Because the leaders have flown ahead much faster due to the urgency of the situation, Diaglo and Vivian were left behind and were just getting to the Gathering Tree themselves. The two blue macaws have accompanied Rosita and Ramon along with their eleven chicks who were flying as a small cloud of red-orange with hints of dark blue and yellow. The Gathering Tree came into view and Diaglo felt the alarm and concern within him rise. Nearly the entire flock was there and it seemed that he, Vivian and the Cuban-Carribean Red macaw family are last.

"I wonder what's going on," Diaglo whispered to Vivian. "That glacous macaw's companions don't sound too good when they told the news of Balthazar and Vinnie.." Vivian could only shoot Diaglo a stricken glance filled with dread. "Tell me about it," She whispered back and they gazed up ahead. "I hope nothing's happened to them. They've been missing for a long time,"

The two blue macaws touched down on a branch amongst the trees beside Sunset and Perry, the former immediately pulling the two spixes two her side. "You two! Have you heard..?" Diaglo and Vivian nodded. "We've heard," They said at once and Sunset had refocused her gaze on the scene below.

Nicholas and Orton stood at the center with expressions of grief and sorrow - Orton was already turning his head and screwing his eyes shut with tears streaming down his face and Nicholas was trying to stay strong, although his own eyes were brimmed with tears of both grief and anguish. He had never looked so stressed since their time in the Watering Hole.. It's hard to believe that he's even been there to relax.

"Everybody, thank you all for coming… We understand you've all had things being done, but..." Nicholas inhaled deeply and he felt Orton bury his face against his neck with a cling to his wing, the kakapo hybrid was shaking with tears. Nicholas shuddered and choked out. "We've got some.. bad news," His large, blue-black wing draped around Orton and the crowd began frowning and whispering with each other in unease.

Diaglo and Vivian had exchanged stricken looks. They have been with the two leaders earlier at the Watering Hole and Vivian had seen Nicholas at his happiest for the first time in weeks. But when the news broke out, both leaders were distressed, and now they're a crumbling wreck. Whatever the news was, it broke the two leaders. "What happened?" Diaglo whispered to Perry who was near him.

The teal and yellow macaw gazed at Diaglo with confusion and dread evident in his brown eyes. 'I don't know,' He signed with his talon and then pointed at the scene below, signing again. 'But whatever it is, it must be bad news.' Diaglo flinched and they all looked down. Vivian had held onto Sunset's wing, her heart beating in unease and her claws dug into the branch.

Nicholas closed his eyes momentarily and gazed at his flock. "Now.. You all remember our two pistachio parrots Balthazar and Vinnie, both of which have been missing for quite some time now." He breathed shakily once more as readied to deliver the hardest and most painful part of the news. Few of the parrot members of the flock began to whisper at the mention of Balthazar and Vinnie. "But now, they have been found.. And this is why they weren't able to return to us..." He wheezed and turned to nod at a white and black mynah.

The teary-eyed mynah looked over her shoulder and gave a sad squawk. The signal for two pairs of males of her kind reached them and they mournfully walked in; Each pair carrying something contained in a large leaf between them. The mynahs lowered the leaves, and lying on those were two male parrots.

One of them, an aging, slender male with entirely green plumage and the other, younger and plump with red-orange feathers. The two parrots were dead.. Their bodies covered with brutal slash marks and there was a foul stench of decay coming from them. Diaglo flinched harshly and looked away. The flock began to gasp, shriek and cry out their names.

Plenty of the macaw and parrot members wailed, some that shared the same coloration as the deceased, began to cry. It was like an entire family had been told of the deaths of relatives. Diaglo was surprised that so many birds have grieved for two parrots. Even Vivian wasn't spared from the grief and she was hiccuping slightly with wide eyes full of sadness... She wailed and took off the branch, flying right for Orton to weep against his side, the adult jolting from his own grieving but quickly taking the young bird in his wings.

