Bia looked over her shoulder, frowning. What was wrong with Leo and Daniella? Leo at least should have been a ball of energy, now that Rio was tantalizingly close. To be fair, it was now evening; m, the sun beginning to set; were they tired? They'd barely said a word - at least not to each other. For the past fifteen minutes, they'd been quiet, not even so much as glancing at one another. Daniella looked angry and miserable, while Leo had worry and guilt plastered all over his face. Something's happened. Should I ask?

"Look. What's wrong?" Azure surprised her. She looked away from the chicks, to see that Azure was looking at them with the same expression Bia had. It's not just me, then. Leo and Daniella looked up, but not at each other.

"Nothing." Insisted Leo, after a pause, while Daniella didn't utter a word. Awkwardness was as obvious as the heat of the sun.

"I can tell when someone's lying." Azure said, with narrowed eyes. Bia could tell, too.

"Honestly, it's nothing." Daniella said. There was another dragging pause. "Just a... just a little argument, that's all." Immediately Bia felt concern. Looking at them both, she immediately realized that Leo must have said something he regretted. His eyes were fearful and flooded with remorse - Daniellla was probably the victim, judged by her angry - and upset - expression. What did Leo say?

"A little one?" Azure asked, doubtfully. Leo went to protest again, but Daniella got there first.

"We're fine. Can we just concentrate on flying, please?" She said it swiftly, and Bia knew that they wouldn't get an answer out of either of them. Stubbornness - that's new, for Daniella.

"Well, as long as you sort yourselves our before we find our friends." Bia said, sternly. She didn't want their city friends getting the first impression that her kids were miserable and didn't get along, because when they hadn't had a fight, Leo and Daniella were as close as two siblings could be. Leo was especially sweet to her, like all big brothers were.

"We will." Leo said, but the awkwardness didn't fade. Bia looked at her mate, to find that he was already looking at her with round blue eyes. The amber fleck in his left iris was dimmer than usual, a sign that he was worried.

"Hmm." Was all Azure said, and then they left it at that. The silence wore on, and Bia wriggled with discomfort as she flew. Oh, this feels horrible! She looked ahead, and then Bia felt a great swell of relief. This was all looking familiar. They were minutes away from Rio - if they just flew over the next hill, it would come into view. The hill raced toward them, and Bia hoped that the city view could end the tension.

"Kids! We're almost here, look!" Bia exclaimed.

Daniella was brought out of her misery by the thought of seeing Rio for the first time. She forced away her fear. I can't do that. Apparently it's embarrassing and pathetic. She shot an angry glance at Leo, remembering the hurtful words. She knew he regretted it, and she'd heard the apology, but she wasn't forgiving him so fast.

They were flying up an enormous slope in the forested land. For ages, it had been forest as far as the eye could see, but now, something new was coming. Bia and Azure glanced back briefly, the moment before they crested the hill, before Azure spoke, with enthusiasm to break the cloud over Leo and Daniella.

"Welcome to Rio de Janeiro!" He exclaimed, cheerfully. Daniella and Leo forgot their rift, for the view was unlike anything they'd ever seen. Leo cried out 'wow', while Daniella was quiet in her awe. They'd passed cities like Manaus and Brasilia, but this was the prettiest one.

The evening sky was going pink. A glowing statue of a human shone on the top of a hill; his arms were stretched out majestically over the city, as if he were offering an embrace. Below him, a city stretched out, with glowing lights speckled throughout, from buildings. Daniella heard loud sounds from the city, of humans, dogs barking, and music. She saw an enormous stretch of sand in the bay, golden in the evening sun - but then she realized that there was a body of water. It was there that she saw the ocean for the first time.

The sea was purple in the evening, reflecting the sinking sun - a rippling gold bar across the rich, rippling purple. It stretched into the horizon - Daniella expected more land cutting it off, but to her surprise, it didn't end. I had no idea the world was so big! Wait... Daniella initially hadn't felt the fear, but then the flashback began. Her skin was cold, and her vision flashed with swirling black. She heard Sophia's scream of terror, the laughter of Camille, Valentina and Ivanna, and the panicked shrieks of her brother, Jessie, Angelo and Feliz. She felt herself being swept along, and the enraged cries of Tiago as he demanded an explanation. Daniella froze, eyes fixed on the purple sea, be for she heard a voice.

"Daniella? Honey? What do you think of it?" Daniella was brought out of her memory by her mother's voice. She jumped, looking up to see her family giving her curious looks. She'd been quiet for some time.

"I..." She tore her gaze away from the ocean, feeling great discomfort. "I think it's great!" Daniella lied, and to her relief, her family believed her, because Bia and Azure exchanged delighted looks.

