This was hard to write... but it wasn't as long as I thought it would be... *shrugs* oh well.
Next morning I was the first one to wake, even if I was the one that was out half the night. A sleepy smile reached my beak as memories filled my mind. So what if I lost some hours of sleep? I wouldn't change last night for the world.
I climbed out of the nest and walked to the midsection of our hollow, still rubbing my eyes; that almost got me to run into a wall but I stopped myself in time. I got to the net hanging from the roof and tried to reach it, but I just couldn't without the need to flutter up. Since Nico and I fixed this place the net somehow lost a piece and we were forced to hang it higher. I managed to get out a pair of grapes and started eating one, not bothering to get to the table.
I thought for a second before heading back to my room, deciding that breakfast in bed was the most amazing thing I could do right now. On my way back I had to shield my eyes form the intruding sun. It must be like eight… so early…
I was about to take another bite from my grape but froze in place when the fog in my mind cleared enough to take in my surroundings. I furrowed my brows and spun in my heels, a flight feather pointing at the sun patch in the ground. If it was eight a.m., then that sun patch would be… I pointed at the other side of our hollow, right outside Anna's room. There and not here…
My eyes widened as the grapes fell from my wing before I ran to the entrance of the hollow. I would have fallen right out if my talons hadn't got a hold of the very edge of the tree, my wings flapping twice to get me back inside. Once I gained my balance I looked outside taking a good look at the sky. The sun was in the right position for it to be eight in the morning… if had been in the other end of the sky.
Right now its four p.m., only a few hours for the competition and the girls are still asleep.
"Anna…" I rushed to my room and shook my sister softly, but when she covered her face with her wings my shakes became stronger "Anna get up!" there was a yawn coming from the ball of yellow feathers before deep blue eyes met mine.
"I want to sleep" with that she rolled to the other side of the nest leaving me with a blank expression. I ran to the other room and started searching in some match boxes for a nut shell we used as a cup.
"Sophie, wake up!" there was a low grunt from the room were the parakeet was sleeping, but I had no time to go and wake her. I really wanted to go over the performance once more before heading to The Branch. "SOPHIE!" the parakeet ran out of the room with a panicked look on her face.
"Where's the fire?"
"There's no fire" I pulled out the nut shell from a box and, without even closing the box again, filled it with some of the water from the shell in the corner, "we overslept"
"What time is it?" panic gone, Sophie yawned and stretched, making her back crack twice.
"Four" I got back to my room and held the cup over my sister's head "Anna I really don't wanna do this, so get up" she grumbled once and threw a stick from the nest at me, which I barely dodged. I raised the cup and tried not to think of the consequences of what I was about to do "don't tell me I didn't warn you" with that said I dropped all the water over her head.
She jumped out of the nest and landed very ungracefully, her eyes wide and her feathers dripping water on the floor "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
"I asked you nicely and you didn't want to get up. You left me no choice"
"Oh my God Kalli, my feathers are gonna get all fluffed up!" she left the room in a flash of yellow, probably to get herself dry. I blinked once at how fast she had left and walked outside, where Sophie was calmly eating a strawberry. Anna was drying her feathers with a red rag, glaring daggers at me. I just smiled cutely at her and sat down next to Sophie.
"We only have like… four hours before the actual thing. What do you wanna do till then?"
"I think we should practice everything" Anna grunted from her room "just once. And then go to The Branch, I want to see who the judges are" for what Rafael told us there would be four judges, but not just random strangers from the crowd. These birds were dancers and singers, some of them not even from Brazil, and in addition the owner of The Branch himself would be there.
"Okay, then let's g-"
"No one is moving until I'm done with my feathers!" Anna's authoritarian tone made us froze in place. This will take a while.
Three and a half hours later we were landing outside of The Branch, and I was never so grateful for it. After days of feeling nothing, now my back was starting to get tired, far too tired for the distance between our hollow and the city. Let's just hope thirty minutes of rest are enough to get back to normal.
We walked inside and were met by the biggest crowd I have ever seen in my life. There was absolutely no space for even one more bird, some of them hanging upside down on the wooden frame that kept the tent that worked as roof in place.
"Let's go backstage!" I somehow managed to scream over the noise. I have no idea how we didn't crash into another bird while we flew, but we got to the stage unharmed. I saw Pedro waving at us and immediately went his way, hoping that backstage wasn't as crowded.
Thank goodness the amount of birds back here isn't as big as out there.
Anna and Pedro shared a quick kiss, neither of them having trouble with public affection, and ignored us for a second or two. And that was more than enough time for Rafael and Nico to show up.
