Chapter 2: Strange Lands
Exhaustion, the only thing Blu could feel after a close encounter to death. But for now, he and his family are safe. After taking a moment to regain his breath, Blu stood up and opened his eyes to find himself in a vast grassland with a few trees and a clear blue sky.
Blu found it odd that the trees in the area looked like a similar breed to oak trees, something you don't often find in the Amazon. Perhaps the wildlife near the ruins could have been affected by the surrounding area. He looked back at the ruins he and his family narrowly escaped from and vowed he will never venture into any more unknown territory to feed his curiosity. At least he would be thinking this if he spotted any ruins.
There was nothing but more grass and trees stretching out to a vast land of greenery and blue skies. The ruins are gone. With a structure like the ruins collapsing, something would've been left behind like a pile of rocks or a heap of debris. But like so, nothing but grass. The more startling fact is where Blu ended up. A closer look of the surrounding area looked nothing like the Amazon and the air is free from humidity. But before Blu could think where he was, he quickly remembered about his family.
He searched around and finds no sign of Jewel, Bia. Carla, or Tiago. He shouted out their names and received no reply. Fearing the worse he readied himself to fly and scout the new area. Wings stretched, Blu starts flapping to take off the ground, only to quickly crash down face first into the ground. He jumped and flapped his wings again, and like before couldn't lift off.
"What gives?" Blu shouted to himself. He examined his wings to make sure he wasn't injured. He didn't feel any pain, but upon glancing at his wings he screamed in sheer horror.
He has arms, human arms. Maybe not exactly like human arms but quite similar. These arms had wings along the back of the forearms but above all reason, Blu has arms. Trembling, Blu wiggled his newly acquired fingers before looking down, and screamed again to find he now has legs and feet. It felt natural but at the same time it didn't. He searched and stumbled across a nearby puddle to see his own reflection, praying he was only imaging these newly acquired limbs. Upon seeing himself, no amount of force could contain the screams that were loud enough for the heavens to hear.
His face and overall appearance drastically changed into an anthropomorphic bird human, something Blu would find as some freak fan character on the internet. The only characteristic he pertained is his tail feathers but everything else didn't look like his own body.
"Oh no, this can't be happening. This can't be happening" Blu repeated over and over in a panicked tone.
In an attempt to stay calm, Blu pushes aside his discovery to find his family and hoped he was only hallucinating. After walking across the plains, he spots a group of bird people with appearances much like his, four of them counted. It didn't take Blu too long to realize this group was his family and hoped to the heavens he was still imagining all of this.
Blu quietly approached the humanoid that he would assume to be Jewel and tried to wake her. A few nudges later and the lifeform wakes up with sleepy eyes slowly turning into a gaze of horror.
"Okay Jewel don't panic. It's me Blu-"
The lifeform screamed and punches Blu with all her might before scrambling up in a defensive stance. Blu didn't need to explain as Jewel looked at herself before screaming towards the skies in confusion.
"What did you do now Tyler Blu Gunderson!?" Jewel demanded.
"Nothing, honest! Look, as far I can tell we might have hit our heads really hard after escaping those ruins." Blu explained in hopes of calming Jewel.
"Hard enough to where we look human!?"
"Human-like mind you. Second, it's clear we're imagining this. Right? Right?"
"Mom, Dad?"
Blu and Jewel turned to the side to face the three other lifeforms resembling their children, and like them share characteristics of a macaw and a human mashed together. The kids seem confused at first before realizing what they've become. No later the group fell into a frenzy of panic.
"What happened to my wings!?"
"Where are my talons!?"
"Hey now, I can roll with this new look."
"ENOUGH!" Blu shouted, calming the kids and Jewel. "Okay, worrying about what happened to us won't do us any good. Whatever the reason we just need to find a way back home, that's all that matters."
"And how do we do that Dad?" Bia asked.
"For starters, let's take a look around for some vantage point or somebody, get a feel of the area. And don't bother trying to fly, I tried. Guess we're hoofing it."
