Rio 1. In Trouble, Again

Jalin, Elena, and Jalin sat in a file row as their parents scolded at them. Jewel was doing most of the scolding. Blu just acted like her backup.

"Jalin, you should know better," said Jewel with a stern voice.

Jalin simply nodded. He knew Pepito was getting the same lecture from Fides. His mind replayed the events of what happened at the river. He, Blu, and his siblings met Pepito's family at the river. The adults were talking amongst themselves as the kids decided to play. Pepito decided to play a new game today. He called it 'Rescue'. One of the birds had to be captured by a bad guy with a partner. Then a good guy with his partner was supposed to save the bird. The kids saw no harm in playing the game. Everyone selected Leoncio to be the bad guy, which he wanted to do anyways. As usual, he got carried away and tied up Jasmine and pushed her into the rapids. Bath time soon turned into survival mode. Jalin looked at his father.

"Papa, I'm really sorry."

"I know, but Jasmine almost died."

"But it was Leoncio's fault."

Leoncio faced Jalin with an annoyed face.

"My fault?"

Jalin faced his brother.

"Yes. You wanted to be the bad guy."

"It's not my fault I'm a good actor," Leoncio snorted.

"But you're the reason why we're in trouble."

"I am not. Pepito wanted to play the game. And you did too. None of this would've happened if Pepito and you didn't insist on playing the game."

Jalin half-closed his eyes.

"You were the one jumping up and down, wanting to be the bad guy."

"I don't care who's fault it is!" yelled Jewel. "All three of you are in trouble."

"But Mama," said Elena. "I was a good girl. The good girl doesn't get in trouble."

"This one does," said Blu. "What were you all thinking? Leoncio always get carried away when you guys play those kinds of games."

"Not all the time."

"Son, do you want me to make a list?"

Leoncio thought about.

"At least there will be some proof."

Jewel slapped Leoncio's beak.

"Don't talk back to your father!"

Leoncio covered his beak with his wings, and his eyes began to leak.

"But…I was…just an…swering the…question," sobbed Leoncio.

"He was being sarcastic-"

Blu nodded.

"-which he shouldn't be in the first place."

Blu glanced over at Jewel. She felt his eyes and looked back.

"Blu, the kids need to know they're in trouble. Sarcasm doesn't help."

Jewel faced the children again.

"But it helps to get the message across."

Jewel narrowed her eyes and turned back around.

"No, it doesn't! You're just showing the kids this is a joke!"

"Hey, Papa's getting in trouble," commented Leoncio and then he patted the floor next to him with his wing. "Come sit next to me."

Jewel slapped Leoncio's beak again, but he ducked her wing. Elena got the wing and cried. Leoncio faced her and snickered a bit before Blu's wing slapped his beak. Leonico faced his father and cried. Blu waved his wingtip at the kids.

"Okay, let's end this. We need to get back on watching the egg. For your punishment, we will not go to the circus."

The three chicks' eyes widened. The whole reason why they went to take a bath was to get ready for the circus. Today was the last day the circus would be in town. After much convincing, Blu agreed to take them. Jewel was going to stay behind to watch the egg as Blu took the kids to the circus.

"But Papa," complained Elena. "You promised us. You can't break a promise."

"Only if you were good kids."

"But we told you it was Pepito's fault," the three chicks chorused together.

"No, it's all your faults. Pepito decided to bring up the game. Leoncio got carried away. Jalin should've known he would. Elena…um…"

Blu scratched his head. Elena smiled.

"See? It wasn't my fault. I was a good girl. I deserve to go to the circus."

"No, Elena," said Jewel. "You're at fault for not helping Jasmine."

"But that was the whole point of the game. We were going to save her."

"Yes, but you also know how Leoncio gets carried away. You're older than him."

"Only by five seconds," she mumbled.

"Yeah," said Blu. "All of you playing the game should have seen that you were too close to the rapids. Jasmine almost died."

"We know Papa," Jalin simply said.

Blu looked outside. The sun was barely descending from its noon position. He faced Jewel.

"I'm going to get some food and apologize to Fides and Luis."

Jewel nodded.

"Alright."

Blu walked out of the tree den and took to the skies in search for food. The kids watched their father leave. Elena sighed and looked back. Jewel was sitting on an egg. It was the result of the doomsday phenomenon that happened. When the kids saw the egg, Jewel had to explain where they got it without telling them she mated with Blu. Leoncio got in trouble that day because he knocked on it to see if anyone was in it. Elena walked towards the nest and looked at her mother.

"Mama."

"Yes, Elena?"

"I'm really sorry."

"I know you are, but that doesn't change anything. Your friend almost died today. How would you feel if I or your papa was gone?"

Elena sighed.

"I know, Mama."

Elena looked at where she estimated the egg to be at. Jewel's body was covering it. She looked up at her mother again.

"When will it hatch?"

"Soon, but I hope not too soon. I want your papa to be here when it does."

"Will it be a boy or girl?"

"Mmm… I don't know. We'll just see when it hatches."

"I wish it is a boy."

Jewel was surprised by this.

"Meja, don't you want a sister to play with?"

"Yeah, but I'm papa's little princess. If a girl hatches, I won't be the princess anymore."

Jewel smiled.

"There can be two princesses."

"Yeah, but all the stories only have one. Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast…"

"But what about the one about the mermaid?"

"The Little Mermaid?"

Elena thought about it.

"Yeah, but the whole story is about her. Besides, she is the only one that married a prince. That what I'm going to do. I'm going to marry a prince."

Jewel looked at her daughter with worried eyes.

"Honey, you do know that we are the only ones? Your options are quite limited."

"What do you mean?"

Jewel pointed at Jalin and Leoncio. Elena looked at Leoncio. He was picking his beak and admiring what he found. She then looked at Jalin. He found him reading a textbook on mathematics. She faced Jewel with a disgusted face.

"So it's either being made fun of for the rest of my life or being bored to death?"

"Being with a nerd bird isn't so bad, Meja."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I know because your papa is a nerd bird."

"I know that, but Mama, Papa is sometimes boring with his brain."

"Not all the time."

Elena half-closed her eyes.

"Mama, you're always the first one to go to sleep when he teaches us something."

"No…I'm not."

"Remember what happened when he talked about the different kinds of rocks and plants?"

"Oh… I was just…tired that day."

"Mama, he talked about it for a week and after that day, you would say you needed to do some errands before he talked about it."

"Listen, Meja. Being life partners with your papa is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I always admitted that I wanted to be free. Just to do things on my own, but your papa was the one that gave me the strength to finish what I started."

"I guess."

Elena looked back and forth between Jalin and Leoncio. She sighed.

"Do I have to pick now?"

"Of course not. You still have a long way to go. Things will change, for better or for worse."

Elena sighed in relief.

"Good. This is why I also want that egg to be a boy. If I like him, I can be with him."

"Yeah, but it will be a fight for you," pointed out Jewel.

"A fight for me?"

"You will be the only girl."

Elena thought about it and smiled.

"That's fine with me."

"You know Leoncio might win."

The smile dropped from Elena's face.

"You know, having a sister would not be that bad."


	2. Hatching Day

Blu awoke from his slumber. He yawned and walked outside. The full moon shined down on the shadowy jungle. At night, creatures would move across the ground, hunting for food. Lucky for Blu, he knew how to fly. He sat down on the branch and smiled.

It's a full moon. It's much more beautiful here than in the city.

Blu exhaled smoothly.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

Blu looked next to him. Mirrored Blu sat on the branch, admiring the moon as well. He faced Blu and smiled.

"So the whole doomsday sex resulted in one egg?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty glad it's only one."

"Yep, but I think with this one, it will be more troublesome than having three."

Blu looked at mirrored Blu.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember that I have a sixth sense?"

"Yeah, despite the fact you're missing the rest."

Mirrored Blu half-closed his eyes. He blinked.

"Listen, I'm trying to prepare you, though it might be pointless."

"Pointless?"

"Well, I'm advising you about the future because you screwed up."

"Wait. I…me…screwed up?"

"The first, ain't it?"

They both looked at each other and chuckled.

"It all resulted in the doomsday sex," explained mirrored Blu in a more serious tone. "It was too early."

"What do you mean?"

"Just that? You had sex without the leaf earlier than you were supposed to. It's just that you confused yourself again. Time after time, you convinced yourself doomsday was a myth, but you failed to have safe sex after the event with the boat crashing into the pier."

"So I was too early? Does it matter so much? Humans have sex when they are young."

"Yeah, and you see them struggling or divorcing the person they married when they were eighteen."

Blu thought about it. He looked up at the moon and then faced mirrored Blu.

"So what do you advise?"

"That's the funny thing. I'm clueless."

"Wait. You have a sixth sense."

"Yes, but I'm not fortune teller. All I know is the egg is special."

"Of course it is. All eggs are."

"You don't get it. I mean it's unique."

"Yeah, and?"

Mirrored Blu sighed.

"You still don't get it."

"I get you, but a special thing doesn't have to be negative."

"Blu, I'm your negative side. I come out when only bad things happen."

Blu's eyes widened.

"So…the new chick might torment us."

"Quite the opposite. Listen, this chick will be…more trouble than what it appears to be."

"More trouble?"

"Who's in more trouble?"

Blu looked back. Jewel was just looking at him. He slowly turned around and gulped.

"Oh, hi Honey. Um, how long were you…"

"Blu, who are you talking to?"

"Me? Oh, just myself."

"I think we should go see Tulio today," she said in a worried tone.

"We don't need to," he said, walking to her. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You sounded like you were actually having an actual conversion."

Blu stood in front of Jewel. She put her wing to his forehead.

"Your head seems fine."

"I'm fine Jewel."

"You sure? You're not drunk."

"You know I only drink when you're by my side."

Jewel rolled her eyes. Blu slightly smiled.

"Except for that one time."

"Okay. Just remember that you or any of the guys will never do that again. A guys' night out. I still think it's pretty gay."

"What's so gay about it? It's just a few guys coming together to hang out for a night."

"Blu, just repeat what you said and think about it."

"A few guys coming together to hang out for a night. Mm, I don't see it."

"I still don't get what you can do with guys than with your wife."

You would be surprised, thought Blu.

Blu remembered what he did with Rafael, Pedro, Nico, and Luis. They talked about manly stuff, flew throughout the town with mischievous acts, and hit a strip bar. Blu and Luis were never up for the strip bar, but they went in to make sure Nico or Pedro wouldn't get carried away. Blu looked at Jewel and smiled.

"After the egg hatches, we need a night to ourselves."

Jewel smiled.

"Like what?"

"A fancy dinner in Rio, under the moon and the stars."

Jewel looked at him with dreamy eyes.

"Sounds romantic."

Jewel grabbed his wing and walked up closer to kiss him. They savored the taste of their tongues and parted from the kiss. Blu faced the egg and what was happening to it. The egg started to shake.

"Jewel, the egg."

Jewel slowly looked back and saw the egg moving. She smiled and faced Blu.

"Go wake up the kids."

As Jewel rushed over to the egg, Blu made his way to his sleeping kids. They were side-by-side in a corner of the tree den. Blu tapped Jalin's head.

"Jalin? Elena? Leoncio?"

Jalin slowly lifted his head and yawned. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. He saw his father smiling. Soon, the other two woke up and faced their papa.

"What is it, Papa?"

"Yeah," said Elena. "Not to be rude, but I need my sleep to be beautiful."

