The park was a beautiful sight to behold. The pink of the enchanted cherry blossoms entranced and excited the wolf-girl as she explored the area barefoot, the grass tickling between her toes, the dirt cool on her heels. Her ears twitched at the sounds of spring birds chirping, her tail swayed as she danced among the falling pink petals.

Her red eyes showed pure and innocent joy as she twirled, the purple shirt (dress?) that Kurisa had designed for her spun freely in the breeze. The length of it went just low enough to hide her goods, as Kurisa had so elegantly put it. As she spun, however, brief peepshows may be caught here and there.

The park wasn't completely empty, as there were people in the distance either ignoring or staring at the strange young lady. She didn't seem to care. Or maybe she didn't even notice. Either way, she was oblivious to everything aside from the smell of the grass and trees. It was so relaxing!

Dancing around with her was a Blitzle. The black zebra-like animal that possessed white double-pointed stripes was quite rare to see. It stomped its hooves and kicked and bucked around joyously, enjoying the day with its friend. Electric currents could be seen flowing through its mane from its excitement.

After a while of romping and playing, the zebra laid itself down under a Cherry Blossom. The wolf-girl followed suit and flopped down, her body eagle spread across the grass as she used the Blitzle as a pillow. She moved her arms and legs as though she were making a snow angel. She then smiled as she watched the clouds roll by.

She never experienced such beauty where she grew up. She was enjoying her new freedom and new pain-free experiences. The Blitzle brayed softly and looked up at the sky with its owner and friend. It looked like today was going to be perfect.

in her ever continuing question to deal with culture shock and trying to relax, Judina was still dealing with the fact her more gothic like appearance left out standing out greatly, maybe the massive talking talk she rode in on too that might be out of place and odd for almost everyone to see."Do you know what these are Judina?"Alistair mentioned to her while they took their casual paced walk."I do not."But she seemed to enjoy the site of them, The beauty of the world seemed to be something that gave Judina inspiration to hold on to hope, to her wish to keep serving Zaggarodh to keep everyone safe, So moments like these can still exist.

"Cherry blossoms, native to the eastern nations of the world, as well as the tree they are attached too."Judina was staring upon them in interest, She had to wonder if her mother knew of these, because this was the first time she heard anything of it. Judina only only assume because her mother knew far too much about various things then she ever implied to know, But flowers seemed to be something she knew very well."Interesting, Bright and colorful...oddly delightful to see."Judina would remark to Alistair during their walk.

Alistair let out a rather warm hearted laugh about  it what was in his mind."You rarely see a lot of things in life huh?"Judina would just then reply."You also tend to know a lot more then you let on Alistair."Judina might also not realize is he knew much and she rarely asked anything about what he could know, such is a normal thing for Judina if it was not normally on her mind right away she did not really ask or tried to get into it

So far it was a plain and simple walk in a place that Judina almost felt like she had never been in, when in reality she felt she might be far away from anything she was use too.

Bolt's ear pricked to the sound of voices and the zebra-like creature lifted his head toward the conversation drawing near them. Leika, who had fallen asleep, hadn't noticed the approach of the giant cat with its rider. Bolt brayed softly, nudging the wolf-girl in an attempt to stir her awake. She responded by rolling over, her tail flopping out straight into the pathway where people strolled and even jogged from time to time. Just as they walked by, seemingly not looking down or noticing the girl and her Blitzle, the giant cat stepped on Leika's tail causing her to wake up with a scream of shock.

The Blitzle quickly jumped to his feet as the girl scurried behind the tree to tend to her beautiful tail. She sat behind the trunk of the Cherry Blossom, licking and brushing her tail, the fur standing on ends from being trodded on by the feline menace. Bolt brayed and scraped his hoof on the ground, shaking his head idly as he watched things unfold. Regardless of the girl and her strange talking cat's reaction, Leika stayed behind the tree grooming her tail until it was in perfect condition again.

She then hugged her tail as she peeked out from behind her hiding spot to see who had hurt her. She was surprised to see a woman on the back of a beautiful cat that was much larger than the typical house cat. She was pretty sure the woman was a human. She had to be. Only humans enjoyed causing her pain.

Her ears drew back and she gave Judina a very aggressively angry expression. She didn't trust humans. Humans were all bad. They always brought pain and meant to use and abuse Leika. She was 100% convinced of that simple fact. Crouching on all fours peering out from behind the tree, she was partially shaded as the fur on her tail bushed up angrily. Her tail swished and her body quivered. Her red eyes stayed planted on Judina.

