Rio 1. Downy feathers

_**Here we are again, for a third Rio prequel. This time, we're swapping blue feathers for red, yellow and green - here we catch a glimpse of life in the Red macaw tribe, from Felipe's eyes as he grows from a young nestling to a teenager, sometime before the events of 'Before Jewel met Blu'. Here, Felipe must deal with the constant conflict between his mother and father, and try to impress his father as well, who is critical and doesn't really spend time with him. Enjoy!**_

A small chick watched his dancing tribe mates, green eyes wide with fascination and longing. Yet his downy wings hadn't yet sprouted the adult feathers required for flight. A few more weeks, a few more adult feathers, and he'd finally gain that almost magical ability, according to his mother. His mother told him that their power of flight was a gift, something that was fun and gave him freedom and independence. His mother had informed him that his tribe's dance was called 'It's a Jungle Out Here'; every tribe had their own special dance. The neighbouring one's was called 'Beautiful Creatures'. The Blue-and-Gold macaw tribe's was called 'A Sky Full of Warmth', and several other macaw tribes too had their dances.

From the mass of dancing macaws, Felipe picked out his mother. She was on the opposite side of the dance, and whenever Felipe's father neared her, she danced away. Felipe wasn't certain as to why his mother seemed to evade his father whenever possible. Maybe it was linked to how Rojo behaved toward her. In the nest, Rojo was always pushing her around, and insulting her whenever possible, complaining that she cluttered up the place. This was ludicrous, in Felipe's mind - his mother always kept the nest tidy, yet it was Rojo who ruined everything. He never remade his nest; he always left Brazil nut shells lying about; and he when he was full, he always left the fruit lying there on the floor. Felipe would help his mother when Rojo left, which she was grateful for. Now, the dance had ended, and his mom was flying toward him.

"Hi, mom!" Felipe chirped as she landed beside him. Perlina smiled down at him, before tugging the multi-coloured feathers, which were worn during the dance, free of her head feathers. Perlina was quite a pretty bird, and she always kept her feathers clean and soft. Her head feathers were very much like her son's, a simple ruffle of feathers that fell straight against the back of her head. She was a lighter shade of red compared to her fellow macaws, almost tinted a little pink. Her eyes were a shade of beige that was always warm with love when she laid eyes on her son, framed with black eyelashes. Her white facial markings curled delicately around her eyes, curled down around her chin area.

"Hi, sweetheart." She greeted him, giving him a small kiss on his forehead. The branch then shook, and Perlina looked up, disappointment and fear entering her eyes. Rojo practically towered over Perlina, being several years older. How Perlina had ever loved Rojo, she had no idea. He had once been handsome, but now his fight-picking had taken its toll, making him appear many years older than he really was. The tip of his beak had been broken away in a skirmish between him and the neighbouring tribe's leader, Eduardo. The rest of his beak was chipped and had slight cracks etched into the surface. One talon had a toe missing, and patches of skin were visible from his patchy feathers. His ruffle of head feathers had fewer feathers than there used to be.

"Hello, son." He said, giving him a pat that almost knocked Felipe off the branch.

"H-hi, dad." He squeaked nervously, looking up at his father. Rojo rarely interacted with him, spending most of his time complaining about Perlina and patrolling the border to the Brazil nut grove.

"Haven't you grown already? I swear you've grown three inches taller."

"Maybe it seems quick because you rarely spend time with him." Muttered Perlina. Rojo slowly looked up at her, rage entering his eyes. Perlina's white skin became pink, and she seemed to shrink in fear and regret as her mate scowled at her. Felipe looked from Perlina to Rojo, and then Rojo lifted his wings. Perlina cowered suddenly, but Rojo instead turned and flew off into the Kapok trees. "Come along, honey." Perlina said, and Felipe followed her into their hollow.

The Spix's macaws had their ravine, yet the Red tribe had an enormous gathering of Kapok trees that towered above the rest of the jungle. A river that eventually flowed into the main Amazon cut through the middle of the Kapok trees, and when it flooded, the Kapok tree roots would be several feet underwater. The tribe consisted of a mixture of Green-winged and Scarlets, yet it was generally referred to as the Scarlet macaw tribe, since Rojo, the leader, was one himself. Felipe and Perlina were also Scarlet macaws. Tribes didn't often band together, unless they were very similar in species.

Felipe hopped into the nest, stumbling a bit as he did. Their hollow was large and very spacious; since Kapok trees were so enormous, several families could be housed in their trunks at the same time. Their tree itself also housed nine other families. Felipe's nest was in a separate room, and full of moss and downy red feathers from Perlina. Rojo slept in the main hollow on a perch, the space beside him unused. Perlina usually slept outside on a branch, claiming that she found it too hot to sleep inside, but Felipe had a feeling that she did it to be away from Rojo. Perlina picked up a fig, tearing it in half before passing it to Felipe. Being a chick, an entire fig was too much for him to eat. "Thank you, mom." He said. Perlina gave him a small smile.

"You're welcome, sweetie." She replied, before taking a bite of her fig half. Wanting to go into his room, Felipe picked up his piece and disappeared into his room, sitting down at the end, chewing on the fruit as he stared out over the jungle. His room wall had a small gap, providing a good view-point of the rainforest from the towering Kapok tree. In the distance, he could see a slight dip; that was probably the location of the Pit of Doom. According to the mother of his friend Adelaide, the rainforest around the pit dipped slightly downwards until you were met by the rocky edges that were the top of the pit. Rocky ledges provided stands, and the middle had a pool of water and rocky forms and columns. Somewhere east, there was the neighbouring Spix's macaw tribe.

The Scarlet tribe's relationship with the Spix's was incredibly sour; the shortage of Brazil nuts meant that borders had been formed in recent years, and with the borders came hostility and suspicion. No one could even sit in their favourite tree by the border without being questioned or watched by a passing Spix's patrol. Other tribes downriver weren't quite as hostile, and co-existed quite harmoniously, unless you counted the Hyacinth macaw tribe, who were fiercely defensive of their territory. Games between them and another tribe were frequent in the Pit of Doom. Felipe spotted several red forms flying in direction of the Brazil nut grove, and tried to identify them, but they were flying too fast to really tell. Rojo was likely one of them, however, since he was practically there half the day, scoffing on Brazil nuts or patrolling. Felipe then distracted by his mother's voice.

"Really, Sol? I'll be dead within a year? Interesting. Funny, you said the same thing about Alba six years ago, yet he's still alive. Go predict the hatching time of Adelaide's cousin, if you want something to do." Perlina sounded frustrated and sarcastic, and when Felipe re-entered the main hollow, he found an ancient-looking bird flying out of the hollow. Perlina turned to him with a bored expression. "Don't mind him, Felipe. He's insane. He got a knock on the head a few years ago and has been predicting the death of a tribe member every year since. If he tells you you're going to die, ignore him."

"Um… alright." Said Felipe, before ducking back into his room to gaze back outside with longing in his green eyes. When he could fly, he could get out there - he could see the jungle and everything Perlina told him about in her stories. How amazing would that be?


	2. Flying

"Felipe! Felipe!" squeaked a high-pitched voice. A small figure bounced into the nest, scuttling past Perlina, who smiled after the fast-moving chick. Adelaide was the daughter of Perlina's friend Juanita, close to the same age as Felipe was. She had a short cluster of spiky feathers that fell down the back and sides of her head, flicking up slightly the ends, and she had soft brown eyes that resembled the colour of particularly dark brown coconuts. She was at that stage where she most of the non-downy feathers had fledged. Her wings, while still a bit downy, had flight feathers growing; she was ready to begin flying. Adelaide and Juanita lived in the same tree as Felipe and his family did. Felipe appeared from his room, grinning. In recent weeks, his feathers too had begun to grow. Now, their mothers were teaching them how to fly together.

"_Now_ can we go?" Felipe pleaded as they both turned to Perlina and Juanita, who was standing in the nest entrance.

"Come along then." Juanita said, extending her wing toward the gap in the entrance beside her, and the two chicks scampered through it. Exchanging amused looks, Juanita and Perlina followed the chicks outside. Adelaide and Felipe were looking down from the Kapok tree branch, their brown and green eyes wide with awe and nervousness as they examined the large drop from their branch to the forest floor.

"Mom, Mrs J?" Felipe looked over his shoulder at the two female macaws. "Um… how tall is the tree exactly?"

"Well it's about night feet wide, and…" Perlina looked down, and then looked up. "I'd say it's about two-hundred feet." At this large measurement, Adelaide took a step back.

"Er, we're not hurling ourselves off the branch, right?" she asked. "Because I'm going to assume that two-hundred feet's pretty tall."

"Of course you're not throwing yourself out." Juanita snorted in amusement, rolling her blue eyes. "That would be a bit dangerous. You're just jumping from here -" she tapped the branch beneath them, before pointing to a nearby branch. "- to there while you flap your wings."

"Fun." Felipe remarked, looking at the gap, which was a few feet wide.

"Don't worry, if either of you fall, we'll catch you." Perlina assured them. She then spotted Juanita's sister, who had her recently hatched daughter under her wing. "Hello, Juliana! Brought your little one to watch?"

"Yes." Juliana chuckled. "This is Azalea. Azalea, this is Perlina, Felipe, your aunt Juanita, and your cousin Adelaide." The bundle of down blinked at them with pretty hazel-coloured eyes.

"Hi." She chirped, and they all waved in a friendly manner. With Azalea and Juliana watching, Perlina and Juanita turned to Felipe and Adelaide.

"Right, let's begin." Perlina announced, fluffing up her silky feathers. "Like so." Perlina and Juanita approached the side of the branch, before leaping toward the adjacent one, their wings beating. They landed gracefully, before turning to the two chicks, beckoning them.

"Ladies first." Felipe said, extending a wing toward the branch side.

"Such a gentleman." Adelaide giggled a bit, edging toward the side of the branch. She bounced a bit on her toes, examining the distance, before she jumped as far and high as she could. Juanita watched Adelaide with hopeful and anxious eyes, waiting for her daughter to plummet downwards, but she didn't. Her wings beating frantically, Adelaide fluttered through the air before tumbling onto the branch in a clumsy heap.

"Well done, darling." Juanita crooned, helping the little macaw to her talons. "Go on, Felipe!" with encouragement from the trio, Felipe sprang off the branch, his wings fiercely slapping the humid air around him. Unfortunately, he misjudged his flapping, and sailed past his target branch, his talons skimming the empty spot beside his mother. Perlina gasped in shock as he plummeted downwards.

"Felipe!" she cried frantically, but then some below vines shook violently. Felipe hung upside-down, talons clinging to the vines. He smiled weakly at them, embarrassment tinting his white face markings raspberry-pink. Before Perlina could reach him, Felipe began hauling himself up, not wanting to be embarrassed. He reached level with the branch, before he fluttered onto the branch beside them.

"You okay?" asked Adelaide, and Felipe nodded, eyes grateful. As the moment of fright dissolved, their branch-hopping resumed, this time they progressed further and further up the tree, leaping to further and higher branches, wings beating and carrying them further each time. Once, Felipe even managed to fly over four entire branches before he found himself needing to land. Perlina, Juanita and Juliana occasionally flew past with Azalea nestled in the feathers of her mother's back, keeping an eye on the two adventurous chicks.

"Woot woot!" crowed Felipe as he soared over three branches. "Watch me paint the sky!" feeling totally confident, he turned and flew out into the open air, no branches beneath him. There were several gasps from Perlina, but Juanita and Juliana assured her that Felipe was fine. And he was - he had never felt better. Now in steady flight, Felipe did a complex twist mid-air, receiving some glances that shone with admiration. There was then a red streak, for Adelaide had joined him. She was struggling to keep up slightly, but she was still able to stay in flight. Her dainty talons churned through the air, almost as if she was running as well as flying.

"Wonderful!" Juliana cried, clapping her wings from where she now perched on a branch, Azalea still sitting on her shoulders. Perlina and Juanita joined Felipe and Adelaide, sweeping through the air above them. At that moment, a male macaw entered camp. Felipe looked at his mother, before inhaling sharply and flying up to him.

"Er, hi dad!" he said, trying to sound friendly. "I'm flying!" Rojo looked up at him, eyes flashing in surprise.

"So you are. Good job." He slapped Felipe on the wing, before flying past him and vanishing into the hollow. Felipe stared after Rojo, cold disappointment flowing through him. His head drooped a bit as he looked down, anger replacing the disappointment. His special moment had been ruined because of his stubborn, not-so-easily-impressed father. Adelaide blinked, sympathy entering her brown eyes, before she flew over to him.

"Your dad's such a jerk, isn't he? He might as well not be there… I know what it's like to not really have a dad." At this, Juanita's and Juliana's eyes clouded. Juanita's mate and Juliana's brother-in-law, Adelaide's father had been killed in a logging accident just before Adelaide had been hatched. It had been almost a month ago, but the grief was still fresh in their minds. In a comforting gesture, Perlina gently wrapped a wing around each of them, for she stood between the two sisters.

"Perlina, Nita!" shouted a voice. A group of young macaws flew toward their mothers. One of them, Lena, who had called, hovered before them. "Can we borrow your kids for a bit? We want to show them the Brazil nut grove!" eyes brightening, the two mothers swapped eyes that held agreement.

"Of course." Said Juanita. "It'll be good for them to have a look of the area."

"Sweet!" said a young male. _"Obrigado!" _the little flock of chicks then turned, flying over to Felipe and Adelaide. "We're going to the Brazil nut grove - wanna join us?"

"Sure!"


	3. Watching from above

_**Friendly notice to people posting reviews: those who have read 'Before Jewel met Blu' and 'Roberto's Nightmare' will know what happens to the certain characters, so I'd like to request that nobody spoils this to anyone who hasn't read the other two stories. If you haven't read the two prequels and want to ensure that you aren't spoiled by reviews, read them. If you have any inquiries that involve events of the two prequels and this, please PM me instead of reviewing. Obrigado!**_

Felipe and Adelaide flew at the back, following the other four chicks. One of them was called Lena, who had spoken to Perlina and Nita. The other female was named Maite, and the two males were called Ricardo and Miguel. The warm air and slight breeze provided excellent flying conditions, and now Felipe and Adelaide were flying almost normally. A passing patrol called out to them in greeting.

"You kids going to the Brazil nut grove?" one of them asked.

"Yeah!" Maite replied. "Why?"

"Make sure you don't cross into their side, okay!" shouted another. "Their patrols aren't there today, because there's a match going on with the Hyacinths, but you know what Old Eddie'll say if he finds red feathers in his side!"

"We won't!" Ricardo assured them, waving a wing.

"Who's 'Old Eddie'?" Felipe asked when the patrol had gone, with a puzzled expression. The other chicks, except Adelaide, were giggling among themselves.

"Eduardo, the leader of the Spix's macaw tribe. Yeah, he ain't that old yet, only sixteen or so years, but his hair style makes him look like he's in a battle squad!" Miguel explained. The rest of the kids laughed again.

"You know what?" said Lena, turning to them. "How about we go to the Pit of Doom and watch? We'll sit at the top, where no one'll care that we're watching." She turned to Felipe and Adelaide. "You don't mind, do you? It's not far, but it'll be pretty entertaining, watching them play with Hyacinths. Also, you guys have never seen a game before." Adelaide looked at Felipe hopefully, and he shrugged, not minding. Satisfied, she turned to the others to reply.

"Sure, it sounds fun!" Adelaide exclaimed, and with that, the four chicks led Felipe and Adelaide over the jungle and in direction of the Pit of Doom. The two territories that supposedly housed the two tribes were empty; no squawks sounded from somewhere in the dense rainforest, like how it did in the Scarlet macaw tribe territory. They were all at the Pit of Doom. Then the sound of heavy squawking sounded from a dip ahead; Felipe looked back, and saw the tiny cluster of Kapok trees, which were barely much better than a mosquito. _Woah, we've flown so far!_ Felipe and his friends emerged from the trees, and then there it was; the Pit of Doom. Rock ledges, a pool in the bottom, with rock clusters and vegetation. What was most striking, however was the standings; half was dark navy, and the other was a lighter blue.

"Those -" Ricardo indicated with a wing. "Are the Hyacinth macaws." Felipe looked down at the mass of navy, noticing that they possessed yellow markings by their beaks and around their eyes. "And those are the Spix's macaws." He explained, pointing to the light blue mass. They were almost half the size of the Hyacinths, small in comparison.

"Oh look, it's Old Eddie!" Maite exclaimed, pointing. Felipe followed the direction, spotting a macaw standing on the bottom ledge of the Spix's macaw side. A group of Spix's were clustered around them, and he looked very serious. Like Miguel had explained earlier on, Eduardo wasn't old, but his head feathers were flattened and reminded Felipe of leadership or combat. This overall made him appear a few years older than he was. "And that's Mimi and Tia, his sister and mate. Mimi's the shorter one, and Tia is the taller one. Mimi's also the tribe's advisor and Tia's the healer-slash-matriarch." Maite added, and Felipe picked out a short, plump female macaw and a more slender one with darker blue feathers than either Eduardo or Mimi.

"So, what are they fighting over?" Adelaide asked, and Miguel turned to her.

"Apparently it's over a fruit grove; the Hyacinths want to expand their section more, as they've got quite a big tribe." Miguel explained. "Here we go - the captains." The chicks's eyes turned to the main rock platform, where a Hyacinth towered over a Spix's. The two teams then performed a bizarre-looking, few-second, aggressive looking dance.

"Is that what the teams do before the game?" Felipe wondered out loud, and Ricardo nodded in reply.

"Yep - to present their teams. Here we go!" Ricardo said, leaning forward as a little bird was thrown through the air, toward the spot between the two captains. "I am so gonna try and get on our team someday." He said, a note of wistfulness in his voice. _Me too, man. _Thought Felipe. _That would be so fun… _at that moment, the bird landed on the rock, her tail sticking up, before she dropped a piece of fruit and fled the pitch. The Spix's macaw captain kicked the ball, and the team members leapt into action. Felipe watched, awed as a female Spix's macaw swiftly ducked under tackles, nimbly making her way over the pitch and toward the goal.

"Wow, this could be the fastest goal in memory!" boomed a voice, and the chicks jumped, not expecting the shout. They leaned over, looking down, and spotted a tapir and a porcupine sitting together on a separate ledge from the stands. "Jacinta flies closer, she shoots -" Felipe's eyes travelled over to the female macaw, who was now a few metres from the goal, the fruit ball flying through the air. The enormous Hyacinth goalie rushed forward, but his wing caught in a vine that hung from the rock arch, the ball sailing past his reach. Felipe then rubbed his ears painfully as the tapir began shouting at the top of his voice.

"Gee, can we move a bit further away? My ears'll burst." He complained, and with that, the little group moved further away from the loud commentators, the noise now not so painful. The Hyacinths were glaring daggers at their rivals as they celebrated their quickest goal in history with a Mexican wave. The game then resumed, but now the Hyacinth's strength and size was being put to good use. As lithe as the Spix's team was, the Hyacinths could cover more distance with each flap; for every flap of their wings, the Spix's had to make three. They could also kick more powerfully, so that the goalie had to be very prepared for a shot. Within a few minutes, the score was 2-4, the Hyacinths having scored the most. The Hyacinth score marker was smiling sweetly at the Spix's as she marked the fourth goal with a Brazil nut.

After about five minutes of near-goals, Abel, the Spix's captain, waved to fellow teammate Asa, and they flew toward their target. But as Asa caught the fruit ball and prepared to shoot, a Hyacinth flew to tackle her. Instead of taking the ball, he rammed into her side, and she plummeted toward the pool water, screeching in pain. Felipe and Adelaide exchanged looks of alarm, leaning over the side to see better. Two of her teammates folded their wings, diving and catching her before she hit the water. They carried her to the side, where she vanished behind a crowd of healers. Eduardo had a storm for an expression, and was shouting furiously at the Hyacinth who had injured Asa. As the referee began flying toward the Hyacinth, there was a commotion in the stands. Tia was wrestling with Mimi, trying desperately to hold her back, for Mimi was attempting to fly over to the player who had injured her tribe mate. She was shouting angrily.

"How was that an accident?" she demanded as Tia continued keeping her back.

"Foul!" the referee announced, and the Hyacinth side muttered as the Spix's side cheered. Mimi muttered a 'I should think so' before sitting back down on the ledge beside Tia.

"Now that was something." Remarked Lena. "Not wise to knock out their players." _Pft, so what if I knocked out a player? It's not like anyone's going to be able to kill me. _Felipe thought privately. Within minutes, it had reached the end of the game, the Hyacinths triumphant.

"I can't wait to see a match between our tribe and another's!" Adelaide said, excitement dancing in her eyes. Maite then gave them a nudge, alarmed.

"We should go." She said as Eduardo's pale green eyes raked upon them, suspicion entering them. "He won't like us being so close to his patch. C'mon, his tribe already looks annoyed as it is…"


	4. Accident

A few weeks later, the sky was beginning to darken when Perlina noticed a scrawny-looking Spix's macaw chick flying like a blur through the air. She thought she saw a glint on his leg, but he was flying too fast for her to inspect it closely. He was, however, in an apparent rush. Perlina had never seen a bird fly so fast with such desperation. He looked too young to be flying, really, his wings only half-fledged. He had a few long feathers sweeping down over his head, flicking up at the ends, but he looked exhausted with sweat-dampened feathers. Perlina considered following him, but too late, he had vanished out of sight into the area of jungle between the Hyacinths and the Spix's macaw's territory.

"Kid's in a hurry." Remarked Nita. (Juanita) "Think he's okay?"

"Not sure, Nita, but we can't check now." Said Perlina, turning to her. She stretched her beak open in a yawn, before blinking sleepily. "Good night."

"Good night, Pearl." Nita replied, before disappearing into her nest. Perlina flew up to her usual sleeping spot, a kapok branch, and waited for Rojo to return from the night patrol. She proceeded to tuck her wing under her wing to sleep, but then she heard a voice.

"Perlina." It said. Perlina looked up, eyes narrowed at Rojo.

"What do you want?" she asked with clear hostility.

"No need to get snappy." Rojo snorted. "Come on, I want to talk to you about Felipe."

"Oh?" the area above Perlina's right eye rose. "At least you're finally taking an interest in him. Thank goodness. What about?" she asked as Rojo lead her from the Kapok trees. Rojo lead her into the jungle, before pausing in the camu-camu fruit grove. Settling on a fruit-laden branch, Rojo turned to her.

"I'm going to train him in our fighting squad." Rojo announced casually. For a moment, Perlina stared, but then it turned into a scowl.

"Our son is not training to fight." She hissed with a gritted beak, feathers fluffing up. "I don't want him getting injured, thank you very much."

"But if he's ever going to lead the tribe -" Rojo said, before pausing dramatically. "-he's got to know advanced battle skills."

"No, he doesn't!" Perlina retorted, standing on her tip-toes so that she was taller. "I'm not letting you brainwash Felipe into thinking that fighting to the answer to everything!"

"What are you talking about?" Rojo snapped, looking bemused. "I do not 'brainwash' our young members."

