Love Hawk
Chapter Five: Dance, Duel and Doubt
As the produce truck reached it's destination, a crowded marketplace, the sudden stop caused both Blu and Jewel to fall out of the back, and Blu ended up sprawled all over Jewel.
"Well, hello..." He smirked.
Jewel pushed him off, annoyed. Looking at the chain, she declared "I'm gonna chew through my own leg if this doesn't come off soon."
"Relax." Rafael reassured her. "If I know Luiz, we're right where we want to be."
"Hey, Ralfy!" Called a voice from above.
It was Nico and his red-crested cardinal friend.
"If it isn't the king of carnival." Nico cheered.
"Nico! Pedro!" Smiled Rafael. "What up, family?"
"Where you been hiding yourself, bird?" Pedro asked.
"Man, I thought you was dead!" Declared Nico.
"Hold up, rewind!" Said Pedro, noticing Blu and Jewel. "Ain't that the bird from the cage?"
"Guess he didn't need our advice, after all." Smirked Nico, looking at Jewel.
"You work fast!" Pedro complimented Blu.
"Baby got beak!" Said Nico.
"You was locked up, and now you rolling with a hot wing?" Asked Pedro. "Whoo! I wanna be like you!"
"What can I say?" Smirked Blu, putting one wing around Jewel. "The ladies just can't resist me!"
"No, it's not what you think." protested Jewel, slipping out of Blu's grasp. "We're just... chained together."
"Hey, I'm not judging you." Said Nico.
"Keep it spicy!" Said Pedro suggestively.
"Oh, yeah!" Agreed Nico.
"Hey, guys, we're looking for Luiz." Rafael explained. "Have you seen him?"
"Yeah, I seen him." Said Pedro. "But you didn't, because you just missed him. He took the trolley back to the garage."
"Oh, great." Groaned Jewel.
"Realx, baby bird." Nico told you. "You can catch the next one."
"Yeah!" Agreed Pedro. "It's time to take it to the next level!"
"What's wrong with this level?" Asked Blu.
"C'mon, this ain't the level." Pedro declared. "The next level's the level. You gotta shake your tail feathers!"
Rafael, Nico and Pedro began dragging and pushing a protesting Blu and Jewel.
"We gotta get this chain off!" Spluttered Blu.
"Come on, lovebirds, you're in Rio!" Smiled Rafael. "You should enjoy yourselves!"
"Yeah, live a little!" Smirked Nico.
Blu and Jewel were pushed to a tarp-covered collection of crates and boxes. As they passed through a small gap, they entered a world of music and lights, where birds of all kinds were dancing to funky music.
"Welcome to paradise!" Declared Nico.
"Some party, huh?" Smiled Rafael.
"My kind of place." Said Blu, looking around. "Pretty ladies, everywhere I look!"
He winked at Jewel, who simply tutted.
"E ai, garerra!" Nico greeted the patrons.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Nico called to the crowd at large. "Ralfy has some special guests from out of town, and let's show them some love, because I don't think they get out much!"
"Yoyoyoyoyo!" Boomed Pedro. "Everybody put your wings together, clap 'em as loud as you can! Flap 'em, clap 'em, I don't care, slap 'em!" He then made his "love hawk" call twice in a row.
"Party in Ipamena, baby." Nico crooned.
The two beat on drums fashioned from old cans, and burst into song.
I want to party
I want to samba
I want to party
I want to samba
I want to party
And live my life (live my life)
I want to party (party)
And fly
Hi, imma fly, fly just like a bird
(But you are a bird!)
Oh yeah, you're right,
So let me fly just like a rocket, then (ok)
Fly so high where I need to come down for oxygen (hey)
Cause once we start it, baby, ain't no ain't no stoppin' then (hey)
Cause I just want to live my life, and party (hey)
All I want is to be free, and rock my body (ok)
Ain't nowhere around the world that I want to live my life
In Rio
Cause in Rio
In Rio, I realize
The music had a strange effect on Blu. First, his foot started tapping in time to the beat, then he started bobbing his head. As his tail feathers began to twitch, a long-forgotten memory of a Blu as a chick dancing in a tree hollow popped into his mind, and his entire body began dancing beyond his ability to control it.
"What are you doing?" Asked Jewel, both bemused and impressed.