On the left side of her neck was a strange set of numbers, like some sort of ID code. It was barely visible and difficult to read, however, as it was covered by a brown Daeva Eye Guild tattoo. Bits of it were barely visible through the gaps in the eye-shaped design. Aside from that, it was impossible to make out what the numbers were.

It seemed the tables of enjoyment had shifted slowly Judina for the most part was not exactly in a rush either the situation coming might not be one that Judina expected but she did know how to handle it, When it did hit her she knew how to handle it."I will have to bring my mother here one day, She would love it here."Judina would casually remark to Alistair. This was her opening up more to him."Oh? What is your mother like?"Alistair had to asked because he was curious, He had not learned that yet when it was simple to learn.

"She is a very confusing woman, Very small but her love of life and nature shines over everything else,Taking in people who had nothing or raising them, She however seems to hide a lot."Judina mentioned casually not realizing what she was going towards while talking to Alistair. It was an interesting conversation to Alistair."Sound like a good mother to have despite that."Alistair remarked in a positive manner.

Judina seemed to think about it for a moment and say."I would not change anything about my family."It left her with a bit of a smile to think about it, It was a nice moment that would lead towards what Judina would deal with, Mind you she did not expect it really, Good thing Judina was the type of woman to deal with these problems with out a generally worry right away.

When she heard the sound of an anger Judina then patted Alistair."I would prefer if you stayed here for a moment."It did not sound like Judina ordered him around at all, Only merely asked nicely while Judina got off of her companion that she rode in on."But you don't know what is behind the sound Judina, That is risky."Judina then would stop in place not going towards the sound she heard then patted Alistair on the head."You can step in if you really feel needed, I am looking out for you as much you look out for me."So that was how they worked so far? it might interesting.

Judina would not move anywhere closer then 4 feet away from the sound taking her time to. Judina would not speak a word for a while she looked at what was growling at her, However she made no movements beyond where she set herself.  Judina seemed to wait a long period of time and finally say."I have no problems with you stranger, If you really need to let your anger out on me then lunge now."What exactly was Judina thinking to leave herself open like that and willing too? maybe she was insane or was she going forward into a stand off and hoping it was going to end peacefully? Either way it was a waiting game, Alistair her massive cat companion seemed confused by what she was doing.

Leika wasn't sure how to react to this strange woman. She eyed her blue hair curiously, her red eyes examining Judina's body from head to two. She wasn't sure who she was, but she wasn't with Daeva Eye, and she was possibly a human as Leika couldn't make out anything to show otherwise. The woman spoke to her, and her wolf ears twitched. She tried to understand what the woman was saying to her. Having grown up on Sin, but not seeing Sin, and then being rescued and brought to Fiore, and only just learning what it means to be free, her communication skills were quite lacking. She had picked up some Sinese and some Fiorian, but she was still far from social-ready.

When the woman showed no sign of retreating nor advancing, the wolf-girl became confused. She looked at her companion, who brayed softly and seemed unperturbed by the events unfolding. He clearly didn't feel threatened by this woman and her odd companion. But still, Leika wasn't so sure. Anyone who caused her pain had to be evil. She had no concept of an accident, having been hurt intentionally all her life.

She lunged at Judina without warning, but stopped short and ran away again, turning to stare at her from a distance. She was feining, trying to scare the woman away. Her ears were lowered, her tail swishing. She glared harshly while trying to figure out how to speak to this stranger. She needed to convey her feelings in a way a human would understand. Bolt walked across the park to stand next to Alistair, both cat and zebra curiously watching things unfold. In comparison, the cat was larger than the zebra, which was definitely an unusual sight!


"you hurt Leika! That's bad!" She finally managed to say. "(In Sinese) Pain bad! Pain bad! Pain bad!"

She stayed in a crouched position, making it difficult to gauge her actual height. Her red eyes glared daggers at Judina, distrust very evident in her gaze. She had obviously been through some kind of trauma.

Where Judina seemed not move an inch she then knelt down to Leika's level, in her continued strange ways."Yes Leika, it is bad and I am sorry."Alistair seemed oddly interested with how this would since Judina had not acted this way before, Mind you Alistair made no sound with his interest towards what had just happen. Judina took a risk with this."Let me see where you are hurt, Allow me to make it better."Judina was expressing Empathy to some one who might not understand it right away, was it a hopeless task? It was interesting to wonder.