"Then you'll be sleeping forever," said Leoncio.

Elena faced Leoncio with watery eyes. She faced her papa.

"Papa, did you hear that?"

Blu grunted.

"Leoncio, not now. C'mon."

The kids followed Blu to the nest. The chick had already broken through its shell. Jewel was sitting behind it, admiring the newborn. Leoncio peeked over the nest and looked at the featherless chick. He made a disgusted face.

"_That_ is a bird? How disgusting."

"Leoncio, you looked like that when you were born," explained an annoyed Jewel.

"Mama, is it a girl or a boy?" asked Jalin.

"Or even a bird? It might be a naked mole rat."

"Leoncio," said Blu in a stern voice.

Jewel looked at the newborn and smiled.

"A girl."

Elena smiled slightly.

"A girl? Well, I have a sister to play with, but she is going to have Leoncio."

The boys looked at her with confused faces. Jewel shook her head, still keeping her smile.

"Ah, Meja."

She looked down at her new daughter. She then faced her mate.

"Blu, you name our daughter."

"Are you sure?"

Jewel nodded. Blu looked down at his daughter and smiled.

"Beila."

Jewel looked at her mate with a doubtful face.

"Um, I don't like that one."

"But you said I can pick it."

"Yeah…but let's get another opinion. Elena, what do you think?"

Elena thought for a while. She smiled when she thought of a name. Elena looked at her mother and opened her beak.

"Aurora."

"I like that name," said Jewel and faced Blu. "Don't you, my Blu bird?"

Blu nodded.

"I do."

Jewel smiled. She looked down her chick.

"Our little Aurora. Welcome to the Blu family."


	3. Story Time

A few weeks had passed since the birth of Aurora. She had gone from the ugly newborn to a beautiful macaw. Her feathers stood out. It was like she had dark blue highlights on her head. Her feathers on her head curled back like Jewel's and Elena's feathers on top of their heads. She also had a darker shade of blue for her wingtips. The rest of her feathers were light blue like her mother's feathers. She had hazel eyes, which gave the other birds a sense of mystery to her. Not only did she look beautiful, but she was very smart. She was the third smartest bird in the family, surpassing Jewel. She would always be curious on what Blu would say, and she would read and study with Jalin. She learned how to walk the day all her feathers came out to classify her as a smooth feathery chick. Flying was a no brainer to her, so she learned how to fly in three days after she learned how to walk.

Today, the Blu family was at the soccer field, watching the local soccer game. Over the time, Leoncio and Jalin became big fans of soccer. They called it football, which confused Blu. They were saying it wrong. It was pronounced futbol. American football had strong people attacking the one who had the pigskin. Spanish futbol mostly had, compared to American football players, scrawny-body players and chased an unpredictable ball around. Though all this, it was still favored more than American football. Blu just had to appreciate the phenomenon. That was mostly the reason why they were there.

"I still don't get it," said Blu, looking at the moving ball.

Jewel faced her mate.

"Blu, it's just soccer. What's there not to get?"

"Yeah, but football is way more interesting to watch."

"Um…Blu? Soccer is football."

"No. American football. Besides, it's pronounced futbol, not football."

"But isn't it more aggressive? The clips you showed me from the internet looked like they were pulverizing each other."

"Well, yeah. Football has more action because a player can suffer through several injures besides just a sprain leg."

"No. Soccer had its severe injuries too."

"Yeah, but in football, you can expect a major injury every third through five game. Soccer is just, "oh, you sprained a leg".

"I have to disagree with you. Besides, soccer is our culture. It's a respected sport."

"Like the WNBA."

Blu chuckled at his comment. Jewel just stared at him. He stopped laughing.

"What's that?" asked Jewel.

"Oh, it's…um…never mind. Let's just watch the game."

Blu looked back towards the action of the game. Jewel dropped it and faced the game also. Leoncio and Jalin were cheering. Blu looked down and saw her two girls looking up at him.

"Papa, I'm bored," said Aurora.

"Can we go to the bookstore?" suggested Elena.

Blu smiled. He faced Jewel.

"Jewel?"

She looked at him.

"I'm going to take the girls to Linda."

"No, stay here. We'll go later as a family. Besides, they can wait five minutes."

"Awwww," the girls sighed.

Blu wanted to complain too, but his mate implied there was five minutes left in the game. He watched as the players hurriedly tried to score within the last minutes of the game. He yawned, closing his eyes. He didn't notice his family. He opened his eyes to see the soccer ball hit him. He fell off the low branch and smacked the ground. He groaned. Jewel and his kids landed next to him.

"Honey, are you okay?"

He lifted his head up towards Jewel.

"Can we go to the bookstore now?"

"But Papa," said Aurora. "We should go to the store to buy a beak for you."

Jewel walked up to her mate and saw his beak a little off-centered.

"Um… This will hurt."

"Jewel, what are you-"

Jewel grabbed his beak with both her wings and twisted it back into place. Blu's eyes widened as he let out a giant squawk. Leoncio snickered under his breath.

* * *

><p>Linda was ringing up the cost for a customer.<p>

"It'll be five dollars."

The Latina paid Linda and walked out with the book. Linda watched as her customer left. She smiled and logged into her computer. She began to check the current books that were checked out. She then heard a squawk above her. Linda looked up and saw the Blu family come down towards her. They landed on the desk. Blu squawked.

"Hi, everyone," said Linda.

She then noticed Aurora.

"Is this your new bird? Aw, she's so cute. Her feathers are quite unique."

Elena groaned softly.

"Hey, Blu. I already premade some hot chocolate. You want some?"

Blu nodded. Linda smiled and got up from her chair. She went into the back room to get some hot chocolate. Jewel looked at Blu.

"Hopefully she doesn't bring back six cups. Then the kids won't eat."

"Not only that, but a sugar rush might kick in."

Jewel looked around and then glanced at Blu.

"Blu, I'll be back."

"Jewel, no Terminator phrases."

Jewel shook her head, smiling. She had watched the movies with Blu before the kids hatched. She liked the second movie better, even though it wasn't like anything compared to the movies now. She enjoyed all and loved the acting Arnold Schwarzenegger. She hated the fact people were all over the fact he had a secret kid. They had made jokes like his baby says, "I have a dada" in his Terminator voice. Blu laughed at that joke, but he received a slap by Jewel.

Jewel flew down the bookshelves to the children's section. She picked a book and flew back to the desk counter. Leoncio, Elena, and Aurora circled around her. Jalin walked up to Blu.

"Papa, do you know where any chemistry books are?"

"Chemistry?"

"Yeah, it'll be good to learn about chemicals. That way, I can stay away from bad chemicals."

That wasn't entirely true, but if he told the truth, Blu would probably not tell him where to find it.

"Check in the science area."

Jalin mentally slapped himself. Chemistry was a science. Why didn't he think of that? Jalin nodded and flew towards the bookshelf labeled "Science".

"Blu," called out Jewel smoothly.

Blu walked over to his mate and sat down next to her.

"Hold the book as I read to the kids."

"Wait. Why can't you get something to make the book stand?"

"I did."

"Besides me."

"Blu, I'm not asking you; I'm telling you. Besides, I've been holding the books every time I read to the kids. Don't you think I deserve a break?"

Blu exhaled.

"Okay."

Jewel smiled and read the title of the book.

"It's called the 'Ugly Duckling'."

The cover of the book showed a large image of a gray duck. In the background was a pond with duck chicks and a mother duck. Leoncio stared at the image.

"I never saw a gray duck chick before," he commented.

"Since when you've seen a duck chick?" asked Aurora.

"Hey, I've been born longer. I've seen more than you."

"You guys, be quiet," said Elena.

Jewel cleared her throat. Her chicks faced her and closed their beaks. Blu opened the book to the first page. Jewel began reading.

"Once upon a time, there was a mother duck. She was sitting on some eggs, hoping one day they will hatch."

"Like Mama did with us," pointed out Elena.

Jewel nodded as Blu flipped the page.

"She waited and waited and waited until the day came that her chicks hatched. All were pretty yellow ducklings. The mother welcomed them into the world, but soon, she saw not all the eggs hatched."

Blu waited five seconds before he turned the page.

"A large egg was still in the nest. The mother duck remained in the nest, waiting for it to hatch. Soon, the egg hatched and out popped out the duckling."

Blu waited and turned the page.

"The duckling did not look like the other ducklings," continued Jewel. "It was tall and had gray feathers. It chirped like a horn. The mother then thought it could not possibly be hers. She and her other ducklings left the ugly duckling all alone."

"What a terrible Mama," said Aurora. "She left him because he was ugly."

"I guess so," said Jewel.

"I kind of see why," said Leoncio. "If I was her, I would've left Jalin by now."

Jalin was on the small round table that was in-between two bookshelves. He looked up from the book he read.

"I heard that."

"Well, it wasn't supposed to be a secret."

Jalin narrowed his eyes.

"Just listen to Mama."

Jalin faced down and continued to read. Leoncio turned back around to have both of his parents glaring at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"We'll talk later," said Blu as he flipped the page.

Jewel looked at the text and continued to read.

"The ugly duckling left the duck pond. He walked through the woods and found another pond. There, he looked down at his reflection and saw himself. He was not like the other ducks. He was ugly. Soon, it was dark, and he found a place to sleep."

Blu flipped the page.

"The next morning, he took a swim in the pond," continued Jewel. "He had never learned how to swim, but he was naturally good at it. He swam around the pond. The other ducks in the pond saw the ugly duckling and looked away from him when he looked at him. If he got too close to him, they would fly away. The ugly duckling was truly alone."

"Woah," commented Leoncio. "Everyone flew away from him?"

"That might happen to you if you continue to be a jerk," said Jalin.

Leoncio faced him.

"Mama, did you hear that?"

"Leoncio, you called him ugly. He's just trying to get back at you, which he shouldn't do."

"Why not?"

Blu faced Jalin.

"You're just stepping down to his level," said Blu. "You're smarter than that."

"So you're calling me stupid, Papa?" snorted Leoncio. "Geez, thanks."

"I'm not…huhhhhhh. Honey, can you finish the story?"

"As soon as you flip the page."

Blu obeyed and turned to the next page. Jewel continued to read.

"The ugly duckling was very sad. Everywhere he went, the ducks would fly away from him. He tried to fit in with the other local birds, but everyone shooed him away because he was too ugly."

"That's very sad, Mama," said Aurora. "How will he live if he is all alone?"

"Let's see."

Blu flipped the page.

"The seasons changed. The duckling grew older. His gray feathers and his giant size for a duck made him appear uglier. As everyone flew south for the upcoming winter, the ugly duckling found no one to fly with. They all saw he was too ugly. He found some swans, but he didn't dare to ask them. Swans were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. If the other bids rejected him, there was no doubt that the swans would reject him. He watched them as they left, wishing he was as beautiful as they were."

"Swans?" questioned Elena. "Swans are not the most beautiful birds. Birds from here are prettier than any swan."

"Are you sure?" asked Aurora. "Some birds here are kind of…you know…ugly."

"Yeah, I only see two pretty birds," said Leoncio. "Me and Mama."

Jewel smiled.

"Thank you, Mejo."

"Jewel," said Blu. "You do realize he called everyone else ugly, including me."

"That's because your beak is crooked," said Leoncio.

"It is not crooked. You just have crooked eyes."

"Blu!" yelled Jewel.

