Chapter 25:

Rose's First Crush!

Rose found herself awakening much earlier that morning. With a little over a half hour before dawn, the world rested under a soft grey veil brought forth from the first few rays of sunlight visible upon the horizon. She stretched her wings and yawned, opening her eyes a bit, she studied the world with a renewed enthusiasm. Her mother, brothers, and sister still remained sleeping. Their snoring filled the hollow. She stretched her wings and yawned. Even though she still felt a little groggy, and she struggled to lift herself out of the nest, she didn't feel like sleeping anymore that day. Her mind focused upon the strange macaw she saw chase after the New World Order's foot soldiers. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't one of them. He seemed different somehow. His roguish attitude and stealth capabilities weren't something Marco normally used in his raids. She placed a wing upon her heart. It skipped a beat as she thought about him.

Without a word she lowered her head and felt her cheeks flush. Even without looking at her reflection, she knew her face would be a bright red in colour. Her beak trembled as she struggled to clear her mind of thoughts, but found herself unable to do such a thing. She peered at her wings, noticing the blackish blue tint of her under feathers. She smiled and noted the differences. While her wings held traces of black – an obvious spix macaw trait – the strange macaw's wings held traces of black, gold, and blue. They weren't like any other species of bird she had ever read about or seen in her life, but that only made him more unique.

She peered at her mother, who rested a little uneasily. The white rim around her face shined in the early morning light. Her eyes opened a crack and noted her daughter standing over her. Her beak formed a concerned frown. On most days, Jewel would have been the first one up, so she could gather breakfast for her family, and hide some extra food from the patrols. She would need to travel further since most of the trees now stood devoid of any fruit, but she didn't mind the extra long trip, as long as she didn't run into any trouble.

"Good morning, Rose." Jewel smiled, stretching her wings in a similar fashion to what Rose had done. She shifted her neck from side to side, shaking off any stiffness left over from the night. Her sapphire eyes studied the young female for a couple of minutes, taking in her strange complexion. She forced a sly smile and nudged the girl with her wing, imitating the way she used to tease her husband. "You're blushing, having a grown up dream, were you?"

Rose lowered her head and went a deeper red in the face. She held a wing over her beak in a futile effort to hide that fact. She knew though she had acted too late, and her mother could see everything. She couldn't hide anything from her, no matter how hard she tried. She remembered her father told her such a thing several times back when he was alive.

"Um no, I was uh, just thinking… that's all." Rose stammered, toying with her wings a little sheepishly.

"You were thinking?" Jewel arched a curious eyebrow, her smile deepened as she noted the shy look in her daughter's eyes. She really didn't seem too comfortable with this conversation, but she continued to nudge her daughter with her wing and let her voice grow more serious. "Who were you thinking about? I swear from the way you're acting you have a crush on someone."

Rose waved a wing trying hard to look shocked by her mother's sudden realisation. Deep down she too kind of wondered if that is what was going on inside of her. She did find the strange macaw attractive, and she couldn't take his mind off of him for longer than a couple of minutes. The way he saved her from being trampled and hurt by the brainwashed military macaw, did make him a hero, just like how her father had rescued her from the cruel heartless villain named Jollo. Could her mother be right on this one? Did she have a crush on this bird? How could it be so, when she didn't even know his name?

"I think you're mistaken." Rose countered. "There's no way I could have a crush on anyone. It's impossible."

At least I hope it's impossible. She shuddered. With Marco running around the last thing I need is love.

Jewel's eyes turned into tiny slits. She peered at her daughter through her peripheral vision and arched her head back. She couldn't keep her smile from appearing no matter how hard she tried, that much proved obvious enough even for Rose to take notice.

"I think you're lying. Why don't you come clean and tell me who has caught your interest."

"I don't have a crush on anybody!" Rose protested. "It's impossible. I'm way too young."

"Not necessarily." Jewel grinned. "Most macaws start to develop emotional bonds when they are your age. Just because your father and I didn't meet until much later on, doesn't mean anything. He lived in Minnesota, and I lived here in Rio de Janeiro. You don't have the handicap. You get to live like a normal macaw with normal emotions."

Rose would have kept arguing on the subject, but found herself silenced when Rafael popped his head into the hollow. His large beak reflected the sunlight, shining it throughout the hollow. His eyes peered at the two women with a concerned expression. He shuffled his feathers with nervous anticipation.

"Uh, Jewel. I think you might want to come out here, there is someone here who wants to see you."

Jewel rolled her eyes and frowned. She glared at the toucan for a moment and shook her head. Her beak trembled with frustration.

"Is it a New World soldier?" She asked a little taken aback by the toucan's appearance.

