When Azure had asked Bia to come with him to see Orchid, she had immediately agreed. Blu and Jewel had offered to go, wanting to see Tiago as well as see the family, but Bruno had warned them that they would likely not be allowed in - too many macaws being there and whatnot. Bia and Azure were in silence as they flew as fast as the storm allowed them, and both of them were afraid. If Bia was frightened of the severity of Orchid's injuries, she couldn't imagine how Azure and his family were feeling.
Bia had been to the Spix's Wing before - she, Azure, and Orchid had been treated for their injuries from the fire a few months back. Her and Orchid's burns, the wound that had resulted in Azure's scar. She liked the humans who worked there - they were kind, just like Linda, Tulio, and Fernando, and they were skilled in their jobs. Orchid was in good hands.
Just how severe was Orchid's injury? There had been a lot of blood, according to Bruno, and how deep was the wound? None of the Blue-and-Golds had said just how bad it was - just a scratch? Or critical, or fatal? It set Bia's nerves on edge, made her heart race with fear. She wondered if there were any major arteries in the face.
The Spix's Wing had been built in the defrosted clearing that had been created a year ago, when her and Felipe's tribes had banded together to chase out the loggers. A year on, the former bare earth was now coming back to life, some long, green grass and some exotic plants growing. Moss and lichen had grown over the tree stumps, and young tree seedlings had been planted. The small building stood there - it was larger than it looked, with another two or three levels underground.
"How will we get in?" Azure fretted, looking up at it anxiously.
"Window." Bia said, simply, indicating to an open one. She and Azure slid through the metal bars that protected the window, before they squeezed through the window and into the building. They dropped silently onto the floor, looking up and around. An employee had his back to them, filling a syringe with a clear liquid. Animals slept in the spacious cages, many having healing stitches and bandages. A frog hopped in a large tank, a capybara chewed slowly on some leaves, and several birds looked down at Bia and Azure in curiosity. Bia knew that the predatory animals like jaguars and alligators were kept on another level, to avoid accidents with the prey animals. The two, so not to alert the human vet, ran across the floor, slipping on it's smooth surface, and out of the room, into the corridor. They hid behind a photo and memoir cabinet, where photos and important news articles regarding the building and sanctuary were kept.
"How will we find Orchid?" Azure asked, frowning. Bia pictured the building layout in her mind. She and Carla came here, sneaking down into the very bottom underground level, where the employees lived until they swapped with others to go back to Manaus. They would use the computers to download new music for Carla's iPod, so they knew the building fairly well.
"Okay, if Orchid is injured so badly... she could be in intensive care." Bia remembered this section being the first underground level.
"Oh, no." Azure groaned - intensive care wasn't a good thing. Bia took the lead, guiding Azure in direction of the staircase and the lift. She frowned up at the lift doors; the stairs would be easier. They turned right, and began flying down the staircase toward the first underground level. Eventually, they came to the door, which was labelled 'Intensive Care/Surgery'.
Luckily, the door was propped open, and they could go straight through. One door had a radiation symbol, with the warning of 'X-ray radiation'. Others said 'Surgery'; all of them had slots on them, with another slot to cover a certain part. For example, if surgery was going on, the slot covered 'No surgery' and revealed 'Surgery; do not enter unless directed'. All the other doors were labelled 'Patient recovery'. Orchid had to be in one of those.
Initially, Bia had thought that they would have the problem of finding Orchid. There were many rooms, with many having locked doors, and there were plenty of corridors. But then there was a familiar sound from further down the corridor. Bia and Azure's hearts lurched as they heard Sophia - not her voice, but sobbing. They ran down the corridor, skidding to a halt at the fifth door down on the left. Azure flew up to the handle, and his weight turned it. The door creaked open, and the room became silent.
Bia and Azure slowly entered the room, dreading what they might find, and flew onto the counter that lined the left side of the wall. The wall was covered in silver boxes with wire faces, with white slots below stating the inhabitants' species, gender, and injury or illness. All of them were currently empty - but one slot was written. Cynopsitta spixii. Female. Severe facial injury. It was empty, but the wire door was open and waiting. Clean white towels lined the floor, with a water and food bowl. A drip was connected to the cage side, yet unconnected to an animal.