He remembered he was having a childish fight with his son and nervously smiled at his mate.

"Well…he-"

"You're a grown bird, or so I think. Act like one! Just flip the page."

Blu did what he was told. Jewel huffed before she continued reading.

"The ugly duckling survived that brutal winter. He grew into something more than just a duck, but he still saw himself as being ugly. Spring had come, and he was swimming in a pond. Soon, three swans landed on top of the pond. The ugly duckling saw them and knew he couldn't be seen with them. He was about to fly away when one of them called him over. 'Hey, Brother', said the male swan. 'I haven't seen you around.' The ugly duckling faced them, covering his face. 'Why are you talking to me? Can't you see I'm ugly?'

Blu flipped the page.

"A female swan approached him and pulled his wings down from his face. 'You are not ugly. In fact, you are a very beautiful swan.' The ugly duckling wondered. 'Swan?' The ugly duckling looked down and saw his reflection in the water. He smiled as he saw who he truly was. 'I'm a swan!' he cheered. 'Yes,' answered the female swan. 'Would you care to join us?' The ugly duckling smiled. He agreed. He was never a duck to begin with. He was a swan. He swam with the other swans and lived happily ever after."

"So he was a swan?" wondered Elena.

"That's like a slap to the face," said Aurora.

"What do you mean?" asked Blu.

"I know the moral of the story, but he was referred as a duck when he was really a swan. Besides, all the characters seem really dumb. Instead of thinking he could be another bird, they assume he's a duck and confuse him into thinking he's a duck. That's kind of messed up."

"It's just a story," said Blu, closing the book. "It has a good moral to it."

"I guess so. I did like the story too. I just didn't like the ending so much because it makes all the characters really, really dumb."

A door opened. Linda came back with a plate of cookies at three cups of hot chocolate. The chicks lightly squawked in happiness. Blu and Jewel groaned. Not only would they not eat their fruit, but it would be an annoying hour or two with their sugar rushes.


	4. The Siblings' Rival

Aurora woke up in the middle of the night. She looked from left to right. Her mother and father were sleeping beside her. As for her brothers and sister, they were huddled for warmth. She yawned and squeezed out of the nest from under her mother's wing. She hit the floor with her body and stood up. She walked outside to the branch and perched herself on the branch. Aurora looked up and saw the new moon.

This was the first time she saw a new moon. Well, actually, she couldn't see it. She knew it was up there because there was a large, circular shaded area which resembled the moon. She stared at its beauty.

I never knew the moon could try to hide itself. That's so beautiful.

Most living organisms enjoyed the full moon. It was bright, beautiful, and big. The new moon made the jungle look spookier. The only time it was interesting to see the moon covering the light was during the solar eclipse or the lunar eclipse. To Aurora, this new moon was more beautiful than the full moon she saw with her parents.

Around the 28th day after she had been born, she noticed the jungle to be brighter than usual. She asked why. Blu picked her up and put her outside. They saw a full moon. Blu explained what a full moon was. Aurora took it in and concluded that a full moon wasn't so wonderful.

She smiled at the new moon. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching her. She looked back and saw Leoncio. He walked over to her.

"Aurora, what are you doing up?"

"Oh, I was just looking at the new moon."

"New moon? What's so new about it?"

Leoncio looked up.

"Nothing," explained Aurora. "It's just called like that. It's one of the lunar phases of the-"

"Aurora," said Leoncio, facing her, "don't sound like Jalin."

Aurora smiled.

"Can't handle him?"

"No. It's just that bird smarts are annoying."

"Bird smarts?"

"Papa and Jalin are both bird smarts, but they're clumsy. Very clumsy. Well, Papa is clumsier than Jalin. Probably because he is smarter."

"Being smart has nothing to do with clumsiness."

"Says the bird who hit the floor a while ago."

"Hit the floor? Oh, when I got out of the nest… Wait. You were watching me?"

"I woke up to see you getting out of the nest."

"So you've been awake the whole time? What are you? A perv bird."

"A perv bird," mumbled Leoncio. "Hey, I'm no pervert."

"It's just like that lady said. I am very cute."

"They only say that the first time they see the baby. After that, it's just 'Oh, hi'."

"That's not true."

"They said the same thing about us. Now, it's all about you. You stole my spot in the nest."

"No, I didn't. Just because I have it, you want it now."

"… That's… not entirely true."

Aurora closed her eyes as she sighed. She looked back at the new moon.

"I don't want to fight my older brother. Now, go to sleep."

"Hey, you don't tell me what to do. That's my job."

Leoncio pushed Aurora off the branch. He laughed victoriously. He slowly stopped when he saw Aurora flapping her wings in front of him. She half-closed her eyes.

"You do know I can fly?"

Leoncio grumbled and walked back to his sleeping place next to Elena. Aurora landed in the den and walked over to the nest. She climbed in it and snuggled next to her mama. Leoncio watched as her younger sister fell asleep. He mumbled something under his breath about her and fell to sleep.

* * *

><p>Blu had arrived with some fruit for breakfast. He had brought a mango for him and Jewel to share and some smaller fruit for the kids. He managed to carry all the fruit in a jumbo leaf. He set down the leaf around the kids and rolled the mango to Jewel. She smiled.<p>

"Thanks, my Blu bird."

She kissed Blu. The kids witnessed it.

"Yuck," said Leoncio. "That's disgusting. Papa hasn't even brushed his teeth."

Aurora faced Leoncio.

"Um, we're birds. We don't have teeth."

Leoncio was about to say something when he figured it was best to let it go. He turned his attention to the selection of fruit. He noticed that there was one blackberry. He was reaching for it when Jalin's wing met his wing.

"What are you doing?" asked Jalin.

"Getting my blackberry."

"You mean **my **blackberry."

"It's not yours. I saw it first."

"You are blind, Brother. I saw it way before you did."

"I saw it right now."

"I saw it before right now."

"I saw it when Papa put the leaf down."

"I saw it when Papa was flying into the den."

"I saw it when Papa was picking it up."

Jalin half-closed his eyes.

"You can't even see that far."

"Yea huh. I have x-ray eyes, like Superman."

"No you don't."

"How do you know?"

"Because it's a superhero story. Last time I checked, you were a bad bird."

"Then I'm a super villain."

"No. You're not a super villain; you don't have superpowers; you're just Leoncio."

"It doesn't matter. That is my berry. Wings off."

"Brothers, brothers."

They faced Elena. She smiled.

"Aren't you forgetting something? It's lady's first."

"Since when are you a lady?" questioned Leoncio.

Elena's beak dropped.

"Besides, that crap doesn't apply here," said Jalin. "A blackberry always changes everything."

"Well, you two are arguing about it. Why not give it to me and that way you two would stop arguing?"

They faced each other and looked back at Elena.

"We would rather argue than to just give it to you and be okay about it," they said together.

Leoncio reached for the blackberry. Jalin slapped his wing away and reached for it. He was rewarded with a punch by Elena. She hurriedly grabbed the blackberry, but Leoncio punched it out of her wings. The berry flew up into the air. The birds took flight, but their heads instantly bonked into each other, making them fall from the few inches above the air. The berry landed on the floor. The three siblings scrambled towards the blackberry. They jumped for it, stretching their wings towards it. A wing for each macaw landed on top of the berry. They struggled to get the berry.

"Jalin, get your wing off my berry," said Leoncio.

"No way! Both of you, get your wings off."

"Nah huh!" said Elena.

They saw two pairs of bird feet in front of the berry. The three macaws stopped their family feud. They looked up and gulped. Blu and Jewel looked down at them angrily.

"What's going on?" demanded Jewel.

The birds moved back a bit from the berry and stood up.

"I was getting my berry when Jalin and Elena started to fight me for it," said Leoncio.

"No," said Jalin. "You and Elena were fighting me for it."

"You two are wrong. It was my blackberry."

"No. It was mine."

"No, mine."

"Mine!"

"Stop!" ordered Blu. "Why don't you guys share it? There's only one."

"Sharing is for pussies who can't fight," said Leoncio.

Jewel slapped his face. Leoncio looked at his mother with watery eyes as she waved her wing at him.

"Leoncio, what did I say about your potty mouth?"

"But Papa told me to use it when it was appropriate."

Jewel faced Blu in shocked. Blu shook his head.

"I never said that."

"You implied it, Papa. Remember when Jalin, you, and me were in a rush back home and a bird cut you off. You yelled at him for being an asshole."

Blu nervously smiled. Jewel narrowed her eyes. Blu scratched his head innocently.

"Um… I guess I forgot," he said and then spoke in a more serious tone. "Either way, now is not that appropriate time. You can cuss when you're older."

"Blu!"

Blu looked at Jewel.

"Honey, the kids are in trouble, not me."

Later, you will be, thought Jewel.

Jewel faced the kids. Blu glanced at her and gulped. He knew she would talk to him…again. He faced the kids and saw that all of them were not there. He looked over towards the fruit and saw Aurora looking at them.

"Aurora, come here."

Obeying her father's words, she walked over.

"Yes Papa?"

"Do you want to try a blackberry?"

Jalin, Elena, and Leoncio prayed that she didn't want to.

"What's that?"

"It's a sweet fruit," explained Blu, remembering that it was the first time he brought home a blackberry after Aurora's birth. "Why don't you try it?"

Aurora nodded. She walked over to the blackberry and picked it up. She faced her siblings. If they were fighting for it, it must be good. She looked back at the blackberry and took a bite out of it. She savored it and swallowed. She walked over to Blu and handed the rest to him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's sweet. I like it, but I don't want to ruin my appetite."

"Then I'll eat the rest. I haven't had one in a long time."

Blu ate the blackberry in front of the kids. Jalin, Leoncio, and Elena watched in horror as Blu ate the berry.

"It's not fair," said Leoncio. "It's your fault."'

Jalin and Elena faced each other and turned back at him with eyes that told him to shut up. He dropped it and looked at Blu as he finished his last bite. The three macaws faced Aurora and stared at her coldly. This was strike one from Jalin and Elena. It was already strike two from Leoncio.


	5. The 'Special' Macaw

Jewel and Blu tiredly smiled at each other. They finally got the kids to go to sleep. After an hour of insanity, the kids grew tired. Aurora was the last to go to sleep. Blu chuckled.

"I thought we would never get them to sleep. We are not going back with Linda for a third night in a row. I should've known better. She always give them sweets."

"I know. Who knew Elena would get the craziest after drinking a cookie dough ice cream milkshake."

"Well, Aurora and her sister were sharing. Aurora might have drunken a little while Elena had the rest."

"True," said Jewel.

She looked down and looked at all four of her chicks.

"They're so beautiful."

"Yes," smiled Blu, "but-"

Jewel narrowed her eyes at Blu.

"But what?"

"Well…uh…I was just going to say that Aurora's appearance seems mysterious…in a good way."

Jewel looked down. Instead of one solid shade of blue like her siblings, the child had two shades of blue working for her.

"Well, she's just differently beautiful."

"But Jewel, I'm worried about her."

Jewel half-closed her eyes.

"You worry about everything and then it turns out to be not a big deal."

"But I just have a feeling. Call it instincts."

"Don't stress about it. Aurora will be fine."

Blu nodded and faced his new daughter. Something in the back of the head told him otherwise. The short conversation with mirrored Blu had always been in the back of his head. He faced Jewel and looked into her eyes. It seemed she was a little annoyed by the conversation they just had. He figured he should just drop it for now.

