Chapter 73- the troubling feelings continue
In the jungle, the diurnal (daytime active) animals were preparing to turn in for the night with the nocturnal animals preparing to come out for their day was their night. However, there were only a few diurnal bird species present, the most common being the toucans mostly of the toco/keel-billed mix, many of which were Rafael and Eva's offspring, their mates and their numerous chicks; the majority of the birds of the other species had moved to the area just outside the Blu Bird Sanctuary's boundaries to escape the trouble constantly whipped up by the majority of the numerous toucans. Some of the toucan couples had put their chicks to bed but the others had decided to let their kids loose to go out and play at their kids' insistence despite it getting late. However, those seriously ignorant and carefree couples simply believed that those kids were simply going to go out and play and were too carefree to even check their chicks' motives; and those motives were laced with pure mischief, like always. That mischief saturating them, those toucan kids left their hollows and disappeared into the darkening jungle to seek out where to channel that mood in the form of troublesome antics, or worse.
Back at Tulio's Aviary
Ruby sat on the table as Bernardo, Susan's husband, checked her facial scratches and the bruise on the back of her head under her feathers where Nigel had slammed her against the tree trunk, and cleaned the scratches on the scarlet macaw's face of the drops of blood with some sterile wipes. A shaken look was plastered all over her face at almost getting killed by a former bother who never seemed to learn his lesson despite how many consequences or how much wrath from Blu and Jewel or the others he faced. Not too far away across the worktop, Athos was talking with Zephyr, Carla, Bia, Tiago, D'Artagnan, Sapphire, Aurora and Porthos while Spinel, Wilbur, Poinsettia, Sheldon, Justin, Matilda and Virgil watched over the chicks, among them Sirius, Einstein, Miles, Spica, Melody, Sonia, Byron and Bellatrix. All around the group, more animals, among them Augustus, Melissa, Stella, Luna, Sebastian, Soren, Anabelle and Acerola, Ferdinand, Sandalwood and Connie the flying foxes, were chirping, squeaking and playing away but the flying foxes had become concerned for what had happened to Athos and Ruby and had joined Carla and company to check on the scarlet macaws' wellbeing.
"H-h-he just came out of nowhere wh-while we were having a r-r-romantic moment," stammered Athos shakily. Like Ruby, he was also badly shaken after Nigel's unexpected and uninvited appearance, but his stricken casted wing, the one where one of Nigel's stones had struck, was fine. "Th-that cockatoo just happened to have the audacity to drop by and interfere with our romantic time despite all he had been through time and time again each time he crossed paths with us…"
"Well, you don't need to worry, Uncle Athos," said Carla with an assuring frown.
"Mom and Dad have got it covered," said Bia.
"Hopefully they'll teach him, that crested ferret-face, the most PAINFUL possible lesson that he would NEVER FORGET since their clawing of him years ago when we were still chicks and he terrorised us," snarled Tiago as bitter hatred and malice he also harboured against Nigel flared within him.
"He can never leave us alone or forget about us, can he?" said D'Artagnan with despair, anger and fear, the memories of how Nigel had almost killed Levi's mate Lapis Lazuli by strangling her flashing in his mind and made him shudder, alongside the cockatoo's endless taunts towards him and Aurora about their missing families from who they were torn from when they were chicks, and Levi still remembered those events clearly even now.
"He's still bent on revenge against us, that's what," said Sapphire maliciously and angrily.
"Why can't he just forget about us and move on?" put in Aurora in disbelief. Porthos just said nothing as Zephyr then put on an assuring frown.
"Well, as Carla, Bia and Tiago have said, we hope that Blu and Jewel will teach that cockatoo slime ball an EXTREMELY AGONISING LESSON for attempting to kill Ruby," he snarled. As he said this, Augustus and his family put on disbelieving frowns.
"That horrible crested parrot sure seems to be like a mosquito towards you, doesn't he?" said Augustus, "He wants to cause you constant bother and never leave you alone no matter how many times he gets swatted."
Zephyr shot the flying fox a glare.
