Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! This is now considered my last chapter of the year. After this, I'm gonna do some personal work on a novel and on The Gang Stories summaries from Wattpad.
2018 has been a fun year, and what's exciting now is the fact that we're all getting much closer to a new decade. Something fun to look forward to and to start a new.
Speaking of which, given the recent reviews I've gotten from my "Ask C" series, I haven't been too good about it lately. So at the end of this, I'm going to explain a new plan for the series.
So, looking past that, enjoy this rather short spin-off shorty, and know after this installment, NKS will still continue "On The Way", and will have a story for Mikka and Leo before Blu and Jewel finally reach 2010.
DISCLAIMER:
• I own nothing from Rio. Just Mikka, Leo, and the names for Eva's parents were inspired by her kids, I think.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE: LITTLE JOLLY THEME
All the way in Rio, on the night of Christmas 1996, at Luiz's Garage, the gang of samba-loving birds were together trying to party the night away through listening to music on the radio. And it wasn't just any music, it was Christmas music, playing straight into the ears of every bird in the big abandoned auto-garage that was theirs.
"Whoo-hoo!" That sound came from Nico, who was feeling as festive as his friends as he soared across the room.
"Yeah! Yeah!" Pedro chanted and was doing the same thing. Same went for Rafael, Eva, Carlos, and Sophia.
The only members of the group that were on the ground were Luiz, Blu, Jewel, Mikka, and Leo. For Luiz, it was obvious as to why he couldn't join his friends in the air, and the same for the scarlet pair, but the blue pair of lovebirds stayed on the grounds for their own reason. Though they did still have fun with it.
Both Blu and Jewel were holding each other's wings tight and danced in perfect sync to the holiday tunes while also smiling and not having a worry about anything.
"Haha, man you just keep better and better, don't you?" Blu said to his loving girlfriend, who responded, "Oh yeah!"
She laughed and continued dancing while talking to him.
"Just like how you keep getting better and better with your flying. I know you haven't fully completed your ability since you started during the incident on Halloween but still. Everyday you look like you're a little higher."
"Hmm. Thanks for the compliment. I still think I'm gonna be a grounded bird for a while, but I know that one of these days I'll get it. Eventually. And soon enough, I'll be the predator to your prey."
"Ooh hoo. Can't wait, hehe."
"Also, what about the holiday now? Are you enjoying it so far?"
"Absolutely. The time of year where all come together and savor each other's company more as a family. I know we mostly do that everyday and Carnival's probably our 'on the top' holiday but this is great.
"Yeah. Especially with the Messiah's birth story we're always hearing about."
"Oh yeah. Somehow hearing about that story always gives me a good vibe. How Joseph and Mary were given the message of their son that would be born, and how they traveled far to ensure that they would be safe, and were jolly to see that he was born and would grow up to the most selfless man on earth."
"Yep. The kind of story that seems to get the attention of all humans and animals."
"The best kind of story."
The two smiled and continued dancing. Minutes passed while they and their friends still followed the music that played through the radio. No bird or dog was feeling too tired until Mikka decided to ask, "Hey Jewel, are you okay if we switch dancers?"
"Oh sure."
The four birds got ready before they soon switched partners.
Leo got to dance with Jewel.
Mikka got to dance with Blu.
"So sweetie, are you enjoying the holidays?" Mikka asked her adoptive son.
"Yep. This night's been turning out great. And I have the feeling the morning's gonna be just the same. Like last year."
"Last year? Oh yeah, I don't think you guys told us everything you went through before you met us."
"Really? Hmm. Well, are you okay if I do tell you? About what happened for us last Christmas?"
"Sure."
"I would like to listen to it too please." Said Leo, who was close enough to hear his friends as well as Jewel.
"Considering how well you told the story about the Big Thing last Halloween, I would like to hear how you can tell about what happened during our first Christmas." Said Jewel.
So as the others were still dancing to the music, Blu lead his girlfriend and Mikka and Leo to one corner of the garage where it was more quiet. Then the four sat before Blu cleared his throat and said, "Alright. You two really wanna know what happened last year? About the adventure that Jewel and I spent on our first Christmas?" Then they all nodded. "Okay then."
One year ago…(in Blu's POV)
In the middle of the city of Rio de Janeiro, on December 24 of 1995, me, Jewel, and our friends Eva, Nico, Pedro, as well as Carlos and Sophia were together flying around (minus us flying since me and Jewel both had to be carried) all over town noticing something pretty interesting.
"Wow." Nico said. "What do you think the people are all doing?" He asked that because for a few hours, we were flying and noticing many humans hang up so many Christmas decorations all around in the cold weather. We finally noticed more when we landed on a roof.
As we observed everyone still going about their business, Carlos explained to us, "The humans are setting up some stuff called Christmas decorations."
Jewel asked, "Decorations? W-What's Christmas?"
Sophia, "Hehe, Christmas is a family holiday humans celebrate every year. Carlos and I know little about it but…"
Carlos, "What we do know is that it's a holiday about families coming together to celebrate the time of each other's company, giving joy and good will, and even extra things like admire the decor, and exchange presents on Christmas morning which is tomorrow. At least that's what we think so far."