With no other choice, Jewel and the three macaw children followed Blu across the unknown grasslands in search for help. Minutes turned to hours as the group stumbled to a halt when the feeling of fatigue kicked in for walking so long. To walk for this long felt unnatural to the group but the idea of having feet felt even more so.
The long walk paid off as the group discovers a dirt road cutting through the grasslands that stretch left to right for several miles. With no clear indicator if someone would be traveling down the road anytime Blu suggests the group to walk along the road in hopes they stumble across someone or civilization of some kind.
The group continued their trek down the dirt road, finding it quite difficult to traverse on rough dirt than soft grass. Bia along the way accidentally stubs her toe against a rock on the road. The cry of pain grabs Jewel's attention as she knells down to examine Bia's foot. While it's nothing too serious a grim thought crosses her mind, Bia felt the pain of stubbing her toe. If this was a dream, the pain wouldn't be a factor. Before Jewel could mull more on this revelation a small commotion grabs her attention from behind.
Not too far behind a horse pulling a wooden carriage approaches them. The carriage comes to a halt, a man hops down to the ground to meet face to face with Blu. Much like them, this anthropomorphic man resembles a species of a toucan instead of a macaw while being shorter and a slightly rotund stature. His attire reminded Blu of a merchant he once saw at a Renaissance Fair Linda took him a long time ago. He greeted the family with a pleasant smile before the man's gaze contort into a horrified expression.
"Good gracious friends! You'll catch a cold going bare back and bottom, why are you traveling naked!?" the man asked.
"Naked? I'm certain we're in no need-wait a second." Blu paused as he recognizes the voice. "Rafael!?"
The merchant laughs in shock for someone knowing him before introductions. The mention of Rafael's name stunned the Jewel and the three kids when the merchant spoke. The voice and mannerisms felt identical to their Toucan friend back in Rio. Yet the tone he gave sounds like a stranger at the same time.
"Why yes, that is my name. Have we met good sir?" the man resembling the family's close friend Rafael.
"Yes, yes we have!" Jewel interrupted. "What's going on and why do you look like that?"
"I've always looked like myself as far I can remember Ms." The Rafael lookalike replied confusingly.
"Besides that, Rafael what are you doing here, or more importantly, where are we?" Blu asked.
"My friends, surely you jest. This is the wonderous kingdom of Avalon, the land of opportunity and adventure! I'm just on my way to the Port City of Irda to sell my wares."
Avalon, the name didn't sound familiar to everyone besides Rafael. In the years the family has spent in the Amazon they would surely have heard of such a place. Jewel turned to Blu for an answer on what to do next as he ponders on what Rafael said. Blu thought of the name Avalon, something seemed vaguely familiar with the name. He recalls hearing it used by Linda back when he used to live in Minnesota. After some careful thought, Blu came to a terrifying revelation on their predicament.
"Hm, your friend there seems a bit shaky," Rafael said after pointing out a trembling Blu. "Tell you what, let me give you all a ride to the city so you can rest up. I also got some spare cloaks in the back of my wagon, take them. Hopefully, you can appreciate clothing then."
"Thank you, Rafael." Jewel replied.
"My pleasureā¦Ms?"
"Jewel."
"Jewel, what a lovely name. Anyway, climb aboard the back."
The family boarded the wagon and Rafael orders his horses to carry group towards the city of Irda. Jewel and the kids still are trying to wrap their heads around why Rafael appeared both out of nowhere as well as not recalling any of them. More so, Jewel was worried about why Blu kept staring out the distance with a horrified gaze.
"Guys." Blu finally spoke.
"What?"
"I think we're not in the Amazon anymore."
"What makes you think so Dad?" Tiago asked.
"The name Avalon, this place, our bodies, Rafael being strange. I think we're in a role-playing game."
A/N: And that wraps up the second chapter. Thanks for waiting. The next one will be up next week!- Poshil