At least Alistair did not mind the Zebra around him he in fact kind of enjoy his company to break the tension. Of the moment."My my, I like the pattern of your fur, Looks nice."Alistair trying to at least keep himself in brighter spirits while they seemed to be dealing with what they were, Then again Alistair seemed to be the offender and he did not know at all.

Judina seemed to be expecting some kind of harm and pain when she did this but she even extended her hand. Sure Judina could empathize, But helping was a different situation all together."Let me help you, You do not need to fear me as much as you assume you have too."Judina being rather blunt and straightforward might not help here, Her intentions were greater then her reaction.

Judina knowingly was pushing risks more and more, But when it seemed some one who really needed help she would take the risk of being attacked out of fear to try and get a person to realize she was here to help to. These situations Judina wish she could be more like her mother, That or change places with her to make these moments easier, Judina herself did not really know or understand how to channel her own inner motherly warmth, like she wished.

Leika's ears were drawn, her tail twitching aggressively as Judina knelt to her level. Despite being 19 years old, the wolf-girl did not act like the typical young lady. She was, in fact, quite feral. She moved back when Judina reached out to her, offering to help her. She wasn't so sure about trusting her. She wasn't a man, like at the lab. But still, her presence came with unexpected pain. Her tail still throbbed from the sudden impact brought on her by Alistair.

When Alistair complimented Bolt for his fur pattern, the Blitzle brayed and nuzzled his nose into the large cat's neck to express thanks for the compliment, being unable to talk himself. He was kind of jealous that this animal could speak while he could not. It made him feel quite lonely when no one understood him. Leika understood him by body language alone, but he felt if she had a speaking companion to interpret for her things like this would go more smoothly.

The wolf-girl inched closer, sniffing at the extended hand and looking up at the woman that offered. She growled ferally and backed up again. She continued to inch forward then flinch away as if expecting pain. She brought her beautiful, fluffy orange-red tail forward, hugging it. The white tip twitched idly as she snuggled into the warm fur that was her tail.

"Big cat hurt Leika's tail!" She explained with a tone of indignity. She was very proud of her wolf tail and did not appreciate it being touched or damaged in any way. She glared at Alistair in annoyance but continued to keep her distance from Judina out of distrust. She still wasn't completely convinced that this girl didn't intend to harm her in some way. But, now that she was in the open, track marks down her arms and legs revealed a history of drug injections. And a lot of them.

Body language between animal surely was simple enough for the giant cat as well. It was an interesting things for Judina to not realize at all. Alistair in his continual moment of casually making a new friend with some one new Alistair was a lazy cat but if anything the affection actually delighted him. Alistair very lightly took a moment and slightly rubbed his head against the zebra extremely lightly, Alistair knew as the large being he was he did easily hurt people if he did not know, But he was equally as friendly in return. He was also not paying attention to Judina and Leika's slightly broken conversation.

"Then Alistair should know what he did,I can assure you if he knew,He did not intend it and would say sorry."Judina was seemingly trying to word it like she did not command Alistair either, but implying they were friendly if given a chance and trying to build it."Allow him a chance to say sorry Leika."Alistair seemed to slowly start realizing what exactly what was going on, more like slightly.

So Alistair relying more and body language would look at the zebra then slowly look towards Leika. Then nudging trying to express that he wanted to go to the wolf woman, Seeing that if through the zebra Alistair could move with out problem over to her to see if he could get close enough to attempt in some way to say sorry. Alistair was slowly working over these things in his own way.

Judina was picking up the details with what exactly this woman seemed to have been going through or just getting away from. Everything led up to various things, building trust is something that was not instant which was something Judina understood, Just waiting to see what happen as well trying to order Alistair around as well.

The young wild woman sat in the grass staring at Alistair in annoyance. Her tail swished in annoyance, her ears drawn back as she watched him approach. She still glanced at Judina from time to time, not fully trusting her yet. It could be a trap. What if they work for them and plan to capture her? To take her to another lab somewhere? She flinched backward at the thought, and studied the massive cat as he approached her. Bolt stayed back watching, if anyone tried to harm Leika he'd zap them.

She wasn't entirely sure of most of the words Judina used, her mind trying to piece together an image to make sense of it all. Even if Alistair apologized, she wasn't sure what the word meant. No one had told her sorry before for anything. It was so hard for her to understand that the confusion was visibly etched on her face. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out how to respond to the woman or her weird talking cat, should the cat apologize properly.

"Sorry...?" She mimicked slowly, trying to process the word. "What... is sorry...?"