"We should go to sleep," advised Blu as his eyes fell down on the kids.

He looked at all of them and noticed something wrong. Aurora was shivering. It wasn't just a little one. It looked like she was sick. Worried, Blu picked her up and cuddled her in his wings. Jewel looked at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked in concern. "Is she sick?"

Jewel placed a wing on her forehead. There seemed to be no fever.

"No fever."

"Probably it was the cold or a nightmare."

"She's sleeping with us."

Blu and Jewel walked over to their sleeping spot of the tree den and placed Aurora in the middle of them. They noticed her feathers glowed a little bit, but they concluded it was just the moonlight. The two parents kissed each other goodnight and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Aurora woke up at the first break of dawn. She noticed that she was the first to have her eyes opened. She looked around and realized she was sleeping next to Blu and Jewel. Her siblings were a little on the other side of the den. She didn't know why, but she guessed Mama and Papa just loved her more. Her stomach rumbled. She didn't want to wake up her parents, but she needed food. She stood up and shook her mother.<p>

"Mama. Mama."

Blu lazily opened his eyes. He had heard Aurora calling for Jewel, but his mate was probably too exhausted from yesterday. He yawned and stood up. He walked over to Aurora. Aurora stopped shaking her mother and faced her father.

"Papa," she said happily.

"Aurora, what are you doing up so early?"

"I'm hungry."

"Hungry?"

Blu yawned.

"Can't it wait?"

"But that's not responsible."

"What do you mean?"

"You're my papa. I'm your daughter. Aren't you a bad parent if you ignore me?"

"I am not ignoring you."

"Then why won't you feed me?"

Blu scratched his head and sighed.

"Fine. I'll be back with food."

Blu was starting to flap his wings when Aurora stopped him.

"Wait. I wanna come."

"No. You have to stay here."

"But why?"

"Because I said so."

"Yeah, but I want to choose breakfast today."

"Aurora, you know I always bring food that you like."

"Kind of. No offense Papa, but I only eat some fruit because I know you worked so hard to get it. Like the banana you brought. Yuck. That was all mushy and gross."

Blu sighed.

"Your mother is going to fuss about it later, but okay."

Aurora beamed.

"Just stick with me and do what you're told. You promise?"

"Wingtip promise."

Aurora had never gone deeper into the jungle. She had always either gone to the nearby river to take a bath or fly above the jungle to go to Rio. This was all too exciting for her. She flapped her wings and flew out of the tree den. Blu flew by her side. The two soared into the depths of the jungle. Aurora's eyes scanned the area around her, absorbing its beauty.

"Papa, it's so beautiful."

Blu smiled. The jungle was beautiful. The nature reminded him of the forests in the United States. They looked so wonderful and breathtaking. The trees, the colorful flowers, the unpaved ground, the glittering water, the morning sun. It was seen as the Creator had left it. He landed on a tree with some jaca on it. Aurora landed beside him.

"Jaca?"

"Yes, your sister and younger brother like jaca."

"I thought they liked blackberries."

"Well, they also like jaca."

Blu looked at the fruit and picked a readied one. He clipped it off using his beak and grabbed it with his wings.

"One down; three more to go."

"Why three? Elena and Leoncio don't like to share."

"They do, but not when it comes to blackberries."

"What's so wonderful about it?"

They took to the skies as Blu held onto the fruit with his feet. Aurora looked at him.

"Wow, Papa, you're strong."

"Thank you, Aurora."

"But isn't Mama stronger than you?"

Blu thought.

"Mama is…um…more aggressive. That's how she strong."

"Aggressive? You mean when she mad, she becomes the Incredible Hulk?"

Blu nodded. The two birds flew through the trees until Blu dove down. Aurora followed him. He found a jumbo leaf and pulled the weak stem of. He placed the fruit on it after it fell to the ground. He folded the ends together like how the imaginary stork did it and carried it with his feet. He once again flew above the ground. Aurora followed him. They collected a mango and a pear-shaped fruit when Aurora asked something.

"Papa, um, can we get some nuts?"

"Nuts? Alright."

They flew around some more and found a tree filled with Brazil Nuts. He flew around the tree and picked out one with a weak shell. He asked Aurora to pull it off. With all her might, she pulled it off. The strength she applied became stored energy when she tugged on the seed. When she finally pulled it off, she flew back, hitting Blu's chest. The impact caused Blu to let go of the leaf held by his feet. Breakfast splattered on the ground. The only thing that didn't get too dirty was the nut. Aurora looked at her papa with guilty eyes.

"I'm sorry, Papa."

Blu decided to let it go and sighed.

"It's okay. I just have to remember where we got the food."

Aurora smiled.

"I know where. I me-mor-ized the places we went to. We only flew for about twenty minutes, so everything is close by. It'll take us less time this round than what we did right now."

Blu looked at her daughter unsurely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Papa. Trust me. I'm smart."

Blu scratched his head. Being smart didn't necessarily mean you memorized places, but he figured he should trust his daughter.

"Alright. Lead the way."

Aurora smiled. Before she led the way, she looked down.

"Um, Papa? Aren't you going to get the leaf?"

Blu looked down and saw that the leaf and the nut were fine. He flew down to pick them up. The nut rocked on the center of the leaf. Aurora nodded her head and took off. Blu followed her.

Blu was still unsure of Aurora's skills. Presumably because he thought she was still too young. Not even Jalin could have the confidence to say he knew where things were. He followed her, and sure enough, he was stunned to see she was right. They reached the tree where the pear-shaped fruit was.

"See, Papa? I was right."

Blu smiled and faced Aurora.

"You were. You're very smart. You might grow up to be smarter than me."

"I don't know about that Papa, but I can say I'll be smarter than Jalin. He and I are only a year apart so it's more likely."

* * *

><p>Jewel waited and waited as Blu and Aurora were still on their hunt for breakfast. The kids were behind her, coloring on the computer paper Blu brought. Leoncio looked at his brother's picture. It was an architectural picture of a three-dimensional soccer ball. He then peeked at his sister's picture. It was an artistic rose. He looked back at his picture. It was what appeared to be a crooked head of a stick figure. Jalin looked at his brother's drawing.<p>

"Who is that supposed to be?"

"Can't you tell?"

Jalin shook his head.

"It's Chuck Norris."

Jalin tried so hard not to laugh. He formed the smile that almost caused him to laugh, but he kept it in.

"Dude, if Chuck Norris saw that, he would beat you up."

"No, he wouldn't. He will say, 'Good job, Leoncio. An artist like you should draw me all the time'."

Jalin couldn't contain his laughter and fell to the floor laughing. Jalin huffed.

"Mama! Jalin's making fun of my picture of Chuck Norris."

Jewel groaned and faced the two brothers.

"Jalin, why are you making fun of your brother?"

Jalin stood up and whipped the tear away from his eye.

"Because he claims to be an artist."

"An artist? Mejo, can I see the picture?"

Leoncio handed the picture to Jewel. She examined it for a while before replying.

"Well, it looks good…in its own way. You got my artistic skills, Mejo."

"Oh," said Leoncio. "You can't draw either."

Jewel's smile dropped. She looked at the picture.

"Well, this is better than what I can do."

"Then you draw."

"Um… Maybe next time."

"C'mon, Mama. It will make me feel better about myself."

"Well…I…"

Jewel looked back and saw Blu and Aurora entering the tree den. She faced Leoncio.

"Oh, look. Breakfast."

"But Mama…"

"C'mon. Let's eat."

Jewel dropped the picture and walked to Blu. Jalin and Elena also walked to Blu. Leoncio looked down at the picture.

"If Chuck Norris was here, he would beat the crap out of Jalin with his Chuck Fu," whispered Leoncio.

He walked over to his father. Blu was explaining to an upset Jewel on why he took Aurora.

"She wanted to come."

"And? Blu, she could've gotten in danger."

"What? You don't trust my fighting abilities?"

"…I do, but…other birds don't. She could've been picked up by any predator."

"But I wasn't," said Aurora. "I know the jungle is dangerous, but Papa is strong. He's probably not as strong as you, because you're the Incredible Hulk."

"The Incredible Hulk?" wondered Jewel. "That green monster! Blu!"

"Why do you instantly yell at me?"

"You're the only one, besides Aurora, into that Marvel superhero thing, you geeky bird," she replied with her eyes half-closed.

Blu thought about it.

"Hey, superhero comics are good and a lot of people read them."

"Those people are called geeks," said Jalin. "I mean they have Comic-con, where all the geeks assemble."

"Not all the geeks go there."

"Yes, they do. And those who don't watch it on the internet besides trying to find a date online."

"That's probably why Papa took forever to date Mama," said Leoncio in a way like he solved a grand mystery. "He was to busy trying to get to Comic-con instead of dating Mama."

"Wow, Papa," said Elena. "Mama's right. You're such a nerd bird."

"Well...um... I...um," He paused before continuing. "Anyways, Jewel, you should've been there. Aurora is very smart in her visual remembrance. The food was dropped, but she remembered every exact tree the fruit was on. She might be the little Einstein."

Only Jalin knew about Albert Einstein. Blu had always called him very smart, but he never referred him to a famous scientist. He narrowed his eyes at Aurora. Aurora noticed him and tried not to make eye contact with him. She looked at her sister and other brother. They also had their eyes narrowed. At first, she thought why, but she concluded that it was because she went on the morning run with Blu. Her siblings probably never went with Papa to get breakfast. She slowly hid behind Blu.

"Alright. Let's eat."

Leoncio, Jalin, and Elena sat on one side of the leaf while Jewel and Blu sat on the other side. Afraid, Aurora sat next to Jewel. As she reached for some the nut, she felt the cold stares of her siblings. She quickly pulled the nut off the leaf and tapped Jewel's wing.

"Mama, can you open it for me?"

Jewel smiled at her.

"Sure."

As Jewel open the nut for her daughter, the other chicks slowly munched on the fruit, staring at Aurora. It was strike two in Elena's count. Jalin and Leoncio both had three strikes on her.


	6. Strike III

How do we make good terms with others? Is it agreeing with them on about mostly everything? Is it being generous to that person to the point you're dubbed a kiss-ass? Is it being honest, expelling the truth to the point that it may offend others? Some liked a hard dick while others liked a soft pussy. It was just a matter of preference.

This was rambling through Aurora's head. During breakfast, she got the feeling her siblings were annoyed at her. They envied her. She was smart, beautiful, and appeared to think too high of herself. To her, she was unique, but she wasn't as beautiful compared to her mother or as knowledgeable compared to her father. Why would she be considered as a snob?

She was practicing her words again. Though she lacked Blu's artist skills, she was a phenomenal writer and excelled in math for her age. Writing was one of those traits you were born into. They always said if you were an excellent reader and writer, you were a horrible mathematician and vice versa. Even though she did struggle in reading comprehension, writing and math were simple. It was quite unusual, but she was part of the small percentage that disproved this theory.

Aurora was finished the last stanza of her small poem. It was an inspiration poem to motivate herself. She was feeling a bit out of place. She figured if she expressed her thoughts, it might restore some confidence in confronting with her siblings again. Aurora read it and smiled. She folded it and tucked it away underneath the nest when no one was looking. She joined the others.

Blu was teaching some science today. It wasn't necessary for Aurora to be there, but she had always been intrigued by what Blu talked about. Aurora looked around as Blu talked about naming chemicals. She noticed that Jewel was asleep, Leoncio and Elena were doodling instead of taking notes, and Jalin was listening to every word Blu said.

