A Merry Christmas in Rio

Chapter 1: The night before Christmas

WARNING, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED RIO OR HAVE READ MY LAST STORY, THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS.

For those who read my last Rio story before this one "Rio: The Aftermath", this story is a sequel to it.

This is the story of the blue macaw family and all of their bird friends celebration together. P.S, for those who watched the Rio 2 trailer, as you are aware, Jewel's father is alive. But I decided not to add him. Simply because I do not really like him. Seriously, he looks like freaking Nigel!

I do not own A Visit from St Nicholas. All rights go to the author Clement Clarke More who created the poem.

Anyway, I've blabbered enough. Enjoy the story.

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle...

But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!""

Silence seemed to fill the air until the sound of three happy voice cheered after listening to the story A Visit from St. Nicholas their father had just finished reading to them.

Blu closed the book slowly with both of his wings while he smiled, and listened to the sound of those beautiful voices from his children. He was really excited for Christmas this year now that he had a family of his own kind and he got to be with his best friend too, and was determined to make this the best Christmas ever!

Despite the fact it did not snow in Rio, Blu was still happy and wanted to make this Christmas perfect, without a single thing going wrong.

For Christmas, Blu had convinced his lovely but feisty mate Jewel to spend Christmas Eve at Linda's new bookstore after she had moved here from the cold state of Minnesota to the warm, relaxing city of Rio de Janeiro.

And to top if off, Blu had three beautiful children with Jewel, and he took care of them no matter what. Even despite the fact he can be a little overprotective but only because he loves his children and does not want them to get hurt.

Blu and Jewel's kids each had their own personality from each other, sharing both of their parents genes.

Carla, who is the eldest out of the three children. She is a very beautiful chick but is a bit buffy too, and she resembles almost the exact same as her mother but she had her father's beak, talons, and similar hairstyle to him. She has a close bond with her mother but can be a bit of a clutz like her father. And to top it off, she has the biggest wings out of her brother and sister. And she seems to love listening to music all the time.

Next there was Bia, and like her sister, she resembled her mother's appearance but she too had Blu's beak, talons, his eyes, and even his brains. She too has close bond with her father due to the fact they were almost the exact same with their intelligence, politeness, and manners. And like the opposite of her sister, she had the smallest wings out of her brother and sister. And she seems to have the same interests as Blu.

And last but not least there was Tiago, the only boy out of the three and the youngest out of them. He resembled his father's appearance, almost looking to exact same as him. However, he had his mother's free-spirited wisdom and loves to go on adventures. Although he loves both of his parents, he prefers to hang out with his mother rather than his father. His wings are not too short like Bia's, but are not too long either like Carla's.

Blu smiled as he watched his three children jump up and down on the couch they were standing on after the story was over.

Before long, Blu gazed over towards his left where he saw his lovely yet feisty Jewel, who was sitting on the window ledge, gazing upon the dark, peaceful sky of Rio de Janeiro. Could something be wrong? She said she did not mind going to Linda's for Christmas. Did Blu say or do something to upset her?

Blu had to ask the bird he loves more than anything in the world if something was wrong, but he did not want his kids to hear either.

Luckily, Blu had a plan to keep them occupied for a couple of minutes. He looked back towards his three chicks and offered them something they loved to do. "Kids, do you want to watch a Christmas movie?"

The room filled with enthusiastic sounds of cheers and excitement. To Blu, that means "yes" from them.

Blu chuckled while kindly beckoning them to go ahead using his feathery right wing. "Okay, you go and pick a movie to watch, and me and your mother will be with you shortly."

Now that the kids were occupied on finding a movie, Blu could investigate what was wrong with Jewel and why she was just sitting there. It is Christmas Eve after all, and Christmas is about spending time with those you love.

He extended out his wings from his wings, preparing to fly over towards Jewel to investigate the problem.

As he prepared to fly, he felt a slight tug on one of his feather. Blu gazed down upon himself to see it was Bia, seeking attention from her father.

Blu placed his wings back to his sides and leaned down to his daughter to inquire what she wanted and why she was not helping her sister and brother find a movie. "Bia, what is it? Did you find a movie already?"

Bia responded to her father's question by extending out her left wing and raising one of it's wingtips in the air. "Well, according to my diagnosis, mother seems to upset about something and you are going to inquire what the problem at hand is? Am I correct?"

Blu merely smiled in response, happy that his daughter was the only one who shared his brains. He placed his left wing over her and responded to her question while talking quietly of course to keep it quiet and hope no one would hear this. "Sweet pea, you really are a clever one. And yes, something is wrong with your mother, and I am going to find out what is wrong."

"Okay, Dad." Bia smiled. "I'll go and keep an eye on Tiago and Carla."

Blu waited for Bia to leave before flying into the air with the gift of flying before making his way over to Jewel to attend to her and it investigate what the problem in hand was.

He perched down next to Jewel before sitting himself down beside her on her right side and kindly inquiring the problem. Despite that they had been together for a few months now, he was still a little shy around her. "Sooo...Um...Jewel, um, is something...Bothering you...If you do not mind me asking?"

Jewel responded to her mate by sighing in depression. She knew Blu was too smart to not believe something was not wrong and had no choice but to answer him to his question. "...I am fine, Blu, I just...I just miss my family...My daddy...My mom..."

Blu did not like to see the lovely Jewel like this any longer. He slowly moved his wing down towards her and gently held it causing her to look towards him.

He soothed while a smile grew across his beak. "Hey, it's okay. I know you miss your family but you have me and the kids, remember? We are here for you."