She was both scared and curious now. She had reached an opportunity to learn something new. But she was afraid to trust this woman and her cat. The cat was pretty though. She wanted to pat him, but she was uncertain of doing so. She was scared of suffering punishment for doing so. More pain. She remembered the cage, the laboratory. Her ears drew back and she closed her eyes.

-----
Leika's memories:

"Get her. Yes, that way. We need to run more tests on it."

"It? She's still a living person..."

"It's our prototype! She, as you put it, is a useless sample. Now bring her here!"

The air was filled with screams. The sounds of something whipping through the air and hitting a fleshy surface. Bright lights. So bright. Fear running up her spine.

-----

Leika cried out as though in pain and grabbed at her head trying to fight off these memories of torment. Her ears were drawn as her fingers clutched at her orange-red hair. Her face was buried in her palms and she was shaking violently. What had triggered this sudden burst of terror? The wolf-woman moved into the fetal position, trembling as she was currently trapped in her own mind, remembering what she had escaped.

The stand still would not at an end not that Judina was will to wait it out as well, People no matter what take time for many things. Judina was a soul to wait for long periods of time to wait, but she would finally withdraw her open hand to her, Maybe it was better to wait for Leika to want to come out herself."Sorry is a word some one mentions, When their actions are not meant and they feel upset about it."Judina mentioned about it the most basic way of explaining it, it could have been better but Judina was not exact the master of expression most of the time.

Judina was considering different options, She just sat on the ground waiting, Eventually even Alistair would walk to were Judina was, Lay down on the ground did it help? no idea but Alistair wanted to seem like he was not that horribly large and dangerous and seemed like he was able to be approached by Leika, Alistair was only guessing and hoping it would do something.

Judina quietly got up from where she was sitting walk over, she expected to get bitten when doing this, It would be worth the risk in her mind. Even if Judina would bleed she would try and turn this around. Upon Leika's head Judina gently placed her  right hand and lightly started petting, Not treating her like a pet, more of that petting something on the head to comfort her. Would it help? Judina assumed it would not, Was it one thing she would try in her continuing efforts on trying to help some one, by doing the opposite of what she was use too? yes Judina was not exactly the type to be expected for this, in anything internally physical touching and such were sometimes or most of the time extremely awkward for her.

She wasn't trying to be rude to Judina, not intentionally. She honestly lacked any proper social skills and was still learning pretty much all the basics she should already know. Her red eyes watched as the large cat approached and assumed a laying position. She looked at the woman as she explains what sorry meant. She... kind of understood? Her ear flicked and she gingerly approached the cat, reaching out to touch his nose. She wasn't as mad as she was moments ago; seeming to have calmed down.

That is until Judina touched her without her consent. The wolf-girl jumped away from her touch with a yelp of protest and glared at Judina. She was about to lunge at her but Bolt got between them and held her back with his body. She glared and growls, ears drawn back, tail bushy. This was going to be more work than thought if the woman had any hope of befriending this wild-child. Giving up on attacking, Leika slowly stood up to her full height of 5'11". Why she did this now was anyone's guess. Maybe to not appear small and defenseless?

"...Sorry..." She offered slowly, not sure she was using it correctly. "Leika... don't like being touched...."

Aside from Kurisa taking her hand and leading her around town and shopping for clothes, Leika had limited physical contact. 99% of physical contact she experienced involved pain. Now she was in this new unfamiliar world with so much to explore and learn. It was scary and overwhelming. She wanted to socialize, to fit in. But all the same, she was afraid to, unsure who she could trust. And deep down, she couldn't fight her dislike of humans.

After all, humans created her and raised her as an experiment. She was possibly the only survivor of that lab, as far as he knew. This made her feel alone as she had yet to encounter another like herself. Was she the only demi-human alive? It was such a dark and lonely thought. Leika was still annoyed about her tail, but it didn't hurt anymore so she slowly let it go as curiosity took over.

She was determined to, in the least, improve communication skills. It was a pain when no one understood you and you understood no one.

Alistair seemed more then delighted to see Leika stand up and touch him. So far Alistair did nothing but the slightly small wiggle of his tale showed he was happy to see her. Mostly because Alistair was making sure he did not nothing else to not risk Leika anymore then he seemingly had already done. unintentional that it did but not wanting to do anymore.

So Judina's lesson would finally show."Then I am sorry too."It seemed mentioning how it worked and applying it helped showing what it was too. comparing height Judina in reality was just 1 entire inch taller then her, But knew when to kind of just maybe let things be.

