Rio: Endangered

Expansion

The day was relatively quiet throughout the rest of its duration. Nothing spectacular happened; nothing out of the ordinary took anybody by surprise. Everyone just returned to their routines. That was all except for Eduardo, Blu's family, and a select few birds.

"Let's scout out the territory, birds. Make sure it is safe for our newcomer to live in," Eduardo ordered his birds.

"Thanks again for this, Eddy, but you don't need to scout. I've lived there my entire life," Jasmine thanked.

"That may be so, Jasmine, but you've been away from your hollow for a bit of time. We need to make sure no one else has claimed it."

"If you say so." Jasmine was pretty sure that her old home was still safe. After all, she lived there her whole life without encountering a single stranger. That was why she fled when Roberto discovered her.

Eduardo's chosen birds took a little time to gather some things before heading out to the territory.

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(15 Years Ago)

It was a peaceful night. Not one bird stirred, especially given how late it was. Two birds, a lovely couple of Blue Spix Macaws, came flying through the silent forest, a sleepy little chick following as close as possible to them. She had been awakened by her parents for this particular journey, and she wasn't exactly sure why they made the trip.

They perched on a branch and told her to stay put for a bit. "We need to look for something. We'll be right back," the father gently spoke.

She obeyed them. Jasmine stayed on the branch for nearly a half hour before they finally came back for her. They led her about another quarter of a mile out and "made camp" in an empty hollow. "We will rest here until morning comes. Get some rest my dear," her mother told her.

She went to sleep safe and sound that night. She didn't have a care in the world. Her parents were there with her to keep her safe. She missed her brother, but she was sure she'd see him again in the morning.

The next morning, her parents were gone. "MOM! DAD!" She cried out for them, but didn't get any answer. She swore to herself she'd never leave that hollow until mom and dad returned.

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(Present Day)

"Do you suppose we'll find anything there?" Miguel said to Nova. They were two of the top birds in the Blue Spix Defense.

"It depends. This location Eduardo is sending us to is a little far out of our territory. We may find something we don't wish to see."

The two birds, outside of their defense work, were best friends. They had some good times together, and they had bad times together. But most of their lives, they knew they could depend on each other.

It took them 45 minutes to reach the Grove, where Jasmine had been collecting her food from. The grove itself was relatively quiet. Nothing disturbed the tree leaves except for the wind. It appeared that no birds lived anywhere near the area.

"Check the valley there. Make sure there isn't any sign of others down there," Nova said.

Miguel flew to the emptiness in the midst of the grove, checking every square inch of soil for footprints that did not match his own. He knew that one Blue Spix, Jasmine, had been living here, so he excluded the footprints of his kind. He found nothing, not one trace of another bird. "Nothing down there," he reported when he returned to Nova.

They approached the hollow very cautiously, hoping that they wouldn't receive an unwelcome surprise. After all, if anything were to jump out and attack them suddenly, they were equipped to kill. Oh, how surprised they were in a way they'd never guess would happen!