Chapter 2:One Tragic Question
The city of Rio was vast and confusing, with its mazes of buildings and labyrinths of streets. The only way Blu could hope to find the sanctuary was to keep walking west, away from the bay. Jewel, though still staggering about, was being quite cooperative, allowing her mate to guide her steadily, using his voice from his position a few feet behind.
They had been trotting towards the sanctuary for over thirty minutes, but the sea of buildings seemed unyielding and infinite. About a third of the way into their journey, they had managed to find a street oriented parallel to their direction of travel, and even though it carried inherent risks, Blu insisted that he and Jewel follow it.
It was a strange sight to see indeed, two striking azure birds waddling down the sidewalk a few feet apart, with the rear bird cawing every few seconds and supposedly guiding the other, who looked out-of-sorts.
Jewel's warped mentality meant she paid little attention to danger, and several times throughout the trek, she had nearly been kicked or stepped on by a human who was exiting a restaurant or a store. By some divine hand, she had teetered in the opposite direction just in time to avoid the foot that would have crushed her bones or sent her rolling into the perilous street.
After the fourth occurrence of this near-disaster, Blu had opted to walk immediately behind his mate and serve as her eyes and ears. She allowed him to use his wings to steer her, and she did not protest.
Nonetheless, her incoherent babbling about the most random subjects was digging deep into Blu's skin.
Some of the more humorous subjects included the notion that she had no children at all, she knew not who Rafael and Eva were, and she was convinced that Blu was leading her to fantasy land.
Blu did his best to dismiss her off-the-wall shouts, but at the same time, he prayed that the jungle would spring up on the horizon within the next five minutes so that he could put his clown factory of a mate to sleep.
Gradually, as they went along the seemingly endless river of pavement, the shops disappeared - only to be replaced by the ominous stares of houses - and the cars no longer filled the air with noise and foul smells. The lamp-posts that had graced the sidewalk and cast their soft light for everyone to see had vanished.
The once lively street they were traveling on was now a shadowed, cold strip of rough asphalt, and Blu was trembling with fear.
This is the place where nightmares hide. This is the place where the most sinister evils are committed. This is the last place a drunken macaw and her mate should be...
He nudged Jewel's back and whispered, "Uh, honey, could you walk a little faster? This isn't the safest place to be wandering in the dead of night."
Without slowing down, she replied, "S-sure, b-buddy! I-I'll walk... f-faster..."
Jewel broke into a soft jog, and Blu had to admit, it was almost cute. The way her head feathers bounced around and the way her tail brushed the asphalt gave him the urge to run up and snuggle into her. Still, if he wanted to do any of that, he had to get her home safe, so he shook the distracting musings from his head.
There will be time for intimacy later. I need to focus and just... find the way home. I think I can feel the jungle calling to me...
Blu, who had stopped to contemplate these thoughts, had allowed his mate to walk ahead without him, and when he looked up, Jewel was gone.
Oh shit! Now I've lost her!
He sped into a desperate run and took off down the street as fast as his fragile legs would move.
"Jewel! Where are you, honey? Make a noise or... something!"
He jerked his gaze down from left to right, but all he could see were the dark outlines of scattered houses and looming hills just off the road. He maintained his frantic pace for one whole minute, but eventually he crawled to a stop and rested.
"Hello? Jewel! Please, tell me... where you are!"
He looked in all directions, but to no avail. Defeated, he lowered his head, and when he caught sight of the ground, he noticed he was standing on dusty, dry earth. It took him a few seconds to discern what had happened to Jewel.
Hey, I know. The street must have veered off, and Jewel must have followed it! I have to go back!
Blu whirled around and ran at a fair pace back the way he came. Sure enough, not twenty seconds into his journey, the street had bent to the left, and as Blu rounded the corner, a long row of evenly spaced houses framed the road on both sides.
Some of the houses were lit up from the inside, and the streams of light pouring from the windows cast irregular squares onto the road. The most joyful sight however, was a bobbing figure not three houses down, tinted a soft shade of blue.
"Jewel, slow down! I'm coming for you!"