"Girls! You ready for the show?" Rafael looked so excited, but not as half the excitement Nico and Miguel showed in their eyes.
"You bet. And we are so gonna win this thing" Sophie was taking a defying attitude with her brother, who matched her eyes in an instant.
"Oh really?" Nico appeared next to Miguel, but his defiant look was directed at me "and might I ask what do you have going for you besides your good looks?"
"Pure talent" I tilted my chin up "and a few other surprises you'll see once we're on stage"
"We'll see about that bonita" he gave me one of his smirks and I could only grin back.
I noticed a group of birds I didn't knew and nodded their way "Who are those?"
Nico looked behind him and took a few steps backwards coming to stand next to me "They're the judges, and that" he pointed to the tallest bird in the group "is the owner of this place; Joseph"
I looked at them and suddenly felt very nervous. These four birds would make the difference between telling Nico everything he wants to know or not. In five minutes flat Nico told me everything I needed to know about the judges.
Joseph, the owner of The Branch who would also be a judge, was a Spectacled Owl. Nico said he wasn't as serious as he looked and that once you got to know him he was a really nice guy. He also mentioned that he was the one that brought Pedro and him to perform at The Branch when they were younger. Joseph seemed to know we were talking about him and studied me with his eyes, making me turn away.
There was a Frilled Coquette named Jazz who could play any instrument you placed in front of her, and had even managed to play some songs by memory after hearing them just once. She had played at The Branch for a few years, but left after she decided that music wasn't supposed to stay in just one place but be free. Or at least that's what Nico told me. She looked like a laidback kind of bird, some dark orange feathers spiked atop of her head and a relaxed look on her face.
The third judge was Damian, a Hoopoe with an ever present glint in his eyes. This guy was an amazing dancer, one able to leave both Sophie and Miguel in the dust, but that wasn't the interesting thing about him. Apparently Damian used to live in Ireland until a group of poachers caught him when he was seventeen. He ended up in Brazil, now transformed into an adrenaline addict who looked for a rush everywhere. He glanced my way once and gave me a smirk, his crest rising in a playful manner.
And last but certainly not least was Flare, a Blue Jay with what seemed to be a tendency to move from one place to another. Literally, she didn't stop coming and going as Nico talked to me. Nico said he never really met her but for what he heard she had traveled with her family from Canada for a migration route, but after everyone went back home she just kept going south, deciding she wanted to get all the way to Patagonia. She had only been in Rio for three weeks and had already captivated everyone that she knew with her impressive voice. Nico has never heard her, but rumors say she's truly breath taking.
I looked at the four birds intently, nodding every now and then so that Nico knew I was listening to him. These birds together will judge every little detail in our performance from the music choice to our singing and dancing. In my and Nico's case there's a lot at stake in this competition, so making a good impression with these guys is truly important.
"Guys!" Rafael called us from the stage "come on, its time!" Anna materialized by my side along with Sophie. Nico left with a "see you in stage, bonita".
"You ready?"
"Are you kidding me?" we all linked wings as a memory from my first night at The Branch came to my mind "I was born ready!" we reached the stage still laughing, but got a hold of ourselves when all eyes fell on us. The silence was broken by Rafael who was standing in the center of the stage.
"How are we tonight?" there was a round of cheers from the audience, which I calculated to be formed by over three hundred birds "Hope you're ready for the confrontation between the boys" Nico and Pedro shared a fist bump with Miguel as the crowd screamed their names "and the ladies" we bowed softly as loud cheers, and some very loud whistles, were heard.
"Shall we begin?" we gathered around Rafael as the audience stayed as silent as they could, some murmurs here and there "okay, who's going first?"
"Ladies first" Nico bowed with his bottle cap in his wing, signaling for us to take the stage.
"Oh no, we couldn't. You invited us here, you go first"
"I insist"
Seeing that Nico and I would keep this forever, Anna stepped in "Guys? Hello? Competition happening over here?"
"Shouldn't we just flip a coin or something?"
"We don't have a coin" Miguel pointed out.
Nico threw his bottle cap at Rafael, who caught it in his wing "Use this"
"All right, girls choose first. Heads or tails?" he showed each side of the bottle cap, the green side with dark waves was heads and the back side was tails. I looked behind me where Anna and Sophie did a wave movement with their wings.
"Heads"
"Okay. So the first group on stage will be…" he raised his voice so that everyone could hear as he threw the bottle cap in the air. Every single bird followed the metallic object as it spun quickly until it hit the floor. There was a complete and absolute silence as it bounced once before stopping fully.
And what a surprise, it landed with the dark blue waves facing up. We go first.
