Chapter 6 'Rio'
Wow, I'm already continuing it? Yes, because I have nothing better to do.
Anyways, I don't have much to talk about, so let's just get on with it! Enjoy or suffer.
18/10/2020
A few days had passed, and they were at last on the flight to Rio de Janeiro. Bluey laid in his cage, which sat on an unoccupied seat by the window. Again, they were on the left side of the plane. Martin sat in the middle seat, and Luana sat on the right seat.
Martin was reading a book, and Luana was asleep.
''Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary…'', Martin quietly sung to himself, as a song suddenly popped into his head. Bluey was getting tired of being in this cage,
''I can't wait to get out and stretch my wings…'', Bluey mumbled to himself. He peered out of the window, and Bluey's eyes widened as he saw they were over the city. Rio de Janeiro looked stunning from the air, and it was gargantuan. To be fair, over 10 million people live there.
The plane was coming in for a landing on the airport, and it was a large airport. To be fair, Rio de Janeiro is a tourist Mecca.
The plane landed on the runway, and the passengers got out of the plane. Bluey and Martin hadn't been exposed to the weather yet, as they were still indoors as they exited the plane through a tube.
And so, they collected their baggage and made their way out of the terminal. Upon exiting, Martin and Bluey both felt the sudden change in temperature. Inside, it was cool and dry. Outside, it was quite humid and hot for them. Although Luana didn't seem too fazed, as she's a Carioca and is used to the tropical weather. Bluey and Martin, however, were not, as they lived in Moose Lake, a place that recorded weather colder than the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit.
Along with the flustering rise in temperature and humidity, the somewhat overwhelming brightness also effected Martin in particular. He felt the tingly sensation in his nose and he put his mouth and nose to his sleeve and sneezed. The sudden sneeze did startle Luana slightly, who promptly stopped walking and turned her head back to see Martin wiping his face. Bluey was also mildly startled with the noise and a slight jerk, which shook his cage slightly, as Martin was carrying it.
''Bless you.'', Luana spoke, and Martin cracked a small sheepish smile, as they kept walking.
''Yeah, that happens a lot whenever I go outside and see the sun.'', Martin told her, ''Although we don't get too much sun back in Moose Lake, so it doesn't happen all too often.'', Martin dryly joked, as they kept on walking towards the expansive parking lot serving the airport.
''Well, we get a lot of sun here, except when it rains, of course.'', Luana added, knowing this place was so much different to Moose Lake in so many ways.
''I think that's the same for most places: Sunny except when it isn't.'', Martin joked, and Luana rolled her eyes as she smiled a bit at his sense of humour.
So, they headed to a jeep that Luana had put in long term parking before she had headed off to Moose Lake in search of the male Spix's Macaw they needed for their breeding programme to work. Spix's macaws can't reproduce asexually, after all. It was surprisingly easy and didn't take too long to find the jeep, contrary to what Martin had suspected, given the sheer size of the parking lot and the amount of cars parked there, he expected it to take a while.
Once they reached the jeep that was parked in an area that was for long term parking, hence the relative ease of finding it, Luana unlocked it and they got in. Bluey's cage was placed securely in the back. Along with that, their luggage was also placed in the back. Once they were done, Luana turned the car keys, and they drove off.
Look there! I see a tropical paradise,
girt by sea and green.
Bluey stared out in wonder at the city. It was beautiful! Seeing it in pictures and videos and on TV was one thing, and seeing it from the air was another thing too, but to actually see it in person (or in macaw) was just amazing. They were driving through Copacabana, and the beach was massive and filled with thousands of beach goers enjoying the sunshine and water.
See the golden beaches,
and the hordes of chicas who go there.
Waves tumbling in on the surf and sand,
go out and party all you can.
Palm trees lined the boulevard that separated the road from a plaza like section, and the beach itself. It was the polar opposite of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Rio de Janeiro was tropical, big, bustling and just plain beautiful, or at least in the south zone where all the tourists went, which is where they are right now. Moose Lake had the quaint small town charm, but there's something intriguing about big cities, at least from an outsider's/tourist's perspective. There are obvious downsides, like traffic, busyness, and a few other things. But its still incredible nonetheless.
Summer is all year round,
no need to wait for winter to be over.
Joy knows no bounds
when in the tropical tourist Mecca,
it can't be better.