Blu's metabolism was racing, his heart kicking rapidly and he could only manage a gentle jog. Eventually, he came up behind her, stopping her with with a hug and twirling her around to face him. He did his best not to cringe at her distorted, drowsy appearance, but having found her prevented his gut reaction from surfacing.
"I was so scared, honey! I thought you had gotten lost! Thank God you're safe."
"I-I can h-handle myself. Let g-go, so I c-can... walk. I c-can s-smell the j-jungle..."
Blu turned her around and pushed her gently, and she resumed her dazed ambling down the street. As he trailed her, he breathed in, and a strong, earthy scent filled his senses.
For what it's worth, she's right. The last leg of our journey is close at hand. But I can't see the jungle from here, so where is it?
The rich scent of healthy plant matter and the sweet aromas of fruit choked the air, and being as there was no breeze, determining where its origins were was a mystery.
They came to the end of the street, and it merely terminated in a cul-de-sac. One stately house sat at the end, just past the large circle of open pavement, and the serene jungle was still in hiding.
Blu and Jewel were standing in front of the last house on the right, bathed in the ambiance of the silent neighborhood and the taunting scents of the jungle. Unsure of what to do, Blu watched his mate walk away from him and round the corner of the house.
With slight hesitation, he followed, and as he came up behind Jewel, a startling sight loomed in front of him.
A leafy wall rose up in the near distance, and it stretched away on his left until it blended smoothly with the moonless velvet sky.
Jewel lifted her wing and mumbled, "J-jungle. Let's g-go..."
She waddled off towards the black wall of undergrowth, and Blu was filled with a certain rush of jubilee.
Finally! We found it! Now, all we have to do is locate the clearing. Like it or not, I'm going to have to carry Jewel up to our nest...
He made to follow, and as they came to the fringes of the sanctuary, the border net lay like a sinuous barrier that rose up into the starry sky.
"How are we going to get past the net, Jewel? The only openings are up-"
The sound of grunting and cloth tearing caused him to look at his mate. She had torn some of the fibers with her beak, and slithered in past the hole.
Without looking back, she replied, "T-thats... how. Come..."
The jungle, like the desolate street, carried its own hidden dangers, and many of them could claim their lives in a split second. Lurking pythons, bird-sized spiders, and other predators that called this verdant expanse their hunting ground and home.
It was hard to focus on Jewel and keep his senses sharp for any signs of danger. Navigation was also no easy task, for everything looked so different and alien down on the ground, compared to up in the air.
Blu tried to use the stars to chart his course, and he had a vague idea of where the clearing was located in relation to those stars.
Given the vastness of the sanctuary, a vague idea was better than no idea.
One particular twinkling speck caught Blu's attention, and something beyond even his understanding egged him to follow that star.
"Hey, Jewel?"
"What... you l-little p-punk?"
"Our home is this way. Let me lead you on."
"W-whatever. Just m-make it q-quick."
Jewel was nowhere close to achieving sober status, and Blu deemed that a good long sleep was the only cure.
As he led his mate on with his wing, he was routinely started by the sounds that would jump out at him from every direction. The snap of a stick, the rustle of leaves, the bass croak of a frog. It seemed as though the jungle took pride in exacerbating his already-tense state.
They moved through the undergrowth at a reasonable speed, but silence was out of the question. For some reason, Jewel's garbled rants that she had spouted back in the city had returned for a repeat, and Blu just knew that many a macaw family would be awoken by her reverberating shouts.
They ambled on in sheer darkness, the feeble points of light glinting above no match for the thick canopy of drooping leaves and gnarled branches. Thirty agonizing, jittery minutes from the time they crossed into this unforgiving land, Blu felt a silent signal that their home was not too distant, screened away somewhere along their current path.
"Sweetie?"
"Ugh... w-what? L-leave me a-alone."
"I can sense that our home is hidden up ahead. We're nearly there. Once we arrive-"
Blu felt a strong tug on his wing, and as he looked down, he saw that Jewel had tripped on a fallen branch. She slowly picked herself up and glared not at the branch, but at Blu.
"W-way to go... a-asshole! You j-just let me... trip! Can't y-you watch where t-the... hell we're g-going?"
