What is he doing? This question relayed through Adelaide's mind as she followed Rojo at a distance. This was where the Brazil nut grove ended. He should be slowing down - he was so close to the border, why? This was a stupid thing to do, especially after what happened. He wasn't slowing - closer, closer to the border he went, flying with intent...

"Rojo! Stop!" Adelaide cursed herself for calling out, but she couldn't stop herself and it was too late to hide. He'd whirled round and spotted her there. His yellow eyes grew narrow with unexpected hostility, as he saw her. He had never liked her, Adelaide was sure - he always spoke to her in a grouchy manner. She couldn't think why, he just never had seemed to like her.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, with classic moodiness.

"I'll ask the same thing of you!" Adelaide didn't know why she was being so confrontational - sometimes she would confront, most times she watched but didn't act. This was a time to challenge him. She flew out and hovered between him and the border. "Are you trying to go over there?"

"What's it to you?" He asked, irritably, but there was no sign of denial. Adelaide flooded with fear.

"Are you mad, Rojo? It's not worth it! If someone sees you there, you'll lose a lot of respect and if Eduardo finds out you've been trespassing -" she dreaded to think.

"I don't know what my son sees in you." Rojo said, abruptly, very effectively silencing Adelaide. "You're not that special, are you? He doesn't know what he's getting himself into. All relationships end with the death of one - there's never a happy outcome. Love makes you soft. Your mother had a lucky escape."

"How dare you." Adelaide couldn't believe Rojo was suggesting the death of her father was a good thing. "My mother hasn't been the same since! Juliana was so devastated when her mate left she hated Azalea until she grew to love her! And you, losing Perlina - you need to grow -" suddenly Rojo barged into her, sending Adelaide crashing into a tree trunk. Her side erupted with pain, and Rojo pinned her to the tree.

"You are not worthy to speak her name!"

"You hypocrite! You say love is pointless, yet you still love Perlina -" Adelaide cried out as Rojo suddenly threw his full force against her, making the bark scrape her on the tree trunk. He dropped her, and fled into the grove, straight into the Spix's territory. "Get back here! Rojo!" Adelaide followed without thinking, still in pain, until it forced her to stop. She clumsily landed on a branch, holding her side, where she had initially struck it.

"Stay out of my business." Rojo hissed, before disappearing into the trees.

"Don't be an idiot!" Adelaide shouted, not knowing whether he heard her or not. Anger bore through her; what was Rojo hoping to achieve? He's gone crazy. He's bruised me... her side bolted with pain when she prodded it, her skin darkening when she pushed back the feathers. Cursing under her breath, she forgot where she was, and didn't proceed to leave.

After a few minutes, Adelaide heard a distant rustling. Her head whipped up, and she looked toward the sound - a few leaves moved slightly, as if from a breeze, but she felt watched. Adelaide rose to her feet, feathers lifting, as she saw a flash of cerulean. There was there was the sound of wind whistling through feathers, and then a flash of blue appeared. With a cry, Adelaide spun round and raced away, but she was being chased - she heard a voice shouting, telling her to stop.

Adelaide wove through vines and branches, headed back towards the red macaw territory - she looked frantically over her shoulder, and her pursuer was gone, she thought - until something crashed into her side. With a shriek of surprise, Adelaide was knocked onto a lower branch.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Adelaide looked up, eyes wide with fear. A Spix's macaw bristled threateningly on the branch above her, eyes ablaze with hostility and suspicion. She leapt down, standing over Adelaide. She shuffled backwards, a wing extended to protect herself and keep the stranger back.

"I'm not looking for trouble... it was an accident!" Adelaide unintentionally set off an echo in her own mind. It was an accident. A similar scenario such as this set up in her mind, the speakers reversed, both much smaller and fluffier. There had been an innocence about that time. Suddenly she knew why the macaw looked so familiar, with her turquoise eyes, the curls at the ends of her head feathers - her name was so easy to remember. "Jewel?" She asked, a little cautiously, in case it wasn't her.

"How do you know my name?" Jewel asked, suspiciously, not recognizing her. Adelaide filled with relief that it was her.

"Don't you remember?" The pain in Adelaide's side faded. "Don't you remember me?" She looked up hopefully.

"I don't -" Jewel began, but then she got a closer look. Suddenly the brown eyes, the spiky head feathers, looked familiar. She noticed how the yellow stripes on the wings were thicker than the blue fringing the wing edge, which she remembered now. "Adelaide?" She said, remembering the name. "Oh. I didn't know it was you. Sorry." Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief, as Jewel extended a wing to help her up.

"It's alright. I've been through worse." Adelaide brushed moss off herself. Jewel stared at Adelaide, unsure what to do. She was trespassing - trespassers had to be sent on their way. But Jewel felt no desire to ward Adelaide away, and she didn't feel threatened... what should she do?

"What are you doing here, then?" She prompted.

"I, uh..." Adelaide didn't know whether to tell her that Rojo was also trespassing, right now as they spoke. "It was a mistake, as I said." She lied, but Jewel didn't seem to believe her.

"Are you sure?"

"Do I look like a Brazil nut thief?" Adelaide asked, and Jewel unintentionally cracked a smile. Both began to relax, not feeling threatened. "It's been a few months. How have you been?" Adelaide didn't know what else to say.

