A/N: Mildly Explicit (still T rating, just a little mature)
Jewel V
Jewel Gunderson wasn't always a mother and a mate, nor was she always the kindest macaw. After her rather pampered and glorious childhood was abruptly ended by a roaring forestfire, her story became one of survival. For her entire teenage and early adult life, Jewel had nothing but one possession; her freedom. She always preached the philosophy of freedom above all else, but later in life, she realized how naϊve this was.
For her sixteen years of loneliness she fought against the elements, never staying in one place too long; Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brotas, Santos, São Paulo, Cabo Frio, you name it, she lived there. With no money to her name, she would steal, work the odd job, or simply live in an area too wild for civilization to have its influence. For sixteen long years she was homeless and penniless. She didn't enjoy it, but she accepted that it would be that way for the rest of her life… well… almost accepted. Until the fateful second week of February two thousand-eleven when she was captured by a wacky human in a lab coat and brought to an enclosure where her adventure with Blu would ultimately begin.
To Jewel, Blu was the kindest most loving macaw on the planet. Despite her mistreatment of him, Blu always was patient, kind, and caring. He truly won her heart forever. And it is that same love, that same connection to Blu that sent her into a downward spiral after their argument at the Pit of Doom when he finally showed her what she had done, how she had hurt him. When she finally realized what she did, it was almost too late, as Blu was lying on a bed, slipping away, only recovering by the skilled work of Dr. de Campas. Upon his recovery from his near fatal incident, he was informed that he would have to work an unbelievably stressful job for the rest of his life. All the problems he had, she was the primary cause of. She was the true reason for his now rapidly accelerating aging and annoyances. This guilt is what brought her to her Aunt Mimi for advice.
As she flew to see her aunt, Jewel noticed for the first time the impact that Blu and her father's project to make the tribe more "human" had. The hollows by the waterfalls were turned into apartment buildings, the sounds of music could be heard all around, guards patrolled "streets" where birds of all different species haggled in makeshift marketplaces. The resounding success of the project truly impressed her, just how much the place had changed since she and Blu arrived was unbelievable. (Jewel, who had been cooped up at home taking care of Blu and the children, never really left the area around their hollow since the loggers incident, never got to see the changes)
Realizing she was lost, Jewel flew down to a marketplace shop to ask for directions. The shop she stopped at was a small fruit stand. It's only employee was a Scarlet Macaw taking a snooze in a chair with a straw pork pie hat covering his face.
"Da licença senhor, você sabe a onde está a casa de Mimi?" (Excuse me sir, do you know where Mimi's house is) Jewel inquired.
"Quem? A Duquesa Mimi?, Irmã do rei Eduardo? Você 'sta loca mulher, ela nunca vai deixar vo-" (Who? Dutchess Mimi?, King Eduardo's sister You're crazy woman, she'll never let you-) the man spoke up in a caipira accent before noticing who he was talking to and bowing.
"Desclupe Princesa Jewel, eu não sabia que era você!" (I'm sorry princess Jewel, I didn't know it was you!" He quickly apologized.
"Don't worry about it," Jewel reassured him in English, "I hate the whole titles thing anyway".
"Thank you for understanding madam. Dutchess Mimi lives over there in that hollow" the man informed her, pointing to a tall "apartment" complex carved into a cliff face with a small waterfall flowing into a lake at the bottom.
"Okay, thanks for the directions, ciao!" Jewel thanked him before heading toward the odd building.
"Princess Jewel huh?" Jewel thought to herself as she flew into the lobby of Mimi's apartment. "I was never called that up until now… but I could get used to it."
"Good morning your highness", the receptionist at the lobby called out, shaking her out of her internal monologue.
"Welcome to Lago Belo Hotel and Apartment Complex, who are you here to see?"
"I am here to see my aunt, Mimi."
"That will be the fifth floor, third hollow on your left, It is the only VIP suite on that floor."
"Ok, thank you."
"No problem M'am."
Following the directions of the receptionist, Jewel trudged up the five flights of stairs and wandered through the hallways until she found a set of ornate doors that were clearly Mimi's. It only took two seconds after she knocked to get an answer.
