Roberto stood solemnly, his wing entertwined with Sophia's. Her face was tear-stained, her eyes red from crying. He was trying to keep his own emotions down - he had to be strong for her. He had attended a few funerals in his life, but this had to be the most emotional one since Tia's burial and Jewel's memorial, since she had been assumed dead at the time.

"... with the final petal placed, according to tradition, we will say farewell." Said Morgana, the female macaw who usually spoke at funerals. "Beloved Zenaida, we hope you find peace. We pray that you find your way up to the stars, where we are sure your Andre will welcome you. Respected and loved by many, Zenaida was a macaw touched by hard times and tragedy, but she lived with dignity. We will acknowledge her life yet again in the festival of stars, and then we will remember her again for years after." Morgana turned to Sophia. "Do you have the grave marker?" It was tradition for the youngest family member to lay the marker, or the youngest one strong enough to carry a slab of stone.

"Yes." She said, hoarsely. Sophia let go of his wing, slowly walking forwards, hugging the stone to her chest. She didn't make eye contact with Jespa at all, ignoring his cold glare. She knelt, and then carefully laid the stone down onto the sea of petals, which was, according to tradition, laid by the whole tribe, one macaw for each petal. Loved Zenaida, we will remember you always. Love your two children, Jespa, and Sophia and her dear friend, Roberto.

"What the hell is that?" Interrupted Jespa, coldly, spotting Roberto's name, before glaring daggers at him. Roberto stiffened.

"Don't be so disrespectful!" Jewel hissed, from behind Jespa - she clearly took pleasure in scolding him, after the events of yesterday. He whirled round, looking ready to spit venom, but a poisonous look from Eduardo and Mimi stopped him. Jewel stood with Blu, Eduardo, and Mimi, all of whom were trying to look respectful but were clearly desperate to get away from Jespa. Out of respect, the three kids were in the trees with the other attendees - and in Tiago's case, out of fear. Roberto couldn't blame the chick for wanting to stay as far away from Jespa as possible.

Finally, it was done. Morgana bowed her head for a few moments, and once she rose it again, it was over. Everyone began to leave, murmuring their condolences to Sophia and Jespa as they went - Eduardo and company didn't look at Jespa as they spoke, of course. Soon, it was just Roberto, Sophia, and Jespa. Once the others were out of earshot, Jespa swarmed toward his sister, but Roberto stepped between the two siblings. He glared at Jespa meaningfully; clearly in no mood to challenge him, Jespa turned and stalked away. That's right, Roberto thought.

Once Jespa had gone, Roberto turned, and returned to Sophia. Her glazed eyes found him, before she closed them and rested her head upon his shoulder. Roberto knew exactly how she felt.

Sophia had never felt this empty, not since Andre had died. A black flower in her head feathers, she stood with Roberto before the grave. Zenaida had been buried next to Andre, as she would have wanted - together in the living world, and together in the afterlife. A small fragment of content filled her: Andre forgived her mother. At least, that was what the delirious Zenaida thought she saw. But deep down, Sophia knew it was true - she had felt Andre's presence, in Zenaida's last moments. Andre's forgiveness didn't surprise her, for he had always been a very forgiving bird, and she was glad for it. They were together now, for the first time in nineteen years. Together Zenaida and Andre would stay.

But this the only good thought she had. All else was despair. She was alone. She had no family; Jespa didn't exactly count. She felt as dark and black as the flower in her head feathers. No parents, no sibling to rely on. She was alone, with nobody else to turn to except for Roberto.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, quietly.

"Awful." Sophia sobbed. The warmth of his wings barely comforted her at all.

"You have no idea how sorry I am. I know exactly how you feel." His sympathy wasn't a comfort either. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Sophia struggled out of his wings. "I... I have to get out of here. I want to be alone." She spun round and flew away, her beak clamped shut to stop any sobs. She couldn't bare it.

It seemed an unbearably long time before she escaped the ravine. She wanted to find somewhere secretive, where there would be nobody to judge her or watch her crying. She just wanted somewhere comforting. She wasn't entirely sure how far she had flown from home, before she saw the river, golden in the light of the dying sun. She had always found it calming.

Sophia landed in a tree, leaning heavily against the trunk. As she stared at the water, trying to imagine the calm and serenity of it, she seemed to feel worse. What was dad's trick? Imagine myself floating in cool water... that usually worked. Andre had said that to Jespa during his toddler tantrums, before he died. For a couple of moments, she thought she was calming down, but then the water she was imagining turned fizzling and unbearably hot.

