Rio: The LS Series
A/N: Hello and welcome to the Rio LS Series. If you're not sure what this means, basically it's just a bunch of random short stories compiled into this page. Genres and styles may vary so don't expect every single piece being all cheerful. But I will ensure you that they are no vulgar scenes or what people call "lemons." (Not even sure what it means, but I'll assume something naughty) With that said, enjoy the series and don't forget to give feedback, it helps a bunch!- Poshil
Story 1: Swimming Lessons (Styles: Family, Humor)
Chapter 1: A Morning with the Gundersons
Tyler 'Blu' Gunderson, thought to be the last male Blue Spix Macaws now stands as the many remaining after a trip to the Amazon Rainforest. The Macaw also known as Blu steps out of his home and takes in a crisp deep breath of the morning air, his heart and mind settles in peace as the setting of the beloved Rio de Janiero forest washes his senses with joy.
"Ah it feels good to be home." Blu hummed, taking in the pleasant scenery and inhabitants flying by and waving to him. "What could get better than this?" He thought. His wish came true as he spots another blue spec coming to him from the foliage of trees. Blu leans out from the birdhouse he resides in, waiting to greet the oncoming spec that soon took shape of a bird as it got closer.
Enter Jewel, a female Blue Macaw with a fierce spirit and attitude that once wanted Blu dead for ruining her freedom. But after several adventures due to unfavorable circumstances, the two bonded ever so closely, and her falling for Blu soften her rough exterior, revealing a real 'Jewel' of kindness and care.
"Morning Blu." Jewel smiled as Blu takes in her for a warm hug.
"Morning Jewel." As the couple hugged, they followed it with a kiss, enjoying every second of it, that is until some unsavory sounds of disgust interrupted their moment. The two lovebirds turn to see their three eavesdropping faces of their children.
Carla, the eldest daughter of the bunch with a heart of passion for music. She would mostly be seen with her Ipod and earbuds, the two objects seeming inseparable from the Macaw child. Aside from music, the graceful yet sometimes clumsy Carla has a gentle soul and always approachable by anyone.
Next is Bia, the middle child and possibly the most intelligent of the bunch, due to her knack of reading during most of her spare time. Bia's love for expanding her knowledge along with experimenting to pique her interests are backed with a kind heart and warming personality.
And finally , Tiago, the youngest of the trio, and importantly, the only male among his sisters. This little scamp enjoys adventure and tends to be quite the troublemaker with pranks and harassment to his siblings. Don't let his mischievous nature fool you as he's very sweet and fun to play with.
In short for Blu and Jewel, the three little miracles are the most wonderful kids a parent could have.
"Hey kids." Jewel smiled as she lets go of Blu from their embrace.
"Hi Mom!" they cried in unison, all rushing in to hug their mother and father.
"You guys hungry?" Blu asked, noticing Jewel's load of fruit she brought with her. The children nodded and quickly huddled around the makeshift table inside their home, eager to fill their empty stomachs. As Jewel laid out her catch of fruit, everyone dove in, enjoying the juices and pleasure of fruit swimming down their throats. After finishing their meal, the family of Macaws leaned back, satisfied to their heart's content.
"Wow that was excellent!" Bia commented as she rubbed her stomach with gusto.
"I'm glad you liked it dear." Jewel replied. With clean up underway, Blu and Jewel disposed any scraps away while their kids wiped their table clean, all evidence of a fruit massacre vanished by their diligent work.
"So kids, what do you guys want to do?" Blu asked his pondering children. After much thought, the kids shrugged their shoulders with no idea in mind, a bulb of inspiration hitting the Macaw father. "Hey Jewel I know what we should do!"
"As long as we're outside, it should be fine." Jewel insisted, still trying to break Blu's domestic habits as a pet, Blu arguing that the term should be called 'companion.' After carefully thinking out the day plan he and Jewel could agree on, he brightens up as he proposes what their family should do for the day.
"I know, would you guys want to learn how to swim?" Blu asked. All three tilted their heads in confusion, the words not familiar to their vocabulary. Jewel's faces however lights up in shock as that thought crosses Blu's mind.