"Three times he has attempted to attack us since we arrived here," he snapped, "First it was Zebedee, Iris and Sheldon for no reason whatsoever shortly after those three had found Mumble and the other two penguins over there," he nodded to the said penguins as they, along with Atreyu, chatted with the other penguins brought back from the fraudulent Paradise Sanctuary place, including JD the macaroni penguin who had his squeaky voice. Zephyr then returned his gaze to the others with him, "Then it was a trap before we had to foil him and now he tries to kill Ruby," his wings went to the back of his head and he sighed, "But his attempted murder of Ruby is the final leaf. I just wish he would just… go away and face complete and miserable solitude for the rest of his life," Zephyr then folded his wings, "and I sure hope that Blu and Jewel will inflict an extremely traumatising ordeal on him to ensure that, just like they had done during the events of dealing with those poachers-disguised-as-ecologists. See how HE like being inflicted with a very deep scar…" he sniggered spitefully as he said this.
"I cannot believe I almost strangled him to death," said Athos rather guiltily, but he had forgotten how volatile and volcanic the instinct to protect one's beloved mate could be. He could not bear to see Ruby in extreme pain or in serious torture and he had almost lost control of it several times before, such as when one of Cicatriz's heavily deranged bat minions, Voldemort, tossed the tortured Ruby into a stream, forcing Athos to risk his life to save her despite his fear of rushing waters. Zephyr frowned at this statement.
"I'm not surprised," he said flatly, "But you tend to go absolutely CRAZY when someone's trying to kill the macaw closest to you, or even your chicks, siblings, close friends and so on, but your own mate and chicks, most especially," Zephyr shook his head and put on an angry look, "Had that had been me and Aurora with Nigel trying to, for example, slit Aurora's throat to kill her, I would have leaped onto that cockatoo and…" and with that he said the most gruesome things he would do to Nigel much to the revulsion of Athos and some of the others. After saying those extremely gruesome things, Zephyr finished with, "and I would perhaps even kill him without a second thought. I cannot BEAR to see my mate tortured and abused."
Athos said nothing and shrugged.
"And come to think of it, you actually struck FEAR into Nigel, haven't you noticed," said Carla to him.
"When we turned up," said Bia "that cockatoo just bolted like a capybara when it had sensed a jaguar nearby."
"Just wait until he faces Mom and Dad's wrath like last time," said Tiago smugly, "Without a doubt will it be ten times worse than what you put him through."
"By my calculations, I believe that is possible," said Poinsettia from across the worktop as she watched over Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine with Wilbur, "Based on what Dad had put that foul cockatoo through initially, I reckon Blu and Jewel's wrath will be amplified by a massive factor."
The others nodded in agreement.
"And THAT will be severely traumatising for that cockatoo," said Soren as he stood with Stella, Luna, Sebastian and Anabelle. The others nodded in agreement and Zephyr's face morphed into a very menacing look. He had hoped that Nigel will face such serious trauma to pay him back for all the trauma he had inflicted on his victims throughout his bird-detesting life since his TV show career was shattered by the parakeet. However, that was up to Blu and Jewel on how they will do that.
Nearby, Sandalwood, Acerola, Connie and Ferdinand played with some of the chicks with Melissa looking on. Then Stella gazed at Sandalwood and sighed, especially as he kept his distance from the worktop's edge and the drop below it.
"Well, now that we're back in Rio," she said, "It is time to get Sandalwood to fly properly again."
"He doesn't seem to mind being on an elevated platform now," said Bia with a smile, "It seems that he has overcome most of his fear of heights and flight at that fraudulent place."
"And we're gonna take our kids out to stargaze," added Carla, before her gaze turned to one of the windows, the same one that was smashed by that sleeping gas can before the kidnap. It had now been fixed, its shattered glass replaced by a new pane, and the canister removed. "I can see it's getting dark."
"It's been predicted to be a clear, near-cloudless night," said Porthos, his bandaged leg tucked into his belly feathers while he stood on the other one, "So that will make way for an excellent opportunity to take our kids out stargazing."