"Are you so _dumb_ that you don't see what you're doing?" Perlina demanded, her voice getting louder. "Fighting is your answer to everything! Why not a nice talk? What's wrong with that? Absolutely nothing, except in your eyes! Talking peacefully isn't cowardice!"

"Shut up." Hissed Rojo, shaking with rage, but Perlina swept on.

"For the final time, I know that you don't just show them how to _defend_ themselves!" Perlina's eyes glittered with fury. "You're not training my son into a _killer, _Rojo!"but then the breath was driven out of her, for Rojo had thrown himself at her with outstretched talons, claws glistening in the light of the full moon. Perlina recovered from the shock of the unexpected attack but surging against Rojo, flinging him away, before she leapt at him with an enraged squawk. The two macaws rolled along the branch in a whirlwind of red, yellow and blue feathers, screeching insults. From the trees, there was the faint glitter of terrified eyes as animals watched the scene, unable to help. Rojo lashed out with his claws, but Perlina threw her wing out of the way, dodging the blow. She began slashing at Rojo, claws going dangerously close to his throat, scoring deep cuts into his skin. Rojo had no idea how Perlina had learned such powerful skills, but he did know that if he didn't do something now, she would likely kill him. But then Rojo raised both wings and his talons, and they hit against Perlina, sending her flying with a squawk that was abruptly cut off, followed by a thud and a small crack that sounded like a stick being broken. Rojo leapt to his feet, and whipped around, preparing to see his former mate's claws in his face, but instead he was staring at Perlina slouched against the tree trunk. Her eyes were closed, and her wings were lying limply at her sides, shoulders slumped. A bead of red was trickling from her beak, which hung open. Rojo blinked.

"Perlina?" he said. No reply. Rojo cautiously approached her, looking at her neck, which looked strange; it was twisted slightly. Slowly, he reached up to her neck, feeling it, and then he felt a gap in the middle of her neck bone. His eyes widened. "No, no …" The force of her hitting the tree trunk had broken Perlina's neck. Rojo looked around frantically, praying that nobody was in the grove, but found no one. The tribe would kill him, exile him if they found out he had killed their beloved matriarch, even if it was an accident. He had to hide this. Seizing his mate's body, Rojo fled the grove, panic making his heart thud. There it was - the main river. The Scarlet macaw flew over, and looked at Perlina's lifeless face one final time. "I'm sorry." He rasped, before dropping her. The water closed over Perlina's head as she slowly sank. The current tugged her eyelids open, and then, even though she was dead, the blank eyes were fixed upon Rojo's until she sank out of sight, vanishing into the depths of the Amazon River. Just before she disappeared, the eyelids closed. The image filled Rojo's mind, of her dead, glassy eyes fixed on his. _No one will know. _He then turned, and fled into the rainforest as the end of the sky tinted gray, hinting at the dawn.

_The morning_

"Felipe!" cried a voice. "Felipe, get up, now!" Felipe rolled over, muttering.

"Adelaide, it's way too early… I'm too tired to get up." He rolled over, pulling a piece of moss over his eyes, but then Adelaide's voice became quiet.

"Your mom's missing." She whispered. At the mention of his mother, Felipe opened his eyes, and sat up, frowning at Adelaide.

"What?" he asked, and his green eyes blinked. "What are you talking about? I saw her last night, sitting outside. She can't be missing." But Adelaide shook her head.

"Rojo just returned… he told us that he can't find Perlina."

"Wait, he 'just returned?'" Felipe asked, standing up now. "Where's he been?"

"Looking for her." Adelaide replied. "Come on, he's sending out search parties to find her - the best trackers are leading them." Adelaide then ran back outside, closely followed by Felipe, who flew up to Rojo.

"Dad, is it true?" he demanded. "She's missing?" Rojo spun round, eyes wide at the sight of his son.

"Y-yes." He said shakily. Azalea, who was sitting on a branch, narrowed her hazel eyes. _Is it just me, or does he look… guilty? _Azalea, having only just learned to fly, wasn't allowed to join the search as her wings were too weak for a long trip. Instead, she was allowed to search the tree hollows. Frowning at Rojo, Azalea disappeared into an unused hollow in search of Perlina.


	5. Brutality

The patrols were still out, searching for Perlina, with no luck. Meanwhile, Felipe sat with his wings crossed as Rojo went on about fighting tactics. One day on, and Rojo wasn't grief-stricken by his mate's disappearance. It was as if Perlina had never vanished off the face of the Earth. He was same old Rojo with barely a change despite the discomfort he showed at the mention of his mate's name. Felipe, in contrast, was still on the edge of tears even now - what if Perlina was dead? What if he never saw her again..?

Beside Felipe, Adelaide, Maite, Lena, Ricardo, Miguel and several other kids were watching with shocked expressions as two older students fought each other as practise. This was Rojo's famous 'fighting classes', which every kid had to attend at some point until Rojo thought that they could fight well enough. Rojo watched on a higher branch, watching with pale, critical eyes.

"No, no. You're doing it all _wrong."_ He said as the two students broke apart, feathers ruffled and grazes showing on their bodies. "You're supposed to do it like _this."_ Without warning, Rojo darted forward toward the younger one, crashing into him and pinning him against a tree trunk in a second, leaving him hanging by his throat. Adelaide's wings were covering her beak, whilst Lena and Maite's were covering each other's eyes. Miguel was wincing, while Ricardo's beak hung open in shock. Rojo then released the younger one, who rushed back to the branch, coughing and spluttering while his former opponent rushed over to see if he was alright. Rojo whipped around, and they shrunk under the glare of his eyes. "Next - Miguel and Felipe."

At their names, the two friends looked at each other with alarmed expressions. Miguel gulped, before hesitantly flying forward and turning to hover as Felipe reluctantly joined him. _I don't want to hurt my friend! _Thought Felipe, staring at Miguel, who smiled weakly.

"Right." Said Rojo. "Fight." Felipe and Miguel looked at each other, unable to move. After several seconds, Rojo then nodded at Miguel, and Felipe turned to see Miguel flying at him. Felipe gasped as they hurled through the air, but then Miguel let him go, flying backwards to let Felipe catch his breath. Rojo glared at them. "Don't let your opponent get up or rest!" he snapped. "Your enemies never give you that chance." Felipe, desperate to show Rojo that he was stronger then he thought, then lunged at Miguel, catching him off guard. They crashed onto the branch beside their fellow trainees, who scattered as they fought along the branch. Adelaide's eyes stretched wide from her perch beside Ricardo, full of horror and fear at the scene. Felipe then drew his talons together, before he shoved at Miguel, sending him flying toward the tree trunk. Miguel landed against it, coughing slightly as he did. He raised a shaking wing to show that he gave up, and Felipe turned to look up at Rojo. Rojo's eyes were wide, not from being impressed, but they seemed - haunted. Distant, like he was remembering something from watching Felipe throw Miguel against the tree trunk. Rojo then shook his head, as if to forget it. "Well done." He said to felipe, before turning to Miguel. "Giving up is cowardice." He said harshly, making Miguel flinch. As he turned away, Felipe rushed over to Miguel.

"I'm so sorry!" he apologized, putting a wing around him and dragging him to his talons. Miguel nodded shakily.

"It's f-fine." He mumbled, before stumbling past Felipe and standing beside his friends, breathing heavily. Lena and Maite looked at Felipe nervously, before looking up at Rojo with dread-filled faces. Adelaide walked up to Felipe, touching his wing with her own.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Fine." said Felipe. "I'm just fine." Adelaide blinked, but then she slowly turned when Rojo said her voice.

"Adelaide and Flora." He announced.

"Er, sir?" said Adelaide in a small voice as Flora flew out. Flora was a tall, older classmate, much taller than Adelaide, and much more powerful. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, if you want to survive being attacked by an enemy." Rojo said with no sympathy. "Go on."

"You'll be great." Whispered Felipe as Adelaide turned to him. Trembling slightly, Adelaide flew over to Flora, facing her, biting her beak.

"Go." Rojo commanded. Flora then flew at Adelaide, who squealed in terror as they collided in the air. Felipe stared in horror at Adelaide, who screamed as Flora hurled her toward some vines. As she tried to escape from the vines, Adelaide became tangled by her talons, utterly defenceless as she hung upside-down. Flora turned to Rojo, looking reluctant at the unfair fight, but he pointed at Adelaide, nodding. But as Flora prepared to head toward Adelaide, Felipe launched himself into the air, dashing forward.

"No!" he protested, planting himself between the two macaws, blocking Flora from attacking her opponent. Adelaide then reached up, biting through the vines that held her, and fled to the branch, some bits of vine still hanging onto her claws. Slowly, Felipe looked up at Rojo, who looked stunned. Then his beak twisted into a smile - not of pride or happiness, but almost a mocking smile.

"Selfless." He remarked. On the branch, Lena and Maite had their wings around Adelaide, who still looked terrified from her near-attack. Rojo then turned to the others. "This lesson is over." But as Felipe and Adelaide went to go, he stopped them. "Wait, you two." Felipe landed beside Adelaide, a protective wing around her, who shrunk against him as Rojo lofted down onto their branch. "You're both joining Flavio and Alba on the grove patrol." He said. "You -" he turned to Adelaide. "Buck up and put some effort into your lessons." Adelaide ducked her head unhappily, her white skin turning pink. "Off you go, I want a word with my son." Looking at Felipe nervously, Adelaide shot off, before Rojo turned to him. "If you're really so dauntless, prove it."

"What?" Felipe blinked in confusion, barely having a clue as to what his father was talking about.

"I see what you're doing. Trying to impress me by saving others?" Rojo was sneering down at him.

"Er, no." Felipe stared, flabbergasted. He didn't stop the unfair fight to impress Rojo, he stopped it to protect Adelaide from having a panic-attack. "I did it so that Ade-"

"Prove to me how brave you are." Rojo interrupted, towering over his son. "I want you to provoke a fight between you and a member of Eduardo's tribe."

"What?" gasped Felipe. "I can't do that! Eduardo'll kill me!"

"Are you afraid?" Rojo hissed. Then his voice changed - secretive, like it was concealing an emotion. "Make your mother proud." Felipe froze, staring up at his dad. He then noticed that there were a few feathers missing on his neck. The skin on his throat seemed off-coloured - purple and yellow and gray. Half-healed scabs ran over it, shaped like claw marks. There was a new crack etched into his beak, along with a patchy collection of feathers hanging off his side, like they had been half torn out.

"What happened to _you?" _Felipe asked, forgetting what Rojo had asked him. Rojo looked down, eyes widened, but then he turned, flying off. Felipe stared after him, before he heard the grove patrol calling his name.


	6. Roberto

_This chapter takes place in the same one as chapter 8 of 'Roberto's Nightmare'._

"We heard that Rojo gave you two a hard time during his training sessions." Said Flavio as they flew in direction of the Brazil nut grove. Beside him, Alba looked furious.

"How dare he?" he muttered. "Lena's my daughter - how could he let her watch such _brutality?"_

"Thank goodness you're against his lessons." Adelaide muttered from the back, still looking deeply troubled from the events earlier. "Flora could have seriously harmed me if Felipe hadn't stopped her - she could have accidently twisted my wing by jumping on me…" as his three companions went into conversation, Felipe began trying to figure out a strategy. What if there was no one on the border? Rojo wouldn't believe him and call him a coward. _I'll have to go in there and lead one of up to border… the question is how. _Felipe plucked one of his feathers, looking at it. _A trail. Of course… _By now, they had reached the grove and were flying on the border, ensuring that there were no tresspassers. After about half an hour, they lifted down on a branch to take a break. Adelaide crumpled face-down onto a bunch of dense yellow flowers, her wings and talons hanging off the branch.

"I am exhausted." She mumbled, rolling over and reaching up toward a Brazil nut. Flavio and Alba also took a nut each before talking about Sol's latest prediction. Adelaide was half-asleep, and the two adults's backs were turned; this was his opportunity to slip away. Felipe silently took off, disappearing into the trees, heading straight for the border. He halted when he saw a stream; this was the thing that separated the two sides. _Here we go. _Felipe flew over it, and almost immediately heard the distant sound of voices. They sounded young, and he was relieved that they were fairly close. Felipe landed on a tree branch, behind the cover of leaves, and slowly peered through his concealment.

Eight young blue macaws, most close to his age, were gathered on a branch. The females were gazing at one male in particular, who was singing in a beautiful voice. He was a bit younger than Felipe, teenaged, and was thinner than the rest of them in comparison. A cluster of very long feathers swept down on the back and sides of his head, with one shorter one sticking up in the front. His feathers were a dark blue, a similar colour to the rest of the young ones. He was fully fledged, other than some down still fringing his wing edges and tail, a little younger than himself. Felipe narrowed his eyes. He didn't like him already - singing, showing off in front of his pals? Honestly. The birds then began opening Brazil nuts and chatting. The one who Felipe had his sights set on was closest to his hiding spot, separated from the others.

After several minutes, Felipe looked at the feather he had plucked earlier. He carefully reached up to his leaf cover, shaking the branch that held them, before he shoved the red feather underneath the leaves and onto the branch between the young macaw and himself. At the sound of rustling leaves, the Spix's macaw turned, nibbling on a Brazil nut. He frowned at the feather, turning to the others, but he didn't call them. _How dumb is he? _Thought Felipe to himself. Why didn't he call his buddies that there was a red feather in their side?

The macaw then ventured toward him, and Felipe turned, swiftly flying into a nearby tree as his target pushed through the leaves. Felipe then stretched out a wing, putting it in view, and then he heard the sound of wings as the teen made his way toward him. They were now directly at the border. Felipe dropped another one of his feathers on a branch that was literally on the border, half of it in both sides. Finally, the blue macaw landed, picking up the feather, and looking at it. Felipe landed on the branch behind him, waiting, and then he turned around, seeing Felipe. His blue eyes lit up with surprise, but not with hostility. _He obviously doesn't have a clue_, Felipe thought.

"Er… hello?" said the Spix's macaw, blinking. "Who are you?"

"Felipe." He replied. "I'm a Scarlet macaw - and this -" he tapped the branch between them importantly, "Is the boundary of the Scarlet macaw territory." The Spix's macaw blinked yet again, and Felipe made a low, rasping sound in his throat. "Hint, hint." He said.

"I don't understand." Said the Spix's, and the area above Felipe's eye rose, like Perlina's had done.

"Didn't Old Eddie tell you about the boundaries we have?" Felipe said in a mocking voice.

"_Old Eddie?" _the Spix's macaw asked, looking both confused and angry now. "Do you mean _Eduardo?"_

"Duh-uh." Felipe rolled his eyes, and he fluffed up his feathers in a threatening way."Obviously I mean that old nut job you call your leader." He reached over, prodding the Spix's macaw on the beak and pushing his head back a bit. "I'd appreciate you kindly taking a step back, since you're right on the boundary." He said in a hostile voice. But now, the confusion in the blue bird's eyes vanished, replaced by hostility.

"Alternatively… maybe _you _should take a step back. If I'm close to your side…" the blue bird paused. "Then you must be close to mine." Felipe felt blood rush into the white skin of his face, and the bubble of anger he had gotten from Rojo began to swell.

"It's a simple request that you, dumb as you are, should understand. I'm asking you to _back off." __Felipe hissed._

"And I'm asking_ you_ to back off." He retorted. For a few moments, they scowled at one another, and Felipe noticed the Spix's macaw's long head feathers spiking out. But then, he reached over the border, heftily shoving Felipe. The bubble of anger burst. Letting out a squawk of rage, Felipe threw himself over the border, talons colliding into his opponent. They rolled off the branch, hurtling down through the air and crashing down into the ferns. Felipe went straight for his enemy's throat, wrapping his claws around his neck and squeezing. Immediately, the blue macaw's air was cut off, and he began gasping for oxygen, choking as Felipe's claws began forming tiny beads of blood in the skin of his neck. At that moment, agony seared through Felipe's stomach, and he staggered away, shocked as he saw blood begin to trickle down his belly feathers and drip onto his talons. His opponent's claws were red, and then he lunged at Felipe, squawking loudly, beak stretched open. His beak closed on the feathers under Felipe's wing, and Felipe reached down, seizing one of the long crest feathers. But as they both tore feathers away, it was then that Felipe heard Flavio's voice.

"_What the heck is going on?!" _claws locked into both of Felipe's wings as he was hurled away. He looked up to see that his opponent was being held back by two of the Spix's macaws Felipe had seen him with earlier, and the rest were gathered behind with shocked expressions. Felipe struggled against Flavio and Alba's talons, fury still burning inside him, but then he came face to face with Adelaide.

"Felipe, don't!" she cried, her wings spread to block his view of the Spix's macaws. "You know how Rojo'll react!"

"I don't care, Adelaide!" Felipe spat, still trying to tear himself free from Flavio and Alba, but then Adelaide raised a wing and slapped him. The sudden sting of pain cleared the red mist in his vision, and he stared into her brown eyes, which were full of pleading and something else he couldn't place a talon on. The colour of her eyes calmed him, and the anger faded. The fire in his talons extinguished and he longer wanted to claw the Spix's macaw's face. "Okay." He rasped. Behind Adelaide, Felipe heard the Spix's macaws talking in hushed voices. He caught the name 'Roberto', and he looked over Adelaide and saw that the name was said to the macaw he had attacked. _Roberto. That's his name. _Felipe pulled his wings free, and he looked under one of his wings, noticing that a large patch of feathers were missing. He looked at Roberto, and saw a bunch of red feathers lying on the ground in front of him. "This isn't over, _idiota."_ He hissed, eyes slitted. Adelaide shoved his shoulder.

"_Vamos_." She said, before turning to Flavio and Alba. "Let's go, Flavio, Alba." Adelaide then turned, glaring at the Spix's macaws. "Don't come near the border." She warned, before she took off in the lead. Flavio and Alba flanked her, and Felipe followed at the back, looking under his now-bare wing pit, eyes narrowed at Roberto. He looked down at the blue feather in his talon, and dropped it in disgust as they vanished back into their side.


	7. For Perlina

"Okay." Said Adelaide, shutting her eyes. "Let me get this straight; you attacked a random guy from Eduardo's tribe, just to impress your dad?" her short, spiky head feathers were tousled and out of place, and she looked stressed and worried.

"That, Adie, is the sad reality." Felipe muttered, pacing up and down the branch as a way of dealing with his frustration. He still didn't know if Rojo was impressed - he hadn't seen him since the Elders, the tribe's most senior members, had dragged him into a meeting on Sol's latest chilling prediction; there would be a terrible event in a few months that would 'doom the rainforest and scar their memories.' Usually his babblings were brushed off as nonsense, but Sol had begun shrieking that his vision was correct when the tribe healer had tried to convince him to 'take his medicine', which was a bizarre plant that had a calming effect. Felipe and Adelaide didn't believe in such junk, but it had frightened half the kids that had been nearby at the time. To soothe their minds, the Elders had arranged a meeting, but half their meetings were fake and they sat there scoffing fruit half the time.

"I hope Eduardo doesn't have a go at you." Muttered Adelaide, before turning and flying off. "I'm gonna find my mom." Felipe gazed after her, before kicking the tree trunk, muttering under his breath, thinking the same thing: _stupid stupid stupid stupid! _Why did he agree to provoke a Spix's macaw? He had judged Roberto wrongly - despite him being the scrawniest and youngest of those teens, he had proved a fierce fighter. Felipe flinched when a twig poked his stomach. He looked down, glaring at the half-dried wound Roberto had given him. The edges were dark crimson and crusted, whilst the middle was still pink and raw. He just had to hope that it didn't get infected; he'd see the tribe healer if it got worse. Felipe then noticed tiny bits of brown, gray and green through the dried blood, and his eyes widened; he had gotten forest debris into his wound during their scuffle. He had to get them out; otherwise it was highly likely that his wound would get infected.

Felipe flew to a small stream, which was so shallow it was only a few inches deep and rose to the top of his legs. As gently as he could, he began loosening the bits of leaf and things dried into the scabbing. He began picking out the pieces one by one, wincing as each piece was eased away. A little bit of blood trickled into the water, before it faded away. His wound purified, Felipe hopped out of the stream, shaking out his wet tail and leg feathers, before flying off in search of the tribe healer, who was Maite's father. Bernardo was a chunky, rather jolly macaw who was dedicated to helping the sick and the injured.

"Hello, laddie!" called out Bernardo as Felipe entered his hollow. Bernardo's mate and Maite's mother, Bebel, smiled at Felipe as he came in.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs B." Felipe replied. "I need something for -"

"Your little scuffle with that kid? Of course - what's the problem?" Bernardo prompted, turning away and scanning the bundles of medical plants strung up on the walls. _How does he know? Oh, right, Alba and Flavio can't keep their beaks shut. I bet the tribe's laughing at me._

"Er, I got a stomach wound and some feathers were torn out." Felipe replied glumly, shuffling his feet.

"I'm afraid I don't have an elixir for growing back feathers, son." Sighed Bernardo, reaching up to a strange-looking bunch of leaves. "Wish I did, though, it would cure your father's patchy feathers… still nothing about your mother?" at the mention of Perlina, Felipe felt tears spring to his eyes, and he blinked rapidly to stop the tears falling.

"No." he said softly.

"Oh, dear…" murmured Bebel. "I'm so sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, kiddo, I see her in you - she had the exact same beak and eye shape, and her head feathers are exactly like yours." It didn't really make Felipe feel better - if anything it made him miss her more. Felipe busied himself by watching Bernardo preparing his medicine. He had a bowl-shaped piece of wood, and was crushing the leaves - mixed with water - into a green paste with a sharp stone.

"There we go…" he handed the piece of wood to Felipe. "Apply this to your wound and rub it in, but make sure your talons are clean first. If you find yourself needing more, I'm more than happy to make you some more. It should go within a few days, it's not too deep - count yourself lucky that you're not going to have a scar."

"Thank you." Replied Felipe, taking it and leaving the nest. Arriving back at his and Rojo's hollow, he rubbed the green paste into his wound. The stinging feeling almost immediately vanished, replaced by coolness. When he looked down, the angry redness was replaced by a pale pink. Adelaide then ducked into the hollow.

"Sorry for slapping you earlier." She said, looking apologetic. "I didn't see another way to calm you down…" Felipe blinked at her, before reaching up and touching her cheek with a wingtip.

"It's alright." He assured her. "I forgive you."

_Later_

For the next few hours, Felipe and Adelaide spent the time in his hollow; Rojo never actually came in here anymore, so it was all theirs. They sat there talking, before they simply drifted off into a light slumber. After about three hours, they awoke to the sound of Juanita's voice.

"Rojo has suggested a dance in honour of Perlina!" Adelaide's mother's voice was tainted by grief as she called out. There was a brief pause before she went on, the grief forced away. "Let's prepare!"

"I've never danced before." Said Felipe, sticking his head out of the hollow. He knew that this was simply Rojo's technique - to forget him and the actions that had taken place at the border. Alternatively, but much less likely, he could be using this excuse to celebrate the skirmish. Adelaide squeezed past him, before disappearing into her and Juanita's hollow. She returned with some multicoloured feathers. There was a look of determination on her face; she wanted to completely forget what had happened earlier.

