"Alright, get what you need and hurry up, all of you." Carla muttered. Carla and Bia were perched, side-by-side, on a piece of metal that was peeling off the outside of the boat. Perched in the safety ring on their right, there was Azure and Isaac, while Bromeliad, Tiago, Orchid and Bruno were holding onto multiple ropes that were strung along the boat's side. While the three siblings looked at ease, their five companions looked less settled. They had been on a boat once, but not any other time; they were nervous around anything human as it was, since the negative message of humans had been drummed into their brains since they were young.
Most chicks in the wild were taught scary stories about humans, to keep them away from danger. Bruno, being the oldest of them all here - a few days or weeks older than Carla, Bia and Tiago - had been taught the most brutal stories. Since the kids and their parents had arrived in the Amazon, bringing change to the tribes and their ways, the new generation of chicks had been informed that not all humans were bad news, but they were advised to keep away from them just in case. Tobias and Isabella had told Bruno some pretty vile tales to keep him away from humans, but it turned out that these stories weren't all true; not every human who came to the rainforest wanted to 'slice off their wings'. It wasn't a nice story to be told, but many humans in the rainforest were bad news. It was a good way of staying safe.
The only really good humans were the indigenous Amazonians, or the employees at the Spix's Wing, a small building set up by Linda and Tulio in an abandoned, deforested area. It was the sanctuary headquarters, and a small hospital for injured animals that its employees encountered in the rainforest. Bia had gone once, with Azure and Orchid, when all three of them had been injured in the fire, months ago. It was on the edge of the sanctuary, which stretched for quite a few miles, also protecting Felipe, Johanna and Kerja's tribes from the touch of poachers and illegal loggers.
"Carla, it'll be fine. They're just tourists - the only thing they'll do is take photos of you." Tiago pointed out. "Go on - distract them while we have a look around the boat for supplies."
"Fine." Carla huffed, before flying up the boat side, and perching on one of the wooden bars that kept tourists from falling off the boat. The remaining seven looked at each other, before flying up the side, quite a few metres away. Carla, meanwhile, let out a squawk to get the attention of the tourists. Carla began to dance a bit, sweeping across the surface of the bar, her wings moving up and down as she danced. There was the pounding of sandals on the deck as tourists rushed over, their attention caught by the exotic bird, and there was the clicking of cameras. Meanwhile, a voice began speaking from a speaker.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to ask you all to stay at least two metres away from her - macaws can be bite-y little birds. According to our wildlife guide, we are passing by the Spix's macaw sanctuary, and this is one of the rare birds right now… once thought extinct in the wild for years, this species has proved us wrong and the known population was thought to be five until July 2014. Since their rediscovery, the population is now known to be a roughly a hundred and something or more…" while the tourists were dazzled by Carla's dancing, Bruno perched up on a rope, making sure that none of the tourists' kids tried to grab Carla. Tiago, Bromeliad and Orchid went in search of a compass, while Bia, Isaac and Azure began looking for a map of the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon stretched into Peru, Columbia and almost half a dozen other countries, as well as Brazil - they would probably be able to find a decent route.
While they searched for their equipment, it occurred to Bia that they'd need something carry all these things in, as well as the Estrella, if they ever found it. Blu's fanny pack was falling apart, and was therefore out of the question. She'd opened it at home, to see if it was worth taking any of the contents on the trip - but most of it was either unnecessary or half-broken. She'd even looked at the GPS, but the batteries had been long dead. Even if it still worked, bringing the GPS was a bad idea. Bia had lost count of how many times the stupid thing had gotten them lost, on her family's first trip to the Amazon - their arrival had been delayed by over a week because of it. Making a mental note of finding something to carry their supplies, Bia focused on finding a map.
Meanwhile, Bromeliad, Tiago and Orchid were squinting through the glass of the control room, where the boat captain was controlling the boat's progress. The control room was the best place to find a compass.
"Hey, is that a compass?" Bromeliad asked, pointing at something on the counter, just through the glass before them. It was - a small, silver, circular one, probably two inches wide, attached to a chain. There was a slowly moving red arrow, moving from N, E, S, W and the directions in-betweenas the boat travelled.
"Bingo." Said Tiago. "But the question is… how do we get it without being spotted?" they were stuck for ideas. But Bromeliad and Tiago were in for a shock, as Orchid suddenly dropped from no-where, landing on the counter through the glass. They gaped at her, wondering how she got in - but Orchid raised a talon to her beak, before she pointed upwards. Bromeliad and Tiago looked up, and Tiago knocked his talons against his head.