As he said this, Sirius, Einstein and Miles flashed an enthusiastic glance at the burly blue-and-gold macaw, excitement welling within them. Stella had also opted to take the four young bats including Sandalwood out to stargaze as well, even though Sandalwood had been naughty on the plane, or so she thought, but had saved Blu and Jewel from suffocating themselves, or so she thought on that as well, in that blanket. Then Carla, Bia and Tiago turned.
"Well, we'll round up the kids and get ready for the trip," said Carla.
"While I get that night sky map book I had brought from Linda's bookstore," put in Bia, and with that, the trio of Spix macaws took off to call the kids together while Bia went to fetch the said book.
As the three first-brood offspring of Blu and Jewel left, Anabelle turned to Athos and Ruby, the latter who was still being treated for her facial scratches.
"Would you two like to come?" she asked. Sebastian shot her a glare.
"Athos cannot fly with that wing, don't forget," he reminded. Athos nodded in agreement.
"That, I'm afraid, is true," said he, a sad gaze on his casted wing, "and because of that, I'm gonna stay here and perhaps spend the night in the artificial habitat chamber," and with that he gazed in the direction to the said chamber's entrance. Ruby also gazed at Athos and said, "I'm gonna stay with you as well."
As she said this, Soren and Stella remembered something.
"Athos, Ruby, guys," said Stella, "Do you think that the golden fruithawk couple will be alright with all those toucans still running amok in the sanctuary?"
"If Aurum and Gylfie set to having a clutch of eggs," put in D'Artagnan, "They might face problems."
An agreeing and uncertain look also appeared on each of the faces of Augustus, Melissa, Luna, Ruby, Athos, Zephyr, Sapphire and Aurora but Porthos wore an assuring look.
"Oh, don't worry about them, Stella and D'Artagnan, guys," said he, "Rafael and Eva have decided to escort them, keep an eye on them and be with them and on the lookout in case those wretched toucans do decide to cause that couple trouble."
"Well, I hope they keep their big beaks on the task," said Athos firmly, "Since those two fruithawks are truly the last known pair of their species, if anything happens to either of them or their eggs, if they successfully have any, then their species is doomed."
"We kept insisting that Gylfie and Aurum make their home in the artificial habitat chamber," said Aurora, "but it seems that they were highly insistent on raising their family in a natural hollow rather than a manmade one."
"Gylfie and Aurum hate artificial places," said Zephyr, "That's the problem," his wings were then folded and his face creased into a frown, "Just like how some of us, particularly us wild-born birds and flying foxes, aren't so keen on living in a manmade hollow either."
As he said this, Carla called to those who were going stargazing as soon as she and Tiago had rounded up the kids, among them Sandalwood and Connie, and Bia returned with a human thing called a torch or flashlight and a book on the night sky. With them were Poinsettia and Wilbur with Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine by their sides, obviously overprotective of them after losing all four of them to the poachers some time ago. However, they planned on stargazing within the vicinity of Tulio's Aviary with Mumble and the other penguins.
"Guys, we're ready," called Carla.
"Alright, we're coming," replied Zephyr. He then turned back to Ruby and Athos as Aurora, Sapphire, Porthos, D'Artagnan, Augustus, Melissa, Stella, Luna, Sebastian and Soren took or dropped off from the table.
"Well, I hope you two will have a good night's sleep and hopefully," Zephyr's look hardened, "you'll not have nightmares about that rotten oversized pigeon in white-grey feathers bothering your dreams."
"It's gonna be quite difficult getting to sleep after that encounter, I can tell you," replied Athos uneasily, the shock of Nigel's appearance, along with the bad memories of what the cockatoo had almost done to him in the stream and what he had almost done to Ruby, still gripping him. Ruby breathed a sigh as Bernardo and another bird doctor who had come to help to treat her then stood back and smiled, satisfied that Ruby wasn't too badly hurt.
"Well, I'm glad that your injuries aren't too serious, my red macaw friend," said Bernardo, "but those scratches on your face should heal within a few days or more."
His assistant nodded in agreement and Ruby put on a small smile as Athos came forward and gave her a one-winged hug of relief. Naturally and relief bubbling within her as well, Ruby returned it.
