Amazon Adventures
Chapter Twenty-Five: Air-niversary
An entire year had passed since Blu and his family had arrived in the Amazon. To honor the occasion, Eduardo had arranged for a big celebration to be held, inviting all manner of the jungle's denizens. Acknowledging the occasion, Blu's friends from Rio had arrived just in time to join in the celebrations. Nico, Pedro, Rafael and Eva (who had talked the reluctant Kipo into babysitting their new arrivals) stood alongside Blu and his family, eagerly awaiting the start of the festivities.
"Just over a year ago, I thought my daughter was dead." He told the Blue macaw tribe. "We were on the run from loggers, and locked in a bitter rivalry with the Red macaw tribe. But all that soon changed. Now, my darling Jewel has returned to me, we are finally safe from the loggers, and we are at peace with our red cousins. And we have one bird to thank for all of that: My son-in-law, Blu!"
The tribe cheered wildly, as did several of the animals in attendance. Blu waved modestly, while Jewel nuzzled against him.
"How about a few words, Blu?" Mimi asked.
"Well, I... wow." Blu said humbly. "I really don't know what to say. I just did what had to be done, that's all."
"Listen to Mr modesty here." Jewel chuckled. "You should be proud of yourself, Blu. I know I am."
"Thanks, honey." Blu smiled.
"Oh, yeah!" Tiago whooped. "Our dad's the best!"
"Like there was ever a doubt." Carla grinned.
"So true." Bia nodded.
"Aw, guys..." Blu blushed, as Jewel wrapped her wings around him.
The Red macaw tribe flew in to join them. Miguel waved to Bia, and she waved back, as Felipe approached Eduardo.
"Yo, Eddie." Felipe told Eduardo. "We're not late for the party, are we?"
"You're just in time." Eduardo smiled.
"Thanks for the invite, by the way." Felipe grinned.
"No problem." Eduardo nodded. "This celebration is for all of us, after all. Now, enough talk. Let's party!"
"Now that's what I like to hear!" Felipe chuckled.
All sorts of natural music filled the air. The birds twanged on twigs, monkeys used turtle shells as bongos, and Amazon river dolphins squeaked in symphony. It was similar to the "Amazon Untamed" show, but in a much grander scale, as the denizens of the rainforest celebrated their first year of true freedom from unsavoury human interlopers.
Miguel wasted no time in joining Bia.
"Hi, Bi." He smiled.
"Hi, Mig." Bia chuckled coyly. "Wanna dance?"
"You know I'm not that good, right?" Miguel said awkwardly.
"Sure I do." Bia took his wing. "And I don't much care."
"You're the best." Miguel beamed, as Bia started dancing with him.
Eduardo and Felipe watched them from afar.
"So that's Miguel, eh?" He appraised the young Green-winged macaw. "Seems like a fine young bird."
"Boy, how things change." Felipe chuckled. "A couple years back, the idea of a blue macaw and a red macaw getting together woulda made us both nuts."
"Nuts?" Eduardo snorted. "I'd have exiled any member of my tribe that chose to fraternise with a Red macaw."
"Good thing that's all behind us, huh?" Felipe smiled. "'Cause I'd hate to have to break up that lovely li'l couple."
"So would I." Eduardo nodded.
The two tribe leaders looked on as their flocks mingled freely. Even Antonio, his new girlfriend Maya by his side, joined in, moving in synch alongside a group of Red and Blu macaws.
Meanwhile, Jewel was dancing with Blu.
"So, how was your first year in the jungle?" Jewel asked.
"Better than I ever thought it would be." Blu smiled. "My life has changed so much over the last few years. I used to think the comforts of a warm library were all I needed. And now look at me, living out in the wild like a birdly bird!"
"Oh yeah, very birdly." Jewel nudged him playfully. "But it's not your 'birdliness' that made me fall in love with you. I love you because you're the sweetest, kindest bird I've ever met. That's something I don't ever want you to change."
"You can count on that." Blu embraced his wife.
"I know I can." Jewel nuzzled him. "Now, how about showing me some moves, 'wild bird'?"
"Gladly." Blu grinned.
Blu and Jewel danced together, happy to be in each other's company. After a few moments, another couple accidentally bumped into them.
