Evening was falling over the Animal Kingdom, and our favorite Dream Keeper was taking his girlfriend out on a romantic date. The two wanted to keep their date casual, so Gabriel was wearing his usual long coat and sweater combo, while Jasiri was wearing a nice lavender dress with sun patterns on it and a black sash tied around her waist. The two weren't going to be alone this night, however, as they were planning to meet Brooklyn and Lena for a double date night.
"So, what do you have planned for our double date tonight?" Jasiri asked as they walked down the path together. The hyena was in her normal form at the moment, as Jasiri found it natural to walk on all fours instead of on just two. Luckily her clothes were enchanted to fit both forms.
"We're meeting with Brooklyn and Lena at Flame Tree Barbeque first, then we'll be taking a nice relaxing boat ride on the river," Gabriel explained.
"Sounds great," Jasiri smiled.
The two soon arrived at Flame Tree Barbeque, a restaurant on Discovery Island with open-air seating and a colorful atmosphere to its architecture. As its name implied the restaurant was best known for its barbeque and was said by many guests to be a highlight of dining in Animal Kingdom. Gabriel and Jasiri soon put in their orders and went to join Brooklyn and Lena, who were already seated at a table.
"There you two are!" Brooklyn waved. "We were wondering when you were gonna show up."
"About time," Lena rolled her eyes with a smile. The two of them were wearing their usual Team Dream Keeper attire, neither of them caring for fancy dresswear.
"It's been a while since all of us got together like this," Gabriel said.
"Well you've been off going to other dimensions for the past few months, so it happens," Brooklyn shrugged. "You did pick a nice place to eat at, though. I mean, look at the view of Mount Everest over there!"
"Yep, it's pretty neat," Jasiri nodded. "So, what did you two order? I got the Ribs, Chicken, and Pulled Pork Sampler with some water to drink."
"Well, we've been snacking on these onion rings while waiting for our food to come out," Lena replied, tossing another ring into her mouth. "I got the Smokehouse Chicken Salad with a Frozen Mango Slushy, and Brook here got the Ribs and Chicken Combo with a Frozen Raspberry Slushy. "
"and I got the Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Pulled Pork and a Bubbling Pink Lagoon drink," Gabriel chimed in. "Man, it's been forever since I've had barbeque. Growing up in Texas, it's practically a tradition that you have a BBQ cookout at least once in your life."
"Still hard to think that you come there, considering you don't have an accent," Brooklyn chuckled.
"Says the Scottish gargoyle without a Scottish accent," Gabriel pointed out.
"Eh, touché," Brooklyn shrugged.
"And there's Jasiri having a vaguely Australian accent," Lena laughed.
"You got me there," Jasiri rolled her eyes. Their food soon arrived and the group dug in, enjoying the scenery and engaging in some small talk as they dined. It was refreshing to just have a moment to relax with friends, though with this being the Animal Kingdom, the local fauna was around to spice things up as well.
"Well, well, well, look at who I spy with my little eye," Nico said, flying down onto the table and giving a tip of his hat.
"Hey there, Nico," Gabriel greeted the canary. "What brings you here tonight?"
"Just stopping by to get some food," Nico said, taking one of the onion rings (which was almost as tall as he was) and biting down into it. "This place always has some free food for us birds to snack on- and humans that will happily hand out said food as well."
"Aren't you normally over in Adventureland? Or in Epcot," Jasiri asked.
"Word is they're thinking of adding a Tropical Americas section to Animal Kingdom in place of the old dinosaur part," Nico said. "If that's the case, well, Brazil is part of the Tropical Americas, and not saying Rio will be part of it, but the Animal Kingdom does remind me of home in the jungle."
"I always took you as more of a city bird," Lena mused.
"Oh for sure, Rio is my home, but living the in Amazon with the fam is just as fine as well," Nico replied. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be on a date right now, are you?"
"Guilty as charged," Brooklyn chuckled.