"The girls!" Anna and Sophie shared a high five and flew to where the band was, telling them each of our songs carefully. No one wants a mistake while performing. All the guys left, but I stopped Nico in mid flight.
"What, no good luck wishes?" my mocking tone earned a grin from him.
"You don't need it" he gave me a wink and left with everyone else into a small crate that somehow had stayed abandoned. I moved to my place, right in the center of the stage, and all by myself. Anna ran and gave me a hug before heading backstage.
"You'll be great"
The lights dimmed and she disappeared backstage along with Sophie. I could feel every pair of eyes on me and right in the corner of my eyes I could see the judges looking at me too. Rafael had told me they hadn't use judges before, but choosing the winner was a complete disaster, so Joseph came up with the idea.
Relax, take deep breaths. I was beyond scared right now. I wouldn't be this nervous with any other song, but we had to choose one with good lyrics. That left us with a slow song where I can't dance and no one can help me. It's just me, standing in the same spot through the whole song, all the while trying not to faint.
"You just need to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel the whole thing in here" Nico's voice rang through my head and immediately did what I was told, even if he was halfway across the club. Music started out in the background and every light in The Branch died out except for the spotlight kept on me.
I started singing softly, my eyes still closed.
"Sweet love, sweet love, trapped in your love. I've opened up, unsure I can trust" I placed my wings in my chest, still too nervous to do more "My heart and I were buried in dust. Free me, free us" I opened my eyes and met the ones of the crowd. It took all my strength to keep a look that went along with the song.
"You're all I need when I'm holding you tight, If you walk away I will suffer tonight" I looked away from the crowd in the last note, remembering what Anna had said about using my 'acting skills' during this song. Not sure what that meant, but I have to at least try.
"I found a man I can trust and boy, I believe in us. I am terrified to love for the first time. Can you see that I'm bound in chains?I've finally found my way" I got as much emotion as I could into my voice, the outcome surprising even me. I glanced at the judges for a split second to see their reactions.
"I am bound to you. I am bound to you" I had to keep my smile from coming when I saw they looked quite pleased, especially Flare.
"So much, so young, I've faced on my own. Walls I built up became my home" I realized that my voice wasn't the only one in the song, but didn't really know who else was singing "I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us. Sweet love, so pure" in the last note I identified Anna and Sophie and silently thanked them for helping me with the backup.
"I catch my breath with just one beating heart. And I embrace myself, please don't tear this apart" I hugged myself and looked straight at the audience, which was completely silent.
"I found a man I can trust and boy, I believe in us. I am terrified to love for the first time. Can you see that I'm bound in chains?I've finally found my way"I looked at were Pedro and the others were sitting, but the only thing I caught were Nico's eyes. He was giving me the same look that I couldn't quite place last night, but this time, it managed to send chills down my spine.
"I am bound to you. I am bound to"I took my eyes off Nico and looked back at the crowd "Suddenly the moment's here, I embrace my fears, All that I have been carrying all these years. Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall? Fall" I held the last note the best that I could, remembering how much we had had to practice it. Thankfully it came out just perfect.
"I can trust, and boy, I believe in us. I am terrified to love for the first time. Can you see that I'm bound in chains?And finally found my way"I tried to give as much emotion as I could with both my eyes and voice for the end.
"I am bound to you. I am, ooh I am, I'm bound to you" I closed my eyes as my voice became softer and softer until we reached the last note. I held it as long as I could until the music stopped and the lights went out. I catch my breath as the crowd cheers madly, just before I get tackled to the ground.
"Oh my God Kalli that was great!"
"Thanks. Nice touch with the backups"
We all smiled at each other until we heard that the music for the next song was starting. We ran to our places, Anna in the edge of the stage, me to her right but a little far behind and Sophie to my right and almost against the board that makes the back of the stage.
Once the other instruments joined the guitar, colorful lights flashed on the stage, showing three dark figures clapping along with the beat. Soon enough everyone was clapping along.
"Wooh, ooh ooh ohh"a few seconds later a spotlight fell on each of us with the respective color of our anklets. I had the biggest smile ever when I started singing.
"Stole a key.Took a car downtown where the lost boys meet,Took a car downtown and took what they offered me" I spun in place a few times with my wing in the air "To set me free. I saw the lights go down at the end of the scene,I saw the lights go down and they're standing in front of me" I stopped abruptly and the three of us took up in the air, each of us looking for a new place in the stage to land.
"Wooh, ooh ooh ooh"Anna and Sophie landed on crates on different sides of the stage. I was about to land of the highest crate but took a chance and landed on the green glass bottle that was next to it, my talons digging in the glass to keep me balanced.
