So, in honor of Brittancon I thought I'd start a new story. Hope you enjoy, and I hope everyone at Brittanacon is having a blast!
The sun was setting at just the right angle; its rays streaming into the cabin of the boat, and onto the face of a sleeping blonde. She stirred and her eyes fluttered open just in time to catch two small bodies scurrying to the other side of the room. Squinting past the sunlight she caught the eyes of a girl she'd never seen before. Deep mahogany caught the shimmers of a dying sun that made Brittany's breath catch in her throat. At the sound the mysterious girl immediately broke eye contact and shooed the children out of the room as she followed. With one last peek over her shoulder and an unreadable expression she disappeared up the cabin stairs.
"Ah Brittany! Looks like you're up just in time!" Marcus, Brittany's father, boomed throughout the small room as he walked down the short steps. "We're here!"
"Here, here? Or do we have to take another plane or boat? Because I don't think I can stomach another trip with Captain Strike manning the wheel." Brittany winced as her head pounded from sitting up too fast.
"Woah, here." Marcus handed her a bottled water as he steadied her. "No more planes, no more boats, not for now at least… and no more Captain Strike." He laughed when he noticed his daughter's fist pumping into the air slightly.
"Thank God. It feels like we've been traveling all day."
"Well it has been almost 24 hours since we left Gainesville."
Marcus led Brittany up to the deck where people were unloading their equipment and luggage. There were foreign men waiting in canoes to take them to shore.
"Liar. You said no more boats." Brittany whined as she downed half of her bottled water.
Marcus shook his head with a smile. "I'd hardly call those boats Britt-Britt. Come on, Santana is with the others waiting to take us to where we'll be staying."
"Santana?" Brittany asked just as she followed her father's line of sight to the same girl that she'd had a brief staring match with moments ago. "Oh." She whispered out.
Brittany had just turned 17 and would be entering her senior year in the fall. Her father was an ethologist and thought it would be a good idea for Brittany to come with him on his expedition this summer, telling her it would be good for her college applications. It didn't seem to matter to him that she basically had an automatic in to the University of Florida since he was a professor there. Not to mention he was one of the heads of the science department.
They were researching reports of increased aggression from the electric eels towards the local tribes in the Amazon rain forest, and Brittany was actually pretty excited. She'd been invited to his expedition last summer, but decided to go to cheer camp instead. When her dad sent her a picture of some baby lion cubs he met while researching the migratory patterns of rhinos in Africa, Brittany swore she wouldn't miss another trip.
Marcus made sure to be clear about all the dangers Brittany would face while they were exploring remote locals, and Brittany's mom was at first opposed to her daughter spending a month in the rainforest, but Brittany was adamant she needed the experience. What she didn't know was that she entered the seventh circle of hell the moment they got on the small charter plane that took them to the docks where their poor excuse for a boat and the horrendously vile Captain Strike was waiting.
The rough way he manned his boat did nothing for Brittany's stomach and within an hour of being out on the water Brittany found herself heaving over the side of the boat. Her father rummaged through a bag and found some Dramamine to give her, effectively knocking her out for the remainder of their trip.
"Now, you remember everything I told you about how to act around the tribe we'll be staying with right?" Marcus pulled Brittany into him quietly so no one would hear their conversation.
"Yes. They are called the Zopalo tribe and they're mostly peaceful, but we don't know as much about them as the bigger tribes. No staring, no making faces, and no speaking out of turn to the older men. Help out whenever they ask and stay busy." Brittany repeated what her father had told her before they left. Marcus lifted up one eyebrow and Brittany continued, "And no getting any new piercings." She finished off with an eye roll.
"Good. Now we'll be staying in a hut they have set up for us. Santana, Armando's niece, will be showing us to the hut."
Armando was one of their contacts within the tribe. He was the one who reached out to Marcus' colleague about the recent influx in fatal attacks. With a consent from the Brazilian government, Marcus, Stan, Rebecca, and a couple grad students were able to come out and research. Marcus studied animal behaviors, Stan was a zoologist, and Rebecca was a conservationist with a background in botany, entomology, and a bunch of other things Brittany didn't know how to pronounce. She was basically a badass though.