Judina would even casually just walk away, not anywhere far mind you, More sitting down  near Alistair but enough space away from Leika and Bolt. Why? maybe Alistair did more saying nothing then she did trying to speak up and do something, It was an odd thing for her, Since Judina was stuck in her own way from years being a knight and now helping with running her guild.

Guessing she had much to work on, sometimes not remembering that no action did a lot more. This planet eater situation did not help, Her mind sent to a lot of places. Alistair would look at Leika and then kind of back his head so his nose was a but farther away from Leika more seeing if Leika just kind of wanted to touch his nose again or go some where else, There then again was also a giant cat in front of her, So Alistair seemed like a new interesting thing for her.  If Leika  wanted to go somewhere else or he just hoped maybe Leika wanted to sit on something or some one a bit more fluffy and comfortable, one of the two.

Leika was so enthralled by Alistair that she had all but forgotten Judina was even present. At least she wasn't acting like a wild animal set to attack anymore. That was a good sign. Standing up on her toes, she reached to touch the cat's left ear, feeling the soft fur. Bolt was obviously getting jealous as he nudged his owner, trying to get her attention on himself with a bray of protest. She giggled softly and used her free hand to pet the young zebra. Lightning crackled through his mane in the happiness of the attention.

Her ears pricked, twitching curiously as she examined the cat's ears. They were kind of the same, but cat and wolf ears were different shapes as she discovered. As if suddenly remembering Judina was there, she turned her red eyes toward the blue-haired woman that had been quietly observing her this entire time. Moving away from Alistair, she gingerly stepped closer to the stranger, who she still had no idea what her name was.

"Name?" She inquired, and as if to emphasize this, she pointed to herself. "Leika. Bolt." She pointed at her own companion. She then waited patiently for Judina to introduce herself and her companion.

Once introductions were done, she would move closer to Judina and sit on the ground in front of the woman, looking up at her. A breeze blew through her orange-red hair causing several strands to blow across her face. She didn't seem to be bothered by this one bit, allowing her long hair to flow freely at all times. Her tail wagged from side to side across the ground as she stared at this woman expectantly.

"Talk." It was more of a demand than a request. She wanted to learn more words. Words in any language intrigued her. And so far she only knew a couple of words in Fiorian and Sinese.

Was this the turning point? Judina had to wonder at this point Alistair most likely was not gauging the situation up front letting out a yawn however Alistair was ever so friendly, but however lazy and tended to take naps quite often, This situation would be one of them, Alistair then kind of just slowly laid on his side and closed his eyes, he was taking a nap in the middle of this because he wanted too.

This was all after Leika had her moment of getting use too and petting him. Judina for now was now stuck with this situation entirely on her own, she would be able to deal with it with out much problem, Now since it was not as heated. Most likely social awkwardness might not help her too well but she would try.

When that happen Judina would respond accordingly so far. So to maybe make it easier Judina would start by pointing to herself."Judy"Judina might be too hard to say up front so it being shorter would be easier.

Then pointing at Alistair who could be heard snoring slightly it all pointed too that he was napping currently."Alistair."He at least had not moved since then, Could see his belly because he was laying on his side, that he was still breathing as well and he snored  as well. Judina them kind of sighed and said."He seems to have fallen asleep."Judina did not sound like it was anything new for her. She was stuck here for a while because she would not leave Alistair behind."He tends to take these naps often."so far Judina mentioned that because she was for the most part use to it. Some could wonder why Alistair took naps at random parts of the day.

"Judy."

She mimicked the woman slowly, head tilted like a curious animal or child. Her tail wrapped around her waist and she idly began to groom and comb it with a twig brush she had created herself. It should she wasn't completely helpless. She knew basic things, though a lot of it she learned at Daeva Eye. She looked at the now sleeping cat, his name was a bit harder to pronounce. She said it in her mind and then attempted it out loud.

"Alstar." Close enough.

She had a bit of an accent when she spoke, but it was hard to pick up due to how she talked, to begin with. Her accent sounded like a mix of Sinese and Bellan. Of course, anyone who never met or seen a person of those nationalities may not notice or be able to identify the origin of her accent. Bolt stood next to Alistair and shut his eyes, napping standing up as his legs locked into place to prevent falling over.

As Judina commented on the large cat's napping habit, Leika paid close attention to the meaning of each word. Sleep she was familiar with. Napping was new. Was that like sleeping? What was the difference between the two? Her tail tip twitched as she thought this over, trying to process it and formulate a response of her own.

