Fight or Flight (InfiniteChaos & JJRose)

[TheMysticNymph]

Zuramae was never keen on others seeing her distraught, it gave way to weakness and she never liked feeling weak. Not when she was the only one of her species. Well, one of the only. Landing in Dukinos best among his home tree Zura pondered what Diego had told her. Clara had made him promise to care for her, she didn't need anyone she had led this tribe for a few years now, she didn't need a babysitter. 
​

Now as she shot a glance at her white and gold companion she blinked with an odd thought. What if they could bring back their species, repopulate the world with white and gold macaws. Her feathers fluffed and if she could have blushed her feathers would have been a bright red, how could she think of that at a time like this? 
​

Dukino dipped his head to Zura and gestured a wing to the birds beside him. "Zura, you remember my mate Alysia and my son Tyrion." The two dipped their heads to Zura and she reciporcated. "Of course, it is good to see you again." 
​

"I am glad to see you well Zuramae, the world would be a bleak place without you in it." Tyrion stated kindly. His feathering was just as vibrant as his father's and Zura remembered spending some time e with him as a fledgling. "Your words are warm Tyrion as always. I thank you."  Tyrion smiled and turned to his father "These...Humans, what are we to do about them father?" 
​

"They cannot be stopped, only fled from. Dukino they are destroying the forest, who knows how many birds have not yet escaped their homes. Soon it will be nothing but ash and death here. We should journey farther south." 
​

Dukino appeared perplexed at her words and sighed "Zura, you know the dangers of heading that far-" 
​

"And you have seen the danger if we don't! Look around you, we are close to extinction every one of you. I refuse to let another bird die at the hands of those creatures." 
​

Dukino shuffled and looked to his mate, her eyes held the same fear as every bird now residing in their tree, she gave a slight nod and toughed a wing to her mates side. Dukino let a large sigh escape him before returning his gaze to Zura. "If south is where we shall be safe, south we shall go. Lead the way Zuramae." 
​

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Six months later

Somewhere in the deep south of the Amazon jungle was silence, the humid wind brushed along the tips if the massive trees and brought with it the prospect of rain. It was dense in these parts, much more so than up north especially now with the humans destroying everything they touched. But with density brought danger, predators were hungrier and hunted more often and the rains did not come as often as they had back home. It was hotter here even with it being close to Winter, which brought the threat of dehydration and starvation from lack of plentiful food.

So many species of bird now resided in these parts of the jungle, too many. Even with the ample amount of foliage for nesting there was still unrest between the tribes. Chicks were going hungry because their parents could not break through the dry earth on the ground below, birds of all ages were going thirsty and had to fly further distances to find water which in turn cost much energy that no bird seemed to have.

Zuramae and Dukino were trying their best to care for both tribes but as the days got longer and resources got smaller, tempers were beginning to flare. Zura had taken to keeping to herself these past few months, she still grieved for Aunt Clara and still mourned her beautiful home tree, now with some many problems the young bird had much on her mind. The white and gold macaw sat perched on a tree away from the stressful tribes and let the wind ruffle her feathers, it would be cooler soon as winter was fastly approaching. Her eyes scanned the jungle tops there had been signs of humans further north but they had not made it this far, not yet. Occasionally smoke could be seen rising somewhere in the jungle and she knew that could only be them, it sickened her to think of it.

She was too tired to fly, and she needed to conserve her energy for finding water with the others later, she could sense rain on the wind but she had been sensing it for weeks now. The bird gave a sigh and turned her head towards the tribe, they would have to move again eventually but where would they go? The bird huffed, she had been putting off speaking with Dukino for a few days they had done nothing but bicker and talk circles for a month and every conversation ended in an argument. Lifting her wings Zura decided to get the meeting over with and took flight to his tree.​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

Over the last six months, Diego had been getting used to his time in the wild. It was much different, harder to survive... But he was managing slowly. He had taken up a role to help them out, and that one was scouting. Watching, making sure the tribe was safe. He had become one of the more expert birds at this field, since it was one of the things he was always trained on at the Zoo... Speaking of the zoo... no one knows about that secret still. That he understands them, He is the middle ground of the two species. The ability to understand their language, their movements, how to get rid of them, and much more.

The White and Gold Macaw had actually been spending a number of weeks alone planning to attack them, when the opportunity comes up. But he has to make sure it's perfect. Every scenario had to be thought of, and he does mean every scenario. But as of today, Diego had been speaking with Dukino for a little bit. Mainly just small talk, and then it became very serious, very quickly. "What did you want to call me in for Dukino?" He questioned the leader.

