Author's note: Before we start the second chapter of this story, I'd like to point out an important detail. While the previous story "Road To Sao Paulo" was more drama-oriented, this one will contain elements of fantasy. If you wanna know what type of fantasy, you can go read my archive-style story "The Atlas and Story of the Animal Kingdom".
The sun rose in the clear blue sky, bringing its light upon the beautiful country of Brazil. As its rays entered their hollow, the last Spix's macaws on earth yawned and slowly woke up from a peaceful slumber. They returned home after spending a very long time at the aviary with their friends, having fun and celebrating Jewel's recovery. They almost fell asleep on the spot with Blu's wings wrapping around his beloved mate.
"Good morning, angel," he whispered after seeing his mate opening her beautiful eyes and smiling. "Slept well?"
"Sure did," Jewel replied with kissing her husband on the cheek. "Last night was a lot fun, wasn't it?"
"Yup, the most fun we had in a very long time." Blu stared into Jewel's turquoise eyes. They were the most gorgeous thing he had the chance to see in his whole life. He could stare at them for a full day was it not for his natural need to blink his eyes. And judging by the gaze she returned, he could tell she felt the same about his hazel eyes. They soon wrapped their wings around one another and pressed their beaks for a deep, passionate kiss.
The macaw battled their tongues against one another for a full minute before the lack of air forced them to break. "So, what do you wanna do for today?" Jewel asked.
"How about we start by getting a good breakfast to kick things off?"
"Sounds like a good idea." Just as Blu opened his wings, ready to take off and out of the nest, Jewel pulled a wing on his shoulder to stop him. "Blu? I... There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Sure, what is it, Jew?" the male macaw asked, closing his wings again.
"... Blu, do you think we can have children one day?"
This question caught Blu off guard. His hazel eyes widened and his beak stuttered a bit. Children? He never thought about having a mate at all during his time in Minnesota. So the thought of having kids never existed in his mind at all. From what he had heard and read, raising children was amongst the hardest challenge one could face in life. To start it off, giving birth was a very painful process for the female. Then, there was the tasks of giving them a good education, feeding them when they were hungry, dealing with their whims, waking up at night when they cry. Just imagining all of this was enough to make Blu feel tired.
"I don't... know, Jewel," Blu replied with rubbing the back of his head and looking down. "I mean, taking care of a kid is a huge responsibility. And, not so long ago, I was having a hard time taking care of myself. So-"
Jewel shushed him with a feather on his beak. "It's okay, Blu. You don't have to give me your answer immediately. Just promise me you will think about it, okay?" She removed her feather after receiving a nod from her mate. "Now, let's go get something to eat; I'm starving."
The two Spix's macaws opened their wings and left their nest to go search for their breakfast. Since he didn't feel like eating mangoes again (along with the fact that he still wasn't used to cut them off their tree), Blu led his mate to a small bush of blueberries - his favorite fruit. Because they were delicious and easy to pick off. The couple chewed on the little berries in silence, the blue juice flowing out of their beaks.
"Well, that hit the spot," Blu sighed with patting his full stomach and letting out a little burp.
"What do you wanna do now?" Jewel asked with rubbing some blueberry juice off of her beak with her wing.
"Let's see. We already saw all of our friends last night, so..." Blu rubbed his chin, trying to come up with an idea. Soon, he snapped his feathers with a smile. "I know, we could play a game Linda and I used to play when we were kids."
"What is it?"
"It's called Hide and Seek. It's a game where one player covers his eyes and counts to 100 while the other-"
"Blu, I know what Hide and Seek is," Jewel cut him off. "I might not be the smartest with human stuff, but I used to play a lot of games when I was a kid too. Including Hide and Seek."
"Oh, sorry," Blu said with rubbing the back of his head.
Jewel giggled and kissed his cheek. "It's okay. So? Do you wanna hide or seek?"
"Hmm, I'll start by seeking while you hide, okay?"
"That's cool with me." Jewel then gave him a teasing grin. "But don't come crying when you waste a full day trying to find me in vain, okay? I'm a master of hiding away."
Feeling a dent in his pride, Blu puffed his chest out. "I think you're underestimating me a little too much, young macaw. After all, I managed to find you in Sao Paulo and at the carnival before that. I may be no hunter, but I know how to find what I want to find."
"We'll see about that," Jewel responded, feeling the spirit of competition at its peak.
Blu walked over to a tree trunk and covered his eyes with his wings while Jewel opened her wings and took off into the sky. Slowly but surely, the sound of her mate counting became distant behind her. She would win this because she knew this rainforest by heart while Blu settled in very recently.
#
After flying for a few minutes, Jewel reached a remote part of the rainforest that rarely got visited by birds like her. Blu would never think of searching for her here because she never showed him this part of the forest. She could already picture him flying through the forest for a full day and failing to find her. This made her giggle to herself.
"All I have to do now is wait for a while and then go see if he decided to quit," the Spix's macaw told herself with leaning back against the tree trunk of the branch she was perched on and closing her eyes.
What the blue bird failed to notice was that a serpentine figure glanced at her from above. Licking her lips at the sight of her prey, the female snake began to get down from the upper branch, approaching the unsuspecting macaw. Reaching the branch, she slithered toward Jewel while swiveling her non-existent hips in a seductive manner. "Well, well, hello there, beautiful," she playfully let her presence known.