"Uhhh... I don't know!" Admitted Blu, as his body contorted into more and more elaborate moves.
"Alright, Blu!" Cheered Rafael from the sidelines.
Deciding to just go with the flow, Blu's dancing got better and better. Jewel began dancing herself, looking alluringly at Blu as she did so.
"Hey, she likes you." Rafael told him.
"Of course she does!" Blu replied confidently.
"Then when are you going to make a move? Come on, the time is ripe!" Rafael exclaimed.
"Well... Maybe later..." Blu said hesitantly.
"Ahh... Go wait for your feathers to fall off. Go on!" Rafael chuckled.
Rafael pushed Blu into Jewel. Blu expected her to recoil, but instead, she nudged him and started dancing. He danced along with her. As they moved together in perfect step, Blu felt a strange tingly feeling. He smiled at Jewel, who, to his astonishment, smiled back. As they danced around each other, Blu took her wing and pulled her in close, which actually caused her to giggle. As the music reached a crescendo, they wrapped their wings each other and spun rapidly. Blu then launched Jewel into the air, where she began singing:
"Layalayalayalaya..." She sang, bathed in the club's lights, flapping her wings to stay airborne.
Blu stared at her, lovestruck. 'Wow.' He thought. 'Just like an angel...'
"Layalayalayalayaaaaaa..." Finished Jewel, as she came back down to earth.
For a moment, the two chained birds simply gazed to each other. Then they started leaning forward, their beaks inching closer, closer, closer...
Then the tarp was pulled off, blinding the birds with sunlight. They regained their vision in time to see a band of marmosets descending on them. The sinister simians had been enlisted by Nigel to track down Blu and Jewel, and had finally located them. Their leader, the one wearing a gold wristwatch as a belt, swaggered up to them.
"You two are coming at me." He sneered at Blu and Jewel.
"In your little monkey dreams." Jewel sneered back, spitting at the marmoset's feet.
"You heard the lady." Said Blu, also spitting.
As the marmoset scowled, Rafael tried to settle things peaceably.
"Come on!" He put a wing around the marmoset. "Can't we all just get along?"
"This isn't your fight, big nose!" Snarled the marmoset, before he was grabbed by a roseate spoonbill.
"You mess with my friends, you mess with me." The spoonbill declared.
"And us!" Cried the rest of the assembled birds.
For a moment, the two sides merely stared each other down. Then...
"Birds versus monkeys!" Yelled Pedro.
"Get them!" Commanded the head marmoset.
The two armies clashed. Nico and Pedro launched berries at their targets, Rafael used his "big nose" as a weapon. Blu and Jewel used their chain to trip one marmoset up, but Blu was then tackled by the leader. Thinking quickly, Jewel pulled at the chain, causing it come up to the lead marmoset's groin. As they shared a winning smile, Blu and Jewel heard the bell of the trolley.
"We gotta go!" Declared Jewel.
"Need a lift?" Asked the spoonbill, lifting Blu and Jewel up by the chain.
The marmosets tried to stop by grabbing Blu and forming a chain, but Nico was able to break by throwing his bottlecap hat like a shuriken.
"Take that, you funky monkey!" He taunted, before he and Pedro followed.
The spoonbill deposited Blu and Jewel on the trolley.
"Thanks!" Called Blu.
"Anytime!" The spoonbill called back.
Rafael, Pedro and Nico then joined them.
"Now that's what I'm talking 'bout!" Cheered Pedro.
"Oh man, we threw down!" Blu gloated.
"Yeah, we threw down!" Agreed Jewel.
"You guys were like fire and ice!" Rafael told them.
"Thunder and lighting!" Added Nico.
"Hip and Hop!" Smiled Pedro.
"Yin and yang!" Blu offered, trying to act mysterious. He put his wing around Jewel into a close one-armed hug.
'Okay, fine. But if he pushes it...' Jewel thought while frowning slightly. Sure enough, Blu started to dip towards Jewel's beak. 'Yep, he's pushing it.'
Jewel shoved Blu slightly to the left, making him lose balance and land flat on his back, a surprised expression on his face.
The sky rang with the laughter of other friends.
A short while later, the sun began to set over Rio. Blu sat at the front of the trolley, next to Jewel. Looking behind him, he saw that Rafael, Nico, and Pedro were observing him intently. Rafael gestured for him to get closer to Jewel, to which he whispered, "I got this!"