"What's swimming dad?" Carla asked.
"How to explain it…ah yes! You guys remember that documentary about penguins?" The kids nodded, remembering it to be the most boring video they have seen, well except for Bia as she was so enthralled by the documentary, she wrote down an endless study on the penguins that could go for miles.
"What about the penguins?"
"You guys remember the penguins swimming, like moving through and under the water? I can teach you guys to swim and enjoy the cool feeling like I did back in the states!" Blu suggested. The kids' interest lights up as the thought of swimming for real sounds a lot of fun.
"I want to swim! I want to swim!" Tiago shouted, excited as the young child jumped up and down.
"Then its settled then. Jewel, kids, follow me to the lake!" Blu said and starts to fly out the birdhouse. The three eager chicks followed suite leaving their birdhouse empty, almost empty.
Jewel stood in silence as she stared after Blu and her kids. "Swimming?" She muttered in disbelief. She shook her thoughts away as she flew after her family. "Swimming, it had to be swimming." She thought angrily.
Blu is truly eager to show Jewel and his kids the fine art and joy of swimming. He finds it surprising that even though his species prefer to stay in the skies, what could be more enjoying than dipping your tired, hot bodies into a nice refreshing pool of water. Blu led his family to the edge of a small, glossy lake in the heart of the forest, not too far from where they live. To Blu's relief, the lake seemed unoccupied and empty, perfect, no distractions during his lecture of swimming.
"Alright kids, you ready for your first day of swimming?" Blu asked. The trio all eagerly nodded their heads as they crept to the edge of the shining water. Carla was the first to poke at the water, quickly retracting her foot back in a shiver.
"Dad, it's too cold!" Carla cried as she wiped her foot clean from the frigid water.
"Well that's a shame." Jewel frowned as she stood by her kids. "I guess we shouldn't force our kids to swim in ice cold water, don't want them to get sick you know?" Jewel urged Blu to reconsider swimming.
"Now hold the phone Jewel, we haven't warmed up yet."
"Warmed up?" Everyone other than Blu asked in unison.
"Linda told me that once we stretch out our bodies and get our hearts going, our body temperature will be too hot, making cold water seem like nothing to us." The kids find their father's explanation making perfect sense, but only continued to add worry to Jewel.
"Drat." She thought. "Guess I better go for the damsel in distress method."
"Okay kids, lets fly a few laps around to get the blood going." Blu instructed. Just as told, everyone take flight and followed Blu around the lake. After several laps of flying around, Blu's heart started to race like mad, but everyone else seemed fine, yet slightly fatigued.
"Alright we're good!" Blu gasped as he landed back near the shore of the lake, the others catching up and landing before Blu. "Good, now that we're warmed up, let's take it easy and-"
"Oh no!" Jewel moaned as she felt back in pain towards the ground, gripping her wing.
"Mom!" Her kids cried gathering around their mother.
"Jewel! What happened?" Blu asked as panic engulf his mind for why his lovely mate has fallen in great pain.
"I think the laps took a toll on me." Jewel lied, snickering in her mind as the worried looks of everyone gazed onto her frail body.
"You want to rest Mom?" Tiago offered, Jewel agreeing as she slowly got up.
"Hey kids, could you leave your Mom and I alone for a bit? I would like a word with her." Blu asked. All three kids agreed and decided to play tag nearby the shore. After ushering Jewel further down the beach, Blu focuses his gaze on the nervous Jewel.
"Jewel, what in the world has gotten into you? You seemed…paranoid, and that's coming from me." Blu asked, slightly peeved for Jewel's uncertainty for swimming.
"I don't know what you are talking about Blu, I'm just sore, is that a crime?" Jewel responded in her defense.
"You, the most physical and fierce angel of the forest, sore? Jewel that's absurd for you to get a bit winded for a few laps around a lake." Blu said, not convinced for her unnatural behavior.
"Shoot, he's getting better at reading birds." Jewel thought as she dug into her mind for a way out of her predicament.
