Roberto peeked over the leaves he was hidden in, his young heart beating swiftly in his chest. He reached up to brush the long feathers out of his eyes, to get a better look at Talitha, from where she was searching for him. Talitha was looking under things and behind them, with a grin on her face. "I know you're around here somewhere, Beto." She said, in a teasing voice. She kept glancing at the leaves that concealed him, seeing the top of a blue head. "You're so bad at this game..." Roberto suppressed a giggle, before realizing that Talitha was coming his way. He crawled away, scuttling across the branch and hiding in more leaves.

Talitha lifted the leaves that had once hidden Roberto. She grinned. "Well. I guess you're better at this game than I thought." Talitha then turned, and vanished. Roberto giggled. Ha. But then a head popped up in front of him, and he jumped, with a squeak of surprise. "Gotcha!" His older sister exclaimed, triumphantly, scooping him up into a hug.

"Aw, man! You always win at this game!" Roberto grumbled, looking up at her with annoyed, yet happy, eyes. Roberto was now a few weeks old - while still small and barely reaching half his teenaged sister's height, he had grown considerably since hatching. His feathers had grown too - his wing feathers weren't fully developed yet, not being their full length, but it wouldn't be much longer until he could fly. His feathers were a dark blue, rather like his mother's, only he didn't have her teal hues - his eyes were still pale blue, but he had also inherited Ramon's crest-like feathers. They were long and fell around the back and sides of his head, with a shorter one flicking upwards on the front of his head. While his problem wasn't as annoying as Ramon's, Roberto not having so many around the front, they would still sometimes cover his vision. "Anyway, can you lemme go?"

"Go on, you." Talitha put him down, and Roberto dashed away, headed for the hollow. While it was Alessandra's turn to forage, Ramon had left Roberto in Talitha's care, and he was now napping in the tree, further up in the branches so that he wouldn't be disturbed by the sound of Roberto and Talitha.

"Race you to the hollow!" Roberto challenged, putting on a burst of speed. Talitha gasped, and ran after him to try and catch up, but Roberto was too speedy, and got there before she did. He whirled round, hopping on the spot. "Ha!"

"Unfair race!" Talitha chuckled. "I was further away than you were!"

"Not true!" Roberto insisted, before diving into the entrance. "I'm just going to sleep for a bit, okay?" Talitha rolled her eyes, and sat down, taking one of the coconuts her parents kept in a small pile, and beginning to pick off the hairs off. She adored her little brother - he was so cute, and so bright. He was innocent and sweet, just like all chicks were. He also seemed to have a talent for song, like his family did - Talitha, Alessandra and Ramon had listened to him, when he thought he was by himself. Both their parents had come from musical families and inherited musical talent, which had been passed on to both Talitha and Roberto. She had a lovely voice, but she wasn't as pssionate for music as Roberto was. He loved music and sound - he would be awake throughout the early mornings, listening to the birdsong. He would also just dance around the hollow, singing songs he had written presumably himself, since none of them had heard of songs like the ones he sung. And for his young age, they were pretty good, but his voice was golden already. He was going to have an incredible voice when he grew up, that was clear.

Roberto, meanwhile, didn't go to sleep. After several minutes, he slowly emerged from the tree, and crept along behind Talitha - she didn't notice him, being absorbed in plucking the coconut. Knowing she wasn't looking, Roberto grabbed a vine and slid down it with some trouble. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, but as he went further, he sped up, getting the hang of it. He slowly slid toward the forest floor, where the vine dangled a foot off the ground. At the end, he hesitated. He looked up, but Talitha hadn't noticed. After a moment, he let go, and dropped onto the floor for the first time.

Roberto had literally spent all his life in the tree, and the ground looked so strange, he had been dying to see what it was like. Now that he was standing on soil, everything looked huge. He wouldn't be long - just a little while, to see what the ground was like. His parents had warned him that it was dangerous, but he dismissed the idea. It was just the ground, what harm could it do?