"Of course. A window." He sighed. Tiago then focused on Orchid, his heart drumming in his chest. She was watching the captain, nervous, her feathers spiking up; all the captain had to do was look ever so slightly to the right and see a macaw on the counter. Orchid was a few inches away from the silver compass, but every move brought her closer into the captain's view. Slowly, she reached forward, claws outstretched, before her toes slowly wrapped around the compass.
"Watch the chain!" Bromeliad whispered, as the chain made a still clinking sound. Orchid glared at her sister.
"I know." She whispered back; but as Orchid turned around, spread her wings to fly for the window, she forgot about the chain. Orchid let out a squawk of alarm as she was sent flying, the chain wrapping around her ankles. As she fell, a few books, a stapler, and a half-filled mug of tea went with her, clattering onto the wooden floor with a loud clunk. Bromeliad covered her eyes, moaning softly.
"Sis." She groaned. Indubitably, the loud sound of crashing books and breaking porcelain had alerted the captain.
"Quê?" the human spun round, before he spotted the macaw. "Dios mío!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet and rushing at Orchid, shouting in Spanish. He seized a newspaper, swiping it at her - Orchid squawked in fear, before going on a flying frenzy, shooting around the control room while the newspaper flew at her. Tiago and Bromeliad were bewildered with shock, and trying not to laugh as the human chased the little bird. Since hearing Jewel's diagnosis, watching this humorous scene was up-lifting.
"Do something!" she shouted, through the glass. Orchid was shooting them angry looks, as she ducked the human's newspaper.
"What do we do?" Bromeliad shouted back, still holding back laughter. Orchid's blue eyes were darting around the control room as she avoided the newspaper's swipes, the captain's hand reaching for the silver compass in her claws. She finally perched on a high shelf, while the human looked for something long enough to swipe her with. She was pointing at a large, obvious escape route.
"Door!" Tiago exclaimed, realizing, before rushing at the handle. "Help me, Li!" he looked over his shoulder as he landed on the door handle. Most door handles weren't a problem to open, but this one was quite heavy-duty, and he struggled to open it by himself. Bromeliad quickly flew over to help him, yanking at the handle. The moment the door clicked open, Orchid came out of the room like a shooting star, the compass's chain still entangled in her talons. Bromeliad and Tiago made their getaway before the human spotted them, flying up after Orchid. The captain was shaking his fist, swearing in Spanish, before he grumbled, turning away and slamming the door shut.
"Oh, ha, very amusing." Said Orchid, sarcastically, rolling her eyes, as Bromeliad and Tiago started laughing. "You two are so annoying, sometimes."
"Come on, Orchid." Tiago teased. "You should've seen yourself." Orchid still didn't look amused, glaring at him. Seeing that he may have offended her, Tiago quickly decided to apologise. "Hey, I'm sorry."
"Okay, okay." Bromeliad rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go find Bruno. Maybe Isaac, Bia and Azure have come back before we have, and we can leave as soon as possible. If in doubt, we can watch the show." Remembering that Carla was entertaining the tourists, keeping them distracted, Tiago and Orchid followed Bromeliad to the other side of the boat, landing on the rope beside Bruno.
"How's it going?" Tiago asked, as they landed. He casted a side-look at Orchid, and she still looked annoyed. Orchid was a bit highly-strung and sensitive, and she hated being embarrassed. He couldn't play tricks on her, because she'd be furious. He'd played a prank on her a few weeks ago, and Orchid had found it hard to forgive him. He didn't want to strain their relationship.
"Carla's doing great." Bruno replied, pointing. Five minutes on, and the tourists were still crowded around Carla, snapping photos. Carla actually looked as though she was enjoying the attention, and she looked relaxed and carefree.
"Where's Bia, Azure and Isaac?" Bromeliad asked, while they watched Carla.
"No idea." Bruno shrugged. "A good map's proving hard to find." Bruno was correct - Bia, Azure, and Isaac were having a difficult time finding a decent map.
"Why are things so difficult?" Azure complained, as they shifted through some boxes. They'd searched the boat up and down, with no map of decent size or detail. Most of the maps they found were just of the Brazilian Amazon - they needed one that showed the Peruvian Amazon. The map Isaac had observed a few weeks ago was far too large, so they needed one that wouldn't be a pain to open and fold.
