Later that nightfall, the moon had already risen up and as expected, the flock is beginning to disperse from their trees to head over to the Meeting Tree. Diaglo and Vivian were among those birds and they were following Orton who's flying up ahead, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to check on the youngsters behind him.
Diaglo was looking around the jungle in awe. Now that it's night, the lamps or jars containing fireflies were glowing to light up the way for the birds and some of them were even carrying branches of fire. He shuddered slightly as a Lear's macaw passed by with such object in her talons.
"Don't worry, all of us in the flock are trained to handle fire." Vivian explained when she saw the look of unease on Diaglo's face. She looked much better now thanks to Orton's comfort and she was smiling slightly in enjoying the sight of Diaglo marvelling the area. "It's been going on for ages. Orton and Nicholas learnt this from their homeland and they shared it with the flock. Fire is harmful. But that is if you mishandle it. As long as you know how to control it, you'll be just fine."
As she said this, Vivian swooped down to break a thin branch off a tree and flying to the passing Lear's macaw, asked her permission before lighting up her branch in fire. After that, Vivian dipped the end of the branch untouched by fire into a pool of water and returned to Diaglo. "Here, hold it. This is the technique for fire branches - We moisten the branch on where we hold them. That way the fire won't reach to our talons."
"Wow.. This is pretty cool!" Diaglo's glasses reflected off the soft, amber light of the flames and he took the branch in his single talon. It felt strange holding a thing lit on fire again. The last time he did was back when he was still a chick; Tiago had been fooling around with matches on the night of New Year's and being the safety-obsessed sibling that he is, tried to snatch it away from him. It was an annoying yet fond memory, Diaglo remembered as he gazed at the fire during the flight.
As they neared the gathering place, the voices of birds chattering increased and soon, Diaglo and Vivian were in the Meeting Tree. It resembled a mushroom with it's shape; Narrow trunk and large, wide cap made of leaves and branches. So many varieties of macaws, parrots and tree birds perched in the tree standing out as blooming 'colorful' fruit amongst the leaves while the ground birds sat at the long, extended roots jutting out of the soil like benches.
In front of this tree, a fire was burning in a crevice dug into the soil where the hole was bordered by stones. A pair of Dominican Green and Yellow macaws were poking at the fire with sticks to keep it down; Across them, Orton was talking to a silvery blue glaucous macaw and Vivian and Diaglo had settled on a spot on the tree roots, beside the family of a certain Cuban Red Macaw. "Diaglo! Vivian! So glad you could make it!" She waved an orange and red wing to hail the two teenagers.
Rosita was smiling joyously, a small female chick that looked like her squeaked in her mother's wings. Vivian was cooing and playing with the baby chick a little while Diaglo found the rest of Rosita's family; A male Jamaican Red Macaw stood beside Rosita with a wing wrapped around her while at both their sides sat a few chicks that looked like mixtures of their parents' red and orange colors. Above them, Sunset and Perry were perching and holding orange chicks themselves, definitely more of Rosita's brood. He counted eleven altogether.
"Wow that's a lot of chicks." Diaglo glanced above him. "Are those yours too?"
Rosita nodded. "Yes! We have eleven, Lulu being the newest addition," She smiled lovingly at her Jamaican Red mate and the two nuzzled each other. Vivian whispered sideways to Diaglo with an amused smile. "Rosita and Ramon actually have four more eggs in the nest. That one's just the first to hatch,"
She giggled and Diaglo's lower beak dropped in response. Sure, he knew of toucans Rafael and Eva having nearly 20 chicks in their first broods, but to see a large brood of chicks coming from supposedly extinct macaws, it's a different thing together - At least it's a big step for both kinds of red macaw considering their status, even though the chicks are half Cuban and Half Jamaican Red...
"Hey birds, gather up! It's time to start!" A Dominican Green and Yellow announced with the old glaucous macaw at his side. Almost at once, all the birds have crowded in their places, with the chicks and small-sized birds taking up the fronts due to their size. Diaglo and Vivian were urged by Rosita and her mate to occupy the empty root closest to the 'stage'.
Jorge had spotted the two with a narrowed stare and looked around to make sure no one was looking, before advancing. He stopped abruptly however when Orton had flown forward to the two spixes. The young duo didn't see Jorge, but Orton did. The parrot's suspicious glare was directed at Jorge and the military macaw fearfully flew to sit behind a crowd of birds. Vivian acknowledged the elder New Zealander with a warm smile. "Hey Orton! Wanna sit with us?" She offered the empty space beside her.
Orton didn't need Vivian to ask. He was wanting to sit with these two especially after the ordeal with Jorge. That and he liked Diaglo too. "I'd be delighted to, darling." He said kindly and perched on the root, wrapping a wing around both blue macaws and drawing them closer; Vivian had felt comfort resting against her father-figure's feathers and Diaglo was focused up ahead where the show was about to start.
