Chapter One

From his vantage point, located upon the edge of a plane's small cargo ramp, a lone Spix's Macaw swallowed a lump that formed deep within the back of his throat. A sharp breeze swept across his body, blowing him ever closer to the open hatch and his destiny. With a quick shift of his talons, he regained his composure and froze in place. It was not fear that kept him rooted to the spot. He knew what would happen. He knew he would not survive the long plunge to the ocean below. In fact, that thought had never even crossed his mind, let alone scare him.

Instead, what kept him in place was the simple fact that he just did not know how she would react to his sacrifice. He could very well seal his fate and it would all be meaningless to her. His heart skipped a beat, he knew how he felt. He loved her, or at least he thought he did. There certainly was an attraction to her. However, the same could not be said for her. She hated him. He was just a pet… a big nothing… he was simply a bird who could not fly.

As his fear began to rise, the macaw could feel his body blowing back against the breeze. His talons scraped against the twisted, gnarled frame, scratching the sheet of aluminum steel. Behind him, the sound of an alarm continued to pierce through the storage compartment. His eyes widened in horror. It would not matter now. Either way, the plane would be going down to its watery grave and he would drown regardless. Remaining in the cargo hatch would only delay his eventual plunge, if only for a couple of minutes.

The city of Rio de Janeiro could still be seen in the distance, shimmering beneath the sunrise. The glass windows and cerise colored buildings filled him with a sense of peace. He could not remember seeing anything so beautiful. No. He was wrong! There was only one thing more beautiful. The face of the bird he cared for. The love of his life who had been thrown from the plane during the sudden jerk which had killed both engines. Her horrified scream pierced his heart like a knife. He shuddered and shook his head, blocking out the thoughts which warned him about the obvious fate they both would share.

"You can do this, Blu." He told himself. "No! You MUST do this."

The Spix's Macaw waited no longer. With a single talon stretched outward, he proceeded to walk off the edge and began his free fall to the cold ocean below. The wind rushed through his wings, pushing him downward like a rock. His beak flapped in the wind. His saliva drifted upward meeting him in the eye. Blu blinked away a small wedge of eyelash caught under his eyelid and he let loose a horrified scream. Not because of the end result which he tried to keep clear from his mind, but because of the distance which still existed between him and the woman he loved. He spread his wings and with a quick thrust of his tail feathers, his descent increased tenfold. Without wasting a moment, he opened his eyes and grabbed hold of Jewel as he sped past.

Jewel's eyes widened in horror as she realized that she rested within his wings, considering she knew for a fact that he could not fly. "Blu!" she screamed, "What are you doing? You're crazy!"

Blu shook his head and peered into the round sapphire orbs that were her eyes. His smile deepened as he replied in a calm manner. "I'm not going to let you go, we are chained to each other birds remember?"

Jewel's eyes widened further as Blu's words rang through her ears. The true meaning behind them struck hard. He did not care about his guaranteed death. He did not care about the fate of their species. He did not care about anything except being with her. No mating expectations, no crazy love-hawk stuff, just him being with her in their final moments together. She contemplated it for a few moments, allowing the true meaning of his words to formulate in her mind. They didn't stay there long because they found their way to her heart. His selfless actions awakened her spirit. His sacrifice meant the world to her. Though it did very little to change the fact they were about to meet their end, she could not have picked a better moment to hear his voice. She forced a smile, pulling him into a heartfelt kiss.

Blu pulled his beak away, even though he wanted to continue until the time came for them to meet their demise. He found himself instinctively acting against his thoughts. His heart skipped a beat, thumping as it came to life, filling with a pleasant warmth. A renewed energy surged through him, forcing his eyes to open. Everything felt different, even the wind as it swept across the feathery columns of his wings. He did not need to think about anything. His spirit came alive for the first time ever. Spreading his wings, he skimmed the water and took flight, a fact which remained at a complete loss to him. Not because he didn't care, but because he focused solely on Jewel.

"Blu!" Jewel cried happily, "You're doing it, you're flying!"

"Yeah," Blu nodded, recalling a conversation they had had the previous day. "You were right, I'm not an ostrich. I'm not an ostrich!"