Bluey felt a sense of isolation being in this cage. Although at the same time, he felt nice and safe in there. At least he knew he was protected from the outside, although he did deep down want to just spread his wings and fly out into that hot tropical air, but he supposed he should wait until he adjusts to the weather. Oh and, you know, until he actually learns how to fly.
Why its Rio,
the tropical trio,
and the place to go,
for samba and summer year-round.
It's no wonder it attracts the crowds,
because Sao Paulo ain't quite like Rio,
it's for real.
Martin was also enjoying the scenery around them. There were many people on the footpaths, including a boy who was skating on the footpath next to their jeep. It seemed the people in Rio were outside more than in Moose Lake. To be fair, it gets very cold in Moose Lake and most people prefer to stay indoors where its nice and warm, rather than the frigid weather outside. Luana noticed him looking around in awe,
''Wow, this place is amazing!'', Martin said in awe. Luana took a quick glance at him with a smile,
''Much different than what you're used to, right?'', Luana asked in a somewhat tongue in cheek manner, letting off a small chuckle. Martin also chuckled,
''No, it's nothing different.'', Martin responded cheekily.
Blue skies and sunshine,
down onto the gem of South America.
Look up at the sky!
See the birds of paradise,
flying high in the sky.
Bluey looked up at the sky and saw colourful birds flying around joyously. He frowned, as he heard faint laughter coming from them.
They're probably having the time of their lives up there,
but we can still party to our heart's content down here.
Birds fly in many hues,
red, green, yellow and blue,
like the umbrellas at Copacabana,
it's true.
Bluey sighed, as he knew he'd never join those birds up there. A lifelong insecurity of his was coming up again, and it was even more insulting as many of those birds were beautiful macaws. But Bluey decided to think positively. At least he'd be seeing a girl, and Bluey smiled. He came here for a reason, and that is to save his species. So, he decided to brush those thoughts aside and stuck his head out of his cage, like a dog sticking its head out of a car window, enjoying the wind blowing on his face. Which proved to be a very pleasant sensation, and Bluey wanted to put his wings out too, but he couldn't thanks to the restrictions of the cage he was in.
Why its Rio,
the tropical trio,
and the place to go,
for samba and summer year-round.
Bluey was startled by two people wearing strange masks, he jumped back in fright as they walked away. The jeep also came to a stop, as people crossed the road, dancing about. Martin was confused as hell, and Luana picked up on it.
''Oh, its just right about time for Carnival – The biggest party on Earth!'', Luana proudly told him. Martin spotted a woman dancing about.
It's no wonder it attracts the crowds,
because Sao Paulo ain't quite like Rio,
it's for real.
''Is she a performer?'', Martin asked, pointing at the woman.
''Yes, and she is also my dentist.'', Luana answered, and she honked at her as she stood up, ''Doctor Barbosa!'', she called out. Doctor Barbosa took notice and looked back at her.
''Oh! Don't forget to floss, Luana!'', she called back with a laugh.
''I sure won't forget!'', Luana answered. She sat back down, letting out a brief chuckle.
''Do you wash the toothpaste out with mouthwash?'', Martin asked, and Luana snapped her fingers.
''No, but I will be from now on!'', she declared. Meanwhile, Bluey was watching the people go by, when he heard the flapping of small wings and some chatter in Portuguese. Bluey looked in the direction the noise was coming from, and saw a yellow canary wearing a bottlecap as a hat of sorts, and a rather fat red crested cardinal flying beside him. Bluey guessed the two were friends, symbolic brothers or gay lovers. Bluey didn't care which, as he'd probably never see these two birds again.
Wait, why is a canary in Rio? Bluey wondered as he cocked his head. The two hovered near his cage and started speaking to him. Bluey quickly decided to ask them if they could speak English.
''Uh… ¿Habla usted Inglés?'', Bluey awkwardly asked. The two birds shot him a quizzical look,
''Uh, that's Spanish, bro.'', the red crested cardinal told him.
''Yeah, we speak Portuguese here.'', the yellow canary added. Bluey sheepishly and nervously chuckled,
''Yeah sorry, I'm not from here.'', Bluey told them. Again, they shot him a confused look,
''You sure as hell look like you are.'', the canary commented.
''So, you here for Carnival?'', the red crested cardinal asked. Bluey noticed how both of them had a rather thick black accent, which was odd because one would assume, they'd – I don't know – have a Brazilian accent.