"Let's make it count for your mom." She said, beginning to arrange them into her short head feathers; she had used smaller ones, to prevent it looking too ridiculous. Her head feathers were soon a rainbow of beautiful colours; dazzling greens and blues, jet-black and stark white, and bright yellow and orange. Most prettily, there was a violet feather in the top. A small flower was tucked in the head feathers by her right ear. Felipe found himself staring at her in shock. She looked stunning. Adelaide then turned, smiling, pushing a bundle of feathers toward him. "Your turn. Males have them tucked in their wing plumage." Adelaide then rushed off in search of a flower to carry. Females carried flowers to throw at the end; this was common in every tribe's dance, apparently. Body decoration was also used in every one, only it differed for each one. The Scarlets used colourful feathers, Spix's had a special flower and fruit paint, Blue and Gold used woven flowers, and so on.

Tearing his gaze away from her, Felipe began tucking some white and black feathers into his wing feathers, making a pattern in a neat row up to his shoulder feathers. He did the same for the other side; he then checked his bald patch under his wing. Spotting some red feathers in the pile, he managed to conceal the patch of skin by tucking the red feathers into the plumage surrounding the patch, hiding some of exposed skin. He peered closely, and saw the tips of new feathers poking out. He hoped they would grow back soon. Then the music began; it was time to go.

"This one's for you, Perlina!" Juliana cried as the macaws gathered together. The rest of the tribe shouted the same before beginning to dance. Rojo was nowhere in sight. Felipe rushed in, beginning to copy the moves his tribe mates did. He got each move well, but the one who really mastered the dance was Adelaide. She spun with outstretched wings, the decoration in her head feathers bright and making her appear even more dazzling.

The dance was done by complicated, fancy-looking flight tricks and methods. At certain parts of the song, one had to link wings with a macaw and spin once before continuing. Felipe and Adelaide attempted to get nearer to each other, but somebody else would link wings with them, leaving them gazing after one another helplessly. It was coming down to the final few lines, now. Felipe spun into the circle, before they all flew in to get their partner for the last part. Felipe turned, to come face-to-face with Adelaide, who smiled. Felipe took her talons, and they flew straight up, where they let go of one another so that Adelaide could throw her flower. Petals and flowers rained down as the song ended, and the tribe began cheering and whooping, shouting Perlina's name. _So it's official now. _Thought Felipe. _My mom is dead._


	8. Conflict

_From this chapter, this story takes place at the same time as 'Before Jewel Met Blu'._

_Four months later_

In the few months since the tribute to Perlina, tribe life had resumed to normal. While the tribe still grieved for their matriarch, the grief was now not so fresh. Even border skirmishes had become minor; but Felipe's and Roberto's antagonism toward one another had not lessened. They still hated each other's bones, and whenever they saw each other across the borders, they would scowl and, mood-wise, go from on top of the world to rock-bottom. On the brighter side, Felipe and the teens had grown more, growing taller and becoming more mature. Felipe's bare patch had regrown, but the feathers had come patchily; even now it was still patchy-looking. It was fading, however; Bernardo had told him that it should be back to normal within a few weeks.

Another thing that had changed was Sol - his predictions were more frequent, but his spooky prophecies were now about the same things; Rojo's death and a terrible event that would scar the tribes. Most of the tribe dismissed it now, but on Rojo's demise, Felipe was now not so certain. With everyday that passed, it seemed as though Rojo's eye bags became more prominent, the raggedness of his scraggly plumage becoming more defined, his movements slower and needing more strength. He was only a few years older than Eduardo, who was around sixteen years, yet he looked almost four or more times as old. His love for battle was making his appearance worse.

Now, Felipe, Ricardo, Miguel and several other young males followed Rojo to the border of the Brazil nut grove. As they flew, the young males tossed a Brazil nut between them, taking a beakful before passing it on. Felipe caught it as it was passed to him, eating a piece before tossing it to Miguel. There seemed to be a strange feeling in the air, today - electric, buzzing, almost, as if something was going to happen. As they neared the border, the tense feeling in the air increased.

As they passed a flower-laden branch, Felipe reached out, plucking one as they flew and inspecting the pretty, satiny petals. Adelaide often wore a small flower in the feathers by her right ear, now - recently, she had grown. She still had the same, sweet little cluster of spiky head feathers, which had grown a little longer but were still short. Both she and her cousin Azalea had become very beautiful young macaws. When their scorekeeper for the Pit of Doom had decided to quit her job, Azalea had leapt forward at the chance of being their scorekeeper. Now she was one of the youngest score markers in memory. Juliana was very proud of her daughter, always telling her that she was gorgeous and would outshine the other side's scorekeeper.

"Okay, who's the hottest of the girls?" Miguel said after a few moments of silence, turning to them.

"Most defiantly Azalea." Said Santiago, and most of the males began agreeing.

"Are you sure? What about Maite?" said Ricardo, and the other males began bickering over the hottest of the tribe's females. Miguel than poked Felipe playfully, before beginning to chortle.

"Felipe and Adelaide, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I - oof!" Felipe elbowed Miguel with a wing, grinning, and the others began laughing.

"She _so_ fancies you." Teased Alonso. "You should go for it, mate - you two are great together. Let's ship you - Adelipe."

"How about Felaide?" Ricardo suggested.

"Oh, stop it." Felipe snorted, half with embarrassment and half with amusant. The young males began playfully cuffing each other with their wings and shoving one another.

"Oi!" snapped Rojo from a few feet ahead, shooting them irritated looks. "Stay alert and stop talking about your girlfriends. Protecting the grove is more important than a few girls." The younger macaws exchanged confused looks. Wasn't love and protecting someone dear to you much more important than a bunch of Brazil nut trees? They approached the border, fading into a bored silence, until Santiago made a little cough.

"Uh, so how about I Spy?" Santiago suggested. Rojo let out a heavy sigh, before flying ahead, leaving them to go back into conversation.

"Rojo's been… ugh… looking wiser, lately…" Miguel said.

"By wiser you mean more ancient." Muttered Felipe, but as Ricardo opened his beak to comment, they heard Rojo's voice from ahead.

"Get over here!" he hissed. "There might be trespassers; there's Spix's macaws right on the border." The others shot Felipe nervous looks, before flying after Rojo, Felipe bringing up the rear. It had better not be Roberto. Yet as they landed on a leafy Brazil nut tree, peering out, the so-called 'potential trespassers' weren't as hostile as the young males had imagined. Eduardo, Tia, Mimi - and to Felipe's disgust, Roberto - were perched upon a branch, smiling warmly at a small blue chick.

She looked young, probably a few weeks or so old. She was practically the spitting image of Tia, with the same turquoise eyes, the same cluster of head feathers, and the same white markings on her face. It seemed the only thing she had Tia didn't have in common was the colour of the feathers; while Tia's were dark, almost matching Roberto's, the chick's were more like that of Eduardo and Mimi. The tribe leaders had probably been blessed with a daughter, which explained the similarities between her and Eduardo and Tia. The kid was flying, let out squeals and whoops of excitement as she looped around a branch. Eduardo was muttering into Tia's ear, but she was shaking her head, looking unworried. It was that moment that the chick flew to the right; straight for the border.

"Jewel, wait!" just as Tia was stretching her wings, eyes wide with alarm, it was then that the young males felt a gust of air. Rojo had flapped his enormous wings and was flying straight for the chick, who Felipe presumed was called Jewel. The young males then gasped, for Rojo had reached out, and seized Jewel by the neck. Felipe could just about hear Rojo speaking.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said Rojo, grinning maliciously. "A little blue trespasser?" the horrified silence from the Spix's macaws was then broken, for Eduardo had let out a screech of rage and was rushing toward Rojo and his daughter. The look of terror in Jewel's blue eyes was then changed to one of disgust and anger.

"Get off me!" she cried, suddenly reaching up with her little talons, lashing out at her attacker. Rojo let out a grunt, dropping her, and as Jewel fled toward the safety of her mother and aunt, Rojo was sent flying by Eduardo. They watched the two leaders fighting, shocked, as feathers twirled through the humid air. As Roberto's wings opened to fly and help Eduardo, the two broke apart. Blood soaked the feathers of Eduardo's legs, and he looked enraged.

"We should go." Hissed Ricardo, and they turned to look at Felipe, waiting for him to lead. Even though he didn't want to defend his father, he knew he had to. Felipe flew out, flanked by the others, and they clustered around Rojo.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" hissed Eduardo, flicking his talons, sending a few blood droplets flying."If you lay a claw on one of my tribe members - let alone my _daughter…__ I won't tolerate it!"_

"A _claw? _All he did was grab her neck!" he protested. "That's hardly hurting her!" then Felipe felt the ice-cold glare, and he looked up, spotting Roberto scowling at him. _"Roberto."_

"_Felipe."_ He replied curtly, his crest feathers sticking out at all angles. Mimi began muttering to Jewel, who was in Mimi and Tia's wings.

"We'll deal with this later." Snarled Rojo through a gritted beak. "Come along, Felipe - I don't want my son being badly influenced."

"Sure, dad." Muttered Felipe. _Since when had he cared about who influences me? _ He then grinned mockingly at the five Spix's macaws. "C'mon guys - let go. Is it over yet? Absolutely, no." laughing, Felipe then turned, flying after Rojo with his friends not far behind.


	9. A Web of Lies

They flew back in grim, awkward silence. Rojo's eyes were all over the place, and he kept paused in his flight to pluck off a half-moulted feather. Rojo always did that when he was thinking something over, turning it in his mind and analyzing it. For some reason, Felipe had a feeling that he had a plan. Rojo was twisted enough to do such a thing. At that moment, they all jumped at the sound of a voice.

"Hey, red buddies!" Johanna, the young leader of the Blue-and-Gold macaw tribe, waved a wing in a friendly manner. She and her boyfriend, Alejandro - she was too young to have a mate yet - were lying on vine hammocks, which the Blue-and-Golds were famous for making. They braided the vines together so that it made a comfortable and strong holder. The hammocks were often made for transporting the sick, injured and weak, carrying items such as food and nesting, and often just to lie back and relax in. The hammock the Blue-and-Golds were in was tied between too trees close together. Johanna's other wing was folded behind her head, as were Alejandro's, who was lying on the opposite end of the hammock.

Johanna's parents, while still alive, had decided to step down as leaders as they wanted an 'early retirement'. The Blue-and-Golds were possibly the most harmonious tribe - warm, welcoming, selfless, and loving life and everyone around them. They were very peaceful, and their tribe dance was called 'A Sky Full of Warmth', celebrating not only the warm glow of the sun but the warmth of their hearts. Their body decoration was woven flowers; draped over their shoulders, with the addition of a flower tucked in the ear feathers of the females.

Felipe had overheard Rojo talking about them, stating that they were cowards and pathetic, but Juanita and Juliana had told Felipe, Adelaide and Azalea that, really, they were a strong tribe. However, they were somewhat oblivious to the fact that Rojo hated them. Rojo grunted back, before flying on. Johanna blinked, looking at Alejandro, who shrugged. They looked back at the younger males. "Oh, boy. Did someone wake on the wrong side of the nest this morning?" she asked, blinking her green eyes.

"We just ran into some trouble." Felipe muttered, with a shrug. Before Johanna could ask him, he decided to just tell them. "Border skirmish."

"We're sorry about this trouble. None of you were injured, I hope?" said Alejandro, leaning forward and scanning them for wounds.

"Not really." Said Miguel, but he looked troubled. "Eduardo and Tia have got a daughter, now."

"Really?" Johanna's eyes lit with warmth. "What's the little one's name?"

"Jewel." Said Alonso. "But Eduardo attacked Rojo. Anyway, it was nice to see you, Johanna, Alejandro, but we must go."

"Alright." Said Alejandro, looking a bit concerned. "Nice to see you all as well!" the two Blue-and-Gold macaws waved in farewell as they flew out of sight.

"They are a_ bit_ strange." Remarked Santiago. "Too… happy, and always looking to the bright side. They don't like conflict, do they?"

"Not particularly." Ricardo replied. "But still, I wish our tribe was that happy all the time." When they arrived back at the Kapok trees, there was a lot of tension in the air. The moment they lighted down on a branch, Adelaide and Azalea rushed up to them, looking impatient and frazzled. The flick of Azalea's head feathers were fuzzed and sticking up, while Adelaide's short and spiky ones were tousled and even messier than how she usually kept them.

"Okay, would any of you boys care to tell us what happened?" Azalea landed on the branch they were on. She looked like she was running out of patience, because her hazel eyes kept flickering to the simplest movement nearby, and her claws tapped the branch beneath them. Her wings were crossed, and she seemed on edge. Azalea was really a no-nonsense sort of girl who didn't like being shunned, and one of the things she hated most was not knowing the situation. Beside her, Adelaide looked both impatient and a little fearful. Miguel was the one to tell them the news.

"Okay… Eduardo and Tia have got a daughter, just a kid – Jewel, or something - but… uh. You see, it was our old guy –"

"I'm guessing that translates into Rojo." Adelaide mused.

"Yeah." Felipe nodded. "Alright, so –" but at that moment, the macaws clustered around them began shouting. Rojo had emerged from the vine curtain that contained the Elders' meetings. "Okay, no need for me to explain now." Said Felipe, turning toward the direction of his father and patriarch.

"I'm afraid that our little encounter was correct." said Rojo in a grave voice. Felipe wondered how he was going to tell the tribe that he attacked a young chick over a simple mistake. "Their daughter was trespassing and trying to take Brazil nuts from our side." Gasps of outrage sounded all around them, and squawks rang out. But Felipe blinked. _What?_ He had watched Jewel. Seen her flying happily, carefree, impressing her family by pulling off flying tricks and loops. The border incident had been purely accidental. Jewel clearly hadn't known, based by the shock on her face when Rojo grabbed her. _She never took anything… _but then it dawned upon him. Of course. He should have seen it coming. Rojo was desperate to have more territory. He had bickered with other tribes so many times, trying to trade pieces of territory for something that, in the end, wouldn't be worth the other tribe's while. He had tried bargaining with the Blue-and-Gold macaw tribe, when Johanna's parents still lead it - they had simply laughed, told him that he 'had plenty of space', and flown away. He had once sealed a deal with the Hyacinths - big mistake. When, after several months, they had asked for their piece of land back, Rojo had refused. Eventually they had taken it by force. Rojo lost the territory and earned himself another scar on his throat.

Ricardo, Miguel, Alonso and Santiago looked as confused as he did, but none of them mentioned it to Adelaide or Azalea. The four turned to him, but Felipe was already gone - he was going to find out how Rojo was going to 'retaliate'. The four boys followed Felipe, closely pursued by Adelaide and Azalea.

_Later_

Felipe, the rest of the former patrol and the girls, now including Lena and Maite, were listening in on the Elders' meetings. Their ears were pressed to the vines. "I can't believe my dad didn't let me be part of the conversation." Felipe grumbled. "It's unbelievable; I'm his _son_, for goodness sake…"

"Sssh!" whispered Adelaide. "I heard something…"

"A fight is unwise." Said a familiar boring voice, and Felipe peeked through the vines and caught a glimpse of Sol. He didn't know why Sol was one of the Elders - he was old, yes, but advice-giving wasn't his area of expertise. Felipe heard Sol murmuring about the casualties and the moon, but he was silenced by Rojo. Their eyes widened when they heard Rojo propose a match in the Pit of Doom. _A surprisingly peaceful way of combat… _thought Felipe. They heard the other Elders agreeing, and they fled before the old macaws could discover that they had been eavesdropped on.

_Later_

Felipe stood in the hollow entrance, looking in on Rojo, who had his back to him. "You lied." Said Felipe quietly. "You've lied to everyone." Rojo still didn't say anything. Earlier on, he had dragged Felipe and the four other males away, and threatened them into silence. But Felipe wasn't daunted. He wasn't going to let threats get in his way. "But I will keep my beak shut if you put me on the team for the Pit of Doom." He peered into the dark hollow, looking for Rojo's reaction, and saw him nod with a grunt. Assuming that it was permission, Felipe nodded, before ducking out of the hollow, not bothering to thank him.


	10. Message

Felipe's wings were folded behind his head as he slept in his room, lying on a bed of moss and feather down. He snored lightly, before rolling over, into a patch of sunlight that streamed in from the hole in the tree trunk. The brightness strained on his eyelids, and he stirred, opening his eyes and shielding them from the light. Felipe sat up, rubbing them. He then remembered the events of yesterday, and he went off in search of his father. He eventually found Rojo - who, as usual - was sending out patrols.

"Hey, dad." He said, hovering behind him. "What's the plan?" Rojo turned to him with a tired expression; he looked exhausted and frustrated at the same time.

"What plan?" he asked, but then his eyes flickered as he remembered. "Oh, right. First of all, I want you and someone else to go to the border, and to let the Spix's macaws know that it's scheduled for tomorrow." Felipe nodded; he knew exactly who he wanted to take with him. He turned, and flew off in search of her, and found her with her cousin.

"Hey, Adelaide, Azalea!" Felipe lighted down on their branch, where they were sharing a star fruit. The two girls turned, greeting him with friendly squawks.

"Hi, Felipe!" Azalea said, nodding at him, while Adelaide rushed forward and hugged him. Felipe grinned, wrapped a wing around her. From her spot, Azalea rolled her eyes in amusement. "See ya, lovebirds - I'm gonna talk to my mom about score marking." This would be Azalea's first match where she score marked. As soon as Azalea left, Felipe let go of Adelaide.

"You look great today." He commented, indicating toward the pretty white flower in the feathers of her ear.

"Thank you." Said Adelaide with a blush. "So - what do you want?"

"Well, Rojo wants me to deliver the message to the Spix's macaws, and he said I could take someone with me, so I was thinking that you could accompany me."

"Sure." Adelaide shrugged, but then the area above one of her eyes rose. "No fighting this time, okay?"

"I promise." Felipe sighed, but touched her wing with his own. Warmth tickled his wing from where he had made contact with Adelaide, and he felt a funny feeling in his chest, where his heart was beating. He let his wing drop, before turning and taking off, with a smiling Adelaide following close behind. As they neared the border, Adelaide flew faster so that she was flying alongside him.

"So who do we approach?" she asked. Felipe considered, but then he remembered that he didn't want to go directly into the territory of the Spix's macaws - that would make the conflict worse.

"The first one we see." He confirmed. Personally, he hoped it was Roberto; it was hilarious, watching the anger on his expression and the ridiculous head feathers spiking at all angles. Felipe and Adelaide made their way toward the border, in deep conversation about Rojo's method of retaliation.

"I would have thought that he would organise an actual battle." Commented Felipe, running his beak through the feathers of his left wing as they flew. Adelaide looked uncomfortable.

"I'm glad he's not." She admitted. Felipe didn't question her opinion; he knew her opinion on war.

"I understand, but can you do me a favour? Can you try to look brave and say intimidating things?" he asked. Adelaide's eyes flashed, but then she shrugged.

"Sure, whatever."

"_Obrigado."_ He said, and they sped up in their flight. By now, they were flying along the border, scanning the tree line for any sign of blue. Felipe and Adelaide landed on a branch, looking around.

"Where are they today?" Adelaide mused, looking into the other side. "They're usually everywhere…" But then Felipe reached out with a wing, touching her's.

"This could not be any more perfect." He said, pointing, grinning. Adelaide followed his gaze, and saw two Spix's macaws on a branch. One was Tia, and the other was only a chick - Jewel, the one who had caused all this mess in the first place - or so that was what the tribe thought. Tia then murmured something to Jewel, before turning and flying away. Jewel was eating a Brazil nut, and looking around with an interested expression as she looked at the surrounding Brazil nut trees. As she began preening her feathers, he nudged Adelaide. "That's the kid who crossed the border. Let's go." Felipe stretched his wings, and flew over, landing on a branch that was just inside the Scarlet tribe's borders. Adelaide landed next to him, the nervousness in her eyes concealed. Felipe cleared his throat before speaking.

"Hey, menina! Where's old Eddie?" Felipe snickered, making Jewel look up with alarmed blue eyes. The surprise was replaced by hostility, and her feathers spiked as she scowled at them. Felipe gave Adelaide a nudge, and they both began laughing at his joke.

"Don't you call me _'menina.'" _Jewel snapped, crossing her wings. It was quite funny, seeing all that anger in the little macaw's face. "And who's 'Old Eddie?' If you're talking about my dad, his name's _Eduardo. _Get it? _Ed-ward-o. _And he's not old, for your information." She then smirked. "Nowhere near as old as ancient Joey– how old is he? A hundred?" Felipe and Adelaide stopped laughing.

"My father's not old. And he's not called 'Joey'." Felipe hissed through a gritted beak, although he knew that Rojo looked ancient. He turned to his companion."Right, Adelaide?"

"That's right." Adelaide puffed out her fluffy feathers, her brown eyes full of resent. "He's certainly younger then Old Eddie." She then tipped her head, looking at Jewel, suddenly grinning. "You know, blue's an awful colour. It makes you all look cold."

"Red makes you lot look like apples." Jewel retorted in an attempt at a comeback. "What do you two want? You're a bit close to our side of the grove, aren't you?" _Felipe could see her eyes flickering about, as if hoping someone were to show up. Eduardo had probably sent more patrols on their side of the grove. He'd better make this message quick, he didn't want some patrol to chase him and Adelaide off._

"Are we?" sighed Felipe, stretching out his wings and pretending to look mournful. "My mistake. Must have slipped my mind. Anyway – we have a little message from Rojo for Eddie."

"Oh?" Jewel crossed her wings, and leaned forward with narrowed eyes. She was quite brave for her age and situation, he'd give her that. He didn't think that a young chick would dare scratch someone like Rojo. "What's this 'little message', then?"

"Tell your daddy that Rojo wants a match in the Pit of Doom for the whole grove. Tomorrow at midday – I hope you're all ready to play!" Felipe turned, looking at Adelaide. "Come on Adelaide, let's fly; take to the sky!" laughing, Felipe and Adelaide turned, and left, leaving Jewel scowling after them. When Felipe looked back, she had vanished. He looked at Adelaide. "You were really brave, you know." He said. Adelaide blushed, but she looked uncomfortable.

"I didn't feel brave. She's only a kid - not much younger than us, Felipe." Adelaide twisted her head to pull a leaf away from the feathers in her shoulder. They flew back in a long, awkward silence. Felipe tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. He didn't know why Adelaide was so terrified of conflict - even intimidating with words make her uncomfortable. As they flew into through the Kapok trees, she looked at him. "I'm just going to find Azalea." She reached over, touching her beak to his briefly, before turning and flying in the direction of her cousin. Felipe's beak felt warm, and he found himself staring in her direction. Then he heard a gruff voice behind him.

"So?" it said. "Did you deliver the message?" Felipe turned, and came face-to-face with Rojo.

"Yes, to Jewel." He explained. Not wanting to say anymore to him, Felipe flew off in direction of his friends. Ricardo, Miguel, Lena, Maite and some other friends of theirs were gathered in a group, discussing where they would sit in the stands.