Alerted by this new voice, Jewel's turquoise eyes shot open and she immediately jumped to her feet and looked at the intruder. An alluring female snake whose lime green scales reflected the rays of the sun and whose white underbelly stretched from the tip of her tail all the way up to her jaw. Her face was very... pretty and voluptuous. Her jade green eyes looked nothing short of seductive if somewhat a bit strange.
"W-Who are you?" Jewel, of all birds, knew that snakes were sneaky and dangerous creatures. Taking a few steps back, she got her wings ready in case the reptile would try to eat her.
"Me? I'm the queen of Kambuzia and the prettiest creature you will ever lay eyes upon." She then twisted her lips into a smile and gave the macaw a wink. "But you, darling, may call me Shanti."
While she still felt a bit uneasy, Jewel understood this serpent woman did not intend to hurt her as she could have jumped on her while she rested and had her eyes closed. "Hum... Hello, Shanti," she said with letting her wings go back to her sides. "My name's Jewel."
"So, what is a lovely little dancer like you doing here alone? This area of the forest looks pretty dangerous and lonely to me."
"I'm not a helpless bird, Shanti. I'm a strong, independent woman who knows how to defend herself," Jewel replied, a bit offended by how this snake underestimated her. "And what makes you think that I'm a dancer?"
Shanti giggled a bit and pointed her tail at Jewel's waist. "Your hips, sweetheart. Your hips don't lie." She gave another wink to the bird before herself swaying her non-existent hips a bit. "I'm a dancer too. One of the best there is, although my serpentine form certainly gives me an unfair advantage in that department."
Jewel blushed a bit. She was used to receive compliments about her eyes and feathers, but not her hips. "So, why did you come to see me, Shanti?"
"To recruit you, my dear Jewel." The snake reached her tail to stroke the macaw's head feathers. "I have been looking for a new right hand to help me direct my city. A strong woman with the spirit of a warrior and the grace of a goddess. In other words, you."
Jewel blinked her eyes in confusion. Right hand? A city? She pulled the snake's tail away with her wing. "Listen, Shanti, it was nice meeting you and all, but right now, I gotta go. My mate is searching for me and I can't keep him waiting." She opened her wings, eager to get away from this strange snake.
"Please, stay where you are," Shanti demanded. Suddenly, Jewel's body stopped moving, as if an invisible force took control of it. "Now please, turn toward me and lift your wings above your head." Jewel's body once again obeyed, turning toward the snake and her wings lifting themselves above her head, making it look like she was about to dance.
"W-What is going on?! What's that wizardry?! Let me go!" the Spix's macaw exclaimed, struggling to break free of the invisible grip controlling her.
Shanti wrapped her body around Jewel's legs all the way up to her hips, used her tail to touch her chin and make her look in her eyes as she grinned. "You are a unique creature, Jewel. There is no way I can let such potential go to waste with a puny man. Now, please, look at my dance and let your beliefs fade away."
The snake woman backed away from her prey in order to have enough space to dance and then pulled her body up, exposing her beautiful white stomach. She started swinging her non-existent hips in a fashion that, at first glance, was much alike what she did a few moments ago. Yet, there was a key difference that Jewel was barely able to notice. There was some unique form of energy that radiated along Shanti's green scales, making her moves seem a little more radiant, a little more captivating to the trained eye.
"W-What are you-" Jewel tried to ask, only to be silenced by the beautiful snake who pulled her tail on her beak.
"Shh, don't talk, my dear Jewel. Block everything that is not me and my dance. Forget about this male that you call your mate and focus on my sweet voice and perfect body," she whispered into her ear.
As she heard her voice, Jewel felt her worries and fear melt away for some reason. She felt... relaxed and... happy? Her eyelids slowly closed as her beak twisted into a smile. Shanti grinned as well, seeing she managed to get her prey caught into trance. Now, all she needed to do was to carry her dancing on until she completely submitted to her will.
She started moving her body at a slow pace - since no music played, she followed the rhythm of her heart and soul. Soon, the non-existing music kicked up the pace and so did Shanti, her body undulating more with her jade green eyes shining. The way the reptile moved was uncanny as her hips went on to sway in a wide arc, stopping not because they had reached their limit, but because of a particularly devious and subtle pendulum effect that was magnified by the rampant and near-invisible energy emerging from the scales. The more she danced, the more Jewel fell in love with this woman...
"From now on, you are my right hand and you will obey my orders. Whenever I talk to you, you will listen carefully and obey me without any hesitation or second thoughts. You are part of my army. Your loyalty belongs to me."
Every word Shanti said got absorbed into Jewel's subconscious, making her will fade away and accept her fate of submission. "Yes... Master...," she replied in a zombie-like voice.
"Good." Shanti grinned evilly. She reached her tail to rub her new pet's tummy and also gave a kiss to her cheek. "In return, I will consider you a part of my family. I will love you as much as you love me, just like my own daughter." She pulled her chin up with her tail again and stared deeply into her beautiful turquoise eyes. "Are you fine with this, my beautiful Jewel?"
"I'd love nothing more... mother..."