Soon
Outside Tulio's Aviary in the carpark, the stargazing group was preparing. Bia has her book on the night sky on wing while Virgil did a headcount of the kids present with Aurora and Zephyr. His and Bia's own sons Sirius, Einstein and Miles stood with Carla and Justin with their daughters Sonia, Spica and Melody and also Tiago and Matilda and their two chicks Bellatrix and Byron and also Finnick and Kira and their three chicks Achernar, Polaris and Diego, the Spix macaw chicks eagerly waiting for the trip to a spot where light pollution from the artificial light sources such as from Tulio's Aviary, the car headlights and street lights drowned out the light of the stars in the sky. Roberto and Brisa were with Finnick and his family, having opted to come as well.
Near the Spix macaws, Athos and Ruby's first-brood daughters and their mates and chicks were gathered. Poinsettia, her blue-and-gold mate Wilbur and their Catalina chicks Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine stood with Spinel, Sheldon and their chicks Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares. The two sisters were slightly disappointed that Athos and Ruby had opted against going with the group to stargaze but Athos had told them that he wanted to spend some quiet time with his mate after that horrific ordeal with Nigel, which he, and Spinel and company as well, had hoped was the cockatoo's last time in getting involved with the group. Nearby, Porthos and Orquidea, who had also opted to come, were on the lookout for Aramis and his family who were still at the Vista Chinesa with Bill and his team. While they did that, Phoebe and Cobalto did a headcount of some of the other birds present. Zebedee and Iris stood with Indigo and Victor and their daughter Sugilite and also Violet, the younger sister of Zebedee and Indigo and Cobalto and Phoebe's youngest daughter, and D'Artagnan and Sapphire stood with Jasmine and Finn and their chicks Regulus and Vega.
Levi and Lapis Lazuli stood nearby with Tristan, Neytiri, Trixie and Aiden and their chicks Canopus, Katniss and Arcturus. Frodo and Ellie the Cuban red macaws were also present with their son Sylvester, as were Diantha, Tom, Gladion and Lillie for these three toucan chicks also loved to stargaze. Standing near Frodo and his family were Augustus, Melissa, Stella, Luna and Sebastian who were accompanied by Anabelle, Acerola and Ferdinand who stood with Sebastian and Soren and Sandalwood who stood with Stella. The group of animals continued to stand in their subgroups waiting for Aramis and his family to turn up while Zephyr, Aurora, Virgil, Phoebe and Cobalto continued their headcount, and some of the other macaws, prepared some human magnifier things called binoculars by the human-familiar birds.
As the stargazing group continued to prepare, Travis and Sunset stood nearby with Milo, Eustace, Serena, Rosa and Clemont and Vincent, Yolanda and Peach, the cockatoos having opted against going stargazing to help with looking after the birds at Tulio's Aviary including Athos and Ruby and also Mumble, Balthazar, Atreyu and Ginny and the other penguins. Milo stood from the group gazing down the road bordered by a row of trees on each side.
"I'm wondering if Blu, Jewel, Andromeda and her family are gonna come," he said.
"Well, Spyro and Marella did say they are gonna do just that with their son Bambi," said Travis, "But Andromeda and Eragon would like to remain behind at the Aviary so that Eragon could recover and that the two could spend some time together to recover from the shock of Eragon getting kidnapped by those poachers and also to look after the bat-birds while Spyro and his family stargaze with Bia and company."
Travis then nodded to the other birds and the flying foxes as they continued to wait for the headcount to finish and also for Aramis and his family to turn up.
The group had chosen the area not too far away from Tulio's Aviary to stargaze because it was the only spot away from the artificial human lights emanating from the building and the cars and also because some of the group members, such as Betelgeuse with her tattered wing still growing its flight feathers, the result of Dalek's sadistic ripping of those feathers to disable her from flying away to escape the chameleon's caracal and serval friends and also Finn, Gladion and Neytiri with their injured wings still healing, were still unable to fly, as well as Sandalwood who was yet to learn how to fly properly. Another reason was also because it was safer than going out into the clutter of the dark trees where the kids were likely to get lost more easily. As Travis and the other cockatoos continued gazing at the group of soon-to-be stargazers, the sounds of wing flaps entered their ears. They turned and saw four more scarlet macaws and a grey-headed bat approach them.