"I'm alright. My dad hated me for a while after what happened, but he's calmed down now." Jewel couldn't believe she was making small talk with a red macaw, especially with the tensions between their tribes. But it felt so easy, so natural. "I heard about Perlina. I'm really sorry... that must've been hard for Felipe and - Rojo."

"Felipe took it so hard. Perlina meant a lot to everyone." Adelaide had cried too when Perlina passed - she'd been there as long as she could remember, always a part of her life. She realized she had little time - the thought of a vengeful Rojo lurking here, with Eduardo and Tia's daughter unaware, filled her with dread. "Rojo's... it's probably good I ran into you. I need to tell you something."

"What?" Jewel asked, oblivious.

"He's... erratic, recently. I think he's... well, he hates your tribe. So I'd be careful if I were you." Adelaide was careful with her words, fearing he was watching - she didn't even know why she was telling Jewel this. Jewel went to mention the fact that Rojo had been at the border, but she didn't quite trust Adelaide yet. She barely knew her.

"Well, thanks for the warning." Jewel said, unsure what to make of it. She continued to stare at Adelaide.

"Jewel? Jewel!" A distant voice called, and Adelaide stiffened. Jewel's eyes blazed with panic.

"Go, quick! That's my dad!" She exclaimed, in a high-pitched voice, and Adelaide gasped - if Eduardo of all birds found her here, so close to Jewel, she'd be dead. Then she would be accused of trespassing, when it was Rojo's fault she was here. "Go, before he sees you..."

"Thank you," Adelaide replied, swiftly gathering herself together. "Remember what I said!" She spun round and disappeared into the foliage, leaving Jewel wary and very confused. But it confirmed it, surely - Rojo, acting erratically? It perfectly matched the idea of him frightening Adao with a strange and vague "enjoy it while it lasts". It? As in the grove? She frowned with puzzlement.

"Jewel!" She jumped and whirled round. Eduardo, Roberto, Tia - and Mimi, to her surprise - were there. It was a good thing they'd heard them coming. Having Adelaide caught by her entire family would be worse. "Mimi said you were here." Eduardo said. "We need to talk."

"Why?" Jewel asked, stiffly, expecting a confrontation.

"Family time, silly!" Tia said in a teasing voice. "You're so serious, my sweetheart. We're just going to show you a part of the territory you haven't seen." They turned to lead her away; Jewel stared, at a loss, as Roberto hovered beside her.

"Did you find anything?" He asked. Jewel prepared to tell him what just happened, but then stopped herself.

"Not really." She said - by telling, they'd know about Adelaide being so far in their side of the Brazil nut grove. That would lead to an unnecessary confrontation... but could she trust Adelaide? She'd spent less than ten minutes of her life with her - perhaps the concern was a facade? Maybe Rojo had sent her... or was Jewel being just like her father, leaping to conclusions and unwilling to trust?

Adelaide, heart pounding, shut herself into Juanita's hollow, the moss curtain pulled across the entrance. Almost as soon as she did, it twitched back open. "Adelaide, you alright?" Azalea stood there, the sun flashing off her teal-tinted wing. "You flew so fast, you flew right by me." Her concerned gaze was almost always reserved for Adelaide.

"I'm fine. I -" she certainly couldn't tell Azalea, of all birds, about Rojo's idiocy and seeing Jewel, daughter of Rojo's mortal enemy. Azalea couldn't keep a secret, and she trusted nobody. "I was just seeing my mom."

"Really? I was just there myself. Mom says Nita's out tomorrow." Adelaide could barely smile despite such news. "Don't look too pleased about it, then."

"Sorry, I am. I'm just distracted." Adelaide insisted, feeling a little anger rise.

"But -"

"Go away, Azalea!" She snapped, spontaneously. Azalea's eyes flashed with hurt, before she ducked out of the tree. "Azalea, I -"

"Forget it. You clearly don't want to talk." Azalea retorted, from outside, before the sound of her flapping wings faded.

Adelaide exhaled, letting her head fall back. "Darn it." She muttered - she had a tendency to suddenly snap, and that wasn't wise to do to her sensitive cousin. She considered following Azalea, but couldn't compel herself to. She refocused on her other crisis, unsure what to do.

Telling Felipe about Rojo would just stir up trouble. She had no proof, Rojo would obviously deny it - knowing her luck, he'd get one of his inner circle to say he was with them at the time he apparently crossed the border. Then she'd look like a liar trying to cause trouble. And Rojo wasn't someone she wanted to be on the bad side of.

"Adie?" Why won't nobody leave me alone, today? She twisted her head, prepared to say 'leave me alone' - but it was only Felipe. "Azalea just went off in a huff. Told me to mind my own business, as usual - hey. You alright?" He tilted his head at the peculiar expression on her face.

"Oh, I'm fine, just... lost in thought, I guess. My mom's out of quarantine tomorrow." Adelaide finally smiled. Felipe's eyes flooded with joy and relief.

"Adelaide, that's brilliant!" He exclaimed, pulling her off the ground to give her a hug.

"It is!" Adelaide's worries melted away in his embrace. She suddenly realized that they were very close together, a stillness over them both. They momentarily stared into each other's brown and green eyes, before they came to their senses. Coughing awkwardly, they put a little distance between one another. "Well... I'm going to go apologize to Azalea." She gave him an awkward smile.

"Okay." Felipe watched her go, wondering why he didn't want her to leave.