"Hey, I'm sorry, beautiful. I wasn't paying attention to the ground. Are you-"
She pushed Blu backwards angrily, and before he could recover, he tripped on the very same stick. He fell over and smacked his head on a stone, accompanied by a sting of pain. As he got up, a warm tickle threaded its way down his neck, and he knew he was bleeding.
"That's it! You are out of control, Jewel. Even if it kills me, I'm never letting you touch one more alcoholic drink. I swear I won't."
"W-we'll s-see, punk. Where t-the hell i-is our n-nest!"
"If you wouldn't keep pushing me around, maybe we could get there. Now come on!"
He gripped her with his wing and pulled her forward, anger and dismay fueling his footsteps. When they had traveled for three more minutes at Blu's new pace, the silent reassurance welled up once more.
Blu let Jewel go and trudged forward, bursting from the thick plant growth and finding himself in his very own clearing.
The cannonball tree in the center stood tall and proud, a sentinel in the night, a beacon of hope.
He dashed back to retrieve Jewel, a dreamy smile on his face, devoid of any negative emotions.
He attempted to lead Jewel the forty or so feet to the tree, but she wouldn't budge. She turned away like a catwalk model and began walking almost exactly back the way they had come.
"Hello? Where are you going? Our nest is just past this wall of plants."
She paused in her retreat and seethed, "Y-yeah... right. Our h-home is t-this way, i-idiot. I m-may be d-drunk, but I'm n-not... stupid."
She pushed a fern leaf aside and walked past it, letting it spring back into place and obscure her body from sight.
Yep, still going to be a long damn night.
He sauntered after her, determined to get her home safe, even if it was at his expense. He caught up to her and tapped her on the back, and she slowly turned around and fixed him with a hideous stare.
"W-what the h-hell is up... with y-you and b-bothering me?"
"I'm telling you, Jewel, our home is that way," declared Blu while pointing with his wing. "Just past this little stretch of plants."
"You're a... d-damn liar. G-get away f-from me. I'll f-find my o-own way h-home."
She whirled around and made to walk away, but Blu moved in front of her and cut her off.
"No, I will not get away. You are acting ridiculous! What happened to the sweet, caring, and beautiful bird I used to know?"
"You're l-looking at h-her, asshole. Now m-move, or else..."
"Or else what?" "Or else.. I'm g-going to k-kick... your ass."
"You wouldn't dare."
A blow from her wing convinced him otherwise.
He tumbled head-over-tail and ended up on his stomach, still facing Jewel.
A truly furious haze fogged up her eyes, and Blu was wondering what he had gotten himself into.
He picked himself up and rubbed the sore spot on his chest, doing his best to shoot Jewel an equally intimidating glance. It didn't work. His mate did not show a single hint of backing down.
A wave of bewilderment and hurt cracked Blu's tough expression, and he cried, "I don't deserve to be treated like this! I'm your mate, the father of our kids, damn it! Do you have no shame?"
"Ha ha ha! Who... g-gives a shit? I d-don't. You're j-just a sorry-ass... joke. I d-don't know w-why... I e-even live with y-you. Well, I-I used t-to live w-with y-you. S-see you... l-later, bitch..."
He approached her while summoning up all the courage he could muster.
He was met by another painful blow, for Jewel had floored him with another wing swipe.
He tumbled into a nearby tree, and he saw his deluded mate flying awkwardly at him. Before he could move, she drove her head into his chest, winding him completely.
He fell over and gasped for breath, and the sharp pain made drawing in oxygen even harder.
"Here's a-a parting... gift f-for you. J-just try and... f-follow me..."
She raised him back up and threw him against the tree. She peered deep into his eyes, which were drowned in pain and sorrow, and smirked.
She raised her foot and arced it through the air, enjoying the tug she felt when it made contact with Blu's body.
She turned away and half-fluttered into the jungle, going wherever her warped mind would take her.
Jewel's talon swipe had raked across Blu's face, slicing into the soft skin around his right eye and tearing his eyelid. Her talons had also scratched his cornea, and his bleeding eyelid closed reflexively amidst an explosion of pain.
He fell over onto the dry earth and shrieked, "Ahhh, my eye! I'm blind! It fuckin' hurts! Why did you do this, Jewel!"