Roberto perched on the end of their very counter, leaning against a cage face, with Bromeliad and Isaac sitting beside him. This was the only one with someone in it, and it was the cage beside the other labelled one. The white tab read: Cynopsitta spixii. Female. Various injuries. Sophia was inside with tears running down her face, pressed against Roberto, the wire between them. Bia didn't know why she was crying, but she had a feeling it was something to do with how her children had all nearly been killed in this one evening alone. Heavy bandages were patching her body, and half-healed wounds that were too minor to require bandages. Bruises bloomed under her skin, yellow as they began to fade to normal. The four macaws stared at Bia and Azure as though they were ghosts.
Azure and Bia ran over the counter, toward the family. Bromeliad and Isaac ran to meet them. Bia collided with Bromeliad, relieved to see her friend safe again, and the two friends remained there in silence. Azure, meanwhile, ran up to Isaac. The two brothers seeing each other again brought grins to their faces, despite the situation. Bromeliad released Bia, wide-eyed, but looking delighted to see her again.
"Look at you! Your feathers are so muddy, what happened?" She looked down at Bia's mud-patched feathers. Bia sighed; she had forgotten to clean herself up. She made a mental note to do it later.
"I'll explain later... I almost drowned with Kerja..." Bromeliad looked very alarmed, but Bia didn't want to explain it all now, so she spoke before Bromeliad could ask a question. "But I'm fine - and Jewel is well again." At this, Bromeliad looked relieved, and gave her friend another hug. "Where's Tiago?" Bia asked, realizing his absence. Bromeliad gave her a sad look.
"On the way... Orchid freaked out. Screamed at him, demanded him to leave... I think she didn't want him to see her in that state. So he did. Flew off into the forest. He'll turn up, I'm sure." She blinked in sympathy, and then turned to her brothers, and joined in their embrace. Bia frowned, hoping that her brother hadn't run into any trouble. He was brave and tough, sure, but he was still her little brother. Meanwhile, Roberto ran past Bia, and began fretting over his son.
"Did she hurt you badly?" He asked, frantically, lifting Azure's chin to see the wound on his throat, recalling what Kerja had almost done. Sophia was clinging to the cage bars, staring out with longing. Azure then spotted her, and wriggled free of his siblings and father, running to the cage face.
"Mom, are you okay?" He asked, desperately, looking her up and down with an appalled expression. Sophia wanted to hug him, but the wire was a barrier, so instead, she reached through the wire and took her son's talon.
"I'm alright." Sophia assured him, but her smile wasn't without pain. She then caught sight of Bia. "And you... are you okay?"
"I'm fine... so is my mom." Bia said, hiding her shock at seeing what had happened to Sophia. "What about Orchid?" There was silence. Nobody's eyes made contact.
"She's still in surgery." Said Isaac, quietly. "It's been a while since we brought her in... it's so bad, Azure, Bia. The... the humans said all kinds of stuff... they took her away and had all the surgery masks and equipment..." his head fell back. "We don't know when she'll be out, but... it has to be soon." Azure stared at Isaac, before he turned away, eyes blank with shock. Bia felt a flash of sympathy, and held out her wings. Azure accepted the offer of comfort, and Bia wrapped her wings around him, looking worriedly at the others over his shoulder. At that moment, however, the door opened.
A human walked in, carrying something wrapped in a white blanket. She looked worriedly at the macaw family on her left, before gently placing the bundle into the cage next to Sophia's. It took a few moments for her to connect the drip and lock the door - then she left the room, and human murmuring began outside. They didn't expect Orchid to move, as she would've been under anaesthetic - but to their surprise, she staggered to her talons. It must've worn off before she was returned to the cage. She swayed a little, but didn't speak or turn to her family. She stood there, eerily still, her face turned away.
"Orchid..." Sophia said, quietly, through the metal wall. She got no response. "Orchid." She repeated, more loudly this time. "Baby, what happened? Are you alright?"
Orchid was still as a stone. The right side of her face, where the Hyacinth had struck, was turned away, but they saw the bandage tied off at the back of her head. Her left eye, the one they could see, was streaming with tears. Silently, she turned around to face them. A large bandage covered the majority of the right side of her face, concealing her eye from view. Bia managed to stop herself from flinching. Roberto went to speak, but then Orchid reached up to her bandage. To their shock, she began fumbling with the tie. Bia, Azure, Isaac, and Bromeliad exchanged mortified glances. What on earth was she doing? Was she out of her mind?
