Della knew that her great-grandfather and uncle didn't exactly get along with each other. They had very similar interests in treasure and adventures, but they had very different ways of doing things, and very different reasons for doing it. Della didn't really care about who was right and who was wrong, she knew that there were a lot of things that she could learn from both of them, and then she could decide for herself what she thought was right.
Della just hadn't realized how annoying it was for them to both try to teach her at the exact same time.
"Oh, Della, look at all these artifacts," Great-grandpa Coot excitedly pointed out the Brazilian pieces in the front entrance of the Carioca house. "I haven't seen so much signs of Macumba in one household before."
"Sim, my family is very devoted to practicing Quimbanda," Ana Carioca, the motherly green parrot who was the head of the household said. She didn't seem very eager to have them in her household, but she was a more gracious hostess than Della thought she would ever be if she ever had three strangers show up at her home and demand to investigate her children.
"Bah, Quimbanda," Uncle Scrooge said the word with as much disgust as he could muster, which was a lot. He put a hand on Della's shoulder and held her back firmly. "Don't touch anything, lass, you never know what to expect from black magic. It's dangerous."
"Isso é ridículo," Ana waved aside Scrooge's concern. She grabbed a mask off of the wall and held it out to Della. The little girl hesitated for only a second before she accepted the mask. It felt extremely normal, nothing supernatural or scary about it. "I have four children living at home, and one of them is younger than you are. If this was truly dangerous, I would not have it in my home."
"I still don't trust it," Scrooge muttered angrily. He grabbed the mask from Della and handed it back to Ana.
"Don't mind him," Della said. "He doesn't trust any magic."
"Bem, if you won't allow me to have your child handle my magic, then how can you expect me to let you test your magic on my children?" Ana crossed her arms and eyed Uncle Scrooge critically.
"She's got a point, Scrooge," Great-grandpa Coot said absently. He was only half paying attention to their conversation, as he was busy looking at everything around the house. Great-grandpa Coot very reluctantly turned to look at Ana. "Would you feel better if we let you see the amulet?"
Ana relaxed slightly. "Sim, por favor." Great-grandpa Coot took the green necklace and offered it out to the Brazilian woman. She took it and observed it carefully.
"This contains some very old magic," Ana said in quiet awe. "You say this amulet is meant for only one?"
"One of the original caballeros," Great-grandpa Coot said, though it didn't mean a lot to anybody who didn't know just what a caballero was. "He was your ancestor."
"I feel the connection," Ana said. "If possession is transferred through blood, then it may just belong to one of my sons."
"We just have to figure out which one it is," Great-grandpa Coot said.
"You know, you claim to be an expert on the caballeros," Uncle Scrooge glared slightly at the older duck. "Shouldn't you know which one is the caballero?"
"It's a little complicated," Great-grandpa Coot said. "Donald and Panchito were easy enough to figure out, but they're both only children. It was hard enough to narrow down the search to just this family. Now, I'm ninety percent certain that one of these boys is the third caballero."
"But you don't know which one," Della frowned slightly. "So, what, are we just going to give the necklace to all of them and hope that one of them just tells us that it belongs to him?" Della didn't know how well that would work. When Donald had first been given his amulet, he hadn't said anything about feeling a connection with it, and neither had Panchito.
Still, Della's great-grandfather had dedicated his life to learning more about the Caballeros. If anybody knew how the necklaces worked, it was him.
"Well, we'd better test the amulet with the other boys," Della crossed her arms and looked around, though she knew she wouldn't see who she was looking for. "Where are they anyways?" How long did it take for one boy to get three other boys?
Ana looked towards the back rooms and frowned slightly. "Filhos, come out here!"
"Nós estamos vindo, Mãe!" A boy's voice responded. A moment later three boys came out to join them. The oldest boy looked like he was nearly a teenager. He entered the room confidently and grinning broadly. He made eye contact with Della, and winked at her. Della just blinked in response. She really didn't know what to think of him.
Standing just behind the older boy was a parrot who looked about Della's age. He was hunching his shoulders slightly, and looked a little unsure. Della didn't think that he was necessarily scared, or even nervous, but he definitely didn't want to be there.
Clinging tightly to the oldest boy's arm was a little parrot who looked a year or two than Della was. The boy was practically hiding behind his brother, but he kept on peeking out at Uncle Scrooge and Great-grandpa Coot cautiously, like he was expecting the worst from them. When the boy caught sight of Della, he looked visibly shocked. He looked at Della with wide eyes, and then back towards where he and his brothers had come from, and then back to Della.
"You've already met Luiz," Ana said, talking about the parrot who had been at her side when she had answered the door. "These are my other boys, Victor,"
"Olá," The teenager gave a little bow. He seemed to be going out of his way to be charming and make a good impression. Della wasn't completely convinced that it was sincere, but she had to admit, his charm was fun.
Ana gestured to the withdrawn boy in the back. "That's Matheus. He's quiet, so don't take it badly if he doesn't talk to you." The boy winced slightly, but sure enough he didn't say a word.
"And that pintinho is José" Ana knelt down and held an arm out to the youngest boy. He quickly ran to his mother's side, keeping his gaze on Della the entire time. He was weirding her out a little bit.
Uncle Scrooge cleared his throat. "Alright, lads, we're looking for two lost boys, and are hoping you could help us." José's eyes snapped right back to Della's uncle at this point. He looked terrified, and he wasn't the only one. Victor raised an eyebrow and looked desperately at their mother. Matheus looked slightly ill. Della had no idea what their problem was.
