Jewel woke up the next morning with a smile. She blinked repeatedly to clear her vision. From where she sat in the den, she extended her wings up, careful to not strain the broken one. She set them back to her side and kept the smile as she remembered yesterday. Yesterday, she and Blu had spent the whole day together. The morning began with movies and pasta. Blu knew how to make a mean spaghetti, though anything was better than the dried-up spaghetti she ate during her preteen years. After that, Jewel fell asleep. The pasta made her sleepy. She did wake up around two o'clock, seeing Blu reading one of those educational books. They talked a little before Jewel's check-up. With Xavier gone, Blu started talking to the injured birds in the nursing room. She didn't hear much of how Blu introduced himself and the talk he had with the birds at the beginning, but she joined in towards the end. It was there that Jewel learned that someone was teaching him how to survive out there. She didn't know who, but Xavier could lighten things up…if he ever returned.

Jewel looked around and finally noticed something. She narrowed her eyes and stood up. She walked over to the entrance of the den and took a peek outside into the fake jungle. She sighed in frustration. Blu was missing.

Xavier flew around Rio that Thursday morning. The sun had risen high into the sky as the winds from the east provided a cooling atmosphere along the city. Xavier looked over the edge of a roof, admiring Rio. He inhaled and exhaled happily.

"Another glorious day finding food. Let's see what the Americans threw out yesterday."

He extended his wings out, but he soon shuddered. A shadow of a large raptor covered him on this cloudless day. He gulped and slowly titled his head up. A crested eagle swooped down and tackled him to the floor of the flat, toughly plastered roof. The crested eagle pinned Xavier down by his neck being grabbed by the eagle's right foot.

"Oh, look. I found some breakfast. I've always wanted to try something…something juicy."

"Wait…wait," Xavier managed to say. "You…you don't want to…eat me."

The eagle tightened its grip around the chaco chachalaca, a bird about half of the eagle's size. The nervously, dark brown feathered prey began to think of an excuse not to eat him.

"Oh?" questioned the crested eagle. "Why not?"

"Because…because look at me. I'm brown. I probably don't taste good."

The crested eagle slightly chuckled.

"Don't care. Food is food. Besides…"

The crested eagle lowered her head closer to Xavier and eyed him.

"I've never tried your species."

"You…you don't want to try me. I taste like crap. I-I haven't even bathed."

"You are chalk-full of excuses. It's time to dine."

The crested eagle raised her head and was about to peck down at Xavier.

"Wait. If you want an exquisite meal, I can get you one. The finest too, since he's the only one."

The eagle was swayed by his words. She lowered her head closer to his head and smiled.

"The last of his kind?"

"Yeah," said Xavier. "He's a Spix's Macaw, which is a blue macaw.'

"How intriguing."

She had heard of Spix's Macaws before, but only through her father's stories before he died. He said they were blue birds with a unique taste that couldn't be forgotten. They were a delicacy among the family, as it was rare to come across one. The eagle smiled.

"Very well. I'll spare your life. There's only one condition. Bring me the bird you speak of. If you don't, I'll eat you instead. You have five days. I'll be watching you."

The eagle loosened her grip around Xavier and took off to find another meal. Xavier stood up, collecting his breath. He had seen his life in a flash of death, and now, his days were numbered. He had better find Blu fast, but he needed to talk to Jewel first.

Blu and Flor were in the abandoned den they found last time they met. They stood ten inches apart. Flor put her wings up in front of her face and curled them into fists.

"Alright, Blu. One thing I haven't taught you is how to fight. Even a loveable bird like you needs to know how to fight. There will at least be one bird that challenges you for dominance, and you must rise above him."

"But fighting is never the answer. Can we all just get along?"

"Yeah, after we beat the crap of each other, and that's still a maybe. Now, lift your wings up like I have mind."

Reluctantly, Blu lifted his wings up.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Flor dropped her wings and sighed.

"Not exactly."

"What's wrong?"

"Your stance. It's weak and scared. Birds can tell if you're scared by the stance."

"So…um…I should act tougher."

"You avoid more fights that way," commented Flor.

