Chapter 5: New Home
Mimi left Eduardo´s treehouse, followed by Corvo. Both of them covered in blood. Fresh morning gale blew into their faces as they approached Jewel. Jewel was standing under the shelter of giant leaves alongside Eduardo, Roberto, and Marco. She was the only one who was still awake. Her eyes were held open by the horror scene that engraved into her mind. Her beloved husband and father of her children, lying there without any trace of life. She then noticed Mimi.
"AUNT! How is he?!" asked Jewel immediately after Mimi and Corvo landed, waking Eduardo, Roberto, and Marco.
Mimi sighed and said: "Don´t worry my wildflower, he is a tough boy. He made it through the worst. Emily is with him in case he wakes up." replied Mimi with a small exhausted smile.
Jewel burst into tears and hugged her aunt.
"Thank you, thank you for saving him…Can I go see him?" said Jewel in between sobs.
"There is nothing to see. He is still asleep. Emily will notice us once he wakes. The best thing you can do for him now, is let him rest." said Mimi and left them. Corvo smiled as well and left towards his home too. It was a long night for all of them, healers especially.
"Oh God…Why did this happen...?" asked Jewel herself.
Eduardo rested his wing on Jewel´s shoulder.
"Don't worry honey, he will be alright. You know that Mimi wouldn´t say those words if she wasn´t sure. Come now, you have to rest as well. It was a long night." said Eduardo.
"I think I´ll stay a bit longer. After all, kids will be awake any minute, I can´t go to sleep now. Don´t worry about me daddy, I will be ok." said Jewel with a soft smile full of pain.
Eduardo turned his attention to Roberto. Marco slowly walked towards Jewel.
"You…you must be Jewel, right?" asked Marco with compassion.
"I am. Who is asking?" asked Jewel sadly.
"That is Marco. Friend of Blu. If it wasn´t for him, neither I or Blu would still be breathing…" answered instead of him Eduardo.
Jewel turned back at Marco and kissed him on his cheek. That kiss was all Jewel needed to say. It was a kiss full of compassion, gratitude…love.
"Thank you…thank you so much…If I had to lose them both…that would be my end…" said Jewel with her eyes watering again.
"I couldn´t let that happen. No one deserves to live without his parents. Neither do your children or you." said Marco and bright smile shined on his beak. Or it might have been just dawn of their new day.
"Jewel?" a friendly voice appeared behind their backs. It was Emily. "He is awake. You can come to see him. Mimi will be there any minute as well." said with a warm smile.
Jewel and others rushed towards Eduardo´s treehouse, where Blu was resting. The met Mimi at the entrance and went inside together.
"BLU!" shouted Jewel, rushing to her husband´s side.
"Hi Jewel…" said Blu weakly. It seemed like talking wasn´t an easy task for him.
"How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?" asked Jewel with a worried look.
"It´s not that bad. I feel kind of tired. But nothing I couldn´t handle." replied Blu, holding his wife´s wing to comfort her.
"I…I was so worried about you…" said Jewel and tears once again started rolling out of her eyes.
"To be honest, I was too. It looked bad…" said Blu, laying his eyes on Marco.
"Marco, what are you doing here?" asked Blu with curiosity.
"Well I couldn´t let you just die, now could I?" said Marco and chuckled.
"Judging by what you did, I´d say you couldn´t. Thank you." thanked Blu.
"No worries." replied Marco and smiled.
"How did you find us in the first place?" asked Blu out of his curiosity.
"Well as I said, I was lucky. I went for some supplies and saw your group. So, I naturally changed my direction. I then saw one macaw. That would of course be absolutely normal, but this one was after something – more like someone. He was watching you and Eduardo. There was this another bird, I am not sure if macaw or something else, that disappeared after he attacked you. I heard battle cries, so I rushed to help. I was almost late. If you didn´t guard Eduardo with your body from that attack, he most likely would be done for…" Marco was interrupted by Mimi who came closer to Blu´s bed.
"You did what?" asked Mimi in shock.
"It is true. If it wasn´t for Blu, I would be dead. He risked his life to protect the one who never trusted him, never liked him, or admired him. That changed before that fight. Blu was actually helpful and I felt the spirit that every Spix macaw has – warrior soul. Blu, I was never so wrong in anyone. I am sorry, from now on, I will treat you with the respect that you deserve. I am in your debt, as well as in yours Marco." said Eduardo with an ashamed face.
"Don´t worry about it. From the moment I first met Blu, I knew that his heart is too big just for one macaw." said Marco and bowed his head down a bit.
"Well Blu, I must admit, that this was a close call. You almost bled out. And from what I think I know, that blow broke at least one of your ribs. As I said, close call." said Mimi with worries about his patient.
"Let me see." said Blu and tried to move his torso. The pain quickly spread across his body. "Yep, definitely broken." grunted Blu with pain.
"Well maybe consider not moving…" said Mimi with a strict face.
"Any signs of infection?" asked Blu while looking at bandages around his torso.
"We think that we managed to stop it right at its start. Once your bones heal and wound closes, you should be as good as new." said Mimi.
"You have my thanks, Mimi…"Blu was stopped mid-sentence.
"For what you did for my brother, you can call me aunt, if you want." chuckled Mimi.
"Alright. You have my thanks, Aunt Mimi, both you and your healers." said Blu with gratitude.
Mimi smiled at him and left the room.