A few birds Diaglo recognized as red-shouldered and chestnut-fronted macaws performed a very short intermission number with their swaying wings and giant leaves before they all parted to the sides, wings shielding the space in the center and then pulling away, revealing the silvery blue glacous macaw who stood with her head up high, her body glinting with grey due to age, but her spirit is strong. Her misty, lavender eyes were full of memory and she spread her wings. The story of the flock is beginning to unfold...
It all began, so many years ago. Young ones with us were yet to be hatched. So many of us have only been chicks, yet few of us were already adolescents - We were all so young. We all came from different places, different forests. But we were all smuggled by the same poachers. Some of us taken away from our families but most heartbreaking, plenty were willing gave themselves up to escape their war-torn homes. The poachers' plane carried us for several days and several nights. Time to time, we've lost hope. We can never get back home. What else could we do, when we are so far away? We've given up, ready to accept our fates.
But then.. There was a storm. Because most of us are so young we didn't know what was going on. Before we knew, the plane started shaking terribly. Whatever is happening, we all felt of it as danger! We wouldn't dare stay in an earthquake-like place so we were all tempted to come out. Our determination to get out of our cages grew intense! We banged, hit, and bit at the cages! But alas, we found our way out and with the intelligence of a young Kea/Kakapo hybrid and the strength of a young Hyacinth, they opened the plane's door.
The birds sitting around the spixes and Orton gazed admiringly at the latter, who was smiling with memory. Diaglo was looking up at Orton in surprise until the old glaucous macaw continued.
True to the reason of our hopelessness, we were indeed far away from our homes. None of us then came from the Amazon rainforest so we were forced to adjust, make our home out of what we have. Though it wasn't an easy task because we were all terrified and scared. We were without our parents, without family and in a new place! I was one of the teenagers to freak out then, believe me.
Everything was chaos, we didn't know what to do - Until the Hyacinth chick Nicholas, because he had been calm enough, took charge with Orton and they have both gotten us to come to our senses. Why did I, a teenager trust two younger chicks? It's because they broke us out of that plane in the first place, so they were all we had.
We built our little community, got ourselves fed and marked our territory. Then, we took the time to know each other. We became friends really quickly, and then we became family. Every year our flock grew as more lost birds both local and foreign, came to join us.
Plenty of us were from outside of Brazil; I along with most of the macaws here came from Peru, Orton came from New Zealand, the Cuban Macaws from the Caribbean lands and so on. We were all assorted, coming from different places but we were still birds. This is what gave our dear Nicholas the idea for the name of our flock; The Arco Iris, or The Flock of Rainbow Wings. The birds of many places, the birds with many hearts. Wing in wing, talon in talon, we are one, and forever will be.
Loud rounds of applause rang throughout the Gathering Tree and Diaglo was filled with great inspiration. The glaucous macaw was escorted back to her tree by the Dominican Green and Yellow macaws just as the other flock birds either went to fly back to their nests with their families or lingered around to talk more. Orton wanted to escort them to Vivian's tree as it was getting late for young birds - But first, Orton had to check on Nicholas after receiving word that he's gone to their hollow.
On the flight, Diaglo had so many questions he couldn't control his beak! Orton was laughing warmly as the young blue macaw was fluttering around him. "You knew how to open a plane? That's like the coolest thing ever and oh! What was it like when you and Nicholas were first in lead? Can you tell me more about the locals? Are there any Brazilians that joined Arco Iris?" Diaglo was chatting excitedly while Vivian rolled her eyes amusingly - Diaglo is totally her in a nutshell when she was a chick. So curious, always asking questions to her big brother or parents, or even Orton and Nicholas.
The trio touched down on the branch leading to Orton and Nicholas' hollow and the hybrid New Zealand parrot smiled down at Diaglo. "My, you certainly ask a lot of questions. I don't blame you considering it's your first time hearing our flock's story. But don't worry, I promise I'll tell you all about it in the morning. You could ask Vivian a thing or two as well," The female spix smiled shyly at Diaglo and they followed Orton inside.
The hollow had already contained a certain hyacinth in the biggest room and Orton found Nicholas asleep, clearly he looked so stressed and exhausted. Orton felt a pang of pity and he lifted up the mossy cover to tuck him in. "My poor Nick, our flock birds going missing had taken its toll on him." The parrot stroked the large sleeping bird with a light brush of his wing and he nuzzled Nicholas on his forehead.
He quietly tiptoed down to the main hollow room where Diaglo and Vivian watched him tend to the Hyacinth. Both young spixes looked concerned, especially Vivian. "He hasn't found Vinnie and Balthazar yet?" Vivian asked in referring to the recently missing pair.
Orton nodded sadly. "Apparently it seems. This is one of those nights. I'd know it when he's indeed found them, or any of the other missing birds for the matter." Diaglo frowned on in curiosity. Birds of the flock were going missing? Why? He considered asking Orton, but he noticed the tiredness and stress in the kindly second leader's eyes and he shut his beak. Maybe it could wait in the morning.
"Come, let's get you back to Vivian's tree." Orton spread a wing to the two and they took off to their said destination.