 

[TheMysticNymph]

The blue and gold leader had grown weathered in recent months, he was tired and paranoid about everything. he worried about the state of his flock and how sickly they were becoming. Dukino's tribe was used to a more extravagant lifestyle, the had never faced hardship such as this and always had bountiful chicks. Dukino's own mate was suffering in this part of the land and had taken to plucking her beautiful feathers in stress. Nothing Dukino said or did could stop her self-mutilation and thus he was extremely exhausted. It had been a pleasant change to speak with Diego, he had kept to himself in the recent days and if he did speak to someone it was always filled with bad news and worse news. "I am worried for Zuramae, she secludes her self from her tribe, they come to me for guidance and I fear I have little to give them or my own tribe. She mourns, that is evident but I do not wish to see her turn like my own mate. She needs a friend I think, or a distraction. Maybe then she will realize that we cannot stay here, especially not with winter on the horizon." The bird puffed himself with the dire thoughts and opened his beak to speak again when Zura appeared at his nest. The white and gold macaw caught sight of Diego and blinked before looking away, she hadn't wished to speak with him either in fact she had been avoiding him for awhile now. "Have I come at a bad time Dukino?' she asked already preparing herself to leave. "No Zura, stay. Diego and I were just having a chat." Zura clicked her beak and stepped nearer to the two birds "I see." She stated curious about that they could be speaking of. "How is your Alysia?" Zura asked not seeing her present. Dukino drew a breath and shook hs head "Not well I fear, she continues to pluck and worry for Tyrion. It grows worse now, for we have not seen him in a day or two. I told her he is a grown bird he can care for his own, but she will not hear of it." Zura grew perplexed at the news but did not let it show on her face. "Where has Tyrion gone?"
"He went out...scouting for other regions that we may settle."
Dukino, we have discussed this, I will not suffer my tribe through another move. We remain here." "You may not but I certainly will not allow my tribe to suffer here, there is no food we barely have a suitable source of water and the smoke of the humans grows closer every day. I won't let them come close enough to hurt my tribe." Dukino's voice had grown stern and hard, his feathers ruffling. Zura's eyes narrowed but she kept her calm "Do as you wish then Dukino, but I fear that the humans intend to take this entire forest. You'll only be delaying the inevitable." She turned from the macaw and sighed as she looked down at the combined tribes, they were scared and just as exhausted as she. "I will search for Tyrion, I hope he has not met a dismal fate over your fool notions." The macaw fluttered into the open sky and made for the dry riverbed below. ​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

Diego watched as the two talked and almost argued before Zura left. He looked towards the male and then back at were Zura left and then spoke up "I'll follow her. I think she needs a day or two to just relax." He spoke up and said "would you be able to watch both tribes for just a few days?" He asked.

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Dukino ruffled his feathers but gave a short nod to the bird as Zura took off. "Make sure she stays out of trouble."

Zura flew to the river bed, it was dried in this area as the rains had not been kind. With winter coming the need for water was not as tire as there was no threat of heat exhaustion but the threat of dehydration still remained. She landed on the hard earth and poked around, if they had come this way they were not here now. She sighed, it was foolish for them to wander alone in an unknown place such as this, even being here six months the area was still new. It would take years to fully discover ever facet of this forest. Maybe Tyrion and the others followed the river further south? The bird let out a sigh and took to the air again, the cool wind on her feathers almost let her forget the troubles they were faced with. Not realizing at present that Diego intended to follow her, the bird followed the bed of mud and waste south she kept her eyes to the ground hoping to see a flash of blue or gold.

Zura landed on a tree after half an hour of searching, she was a good distance from the tribe at this point and stopped to catch her bearings. It would be foolish to venture farther without more aid but she worried for Tyrion and what could have became of him. She clicked her beak in thought, in other life she could see herself a mate to Tyrion living as his parents did. Leaders to their own tribe. She shuddered at the thought not sure how she felt having someone rely on her so. The bird plucked a loose feather from her wing and felt her stomach grumble in hunger, she should eat soon but once again she became lost to her own mind. ​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

As Zura flew through the jungle, Diego kept his distance from her. Not wanting to disturb her, but keeping himself some added comfort that she was okay, and to also make sure that if anything were to happen he was ready to help. He did keep the added measure of looking for Tyrion, If Zura was looking one direction, he was looking the opposite.

Curiously, he was still trying to figure her out. She was such a confusing bird to him almost... Then again, he still really doesn't belong out here, he cannot relate to anyone. He never had to truly hunt for food, it was given... same with water. He couldn't track water down, or food down... Unless it was humans, those he can track...

