Chapter 93- emergency rushes part 2
While the commotion continued outside Tulio's Aviary, some more birds and bats eventually arrived, puffing and panting from flying so fast but could not keep up with the much larger Zebedee and Iris. As Sheldon, Finnick, Aramis, Wilbur, Luna, Sebastian and Anabelle arrived and collapsed in a heap near the building, they were immediately swallowed up in a colourful wave of feathers as Roberto and the others came to hug them in relief and joy. Then another group of birds and bats turned up; Carla, Zephyr, Aurora, Spinel, Diantha, Augustus, Melissa and Soren, together with Rafael and Gylfie, had arrived carrying Sylvester, Aldebaran, Vega, Regulus, Katniss, Polaris and Ferdinand, all but Polaris who were still sopping wet and wrapped in moss for warmth, safely in their clutches and were met by the utterly joyful and relieved crowd of birds as well and the returned chicks and Ferdinand were rushed into Tulio's Aviary only to be met by the same obstacle of full medical facilities. However, since these chicks did not require emergency treatment, they were taken aside by Dash and the other greyhounds and their moss replaced with dry towels to dry their feathers and fur and warm them up, and Polaris was swept into a hug by Diego, Achernar, Finnick and Kira, the family reunited at last and once more. But then it was noticed that there were a still a few missing individuals, and Greg and Sardonyx, the parents of Steven and Kevin, had noticed that Connie was one of them, while Rafael had explained that Eva and the fifteen good toucan chicks were hiding in the forest with the other sensible toucans to prevent Tulio and his team from catching them out of the assumption that they were like the majority of the other toucans, many being Rafael and Eva's descendants.
While Ferdinand and the other returned kids except Polaris were being wrapped up in towels to dry their fur and feathers and warm them up, exhausted and frightened looks plastering their faces as their relatives and friends fussed over them, Ferdinand being fussed over by Sebastian and Anabelle and Aldebaran Benjamin, Altair, Petunia and Aramis, Andromeda, Eragon, Spyro and Marella looked on with the bat-birds, smiles on their muzzle-like beaks when Roberto and Brisa came in.
"Hey, Andromeda, folks, have you seen Blu, Ju-Ju, Bia and Stella?" asked Roberto, "They're still missing."
"As are Connie, Sandalwood and Bellatrix," added Brisa, "Tiago, Virgil, Carla and Matilda are looking frantically everywhere for Bia and Bellatrix as are Greg and Sardonyx for Connie and Soren for his mate and Sandalwood."
Andromeda was about to reply when suddenly, sounds of wing-flaps reached the ears of the group. The four archaeobirds and two Spix macaws turned in the direction of the source of the sounds and to their surprise; they saw a cockatoo with black feathers and a bright yellow tail underside fly in at an alarming rate, but it was not Ónix's presence that surprised them for she had been helping out at Tulio's Aviary. Rather, it was her panicked state that surprised the six birds, especially based on her fully erect crest. As Ónix landed clumsily before Andromeda and Roberto, startling the bat-birds somewhat and forcing Eragon, Marella and Spyro to calm them while Brisa rushed forward to help the red-tailed black cockatoo, a female based on the colour of her tail underside which was red in males, to her feet, Augustus and Melissa walked in.
"Is that black cockatoo bird alright, my dear?" asked Melissa, "She looks as though she had seen a ghost."
"Or rather had a close brush with the fire," said Augustus with a frown, "I hope that city bird hasn't flown into the burning forest."
As Brisa helped the puffing and panting Ónix stand, Roberto said, "Are you alright, buddy?"
"No," replied Ónix as she managed to get some words out. Then as soon as she had caught her breath, she began to speak without having to pause and enter a rapid breathing fit.
"There are some creatures approaching this location in the forest, carrying what I believe to be branches of FIRE!" squawked the female red-tailed black cockatoo. This sent horror tearing through Andromeda, Eragon, Roberto, Brisa, Marella and Spyro, and made Augustus and Melissa flinch and the bat-birds let loose frightened whimpering squeaks.