"No, I don't think so." Rafael shook his head. "He doesn't have that cloudiness in his eyes, and he hasn't threatened me at all. He says he wants to speak to you and your daughter. Provided of course that you two haven't followed his advice and ran for safety."

Jewel nodded her head and let out a defeated sigh. She couldn't argue with her curiosity. She lowered her head and spread her wings. She turned to Rose quickly and turned serious for a moment.

"I don't know what's going on, but I have a feeling you're hiding something. Perhaps this is the answer I've been looking for. But just in case this guy is dangerous, you should stay behind me at all times."

# # #

Deep in the underground passages of Rio's abandoned subway system, a dangerous mood had settled in. With very little light seeping in through the entry way, Marco paced around the large boarding station, eyeing a group of birds with a vicious expression. He feathers changed colour as he moved from the dim lights given off from the florescent light bulbs, to the shadows created from the early dawn. His talons made a horrible grinding noise as his nails scraped against the pavement, creating sparks with every step he took. His beak curled into a savage and rather dangerous looking snarl. The blackness of his eyes appeared to change to a dark crimson, which indicated his rising temper. He knew the growing mass of birds watched him, saying nothing, yet their fear appeared upon their faces. He spit with disgust before bothering to berate them with his foul mood.

"Would anyone care to explain how large portions of fruit managed to simply disappear into thin air?"

He eyed the group of creatures, stopping in his tracks to await an explanation. His talons continued to scrape along the pavement, leaving large impressions in the concrete. The grinding noise sent shivers down the spines of every creature present, except for Marco who used this to his advantage. He cocked his head to one side and folded his wings together. His metallic weaponry glistened amongst the darkness, catching everyone's eyes.

"Well, I'm waiting." Marco snarled. "Did you eat it? Was it stolen? Did you lose it? Or are you all magicians that performed a disappearing act? Whatever the excuse, I suggest you tell me NOW!"

A spoonbill named Kipo stepped forward. He shuffled his wings and lowered his head to stare eye to eye with the evil hawk. He swallowed a large lump in his thin throat and began to speak in a flat emotionless voice which wasn't a reflection of his own. His cloudy brainwashed eyes didn't move or blink as he spoke.

"I am afraid we aren't quite sure," he explained. "It is a good possibility that the fruit was stolen by a thief, or someone who could blend into the darkness. I'm afraid we don't have patrols watching it every second of the day. But that will change, I promise. Please give us another chance-"

Marco threw his talons out and grabbed the spoonbill by the throat. His dark eyes filled with cruel unrestrained hatred towards the brainwashed creature. Even though he knew the spoonbill didn't have a mind of his own, he did allow him enough free will to serve him and lead the monkeys and margays. He tightened his grip around the spoonbill's throat and let his voice sink to a dangerous hiss.

"Every single one of you are useless fools! Don't you realise what you have done? Any one of the jungle creatures could have come down here to steal it. My plans would be ruined if that happened, and why is that? I'll tell you why, of they get their hands on the confiscated fruit, they won't starve to death, we'll be forced to fight and that will lead to a revolution."

Kipo swallowed a large lump in his throat as he felt his life being strangled from him. He couldn't fight back in this position, the hawk proved to be too powerful an opponent. His mark glowed adding to his overall strength, which intensified when combined with the added powers of the rest of his fallen brothers.

"Please, master, have mercy."

Marco arched a conniving eyebrow and let out an evil cackle. He threw the spoonbill away from him with all of his might. He pointed a wing at the fallen bird who appeared injured from the sickening impact with the pavement. Blood flowed from a head wound. He slammed his talon against the ground drawing more sparks to fly through the air.

"You're lucky that I still need you." Marco hissed. "Go and watch the remainder of the food, and don't you dare let one creature near it other than myself. There won't be a third chance. If you fail me this time, you'll be made an example of. Now get out of my sight, your stupidity sickens me."

The spoonbill bowed his head in respect towards the hawk and scrambled to get away from him as fast as possible. He didn't want to anger him any further, knowing full well that next time it would be fatal.

# # #

Rose followed her mother out of the hollow and stepped out onto the long thick tree branch. She huddled close to the toucan, knowing full well that her mother would be watching her reactions when she saw the strange macaw again, provided of course the strange macaw was the creature who wanted to see them. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. It skipped beats as each second ticked away. Every moment seemed like it lasted an eternity, she lowered her head to avoid her mother's amused gaze.

"Are you sure you don't want to confess?" Jewel asked, her voice hinting with hope that her daughter would confide in her. She noticed the shy look on the young female's face. Her smile deepened further as she waited for a reply.

Rose's face continued to go bright red in the cheeks. She let out a defeated sigh, realising she couldn't hide it any longer. She would find out one way or the other, and it would be best if she just came clean.

