Welcome to Gaia! ::

Across a grassy field in the Eastern Lands, the sun was shining and only a few puffy clouds floated by. The grass swayed in the breeze and a few petals scattered, some hitting the bees floating by. The birds were chirping in the nearby forest, and signs of life were everywhere.

However, Azula wasn't intrested in any of this. She scanned the area. She had followed Haru near here but lost him when she went to eat. She often spent her free time looking for him and enjoyed surprising him. Talking with him was always pleasent. She cocked her head and sniffed the air in the direction of a white lump in the middle of the flowery field. She smiled when she knew it was Haru and padded up to him. When she was next to him, she plucked some flowers and sprinkled them on his sleeping form before laying down next to him. Deciding it was getting boring after a few short minutes, she nudged him, hoping he would wake.

She raised her head and tail when she saw Haru stir, as if waking someone was a great feat. The flowers fell of his now raised head and floated away, one hitting her in the muzzle. "Good morning~" she said, brushing the petals off. "Following Haru." she replied to his next comment, smiling and wagging her tail, wondering why he would ask since it was so obvious to her. Getting up herself, she laughed and said, "Yes." although it was quite noticeable that she was the culprit. Pawing at him, she asked, "What do you want to do today?" before leaning down and grabbing his tail, shaking it playfully.

Azula moved her head, following his tail's movements as he spoke. The sunset sounded intresting but it was still daytime and she didn't want to wait. She licked a paw thoughtfully and rubbed it on her head, to wipe off some of the pollen that had floated there. "Maybe pidgeon chasing?" she offered. They usually hung around near the human camps to pick at the scraps. She thought they were hilarious, with their strange gait and peckish movements. And they always flew at the slightest strange noise. Best of all, they were always in groups. Sure, sometimes they dropped bird-bombs but they were fun to dodge, anyways. She had tried to chase other birds when pidgeons were unavailable but most of them pecked back at her, and pretty hard, too. She squirmed at the thought of birds pecking at her eyes and shuffled closer to Haru.

Azula was up on all four paws as soon as Haru agreed, circling around him excitedly and stopping only when he nuzzled her. It had been a while since she went to see the birds and this would be the first time she led Haru anywhere. She wrapped her tail around his, tugging lightly to lead him towards the direction of one of the two-legged packs. Their dens stunk of burning flesh sometimes but the wind usually drove it off. She had an instinctive fear of them but the birds didn't seem to and they gathered in large flocks, pecking at the many leftovers the two-leggeds dropped outside.

Azula cocked her head, confused. "Safe? Pidgeons are safe." she told him, failing to notice he was referring to humans. "Two-leggers won't hurt pidgeons." she said, trying to give a reassuring smile. She thought he was worried about the pidgeons and that they wouldn't be able to play with them. She had never actually been close enough to a human to see why others feared them. By then, they were close to a village, hidden from view behind many trees. Soft coos could be heard as the grey birds clucked around, occasionally pecking furiously at the unseeable crumbs on the ground. She let go of his tail to hide behind a tree, watching them. Her tail twitched in anticipation, waiting for them to flock.

Azula gave him an encouraging smile when she thought there were enough pidgeons. "Ready?" she asked, her tail wrapping around the base of the tree as she walked past it, creeping towards the gathering of birds. She cocked her head, wondering how she would scare them today. She flattened her ears and gave off a loud bark, then ran towards them to scare off the rest, laughing. She was about to go back and wait for them to flock again when suddenly, she froze, her eyes locked onto a human. The human stared back at her as well, and neither one of them moved, as if they were frozen to the spot.

Azula's ears flickered at the sound of Haru's laughter and that alone was enough for her to remember how to move. She whimpered, taking a step back. Humans and helixes weren't enemies. They were usually peaceful to one another. But Azula had never met one before, and her parents had died long before they could tell her about them, and so she was filled with fear.

Her eyes widened when she saw Haru between her and the large human male, for he, too, had taken her by surprise. But it was a nice surprise, and Azula walked closer and nuzzled into him gratefully, hiding the human from her vision. She could still scent him close by, though, and her ears flattened. "Haru." she whispered. "What is he?"

Before Haru could reply, though, the man let out a blood-curdling yell and pointed accusingly at the pair. "Demons!" he yelled, for although he lived in a time of peace, he had been raised to fear all besides his own species.

He groped around his belt and his eyes narrowed with anger when he realized he had left his gun at home. Breaking into a run, he suddenly charged at them, waving his arms around widly and yelling all the while.

"A human?" Azula wondered, curiousity giving her enough courage to peek out above him. She wondered what a normal human was supposed to smell like, and was about to ask, too, when suddenly, the man came charging at them.

She flattened her ears, then raised her lips and made a strange gurgling noise. It was a half growl, half whimper. "But Haru." she protested when he shoved her aside. She was instantly silenced when Haru growled.

She had never seen him so fearsome, with his dangerous fangs gleaming, his brows furrowed, and his nose wrinkled. He seemed so angry there, and his eyes flashed dangerously. And so she ran. She ran, not from the human that had charged, but from what she had seen on Haru.

An expression she hoped would never be directed at her.

The man faltered slightly when he noticed the larger one dashing at him, but only for a moment. Quickening himself, he pressed his arms closer to himself to defend when necessary, expecting a full-on attack.

He was startled when instead, the helix ducked look, and he let out a cry as he fell, stumbling to the earth. By the time he managed to get up again, there was no sign of any helix.