"Have you seen the carriers of those flaming branches?" asked Spyro.
"No," said Ónix, "I was too far away to catch a glimpse of them but all I know that the carriers of the branches on fire appear to be chasing something heading here…"
Andromeda shot the other five with her an alarmed look as Augustus came in.
"We gotta intercept those fire branch carriers and rescue whatever or whoever they are chasing before they reach here and potentially set something in this human area ablaze and cause even more destruction…" he said urgently and darted off to find an elevation to get airborne with Melissa following while Andromeda, Spyro and Marella jumped onto their bat-birds with Brisa and Roberto. Eragon darted off in the direction of Tulio's Aviary.
"I'll get any of the humans with water ready as well as warn the other animals in that human construct they call a building," he said as he rushed off, his wing claws grasping his casted shoulder of the other wing as he left.
As Eragon left the earshot range, Andromeda shouted to her bat-bird, Rouge, to take off while Roberto held on to her. Brisa rode on Spyro's bat-bird, Garnet, with his rider and Marella commanded her bat-bird to take off as well, Brisa riding on the little pterosaur with her. Then as soon as Augustus and Melissa, now airborne, had joined the bat-bird riders, Andromeda shot Ónix a stern look.
"Take us to where you found those fire branch carriers RIGHT AWY!" she shouted. Ónix nodded, whirled round and charged off, Andromeda's group following close behind. Roberto hung onto Andromeda, a look of worry inflating his eyes and spiking out his head feathers.
"I hope the chased aren't who I think it is…" he cried worriedly.
"Well, we'll find out, Robbie," said Brisa as she hung onto Marella. Then Andromeda's group disappeared after Ónix in the direction of the forest, most of it still ablaze in the distance. Not far behind, Rafael had appeared but when he saw Andromeda's group leave after Ónix, he gasped and followed.
Meanwhile
The fire branch carriers, which were in fact a small flock of toucan chicks, were scouring the unlit trees for any flash of colour. The colourful clusters of parrot feathers tied to the ends of their sticks flashed in the moonlight and the light of the fire in the distance as well as the light from the flames but this was no beautiful decoration. As the toucan chicks continued to menacingly scan the trees like a group of hunters, a certain group of macaws and flying foxes hid under a tight cluster of branches and leaves, their terrified eyes gazing at the prowling bunch of toucan chicks. Blu, Jewel, Bia and Stella, together with Sandalwood, Bellatrix and Connie, her broken left wing carefully folded against her side in Bia's talons, shuddered and continued to watch the fire-branch-armed and menacing toucan chicks as they continued to scour the trees for them. Sandalwood huddled against his mother Stella's breast while Jewel kept a firm grip on Bellatrix, and Blu was doing most of the watching, his brown eyes inflated with fear. Stella also gazed at the toucan chicks and felt something else boil within her. It was boiling so violently that it also made her stomach cringe with nausea setting in, especially as the albino flying fox's pink-red eyes examined the sticks on fire held in the talons of the toucan chicks, how the parrot feathers were tied to their ends and how the toucan chicks were scouring the environment. Besides fear, disgust and revulsion were boiling within the white flying fox, for the behaviour of the toucan chicks and how they wielded their 'new weapon' decorated with the parrot feathers reminded her vividly of how the colony flying foxes carried their weapons, such as sharp-sticks, most of which were decorated with the feathers taken from the bats' avian victims after they had killed them, and attached to those clusters as trophies, would hunt for any terrified hidden bird victim they were after. The toucan chicks and how they were prowling around clearly resembled those flying foxes out on the hunt for some innocent bird to slaughter and harvest their feathers. As she continued glaring at the toucan chicks' behaviour, Bia spoke to her in a quiet voice.
"Their behaviour reminds you of your former colony flying foxes and their feather decorated weapons; don't they?" she whispered sympathetically. Stella nodded while Connie looked up from Bia's talons curiously.
