Chapter 3: Rio de Janeiro
February 26, 2011 8:15 AM
Nanashi ruffled Blu's feathers, trying to wake him up. "Come on, you stubborn macaw, it's time to get up."
Blu groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see his big brother staring down at him from the top of his cage. He yawned and stretched his feet. "Oh, morning, big bro."
"Come on, Blu. It's time to start getting ready to leave."
Blu's eyes shot open in realization, and all traces of tiredness immediately left the building. "Oh, that's right, the flight's today, right?!"
"In less than two hours. Come on, we need to eat and then get ready to go. Linda's already got breakfast on the table."
Blue chirped in happiness. "Great! In that case, let's eat and hit the road!" He moved to the sink to get his specially-made toothpaste and toothbrush to start his morning routine.
Nanashi chuckled. "You know, I've never seen you so excited, even when you started studying vector calculus thinking it would help you learn to fly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've wanted a change of pace for a while now."
Blu chuckled as he swallowed the water in his mouth, cleaning his beak off. "Yeah, if you'd asked me that a month ago, I'd have probably laughed, but after the talk you and Linda gave me, I've been thinking about it, and I realized that this trip can only be a good thing, right? And it'll be good for all of us, not just me. So why not dive in headfirst?"
Nanashi actually laughed this time, a smile on his face. "Now there's the spirit I've been looking for! Come on, we should hurry."
Blu nodded, rinsing his toothbrush and putting it in the drying cup. "Yeah, you're right; let's go!"
Linda greeted the two warmly, scratching under their chins as they came down the stairs, Nanashi flying and Blu gliding down the smooth, spiral handrail. "Good morning, you two! Did you sleep good?" Nanashi nodded and Blu gave a thumbs-up. Of course, Linda noticed Blu's excitement, just as Nanashi had. 'Ooh, look who's excited, aren't we!"
Nanashi chuckled as Blu got a bit of not-necessarily-warranted attention. "So, when do we leave?"
"Now, actually. As soon as you guys finish eating, the Uber is outside, waiting for us. It's a thirty minute drive to Duluth's airport, and then we have to get all our affairs in order before we board the plane."
Nanashi nodded. 'Good thing I already came down and ate breakfast. Hurry up now, Blu."
"Right, big bro!"
"The total will be forty-three dollars, sixteen cents." Linda gave the Uber driver her debit card, and he carefully inserted it into the chip reader on the bottom of the GPS. After a few moments, the GPS beeped to confirm the payment had been accepted, and the receipt printed out of what was once a CD player. The man tore the receipt off and gave it to Linda as she got Blu and Nanashi out of the car. "Thank you for riding with Uber, we'll be happy to service you again in the near future."
"The pleasure was mine. Thank you." Linda thanked the driver before he rolled up his window and drove off.
Linda drew in a short breath and turned to face the airport, Blu in his cage with her and Nanashi perched on her shoulder, using his wings to help her hold the paperwork.
As the two approached the entrance, a security guard stopped them. "Papers, please. And I need authorization that says you're allowed to bring that large bird in without a cage."
Nanashi shuffled through the papers he held in his wings and stuck out the two papers the guard was looking for. He read the first. "Alright, you'll be by Gate 44A." He read the second, then his eyes went wide as saucers. "Wait, you're the talking white raven Nanashi? That explains why you don't have a cage. Tulio warned us you and your group would be boarding a flight today."
The guard gave the papers back to Nanashi. "Thank you, mister security guard."
The guard chuckled as he looked at Nanashi. "Of course. And for the record, it's been an honor to meet the first ever talking bird."
Nanashi rolled his eyes. "We all talk, hell, we even use the same languages you humans do. The only reason you can't normally understand us is because our voices don't resonate on the same frequency." Nanashi then allowed a small smile to grace his features. "But thank you for the praise, I appreciate it."
"Of course, mister Nanashi. You have a nice day, ma'am."
Linda smiled. "Thank you, and you have a nice day too."
Linda smiled at Nanashi as they started walking toward their gate. "Still a bit annoyed by the praise, I see."
Nanashi chuckled. "Yes. I mean, I do appreciate the praise, but I've made appearances in twenty-six TV interviews about how avians like us live, all of them having been national or worldwide broadcast. You'd figure the rest of the world would be used to me by now. Heck, the last one was last month, before this whole Rio thing happened."