He quivered about on the ground, his feet flailing in the air to try and dissipate the fire that scorched his mind.
His left eye was streaming tears, both from the sheer agony and from the hurt he felt choking his soul. His right eye, however, was streaming channels of scarlet.
"Please help me! Oh God, please. Somebody, come and knock me out! I can't deal with this!"
He staggered to his talons, for one whole side of his vision was black and featureless.
He attempted to put himself out by banging his head against the tree, but he only succeeded in bruising the left side of his face.
The initial agony had decreased enough for him to think, but just barely so.
What his mate did was... horrifying, but she was out there, all alone and completely vulnerable. He was ripped in half between the decision to pursue her or to just abandon her and go home.
He had just been thrown into a waking nightmare, and he would rather die than relive it once again. As terrible as that sounds, he would never forgive himself if he never saw Jewel again, and he would rather die then as well.
I can't leave her. I just can't! My wounds will heal, but if she gets killed out there, my soul will not. I am still bound to her with every fiber of my being. I love her too much to let her go this way. I won't stand for it!
Walking would only put him in more danger than he could deal with in his hampered state, but he wanted to see if flight was still an option.
As he rose into the air, he truly realized that he had taken his vision for granted. Half of the world was invisible, and there was a great chance that he would not be able to fly even a few feet without striking a branch or entangling himself in a vine.
Having to decide whether to walk or fly was like having to choose between the lesser of two evils. Both carried great advantages, but dire risks as well.
Being that his mate was most likely ground-bound, he decided to do what he did best and walk. He landed roughly back on the desiccated turf and tried to still his nerves.
His entire face was throbbing, as if it was being run over rhythmically by a car tire.
"I'm coming for...you Jewel! I still... love you. We're chained to each other birds... remember..."
His desperate shouts rang out for the whole world to hear, and he solemnly began the search for his belligerent mate...
For two hours straight, he crisscrossed the jungle, searching every grove, pool, and clearing he came across. Not one time did he encounter any signs that his mate had ever been there. His body was creeping closer and closer to exhaustion, but he still pushed himself to keep going.
It was insane what love could make a lone, half blind macaw do.
He had paused to rest in a desolate grove of banana trees, but he was too distraught to eat.
His thoughts were burdened with a thousand reasons as to why he hadn't found Jewel.
Some were just wishful thinking, like the impossible chance that she had actually gone home. Others were too atrocious to even contemplate, like the small chance that she had satisfied a snake's hunger for a few weeks.
He knew his search would never be completed if he terrorized his mind with such thoughts.
He shook his head gently and clambered from the grove, moving at a sluggish pace as he searched the monotony of the jungle.
Half an hour later, he knew he could continue no more. He managed to find the guiding star up above, and with a crushing sigh, began to trudge his way home.
He came upon a fairly old cannonball tree, and as he crawled past it, an odd noise managed to find its way into his spent brain.
What the hell is that? It sounds... pleasant. It wouldn't surprise me if two birds are having some late-night sex up there.
Blu shrugged and took a step, but then he heard a name. His name. His stomach twisted with dread, and he used a considerable amount of effort to fly up and find the hollow where the sounds were pouring from.
The space was pitch-dark, and Blu could not make out hardly any details. However, the noises grew louder, and it did indeed like two birds were busy copulating.
He saw two writhing shapes at the far end of the hollow, and once again, he heard his name being called. Only one bird could stir his soul so completely with just her voice: Jewel.
All at once, the pieces fit together, and Blu's world exploded with the force of a supernova.
His mate, the bird he would die for, the bird he loved beyond all measure, was in the wings of another. She was moaning in pleasure, as was the male, as he sat and listened, she called out his name in ecstasy.
Compared to how she sounded hours earlier, it was apparent that Jewel had sobered up considerably. Her voice was clear and smooth, like a mountain lake in the spring.
Blu couldn't tell what species of bird was pleasuring his mate, but it didn't matter. She had committed an unforgivable crime, one that was enough to cause a divorce had they been human.
Like a marionette who's strings had been snipped, Blu collapsed against the wall of the hollow, completely still and unfeeling.
