very long digits, and their faces were similar to a husky dog. The group of three furred creatures, which were flying foxes like the ones Porthos, Aurora and D'Artagnan had seen earlier, were chatting while flying through the rain, keeping to the canopy to avoid getting their membranous wings and fur wet. Two of the flying foxes in this trio were female, one of which was white and the other chocolate brown with a white patch on her front and the other was male with reddish fur and they appeared to be on an outing. They looked different, however, to the four Porthos and the other two had seen. Their pelages were not slashed with gashes of scar tissue, though the chocolate brown female did have a small scar on her face, just above her left eye. The white female appeared to be an albino for the sclera of her eyes had a reddish tint.
"I really hope Cicatriz isn't planning on driving out any more bird tribes or clans anytime soon, you two," said the white female to her companions, "You know it's a seriously dangerous business dealing with flocks of flying creatures armed with lethal talons and beaks."
"I know, Lily," said the chocolate brown and white female, "I think this whole thing that the birds of the Amazon are vermin is just ridiculous. When I have pups of my own, I am not gonna have them attend those horrible bird-fighting classes and certainly not those scout hunts when they become adolescents to earn their first feather trophies from killing innocent birds in unprovoked attacks."
"Exactly," said the reddish male, "It's just utterly pointless. And I'm sure Augustus and Melissa couldn't agree more to that at all."
"My cousin Melissa actually finds the idea of fighting birds nauseating and when she and Augustus have pups of their own, they aren't gonna have them attend those classes either," said the white bat named Lily, "Anyway, let's continue to our secret destination and meet our secret feathered friends and other flying foxes who are against the colony's teachings and get out of this rain before our wing membranes and fur become too wet, and I absolutely hate being cold and wet."
The three then continued their journey when the reddish male saw something brightly coloured and feathered lying on the bank of the stream.
"Lily, Ana, LOOK!" he shouted, pointing to Athos's limp body, stopping the other two.
"What is it, Marcus?" asked the chocolate brown and white female bat named Ana but when her and Lily's eyes landed on Athos's limp body, they both drew in a sharp gasp.
"Is that one of those scarlet macaws?" asked Marcus. Lily and Ana squinted at the bird lying on his front by the stream.
"It is," said Ana, "And it looks like it had been taking a trip down that stream based on its wet feathers."
"Or had wandered here by accident in the rain," said Lily, "I know some birds do stray into our territory accidentally and end up killed by many of our colony-mates."
She then snapped to the scarlet macaw and said, "Which would mean we will have to carry that scarlet macaw to a safe place before it meets that demise."
"Would our secret hiding place do?" asked Marcus, "None of the other colony members know where that is."
"That is a good idea, Marcus," said Lily, "Well thought. Come on; let's move that scarlet macaw to there."
And with that, the three bats descended towards the unconscious Athos and landed around him. Lily put a wing thumb to Athos's neck to feel his pulse while Ana checked his breathing and what gender the macaw was by examining his features such as his eyes.
"It's a male scarlet," said she, "And I think he's unconscious but alive."
"Indeed he is," said Lily when she felt a pulse, "Let's get him out of here."
And with that, she and her two companions took hold of Athos's wings and tail with their feet and began to try and carry him.
"At least he's not one of those MASSIVE hyacinth macaws," said Lily, "Those navy blue parrots weigh as much as a large rock."
"The three of us wouldn't be able to carry one of those macaws to safety in time in this weather," said Ana, "Which is a relief."
Then the three flying foxes flew away with Athos in their feet through the trees, avoiding the rain as much as possible.
Later
Valentino and Alonso continued to send patrol groups from their tribes out to the stream in which Athos had fallen to allow the patrol groups sent out earlier to take a rest. Reynaldo, Demetrio and Felipe did the same and soon, Eduardo, Soleado, Rudi and Flavio were sending patrol groups out to the stream and its surrounding vegetation to search for Athos after hearing from some of the red and Bluewing hyacinth macaw patrollers about Athos's disappearance. Soon, patrol groups from all the macaw tribes and clans were on the search for Athos up and down that stream, as close as possible to the flying foxes' territory, with some of the non-tribe and clan resident birds such as Falkor the milicinth macaw, Ámbar the lutino blue-and-gold macaw and Fedor the hoatzin helping out. All the patrollers and helpers had been given a description of Athos: a well-built and tall red male scarlet macaw, teal coloured wing flight feathers and tail, flat sheet of head feathers behind his head and brown eyes. These features should make Athos not easy to miss.
While the patrol groups and their helpers searched for Athos in and around the stream in which Nigel had dragged him, Lysandre and his group had finally all been loaded onto the helicopters by the security group. As soon as this was done, the security group took off and returned to Manaus with the poachers and their pets in tow. The humans will be turned in to the authorities while the crows and the falcons will be imported to Europe to be released into a nature reserve there. As for the cats, they were sent to an animal hospital to be treated for their injuries and re-homed.