Jewel managed to put on a smile too as she leaned her head down against his shoulder. She cooed while making her head comfortable on against his chest like it was a big blue puffy pillow. "You are right, Blu. I do have you and our kids, and I am very grateful for that."

"I know you are, Jewel, and we love you." Blu said before his expression soon changed when he realized he might have said something offensive to her that could get her angry, and getting Jewel angry is a very bad idea. "Oh, I did not mean that your family did not love you. Oh, I should not have said that, I, um, I-"

Jewel merely smiled at her mate, thinking every time he would get nervous makes him look cute. She thought about it to herself while letting her mate continue to find the correct words. "(Blu, he can be such a goofball sometimes.)"

Blu continued to struggle to find the correct words while quietly thought to himself in his mind, praying to himself that things would not end bad for him. ("Oh, man, she's gonna kick my butt if I do not think of something soon!)"

When her fun had ended, Jewel placed a single wingtip onto her mate's beak to keep him from stuttering and panicking any further. Before he could say anything further, Jewel spoke first. "Blu, it is okay. I understand what you meant and I am not angry. Okay?"

Blu waited for Jewel to remove her wingtip from the top of his beak before he answered back to her in a calm voice. "Okay, Jewel. I understand."

"Excellent." she smiled while she looked up to see something weird yet familiar. She decided to ask Blu since he has had a lot of experience as a domesticated bird. "Blu, what is that?"

Blu followed Jewel's wingtip and smiled when he identified the object above her.

It was mistletoe; a common name for a obligate hemi-parasitic plant. It could be use for various different reasons like medicine for example. But most important, it was traditional for a couple to kiss when standing under a mistletoe and this could not a perfect timing.

"It's mistletoe, Jewel." Blu answered, smiling as he prepared to what to say next. "When a couple stand under one, it means you should kiss."

"Is that so?" Jewel smirked, knowing next what she and Blu both wanted next.

Before kissing however, Blu decided to do something better first. He held out his left wing to Jewel and kindly offered her the chance to dance with him on Christmas Eve, together as a couple. "Excuse me, Jewel, may this bird have a dance with you before we kiss?"

Jewel giggled in response, finding Blu's charming tone to be cute too. She extended her wing out from her side and kindly accepted his wing and pulled herself towards him. She answered his question after a couple of seconds while they got into their dancing position. "Yes, you may dance with me indeed."

Jewel placed her left wing onto Blu's shoulder while he held her other wing in his left wing.

Blu placed his right wing over Jewel's left wing, onto her shoulder while he held her right wing gentle in his wing.

The two lovebirds took it on their cue to dance and began to dance together in circles, smiling while looking into each other's eyes.

While they were dancing, Blu decided to ask an awkward question for Jewel. "Jewel, I have been wondering something. Why doesn't it snow here in Rio?"

Jewel rolled her eyes around in response, wondering why Blu could be so nerdy about logics. She decided to answer him anyway or he would not stop asking until she answered anyway. "Oh, Blu. We do not need snow for Christmas to have a good time."

"I guess you are right, Jewel." he agreed, still dancing in circles with Jewel while looked up at the mistletoe, hoping soon he and Jewel could share a romantic kiss together, just like their first when they were falling from the smugglers' plane towards the ocean.

Jewel smiled as she continued to look into her mate's hazel eyes and decided to declare something to him while they danced. "You are my one and only bird, Blu."

"Indeed I am." Blu agreed, grinning on his beak while he too looked into his mate's beautiful turquoise eyes. "And that is a good thing."

They danced together for a few more seconds before they prepared to kiss each other under the mistletoe as part of it's Christmas tradition. As their beaks got close to each other's, they stopped when the sound of one of their kids' voices called them over. "Mom, Dad, we found a movie!"

Blu and Jewel froze their heads now that their perfect moment had just been accidentally interrupted by their daughter Carla.

Jewel moved her wings out from Blu's wings and placed them back to her sides, deciding that their kiss would had to wait. "I guess we will have to wait."

Blu had to admit he was kind of disappointed that he did not get to kiss the bird he loved under the mistletoe but agreed with her that he too could wait. "I can live with that, Jewel."

Now it was time for them to watch the movie Tiago, Carla, and Bia had picked out for them to watch. The adult blue macaws flew back over towards the couch and waited for Bia to place the movie into the DVD player due to her being the only smart one out of the three that know how to work human things.

Jewel watched as her chicks climbed back up onto the couch to be with them for the movie. She politely asked all three of her chicks what they were going to watch. "What movie are we going to watch, kids?"

"We are going to watch The Polar Express, Mom." Tiago answered, he and his sisters snuggling themselves against their mother for warmth while they watched the movie, even despite the face Rio de Janeiro was a warm place that rarely got cold.

"It sounds like a good movie to watch." Blu agreed, waiting patiently for the movie to begin for him in and his family to watch together.

As the movie decided, Tiago, Carla, and Bia sat in front of their mother and cuddled close to her. Jewel placed her wings around them to keep them comfortable and laid her had down against Blu's left shoulder. And to top it off, Blu sat beside Jewel and moved both of his wings around her too.

Now that they were all comfortable together, they could watch the movie in peace, and for Blu, he could watch the movie and patiently wait for the clock to go past midnight, making it Christmas day.

And chapter 1 is completed, too however is reading. I hope you all will stay tuned for more soon, and to ever is reading, have a great Christmas and I hope you all have a happy new year too.

As they say, "We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year."