Chuck and Louis were grad students that came along to learn like Brittany. They were basically gofers though, but Brittany was sworn to secrecy. Making the interns feel unimportant stunted their growth in the program.
"We get off the boat now." A smooth voice spoke directly behind Marcus and Brittany causing them to twirl around, Marcus with a smile and Brittany with wide eyes.
"Thank you Santana, right behind ya." Marcus said, placing a hand on Brittany's back to guide her off the boat.
It didn't take more than 15 minutes for them to get from the boat to the tribe. There were about 30 or 40 tents and huts with a couple small clearings where people were bustling about and women were walking around with kids dangling off their bare shoulders. It was the start of the dry season, but it was still humid and hot enough for some people to remain naked until nightfall, when the temperature would drop significantly. Brittany was already sweating, she wasn't sure if was from the weather or her reddening cheeks.
"Most white people aren't used to naked bodies walking so freely. Here, it's normal." Santana spoke up with a shrug and a smirk directed at Brittany.
Rosy cheeks flushed even harder as Brittany cleared her throat and looked down, heeding her father's advice and attempting not to stare. Brittany was thankful there were only a few people not wearing clothes.
Once they reached the hut that was set up for them Santana told them she would go get her Uncle for them. They were only a few feet away from the hut Santana shared with him, her mother, Aunt, and cousin. It sounded like a lot to Brittany, but some of the small huts were homes to families of 7 or 8, mostly kids.
"Alright Brittany and Rebecca will be sharing a bed and us four will be rotating between the 2 cots and the ground." Stan said as he set his luggage near one of the small cots.
"What bed?" Brittany looked around and only saw a couple chairs, a small table, the cots, and some blankets.
Rebecca walked over the blankets and plopped down with a grin. "You're lookin at it sweetheart."
Louis was already smacking his arms at bugs, Chuck was testing the stability of the chairs, and Marcus was motioning for Britt to help unpack some of their equipment. Brittany groaned internally, but tried to laugh it off with everyone else. It was definitely going to be a long month.
She didn't want to seem like a complainer, but she was exhausted and no one told her that her bed would consist of thin sheets and bamboo. She was mid sigh when she felt a tug on her ankle. Staring up at her was a little monkey, who offered her what appeared to be a smile, before going back to stealing her ankle bracelet.
"Marcel!" Brittany laughed and reached down to pet the monkey. She'd never seen one in person. Slowly she reached down her hand to undo the beaded ankle bracelet she had made on the plane. "Here, you want this?" The monkey looked at her cautiously before snatching it from her and backing up to inspect his new toy.
"Oh look, Louis. It's a Spike from Ace Ventura." Chuck said pointing at Brittany's new friend.
"Spike? No, he's definitely a Marcel from Friends." Brittany looked up from her crouching position and stuck her tongue out at Chuck.
"Actually her name is Ainia, and don't go doing her any favors by handing her your things. She's quick and will swipe the food from your hand if you're not careful enough." A voice said from the entrance of their hut.
Everyone looked over to a tan man who wore an easy smile and thick gauges in his ears.
"Armando!" Stan shouted and reached out to shake the man's hand vigorously. "It's so good to finally meet you!"
Armando greeted Stan with matched enthusiasm and introduced himself to everyone else.
"I see you've met my son's pet." Armando said with a warning glance at the monkey. "I hope she wasn't bothering you. Kito takes in more animals than he can look after. I apologize."
"She's adorable, are you kidding!? Don't worry about it. Ainia…" Brittany waited for Armando to confirm she had said it correctly, "…can come bother us whenever she wants. Kito's your son?" She asked.
"Yes. He's with Santana working on his studies."
"How old is he? Maybe Brittany can get herself an Amazonian boyfriend this summer." Marcus joked, as he elbowed Brittany in the arm.
Armando laughed and shook his head. "I think Miss Brittany would have her hands full with an 8 year old boyfriend."