And Tulio and company, they had returned to Rio with all the animals including Cometa and Blu's group in tow while the rain was lighter. However, some of them had chosen to stay behind. Ruby, Alexandre, Spinel and Poinsettia and Aurora, Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil had returned to Eduardo and Felipe's tribes with Roberto, Brisa, Gael, Nuvem and Viento to grieve the losses of Athos and Tornado and Eduardo's sister Mimi had organised a funeral to honour Tornado and his life. Hours later, it was now dusk and everyone but Ruby and Aurora and their families excluding Athos were back in Susan and Lucy's house. Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Collette, Daisy, Avellana, James and Danny were glad to be back in Rio again, and Esperanza and Catina had been taken to the vet's place to be treated. The remaining macaws and Travis and his family were back in Susan and Lucy's attic and as for the mess left by Nigel, Otis and Lysandre's pets as they raided and ransacked the place before the trip into the Amazon, Tulio had hired repairmen to come and fix the damage. Things were beginning to look up for the group but for some of them, the sombre atmosphere remained hanging over them, especially for the macaws.
Rio, in a certain house
The living room and kitchen were alive with the sounds of hammering, cleaning, talking and the sounds of music and the TV. Workmen were scattered throughout the conjoined rooms, fixing the broken cupboards and bringing in new furniture to replace the other ones that looked as though a beast had gone on a rampage with them. Susan and Lucy were up to their usual business including Bible study, checking on their pet cats and dogs, and also speaking to potential customers of Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina's first brood offspring. In the hallway on their beds, the greyhounds and cats except Esperanza and Catina were relaxing or playing. They were covered in plasters and a few bandages apart from Ginger who had not participated much in the fight. Because of this wise decision not to get involved too much with the battle against the poachers, and especially with Nigel, her and Dash's second litter of puppies were safe and unharmed, which she and the others were glad for.
As Ginger relaxed reading a book, Broccoli, who had been allowed to return home, came by. His front left leg was still in a cast and will be for another two weeks. He smiled at Ginger.
"Hey, Ginger," he said, "Your second litter is due soon, isn't it?"
"In a few weeks, Broccoli," said Ginger with a smile. Broccoli then sat down beside her. Shortly after he had been returned home from the vet's, Dash and the others had told him everything that had happened in the Sanctuary de Amazon, including the great fight against the poachers, and how Nigel had eventually lost his mind completely, leading him to almost kill so many victims, such as brutally clawing Esperanza, strangling Lapis Lazuli into unconsciousness, and how he had brutally slashed Catina down the side when she bravely substituted Blu, Aurora and their families by pushing them out of the way. Veggie had also told Broccoli about the final confrontation with Nigel including how Blu and Jewel had brutally clawed him and broke his wing and during the finale, how he had plunged into a stream, taking Athos with him. Dash had also told Broccoli about Cometa, the falcon who was against Lysandre's plans all along and how she had helped the group deal with the poachers, and also the sad fatality of one of Zephyr's relatives which was the reason why he and his family had stayed behind alongside Ruby and her three chicks and that they will not be back for the rest of the summer. Broccoli had been horrified to hear all this but he was glad that the poachers had finally been caught.
"I hope Esperanza and Mom are alright," said the Veggie lookalike worriedly, "Dad told me how that savage vulture of a cockatoo brutally clawed her down the side when he tried attacking Blu and Aurora and their families."
"He was honestly so much like Brutus," said Ginger, "Glad I did not get too involved with the fight otherwise my unborn pups would have been in danger."
Broccoli shot her a relieved and agreeing glance.
"When he bit my paw and cracked a bone in it," he said, gazing at his paw in the cast, "I guess I only got a small taste of what he was like when he was enraged compared to what the others, especially Esperanza, faced."
"When I heard what Nigel had done to you, I was horrified," said Ginger. She then scanned the surroundings and looked at the others. Danny and Collette were having a game of chess, Avellana was reading an ecology book, and James was going through some sort of diagram which Ginger assumed was his plans for a cat-and-dog only club and Daisy was resting. Dash and Veggie were discussing about the futures of their grown-up offspring. Then Ginger was alerted by the sounds of flapping wings. She and Broccoli looked up and saw Aramis and his family flutter down the stairs and walk over to the group of cats and dogs, seriously sombre looks on their faces.
"Hey, Aramis, Esmeralda, Chlorophyll and Petunia," said Broccoli, "How are you and the others?"
Aramis looked at the Veggie lookalike with sorrowful eyes.
"Not good, Broc," he replied, "We're all very sad and despondent over what has happened today. Our chicks are struggling to sleep and we're grieving over the loss of Athos."
"Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago are also very sad," said Esmeralda, "Especially over the loss of Tornado."
Chlorophyll and Petunia then huddled together, tears falling from their eyes. They had only met Tornado a few times and had never got the chance to get to know him well, but his death had been a tragedy. Then Ginger remembered something about Cometa.
"Oh, have you guys heard about Cometa lately?" she asked in a slightly perky attitude, hoping to cheer the great green macaw family up. Aramis and his family looked up at her.
"She's been adopted by a falconer who is part of a pest control group in Rio," said Ginger, "She has also become friends with a male peregrine falcon named Lightning."
"Lightning?" repeated Broccoli confused.