"We're gonna come too," said the larger male scarlet macaw, Greg at the front.
"Yes, our two sons and Connie here could do with an introduction to the night sky as well," added his mate Sardonyx. Beside the two adult scarlet macaws, Steven, Kevin and Connie were present. As the five touched down and walked over to join the Spix macaws, they were greeted by Carla and the others while the cockatoos looked on and exchange glances.
"Looks like Sirius and company have managed to find some new friends," said Travis to the others with a smile. Rosa then gazed at Connie as she joined the flying foxes.
"And it seems that the grey-headed flying fox has taken a liking to Sandalwood and his family as well," she said. Then Clemont tipped his head to one side.
"But her species, Pteropus poliocephalus, is native to Australia like our species, the Major Mitchell's, the citron-crested and the sulfur-crested cockatoos, is it not?" he said, "I would have thought she would have gone with the other grey-headed flying foxes back to that country where she belonged…"
"Connie chose to come with us instead," said Sardonyx when she heard Clemont say this, "She has bonded strongly with my sons Steven and Kevin as close friends and also those Brazilian flying foxes."
Clemont and Rosa then gazed at Connie as she talked with Stella, Luna and Sebastian while Anabelle and Soren looked after Ferdinand, Acerola and Sandalwood, the former whom she had also befriended upon first meeting him. Then Clemont and Rosa's two chicks, Peach walked in.
"Didn't you have a third son?" asked she. A saddened look came upon Sardonyx's face, leading to Clemont to seize his daughter and scold her. However, Sardonyx gave Clemont an assuring look.
"It's alright," she said, "Yes, we did. His name was Lars, but we unfortunately lost him at that place we now know to be a fraud of a conservation centre."
"What happened to him?" asked Yolanda who came in with Vincent, both of them Eustace and Serena's chicks. Then their said parents came in.
"You're too young to know," said Eustace to his daughter and son.
"Yes, it's too complicated for one and not really an appropriate subject to talk about with those new scarlet macaws for another," put in Serena. Sardonyx then formed a small smile on her beak.
"It's okay," she said, "I'll tell them when they're a little older, okay?"
As she said this, Sirius came in with Spica and Bellatrix.
"Roxanne's not coming?" asked Sirius. Sardonyx turned to him.
"Um… no," she said, "Roxanne wants to get some rest after the chaos we had to go through with the revelation of that Paradise Sanctuary's business as a group of animal collectors under the guise of a conservation group."
The three Spix chicks all lowered their heads in slight disappointment but then Sardonyx issued them an assuring comment.
"Maybe next time," she said, perking up the three chicks. Sirius, Spica and Bellatrix all smiled but then they heard their names get called by Carla, Bia and Tiago. The trio flashed their parents a glance and darted off to return to their respective families. Then Sardonyx turned to the cockatoos.
"You coming?" she asked.
"No, not tonight," said Travis as he scooped up Peach and Yolanda, "We're gonna stay here and help look after the birds in that medical building."
"Maybe next time perhaps" added Sunset. The other cockatoos nodded in agreement. Sardonyx smiled and prepared to return to the group when suddenly, the scarlet macaw and the cockatoos heard the sounds of footsteps reach their ears.
"Oh, here come Andromeda, Eragon, Spyro, Marella, Bambi, the bat-birds and three of our cat friends," said Milo. Sardonyx looked up and saw a group of bizarre feathered creatures with long, stiff tails ending in a frond of flight feathers, feathered legs and clawed fore-wings walk in with beaked lizards with wings and three small felid creatures, sort of like a caracal but smaller and with either a white pelt with black, ginger and orange blotches mixed with stripes scattered all over their body or brown and black striped fur. Seeing these, Sardonyx backed away as Andromeda and her family, the bat-birds and the three cats, which were Broccoli and his two sisters Daisy and Collette, as they walked up to the cockatoos.
"Oh, there you are, Spyro, Marella, Bambi," said Travis.
