Chapter 20: Bye Fake Jungle! Hi Real One

Two weeks after the party, Blu and Jewel were finally ready to bid farewell to the place they had called home for the past month, Tulio's aviary. Their four eggs hatched several days after the party and the two macaws were overjoyed. The little chicks were super tiny and cute. So far it appeared that their group of children consisted of one boy and three girls. Blu and Jewel chose to name their son Tiago and their daughters Bia, Carla, and Alicia after Jewel's mother. Since Blu knew the names of neither of his parents, he was unable to honor either of them that way. During the name-choosing process when Jewel asked if that bothered him, Blu shook his head. "No, it's just how it is." He lowered his head and sighed. "Besides, there is nothing I can do about it."

As they prepared to leave that day, Blu took another look at all the fake bushes and trees, the controlled waterfall, the broken air vent they had slipped in and out of so many times, and he suppressed the urge to cry. The artificial jungle had really started to feel like a second home to him. Sure, he was just moving to another location but it hurt to leave this place all the same. The aviary was where he and Jewel met for the first time. It was where they mated, laid their eggs, clashed with Javier, and where their babies were born. Though they only lived there for a short time, many huge events occurred in this room. "I'm gonna miss this place," Blu said aloud to no one in particular.

Speaking of the clash with Javier, Blu knew that he needed to resume the search for Jewel's flower soon, but for some reason he felt like taking care of the kids was more important right now. Jewel appeared to agree. Now that their children were born she was fully herself again and happier than ever. The flower and the potential damage it could do to the city seemed to be the last thing on her mind. Blu hadn't asked Jewel if this was true, though, because if he was being perfectly honest with himself he hated looking for the flower. It ate up so much of his time and took a major toll on his body. Lately, Blu had been telling himself that if it took over a decade for the bad guys to get their wings on one of the four items they needed, it should take equally as long to get the rest. However, this was doing nothing to relieve the smothering guilt that kept brewing up inside his chest. If something terrible ended up happening that he could have helped stop, he would never be able to forgive himself. Right then and there, Blu resolved that once the couple got settled in their new home he would begin looking again. Even though flying so much each day was no fun, it was no excuse. Blu had a duty to protect his mate, his kids, and his friends in Rio.

Standing nearby, Jewel was busy corralling their chicks and finishing packing up a box with items she collected from the artificial jungle to furnish their new home. She planned to use one of the many rocks as a small table to eat on, and rubber leaves as wall decorations. The other day, Blu's previous caretaker Linda went out and bought them a small carpet that was meant to be used as a decoration in a dollhouse. The little rug contained all the colors of the rainbow, and Jewel loved it. She knew it would bring some much needed color to the drab, brown bark of the tree they were going to live in. Thinking Blu had spoken to her, Jewel turned to face him. "So will I, but we'll make lots of good memories in our new home. You'll see." Her eyes widened as she saw Tiago attempting to pull out some of Carla's feathers. "Hey, hey!" she reprimanded while pushing the two birds apart with her wings, "Tiago, leave your sister alone!"

While Jewel continued to deal with the chicks, Blu placed the remaining items they were taking along with them in the cardboard box. He stretched his neck to call for her. "Jewel, how about I carry the kids to the tree while you take the box? That way you can take a break from policing for a bit."

Jewel wiped a wing across her beak in relief. "Yeah, that sounds like an excellent plan," she breathed tiredly. She slapped Tiago's wing when he made another move to bother Carla. This did the trick. Tiago's face fell and he waddled clumsily away, acting extra pitiful so Jewel would feel sorry for him. "Not gonna work boy!" she called to him. "I've pulled that little stunt way more times than you."

Blu arched an eyebrow at his mate. "Really?"

Jewel shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's not like I was a perfect chick or anything. I had my moments, we all do."

"Agreed," Blu nodded his head. "When I didn't take my vitamins, Linda used to forbid me from reading any of the books in the library for a day."

Jewel's face scrunched up in confusion. "What are vitamins?"

"Apparently things that actually aren't all that important, seeing as how I'm the only bird I know that took them," Blu laughed. "I was disciplined unjustly!" he exclaimed slamming his wing down on the hard floor. "Ouch," he blushed waving his wing to shake off the pain from the impact.

Jewel kissed his wing to make it feel better. "Oh, I'm sure that wasn't the only bad thing you did during your fifteen years as a pet Blu," she teased.

"Correction," Blu said matter-of-factly, tilting his head closer to Jewel, "I was not a pet; I was Linda's companion."

