Saphira has been wandering the more central area of Parvpora for a relatively short time. So far, the areas she has had a chance to see as she flies around and explores, have been rather nice. She wondered if this would be a place where she could settle in and stay for a while. As much as she feared the potential of meeting people that may try to harm her in one way or another, she also didn’t want to spend the rest of her existence with only the wilds to keep her company. So, she was slowly working up the courage to drop in on some sort of civilized town or city.

Today however, she would stumble onto a sight that nothing could have really prepared her for. Spotting the grand hanging gardens in the distance as she neared them, she at first wasn’t sure what she was even looking at. As she flew closer however, it became clear that she was gazing upon a garden which she lacked the words to even begin to describe its beauty and grandeur. At this point it almost didn’t matter if there were others among the garden, she wanted to get a closer view and perhaps even learn how it was suspended in such a way.

Arriving from the air, she flew toward the meadow of the top halo garden. Once she was close enough she flared her large blue and white wings to slow down and bleed off altitude as she made her approach, flapping her wings a few times to soften the landing as she gently touched down in the grass of the meadow. She then folded her wings into her body and began walking down the path to the rest of the gardens. Hearing running water below, she guessed there must be some streams which would be great for a little bath as she preens her feathers later. For now though, she just wanted to see the rest of the gardens, and anxiously wondered who she might run into here.

A child's giggles rang through the relaxing quiet of the gardens, rippling against the silence. Whether it be pleasant or aggravating depended on who listened. Akira had spent the better part of two days walking alone. There had been a few animals to meet, but most of them were too skittish of her human side. Fortunately, she has received tips from several nice adults, primarily women, each teaching her an important part of survival. So she now kept a small supply of dried fruits, nuts, and even dried meats in a pack, which she tried not to consume.

Her kimono was rumpled, dirty, and had berry stains across the front, her long hair a knotted mess. The only thing pristine about her was the fur of her tail, as she spent an hour before bed each night she spent alone grooming it. Akira's pack had been abandoned on the second tier, partially open as she had dug into it for a toy. The doll's dark hair was matted, and it needed a good cleaning, but she had found it partially buried, long forgotten on her travels. Holding the doll high above her head, Akira was running randomly in all directions.

Quite suddenly, Akira stopped mid-step, golden orbs transfixed on the largest bird she had ever seen. It was padding down from the top level of the gardens, and the fox let out an ear piercing squeal as she dropped the toy and ran outstretched to the bird. "Birdie!" she giggled. And she wondered why all animals were skittish around her? The young foxling was just super excited to see other animals, and instantly thought they should play with her. Except wolves, wolves and bears were mean.

Saphira could hear the giggles as she made her way through the gardens. So it was clear she wasn’t alone, but at least the sound didn’t seem threatening. She spotted the young girl just a moment before the girl saw her, likely only because she had the height advantage since she was coming from the upper level. She’d never been around children before, so she wasn’t really sure what to expect. Then the girl let out a raucous squeal and began running toward her with arms outstretched like she was either going to grab her or hug her.

Saphira wasn’t really used to such contact from anyone, so she was afraid the girl might injure her, whether by accident or intentionally didn’t really matter. She quickly back peddled, moving away from the girl’s run while spreading her wings defensively. “Please don’t hurt me!” She cried, looking up at the girl now that she had backed herself into a corner. At least for Akira’s sake she didn’t just fly away, granted that wasn’t as easy to do on a moment’s notice given that her size meant that she needed a good running start to get into the air. So, about all she could do was just stand there, with her back up against a large flowering bush, carefully watching the fox girl to see what she’d do next.

The usual reaction happened, the bird spread its wings and backed into a corner. Ears twitched as the unexpected happened. It spoke. Akira's stumbled, falling flat on her face, outstretched hands mere inches from the bird's feet. For a moment, Akira neither moved nor breathed, she didn't even utter a single sound of pain as she lay there contemplating the implications of having finally running into something that talked back. Humans, yes, animals… not so much.

Finally, her body relaxed as her feet fell from their midair position. Slowly she sat up, crossed her legs and just stared at the bird, eyes large and full of wonder. "Bird talk?" She finally broke the silence, head cocked to the side. Akira reached out hesitantly, noticed the grimy residue on her hands, and decided not to get the pretty feathers so dirty. "Akira need bath," she giggled apologetically.

With excitement suddenly brightening her features, Akira fished into a pocket. When she pulled it out, it was a fish shaped piece of bread no longer fresh and slightly crumbling now. This is what she called fish cake, something that was easier to find at port cities than elsewhere, easy to make even for the poor. If one could cook… Sadly, Akira was too young to do that. She broke it in half carefully and offered the tail end to the bird. "Fish cake yum. Try." To encourage her, Akira nibbled on the other half. The only thing better than fish cakes were fresh fish, in Akira's opinion.