"What is a nap...?" She was genuinely curious if a nap was different or the same as being asleep. The cat appeared to be sleeping, so why use a different word for it instead of simply saying he was asleep? She was confused by how language worked why there were so many words for the same thing. It made no sense to her at all.

As she felt Judy was easier for her to say and she even would nod that it was correct. along with what she could manage for Alistair as well, getting that she did not really right away speak the language here. While figuring out how best to explain what a nap was.

this entire idea of teaching some one, how as well as what words meant. Alas Judina had some idea."Sleeping, but shorter time then sleeping."It was the most simple way Judina could explain it. Still her problem of being horrible at explaining things and the language barrier.

She felt like it was good enough of a explanation, Well so far she felt it was, This could back fire horribly as far as she knew."It also seemed Bolt like to nap as well."Judina could not help but mention, But she did not move to ruin the moment.

Judina then would also mention something he seemed to keep track off."Bolt seems to like Alistair."Then pausing for a moment to wonder if that is exactly how she wanted to mention it then."Or they are friends now I think."Judina was at least trying to talk more, At least this was helping her learn how to be more social, More practice to cover the failure she was at it for the most part.

Now that moment of what she would have to suggest next to talk about came into her mind, why? because they were mostly likely stuck here for a while with both their companions taking naps. Was fate being cruel to Judina? Or helpful to Leika? maybe a mixture of both. Nonetheless it was helpful for the both them and Judina did not really pick up on that, Her blunt nature often covered lessons that where in front of her.

Leika looked at the two sleeping companions, her head tilted with her red wolf ears erect as she listened and processed Judina's explanation. It made sense to her, kind of. It was a shorter way to sleep. She imagined it as instead of sleeping all night, waking up during the night. She had no concept of time, hours, minutes, how they worked. She just knew the sun came out and it was day, the sun went away and it was dark. She nodded to show she understood and turned her curious red eyes back to the blue-haired woman.

She listened intently to the woman's words, picking up on them in her own way. And then Judina said another strange phrase the red-head wasn't familiar with.

Or they are friends now I think.

She couldn't help it, she had to ask the question. She knew Kurisa, Judina, and all of Daeva Eye had been nice to her. But she hadn't been familiar with this word at all.

"What... what is friend...?"

That was the turning point in their encounter. The moment that the realization of the direness of this girl's situation sunk in. She had no friends, or in the least had never experienced friendship to be familiarized with the idea of it. It was a sad and lonely existence. As she awaited Judina's response, her tail twitched as she lightly stroked the fur as though an idle habit of hers.

Meanwhile, Bolt snored loudly as he lay curled up beside the giant cat. At least someone had made a friend. Hopefully, Leika could as well. Even if she didn't yet realize she already had some. But being bred and raised as a test subject was a pretty messed up existance for any child to grow up in.

It was a good question with a large vast wonder of thought for Judina, This question was some times it was an interesting question that would expand so many things. At least it was something easier to explain."Friends are some one you can trust and talk to about anything, as well as help you with anything you want to know or learn."That was a simple way to explain it. Hopefully it was a correct way of explaining it.

In a moment of trying to figure out if it would help."You could say this could start us being friends."She mentioned because Judina wanted to see if Leika would actually be her friend as well when her sneaking that in.

Alistair had not moved but his tail was casually swaying every once and a while because he was having some kind of a wonderful dream. What it was in his mind dreaming of all kind of fish he tried, the smiling of various moment Judina had. fond memories of the past either of him being younger tiny cat to current days. Even days were Judina and him relaxed on a flowerbed together. After all Judina rarely relaxed in general.

"That is also your choice if you want to be friends or not."Judina also would make sure if she wanted after all everyone was free to choose."Bolt and Alistair seemed to be able too be friends."Judina mentioned as casually and light hearted way to Leika, maybe it would ease her worry or whatever else was in her mind, Judina was also just connecting things together for Leika to help her understand as well. Did this help Leika as well as Judina? waiting at least Judina could do, What else would come up here was an interesting thought.

What did it mean to trust?

That was something very foreign to the Sinese/Bellan she-wolf. She had lived in pain and feared, caged, and unloved. She had no idea that friendship, love, kindness, happiness existed until recently. She could only listen in intent curiosity to Judy's explanation. Her ears pricked, twitching at every word she hung onto. She looked much like a child in pre-school learning basic life skills. Bolt was content to sleep next to Alistair, the zebra dreaming of the day he becomes a full-grown adult, running in fields with Leika on his back. The speed, the rush of air. It'll be magnificent!