Jewel rolled her eyes. This was not the first time Blu told her this little speech. In fact, she often referred to him as a pet on purpose just to ruffle his feathers, no pun intended. She moved her head side to side as if debating two ideas. "Pet, companion, same difference,"

As Blu opened his beak to argue with Jewel further, the two macaws whirled their heads to face the door which had begun to open with a creaking noise. Peeking in through the entrance was Linda, dressed in her blue and yellow conservation uniform and a typical safari hat. "Hey you two," Linda greeted the macaws shyly with a wave of her hand. "I hope I'm not interrupting; I just wanted to say goodbye to Blu."

Jewel nodded her head and motioned to Blu with her wing to join Linda outside. "Go ahead Blu, say goodbye to her. You lived with her for years it's only right."

Blu nodded his head at Jewel and walked over to the entrance to the artificial jungle. When he reached Linda's foot, she lifted him up onto her hand. After waving at Jewel and the chicks once more, she closed the door gently behind them. Once they were out in the aviary's hall, Linda placed Blu down on the sill of a window that showed the inside of one of the staff members' offices. Linda held her hands behind her back and didn't look Blu in the eye. She knew if she did she would probably start crying. Even though they hadn't spent as much time together as they had before they arrived in Rio, Blu had always been right here in the aviary. If she ever wanted to talk to him she could. Although she knew she could still visit him at the conservation grounds, she would be seeing even less of him. Blu was her best friend for so many years; you don't just let someone like that go easily even if he was happy with Jewel and his kids. "Well, I guess this is pretty much goodbye huh?" she told the floor.

Blu wasn't looking directly at Linda either. He felt exactly as she did. He was going to miss the human that had cared for him for so many years. Before he met Jewel, she had been his best friend, but his only friend. Blu knew that even though it was difficult to let Linda go he was making the right choice. Living in a bookstore or a house in Brazil was no life for an exotic bird. He now knew the freedom Jewel had described to him while they were on the run from Nigel and the smugglers. Ever since he got the taste of what that liberty felt like, he didn't want to give it up. He nodded his head and squawked at Linda.

Linda looked up at the Spix's macaw and Blu shifted his head to gaze at Linda. Tears welled up in both of their eyes. "I'm gonna miss you very much," Linda whispered, the sobs she held back choking her voice. "You were my little blue buddy for a long time." Blu just looked at Linda, a tear sliding down his feathers. He didn't want to interrupt what she wanted to say to him. "But now you're all grown up," she continued sadly, "and I need to let you go. It's just… part of life." Blu nodded his head and squawked once more. He leaned in so that the feathers on his head were brushing Linda's hand. She stroked his feathers with a sad smile on her face. After a couple of minutes, she pulled her hand away from Blu causing him to look up at her one more time. She stuck out her hand and Blu caught on quickly. Linda wanted to do their special handshake one last time. He did the motions with her perfectly, an expert at it after doing it so many times before. When they finished, Linda rubbed Blu's feathers one more time and said calmly: "That's my big, brave boy." Then, she allowed Blu to climb up on her hand once more, and she dropped him off in the artificial jungle once more. Before she departed the room, she waved at Blu one final time, a dejected look in her eyes, and then closed the door.

Blu just stood where Linda had placed him on the floor for a few minutes, staring at the door she exited through. Part of him wanted to run after her, even though he knew that wasn't possible. He couldn't abandon Jewel and the kids. This was his life now. Linda was his past; Jewel was his future. He turned to his mate who was looking at him with a concerned expression, the kids still running around behind her. "Hey," she said, "are you alright?"

Blu nodded his head. As he looked into the sapphire blue eyes that were the eyes of his mate, Blu knew that he was sure that he was okay. "Yeah, you know what? I will be. I mean of course I'm going to miss her; I would never be doing this if I was going at it alone. But, I'm doing it with you," he smiled. "That makes it all worth it. I'm happier with you Jewel than I ever was with Linda. So," he asked craning his neck to see the kids behind Jewel, "if everyone else is ready, can we get going to our new home?"

A huge, adorable grin worked its way onto Jewel's beak. She turned her head to look at the chicks who were jumping around one another. "Well guys, you ready to go see where we're going to live?" The chicks turned to look at their mother and cheered excitedly. Tiago and Alicia even hopped up and down with anticipation. Jewel laughed at their antics and looked at Blu once more. "Sounds like we're all set to go Blu."

"Ok then," Blu answered rubbing his wings together. He walked over to his children and bent down in front of them. "Now, who's up for a piggyback ride?" The babies squealed with happiness and eagerly leaped onto the feathers on Blu's back. The sudden added weight caused Blu to bend forward even more and let out a sharp breath. "I was going to lift you guys on gently one at a time," he wheezed, "but I suppose this will do just fine."

