Welcome to Gaia! ::

Angora didn't like the Overworld. Not one bit, no thank you. It was loud. Loud in almost every sense of the word, with bright colors, sharp, sudden sounds, and far too many senshi for her liking. Why bother with the Overworld at all when there was the quiet safety of her nest in the Rift? All soft and sweet and smelling like Momma from the pillows and blankets she'd not-so-subtly stolen from her home on her visits. The Rift was also a perfectly nice place for a walk, if that was what Momma wanted. Which it seemed like she did, since she had led Angora to a tree laden with slips of paper. An odd sight, even for the oddity of the Overworld, even if the soft whisper of the paper dancing in the evening breeze was pleasant enough for Angora to swivel her ears to catch more of it.

"Momma," she questioned softly, her little paws lost in the folds of Bellite's layers of skirts as she clung like she might be taken at any moment. "Why are we at a tree? Are we not working tonight?" Which seemed strange. Momma didn't make to to General by being lazy like that... and Angora rather liked working with Momma. It gave her a chance to stretch her legs, leap, and run in a way that she couldn't in the Rift. There it was aimless, or else aimed away from the meaner, bigger, tougher youma who might try and eat her or worse. But in the Overworld, she could do those things with purpose. She could aim herself where Momma pointed and make her proud. She could earn treats and praise and snuggles with Momma and fine she'd also snuggle with Xenia if she had to. Even if she didn't like it all that much. Momma kept telling her that Xenia was her sister. Her friend. Not food.

Whatever.

"Or are we ambushing someone here? Is this a Senshi tree?" Yes, maybe that was it. Maybe Momma had a plan to catch someone, or surprise them here. This strange tree could be some kind of Senshi meeting place, the papers messages from one to the other. "Or... or are we gathering... um... intel?" That was the word right? Oh... some of the bigger, more important words were so hard for Angora. They were so large and she was so small... but she was big where it counted, and as she cast her big black eyes up at Bellite from where she buried her face into her hip, she promised, "I cannot read very good, Momma, but I promise that I'll try!"

And as though to prove her point, Angora released Bellite's skirts and leapt with all her heart towards the limbs of the tree, her tiny paws falling terrifically short of the nearest slip of paper, no matter how hard she jumped for it. She even rolled up her billowing sleeves at one point, and took a running start, hoping that might bring her closer to her prize.

It did not.

But she tried and tried until her little chest was heaving with the effort and her eyes were welling with frustration.

"Us time?" Like a break. Angora liked her work, especially when it was with Momma or other youma friends from the rift, but she liked breaks even more. Breaks meant snacks with her Momma (and Xenia which was... it was fine.) and snuggles and walks and talking together. It meant hugs and holding hands and sweet things like that.

"Us time." She repeated with more finality and an excited nod, beaming at the praise she was given for her jumping. She had been practicing in the Rift, leaping over crystals and even her bigger youma friends to train her legs. Someday she'd be big and strong like them, but she'd need to train a lot first.

As she was lifted, Angora plucked a little slip of paper with both paws, being devoid of a thumb with which to grab it like her Momma and the other officers did. As she was lifted, she kicked her little back feet, pantomiming the jump that felt short before.

"I got one," she squealed in delight, holding the paper aloft with both hands still wrapped firmly around it, visibly crushing it in the force of her glee. "I got it, Momma! Did you see me?"

Angora's squeal of delight rung high into the branches above her as Bellite tossed her in the air. She was never afraid when her Momma had her. Not once. Angora may not have known how to read, or count very high; she wasn't the most intelligent youma, but she did know one thing: her Momma always kept her safe. Even if she got dusted, Momma would always be there waiting for her to come back. Even when she was alone in the rift, because even a general like Momma couldn't be there always, Angora still wasn't alone. She had blankets and pillows and soft things from Momma's house to keep her warm and safe and comfy in her little nest.

And so, when Angora was caught, she snuggled back into Bellite as she gigged. She beamed at the praise, eager for more as she was presented with the slip of paper from the tree. She had been practicing. Practicing so hard. She could recognize most of the letters, and even knew what most of them sounded like. She could sound out small words and even write her own name, however messily. It was hard to be neat when Angora had to grasp the pen with both paws.

She was confident she could sound out the majority of the paper. She put her paws on Bellite's hands and drew her face close to the slip.

And could make out nothing.

She's been practicing so hard... Angora couldn't understand. She knew the letters. She knew them. But nothing on the paper resembled anything even close to the letters that Angora had been practicing. She sniffed the paper, as though that would help her glean some meaning, but all she could smell was Bellite and paper.

"Momma, I..." Angora huffed, her black eyes growing hot in her frustration. "I don't know, I..." Her voice ticked up in pitch as her waning grip on her composure slipped through her little paws. "this doesn't look like...I don't know!"