Icarus
"He fly too close to the sun and fall."
Tiago was watching the whole scene with his heart drumming faster than ever, his team was just one score away from winning the match in the Pit of Doom. He had been practicing for this special occasion, the annual game of "soccer" to settle the everlasting rivalry from the Scarlet and Spix macaw in the friendly battle, to celebrate the peace that already lasted for one month.
Tiago's eyes scrutinized every movement his enemies made when the ball was tossed into the arena, causing his heart to beat faster for the countless times that day. Evading the Red and Navy blur in the skyline wasn't exactly a hard job for Tiago, especially with his rather small posture that allowed him to fit through a tiny hole of defense from the opposing team.
He had scored two so far, an achievement he was expecting from his training with his uncle Roberto, and had a very high confidence that he will win this game with flying colors. Regardless the confidence he possessed, it was proven to be a harder job when he realized he need his team to work together to claim the victory, and there was a slight issue with that.
He couldn't get any more irritated about his teammates, there wasn't any single hint that they were trying in Tiago's eyes or rather a desire to dance triumphantly when the match is over. He shook his head and returned his focus on his flight, dodging the scarlet barrier and pursued the one that carried the ball.
One of his team managed to snatch the ball and shouted. "Tiago! Catch!" He yelled, kicking the ball fiercely towards the free spot in the arena. Tiago was surprised with the sudden pass unable to react fast enough to catch the ball, resulting it was now back in the possession of the scarlet macaw.
It didn't take him more than three seconds before he finally spotted the ball-carrying-scarlet inched towards the goal. His eyes widened in terror as the macaw flexing his talon and shot one fierce kick towards the goalie. Such velocity rendered the ball slipped through the goalie's wing nanometers away and promptly made Tiago to groan.
That is the third time he let the ball slipped! For the mangos! He cursed internally and shot the goalkeeper a stern look. "Marquez! Try to inform me first before you kick the ball! You give it to the enemy!"
Marquez issued an annoyed snort and rolled his eyes as he positioned himself at the formation of the spix team. He was slightly disturbed with Tiago's hotheadness, but he also realized that he was the key player in the team, and arguing with him at that time wasn't exactly a good idea.
The thundering cheers receded when a high-pitched voice marked the beginning of the last round. Tiago's ambition was scorched in the intensity of the blazing sun with his gaze glued towards the ball, preparing his muscles like an eagle flexing itself to catch its prey. He flapped his wing as fast as he can, accumulating enough momentum to steal the ball from the scarlet and made his way towards the opposing goal.
His heart galloped at its maximum speed as he dodged the scarlet-colored defense in front of him, maximizing his advantages to claim the victory he yearned for. His ears then caught a noise from Marquez that yelled. "Here! I'm free, Tiago!"
Ignoring him, he swiftly penetrated towards the goal of the scarlet macaw. The crowd's thunderous cheering hurled a fuel into the overheating Tiago's heart as he prepared himself to give one fierce kick and end this game with victory on his side. The time seems to slow down for him when he lifted his talon to kick the ball towards the scarlet goalie, the earsplitting cheering was muffled in his ears. He could sense it, doing some last impromptu calculation before his talon hit the ball that wasn't there anymore.
Unfortunate for him, the scarlet macaws already anticipated such outcome when they saw Tiago's solo march into their territory and ordered a full defense for him. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the scarlet macaw thrusting into his team defense with ease. He was petrified like Medusa's gaze was casted on him; he could only watch the scarlet dodging the spix defense with his heart full of dread.
"Diego get the ball, he is so fast! Look at the moves he has." The commentator stated, the tapir's eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw the ball getting ready to get kicked. "There he goes, there he goes!"
GOAL!
Tiago's legs were weak when he saw the ball thrusted into the goal, and the roaring cheering was no more than a pitiful mock over his failure. His heart stopped altogether and he tried to comprehend that he was just defeated… his ambition crumbled into dust with the wind blow it away into oblivion.
Tiago's face dampened almost instantly when the groans from his tribe reached his ears accompanied with the stern glares from his teammates while the Pit of Doom started to void from spectators. "What in the name of Brazil nuts are you doing, Tiago!" One of his teammates yelled, expressing the anger he repressed during the match. "You could really save the ball for Marquez! He is free!"
The clamoring of anger only rekindled the frustration he had even further, his heart was incredibly hot from the defeat, and his teammate's yelling was the catalyst he required to blow up in a single force.