"Mom and Dad are gonna feel utterly sickened and outraged when they see what an insensitive idea those toucan kids have concocted with those feathers," Stella hissed. She flinched as some of the leaves in front of her face flickered in movement as she exhaled. Sandalwood huddled timidly against her breast.
"How many are there, Blu?" asked Jewel quietly, Bellatrix cowering in her talons. Blu continued to examine the number of toucan chicks as they continued scanning the environment with their parrot feather-decorated torches.
"I can't get an exact number but I'd say about… forty or more, if my calculations are correct," whispered Blu as he estimated the size of the toucan flock which was quite large. This made the skin under the facial feathers of Jewel and Bia and the fur of Stella drain of blood and go a deathly pale colour, and Sandalwood and Bellatrix began to tremble violently. A small group of seven individuals, three kids and four adults, against forty or more reckless toucan chicks armed with a dangerous weapon… NOT a good matchup. Then Blu shuddered when he saw some of the toucan chicks begin to move in his and his group's direction, the flaming branches in their talons casting light around them which moved with their source. He knew that that light from those torches would illuminate their hiding place and expose them any second.
"They're coming this way, Dad?" asked Bia. Blu then began to slowly creep towards the other six, being quiet so as to avoid brushing against clusters of leaves which would cause a small rustling sound and alert the toucan chicks. Blu then gazed at his mate, daughter and flying fox as the three held his granddaughter and two young flying foxes in their clutches, a dark look on his face.
"Let's sneak away before those torches' lights in those toucan kids' talons illuminate us," he said in a whisper, a glance flashed at the toucan chicks as they continued to scan the trees, some of them moving their way, "We'll start off slowly but when those feral chicks spot us, I will shout 'fly' and we will all fly like the wind," his gaze turned to Connie in Bia's talons, Bellatrix in Jewel's talons and Sandalwood on Stella's breast, a firm and serious look on his face, "You three hang on tight. A sudden burst into a speedy flight is likely to be imminent…"
"What's 'imminent' mean?" asked Connie.
"It means in a very short while," replied Bellatrix in a low voice.
"It could even be sudden," said Sandalwood. Then Blu quietly and quickly sneaked over to the front of Jewel, Bia and Stella and their cargo and began to lead them carefully away, especially as some of the toucan chicks slowly crept dangerously close to their hiding place, the flickering orange orbs on the tips of their torches in their talons. However, they hadn't spotted Blu and the other six… yet. Carefully, the three adult Spix macaws and flying fox, the two younger flying foxes and chick in their clutches, began to slowly skulk away as the toucan chicks continued to close in on their location. All four adults were very careful not to enter the range of the torches' light and had to duck in order to avoid their silhouettes and shadows showing up in the lights. Then a short talk between the kids began to shake the nerves of all seven of them.
"Can any of you see anything?" asked one of the chicks. The others scoured the trees and branches
"No, nothing," replied another. Blu, Jewel, Bia and Stella continued to creep away, Bellatrix, Sandalwood and Connie cowering in their clutches but before the four adults could reach the end of the branch, three of the toucan chicks happened to turn their scanning gazes their way.
Blu continued to lead the other three adults and their cargo away when suddenly, "THERE THEY ARE!" exploded from nearby. That was it; Blu knew it was time to deliver the escape signal.