"The middle is just about right." Reasoned Miguel. "That way our ears aren't bursted by the commentators, and we also get a great view of the game."

"But near the bottom, you can see the players' movements more clearly." Lena argued. "Hey, Felipe - where do you think?" she turned to him as he landed.

"Oh, I don't care about where I sit." Felipe smirked. "Because I'm on the team - I won't need to find a seat."

"You lucky thing!" Ricardo exclaimed, a mixture of awe and jealousy in his eyes. "I want to play at some point."

"I'm sure I can talk to my dad." Felipe said. "You can be a substitute this time. There's no more places left right now, but in the next match..." he high-winged Ricardo, before going off to find Rojo to persuade him. He was sure Rojo could be convinced - the secret of what had really happened at the border depended on it.


	11. It'll be fine

The head-or-tails bird dived out of the game as the players leapt into action. Felipe took off as Flavio kicked the ball from the main column, his red, yellow and blue wings beating furiously as he flew in direction of the ball. The stands erupted with shouts of encouragement from both sides, for their teams. From the red stands, he could see her - Adelaide, looking beautiful with a festive looking flower in her ear feathers - it was small and red, but she painted some petals yellow, blue, and green, to present the two species the tribe consisted of. She was between Juanita and Juliana, brown eyes hopeful and fixed on Felipe.

When the game began, he was determined to impress Adelaide. Felipe intercepted a shot from the Spix's macaw captain, named Abel, taking control of the ball. _C'mon, do me a favour. _Felipe swiftly made his way toward the goal. He hovered with his back to the goal, kicking the ball up once, before spinning around and kicking hard. As the ball disappeared, the tapir and porcupine commentators began shouting at the top of their voices, and he leaned forward in his flight to show a bow. His tribe began whooping, and he felt a warm glow when he saw Adelaide leaping up and down, cheering wildly. Azalea, down on the bottom ledge, raised a Brazil nut into the air. The opposite score marker, Sophia, rolled her eyes and scowled. He then looked on the bottom ledge of the red side, and saw Rojo. He was shocked to see a bit of pride in the eye that wasn't partially blind.

Felipe looked into the Spix's macaw stands, and then he spotted Jewel, Tia, and Mimi. All three looked disappointed, but Jewel looked nervous, her toes bouncing a bit and her feathers ruffled. _That's right, kid - if we win; you've lost your tribe the entire Brazil nut grove, _thought Felipe gleefully. The ball then flew past his head, and Felipe realized that the game was back on.

Felipe flew back into the game, more determined than ever to make his team succeed. He flew beneath Manuela, before flying up in front of her and grabbing the ball from the air as she kicked it. He motioned toward Ricardo - who he had managed to get into the team - before shooting in his direction. But at that moment, Felipe heard a familiar voice.

"Mind if I borrow this?" a dark blue streak cut in, seizing the ball from the air. At first, he couldn't tell who it was, as he was flying so fast, but then he remembered the voice; Roberto. Glaring at Roberto, he followed in hot pursuit. Roberto kicked to a fellow team member named Carlos, who shot to his right, straight into Manuela's talons. She turned to the goal, shooting, and scoring for the Spix's team. Felipe sighed, looking at his fellow team players in disappointment.

"We can still win this." He said, determination in his voice. _"Vamos!" _Felipe flew straight toward Carlos, who had the ball now. Grinning, Felipe rushed at the ball, hitting into Carlos. _Oops, _he thought innocently. He hoped that it would be viewed as a genuine mistake, but Eduardo missed nothing - he was furiously shouting at the referee.

"Foul!" exclaimed the heads-or-tails bird, and Felipe narrowed his eyes. At least he was still in the game, unlike Carlos - Felipe's attack had injured his foot, meaning that he could no longer play.

"Sorry." He whispered sweetly. Carlos shot him an angry look as he retreated onto the bottom rock ledge. Roberto took the ball, turning to kick at a team member Felipe didn't recognise, but Felipe flew in, taking it. The ball back in Felipe's control now, he kicked it to Flavio. Flavio flew toward the goal, aiming. Asa, the goalie, dashed forward, but she misjudged her flight and ended up straight in the path of the ball - which was going toward her head. She tried to raise her wings to block it, but she was too slow - the ball hit her in the face. The hit knocked her out, and Felipe couldn't help but laugh as she fell down, toward the water below. Roberto and another of his team, named Antonio, managed to catch her, flying her back to the bottom ledge, where their first-aid team gathered around her to try and make her regain consciousness. Felipe looked at Ricardo, snickering with him.

"Hey, where did the ball go?" Ricardo then said, and the referee flew forward, into the goal. He emerged, holding up the piece of fruit.

"Scored!" he announced, and Felipe's tribe cheered.

"Yeah!" shouted Felipe, high-winging Flavio. "Nice shot!" to the Scarlet team's luck, the Spix's goalie replacement, Aleixo, was not very good at goal-keeping. She almost missed every shot, doing them a favour. Felipe even managed yet another goal, to his team's amazement. But now, it was reaching the end - the scores were tied. The next goal would decide who got control of the entire grove.

Felipe flew up alongside Roberto, attempting to intercept and take the ball from him. Roberto glared sideways at his nemesis, before folding his wings and diving downwards to escape from him. Felipe followed, into a close clustered of rock columns and vines. The vines criss-crossed the path between the rock columns, which were so close together that seeing anyone in it was near impossible. Everyone craned their necks in an attempt to see them. Felipe flew through and over the vines, while Roberto was a bit slower in avoiding them. Several times, he stopped at a vine before dodging it. Felipe thought he saw something pale on Roberto's leg, and he narrowed his eyes to peer at it. Roberto's eyes widened in alarm, before he covered the object with his other talon, pushing whatever it was on his ankle up, beneath the feathers of his thigh. The ball then slipped, and Felipe dived toward it. But then Felipe realized that they weren't alone in the small space - Abel had followed them in, and had swept beneath Felipe, rescuing the ball.

"C'mon, Roberto!" he exclaimed, and Roberto followed him up and out. Felipe followed, wings flapping madly as Abel and Roberto rocketed toward the goal. Roberto, who was closer to the goal, spun round, wings waving frantically. Abel passed the ball toward him, and then Roberto did a back-flip, kicking the ball over his head. Felipe's team's goalie tried to block the shot, but it passed her, going straight into the goal.

As the ball vanished, the Spix's side erupted. Roberto was surrounded by his teammates, and tossed up and down. From the stands, Felipe could see Jewel's beak hanging open in shock and awe. Tia and Mimi then enveloped their wings around Jewel, and the trio leapt up and down, whooping wildly. Sophia was literally dancing on the spot as she threw a Brazil nut upwards, with Azalea staring at her in anger and bewilderment. Felipe was silent as he landed on the bottom ledge, alarmed as Rojo began screeching in fury, wings wrapped over his head. Adelaide rushed up to them, looking as alarmed as Felipe did. The plan had totally failed - thanks to Rojo's anger issues and possessive nature, they had now lost their most precious source of food to the Spix's macaws. Felipe and Adelaide exchanged looks. He wrapped a wing around her, and they turned, following their silent tribe out of the Pit of Doom as the Spix's macaw tribe celebrated their victory.

_Later_

It was completely black outside, but they could still hear their rivals celebrating in the distance. Most of the tribe had retreated to their hollows in misery. Rojo was out with a patrol, even in the night, looking for alternative food sources. Felipe and Adelaide were the only ones still awake. Felipe kicked a rock viscously. "I. Don't. Believe. This." He growled, pacing up and down in his hollow. Adelaide ran after him, trying to comfort him.

"It'll be fine…" she protested. "We'll get by… we can steal from our old side, they need never know, if we're careful... or we could find another Brazil nut grove."

"Adelaide!" Felipe exclaimed, whirling around. "This is the only grove for_ miles._"

"We can still steal!" Adelaide reasoned.

"We can't steal from there for the rest of our lives!" Felipe argued. "We'll surely be snuffed out eventually, knowing that Roberto. He can't keep his stupid beak out of anything!"

"Stop it." Adelaide demanded. When Felipe didn't stop pacing, she put a talon on his shoulder and spun him round, reaching up to hold his face in her wings. "Stop it. We'll get through this. We can arrange a deal with the tribe, okay?" Felipe didn't know if it was true - Eduardo would never agree to just give it away. He didn't reply, but he looked down at her, into her face. She was the most beautiful macaw he had ever seen, and now, she had never looked more beautiful, with her tousled head feathers, her dark brown eyes, and the ruby-coloured feathers framing those two brown jewels. They stared into one another's green and brown eyes, for many moments. Adelaide suddenly leaned forward, kissing Felipe.

He didn't know how to react, but, during the kiss, all his stress, worries, anger - they faded away. He could hear gentle music in his head, and he felt as light as air. He wrapped his wings around Adelaide, feeling her heart as he pulled her closer, into an embrace. Adelaide's cheek was pressed against his chest, and his chin was rested on her head. They looked up at one another, the realization dawning upon them. They could both feel warmth in their hearts, the butterfly feeling in their stomachs, and they were both thinking the same thing. _Am I in love with you?_


	12. An idea

Adelaide appeared at the hollow entrance, a strawberry guava in her beak. Her eyes sparkled in the light of the morning, and she seemed the most cheerful macaw in the tribe at the moment. "Hi!" she dropped the piece of fruit at Felipe's talons, and he looked up with a smile.

"Hey, Adie." He said warmly, picking up the fruit and biting it in half, handing a piece to her.

"Thanks." She took the half, and began eating it. After finishing their breakfast, Felipe and Adelaide stepped outside, looking around to see the surroundings. Outside, the tribe was just getting up, moving about slowly and dragging their feet, with tiredness and disappointment from the events of yesterday. Juanita and Juliana were picking at a Brazil nut - some macaws kept stores of certain foods, in case something happened to the source. Felipe knew that Juanita kept a few Brazil nuts in a hollow in her tree floor, covered by a leaf. Felipe had discovered this by falling into it as a chick.

"Morning, kids." Said Juliana, looking up with a dull expression.

"Good morning." Replied Adelaide, her cheerful expression fading a bit as she looked at the sombre look on her aunt's face. "Where's Azalea?"

"They went to the little waterfall cave." Juanita answered, forcing a smile. "Go on… off you go, honey." Felipe hated seeing their low spirits; a wave of determination swept over him. He would make the tribe smile again.

"Don't worry." Felipe assured them. "We'll arrange a deal and make this right." The two females looked up, hope entering their eyes.

"I don't doubt you will." Juanita murmured. As they flew away and out of hearing, she turned to Juliana. "He's got his mother's spirit."

_Later_

Felipe and Adelaide perched atop a boulder, looking around. The little waterfall cave was, hence the name, a cave with a small waterfall in it. It was beautiful; dim, with shiny pebbles littering the floor and the light that came off the water, the shafts of light bouncing off the rock walls. There was a little gap in the roof, where sunlight poured in. They heard a shifting of pebbles, and looked down to see Azalea, Lena, Maite, Ricardo and Miguel kicking stones into the little river that ran through the floor.

"You were great." Maite said in a comforting tone to Azalea. "You were better at score-marking than their Sophia…"

"But we still lost." Azalea grumbled, picking up a stone and throwing it into the water. Adelaide landed on the pebbles beside them, sitting down at the water's edge with her talons in the water, while Felipe slid down the boulder and dropped softly the floor.

"We will get it back." Felipe promised them. Lena looked at him, looking a bit sceptical.

"How, exactly? Eduardo'll never let it go… not without a fight, or anything." At the word 'fight', Adelaide stiffened, which Felipe didn't notice.

"Hey…" Ricardo looked up. "That's it."

"What is?" said Adelaide, looking at him. "You don't mean -"

"Of course!" Felipe then exclaimed. He stared at them all, a plan hatching in his mind. "That's the answer. If he doesn't want to let go of our side… we'll fight him for it."

"Fight?" Miguel's dark eyes widened. "You can't be serious, Felipe -"

"Of course I'm serious!" Felipe insisted, his blood rising, turning his visible patches of skin pink with his excitement. "Most of us are larger than most Spix's macaws - and smarter, not to mention. They're faster, sure, but we're much stronger." He turned to Lena, Maite, Azalea and Adelaide. "You girls are all fast, and you guys -" he turned to Miguel and Ricardo. "Are exceptionally strong. Miguel, what's this I hear about you lifting that heavy stone?"

"It wasn't that heavy…" Miguel said with a slight laugh. "Okay, it was a bit, but I'm not that powerful…"

"Don't be silly!" Lena exclaimed, bouncing up to his side. "That rock was_ really_ heavy. And Ricardo, you're rather speedy, and you can fight well."

"Wait, guys -" Azalea pointed out, holding up her wings. "Maite, what about the casualties?"

"We're well stocked up on medical herbs." Maite assured her. "Mom and dad will be well prepared for injuries."

"It's perfect!" declared Felipe, flying up to the boulder and turning to look down at them all. "We fight them, we win the grove back! Come on, we've gotta tell my dad." the teens began chatting in excited voices as they left the cave, but there was one who remained behind, her talons still in the water. In their excitement, they didn't notice that Adelaide wasn't with them. Adelaide was silent, staring into the water. There was a lump in her throat, and fear in her heart - she began breathing very fast, her heart racing, and her skin flushed. Anyone could tell that she was petrified.

_Later_

"What do you mean_, no?"_ Felipe gasped, staring at Rojo in bewilderment. His friends were open-beaked in their shock, as none of them had expected Rojo to refuse their idea. Rojo shook his head again, his eyes sunken into his skull, his feathers flat.

"It's too dangerous." He rasped, continuing to shake his head. "We're not going into battle."

"But Mr R -" Azalea began, protesting, but Rojo whirled round, glaring.

"_No_ means _no."_ he told them, before turning and vanishing into the vines, leaving them in bewildered silence.

"Holy mangoes." Said Miguel after a few moments. "I never saw that coming." After several moments, Lena sighed deeply.

"I guess it's not on in the Amazon." She sighed. The others then turned, flying away and muttering in disappointment. Felipe was about to barge through the vines and demand an explanation from his father, but then he heard Rojo talking.

"Sol… you said that I am in danger, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid so, sir." Murmured Sol's voice back. "I don't know how, but going into battle could bring you to an end. It's best for you to keep the tribes at peace, at least until you're in no further danger." Felipe listened, fuming; so that was why. Rojo was afraid? _He thinks Sol's fake prophecies mean that he's going to die? Coward - he can't be serious._

"Felipe?" said a small voice. Felipe turned around, and was surprised to see Adelaide. He had never seen her look so tense; she was stiff, and her eyes were darting about as if she was expecting an attack. "We're not… going into battle, are we?"

"No." Felipe replied in a disappointed tone of voice. "Rojo's too frightened because of one of Sol's ghost stories. Are you alright? You look…"

"I'm afraid, Felipe." Adelaide whispered, her eyes turning shiny. "For you, for Azalea, for me…"

"Hey, hey." Felipe said, walking up to her and sweeping his wings around her. "No matter what happens, nothing bad will happen to you - I promise. Okay?" he looked into her eyes, and Adelaide sniffed.

"Okay." She replied. Felipe felt a warm glow of sympathy, and he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Come on - it's getting late, your mom's gonna worry." Felipe knew that Adelaide was frightened - but deep down, he still felt that fighting was the only way out. When he became leader - based on Rojo's condition, and Sol's prediction, it wouldn't be long - the first thing he would do was get the tribe's opinion on a battle. He had to teach Adelaide some kind of self-defence; she didn't have even basic skills. A voice whispered in his head. _In the end, Adelaide will finally see that it's the best solution… _but then a quieter voice murmured, stirring up some doubt. _Will she?_


	13. Concealed skills

"I don't see why I _have_ to learn how to fight." Complained Adelaide, following Felipe as they flew over the river. She looked uncomfortable and irritated, as if there were mosquitoes buzzing around her. She kept scratching her side with her left talon, as if with discomfort.

"Adelaide." Felipe sighed, looking back at her. "You need some sort of _self-defence. _What if you run into a Harpy eagle? A jaguar, or an _anaconda?"_

"I'd fly away."Adelaide protested, but she looked a little daunted at the thought of an anaconda.

"Adelaide, in 'fight or flight', 'flight' isn't always an option when the snake is attempting to strangle you." Felipe reminded her, rolling his green eyes with impatience. "Come on, a bit of practise won't hurt you." Adelaide looked hesitant, but then she scowled down at the Amazon River.

"_Fine." _She muttered, before flying lower to the surface of the water. Felipe sighed heavily. She had to get over her fears at some point; he hoped he hadn't pushed her too hard. A few pale shapes rose to the surface, and Felipe was about to cry out in warning to her, but then he relaxed; they were only river dolphins. They began breaking the surface, leaping in and out of the river, making their funny-sounding whistles. Felipe heard Adelaide giggling a bit, and then he saw her duck beneath one of the leaping dolphins, flying underneath and rising up before it splashed back down.

"Smooth!" he praised, hoping to get back on her good side. Felipe flew closer down, attempting to copy her, but he only got hit on the wing by a dolphin's tail as it dove back into the river. "Oof!" he shook his wing, but then he let out a squawk of surprise as a jet of water hit him in the face. A dolphin had sprayed some water on him, and it began whistling mischievously. "Very funny!" he squawked sarcastically, flying a few feet higher to avoid any sprays of water. Adelaide had burst into peals of laughter, and he was relieved to see the familiar sparkle back in her eyes as she hit her wing to a dolphin's flipper, flying up to rejoin Felipe as the dolphins swam into deeper water. Felipe cut away from the river, leading Adelaide to a flowery grove of trees. He landed on a branch above Adelaide, who had leaned over to admire a bromeliad.

"Okay, come on." He called, and she looked up at him. Felipe picked up an acai berry, holding it up as he spoke. "Adelaide, self-defence is pretty straight forward. If you can't have some basic skill of combat, you'll be easily crushed in battle." As he reached the end of that sentence, he closed his talons, crushing the acai berry, making Adelaide wince a bit. But then he landed beside her, turning to the bromeliad she had been inspecting, reaching over it to swat away a large, unsightly fly off its flawless petals. "But when you know some skills, you won't be." He turned away from Adelaide, flying back up to his original branch.

"Now, Adelaide, I'm going to be showing you several attack methods." Felipe began showing Adelaide some fighting techniques, showing her how to put her talons and beak to use during combat. He also showed her where the best parts to attack where; around the wings, the stomach, the back, and the head. Felipe was rather surprised at Adelaide's progress; he would have thought that she would be slow and reluctant, but she was actually a fast learner. She even got the moves almost completely right every time.

"Nice work!" Felipe exclaimed when Adelaide slashed at the piece of fruit they were using. The fruit looked very battered, with deep gouges in the flesh and most of its skin torn away. "Alright, now attack me."

"Er, _what?" _Adelaide looked up and stared in bewilderment, looking shocked.

"Don't claw me or anything; use the techniques I showed you that don't actually tear wounds." Felipe explained, and opened his wings, preparing himself for Adelaide's attack. Felipe watched her preparing herself to leap, but then there was a harsh cry, but it wasn't Adelaide - an enormous black-and-white shape came soaring from the nearest tree, hurling into him. Felipe had no idea what it was at first, but he was soon to find out. "Adelaide!" he shrieked as he came face-to-face with the bird every macaw dreaded; a Harpy eagle.

Harpy eagles were enormous, larger than Hyacinth macaws, and they were also the largest eagle known to the tribes. Harpies usually preyed on monkeys and sloths, and sometimes snakes, but Perlina and Juanita had told him that they had seen one attacking a capybara once. And sometimes, they preyed on macaws. This one's feathers were dark and ragged, and its beak was notched in places. It possessed an enormous crest of feathers, and its claws were almost as big as he was. The eagle screeched loudly, its cry making his ears ring. It had him clutched with an iron grip in one talon, and he couldn't move. Terrified, Felipe threw up his wings in an attempt to block the eagle, but the eagle seized one of his wings in its beak, shaking him fiercely. "Adelaide!" he cried in panic. "Do _something!"_ For a moment, he thought his wing was going to break, but then he heard Adelaide's familiar voice.

"Let him go!" there was a red blur as Adelaide hurled herself at them, and landed on the back of the eagle's neck, throwing her wings over its eyes. The eagle, blinded, dropped Felipe, attempting to shake Adelaide away from it. Felipe lay there, stunned, trying to rise to his feet, but his body was refusing to obey his brain. "Felipe!" cried Adelaide, still clinging on for dear life. "What do I do?"

"Claw it!" Felipe managed to get a few words out. Adelaide's talons began tearing wildly at the eagle's back, sending ragged black and white feathers flying. The eagle let out a cry, trying to dislodge her, but Adelaide refused to let go. The fear in her eyes was slowly turning to rage and determination, and Felipe could see the fire in them. She lunged, grabbing the tuft of feathers sticking up on its head and tugging fiercely. She finally let go, spitting out a heap of feathers. The eagle staggered in the air, before spreading its enormous wings, and fleeing into the trees, crying out all the way. Shell-shocked, Felipe shakily rose to his feet.

"Adelaide… are you okay?" he flew up to her, checking her for wounds, but the worst he found was a couple of bruises.

"I…" Adelaide seemed lost for words as she watched their attacker vanish. She looked down, and her claws began to shake as she saw the blood on them. Worried, Felipe flew her down to the forest floor, landing in the shallow water of a puddle. As Felipe kept a lookout for any unwelcome attention, Adelaide began frantically clearing her claws of the eagle's blood, shaking slightly. Felipe frowned, hopping up to her.

"Adelaide… thank you." Felipe put a comforting wing around her shoulders. "If you hadn't done what you did… I would have been dead." Adelaide, however, didn't reply. He stood there quietly, watching her as she continued washing her bloodied feet. He couldn't believe her; she had just driven off a _Harpy eagle_ single-taloned. Who knew what she could do, when it came to the planned fight? But then, could she let go of her fears and put her skills to use? _Of course not. _Felipe decided to let her help Bebel and Bernardo in their healing team. At least there, she would be out of the fighting. But some part of him still wanted Adelaide fighting alongside him. Adelaide hauled herself out of the puddle, looking small and a little bewildered. Frowning, Felipe tucked his wing around her. "Come on, let's get you home and have Bernardo or Bebel check you over."

_Later_

"Adelaide!" cried a voice. Azalea was rushing toward them, her hazel eyes wide with shock as she looked at the state of her cousin. "What happened to you?" Adelaide's feathers were sticking up at all angles, and she had a few bruises.

"I… I just prevented a Harpy eagle from tearing Felipe to pieces." Adelaide mumbled.

"Are… are you cut anywhere?"Azalea fretted.

"No." said Adelaide, shaking her head. As Azalea ushered her cousin toward Juanita, Felipe stood there, thinking to himself.Wanting to find out if Adelaide was alright, Felipe flew over to Adelaide, Azalea and Juanita, where Bebel was fussing over Adelaide.

"Nothing broken, right?" Bebel asked, examining Adelaide's wings.

"No." Adelaide said, looking impatient and irritated. "I'm _fine, _just a few bruises."