''Or you just on holidays?'', the canary added. Bluey shook his head, and began to blush ever so slightly,
''Oh no, I'm actually here to see a…'', Bluey paused, beginning to blush slightly, ''Girl…'', he finished as he smiled sheepishly. The canary and cardinal looked at each other with a smirk,
''Ooh, a girl…'', the cardinal said in a suggestive manner. Bluey blushed a little harder, with his feathers sticking up more than they were before.
''Okay, so we gon' help you get lucky with this girl. So just follow our advice, and you should be rubbin' her genie lamp in no time…'', the canary told him, winking at him at the innuendo he chucked in at the end. Bluey's eyes widened when he said the last part, understanding full well what he was meaning. He chuckled in response, unsure of how else to respond.
''So, what you wanna do, is make the first move. Brazilian ladies respond to confidence.'', the canary told him, striking a pose with his cardinal friend/symbolic brother/lover. The canary acted as the guy, and the cardinal as the girl.
''Okay.'', Bluey nodded, and they parted from their pose.
''Yeah, its all about that swagger! You gotta pump out that chest, swing those tail feathers, and narrow your eyes, like some kind of crazy love hawk!'', the cardinal said, doing demonstrations for each part, and ending it all with some chirpy bird equivalent of a wolf whistle.
''Okay, I've got it.'', Bluey said with a slight hint of confidence. The two flew closer to his cage,
''So, you need any advice on doing "the deed"?'', the canary asked suggestively, with his cardinal [boy]friend giggling in a deep voice. Bluey's eyes widened and his feathers skyrocketed up even further,
''Oh, no! No, no, no, no! I'm all good!'', Bluey quickly responded.
''You sure?'', the cardinal pressed on.
''Yeah, I'm all good! I'm sure I'll do well!'', Bluey answered, nervously laughing.
''Okay, suit yourself.'', the cardinal responded, ''But first, we gotta bust you out of that cage!'', he declared, as began to ram into the cage.
''I'm gonna pop this cage open like a soda can!'', he exclaimed, but soon became exhausted.
''You call that popping?'', the canary remarked at his friend's vain attempts to "Pop [the] cage open like a soda can!".
''No, no need to, I love the cage!'', Bluey laughed, trying to get them to stop before the cardinal drops dead from exhaustion.
''Man, that thing is robust.'', the cardinal commented, exhausted, ''Okay, you do you.'', he added as he flew up beside the canary. The jeep began to go forward, albeit slowly.
''Oh, and don't forget: Crazy love hawk!'', the cardinal added, flying beside the jeep and ending it with that same weird chirpy bird equivalent of a wolf whistle. Bluey assumed it was called something like the "Love hawk squawk", which was a better name than a wolf whistle, as it rhymed.
Besides, Bluey was sure that a wolf can't even whistle, and if they could, they probably don't whistle like that. Maybe the name came from the fact that most people who do that are creeps, or as some would put it: predators. But Bluey had no idea, as he never looked into the etymology of the term "wolf whistle", and he frankly didn't care that much about it to do so.
''I won't!'', Bluey called out as the jeep started to go faster. The yellow canary and red crested cardinal flew away, leaving Bluey to wonder if all the locals were like that, or if they were just weird.
The rest of the drive went without incident, and it took about 40 minutes to arrive at the Centro de Conservaçāo Ambiental, which was Portuguese for something about a centre for environmental conservation, which was both Bluey and Martin's best guess what it said, based off of the closest English words to the Portuguese words.
Bluey knew that this was the place where he'd do something important. This is the place he'll hopefully lose his virginity and save his species. Bluey was both excited and worried about this.
Well, that wraps up this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.
The song that Martin was humming is called The Great Deceiver, by King Crimson. The song slaps, I'd highly recommend listening to it. The other song is called Rio, and it is written by me. I imagine it to be a mix of new wave and traditional style samba music. The first half with the two verses and choruses is the new wave part, with some traditional style samba music accompanying it. The singing is like the song of the same name by Duran Duran, plus that electric guitar riff that plays during it. The rest of the song after the second chorus is a traditional style samba instrumental outro.
Anyways, next part should be out soonish, as I have a surge of inspiration and will to write this story.
EDITED ON 01/04/2021: Added more detail and dialogue. Sorry for the lack of updates and stuff from me. So to the one or two people reading this, I am not dead. I hope to continue writing soon.
Until next time, goodbye.
