Amazon Adventures
Chapter Four: Bullying Blues
It was another glorious day in the Amazon. Bia, Carla and Tiago woke up, had their breakfast, then flew off to enjoy the morning.
"Man, I love the Amazon!" Tiago cheered, as he flew around a tree several times.
"Easy there, Ti." Carla rolled her eyes. "The day's just begun. You're gonna wear yourself like that."
"Carla's right." Bia nodded. "A bird of your size can't fly like that for too long without tiring himself out."
"Ah, you guys are no fun!" Tiago snorted, as the three landed on the same branch.
"Well, forgive us for looking out for our baby brother." Carla huffed.
"Don't call me that!" Tiago shot back. "I'm only a few minutes younger then you guys!"
"Precisely six minutes and twenty-five seconds younger than Carla, and three minutes younger than me." Bia recalled.
"Right." Tiago nodded.
"Whatever you say, baby bruv." Carla teased.
"Well, what have we here?" A neaby voice asked.
The blue macaw chicks looked up to see a scarlet macaw chick of about their age sneering down at them.
"Who are you?" Bia asked.
"The name's Antonio." The red macaw smirked.
"Nice to meet you, Antonio." Bia said politely. "I'm Bia."
"Carla." Carla added.
"Tiago." Tiago smiled.
"Like I care." Antonio snorted. "See, the thing is, you three are on my turf. This part of the forest is my personal flying grounds."
"Says who?" Tiago asked.
"Says me, pineapple head." Antonio glared.
"Hey!" Tiago yelped, putting his wings to his crest feathers in embarassment.
"No-one insults my brother but me!" Carla growled.
"And me." Bia added. "Besides, you can't just say a part of the forest is yours. It's not like you have ownership papers, or anyth-"
"Zip it, big mouth!" Antonia yelled. "Before all your jabbering gives me a headache!"
Bia closed her beak, shaken by Antonio's words.
"Okay, that's it!" Carla flew up to Antonio. "Leave my little bro and sis alone, or-"
"Or what, tubby?" Antonio smirked. "You gonna sit on me?"
"I-I..." Carla stammered. "I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!"
"That's what they all say, chubbo." Antonio spat, enjoying the hurt look on Carla's face. "Now, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you guys off with a warning this time. But don't let me catch you here again, see?"
Antonio flew away. The blue macaw chicks flew off in the opposite direction, eventually coming to rest on another tree branch. Tiago sniffed.
"Are you... crying?" Carla asked.
"No!" Tiago wiped his eyes. "It's just... why was he so mean?"
"I don't know." Carla sighed. "...I'm not fat, am I, guys?"
"Of course not." Bia replied. "Do I... talk too much?"
"Sometimes." Tiago admitted.
"Tiago!" Carla yelled.
"Sorry!" Tiago cringed. "I never noticed it before, but I do kinda look like a pineapple, don't I?"
Tiago started sniffling again, and Bia lowered her head in sadness. Carla put both wings around them, for what little comfort it brought them.
That afternoon, they returned to their home.
"How was your day, kids?" Blu asked, but got no answer. "Kids?"
"What's wrong?" Jewel asked, noting the looks of sadness on their faces.
"This mean red macaw kid called us names." Tiago told them. "We didn't even do anything to him!"
"Oh, guys..." Jewel sighed. "Come here."
Jewel gave them all a hug.
"Don't you worry." Jewel told them. "Everything's going to be okay."
"What's going to be okay?" Eduardo asked as he entered the tree.
"Some red macaw kid was picking on them." Jewel told her father.
"What?!" Eduardo growled. "What's this kid's name?"
"Antonio." Bia told them.
"Well, pop-pop's not going to take this lying down!" Eduardo declared. "I'll have a talk with Felipe, see if he can do anything."
After working together to repel the loggers, the blue and red macaw tribes had become far more friendly towards each other. There was a high possibility Felipe would honor Eduardo's request.
"Thanks, pop-pop." Carla smiled.
"Anything for my grandkids." Eduardo beamed.
After Eduardo left, Blu walked up to the kids.
"So, you've got a bully problem, huh?" He asked. "I know what that's like. Back in Minnesota, these two Canadian geese would tease me relentlessly. They'd call me all sorts of names, throw snowballs at the bookshop window... you name it."
"So what did you do?" Tiago asked.
"Well, it hurt at first." Blu admitted. "I had no idea why they were treating me like that. But after a while, I learned to just try and ignore them. They still called me names, but I didn't let it bother me anymore. You should do the same with this Antonio character."
"But he says such mean things..." Bia noted.
"And it hurts, I know." Blu nodded. "That's why he's doing it; Because he knows it hurts you. He gets a kick of seeing you get your feelings hurt. But if you can get past his words, and just ignore him, he won't be able to hurt you anymore."
"You really think that'll work, dad?" Carla asked.
"I know it will." Blu smiled. "Because I know all of you. You kids are strong, just like your mother."
"Don't give me all the credit." Jewel nuzzled him. "You have your moments too, you know."
The kids grimaced at their parents' show of affection, but were emboldened by their father's words. They looked at each other, and nodded.
The next morning, Eduardo returned to the tree.
"I talked with Felipe, and he said he'll have a word with that Antonio kid's parents today." He declared. "Hopefully, that's do the trick."
"That's great, pop-pop." Bia smiled.
Soon after, the kids decided to go out again, determined not to let yesterday's experience keep them from having fun. They flew to the lake, surfing on lillypads. But then, they heard a familiar voice.
"Ooh, look who it is." Antonio grinned. "Miss talks-a-lot, chubby, and pineapple head."
The three chicks looked at each other, nodded, then turned away from Antonio.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Antonio came closer, only for his targets to take flight, forcing him to give chase. "Fatty, big mouth, leaf top!"
"Do you guys hear anything?" Carla asked, feigning ignorance.
"Not a thing." Bia shrugged.
"Me neither." Tiago smirked.
Antonio kept throwing out insults, getting more and more angry as they continued to have no effect on his targets.
"Hey, hey!" He shrieked. "Don't ignore me, ya stupid blue babies!"
"Antonio!" Came another voice.
They all turned to see an adult female scarlet macaw flying nearby.
"Mom?!" Antonio gulped.
"So, it is true." Antonio's mom glowered. "I thought Eduardo was just exaggerating, but you really are picking on those poor little blue chicks."
"N-no, I-" Antonio stuttered.
"Save it." His mother said fiercely. "As of right now, you're grounded, mister. Home, now."
Antonio glared at Bia, Carla and Tiago.
"This isn't over." He snarled.
"Like we care." Tiago sneered.
"You can't hurt us anymore." Bia declared.
"So why don't fly back home, momma's boy?" Carla taunted.
Antonio spluttered angrily, then turned and flew away.
"Looks like pop-pop came through for us after all." Bia smiled.
"So did dad." Carla grinned. "He was right about the whole 'just ignore him' thing."
"I'll say." Tiago chuckled. "Did you see the look on his face?"
The three siblings shared a good laugh over their triumph, before flying off to enjoy the rest of their day.
To Be Continued...
(Rio 2 and all associated characters are the property of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox.)