Jewel giggled at her mate with a wing over her beak. "They love you Blu. You should take it as a compliment that they wanted a ride so much they nearly killed you."

Blu hobbled over to Jewel, weighed down by his children. "That's easy to say when you don't have four birds on your back."

"Well," Jewel remarked climbing up onto their box of belongings and latching onto it with her talons, "I'm about to hold a load just as bad so one of us won't have to deal with all the pain."

Blu smiled at his mate once more. "And that's why we work together so well as a couple Jewel," he pointed out, "we share the load."

Jewel looked down at the box, touched at Blu's words. "Spoken like a true love expert," she said softly. "Rafael must be rubbing off on you."

Blu shrugged his shoulders the best he could with nearly thirty pounds on his fragile body: "We do talk quite a lot. It's an amigo thing. Now, can we please get going before I need a new spine."

"Yes," Jewel said as she took out the flower Rafael had given her from a ruffle of feathers and placed it atop her head. She wanted to look extra cute for their move-in day. Then, Jewel grunted while struggling to lift the box off the floor. She inhaled and exhaled rapidly as she focused on flapping her wings to keep her cargo in the air. "Alright let's go," she panted, her face a wrinkled mess from the exertion of her muscles, "the sooner we get to the tree the better." Blu nodded and lifted off as well. When they reached the air vent they always used to fly to the city, Blu let Jewel go first so he could take one last look at the artificial jungle. He smiled wistfully, tears working their way to his eyes once more that day. "Goodbye fake jungle," he said sadly. Blu then turned to stare down the dark passage that made up part of the ventilation shaft. He let out an anxious breath, his stomach a bundle of knots due to the new territory he would be venturing into soon and finished: "Hello real one."

#

Twenty minutes later, Blu and Jewel arrived at a hollowed tree on the grounds of the Blu Bird Sanctuary. Over the course of the month, Linda and Tulio decided that although the land was originally created so the Spix's macaws would have a safe place to live, all types of birds would be allowed to live there. Blu and Jewel were eager to see who would be moving in as time went on. Jewel currently placed the big box she had carried from the aviary to their new home down on the natural wooden floor. She let out an exhausted breath and stretched her aching wings behind her back. "Wow," she said to her mate, still practically out of breath, "remind me not to fly with a heavy box in my talons ever again."

"At least you didn't have four kids on your back." Blu responded equally tired. Their talons had dug into his flesh the whole ride and he was sure that some damage, albeit minor, had been done. The chicks, now off of their father, were roaming around the surprisingly large interior of the tree. Though they were still too young to speak, that didn't stop them from squawking so loudly Jewel had to cover her ears.

"It's so nice to be inside a real tree again!" Jewel shouted over the noise the babies were making. "It's really spacious too! We can lay down the toy carpet here, set up the dinner table over there," Jewel pointed to the right side of the hollow, "there's a lot to work with."

Blu nodded his head in agreement; however, he held a slightly nervous expression on his beak. He hadn't been in a tree since he was a newborn so this would definitely take some getting used to. He moved his head gently to take in the whole scene around him. "For sure but, uh, is there any way we can put a door there," he pointed to the hollow's entrance. "You know, so intruders don't come in."

Jewel attempted not to laugh at Blu's silly question. She tried her best to be empathetic towards how Blu was feeling. She understood that this was all very new to him so rather than tease him, she needed to explain how everything worked and do her best to make him feel comfortable. Just like he did for her back when they were staying in the city. "I'm sorry Blu but that's not exactly possible. You just kind of have to deal with an open hole like that. I know it's not ideal but don't worry, I used to live in the Amazon, a real jungle. We're right outside the city. If you think this is wild, just know it's nothing compared to where I used to live. Besides, there's an unspoken rule among creatures that you don't enter an occupied hollow. Unless that is, you're looking for a huge fight."

Blu nodded once again, still not entirely at ease. "Okay, and how exactly are we going to get food?"

"We'll take turns each morning going out to look for edible fruits and nuts," Jewel explained. When she saw Blu about to speak she quickly continued: "Don't worry, I will teach you what to look for and we'll do it together the first couple of times before you go out on your own. Everything will work out Blu, I promise. Birds like us do this every day; heck if humans hadn't interfered in your life you would have grown up thinking this was normal. Try to imagine that I'm your mother and you're my chick and I'm just teaching you what you need to know to survive."

Blu chuckled at the idea of Jewel being his mother. "Alright Mom," he saluted Jewel, "I won't disobey your orders. If I do, you have my permission to punish me."