"Naming chemicals could be simple at first. Some inorganic crystals and metal bonds are easy to name while complex organic molecules and inorganic crystals are not. We don't always call things by the chemicals we see in the Periodic Table. An example of this is the mixture of copper and zinc. Instead of calling it copper(II)-zinc(III), we call it brass. Another good example of this is (2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-Dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-1-ol. We know it as Vitamin A. If we know the basis of naming chemicals, we can distinguish the properties of it."

Jewel began to snore. Blu sighed. Once Jewel was snoring, yelling to his kids was the only option. They had talked about the elements on the periodic table for about forty-five minutes. He figured it would be a good place to stop at.

"Okay. That concludes the lesson on science for this week. Tomorrow is English, so we will try to write words. Hopefully one of these days, I can write in Portuguese to show you."

Leoncio faced Elena.

"I like it when Mama goes to sleep. That always means class will be over soon."

Blu walked over to Jewel and tapped her wing.

"Jewel? Wake up."

Jewel lazily opened her eyes.

"Is it over?"

Blu sighed.

"Jewel, am I that boring?"

Jewel looked at his eyes.

"Of course not. It's just that I'm not into the whole science and math thing."

"Well, I see, but you were snoring again."

"Oh," replied an embarrassed Jewel. "How bad this time?"

"Just echoing through the den. I'm pretty sure our neighbor miles away heard it."

Jewel smiled.

"Well, I'm just resting for tonight."

Blu remembered. Tonight was a starry dinner with Jewel. Rafael had told him of a fancy restaurant in Rio. It had everything a guy needed on a date, except for protection. The only problem that Blu didn't like was that the chef and the waiters were rats. Rafael assured Blu that they cleaned themselves before serving any food. Rafael did mention that he needed two ounces of mozzarella cheese for each bird. Blu had to ask Linda for some.

"But Dear, if the kids see you sleeping, they might not pay attention to me."

"You do know that Jalin is the only one really paying attention to you?"

Blu sighed.

"Great. Half of the family ignores my lectures."

"Only when you do science and math. I mean when are you ever going to apply it?"

"You'll be surprised. In fact, I could've broken the chain off using math."

"Yeah, but that gave us both a headache."

"Only if my beak didn't get caught, it would've worked."

Aurora walked up to her parents.

"Papa, since you're done talking, can we go somewhere?"

Jewel smiled.

"Well, I was thinking it would be great if we went to the river."

"Bath time?" groaned Aurora.

Aurora didn't like the idea of bath time. Sure, you look pretty and all, but it was a tiresome process. For girls, being pretty was a lot of hard work. Most enjoyed it. Some got carried away and looked like clowns when they were done. Aurora had seen them in Rio. They had a definite red blush; black, long, and curly eyelashes; makeup under their eyes to hide their dark spots, and three or four layers of lipstick. Make-up wasn't bad, but putting too much of it on, it might as well been known as fake-up.

"Mama, why is it so hard for us?"

"Huh?"

"Well, we are girls. We have to do our feathers, polish our beaks, find a lily, clean our feet, and so on. For boys, it's just take a bath and then done. Sometimes they don't clean themselves."

"Well, it's for them."

"That doesn't make sense. They should like us no matter how we look like."

Blu looked at Jewel. If she was very ugly when they met, like if she had a hillbilly face, he would rather move back to Minnesota and tried an online dating site. Jewel faced him. He already knew what she was going to ask.

"Blu, would you still love me if I was ugly?"

"Ye…yeah, but let's go to the river. It's getting late."

"Blu, was that an unsure yes?"

"Of course not, mi Amor."

"So if I went on the date looking disgusting, you wouldn't mind?"

Blu blinked.

"N-no…but I think other birds would. They might call you names behind your back, and I don't want that to happen."

"True."

Blu was relieved. He looked at Aurora and smiled.

"When you look pretty, people don't talk bad about you behind their backs."

"So you're ugly Papa."

"What?"

"Meja," said Jewel. "That's not very nice. Your Papa is very handsome."

"Yeah, but Leoncio always talks about you behind your back. Oh, yeah. Papa, what's a bastard?"

"A…what?" questioned Jewel. "Where did you hear that?"

"Well, Leoncio was mad at Papa one day because he couldn't go outside and play. He called him a bastard. I'm not sure if it was nice."

"It's not nice at all. It's a bad word."

"I didn't know words can be bad. Is it in jail now?"

"No," said Blu. "Bad words are words you shouldn't say because the negatively offend someone or something. Now, where is that boy?"

He scanned the tree den. He saw Leoncio standing near the entrance. He had overheard the conversation. Blu narrowed his eyes at him. Leoncio nervously smiled and quickly turned around. He took off out of the tree den. Blu gave chase.

* * *

><p>Elena, Jewel, and Aurora were at the river. Jewel was giving Aurora a bath the same fashion she used to give Elena a bath. Elena was considered a big girl now. She was giving herself a bath. She looked over at her mother.<p>

"Why did we have to separate this time?"

"Well, your father and I have a date, so we decided to surprise ourselves before we see each other."

"A date? But aren't you married?"

"Yes, but you can still have dates with the bird you are with forever."

Jewel picked up some water with her beak and dropped it on top of Aurora's head. She shivered a bit.

"It's cold."

"No, it's not," said Elena. "It's nice."

"If nice means cold, I don't like it."

"You got Blu's sarcasm," mentioned Jewel. "I don't know if that's good or bad."

"It must be good. It's from Papa."

"Not everything from Papa is good," mentioned Elena. "I remembered when Papa told us that sex was a super-secret."

"Elena!"

"What? She already knows what it is."

"No, she-"

"Mama?"

Jewel looked down.

"I know what sex is. Remember that night when I heard you and Papa making strange noises like if someone was being tortured? Well, after you went to sleep, Papa explained to me it was considered a stress-reliever for adults and was also how eggs were made."

"What! I'll have to have a word with your father."

"Mama, it's okay. Papa decided to tell me because it was supposed to be taught at a younger age in the States. There was a rumor that the black man in charge of the whole country wanted schools to teach about sex to something called kindergartners. Papa wasn't sure if it was true or not, but it was most likely true because a building called Congress had been arguing about it for years."

"Wow, the States have a building that can talk?" wondered Elena.

"I guess so. You know that humans are always making stuff up."

"I don't agree with it," said Jewel.

"But I understand now, Mama. It's better than lying to your kids about it and waiting for them to explore it on their own."

"Mm… It's just kind of weird to me."

"But Mama, I'm not confused like Elena."

"I'm not confused. I perfectly know what sex is."

"Yeah, but for the longest time, you thought it was a super-secret. You seemed very gullible as a chick."

"I was just two weeks old," replied an annoyed Elena.

"Yeah, but how long did you believe it?"

"For a few months," grumbled Elena.

"See? It's like they didn't trust you or something."

Elena was about to speak when Jewel opened her beak first.

"Aurora, why are you talking back to your sister?"

"I'm not. I'm just giving my own opinions. Is that wrong Mama?"

Jewel thought about it. Aurora was stating her opinion. She wasn't talking back the why Blu and Leoncio would. Elena waited for Aurora to get in trouble.

"I guess not."

Elena narrowed her eyes. If she had said what Aurora said, she would've been in trouble. Aurora only evaded from getting in trouble because of her cleverness. Even Leoncio wasn't as clever as her on talking. No wonder why her brothers didn't like her. This chick was clever, knowledgeable, cute, sarcastic, and a favorite of Blu, or as she had seen her to be Papa's favorite chick. Elena had always been Papa's princess, but now, it seemed she was replaced.

Jewel poured some more water on top of Aurora. She shivered a bit. Elena looked at her. Like her brothers, Elena had now tallied three strikes for Aurora. With three strikes from all three chicks, Aurora had to go.


	7. No More

"Oh, hi Jewel."

Jewel was dropping off the girls at Linda's house. She was all beautified for tonight. Jewel's feathers glittered under the moonlight and she had a pink lily on the top side of her head. Her beak was polished and a little darker than usual. Linda smiled at her.

"Wow, Jewel. You look so beautiful. Blu is going to be so shocked when he sees you."

Jewel smiled. She pointed at her girls, implying if the boys were here. Linda smiled.

"Yes. Blu already dropped off the boys."

Jalin and Leoncio flew over and landed on the table near the window. They looked at Jewel.

"Mama," said Jalin, "you look so pretty for Papa."

"Hopefully another bird doesn't attack you," said Leoncio. "Then I'll have a new Papa."

"I'm not even sure if I should take that as a compliment, Leoncio," said Jewel. "Well, I can't keep your father waiting forever."

Jewel smiled at Linda and flew through the window. The chicks watched their mother disappear from their view. They looked at Linda.

"Yeah, treats."

"Um, Elena," said Jalin. "Papa left a note saying no treats. He wrote we had too much already."

"Well, that sucks."

"You birds want candy?" said Linda. "I got some Red Vines you guys can munch on."

Linda started to walk away from the birds. Elena faced Jalin.

"I thought you said Papa left a no-sweets note."

"He did."

"Probably she's like Leoncio," said Aurora. "She doesn't listen."

"Hey, I do too."

Jalin, Aurora, and Elena faced their brother with their eyes half-closed. He uncomfortably smiled.

"Okay, sometimes I do."

The birds flew off, following Linda into the kitchen from her bedroom.

* * *

><p>Blu was pacing in front of the entrance to the rooftop restaurant. It was a perfect night under the Rio moonlight. Candles gave more light to the area. He had two pieces of mozzarella cheese in a wing. He looked at the sky, trying to find a blue spec. He didn't see a blue spec. Instead, he saw a beautiful bird heading his way. The blue bird landed next to him.<p>

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Jewel.

"Not at all," said Blu. "I can see why. Jewel, you look so beautiful."

"Aw," blushed Jewel. "Thanks, my very Blu bird."

Blu's feathers also light under the moonlight. They weren't as radiant as Jewel's fathers, but they were cleaner than before. Blu extended his wing towards Jewel. She accepted and cuffed her wing with Blu's wing. He led her to the entrance, where a buff rat in a Barbie tuxedo was standing as a bouncer. Next to him was a normal-sized mouse also in a tuxedo. There was a sign that mentioned the payment was first received by the bouncer before entering. Blu gave him the two chunks of cheese. He gave them to the smaller mouse who was the cashier.

"Names?" asked the buff rat, holding a clipboard.

"Blu and Jewel," replied Blu.

"Hm, not very created, but okay."

The buff mouse moved aside and the two walked into the area.

"That guy was a jerk," Jewel whispered to Blu.

"Honey, don't let him get to you. Let's just enjoy this dinner."

"I guess you're right."

The two lovebirds walked to a table near the center of the area. Blu moved back the crafted Popsicle stick chair Jewel was going to sit in. Jewel smiled and sat down. Blu went around the small, crafted table and sat in his chair. A lit candle was in the center of the table, along with a miniature red flower in a Barbie vase.

"Wow," said Jewel. "I have to admit that Rafael knows the fanciest places."

"Yeah," breathed Blu. "I wonder if he ever took Eva here."

"I'm pretty sure he did. Eva told me for their anniversary, they came here. She said the food was great."

A waiter rat walked up to Jewel and Blu.

"Names?"

"Blu and Jewel," answered Blu.

"Ah, yes. We've received your payment. Here are your menus."