Blu looked at his feet and remembered those martial arts fighting movies. He widened his stance a little, made it look stronger, and curled his wings more fiercely. He faced Flor.

"Are you ready?"

Flor sighed again.

"You can't fool anyone with that pose."

"Why not? It's Bird Fu."

"Bird Fu?"

"Kung Fu for birds."

"Do you even know Kung Fu?"

"Well, no…but I've watched it on television. The physics and the moves behind it seems easy."

"Blu, you can't be skilled by just looking at a sport."

"Watch."

Blu began to launch some punches and kicks. With each kick, he took a step closer to Flor. He whirled a punch towards Flor's head, but it never reached her head. Blu's right fisted wing was only a couple centimeters away from her face. She immediately grabbed Blu's extended right wing with both of her wings, picked him up over her head, and slammed him down on the wooden floor that was previously behind her before she turned. Blu landed on his back in pain.

"Ow."

Flor let go of Blu.

"It's just for show if you don't have the power to back it up. I guess we can start at the basics. You know; proper punches, wing whacks, scratches, and kicks."

"But who scratches during a fight? Isn't that a woman's thing?"

Flor sighed.

"You've been hanging around humans for too long."

Blu slowly got up.

"Well, fifteen years, and still counting."

"Look, Blu. It doesn't matter how you win a fight as long as you win it."

"Yes, it does. If you fight unfair, everyone say you're a sissy."

Flor shook her head.

"That's only if you're with your friends ganging up on one person. Yeah, you are a sissy for doing that, but when it's a fair fight, you try to win by every means necessary."

"But there's a code of fighting."

"For fighting? If you're talking about chivalry, that's been dead for a few centuries now."

Flor thought how to get to Blu.

"Um," she continued, "you're a smart bird. Surely, you know of history's past wars."

"Past wars?"

"Yeah. Like the, um, American Revolutionary War. The Americans ambushed the British and used guerilla warfare to win the war. Well, one of the factors anyway. During the Civil War, the North cut supplies to the South. In the World Wars, mustard gas was used by the Germans as chemical warfare. Even the WWE stage their fights due to popularity instead of actual skills."

Blu curiously looked at Flor.

"How do you of American History?"

"Well…um..."

She looked at Blu's curious eyes and knew she couldn't lie.

"It's nothing grand, but stiil, there's something you should know, Blu."

Flor sighed before continuing.

"For two years of my life, I was captured humans. It was for my own good. A young couple was exploring the forest, and they stumbled across young me. I was about seven at the time. Seven and naïve, as I had broken a wing."

"You were in care of humans for two years."

Flor nodded.

"Yep, I was. They took me in. At first, I was weary at first. I would peck at their hands as they offered to help. But one day, I tried to escape. I opened my wings and tried to fly, but as I leapt off the table, I fell. I didn't hit the floor. The woman caught me and put me back on the table. She petted me and told me that one day, I would be free, but my wing was broken and they weren't going to let me face the world with the broken wing. She said it so caring and concerning to me. It made me rethink on how I should treat them. After that day, I was welcoming and learned a lot, including books of history. The man had a collection of books, and I would always walk on him as he read. He would always welcome me, and I would just sit there, just listening to him read about all sorts of stuff. …I even found myself reading those books from time to time."

Blu's eyes had widened as Flor talked about her past. He had never known that had happened to her. It also shocked him. She knew the jungle as if she lived here her whole life. In fact, she stated that, but it turns out that she had been living with humans for two years of her life. It puzzled him on how much she really knew about the jungle, but it seemed she knew enough to survive. For Blu, that was good enough. It was more than he knew. Plus, she offered to help. Other birds would just laugh, but not Flor. She was caring enough to help him. Flor was still a mystery to Blu, but along the way, he was getting clues about the type of bird she really was.

"And your parents were relieved when you got back. Did they try to look for you?"

"Well, let's finish things up here," said Flor, changing the subject. "Alright, get into fighting position. We'll spare each other. That's always the quickest way to learn how to fight."

Blu wanted to learn more about his friend, but he didn't want to push her. He stood in a strong fighter's pose as Flor did the same. Soon, the lesson began.