"Either way, the idea of it always sounded lovely since Carlos and I first heard of this holiday. We've both enjoyed it since we were kids."
Blu, "Wait a minute. Do you say there were presents involved? Wow. I mean, I know that's not what you are saying is the most important thing, but still…presents? The idea of us giving each other gifts and wondering how good it would be? It sounds fun and cool."
Jewel, "Hey yeah. I do like those decorations there, and the idea of getting presents, and we already hang out together everyday. Could we celebrate Christmas, guys?"
Carlos, "Hmm. Well…"
Sophia, "Carlos and I have mostly just been observing it for years. I don't think we can make the "exchange things" idea happen for us, but for everything else…how would you guys like to go around the city and look at the Christmas lights and other things more?"
"Okay!" All of us said in a joyful tone. Though me and Jewel both felt a little disappointed about the "no gifts" thing, we were mature enough to understand and go with the other plan. It turned out to be very enjoyable. Eva, Nico, and Pedro flew closer to the many lights that people were hanging up, and were ready to be turned on later, me and Jewel looked at every detailed decor through the house windows and loved seeing all the Christmas trees like Carlos and Sophia did. As the few hours passed, it was the same but was still great. The fact that me and Jewel couldn't fly yet was dumb, but Carlos and Sophia still carried us all the way, making it pretty fun still.
Then…when the sun was finally setting to its lowest peak…it was officially night, yet no stars in the sky because the city was totally lit up with Christmas and other winter holiday lights. It was a joyous time, especially for us as we were stood on the edge of the roof to one of biggest buildings where we could see every Christmas light.
"Wow." Pedro was the first to say.
Nico, "Yeah, you got that." He and his buddy wing bumped each other.
Eva, "Everything here looks so beautiful."
Sophia, "It sure does, sweetie."
Blu, "Boy, if Rio looks this good during the holiday, then I wonder how the rest of the world does."
When I said that, somehow I had a big feeling that Jewel was thinking the same thing, wondering how exactly the world did look and how it went about with this time of year.
So as that train of thought went on and with how much we've seen, Carlos pointed out something to Sophia.
"Hey honey, look at that. That thing all the way over there."
He pointed to her what looked like a large truck heading to a toy store, a really big toy store.
Sophia said to him, "That's interesting, sweetie, but what are you mentioning it to me for?"
"Hehe, you said we couldn't exchange gifts to one another but what if we maybe take a chance at that truck to that toy store? We'll probably be able to go inside."
"Go inside a toy store? I-I never thought of that before. Do you think that's even safe?"
"Well I doubt it's dangerous. The people there look like they're closing the place. If we get in there fast, maybe we'll be able to spend the night with that place all to ourselves."
"Um…hmm…" Sophia thought that sounded extreme but it would be fun for the kids. So she smiled and said to everyone, "Hey kids?" They turned to her. "I know what I said about no presents, but Carlos has just brought up something fun. Have you kids ever been inside a toy store before?"
"No." I said, and sounded rather excited. And so did Jewel when she said, "Are we going inside one?"
Sophia, "Do you want to?"
Everyone, "Yes!"
Carlos, "Then let's go. Follow me!" He hovered up and gently took me up as Sophia did with Jewel. Then we flew off before Eva and the other two followed. We were on our way to the big toy store, which was really huge as we got closer. And as we were getting closer, we saw a few humans locking the doors, so we paced ourselves further and at the last minute…we all zoomed in through the large backdoor before the only human left shut it. He didn't even notice us as we were officially inside the toy store, and from where we were at…it looked like a room of storage space.
"Uh…no offense, sir, but this don't look much like a toy store." Nico said to Carlos who replied,
"That's because we're not inside that specific section yet. Just hang on." Carlos reassured us, and while he was flying around the room, he found an important door that lead to our real destination. "Hey guys." He called us, and when we ran to him, he was able to (conveniently) unlock the door…and was able to reveal the real public part of the store.
"WHOA!" We all said. Each of us were amazed because there were so many shelves, and in each of them were many, many, many toys. So many of the stuff that humans call "a child's play thing." Each of those things were like plastic copies of cool stuff like…not just birds or other animals, but also dragons, knights, superheroes, aliens, robots, and strange humans that looked obessed about pink stuff. It was like a playful utopia.
"Oh, ho ho ho, this is so cool!" Pedro chanted, and he zoomed into the first thing that he thought was cool. He got into a child size DJ set.
Nico did the same but got to mess with the disco balls while Eva and Jewel played with all the dolls in the room. Sophia watched them.
I followed Carlos as I helped him find the right light switch to brighten up the room more. After that, we got to take a look at all the balls and action figures before doing anything else.
So for the past few hours, everything seemed fun for us as we messed around. But we did our best to make sure nothing was ruined or anything. So as the night was later becoming "older", the five of us decided to lay down and relax while Carlos and Sophia sat somewhere else together.
