Chapter 6. If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

Two days passed, and all was not well at Home. Tension hung like heavy fog. The sweet morning songs were muted, and most of the birds remained confined to their trees.

In the owl’s tree, Clark and Crystal pored over the Council meeting minutes, intensely discussing various hypotheses and options. Meanwhile, the doves gathered in small groups but didn’t discuss the fallen tree, as they didn’t want to escalate the situation into a full-blown crisis. That wouldn’t serve anyone.

The parrots, by contrast, remained hopeful and upbeat. They tried to deflect the increasing tension with humor, which only put the owls more on edge.

Dorian flew on patrol like a bird on a mission, resentful that nobody else shared his sense of urgency. At the same time, however, he was happy to be in command. And though he would never admit it, the heightened state of alertness made him feel more alive than ever. His intense focus and determination reassured the doves. Even Clark appreciated Dorian’s resolve, though he still wished he had followed the grid.

Still, the eagle had little desire to engage in the drama of the crisis with the others. He chose to rise above it all and view the situation from 10,000 feet.

On Dorian’s fourth pass of the forest, something caught his eye—an open space in a densely populated area where a tree had certainly stood. The eagle banked hard to the right and then lowered to an altitude just above the canopy. What he saw next sent his adrenaline soaring.

A large, mature elm with broad limbs and a sturdy base lay flat along the north bank of the Great Lake. Dorian’s heart beat wildly as he swooped closer and spotted a second tree that had also been ripped from its foundation.

Immediately the eagle took action, bolting back toward the forest and releasing a booming screech that bellowed above the tree tops.

“Trees down!” he shouted to the parrots, who were weaving in and out of a nearby grove of hemlocks. “Two more trees are down!”

Dorian then landed, perched high atop the tallest oak as parrots swooped in from every direction, surrounding the eagle in a rainbow of curiosity.

“Two more have fallen. I cannot overstate the magnitude of this situation,” he declared. “We’ve all seen dead trees collapse and live ones fall from lightning strikes, but these events are clearly different. Our number one priority now is to determine why this is happening and to stop it from happening again.”

Delivering bullet-like directives, Dorian instructed the parrots to immediately gather forensic data from the crime scene and concluded with a brisk, “Any questions?”

Without a word from anyone, the eagle offered a quick nod and soared away. The parrots flew off in unison to what was now known as Crash Site 2.

Minutes later, the eagle passed over the Great Lake, landing with a thump and startling the owls from their sleep.

“Clark. Crystal. Gather the rest of your clan,” Dorian commanded. “I need to speak with them, now.”

Unaccustomed to being roused under a hot sun, the owls slowly lifted their sleepy heads while the eagle impatiently tapped his toe.

When they were awake, Dorian updated the situation and directed the owls to fan out and interview as many creatures as possible. “See if anyone heard or saw anything,” he instructed. “If they did, report directly back to me immediately.”

“What would you like us to ask them?” inquired Crystal.

Crouching down for take off the eagle retorted, “Find out what they know.”

“What if—?” Clark began to ask, but the eagle was already gone.

As he rose above the forest, Dorian did not hear the same flurry of activity that followed his parrot tree departure. Glancing back at the owl tree, he watched in horror as they gathered in a circle with pens and paper. “What the—?” Dorian made an abrupt U-turn. Again, he landed in the owl tree with a thump and startled the owls, “This is not the time for taking notes! You need to get going now. Conduct interviews and report back to me.”

Departing again, he thought, “They have no sense of urgency. I don’t know how they get anything done.”

None of the owls liked how Dorian had spoken to them.

“Who does he think he is?” thought Clark. “What gives him the right to boss us around? He doesn’t understand that our systems enable the results that he supposedly cares so much about. As my father always said, ‘Aim twice, strike once.’’’

With a dismissive look at the eagle in the sky, a defiant Clark declared, “Let’s do this right.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Great Lake, Indy, Ivy, and some parrot friends arrived at Crash Site 2. As they approached the scene, they spotted a pack of wolves splashing in the water and then fleeing along The Road.

The parrots gazed at the fallen trees.

“These are whoppers,” marveled Indy. “Look at the size of them!”

“Were there any nests?” asked Ivy.

“Just one, but it looks like it was abandoned a while ago, so no real harm was done,” Indy replied happily. “So what are we looking for anyway?”

“Clues!” shouted Ivy. “We’re detectives now.”

“That’s awesome,” agreed Indy, then cocking his head. “Hey, why are there wood chips everywhere?”

“Well,” said Ivy, “this is a forest. Wood should be everywhere.”

“You know,” Indy realized, “if we solve this mystery, we’ll be heroes!”

“Right,” nodded Ivy, “They’ll throw a parade in our honor. We’ll go down in history.”

“Imagine what the owls and eagles will think of us then,” added Indy. “They’ll realize there’s more to us than just having fun.”

“And after the parade,” said Ivy, “we could establish a holiday to celebrate our discovery.”

“Totally,” agreed Indy.

Then, just a few feet away, Indy spotted something that looked like an old piece of red cloth.

“Check this out,” he said. “I think it’s a clue. Man is the only species that could have left this here. I think it’s called litter,” Indy smirked giving Ivy a playful nudge.

But Ivy wasn’t paying attention. She was busy pointing to the ground with a quizzical expression. “The branches are missing.”

“That is actually weird,” agreed Indy. “But, it’s hardly newsworthy enough to track down Dorian. It’s getting dark. Let’s head back and get a fresh start in the morning.”

And with that, the parrots took off in a flurry of color.

Meanwhile, the owls were still busy crafting perfectly worded interview questions.