"Come on in my little wildflower, the door is unlocked!" Mimi called out from within the apartment
"Hey aunt Mimi, where are you?" Jewel inquired, entering the grand suit.
"I'm taking a bath, come on in to the spa room, first door on your left" Came a muffled reply.
Upon entering the spa room, Jewel felt more relaxed immediately. The steam, hot tub, gorgeous view of the waterfall, and tile mosaic on ground gave off an atmosphere of calm and clear-headedness.
"So, you seem to be liking my little dwelling sweetie". Mimi noted, while gesturing for Jewel to join her in the hot tub
"Of course I do! When did the tribe become so advanced? it looks like a city for birds!" Jewel replied, joining her aunt.
"Your father and your husband did a great job on modernising the tribe. They hired the best architects, whatever the hell those are, from all over Brazil to build statues, homes, and forros."
"I've gotta compliment Blu on his work when I go back home", Jewel noted in her mind.
"I'm worried about those two, the council hates this so much, when they go back into session, aren't they bound do punish dad and Blu for it?" Jewel remarked worriedly
"Don't worry darling, both Eddie and Blu are smart and tough, they'll get everything to work out" Mimi replied, cutting the conversation short.
"So my little wildflower, what brings you to visit your aunt today." Mimi started, breaking the short silence.
"It's Blu… Aunt Mimi… I still feel wrong about what I did and I feel like I could do more for Blu." Jewel admitted, hanging her head
"Jewel, what you did was awful, but it wasn't completely intentional. You never wanted to hurt him, so, naturally, you apologised and he forgave you" Mimi started.
"However, I don't see how you could do more for him. You stayed cooped up in that hollow for literally years sweetie, you refused to leave his bedside until he recovered, and now that he has made a full recovery, you are there for him, so you are a good mate.
"But Mimi, he was there for me while we were in Rio. I was irresponsible, I took him for granted" Jewel said dejectedly.
"Jewel, I've known you since you were just a hatchling, you're stronger than this. I would gladly give you more advice, but I'd need to have the full picture of your home life in order to advise you on that." Mimi answered after some thought
"Ask away aunt Mimi, I trust you to keep the details private" Jewel replied.
"So, who takes care of the kids most of the time?" Mimi started
"Both of us share that duty, although, before we came to the Amazon, Blu was the more responsible one when it came to the kids." Jewel thoroughly explained
"Who pays the bills?" Mimi continued
"Blu"
"Do both of you have a job?"
"No, just him."
"Who's the protector of the family." Mimi finally asked
"...Him", Jewel embarrassingly admitted
"Really?"
"I'm the more confident one, but I'm weaker than him physically."
"Ok, last question, how often do you two have sex?" Naturally, this question caught Jewel off guard, but she didn't protest.
"Um… about twice"
"A week?"
"No… a day." Jewel admitted with a blush.
"Wow, Blu's stamina must be fantastic."
"Mimi!" Jewel admonished, blushing.
"Well, Is he any good at it?" Mimi continued.
"Good? Mimi, he was fantastic! Blu may have a nerdy personality, but he has hit spots down there that I didn't even know I had."
"Wait… was?"
"You see, the poison did affect his ability to… um… do the thing. It's a sore spot for him. We try and try and try, but he always goes to sleep disappointed in himself."
"Honey, the effects of the poison are temporary. Sure, they hit you hard for a few years, but he will make a full recovery. I think what's really putting strain on your relationship is the fact that you don't really know him."
"Mimi, what are you talking about?! We've been married for twenty years, I've been at his sickbed and helped him recover for five years, how could I possibly not know him?!"
Mimi gave a short laugh and asked, "Honey, what was the last time he told you about his childhood? Better yet, what's the last time you told him about yours?"
Jewel went bug-eyed as realization hit her like a train. The simple thing putting a strain in there relationship was curiosity. They shared love, shared responsibilities, shared their greatest hopes and dreams, but the one thing they never shared were their pasts.