"Wonderful! I knew you would!" Azure exclaimed. Daniella smiled, but it faded when Azure turned away. Her initial view of the city was tainted by the thought of water. Behind her father, Leo was squealing his excitement.

"That's so cool! Look at the guy!" Leo sqeauled, as they flew nearer and nearer. "I can't wait to..." his voice faded, and his beak stretched in a yawn. The sun was gone now, and night was hurrying in; they'd been flying for hours. Daniella too was tired, her eyes and wings feeling heavy. Her parents looked at each other.

"Maybe we'll have to explore and meet everyone tomorrow," Bia suggested, gently.

"What? I'm okay..." Leo insisted. "I'm... cool." His wings drooped, and his flight faltered, so he sank a few inches.

"I got you, pal." Azure chuckled, swooping under Leo so he dropped down onto his back, and Daniella too felt Bia do the same. She sank into her mother's soft feathers, again catching the earthy scent of midnight flowers, relieved to rest her wings. Unlike Leo - who's eyelids were sliding shut - Daniella was awake enough to watch the view as her parents flew to Rio. Briefly she wondered if they were entering the city already, but then they began a descent downwards, into the trees.

"-we'll find Rafael and company tomorrow..." Bia was saying. "I'd find them now, but they're too tired and frankly I am too... and there's the cottage. Let's find a tree near it."

What's a cottage? Daniella thought, before she saw a building merge into view. It was small, snug, sitting in a grassy clearing; it had cream walls, with large windows. In the dimness of evening, the lights were on. Daniella blinked in curiosity. "-we'll see them tomorrow, the kids are too tired, Bia..." Daniella was very confused; she was tired, too, so she didn't remember the conversations Blu and Jewel had about their human friends. Looking in the house, Daniella noticed the humans - a male, with darker hair and skin, and a female with red hair and lighter skin. She briefly saw the toddler hanging onto the hem of the red-haired woman's skirt, before she finally felt sleep take over. Daniella fell asleep, too tired to stay awake.

Later

Daniella hadn't dreamt since their departure from the Amazon, so she was surprised to find herself standing on sand. She blinked at her feet; she couldn't see her toes, for they were immersed in the golden beach. A cool, fresh breeze ruffled her feathers, carrying the tang of salt - then she heard a distant voice. She turned her head, seeing a bird further down the beach; for some reason, it was blurry, although she saw green and brown. Suddenly she was reminded that she was on a beach. Water rushed toward her, and Daniella froze with terror.

The tide plucked her up off the sand easily, dragging her away. Daniella sqeauled in horror, sea water rushing into her beak - it was unbearably salty, repulsive, foul. She coughed, crying for help, but her pleas were waterlogged. She could hear a voice, calling her, telling her to get a grip on the sand below and fight the water; a vine drifted at her, but Daniella only tumbled into deeper water, feeling rough sand scratching her eyes, her skin.

She wailed in fear, helpless against the cold current, but then she felt a wing grab her. She was pulled out of the cold, into warm, shallow water that had no brutal pull. It - shockingly - felt pleasant. Daniella saw green and brown once more, and then a pair of strange eyes. They were yellow, with blue flaring out from the pupil, like flower petals.

Suddenly, Daniella woke. She lay there in the dark, confused and bewildered; her skin crawled with the memory of water. She sat up, wings wrapped around herself, utterly confused. What was all that about? Who was that helping me? Those eyes... They had been beautiful eyes - the yellow and blue was so striking. She had seen eyes like that on the daughter of Felipe and Azalea. Their older daughter, Leti, had hazel eyes with green centres, reflecting the eye colours of her parents. Daniella had sometimes been there when her parents spoke to Leti and her two kids, and she remembered the other sister, Adele, and her son Elias from her outing with Orchid and Tiago. But she hadn't recognised the yellow and blue eyes from her dream...

"Daniella?" Whispered a voice. That's Leo. In the comfortable dark of the tree, she felt a warm body move alongside her.

"Sorry... weird dream." She replied, shaking her feathers. There was a pause, and next to her, Leo whispered again.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just wasn't thinking... I don't really think that, and I'm sorry." His voice was honest, genuine, and in the dark, Daniella picked out his face, saw the cloud of guilt. "I really am sorry..."

"I know, Leo. And I'm sorry too, for not giving you a chance." Daniella felt the awkwardness melt away. All was forgiven as Leo whispered a relieved 'Thank you'. "Night, Leo."

Yet as Leo snuggled down between her and Azure, Daniella lay awake, still confused at the events of her dream.