Linda and Blu laughed. "Well, that's not untrue. But hey, I know you'll get through it. You managed to convince Blu to make this trip, so I know you can live through it."
"Yeah, you've got this, big bro."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
As they made it to the gate, only thirty minutes before the flight was due to leave the runway, they caught Tulio jogging toward them, luggage already in hand. "Linda! And Nanashi! Have you had a good morning so far?" He noticed Blu in his cage and knelt down to scratch his neck through the bars of the cage. "And a good morning to you too, Blu!"
Blu leant into Tulio's touch, enjoying the attention. "I'm doing good, well, so far, anyways. We had a bit of an awkward encounter with a security guard at the airport who recognized Nanashi." Linda chuckled, scratching Nanashi's head.
Nanashi chuckled himself. "It happens sometimes, can't always avoid it. Besides, it's at least good that some people recognize I'm not a dumb idiot. That would bring along a whole host of problems all its own."
Tulio chuckled as he checked his papers and made sure Linda's were accurate and not dated. "You're not wrong; it could certainly be worse than it is right now. Anyway, I managed to convince the flight staff that you and Blu will be fine boarding the flight directly, though it took a lot of work. So make sure you don't do anything crazy on the flight, okay?"
Blu nodded. "Not a problem here."
Nanashi nodded as well. "I see no issue. Blu also says we'll be fine."
Tulio nodded. "Good to hear."
Right as Tulio finished checking the papers and handed them back to Linda, the loudspeaker crackled to life. "Flight 1202 from Duluth International to Rio de Janeiro Intercontinental is now boarding, and will board until twenty minutes from now. All passengers boarding Flight 1202, please make your way to Gate 44A." As the message from flight control finished, the loudspeaker died out.
Tulio grabbed what little luggage he'd brought with him to the United States and started walking to 1202, the plane having just landed and its boarding area docking with one of the many long, mobile, metal staircases that were scattered around the airport runway. Linda followed him carrying Blu, Nanashi flying slowly after them.
As the staircase connected to the now open boarding door, Tulio approached its bottom and the security guard standing next to it. "Papers, please." Tulio and Linda handed over their papers, passports, and Nanashi and Blu's commercial authorization, which the guard checked, before nodding and handing the papers back to them. "Coach is right after first-class and before economy. Restrooms are in the back next to eh economy curtain. Make sure you lock the door once you go in if you have to relieve yourself, and always bring your possessions in with you to minimize the risk of them being stolen. Have a safe flight, and thank you for flying Southwest Airlines."
Nanashi, Tulio, and Linda nodded as they made their way onto the plane. Luckily, they had been the first passengers on, having been lucky enough to get to the gate just in time for the announcement, but a stream of people rushing to get on were already behind them.
"Come, come, let's hurry on. Don't want to keep the other fliers waiting," Tulio remarked, quickly finding the coach area and making himself comfortable in his reserved seat, Linda doing the same, setting Blu's cage in the seat next to theirs that hadn't been bought for this specific purpose.
"So about how long is it going to take us to get to Rio?" Linda asked as Nanashi flew off his perch on her shoulder and landed gently on top of Blu's cage.
"About two days. We'll have two layovers, one in Mexico City that's an hour and a half, and one in La Paz, Bolivia that's four hours. Each flight is about nine hours in between, so we should be there around… tomorrow night, the next morning at the absolute latest. We won't need to sleep on this flight, but make sure you get some rest on the second leg, otherwise you'll be a walking zombie when we get to Rio."
Nanashi chuckled at the mental imagery Tulio's statement had brought on, then turned his gaze to Blu, who was curiously observing the other passengers as they got on the plane. "How you holding up down there, Blu?"
Blu looked at Nanashi, realizing he was staring at him, then chuckled. "I think I'm doing pretty good so far. Definitely going to take some getting used to being in a cage I can't unlock on my own because of how it's set up, but it's nothing I can't adjust to."
"Good on you, Blu." Nanashi extended his wingtip into the cage bars, and Blu bumped it gently with his beak. "Well, I'll talk with Linda and Tulio and see if we can't get you out of there so you can enjoy the view we're going to have once the plane really gets going. Did you know these planes fly higher than all but the most ancient birds ever have?"