"Oh, and there's one more thing" Mimi noted, snapping Jewel out of her trance. She got out of the tub and walked down a hallway, motioning for Jewel to follow her into a small study. Mimi reached into a desk and pulled out a piece of paper, on it, it said: "Birds Club- Manaus: Voucher for two".
"Take this, you and Blu have gone through a lot, go have fun and grab a drink."
"Thanks Aunt Mimi"
"No go home to your man" Mimi playfully chided
"Ok, I will, see you later Auntie!"
"Bye Jewel!"
Blu IV
"Honey, I'm home!"
"Hey baby, I'm in the office!"
Jewel waltzed up the stairs, in a cheery mood and walked into Blu's office which was crowded with papers.
"What's up baby? you seem to be in a good mood" Blu asked, taking off his glasses and shifting his attention away from his work to his mate.
"It's just that I hadn't been to the new area of the tribe, you and pop-pop did such a good job!"
"Thanks honey, it took a lot of convincing to get him to agree to everything, but he shares your sentiment about the results."
"What about the Council of Elders? I doubt they liked this"
"They hate it Jewel, but there's nothing they could do about it because Eduardo and I 'accidentally' decided to to it when they are out of session" Blu replied with a smirk.
"Blu… they're not gonna like that… I worry for you two so much when you do these things"
"Don't worry Jewel, I've got a meeting with them tomorrow, I doubt they will do anything about it." Blu assured, giving his wife a quick hug and kiss.
"So Blu… are you busy this Friday?" Jewel asked, snuggling into her mate's chest feathers
"Not really, why?"
"Aunt Mimi gave me a voucher for a nice club in Manaus."
"Ah, so that's why you're in a good mood."
"Mmhm"
"I'd love to go baby"
"Awesome, I'm looking forward to it", Jewel replied with a wink.
Roberto III
The council of elders convened at the clay banks every five months for over five hundred years. They were always thought of as wise, which is why they were charged with regulating the powers of the king. Roberto used to hate them, even his dad. His father, Antonio, the head of the council of elders, is an intimidating cold figure who was always very controlling of his son, which caused Roberto to rebel in the early days. Eduardo and Jewel became close to him over that period of time, only to betray him by siding with the humans and Blu. Blu… oh how he hated that name.
"Members of the council, please rise for the king and his son-in-law" came the voice of his father, who he was sitting beside. The figures he most hated then walked into the room.
"Thank you, you may be seated" Eduardo said, standing in the center of the council with Blu.
"I shall not be speaking at all today, Blu here will fill you in on everything."
"Thank you sir" Blu started as Eduardo found a seat.
"As you all know, the king and I have recently started a program to bring in some human advantages to the tribe to improve our ability to survive and to adapt to the world around up. You see, birds who live around human civilization without being directly owned by humans have a higher chance of survival and preservation of their communities. For example, the birds of Rio de Janeiro and Salvador have a life expectancy of seventy-eight years, are literate, and live in successful communities of two thousand or more birds. The average life expectancy for primitive Amazonian birds is a short forty-three years, they generally are not literate, and they generally live in communities of about four-hundred or more. Looking at these statistics, we figured out that if we can have the same advantages as the city birds without moving the tribe, it would help us a lot. Now that we have gone through with it, we would like to ask the council's opinion on the matter.
"The council thinks that this is madness!" an anonymous member shouted, with many other heads nodding in agreement.
"Care to explain why?" Eduardo interrogated.
"Because it violates our traditions and what we stand for, freedom!" another voice yelled out, causing the council to get riled up.
"How are you any less free?" Blu shouted over the crowd.
"Because we have contact with human things!"
"Who said that makes you a slave to humans, you can have human things and be free!" Blu retorted, causing a frenzy in the council.
"ENOUGH! The council will debate this matter and then return to you with the result, until then, this meeting is adjourned."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it may seem to drag on at some points, but I tried to capture a few different character dynamics. It took a while to get inspiration for this and to see where I would take this story as a whole, but what matters is that I broke my writer's block. Since I have the next few chapters already planned out, it would be interesting to hear what you think will happen next. Until Next Time…