Tiago stuck his head into Carla's room, trying not to laugh and wake her up. He would have tried this on Bia, but she had gone out for some breakfast and a bit of reading. Just outside her nest, where a sleepy Carla wouldn't see it, was a vine. The vine went up the wall and was strung above the spot where she would climb out of her nest. The old water cup was hung above it, filled to the rim with cold water. It was Blu's, used when they had travelled to the Amazon for the first time a few months back, but now it was unused and just lie there in the almost discarded fanny pack. Tiago had taken the water out of a shady spot, where the water would be coldest. Surprisingly, the Amazon River could be cold in comparison to the stuffy air, and to someone used to the heat of Brazil, rather cool water could feel freezing. Tiago then opened a little wooden box he had gotten from Rio, and then four enormous flies buzzed into the room, hovering around Carla's head. Carla muttered in her sleep, swatting at the sound, but then one fly landed on her beak. Carla opened her eyes, and squeaked, swatting at it madly, confused by sleep and the four black blurs of flies. Tiago leapt out of the way as the four flies then flew out of the room. Tiago watched her talons stumble as she leapt out of her nest, and then Carla tripped over the vine. The movement sprung the waiting trap, and the cup of water immediately tipped, sending water onto Carla's head. Carla squealed in shock, leaping to her feet as the water drenched her. Dripping, Carla slowly turned to the door, where Tiago was laughing his head off.

"You'll pay for that!" she shouted, flying at him. Tiago turned, still laughing as he escaped through a hole in the tree-trunk. He high-winged Orchid, who had been watching from outside, and the two young teens flew off, giggling between them. Carla muttered in annoyance, fluffing up her feathers and shaking them out, sending droplets flying. Irritated, Carla flew out of the tree. She spotted seven forms, and recognised her parents, great-aunt, grandfather, sister, 'uncle' and 'aunt' Roberto and Sophia. The adults were talking about the weather while eating mangoes, while Bia, as usual, had her beak in a book. She was multitasking, eating pieces of mango and reading at the same time. "Morning." Carla said, landing beside Bia.

"Morning, Carla." Blu turned to his eldest daughter, and was repeated by the other macaws. Eduardo then noticed Carla's damp feathers.

"What happened to you?" he asked, and Carla fluffed out her feathers to dry them faster.

"Tiago playing another trick." She complained, and Blu and Jewel both sighed at once.

"He did another prank?" Blu asked, and Carla nodded. "Ugh, that's the second one today…"

"Second? What was the first prank?" Mimi looked up from her piece of mango. Under his feathers, Blu went red, and Jewel giggled, smiling sweetly at her mate.

"The same old spider trick." She pointed out, and more laughs rolled around the group. It was well-known that Blu hated spiders, and Carla could remember a particular incident when they were hatchlings; They had all been only a few weeks old, close to being able to fly when Tiago, not knowing Blu's fear of spiders, had brought an enormous spider into the nest. "Look what I found, daddy, mommy!" he had said, revealing what he had hidden in his downy wings. Blu had actually screamed, diving behind Jewel. Since then, Tiago had scared him with spiders countless times.

"I think Orchid was involved too." Carla said. Sophia rolled her eyes, Roberto chuckled quietly.

"Sorry about our daughter's behaviour." Sophia said apologetically, poking her mate in the ribcage when he kept laughing to himself.

"Yes, sorry…" Roberto said, stifling another chuckle. Carla wondered to herself.

"How did they figure out how to make that trap? It looked really complicated, all the vines and how it was set up…" then she slowly looked up. All heads turned to Bia, who was smiling innocently. "It was you, wasn't it?" Carla said quietly. "You helped them set it up."

"No." said Bia sweetly, with enormous, innocent eyes. Carla then rushed toward Bia. Bia was shocked at first, but then she realized that Carla was tickling her. "Ugh, sis!" she complained as Carla tickled her wing pits and stomach. "Stop it!" she laughed, kicking at her older sister. The adult macaws were laughing, looking incredibly amused as Bia flew after Carla, chasing her into the nearby trees.

Later

Bia, Carla and Tiago spoke into the phone. "Hey, Rafael, Nico, Pedro!" they chorused. The boat rocked, and the sound of humans chattering was clearly heard. Tiago had cleverly stolen a mobile phone from a human's back pocket, unnoticed. They always returned the phones to their owners, leaving them on a nearby table or dropping them into their bags when they weren't looking. They often did this to stay in touch with Rafael, Nico and Pedro when they weren't in Rio. Blu and Jewel sometimes did this too, and allowed them to go alone as long as they were, quoted by Blu, "Very, very, extremely, careful."

"Hey, kids!" Carla recognised Nico's voice over the mobile.

"Is it poppin' in the Amazon?" Pedro's voice broke in, and the three kids could hear singing and music in the background.

"It's fantastic!" Tiago exclaimed. "Hot, but fantastic!" he then shot a mischievous look at Carla. "Oh - Carla's got a boyfriend."

"Tiago!" snapped Carla, going ruby red under her cerulean feathers. Tiago smiled innocently, but all they heard was laughing on the mobile.