Roberto looked around, fascinated by the surroundings - he felt so small amung the towering trees and vegetation, but he didn't feel vulnerable. He just felt amazed. He listened carefully, in case his family started calling him, but heard nothing. He could get back without them ever knowing about his little adventure. His parents seemed incredibly protective, for some reason - while they were kind and pleasant, they were annoyingly over-protective. When Alessandra and Ramon were both there, they fussed over him and watched him like a hawk whenever he left the hollow. Desperate to explore and ease the burning curiosity, Roberto dashed into the ferns, his heart racing with excitement at the feeling of the warm soil under his feet.

Sometimes a rat would scamper across his path; it would stop, stare curiously at the little bird blue bird, and then hop into the bushes. Another thing was the forest quails, who would peck at the ground and not pay him any attention - they were so boring. The ants crawling across the floor were more interesting, in their lines - he tried to follow them to their hills, but lost the trail before he could. Roberto would often see something slithering through the undergrowth, the sun flashing on it's scales - he hadn't known what it was at first, but when he had gone for a closer look, it had been an ugly thing with beady eyes, and a forked toungue, hissing and spitting at him. Remembering his father's stories about snakes, Roberto had made a quick getaway.

His parents had fuelled his head with tales of the outside world - scary stories about predators, most often. Jaguars, Harpy eagles, snakes, venomous spiders - he knew they were just trying to protect him, but he wasn't that scared. He kept his distance, like he had with the snake, but other than that, he wasn't scared of what they told him. He then noticed something black and green, fluttering at the corner of his vision.

A large butterfly, a malachite, by look of it, almost as big as he was, but beautiful. It landed on his beak, it's big wings moving up and down. He froze, amazed by the butterfly's boldness - but he was disappointed when it fluttered into the air, dancing toward the bushes. "Hey, come back!" Roberto exclaimed, running after it. The malachite would sometimes flutter closer, but then it would dart further away again. He kept following it for a full five minutes - he must have been on the ground for at least twenty by now, but he doubted his family had yet realized his absence. His dad was likely still asleep, his mom was probably still out foraging, Talitha wouldn't disturb him if she thought he was napping.

The butterfly suddenly flew upwards - Roberto jumped in a last attempt to get closer, and fell to the floor. He rolled across the sloping ground, bouncing like a piece of fallen fruit - until the slope turned flat. He rolled to a stop, dazed and dizzy by the ride. He groaned, realizing that he had dull pain from bouncing along the floor - then he realized that he was lying before a pair of talons. Slowly, he looked up, wide-eyed. To his surprise, a girl stood above him - a Spix's macaw, like him. She was young, probably as old as he was, maybe a few days younger. She blinked down at him in surprise. Roberto had never seen another member of his species before, except for his family - immediately, he felt a sense of curiosity.

She was fairly small, smaller than he was, due to the fact that she was a female. She had a couple of head feathers on the back of her head, a curling at the ends and almost reaching the top of her neck. She also had large, bright, turquoise eyes, and light blue, fluffy feathers. Roberto was unsure how to react - he had never spoken to a stranger before, especially not a child his age.

"Hi!" She said, in a friendly, cheerful voice. Roberto blinked.

"Er... hi." He said, in a high-pitched voice, quickly scrabbling to his feet. He coughed to try and make his voice sound less squeaky. He was nervous, after all. The bushes behind the girl then shook, and he stepped back, startled - but he was relieved to see two adult macaws instead of something frightening. Like the girl, they were also Spix's.

"Jewel, there you are!" Said one, a short, plump female, looking relieved - then she noticed Roberto, and stopped. She was a shade of cerulean, with short, curling feathers at the top of her head. She had to be around her early twenties at the most - the other female was slimmer, of similar age, and she bore a striking resemblance to the girl, who Roberto assumed was Jewel. She possessed to same turquoise eyes, and she had similar head feathers - her face wasn't a mirror of Jewel, but she had similar features. She was also much darker, almost midnight blue - she had to be Jewel's mother, since they looked so similar. Both of the older females looked warm and friendly, surprised to see the young stranger before them. "Hello." Said the shorter one, in a warm voice.

"Uh, hi." Roberto replied, awkwardly. The two older females exchanged looks, before looking around, as if searching for something. The dark blue female shrugged at her companion, and stepped forward, smiling down at him.