"He is named after the flash of electricity in the sky during a thunderstorm," said Ginger, "Which I believe is a fitting name for a falcon that flies so fast."
"At least she has found a better purpose in life, much like how Catina did by becoming a house pet and Veggie's mate," said Aramis in a slightly cheered-up voice but his face soon fell as the sorrow over Athos's loss returned.
"It's not going to be an easy time for us, I don't think," said Esmeralda as she leaned against Aramis and draped a wing around her two weeping chicks, "In fact, we might even think about returning to the Amazon early."
"What became of Nigel, by the way?" asked Broccoli.
"Well, since he fell into a rushing stream with Athos," said Aramis, "I'd assume that he might have died as well. With a broken wing and that many claw marks, Nigel's chances of survival are slim."
Suddenly, the door to the living room and kitchen opened. Aramis and his family snapped their heads toward the door and dived into hiding as Susan and Lucy walked into the hallway and towards the cats and dogs, a smile adorning their faces despite the dramatic events that had happened today. Aramis and his family peered out from under the stairs.
"Looks like Lucy and Susan have got some good news," said Esmeralda. Aramis watched as his former owners began to pet the greyhounds and talk.
"Looks like one of Dash and Ginger's adolescent puppies will be getting a new home any time soon, sis," said Lucy as she petted James.
"Yep," said Susan, "The customer is going to come within a month to choose which one she would like to take away."
When the great green macaw family heard this; their eyes widened in astonishment while Dash and his group let loose excited barks and mews at the news. One of Dash and Ginger's first litter offspring was finally going to be sold to another owner, and James, Danny and Avellana were particularly excited.
"Looks like our furry friends have had some good news," said Aramis.
"Yep," said Esmeralda, "I hope it's the owners of James's Shih Tzu and Persian cat friends since those two are into samba like he is."
Chlorophyll and Petunia looked on with smiles on their beaks as the cats and dogs gazed after Susan and Lucy as they returned to the kitchen and living room through the hallway door, the workmen still up to their jobs with the repairs.
Meanwhile
In the Sanctuary de Amazon, it was now dark. The rains seemed to have eased off but the night sky was still screened by thick clouds. The daytime macaw patrol groups and their helpers had put off the search for Athos to pass on the job to the night-time patrol groups while they went home for the night. In Felipe's tribe's home, a certain female scarlet macaw sat on a branch on the edge of the home patch, a heartbroken and despondent look plastering her face. Ruby had been crying her eyes out for hours since Athos's demise and had hoped that the patrol groups will have found Athos by now. She stared out into the dark scenery of the red tribe's territory, watching and waiting for any signs of her mate. Because she was so heartbroken, Ruby had become unable to take care of Alexandre, Spinel and Poinsettia and Felipe had put them under the care of Cherie and her boyfriend, Tito, and occasionally Pearl so that they could have Benjamin, Alfonso and Regina, their cousins, for company until Ruby overcame and recovered from her heartbreak, but the three chicks were also despondent over the loss of their dad.
The three chicks' friends, among them Estelle and Sheldon, had come to offer their condolences to the brother and two sisters, and they would likely need it for quite some time, and Ruby's friends also comforted her. While Ruby continued gazing out into the darkness, she was made aware of the sound of flapping wings. She turned and saw Pearl, her sister, touch down beside her with a leaf bag full of fruit.
"Hey, sis," said Pearl as she took out a fig and offered it to Ruby, "I've brought you some dinner."
"Oh, I'm fine thanks," said Ruby in a shaky and low voice, tears falling from her eyes, "I'm not very hungry."
"But you haven't eaten anything all afternoon," said Pearl, concerned for her sister's health, "You have to eat something."
But seeing that Ruby did not want anything, Pearl placed the fig back into the leaf bag and placed it into Ruby and Athos's hollow. After this, she sat by her sister.
"Look, I know you're upset over Athos's loss but our tribe patrollers are trying their best in their search for him in that stream," said Pearl firmly, a wing around her sister's back and trying to reassure her, "And Felipe is now sending out the night-time patrol groups as the daytime groups had done their job for the day."
Ruby looked at her as Pearl continued, "Also, don't forget that our neighbours have sent out patrol groups as well to help in the search around that stream where we were told he had fallen."
Ruby began to weep once again as the torrent of emotions resulting from her heartbreak began to flow again.
"But what if he really has died?" she cried in a thick voice, "Alexandre, Poinsettia and Spinel are gonna grow up without a father, and I'm gonna struggle to bring them up by myself…"
"Look, if they become too much for you," said Pearl as Ruby began to sob, "We'll arrange help for you to raise them until they become old enough to leave the nest. They're under the care of Cherie and Tito for now and they also have me, Felipe and our chicks to help so don't worry about them."
Then the pressure of Ruby's emotions finally reached critical and she began to let it all out again through another episode of intensive crying and sobbing. Pearl then pulled her sister into a hug and allowed her to sob into her chest feathers and began to offer her words of comfort, knowing what it felt like to lose a loved one. Some of the nearby scarlet and green-winged macaws gazed at the two sisters and flashed a sympathetic glance at Ruby as she continued to sob aloud.