Nico nodded and took of his hat, holding it like a tambourine. "Then allow me to give you lovely couples a love song from my home. Enjoy." Nico started to whistle, flying over to some railing where he could sing near the water.
As music began to play, Gabriel stood up and held out a hand to Jasiri. "Shall I have this dance, my dear?" he asked.
Jasiri smiled and took his hand. "I'd love to," she said, pulling herself close to the raven as they slow danced together.
Ela pula, ela sabe a bula
Ela samba, ela canta…
Gabriel's tail swayed with the beat of the song, the raven closing his eyes as he let the music move his body.
Ela anda… na ponta dos pés…
"Heh, it's always a dance with these two," Lena shook her head.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with dancing," Brooklyn said. He held out a hand to the teen sorceress. "Wanna try it out."
"…Sure," Lena replied, taking Brooklyn's hand as they too started to dance.
Ela é minha cara, ela e jóia rara
Ela é linda… ararinha… é o meu amor…
As Nico sang, the other birds in the area started to take notice, gathering around to dance in pairs as well.
Vou batendo asas na alma, quando vôo
E vejo Cristo aos meus pés, redentor
"Music really does bring everyone together," Jasiri giggled, spinning around to press her back against Gabriel's chest.
Ela é minha, ela sabe a gíria
Ela gira… ela ginga… é como uma flor…
"And it's a language anyone can understand, even if you don't know the words of the song," Gabriel added, letting a hand fall to Jasiri's waste as they sambaed together.
Ela brinca, ela sai na brisa, ela anima…
Ararinha… é o meu amor…
"Hm… Reminds me of the time I went on and adventure with Webby and the fam to Brazil," Lena said. "Lots of music down there."
O sol a esquentar a pena, na canção
O chão só quer achar o céu na vida…
Nico started whistling, taking another bird by the wing as they started dancing together, the canary putting the charm on the girl. He gave the bird a kiss on the wing, making her blush as she flew off.
Só com ela eu sou, ela é meu amor
Fly love…
With that the song came to an end, with Jasiri nuzzling Gabriel's beak. "Unexpected, but wonderful all the same," the hyena queen said. "So, you said something about a boat ride?"
"Right. This way, my dearest Jasiri," Gabriel said, giving a bow as the four of them went off to the next part of their double date. Going down by the riverside they found two small boats waiting for them, with enough room for just two passengers each. "Here we are! One romantic boat ride around the Animal Kingdom."
"I'm down for a boat ride, as long as it's not out in Hudson Bay," Brooklyn said, hopping into one of the boats and helping Lena inside. "Seriously, you do not want to take a dip in the rivers around NYC."
"I can imagine," Lena chuckled, sitting down in her seat.
Gabriel and Jasiri got into their own boat, and with a push off from the shore they were off on their nighttime riverboat ride. The boats were enchanted to follow the river, soon passing under some thick underbrush as the colors started to become more vibrant. A soft jungle beat started to play, and Jasiri looked over at Gabriel with a knowing look.
"You had a musical moment planned, didn't you?" she asked.
"Guilty as charged!" Gabriel laughed. "Jasiri, Brooklyn, Lena, welcome to… Upendi!" Fantasia started to kick up as animals all around the kingdom came out to play, Gabriel starting to sing with the song as the beat picked up a bit.
There's a place where the crazy moon
Makes the monkeys sing and the baboons swoon
And the sultry scent of the lotus bloom
Will carry you away
A couple of monkeys swing from vines overhead, swooping down to place flower crowns on the couples' heads.
Where the hippos swing from the jungle vines
And the rhinos rhumba in a conga line
And the pink flamingos are intertwined
As the stars come out to play
The animals dance along with the song as Gabriel sings, the raven standing up and rocking the boat as they went around a cover, sweeping his wing up to the sky as it turned pink and stars started bouncing around.
In Upendi!