The Spix's Macaw smiled as he flapped his wings. His body arched, spun, and flipped as he soared through the air. His talons tightened around Jewel. He would not let her go again. His chocolate brown eyes peered down at her. He could not remove the smile from his beak. His mind continued to think about the kiss they had shared together. She had kissed him, not the other way around, that in itself made it all the more special to him. It meant that somewhere deep down she really did care about him.

"Are you okay down there?" he asked, remembering her injuries. He peered down at her busted wing. He could see the amount of damage done and knew she needed immediate medical treatment. His eyes narrowed as he continued. "Let me know if you want me to land."

"Keep going, Blu!" Jewel's voice rang out. "Let's head back to Rio."

Blu could not help but grin at Jewel's enthusiasm. He skimmed along the cliffs, barrel rolling as he evaded the many cable cars, picking up speed with every passing second, and yet she still wanted more. Her voice rang out cheering with excitement towards his every move, laughing louder as she enjoyed every moment of being within his wings. His heart skipped a beat as his chocolate brown eyes peered down at the creature he carried. I think I love her. He thought to himself. His smile widened further as he admitted the truth to himself for the first time ever, even if he could not properly put it into words, his thoughts focused around those three words.

"Keep going Blu," she cheered. "Keep going!"

#

It was a little after dawn by the time Blu had made contact with the ground. Exhausted, he breathed a quick sigh of relief as he laid Jewel down upon the warm asphalt belonging to Rio's private airport. The sun beat down overhead, painting the sky a soft rosy mixture of orange and scarlet. The world was set ablaze, illuminating Jewel in a fiery aura. Her body trembled as she lay upon the ground suffering from the worst pain she had ever experienced. Her broken limb twitched as she tried to move it, only to be greeted with a sharp pulsating pain. She cringed, fighting the urge to cry out in agony.

"Don't move it," Blu said. "You'll only make it worse."

Jewel nodded in understanding and allowed herself to go limp. Her body continued to tremble uncontrollably as she did very little else except for staring into Blu's eyes. His soft chocolate brown eyes remained glued to her.

Within mere moments, Linda, Tulio, and Fernando had appeared upon the scene. Linda gasped, holding her hands up to her mouth as she noticed the injury. Tulio bent down and placed a sturdy hand upon the injured limb. Jewel winced in pain as he made contact which caused him to back away.

"Is she okay?" Linda asked.

"I'm not sure," Tulio admitted. "We'll know more when we get her back to the Treatment Center. Right now, I can only guess if it's a break or sprain. Once we do some x-rays and run some tests, we'll know for sure."

Jewel pulled her head back, frightened as Tulio reached down to grab her. His voice, however, reassured her.

"It's okay," Blu soothed. "He'll help you, I promise."

Jewel nodded her sweet little head and let the human pick her up. She sighed, watching Blu the whole time. She never removed her eyes off of him.

"He's so thoughtful. There is more to him than I thought."

.#

Jewel awakened much earlier that morning. Rolling over onto her side, she winced as her injured wing made contact with the ground. Despite the cast, her wing still seemed to bother her. A fact which made her heart sink deep into her chest. She peered around the room making sure that she was alone before allowing herself to shed a couple of tears.

A horrible pain embraced her heart and threw her deeper into its embrace. She hated feeling this way. Her freedom was gone. Even though Blu had been victorious over Nigel, and threw him from the plane, he had still been victorious in taking away her ability to feel joy. She lowered her head and sighed, wiping the tears with her good wing, only to find that the sharp stabbing pain once again coursed through her as she moved. Somehow moving irritated the damaged limb which only added to her growing frustration.

"The humans said feeling pain would be normal. It's a good thing that there is no nerve damage." She admitted, studying her damaged limb. "Still, I wish I could be the way I used to be. How much longer will it be before I can fly again?" Her heart sank deep into her chest. She hung her head low. The raw muscle and nerve tendons twitched as she tried to get up on her talons. "Of course, I mean, IF I can ever fly again."

