Azure, Carla and Bruno stood at the edge of the black hole, stunned, unable to absorb the information into their brains. Bia, oblivious and asleep in her feverish state, was now curled up in Azure's wings, burrowed into his chest. Orchid and Tiago, incredibly proud of their discovery, were both bouncing on the spot, desperate to get down there. Azure looked down at Bia - he didn't want to wake her, but she would have to see this. "Bia, you might want to wake up now." He suggested, giving her a small shake. Bia opened her eyes, blinking, looking around.
"Where are we?" She mumbled, in a daze.
"We found it, Bia." Carla replied, in total awe. "Well - Tiachid found it. Seriously, Tiago, could you not come screaming down the mountain next time? You gave us the fright of our lives!"
"Come on, sis, this isn't the time to be complaining! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Tiago leapt down into the hole, and he was quickly followed by Orchid. "There's ice down here, so be careful!"
"Ice?" Bruno repeated, staring into the darkness, eyes flooding with fascination. "Really?"
"Like Tiago said, Bruno - what are we waiting for?" Carla, all complaining gone, leapt into the hole in the cliff face, seizing Bruno's wing as she passed, so that he was pulled in with her. Azure and Bia remained, and were now standing on the ledge, alone. Bia, now realizing the reality of where they were, was wide awake, staring with Azure, into the blackness.
"I don't believe it." She murmured.
"Azia! Come on, we're waiting!" Shouted Orchid's excited voice, from inside. Azure looked down at Bia.
"Ready to see a legend come to life?" He asked. Bia gave him a slow nod, before Azure stepped forwards. There was a sheer drop below, of around three foot. Now he had a problem - he couldn't jump all the way down without possibly hurting himself or Bia. "Guys, I'll need you all to catch Bia." There was a scuttling of talons beneath.
"Azure, trust me, I'll be fine - woah!" Bia sqeauled sharply as Azure dropped her, and let her fall; she plummeted, but to her relief, she landed on something soft. A landing pad, constructed from four pairs of wings. "Thank you." She breathed, before flinching as something brushed her wound. Behind them, Azure lighted down on the rock floor, shaking his feathers. Bia rose from her friends' wings, staggering slightly as her feet touched the ground. Azure was quickly there to catch her, and she quickly regained her footing. "Thanks, guys." She sighed.
"You're welcome." Azure murmured, before scooping her up again. He nodded to the others, indicating that they go first. The others turned, exchanging glances as they saw the tunnel ahead. As the four began walking, Bia slid from Azure's wings. "Are you sure -" he began, but Bia nodded.
"I'm fine to walk... I'll just need a bit of help." Bia put one wing around his neck, and another on his shoulder, so that she walk beside him supported. Putting a wing around her to help her walk, Azure and Bia began following Tiago, Orchid, Carla, and Bruno. Then they saw it - a glistening, sparkling surface, coating the walls - none other than ice. The Amazon-born birds, having never seen ice, were most fascinated, but the city-born siblings were also intrigued. Ice, in a hot country. And this ice was different from the norm; it was so sparkly, hinted with an incredible blue - it was as though it were also containing stardust. The end of the tunnel was casted by a blue glow. Bia stopped beside the wall, running a wing across it, like her companions were doing. The ice was cold to touch, but the air around them was pleasantly cool.
"Okay, guys... I think we need to see whatever's in there." Said Carla, finally retracting her wing from the icy wall, looking at the end of the tunnel. She took the lead, heading down toward it, and the others soon followed. Bia and Azure heard the gasps of astonishment ahead, as the other four vanished into the gap. They looked at one another.
"Ready?" Azure asked.
"Absolutely not." Bia replied. Together, they stepped forwards, into the chamber, but froze in their tracks as they saw the sight before them. Orchid was turning slowly in a circle, trying to take it all in. Tiago was walking around, head tilted up, to see everything. Carla was leaning on a rock, staring upwards, while Bruno was simply too awe-struck to move, like Azure. Azure's beak hung open, and Bia's wings lay limply at her sides.
"Wow." Azure breathed. The walls and ceiling were dancing with the reflected light off the water, the light coming from glowing things - flowers, and white, glowing things floating through the air. One floated past Carla, and her immediate reaction was to swat it; but Bruno took her shoulders, stopping her, and the floating creature landed gently on her outstretched wing. Carla stared at the tiny creature, where, through the glowing, there were four transparent wings, looking like that of a dragonfly's. All eyes were fixated on the little thing; finally, it left Carla's wing, floating upwards. There was nothing sinister about it - it was a little beauty, only one of dozens floating around.
"What..." Orchid whispered, watching it go. "What is that?"