"And my scarecrow dreams,When they smashed my heart into smithereens,Be a bright red rose come bursting the concrete" Anna and Sophie sang the next part with me, and by the second line everyone at The Branch was singing with us.
"Be a cartoon heart. Light a fire, a fire, a spark. Light a fire, a flame in my heart.We'll run wild,We'll be glowing in the dark"I spun once and let my talons slip, falling back wards for a second. I noticed my eyes were closed, and reopened them as I turned around and opened my wings, flying over the crowd with Sophie and Anna right behind me.
"Wooh, ooh ooh ooh"we landed on the crate where the guys were sitting at, Anna falling in Pedro's wings, Sophie getting Miguel in a dead grip under her wing and me sitting right next to Nico. Surprising enough, all six of us sang the next line together; even if they are competing against us "We'll be glowing in the dark"
I'll have to remember to repay them. I tried to take Nico's bottle cap off his head, not even bothering to hide my intentions, but he saw it coming and grabbed my wing. He pulled me closer to him and I practically fell on his chest. He just gave me a smirk which I matched quickly, hiding my partial blush, before taking off back to the stage, Anna and Sophie leading the way.
"All the boys, all the girls,All that matters in the world. All the boys, all the girls,All the madness that occurs" I glided right next to the judges, Jazz and Flare giving me smiles and Damian giving me a smirk I thought only Nico was able to pull off "All the highs, all the lows,As the room is spinning goes. We'll run riot. We'll be glowing in the dark" the music started to become slower, so we took our time to reach the stage, doing some flips and body rolls as we flew close to the audience.
Finally the rhythm picked up speed and we approached the stage "Wooh, ooh ooh ooh" I landed right in the middle of the stage, Anna and Sophie in different opposites "So we soar luminous and wired. We'll be glowing in the dark" we walked back to the places where we started this song, music and lights fading out just as we reached them. The Branch was left in the dark, only the loud cheers, screams and claps from the crowd could be heard.
"You okay?" Anna called at us from where she was. Sophie looked good to go but I took my time to check myself. I was still catching my breath and my wings were a little tired, but it was my back what worried me. I stretched in various directions, testing where the limit was. Thankfully those thirty minutes proved to have been enough since my back didn't hurt at all.
I gave Anna a nod as the music started playing and we all got in the position we had practiced. This choreography had to be perfect, but with Sophie as our mentor, there was no way we could lose on the Dancing category.
With Sophie in the front and ready to have her big moment, the light came on and I started singing, Anna and I doing our best to keep up with the routine Sophie had taught us.
"Doctor doctor, need you back home, baby. Doctor Doctor, where you at? Give me somethin'. I need your love, I need your love, I need your lovin'. You got that kind of medicine that keep me comin'" we all tried our best to keep a 'fierce' appearance, as Anna had told us in rehearsal, but it was proving hard not to smile. We managed though.
"My body needs a hero, come and save me. Somethin' tells me you know how to save me. I've been feelin' weird Oh!Oh, I need you, to come and rescue me"Anna and I slid away from Sophie, getting ready for the chorus.
"Oooooooh!" we swung our hips twice before the chorus started, my mind trying not to forget any step.
"Make me come alive, Come on and turn me on. Touch me save my life, Come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die, Come on and turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on" we all had to raise our voices to sing, half of the audience cheering and the other half singing along.
"Make me come alive, Come on and turn me on. Touch me save my life, Come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die, Come on and turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on"
I glanced over at the judges when I had the chance. Joseph and Flare were telling something to each other without taking their eyes off of us, while Jazz bobbed her head along with the music. Damian looked like he would jump down to the stage any second now.
"Oh you make it, make it right. My temperature is super high. If I scream, if I cry, It's only 'cuz I feel alive" Anna and I started clapping, getting everyone else to do the same while Sophie kept on with the routine. How doesn't she get tired?
"My body needs a hero, come and save me. Somethin' tells me you know how to save me. I've been feeling weird Oh!Oh, I need you, to come and rescue me. Oooooooh!" Sophie jumped backwards to get to the same level as us, the three in perfect sync as we took on with some fast dance moves.
"Make me come alive, Come on turn me on. Touch me, save my life, Come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die, Come on and turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on" Anna and I jumped out of the way for Sophie to have her solo moment in the routine. Every time she pulled out a stunt the crowd would scream and whistle.
"Make me come alive, Come on turn me on. Touch me, save my life, Come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die, Come on and turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on, Turn me on" the rhythm of the routine slowed down a bit for the next part, Anna and I singing together.