"Alright, I think I like him… I mean, I've only met him the once and that was yesterday during the stand off with the patrol of foot soldiers. I know he wasn't one of them. He actually saved me by throwing rocks at the big ugly green one. He's a hero, not a villain."

Jewel nodded her head in understanding. She turned to her daughter for a moment and placed her wings on her daughter's shoulders. She smiled and peered into her eyes. The young female looked conflicted, but she looked relieved to have gotten it off her chest. She didn't need to hide it anymore.

"You're father always wanted you to find someone who would risk their life for you, if they needed too. If what you said is the truth, than I'll support you two being together if that time comes."

Rafael chuckled to himself and poked his head between the macaw pair. He forced a cheerful smile as he spoke to both of them.

"Aye corumba, did I hear you correctly amigo? Your little Rose has a crush on some bird?"

Jewel nodded her head, noting the rather embarrassed look on her daughter's face. The young girl lowered her head to hide it from both of the adults. She still wasn't used to all of this romantic stuff, unless it came in the form of one of her father's many fairy tales.

"Ola, tudo bem?"

All three creatures froze in their tracks at the sound of a voice cutting through the air. They turned to see a rather strange looking macaw standing with his wings spread out. Jewel took notice of the colouring, her shock evident upon her face as she saw the three colours blend perfectly together. It seemed to help him blend into several different environments. He didn't make a sound as he approached, despite his talons scraping against the wooden bark. On his right wing he carried a large metal blade upon his feather column. At his waist he carried several different pouches. Jewel turned to her daughter for a moment and arched a curious eyebrow.

"Is this the guy?"

Rose nodded her head not bothering to give a vocal reply. She eyed the macaw, her heart skipped a beat. Now that she could see his full body clear as day, he looked even more attractive. He bowed respectfully to the trio of birds and formed a pleasant smile.

"Ola, tudo bem?" he repeated again. "Or perhaps I should speak English, hello, how are you?"

Jewel bowed her head and addressed the strange bird. Her eyes never moved off of him as she studied the lethal looking blade on his wing.

"We're good, under the circumstances of living under the clutches of a tyrant. Who are you? And why are you here?"

The strange bird smiled and eyed the young female macaw who peered at him. He winked at her and noticed her cheeks swell. He chuckled and turned his attention to the older macaw.

"I guess there is no harm in telling you. My name is Rico. I have come to offer you my services."

"What kind of bird are you?" Jewel asked arching a curious eyebrow, "You don't look like any other species of bird I've ever met. You have a cerulean body, with black feathers under your wings, those are traits of a spix macaw… but you don't look like one of us. You have traces of gold too, which match the outlines of a blue and gold macaw, but having DNA of two different types of birds is impossible. We aren't compatible with each other."

Rico chuckled and seated himself on the branch. He sighed and went into a little further explanation.

"Well you see, you are both correct and incorrect. I am the combination of both. My mother was a spix macaw, while my father heralded from the blue and gold family. It's only because the two species are so distantly related that allowed me to be born with no natural birth defects. I guess you could say that I am one of a kind."

Rafael held up a wing for a moment. He eyed Rico with a stern expression before speaking.

"You said you wanted to give us your services. What did you mean by that, amigo?"

Rico shifted his body for a moment and tossed his pouches to the ground. He smiled and kicked them over to the toucan.

"You see, I sort of have a little score to settle with Emperor Marco. He and his little group of Dark Robed goons murdered my mother. She never met them before, so she couldn't have wronged them in any way. From what I could tell they just didn't like her species. After her death, my dad taught me the importance of stealth and how to steal from my enemies. He told me that if I was helping the good honest creatures and the only group being hurt were those who sought to hurt others, than it wouldn't technically be stealing… it would be liberating. Still I suppose most creatures would call me a thief."

Rico pointed a wing to the pouch on the branch and smiled as he continued onwards with his explanation.

"In that pouch, you'll find food stolen from that phoney Emperor and his brainwashed goons. After I saved your beautiful daughter yesterday, I thought you could use the nourishment."

Jewel nodded her head and rescued the pouch from off the ground. She studied the contents of the bag for a moment and formed a pleasant smile.

"Papayas, passion fruits, mangos, blackberries, blueberries, and other things I've never even seen before. This is amazing, I've never seen this much food at one time in my entire life."

Rico shifted his talon across the bark and lowered his head a little sheepishly. He eyed the older female macaw and asked his question again.

"So, do you think I can join you in your fight against Marco?"

Jewel studied the fruit and nodded her head. She couldn't deny that the bird held some hidden skills which would prove to be useful to them in the future.

"I guess so, but don't try any funny business. You'll need to prove your loyalty first."