"Adelaide!" Juanita snapped, spinning her around. "You –_ you_ fought a Harpy eagle, when you have never had any kind of training!" Adelaide opened her beak, probably to tell her that she had just been taught some moves by Felipe, but Juanita swept on, trembling with fear. "You could have been killed, don't you understand that?"

"Of course I understand!" Adelaide retorted, glaring at her mother. "I had to do _something! _Mom, that thing was going to kill him."

"Adelaide –" Azalea began, but Adelaide turned, scowling.

"What, Felipe's not worth it?" she demanded, with pain-filled eyes. "I couldn't let it kill him, because I…" her voice died away before she finished her sentence. She shook her head. "I couldn't let it kill him." Felipe flew over to them, hoping that Juanita wasn't going to blame him.

"Don't tell anyone." He told them all. "Especially not Rojo… if he finds out how well you handled that eagle, he'll force you into fighting." Juanita whirled round, and grabbed him, staring into his eyes.

"He can't!" protested Juanita. "I… I won't let him!"

"He'll get his way, you know that!" Azalea then spoke up, turning to her aunt. "He's right – we can't tell anyone. Adelaide, if anyone asks about your bruises, tell them part of the truth; you and Felipe were attacked by a Harpy eagle, but you both escaped, alright?" Felipe looked at Azalea approvingly. _Good thinking. _He looked back at Adelaide, who was nodding slowly.

"Alright. Bebel, can I go?" she turned to their female healer, who nodded after a few moments.

"Yes, but just take it easy." She advised. Adelaide nodded in understanding, before turning and flying into her and Juanita's hollow. She was quickly followed by Juanita and Azalea, and then Juliana, who had just arrived back. She frowned, before following them. Bebel then turned to Felipe, asking if he was injured, and he shook his head.

"No, I'm fine."


	14. Crushed

_**Ladies and gentleman, yes, I am aware that the part near the end of this chapter is almost identical to chapter 10 of 'Before Jewel met Blu'; I would remove that chapter from that story, but if I did, new users would probably think: "Whoa whoa, when and how did Rojo go? Plot hole alert!" and I'd probably get a load of questions and complaints from such people. **_

Adelaide picked at the piece of fruit, trying to bring herself to eat, but she couldn't. All she could think about was yesterday; she remembered the red mist in her eyes, an unknown force making her flap her wings and throw herself into battle. Was there really a warrior in her, bottled up somewhere under the fear? She didn't know. Part of her wanted to run away from conflict, and a smaller part wanted her to throw herself into the danger. Before yesterday, she would have fled at the mere thought of fighting, but now… she wasn't sure. The thought often crossed her mind: _why can't I be normal? And not be terrified, unlike everyone else? I just want to be normal. _

"Adelaide, how are your bruises?" Azalea asked, looking up from where she, too, was struggling to finish her piece of fruit.

"It's not my bruises that are bothering me." Adelaide replied, not looking at her cousin. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you." Azalea insisted. "You just… don't like the thought of danger, do you? But when it threatens someone you love, your fear just goes away." _Threatens someone I love? _Adelaide thought. _Do I love Felipe? _Adelaide, distracted from her breakfast, pushed away the piece of fruit, toward Azalea. "Have this, you look famished, and you're going out on a patrol soon, aren't you?" not waiting for a reply, Adelaide then made her way outside, where her mother and aunt were talking in hushed voices.

"Rojo said that they're going to be stealing from the grove." Juanita said, looking a bit worried. "If they're caught, I can't imagine what the consequences will be… they might try to get even more territory off us."

"Relax, Nita." Juliana said, looking rather calm. "They won't be caught; they've got a sentry-duty keeping watch, and someone went along with them just to catch any moulting feathers, so that there's no sign that they were ever there." Juanita didn't look reassured, however.

"They're stealing from the grove?" Adelaide asked, and the two females turned around.

"Yes, sweetie." Juanita replied. "It's a much better way of solving our problem, rather than fighting, isn't it?"

"Far better." Adelaide agreed. They stood in quiet for a few moments, before Juanita and Juliana resumed to their chat. Adelaide definitely agreed with that, but she knew that they couldn't keep that up forever. Some time ago, she would have thought so, but now she knew it was only a matter of time until their stealing patrols were spotted. Or, their neighbours became suspicious at the amount of missing Brazil nuts and figured out what had been going on right under their beaks. _I kind of want to help out, _thought Adelaide. Maybe she'd join a patrol, when the new one was sent out. Deciding to find her friends, Adelaide set of in search of them. She eventually found Miguel, Ricardo, Lena and Maite, who were discussing the issues of stealing from the off-limits grove.

"We're be snuffed out eventually, won't we?" Miguel said, wearing the same look of worry Juanita had. "It's only a matter of time until they suss it out."

"I know, but – holy mangoes!" Ricardo then exclaimed. "Adelaide, what happened to _you?" _the other three turned, and their worry was replaced by shock as they took in the bruises on Adelaide. She glared at them, feeling frustrated.

"Don't fuss, but me and Felipe ran into a Harpy eagle yesterday." Adelaide said dully. "It caught me, but we managed to escape." She hoped that they wouldn't ask her about it, but they began bombarding her with questions, like how big the eagle was, how scary the experience was, and how long it had taken for them to escape. By the time she had finished answering their questions, the Brazil nut collecting patrol had returned. They looked out of breath and huffy.

"That was close!" exclaimed one of them. "We had to make a quick getaway, because a bunch of youngsters had come too close for comfort. They didn't see us, thank fully, but we left the bag behind." Bags had been constructed, out of woven vines and leaves, to carry several nuts at a time. Adelaide spotted Felipe among them, and, saying goodbye to Miguel, Ricardo, Lena and Maite, she flew up to him.

"Can I come out with the patrol?" she asked hopefully. Felipe looked briefly surprised, but then he nodded.

"Sure thing." He turned to the collection patrol. "Okay guys, let's see if they're gone, get the bag, and grab some more Brazil nuts."

_Meanwhile_

Azalea, accompanied by Flavio and an older, Green-winged macaw named Gilbert, followed Rojo through the dense jungle. They were checking the Hyacinth macaw border, which, as usual, was quiet. The Hyacinths weren't usually much of a bother unless they were pressuring them for more territory. It was strange; they were either silent or an annoying, significant threat to borders. Since the Hyacinths were quite a large tribe and their species was large in size anyway, they needed quite a lot of space and food. The Hyacinths were quite an unpopular tribe, even with the peaceful Blue-and-Golds, who found their constant nagging for more territory rather irritating.

"Any sign of trespassing?" asked Rojo, turning around, but they shook their heads.

"No, sir." Gilbert said. "They're not waltzing about asking for territory today."

"Good." Rojo commented, looking around. "I'm glad, that leader of theirs is such a pain."

"Who, Jorge?" Flavio asked, and Rojo nodded, not looking at him. Azalea sighed, looking into the nearby trees with a bored expression. She then thought she heard a sound; a weird 'beep', continuously repeating. It was unnatural, whatever it was - no birdcall sounded like that. Azalea turned, looking around. In their discussion, the older macaws couldn't hear it. She thought she saw a yellow glint through the trees, before it vanished.

"Wait… ssh." She said. Gilbert shot her a quizzical look.

"What is it, Azalea?" he asked. Rojo and Flavio died into silence, and the four macaws looked around, quiet, listening. They then stiffened as they all heard what Azalea was listening to. They saw the glint through the trees, and they could smell something vile in the air. Flavio let out an unexpectedly squawk, making Azalea jump.

"Let's get out of here!" Flavio exclaimed, giving Azalea a shove. "Go!"

"What is it?" Azalea cried, looking around frantically as the trees began moving. Suddenly, there was a groan, and she watched a nearby tree begin the fall, dragging the nearby ones with it. As the tree thundered toward the ground, Azalea finally saw where the glint had come from - a shiny, hard-looking yellow surface, which was covered in mud in places.

"Fly!" shrieked Gilbert. Azalea was briefly frozen in fear, watching the machine crushing undergrowth under its huge, black tyres. She finally snapped out of her trance, and frantically began flying for her life, following the three older macaws. The trees were falling, crashing through the rainforest, their vines threatening to catch their wings and drag them down. Azalea was almost hit by a flying branch, but Flavio barrelled into her side, helping her to dodge the missile.

"Get out of here!" Rojo shouted at them, and Azalea gasped as she saw a huge tree trunk, crashing toward Rojo. Those four words were the last thing Azalea, Flavio and Gilbert heard from their leader.

_Meanwhile_

"Right, I think we've got enough." Reported Felipe, and they dropped the last of the Brazil nuts into the woven sack. Between them, they began carrying their bundle, looking around to ensure that they hadn't been spotted. Adelaide flew alongside him, a Brazil nut in each talon.

"We've got to get our side back somehow." She muttered. "I'm sick of this…" Felipe nodded in agreement, unable to speak with a Brazil nut in his beak. Behind them, several macaws were picking up any moulted feathers to hide the evidence that they were there. Felipe was relieved when they passed back into their territory, out of view of their neighbours. They arrived at the Kapok trees, flying up to the branch where other bags hung. Macaws began queuing up for Brazil nuts, thanking Felipe and the foraging group.

"Just you wait." Felipe said, turning to Adelaide. "When I'm leader, I'm getting our side of the grove back."

"You might not have to wait long." Said a rasping voice, and they turned to see Sol, that distant look in his eyes. Felipe and Adelaide exchanged bewildered looks, and Felipe resisted the urge to claw the old macaw's face.

"You've predicted the death of a tribe member every year, but they're still alive, aren't they? Why should Rojo be any different?" Adelaide was trying to stay calm and quiet, but her voice was tense.

"Oh, I'm not wrong this time." Sol then reached into the leaf sack, taking out a Brazil nut, and then he flew away, murmuring about omens.

"I'm going to kill him one day." Felipe vowed, talons digging into the branch beneath him. "If he doesn't shut his beak…"

"He's old and crazy." Said Adelaide calmly, cracking open a Brazil nut. "He's the oldest bird in the tribe; he's going to go at some point sooner or later. He's probably the oldest macaw in the entire Amazon." Felipe nodded slowly, but he wasn't really listening. Part of him wished that Sol's predictions were correct. There was then the sound of either an exhausted or panicked macaw - their breathing was heavy and ragged, and their wings were flapping wildly and loudly. When Felipe turned, he saw Azalea, who looked petrified and out of breath. Adelaide dropped her Brazil nut, before rushing up to Azalea.

"You okay, Lea?" Adelaide asked, frowning.

"It's Rojo!" she panted. "Come on, hurry!" Adelaide turned round, staring at Felipe. Felipe then jumped, hearing a soft voice in his ear.

"I told you do." Rasped Sol, as Felipe barged past the elderly macaw and followed Azalea and Adelaide. He had no idea what had happened - but based on the look of pity on Azalea's face, he knew that his life was about to change - forever.

_Ten minutes later_

Felipe stared at the wing, which poked out from underneath a fallen tree. The body was inaccessible, crushed by the tree trunk - the wing was the only visible part. The thought of what it looked like beneath the tree made Felipe feel sick. The distant sound of machinery faded as the loggers departed, logs heaped onto their tree harvesters. The trees around them were crushed, with the smoke from the tree harvesters hanging over them like a thick, brown mist. The wing in front of them belonged to that of Rojo - a ragged scar parting the feathers on the top of the wing proved it. Felipe didn't feel anything; he didn't feel grief or enmity. He felt nothing. He didn't miss his father. Rojo didn't deserve to be mourned. He hadn't loved his son - he has used Felipe as a tool, for his plans, only to replace him when he died. His only purpose in having a child was to create another soldier for his fighting squad, to have an heir to the tribe.

"Felipe…" said a quiet voice. Adelaide stood beside him, sympathy in her eyes. "I'm really sorry for your loss." Felipe realized that he had to show some grief; it was appropriate. He huddled his wings to himself, and made his voice catch as he spoke.

"Th-thank you." He whispered, in what he hoped was a convincing, mournful voice. Adelaide began preening his wing feathers, which was also a comforting gesture as well as a way to tidy and clean feathers. Flavio covered Rojo's wing with some leaves to hide it, and then he turned to Felipe.

"As Rojo's only child, you are now our tribe leader." He said quietly. "Rojo would have wanted you to take his place - he would be proud to have you do it." Felipe looked at Flavio, doing his best to show grief in his expression. _I won't do it for Rojo… I'll do it for my mother. Perlina would have been proud, not my father._

"Yes." He said softly. "I… I will take Rojo's place." Without another word, Felipe turned, and flew away, not looking back at the tree trunk and pile of leaves that hid what was Rojo's broken body. Flavio, Gilbert, Azalea, and Adelaide bowed their heads once, before following their new leader out of the deforested area.


	15. A Change of Plan

_**I apologise for the relatively long amount of time since my latest upload. I'd prefer not to say why, so I'll leave it at that.**_

Adelaide woke to the sound of loud, enthusiastic cheering. She looked around, searching for her mother, but at that moment, Juanita appeared in the nest's entrance.

"Wake up; he's leader now!" Juanita exclaimed. Adelaide knew what she meant by 'he'; Felipe. Unsurprisingly, Rojo's demise had not saddened them all for too long; he wasn't exactly the best patriarch the tribe had ever had. Excited at the thought of a new leader – especially if it was Felipe -Adelaide got to her feet, and followed Juanita outside, to the tribe's meeting headquarters, which was a cave behind the furthest Kapok tree. She stood on a rock ledge, watching Felipe greeting the tribe for the first time as leader. She caught his eye from where she perched, and gave him a smile. He returned it, before turning to his audience.

Felipe raised his wings to silence the cheering tribe. "Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate your support. While we continue to grieve over the tragic loss of my father -" _Yeah, you lot will, but I won't, __Felipe thought to himself._"I must bring up our first matter of business - my first action on becoming head of the tribe will be to get back our half of the Brazil nut grove." At these words, cries of support and admiration rang out through the cave. Adelaide blew him a kiss, smiling from her perch, before Felipe went on.

"My plan is not a match in the Pit of Doom, where that feather brained idiot Roberto can continue to mock us behind our backs -" there was a lot of laughs from the tribe; but he hoped that Adelaide wouldn't be alarmed by his plan. "No, it's going to be a battle." Silence spread throughout the tribe, before there were mutters; a few of doubt, but Felipe was pleased to hear that most were of agreement. _Good. _He tried to see Adelaide, to look for her reaction, but she was whispering urgently to Juanita, her expression unreadable. He cleared his throat, hoping that her unreadable expression was a good sign. "So, who wants to go?" dozens upon dozens of red, yellow, blue and green wings flew into the air. He picked out the stronger macaws, and the more speedy ones. Strength was vital, but speed was just as mandatory to catch the swift Spix's macaws out.

It was then that he felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around, to look at Adelaide. To his disappointment, her eyes weren't full of excitement, as he'd hoped, but fear.

"Are you sure that this is the best idea?" she asked, worriedly. "There could be many casualties, not just on their side but ours." Felipe brushed her concerns off; he had to make her see that this was the right option.

"Of course it's the best idea - a match is ludicrous, and what if we lose for the second time? We can't fail in battle, Adelaide. For one, we're bigger in size then them."

"Yes, but they're fast and can escape injury." She reminded him, frowning and looking more agitated by the minute.

"Adie, I'm sorry but this is the only way." He said, firmly. But then he saw Adelaide's eyes watering, her lower beak quivering. _Is she going to cry? Honestly! _But a wave of guilt flowed through him, and despite his desperation to sink his claws into Roberto's back, he reluctantly decided to change his decision. _I can't upset her - I love her too much. _"Alright, then. We won't fight them; we'll come up with a little arrangement. We'll talk about this with them sensibly and calmly."

"Oh, Felipe…" Adelaide sighed in relief. "Thank you so much."

"But, I must remind you…" Felipe said warningly. "If they don't agree, there'll have to be a fight." The look of relief on Adelaide's expression vanished, and she suddenly looked like she had been slapped. She turned away, and barged past Azalea, almost knocking the younger macaw off her feet.

"What did you say to her?" Azalea asked him, looking bewildered at Adelaide's sudden change of attitude. Felipe looked after his girlfriend sadly, before shaking his head and turning to Azalea.

"Nothing. She's just stressed." He lied. Azalea gave him a look; her 'Azalea' look, with the raised skin over her eyes, which were narrowed ever so slightly, and her head tipped a little to the right.

"I know why." She said. "She doesn't want us to fight, does she?" Felipe hesitated, before nodding.

"That's why." he confirmed. "Alright, I'll tell the tribe in a minute."

_A few days later_

Felipe waited at the strawberry guava grove, looking out for signs of Eduardo and Tia. He had monitored this grove before, which sat right over the border - he knew that the two leaders came here, at noon, on the sixth day of the week. While he waited, he gnawed on one of the many fruits, thinking about Adelaide. He had completely given up on the hope of her joining in any fighting, and he was regretting giving into her request to halt the battle. He wanted a fight, so badly.

"Sweetheart, you should have seen Mimi this morning…" a familiar voice sounded through the nearby trees, which he recognised as Eduardo's. "She was sleeping in her rock hollow again, with the fruit over her eyes - the sun's at its highest and she's still there…" the two familiar forms emerged through some vines, before landing on a branch close to Felipe's. They hadn't noticed him, perched in some branches. Felipe wondered how the two met; they were so unmatched, really, with their near-opposite personalities. While Eduardo was quick to assume and short-tempered, Tia was calm, collected, and very patient. He wondered if they'd ever had arguments. They must have, since their personalities pretty much made their opinions of things differ. _Sounds familiar, _he thought, remembering the countless arguments he and Adelaide had had. He waited for a few moments, before grinning and speaking loudly.

"Well, if it isn't Old Eddie and the missus!" he sneered. Both macaws' heads jolted up very suddenly, and Felipe could have laughed at the look on Eduardo's face. Tia stretched out a wing in front of her mate, shaking her head, before looking up at the young Scarlet macaw, perched above them.

"Hello, Felipe." she said in a cool, polite manner, but he could tell that she was annoyed with his presence. "Aren't you supposed to be in your side?" she asked, narrowing her turquoise eyes. He could have sworn that an older, darker blue Jewel was glaring at him - the resemblance amazed him. The only difference in appearance was the obvious age and height difference, the darker feathers, and Tia had face features that differed from her daughter's.

"Yeah." Felipe said, with a tone that suggested he was ignoring her words. "But this is important."

"Another message from Rojo? What does _the ancient one_ want this time?" Eduardo crossed his wings, sneering at Felipe, looking for a reaction.

"He's dead." Said Felipe, his expression and voice blank. The two older birds stared in shock, obviously not expecting this news. Before either of them could ask anything, he went on. "And now that I'm leader, I want our part of the Brazil nut grove back." There was a long silence before anyone spoke.

"We won the grove, _fair and square_." He said, saying each word slowly. Felipe glared at him; he didn't like Eduardo's tone of voice. How old did he think Felipe was? He sounded like he was speaking to a young, stupid chick that had just said something silly. "We own the entire grove now. You want it back? Tough. You'll have to find alternative food sources. Don't you lot have that grove of camu-camu fruit?"

"That's true." Said Felipe. "But c'mon, old Eddie - _Brazil nuts?_ They're, well - good. I prefer them over the camu-camu. If you don't give our side back, we'll have to do something." He said, looking around with a bored expression, running his beak casually through his primary feathers. "And I don't mean a petty match in the Pit of Doom."

"You wouldn't." Tia stepped forward.

"Oh, but I would, Mrs Eddie." Felipe smirked, feeling satisfied at the look of rage on both their faces. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Eduardo had, by now, thrown open his wings, but Felipe raised his own to stop him. "Look." He said, quieter, hoping that he could persuade them. "Adelaide doesn't want a fight, and it was difficult for me to change my mind. The original plan was an attack, but she convinced me to talk to you all first. I don't want to hurt her feelings."

Tia and Eduardo looked at each other. "You want to talk?" Tia asked, looking doubtful.

"Yes." Answered Felipe. "In a calm and sensible manner. I'm bringing my tribe, so you should bring yours."

"You think we're going to fall for that?" barked Eduardo. "You'll attack us!"

"No we won't." said Felipe. "I'm bringing mine so you won't attack _us._ As long as you don't refuse our request, which we have voiced politely and calmly." The two leaders exchanged worried looks, and Eduardo muttered something inaudible to Felipe, before looking up.

"Name the time and place."

"Three days time." Felipe replied. "When the sun is about to set. We'll meet on in the Walking Palm trees grove." He turned to go, but before he did, he looked back. "Be there, or there will be consequences, I can promise you that." In his heart, Felipe knew that the tough patriarch would never let go of the grove his tribe had fight so hard for - not peacefully. So a plan formed in his mind - he would prepare his tribe for battle.

No matter what Adelaide thought.


	16. Distress

_**I've renamed this fan fiction 'All of My Heart'; 'A Troubled Childhood' just doesn't suit it anymore. The title is inspired by the beautiful song 'All of Me' by John Legend, and it refers to Felipe's heart always belonging to Adelaide. **_

Adelaide paced nervously. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest, like a trapped butterfly attempting to escape from a cage. She had been this way for two days; the discussion was set for dusk, tomorrow. She had been searching for Felipe, but he seemed to be too busy, preparing and adjusting to his new leader role. She knew that he was keeping secrets from her – why should he? Adelaide was his _girlfriend_; he could share anything with her. Everything was so secretive. She found it incredibly frustrating, like a mosquito that wouldn't leave her alone. Adelaide was aware that Juanita wasn't exactly at ease, either; she too seemed restless. She was always talking with Juliana, confessing her worries. It seemed to confirm Adelaide's own worries; was she obsessed with being safe? Secure, not in danger? Juanita was similar– wherever danger was concerned, she was nowhere to be seen. This evidence, with them being so similar, begged the question - did Juanita have what she did, in a milder form? Maybe Adelaide had inherited a much more aggressive fear of danger?

Adelaide had spoken with Bebel a lot recently; she was worried that there was something mentally wrong with her. Bebel specialized in the mental side of healing, while Bernardo's area of expertise was physical injuries and illnesses, like broken bones, aches, sickness and wounds. Maite was following in her father's footsteps, treating such things, while her mother soothed minds and diagnosed mental problems, like severe anxiety, and helped macaws get over it. Adelaide had asked Bebel for advice, for which she said it was getting used to danger, being in the situations more often, which could lessen one's fear and make them get used to it. Obviously, she had made Bebel swear to not tell anyone. What would Felipe think of her? He'd think that she was mad.

"Adelaide – would you cut out the pacing_, please?"_ Miguel asked, looking up with an irritated glance. Her three friends – Miguel, Ricardo, Lena – were sitting on sun-warmed rocks, catching the last of the sunshine. Maite was helping her parents stock up on medical supplies, as they were worried that a fight could break out, and, as usual, Felipe was in dense discussion with the Elders. They did not approve of a teenager being their leader, but he was determined to prove them wrong. He had talked to Adelaide about getting rid of them, since they were pointless and usually made bad decisions.

"I'm sorry." Adelaide muttered an apology, stopping, but she was still fidgety, shuffling her feet. She had been drifting away from her friends; recently, probably because she spent more time with Felipe then she did them.

