I wondered how many people Amaziel had left behind, lost in their ignorance, on his way to me. Did saving me make up for the ones he had to give up? Was it considered giving up if the humans never had a chance, anyway?

I pushed these thoughts aside as I climbed lower in the trees and swung closer to the ground. A large gray parrot perched on a branch of the tree coming up next in my travels. I stopped in my tree and watched it.

This parrot was twice the size of the gray parrots Teacher had taught us about. It turned its head almost all the way around. Its body was entirely gray, but white feathers surrounded its eyes, and its tail feathers were orange. Not the muted orange of the Jungle but the loud, playful orange of the outside. The parrot’s curved beak and small eyes we...

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