"Oh ha, say a bird who always hide in the back!" He stated sharply, glaring at his shocked peer. "If you can't play, don't ever dare to tell me what to do, Jose." He narrowed his eyes. "I know what I do."
"But you're just a stuck up egoist! I mean Marquez is free! So why for the mangos you keep going further!" The goalkeeper complained, irked with Tiago's attitude. "Seriously, Tiago. This is about teamwork, not a solo game."
"You better shut your mouth, Juan. You can't even catch the ball right!" He growled, furious with his teammates that constantly blamed him for the conquest they acquire. "Enough!" Shouted Marquez. "We are here for a friendly match, winning or losing, it doesn't matter!" He emphasized the "friendly" with gritted teeth while his gaze looked at his angry friend.
"It doesn't matter what you said! It is matter that we must win! That's the point of whole game isn't it? What makes you have the nerve to say that winning doesn't matter?!" Tiago replied, his blood boiled.
"Seriously, Tiago? What's gotten into you? It's just a game! The thing is we ha-"
"That's it! I'm done. You guys sucks! I really need to do anything alone in the end." Tiago interjected, flapping his wings and wandered away from the Pit of Doom. His teammates could only shrug as they chatted about the battle they just lose.
The navy macaw finally reached his home, his heart was still hot from the arguments he just had with his friends. He didn't understand why Marquez dare to say that winning isn't the point, while in the reality, it was the objectives of the game. His talonsteps echoed through the empty hollow. He sighed; he never had been that angry to everyone, even his sisters could be so irritating sometimes, never he reached that extent. The remaining embers from his anger finally died down as he sat on the brim of the hollow, doing a multi-processing about his recent defeat as well as the whereabouts of his family.
A blue blur then inched closer towards him, slowly manifested into a clear image of his father. A pair of the chocolate-colored eyes soon greeted the miniature-sized bird that currently had his head on the clouds – though, not in metaphorical manner – staring blankly at the blue sky above him.
"Hey there, Tiago." Blu greeted, expecting his son to reply back. Tiago lifted her head to meet the gaze of his father, lasting only a couple of seconds before he assumed back his former stare at the sky. "Tiago, is there anything wrong?" Blu asked, sensing a disturbance that possessed his son.
Tiago shook his head, "Why wouldn't I?" He asked his father, his tone lacked something that could convince his father. The elderly macaw wrapped his wing over his son, patiently repeated his query. "Are you sure? Seems like you have something in your mind right now."
"Dad, I'm completely fine. Trust me." He shot his father a fake smile, "I'm just thinking about my recent game."
Regret soon washed over the senior bird, "Tiago, I'm sorry." He exhaled sharply before continued, "Your Pop-Pop is sick, so I need to go with your Mom to check on him. Carla and Bia insisted to go, I hope you understand."
"Dad, trust me. It wasn't about that. I have no such issue with that." He sighed deeply. "In fact, I'm happy you weren't there to watch me fail."
Blu finally registered what clouding his son, "I take it the game went bad?"
Tiago snorted, "Try disastrous."
Driven by the urge to cheer his son back, he sat down next to him with, leveling his gaze with his offspring, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Tiago knew that no matter what, he couldn't escape without telling his father what was bothering him. His insidious anger taunting him to keep it repressed, but his father's willingness to listen melted the icy barrier that froze his heart. He sighed once more before he looked at his father. "Well, we lose the match, even after I trained so hard for this moment."
Blu unfurled his wings and cradled his son underneath it, giving him a consolation that he hoped could admonish the raging blizzard that occupied his son's state of mind. "Was that all about?" He asked for confirmation.
"Well…" Tiago hesitated.
"Come on, you can tell me anything. I promise I won't get mad, unless you did something that can be categorized as savage."
He chuckled with his father's joke, "Okay." He inhaled a deep breath and started to recite the story. "You see, we lose the match because of me. I can't get the ball kicked just in time, and after that… I'm kind of angry with my teammates."
Blu furrowed his eyebrows, "Why were you angry? It is just a game."
"That's also what they told me. It is just a game." He swung his talon back and forth, tacking the bark of the tree. "The truth is, I really want to win, Dad. I want people to know who I am, be a bird that every other birds adore like uncle Roberto."