"Bia and the others are just getting ready," said Sunset, a nod to the other animals. Spyro and has family gazed at them as well.
"Right, we'd better prepare too," he said.
"Sorry we're late," said Marella and with that she commanded Bambi to come along with her and Spyro and with that the four archaeobirds rushed off to join Bia's group. Eragon, Andromeda, Broccoli, Collette and Daisy looked on with the bat-birds with small smiles on their faces. However, under the smiles, the look of surprise and consternation was also present on each of their faces. When Eustace saw this, he asked, "Something wrong, folks?"
"You look stricken with worry," said Serena.
"Let me guess," asked Milo slightly disgruntled, "Bad news to bring?"
Travis, Sunset, Clemont, Rosa, Vincent, Yolanda and Peach just exchanged glances and shrugged. Broccoli came forward and shook his head.
"No, not at all," he said.
"We were just taking a walk with these strange city cats," said Andromeda, and then a look of astonishment came upon her face, "But after we had passed through an array of these things you call stands with those humans offering a variety of fruit and other things we have never seen or heard of, to other people," she paused dramatically and put on an awed look, like when one was disturbed after witnessing something horrible, "we heard the MOST… AWFUL… screech explode down one of those um… reads or whatever those things those human four-wheeled things run on…"
"Roads," said Collette.
"That's it," said Andromeda. As she said this, Spyro came in after Marella and Bambi joined Bia's group.
"It was obviously a bird screech but it sounded in extreme distress or agony," he said equally awed, "like that bird was being brutally tortured."
"To be exact, a cockatoo," said Broccoli with a frown. Travis and the other cockatoos exchanged worried glances.
"It can't have been one of us," said Travis.
"Yes, we've been here all this time," said Sunset. Then Broccoli's frown hardened.
"You can't have been," he said in a low voice, "That screech actually sounded like Nigel's."
This sent astonishment tearing through Travis and his family and Spyro shuddered. He remembered seeing that foul and infamous sulfur-crested cockatoo with Indigo and some of the others when he was having a mud bath in the forest before Stella and Soren pinched his tattered vest.
"Nigel's being tortured?" asked Eustace.
"That's the last thing any of us, especially the exotic birds and his still-living victims, would expect that infamous vulture to go through," said Clemont. Then Andromeda, a dark look on her face, approached the cockatoos and said, "Well, I've been to take a look on Rouge, my bat-bird, but we eventually changed our minds and returned to Eragon and the others for it was frightening my bat-bird too much."
Then Serena came in.
"I reckon that's the work of Blu and Jewel," she said.
"Blu and Jewel?" repeated Broccoli in shock.
"Why would they put Nigel through such excruciating torture?" asked Collette. A frown then came upon Travis's face.
"He attempted to torture and abuse Athos and Ruby and almost killed the latter," he said flatly. Confusion was whipped up in the archaeobirds while the three cats flinched as disbelief stung them.
"No," said Broccoli, Daisy and Collette together. But before any of the cats could ask any more questions, Carla turned up.
"Ah, Broccoli, Daisy, Collette," she said, "Glad you've turned up. Would you like to come stargazing with us?" she gestured to the other animals as Porthos went over the safety rules.
"Did Nigel attempt to attack Ruby and Athos?" questioned Broccoli. As he asked this, Bia came in, a furious look on his face.
"To answer that question shortly, Broc," she growled, "yes, but now Mom and Dad are dealing with it. Now let's forget that cockatoo slime-ball and let's focus on stargazing!"
As Bia unintentionally shouted the last word, Broccoli flinched again, especially as Bia and her sister left to re-join the group.
"Okay, okay," hissed the tabby cat and Catina and Veggie's son, disgruntled at Bia's snap, "Little Miss Bossy!"
And with that, Broccoli left with Collette and Daisy and joined the other animals, Spyro not too far behind them. Travis looked on with Andromeda and Eragon and the other cockatoos.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised at Bia's rather snappy reply," said Travis.
"That Nigel has been a bother to us for so many years," said Sunset, "And it's come to a point where we're just about sick of him and his trouble."