"I wish there was a fight." Complained Ricardo, one of his green wings slung around Lena. Adelaide, Felipe and Azalea were the only Scarlets in their group of friends, while Ricardo, Maite and Miguel were Green-winged. Lena was a bit strange; her mom was a Green-winged, while her dad was a Scarlet. Therefore, she was red, like anyone else; but her wings were teal. In addition, there was a yellowy-green band above it, as if the green from her mother and yellow from her father was mixed together. This wasn't unheard of in the group, but it wasn't very common, either.

"Ugh, me too." Lena agreed. "They deserve it, don't they, Miguel?"

"Well, I'm not sure… not all of them deserve to be clawed. What about you, Ade – Adelaide?" Miguel turned to look at her, but Adelaide had gone. With a sigh, he turned back to Lena and Ricardo to finish his statement. In the trees, Adelaide closed her eyes, shaking her head. _There is definitely something wrong with me, mentally. _She concluded in her mind. _I've got extreme fear… what is it Bebel said? Phobia, or something? _Her skin prickling, Adelaide tried to find someone she loved; Juanita; Azalea; Felipe; Juliana. Four choices. Her mom and aunt were talking, as usual, and Felipe was busy… _Of course - Azalea. _Adelaide was probably closer to Azalea than anyone, other than Felipe and Juanita. They were more like sisters than cousins. Hoping that she was nearby, Adelaide started seeking Azalea. She needed some comforting words, and Azalea usually had them. Also, Azalea could keep secrets.

She eventually found Azalea giggling as some young males showed off. They were waltzing in front of Azalea, in a mock play-fight, showing their skills off to the slim, pretty teenager. "Watch this! This is what you call a swing-hit!" crowed one of the young males. it was a rare and complex move, where one somersaulted before knocking their opponent under the chin as they swung upwards. It wasn't very effective in actual combat, since it was unreliable, but impressive to watch or pull off.

"Hey boys, I gotta have a talk with Lea." Adelaide said, lighting down on the branch. The males laughed, before whistling at Azalea and flying away, laughing among themselves.

"So – what's up?" Azalea asked, turning to Adelaide.

"I need to talk to you." Adelaide said. "It's important."

"Hm?" Azalea blinked. "Okay, Santiago and the others were messing about, I'm not going to go off and rush into a relationship in five minutes –"

"That's not what it's about." Adelaide muttered. "I think there's something mentally wrong with me."

"What?" Azalea blinked again, her hazel eyes swimming with confusion. "What do you mean, mentally wrong with you? Your mind is perfectly –"

"Not my mind, Azalea." Adelaide shook her head. "But I think that I have a severe form of phobia… with danger."

"A phobia of danger?" Azalea looked bewildered. "You can't be serious… is that even possible? I mean sure, unless you're one-hundred percent, utterly fearless, most individuals are scared of danger. But not _that_ severely, Adie… have you told my mom and aunt Nita?"

"No. No offence, but Juliana can barely keep a secret, and mom's… I think she's got what I have, but less severe." Adelaide shook her head. "This is between you and me, okay, Lea?"

"Of course, of course… always." Azalea put a comforting wing around her cousin. "Look, don't worry – nothing will happen. Felipe says that there's not going to be a fight, but a discussion. If you don't want to go, just in case, why don't you stay here?"

"I don't know…" Part of Adelaide wanted to go, to prove that she wasn't a coward, but another part of her was screaming for her to stay here, safe and sound. Nothing could happen to her here; there was no chance. Her mother wasn't going, so why should she? It was a valid excuse. She knew that Felipe would be disappointed, but still…

"Figure out what you want, okay?" Azalea murmured. She turned to go, before looking back. "Everything's going to be fine, Adelaide, hear me?" Adelaide didn't reply, and when she looked up, she saw Azalea flying away, toward her and Juliana's hollow. Felipe was still in a meeting, her mother was out on a patrol, and even her friends had gone to their hollows as the dusk approached.

Adelaide stood there in silence, feeling very much alone.

_Later_

Azalea gazed out of her and Juliana's hollow, watching Adelaide approaching Felipe. She smiled as she saw Felipe sweeping his wings around her, and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Adelaide was smiling, but even from the distance, Azalea could see the discontent in her brown eyes. _She thinks there's something wrong with her… _the young macaw thought unhappily. Maybe it was true - but if Juanita apparently had it too, why didn't Juliana? They were sisters, after all; was it a particular gene that was very rare? A gene that had remained dormant for some generations, before reviving? _If Adelaide has kids one day, I hope it doesn't pass on. Based on how much she and Felipe are in love, there's no doubt she won't have any kids. _Azalea herself loved the idea of being a mother, and she often thought about who her future mate could be, what names she liked for chicks. 'Leticia' was very pretty, and meant 'joy' or 'happiness' in Portuguese. There was so many names out there…

"Baby, are you okay? You've seemed a bit quiet for a few hours." Juliana's voice sounded in the background.

"I'm okay, mom." Azalea replied, but she wasn't telling the truth. Juliana knew when there was something on Azalea's mind, even though she was a good liar. She walked over to her, sitting down and looping a wing over her.

"Talk to me, Lea." Juliana said, a voice full of concern. Azalea briefly considered telling her mother about Adelaide's inner conflicts, but she knew that her cousin would never forgive her. Instead, she decided to confess one of her other, genuine worries.

"I'm worried about tomorrow." She admitted. Something the tribe had been talking about earlier wasn't helping. "Is it true that Sol was having a fit or something, earlier?"

"That's a metaphor, darling… he wasn't having a _fit, _but he was panicking a lot, shivering on the floor. Bebel and Bernardo ran out of his special plants that calm him down, and he hasn't had a dose of it for days. He was shouting about doom and gloom, how tomorrow is going to poison our memories, but do I believe it? _No." _Juliana kissed her only daughter on the top of the head. "I don't believe it, and neither should you. Just stay by my side, tomorrow, okay? Nothing's going to happen because of what some old nutcase says." Azalea was comforted by Juliana's certainty, and she hugged her, soothed by the warmth of her mother's feathers.


	17. A Different Side of Adelaide

Felipe's wings were folded behind his head as he looked at the sun streaming in through the hollow entrance. It was nearing dawn, the sunlight turning everything it touched into the colour of honey. The sky was a lilac-pink and orange, with a pale blue tinting the horizon. The air was humid already. Adelaide was snuggled against his chest, her wings wrapped around him as she slept. Her thick, dark brown-black eyelashes shadowed her cheeks, her chest rose and fell evenly, and she looked so peaceful when she was asleep. She used to look peaceful when she was awake, but as of recent, she almost constantly carried a troubled expression within her beautiful eyes.

Felipe tipped his head down, his cheek nuzzled on top of Adelaide's head as he watched the sun rising. It was a beautiful beginning to the day. _It's a shame it won't last, _he thought sadly. A part of him wanted to call off the fight, but then the Elders would scoff, and think he was pathetic. Besides, it was likely that the other tribe had the same back-up plan, and Felipe wanted to give that Roberto a clawing he wouldn't forget. He didn't know how he was going to tell Adelaide; how would she react, and whether she would forgive him or not. _She has to… surely she can forgive me for one thing? If I keep her out of it, she'll be fine._

Felipe glanced outside, and sighed deeply, watching the sky bleeding from one colour to the next. There was no place he'd rather be right now - with Adelaide beside him, and the dawn being so beautiful, anywhere else other than where they were right now seemed unappealing. Outside, he could hear early risers moving about, muttering and moaning in a grumpy manner. Most tribe life started like this in the mornings - tired from sleep, most macaws were grouchy and confused for a few minutes before they woke up completely. Felipe heard the shuffling of feet, and looked up to see a neighbour stumble in, his eyes half-shut. He looked at Felipe and Adelaide, before his cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Sorry, wrong hollow… you know what I'm like when it's this early…" he said in a slurred voice, before turning to setting out to find his own hollow. There were so many hollows in one Kapok tree, walking into the wrong one wasn't uncommon when someone was in a sleepy state of mind.

"No problem." Felipe replied with a shrug as the neighbour vanished. His movement stirred Adelaide, and she grumbled, burying her face into his wing.

"Ugh… too early…" she moaned.

"Don't worry; I'm not waking up yet." Felipe assured her, but Adelaide had already drifted back into slumber. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, tossing and turning and muttering. He'd wake her up when most of the tribe was up and about, which would be at least half an hour yet. He had it planned; when Adelaide went out, he'd tell the tribe of his plans. Then the tribe could prepare, and he could let her know at the last minute, where it would be too late to argue. Felipe waited for half an hour, waiting for the sky to turn blue, and for the tribe to rise. Eventually, he could hear the tribe outside the tree, talking in awake and alert voices. "Adelaide." He said quietly, and Adelaide muttered, before opening her eyes.

"What?" she mumbled.

"Come on, sleepy head." Felipe teased, shifting and sitting up. Adelaide grumbled, before also sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Adelaide clearly wasn't a morning macaw. "I'll leave you to wake up, okay?" he said, beginning to leave, but then he realized that this could be the perfect opportunity to tell the tribe - without letting Adelaide know. "You know what?" he said, smiling. "Why don't you sleep in today?"

"Sleep in?" asked Adelaide, looking up in surprise. "I'd love to… but are you sure? I mean, today's the day…"

"So you should be as chilled as possible." Said Felipe, walking up to her and fluffing up the moss. "Sleep in as long as you like, Adie."

"Thank you." Adelaide smiled gratefully, and Felipe couldn't resist kissing her. They both closed their eyes, before Felipe pulled away, reaching up and ruffling the sleep-flattened feathers on her head. Felipe turned, and went toward the entrance. He turned around before he went, smiling at her. Adelaide returned it, before lying down and nestling into the moss of their nest. Felipe waited for her to drift off, before he closed the leaf curtain in the hollow entrance, and flew out.

"Everyone who is coming to the discussion later, gather in the meeting cave!" he announced. Heads turned, and most of the tribe began following him in the direction of the cave. He entered the cave, flying up to the main rock perch, waiting for the tribe to join him on the rock below. Finally, the gray stone of the floor was invisible under a sea of red, yellow, green and blue. Juliana and Azalea perched near to him; kin of the leader usually perched on a rock ledge below. "Everyone, there has been a change of plan." Felipe stated. Macaws exchanged looks and murmurs of interest and speculation, before looking up at their new patriarch expectantly. He drew in a sharp breath. "If the Spix's macaws refuse to give up our part of the grove, we attack." There was a brief moment of silence as his words sank in. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the tribe began cheering and whooping. Felipe's green eyes widened in surprise. _Wow… that went down better than I expected. _Felipe casted a look to Juliana and Azalea, hoping that they wouldn't look distressed; Azalea's eyes were very round, while Juliana looked surprised but not too worried. _Hmm… not the worst reaction ever. I'll have to talk to them afterwards._

"Okay, as I was saying…" he turned to his enthusiastic audience. "Go and practise your training… if anyone sees Adelaide, don't let her know, alright?" the tribe exchanged looks of confusion, before answering.

"Yes sir."

_Later_

Adelaide was having a terrible dream. She was facing a figure; she couldn't tell who it was, but she was shorter and younger. It wasn't Azalea, however, because she was blurred, and she was blue. Adelaide could also smell smoke, and see the fire ripping through the trees around them. She could hear the younger one protesting about something, but Adelaide could barely hear the words. It was as if she was submerged in water. Then Adelaide could hear a cracking sound, like rock splitting. She went to look up, but at that moment, she heard a voice in her ear.

"It's your time." Hissed the voice. "Be careful where you tread tonight, for it'll be the last night you ever see." Adelaide awoke with a start, and found the entrance blocked by an ancient-looking, bedraggled Sol. Adelaide felt hot rage burn through her, and she scowled at him.

"Get out of here!" she snapped, getting up and giving the older male a brutal shove, out of the hollow. Her push was so forceful that Sol staggered off the branch, falling through the air before flying away. She was breathing fast, but within a few minutes, she could feel her heart resuming its faster-than-normal pace - it had been beating faster recently, within nerves. Adelaide squinted up at the sun, and was shocked to see that it was well-past noon. _I slept into the afternoon? I wanted to sleep in, but not that long! Why didn't anyone wake me?_

Feeling flustered, Adelaide took a step outside, and then the chatter around her stopped abruptly. She blinked at them, who exchanged odd looks before talking about something different. She narrowed her brown eyes, before turning and making her way over the clearing. The Kapoks were pretty much deserted; the tribe mates she saw the most often were either mothers and chicks, or the older, frailer individuals who weren't insane enough to be in the Elders.

_Where is everyone? _She thought in bewilderment. Adelaide looked around in confusion, before flying up to her aunt's hollow. "Juliana? Azalea?" she called, sticking her head inside. The hollow was empty. _Is there a meeting? _But when she went to find the meeting cave, she found also found it empty. Adelaide had no idea what was going on, but in the corner of her eye, she saw a flash. She turned, and saw a red and green wing. "Miguel!" she shouted. Miguel looked back at her, eyes widening, before rushing off. "Hey!" Adelaide called, starting to chase him. She was determined to find out why everyone was avoiding her; and if Miguel was trying to get away from her now, he had to know why. Miguel was fast, but she was even faster; within a few seconds, she had seized him by the tail, stopping him abruptly.

"Answers." She demanded, glowering at Miguel. "You tell me where everyone is and why, right _now." _Miguel looked panicked, and was trying to get away from her.

"I don't know!" Miguel protested, trying to shake her off.

"Why else would you be running away from me?" Adelaide glared at him. "Speak." Miguel looked reluctant, but then the look in Adelaide's expression hardened. _"Now." _Miguel looked briefly guilty, afraid, and alarmed by her behaviour, before he muttered.

"Felipe's going to kill me." He hissed under his breath. "Fine, I'll tell you what's going to happen at the so-called 'discussion' later…"

"Huh?" Adelaide blinked. "What do you mean?"

_Later_

"Look, Felipe, this is a terrible idea!" Azalea protested, running after him, tripping over the notches in the bark of the branch."What about Adelaide?" she seized his wing, desperately. "You can't do this, not to her! She'll break up with you!" Felipe was in a large tree, overlooking the training in the clearing before him. In the clearing, the tribe was practising their fighting techniques. At first, Azalea had been a tiny bit excited at the thought of a fight - she could give Sophia, their enemy's score marker, a piece of her mind. But now, watching her friends training for a deadly battle, the excitement had vanished. Now she was frightened for her family and friends' lives. She was using every excuse she could think of to stop this fight.

"Look, Azalea, not now." Felipe said, not even looking at her.

"Are you even listening to me?" cried Azalea, her wings thrown up into the air. Juliana had gone to find Juanita, who had left her hollow in the morning and not come back yet, despite the fact that sunset was getting closer and closer to the bottom of the sky. "Adelaide could end it!"

"No, she wouldn't." Felipe insisted, spinning around. "I love her too much."

"It's not you, it's her!" Azalea protested. "Trust me, she _will_ break it off!"

"Hey, cut it out." Ricardo said, stepping between her and Felipe. "He's your leader, and you should respect that." Azalea ignored him, barging by, continuing to hassle Felipe. Giving up, Ricardo turned back to practise a battle move. Azalea saw a familiar macaw, recognising her mother, who looked uneasy.

"Mom, where's aunt Nita?" she asked. Juliana simply shook her head, meaning that she hadn't found Juanita. _And where's Adelaide? _Azalea thought. That wasn't good - both Juanita _and _Adelaide were missing…

"Felipe!" screeched a voice. Everyone training stopped abruptly, for Adelaide was storming into the clearing. Azalea was shocked to see the enraged look on her face. _I've never known her to have such a look! _Azalea never understood how Adelaide had a 'mental health issue', with her so-called 'danger-phobia'. If she was so frightened of danger, why did she rush to save Felipe from being torn to pieces by a Harpy eagle? Why could she deliver threatening messages and have such an enraged expression one time, and be on the edge of tears another? Adelaide's personality flipped so often, it was unbelievable. "Is it true?" Adelaide demanded, staring at her boyfriend. Felipe looked shocked and stricken. _Who told you? _He thought, looking around for a guilty expression. Miguel, however, was hidden at the back of the crowd.

"I…" Felipe was lost for words.

"This is why you let me sleep in, isn't it?" Adelaide spat, looking disgusted. Felipe nodded reluctantly after a pause. There was a fiery look in her eyes, one that Felipe remembered from where they had been attacked by that Harpy eagle. For the first time in his life, Felipe was afraid of her. Her unpredictable mood changes. Her voice, which could be angelic and full of innocence, could turn to the sound of splintering wood in seconds.

"Yes." He admitted.

"Why?" she pleaded, her eyes changing to a look of desperation. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Because I didn't want you to stop it." Felipe confessed, looking at her beseechingly. _Please, Adelaide, understand… _The tribe was holding its breath, watching the scene, listening to this information. _What must they think of me? _Felipe thought, wanting to turn and look, to see their expressions, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the furious macaw in front of him. A new look came into Adelaide's eyes - more fire and ice.

"This isn't you." Whispered Adelaide. What she was about to do was unthinkable to the rest of the tribe - to her mother, aunt, cousin. Inside, the pressure and fear exploded. Something buried deep with her heart had escaped.

Without thinking, Adelaide threw herself at Felipe with claws outstretched.


	18. Explosions

Felipe would never have expected Adelaide to attack anyone – let alone _him_ – in a million years. A heated argument, possibly, but never a full-on fight. Now, he had been proven wrong. So very wrong, for now, Adelaide was scoring her claws across his chest and shrieking. The tribe was watching in stunned silence, too shocked to move or try to break it up. As far as they knew, Adelaide failed miserably in fighting lessons. But they hadn't heard about Adelaide attacking the Harpy. They had no idea. Felipe couldn't do anything but dodge her attacks, because he couldn't bring himself to fight her. He _loved _her – he couldn't harm her. But he had. Harmed her beyond repair. Harmed their _relationship _beyond repair. It all came crashing down as he finally saw the truth in Azalea's pleas. _She will break it off! She won't love you anymore! _Now, their relationship was hanging by a thread. He had to stop them fighting - right now, because the thread was about to break."Adelaide!" he cried, desperately. "Adelaide, please, we have to talk about this!"

"_Talk!"_ spat Adelaide, seizing his neck and yanking him close to her face. "It was never going to be a talk, was it? It was going to be a fight, wasn't it?" Felipe was starting to get frightened, now. Her grip on his neck was tight, and while he could still breathe, the feeling of her sharp claws on his skin was alarming him.

"We'll change it!" he protested. "Adelaide, fighting me isn't proving anything! I won't attack them!"

"Liar!" cried Adelaide, too stubborn to believe him. "No matter what, you always will!" Felipe yelped as one of her talons caught the side of his head, and his head rang. His vision became dotted with blood, and as the first drop streamed down his feathers, he heard Azalea and Juliana's horrified cries.

"Get off him, Adelaide!" Azalea rushed forward, trying to drag Adelaide away, but her attempts proved useless, for Adelaide was older and therefore bigger. Still, Azalea persisted, throwing herself at Adelaide, but then Juliana's wings hooked around her, dragging her back to stop her getting hurt. Finally, Felipe couldn't take it any longer. More and more wounds were opening, and ducking her attacks wasn't helping him at all. He reached up with his feet, and kicked Adelaide in the stomach, sending her flying. Adelaide landed hard against the tree trunk, with such a force that she gasped. Felipe – and everyone else - expected her to get back up and resume the fight, but suddenly, the fire in her eyes died, replaced by a confused, bewildered, and horrified look. Her wings wrapped around her and she began shaking violently. The pain had snapped her out of her frenzy. Alarmed at her shaking, Felipe crept forward with caution, ignoring the pain of his wounds.

"Adelaide…" he whispered. "Are you okay?" had the force of him throwing her injure her? "Did I hurt you?" Adelaide didn't reply, but continued to shake, still holding her wild expression.

"I…" she whispered, looking around frantically. Juliana's wings were locked around Azalea, and they were standing rather far away, right on the edge of the branch. They looked horrified. "Have to get out of here…" Adelaide whispered again, and scrabbled to her feet, before spinning around and throwing herself into the air, wings beating fiercely. Everyone ducked out of her way, as if they expected her to attack them too. Felipe stared after her, and then he felt his blood run cold as he realized what had just happened to what was left of their relationship.

"Adelaide, wait!" Felipe protested in a high-pitched voice.

"It's over!" she cried over her shoulder, before rushing away, shoving through her bewildered tribe mates. "It's over, Felipe!" these words tore through him, worse than the claw marks. It took a few moments for the words to really sink in as it dawned upon him. _It's over. _Felipe staggered, and fell forward. As Azalea, Juliana and the healer rushed up to Felipe, Adelaide escaped the training clearing. Tears were falling down her cheeks, refusing to stop or slow down. She was weeping, sobbing out loud, and attracting the attention of everything she passed. She was thinking of the horrified look on everyone's faces. The agony in Felipe's green eyes, both from emotion and from the scores of claw marks she had given him. The same thought rushed through her abnormal mind, repeating over and over as she looked at the blood on her talons.

_What have I done?_

_Meanwhile_

A shaken Felipe led the tribe through the rainforest. He was fighting to keep back the tears, as he remembered her last words. _It's over. _A teardrop welled in the corner of his eye, and then it spilled over his eye rim, trickling down his face. As he was in the lead, no one saw that he was crying. Felipe reached up, brushing it away, but it was replaced by another. He then felt something warm brush gently against his left wing. He looked, and saw Azalea.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, eyes watering with tears. Felipe tried to think of reply, but found none. Instead, he looked away. He expected Azalea to fall back, flying beside Juliana, but she didn't. He was grateful - having someone by his side was soothing. Now, he knew that he had to get rid of his heartbroken look. He had to intimate the Spix's macaws into handing over what was rightfully the Scarlet macaw tribe's. He forced the look of anguish away from his face as they approached the Walking Palm trees. As they entered, they were immediately welcomed by a sea of blue.

There they were - the five, on one of the two boulders. Eduardo, standing up straight with a look of determination on his face; Mimi and Tia, wearing cautious and guarded looks; Roberto, narrowed eyes fixed on Felipe; and the young one, Jewel, between Roberto and Mimi. She had grown a bit, and wasn't a young chick anymore. She was a teenager by now, like him, Adelaide, and Azalea, but still fairly young. Probably at least two months younger than Azalea. On the opposite boulder, Felipe lighted down, standing alone with his tribe gathered in the trees and on the forest floor behind. Felipe twisted around, scanning his tribe. Their eyes were all narrowed. When he turned back, he noticed that Jewel was frowning and looking at someone in the branches above, and when Felipe followed her gaze, he saw a young female Scarlet macaw. From his angle, he couldn't see her face, but he knew who it was.

"Felipe." Eduardo, with a curt nod.

"Eduardo." Felipe nodded back, trying to sound as brave as he could. "So nice of you all to join us here. How thoughtful."

"Stop wasting breath and get on with it." Hissed Mimi, glaring. Felipe shot her a look, before breathing in and looking at Eduardo and Tia.

"So, may we have our part of the Brazil nut grove back?" Felipe asked, praying silently.

