Hi guys! Wow, it's been a while - I missed you all, and after the success of Melody of the Ocean, I'm relieved to have had a break from Rio for a while. Now, I'm refreshed and back with a new story. It's the long-awaited, highly requested sequel to 'The Estrella'. I always had a basic idea for a third instalment, but was never sure as to whether to go through with it. However, since I love the characters, I'm back with a sequel.

'Alegria' means joy and happiness in Portuguese. As with 'The Estrella', the reason for this title will become apparent as the story goes on. This is set seven years after the events of 'The Estrella' - Bia and the others are around eight now, young adults.Our main couple aren't the only ones with kids, and the other characters mostly have children as well. These kids and the other characters have small roles, because I'm focusing on the main family as soon as they head to Rio. I want a fresh set of eyes, and I'd like to move the setting away from the Amazon, where our story begins.

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce a new protagonist - Daniella, the daughter of Bia and Azure. As this is mostly taking place in and around Rio, we'll mostly be with the city residents from the movies, as well as our main family of Bia, Azure, Daniella and her brother, Leo. The Amazon residents will have smaller roles, and will mostly be seen in the beginning. Alrighty, time to kick off another story! Enjoy, and comment to let me know what you think!

Love, Sorrel

The Amazon hadn't changed much in seven years. The sun was still a golden orb in the morning sky, the sky azure-blue without a cloud on it. The river still flowed, lazily in parts and tumbling, white rapids in others. The sun bounced off the glistening surface, which rushed along with ease. The towering trees were lush and green, with glossy leaves and vines hanging from branches. The air was heavily perfumed with the aroma of fruit and flowers, which were bursts of red, yellow, pink and every colour in between against the wondrous green backdrop.

Occasionally, the sun would capture the dappled black spots of a jaguar, as it slid throughout the undergrowth. It would sometimes pause, spotting a cabybara or quail on the forest floor, but the loud catawauls and boisterous play of her cubs would alert her target, with it fleeing before the jaguar could even get into a stalking position. The mother cat flashed annoyed glances at her cubs, who continued to crash through the ferns, flailing their clumsy paws and yowling as they played.

In the trees, there was the chatter of monkeys, as they scuttled throughout the tree canopy, annoying any animal they encountered. The air was hot and humid, and steam rose throughout the jungle - the sun poured through the leaves, hot and bright. Puddles spread across the forest floor, for rain fell on almost daily basis. The past year had been good - the rain and heat was balanced, and periods of dryness or flooding didn't last long. The bird tribes of the Amazon had, therefore, been blessed with plentiful food, pleasant living, and, since the end of the Hyacinth war seven or so years ago, peace.

The Amazon had certainly changed for the better. The sanctuary had extended, protecting more animals from the poisonous touch of the worst of humanity. The good humans, however, had made the wildlife flourish. The Spix's Wing, the animal hospital, was sitting in the clearing made almost eight years ago by the last bunch of loggers who had infested the area. By now, the clearing had become a meadow, with plants and grass covering the once bare soil. The Spix's Wing had saved hundreds of lives, and now, humans weren't viewed with complete prejudice. Security was tight, meaning that few poachers got through.

Another thing was the neighbouring land, sitting next to the Spix's and Red macaw territory. For unknown reasons, this land had once been barren and brown, filled with dead trees. Seven years after the death of Kerja and the shattering of the Hyacinth tribe, this land had grown greener, more beautiful. Once the home of the Hyacinth macaws, the place was now home to several loose-knit groups of various bird species. Some groups were Kerja's former birds, the ones who had disagreed with her violent ways. The few who had shared her views had fled in disgrace, or been chased away by the other tribes or their former tribemates. Kerja and her tyranny were now simply bad memories.

In the Spix's macaw territory, not far from the hidden ravine, a female Spix's macaw stood before a large, pink trumpet flower. The plant was beautiful, with lustrous petals. At the foot of it, the macaw spoke to some chicks, or varying blue shades. Her big hazel eyes were bright and happy, her eyelashes long and thick, like her mother's. Her plumage was sleek and healthy, the straight head feathers long and soft. A red flower was tucked into the side of her head, placed there that morning by her mate.

As a highly intelligent macaw, she had been the perfect choice for a class teacher. Classes had been organized for chicks, because parents loved a break, and there was so much history taking place throughout the last eight or so years, as well as before. There were also an abundance of chicks - dozens had been born in the last few months, and classes would make life in the busy ravine less hectic. The classes varied, from history to the wildlife and plantlife of the land. With her human knowledge, Bia always added a scientific element to every class, even if it wasn't a science. "This trumpet flower is a rare species - humans consider it extinct in the wild, although there are a few scattered throughout the Amazon. This trumpet flower was planted in loving memory of a Hyacinth macaw named Mina."

