The rain poured from the sky, the grey clouds darkening the forest below. It made the atmosphere of the world around feel sad, and lonesome. The heavy downpour proved to be more than the Spix Macaw tribe had anticipated it to be, and therefore made it near impossible for any of them to take flight. If one of them did, they would surely fail, falling with the rain once their feathers became heavy with water. There was an occasional rumble in the distance, heralding the coming of the worst of this monsoon. The endless tapping of the droplets against the leaves and the wood kept many awake, with barely any animals getting any sleep, and went on without pause. There was a freezing cold breeze that seeped into the hollows of the tribe, nipping at the skin under their blue plumage. The only warmth was the touch of another's body against theirs. None of them could barely see anything, the rain creating a veil outside.
In one of the tribe's hollows, it was quite cramped, with there being at least six macaws, three of them being children and the other three being adults. Two of them were the parents of the children, and the third was their grandmother. The father was William, and the mother's name was Larissa. Two of the children were boys, and the youngest was a girl. The oldest son was Lucas, and the middle child, being the youngest son, was Roderick. The daughter's name was Emma. All six were huddled together in the center of the hollow, sitting together for warmth. The mother looked up from the bundle she was in and sighed as seeing the rain still falling.
"I wish this stupid storm would go soon" Larissa complained, her eyes filled with weariness. "I don't like being cramped up like this." Her mother made a comment that earned a blush from both of the parents.
"Aren't you always like this every night? With William here" she nudged him as she spoke his name. He looked away, trying his best to hide the embarrassment. It seemed to be amusing to his kids, and their mood brightened to see their father become as red as a scarlet macaw. Though only Lucas snickered.
"Mom! Now's not the time, especially not in front of the kids." Her mother pouted, though it quickly changed into a smug smirk as she watched her grand-kids laugh. Not even William's mate could resist a little smile at his reaction, and she quickly moved her primaries to her beak to halt a laugh. But her mother made so such effort, and giggled like she had suddenly become many years younger. Will could only scowl at them before turning away again, since his cheeks were still red as tomatoes. This went on for a short moment until a small yet cold gust of wind came through and brushed against them, sending a shiver up their bodies. They nuzzled against each other, their heads burying into their chest plumage, all connecting in the middle.
Will felt his chicks jump when there was a rumble of thunder nearby, followed by a bright flash. He brought one of them close, the other two going to their mother.
"It's okay, Roderick. It will pass soon. We'll be fine." His words comforted his son, but only little. For his son was the smartest of the three children, and he knew the damage lightning could cause. It could burn an entire forest to the ground with a single strike, leaving nothing but an ashen ground and burnt stumps of trees. The good news was that if a lightning strike did hit a tree, it would be very hard for it to spread. The rain made the forest wet, so it made it hard for any fire to spread anywhere. Will heard his wife's comforting words, her voice soothing his ears. Even with the storm outside, he felt at peace with her by his side. And what better way to be in a storm then with family. She glanced at him, and sent a loving smile. He returned it, only to receive a face of despair as another lightning strike hit, this time much closer. The flash was so bright, Will had to close his eyes for a second.
"That was close" Will murmured in a faint whisper, being sure not to worry the kids. There was a shudder of fear against him, and he found Roderick shaking, his gaze directed towards the storm outside.
"We should sleep. No reason for us to wait out the storm awake, is there?" Will nodded to his mate, and his eyelids drooped down as he brought his son closer. The oldest macaw, Larissa's mother, went straight to sleep in an instant. Soon, he felt a steady breathing against his chest, and he soon too drifted into his own sleep, but not before taking one last look at his family.
I woke to find a light shining into through the entrance of the hollow. But it was no lightning. It was in fact the one thing he had be longing for ever since the storm began. The sun bathed our little huddled with an orange glow. I reached over to my mate and nudged her with my wing. She reacted to the first, her eyes cracking open. She mumbled something, and when she saw the sun, her eyes grew wide.
"Yes! The storm is over!" She awoke her children and did a little dance around the hollow and sung words loudly. Sometimes, William could swear she was the child. But whenever he thought that, he suddenly thought it to be weird, so the thought was gone in a moment's notice. He rolled his eyes and stretched his wings, yawning as he did. His children did the same, their expressions showing slight irritation, accompanied by weird looks at their mother. Their grandmother was the only one who seemed to enjoy the dancing macaw.
"Um, Larissa" she stopped to find everyone staring, and her wings fell to her side, her face filled with embarrassment.
"I think.. I'm going to.. I'll just go get some breakfast" she stuttered, hurrying out. Her mother followed her out, leaving Will and his chicks. They all looked to him expectantly. He shrugged, and they all looked back to the entrance. A minute later, their breakfast came, consisting of three Brazil nuts. They only got three for the children, the adults knowing they can get some later. The two sons finished quickly, while Emma took her time. Lucas stood up and readied himself to leave, if it were not for a talon around his waist to hold him back. Yet Roderick was allowed to leave.
"I'm going to go to visit Bia and see if there is anything new she can teach me." Will and Larissa nodded, allowing him leave. When Emma finished, Larissa beckoned her over to the entrance.
