Blu woke up and saw Tulio and Linda looking at him. He was on a low perch in a cage in a fully lighted room and didn't remember getting there. His inner clock told him it was close to noon in local time. Linda opened the cage and offered her hand for Blu to step up, which he did.

"Good morning Blu," Linda greeted him. "Jewel should be awake soon. Do you want to see her?" Blu nodded and received some head scratches. Tulio picked up a bird carrier, and Blu climbed in.

The room they arrived in was about eight meters long and seven wide. The walls were painted to resemble a forest, and several large potted plants were placed on the floor around the cage. The lights were bright, and Blu saw that some UV light was mixed with visible light.

The room contained a cage about five meters long, two meters high, and two meters wide. The bottom grid was about 80cm above the floor, and sturdy-looking hardware attached the cage to the ceiling. Blu realized that droppings would mostly end up on the floor, which could be swept without opening the enclosure.

Blu could see Jewel lying on her belly on the bottom grid. She had a folded towel under her, and a smaller one was spread over her like a blanket.

There was a table outside the cage close to Jewel. Tulio held the carrier so that Blu could move to the table. Blu saw that Jewel was still sleeping, but he expected her to wake up soon. After seeing that Blu was acting calm, Tulio and Linda left the room.

Blu could see that several wooden poles and thick ropes were attached inside the grid for climbing and perching. In addition, some cups were attached high to the corners of the grid. Some wooden blocks were suspended with ropes from the top grid.

Blu climbed up the grid to get a better look inside the cage. He saw that the cage's interior continued into a protrusion at one end. There were two holes at its bottom, and two stainless steel cups were placed under the holes: one cup contained water, and the other held pieces of fruits, vegetables, and some baked thing. Blu realized that having such protrusion for the cups helped keep them clean.

The diameter of the cups was larger than the diameter of the holes, and they had a shelf under them. Therefore, the cups couldn't be turned over, and humans could change the cups without opening the cage.

Blu could also see one of the smaller cups in the nearest corner of the cage containing some seeds. He couldn't see inside the other small cups in the corners from where he was, but he guessed they held other dry foods like nuts and pellets.

After a quick look, Blu descended back to the table closer to Jewel. Quite soon, she opened her eye and looked around, moving her head just enough to see at every angle. Next, she looked directly at Blu before looking around the room again. After a while, she spoke: "Hello again, Blu. I don't feel very energetic right now."

"Hello, Jewel. You should feel better soon," Blu answered.

"I guess they made me sleep to inspect and treat my wing. Did they say anything? Am I going to get well?" Jewel asked.

"I think they said you would," Blu answered. "Take your time to wake up."

"Why are you outside the cage while I am in?" Jewel asked.

"I heard Tulio say he will let me in when you have fully woken up. He probably wasn't sure how we would act if you were drowsy," Blu informed her.

"I want to see how my wing looks," Jewel said, raising to a sitting position. She used her beak to displace the towel and saw her wing. She tried to stand up but couldn't keep her balance and ended up back in a sitting position staring at her injured wing. "What is that?" she cried out.

A shiny metal rod went along Jewel's left humerus. Three shiny connector parts were bolted to the rod, each holding a pin. The pin closest to the shoulder joint was thicker than the others and came out of her wing like an extension to her humerus before bending 90 degrees and continuing to the connector part. The thinner pins were straight, threaded, and screwed to the wing perpendicularly.

"I don't know, but I am sure everything will be alright," Blu tried to calm her.

Jewel didn't answer. She kept staring at her wing and began to breathe faster. Blu turned towards a camera in the corner. He looked straight toward it and gave a short but loud scream.

A moment later, Tulio stepped in, followed by Linda. He approached calmly and lowered himself to squat so that his face was at a lower height than the birds' while Linda stayed by the door. Blu used his wing to point to the scary thing on Jewel's wing while looking at Tulio.

Tulio spoke in a soothing voice. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright. That is only a temporary fixture. In time, it will be removed, and Jewel's wing will be strong and pretty again."

Blu translated that to Jewel, who calmed down a little. After a moment, she stood up properly. Blu had many questions about Jewel's treatment, but another question bothered him. He pointed around the room with his wing while turning around. After that, he showed a small gap with his wingtips. He paused for a moment, moved his wingtips farther from each other, and looked at Tulio, tilting his head.

Again Tulio spoke in a soothing voice. "This cage is better than the big room when healing from a wing injury. You can reach everything by climbing."

Blu again translated to Jewel.

"Blu, do you understand my words?" Tulio asked after a pause.

Blu nodded twice.

"Did you translate what I said to Jewel?" Tulio asked.

Blu nodded again.

"Please spread your wings wide," Tulio asked.

Blu did as requested.

"I want to be sure. Please ask Jewel to make a full turn on the spot," Tulio asked next.

