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False beamed at the other Aerandir; she looked friendly, but it was a pity he couldn't make any noise, or do anything. Instead, he waved enthusiastically in greeting.

Meanwhile, Abbey caught up with the troublesome wisp. She was fairly certain that the girl was Chao, but was that Sanar? The last time she'd seen the aerandir she'd been a gryphon; although, that was a rather long time ago. She bobbed down into a crouch next to Chao, smiling, "Chao, right? It's been awhile since I've seen you!" She looked up at the Aerandir sitting on the teen's stomach, "And... Sanar?"

"I've been great! I was away from Ar'Idil for awhile with False, so it's no surprise we haven't seen each other in awhile. And Sanar! You've changed so much!" In a friendly gesture of the maternal instinctive kind, Abbey ruffled Sanar's hair affectionately, "So how have you two been?"

False peered inquisitively down at what Sanar had been fussing over before he and Abbey had arrived. What were they? He tilted his head at them curiously, resisting the urge to try touching them.

Abbey settled herself onto the ground next to Chao, "Mm, yeah. The change from gryphon to wisp was amazing. All the changes that False goes through are," her eyes began to glaze over as she reminisced about the moment he'd turned into a wisp, her hand drifting the chakrams that hung by her belt. She added idly, "I've still got to collect items for him in order to him to develop into a child, though. He only became a wisp recently, and I haven't got the chance to pick up any as of yet."

False lowered himself to eye level with the shell, inspecting it. It looked pretty; it was a pity he wasn't solid at the moment, or he'd be be able to play with them. To demonstrate this particular frustration, he made a grasping motion towards the object, his hand passing right through it. Regardless of already knowing the outcome, his expression changed into a pout.

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"--So I figured, since Myst is here, I don't have to keep you cooped up any more, hm?" Progolo's voice inquired, hardly audible over the rushing sounds of the Ar'Idil beach. He doubted Kala understood him, but he thought it was important to hear him speaking and learn to recognize her keeper's voice. Eventually she would begin to make connections and draw conclusions, understand human emotions, and begin to understand what certain simple words meant, like yes and no.

But Kala was hardly paying attention. The lanky Aerandir was busily scuttling after the crests of retreating waves, only to flee back to Progolo's ankles as the water drew in again. It was a highly entertaining game, with the right element of danger to give the girl a thrill (You really couldn't trust water that moved so quickly, after all.) Progolo, always the biologically-minded man he was, silently realized that it made excellent use of her developing motor skills, and therefore allowed her to continue flirting with the imminent danger of the oncoming water, doing little more than glancing her way every few seconds and noting her peculiar gait. She hadn't quite gotten the hang of running yet; instead of bending her knees and leaning forward, she kept them stick-straight and sort of hobbled. Most odd of all was the way she held her sinuous neck firmly against her body, resting her beak on her fluffy pink chest.

From a distance, she looked like a headless little robot.

Progolo on the other hand, looked a little more elegant than usual, as his usually bookish attire had been exchanged for loose, light clothing better suited to the island life, and his long drak hair was flowing dramatically in the wind.

"I don't think giraffe fur is suited for salt-water, Kala. If you get wet, you'll have to take a bath..." Progolo continued, running out of ideas as of what to talk about. Blabbering wasn't something he did well. But his words had already caught Kala's attention. Bath? Baths were good! She'd already figured out the meaning of that word, and she loved bathing! She loved water!

When it wasn't noisy and churning, that was. She skipped out of the way just as a wave of foam washed over the sand.

Progolo had been in the act of looking back at his playful charge when something caught his eye. Curious, he focused his attention on it--and gawked. It looked...like...it couldn't be. Before he could get a good look at it, however, it had dashed off in the opposite direction.

"Kala..." he said over his shoulder. Kala paused in her romping and extended her neck, ears flicking.

"Cwaw?"

Pleased that she'd recognized her name, he stooped and scopped her up, carefully watching the creature's flight path. "C'mere...I want to see something..."

He tucked Kala beneath his arm, despite her kicking and protest, and jogged in the direction the being had disappeared to.

Progolo smiled. "I thought it was an aerandir," he said pleasantly, drawing to within a few feet of Ari. "Hello to you as well. Oh my, what mix is...he?" he hazarded, peering down at the beautiful, vibrantly blue Aerandir. He hoped he'd guessed right...these creatures didn't have the distinctions between genders.

Kala blinked. Huh. That little blue thing kinda looked like the funny creature she always saw in the shiny thing Progolo called a "mirror"! Different colors though...and different paterns. And the head shape was different. Her own head bobbed and weaved on its long neck, trying to get a better look.

"She," the man amended sheepishly. "Giraffe and flamingo, yes," Progolo responded, running a gentle finger along Kala's beak. He extracted Kala from under his arm and knelt, setting her on the ground. "Zebras..." he continued thoughtfully. "Those are related to giraffes, aren't they...? Or horses?"

Progolo had a very limited knowledge of earthly animals, but he thought he'd seen a hooved, striped creature in one of his research books, Animals of Africa, which he been using to study giraffes.

He adjusted himself on the sand, belatedly thinking he should have asked permission to join this woman before making himself comfortable. Hopefully she wouldn't mind...

Kala, now on the ground, was left to her own devices. She was overcome by a sudden bought of shyness, retracting her neck until it once again rested against her chest and sinking to her knees, as if trying to blend into her surroundings.

Her bright pink feathers did not accomplish this well.