Amazon Adventures
Chapter Seven: Flight Of Courage
One morning, Eduardo gathered the tribe together for an announcement.
"These last few months have been... eventful, to say the least." He remarked. "Not only does my daughter return to me, but my son-in-law and his human friends have ensured that we need no longer fear attacks from loggers. We are finally free to settle down, and live a life of peace!"
The tribe cheered, some in Blu's direction. Blu returned their adulation with a humble smile.
"With that in mind, I've decided to bring back a grand old tradition." Eduardo smiled. "One we haven't been able to indulge in, with fear of loggers in the back of our minds: The fancy flight!"
The tribe cheered. Blu, Bia, Carla and Tiago looked confused.
"The what?" Tiago asked.
"The fancy flight." Jewel smiled. "It's this little event where the whole tribe get together to show off their flying skills."
"What kind of skills?" Carla asked.
"All kinds." Mimi chipped in. "Height, speed, agility, distance..."
"Distance?" Bia asked worriedly.
"Sounds like fun." Blu smiled.
"Oh, it is." Jewel nodded. "The last time I was in it was just before I got separated from the tribe. It was one of the best times of my life..."
"Indeed it was." Eduardo agreed as he joined his family. "And I look forward to seeing my grandchildren take part for the very first time. I know you'll all do me proud."
"Thanks, pop-pop." Carla smiled.
"We're gonna tear up the air!" Tiago cheered.
"We sure are." Bia put on a half-hearted smile.
"Glad to hear it." Eduardo chuckled.
That evening, the family were eating their dinner together. All Carla and Tiago could talk about was the fancy flight. Blu couldn't help but notice Bia wasn't taking part in the conversation, nor was she eating the food (starfruit, her favourite) with her usual gusto.
"May I be excused?" Bia asked, pushing aside the fruit, which had only a few bite marks in it.
"Are you sure, Bia?" Jewel asked. "You've barely touched your food."
"I'm really not hungry right now." Bia answered, as she flew over to her follow.
Jewel shared a worried look with Blu.
"I'll talk to her." Blu declared.
Blu flew up to Bia's hollow, finding her lying against the wall, a sorrowful look on her face.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" Blu asked.
"Matter?" Bia asked innocently. "What makes you think there's anything the matter?"
"Well, for starters, you never leave starfruit uneaten." Blu noted. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Okay, dad." Bia sighed. "It's... the fancy flight. I'm worried I may not be up to it."
"What makes you say that?" Blu asked.
"Aunt Mimi said one of the skills we show off is distance flying." Bia reminded him. "And you know I can't handle long-distance flights. Not with these things."
Bia opened her wings.
"Your wings are fine, Bia." Blu consoled her.
"No, they're not." Bia countered. "They're the shortest in the family. Even Tiago's wings are bigger. If I take part in the fancy flight, I'll probably end up embarrassing myself."
"You don't know that for sure." Blu told her.
"There's a high probability, though." Bia declared.
"Well... you don't have to do it if you don't want to." Blu smiled. "No-one's going to make you."
"But what about pop-pop?" Bia asked, her voice cracking. "He looked so proud at the idea of having us all take part. If I don't do it, he'll be so disappointed."
"He'll understand." Blu comforted her. "Your pop-pop's a very reasonable bird."
"Yeah, but..." Bia sniffed.
"You shouldn't let being afraid stop you from trying, Bia." Blu declared. "Trust me, I know what that's like."
"...Okay then." Bia decided. "I'll do it."
"That's my big, brave girl." Blu hugged her.
"Thanks, daddy." Bia returned the hug.
"You know, the fancy flight isn't for a few more days." Blu told her. "I could help you build up your wing strength, so you'll have an easier time of it."
"Really?" Bia smiled. "You're the best, dad!"
The next morning, Blu took Bia out for her exercises. He was no personal trainer, but he reasoned height and distance would be easy enough to work with.
"Okay, for the first exercise, we're going to dig our talons deep into this tree branch, and flap as hard as we can." Blu declared.
"We?" Bia asked.
"I'm with you every flap of the way." Blu smiled. "And... go!"
They started flapping their wings as hard as they could. As to be expected, Bia ran out of steam faster then her father.
"Not bad." Blu panted breathlessly. "We can build on that."
"I hope so." Bia panted.
After a short break, they moved on to a new exercise.
"This time, we're gonna go straight up." Blu instructed. "We'll see how high you can go before you get tired."
"Okay, dad." Bia nodded.
They began, flapping up, up, up. Above the canopy and into the sky above the jungle, until the Amazon itself became one big mass of green. Bia panted, her wings starting to tire.
"I can't... go any further!" She panted.
"I've got you." Blu flew underneath Bia, allowing her to land on his back. "That was really great, sweetie."
"It was?" Bia gasped.
"Uh-uh." Blu nodded. "Those wings may be short, but they're stronger then you think."
Bia smiled proudly.
After stopping for lunch, they moved on to the final exercise of the day: distance. Bia, despite her short wings, was already an agile flyer, and Blu felt she had no need to improve herself in that area.
"Now, we're going to fly laps around the clay banks." Blu declared. "As many as you can. When you get tired, you can stop and rest. You ready?"
"Yeah." Bia nodded. "Let's go!"
"That's the spirit!" Blu smiled.
They began their laps around the banks, moving a perfect circle. Bia managed three whole laps (and almost a fourth) before she started to get tired.
"Wow..." She wheezed, landing on a tree branch. "Didn't think... I'd make it... that far."
"Good work, sweetie." Blu smiled. "It's not the size of your wings that count, but how you use them. Once you get your breath back, what say we head for home."
"Sure thing, dad." Bia nodded.
As they returned to the nest, Jewel greeted them.
"Where have you guys been all day?" Jewel asked.
"Oh, you know." Blu shrugged. "Just out having some quality father-daughter time."
"Exactly." Bia agreed.
"Whatever it was, it sure left you a mess." Jewel noted Bia's feathers, dishevelled from the day's exertions. "Into the bird bath, young lady."
"You got it, mom." Bia nodded.
After a couple more days of training, the big day arrived. Bia was still nervous, worried she might mess up.
As was tradition, the adults went first. Roberto made quite a showing, speeding, diving, rising and barrel-rolling across the sky. Blu, while nowhere near that acrobatic, made a decent showing himself. Jewel of course, was flawless. Even Eduardo and Mimi showed some serious speed and skill. Most of the chicks cheered in awe, but Bia just became more nervous.
Then it was the chicks' turn. One by one, they flew into action. Carla flew just like Jewel, and while Tiago didn't exactly have the best technique, his speed and agility made up for it. He even used some of the flying tricks Roberto had taught.
"Way to go, T-Bird!" Roberto cheered.
Finally, Bia's turn came. Taking a deep breath, she took off from the branch. She flew up as high as she could, then dived downwards, and back again. The tribe cheered her on, especially her family. Emboldened by their support, Bia performed a loop-de-loop. She then twisted and curved her way around some tree branches. Rounding the falls, she made her way back to the starting point, exhausted.
"Way to go, sis!" Carla cheered.
"Gotta say, not bad." Tiago admitted.
"Great job, Bia." Jewel grinned.
"That's my granddaughter!" Eduardo said with pride.
"And my great-niece!" Mimi added.
Bia hopped over to Blu and hugged him.
"Thanks, dad." She whispered. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"Sure you could." Blu hugged her back. "I just gave you some fatherly support. You did the real work yourself."
"Thanks, anyway." Bia grinned.
"Just doing my job, sweetie." Blu chuckled. "And it's moments like these that really make me glad to be a father."
To Be Continued...
(Rio 2 and all associated characters are the property of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox.)