"A Hyacinth?" A little male macaw with ocean-blue eyes stared at the adult macaw. "I thought Hyacinths were horrible? My dad told me all sorts of stories..."

"Banjo, Gabriel is known for exaggerating." The adult macaw reminded him. "Didn't Bromeliad tell you about Mina?" Banjo shrugged, not remembering the name in his mother's bedtime stories. "Angelica?" She looked toward the female chick besides him, Banjo's sister. "Didn't your mom mention Mina?"

"Ooh, she did, auntie Bia!" Angelica exclaimed, excitedly. She bounced on the spot, and Bia marvelled briefly at how similar she looked to her mother - elegant and pretty, a difference being the light green eyes, which she got from her father. "Mina saved her life, once. She was a small Hyacinth, the daughter of Kerja, right?"

"That's right!" Bia beamed at her little niece - Angelica and Banjo were the young kids of Bromeliad, and a friendly macaw named Gabriel who Bromeliad had met shortly after the battle with the Hyacinths. "While we can't be certain as to why Mina was almost half the size of a regular Hyacinth, Kerja herself had a deformed foot, which may be an underlying genetic problem that was passed down to Mina." She shook her glossy feathers. "Can anyone else tell me what Mina did for us?" Bia looked through the crowd of eager faces.

"I know, I know!" A male macaw, Feliz, leapt up, alongside his near-identical brother, Angelo. They weren't twins, but they looked incredibly alike, the only noticeable difference being eye colour - Feliz had the brown eyes of his father, Tiago, while Angelo had the icy blue eyes of his mother, Orchid. "She infiltrated the Hyacinth tribe, fed us infomation that saved the life of gramma Sophia!"

"But she died, sacrificing herself to allow grandpa Roberto and gramma Sophia to escape." Angelo added, sadly.

"Unfortunately, that is correct." Bia nodded, sombrely. "This remembrance flower was planted for her, in her memory."

"Miss Bia!" Sqeauked a young macaw, one of the class members who wasn't related to Bia. "What happened before the defeat? You know, when you went on that journey in search of that magic flower, when you fell into the plunge pool and defeated the Amazon's biggest bully...?" She cheekily looked at the others. "That very cool story my dad told me about?"

"Perdita, I don't think this is relevant -" Bia began, but then the others began protesting.

"Aw, please? It's such an awesome story! Please, auntie Bia!" Angelica, Banjo, Feliz and Angelo began protesting loudest, because they were very proud of their aunt and boasted about it. Feliz and Angelo, as well as their sister, Jessamyn, were especially proud because both their parents, Tiago and Orchid, had played such a huge part in the war.

"Well... I suppose since the class is nearly over -" Bia prepared to begin that legendary tale that had spread throughout the Amazon. The tale of impossible odds, danger and adventure, where she and her friends had risked it all. And, the race against time to save both a beloved tribe member and defeating Kerja, the deranged, cruel and vengeance-obsessed Hyacinth macaw. Before she could begin the story, Bia was interrupted by none other than another star of the story, Jewel. After a few moments, Blu arrived, gasping from flying so fast.

"Bia!" Cried Jewel. Bia turned to face her mother, who hadn't changed at all in the last few years - after nearly dying years ago, Jewel was as healthy as ever, her turquoise eyes sparkling brighter than usual. Blu hadn't changed either, although he was more adapted to the wild by now. Less things scared him and the fanny pack was long gone, although he and Jewel still went to Rio every Summer, and spiders still terrified him.

"What's up, mom, dad?" Bia asked, initially worried about Jewel's loud call, but then she saw the look of joy on Jewel's and Blu's faces. Bia's eyes widened when Blu spoke.

"It's happening, sweetie!" He exclaimed. Bia stared at her father, initially puzzled, but then it hit her. She gasped.

"Really? Now? Oh, I - kids! Uh, what do I - Manuela!" She waved frantically at the older female, who she spotted a little distance away. "Perfect timing! Can you take these kids back to the ravine? I'll be flying too fast to take care of them! Come on, Banjo, Angelica, Feliz, Angelo! It's happening again!" The four chicks instantly knew what she meant. Her nephews and niece released sqeauls of excitement, before racing after Bia, who hurried toward the ravine, faster than a whole class of kids could keep up with. Blu and Jewel followed behind, keeping especially close to Feliz and Angelo, two of their grandchildren.

Bia raced ahead, heart thudding with joy and trepidation, as the ravine melted into view. "Excuse me!" She ducked under a group of teenagers who were kicking a piece of fruit to each other in midair. On their way, Blu and Jewel saw Roberto and Sophia, in the middle of eating a Brazil nut. "Beto, Soph!" Jewel shouted, joyously. The pair glanced up, hearing their nicknames.