"What do we get in return?" Eduardo challenged. Felipe was suddenly stuck for what to say. He could hear his tribe whispering ideas to him, and then he thought of their most plentiful food source, that was inaccessible to their neighbours. Surely, Eduardo would agree to his offer.

"A share of our camu-camu grove." Felipe replied, trying to keep the hesitant note out of his voice. He forced a confident expression. The two tribes began muttering, and he could hear his own muttering at him. The camu-camu grove was right in the heart of their territory, a few minute's flying from the Kapoks - no one wanted Spix's macaws coming that far into the territory.

"We don't want it." Eduardo said, and at this, Felipe's fake look of confidence abruptly vanished. There was no doubt about it now. The air was unusually hot and crackling with tension.

"My final offer." Felipe warned, gritting his beak.

"No." Eduardo rasped. There was a long silence. Then, without warning, both tribes began squawking at the top of their voices, hurling insults at one another. Felipe and Roberto glared at each other. Felipe knew that he and Adelaide no longer existed anyway - whether there was a fight or not would change nothing now. There was no point in _not_ fighting. Then, Felipe saw wings shooting into the air, beginning to flap, blue ones and red, yellow and green ones. Sophia's eyes were fixed on Azalea; Jewel's fixed on the branches that held Adelaide; and Roberto's were on Felipe. Felipe would have rushed at Jewel, but Eduardo swept a wing around her, sweeping her closer to him; Felipe didn't have to worry about Jewel attacking Adelaide. Now, he was determined to give Roberto a piece of his mind.

Felipe and Roberto sprang forward at the same time, soaring across the gap between the two boulders, and colliding in midair. Felipe's claws tore wildly, ripping out a few silky blue feathers, while Roberto's beak closed on his wing. Felipe screeched angrily, trying to free his wing as well as trying to claw Roberto. _Get away, you idiot! _Felipe thought, slashing at Roberto's cheek. The two tribes were so absorbed in watching their fight, that they didn't smell or see the smoke, floating over the trees.

But Sophia did. The Spix's macaw looked up, blinking, before she heard a distant sound. _Is it… _Sophia looked desperately at Roberto and Felipe, before hurling herself toward them. Without thinking, she barged between them, shoving them apart, but before either could react, she threw out her wings, shrieking. "Shut up! Everyone, shut up!" Felipe's first instinct was to ignore her, to carry on the fight, but then the sound reached his ears. _Beep. Beep. _He had heard it before, and knew very well what it was.

"Tree harvesters!" gasped Azalea. "Loggers!" The loggers weren't the primary danger, though. The sound of machinery was fading by now, replaced by a much louder noise. Crackling, snapping, like breaking twigs. All around them. In their arguing, they hadn't been aware of_ it_ coming closer and closer. Fire. Someone shouted the word, and suddenly, the parched trees around them became bright and amber, almost all at once. Macaws shot into the air, and Felipe saw the first tree come crashing down.

Roberto shoved past him, telling him to move, and Felipe scrambled after him. Behind him, he heard the scream of a female macaw. Felipe twisted his head, and saw the tree crash into the boulder where Eduardo, Mimi, Jewel and Tia had once been. His eyes widened. Mimi and Eduardo were lying on the forest floor, Jewel and Tia had vanished, and the scream had been that of an older macaw - it had to be Tia's.

Felipe had to get his tribe out of here. He spun round, shouting at his tribe. "Go, go!" he shouted. He could hear Juliana, crying out for someone, but she was swept away by surging macaws in the frenzy. Felipe looked up at the branches above, but Adelaide had vanished.

"Mom! Felipe! Someone!" cried a voice, distracting him. He looked around, recognising it as Azalea's, but he couldn't see her.

"Azalea!" he replied, trying to locate her. "Where are you?"

"Help me!" wailed Azalea, and, finally, he spotted her, struggling to free her trapped tail from a heavy-looking branch. Felipe gasped, rushing down to the forest floor. He seized the branch, hauling it away, but before either one of them could move, a nearby tree exploded.


	19. A Mother's Sacrifice

Felipe's head rang from the explosion, and he felt a bizarre feeling in his ear, the one facing the exploding tree. It was ringing, like a bell, and when he staggered to his feet, he swerved, and found his world spinning. He then realized that the hearing on his left ear seemed muffled – it was like being underwater on that side. With a jolt, he remembered Azalea; how she had disappeared under some falling debris. Ignoring his own pain, Felipe spun round, searching frantically.

"Azalea!" he shouted, running forward and beginning to shift through the rubble, where he had last seen her. He could hear her voice, pleading for him to help her. She sounded like she was in pain, and he could hear her letting out small whimpers when she stopped speaking. These sounds made him dig faster, as each one was tugging at his heartstrings. Eventually, after several moments, he came into contact with soft feathers, and he finally had cleared enough debris to free Azalea. He pulled her free, before she threw one of her wings around him, shaking with relief. But as Felipe went to hug her back, she let out a high-pitched cry, as one of his wings brushed the wing she wasn't hugging him with. He leapt back in surprise.

"My wing!" she exclaimed, tugging it away and holding it close to her. Felipe was momentarily confused, but as he looked down at her wing, he felt a wave of pity flow through him. The wing looked strange – twisted and distorted. He was no healer, and he had no idea whether it was broken or dislocated, but he could easily tell that she was in agony. Felipe knew that he had to get her out of her, right _now,_ otherwise they wouldn't find a way out.

Felipe looked around hopefully, but the clearing was deserted, other than mournful cries coming from the other end of the clearing, where he had witnessed the tree crushed the boulder, heard Tia's screech. He shuddered as he heard the wails of grief, and he identified Eduardo and Mimi's sobs. He didn't want to picture the body they had dragged from the wreckage. Knowing that Tia was beyond helping, and that he had to concentrate on Azalea, he looked down at his friend.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here." He promised, wrapping his talons around her, careful to avoid her wing. Felipe flapped his wings, before setting off through the ignited trees as fast as he could. He flapped as fast as he could, until they ached, desperate to get as much distance between them and the fire as possible.

Azalea's head was nodding up and down as she fought off unconsciousness. _Don't fall asleep, _he thought, dodging a flying ember. That wouldn't be a good sign. "Hey, stay awake." He said, shaking her slightly. If he kept talking to her, to keep her conscious, the better she would be. Azalea's reply was a small mutter, and then he heard her murmur 'Adelaide'. Shivering, Felipe looked back, scanning the branches for her, but he didn't find her. _She must have escaped. I hope so, anyway. _He had to concentrate on getting Azalea to safety, first. And, knowing Adelaide, she would have gotten out of the fire faster than anyone else.

Miraculously, Felipe had made it out of the flames in time with no more than a few singed feathers. But his throat was burning, from the smoke, and Azalea's condition was deteriorating. By now, she had finally gone unconscious, and she wasn't reacting to the sound of his voice. She was still breathing, but not easily; it kept catching, like she was having difficulty breathing. Her throat had to be sore, too. _I can't lose her too, _he thought fearfully. Azalea was younger than him, his friend. If he lost her as well as Adelaide… what would he do? She'd be gone forever, while Adelaide would still be there, although not truly. She would never speak to him again.

Shuddering, Felipe realized that the fire was travelling fast, and it wasn't far behind. He could still feel its heat, even from the distance. Desperate to get away, he began to fly much faster. Finally, the Kapoks came into view, tall and untouched by flames. They weren't on fire, but it wasn't far away. Felipe prayed that the tribe had noticed it and gone to safety; otherwise an evacuation would take forever.

Luckily, when Felipe returned, no one was in sight. The hollows were empty and eerily silent, but the noise was coming from the meeting cave. _Thank goodness, _he thought with relief. Hopefully, nobody was injured.Stone couldn't catch fire, so the cave was the safest place. He began shouting as he neared it, for them to make way, because he wasn't sure if he was going to land easily. They heard him, because when he entered the cave, everyone had backed away, leaving a spot for him to land. Finally, his wings gave out, and Felipe crashed to the ground. Just before he landed, he flipped over, landing on his back, so not to injure Azalea further. But it sent a jarring pain through his spine, driving the breath out of him. As soon as Felipe crash-landed, tribe members rushed forward to help them. Miguel and Ricardo pulled Felipe up, so that he was supported between them, while Bernardo examined Azalea, frowning.

Everyone suddenly leapt aside, for someone was running straight for them. It was none other than Juliana, who seized her daughter, and, despite Bernardo's protests, pulled her into a relieved embrace. This made Azalea awaken, for she let out a high-pitched shriek, wriggling away and covering her injury. Juliana suddenly looked guilty, and spun around, facing Bernardo. "What are you waiting for? Get on with it!" she ordered. Bernardo nodded, before calling to Maite to get some sticks, to help set Azalea's broken wing. Waiting for them to help Azalea, Felipe walked straight up to the wall, before sliding down it, to the ground. All he wanted to do now was sleep - he had never been so tired. Just as his eyes were closing, he heard Azalea's voice.

"Adelaide?" she whispered hoarsely. Slowly, Felipe raised his head, and scanned everyone around him, searching. She was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Juanita. _They're still out there. _Adelaide was out there still, in the fire. Even if she had ended their relationship, Felipe still loved her. He couldn't let her die. The love of his life. Without a word, Felipe shoved through the crowd, and rushed outside, where the first of the Kapoks were catching fire. Ignoring his tribe's protests, he threw open his wings, and took off into the flaming jungle.

_Meanwhile_

Unfortunately, Adelaide was nowhere near safety, as Felipe hoped. She was still there, on the ground, paralysed with terror as the flames came nearer and nearer. _I'm dead, _she thought. She was going to die. After seeing the first tree fall, she had spun round, and fled as fast as she could. But she had gone in the complete wrong direction, for the fire was now blazing around her, creeping closer. She had been knocked from the air by a flying branch, and now she was frozen, unable to move as she watched the fire, transfixed. It was beautiful, in a way, but the only thing it brought with it was death and destruction. A loud noise frightened the life out of Adelaide - but it wasn't an explosion.

"Adelaide!" cried the familiar voice. Adelaide gasped, and whirled around, recognising the voice instantly. _Mother? _Juanita was standing behind her. The look on Juanita's face mirrored her own: Adelaide then realized that she had been right all along. There was no mistaking the unnatural amount of fear. Juanita had the same mental issue she had, only it was probably much milder. Adelaide had not seen Juanita all day - not since yesterday night. Juanita had probably been outside the tribe camp, frantic with worry at the discussion.

"Why didn't you tell me there was something wrong with you?" Adelaide asked, the first thing she said. Juanita didn't reply, only she seized Adelaide by the wing, and spun round, dragging her away from the flames. "Mom!" Adelaide exclaimed stumbling after her. Juanita didn't reply, but Adelaide need an answer. "Answer me, mom!" she then spun round, looking stricken.

"I didn't know you had it too!" Juanita wailed, tears beginning to swell up from the corner of her eyes. Adelaide stared, wondering how Juanita could never have guessed. She had to be lying; maybe she had hoped that Adelaide would get over it, grow out of it. Or she had been too horrified by the thought, that she was insisting to herself that it couldn't be true. But before Adelaide could say anymore, Juanita looked up at something behind Adelaide. Her blue eyes flooded with fear. "No!" Juanita shrieked, leaping toward Adelaide and giving her a hefty shove. Adelaide, shocked, was thrown forward, and she crashed to the floor, covering her head as a few cinders rained downwards. They bounced off her feathers, singing a few. Bewildered, she slowly rose to her feet. _What the…? _Shaken, Adelaide turned around slowly, expecting to see her mother standing there. But the moment her gaze found Juanita, she let out a piercing shriek.

Juanita was lying on the ground, a red stain blooming around the wooden shard in her chest.


	20. Felipe's Childhood Sweetheart

"Mom!" Adelaide rushed forward, collapsing at her mother's side, horrified. She shook Juanita desperately, praying for a miracle, but it didn't come. "No, please, no!" she was wailing, but Juanita didn't reply, for the shard had killed her the moment it pierced her heart. Adelaide collapsed and began crying, crumpled over Juanita, her tears falling down, dripping onto her mother's lifeless face.

She couldn't believe it - her mother had sacrificed herself to save her. _Why, mom? Life's not worth living anymore - you're gone, and Felipe is too! I can't live with my illness._ Adelaide then heard a crack behind her, and she turned with tear-filled eyes. The fire was only a few metres away, hot and menacing. Adelaide looked back down at Juanita, grabbing her body, before pushing it into a hole, under a rock. She wasn't letting Juanita be burned: she deserved to be buried untouched by flames.

Adelaide looked around, and then she spotted a purple orchid - Juanita's favourite colour and favourite flower. With shaking talons, she picked it from its stalk, and placed it into the hole, in her mother's wings. Juanita's eyes were closed – Adelaide would never see those two blue pools ever again. "I'm sorry." she whispered, leaning down and kissing her mother's cheek, before turning and stumbling away. Despite the anguish in her heart, Adelaide found the power to raise her wings, and she fled.

Adelaide had to escape. She had to get as far away from Juanita and the fire as possible. She had to get away from Eduardo, Mimi, and Roberto, who she had seen weeping over Tia's broken body. _Have to get home. Have to find Azalea. _Would Azalea forgive her for attacking Felipe? They'd never act the same toward one another again, not now that they knew. They must have figured out that she wasn't completely normal by now, or Bebel would've told them.

It was then that Adelaide saw a blue flash in the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and saw Jewel, rushing through the rainforest. There was a trail of scarlet down the side of her blue head, from a wound, and most of her feathers were grey from ash. As Adelaide watched Jewel, it all rushed down upon her. She then remembered what Rojo had said on that day. _Their daughter was taking food from our side. _

It was Jewel. _Jewel _had crossed the border, attempted to steal. She was why Rojo had arranged the Pit of Doom match, why they had lost their side of the grove. She was the reason why Felipe had arranged the battle in first place. Because of Jewel, they were all here now, in this forest fire. Fighting for their lives. Jewel was the reason for Juanita's death. If she had never taken from the wrong side in the first place, no one would be dead. Felipe would still be with Adelaide, Juanita would still be alive, and Adelaide would be safe, away from fire. _This is her fault._ _She is going to pay for what she did. _The dormant side of Adelaide had risen to the surface - the one where she had brutally attacked Felipe.

Jewel was flying through the Brazil nut trees, which were alight with fire. She never saw Adelaide coming, who rushed up behind her, sinking her claws into the younger teenager's back. Adelaide ignored Jewel's gasp of surprise, and they fell to the forest floor. Jewel twisted around, onto her back, so that she could see her attacker - her turquoise eyes widened when she saw Adelaide. "You!" she gasped, staring. "Adelaide, please, let me go!" she pleaded. Adelaide felt no pity or mercy for the Spix's macaw, only her grip on Jewel became tighter.

"Never!" she snapped, glaring down at her. "This is all_ your_ fault. Hear me? If you had never been a little thief, we would not be here. My mother would still be alive, and Felipe would still love me!" Adelaide could see the confusion and shock on Jewel's face, along with pity. _She feels sorry for me. Shame. _

"What do you mean, thief?" Jewel asked. "I didn't steal anything! And how is this _my _fault?"

"You know exactly what I mean, kid." Adelaide snapped. "You stole a stupid nut from our side. That provoked Rojo, he made the Pit of Doom match and lost it, that made Felipe arrange a battle, thus the meeting, and now we're about to burn to death because of what you did. You won't burn, because I'm going to kill you." Adelaide said the last words in a casual voice.

"What?" cried Jewel, panicking. "I didn't do anything!"

"Oh, very funny." Adelaide said in a heavily sarcastic tone. "Trying to lie? It won't work, because we all know what you did."

"I'm not lying!" Jewel insisted, struggling to free herself from Adelaide's iron grip. "It was an accident – I didn't see where I was going, and before I knew it, that old guy had my throat." Adelaide blinked into the depths of Jewel's eyes. The tone of voice, and desperation and honesty – could she really be guilty of what their previous patriarch had accused her of?

Adelaide then thought, thinking of how her ex's father had been. Calculated, devious, and despicable until the very end. Had there been an ounce of good blood anywhere on there? _Maybe. But most of it was infected with evil. Could she be telling the truth? _Rojo would do something just like that. He had forced Adelaide to do battle training against her will, been cruel to Perlina. He wasn't exactly _not_ capable.The thought grew, until it dawned upon Adelaide. Suddenly, she felt confused.

"What…?" she asked, staring in bewilderment. "He… he told us that you were stealing. That you're the cause of… all of _this."_

"_No, _I'm not!" Jewel retorted in a fierce voice. "He twisted a simple mistake into getting a piece of land. He attacked a chick, just for a chance to gain more territory. Can't you see that I'm telling the truth? You knew him better than I did, you must realize what he's like!" she was pleading now, and beginning to look terrified at the sharp claws digging into her neck. _What am I doing? _Adelaide thought, letting go of the Spix's macaw's neck and stumbling backwards. _What's wrong with me? Oh, right, everything's wrong with me. I get frightened and I turn into either a quivering wreck or a monster that threatens strangers._

"Alright." Adelaide murmured. "I believe you." With a relieved sigh, Jewel dragged herself to her talons, but before either of them could move, they both heard a loud sound. Slowly, they looked up. A heap of branches, heading straight for Jewel. Jewel was frozen in place, staring at them, paralyzed by fear. Adelaide then remembered the dream she had been having this morning - the blue blur had been Jewel. And now, she was about to be crushed - unless Adelaide did something. "Jewel!" cried Adelaide. _"Move it!"_ An unknown force made Adelaide fling herself forward, wings outstretched, toward Jewel.

Adelaide had nothing to live for. Her mother was dead. There was no father to comfort her. She was crazy, as far as her tribe was concerned - she had attacked her own boyfriend over a petty lie. What male would ever love her? She'd never have children or a mate, not after Felipe. Adelaide would never forget the look of horror on Azalea and Juliana's faces as she attacked him. On everyone's faces. She wasn't afraid of anything anymore. She didn't care about sacrificing herself for this kid she barely knew.

The moment that Adelaide shoved Jewel out of the way, she knew what was going to come. Agony, jolting through her spine, and something tearing into her stomach as the branches surrounded her. The pain ripped through her belly, and she suddenly stiffened abruptly as she felt something in her stomach tear apart. Everything was muffled - she could barely hear Jewel's screams, shouting her name. Adelaide couldn't see; the branches around her had drowned out the light, and all she could feel was pain. Something warm was trickling down her stomach, but she couldn't move to see what it was. She didn't have to, because she knew what it was - what other liquid flowed from an open wound?

"Adelaide!" wailed Jewel's voice, and she could hear her sifting through the rubble, shoving branches aside, and then a light blinded Adelaide as the final branches were thrown aside. Jewel looked horrified as she looked at Adelaide, who was pinned down by her lower spine; Adelaide couldn't feel her talons, or anything past that point, for that matter. But she could feel the piece of wood impaling her stomach. Adelaide was staring into the tree canopy, barely aware of Jewel trying to pull her free, but she was aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. Adelaide fixed her eyes upon Jewel's, and reached up with a shaking wing.

"Don't leave me alone." Whispered Adelaide.

"Of course not." Jewel whispered back, cradling Adelaide's head within her wings and clinging onto Adelaide's wing like a lifeline. "You shouldn't have saved me." Choked Jewel, her voice thick with tears. "Why did you do it, Adelaide? You barely know me. It should be me lying there instead of you."

"Don't." said Adelaide, aware that the corners of her vision were getting darker. "An innocent life was worth saving… I couldn't let you be crushed. And I've got nothing to live for." There were several moments of silence, before Adelaide thought of one last request. "Can…" Adelaide struggled to speak. "Can you sing? Please, before I go." Adelaide knew that her injuries were far beyond repair. She couldn't even feel her lower spine or her feet, and she knew how far the wooden shard had pierced. Jewel looked stricken, and she began trembling.

"Okay." She replied softly. Jewel began singing in a gentle, lulling voice, a song that Adelaide didn't recognise. It sounded like a lullaby, one that a mother would sing to an upset chick that couldn't get to sleep. Adelaide looked past Jewel's face, into the trees above. The fire hadn't reached there yet. She looked through the leaves, and then she saw some smoke beginning to stir. It pulled apart, more and more until Adelaide saw a patch of starry sky. The leaves and the star then became blurry, and Adelaide focused on Jewel, who was clearer to see. She really did look so much like Tia - did Jewel know about Tia's abrupt ending? It didn't seem like it, but Adelaide couldn't bring herself to break it to Jewel. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't have found the energy to speak. Then, there was nothing as Adelaide closed her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard her mother's voice. It wasn't afraid, but warm and gentle. Adelaide's eyes pried open, and she saw a female macaw standing there, some distance away in a patch of star shine.

"You've been so brave, sweetheart." Juanita murmured. Adelaide got up, but when she looked back, Jewel was still singing, and Adelaide herself was still lying on the ground with closed eyes. _That's my body? _Adelaide blinked at the macaw lying in Jewel's wings, before she raised her wings up in front of her face, examining the tiny specks of starlight woven through the feathers. _Is this… my spirit? _When Adelaide looked down, there were more, tiny, bright stars, woven through her feathers, where there was no ugly wound. She could feel her talons; her lower spine wasn't broken anymore. All the fears in Adelaide's heart had been swept away, and for the first time in her life, she felt truly _normal. _Like she was never going to switch personalities or mood again.

Behind Juanita, there were two forms - Adelaide was shocked to recognise Felipe's mother, Perlina. Perlina's beige eyes were bright, brighter than they had been when she was alive. And beside Perlina, there was a male Scarlet macaw Adelaide didn't recognise, but he had the same dark brown eyes Adelaide saw in her own reflection. There was no mistaking who he possibly could be.

"Dad?" Adelaide asked, and the male nodded, grinning widely. Juanita was looking back at her mate, love shining within her blue pools for eyes. Juanita then turned back to Adelaide, smiling again. "What about Jewel?" Adelaide asked, knowing where this was all going. "Juliana, Azalea… Felipe…"

"Don't worry about them." Assured Perlina, giving her a gentle, loving smile. "My son, your cousin and your aunt will be alright." Adelaide nodded slowly, before looking back at her mother, who looked younger, more beautiful, and healthier than ever. Adelaide found herself smiling. She would wait for Felipe, no matter what. Even if he took a mate in the years to come, she would still love him dearly and forever. _Good luck, Jewel, _Adelaide thought, and she looked over her shoulder, but the form of Jewel and Adelaide's body had vanished. She, Juanita, her father, and Perlina were now in a stunning, flowering tree, under a starry sky, far from danger. They were safe at last, from everything. Adelaide's father then wrapped a wing around Juanita, and, for the first time in forever, Adelaide felt truly accepted and free.

"We love you." Juanita said softly. Adelaide's parents, reunited at last, opened their wings, waiting for their daughter. Without a second thought, Adelaide swept across the space between them, and allowed herself to be enveloped into the loving warmth of their embrace.