Jewel stepped closer and smacked Blu's shoulder gently with her wing. "Excuse me?" she asked playfully, "I don't need my child's permission to punish him. I'm in charge remember?"

Blu laughed and blushed. He loved when Jewel messed around with him. He was the only one she ever showed this side of herself to. Whenever she did, he felt luckier than ever that he was the one she had chosen to love. All of a sudden, he felt himself getting mushy and emotional. "I love you Jewel," he said quietly while the chicks continued to circle around their talons. "I can't wait to start the next chapter of our life together."

Jewel giggled and moved so close to Blu, their beaks were touching. "I love you too," she whispered with a huge grin on her face. "There is no other bird on this planet I would rather raise kids with, or share a home with." As she said this Jewel thought back to the many times when she was a kid and imagined herself doing exactly what she had just described. She had always wondered who she would end up doing those things with and if when they were actually occurring, would she enjoy them. Standing here now in her new tree with Blu, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that her life was perfect. She leaned in and kissed Blu, causing their chicks to look up at them with disgust.

"Ew," Tiago chirped.

Blu and Jewel broke apart and burst out into amused laughter. Blu picked up the chick who most closely resembled his complexion with his dark blue feathers and stroked Tiago's crown. "Wow, who would have thought that his first word would have been ew?" he asked rhetorically.

Jewel raised a wing. "I could have told you that from day one it would have been something naughty." She nuzzled Tiago's beak with her own, making him laugh and clap his wings. Jewel sighed and took a step back. Wings on her hips, she surveyed the tree's interior. "Alright Blu, time to unpack!"

Blu placed Tiago back down on the floor made of tree bark with his siblings and proceeded to open the lid of the cardboard box. "Yes ma'am," he responded.

#

By late afternoon, Blu and Jewel had tired of putting their things around the tree and their chicks were getting hungry. Jewel flew out to gather some dinner and came back not long after with a large amount of Brazil nuts she had placed into the box that formerly carried their furnishings. "All right everyone," she exclaimed dropping the box in front of her waiting family, "dig in!"

The kids needed no second bidding. They leaped into the box and began fighting over the nuts inside. "Whoa, whoa!," Blu yelled, quickly jumping into action. He lifted the chicks out, which proved to be tough as they dug into the box's sides with their sharp claws. When they had been extracted, he frowned at them disapprovingly. "Good birds do not act like that at all! Now I'm going to divide up the nuts equally so everyone gets a fair share. However, if there is anymore arguing, the culprits are getting spanked, put in time out, and you won't eat for another hour. Do I make myself clear?"

Each chick drooped their heads in shame and nodded silently. They knew better by now that Blu and Jewel meant what they said when they doled out a punishment and didn't dare question their parents' authority. Jewel smiled at her children, pleased at their obedience. "Wonderful job listening to your father." Then, she and Blu passed out the same amount of nuts to every chick and began to eat themselves. "I'd say we made good progress today," Jewel crunched.

Blu nodded his head in agreement and swallowed. "Yeah, we got the rug down, the table set up. We just have to bring in some leaves for everyone's bed before tonight and then I think we'll call it quits for today. We can put up the more decorative elements in the morning; it's been a really long day."

Jewel brushed a wing across her forehead. "You can say that again, I'm really tired." As she said this, Blu noticed her eyes narrowing as if she had seen something weird outside. Blu quickly spun around and saw what he assumed Jewel was looking at. A blue macaw with gold wingtips and feathers around her eyes was flying by with a wooden crate in her talons. She landed in the hollowed inside of a tree directly across a little stretch of foliage from their own. Blu squinted to get a closer look at the macaw who appeared to be bending over, worn out from carrying the crate to her destination. The feathers atop her head were quite overgrown and resembled really long human hair. Her most striking features; however, were her eyes. Blu had never seen a bird in his life with eyes the color she possessed. They were so colorless; they appeared to be gray. She was a truly magnificent creature; although, Blu still only held feelings for Jewel. Jewel whistled. "Wow, she's like the definition of a pretty bird." Nudging Blu playfully yet with a hint of warning in her tone she added: "Don't even think about anything sneaky Blu. You already have a mate and children remember?"

Blu looked at Jewel and spoke confidently in hopes that he'd instill the same feeling in her. "Jewel, you have nothing to worry about. She may be pretty, but she's nothing compared to you. You're beautiful on the outside, and where it really matters on the inside. I wouldn't trade you for any other bird on this earth. I meant it back then and I mean it now."

