Sophia lay in a patch of sun, eyes closed. She was laying on one of the branches of Roberto's - well, their - nest. It felt weird, to call this tree her own. The sun was lovely and warm, not too hot, the air pleasant. She didn't usually take time to sunbathe - she had tried to before, but Jespa would frequently disturb and annoy her, so she had given up. Now she could stop and lie in the sun for as long as she liked, without irritance.

It had been a few days since Jespa had been exiled. Now everyone knew about the murderous maniac in the forest. All the tribes had been notified, told not to give Jespa shelter - they had Eduardo's permission to attack him on sight, or kill him. Sophia had been apart of the patrol to notify the Hyacinths. They hadn't mentioned the feather trail, of course. They had just told the pair of Hyacinths that there was a banished Spix's macaw named Jespa out there, and that they could attack or kill him. The Hyacinths had rubbed their wings with glee, telling them that indeed they would oblige to Eduardo's instructions. Kerja's Hyacinths loved a bit of violence.

She should be glad that Jespa was gone - he had tried to kill Roberto. She should wish him dead. But there was that part of her that didn't want him to be killed, since he was her brother. But she wanted him dead at the same time; she - and Roberto - couldn't leave the ravine alone. It was too dangerous.

Sophia had been suffering from sleepless nights. Whenever she did get some sleep, she found herself plagued by nightmares of Jespa. Jespa, and a cliff - she kept dreaming of him pushing her off the top, but she couldn't fly. Her wings wouldn't open, and then just before she hit the ground, she would be shaken awake by Roberto, who had frantically told her that she had been screaming.

Roberto was so worried about her. The nightmares were unsettling enough, but Sophia was always looking behind her, expecting Jespa to leap out. Roberto wasn't the only one who was worried. Eduardo had stationed guards at the ravine entrance and around the top of the cliffs, and patrols were frequently being sent out to look for signs of him. Jespa hadn't been seen since his disappearance - he was heavily wounded, so he was vulnerable... Stop worrying about his condition! He wants to kill you.

"Hey. Why so blue?" A flower appeared, hovering above her head. Rolling her eyes, Sophia sat up, looking up.

"Because my species is that colour." She said, trying her best to sound cheerful. Unfortunately, Roberto clearly saw through the fake happiness. He dropped onto the branch, with the now-familiar frown.

"What's wrong?" He asked, putting the flower aside.

"I... it's nothing." Sophia tried to lie, but then she gave up when she saw the unconvinced look on Roberto's face. "Fine. I'm just thinking about Jespa." Roberto rolled his eyes, and sighed.

"Oh, Soph. We've talked about this - don't worry about him. He's never coming back." Sophia couldn't believe how confident he sounded. Did he truly think Jespa was gone for good? Maybe he was - heavily wounded, and hated and scorned by everyone in the sanctuary? Surely he wasn't stupid enough to return. Then why did she feel constantly watched? Roberto went to sit down, but then Mimi flew past.

"Roberto, Eduardo wants to talk to you!" She said, cheerfully. Roberto sighed, glancing at Sophia apologetically.

"I'll have to see you later, then." Roberto left her with a kiss, before flying away. "Don't worry!" He said, over his shoulder. "You won't see him again!"

"I wish I could believe you." Sophia said, to herself, as Roberto flew for Eduardo's tree. She sat there, watching the chicks playing on the waterlilies. She sighed slightly. Am I getting broody? That question had been on her mind for a while, now.

But then, all of a sudden, there was a great commotion in the entrance. A multi-coloured comet came streaking in, looking flustered. Sophia knew the unusual plumage anywhere, and leapt to her talons as she recognized Victoria. The hybrid attracted many curious stares; she looked so unusual to them.

"Sophia! You've got to see something!" Victoria's terrified gaze found Sophia. "It's a catastrophe! Oh, the absolute horror!" Victoria made it seem as though the apocalypse had taken place. She was so upset, in a fit of anger, horror, and distress - she had a series of colourful stains across her feathers, and her feathers were on end. Sophia, alarmed, raised her wings.

"Ssh! You're terrifying everyone..." She looked around, where Victoria's distress was attracting countless looks. "Okay. Calm down - what's happened?"

Later

"Oh." Said Sophia, staring around the tree. "I see." Now she saw that Vicky wasn't over-reacting. Anything like this would petrify her.

The club was a disaster zone. The door had been pulled off, and it lay to the side like a dead animal. Inside was a thousand times worse. The stage was reduced to a pile of debris, for somebody had pulled the branches keeping it together apart. Dead, mouldy leaves littered the floor, with rotting fruit lying all over the place. Coconuts lay in pieces like broken eggshells, with sharp thorns snaking along here and there. The rotting fruit had also been tossed against the wall - brown fruit stained the wood, and pieces of it had slithered down, coming to rest on the floor. Ragged lines were carved into the walls, resembling claws - obviously, something sharp had been ripped across the wood, purposely done to resemble claws.