Where the passion fruit grows sweet
And it's so divine
That you lose your mind
As it sweeps you off your feet
Gabriel grabbed some fruit from a tree and tossed it back to Brooklyn and Lena. Lena caught hers with her magic, but Brooklyn ended up having his fruit smashed right into his beak, much to Lena's amusement.
In Upendi!
Without a worry or a care
It just takes two
To make it true
Your heart will lead you there
The boats passed underneath an archway in the shape of a heart, where flowers blossomed as they floated by.
(In Upendi…)
(In Upendi…)
"Would you like a turn, Jasiri?" Gabriel asked.
"Why of course," Jasiri giggled as she sang the next verse.
You better watch your step 'cause the path is steep
Better hold your breath 'cause the water's deep
It's a long way down over Lovers' Leap
But falling's half the fun!
The couples laughed as their boats hit some rapids, rushing them down the river and over some waterfalls as they splashed back down into the water.
In Upendi!
Where the passion fruit grows sweet
And it's so divine
That you lose your mind
As it sweeps you off your feet
Jasiri grabs a fruit and holds it in her mouth, muffling her voice a bit. Gabriel laughs and bites into the other side of the fruit, their noses touching as they shared the fruit together.
In Upendi!
Without a worry or a care
It just takes two
To make it true
Your heart will take you there
Butterflies flew around their boats, creating a lovely view as Lena put her hand on top of Brooklyn's. The two looked at each other and blushed, before Lena stole a kiss from her boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek.
You can beat the bush like there's no tomorrow
From Tanganyika to Kilimanjaro
But you'll find Upendi wherever you are
Oh, underneath the sun!
(Sun…!)
As if by magic the sun reversed its course to peak out over the horizon, the boats coming to stop on the shore as animals gathered around to dance to the beat in pairs.
In Upendi!
Where the passion fruit grows sweet
And it's so divine
That you lose your mind
As it sweeps you off your feet
Gabriel pulled Jasiri out of the boat, Brooklyn and Lena not far behind as they started up a conga line with the animals of the jungle.
In Upendi!
Without a worry or a care
It just takes two
To make it true
Your heart… will take you there!
As the song started to come to an end, the sun finally set, with Gabriel spinning Jasiri around and the two sharing a deep, passionate kiss.
Upendi…
Down in Upendi…
Way down
In Upendi…
Brooklyn and Lena sang out the song together as they watched their friends share a moment together. "Those two really have it figured out, huh?" Brooklyn said. "…Sometimes I wonder if deserve what I've got."
"Oh no, don't talk like that. You've been shot down so many times that you more than deserve to have an awesome sorceress girlfriend like me," Lena retorted. She popped his jacket's color and smirked, pulling him down so they could be face-to-face. "Now then, how about you show me your Upendi already?"
"…Right away, Lena," Brooklyn smirked before giving his girlfriend a passionate kiss. The night had gone wonderfully for the couples, all underneath the majesty of the Animal Kingdom jungle.
Author's Note
A short sweet chapter of two of our couples going on a date together! I haven't had Gabriel and Jasiri share a lot of romantic moments together, but that's because I think their partnership as a whole speaks to how well they are as a couple rather than being overly affectionate all the time. Brooklyn and Lena are a newer couple, so I wanted to show how they were doing as well. The gargoyle can be a bit down on himself when it comes to love, but Lena is there to set him straight.
The Flame Tree Barbeque is a real restaurant at Animal Kingdom with a nice new of Expedition Everest and known for having plenty of birds that come down looking for a snack! Nico from the Rio movies appeared here for a cameo, singing the song "Ararinha", which is used in the Portuguese version of the "Fly Love" scene from the first movie. It's a lovely song and the singer sounds very close to Jamie Foxx's voice.
For the boat ride, it's a tribute to the "Upendi" scene from Lion King 2, complete with the song. I really like how bouncy and fun the song is, fitting for Kiara and Kovu's young love, and the visuals are very colorful much like "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from the first movie.
Next time: Silver, Aline, and Gabriel try explaining how being a Disney Princess works as the newest princess makes her appearance!