Blu was slightly insulted when he brought his uncle into the conversation, even more when he told him just how many birds adore his so-called-uncle. He simply rolled his eyes before urging his son to continue, "Well, my teammates didn't exactly work as I expected. It feels like they don't even care if we win or not."
The elder macaw nodded, looking at his son and expecting more of his story. "So… I ended up arguing with them, argh… what happened to me, Dad?" Tiago groaned in frustration.
"Have I told you a story about Icarus?"
His brain rapidly skimming through the mental catalogue of the book he ever read – while mostly from Bia – only to find that he never heard about it. He relayed the information with a head shake, which made Blu grinning, "I think you need to listen about the story." He cleared his throat while preparing his memory to recall the story, one that Linda used to read for him when he was a chick. "It was an ancient Greek story. One day a man named Daedalus was captured because he helped someone that opposed the king. The king was so angry with him until he imprisoned him and his son in the labyrinth…"
"What's a labyrinth?" Tiago interjected, alien with such words.
"Well, you can say that labyrinth is a place full of twist and turn, once you are in, you can barely escape again."
"That's horrible."
"Indeed it is, and because of that, Daedalus tried to find a way to escape from that place. He looked over and over until he saw a weakness in the labyrinth, and that is an open window. Daedalus is an amazing craftsman, so he thought the way to escape the labyrinth using the open window, and you know how?"
Tiago lifted his wing to his chin and pondered, "They… fly?"
"Exactly." Blu said proudly. "You sure you never heard this story?"
Tiago shook his head for the countless time. "No, it's a wild guess, and how's a human fly?"
Blu smiled. "That's my son when the story started. Daedalus created a wing with wax to seam the feathers. His son is named Icarus, was so happy when his father told him that they can finally escape, but before their departure his father told him:
Don't fly too close to the sun nor the sea, follow my path and we will live again, my son.
Icarus only nodded, because he was so ecstatic to taste the air again." Blu paused. "I think you know how lame it is if you can't fly, don't you?"
Tiago shuddered, "I don't want to think about it."
His father laughed heartily, "Believe me, son, being flightless isn't really that bad." He recalled his days in Minnesota, "Although, flying is much better."
He waved his wings, "Okay we're getting off topic, so let's get back into the story." He sucked a plenty of bountiful breath before resuming, "Icarus and Daedalus day to escape finally came. So they started to flap their wings, and before they knew it, they already floated into the air. Icarus is so content until he forgot his father's advice. He soared so high, tasting the air, unbeknownst that something terrible already awaited him." Blu looked at his son, "Do you know what happened?"
"He got lost in the sky?"
Blu shook his head, "He flew too close to the sun and fall. His wax-made wing melted with the heat from the sun. Icarus was too caught up with the wind until he didn't realize his wing already gone, just his arm… the rest is history. He fell into the sea and never found."
The senior macaw sighed, taking another fresh batch of oxygen before looking at his son, "Just like Icarus, you have an ambition. It's not bad, Tiago. Only you need to watch your altitude, just remember not to fly too close to the sun, or you will fall."
"But…"
"I know winning is important, but you know what else is important?"
Tiago shook his head.
"It is to have fun with your friends that matters." Blu smiled, "I never had any friends when I was a chick. Well, because I'm practically the only blue macaw there." He chuckled. "And even more depressing when I was told that your Mom and I were the only spix macaw left on the planet."
"But that's another day's story." He quipped at his own joke. "It is to have your time together with your friend that matters, right?"
"Ambition is like a double-edged sword. It can hurt someone you care, or even yourself when you mess around with it. The thing is Tiago, you need to realize that sometimes, only sometimes, winning is the real price in a game, but mostly, the fire of friendship is what really the invaluable treasure you always get in a game."
Tiago hung his head in shame, his father was right. It was the fun he was looking for when he was little – well, littler – and ambition already blinded the friendship virtue he should have in a good sportsmanship, "I don't know… I feel so awful yelling to my friend right now."
Blu tenderly embraced his son under the gap of his left wing, compensated his youngest offspring with a dose of affection that he hoped could anchored him back to gleeful state. His son remained silent under his wings, but he knew that his precious progeny was crying his heart out.
He remained still and let Tiago stained his plumages with his salty tears; it didn't matter how long it will take for him to embrace his son until the somberness casted away into the void, for his existences alone was more precious than a million gemstone; more valuable than endless knowledge; he was his offspring, and there's no point to shame in expressing the deepest and utmost love he possessed towards his son, nor he will deny how much he regards his family.