But in reality, he was still a small Blitzle and she was a curious uneducated woman freed from imprisonment and trying to convert herself into a normal life. But what was it to leave? Her entire life had been an existential crisis. She existed with no purpose other than to suffer. Even free, there were assholes that would attempt to do her harm.

Judy did not appear to be one of them.

But why? What made her different from the rest?

Leika couldn't quite understand nor comprehend the idea of love, kindness, respect, and trust. But she wanted to learn what it was like to live a happy life. A normal life. But, what was the true definition of normal? Did normal even exist?

She continued to lazily stroke her own tail, the softness of her own fur soothing and comforting to her. Her ears drooped slightly in deep contemplation of Judy's words. She looked toward the cat and zebra creatures as they slept soundly. They were friends? Did she have friends? Her ear twitched again as she blinked and turned toward Judina.

"Is... Judy Leika's friend?" She asked with a confused yet slightly hopeful tone. By process of elimination, based on Judy's description and their situation, she must be a friend, right? She was lonely and had been since birth. She had bolt but, not much human interaction at all since her escape. She didn't go to the Guild Hall often if at all, opting to live and sleep outdoors. But since she was stuck here while Bolt slept, and Judina was in the same predictment with Alistair, Leika took the opportunity to learn and talk.

In this moment Judina would finally stand up and stretch because she had been sitting a far too too long and her limbs where a bit numb. Leika's question was one thing that was a super basic answer."I would like to be, Will you let me be your friend Leika?"Judina would ask Leika, She wanted Leika herself to be sure she wanted that. Judina was wanting her to be sure what she wanted because she seemed like she was grasping it greatly.

Hopefully Judina letting Leika be sure she felt it was right would be a point that would fit. After all Judina could finally mark that she could say she had made a friend recently, As silly as it is. Judina did not have many, Knowing when the time came however that debate of how friendships will be would be a reality Judina did not want to face yet, internally that mental stress was something he knew she will have to deal with sooner or later. For now Judina was okay.

Until that ill-fated moment the planet eater called for a meal, She was fine. Judina seemed to walk over to where her large sleeping cat was and pet him, Judina did seem a bit more scary looking up front but there was a more to her because she seemed to mask how exactly gentle she can be around people of late.

Was this now a bonding moment between them? Where they now friends? What else would Leika do in this situation? It was all interesting moments in the small time people slowly realize were wonderful but never knew until the time had passed."Do you need anything Leika? Food? Water?"Judina would finally ask after taking a long time to gain her trust , normally it would be first asked.

It was an interesting response, one that Leika wasn't expecting. Did she want to be friends? Did she even truly understand what friends were? She had no friends, as far as she knew. She had people she was familiar with. But were they friends? She was close to Bolt... was Bolt her friend? She was so confused she was unsure how to respond and her ears drooped as she watched the blue-haired woman stand up to her full height.

She scooted backward, staying on all fours as she watched the woman approach and pet the oversized cat. Her head titled as she stayed low to the ground. It wasn't that she couldn't stand, she just wasn't used to it. Being crammed in a small cage and forced to all fours constantly can have that effect. She scooted closer to Judina, watching the woman curiously.

She was a bit intimidating to behold, but she didn't try to harm Leika yet so Leika was a bit relaxed around her. At least for now. She wasn't fully trusting, however, and because of this, the concept of friendship was hard. She didn't know what it meant to truly trust someone... all she knew was she didn't trust people in general due to her past.

Something in her wanted to find a sense of belonging, but something else felt lonely and insecure. She hadn't seen another like her and wondered if she was the only one of her kind in existence. She felt a sense of sorrow at the idea of being one of a kind, judged, and abused by those different than her. Those 'better' than her. It hurt. A lot.

Do you need anything Leika? Food? Water?

She was snapped out of her inner struggles as she heard Judina's voice. Her ears flicked at the question. There was one basic answer that Leika knew how to say. "Yes."

At least some progress was made at least well some one thought there was. That some one being Judina. so she would stop petting Alistair and ask."What exactly is it do you need?"Judina was hoping she could answer that. If something basic beyond food and water would be wonderful, But Judina was being too hopeful. After all, Judina was a wonderful protector, A wonderful knight, But much like the mother who spawned her. She had her head in the clouds sometimes. So Judina would at least continue her efforts in this cause.