Blu's eyes practically sparkled at this piece of trivia. "Really?! I never knew that! How high, exactly?"
"I believe anywhere from three to four and a half miles high."
"Holy crap, that high?! That's unreal!" Blu was now very excited. Under other circumstances, Blu would have been terrified out of his mind thanks to what had happened to him as a baby, but he'd made sure to read up everything he could about planes to make sure they were safe, and he'd cross-referenced the information from what Linda had previously told him, and he'd come to the conclusion that flying on planes was, in fact, safe.
"Yep, but don't get your talons in a twist, we've still got about twenty or thirty minutes before the plane even takes off. There are procedures that have to be followed for these things to ensure everyone's safety, so we've a decent bit until we take off. I'm honestly looking forward to the view myself, because I've never flown more than a hundred or so feet in the air before; it hasn't really ever been necessary."
Blu chuckled. "Hey, don't worry, I have patience. Remember I had to sit with Linda when she did that spelling bee in middle school. Wish I could have helped her, though, because she almost lost first prize."
Nanashi nodded sagely. "That, she did. But I think your companionship and your presence there were more than enough to help her along."
"Hey, what are our little birdies talking about?" Linda called quietly to Nanashi and Blu.
"Not much, just discussing how amazing the view out of the window is going to be once the plane really gets going. Only the birds of the planet's prehistorical times have flown as high as we're going to be at the crest of our journey."
Tulio put a finger to his chin in thought. "You know, you're right, Nanashi. I never actually considered that us humans, creatures who were birthed chained to the earth, have gone farther than even the freest of species the planet has ever raised, simply through our own intelligence and determination."
"Attention, passengers, this is your captain speaking. It's time for our pre-flight checks and safety routine, Observe and follow the instructions on the tablets built in to the seats in front of you or around you, which should be appearing… now."
February 28, 10:33 AM
"Thank you all for flying Southwest Airlines, and have a nice day. Please check in to the baggage line once you enter the airport to make sure you've retrieved your belongings, and enjoy your visit to Rio de Janeiro."
"Can you believe it, Nanashi, Blu? We're actually in Rio de Janeiro!" Linda excitedly said to her two avian friends as the three of them and Tulio departed 1202, on their way to the baggage claims area to retrieve their things before departing for the aviary Tulio was in charge of.
"Wow, that view was simply stunning, wasn't it, Blu?" Nanashi asked Blu.
Blu nearly screeched in joy. "Are you kidding?! That view was the best thing I've ever seen!"
Nanashi chuckled at Blu's enthusiasm. "Now you see why the avian species are born fliers? There's no better feeling than being adrift in the air, suspended away from the ground like on a string, drifting along the most direct path you'll ever take, and feeling the wind beneath your wings. It's what all flight-capable avian species thrive and live for. Hopefully while we're here in Rio, we can teach you how to fly."
Blu sighed in contentment as Linda and Tulio grabbed their items from the claims. "Yeah, it would be amazing. I really hope so, too, though if what you've told me is anything to consider, I'll be in for a rough ride."
"You will, so I hope you're prepared. The reason most birds learn how to fly at such young ages is because as our brains evolve, the natural instinct that all avians possess is slowly silenced and overtaken by logic, reason and emotion. The longer a bird takes to learn flight, the harder it becomes to tap into that natural instinct. While it can be influenced by other circumstances, such as your PTSD, it is the main factor. It's also why some birds, once they get old enough that they begin losing their strength, cannot fly. Not only do they no longer have that natural instinct, they're physically too weak to fly, otherwise their slowly deteriorating bones would break."
Blu nodded. "That does make sense. I've actually seen other birds who can't fly before, back when we were in Minnesota, and they did look pretty old."
"Exactly. Luckily, you're about the age of a fresh adult bird, so even though it's been mostly assimilated by your higher function, your natural instinct is still dormant, waiting to be tapped into. We just have to unlock it, and then you'll be flying like you've always wanted to."
They had been so engrossed in their conversation, they hadn't noticed that Blu's cage was being loaded into a Jeep that seemed to belong to Tulio. Soon enough, they were on the way to the aviary.