The rat handed the Blu birds a piece of thick paper with all their entrees, appetizers, deserts, and beverages.

"Tonight's special is the Tour de Chef."

"Tour de Chef?" questioned Blu.

"Yes. Our chef makes three random dishes from the menu. I would highly recommend it if you are new to this restaurant."

Blu nodded.

"That's alright with me. How about you, Dear?"

Jewel's eyes were focused on the menu.

"I'll have that, but for an appetizer, can we have some chips and salsa? Can you also bring some water for the both of us?"

"Alright," said the waiter, collecting the menus. "I'll be back."

The waiter left. Blu looked at Jewel.

"Appetizers? But Jewel, we don't know how much the plate is."

"It can't be that bad. Don't these fancy restaurants serve a tiny bit of food?"

* * *

><p>Aurora was watching television. Linda had put a DVD on for her. At first, Linda thought she wanted to watch kiddie shows, but when she pointed to the DVD case, she was stunned. She guessed Blu talked to her about mature things, so she guessed it was okay. Aurora popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth as she watched <span>House M.D.<span> She was watching the scene of "The Dig" where Dr. House was waiting for Thirteen to come out of the dressing room of a clothes department store. He happened to be sitting in front of the closed door.

_"Junior year high school, you placed fourth in the West Virginia all-county science fair. Your project? Clean combustion."_

_Thirteen didn't look at him as she puts her darkened shirt on._

_"Yeah. I also wore a training bra. Things have changed."_

_Under his breath, House muttered, "Not that much."_

_His statement caused Thirteen to give him a cold glance as she finished putting her loose-fitting jacket._

Aurora was intrigued by this character. He was smart and had feelings, but the way he admitted those feelings were childish and filled with sarcastic thoughts. He was loved by three women at different times, but he was no longer with them. He was an outcast. The so-called friends he made were his co-workers. Even they were iffy on hanging around House. They would occasionally, but his life filled with misery was their excuse to hang on with them. He only hanged out with them if he wanted to know something about them, which was more selfish than being a true friend. The sad truth was that House was a miserable man who was always afraid to get emotionally involved with people. House, somewhat, rubbed on Aurora through these feelings of being alone. She knew her siblings envied her. Her mother and father loved her, but how long would it be until she was nothing to them. If her siblings already were annoyed of her, it was only a matter of time before her parents got annoyed with her too.

Aurora continued to watch House M.D. as her siblings whispered to each other. They were in the kitchen, pecking at Red Vines. Linda had retired for the night after putting the DVD in for Aurora. They pretended like they were sleeping, but they snuck out of their sleeping spot and headed for the kitchen. Leoncio had seen where Linda kept the Red Vines. Using his brain, Jalin opened the cabinet where the candy was. Elena fetched it and set it down on the counter. They didn't even offer any to Aurora.

"We have to something about Aurora," said Leoncio.

"What do you suggest?" questioned Elena. "Hogtie her and throw her in the river?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea."

Elena slapped her brother's beak.

"Ouch! Hey, why-"

"Elena's right," said Jalin. "Mama and Papa would ask a lot of questions."

"If Mama and Papa are involved, we can't get rid of her. We'll be grounded forever, and last time I checked, birds need to fly."

"Then we're stuck with her?" wondered Leoncio. "That's just great."

"Not precisely. I hatched a plan. Get it? Hatched?"

Jalin chuckled. His siblings looked at him with dull expressions.

"No time for corny jokes, Jalin," said Leoncio. "We need a plan."

"One step ahead of you. She's eating popcorn. She must have a very dry throat. You can always give her some water."

"How would water help?"

"Only if I add something that dissolves in water."

"Like what?" wondered Elena.

"Remember that time the scientist didn't sleep for three days straight? He got this medicine called flunitrazepam from one of these cabinets."

The two birds looked at him weirdly.

"In English," said Leoncio.

"Roofies."

* * *

><p>Blu looked at his three-inch radius plate. It was still full of food. This was the first time he ever had authentic Brazilian food. He looked at Jewel, who was politely pecking at it. She noticed she was the only one eating. She looked at her date.<p>

"Aren't you going to dig in?"

Blu looked up at her.

"Um, it's just that I haven't tried it."

"Then just try it. You've never tasted it so how do you know you don't like it if you never tasted it before?"

Blu swayed his head back and forth. He figured Jewel was right. He looked at his food one more time and pecked at the corn-based food. It looked like thick puddle. He swallowed it and smiled.

"What is it?"

"I think it's called masa."

"It's like sweet corn."

"I'm glad you liked it."

Jewel looked down at her plate.

"I wonder if Linda can handle the kids tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we had a night to ourselves after Aurora was born? We came back to find her beak tied because Leoncio said she wouldn't let him sleep."

"Don't worry. They're matured now…for the most part. Let's just enjoy the night. Our kids will be fine. They should be asleep by now."

* * *

><p>"Thanks for the water," said Aurora.<p>

"You're welcome," said Jalin. "Usually popcorn makes the throat a little dry."

"Oh."

Aurora faced the television and continued watching House M.D. Jalin walked back to his siblings at the other end of the couch.

"When is it suppose to work?" asked Leoncio.

"Well, since she's a bird and we served her a couple of micrograms in twenty milliliters of water, she should be knocked-out in a few minutes."

"Make it sooner," said Elena, looking over Jalin's wing.

He looked back and noticed that Aurora was getting woozy. He faced his siblings and smiled.

"It was sooner than expected."

Aurora fell on her face against the beige cushion of the couch. The three chicks walked up to her.

"Well, that did it," said Leoncio.

"What's next, Jalin?" asked Elena.

"Well, I don't really know."

"Typical," said Leoncio. "Leave it to the professional."

"Then what do you think?"

Leoncio sinisterly grinned. He flew to the window and saw a truck outside. The pickup truck was on, but it was parked. Boxes were being loaded on this red vehicle. Leoncio pointed at the pickup. The two birds saw the truck and looked back at their brother.

"We can put her in that truck."

"But what if it goes away forever?" asked Jalin.

"Isn't that the whole point?" questioned Leoncio. "You better not pussy out now, Jalin. Remember, she's the new Einstein of the family. You're not the smart one if she's around."

Jalin looked at Aurora and narrowed his eyes.

"Leoncio, open the window."

Leoncio smiled and began to open a window a few feet behind the television. Jalin and Elena walked over to Aurora and picked her up.

"Is this a good idea?" asked Elena.

"Oh, you can't chicken out too? Don't you don't like her?"

"I do, but-"

"But nothing. Remember, she's Papa's favorite princess."

Elena narrowed her eyes.

"You're right."

Elena and Jalin picked her up with their talons and flew through the opened window. Leoncio was hovering outside, waiting for them. They flew down towards the truck. The guy had already loaded the boxes into the truck. He was getting into the pickup. Jalin and Elena placed Aurora down gently. The three birds looked at Aurora.

"Where do you think this truck is going?" asked Elena.

"Who cares," said Leoncio.

"Wait. How are we going to convince our parents?" asked Jalin.

"Elena, can you forge her handwriting?"

"Yes," said Elena.

"Then you know what to do."

"Um… And what is that?"

Jalin sighed.

"Leoncio wants you to forge a runaway note from Elena."

"Oh, okay. I can do that."

The truck moved slightly. The three birds flew out of the truck and watched the truck go away.

"There goes the annoying chick," said Leoncio. "Good ridden. C'mon, Elena. Let's write that runaway note."

She nodded. Leoncio and Elena flew back into the house. Jalin noticed that the pick-up truck was reappearing near the beach. It looked like it was going out of town. Jalin looked one more time at the crime they committed and flew back into the house.


	8. Perfection?

Jewel and Blu arrived the next morning at Linda's house. They were perched on the window seal. Blu knocked the window of Linda's room.

"I hope the chicks were good," commented Jewel.

"They had better be. If not, we will have to find a new babysitter."

"Then who would be the backup?"

"Easy. Fides and Luis."

"Um, Blu? They don't like Leoncio."

"Raphael and Eva?"

"Don't like Leoncio."

"Nico and Pedro?"

"Can handle the chicks, but they're irresponsible. Remember that one and only time we left the chicks with them? They all went to an adult party, Pedro was using them to get lucky, and the chicks kept on talking about the game the male and the female birds were playing."

"Mm… Oh, Luiz."

"Definitely doesn't like Leoncio."

"Man, why doesn't everyone like Leoncio?"

Jewel half-closed her eyes.

"You're really asking that? Let's just be glad Linda likes all of our chicks."

The curtains behind the window moved. Linda's face was hovering above the two birds through the inside of the window. She opened the window. Jewel and Blu happily flew inside and landed on the desk against the window. They looked up at Linda and dropped their happy expressions. It appeared Linda had cried just a few minutes before. She held a note to her chest.

"I'm sorry Blu and Jewel."

The two looked at each other confused. They looked back at Linda.

"I told the chicks to wait in the kitchen. I want you to read this."

Linda placed the note on the desk. Blu and Jewel walked to it and read it carefully.

_Dear Mama and Papa,_

_I can't do this anymore. I've tried so hard to fit in, but I've felt so awkward. I don't belong here. I guess I was the accident of the family. Accidents should be fixed, not a burden to the family. I've decided to run away. I think everyone will be happier. Though it may be sad at first, just try to move on without me. The family will be happier. Don't try to find me. By the time you read this, I will already be gone out of Rio and will try to find somewhere I truly fit in._

_ Love,_

_ Aurora_

The two parents stood in disbelief at what they read. Jewel picked up the note and skimmed it again. Her eyes began to water after reading it again. She looked down. Teardrops fell to the ground. Blu placed a wing around her shoulder. She finally turned and buried her face in Blu's chest. He wrapped his wings around her and looked up at the ceiling. Their daughter was gone, forever.

"I'm so sorry," said Linda.

Behind the wall of the hallway, Jalin peeked into the bedroom. His mother was crying as his father looked like there was dying hope for their daughter's return. He hid behind the white wall and plotted himself on the floor. He looked at his wings and buried his face in them. What had he done!

* * *

><p>Aurora woke up with the sudden stop of the pickup truck. Her head banged the metal frame. The pain caused her to open her eyes. She stood up and rubbed her head.<p>

"Ouch!"

She then noticed the metal floor and looked around. She was outside. Buildings of old towered over her. The rumbling of people walking around shook her eardrums. She nervously placed a wing on top of the other and kept them close to her chest.

"Wher-where am I?"

The Latino driver got out of his car. Aurora saw him approaching the back of the truck. Scared, she flew away. She flew to the top of the nearest building top and landed on the edge of the walkable rooftop. She looked around to see where she was.

This was a metropolis area filled with tall buildings and rich and poor houses populating the area around it. It looked nothing like back home. There was no beachfront, above-moderate clean air, and simplistic buildings. The city smelled of greed and selfishness.

"Hey, chick."

Aurora turned around. She saw a Grey-fronted Dove behind her. She confronted the dove.

"Miss, where am I?"

"Why, you're in Belo Horizonte."

"How far is that from Rio?"

"Rio? You can't mean Rio de Janeiro."

Aurora nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry to say this, but you're like a while away."

Aurora sighed.

"Well, I better start flying home."

Aurora turned around and was about to take off when the dove placed a wing on her shoulder.

"Little One, you don't plan to go there by yourself?"

"I have to," she said, extending her wings.

"I see, but I have one question before you leave. How did you get here?"