"Good for you, sweetie!" they heard the familiar sound of the toucan, Rafael. "What's his name?"

"Augustus." Said Carla, still scowling at Tiago.

"Nice guy?" asked Nico.

"Real nice." Carla replied, her embarrassment trickling away. "He's real sweet, loves music, great dancer. Not so much a singer, but his dancing's swell."

"Sounds great!" Pedro assured her. "Wait - do your mom and dad know?"

"No…" Carla bit her lower beak, looking at Bia and Tiago. "Gee, you guys do me a favour? Don't tell them, okay? I'll tell them eventually, just not yet."

"We won't say a word!" Rafael said. "Anyway - Bia, Tiago, how about you two?"

"Awesome!" Tiago blurted out. "Did we tell you that uncle Beto and aunt Sophia have got kids?"

"Yes, a lot of times." Nico chuckled. "Orchid sounds nice, you talk an awful lot about her."

"Do I?" asked Tiago, looking at his sisters, who nodded in unison. "Er - Bia, what's your story?" Bia moved closer to the phone.

"I've been learning a whole load of stuff - I've been reading loads of books. We've all been learning a lot more Portuguese from mom, pop-pop and aunt Mimi, too."

"Anything else?" Pedro asked. "You got your eyes on any boys?"

"Er…" No. "No, not really."

"Aww, that's a shame. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled, I'm sure some swell guy'll come along!" Rafael assured her. Bia felt hot with embarrassment as Carla and Tiago giggled.

"Thanks for the reassurance. How's Eva and the new kids, Rafael?"

"Ah, two more on the way already. In fact, here's my flower is now! Eva, my love - say hello to the kids!"

"Hi, kids!" Bia, Carla and Tiago immediately recognised Eva's voice. "I've been singing a lot recently - want to hear?" there was silence from Nico and Pedro, while Rafael started encouraging her immediately. The three kids exchanged looks of uncertainty, then their wings flew up to their ears as a loud squawking sound rang out from the phone. Tiago then leapt toward the speaker, making hissing sounds.

"I think the -" Tiago made the sound again, making sounds that more resembled a hoarse snake."- connection's going!" Carla and Bia then began joining in, making the same sounds.

"Oh dear!" cried Eva's voice. "Ah well, how about next time -" they made more hissing sounds before letting her carry on. "Caio, kids, hear from you all later! Come on, Raffie, I left Luiz babysitting, and knowing him, he'll get Tiny to take care of them!"

"Bye, kids!" shouted Pedro, Nico, and Rafael. "Call us soon, okay? We'll probably visit ya'll in the Amazon soon! Tell your family we said hi!" then Bia hit the 'end call' button. They all looked at each other. Then they crumpled on the floor, laughing.

"I can't believe you made it sound like the connection started to go!" Bia snorted with laughter. Tiago shrugged.

"Awesome, weren't it?"

"Cool, very cool." Said Carla, the smile on her beak almost too wide for her face. Then the three teens heard voices from above the deck. They had made the call beneath the deck floorboards, and now it sounded like the phone owner had realized that his phone was missing. "Let's return the poor fellow's mobile." The three snuck out from the floorboards, before dropping the phone on a nearby table. They then flew away as the owner spotted his mobile and put it safely back in his pocket.

Later

Carla was snuggled against Augustus, gazing up at the star-studded sky. She had one headphone in, and Augustus had the other one. 'All of the Stars' played in their ears. The edge of the sky was dark purple, while the rest was black. The stars were icy sparkles scattered over the cloak of black, like silver dust. Augustus was a tall, muscular and handsome young macaw, with the dark blue feathers of his mother, Manuela. He also had the little feather sticking up on the back of his head, like she did. His eyes were, however, the same colour as his father, Carlos. He mostly resembled his mother, really; only he obviously looked much more masculine, being a male.

"Do you miss your uncles?" Augustus asked. Carla looked up at him, smiling.

"I miss them a lot, Gus. We call, but Nico and Pedro think that I could be… well, famous, in the music business in Rio. New Year, Carnival… we see each other in Summer, and they told us that they'd come here at some point. They'll probably visit when there's no occasions in Rio."

"Is Rio nice?" Augustus asked, interest in his bright eyes. Carla smiled at the memories of her birthplace.

"It's… alive. There's humans, but under that there's a whole world of partying. With birds, no humans. New Year's Eve is the biggest party in the world other than carnival. Mom and dad told us that New Year's Eve for birds is celebrated in the Christ the Redeemer." Carla sighed. "I've never been there for New Year's Eve. I might go this year…"

"Could I maybe go with you?" Augustus then asked, looking down at her with his crooked smile.

"Yes… but then mom and dad'll know about us." Carla sighed again. Augustus turned her face toward him with his wing-tips.

"They'll have to know about some point." He reasoned. "Besides, what's the worst they'll do?" unexpectedly, Augustus leaned in, and kissed her. Carla had never kissed anyone before; she wasn't sure how the react. The pair then cuddled, Augustus's cheek resting on the silky feathers of her head and Carla leaning against him as 'All of the Stars' played in their shared headphones.