Tiago finally pulled out his father's embrace with his eyes still soaked with tears. He wouldn't dare to cry in front of everybody, but in the wake of majestic flame of love, he succumbed himself in its radiance, the solar-like flare that would heal him instead of harm.
"Let it out, Tiago. There's nothing wrong with crying." His father soothed, "You are still young, mistakes happen, as long as you willing to say sorry, everything will be just fine."
"But… I yelled at them, they won't forgive me." He said within his tears, "I'm a bad friend."
"Tiago Gunderson, listen." Blu commanded, lifted Tiago's face to meet his. "You are not a bad friend, you just lost, Tiago. Now do you willing to apologize to your friends? I know they will be more than happy to hear you say sorry to them."
He nodded his head weakly, "I want… but they will never accept it."
"They will, as long as you willing as a phoenix."
"A phoenix?"
Blu smiled and bobbed his head twice, "A phoenix is a mythical and majestic immortal bird made of fire. To achieve his immortality, he need to renew himself once in a while."
"The process of the renewal isn't nice, he need to shed all of his feathers; he need to stay sick and flightless before he will burst into flame. From his ashes, he will be born as a new young bird." Blu looked at his son, "Just like friendship, it is immortal, and to keep it alive, sometimes we need a little renewal. It is just a turbulence when you argue with your friends, but if you willing to burst into flames, the friendship will also new, they will forgive what you've done as long as you eager to change."
"Okay, Dad. I'm confused with that."
Blu laughed heartily, "Maybe I can sum it: Go apologize to your friends and condemned yourself not to repeat that mistakes again. You'll be fine, little bird."
Tiago wiped his leftover tears clean and smiled. "Thanks a lot, Dad."
Blu smirked, "Anything for my family. I love you, Tiago."
"Love you too, Dad." He hugged him briefly, spotting his siblings and Mom closing by from the distance.
"There you two, I've been looking everywhere for you." Jewel said, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, just having some boy talk, right Dad?"
"I'm highly sure it involves you were crying, Tiago." Bia replied after she examined her little brother, "You can't lie this time, I have proofs."
"Oh really? Show me!" He challenged.
Carla simply rolled her eyes, "This is going to be a longgggg day."
~Tiago~
"Marquez! Catch!" I yelled, locating the free spot were Marquez occupied.
"On it!" He glided to catch the ball and thrusted into the scarlet team's defenses. I followed his blue streak until I was adjacent to him, preparing ourselves to do the complicated technic that I hoped will bring us to victory.
Adrenaline was pumped into my blood vessel as we inched closer towards the goal, the scarlet started to barrage themselves towards us. "Now, Marquez!"
At the cue of my voice, he passed the ball directly to me, evading the scarlet macaw that aimed to snatch the ball from him. My heart was galloping at its maximum pace, my wings started to get sore from prolonged flying. My eyes critical on dire attacks from the scarlet player that attempted to steal the ball from me.
"Tiago, me!" Marquez clamored, a cue for me to pass the ball to him.
"Marquez, Tiago, Marquez, Tiago, Marquez, Tiago!" The tapir exclaimed loudly with the ear-splitting applauds from the spectators resonated through my eardrum in such decibel that rivaled a volcano eruption.
"Tiago! You!" Marquez yelled again, passing the ball to me. "Go make that goal!"
I dodged the last view scarlet blurs that tried to block me away, the goal was upon me, and without further hesitation, I gave the ball one fierce kick.
The ball projected into the goal with an awesome velocity, the goalie was taken aback with such sudden speed desperately extended his wings to stop the ball to pierce the goal. I could feel my body went numb as I saw the whole scene, frame by frame, when the ball slipped passed the goalie's wing and into the goal.
The massive crackle of Goal! Were soon upon my ears… My brain was lagged a bit to register that I just won the game, until my teammates came along and cheer with me.
"Tiago! Tiago!" They clamored my name.
I couldn't help but blush, my legs were weak, my body was numb as adrenaline stared to wear of, but with an addition of triumphant smile etched on my face.
"Guys, I can't do this without you all, thank you. We won this game, together as a team."
Marquez hit my back with his wing, "That's the Tiago I know."
Of course, like there was any doubt.
A/N: I got bored and play some games, turns out that games gave me some ideas. Writing this had taken me a whole day, and judging by the length, I was struggling to make it right... since it is written in third person.
Anyway, don't forget
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