Aurora dropped her wings and turned around to face the dove.

"I…I don't really know. I remember waking up in the back of a truck this morning. Before that, the last thing I remember was Mama getting ready for her date with Papa."

"Your mama and papa are in Rio. They must be worried sick."

"Yeah, so I better get going."

Suddenly, both birds heard a clash of thunder. The dove looked at Aurora. She was looking down at the floor.

"Great. It's going to rain."

"Why don't you come with me for tonight? It's very dangerous for a bird to fly into unpredictable weather."

"I guess," Aurora replied, looking up at the dove.

The dove smiled.

"Okay, then. Follow me."

The dove flapped her wings and took off to the skies. Aurora sighed and followed the bird. She flew up next to her.

"What is your name, Miss?"

"Call me Dixie."

"My name's Aurora."

"Well, let's hurry to my home and hope to not get caught in the rain."

* * *

><p>Blu returned to the tree den. His feathers were drenched with water. He shook them off. Jewel, once sitting on the nest, walked up to him.<p>

"Any luck?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"I'm sorry. I tried to find her throughout Rio. I also asked local birds if they've seen her."

Jewel looked down. Blu placed a wing around her. She faced him with watery eyes.

"Oh, Jewel. Our baby…"

He couldn't think of the words. Aurora was gone. That was that. He knew no words could relax Jewel. It was motherly instincts to cry over for something heavily loss that at one time was attached to you. He would've probably felt the same grief if he laid the egg.

Jewel was now crying on Blu's chest, thinking about Aurora. She slightly smiled at the memories they had shared with her.

"Oh, I remember when she first flew."

Blu also remembered. He also remembered that he skydived to the ground, trying to save Aurora. He thought she wasn't going to make it, but she did. As Jewel applauded on Aurora's success, Blu was slowly recovering from the head trauma.

"Yeah, I do too. Sort of, anyways."

Blu sighed.

"Our daughter. She's smart and resourceful. I'm sure she's alive."

Jewel slightly smiled as tears were become less and less.

Away from them, Jalin had one eye opened. The chicks were supposedly asleep. It was a power-nap, but they only did it because they were bored to death. He saw his mother and father still distraught about Aurora's disappearance. He closed his eyes and tried his best to fall asleep. When it failed, he opened both eyes and looked sadly at the ground. They needed to tell the truth.

* * *

><p>"Mama's here! Mama's here!"<p>

Dixie flew into the tree hollow. She smiled as her two chicks circled around her. Her mother smiled.

"There are my adorable chicks. How did you behave for Grandma?"

"They were fine, Dear."

Aurora faced the old bird. The dove looked a lot like her daughter, but older. Her eyes were squinted, and her feathers were not as bright as Dixie's feathers. She walked over to her daughter and noticed Aurora. The two younger doves also noticed Aurora. One of them looked up at Dixie.

"Mama, you said you were going to get food. Not bring home a blue bird."

"I know, Yessenia. It's just that a storm might be coming."

The taller of the two walked up to Aurora. What made her truly different from her sister were the green-colored eyes over her sister's amber-colored eyes.

"Hi," said the green eyed, brown dove. "I'm Lily."

"My name is Aurora."

The grandmother walked up to Aurora.

"Aurora, is there something special about you?"

"I think not."

The grandmother smiled.

"Can I see your wing?"

Aurora saw no problem with this and gave her wing to the lady. She placed the wing in-between her two wings. She closed her eyes and opened them after a minute. She smiled at Aurora.

"Ah, you were made at the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You are smart, beautiful, and unique. These traits had made you loved and hated."

Aurora looked down.

"The only ones who love me are my parents. My siblings hate me."

"Oh. And why do you think of that?"

"I'm perfect."

"Perfect?" inquired the grandmother.

Aurora sighed.

"Yeah. I'm smarter than my oldest brother Jalin, prettier than my sister Elena, and more cunning than my older brother Leoncio. No wonder why they hate me so much."

"Child, you got it all wrong. They envy you."

"There's no difference. Envy means something you see in another that you want. You then become jealous of the bird and despise that bird."

The grandmother smiled.

"I see, but that doesn't prove your prefect. No one in this world is. If we were all perfect, where would your flaws fit in?"

"But I've been told I have no flaws."

"You just mentioned them to me."

Aurora looked at her, confused.

"Child," continued the grandmother, "your imperfection is thinking what others say about you. This causes you to think different and badly on yourself. If the acts you've done hurt your siblings' feelings, make it so that you let them have the spotlight. You want to feel appreciated because you think you're perfect. By grabbing all the attention, your siblings are ill-hearted towards you. Aren't you all a family? Let them feel the appreciation with you."

Aurora thought about it. The old bird was right. She had convinced herself she was perfect. That was what an imperfect bird would've thought. Because she thought this way, she thought it was necessary to steal the spotlight. Her and her siblings were family. They should all share the appreciation and love they got from their parents. Aurora smiled and looked up at the grandmother. Unexpectedly, she gave the stranger a hug.

"Thank you," she said as a tear was formed.

The grandmother smiled and hugged back.

"You're welcome, Child."

They departed from the hug.

"Now let's get you settled it. When this storm passes, we will help you get to Rio."

Aurora nodded. The doves surrounded her and gave her a tour of the tree den.


	9. Homeward

Blu's bird friends had been called to the tree den after the rain had stopped. They had been called by him, but he didn't give them any details. He just said to meet him at his house in two hours. Fides, Luis, Pepito, Jasmine, Pedro, Nico, Raphael, Eva, and Esmeralda were all waiting patiently for Blu.

"He's late," said Nico, a yellow canary with a bottle cap for a hat.

"Who would call us to meet here and not show up?" wondered Fides, a female Lear's Macaw.

"Blu," answered Pedro, a Red-Crested Cardinal.

"I think that was sarcasm," explained Rafael, a Toco Toucan.

"I think here they come," said Pepito, the son of Fides.

The birds looked outside and saw the Blu family flying towards the tree den. The Blu family flew above them in the tree den and landed in front of them.

"You're late," said Luis, Fides's second mate.

"I know," said Blu. "We were at the sanctuary, getting their help too."

"For what?" asked Esmeralda, the daughter of Rafael and Eva.

"Aurora is missing," explained Jewel.

The birds faced each other with concerning looks and then faced Blu and Jewel.

"For how long?" asked Eva, a Keel-Billed Toucan.

"Since the night before last night," said Blu. "We couldn't do anything because of the rain, but the skies are somewhat clear now. This is our chance to find her. Tulio and his aides are already looking around Rio."

"Then we will take to the skies and find her," said Nico. "Birds, let's fly."

The searching party nodded and flew out of the tree den. Jewel looked at Blu and grabbed his left wing. He glanced down and looked at his mate's face.

"Oh, Blu. I hope we find her."

"I know we'll find her," said Blu.

Jewel slightly smiled and kissed him quickly. Jalin saw how sad his parents felt. The guilt was slowly killing him. He walked up to him.

"Papa? Mama?"

They looked down at Jalin.

"Yes?" inquired Jewel.

"It's about Aurora. She-"

"Jalin, you're stalling this search!" exclaimed Leoncio, walking up to him. "C'mon. Finding our sister is more important now."

He saw the look in Leoncio's eyes. He nodded. Jalin looked at his parents.

"He's right. Sorry."

"Okay," said Blu. "C'mon. Let's go find Aurora."

The Blu family left the tree den and scanned the forest one more time for the missing family member.

* * *

><p>Aurora bit down on the small fruit she was eating. She swallowed it and looked at Dixie.<p>

"Wow! This is the best banana I tasted."

"I'm glad you liked it."

Aurora looked at Dixie and smiled.

"You've been so kind to me. How can I repay you?"

Dixie smiled.

"There's no need. I hope you can reunite with your family."

Aurora looked down at the ground. She smiled and faced Dixie and her chicks.

"Yeah. Um… So which direction is Rio?"

"Just head south. You should reach there in a day or two."

Lily looked at her mama.

"Mama, why does she have to go alone?"

"She won't be."

Aurora walked up to Dixie.

"I asked a friend to accompany you on your journey back," explained Dixie. "His name is Donec. He should be coming any second now."

Just then, Dixie's eyes were focused on something outside of the den. Aurora, Lily, and Yessenia also looked outside. A Mealy Amazon was flying towards the den. He came in for a landing. He perched himself in front of Dixie. Aurora moved a little closer to Dixie.

"Sorry for being a little late."

"It's alright, Donec."

Donec looked around with his brownish eyes and saw Aurora.

"So this is the little blue bird that you want me to take to Rio?"

"Yes. I can't make the journey. I know you are going there to meet some birds there and find a mate."

"Yeah, I can take her there. I'll be killing two humans with one stone for the both of us."

"Alright then. It's settled."

Aurora, after thinking she should show some trust in this friendly bird, walked up to Donec.

"Hi. I'm Aurora."

Donec smiled.

"Name's Donec, a fly racer of the Birdie 900."

"Donec? Doesn't that mean sonic?"

"Exactly. I'm one of the fastest birds in all of Brazil."

"Amazing."

"So, Aurora, are you ready to go?"

Aurora faced Dixie and smiled.

"Thank you all. I have new friends now."

"You are always welcomed Aurora," said Dixie.

"Visit us, okay," said Lily.

"We will meet again."

Aurora faced Donec and nodded. They began to flap their wings and flew off towards Rio. Dixie and her family watched as Aurora disappeared into the sky.

"That child."

Dixie faced her mother.

"She's special," continued Dixie's mother. "She was made in the Winter Solstice, but she will not go by that name when she's older."

"What are you talking about, Grandma?" asked Lily.

"Aurora will be Aurora no more. She will be reborn as a new bird."

* * *

><p>Jalin was awaken from his power nap by a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked and saw an annoyed Leoncio and a worried Elena. He already knew what it was about. He stood up. He looked around and noticed Jewel was sleeping after an exhausted afternoon search. He had helped her too. That's why he needed the power nap. As for Blu, he was still part of the search party. Jalin looked at his siblings with saddened eyes.<p>

"You're mad because I almost snitched."

Leoncio and Elena faced each other and then looked at Jalin.

"Why did you almost do it?" asked Elena.

"I just… The guilt is killing me."

"Well, what did you except?" questioned Leoncio. "For it to be all flowers and sweets?"

"Lying to Mama and Papa is the worst thing I've ever did. They look so sad. You heard Mama. She was crying herself to sleep."

"Look, Jalin. You, we already knew what we were getting into. We just have to play along."

"For how long?"

"I don't know, Jalin," said Elena, "but as much as you hate these words, Leoncio is right. You know how much trouble we will be if we tell?"

"I don't care anymore. What we did was a crime. All crimes will be punished at one point or another. No one truly gets away."

Jalin narrowed his eyes.

"I would expect this talk from Leoncio," continued Jalin, "but from you as well? Elena, you sound like our troublesome brother. Aurora was family, no matter how much we didn't like her."

"Listen, Jalin," said Leoncio. "Your wingprints are on this too. Not only we will get in trouble, but Papa and Mama will hate us for the rest of our lives."

"What if she shows up and tells our folks?" questioned Jalin.

"She's not going to," said Elena. "I read the bottle of the knock-out drug. It causes short-term memory lost. She won't remember a thing. It's perfect."

"You might say it is, but I will never say that."

"Okay. Consider what I said. Jalin, as a brother, I will always be at your side, but I can't allow you to squeal."