"About the same age as my boy." Marcus said "Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about getting him to sit still long enough to study."
"Oh, that's all Santana's doing. She's a wonder worker with getting him to listen. She says it has something to do with skills, but I think it has more to do with her evil looks and quick tongue." Armando joked.
"Well maybe I'll steal her away for a couple months and have her whip Trevor into shape."
Brittany's ears perked at that as she thought what it would be like to have another girl her age living with her, especially one as pretty and mysterious as Santana with her thick lashes and even thicker voice. She knew her father was only joking, but still, she let her imagination run away with her. It wasn't until Armando had left and Chuck was attempting to flick her in the back of the ear that she was shaken from her thoughts.
"Hey cut that out!" Brittany barked while Chuck dashed out of reached when she tried hitting him back. Looks like she left an annoying younger brother to have to deal with an annoying older one.
Chuck was six years older than Brittany, but he acted like a child. They'd known each other for a couple of years since he hung around the science department a lot and her father and Stan had taken a liking to him. She had no idea why, but she figured it had something to do with the fact that he was as smart as he was goofy and he really did care about animals. Brittany thought he was handsome when she'd first met him, but after spending his first Thanksgiving with them, she couldn't stomach the thought of ever being with him like that. Yeah, he was definitely more of an older brother type.
Louis was the complete opposite of Chuck. He was a year older and pretty quiet. He cared more about facts, numbers, and taking pictures than he did about making a good impression… or any impression for that matter. He was really nice though, and Brittany was glad she had him around to keep Chuck in place when necessary.
Brittany was behind their hut setting up some extra netting and bug repellent with Chuck when Ainia, who was at their feet, started making a whooping noise. They both looked in the direction that Ainia was backing away from when they saw Santana eyeing the monkey and waving her finger. Chuck bumped Brittany with his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows at her while he motioned towards the tan girl.
"No Nia. Give that back." Santana spoke sternly, pointing at Brittany's bracelet that Ainia was still playing with.
"Oh, that's okay. I let her have it." Brittany smiled.
"You sure? It's pretty." Santana straightened herself and folded her arms across her chest as if she was suspicious of Brittany giving the monkey anything that might be of value.
"Oh yeah it's totally fine. I can make another one." Brittany stepped towards Santana, arm outstretched for a handshake, since they'd never been properly introduced. When Santana didn't make a move, Brittany smiled and dropped hand to her side. Maybe Santana thought they were introduced enough. "I can make you one too if you want?" She offered.
Santana's eyes widened for split second before they were back to giving narrowed looks to Brittany and the monkey.
"Just make sure that's all she leaves with." Santana said before turning and walking away.
Brittany could have sworn she saw the smallest smile cross Santana's lips before she left. She still thought she was a little rude, but maybe that's how everyone except for Armando was around here. She didn't exactly have much to compare Santana against yet.
"She's feisty. I like her." Chuck said with a devious smile.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's all you like about her too." Brittany grabbed the netting from him and swatted him with it. "You know she's too young for you to be perving on. Come on let's get this done so we can get some rest."
"Rest? You just got done taking a nap on the boat. We don't rest in the jungle, girly, we explore."
Brittany rolled her eyes at him. He was now sporting a genuine smile as he looked around them. He was right. They were in the Amazon rainforest and she was thinking about sleep. That was silly. Who knew when she'd ever find herself in a place as beautiful as this again? She mimicked Chuck and looked around. There were colorful birds and plants all around them, the air was fresh and smelled almost sweet, and the heat was already starting to let up in exchange for the cool night air. She heard the soft melodic sound of free laughter and smiled. Yeah, she definitely made the right decision in going on this expedition.
So, short first chapter just to get us started. Let me know what you think :)
I've never been to South America, but did research on what I could to try and make it as accurate as I could. I'm sure it won't be anywhere near perfect though. If you see anything that needs correcting in the Amazon department shoot me a PM or let me know in the reviews.
Also, the tribe name isn't real. It's a combination of 2 different ones so I could make up my own rules for them.