"Hello?" Felipe waved his wing in front of Roberto's face, tapping his shoulder. "You've been standing there for a while, anybody home?" Roberto jolted, turning to look at the Scarlet. He looked at Roberto expectantly, before rolling his eyes as Roberto snapped out of his frozen moment. "Wasn't Sophia great? I've never heard such a thing."

"Great? She was fantastic!" Azalea practically sang. "She sung a few little ditties with me, but her voice is so powerful! It's none of that flowery, high stuff - that's a unique voice with pure soul!" Her hazel eyes then lit up. "Sophia!" Azalea dashed past him. Roberto turned his head, trying to recover from his awe.

Sophia had appeared from a gap in the tree wall. She ran to Azalea, eyelids wiped clean, but the flower still sitting in her head feathers. She was breathless and giggling, and the pair made a tight hug on reaching each other. "How did I do?" Sophia asked, shyly.

"Soph, you never told me you sang like that!" Azalea looked stunned; her eyes were popping. "You'll have to teach me your little magic trick - what a exit! And what a song!"

"Well, I didn't write it... you know Carla, don't you? She had this little thing from where she was born, and it had songs on it. One day she heard me talking to you about a song choice, and then, bless her heart, she suggested it to me." Sophia hadn't noticed Roberto. What's wrong with me? he shook himself, trying to hide the shocked look on his face and look normal.

"It was a spontaneous performance, Sophia." Felipe agreed, from behind Azalea. Sophia looked up with a friendly smile; but then her eyes found the Spix's macaw beside the Scarlet. Suddenly, her eyes widened at the sight of him, as she recognized who he was. Roberto blinked, surprised at the flabbergasted look on her face.

"What... what are you doing here, Roberto?" She asked, in utter astonishment.

"I just... just got here before you sang." He replied. Sophia suddenly went pale, and her eyes widened.

"I..." She gazed at him for a few moments, before shaking her feathers. "Right. You, me, talk - now." Sophia turned to Azalea and Felipe, but Felipe held up his wings.

"We can see you want to talk, and we should be heading back now, anyway... our tribe'll be missing us." Felipe and Azalea looked at each other.

"See you soon, Sophia." Azalea gave her friend one last hug, before the two leaders turned and made for the exit. Sophia waved goodbye, before turning away and flying above the crowd to get to the side of the tree faster. Roberto followed, until Sophia lighted down beside a row of passion fruit shells, filled with water. Taking two, she flew up to one of the tree root walls, where there was a hollowed scoop. From here, they could talk above the dance, which they could overlook.

Roberto landed a few inches from Sophia, and she offered him a shell. Roberto took it with a smile; he realized from the scent that it was filled with coconut water. Sophia looked nervous, as she held the shell but didn't drink from it. She sat down. "So. Start talking - how did you find me here?" She asked, wearing a mysteriously worried expression.

"I followed you -" Roberto began, but then he paused at her strange look.

"You followed me... through this weather?" She blinked. Sophia looked surprised that he'd risk his neck to ensure her safety, and inside, she was touched to the core.

"At first. Then I lost you and had to stop. I was worried about you going out in this storm." He wrapped his wings around his knees as he sat down, a position he found most comfortable. "Then that yellow conure, Esteban, found me and invited me here. I had no idea you came here - I only came to get out of the rain, initially."

"And my performance..." She asked, anxiously.

"Enchanting." Roberto answered, quietly, in a hushed voice. Sophia blushed, the light skin on her face turning pink, disbelief shining in her eyes.

"You're just saying that. I'm okay, but I'm not... 'enchanting'. Vicky says I'm an 'earth angel', but I'm not that good..." Sophia looked embarrassed and uncomfortable. "She even jokes that it's my stage name."

"What's the matter with you? Didn't you see that crowd?" Roberto was gobsmacked. He stared at her in utter bewilderment. "You can see by their reactions that they think you're amazing. I mean... Sophia... l can't believe you've never told anyone about this. Does anyone in our tribe know you sang, let alone in a club?" Sophia looked a bit guilty.

"Not a soul. Carla doesn't even know the whole story - she thinks I just wanted a new song to sing to myself, not to actually perform." Sophia bit her lower beak.

"Why?" He asked, frowning. Sophia looked away, in discomfort. "You don't want to tell me." He concluded, and Sophia glanced back at him. "Sophia, it's not..." Roberto stopped himself saying her brother's name. Sophia wouldn't appreciate him throwing accusations at Jespa. "Are you embarrassed?"

"No, not at all..." Sophia sighed. "Look, just promise me you won't tell anyone? If Zenaida and Jespa found out..." she paused. "Uh... well, let's just say they don't like the idea of me singing."

"What? Why would they -"

"Don't ask." Sophia cut him off. "Look... did you honestly think I sang well?" Roberto paused, frustrated, wanting to know why Zenaida and Jespa felt that way, but he sensed he would get on Sophia's nerves by hassling her for answers. Instead, he focused on the memory of her voice.

"'Well' doesn't even begin to cover it." Roberto replied. "I'm being honest - it wasn't from earth." Sophia smiled, amused at his words.

"You're exaggerating." She chuckled, but Roberto wasn't.

"It's true. How..." he looked down over the crowd. "How did you find this place?"

"Well..." Sophia smiled again, running a wing through her head feathers. "A few months ago, I was out flying by myself - I had a song stuck in my head, so I started singing a bit. Not loudly - I was vocalizing. I love doing it - there's something liberating about vocalizing to myself, out in the forest on my own. Anyway, Victoria heard me singing and we got talking. She mentioned her 'secret night club', and how I'd be perfect singing in there - I wasn't sure at first, but when I got on that stage I just felt my cares melting away." Sophia gazed down at the crowd. "These guys... they accept me for who I am. Back home... my family isn't exactly supportive of me."

"I've seen how Jespa is." Roberto said, and Sophia crossed her wings, exhaustion lingering in her gaze.

"He's not quite right. When he was alive, Dad reckoned he was hearing and seeing things that weren't really there. His negative emotions are a bit exaggerated, and his happy ones aren't enough. Jespa has a strange mind, everyone agrees with that. If I'm honest..." Sophia looked around, as if expecting him to jump out. "I'm actually really scared of him. We've never got on."

"Is that why he doesn't really like you?" Roberto guessed.

"Well... it's a contributing factor." Sophia murmured. Roberto blinked and frowned at this statement. "Let's not talk about him. Do you think you'll be coming here again? I come here almost every night... and I'm not going to lie..." Sophia smiled bashfully - such a pretty smile. "...hearing you commenting on my voice is just stupendous." Roberto seemed to feel a glow within his chest - he had never felt that before. He wasn't sure what that meant, but all he knew for sure was that he wanted to get to know Sophia better.

"I'll be here if you will." He promised. Sophia's eyes brightened, but before she could speak, the Catalina macaw called to her.

"Sophia! Mind if we discuss your next performance? I need to know when you want to sing next!" Victoria waved from below. Sophia glanced down.

"Okay, I'm coming! Roberto... I'll see you later." With one more glance - and a smile - at him, Sophia abandoned her passion fruit shell and fluttered away. Roberto gazed after her, seeing the flames' light bounce on her glossy plumage. He still wasn't aware as to what was going on around him - Roberto still heard the song in his head. There was something different about Sophia, compared to any other female.

She's special.