Jalin scanned his siblings. He looked at their floods of emotions. He sighed.

"Alright. For the time being, I will side with you. It's for my benefit as well. I will be honest to this alliance. Aurora's smart anyways. If she does return, there will be no point on living with the guilt. We'll just play along."

* * *

><p>Aurora and Donec continued to fly above the jungles, towards their destination. Donec had adjusted his normal flying speed to keep close to Aurora.<p>

"So, how you won any races?" asked Aurora.

"A few, but they were just qualifying races or local races. My goal is to win the cup. I've tried, but I always come out to be the top five finishers, never first."

"How exciting. Can females fly in that race?"

"Anyone can, but remember, you'll be racing along with males. It's co-ed."

"Well, I'm sure if I train my hardest, I can probably achieve my dreams."

Donec chuckled.

"You have a lot of spunk in you, kid. I like it."

"I have my mama and papa to thank. My papa is really smart. He sings with my mama sometimes. I always wished I could sing as well as they do."

"Sing? If they look like you, I think I've seen them before. It was probably last year at the party where a tugboat crashed into the pier. They do have amazing voices."

"Then you know what they look like?"

Donec smiled.

"Don't worry, Aurora. You will be with them in no time."

The sun was setting. Donec looked down and flew towards a tree branch. Aurora followed him. They landed on the branch.

"We will rest here for tonight. By tomorrow evening, we will be in Rio."

"Alright… Thank you for all this."

"No problem," smiled Donec. "Now, get some rest."

Aurora smiled.

"I hope you find a mate soon. You would be a great father."

Donec took in the compliment as Aurora snuggled next to him. He looked down and imaged Aurora to be a chick of his own. He warmly beamed at the thought and looked at the setting sun.

Suddenly, he heard a release of pressurized air. Next thing he knew, he was caught in a net. He and Aurora fell down to the ground. Aurora opened her eyes as she and Donec fell to the ground. They frantically looked around and saw a Latino with a black shirt and pants walk up to them. He smiled, showing his pearly yellows.

"These will make a quick buck."

He set a bird cage down next to the net's opening and attached the net's opening to the opened cage door. He forced the birds into flying into the cage by merely walking on the net, towards them. Not wanting to get trampled, Aurora and Donec flew into the cage. The man quickly closed the cage door and locked it. He picked up the cage and the net. A net-launching rifle was strapped on his back shoulder. He looked at the birds and smiled.

"C'mon, you two. Tomorrow's the flight away from here. I hope you like your new home."

The man walked down the unmarked path of the jungle, returning to his car with his final catch of the day.


	10. A New Beginning

Once again, Blu's friends assembled at Blu's tree den. Blu looked at them. They were tired, but Blu urged them to keep on looking.

"Okay. We'll continue our search for Aurora today."

Blu's friends looked at each other with disappointed faces and then faced Blu and Jewel.

"Blu, I don't know how to say this," said Fides, "but it's time to face facts that Aurora is gone."

"She is not," responded an agitated Blu. "How can you say that?"

"Blu, it's been a week," said Rafael. "We looked everywhere, thrice."

"We know, but Meja's out there," said Jewel.

Eva walked up to Jewel and grabbed both her wings. She looked into Jewel's eyes with a saddened face.

"I'm sorry, Jewel. I know she meant a lot to you. My family means the world to me, but Rafael's right. We would've found her by now… I'm sorry."

Jewel shook her head in disbelief and dropped Eva's wings.

"You're wrong," she breathed. "Aurora is out there. I know she is. I will find her, with or without your help."

Angry and frightened, Jewel flew out of the den to resume her search for her daughter. Eva faced Blu.

"Blu, you understand?"

Blu realized she was right. Days have passed with no signs of Aurora. He sighed.

"Yes. It's been a week and no luck. We checked everywhere… Make yourselves comfortable. I need to talk to Jewel."

The birds nodded with sorrow faces. Blu left the den and searched for Jewel. She didn't go far. He landed on a tree near the river where Jewel would give the chicks their baths. He landed on the branch and saw Jewel crying on the tree. Blu slowly walked up to her.

"Jewel?"

She faced him with reddened eyes and pushed herself off the tree trunk.

"Maybe they're right. We've been searching all over and can't find her."

She sniffled.

"What did we do wrong?" she continued. "Were we bad parents? Is that why she ran away?"

"Of course not."

"Then why did she run away?"

"Jewel, I…" Blu started, but he couldn't find the words to finish. Actions spoke louder than words. He approached his mate and embraced her. He soon felt the flood of tears on his chest.

"Oh Blu! I miss her so much!"

"I do too."

He looked up and remembered of all the times with Aurora. He smiled at one thought.

"I remembered the time she wrote her first poem. I was so proud of her. I also enjoyed reading that poem. It reminded me of all the struggles we went through: Nigel, Boss, Juan, Velox, and the Japanese men. When times were gloomy for me, it always reminded me why I tried my very best to not fail myself: it was for you and the chicks."

Jewel looked up at Blu's face.

"Do you know how it goes?"

Blu looked down and began to recite it.

_I journey down this cave  
><em>_A cave filled with darkness  
><em>_That I know I can overcome  
><em>_As long as there is hope_

_I walk down the path  
><em>_Seeing the light a distant away  
><em>_For what sees so near  
><em>_Seems far away_

_With my sword by my side  
><em>_As my only sign of light  
><em>_I prevail through the darkness  
><em>_In all hopes I will survive_

_Now I draw near  
><em>_The live-changing challenges  
><em>_I've conquered them all  
><em>_My journey will finally come to an end_

_As I breathe for the first time  
><em>_I see another dark cave ahead  
><em>_But instead of sadness, I smile  
><em>_Because I know hope conquers all_

"I know it doesn't rhyme-"

"I like it," said Jewel. "The message is very clear and powerful. Aurora. I know she's alive. Our friends have exhausted themselves to help us. It pains me to say this, but they are right. We need to call off the search."

A couple of tears rolled down Jewel's feathers. Blu sighed.

"I know, I know. Hopefully, she is safe."

* * *

><p>After landing in the United States, Aurora and Donec were mounted on top of the other bird cages. There were in a wooden box with breathing holes. Below their feet was a nest made of hay. Aurora stood close to Donec.<p>

"I'm scared," she said.

"It will be alright."

"Do you know where we are?"

Donec dropped his facial expression.

"Sadly, I do not."

Aurora looked up at him. Tears began to form. Donec knelt down to her eye level and wiped them with his wings.

"There should be no tears. Now, where's that smile?"

"How can I smile at a time like this? I'm lost, separated from my folks, my siblings hate me, and I'm trapped."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you should throw hope out the window."

"My hope left me when the man caught us."

Donec looked into Aurora's saddened eyes. He sighed.

"I know a lot of bad things already happened, but you only truly lose when you don't believe. You're a Spinx's Macaw, the rarest of Brazilian birds. When an American scientist sees you, you will be sent back home immediately. Maybe even the owner may send you back."

Aurora smiled, but she soon frowned.

"What about you?"

Donec slightly smirked.

"Sadly, my species is common. It won't be as easy for me to go back home, but don't worry. I've lived my life as a free bird. I want you to feel that freedom under your parents' guidance."

Aurora's eyes began to water. She embraced Donec.

"Thank you, Donec."

"You're welcome, Aurora."

They let go off the hug.

"So," began Aurora, "what kind of people do you think will get us?"

"I don't know. From what I remember, Americans keep exotic birds as pets."

"Oh, like my father."

"Your father?"

Aurora nodded.

"My father was a pet once. He enjoyed it. His owner is really nice."

Donec smiled.

"Let's just hope we get one like that."

Suddenly, the truck sped over a speed-bump. Donec was launched up a little. Aurora, due to her small weight, was rocketed to the top of the crate. Her head smashed against the top. She fell down, out cold. A worried Donec looked at her.

"Aurora? Aurora."

He noticed she was still breathing. He sighed in relief. Probably it was best she was asleep now. He decided to do the same and rested after a frightening experience.

* * *

><p>Blu sneezed. Jewel woke up to his sneeze. She would've ignored it if she was deep in sleep, but she couldn't rest. Her mind was still on her daughter. She looked at Blu.<p>

"Gesundheit."

"Ah," Blu sniffled. "I think someone is talking about me."

"Who would?" she asked and then thought. "Besides why do you think that?"

"I sneezed."

Jewel looked at him with a concerned face.

"You got that from a sneeze? Are you alright? I know our daughter's disappearance has affected all of us-"

"I know, Jewel. It's just…a custom to say that."

He looked outside. The dark sky gave the jungle a shadowy look to it. He looked back at Jewel.

"We should get some rest."

"But Blu. I can't go to sleep. I…have been thinking…about…about-"

Blu wrapped a wing around her.

"I know. I know. I think I can help. Alright, mathematically-speaking, a voice of one can reach another being and can be executed as a simple sneeze. See, there are forces in the wind. They carry energy, which is also the frequency. The air has tiny particles that-"

He heard a snore from Jewel. He looked at his mate as she rested against his side. He smiled, knowing that boring knowledge was better than any soothing lullaby. He yawned and then closed his eyes to get some rest.

* * *

><p>Donec woke up to find he was in a cage. He saw that Aurora was with him. He looked around and saw a variety of animals in different types of cages. He saw a counter and a cashier. The cashier was a college-aged female with curly, brown hair and green eyes. She wore a nametag. He managed to distinguish the letters. It read Angelica. She wore a white coat, symbolizing she was a doctor of some kind. He soon heard a groan. He looked and saw Aurora slowing getting up. She looked around and finally focused her eyes on Donec.<p>

"Where are we?"

"I think at like a pet shop combined with a vet office."

"Oh… And who are you again?"

Donec was surprised by her question.

"I'm Donec."

"Oh. Okay. Um… Who am I?"

"You don't know?"

"I can't remember who I really am."

Donec sighed.

"Okay. Your name is-"

He heard the cage door open. A hand reached out and grabbed Aurora. Donec saw that the hand belonged to the woman he saw. He tried to escape, but the woman's other hand closed the door. The woman opened her hands out. Aurora did not fly. She was curious on who this lady was.

"Hello," Aurora squawked.

"Mm. You seem so young. Well, the doctor wants to examine you."

"A doctor? What's a doctor?"

"You sure look like no other bird I've seen," said Angelica. "You're very pretty."

Angelica became quiet and walked to the backroom. Aurora saw the medical lab with a large table in the center of it. The old doctor with glasses walked over to Angelica.

"Oh, this is the new arrival?"

"Yes. One of them."

"I see."

The doctor examined Aurora, taking her out of his assistance's hands.

"I haven't seen anything like it. It's such a pretty bird. There's no doubt that she will find an owner soon."

"Yeah," replied Angelica. "Um, Doctor Lugo. I was wondering if we keep this one."

"Keep it? Our job is to adopt pets to good owners."

"I know, but this is still a young bird. You basically need a zoologist to take care of this child."

The doctor thought. He smiled.

"I see what's going on. I think this bird will do great in your hands. I should know. You're an excellent student of mine."

Angelica smiled.

"Thank you, Doctor Lugo."

Doctor Lugo looked down at Aurora.

"So what's its name?"

Angelica looked down and smiled at Aurora. She smiled back, knowing that they were going to tell her name to her. Angelica faced the doctor and answered.

"Salvia."


End file.

Rio, Family, Humor