"Orchid, don't!" Roberto protested; too late, as the tie came loose. Orchid tore the bandage off, throwing it to the floor, and looked at them.
"Look at me!" She wailed, tears dripping from the unharmed side of her face. They were shocked into silence. Horror and revulsion ran through them all at the sight of what had been Orchid's right eye area.
Three claw marks, covered in stitches, ran over her right eye. Under the stitches, the wounds had a thin line where the blood had welled, and the flesh was pink and raw. The area around the wounds had been cleaned, but the faint blood stain was still present in Orchid's feathers. The claw marks had to be between one and two inches long, running diagonally from left to right across her... across... a hole. No... not that, please no... but Bia knew her eyes weren't deceiving her. Instead of an eye, all they saw was an empty eye socket.
"They tried." Orchid whispered, only able to cry from her remaining eye. The empty eye socket was dark and red, and it sent shivers down Bia's spine. Nobody could speak. The silence was deafening, except for Orchid's shaking voice. "They tried to save it. But they couldn't." Her family said nothing - they couldn't say anything. It was horrifying - Roberto's head sank into his wings. Sophia began crying in silence. Azure shook, and Bia had to steady him, while Bromeliad clung onto Azure and Isaac's wings, her knees trembling. Isaac was slowly shaking his head, wing clasped over his beak in disbelief.
"It's... it's not fair." Azure whispered. "Orchid, I'm so sorry..." Orchid re-tied the bandage with shaking talons, and sank down into a corner, head buried in her wings - she kept herself together for a few moments. But then she crumbled. Orchid began to weep, unable to stop the tears. She began to sob in despair, wings covering her face, her voice high-pitched and filled with agony. None of them had ever seen such pain, and it was a heart-breaking scene. Orchid was so young - she was barely a year old, a teenager. She had sacrificed half her sight for little Adele. She didn't deserve this.
Bia then remembered the bag, which she had left with Carla. "Orchid." She said, softly. Orchid slowly looked up, her left eye still streaming. "There are two Estrelli left... maybe we could..." But Orchid was shaking her head. She looked up, almost glaring at Bia. Bia felt a flash of surprise and offence - this wasn't Orchid.
"Don't waste it on me. Give it to someone who is actually dying." She looked away, speaking in a flat voice. "Besides, it doesn't regrow feathers, Bia. They regrow themselves. Eyes don't regrow. You lose some feathers, they come back. You lose an eye, and it's gone forever." Orchid then turned, and slumped against the wall, facing away. Her remaining eye was set firmly on the ceiling. "Go away, please. I... I want to be on my own."
"Sis..." Isaac began, but Orchid didn't say a word or make any sign to show she had heard.
"Orchid." Bromeliad said, with an offended look. "You can't just ignore us..."
"Li..." Roberto rested a wing on his eldest. "Maybe we should just leave her be, if that's what she wants..." a pained look entered his eyes. He turned to Sophia, who had seen it all through a gap in the metal that separated her and Orchid. She wiped away some tears.
"I'll try talk to her." Sophia murmured, running her wingtips through her head feathers. "Or maybe she just needs quiet. Maybe come back tomorrow?" After a few moments, the family and Bia nodded, and began to reluctantly move toward the door. Azure remained there, gazing at his sister and mother, and Bia gently took his wing, and pulled him away. Bia didn't want to leave her friend either, but she knew Orchid wanted to be alone.
"I'm sorry..." Azure tried to say to Orchid, but she once again ignored him. Shaking his head, Azure turned and followed his family and Bia out of the door. Once it closed, they stood there for a few moments in stunned silence, before slowly making their way out. At the top of the door, however, there was movement. Tiago stood there on the top door frame, clinging onto the yellow flowers in his talons, having heard it all. He slumped back against the wall, and closed his eyes, hoping he had misheard, but he knew he hadn't. Tiago couldn't believe it - Orchid would never see with both eyes again.
In her cage, Orchid continued to break down. "Orchid, please... talk to me." Sophia pleaded. "Listen to me - we're going to help you get through this, okay? We'll help you adjust to flying this way... we'll -" but Sophia's voice faded out in Orchid's mind. All she felt was distraught - she had lost an eye. This wasn't supposed to happen to someone her age. She would never be the same again. Half of her world was in darkness - and she had never felt so alone.