Saphira blinked as Akira suddenly stumbled and fell right in front of her. She was about to ask if the girl was alright when she began to stir again and sat up. Catching her stare and the question about her speech, she nodded. “Yes, I can talk. I was once the companion of a sorceress. She used magic to make me the way I am. She raised me, taught me, and kept me safe, but now…. she is gone.” She explained, but didn’t really want to continue talking this way, the subject was still too depressing for her. By now she was more relaxed and folded her wings away once more. “Anyway, my name is Saphira, and I was thinking a bath would be nice too. Should be a stream or maybe even a waterfall around here that we can use to wash up.” She offered as she looked around a bit, noting a stream that was weaving through this part of the garden before falling down to the next level.

When she looked back at Akira, the girl was offering her something called a fish cake. Despite being mostly vegetarian, she did sometimes eat small fish, so she accepted the piece of fish cake and quickly gobbled it down. “That is pretty tasty. Now, shall we go get ourselves cleaned up?” She asked as she began following the stream and when she got to the edge, she spread her wings and jumped down, flapping her wings a couple times to gently land in the pool below. She then began rinsing herself under the shower of the small waterfall. Once that was done she fluffed up her feathers to shake off any excess water and began the long process of preening her feathers and making sure they were all arranged properly. She had a lot of feathers, but thankfully only a relatively small number needed to be adjusted. "Coming to join me?" She called up to Akira.

The story of how the bird's companion being gone was sad. It made her heart yearn for something, yet Akira didn't know why. She giggled at the name, and tried to pronounce it herself. ”Saff… Safreeya… Safeera! Safeera has pretty name.” Trying to sound it just right was like a game, matching the sounds to what she heard, and it was one she decided she liked.

Watching Saphira enjoy the treat she had provided delighted the girl. With a squeal, she clapped her hands. ”Clean! Clean!” Akira chanted, stood and followed the beautiful avian. On the way, she stooped to grasp the hand of her doll. ”Angel bath too!” Giggling stopped, eyes wide with wonder as she watched Saphira go over the edge and land neatly into the pool.

She clutched the doll close to her as she contemplated jumping. Akira didn't know how to swim very well, but she didn't want to chance getting lost if she took the long way. Before she could talk herself one way or another, Akira took a deep breath, pinched her nose closed and jumped. Her stomach lurched into her chest, heart beat hard against her chest at the thought of impending doom. SPLASH!! Water jumped high into the sky as it welcomed the fox into its cool embrace, instantly soaking her.

Kicking with all her might, the child managed to breach the surface once more. Akira made lots of splashing as she tried to get herself to the shore, or at least to a spot she could stand. When at last the child managed to feel like she wasn't trying too hard, and not in fear of drowning, she looked at Saphira in the most pitiful way. ”Safeera, Angel gone!” No sooner had she said this when the doll plopped onto the surface, stuck in the current, in danger of following the stream toward the final edge.

Saphira watched as Akira jumped into the pool from the next level. She used her wings to shield herself from the splashing and kicked her legs to swim against the waves so she wasn’t in danger of falling over the next waterfall with no lower level of the gardens to land on. Her feathers are waterproof so the water mostly just runs right off, only a few droplets clinging here and there.

Watching Akira, she had a feeling the girl didn’t know how to swim properly, so when she called out about her doll, she looked around for it. When it came up and began drifting toward the edge of the pool where a fall might have it lost for good, she quickly swam over to intercept it, grabbing it gently with her beak. She then swam over to where Akira was and placed the doll at the edge of the pool.

“There, Angel is safe now.” She said warmly before beginning to use the water to rinse off all her feathers, then she began to preen them and apply a waterproofing oil. It took some minutes, but when she was done, she looked back up at Akira to see how she was doing. “Are you and Angel all washed now? What do you want to do next?”

Akira watched with dreaded worry as Saphira saved Angel. Worry melted away into delight as the pair came closer, with clapping and laughter to match. Eagerly, the child extended her hands to take the doll from the large avian. ”Thanks you, Safeera!” Carefully setting the doll on dry land, Akira pointed at it with a stern look. ”No running off or swimming, Angel!” Turning, Akira took cupped hands to lift water to her face, scrubbing skin against skin. Several times she did this until her face was no longer sticky.

She rubbed her hair between her hands, even taking care to ensure her ears were cleaned. Half ignoring her clothing, Akira moved to her tail, lovingly raking her fingers through the fur. All the while, she was humming joyfully. Saphira called out, and Akira smiled up at her. ”One minute, Angel not clean yet.” The child reached for the doll and began to work the dirt out of the doll's hair. It was distracting to see the surrounding water go from being beautifully clear to muddy brown immediately around the doll.

Giggling, she continued working until the doll was as clean as she was going to get without soap. Holding Angel up, Akira inspected her and gave a serious nod. ”Much better, Angel. Come with Akira, now.” She climbed out of the water and looked up at the sky. There was still much to do here, and much to explore. ”Akira want to smell all flower!”

Water ran off her in solid streams and fast little drips, running down her legs, dripping off of her nose. It even dripped furiously from the lengths of her hair and tail. Akira shook her head, attempting to dislodge the water from her ears. Wiping her face with the palm of her hand, she pushed the sticking hair out of her eyes.  Holding her dolly close, Akira walked with self-important steps toward the flowers. She knelt before them, smelling first one, then another before making Angel do the same. A curious question piqued her interest as she turned to regard Saphira. ”What Safeera like do?”