Tulio heard Blu speaking to Jewel, her answer, and Blu talking again. Then Jewel looked straight at Tulio and did the turn as asked.

"Fascinating," said Tulio. "I have so much to ask about, but now is not the best time. You two should settle down in peace. I give you some instructions and leave."

"Blu, tell Jewel that she can and should move her wing gently," Tulio instructed. "She must not fly or load her wing in other ways until it is well healed. We will remove the temporary fixture in about one month. Climbing is good as long as she doesn't exhaust herself," Tulio added.

"You don't have a birdbath here, but I can give you showers," Tulio instructed. "Only short ones for Jewel because of the fixture," he warned. "I will give Jewel pain medicine twice a day," Tulio added.

"Some advice for you, Blu," Tulio began. "You should take things slowly with Jewel. Females need to be healthy before breeding, and even when they are healthy, they need time to be ready for it."

Before stepping out of the door, Tulio said to Blu: "One more thing, you should offer to preen Jewel's head and neck."

Blu was surprised. How was that taking things slowly, he wondered. He had seen scenes on television where a man kisses a woman's neck, often leading to mating.

"You looked taken aback when Tulio said something just before going out. Was it some bad news?" Jewel asked.

"It wasn't bad news. He said I should offer to preen your head and neck," Blu revealed.

"That sounds nice," Jewel said. "Please do it, but only after we have eaten because I am quite hungry. Let's see what we have."

Jewel walked to a food cup and looked at it. "One good thing about this place is that they offer a wide variety of foods," she commented. "I haven't tried all of these yet. Before you came to me two days ago and explained the situation, I was quite suspicious about the food. This time I think I will try a little bit of everything."

Sometime after breakfast, Blu was preening Jewel's neck. At first, he was nervous, but he gradually relaxed when nothing unpleasant or risque happened. He was about halfway through the area he was meant to work on when he noticed a spot on Jewel's back where her feathers were out of alignment. Without further thinking, he moved his beak to smooth that spot. Suddenly Jewel stepped away and turned towards him, looking annoyed.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Blu was surprised about Jewel's reaction. "Preening. I thought that was okay," he answered. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, feeling a little scared.

Jewel was silent for a moment before answering. "Blu, you must have noticed that you can preen most of yourself, but you can't reach your head and most of your neck with your beak," she said.

"Because of that, it is alright to give and receive help with those areas but only established pairs preen each other elsewhere," Jewel informed Blu. "I like you, but we met only two days ago," she added.

"Sorry, I didn't know," Blu apologized.

"No harm done," Jewel stated. "Go on and finish the job, and then I will do the same to you."

"I have a question first," Blu said. "When we were riding that tram, I was about to put my wing behind your back, but you gave me disproving look, and I stopped myself. Is that also something only established pairs do?" He inquired.

"It isn't a thing Spix's macaw pairs usually do," Jewel informed. "Was it meant to be a romantic gesture?" she asked.

"Yes. It is among humans," Blu said.

"We are parrots, not humans," Jewel reminded. "That raises a question: when we first met, you pointed at me with your foot and gave a weird speech about your name. Was that also a human thing?" Jewel continued.

"Humans often greet new people by shaking hands and telling their names," Blu answered.

"That pose you took is a defensive posture. Using it while greeting someone gives a kind of mixed message," Jewel warned.

"Oops," Blu said.

"You sometimes make me uneasy because you don't know macaw customs," Jewel admitted. "However, you being raised by humans wasn't your fault. So I try to be patient and ask before getting angry," she continued.

"And I try to learn quickly," Blu promised.

"Could you turn your side to me?" Jewel suggested. Blu did as asked and looked at Jewel with curiosity. Jewel moved closer and turned simultaneously until Blu felt their sides touching.

"This is a thing bird couples do. Well, not only couples. Friends and relatives can also do this," Jewel informed. "Do you like this?" she then asked.

Blu thought about it for a moment. He felt a light pressure on his side through his wing feathers. Slowly the area started to feel a little warmer. He could see Jewel's elegant profile and beautiful eye close to him. Being close to her this way felt good. "It feels nice," Blu admitted.

"When a girl has a taller boyfriend, they often do like this," Jewel said softly and moved her head so that it touched Blu's neck. Blu felt warmth from Jewel even more clearly. He then realized that Jewel had said boyfriend. He felt his cheeks getting hotter.

Blu wondered if Jewel could see it. He had never noticed her blushing, but it might be easy to miss because her cheeks were very dark gray from living outside under the tropical sun. His cheeks were a slightly lighter shade because Linda used UV light on him quite sparingly.

Soon Jewel moved away from him and smiled. "Would you continue preening? I can return the favor when you have finished."

Later in the morning, Blu and Jewel were perching on one of the wooden poles inside the cage. They had finished preening each other's heads and necks and then continued preening themselves because their feathers needed it after their adventure. For Blu, it was the first time another bird had helped him preen, and it had felt good.