"Your ninth grandchild is on the way!" Blu informed, and the two macaws stopped eating abruptly. Abandoning the nut, the two leapt into flight, rushing after Bia, Blu, Jewel, and the four kids.

"Another!" Sophia exclaimed, happily. "I don't feel like a grandmother..."

"Baby, you look too young to be one." Roberto nuzzled his mate in flight, with affection. They, as well as Blu and Jewel, were in their mid twenties - not old at all. Their children had simply chosen to have kids early, rather than waiting until they were over ten, so they experienced the joy of having grandchildren without feeling old.

Finally, the tree was in sight. Bia saw Eduardo and Mimi heading in, ushering Carla and Bruno ahead of them. Bia landed on the sand outside, before running in. The hollow was crowded with her family members, who were whispering in hushed, excited voices. They parted to let Bia and the four grandparents through, and Azure looked around, his head feathers very bushy. "Bia!" His blue eyes, with their amber fleck, lit up in delight. "You're just in time, quick!" Azure wrapped a wing around Bia, and they peered into the nest, excitedly. Blu, Jewel, Roberto and Sophia gathered beside Eduardo and Mimi, who was leaping on the spot. Eduardo and Mimi, asides from having a grey tint to some feathers, also hadn't changed much in the past years.

Azure had been sitting on the nest, while Bia taught a class; upon feeling movement, he had called as many family to his nest as he could. Now, he and Bia watched their second egg hatching. Bia felt something nudging between them, and she looked down, to see Leo blinking at the crowd members, wondering why they were here. She swiftly picked up Leo, so that he could witness the hatching of his new sibling. Leo had hatched a few days before - as a result, he was very downy and fluffy, and couldn't yet speak. He peered into the nest, in curiosity.

The room fell quiet. There would be an occasional "Where is she?" Or "He's missing this!", but then it was silent. The egg in the nest was rocking. The macaws held their breath, and the chicks in the room edged forward, curious eyes on the egg. The white orb had tiny cracks appearing across the surface, and pieces of shell were rising up and down, as if the shell was breathing.

Leo tipped to his head to the side, not knowing what all the fuss was about - in his young mind, it was a just a white sphere, but to the adults in the room, and especially to Bia and Azure, it was something so much more precious. A little life, making it's way into the world, yearning to break free of the cocoon that had kept it alive for so many weeks. More cracks edged through the shell, and the shell began to shudder more - then a tiny piece of shell fell away. That was the catalyst the shell needed- as one part fell, the rest began to break away.

Then, to their surprise, the shell came apart all at once. The orb was no more, and instead, a skinny creature fell to the soft moss of the nest. Seemingly tinier than it should be, because of it's feathers slicked back from the liquid that had kept it alive. Already, with the humidity, down was becoming visible, tufts sticking up. The macaws who didn't cheer released coos of adoring, for while the new-born bird would be ugly to any other animal, with it's slicked down feathers and paleness, birds found the little creature beyond adorable.

Leo blinked his hazel eyes, tipping his head to the side once more at the strange creature, but then he felt incredibly, strangely, happy. Azure had a goofy smile, unable to stop his amusing-looking grin from how happy he was. Bia was initially unreactive in her awe, but then utter joy and love flooded her eyes. Her heart swelled with warmth, and she felt the same love she had felt the day Leo had hatched. She put him down, so that she could scoop up the vulnerable hatching.

"What is it? Is it a girl, or boy?" Carla stood in her tip-toes, desperate to catch a better glimpse of her niece. Longing burned within her green eyes, as did Bruno's; they were one of the few who hadn't had chicks yet. That day would arrive soon, they hoped. Bia cradled the chick within her wings, hardly able to contain her happiness.

"It's a girl." Bia said, half to Carla and half to herself. She barely heard Mimi's shrieks of happiness, as the great-great aunt flew out of the tree, shouting that she had a great-grand-niece. Squawks of congratulations rang out from the tribe, congratulating the new parents. Azure picked up Leo off the floor, so that he could get a better look at his little sister, who was gradually turning into a ball of fluff as her feathers dried. The word 'name' was whispered throughout the hollow, and the family members craned their necks to get a better look.

"Well..." Azure smiled at Bia. "I named our son, so it's only fair that you name our daughter. What do you think, Beatriz?" Bia looked down at the bundle of fluff in her wings. She was so beautiful - it would take a little more time to see what colour her eyes were, her special features, since chicks didn't open their eyes or have unique traits immediately. The little form, sensing the love around her, snuggled into the softness of her mother, and a name came to Bia immediately. It was a name she'd loved from the moment she'd heard it.

"She's called Daniella."