"You've got my life in the palm of your hands(palm of your hands). Come and save me now, I know you can (I know you can)" all eyes fell on Sophie when she started singing the next part. I could see Miguel's eyes widening to the size of plates and Pedro's beak falling open in a way that made me smirk. Even Nico looked surprised.
"Oh! Oh! Dat dat dat dat don't let me die young, I just want you to father my young. I just want you to be my doctor. We could get it crackin' chiropractor. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I" the parakeet gave the audience a proud smirk.
"I know you can save me, And make me feel alive" I took out the last note before we took in the chorus together, the routine getting back even stronger than before.
"Make me come alive, Come on and turn me on. Touch me save my life, Come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die, Come on and turn me on, turn me on, Turn me on, turn me on" all 'fierce' attitude left behind, none of us could stop smiling as we finished our last number.
The Branch erupted with a mix of cheers, screams and whistles and we just stood on stage catching our breaths. Anna hugged me from behind and we immediately started laughing, to happy to care about anything else. We bowed to the audience and were met with even more cheers, making my smile grow. We also gave a bow to the judges before heading backstage, the four of them looking more than pleased but Jazz and Damian looking beyond amazed.
I hadn't even taken three steps backstage when my body decided the floor looked comfortable enough and my legs gave in, my whole body collapsing in pure and utter fatigue. I landed between Anna and Sophie who were panting and laughing at the same time.
"Oh… My… God"
"I know…" Sophie chuckled once, not enough air in her lungs to do it again. I guess she was tired after all, but no one can blame her.
"Sophie, since when can you…" Miguel's question died as he looked for us, finally locating us in the floor "are you okay?"
"Never better" Sophie shook her head when her brother offered his help to get her up, deciding that she was better lying in the floor. I ran a wing through my feathers and pushed my bangs out of the way, suddenly feeling like they were taking part of the oxygen I needed away from me.
"Need some help there?" Nico gave me one of his smirks, which looked funny since he was standing over my head, making him look upside down. I nodded once, still trying to catch my breath and not wanting to waste it. He repositioned himself and offered me his wing, which I used all my energy to take.
"Come on bonita" he pulled me up in a swift movement, keeping his balance as I practically crashed against him "I know you're tired, but it'll be worth it"
We got down for the stage and somehow managed to get through the sea of birds that we encountered.
"What did you think?"
"It was good" he shot me a glance and added "Alright, it was really good"
"Thanks. Might I ask what was good about it?"
"Everything was perfect" Nico stopped walking and grabbed my wing, making me turn slightly to face him "just like you" I turned around, hiding my blush but not my smile, and pulled him along with me by his wing.
We got to the crate the guys had been sitting at and Anna pulled me up with Sophie's help. They got there before Nico and me since they still have the strength to fly. I, on the other hand, am too beat up to even think about flying.
Pedro and Miguel were already talking to the band as I looked for a place to sit and watch the boy's performance. Nico fluttered up and got on eye level with me.
"I think it's best if you sit" he grabbed my wing and pulled me down gently. I sat right on the edge, next to my sister. Nico gave me one of his smirks, pure excitement flashing in his eyes "wouldn't want to knock you off your feet" he winked and left before I could even think of an answer. I smiled after him, not really knowing if I should shook my head or roll my eyes. In the end I did none, just following the other canary with my eyes as he got to the stage.
Now it's time to see if they're still worthy of the title of best performers in Rio, or if they just got beat by us. The later made me smirk in pure confidence.
Let's hope the feeling lasts.
Hello people! I think it took a little while longer than expected to finish this, to which I apologize.
What did you think of the girl's performance? did you like it? hate it? loved it?
Songs I used (I don't own any of them)(If you don't know them, listen to them. They are awesome songs):
Bound To You by Christina Aguilera.
Charlie Brown by Coldplay.
Turn Me On by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj
Now on to the reviews:
EmmerzK: Sooo glad you like last chapter, 'cause I was so worried it would be a total disaster. Right now I'm trying to decide who will win the competition, and what story we'll hear; which one do you prefer? And yes, it is more organized :D
ILOVENICO1000X: I just can't get the sweetness out of him. I know right? they should just tell each other what they feel... but that wouldn't be very romantic, would it? XD Hope you liked the songs!
Niah09: Well, I'm not going to argue that, but you should totally visit. I think it's worth it. Oh I'm not that cruel... well, I am but I really wanted a romantic moment X3. I used one of the lines you gave me, it was so cool I just had to. thanks for review! :D
Also a HUGE thanks to emosmile and to NinjaMonkeyGirl2012 for adding this to their faves.
Don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios) or any of the songs. Own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Maia, Bruno, Isabel and all the judges (Damian, Jazz, Joseph and Flare) TOO MANY OCs!