"When we first met, you tried to kiss me," Jewel reminded. "What were you thinking?"

"I am really sorry about that," Blu apologized.

"And I am sorry that I overreacted," Jewel responded. "But seriously, I am curious. What made you think it was a good idea?"

"Well, I already told you that Tulio brought us together hoping to save our species," Blu reminded. "Linda told me coming here would be the right thing to do. Therefore, I knew they expected me to breed with you. However, doing it required you to like me." Blu explained.

"On the road here, I met Nico and Pedro, and they told me that Brazilian ladies like confidence and I should act like 'crazy love hawk,'" Blu revealed. "When I entered the room where you were kept, I had been wondering if you were willing to mate with me. When you looked at me and asked if I was ready, I mistakenly thought that you were talking about it, and I tried to act confidently," Blu explained.

Jewel looked at Blu with a baffled expression.

"Did Tulio give instructions or tell you what to expect from our meeting?" Jewel inquired, sounding tense.

Blu felt unsure about where the questions would lead. "No, he didn't, and I am quite sure he hadn't noticed yet that I understood English," he answered.

"So you tried to kiss me because you thought it was expected of you and not because of attraction?" Jewel asked, sounding a little angry.

"I thought you were attractive, gorgeous even, but I didn't get a sudden urge to kiss you or go further," Blu explained.

Jewel's frown softened with that answer. "Blu, we are macaws," she reminded. "Macaws usually need months to bond before becoming mates. Some pairs need more than a year," she informed. "I don't think Tulio expected us to breed right away."

Blu felt shocked. "Months?" he repeated. "Tulio and Linda didn't say anything about months. Linda said we would be back before I know it."

"I don't know what Linda was thinking, but I know our kind," Jewel assured. "A female Spix's macaw must bond with her partner properly before she can produce eggs. Time of the year also matters. The end of this breeding season isn't far. Even if my wing was good and we bonded extremely fast, it would likely be too late. It will likely be over half a year before the next breeding season begins," she continued.

Blu was speechless. His expectations seemed to clash with reality. At least Jewel hadn't said "never" to breeding, so he hadn't yet messed up completely.

"I guess such a mistake is understandable because humans raised you," Jewel noted and paused for a moment. "So, your expectation when you arrived was that we would start mating soon, and I would lay some eggs, and then you would go back to Minnesota?" she continued inquiring.

Blu realized it sounded terrible, but Jewel seemed surprisingly calm about it. "When you say it like that, it sounds awful, but I was confident that Tulio would take good care of you and the chicks," he assured.

"I am sure that he has plans for my future children and me, but thinking about it makes me stressed, and getting too stressed is bad for my wing, so I try to think of other things," Jewel said, her voice getting weaker.

Jewel looked at Blu with a serious expression before continuing. "You should know one more thing," she stated. "Macaws usually mate for life. Getting separated after becoming mates would probably be unpleasant for both of us."

"But let's not think too far ahead," Jewel suggested after another pause. "I like having you around, and I bet Tulio isn't eager to separate us. Would you like to stay with me until my wing is better, and we could worry about the future later?"

Blu thought about the situation briefly. Linda would return to Minnesota eventually, and Jewel would be in Brazil. Leaving either of them behind felt unthinkable. He decided to think about these things later like Jewel intended to do.

"Yes, I would like to stay with you. I also like having you around a lot," Blu answered.

"My behavior when we met was horrible," Jewel admitted. "I thought I would be sold as a pet or a collection item, and I had heard about many horrible things that can happen to birds in captivity," Jewel explained. "I had been so scared the whole time in captivity, and before that, I had been so lonely for so long. I was in horrible shape mentally."

Suddenly Jewel looked at Blu intently. "Blu, I need to know: does Linda pet you all over?" she demanded.

"What?" Blu blurted. "No, Linda only touches my head, neck, and feet unless it is an emergency. She touched me more when I was very young, but that was long ago."

"I am relieved to hear that," Jewel told.

"Would her petting me all over be so bad?" Blu asked.

"I have been told that parrots petted all over often start to see a human as their mate. Wild parrots see such interactions as shameful," Jewel informed.

"I don't see Linda as my mate," Blu reassured. "She is more like a mother or a good friend to me. You don't have to worry about her."

There was silence for a while.

"It is hard to believe we met only two days ago," Jewel said. "We had quite an adventure. We even kissed towards the end, but it was done quite in a hurry," she continued. "Would you like to do it again?" she suggested.

"I think I would like that," Blu answered.

They turned on the perch facing each other. Slowly their beaks moved closer and then overlapped until they softly touched the skin next to the other's beak. Their beaks opened a little, and their tongues touched. After a moment, they pulled away.