Moments later, the energetic cries ceased, and the mysterious male bird declared, "You... have some nasty tail... girl. Why don't you and me... go steady for awhile?"
Blu heard a loud ruffling, and the shape huddled near the floor sprang up and tossed the other form off.
"Oh my god! You're not Blu! Your voice... it's so different. What have I done..."
"Of course I'm not Blu! My name is Roberto! Wait, someone's here..."
Blu saw the shadowed shape shift, as if he was peering into the darkness directly at him.
"Jewel, who... is that?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why, Jewel? Why?" was all Blu could force from his beak amidst his tears.
"How does he know your name?"
"Oh... shit! Blu, I didn't know... how did you..."
"It doesn't matter. You betrayed me, Jewel. You BETRAYED ME! You've caused a rift in our relationship that will NEVER be healed. You had it all... but it wasn't enough."
"Oh God, please let me explain! I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry, Blu! I'm so sorry!"
"Is this... your mate? You didn't tell me you were taken! I just had sex with a non-virgin? Get out of here, you... slut!"
"I was drunk, Roberto! You knew that before we even..."
"Hey, I was ready to get some anyways, but I wanted fresh meat, not some used-and-abused whore like you. Go, go, go!"
Jewel crawled away from Roberto and approached Blu, her eyes dripping tears.
"Please forgive me! I still love you! Let me come home with you... please..."
"Find your *sniff* own home. I don't know what I feel for you anymore. *sniff* You're better off with him, right? You don't even *sniff* deserve a goodbye..."
Blu dragged himself from the wall and glided from the hollow, no longer caring about how long it would take to get home or how perilous the flight would be.
All Jewel could hear as he receded were the tragic sobs of a tortured soul...
His good eye bled tears steadily all the way home.
As far as he knew, his relationship with Jewel was shattered like a once-pristine window after being struck by a bullet.
He could not think, he could not feel. All he could do was follow that tiny star and flap his wings.
He knew not what kind of future lay ahead for him and his family. Jewel was a lost cause, but his children still needed their father. If anything, he would hold out for them, and them alone. Who else was there he could rely on?
The magnitude of this ordeal was immeasurable. More than once during his flight, Blu contemplated suicide.
It would be so easy; a fall from a branch with a vine around his neck, a kick to the side of a sleeping python, a head-first dive onto a sizable stone... the possibilities abounded.
Even though the urge to take his own life was strong, he knew where he would end up. The raging infernos of hell wouldn't be much of a change from the hell he was in right now, but there were three loving souls he had created, and he wouldn't leave them behind.
Eventually, they would have to know what had befallen their mother, but that would come later. All Blu wanted to do was sleep.
He had become a robot, a creature with little purpose, a shell of his former self. All he would be able to do was sleep... breathe... eat. Sleep... breathe... eat. Sleep... breathe... eat.
Once in the clearing, he flew languidly over to his home and landed inside. How he had managed to make it home unscathed was a miracle, but it did little to ease his mood.
As he made his way over to his shadowed nest, he bumped into a soft shape. It was his daughter.
He was shocked to see that his children were gathered in front of him, but it was more of a dull pinch.
"Papa? What's the matter? Where's Mama?"
Leave it to Esperanza to get straight to the point.
Blu began to cry once more, and the hugs from his three children returned a small amount of his sensation. In the lackluster hollow, his children could not see the extent of his injuries, and for that he was thankful.
"Your mother is...*sniff * has done... something too terrible to speak of.*sniff*"
"What do you mean?" pleaded Ricardo.
"Forgive me *sniff* son, but it's better... that you not know. *sniff*"
"I don't know what will happen from here, but even if your mother doesn't see you, rest assured that I will always be here."
Esperanza, Ricardo, and Vicente were too stunned to speak.
Based on what their father said, they deduced that their mother was still alive, but the ultimate question was still left unanswered.
As Blu hobbled past them and dropped into his nest, Vicente asked, "Can you please tell us what happened to our mother?"
Blu merely sighed without looking up.
"Your mother... she got drunk... and after we left the club... she ran away. I eventually found her... with another macaw. She was in his wings... and she was calling my name. Please don't ask anything else. Just let me go to sleep."
Blu drooped his head onto the side of the nest and let his eye slide shut.
