Chapter 10: Saying Goodbye

Even thought it was a bright and sunny day, there wasn't much reason to be happy. The time had come to give Yasmin her final resting place after she met her untimely end the day before, by the hands - or fangs, if you will - of a quick-tempered spider. Tulio and his team did the best they could to keep her among the living, but there was simply too much venom to deal with.

Yarah's gossiping connections were put to good use, despite the graveness of the situation. All the birds Victor and Yasmin had ever known, even those that knew them before their disappearance, including a throng of birds that nobody else knew, had come to attend her funeral. Manuela, Xavier and Yarah were there too, obviously. Nico and Pedro were also present, as well as Rafael, Eva and their kids, and last but not least, Blu, Jewel and their own offspring. All the birds were holding a flower in one of their claws, which they meant to place near Yasmin's grave after the ceremony. Manuela was the only one to hold a medinilla flower, her late husband's favorite.

Also attending were Tulio, Linda and Fernando. Tulio was holding a steel box the size of his arm, which contained the remains of Victor's mate. Victor himself was sitting on Tulio's shoulder, never letting the box out of his sight.

The gathering took place near the clearing where their old home used to be. Tulio placed the box on the ground, at the base of the tree where Victor and Yasmin's old home used to be. Victor leaped off Tulio's shoulder, and landed next to Yasmin. Facing the crowd, he began to say his final goodbyes, sounding like an endless stream of squawking to the human's ears.

"Thank you all for coming. We're all here today to say goodbye to a wonderful bird. One that earned a spot in our heart forever. One that time will never be able to erase. Today, we say goodbye to my dearest mate, Yasmin." He glanced at the box next to him, and put his paw on top of it for a moment, fighting back his tears. After putting it down on the ground again, he continued speaking.

"I see a lot of faces before me. Some new, some I haven't seen in ages. It warms me to know you all loved Yasmin so much. She and I came back to Rio barely a week ago, after we lived in a different part of the world for fifteen years. During that week, we experienced more adventures than ever. We felt the taste of freedom once more, got reunited with our little girl who has grown herself a wonderful family, and we met other equally wonderful birds that showed us how to have a great time.

We got to see our beautiful grandchildren. We got to see Rio again. We got another chance at making our lives complete. And even though her passing was not due for a long time, I feel that somehow we accomplished everything we ever dreamed of. So thank you, Yasmin, for the life we had. For being there. For me... for everyone. We all love you very much, and we'll see each other again at the crossroads."

Some of the birds in the crowd cheered or applauded at Victor's speech, while others burst into tears, overwhelmed with emotions. Before mingling with the crowd, Victor spoke a few more words.

"We will place Yasmin in her final resting place now. You can all pay your respects to my dearest mate there if you desire, and are free to depart afterward. Thank you all for coming, and please know that even though she is no longer with us, she'll always have a place in every one of us, right here," he said while holding his right wing across his chest.

Tulio had already dug a hole before the gathering just beyond the edge of the clearing, somewhat between the old nest and Victor and Yasmin's favorite spot near the creek. Victor and Jewel decided to pick this spot, as it was as close as they could get to the places with the most meaning in Victor and Yasmin's lives.

The flock of seven blue macaws walked towards the hole in the ground, which was Tulio's cue to place Yasmin's box down there. After he did so, he gently pushed the loose soil over the box, and skimmed his hands through it. In doing so, there was nothing left to see other than earth that had recently been disturbed.

Victor was the first to pay his respects. With a tear dripping out of his eye, he stroked Yasmin's grave with one claw. Then he bent his head towards his own belly, and yanked out one of his feathers, which he then planted upright in the soil. After putting their flowers down, Manuela, Blu, Jewel and their kids proceeded to do the same. They then gave way to the rest of the birds lining up behind them to place the flowers they had with them around the seven blue feathers. Tulio, Linda and Fernando just watched, holding hands and arms around each other.

As the blue macaws stood in a line watching the crowd pay their respects, Victor placed himself next to Manuela.

"We've still got one loose end to tie up, don't we?"

Manuela didn't respond, but instead just looked at him understandingly.

"Right before Yasmin was attacked, we came to a decision. We decided to forgive you."

Manuela proceeded to burst into tears, and mumbled "Thank you..." as she wrapped her wings around Victor.

Suddenly, after the last bird put his flower down, Jewel flew up towards the old nest, and disappeared inside. Blu wanted to go after her, thinking she needed some comforting away from prying eyes, but she popped out again almost immediately. Clutching something in her claws, she landed near the grave, walked over to it and placed the item on top of the grave, right next to her feather she planted there earlier.

It was the small pebble she used to play with as a chick.

The End

Final author's note: And that's the end of that.

First, allow me to say a big hearty THANK YOU to everyone who read, reviewed and favored this story. I hope you all had as much fun at least reading it as much as I had writing it (even though there were some bumps in the road).

Second, special thanks goes out to the following users: WolfOnFyre, Zacarais, Cassivellaunus. You know for which reasons ;-)

Third, I know some of you opted for a Yasmin revival or a Victor and Manuela hook-up, but I was against these ideas from the start. Sorry.

And lastly, forth: even though I'm pretty much out of ideas for new stories for now, if there's ever going to be a sequel (or at the least a spinoff), I'll try to write it in the same setting (using my non-canons).

I've also considered making a Legend of the Guardians/Rio crossover, but since I've only seen the movie of the former, I feel I know too little about the Ga'Hoole universe to properly write about it, so I won't do the owls and their fans injustice. Once I get my hands on those books though... never say never.

This is Count Doofus, signing off... for now.