"It's always the way, bro." Isaac replied, tossing a book about Amazonian fish aside. Bia let out a squeak as it hit her on the back, sending her flying forwards. "Sorry, Bia!" Isaac exclaimed, in an apologetic voice, before extending a wing to help her to her feet.
"Don't be sorry, Isaac!" Bia then said, looking at the book she'd landed on. "I think I've found what we're looking for." Azure and Isaac looked at each other, before looking over Bia's shoulders to see what she'd found. Bia picked up the book - it was an atlas, a little battered and it's spine showing wear. Bia opened it, scanning the contents page for South America - finally, she found it, and flipped to the pages. "I sure hope this has one of the entire Amazon." She muttered - it was that, or she'd have to figure out the computer's password, and find something on the internet. Thankfully, there was indeed what they wanted - a very in-depth map of the entire Amazon, spanning into countries outside Brazil. There was then an entire map of Peru - perfect. "Sorry, atlas owner." Bia mused, as she ripped the pages from the book.
"Awesome." Said Azure, holding up the pages. "Whoa, this is so cool - the Amazon is so big!" Azure showed it to Isaac, whose eyes widened with awe. While they examined the map, Bia remembered that they'd need something to carry their supplies in - luckily for her, there was a sack a few feet away. With her claws, Bia tore off a suitable-sized piece of the sack - the entire one was far too big. She'd be able to fix it up, no problem - a vine to tie it closed. Satisfied that they had everything they needed, Bia turned around. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," Azure said, tearing his gaze away from the map. "Let's get out of here." The trio flew out of the room, with Bia holding the sack, and Azure holding the atlas pages. Isaac let out an alerting squawk, and Bruno, Tiago, Orchid and Bromeliad spotted them emerging from the deck.
"We're outta here." Tiago said, fluffing out his feathers. "Carla! We're going!" he squawked, as the perched four lifted into flight.
"Coming!" Carla replied. She turned to her audience, did a bow - before she whirled around, and flew away. Before she vanishing into the jungle, Carla performed a somersault, much to the tourists' awe. The horizon was beginning to darken, and the sky was turning pinkish-orange.
It was nearing sunset - they'd been out of the ravine all day, wanting to avoid being told that Jewel was dying. They'd been hiding out in Carla and Bruno's club, which was closed until further notice. Carla and Bruno had etched an apology onto the piece of stone they used to block the entrance, when it was shut. The message read: Dear our loyal partiers: we're sorry to announce that we will be closed until further notice. The club will be closed for a few weeks to a month or more, due to a private matter. We ask you to wish us luck, and we promise to make it up to you when we reopen by giving you some fresh, new music that will give your soul a pair of wings. See you soon. Love, Carla and Bruno. X
Had Blu been told about Jewel's fate? They didn't know, but it couldn't have been today - they'd passed some tribe mates earlier, but they hadn't said a word or casted them a second glance. If Blu had been informed, they'd tell them. Maybe he'd be told later on, but they didn't want to be there to see his reaction. They'd leave after nightfall, when everyone was asleep.
When they reached the closed club, the eight entered through a secret entrance, to spare them the exhaustion of pushing the rock out of the way. While the others began discussing the plan, Bia sat down at the side, fiddling with the piece of sack and a vine. But she seemed distracted, her eyes not on her progress. Azure looked over his shoulder, seeing her looking distant, before he got up and sat next to her, looping a wing around her.
"Hey." He said, in a soft voice. "You okay?" Bia looked up at him, before she sighed, dropping the vine. She put her wings over her face.
"Worried." Bia admitted. "I… what if this is all for nothing? Shouldn't we be cherishing the time we have left with her, rather than going on this… this wild goose chase? Peru's huge, Az - dangerous, wild. And we're looking for this one small thing. How will we find it in a country like Peru?" Azure looked at the girl he loved so dearly. To his surprise, he thought of a reply easily.
"It won't be all for nothing." He murmured. "Bia… I don't want you to lose your mom. If I lost mine… I don't know what I'd do. I don't want you to feel this sort of pain. Sure, Peru's massive - but we'll find it somehow, you'll see. I promise you, Bia, that we'll save Jewel, one way or another. There's always a cure." Azure looked into her hazel eyes, before he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Just don't give up hope, Beatriz."