"I did catch a glimpse of that cockatoo trying to strike revulsion into some small brightly coloured birds by eating a pigeon carcass, which I believe he had killed, in the most disgusting way," growled Andromeda repulsively, "while I was on a flight out with Cometa and Lightning."
Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Clemont, Serena and Eragon shot Andromeda a disgusted look each, some with tongues hanging out of their beaks. Andromeda's gaze then hardened, "It was absolutely REVOLTING, honestly. Even carrion eaters like vultures, according to Cometa, had better manners than that disgusting hog in feathers…" Andromeda's face then creased into a look of disgust as she said this. Travis's face, however, put on an unsurprising look.
"It's no surprise that you should find him repulsive," he said.
"He's been gorging himself on the most unpleasant of foods since we first met him," said Sunset. Andromeda then breathed a sigh and put her wing claws on her forehead. "I never wanna come across a disgusting creature like that crested parrot again. In fact, just thinking of him and the way he was eating that pigeon makes my stomach wanna tremble…" her wing claws then went to her belly as the feeling of nausea welled there, the others looking on sympathetically, "I'm glad that Cometa and Lightning had taken me and Rouge away from that crested parrot quickly as otherwise I would have been…"
"Even the falcons find Nigel repulsive," said Eustace with a frown. Andromeda gazed at the oldest son of Travis and Sunset. Then Clemont noticed a group of six familiar macaws, three of them green with red foreheads, yellow wing undersides and azure blue wing flight feathers with one of them wearing bandages arrive and touch down before Phoebe and Cobalto.
"Oh, there are Aramis and company," he said. Travis and the others including Andromeda and Eragon turned and saw the newcomers, which were indeed Aramis and his family, as they joined the rest of Bia's group.
As Aramis, Esmeralda, Petunia, Benjamin, Altair and Aldebaran, walked over to join the others going stargazing, Phoebe saw the rather troubled look on their faces.
"Something wrong, Aramis?" asked the hyacinth macaw.
"You look like you have something on your mind," said Zebedee as he stood with Iris, Violet, Indigo, Victor and Sugilite. Aramis shook his head and gazed at the hyacinth macaws.
"Oh, we're fine," he said, "Just a bit… shaken by some strange happening at the Vista Chinesa…"
"Really?" asked Cobalto.
"What happened?" asked Iris. Then a frown came upon Indigo and Victor's faces.
"Toucan trouble, I presume," grumbled the former. Aramis and the other five shook their heads.
"One of the humans in the team of surveyors has mysteriously lost a box of matches from his bag," said the former.
"He packed them before coming to the shift so that he could go straight to his daughter's house for he was having a bar-bee-kew to celebrate her wedding annie-verse-sarry or whatever it is," said Benjamin as he struggled with the human terms 'barbeque' and 'anniversary'.
"Anniversary," said Petunia.
"That's it," said Benjamin. Then curiosity took hold of Altair and Aldebaran.
"What's one of them, Mother?" asked the former.
"It's an event humans have to celebrate a big event in their lives, like a wedding for example," replied Petunia. Intrigued smiles formed on Altair and Aldebaran's beaks. However, Aldebaran still had unease gripping him, and that unease was still writhing inside him like a fish caught in a net and chewing at his insides, no matter how much he tried to quell it. Then Travis came in with his family, Andromeda, Eragon and the bat-birds, a raised eyebrow above his left eye.
"A human has mysteriously lost his box of matches?" asked the sulfur-crested cockatoo.
"Apparently so," said Aramis.
"How they disappeared is anyone's guess," said Esmeralda.
"First, the box was outside that human's bag on the wooden bar of the wooden tower as Altair had taken them out," said Petunia, before shooting a glare at Altair who flinched, "and that man had packed that box back into his bag, which Dad had seen but then…"
"That box has disappeared," Benjamin said, finishing this sentence. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Clemont and Serena exchanged concerned looks while Vincent tipped his head to one side.
"What would that human want with a box of matches, anyway?" asked he.
"To light the fire of the barbeque grill at his daughter's house, obviously," said Aramis. As he said this, some human sounds reached the group's ears, pulling their attention to the source. When Phoebe, Travis and the others with them saw a certain human talk with several other humans near the wall of Tulio's Aviary, Aramis recognised the man as Bill.