"Whoops, sorry!" Roberto apologised. "Didn't see you there!"
"We got a little caught up in the rhythm." Evita added.
"No problem." Blu grinned.
"Nice to see you again, Evita." Jewel smiled, having been introduced to her a few weeks back. "You and Roberto still going strong?"
"You know it." Evita beamed. "Bertie's the best!"
"No, that'd be you, Evie." Roberto nuzzled her.
"I'm so happy for you, Beto." Jewel declared. "I knew you'd find the girl for you, sooner or later."
"I never would have done it if it weren't for Blu." Roberto smiled, turning to Blu. "Just one more thing I owe you for, buddy."
"Happy to help, pal." Blu nodded. "I really am."
"This guy." Roberto patted Blu on the shoulder. "You're a lucky girl, Jewel."
"Tell me something I don't know." Jewel chuckled, placing her wing on Blu's other shoulder.
"Enough talk." Evita grabbed Roberto. "More dancing."
"With pleasure." Roberto grinned.
Roberto and Evita danced up a storm.
"Now then, where were we?" Blu offered his wing to Jewel.
"I can't seem to remember." Jewel said jokingly, as she took Blu's wing and slid into his embrace. "Refresh my memory?"
"You got it." Blu chuckled.
The lovebirds held each other close, swaying from side to side. In one swift movement, Blu dipped his wife, instilling a happy squeal in her.
"Now I remember." Jewel nuzzled against him. "Thanks, honey."
"No problem." Blu grinned.
Meanwhile, Nico and Pedro were rocking the party with Carla and Renaldo.
"You got chops, kid!" Nico told Renaldo.
"Yeah, no wonder Carla likes ya so much!" Pedro added.
"Thanks." Renaldo smiled. "It's great to finally meet you, by the way. Carla's told me a lot about you."
"But not so much about you." Nico suddenly frowned. "You treatin' her right?"
"Yeah." Pedro agreed. "This girl's like our honorary niece, so we don't want nuthin' happening to her, got it?"
"Guys..." Carla rolled her eyes.
"Relax, Carls." Renaldo chuckled. "I've been through this before." He turned to Nico and Pedro. "You've got nothing to worry about. This little lady's the best singing partner I've ever had. The prettiest, too. I wouldn't hurt a feather on her head."
"Good enough for me." Nico smiled.
"Me, too." Pedro agreed. "You can sit in with our band any time, kid."
"Now that'd be quite the concert." Carla smiled.
"It'd be nothing without your voice, songbird." Renaldo put a wing around her.
"You're gonna spoil me with all this sweet-talk, you know." Carla blushed.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Renaldo grinned.
Just then, two small blurs flew past them, almost colliding with them.
"Tiago!" Carla yelled, annoyed at the interruption.
"Sorry!" Tiago called.
"Just having a little aerobatics contest!" Skye added.
"That I'm winning." Tiago teased.
"In your dreams." Skye nudged him playfully. "Just remember: winner gets a kiss from the loser."
"Oh, I remember." Tiago chuckled, as they flew off together.
"Well, look at that." Nico grinned, as the pair flew off. "Another perfect match."
"Ain't it great?" Pedro chuckled.
"Oh, yeah." Carla groaned. "Just great. Like one of him wasn't enough..."
Not too far away, Rafael and Eva were dancing together.
"Oh, Rafi." Eva sighed. "You still dance so divinely!"
"Thank you, my sweet little mango." Rafael smiled. "You're no slouch yourself. Now, how about a taste of that beautiful voice of yours?"
"For you, anything." Eva smiled sweetly.
Eva started singing, producing a high-pitched screech that rattled the ears of the surrounding animals.
"Like an angel sent from heaven." Rafael sighed.
"Come here, my pudgy papaya." Eva pulled Rafael in for a kiss.
The surrounding animals sighed in relief, grateful that Eva's beak was being used for something other than singing.
As the celebrations went on, Jewel took a break from dancing with Blu to get a drink of water. Blu took the opportunity to take a breather on a tree branch, and found himself joined by Eduardo.
"Quite a party, huh?" Eduardo smiled.
"You're telling me." Blu nodded. "I can't remember the last time I danced so much."
