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Mornings saw Taima in the air instead of in the library, far away from the tedium of classes and studies and homework. As rewarding as the knowledge that came from all of that was, it took up a lot of time and energy. It was easy to neglect her true nature when she was buried under everything that being a teenager and a student entailed--but it was easy to forget all of that when she was in the air. All of her problems, all of the stress, all of the things that loomed so large on the ground seemed smaller up here, both figuratively and literally. She needed flight like she needed air to breathe, needed the escape, the freedom.

This wasn't a morning of aerial acrobatics in her smaller, more agile human form. Instead of swooping and diving, she was gliding almost lazily high above the school in the shape she was born in. It was soothing, a reminder that no matter how hectic life on the ground got, she would always have the sky to return to.

The peaceful state Taima had found herself in wavered but didn't break as she heard a voice call to her. She wasn't used to having company as she flew; it was as if all of the other birds knew she was airborne and decided it might be safer to stay in their nests. That alone was enough to stir her curiosity, although she certainly wasn't accustomed to having another bird speak to her. Her head tilted, looking for this brave bird and unconsciously adjusting her course to fly towards it. It seemed so small from here, but then again, everything did.

Her beak parted in what passed for a smile in this form, revealing sharp and jagged teeth. "Good morning, Little Sister," she called back, her voice resonating in the air.

Taima watched, vaguely worried, when it seemed as though the little bird might fall right out of the sky. She had started to dive after her, but veered around her instead as she corrected herself. Taima flew in slow circles around the smaller bird, slightly above her so she didn't disturb the flow of air beneath her significantly smaller wings. It was a strange and careful dance--Taima didn't want to accidentally knock this little one out of the air, but didn't want to lose her own momentum and fall herself.

"I'm doing well, thank you," Taima replied, one large golden eye fixed on the smaller bird as she glided around her. "And yourself? Good hunting this early in the morning?"

"Just a morning flight before classes," Taima replied. Curiosity prompted her to tilt her head to get a better look at the other bird, regarding her with an intensity she usually reserved for prey. "Are you a student, or someone's minipet? I've never seen a mini that can speak as well as you can, but I don't recall seeing a student with your particular plumage before, either."

What a pair they must have made to anyone who happened to look up: the giant form of the thunderbird being "chased" in slow circles by a much, much smaller bird. "It's nice to meet you, Endzela. My name is Taima," she replied with genuine enthusiasm. While she liked meeting creatures of all shapes and sizes, she was, naturally, more fond of other birds.

Taima uttered a soft, mournful noise as her new companion revealed her origins. "You have my deepest condolences, Little Sister. A bird shouldn't be so bound. At least they let you out to fly, though." She hesitated, pondering. "They do allow you your freedom, yes?" Her voice hardened at the thought that Endzela might have had to escape a Reaper's cage in order to be out here now. That the little bird was bound by her core to her Reaper was unfortunate; that she might be more literally bound was unacceptable.

Taima was quiet for a moment as she considered Endzela's words. She had never had the opportunity to speak with a reaper's familiar before, but had previously thought of them more like tools that a Reaper had to use because they just weren't frightening enough on their own. That reapers were apparently more reliant on their familiars than that was a refreshing notion.

"Agreed," Taima hummed in response to Endzela's opinion of boils. "Your reaper should consider himself fortunate to have such a wise companion as you, then--and if he doesn't, well, as you said, boils are pretty stupid."

Clearly Taima and Endy were meant to be b(bird)ffs. It may have been the altitude, though just as likely it was their obvious similarities, but Taima felt immediately at ease with the familiar in a way she hadn't quite managed with anyone else. "As well he should," Taima replied. "You should not need to come to harm fighting his battles, no matter how closely linked you are." While Taima understood the bond between reaper and familiar a little better now, it was pretty clear which half of the pair she favored.

It was a sentiment that only grew when Endzela announced that she had to leave, to be with him. Taima sighed, resigned to the fact that she would, in fact, have to get to class soon. "There will be other mornings," she conceded, angling her wings to begin a lazy descent downward. "Good hunting, Little Sister!"