Jewel smiled, her insecurities beginning to fade a little. She knew Blu wasn't that kind of bird, but she couldn't really help it. This bird was just so stunning, and jealousy was a natural feeling. Jewel wasn't perfect, nor would she pretend to be. "Well, it's only polite if we introduce ourselves," she motioned for Blu to follow her, "come on."

"Okay," he answered Jewel. Then he turned his attention to the kids. "Guys, Mommy and I will be right over there for a few minutes," he said to them pointing to the tree across the way, "stay here and don't cause any trouble alright? We'll be right back." The chicks nodded their heads and continued to munch on the Brazil nuts they had been given to eat. "Alright," he said to Jewel, "let's head on over."

#

It took all of ten seconds for Blu and Jewel to land on the edge of their new neighbor's entrance. The blue and gold macaw was presently unpacking things from her crate and had her back to them, so Blu rapped on the bark outside the hole with his wing to get her attention. Caught by surprise, the macaw gasped and whirled around. However, when she saw the friendly faces of the Spix's macaws at her door, she quickly relaxed. Smiling warmly and holding her wings out in earnest welcome, the macaw greeted them: "Hello, how can I help you?"

Jewel waved at the macaw. "Hey there, my name is Jewel and this is my mate, Blu."

Blu also held up a wing to say hello. "Hey, we live with our kids in that tree right across from you," he pointed to their home. "While we were eating dinner, we saw you moving in and we thought it would be nice to say hello and welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Aw, that's really sweet!" the macaw chirped. She held out a wing for Blu and Jewel to both shake. "I'm Ana," she introduced herself as Blu and Jewel took turns shaking her wing, "it's lovely to meet you both." She pointed to Jewel's feathery crown. "That's a really beautiful flower. It goes with your feather color perfectly."

Jewel grinned at Ana's kind words and touched her flower self-consciously. "Thank you so much. It was a gift from a friend."

Ana nodded her head and shifted her gaze between the two Spix's macaws. "Well, it looks like we are going to be neighbors! This is great, I'm happy I got lucky with such nice birds living nearby. I used to live south of here, but when I heard word of this new land opening that was supposed to be really safe for birds I jumped at the chance to move."

"Oh yeah, this place is only for birds. No human trespassers allowed," Blu assured her.

"Awesome," Ana made a thumbs-up like gesture with her wing. "I've never really had a problem with people, but I have heard talk about some smuggling in this city. If there's any way I can steer clear of that, I'm going to make sure I do."

"Smart thinking," Jewel said with forced happiness, attempting to hide her disdain towards the smugglers. She didn't want Ana to find out about their own run in with them because she didn't want to dampen the cheerful vibe their encounter had taken thus far. In addition, Jewel was growing concerned about what their chicks were doing back home. "Well, we've interrupted enough of your unpacking and we've got to get back to our kids anyway. They've probably started tearing each other apart already," she laughed.

Ana chuckled at the joke as well. "It's no problem, and considering we live practically two feet away from each other we'll have plenty more opportunities to talk."

"Have a wonderful evening," Blu said as he began to lift off the wooden floor with Jewel.

"You too!" Ana shouted with a farewell wave of her wing. Then, she turned around and returned her attention to the wooden crate.

When they touched down in their home again, Jewel peered back once more at Ana's tree. Now that she and the kids were in the same place she relaxed once more. "This day just keeps getting better and better," she gushed. "Not only do we have an awesome place to live, we have a super nice bird as our neighbor!"

Blu nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, she seems like she'll make another really wonderful friend." Turning to their chicks Blu began to congratulate them. "Thank you guys for behaving so well! As a reward we'll play whatever game you want." Since they were still too young to speak, Bia and Carla acted out what they wished to do by having Bia climb on top of Carla's back. When Blu saw this, he gulped nervously. "Uh oh, Am I assuming correctly that you all want piggyback rides?" All four chicks jumped and cheered in response.

Blu looked to Jewel with a pleading look on his face and Jewel nodded. "We'll each take two, okay?"

Relief washed over Blu's face and he agreed: "Yes, please!"

Blu lifted Tiago and Bia onto his back, and Jewel placed Carla and Alicia onto hers. Both Spix's macaws smiled happily despite the weight on their shoulders, each content to be together in their new tree with their new, big family in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Author's Notes

Well everyone, this concludes the first story in my planned series. I would like to thank everyone who gave this story a chance, and especially those of you who shared your thoughts in the reviews. I hope to see you all back for story number 2! Just be aware, you guys may just have to wait a teeny, tiny more than usual for that first chapter to be posted. Nothing too out of the ordinary though. Thank you so much again! Be back soon with more.

;)