"That's Bill," he said, "He's the one who had lost those matches."
Then Finnick came in, a frown on his face as he also gazed at Bill.
"Well, whatever it is, it's none of our concern, anyway," he said, "Let's prepare to stargaze."
"Yes, let's leave our human friends to deal with it," said Esmeralda and with that she, Aramis and the others turned to face the kids while Andromeda and Eragon, Travis, Sunset and the other cockatoos and the bat-birds looked on.
"Alright, you be careful out there," said Andromeda firmly, before her gaze turned to Spyro, Marella and Bambi, "Especially you three."
"We're only going to the spot where there is less of that man's light, Mom," said Spyro as he held his son.
"Do you want us to let Blu and Jewel know where you've gone when they come back?" asked Sunset.
"Yes, please do," said Phoebe firmly. Then Zephyr came in with Brisa and Roberto.
"We don't want them flustered," he said firmly, before his gaze turned to Carla, Bia, Tiago and their mates and chicks, "Especially for those three over there and their families. We've been through enough nightmarish ordeals with most of our chicks going missing and getting caught by poachers as it is."
"I know right," said Broccoli nearby while Collette and Daisy prepared the binoculars.
"We're gonna stay together and not stray into the jungle, anyway," said Roberto, much to the satisfied smiles of Travis, Andromeda and the others with him.
"Good," said Eragon, "And this time, make sure that none of the kids wander off."
"Yes, especially since it is dark," said Sunset. Roberto, Zephyr, Phoebe and Aramis all nodded and turned to help the other adults prepare the kids for stargazing.
"Come along, Altair, Aldebaran," commanded Esmeralda as Aramis's family joined the others. The two Verde brothers obediently followed but not before shooting a gaze at Travis, Sunset, Andromeda, Eragon and Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Clemont, Serena, the young cockatoos and the bat-birds who smiled.
As the two walked along, Aldebaran felt that now was the time to tell one of the adult birds of his uneasy feelings he had been having for a while since before Bill's matches had gone missing. However, another part of him was telling him that the adults would not believe his feelings but the colourful chick decided to fight past his reluctance to ask one of the adults anyway. Going over to Esmeralda, Aldebaran said, "Grandmother."
"Yes, Aldie," said Esmeralda, calling him by his shortened name. Aldebaran then paused. How was he going to explain to his great green grandmother of his feelings based on something that she might not believe?
"Have you… um… ever felt like… you're being…" he timidly asked, "Watched… or followed?"
"What do you mean, sweetie?" asked Esmeralda. Petunia and Benjamin, upon hearing this, came in.
"You mean as in being stalked?" asked Benjamin. Aldebaran, an unsure look on his face, nodded. Esmeralda, Benjamin and Petunia exchanged looks.
"Why are you asking about that, son?" asked Benjamin. Aldebaran then bit the lip of his lower beak and shut his eyes. "I… I've been having this feeling just before we left that… Vista Chinesa tower…"
He then lifted his head and gazed at the three adults, "Just before those… matches went missing, I had a feeling that… someone was following us… or watching us…"
Esmeralda, Benjamin and Petunia exchanged glances again and then gazed back at the hybrid chick.
"Look, there is nothing to be concerned or worried about, son," said Petunia.
"Yes," added Benjamin, "There's no-one following us."
"Furthermore," continued Aldebaran, interrupting his parents' attempts to assure him that there was nothing to worry about, "I thought I saw some movement out the corner of my eye, about the time those matches have gone missing, but when I turned, there was nothing there…"
Then Esmeralda came forward, a slight frown on her face. Putting a gentle wing on Aldebaran's shoulder, she said, "Look, that matches and matchbox incident is none of our concern. Let's just forget about what happened at the Chinesa Vista and let's focus on stargazing, okay? Now let's join the others."
Aldebaran sighed and reluctantly complied. Maybe stargazing and a tour of the night sky will help him to forget his uneasy feelings. Reluctantly, he obeyed his parents and grandmother's orders to join the others and did so with the three adults following.