His children were visibly trembling from his announcement, their minds crushed and their hearts heavy. Seeing that their father was upset beyond words, they decided that they would stay with him and help ease his sorrow.
They arranged themselves around him and stroked him gently before joining him in the realm of dreams...
Jewel flapped her wings erratically and bounded through the greenery like a moth in pursuit of an ever-receding light. Her muddled mind erased nearly all of the events leading up to her escape, but she somehow remembered hearing Blu's scream of agony echoing from behind her.
"W-whatever I d-did, he d-deserved i-it..."
Jewel knew not where she was, or where she planned to go, she just went. She felt a certain drive to find something, but she couldn't divine what it was.
She let her feet take her wherever they may, and she was oblivious to whatever dangers the jungle was concealing. Her mind wasn't any clearer from when she had left, too disorganized to even allow her to track the time.
The lonely Spix's Macaw waddled and thrashed about the jungle for two hours, and when she finally paused to rest - like she had done a few times before - she found herself at the foot of a cannonball tree.
A soft murmuring was heard spilling down from above, and Jewel's interest was piqued.
With a half-intelligible voice, she called, "H-hello? Who.. who's up... there?"
A feathery mass poked out of the hollow, and she realized it was some species of bird.
"Who are you?" the male demanded.
"I-I'm looking for... something. Can y-you help m-me find it?"
Something was off about the female's voice, and he guessed that she was drunk. Just then, an idea clicked in his head.
Maybe I can convince her to give up her most private piece of real estate! I wouldn't mind getting some tail tonight. She's drunk, so it shouldn't be too hard...
"Yeah, sure. Can you fly up here?"
"Uh... no. I n-need your h-help..."
"Okay, I'll be right down..."
Once the macaw had carried the female up to his hollow, he set about luring this wasted female into giving him what she wanted.
"So, what are you looking for, exactly?"
"I-I don't really... know. Wait, a-are you... a macaw?"
"I'm a Lear's Macaw. My name is Roberto. You?"
"I-I'm Jewel. I am a... a Spix's Macaw. Is your name... Blu?"
"No, it's Roberto."
"N-no it's not. Your name... is Blu. I t-think I f-found what... I'm looking f-for."
The female drew close to him, and as their chests brushed, they both felt a sudden geyser of passion spew inside of them.
"You know, that felt good... Jewel. I've been waiting for a bird to get naughty with, and guess what, I think you're the one."
"Really, B-Blu?"
As long as he got to have some delicious sex tonight, who cares what she called him?
"Really. Why don't we have some fun time together, Jewel?"
"W-why not, h-handsome?"
She shoved him against the wall and forced her beak into his. Their tongues met in a swirl of sensation, and Jewel's alcohol-tainted saliva made the experience even more tantalizing.
They slid from the wall, leaving Roberto pinned beneath Jewel, their metabolisms speeding up. Jewel kept her tongue deep inside Roberto's mouth while he massaged her back with his wings in a seductive rhythm.
"Man... you are one sexy devil, Jewel. Give me some more tongue..."
She pulled her beak from his and began to lick his neck, along with the occasional playful bite. Every time her beak pinched his skin, it was as if a miniature bolt of lightning had stung him, causing him to screech with pleasure.
"Damn... that felt good! Do it again..."
She continued this ritual, moving lower and lower down his body. After spending a few minutes on his chest and stomach, he lifted her head up and stared deep into her gorgeous eyes.
"What's... the matter? Had... enough yet?"
Her tempting voice gave him pause.
I think she's sobered up a little! Good. Now she'll be able to enjoy what I'm feeling to the fullest extent.
"No, Jewel. I want more. Drive my body crazy..."
"Okay, Blu..."
There was one remaining spot that Jewel had left to stimulate, and it lay just past his legs, towards his tail. She lowered her head and stretched her tongue out, letting it graze that small patch of bare skin.
She felt Roberto tense up beneath her, so she did it again.
An otherworldly fire burned through Roberto's body, and he thought he might faint from the ecstasy. His breath grew sporadic and came in waves as Jewel continued her ritual.
"Oh shit... Jewel! God... that feels... amazing. I'm about to... explode! Don't... stop..."