"What about the kids? Do they know?" asked Blu with worries.
"Not yet. I didn´t want to scare them." said Jewel and looked at him.
"Well, since I am alright…I will be alright, you can bring them. After all, they are clever, they would find out eventually." Blu smiled and Jewel.
"You are right about that. Daddy? Would you mind?" asked Jewel her father Eduardo.
"Not at all. I will be right back." replied Eduardo and left the room.
Only Blu, Jewel, and Marco were now left alone in the room.
"I am sure, that you two already know each other, but what you don´t know Jewel, it that Marco helped me with that apology breakfast." said Blu.
"Is that so. Well, I guess that is another thing I can thank you for." said Jewel and kissed Blu on his forehead.
"I will leave you two alone, I am sure you have some things to discuss." said Jewel and left the room as well.
"Seems like I owe you another one, huh?" said Blu and looked at Marco with a friendly smile.
"Oh, come on Blu, you know that isn´t true. Once I saw what you did, that bravery and determination, it surprised me. And after that attack hit you, I felt terrible…like I was losing someone very dear to me. Plus, now I know that you deserve my training. Also, there is no point in hiding it now." said Marco and replied with the same warm smile Blu gave him.
"Well, you see, I kind off wanted to surprise Jewel. So please keep quiet about it." asked Blu.
"Alright then. We can start once you fully heal. See you soon Blu." said Marco and was ready to leave.
"Actually, before you leave, consider washing all that paint off. Some guards might consider you as an enemy." recommended Blu.
Marco looked at his body and only now realized that he still had his battle camouflage on. In all that rush he didn´t have time to wash. Marco smiled at Blu and left the room.
Once Marco left the treehouse, Eduardo spoke to him.
"Marco, do you have a moment?" asked.
"Sure thing. Can I help you with something?" asked Marco.
"Well not exactly. What tribe are you from?" asked him Eduardo.
"It might surprise you, but I am a Spix as well." replied Marco calmly.
"Is that so. Then I, as a leader of our tribe, invite you to live with us here in our new home." said Eduardo with pride in his voice.
"Well sir I am flattered, but I am not sure how would tribe react." replied Marco with doubts.
"I think that wouldn´t be a problem. Since we are quite limited on birds right now, we can use every wing available. You with your fighting skills would be much of a help." said Eduardo calmly.
"Can I take a moment to think about it?" asked Marco.
"But of course. I will be at Mimi´s treehouse. You can find me there when you decide." replied Eduardo and left Marco to his thoughts.
Marco saw a small pond; he flew to it to wash all that battle camouflage off of him. His mind was clouded. It was true that he didn´t like living on his own. Friendly touch of his tribe, that was what Marco really missed. But from his previous experiences, it was never good to stay in one place for too long. He was on a fence. Stay or leave. He caught glimpse of Jewel, who just entered Eduardo´s treehouse. Her lovely face and eyes decided this situation for him. He will stay.
Marco flew to Mimi´s treehouse to meet up with Eduardo. Once he entered three pairs of eyes looked at him.
"Sir, it would make me happy to stay with your tribe." said Marco and smiled.
"No Marco, OUR tribe." replied Eduardo and placed his wing on Marco´s shoulder.
"I know you face…" voice of an older Spix macaw woman caught Marco´s attention.
"Really. I don´t know, I have never been inside the colony, so I don´t see, how can you know me." replied Marco.
Older women came closer to Marco so she could see him better.
"Yes. I would recognize those eyes everywhere. You must be the son of Sophie and Matheus." said the older woman.
Both Eduardo and Mimi looked at the older woman.
"Are you sure Luiza? It is quite some time since that event." asked Eduardo with doubts.
"I am. This is definitely my grandchild…" said Luiza with a small smile across her beak.
"Grandchild? What are you talking about? I don´t even know you." Marco was in shock from what he just heard. He never knew his parents and thought, that he would never find anyone, that would know them.
"Let me explain this to you, Marco." said Eduardo to calm Marco´s emotions.
"A few years back, there was huge forest fire he in Amazon. Many Tribe members died in that fire, one of them was my wife, mother of Jewel. And then there were many who just disappeared, like Jewel…and your parents. This is Luiza. She is Sophie´s mother and if she is right and you really are their child, your grandmother. After that hell came to its end, many bodies of families were found and many were not. Your and your parents were the second case. We thought that you and your parents were dead, so we never looked for you. Do you remember anything from your childhood Marco?" explained Eduardo.
"Well…I don´t know what to say. That is just so much information. At one moment, you save your friend and in another, you learn that you are actually a member of this tribe with one family member living in it." said Marco. He was clearly confused about the situation he was in.
"To be perfectly honest with you, I don´t remember my parents at all. Ever since I can remember, I lived in a small community outside of any tribe. There were many kinds of birds, including macaws, of course." explained Marco.
"Let him breathe for God´s sake. Marco, come with me, I will show you where you will be living." said Mimi and headed toward the exit of the treehouse.
Marco said his goodbyes and left the treehouse with Mimi. Eduardo and Luiza were alone.
"Are you sure that is the son of Matheus? He is completely different from him." this question was addressed to Luiza.
"He is nothing like that bloody traitor, but I can see my girl in his eyes. We will see what time shows." said Luiza and also headed out. Eduardo was left alone.
"These last few days are getting better and better…" said Eduardo to himself with sarcasm.
Next Chapter: Scars that don´t heal