Diego was hovering above Zura a little bit away, he was able to see her at least... She was never looking up anyways so she could not have noticed him at all, unless she hears him. Doubtful though... He did look over the trees to where the last time he saw the humans, The smoke is noticeable even from this far away, though it is faint. He looked back down towards Zura and noticed an animal near her, large animal... facing her. Jaguar? His worry was starting to grow up... and it looked like it was ready to pounce. He quickly began to dive down, and landed next to her speaking quickly "Times up!" And pushing her into a thick bush and then took off just as the Jaguar jumped out trying to grab him, snarling as it did looking up at Diego.​

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Zura had grown comfortable where she stood, she often found more solace in her own mind than near the other birds of her tribe. She wondered what would transpire if she just flew away? The thought had crossed her mind several times in the past few months, the will to be free from her duties. She couldn't lead these birds, she couldn't even find clean water or a decent food source for them, what good was she?

Sighing she closed her eyes, it helped with the peace if her eyes could not look upon this world. The darkness was comforting, she found she could stand like this for hours without worry for what could she possibly fear now? It seemed every horrid nightmare anyone could imagine had come true, what else was there that could phase her?

She felt movement before she heard it, the flap of wings, a rushed voice and the growl of a predator. Zura squawked in surprise at being pushed off her perch, her landed not being quite as soft as was warranted. She sat dazed for a moment before she lifted each wing for inspection. The macaw lifted herself from the brush and found her attacker to be a jaguar who now scowled heavily at Diego, she looked from the bird to the predator and let out a long breath. Fluttering out of the jaguars reach Zura launched a counter attack to swipe her talons at the cat's head. It hissed and snarled trying to claw the bird from the air, screeching loudly Zura swatted at it some more before the cat gave up in defeat and leaped away.

"Can one thing in this jungle not be trying to kill us?" she hissed out angrily. Her heated gaze went to Diego and as much as she wanted to lash out at him, she couldn't. Her demeanor settled and she sighed "Thank you. I suppose you following me came in handy. Why exactly are you following me?' she asked.​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

Diego looked back at the cat and hovered in the air as Zura launched into the air, swiping at the cat with her talons and coming up to him. He chuckled a little bit at her angered comment and responded "Absolutely not." He spoke, "That would ruin the fun... and I was making sure you were alright pretty much. Wasn't going to bother you until the cat came by." He spoke up a bit at her question and looked around for anything to also attack them and then looked back at her. He smiled a little bit lightly in her direction before continuing. "You know it's very bad to be out here alone. No matter how skilled someone is."

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Zura looked at the spot where the cat had left and then at Diego. She knew how bad it could be out here and she was beginning to realize that it was much worse than she imagined. "I don't see anything fun about this land." The bird commented, although her eyes betrayed a sense of adventure that had been quelled for so long.

"Why did you bother? You barely know of me, you came to this land because of these...Humans. and yet here you stay, why? You protected me just now, but what do you gain out of it. If I have learned anything from these creatures it's that someone always stands to gain. So what do you gain Diego?" ​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

Diego looked at her the entire time and once she was done questioning him he responded carefully, "I stay, because I finally don't feel alone in this world. I've spent 20 years thinking I was the only one of our kind... then I find you..." He paused and then finished with, "Actually... you found me..."

Diego sighed a little bit and then noticed he didn't fully answer her question. "My gain is for you to trust me." He stated quickly, and then went on to explain "What I mean is... We might be the only ones left... I've been in this forest a good amount of time that I have begun to trust my own self." He stated looking directly at her eyes. They were both still hovering above the ground a good ways, enough that predators couldn't grab them, unless they knew how to climb. Behind her was the smoke of the humans, it wasn't as powerful as it used to be... yet it was still visible.

He sighed softly before looking back at her. "We cannot fight the humans... we have to keep running... They're going to get to the merged tribes eventually." He stated to her very sternly, and then finished with. "I am the only connection this merged tribe has to outsmarting them, or maybe even defeating them... You HAVE to trust me Zura." Diego was staring right at her now, not taking his gaze off of her.

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Zura shifted slightly in the air, it seemed so long ago that she had met this bird injured upon the forest floor and maybe it had been for she could barely remember anymore. She had never really had a chance to feel alone, she had been thrown into the tribe before she could even properly fly and been expected to lead. Clara had been enough to keep her grounded but she had to admit there had been times she wondered if she'd ever meet someone like her.

Trust. Whether he knew it or not, what he asked for was not easy to give. She didn't trust anyone even less so now with the knowledge of these creatures. She barely trusted herself and Dukino felt the same. Being the last of their kind did not make trusting Diego any easier, in fact it made her more leery. Was he insinuating what she thought he was? Or was her own anxiety and paranoia taking over?