"FLIIIIEEEEE!" he screeched to Jewel, Stella and Bia. Then without wasting another second, all four flying animals, the three kids clinging in the talons or on the breast of three of them, launched into the air and began to make a mad break for it. Behind them, a loud screeching of berserk toucan chicks shook the air which was then subsequently sliced by dozens of small black, orange or lime green, and red-cream blurs with orange fireballs above them as the small flock of toucan chicks began to chase down Blu and the other three like a harpy eagle after its prey. Then a wild chase erupted as four comets, one white and white-grey and the other three blue and cerulean, charged through the trees, a swarm of smaller comets with flaming fireballs right behind them. Blu led Stella, Jewel and Bia upward until they were out of the treetops for Blu knew that if the group were to fly through the canopy, the clutter might slow them down for one and one or two of the adults might crash into an obstacle, such as a tree branch, for another and potentially lose their cargo and injure themselves. Certainly not good for Connie with her broken wing as the impact might do her more serious damage. Then as soon as they were out of the trees, Blu, Jewel, Stella and Bia, with a terrified Sandalwood, Connie and Bellatrix in their clutches, began to fly for their lives, faster than they had ever flown before. Behind them, the small flock of screaming toucan chicks chased them, their little wings flapping and their talons carrying the blazing torches which continued to deform into fireball comets with the gust of air from the flight, and the thrill of the chase erupting through their crazed orange and black or lime green and magenta beaks in the sound of high-pitched, maniacal screams. With their hearts racing and their wing muscles straining as they flapped like mad, Blu, Jewel, Bia and Stella rocketed through the night air above the forest. Sandalwood clung onto his mother's breast while Bellatrix and Connie hid in Jewel and Bia's talons respectively. Bellatrix flashed a glance from Jewel's talons at the chasers and their frenzied, warped facial expressions and stifled the urge to scream. In the background of the forest, the fire continued to blaze, continuously belching thick smoke and flooding the night sky with it.
"This is MANIC!" screeched Bia as she continued to flap like mad, "I can't POSSIBLY IMAGINE the Blu Bird Sanctuary becoming home to a BUNCH OF DERANGED TOUCAN CHICKS UTILISING DANGEROUS THINGS like FIRE!"
"More like a toucan version of Cicatriz and his COLONY, Bia," shouted Stella, a glance behind the group at the toucan chicks.
"There are the lights surrounding Tulio's Aviary," shouted Blu when he saw the familiar sea of artificial lights which he knew very well to be said building and its surrounding area. Flapping like mad with the three kids in their clutches, Jewel, Bia and Stella followed Blu in that direction, the torch-carrying and screaming toucan chicks hot on their tail like a bunch of hunting flying foxes armed with torches, at least from Stella's perspective.
The wild chase continued on for another few more frightening minutes, and severe fatigue was starting to creep into the flight muscles of Blu, Jewel, Stella and Bia as they were pushed to breaking point but the four still continued flapping on like mad, the adrenaline surging through their bloodstreams like a massive tidal wave from the life-threatening situation. More and more dark treetops continued to flow by beneath the four adults and their cargo and Blu thought it would never end, but as soon as a drop off appeared beneath the quartet and the three kids in their clutches, indicating the end of the forest and the beginning of human territory based on the dark grey manmade floor of tarmac straight below, Blu, Jewel, Stella and Bia folded their wings and swooped downward, only pulling out of the dive when they were about a foot above the tarmac. Behind them, the torch-carrying, screaming toucan chicks followed, the small flock resembling a cluster of fireballs swooping down after Blu and the other three. Blu and the other three continued surging towards a certain familiar building but when they saw some familiar forms up ahead, as well as a few more forms fly in towards them from the side, fatigue finally took its toll on their wing flight muscles and they burned out, sending Blu and the other three into plummeting towards the hard ground and crash-land… right at the foot of a crowd of familiar macaws and other animals, among them Porthos, Orquidea, Dash and Ginger. Blu, gasping and panting, slammed onto his front, skidded a short distance with his body curving such that his tail and feet were above his head and stopped just inches from and Porthos' talons, much to the surprise and utter alarm of the burly blue-and-gold macaw, while Jewel, Stella and Bia, also puffing and panting furiously, crashed nearby. Before hitting the ground, the three managed to rotate so that they were belly-up and ended up crashing onto their backs, with their wings folded in and with Bellatrix, Sandalwood and Connie safely on top and out of harm's way during the harsh landing. However, the hard and painful impact on the hard tarmac on the backs of all three female adults as they hit it was enough to make their faces screw tight shut and their beaks and teeth grit, and draw the breath right out of them. The three also skidded a short distance and slowed to a stop. Then some familiar voices shouted their names.
