The journey home had been swift, and they had not encountered any problems - initially, Bia had been afraid to leave the mountain, but they had not met the Harpy eagles again. Shivers ran down Bia's spine at the memory of those talons, that cruel beak, the ragged feathers. She didn't want to see another pair of claws for a long time yet. The tiny blue fleck in her eye was still present, but she had developed a fondness for it. Bia hadn't been sure about it before, but she had grown to like it.
She flew alongside Azure, heart beating furiously in her chest; they were going to be in so much trouble. Leaving the ravine on a reckless journey for something that may not exist; not telling anyone; the list was very long, and they would be grounded for sure. But then it was worth it - they had what they desperately needed.
The Estrella flowers in the bag had not withered, as they had been relieved to learn. What was there to say that they weren't not like terrestrial flowers? What if they began to die once picked? But they had been travelling for a couple of days as fast as the wind carried them and as the train had went, and the flowers were still as bright and healthy as they had been unpicked. Still, they had fed them every few hours with water, just in case. Bia had drawn accurate drawings of the flower, including her memory of the bizarre stalk. Since the flowers would soon be used, she wanted to keep it's memory, remember exactly what it had looked like. She held onto the bag more tightly, determined not to let its precious contents be damaged or lost.
The air was getting more humid, but the sun was screened from sight via dark, heavy cloud cover. It was the afternoon, but the clouds made it dark - an ominous rumble of thunder murmured in the distance, and they looked at each other in unease. A storm wasn't good news, especially not now, when they were so close. Everything was beginning to look familiar, now - Peru was far behind, and they were well into Brazil. It was a total relief - the sense of nostalgia was now fading, as the Brazilian Amazon they loved and were familiar with welcomed them home. For some reason, however, something was different. Was it just her mind, playing tricks on her? Bia looked at the others, but then she noticed she wasn't alone. They were looking around, puzzled.
"It's..." Bia looked over her shoulder, where Tiago had spoken. Her brother was looking around, into the ever-familiar trees, confused. "...quiet." that was true. No river dolphins broke the surface of the river, hardly any birds sounded in the trees. The forest was eerily quiet, indeed.
"Too quiet." Bruno and Carla agreed, speaking in unison.
"You... don't think something's happened, do you?" Orchid asked, in a small voice. The other five looked about in unease, again. Something seemed not quite right, but as they flew for the trees, they all had a feeling that they were about to find out why.
Meanwhile
Sophia lay in the metal cage on a soft, white thing, eyes closed. For most of her life, she had hated humans with a burning passion, but now, she was much less hateful. They had been taught the truth - while some possessed pure evil, others were good and kind, like the humans in the Spix's Wing.
The moment Roberto had tapped his beak on the glass window, he had been spotted, perched outside. A human had approached the window with a frown - before it flung the window open upon spotting the poor creature in his talons. The hours following that had been an absolute blur to Sophia - a needle had been stuck into her skin multiple times, something soothing applied to her cuts and bruises, and she had been cleaned - the dirt and blood had been gently washed from her feathers, and now, Sophia's pain had reduced to a dull ache. She felt a calm and cool feeling - the medicines had soothed her body and her mind, although her worries lingered.
Roberto had been allowed to stay, but for now, he was gone - he had to let Isaac and Bromeliad know. It had killed Sophia to be taken away from her children, but she hadn't wanted to risk them by letting them accompany her and Roberto to the Spix's Wing. She would be allowed out in a few weeks at the least - her wounds and bruises had to fade, and, most importantly, her right wing feathers had to grow back. She couldn't fly properly - the humans would release her as soon as she was completely healed.
She looked down at the transparent tube going into her wing, frowning. Since it linked to a clear bag of liquid, she assumed that it was water, to keep her hydrated. And she needed it. Her last drink of water had been before her capture, and her throat had felt like sand. The Hyacinths had never bothered to give her water or food - and food was another thing. Her stomach had been shrieking for something, but she hadn't been able to help it back then - now, the bowl that had contained fruit and nuts had long been emptied. Despite the food, Sophia was still starving, and she was waiting for the bowl to be refilled. The water bowl too was half-empty.