"Are you lost, honey? Where are your parents?" At her question, Roberto turned, expecting to see his home through the trees - but then his heart sank. How far had he gone? He bit his lower beak, and turned back.

"Um... I think I am lost." He admitted. The dark blue female turned back to the shorter one and Jewel, before turning back to him, with a look of kindness and sympathy.

"Okay, we'll help you find your way." She promised. Roberto felt a flash of relief, and trust. The dark blue macaw then proceeded to introduce herself. "I'm Tia. This is my daughter, Jewel -" she looked down at the girl, who beamed up at her mother. -" and this is my sister-in-law, Mimi." She indicated toward the shorter adult female. Tia then turned back to Roberto. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"I'm -" Roberto began, but then there was an ear-splitting shriek behind him. He jumped, and whirled round - but Alessandra darted past him. Tia cried out at Roberto's mother crashed into her, sending them both flying. To his alarm, Tia was pinned under Alessandra's talons, staring up in confusion and shock.

"What on earth are you doing?" Tia spluttered. Alessandra's feathers were risen, and her talons were wrapped around the other macaw's neck. Jewel shrieked in terror, crying out, struggling against Mimi, who tried to block her from getting nearer to the scene. Roberto felt a wave of humiliation and fear.

"Mom, stop!" Roberto shouted, desperately. Jewel stopped struggling, turning to stare at him in bewilderment.

"This crazy macaw is your mom?" She asked, looking shocked. Alessandra then released Tia, and leapt away, standing between Roberto and the three strangers. Mimi glanced at Alessandra, as if expecting her to attack again, before she ran to her companion.

"Tia, are you alright?" Mimi asked, worriedly, grabbing her wing and helping her to her feet.

"I'm okay, Mimi..." Tia insisted, rising shakily. Jewel, who had been standing and watching anxiously, then ran to Tia, who held her close with her wings. Tia dusted her front, checking Jewel to make sure she wasn't too shaken, before glaring up at Alessandra. Mimi's feathers were bushed, almost as much as Alessandra's were. Roberto looked around his mother, eyes round. Since when was Alessandra like this? She was never hostile - unless, of course, she was just being protective of him. Against what? They hadn't tried to harm him.

"What's your problem?" Mimi demanded, looking outraged. Alessandra was breathing heavily.

"You savages..." She pointed a wingtip at Mimi and Tia. "...are not to go near my son."

"Who are you calling savages?" Jewel asked, eyes narrowed. Roberto felt a rush of admiration - Jewel wasn't afraid of the angry-looking Alessandra, despite being so much smaller and younger. Mimi leaned down, murmuring a word of advice, and Jewel reluctantly stopped talking.

"Mom, they weren't -" Roberto began, but Tia drowned him out.

"We offered to help him home, for your infomation!" Tia protested, looking flustered and angry. "And we are not savages."

"I know who you are!" Alessandra snarled. "You're Eduardo's mate! She's -" she glared at Mimi. "-his sister, and that's his daughter." She narrowed her eyes at Jewel, who glared back with equal hostility. "The family of a tribe leader? You tribes have a reputation for being savages."

"I think you're mistaking us for the Hyacinths." Mimi hissed. She crossed her wings, clearly fuming. "Look, we may get into scuffles every now and then, but it's never our fault, love. It gives you no excuse to attack unprovoked - do you know how much of a bad example you're setting him?" Alessandra made a sound that sounded like a bird's version of a growl.

"Don't you dare question my parenting skills. I bet your kids aren't much better, are they?" Mimi's eyes flashed with anger at the comment.

"I can't have kids. I'm infertile." Mimi muttered. Alessandra then looked briefly guilty, and ashamed of what she had said. She looked away, awkwardly - she looked like she wanted to apologize, but she didn't say a word.

"We're going home, right now. Come on." Alessandra whirled round, and marched forward, grabbing Roberto. He looked over her shoulder, wide-eyed, at Tia, Mimi, and Jewel, who looked disturbed, still. He looked apologetically at them.

"Sorry!" He exclaimed; this was all he got to say before Alessandra wrapped her talons around him, and leapt into flight.