Victoria was sobbing. "He was like a bird possessed. I was just sitting in here on my own, and then the door was ripped off! Then he came in, and-"

"Wait, who?" Sophia asked.

"Who do you think?!" Victoria brandished a scraggly blue feather in her face. "Your maniac of a brother! He tried to kill me!" She dropped the feather in disgust. "I went to see what the heck was going on, and then he came slashing at me with a sharp piece of wood! I was so terrified, I ran into the backstage and hid myself. He came looking, but he didn't find me. I was too petrified to come out - I was hiding there for hours! He came here at dawn, and he only left an hour ago, after he'd stopped trashing the place!"

"Vicky... surely you've made some mistake..."

"Mistake?" Victoria cried. "I know your brother when I see him! He's got the creepy eyes and that terrifying voice! And he's as ugly as -" Sophia winced at the series of insults and curses that came out of Victoria's beak. She finally stopped, and began kicking viciously at some melon. "Do you know how long this will take to clean up? And what if he comes back at night? He might go on a killing frenzy, if there's loads of clubbers here!"

Sophia stood, utterly stunned, as Victoria began to try and clean up. "-I came out, and fell in this muck - look at my feathers!"

Jespa's targeting my friends now. If he couldn't get her or Roberto, he was going to target those he could access. Victoria, the other clubbers... what about Azalea? Jespa knew she was her best friend. Her heart lurched - for all she knew, he was searching for her right now. I have to warn her. I have to tell the tribe that he's targeting innocent birds! He'll never stop!

"Hey! Where are you going? You can't just leave me here!" Victoria shouted, as Sophia raced away.

"Find your mate - he and the Blue-and-Golds will protect you. I have to warn everyone!" Sophia cried, hastily.

"What about this mess? I can't clean it up on my own!" Victoria protested, but Sophia ignored her. She was already flying away, desperate to get back. The sky was darkening, and she knew it wasn't safe - especially not for her.

Just as this thought dawned upon her, talons snagged onto her, as sharp as thorns. She was plucked from the air like a fly, and then pain tore through her shoulders as the claws broke into her skin. She was thrown onto the forest floor, with a jolt. She let out a piercing shriek, but it was smothered by feathers. "Shut - up." Jespa hissed, in annoyance. His talons fastened around her neck. "You're scream is enough to shatter glass."

"Get off!" Sophia's voice was muffled by Jespa's wing. She shoved against her brother, but his weight didn't shift. She could almost gag - his feathers were filthy, and he smelled foul. He was splotched with mud, blood and dirt, and his feathers were a mess. His eyes were as malicious as before, but the left one was smaller than usual. It was then that Sophia noticed the swollen wound above his eye - she remembered how Jewel had been the one to deliver the wound. But now, it was dark and festering, the sickly green edges making Sophia's stomach turn. It was weeping, clearly infected, as were the majority of his other wounds. Jespa always scratched at scabs and wounds; he was already marked by small scars, but now he had given himself half a dozen more.

"Keep your beak shut - we're going on a little trip. Make the most of the sky while we travel, because it's the last time you'll ever see it." Jespa then hauled her to her feet, and began dragging her. Sophia struggled violently against Jespa, but his iron grip imprisoned her. "I've had enough. I've wasted nineteen years waiting, and now I've had it! You're dying tonight!"

"Where are we going?" She asked, terrified. Terror ripped through Sophia, and then she knew she had no other choice. She couldn't break free, so she made as much noise as possible - she screamed through his feathers, shrieked like a bird possessed. Even though her voice was smothered by his wing, she had no other option.

But her cries didn't fall on deaf ears. Victoria had begun to follow Sophia, to try and tell her that she couldn't clean up the ruined club alone. But when she heard her shrieks, Victoria ran. But the moment she saw her friend struggling in the wings of the bird who had ransacked the club and tried to kill Victoria herself, the Catalina froze.

Sophia saw Victoria, but didn't dare bring attention to her. She stared at Victoria with pleading eyes, knowing what Jespa would do if he saw her. "At least tell me where we're going!" Sophia pleaded, her eyes fixed on the Catalina macaw, knowing this was her only chance. Jespa let out an irritated snarl.

"The best place to hide a body." He spat. "The northeast cave. In other words, your burial site." Sophia's eyes widened; she continued to struggle, and now Jespa was getting angry. Victoria had no other choice. She whirled around, and fled for the ravine, knowing exactly who she needed to find - she didn't see Jespa throw his sister head-first into a boulder. Sophia's eyes rolled up in their sockets - then she crumpled forward, face-first into a mud puddle.

Jespa hissed in annoyance. "Pathetic." Grabbing Sophia by the tail, Jespa dragged her through the mud, pulling his unconscious sibling in the direction of the cave.