Sophia couldn't fight it any longer. As she remembered her mother's dead, cold face, the tears came flooding back. Sophia slid down the trunk, eyes screwed shut to stop them escaping, but they fought their way through her eyelids. She began to weep out loud, unable to bear the pain. Tear after tear rolled down her face, until her cheeks were soaked.

"I don't deserve this." She wept. "Mom, this is all my fault... if I had just visited you sooner, you could have been saved! Or we could have had more time before... before..." Sophia lost the words. She turned her face toward the trunk, expecting to feel bark, but instead found petals. Rubbing her eyes, she sniffed, to be welcomed by the comforting aroma of orchids. Roberto had once said that she carried the scent of the flower. Desperate to think of something other than Zenaida, Sophia looked at the plant. It was a lovely shade of deep violet, with dappling lilac spots across the petals. It was such a comfort, to see the pretty flower. I've always loved orchids. Especially as a name.

Sophia drew her wing across her eyes. She had to pull herself together - Zenaida wouldn't want this. She was an adult, not a kid - she shouldn't be crying. Pulling her gaze away from the flowers, all Sophia wanted now was to be in her nest. She looked up, and saw how the sky had darkened already. She prepared to return home,but lingered on the branch. Just a little longer. Then I'll go back.

Later

Roberto watched the ravine entrance, waiting. The moon was starting to rise, the sky darkening. As with any funeral, the feel in the air was sombre. Flowers and fruit had been left outside his tree, for Sophia. Unfortunately, sympathy toward Jespa was minimal. Sophia had been given so much more sympathy, but then no one felt too guilty - everytime somebody actually tried to say something to Jespa or leave him a condolence gift, he would either demand that they go away, or he would grab their gift and throw it away in anger. If he complained about lack of sympathy there was a valid excuse.

Resting his chin on his wings, Roberto gazed through the ravine. It was quiet, from the air of sadness hanging over, but now, moods seemed to lighten with the shining stars. Even Tiago, who had been quiet throughout the day and yesterday, was starting to recover from Jespa's frightening actions. Despite his mood, Roberto couldn't help but smile as he heard his now-happy voice. "Hey, what's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot! Ha!"

"That's not your funniest joke, T."

"Oh, come on, Carla! It's better than anything you come up with."

"Oh, yeah? How about this - oh, no! I just realized - my iPod! It's in the jungle!"

"Really? It's taken you that long to notice?"

"Tiago, don't tease your sister. Carla, don't worry. Your mother said that we'll go back to the city in the Summer, and then we'll come back - we'll get you another one. I'm sure you can survive a few months without an iPod."

"But dad, I just downloaded thirty new songs! Do you know how long it took with the lousy internet? It's so slow, I'm not downloading every single one again!"

"I'm sure Fernando's laptop has all your old songs saved. Hopefully it hasn't broken again..."

"Oh, come on! That wasn't my fault -"

"Carla, it was decreed that it was officially your fault -"

"Decreed? Officially? All your fancy words, Bia..."

Roberto smirked, amused - and with the human words, confused - by the conversation. The thought of the three chicks lifted his mood, and he almost forgot about Zenaida's demise when he thought about the possibility of having his own. The question is who their mother will be. But that's a question I know the answer to. He was certain Sophia was the one. The only thing that prevented him from doing something about his feelings was Jespa. What if they did end up having kids? As long as Jespa was around, Roberto was certain that any kids of his and Sophia's would not be safe. He shook it off. They were just friends... he was just getting too ahead of himself. It had just been an emotional day.

Below, there was the skittering of talons on the ground of his nest. Looking down, he recognized Sophia's periwinkle-tinted feathers. Heart jolting, he sprang to his feet and rushed down, concerned for her. "Soph?" He asked, worriedly, bursting into the hollow. She turned, with an exhausted look. "You look shattered, sweetie -" did I really just call her sweetie? "Are you okay?"

"I feel shattered." She sighed. Her face was both red from tears and grey from fatigue. "I'm sorry, but... I just want to go to bed and cry." Sophia staggered toward her nest, and disappeared under the moss. Knowing that Sophia wouldn't appreciate his fussing, Roberto went into his own nest.

"Good night." He said, awkwardly, but Sophia didn't answer. For a few moments, he sat with his eyes shut, but then, to his surprise, something climbed into his nest, and snuggled up to his side. Eyes flickering open, Roberto glanced down, to see Sophia with her head on his shoulder, eyes closed but still seeping tears. His heart speeding up at this, Roberto put a wing over her. Just friends... really? He considered saying something, but then sleep claimed him. After a few minutes of tears, Sophia fell asleep too.