"I don't have to do anything, least of all put my trust in a stranger. You may know about these humans more than any of us, but that gives me more of a reason to fear you." She flapped to keep herself airborne and clicked her beak "We can't keep running forever, there will not be a tribe left to save. They are tired, and defeated the more we run the more fear we instill." She gazed behind her at the billowing smoke and sighed. "I have to find Tyrion, maybe he was lucky and found water." She eyed Diego before moving "I'm sure you are bound to follow me anyway, so let's go before darkness hits."

The white bird flapped away from the tree and followed the dry river once again, the sky was clear for now but that was known to change in an instant. They wouldn't be able to continue this for much longer, if they had to give Dukino bad news she feared for what would happen to the macaw's mate. Zura hummed to quiet her mind and nerves but soon the humming developed into a voice, her voice.

"Sun goes down,
And we are here together
Fireflies,
Glow like a thousand charms
Stay with me,
And you can dream forever
Right here in my wings tonight

Sounds of day
Fade away
Stars begin to climb
Melodies
Fill the breeze
Sweeter all the time"​

Zura ended her song as spotted a flash of blue below her, for a moment she thought she imagined it before it came again. Zura swooped down to the ground below and breathed a sigh as Tyrion came into view. "Tyrion! You are safe, I have been looking every where for you!" The blue macaw gave a weak smile and stumbled toward her, Zura's expression grew confused and worry filled her when he stumbled to the ground. "Tyrion!" she hopped over to him and examined his body. "What has happened? Are you hurt?"

Tyrion extended his wing to show the bird a large gash along his side. "The humans, they have come farther than we thought. They have creatures with them...vicious things with teeth and claws. They chased us, no matter where we went they followed. They took Fletcher and Vin, I barely managed to escape." He winced in pain and groaned. "We just wanted to find water, for the tribes." he rasped out. Zura gave a worried chirp and nosed him with her beak "Don't worry Tyrion, we shall get you home." she looked up at the darkening sky and around her for anything that could help him. "Somehow." ​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

Diego didn't say much to her response, almost like she had completely shot him down. He shook his head and watched her take off, and began to fly after her. When she shouted out Tyrion's name, he kind of was a little bit happy that they found him.

The story Tyrion spoke was not a good one though, humans coming closer, attacking birds with other beings... He sighed a little bit before looking around them and then spoke up ."Tyrion... What did those vicious creatures look like?" He asked simply, allowing Zura to take care of the more important stuff to her. To him. It was all about planning...

 

[TheMysticNymph]

Tyrion watched Zura leave his side and hop around the area clicking her beak as she searched. The macaw turned to Diego and shuddered at the thought of them "They walked on four legs, like the cats that roam here, but they were no cats. They snarled and snapped and shredded, they only obeyed the humans. Whatever they are, they can track us." He eyed Zura as she returned to his side, she clawed at the juicy leaf she held and laid the oozing end on his wound. Tyrion groaned as the liquid met his gash but thanked Zura with a dip of his head. "Don't fret about me Zura. You need to warn the tribes."
"We need to save Vin and and Fletcher." Tyrion shook his head. "No, they are lost Zura, going after them would only get you killed."
"Well, I refuse to leave you here."
He laughed at her stubbornness and nudged her. "Zura, I am expendable, the tribe is not."
"You're my friend Tyrion!"
"And as your friend, I'm telling you. Go" he gave her a stern look and pushed her away.
"I will come back for you Tyrion. Do you hear me? Find a shelter on the ground." Tyrion gave a heavy sigh at her persistence but nodded. He gave Diego a look before standing. "Will you tell my father where I am?"
"I'll bring him to you Tyrion, you have my word." Zura lifted up into the sky and with haste flapped back to the tribe, Tyrion watched her go knowing his fate.

The white macaw did not stop to rest, not even when her wings ached from the flight, she continued her journey and only when she landed on Duknio's tree did she take a small rest. "Dukino! I've found Tyrion! He's injured. We must go to him quickly!"
​

 

[InfiniteChaos]

(I figured out a good scenario for the rp finally! It's already at a perfect spot for the the scenario to happen.)


Diego was ready to fly off after Zura, but then looked to Tyrion... he thought about Tyrion's words about the creatures, The Macaw knew exactly what the creatures were, and what they were capable of. He did not want to leave Tyrion alone, that wouldn't be good. By the time he looked up again, Zura was already above the trees and gone.

"I mean... I guess I was going to go ahead at let your father know, but she is persistent you know?" Diego stated with a very light chuckle as he looked at the ground and then said "I'll stick with you for now, hopefully she will return soon." He finished off and then looked around at the treeline carefully, something did not seem right currently... Something was near by, but he couldn't figure out where exactly it was...