	21. Blackness

By now, the fire was beginning to die down considerably. A light drizzle had begun, and was helping to gradually put out the fire. It was less menacing, losing heat and power, and as of now, it looked like it wasn't spreading any further. As he searched frantically for Adelaide, Felipe noticed the other territories. The fire had spread unbelievably far, reaching even the Blue-and-Golds, but it looked as if there was no serious damage going on there. As for the Hyacinths, they were absolutely fine – the deforested area that had killed Rojo had acted as a barrier, since there were no trees to catch fire and spread to their side. _Too bad, _Felipe thought scornfully.

It was common knowledge that the Hyacinths were probably the most ruthless of all the tribes – they were taught from a very young age that it was 'far better to be feared than loved'. The majority of tribe Hyacinths loathed every stranger they met. It was surprising - Hyacinths living in the main tribe were menacing, while those who lived in a smaller, close-knit groups or families were pretty normal - most Hyacinths who lived with a mate and kids or in a small band were kindly and pretty much average. It was assumed that the tribe's teachings were what made tribe Hyacinths the way they were.

Felipe now thought that it was safe to lower in altitude, go closer to the tree canopy, so that he got a better view of the destroyed rainforest. Most of the fire had fizzled out by now. He was horrified by the state of it now – barely a flash of greenery remained, and it seemed as though everything had been destroyed. Everything was smoking, the smoke floating up lazily. He passed the strawberry guava grove, which now looked miserable and bare. The fruit that wasn't burned was shrivelled by heat, and the leaves were black. Felipe then entered a familiar clearing, recognising the place where they had been having their heated discussion; the Walking Palm trees.

It was isolated and smoking, almost entirely black, grey and brown, other than a few singed feathers on the ground. He lighted down, scanning the area for any clues as to Adelaide's movements. He passed the place where he had dug up Azalea from the pile of debris, and then the Spix's macaw boulder. He flew up to it, peering closely at the trunk, and he could see a few dark blue feathers. Felipe shivered, seeing some of them bloodied. _Tia was too young to die. It wasn't her time_. As much as he disliked that tribe, he would never wish death on any of them. Felipe knew what losing a loved one was like - Perlina's disappearance and presumed death had torn his heart in two.

Felipe, not wanting to be near that haunting spot for much longer, lighted down on the ground. He walked around the floor for several minutes, looking everywhere, until he encountered something eerie. There was a streak of red on a leaf, and he crouched down, examining the droplet. _Blood?_ He thought, his heart beginning to speed up.Felipe then identified a trail, leading from this spot to a fairly large pool of blood. Whoever it belonged to appeared to have been dragged, from this pool toward a hole, under a boulder. The particular individual had been bleeding heavily, and as he neared the hole in the ground, he saw a large shard of wood that was half-red, lying outside the entrance. He hesitated briefly, uncertain as to whether he wanted to see what was in the hole, but he had to know who it was. When Felipe peered into the hole, he felt sick.

Juanita was lying in it, her eyes closed, with dried blood around a gaping wound in her chest. He fell backwards, tripping, crashing down onto his back, before scrabbling away hastily. He leaned against a tree stump, trying to get a grip. Juanita had been like an aunt to him, and, if him and Adelaide had gone smoothly instead of horribly wrong, his future mother-in-law. He felt tears beginning to form in his eyes, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her any longer. He looked away, moaning softly, his wings wrapping around his head. At that moment, he heard the flutter of wings, and when he looked up, he found himself looking at a familiar Blue-and-Gold macaw.

"Do you need help?" said Johanna, blinking down at him. Behind her, a few Blue-and-Golds, including Johanna's boyfriend Alejandro, were looking around warily, checking for signs of fire. At first, Felipe wondered what they were doing, so far out of their territory, before he remembered Perlina's stories about them. _"They are peaceful, honey – not cowardly, like your father thinks. They're a bit soft-hearted, yes, but their peaceful methods are what make them strong. They're a very selfless species, and they would help anyone who asked for it, no matter who it was."_

"We're here to help," said Alejandro, stepping toward him and helping him to his feet. "Are you alright? You don't look it." Felipe pointed shakily at the hole.

"My ex's mother… Juanita…" he whispered. Johanna and Alejandro looked at each other, before cautiously approaching the hole he had pointed out. Johanna gasped, and looked away, closing her eyes, while Alejandro's wing covered his beak in shock. The other Blue-and-Golds didn't look, but bowed their heads, a sign of respect. Johanna and Alejandro did the same, before turning back to Felipe.

"Do you want us to take her body back for you?" Alejandro asked. Felipe was astonished by their offer; they were willing to carry a dead body? He would have taken Juanita back himself, but then he realized that he had to find Adelaide. Every moment wasted could be vital to her wellbeing - and, in honesty, the thought of carrying Juanita's corpse was horrible. Not in a repulsive way, but carrying someone who was the closest he had to an aunt was an anguishing thought.

"Yes, thank you." He said, stepped back as Alejandro and another Blue-and-Gold picked up Juanita with the greatest care. "Take her to Azalea and Juliana – do you know who they are?"

"We know who Azalea is," Johanna replied. "She's your score marker, isn't she? Are they related?"

"Yes… Azalea is Juanita's niece, and Juliana is Juanita's sister." Felipe explained. "Thank you, again, for your hospitality." As he turned to go, Alejandro then called out to him.

"What are you doing here, alone?" asked Alejandro.

"I'm looking for Juanita's daughter… Adelaide. I don't want help, thank you, but keep an eye out for her," he said, when one of them opened their beaks to offer help. "Just… take Nita home."

"Okay." Said Johanna softly. "Be careful, though. The fire's dying down, but it's still burning. There are unstable trees, too."

"Thanks for the warning." Felipe replied, nodding. "Is your tribe alright?"

"We're fine." Johanna replied. "We were fortunate, because by the time it reached our territory, it wasn't spreading much more; it began drizzling by then. But we've retreated to some trees over the main river, just in case. But, with the rain, it looks as though it's not spreading any further. Take care, and I hope you find who you're looking for." The Blue-and-Golds then turned, and flew into the trees. He watched them carry Juanita away, before he turned and continued in his search, pushing down his grief for Juanita.

_What will Adelaide say? _He thought with dread. _How will she react, when she hears that her mom is dead? And Juliana and Azalea… Juliana and Juanita were inseparable._ He began to try and track Adelaide's movements - he was a fair tracker, and he could identify the smallest signs. At first, his job was made easy by the fact that she was moulting heavily, leaving a bright trail of red feathers, which made following it easier. And she was bleeding - a few blood droplets were on the forest floor every few metres, to his alarm. As Felipe travelled further, Adelaide's bleeding was fading away, for the blood droplets were now rarer. But this only made tracking her more difficult. He flinched when he heard a distant voice.

"Ju-Ju!" it called. Felipe stiffened when he identified the voice's owner. Who else had a voice like that, other than Roberto? "Jewel!" Roberto's voice shouted again. Not wanting to be seen by the macaw he hated most, other than Sol and Rojo, Felipe changed direction, toward the Brazil nut grove. He thought of what Roberto had been shouting. _So, she's lost too? That kid? _

Felipe had originally thought that all this was Jewel's fault - if she hadn't crossed the border, none of this would have happened. But as the date of the discussion came closer, he had realized that it was really Rojo's fault. Yes, Jewel had trespassed - by accident, and in by a few feet. Even if the red patrol hadn't been there, Eduardo and Tia would've called her back, based by their uneasy expressions as she unknowingly went nearer to the border line. If Rojo hadn't been on that patrol, everything would be normal. He need have never known, never have arranged the stupid match and lost them the entire grove to a bunch of blue 'Beautiful Creatures' dancing macaws… everything was Rojo's fault. They wouldn't all be here if Rojo had decided to unleash war over an innocent mistake.

Felipe then realized that he hadn't seen Sol at all, when he had taken Azalea back to the meeting cave. He had scanned everyone, to look for Adelaide, but he hadn't seen Sol. _Maybe the old moron panicked so much that he died of fright. Or he went straight into the fire. Good riddance. _Felipe then scolded himself. Crazy as Sol was, was he right to wish that the old, crazy, Green-winged macaw was dead? But when Felipe looked down, he then realized that he needn't wish that Sol was dead any longer. For he was lying on the ground now, his eyes closed and his graying feathers black with soot. Felipe landed on the ground, leaning over Sol, unsure what to do. He looked dead. Felipe cautiously poked Sol on the wing, not expecting a response. But then there was a loud, rattling breath, and Sol's eyes flew open, landing immediately on Felipe. Sol's talon shot forward, seizing Felipe by the foot.

"Let go." Felipe demanded, trying to shake Sol off, but the ancient bird refused to let go. Sol's eyes were bulging and the whites were red, and he was struggling to breathe. Alarmed, Felipe tried to back away, but the frail macaw's grip was shockingly strong.

"You don't want to go in there," rasped Sol, looking in direction of the Brazil nut grove. "I just saw a… vision…" but then Sol's eyes rolled, and his grip on Felipe went slack. Sol's head dropped, and the unsteady breathing came to a halt. Felipe stared in bewilderment, before backing away. Slowly, he looked at the ruined, charred Brazil nut grove, which stood only a few feet away, in ruins. The Scarlet macaw opened his wings, and flew in. He could hear Sol's voice, and many others, whispering in his brain. _You don't want to go in there. _But something was preventing him from turning back.

Felipe suddenly heard a whistling above him, and he looked up. He gasped, and rolled in midair, narrowly missing a falling Brazil nut. He had to hover for a few moments, to let his heartbeat resume to normal. That could have killed him, if his hearing hadn't been sharper. Felipe looked down, watching the nut drop to the forest floor. Then something on the ground caught his eye.

A large, white flower, against the burned, mostly ruined foliage. As he looked at the flower, Felipe then noticed that it was lying at least two foot away from a pile of forest debris and branches. He frowned, before he saw a small patch of scarlet. He had to squint to make out what it was at first. At that very moment, a shaft of moonlight poured in through the trees above, illuminating the place where Felipe was looking.

The moonshine turned her to silver, also revealing the piece of wood that was impaling her stomach. At first, Felipe didn't recognise her. But then he saw the short, spiky head feathers, and he knew. He knew who she was. In that moment, Felipe forgot how to fly. His brain became empty of all memories, other than the ones of her. Her smiling face. The one twisted with the uncontrollable anger or terror he didn't understand. His wings folded in, and he plummeted to the floor. Felipe ran to her, and began shrieking her name. He was barely aware of what was happening around him. All he could see was Adelaide's lacerated corpse. _"Adelaide! Adelaide!" _he screeched, pushing desperately at the branches that crushed her lower half, the ones trapping her. He called over and over, but Adelaide didn't wake up.

"Felipe!" exclaimed a voice. He whirled round, eyes mad and wild, and he found himself looking at Roberto. Roberto's feathers were mostly black and singed, and the one of the crest feathers was missing, the one that Felipe had torn out during their brief fight at the discussion. Suddenly, unable to control his emotions, Felipe began crying and stammering, sounding like a one-day old chick.

"S-she won't m-move!" he wailed. Roberto looked down, and his blue eyes filled with shock as they discovered Adelaide. "I was flying, I saw some red… and I called to her, I called and called… but she wouldn't wake up!" Roberto didn't say a word, but then he leapt forward, beginning to pull away bits of wood, shoving branches aside. Felipe frantically joined in, until enough had been cleared to free Adelaide. Adelaide's lower half was crushed brutally, her lower spine terribly broken. Her eyes were closed, and there was a massive bloodstain around the wound in her stomach. With violently shaking talons, Felipe pulled the shard out of her stomach, and pulled her into his wings, shaking Adelaide desperately. She was cold, with all the life drained out of her. "Adelaide! Please, wake up…" after several moments, Felipe's voice ebbed away to a whisper. _"Please…"_

"Felipe…" whispered Roberto. "I'm so sorry." Felipe ignored him, continuing to weep as Roberto cautiously touched his wing in a comforting gesture. After what felt like forever, Felipe's sobs faded enough for him to get a few words out.

"Help me take her home." He sobbed, barely audible. Roberto nodded slowly, before they both picked up Adelaide, beginning to fly her back to the Scarlet macaw territory. They flew in silence, other than Felipe's sobs. Felipe didn't notice the scorched Kapoks as they flew through them, heading for the cave where the red tribe had taken refuge. At first, nobody noticed them when they entered the cave. Johanna, Alejandro and the Blue-and-Golds were rushing around with pieces of fruit and nut shells filled with water, offering them to anyone who needed them. Bernardo, Bebel and Maite were treating injuries. Juliana and Azalea were sitting at Juanita's side, in silence. Juliana was crying, tears streaming down her face as she stared at her dead sister, and she was clinging onto Azalea, whose face was stony with grief. But then Miguel, who was nearby, suddenly pointed up shakily.

"Azalea, Juliana… is… is that…" Miguel didn't dare say the name. Juliana and Azalea turned around. Juliana didn't move a muscle as she saw who it was in Roberto and Felipe's talons. She closed her eyes, and buried her face into her wings, moaning quietly, while Azalea gasped, and sprang to her feet, rushing over as they landed.

"Felipe, Ade -" Azalea's voice abruptly cut off as she realized that Adelaide wasn't just injured. "Adelaide…" she whispered. Azalea sank to the ground at Adelaide's side, before she let out a high-pitched cry of grief. Behind them, Roberto began to whisper.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" He began. Felipe slowly looked up, as if he had only just realized he was there. He didn't want this fool to be here, to see him fall apart as his heart broke. He screamed unexpectedly, and everyone spun round in shock, not expecting the sudden noise. He sprang to his feet, and gave Roberto a brutal shove, so heavily that Roberto crashed to the floor in a heap of singed blue feathers.

"Get out!" Felipe shouted. "Get out!" Roberto gasped as he fell, before scrabbling to his talons and fleeing the cave, his head of feathers spiked and on end. Felipe watched him vanish, before he turned back, staring at Azalea grieving over Adelaide.

Felipe had lost everything. He had no family left. He was an orphan, a pathetic leader. No one loved him now. His home was in ruins, and he had lost everyone he loved. His mother. And the girl who had stolen his heart. As the grief overwhelmed him, tears falling from his green eyes, Felipe collapsed to the floor at Adelaide's side, his world darkening until it turned black.


	22. Safe and sound

Azalea stiffly walked forward, with the final two petals in her talon. Tribe tradition at burials was that every member of the tribe would drop a petal of any flower on the grave, until it was invisible under a lake of multi-coloured petals. In the trees behind, the rest of the tribe was gathered, having deposited their petals, their heads bowed. Azalea dropped the two petals on the grave - one purple orchid petal, for Juanita, and one of a magenta-coloured bromeliad, for Adelaide. The two petals drifted down, and Azalea backed away slowly, and she felt Juliana wrap a wing around her. Lena, Miguel, Ricardo, Maite, and others who had known and been close to Adelaide and Juanita were gathered around the grave, some stony with grief while others were struggling to hold back their sobs. Juanita and Adelaide had been buried together, in the same grave. Bebel began speaking quietly.

"We trust that these two spirits have a safe journey, wherever they go. Juanita and Adelaide were much loved, by their family and friends. They will be missed, and we will remember them."

"We will remember them." Repeated the rest of the tribe, in murmuring voices. After several minutes, the tribe began to filter out of the burial spot, until only Juliana and Azalea remained. Juliana sank to the ground, her eyes closed to hide the tears, but they only seeped through her eyelids. Azalea's legs went weak, and she suddenly knew she had to get as far away from the grave as possible.

"Excuse me, mom." Said Azalea quietly, before turning and vanishing into the trees, leaving Juliana to grieve. Felipe had been locked up in his hollow ever since that night, which was a few days before, and was showing no sign of coming out. Bernardo had been leaving nut shells of water outside, and pieces of fruit, but that was the only time Felipe was seen - his talon, reaching out from the hollow moss curtain, and dragging the food and water into the hollow. He had managed to tell Bernardo through the moss curtain that he had found Sol's body, but when a patrol had gone to find it, the body had not been found. It was assumed that it had been picked up by a predator. The tribe had held a few minute-silence, in respect, but it wasn't really whole-hearted, since more than half of them had been the victim of Sol's death predictions. Whenever the body of a tribe mate couldn't be buried, a silence was held instead and a flower was planted. Sol's and Rojo's flowers had both failed to begin growing, while Perlina's, planted a few months before, had flourished.

Azalea flew through the kapoks, which were beginning to heal after being burned. The leaves were growing back, the scorched bark slowly resuming to normal. Most hollows hadn't suffered serious damage, thankfully. Everyone she passed murmured their condolences. Azalea then stood at Felipe's hollow, and knocked. "Felipe?" she got no reply, but she could hear sniffing. "Felipe…" Azalea gently pushed the moss aside, where he sat with his back to her, unaware that she was there. Saying no more, Azalea closed the curtain and disappeared into her hollow.

_A few weeks later_

Felipe watched the river with blank, emotionless eyes. He had been this way for the last few weeks, and he couldn't even bring himself to go to see Adelaide's grave. He had an orchid lying beside him, which he would've put on it. But he couldn't bring himself to. Every day, he picked an orchid, intending to lay it upon Adelaide and Juanita's grave, but he had ended up being unable to. Approaching the mound of earth, where Adelaide and Juanita were buried, would be too painful. He hadn't slept properly since that night, and he had cried every day since.

A few days after the event, he had gone to meet Eduardo at the border. Eduardo had given their part of the grove back willingly, since it was where Jewel had presumably vanished and died. Her body had never been found. Mimi and Roberto had been behind Eduardo, their eyes bloodshot from crying, while grief had taken its toll on Eduardo: he had had heavy eye bags, like he hadn't slept at all, and it made him look many years older than he was. Losing both his mate and his daughter had broken him.

Felipe had been having thoughts. Suicidal ones. He had literally no family left – his mother, his good-for-nothing father, and now Adelaide – they were all dead. Life wasn't even worth living anymore. There was no-one left he loved. If there was no-one left on this Earth that he cared about, was it worth living an empty life until he just died? Should he just get it over with now? The river was fast-flowing and full of who knew what. It would be easy and quick, relatively painless. But as he rose to his feet, he heard a voice behind him.

"If you think I'm letting you drown yourself, you've got another thing coming." It said. When Felipe turned around, he saw Azalea.

"I wasn't." He lied flatly, before sitting back down with his back to her. Felipe heard Azalea sniff, and he could hear her breath shudder, like she was trying not to cry. Azalea covered her eyes with her wings briefly, as if trying to get rid of the traces of tears, before she made her way over to him, sitting down next to him.

"She… she wouldn't have wanted you to do such a thing. She loved you – can't you see that she would want you to be happy? Safe? _Alive?"_ Azalea's face was turned away so that he couldn't see her tears. Felipe wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't find the strength to wrap a wing around her in a hug. He wanted a hug right now, but he didn't think Azalea could bring herself to either. They sat in silence for a long while. It was nearing sunset, the sky stained with amber and pink, and the horizon was golden as the sun dipped down. It reminded him of his last morning with Adelaide. Felipe now loathed the early mornings - he even hated the Brazil nut grove now. He hated everything, including dark brown, the colour of Adelaide's eyes, anything that reminded him of the day that Adelaide died. Azalea opened her beak several times, as if to speak, but then her beak closed again, like she had changed her mind. "At… at least she's not bothered by her mental problem now."

"Her what?" Felipe turned his head to look at her. "What do you mean, mental problem?"

"You… you don't know? Bebel didn't tell you? Okay." Azalea then launched into an explanation, and suddenly all the questions Felipe had ever had about Adelaide were answered. Adelaide's severe phobia of danger and her obsession with being safe had caused her to switch personalities – she would either become a quivering, crying wreck, or an angry, easily provoked, feathered volcano. _Why did she never tell me? _He thought. That explained why she had so fiercely attacked him that time - he had just been unfortunate that her terror had made her angry that time, instead of upset.

"I don't believe it." Felipe said in a hushed voice. "And… Juanita had it as well?"

"Yes." Azalea admitted. "Not as strong, though. Juliana was lucky enough not to inherit it as well. If she had, I could have been… like Adelaide. Maybe my kids will be fine as well."

"I hope they will." Felipe murmured. "I don't think I'll ever have any. I don't know if anyone would ever love me again, after how terribly I've led us so far... what do you think?" Azalea bit her lower beak, blinking at him. She felt horrible for it, but she had envied Adelaide's closeness with Felipe. Adelaide had someone who loved her deeply, and while Azalea frequently got whistled at, she hadn't met anyone particularly special like her cousin had. There were many handsome males in the tribe, but none of them stood out to her. The girls envied her for her looks and attention she got… but Azalea had never had any sort of relationship. She looked at Felipe, thinking. Adelaide being loved wasn't the _only_ thing Azalea had been jealous of.

She considered saying something to Felipe, but then thought better of it. It was then that a warm breeze blew, ruffling their feathers. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw three forms, glittering slightly like stardust. She could have sworn that the one closest to her was nodding, but when she turned her head, she saw nothing. Azalea gazed at the spot in wonder, before she thought she heard a distant giggle. But it sounded like an echo, and it was so familiar. _Adelaide? _ Azalea thought as she felt a wing wrap around her shoulders, but when she looked, there was nothing. She then found another thing to say.

"Somebody will, I promise." Azalea assured him. Azalea looked down at Felipe's wing, lying limply on the branch between them, before she cautiously edged her own wing toward it so that her wing touched his own. For the first time since that dreadful night, Felipe raised his head, hope entering his eyes.

"You think so, Lea?" he asked.

"I know so." Azalea answered, with a small smile. Felipe blinked at her, looking deep in thought, before he rose to his feet shakily.

"Can you come with me, to take this to… you-know-where?" Felipe asked, picking up the white orchid. Azalea knew that he meant Adelaide and Juanita's grave, and she nodded. Within a few minutes, they were standing before the spot where the mother and daughter were buried. Tears began forming in both Felipe and Azalea's eyes. The sea of petals had decomposed, and moss had begun to form. Felipe looked at the white orchid, before laying it down on the moss patch. "Juanita… you were like an aunt to me, and you didn't deserve this. I'll always remember you. Adelaide…" Felipe's voice broke before he continued. "I loved you more than anyone in this world, and you will always be with me until the day I die. You deserved… so much better. Look after Juanita and Perlina for me." Felipe then rose to his feet, shaking slightly.

He felt something warm wrap around him, and when he looked down, Azalea was hugging him, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. Felipe then folded one of his own wings around her, and they stood there in silence before the grave, their eyes closed.

Maybe Adelaide's death wasn't the end of his life. As long as Azalea was there, maybe he wouldn't break beyond repair. In time, he would recover. It would take a long time, possibly… but like Azalea had said, Adelaide would want him to be happy. Adelaide was happy now - safe and sound. She would never be afraid again. For the first time in what felt like forever, Felipe managed a smile.

_**This was one of the most difficult and tragic stories I've ever had to write. I hope you've all enjoyed it, and gotten an idea of what Felipe and the Red tribe are like. If you want to see what happens to Felipe, Azalea and the rest, you might want to keep watch for 'The Estrella', the sequel to 'The Outcast'. You'll all be in for a pleasant surprise.**_

_**Thank you very much xxx**_

_**Sorrel**_


End file.

Rio, Romance, Tragedy