Sophia was terrified of everything. The Hyacinths were planning to target the vulnerable - injured, young, elderly. An extensive operation had been taking place in the ravine when she had left; the elderly, a small group of twenty or thirty Spix's and Reds, were being escorted first, to Johanna's tribe, for their safety. The kids would be sent next, but this was a major obstacle. Kids weren't easy to control, and there were, between the Spix's and the Reds, around fifty to eighty young ones, and another forty or fifty-odd teenagers. Over one hundred young macaws moving through a Hyacinth-infested territory - it was incredibly risky. Many of them were too young to fly or understand to stay quiet as they moved under the beaks of Hyacinths, and protective parents were proving hard to convince that the evacuation idea was a good one. Felipe and Azalea were some of the most over-protective parents Sophia knew, and she knew that letting Leti and Adele go was hard. And the inseparable pair were often found in difficult situations - the possibility of the two sneaking off or getting lost during the evacuation wasn't that slim.
She rolled onto her back, gazing up at the metal roof of her cage, remembering how Roberto had described Jewel. Sophia had been refused entry to see her friend, since she had many open wounds. She couldn't risk catching Jewel's disease, since it was passed via blood of the infected. Sophia felt sick to her stomach everytime she thought of Jewel dying. Other than Azalea, Jewel was perhaps her closest friend. And she loved Bia, Carla and Tiago to bits - they were like family, and she hated the idea of them returning to find their mother dead. Reminded of them, she felt her heart twist with guilt.
If only she hadn't told the Hyacinths about them - if they were stopped from reaching home, it would be her fault. And Azure and Orchid were with them, and Bruno - she would never forgive herself if something happened to any of the six, especially Orchid and Azure. Orchid was still her baby, in her mind - she still remembered watching that tiny egg hatching almost five days late. And Azure was her precious and talented son, like his brother was. If something happened, it would be her fault, right? Could she face the tribe again, with that guilt on her shoulders?
Later
Back in the ravine, Blu stared out of the hollow entrance, eyes blank and unfocused. Fatigue had coloured the areas under his eyes grey, and made him look a few years older than he really was. His feathers, usually neat and in place, were ruffled and dirty. He couldn't remember the last time he had preened his feathers, but honestly, he couldn't care less. It was now too agonizing to look at Jewel - he hadn't laid his eyes on her for a few days. He couldn't stand it.
There had been a great commotion since Sophia had been carried from the ravine. Elderly, cranky macaws guided from their nests, and sent away to seek shelter with the Blue-and-Golds, with Johanna as a guide and other Spix's and Reds as protection. Blu's heart was beating quickly as the sense of panic intensified. It was reaching the month mark, since Jewel had been struck down by the 'Morte Incomum'. A month was Johanna's maximum prediction, no matter how much atraso was given. Jewel was now too weak to even stand, and her breathing was shallow and laboured. Blu would rather himself have the illness - if he could, he would take that poison and put it in his own blood, so that she could live.
It hurt so much - the pain of it all. Blu didn't know how much longer he could stand it, and he didn't want to tell their kids that their mother was gone, when they finally came back. Blu was dreading it all - the Hyacinth matter, Jewel - everything was going wrong. And what would they do about Jewel? Eduardo had thought that Jewel would be a target of the Hyacinths, after everything Sophia had revealed, but what could they do? Taking her to the Blue-and-Golds could just spread it to somebody else, and the outside was riddled with Hyacinths.
Blu was then made aware of a spluttering. He looked over his shoulder, with a frown, his eyes finding Jewel for the first time in days. She looked worse - more dried blood around her beak and eyes, bald patches dotting her body, and the heat practically visible as she had an intense fever. Jewel was usually motionless, but now she was spluttering heavily, struggling to breathe. Blood flew from her beak, and suddenly, she crashed from the nest, writhing on the floor. Her eyes bulged, as she struggled.
"Jewel!" Blu sprang to his talons, racing to her side. "Jewel!" His voice was a hoarse cry. He looked outside, petrified and desperate. "Help!" He shouted, with sheer desperation. His voice alerted some macaws, and they came racing from the trees, but they wouldn't be here fast enough. Blu whirled around, helpless as Jewel was trapped - then, suddenly, she froze. Jewel was eerily still - something was wrong. Heart in his throat, Blu rested a wingtip on her neck, but he felt no movement. Shock and terror tore through him like a knife.