Breathing inwards, she tried to calm herself down. The fresh air seeped in through the ventilation system filling her nostrils. The tropical scent of Ipanema flooded through her senses filling her head with daydreams. She could see the fruit stands and the warm sand as the ocean washed up against the shoreline. She spread her good wing and felt the breeze of the ventilation fan shift through his feather column. It was not as good as naturally coming from nature or from flying as fast as her wings would carry her, but Jewel was more than willing to make the sacrifice so long as the humans kept their word and fixed her wing. Her eyes narrowed as her attention fell onto other matters. She shifted her gaze to the empty nest beside her. Blu was nowhere to be seen. She paced herself, walking through the artificial forest. Her eyes filled with concern.

"Blu?" she called out, "Where are you?"

Silence greeted her as the only response. There was no other source of sound, not even the rippling of the trees as they remained untouched by the breeze. Her eyes continued to narrow, she peered around the room waiting for the cerulean macaw to pop into view, however, he did not appear and all that remained stood still and calm. Her heart skipped a beat as she began to grow more fearful.

"Blu," she called out again, "This isn't funny, come on out or you will be sorry. I'm serious. I'll kick your tail until its blue."

Dropping from the trees like a big round coconut, Blu landed in front of her. Stretching his wings out, he yawned and seated himself. His big chocolate brown eyes almost seemed like they teased her, a wicked smile blanketed his face.

"You called?"he asked, arching a curious eyebrow.

"What were you doing?" She asked, forming a pleasant smile. Her attention drew to the tree, her beak dropped as she studied the distance he had descended from. "You are supposed to fly down, not drop like a rock. You are going to hurt yourself doing that."

Blu shook the dirt, loose grass, and broken branches from his body and nodded his head. He studied the treetops for a moment and swallowed a large lump in his throat. The drop had not seemed to be so far when he had been up in the sky, however, from the ground it appeared a much more intimidating feat. He lowered his head and explained his actions.

"I was just looking for breakfast." He admitted forming a nervous smile. His heart skipped a beat as he waited for Jewel's response.

"You were gathering breakfast?" Jewel echoed, eyeing her stomach as she felt it rumble. Her face went a bright red as she thought about how long it had been since she last ate. Her mouth watered as she thought about all the wonderful tastes that breakfast would provide as she devoured it greedily and guzzled it down without a second thought. Her stomach rumbled once more in approval towards the thought. She lowered her head and continued. "You know what? That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Sounded like a wonderful idea," Blu corrected her, peering away as he admitted his own failure. He drummed his beak with a single talon before holding out his wing to reveal a few purple berries plucked from the trees. They oozed a bright red juice which smelled really unappetizing. "I wasn't able to find anything except for these, and I think they're poisonous, the smell alone says that they should be avoided. I'm sorry, I completely failed."

Jewel forced a wicked grin. "That's because they usually deliver our food at the front door." She giggled, holding her good wing to her beak. "I thought a pet like you would automatically know that. I personally prefer the natural method but it is better than starving and beggars can't be choosers."

Blu lowered his head and once again avoided eye contact. His smile faded, though deep down he knew that she was only joking around with him. "I am not a pet, I am a companion. There is a big difference."

Jewel cocked her head to one side and let her mischievous smile widen. "No, you're a pet." Jewel teased, shoving him with her good wing. "You are my pet and I wouldn't trade you for all the mangoes, passion fruit, Brazil nuts, or chewy-chewy cocoa beans in the jungle."

"They have mangoes, passion fruit, Brazil nuts, and chewy-chewy cocoa beans in the jungle?" Blu arched a curious eyebrow. "Where I'm from they all come in cans. The way nature intended. Of course, however, I would be happy to go to the jungle if it meant being with you."

Jewel's playful smile deepened. "Are you sure, Pet? There are spiders, dirt, and its nothing like a birdcage."

Blu nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess it's time to look beyond all of that. It's time to think about saving our species."

Jewel's eyes narrowed into slits of anger. "Oh, so that's your game, eh?" she asked. "What makes you think that I'm even ready for that? We have only just begun to get to know each other."

Blu backed away, remembering his previous encounter with her in this mood. Holding up his wings he peered back towards the nearest camera. "I-I-I didn't mean right now… I meant when you are healed and ready. I-I-I don't want to force you into anything."

Jewel continued. "Oh, but you were fine bringing it up. You know what, fine, I was wrong about you. I guess you are like all the other guys." Jewel lowered her head, wandering off into the artificial jungle. "Do NOT follow me, Pet." She snarled. "Leave me alone."