"Maybe they're extraterrestrials..." Bia said. The others turned, looking baffled. "Sorry - life that isn't from our own planet... since this all came from a comet -" Suddenly, a shot of pain tore through her chest, and she gasped, slipping and staggering. Azure rushed to pick her up, looking around - then his eyes rested on a group of flowers. The group looked at each other, before they drew together, gathering at the flowers closest to Bia and Azure.
The flowers - the Estrellas, or Estrelli, as that made more sense for a group of them - were unlike any flowers the group had ever seen. Their roots originated in the water pools - glowing and pale cyan. Then, just before the roots broke the surface, they began a stem. The stem was thin, and it was shaped like a lock of curled, human hair - more dim than the petals. The stem shape was positively bizarre - few flower stems were of such shape. Before the petals began, around ten dark, greyish-green leaves fanned out, oval shaped with a sharpened tip. Sprouting between the leaves were five, large petals - teardrop shaped, and once again, a beautiful, luminous blue. Even bluer than the sky, bluer than their feathers; and casting a glow. The Estrelli were all perfectly identical, varying in height but never growing taller than any of them, although there were a few that stretched higher than the petite Bia.
Azure crouched down, holding Bia up, while Orchid approached the flowers. She stood before one, her talons running over the curled stem. She looked at the others with wide eyes, and Tiago gave her a nod of encouragement. While the others held their breath, Orchid then closed her talons around it, and broke the stalk. The glow of the flower did not subdue - if anything, it grew brighter. Carla, Tiago and Bruno moved aside, as Orchid crouched at Bia's side, handing it to her. Bia took the shining thing in her claws, the bright petals reflected in her hazel eyes. She could barely breathe, still wondering whether all this was real. The voices that whispered in the cave grew quieter. With a moment of hesitation, Bia finally plucked off the five petals - and her beak closed on them.
Then the others gasped, eyes widening simultaneously. Azure stared down, unable to take his eyes off Bia - he tried not to blink, not wanting to miss a second of it. As the petals vanished down Bia's throat, something strange happened. Starting from the outer edge, the infected, vile wound began to shrink. The edges were receeding, creeping back toward the middle, before they sealed completely without leaving a mark. The only thing left was Bia's skin - not shiny like scar tissue, but fresh and even in tone. The dried blood and the bruising was no more, and the infected wound was completely gone.
"What the..." Bruno was first to speak. His eyes were wide with amazement, mirroring that of Carla, Tiago, Azure, and Orchid. Bia slowly opened her eyes, unable to look down - but, eventually, she had to. Wriggling free of Azure's wings, she walked - not stumbled - toward the water, and looked down. She gasped at the sight of her torso, which was now completely free of wound. Bia wouldn't be scarred - the feathers would regrow in time, and she could see the tiny barbs in her skin that marked the feather beds. She'd have three claw-shaped bald patches in her skin, but the feathers would grow back in time. She ran her wingtips through her head feathers, tears springing to her eyes. Then, as she looked at her eyes, she frowned.
"What is it, Bia?" Tiago asked, seeing the look on Bia's face.
"Look at this." Bia said, turning, her wingtip hovering over her left iris. The others had to peer closely at her face to see it - then, finally, they spotted it. A tiny fleck of electric blue, not incredibly visible, but still, it was there in the hazel iris. It was probably only three millimetres in length. Azure stepped forward, raising his wings to touch Bia's face.
"We're a match now." He remarked, and Bia was reminded of the little amber fleck in Azure's blue iris. His amber fleck was much larger and more prominent than the new blue in Bia's left eye. For the first time in days, happiness sparked into his eyes. Bia smiled back, before she threw her wings around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. Azure's wings went around her, and they remained there for several moments.
"Where's my hug, sis?" Carla asked, teasingly. After much laughter and hugs from her two siblings and closest friends, Azure took her shoulder, with sparkling eyes yet again.
"How do you feel, Bia?" He asked. Bia looked up at him, before she surprised him with a kiss. The others all giggled in amusement and embarrassment, looking away and rolling their eyes.
"Absolutely brilliant." Bia was filled with energy. The glowing miracle must have boosted her health levels to maximum, while it had healed her injury. She spun round, picking up the rest of the flower, grinning. "Let's get cracking." Bia had never felt happier or energized. She felt ready for anything.
"Let's go!" Orchid exclaimed, leaping to her feet. Within moments, another flower was tucked into the bag. Finally, they were done, and gathered at the exit. The six stood there for one final time, eyes on the magical cave once more. Hopefully they wouldn't be the only visitors - another group like themselves could come along, with a similar goal in mind. Another lucky individual could have a second chance at life. Maybe they weren't the first, as there were a few broken stalks.