Starting with an old favorite, he slowly made to put his wing around her shoulder. However, she quickly spotted him.
"What are you doing?" She asked, an odd smile on her beak.
"I... thought you looked cold." Blu said lamely. "Figured I'd warm you up."
"I'm fine, thanks." Said Jewel, gently pushing his wings away.
"Oh, okay." Blu said quietly.
At that moment, Nico began to sing a love song.
Wasn't really thinking, wasn't looking, wasn't searching
for an answer
In the moonlight
When I saw your face...
'Mood music.' Thought Blu gratefully. 'I can use this.'
"Wow." Sighed Jewel, admiring the view. What a beautiful sunset."
Blu opened his mouth, intending to say something charming and witty to Jewel.
'Tell her the sunset's not as beautiful as she is.' He thought to himself. 'That'll work.'
Blu looked back towards Jewel, and he noticed something that made the words die in his mouth. He felt the tingly, strange new feeling that he'd only felt once before: at the club, dancing with Jewel. His feeling suddenly allowed him to see with sharp clarity. He observed how the feathers on Jewel's head flowed with the wind, how her wings resting on the trolley were perfectly preened, how her ocean-blue eyes seemed to beckon to him...
So enamoured with her eyes was he, that it took a moment for Blu to see that Jewel had realized he was staring.
Blu instinctively flinched despite himself, expecting his face to be rearranged. No blow came. After Blu hesitantly opened his eyes, he saw that Jewel was looking at him, with her head slightly cocked and a quizzical smile on her face. Blu coughed, a bit embarrassedly, to cover his rare moment of inadequency. He quickly reflected upon what just happened.
'Wow, she is beautiful...' Blu thought. 'I wonder why she didn't kill me for staring at her? And how come I lost my train of thought? What was that feeling I just had? Could it.. could it be true love? Wait, then does this mean she likes me back?'
All of these things spun around inside Blu's head, and to make it short, he had a personal mini nervous breakdown.
"Blu, are you alright?" Jewel asked, a little concerned.
"Oh, yeah, perfect! I'm okay, fine! Awesome. Never been better..." Fortunately, Blu somehow managed to stop this nervous blubbering and keep from making a total fool of himself.
"Umm... if you say so." Jewel looked away, a bit disturbed, yet smiling slightly due to Blu's antics.
Blu mentally berated himself for missing a golden chance. However, by now he totally lost his courage and finally turned to Rafael for help. Rafael sighed, shaking his head, and flew next to Blu below the top of the trolley.
"Say to her, 'I love your smile!'" Rafael whispered to Blu.
"Rafael loves your smile!" Blu said to Jewel, putting on a smooth smile.
"What?" Jewel frowned, not sure if he heard him right.
"Nevermind. Tell her, 'You have beautiful eyes.'" Rafael muttered.
Clearly not realizing his mistake, Blu said, " I have beautiful eyes!"
Jewel gave him a weird look, saying, "Uhhh... yeah, okay. Sure. They're, they're nice..." Then, she looked away.
If Rafael hadn't been flying, he would have face-palmed. "No! Her eyes. Her eyes!"
"Your eyes. Your eyes are great, not mine." Blu amended, grinning. "I mean, you know, mine are okay, but your's... I bet I can see right through them!"
He seriously hoped he'd gotten it right this time. However, all he earned was a disturbed Jewel discreetly looking away.
Rafael decided to take a gamble, seeing as how Blu was failing epicly, and threw caution to the winds. "Blu, just tell her how you feel!"
'Okay, this it.' Blu thought. "Jewel?"
"Yeah?" Jewel replied, smiling, and thinking that Blu might finally get it right this time.
"I've been wanting to tell you, that I... that I..." Blu braced himself and put on a smile.
"You what?" Asked Jewel, looking almost hopeful.
"I... I..." Began Blu, the words dying on his tongue. "Forget it." He sighed. "It's nothing."
"Oh." Said Jewel, looking disappointed. "Okay..."
'What is wrong with me?' Blu screamed inside his head. 'Why couldn't I just tell her? I'm such a coward!'
Dropping his head in shame, Blu spent the rest of the ride in total silence.
To Be Continued...
(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)