"Let's go and see Jewel. Coming, mom?" Larissa's mother nodded and followed them out. Will took this as his chance and turned his son around to face him. All he earned was a frown with his wings folded across each other.
"Why are you keeping me back?! I haven't done anything!" Lucas argued. Will nodded, confusing his eldest child.
"I know. And that is not why I've kept you here." That only gained more confusion. "It's about what you were planning to do today. And I think it's time to give you some advice." Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"You want to give me advice? Please, I don't need advice." He turned to leave and spread his wings halfway, until his father mentioned something that brought him to a halt.
"Well, you could always mess it up then. With Carla's daughter." He glanced back, his eyes darting around nervously.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, dad. Now, I have to-"
"It's all right. I'm fine with it. But there are some things you should know. Such as gaining her father's trust." Lucas gave his father his full attention, folding his wings back. "Now, what you need to know is that her father is very protective of her little girl. So to earn his trust, you must be respectful, and never, under any circumstances, to you let her get hurt." Lucas nodded attentively, and Will continued. "And you don't have to only worry about her father. Carla may seem like one of those mother's who may need some parenting skills, but she is nowhere near them. Trust me, I've seen her. But I know she trusts you...Just don't get in the way of her work. She is very busy." There was a long silence.
"Is that it?" Will shrugged. "So I can leave?" He shook his head.
"Not without a hug" he said with a smirk. Lucas rolled his eyes and hugged his father, then left without warning. "They grow up too fast...and so do we" he finished, with a slight grim tone to it.
"That was nice of you." He turned, startled to find a familiar face. One he had not seen in a while. "You really are a good father, and a good husband." Will smiled proudly at his friend, Cody. "But a good friend, that's debatable." The smile changed into a glare, but he couldn't keep a straight face when Cody let out a light hearted chuckle. "I'm just kidding, mate!" Will crossed his wings, showing his disapproval.
"How has life been with you and Lil? You two been happy together?" The green macaw nodded. "That's good to know...So, have you thought f-"
"Don't. Just don't. As much as I like kids, I don't think I could handle some of my own." Cody leaned in a bit, looking around as if he was about to tell a huge secret. "And sometimes, I think Lilian's a child." Will gave an understanding nod.
"I know what you mean. Not what I would say about my first meeting though. I mean, at first she was all rude and closed up about things. Then, not soon after, she's all friendly. Seriously, I sometimes can't get women."
"I think the same. Just don't tell them that." Both the avians chuckled at his little joke, not knowing about the female Hyacinth outside. And she was going to have a talk with her life partner.
The young Spix came to a halt before his destination, staying in a hover. He recited what he was going to say. It sounded good in his mind, so what could go wrong. He knew Carla's mate to be a cool dad, much like Roberto in his younger days. So why did Lucas feel so uneasy? In truth, he didn't know himself. But it could have possibly been how his father had talked about him. And that was surprising, since Lucas was usually the one who usually did the scaring.
Above, the clouds were still grey, but they had parted enough for sunlight to peek through. The leaves were still dripping wet from the storm before. When he perched onto the branch, it was damp from the rain. He brushed his wings against his head feathers, smoothing them down. Then, he took his chance and trotted over to the hollow's entrance. He raised a curled talon and knocked on the wood next to he hole. He was not at all ready for the adult macaw that came to the entrance in almost an instant. This macaw was tall and burly, with a dark blue plumage and emerald green eyes. He looked down at the young macaw with a smirk, not noticing the gulp he made.
"Lucas?! How unexpected?!" The adult looked around, possibly to find the kid's parents, then moved his eyes back down to the young macaw. "What can I do for you, kiddo?"
"Um, I was just wondering if Ash was inside?" The adult ducked his head back inside and beckoned his daughter forth. And not too long after, she came to the entrance, beside her father. Ash was a lot like her mother, but had darker feathers like her father. She wasn't as plump as her mother, though. And not as tall as her father. In fact, she was the opposite of both. But her face was the spitting image of her mother.
"Hey Luke! How have you been?" she asked energetically. She was always like that. In her spare time, she would use her energy to dance or sing.
"I haven't been doing too much." He glanced at her father, who returned it with a quizzical look. "So, listen..Ash, I...I was just wondering if maybe, I don't know..we could go out to eat sometime. As friends." She didn't hesitate and shrugged.
"Why not? How about this afternoon?" He had a hopeful smile, and nodded. She smiled back. "Great. I'll see you then." With that, she left. And Lucas prepared to leave, but not before receiving a hard stare from her father.
"She better not get hurt." He gulped, and nodded in return, then left.
Once he was sure the young macaw was out of sight, Will came out into view.
"Never thought you could be so menacing. Never believed you could be so good at acting."
"Hey, I can be menacing if I want. And who said I was acting? I was being truthful."
"I get what you mean. And don't worry, if anything happens, I'll take care of it." They exchanged farewells, and then parted ways. "Now all I have to do is get Roderick with someone" he said to himself. He would never want to see his children lonely. Ever, and he would do anything to make sure they were happy.
Sorry about the wait. Been quite busy lately. And that may be why you might notice that I was lacking towards the end. So hope you enjoyed :)