The kiss gave Blu a warm feeling, but he had expected more excitement. He remembered their first hasty kiss. The realization that Jewel had non-platonic feelings for him made his heart beat faster.

In films, humans often seemed to get very excited after kissing. On the other hand, he wasn't a human and wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. There wasn't anyone around to ask but Jewel, and asking her didn't feel like a good idea.

Jewel moved backward and then seemed to lose balance. Instead of falling, she was left hanging from the shaft upside down. Her wings were still closed, her tail and head pointed almost downwards, and she was smiling.

"Follow my lead," Jewel challenged. Blu felt a little unsure because the shaft was uneven and still had bark, while he was used to regular shapes of human-manufactured wooden items. He still followed her lead. Jewel continued with some more tricks, and Blu repeated them. While he didn't feel confident initially, he discovered that he could do everything and wasn't straining his muscles. All that climbing he had done during his life instead of flying was paying off.

It was still the afternoon of Blu's and Jewel's first day back in the Conservation Center. They were resting after climbing when Blu remembered something Jewel had said. Linda had promised him that they would return before he knew it. When Jewel had heard about it, she stated that she didn't know what Linda was thinking.

Blu thought that Linda had always known how to take care of him. Was it possible that she didn't know enough about the procreation of parrots? Or could Linda have lied to him? Maybe she intended to leave him here?

"I need to know!" Blu thought and started to wave to the surveillance camera on the wall.

Linda and Tulio had watched from a television screen how Blu and Jewel ate, preened, and climbed around the cage.

"I have known parrots to imitate the human voice, but the way Blu used gestures and seemed to understand me is something I have never seen," Tulio said. "He even translated my instructions to Jewel correctly! That was an awe-inspiring feat. It raised the question if we have underestimated how well birds can communicate among themselves or if Blu and Jewel are just outliers."

"Blu is brilliant," Linda admitted. "I have been wary of speaking about it because I feared he would be taken away from me. I was also afraid of being seen as crazy. Sometimes I have even doubted my own eyes,"

"I must admit that conversation was a little unnerving," Tulio admitted. "But you shouldn't doubt yourself. You are so smart and pretty and dedicated to Blu. I can hardly believe I met someone like you."

"Oh my," Linda answered.

Before the conversation continued, they noticed that Blu waved to a security camera.

Tulio looked at Blu on his desk. The Spix's macaw male seemed to get along with Jewel until he suddenly gestured that he wanted away from their room. Tulio had considered ignoring it but decided to find out if there were a problem that could be solved. Besides, he was curious to see Blu communicate more.

He was still worried. He could force the macaws to be in the same space, but he couldn't force them to become mates. Furthermore, if they didn't get along, they might fight or get stressed out, which would risk their health.

Linda was also present and sat by the desk. She asked Blu if everything was ok.

Blu stood on one leg and pointed one toe of the other foot towards the table. Then he moved that toe around very close to the desk.

"Do you have some paper and a pencil?" Linda asked Tulio.

Tulio felt dread. He had a hunch about what he would soon see, and it was something that shouldn't be possible. He slowly opened a desk drawer, took a pencil, and put it on the table. Another drawer and a notebook came out. He slid them slowly in front of Blu.

As Tulio had thought, even though it went against his experience, Blu picked up the pencil and started writing with it. It was slow, and he wrote many lines. After finishing, he turned the notebook for Linda to read and stared straight at her.

You say
we go back
before I know

Jewel tell
macaws need time
bond
before eggs

Breeding season
is over
soon

Macaw pair
stay together
whole life
usually

Did you know?

Linda looked shocked about Blu's question. After a while, she answered. "I knew."

Author's notes:

Jewel's temporary fixture is a real thing. One can see pictures of different fixtures, including Jewel's, by googling "fracture repair bird temporary fixture."

Macaws have some bare skin on their cheeks and can blush. Reasons may be different than for humans.

The movie showed several indications that Blu understands spoken and written English. Blu also wrote notes that included many words but not complete sentences. I decided Blu could write broken English because the story would be entirely different without communication between Blu and Tulio.

In the real world, conservationists released eight Spix's macaws the day this chapter was released. Twelve more are planned for later this year.

I have seen many people warning that one shouldn't usually touch their parrots in places other than the head, neck, and feet. Every bird owner doesn't agree. I don't know for sure, but at least Jewel and Linda in my story believe that touching a parrot all over is not good. It seemed to me that in the movie, Linda followed that rule, too, except after Tulio had thrown Blu, which was an exceptional situation.

Blu reminded Jewel of the time he explained that Tulio brought them together to save their species. The movie didn't show such a discussion, but it makes sense that it happened off-screen. Afterward, Jewel was still annoyed with Blu, but instead of trying to harm or ignore him, she argued with him about escaping and trusting humans. The book adaptation included Blu revealing to Jewel that they were their species' last ones, which made her stop her attack.