"You boys have nothing you need to worry about," Great-grandpa Coot said gently. He nodded at Ana, who held up the green amulet. "All we're asking is that each of you put this amulet on, and tell us if you feel anything unusual.
Victor glanced briefly at his younger brothers before he stepped forward. "I'll go first." He volunteered. Ana smiled encouragingly at her son as she handed him the necklace. Victor fearlessly slipped the amulet chain over his neck and let it rest against his chest. They were all frozen, waiting with bated breath for a moment. Finally Victor put his hands around the necklace and lifted it so he could get a closer look at it. "É mágico?"
"Yes, the amulet is magical," Great-grandpa Coot said. "Did you feel anything?"
"I just felt magic," Victor said. "But I feel magic in a lot of things."
"Victor has always been perceptive about magic," Ana said. "If the amulet was his, he would know it."
"Yes, I didn't think it was him," Great-grandpa Coot admitted. "He's so much older than the other two."
"In that case, perhaps we should try Matheus," Uncle Scrooge looked straight at the boy in the corner of the room.
The boy's eyes widened slightly. Matheus looked over towards his older brother with uncertainty in his eyes. Victor smiled and tossed the necklace to the boy. Matheus caught the amulet and hesitantly put it on. The necklace had rested on his chest for barely more than a moment before Matheus took the necklace off again and held it out.
"Não senti nada," Matheus shook his head. So he wasn't the caballero, and neither were Luiz and Victor. That left just one boy. They all turned to look at José, who looked somewhat cautious. It was normal for little kids to be scared of the unknown, but Della didn't think that was what was going on.
"Eu...how will the amulet help find those boys?" José asked. He didn't sound nearly as scared as he looked. Della wished she knew what was going through that boy's head.
"Oh, well, that's quite simple," Great-grandpa Coot said. "That amulet is connected to two other amulets that belong to the boys we're looking for. If the ones who truly own the amulets are wearing them, they will be drawn to each other."
José looked around. "...What if they don't have their amulets?"
Della frowned slightly. That was a very strange 'what if'. José knew something. Della didn't say anything, because Uncle Scrooge kept on telling her that she was too quick to act and really paranoid (not like he was one to talk). Still, she swore to keep her eyes on the kid.
"Well, lad, in that case, the amulets won't be drawn to each other," Uncle Scrooge said, though he looked to Great-grandpa Coot for confirmation.
"Right," Great-grandpa Coot nodded. "But you should still feel it if the amulet is yours."
"Uh," José glanced towards the back rooms. "I...I forgot something." The boy looked briefly at his mother, an odd look in his eyes, before he hurried out of the room towards the back. Della scowled and glared towards where the kid had run off to. Her brother was missing, and so was another boy. They might be scared, or hurt, and Della needed to find them before something happened. This little boy might be the key to finding them, and José wouldn't do something as easy as putting on a stupid necklace.
That was not okay. Della had waited long enough to get Donald back, and she refused to wait another second. Whatever was so important for José to do, it could wait a minute. Della was going to get some answers, whether José wanted to give them to her or not.
Della narrowed her eyes in determination and followed behind José. As she passed by Matheus she snatched the amulet from his hands. She clutched the necklace tightly in her fist as she made her way to the back rooms where José had gone. She heard her uncle and great-grandfather call for her, and Victor was saying something too. The teenager sounded pretty angry, but Della couldn't care less. She was sick and tired of waiting around. She was finally going to do something to bring her brother home.
When Della got to the back rooms she saw José about to enter a room. When he saw her though he quickly shut the door and turned to face her with an obviously forced look of innocence on his face.
"O-Olá," José smiled. He was trying really hard to look sincere and innocent, and with a few more years of experience he would probably be even more charming and calm in the face of danger than Victor was. Because José was just a little boy, he still had a ways to go. "What's wrong?"
He sounded sincerely concerned, and that just frustrated Della even more. He did not get to act like he was worried about her when he wasn't going to help her. Della clenched her fists and acting completely impulsively she dove right into José and tackled him to the ground. José yelped in alarm and slight pain as the two of them crashed on the ground.
"Zé-Zé?" Della heard Luiz's voice from inside the room that José had been heading for. "Você está bem?" He sounded concerned, and Della knew that she was just seconds away from an angry and protective older brother seeing her attacking José, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to hurt the kid, she was just desperate for his help.
"Please," Della said quietly. She hated how her voice got caught in her throat. She didn't want to cry, not right now. José's scared eyes softened slightly in compassion. "I'm just trying to find my brother."
José opened his mouth to answer her, but before he could say anything the door was thrown open. Della didn't even have time to look up before she was pushed off of José by Luiz, who had reacted in anger the second he had seen her on top of his brother. Della groaned slightly and had to take a moment to get back the breath that had been knocked out of her. She wasn't used to kids that were older and bigger than her knocking her around. It made her feel a little bad for tackling José the way that she had.
"O que você está fazendo com o meu irmão?" Luiz practically growled at Della.
"What the heck's going on out here?" Della felt her breath catch in her throat, and this time it had nothing to do with being tackled from the side. It was unmistakable, she knew that voice. Della snapped her gaze to the room that Luiz had just come out of and she found herself making eye contact with somebody that she had feared she would never see again. The boy's eyes widened so much that it might have been funny if the circumstances were any different.
"D-Della?" The boy's voice cracked horribly, which was common for him. Della used to laugh at him all the time because of it. Now, she still felt a bit like laughing, though that was more from relief and disbelief than humor.
"...Donald?"