A few moments later, on the verge of self-destructing, Roberto grabbed Jewel and flipped her over, pinning her body beneath his.
Jewel was staring at him with lust in her eyes, and her breathing rate matched his.
"It's my turn... Jewel. Now I get... to drive you mad..."
"S-surprise me, b-big boy..."
He locked talons with her and pressed every single inch of his body against hers, filling both their bodies with a wave of hot lust. Roberto licked Jewel's neck and caused her to cry out.
"Oh Blu, y-you and I h-have... amazing s-sex. Give y-your... body t-to me..."
Roberto's cloaca pressed against Jewel's, and he maintained his hold on her neck with his beak. She squeezed him closer with her wings, and she cried out Blu's name in ecstasy one last time. Roberto quivered and deposited his seed into Jewel.
His breathing slowed down to a decent rate, and he slumped against Jewel in the afterglow of their session. The intense activity had sped up Jewel's metabolism, and that in turn helped burn most of the alcohol from her system.
He stared into Jewel's eyes and whispered, "You... have some nasty tail... girl. Why don't you and me... go steady for awhile?"
"Oh my god! You're not Blu! Your voice... it's so different. What have I done..."
She threw him off her and jumped to her feet.
"Of course I'm not Blu! My name is Roberto! Wait, someone's here..."
He gazed into the cave-like hollow and spied the outline of a slumped-over figure pressed against the far wall.
"Jewel, who... is that?" queried the macaw next to her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Why, Jewel? Why?"
Right then and there, the now-sober Jewel knew who had discovered her: Blu. His voice was petite and clipped, but that one single question dripped with sorrow like a fresh stab-wound.
"How does he know your name?"
Jewel knew that her world was seconds away from toppling over into oblivion.
"Oh... shit! Blu, I didn't know... how did you..."
The words could barely get out of her beak.
"It doesn't matter. You betrayed me, Jewel. You BETRAYED ME! You've caused a rift in our relationship that will NEVER be healed. You had it all... but it wasn't enough."
His words impaled her, for they carried the weight of utter truth.
"Oh God, please let me explain! I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry, Blu! I'm so sorry!"
Roberto bristled and yelled, "Is this... your mate? You didn't tell me you were taken! I just had sex with a non-virgin? Get out of here, you... slut!"
He fixed her with a disgusted look, and she did her best to make him seem partly at fault.
"I was drunk, Roberto! You knew that before we even..."
"Hey, I was ready to get some anyways, but I wanted fresh meat, not some used-and-abused whore like you. Go, go, go!"
Her eyes instantly began leaking fluid, and she crawled closer to Blu like a sick child to its mother.
"Please forgive me! I still love you! Let me come home with you... please..."
His reply was quaking with sadness, and Jewel could feel the undercurrents of suffocating despair.
"Find your *sniff* own home. I don't know what I feel for you anymore. *sniff* You're better off with him, right? You don't even *sniff* deserve a goodbye..."
Without another word, the macaw she had blinded and essentially murdered on the inside... left.
His mournful cries faded into the distance, but they were were sure to haunt Jewel's mind until the day she died.
"Go on, go! I don't think you'll like the feel of my talons in your skin..."
She tripped over herself as she fled the hollow and into the frosty night air.
That's all my soul is now. A frozen ball of emotions, forever trapped within me. Hate... at myself. Sorrow... for Blu. Despair... for both of us. I have nowhere to go... except a lonely, cold hollow...
Jewel knew she had splintered Blu's heart, drove the pieces into the ground, and it was all her fault. All her fault.
It was hard to say whether she would ever recover, whether she would ever be welcomed back into her family, whether Blu would ever look at her the same way again.
She merely flew on until she found an empty hollow, not caring that she had no nest to sleep on.
At this point, she knew she deserved nothing, nothing in return for the crime she had committed against her mate, who might not be her mate for much longer.
She landed cuddled up away from the entrance and fluffed up her feathers to keep out the cold that gripped her.
All of the emotions, implications, and what-ifs assaulted her brain, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Not knowing what the next sunrise would bring, she merely prayed that someday, someway, she would get to see her children again and hold her mate in her wings...