We each sighed and felt tired since we also got into some candy as well. Too much of it made us feel lazy and done for the night, so we just stared up into the ceiling.
"Man…" Pedro spoke. "Does anybody wanna say that for our first Christmas, this turned to be the best.
Everyone, "Oh yeah."
Jewel, "Candy, lights, and a toy store all to ourselves."
Eva, "I wonder if this is how every human kid feels every Christmas."
"Yeah. Maybe it is. But do you think Carlos and Sophia were right about the part with presents not being the most important thing about the holiday?" I asked.
"I don't remember them saying it exactly like that. But yeah. The part where they said families would come together, to give each other company, joy, and good will? It…it feels like the kind of holiday I wish I could've celebrated with my family." Jewel said, and as she was the first to sat up, I noticed a tear come out of her eye. It made feel bad for her since I knew what she meant. So I sat up and gave her a hug, to which she liked and hugged me back, while I did blush over it.
"Thank you, Blu."
"You're welcome. You know, Jewel…you're not alone on this. I also wish I could celebrate this time with my family. B-But at least…the one I have right now is already here."
"What?"
I showed her what I meant. I pointed to our friends and said, "These guys. Our friends are our family."
Then Eva sat up and said, "Hey he's right. Jewel, I know you miss your parents and friends, but look at us. We've all been having great times together since we met, and we've treated each other like a family. Plus…Jewel, you're like a sister to me and all of us together have had the best times. I think we are a family together."
Nico, "I think Pedro and I feel the same way."
Pedro, "Definitely, girl."
Sophia, "Not only that, Jewel…I know we could never replace your mom and dad but I promise you, Carlos and I have and will continue to do what we can to make both you, Eva, and everyone here happy. Do you like that?"
Jewel looked at everyone and knew that we were right. Throughout the year we've done our best to make her happy, and having her understand that, made her beak quiver and more tears came out before she hugged me and Sophia.
"Thank you so much, guys. I love you all." She said.
"I-we love you too, Jewel." I said, in a very nervous tone. Then everybody came into a group hug, showing Jewel that we meant what we said even more.
After ten seconds, we released the hug and noticed something going on outside. Humans from the buildings around were gathering together and had Christmas music to danced to. It looked pretty fun, which made Carlos say to us, "You know something, guys? I get that you all enjoyed your time here in the toy store, but how would you like to go outside to join the party over there? Making it real family time."
"Yeah!" We chanted.
"Alright!" Then he carried me and Jewel again, and we were able to get out of the building (through the air vents) before joining everyone at the Christmas party in the streets. Where music was playing over the radio and we got to dance the night away. And where I was able to dance with the girl of my life, who was happy to know that no matter what, she still had a family with her.
Back to the Present…(normal POV)
"There were of course other details to that night and the party at the end but I can't remember all of them. However, it was a good holiday where we got to appreciate each other's company more, learned more about how the holiday started, and it convinced us to make a new tradition; looking at the lights at night before having our own private Christmas music party." Blu finished the story.
Jewel, "And it made me happy to be part of this family even more than I did before."
Mikka, "Aww."
Leo, "That was a great story, you two."
"I agree. It sounds like even we understand the importance of this holiday. Family and even remembering the birth of the man who showed everyone in the past that. Thanks for sharing it, Blu."
"You're welcome…Mom. And thank you guys again for adopting me. Since then I've felt like this family has gotten a whole lot bigger."
Leo, "No problem, sport."
From there, Blu, Jewel, Mikka, and Leo hugged each other tight, not noticing that the others were listening and loved the re-telling. Then they all joined back into the music.
A few hours later, the gang still went on and no one felt tired out yet.
Blu and Jewel were having the most fun, and spoke more before anything else happened.
Jewel chuckled, "Hehe, oi this has been a good night, hasn't it?"
Blu, "Definitely. So did you really enjoy my re-telling of our first Christmas?"
"Yep. As always you're quite the story teller. And seriously, even before you and I became boyfriend and girlfriend, I always loved you looking out for me. I don't know what my life would be like without you."
"Thanks. And just know that I'll always feel the same way about you. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas. Oh and one more thing, Blu."
"Yeah?"
"That night when you tried to say 'we love you too', were you trying to tell me that you love me?"
"Huh?" Blu blushed again, beginning to babble. "W-W-Well…no, uh, maybe, well, I don't…"
Jewel chuckled to his nervous reaction and just kissed him before saying, "I love you too." From then on, the two just smiled and continued the party which made the whole Christmas night a great one for the feathery samba gang.
Alright. Done with the chapter, like how we're all done with the year.
Now onto the announcement with my Q&A. Because of the reviews…I have decided to stop my series…from here that is. I'm going to continue the Arsenal Saga here eventually, but for any future Q&A episodes, I will post those on DeviantART from now on. And if you want to find them, you can see their links on my Google Plus posts from my page.
Hopefully that'll be just as fun.
So from there, all I can say for now, is have a good final day of 2018, and have a Happy New Year!
Also, know that I won't be posting anything else like a review here or Youtube comment until Wednesday night due to an important task I have to be prepared for on that day.