"No!" He shrieked, staring in horror. Blu couldn't believe it - it couldn't be true. It couldn't be happening. Not now. Blu leapt forward, wings together, and began to frantically press on her chest, above her heart, to get it beating. Panic set in, as he had no immediate response. No matter how much he tried to beat her heart, she never responded. But then, suddenly, Jewel drew in a breath, before she began gasping, the air refilling her lungs. Blu staggered backwards, shocked, before rushing back to hold Jewel. "Jewel?" He asked, his voice breaking. Her eyes opened, pale and sickly, but they fixed upon him - she was still very much alive. Jewel blinked, and her beak moved in a soundless whisper. Blu held back his tears, thinking at how close he had been to losing her. There was the scuttling of frantic talons. Eduardo and Mimi skidded into the hollow, eyes bulging with terror, running to them.
"She's not, she's not -" Mimi began gasping, but upon seeing Jewel breathing, she exhaled in relief. The crowd outside, upon seeing that Jewel was alive, sighed, relieved that Jewel was still with them. Blu took a bewildered step back, not believing what had just happened - he had saved Jewel's life. Eduardo ran to his daughter, terrified by what he might find, and frantically began checking her over with Mimi. Jewel muttered something barely audible to them, and they both turned to stare at him in disbelief. Blu sank to the ground, against the wall, the reality hitting him at the full realisation of what had just happened. He suddenly found himself struggling to breathe, as he was trapped in a pair of wings. Looking down, he recognized the colour of Mimi's wings. One of her famous, suffocating hugs. "If it weren't for you -" she was saying between tears. "-she would've been gone." Blu managed a pained smile, as her embrace was indeed suffocating. Finally, she let him go, and ran to help Jewel back into her nest.
"Blu, I..." Eduardo's voice surprised Blu, and he turned to face his father-in-law. "I can't thank you enough for saving her." Blu barely had time to look at him before Eduardo gave him a rare hug. The crowd outside gaped in astonishment, by the fact that Blu had saved Jewel, and that Eduardo had given someone a hug. Finally, Eduardo turned away, helping Mimi move Jewel.
"Johanna and the patrol are back!" Announced the look-out, from the ravine entrance. "The elderly got there safely." As soon as Johanna re-entered the tree, Eduardo and Mimi quickly ushered her to Jewel, turning to Blu to have him describe what had just happened. As he described it, Johanna's lime-green eyes widened.
"What do you think?" Eduardo asked. Johanna looked down at Jewel, who was now sleeping as if nothing had happened.
"I think that your daughter... is lucky to be alive." Johanna said, slowly. "I can't explain what happened to her - it could've been anything, since the illness is so rare and hardly looked into... but whatever happened, it caused her heart to stop, clearly. If it hadn't been for Blu, it is likely that she would've been lost." Johanna was relieved that Blu's quick-thinking had paid off, but she felt a painful sorrow. She didn't have the heart to tell them that Jewel was days - if not hours - from death.
Later
Kerja paced on a tree branch, impatiently, her gnarled talons clinging onto her father's knife. She lifted it, staring into the long, ancient claw marks that belonged to her dead father. She had heard her tribe's whisperings. They knew what she had done to Beryl. They had their suspicions that she wasn't as sane as she made out. And some were doubtful of the battle. Despite their apparently entirely fierce members, Kerja knew that there were a few who were different. Some were just like Mina had been - reluctant, seeing no necessity in fighting and war. Many members like this often left the tribe sooner or later, to either live in lone families or join a less fierce, close-knit and smaller group. But Kerja needed every pair of talons, every beak, every surviving weapon. She had to hope that their loyalty wouldn't falter until the battle was over.
Despite the majority of their hundreds of weapons being thrown into the underground stream and being carried away to an uncertain fate, there were still a few dozen remaining that had been with their owners at the time. But still, this was a severe disadvantage - her tribe couldn't adjust to fighting weaponless. But Kerja didn't want to wait for their stocks to be replenished. Human ships on the river were less frequent at this time of the year, but she couldn't stand to wait much longer. She didn't care - so what if they were a few weapons down? They were Hyacinths, going against the Red macaws and the Spix's. The Reds had been easy to clear out of their Kapoks, and the Spix's were weak and pathetic - it would be too easy.
"Madam?" one of her two bodyguards asked, and for the first time, nervously. Since she had brutally killed Beryl, everyone seemed to be tip-toeing around her. Kerja whipped around, impatiently. He was shifting his feet, nervously. "May I inquire something?" Kerja nodded in answer, and the male turned to look at the training. "What do you plan to do to Eduardo's daughter, and his grandchildren?"
"I trust that our patrols will handle those meddlesome grandchildren." Kerja said, confidently. "They will stop them from returning with Jewel's cure. And as for her..." Kerja looked down at her knife, imagining the blood on it's blade. "I'll take care of her myself."