"Why I'm flattered Blu, but sometimes angels get tired and-" before Jewel could finish her excuse, Blu's face shot up, a massive grin wore across his beak. "What in the world are you looking at me like that for?" Jewel asked nervously.
"I get it, you don't know how to swim do you?" Blu smiled as Jewel's anger started to flare.
"That's a ridiculous accusation Blu! I, Jewel Gunderson, don't know how to swim? Please, I lived in the wild much longer than you Blu boy." Jewel responded, proud of listing her better qualities of knowing the wild more than her slightly feeble husband Blu.
"Is this something to do with your dignity? Admit it, you don't know how to swim."
"I do to!"
"Then why are you trying to avoid swimming today?"
"I told you, I'm hurt!"
"Oh please, you taught me how to read between truths and lies."
"Drat, I fell for that." Jewel gulped as she backed away slowly.
"Come on Jewel, what are you hiding from me? Are you too embarrassed to admit you can't swim in front of the kids?"
"That's not the reason! I just don't feel like swimming." Jewel lied as Blu continue to probe her for the truth.
"That's not like you at all Jewel! You would want to spend as much time with the family in any activity, liking or disliking it no matter what." With nowhere to hide, Jewel sank her head down in defeat as she shuttered with the truth leaving her beak.
"Promise you keep this between you and I okay Blu?"
"I promise dear." Blu replied, placing his wing over his chest, gesturing I cross my heart, and hope to die.
"Okay, I know how to swim, it's just that I'm…I'm.."
"I'm…what Jewel?"
"Afraid to." Jewel peeped quickly as she covered her head in embarrassment. She thought Blu would burst out laughing, instead, she looked up into Blu's apologetic eyes, her heart relieved as Blu holds onto her with concern.
"That's it? How come?" Blu asked. Jewel signed as she looks back when she was young, with her parents.
"Back when I was the kids' age, I lived with my parents somewhere in Brazil I've forgotten. Beside the point, one day, my Dad took me out to a calm river for a bath. What at first was a bath turned into a swimming session. My dad and I swam for hours, enjoying the crisp water relaxing our mind and soul. I got a little too eager as I swim down the river, ignoring my Dad's protest of going further. At the worst possible moment, my wing cramped, making it impossible to float. And to make things even worse, I got caught in a rapid, plunging under and out of the water. I felt like my lungs were going to explode as the rapid kept me under, luckily, my dad dove in and got me out. Since then, we never went to that river or swimming at all. I had my baths down by bucket, every single time my dad was watching, ready to pull me out in case I decided to drown. Since then, I was afraid to go swimming, afraid of drowning."
Blu was stunned as Jewel confessed her reason of not swimming. He didn't know how to approach this kind of scenario without hurting Jewel's feelings. As Blu pondered, he felt sympathy for Jewel as she slumped her head and shoulders in sadness, on the verge of tears. "Go ahead Blu, laugh at me. I'm afraid to swim. The Mighty and Fearless Jewel, terrified of a little water."
"Hey, don't you dare say that." Blu firmly stated as he held Jewel in his wings, surprising her in the sudden embrace. "There's no shame of being afraid Jewel. It's natural to fear something. If you feel like that, I won't force you to swim. I will always love you Jewel for who you are, and I shall respect your decisions no matter what."
"Wow Blu, that's very sweet of you." Jewel smiled as he kissed Blu in the beak. "You know, I'm willing to try swimming again, for the kids."
"Alright Jewel, but if you feel inclined to stop, I won't hold you back."
"Thanks dear." After several hugs and kisses, Blu and Jewel met up with their kids as they were busy making drawings in the sand.
"What took you guys so long?" Carla asked as she and her other siblings stood up, eager to learn how to swim.
"Just a chit chat here and there, you know, grown up things." Blu confessed as the kids shrugged the thought away. "Anyway, you guys ready to swim?"
"Yes Dad!" they shouted in unison.
A/N: There you have it. More to come! Drop a review with any kind of criticism, it helps a bunch. With that said, take care and enjoy yourselves!-Poshil
All Characters belong to Blue Sky Studios.