"BLU, JEWEL, BIA, STELLA!"
The small group that had flown in from the side, which had been Ónix and Andromeda, Roberto, Brisa, Marella and Spyro on the bat-birds, and Rafael, Augustus and Melissa, flew in and touched down, before rushing over to the collapsed and heavily puffing and panting quartet while the other macaws and animals began to help the four dazed animals to their feet and also see to Sandalwood, Connie and Bellatrix. Greg and Sardonyx, who had seen the four final animals return and crash-land, rushed forward to Bia to see to Connie.
"STOP, I'VE A BROKEN WING!" shouted Connie before the two scarlet macaws could snatch her from Bia's talons. Sardonyx and Greg stopped and gazed at Connie's kinked left wing and the grey-headed flying fox's pained face. Then Sardonyx carefully lifted the grey-headed flying fox pup from Bia's wings and talons while Carla, Tiago, Virgil and some others began to help Bia, who was pained and still heavily breathing with aching flight muscles, to her feet.
"We'd better take you inside to get that fixed," said Sardonyx and with that, she and Greg left while the other animals sought to Jewel, Blu, Stella, Sandalwood and Bellatrix and while Virgil and Carla helped Bia to Tulio's Aviary for a check-up for any injuries which were thankfully nothing more than bruises and a few cuts from the crash-landing. However, amidst the commotion, the group was made aware of the sounds of frantic screaming, so they froze. Ónix, Andromeda, Roberto, Brisa, Marella, Spyro, Rafael, Augustus and Melissa also froze, their faces morphing into looks of confusion.
"Sounds like some more panicked animals," said Marella. Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from someone nearby and all of a sudden, a stampede of talons, greyhound and cat paws and flying fox feet erupted as the whole crowd rushed back, the other kids swept up in wings and Blu, Jewel, Stella, Sandalwood and Bellatrix seized and rushed away, leaving only Ónix, Andromeda, Roberto, Brisa, Marella, Spyro, Rafael, Augustus and Melissa to stand in a cloud of dust for they were late to react. However, before they could retreat as well, Katniss came in with Neytiri, Tristan and Canopus; that glaucous family reunited at last, along with Aiden and, Trixie and their only chick Arcturus.
"Mrs Andromeda, Uncle Beto, Aunt Brisa, Uncle Rafael, guys, LOOOOOK!" shouted the little female glaucous macaw chick with a talon point before her parents came in, seized her and scolded her. Ónix, Andromeda, Roberto, Brisa, Marella, Spyro, Rafael, Augustus and Melissa shot Katniss a confused look, just as the screeching of a small flock of birds increased in loudness but then stopped abruptly. Then the nine slowly turned in the direction of the abruptly cut-off screaming and as their eyes landed on it, extreme shock, the most EXTREME shock they had EVER felt in their lives in fact, tore through them, especially at the things held in the talons of those little birds, making them flinch violently and jump into the air as though they had been stung by a colony of biting fire ants.
"THUNDER AND LIGHTNING, what in the WORLD are those TOUCAN KIDS DOING WITH THOSE BRANCHES ON FIRE!?" bellowed Andromeda in extreme shock.
"Not to mention those clusters of feathers attached to the bottom ends of those sticks," put in Augustus, his and Melissa's disgusted and EXTREMELY offended glare on a certain location of said sticks. Brisa, Roberto, Ónix, Marella, Spyro and Rafael only looked on speechless, the extreme shock at the sight freezing their brains in place for them to even form a word, much less speak a series of them. In the background, Carla, Tiago, Dash, Ginger, Porthos, Orquidea and the others also looked on in extreme astonishment and disbelief, some of them even fainting from the sight.
Blu, Stella, Bia and Jewel's chasers, which were the small flock of toucan chicks holding the parrot feather-decorated torches, the flames flickering on the upper ends of the branches, gazed back at the crowd with utterly and equally shocked and terrified look, especially at their grandfather Rafael, and Andromeda, Spyro, Marella and Augustus and Melissa.