Figuring what would happen, Judina wanted to consider if she needed to wake up Alistair or not. She did not want to leave him either, who know what could happen. Either Alistair would still be a sleep or he would go searching around the city for them both, Was it really worth the the situation entirely? Maybe it really depended upon situation that Leika was in. She had to wonder when Leika last eat something, Hopefully it was not a horribly long time."Or well, Do you know what you would like?"Judina was doubting her own words now, being unsure if either would work for the situation.

So Judina would continue and walk over to where Alistair's face was, Judging weather or not she would have to leave him behind or try to wake him up, Maybe she needed to find him some fish to wake him up to eat, Maybe he just needed a few more minutes, these were many questions she had yet to figure out the answer for, It was a pretty good situation to be now. She would seemingly stare at Alistair while trying to think it out what her plan was, no doubt Alistair would be happy either way.

Leika appeared to be confused by the next set of questions. What did she want? To eat, and drink, but how to say it? She thought it over and simply wasn't sure how to say the word for the drink. But she knew the food she liked the most by name, so saying it was no problem. "Apples!" It was a plain, simple word that she learned early on in her new life.

Now the hard part. How to express that she was thirsty too. She tried so hard to think of the word to use, as Bolt slowly woke from his nap and looked at Judina as she studied Alistair. The Blitzle stood up and approached Leika, nudging her and braying softly. She reached up to pet his head, and slowly stood to her full height of 5'11". She tried to think of the word to use, her tail swishing as her ears fell back slightly.

(Speaking in Sinese)"Water. Water." It wasn't Fiorian, but hopefully Judina understood Sinese. If not, this wasn't going to go very well for the women. It didn't help that the only experience in speaking languages that Leika had was a mix of Sinese and Fiorian, and lacking complete fluency in either. She just stared at the blue-haired mage in awkward silence now, hoping Judina knew what she wanted.

If not, this was going to be that much more awkward. Why was it so hard to communicate? Why did people have languages? Why couldn't it be simple? These are questions that Leika wondered as she awaited Judina's response, hoping she used the correct words to convey her needs and wants. You could see her ribs, so she was obviously not well-fed as of late.

Also alas more progress. Well, Kind of progress anyway. Judina would actually seemed rather happy with what she got when she had asked, It seemed that it went well. So she wanted Apples, Judina would fine with trying to find apples for her."Alright, Apples it is....maybe some water too because that might be good for both of us."Keeping it to herself she did not understand the second sword she had been staying to her. It seemed like Judina was now in a different position, what exactly it was pretty simple to figure out, Alistair was still fast a sleep.

"Now to wake up Alistair..."Judina mentioned to herself mostly but Leika could still hear it if she really did intend too. so far her current attempts by doing nothing and standing there would not be helpful unless she actually tried. She was still thinking how to wake him up since they were going to be getting apples and something to drink."A giant cat is not easy to wake up..."Judina mentioned while she was now thinking about it more and more. Normal touching would not wake him up.

If anything picking up on the details of how Leika seemed to be in condition wise, she maybe need more then just apples and water, But it would be slow. So Judina would start trying to awaken Alistair by poking the bridge of his nose a few times. So far it seemed not to be effective. then Judina would be back to the thinking and pacing around slowly. She would then gentle start tapping  Alistair on the head too see if that would to anything for the giant cat. Alistair moved slightly, almost like she might have managed, however Alistair did not wake up and seem to go back to sleep.

Leika was pleased when Judina agreed to get her apples. She then mentioned an unfamiliar word. Water. What was that? Earlier, she said it in Sinese but she could not piece together that the two words, though very different, were one and the same. This brought up more questions in her head as she studied Judina trying to figure out what she had said. She had no idea there were other languages. She only knew the words and phrases she picked up in both Fiorian and Sinese. Human language, in general, baffled the demi-human as she watched Judina attempt, and fail, to wake the sleeping cat.

The young Beastmaster moved around to the head of the great sleeping feline, and reaching up, she scratched behind his left ear while scratching under his chin at the same time. She touched noses with the cat and nuzzled him gently. "Wake up. Nap done." She coaxed gently as she scratched the sleeping giant.

If that trick failed, by chance, Bolt walked over to the cat and rubbing up against him, lightning crackled in his mane and sent an electric jolt into the feline. Not enough to harm him, but hopefully enough to wake him. Of course, this event does not occur if he wakes from Leika's previous attempt. After all, the woman appeared to be gifted with animals and nature.