The kakapo hybrid was trembling as Vivian wept into his feathery chest. He could feel Vivian's grief being intense, not because of her closeness to Balthazar and Vinnie - She only knew then as friendly neighbors after all - But it's because she was terrified. The way these two have been brought in dead reminded both her and Orton about how the past missing birds have been found. Only, this had a graver impact on Vivian as her older brother had been one of the individuals, all of who had been found by Jorge.

Diaglo followed after Vivian with the same great despair and pity on his face. He tried to avoid looking at the bodies and taking in whiffs of the stench. "I'm so sorry.." Squeaked the young blue macaw and he winced in accidentally seeing the deceased parrots. He reluctantly went to Nicholas. "…Where were they found?"

"Jorge found them in the outskirts of Zira's territory," Nicholas explained in a hoarse tone full of grief before wheezing. Diaglo tilted his head. "Zira?" He turned to Vivian and Orton for answers.

The kakapo hybrid was too distraught with grief to speak but Vivian managed to whisper out. "Zira.. That's what we call the jaguar who lives across our territory. She always comes out at night, which is why we call her that.." She whimpered and took off her glasses to wipe at her tears. "Vinnie and Balthazar must have been attacked by her,"

Attacked by a jaguar? This prompted Diaglo to look at the bodies once more, the repulse somehow vanishing. He took a good look at both bodies. The claw marks all over them certainly look big enough to be that of a jaguar and their mangled bodies meant brutally broken bones possibly from paws slamming against them. But there's something weird..

Diaglo frowned. "Jaguars always eat their prey after the kill.." He said quietly to Vivian and Orton as he gestured a wing to the two parrots. "Balthazar and Vinnie don't look like they've been eaten.."

Orton and Vivian looked at each other in realization then looked at the bodies, Diaglo's statement making sense. It's true. As they all knew, jaguars always eat their prey fresh after the kill. The dead parrots were all clawed up and look like a jaguar had attacked them. But aside from that, their bodies are still intact, no signs of flesh being torn off. This made suspicion rise within them. This is odd...

"You have my condolences, sir Nicholas." Jorge appeared from the crowd and he touched down before the large hyacinth with a face of sorrow. Nicholas and the other three with him stared at the military macaw. "Zira really did the job.. Vinnie must have gotten caught from his slow flight and Balthazar likely tried to fight back, only to get killed as well.." When the leaders didn't speak, Jorge began to do the eulogy for them. The flock members began to lower their heads. "Although they haven't been with us for very long, Vinnie and Balthazar are.. Two of the most honorable of birds. Balthazar is wise, smart and intelligent. And Vinnie is kind, charming and never failing to put a smile on our beaks. We will always remember them.."

Nicholas hadn't said a thing as Jorge tried to console, but because the hyacinth had been stressed from the ordeal, he wasn't able to sense that Jorge's tone seemed false. At least, not like Orton did. Vivian too had felt exactly what Orton did and she narrowed her eyes at the scene. "That overgrown fruit, he's never even liked those two!" She hissed inaudibly, only enough for Orton and Diaglo to hear.

"..Maybe he's just being respectful about it?" Diaglo whispered. But Vivian was serious, and even Orton seemed to agree. The kakapo hybrid frowned as Jorge continued to offer his sympathies to Nicholas.

Looking back, he knew Jorge's had quite the history with his flockmates. Vivian wasn't the only bird he poses as a threat to. Other birds, particularly former tribe birds, were all targets by Jorge and Orton was made aware that Balthazar and Vinnie were among those. He felt a pang of despair remembering the two pistachio parrots and gazed at their bodies.

The mynahs began to wrap the two parrots with leaves and then the leaders were given time to give their final words to Vinnie and Balthazar. After that, Orton had watched Jorge disappear into the trees with a narrowed stare, the memories of his bullying Vivian returned and he remembered that he had promised Nicholas that he'll tell him tonight. The hyacinth had just watched the mynahs take Vinnie and Balthazar away and he felt Orton take his wing with a pained yet urgent look.

"Nicholas forgive me for keeping this from you for so long, but I need to talk to you about Jorge. Tonight after the funeral…"