"I can't remember the last time I felt so safe and secure." Eduardo admitted. "No more running, no more living in fear... all thanks to you, Blu."
"My pleasure." Blu smiled.
"It's funny." Eduardo chuckled. "Thinking back to those early days. I was not impressed with you in the least."
"Oh, I know, sir." Blu admitted.
"I didn't think you were worthy." Eduardo recalled. "Worthy of Jewel. Worthy of being in this tribe. Worthy of even calling yourself a macaw. But you proved me wrong. Right now, I can't think of any bird more worthy than you. I'm proud to call you my son-in-law."
"And I'm proud to call you my father-in-law." Blu grinned.
It was at that point that Jewel returned.
"Hi, daddy." She smiled. "So, what are my two favourite guys talking about?"
"Oh, this and that." Eduardo clapped Blu on the shoulder. "A few more compliments for the bird of the hour."
"Careful." Jewel smiled. "Don't want it all going to his head."
"I don't think we have to worry about that." Eduardo smiled. "Right, Blu?"
"Right." Blu nodded. "Not to sound ungrateful, or anything, but all this praise is a little... embarrassing."
"Humility." Eduardo nodded approvingly. "That's not something you see enough of these days."
As Blu looked away modestly, a flash of light caught in his eyes.
"Ow." He winced.
"What's wrong, Blu?" Jewel asked.
Blu peered down towards the ground, and found the source of the flash. It was the sunlight reflecting off a pair of binoculars, peeking out from behind some bushes. The binoculars lowered, revealing Tulio behind them. Tulio gestured to his left, and was soon joined by Linda and Fernando, who waved towards Blu.
"Looks like we have more guests." Blu smiled.
"Well, look at that." Jewel grinned. "Who says party-crashers are a bad thing?"
Blu, Jewel and Eduardo all raised their wings and called to the humans.
"And to think: There was a time when I thought being seen by a human was the worst possible thing we could do." Eduardo remarked. "But now I know not all humans are trouble. Especially not those three. Why, they're practically family."
Tulio started making his bird calls.
"...Is he trying to talk to us?" Eduardo frowned.
"Yeah." Blu nodded despairingly. "He does that sometimes."
"Or all of the time." Jewel added.
"That's the one downside of family." Eduardo shrugged. "There's always one oddball in the bunch."
"Hey, birds!" Mimi called. "What's with all the standing around? Is this a party, or what? Come on, get those tail feathers in gear!"
"Coming, Mimi!" Eduardo called.
Eduardo took off, ready to rejoin the festivities, with Jewel right behind him. Blu waved one more time to his human friends, and followed his wife and father-in-law back to the party.
As the sun set over the rainforest, the party began to wind down. The guests bid farewell to their gracious hosts, and returned to their own homes. By the time night had fallen, the blue macaw tribe had all returned to their respective hollows, exhausted after a day of celebration. Nico, Pedro, Rafael and Eva had all been provided with "guest hollows," courtesy of Eduardo.
Inside the Gunderson hollow, Bia, Carla and Tiago were fast asleep. Blu and Jewel was still awake, gazing though the mouth of the hollow into the night sky, and holding each other tightly.
"Here's to our first year in the jungle." Jewel whispered.
"And many more to come." Blu nuzzled his wife. He chuckled lightly. "You know, if you'd told me a few years ago that I'd end up making my home in the jungle, I'd have said you were crazy."
"And yet, here you are." Jewel grinned. "You made the jungle your home. I know how hard it must have been at times..."
"It was pretty tough for a while there." Blu admitted. "But as long as I have you and the kids, I can face any challenge."
"You may not be the only other Blue macaw in the world, but you're still my one and only, Blu." Jewel snuggled against her husband. "And I couldn't be happier."
"Neither could I." Blu smiled. "Because as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Like Rafael once told me: 'Happy wife, happy life'."
"Good advice." Jewel yawned, tiredness creeping in. She rested her head against Blu's chest. "Goodnight, sweetie."
"Goodnight, my angel." Blu leaned his own head against her.
It was the end of the wildest year of Blu's life, and there were many more years yet to come. With his family by his side, Blu was more than ready to press forward. The jungle was truly his home, and at that moment, he couldn't imagine a better one.
The End.
(Rio 2 and all associated characters are the property of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox.)