Bia felt a warm wing on her shoulder, before realizing she was the last one in the cave. Azure stood with her, with a warm smile. "Come on, Beatriz. Let's go home."
A day later
The Spix's macaws and their Red and Green-Winged guests were uneasy. An air of tension hung over the ravine like a cloud, and the family of Sophia were especially in despair. Three days had passed since their plan had been established, since Mina had left the ravine with the promise of coming back within a day with news of Sophia. But it had been over three days, and the family was out of their mind. What if Mina had been found out? If that was true, there was no way Sophia would be rescued, and that idea was driving Roberto to the point of madness. His beautiful, clever, brave mate - gone forever, and he wouldn't be able to say goodbye. Roberto hadn't uttered a word since the official plan had been declared, and now he spent the majority of the day pacing, muttering to himself, watching the ravine entrance with desperate eyes. Meanwhile, Bromeliad and Isaac's friends were doing their best to distract them from the horrific idea of what Sophia was going through. Half of their family was gone. First it had been Azure and Orchid, and now it was Sophia.
A few dozen macaws, a mixture of Spix's, Red and Green-Winged, were prepared and ready to go. The stroke of genius from Isaac's disguise had proved valuable, since a group of disguised macaws looked unbelievably convincing. Isaac and Bromeliad had wanted to go, but Roberto had forbade them, even enlisting Bruno's parents to keep an eye on them. Isabella and Tobias, happily distracted from their son's absence, were now watching the pair like hawks, not allowing them to sneak away from the ravine. Tobias, who had been severely injured in the skirmish that had killed Catia, had been released from The Spix's Wing a few days ago, and his return had deepened the mistrust of Mina to the other macaws.
As the evening approached, the sun starting to sink, gossip on Mina's absence took place. Many had speculated that Mina was a traitor afterall - and many tribe members believed it. What if Mina was a spy? And this was a trap? Some were considering fleeing to the Blue-and-Gold tribe for refuge, despite Eduardo's commands to remain calm and show the Hyacinths that they weren't afraid. But Mimi was suggesting a much probable scenario - that Mina was simply too occupied to visit unnoticed. Of course that was possible, since Mina was the daughter of the matriarch, in a busy tribe like the Hyacinths. Despite how strained the relationship between Mina and Kerja sounded, Mina had to be involved in Hyacinth business, surely.
But then, finally, a navy shape darted from the waterfall cave, out of breath and looking deeply troubled. Over three days late, she was here at long last - and the look on her face intensified the tension in the ravine. "Eduardo!" She panted, struggling to breathe. The leader emerged from his nest, followed by Mimi, Felipe, Azalea, and several other macaws. "I'm so sorry I'm late -"
"Late? You call three whole days late?" Muttered a Green-Winged macaw, sourly. Mina gave the macaw a frustrated look.
"I would've come back sooner. But Kerja has been watching me almost twenty-four-seven. She knows something's amiss - she's suspicious. I couldn't sneak off. I'll explain everything in a minute - meanwhile, I need to hear this plan and you've all got to prepare. We've got to go!" Mina looked around for Roberto, Isaac, and Bromeliad; she needn't search for long, as the family had already landed in the branch.
"Now?" Felipe asked, in surprise, looking startled.
"Yes, now! You've got to get Sophia out as soon as possible!" Mina replied. Roberto shoved to the front, eyes wide.
"Is she alright?" He demanded, desperation and pleading filling his eyes. Mina turned to him, with a sombre look.
"No. She's not. She's alive, but I only just got a glimpse of her state. She needs rescuing, now, and Kerja's deciding what to do with her." Silence fell upon them all. It took a few moments for them to absorb the information, before, finally, Eduardo and Felipe began barking orders, to their tribe members who had volunteered to go on the mission.
"Everybody who's going, start disguising yourselves!" Eduardo commanded. "Swiftly! Mina, Mimi will explain the plan." he turned to the others. "Get ready to liberate our tribe mate!" Meanwhile, Roberto, Isaac and Bromeliad hadn't moved, as other macaws began rushing to find the dark blue and the yellow flowers.
"Dad, what did she mean, Mom's state?" Bromeliad asked, sounding like a young child. Roberto didn't reply. He was shaking slightly. Bromeliad began trembling, and she began sinking to the ground. Isaac wrapped his wings around his sister, trying to be comforting, but underneath his exterior, he was terrified as well. He looked up at their father, trying to prevent the tears.
"Dad, you need to get your disguise ready. You need to go and get Mom."