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Hajari fell backwards as the fishing line -- along with the fish -- came out of the water. He hit his back on the ground hard, but not so much as to knock the air out of his lungs. He quickly scrambled to his taloned feet, going up to the fish and kneeling over it to gaze at its rainbowed scales. He smiled and giggled a little in pleasure, "We did it!"

Mikadzuki huffed a sigh through his nose, laying down on the dirt road to relax. MoogerMint was right, they did fine. Actually, they did better than expected. Gingitsune watched her brother lay down and sat down next to him. She looked down on him with a watchful stare, asking, "Are you worried about Hajari?"

Mikadzuki heaved another sigh. "I don't know that other banir. I guess if I don't know them, I don't know if I can trust them," he answered after a pause.

"But you took to Hajari just fine. He'll be alright. They seem to be getting along exceptionally well," Gingitsune teased. Mikadzuki snorted, but knew that Gingitsune was true to her word. The two banir, although almost conflicting sub-species, did indeed get along almost instantly.

Hajari watched as Lester placed the fish in the glass tank, ecstatic. His grin was wide, following the fish swimming back and forth with wandering eyes. He looked back to Lester after watching the fish for a few moments, grin still sprawled along his features, and asked, "Do you thing we could do it again?" At this point, Hajari was all but pessimistic about it, relishing in his own delight.

He stuck a feathered arm into the fish tank, folding his wing up to keep most of it dry, and followed the fish with his hand. After some following, Hajari managed to graze the fish's side with his fingers, snickering at how it felt. "It's so smooth!" he exclaimed, expecting the scales to be slimey.

"Really?" Hajari asked, wondering what a carp looked like. This was his first time fishing, let alone seeing what a fish looked like up close and not off the television or a book page. Looking back at the opalescent scales of the silvery-slick fish in the tank below his arm, he only imagined the best.

As Lester re-baited his rod, Hajari followed him back to the bank and picked up his own dropped rod. He listened to Lester explain that his mother had saved the harpy egg in the Von Helson manor, and Hajari immediately remembered who it was he was talking about. He felt sad and disappointed when Lester mentioned that she wouldn't know who he was, but he was determined. "Maybe when she hatches, you could bring her along with you so I can see her. It'd be nice if I could see one of my siblings again, even though I've never seen her out of her egg." His face was morose and even distressed, something that was rarely displayed on it when he wasn't shy over something.

MoogerMint was, meanwhile, oblivious to Hajari's depression. She was reeling in her own catch from the sea, an eager Gingitsune awaiting the fish's capture with eager, salivating jaws. Mikadzuki was still focused on the two banir kinder children, and was the only one to notice Hajari's change of mood. His haunches rose temporarily before MoogerMint grumbled at Mikadzuki's movement. "Leave Haj alone, Mika. He'll be fine with his new friend," she explained through clenched teeth as she reeled in her catch to the bank, wiping her brow free of sweat. Mikadzuki obeyed, although grouchily, as he lowered his backside back to the ground.

Hajari's outlook immediately improved as Lester agreed, his smile wide once more. Finally, he could see one of his sisters again! "Rip..." he repeated, drilling her name into his memory like he had done with Lester's. "That's a good name. I'm sure it'll fit her!"

With Lester's mentioning of all his siblings, Hajari became curious. "How many brothers and sisters do you have? I'd like to hear about them!" he said, kicking his taloned feet up in excitement. "Maybe I can meet them someday, too!" he giggled, bouncing his rod and likewise scaring any and all the fish that may have taken a bite of his bait. He thought of what his siter might look like, not really meeting a werewolf before but being exposed to many wolves nonetheless. "You have a sister that's a wolf?" he asked, confused and not knowing what an 'alpha' was.

MoogerMint chuckled as Hajari's happy voice came floating back to her black-tipped ears. "See, Mika? He's fine. He's a very resillient little boy and can bounce back given the right insentive," she explained, though the wolf already knew this.

"Who is that demon-boy he's with? What's his name?" Gingitsune asked, intrigued with his helpfulness in Hajari's social and emotional growth.

MoogerMint smiled, grateful Lester was here. "His name is Lester. When we came, he had just come out to fish. He seemed to be a fitting example of a friend, and I stand by that even now," she answered. Finally... a true friend, she thought happily.

Hajari listened intently and eagerly as Lester talked of his family, feeling like he was getting to know Lester even more and also feeling as if he had made a true friend. "I don't have any brothers and sisters, but my mom has a pack of wolves. The two over there are named Mikadzuki and Gingitsune," Hajari stated, turning his head over to where the two wolves sat around MoogerMint. "Mikadzuki is the one colored like the moon and is the one that found me at the Von Helson's manor. Gingitsune looks like a silver fox. There's also Pyromia, he's dark blue and red, Kouya no Kiku, she's white and silver-striped, and Tensui, whose pastel. They're my family." He smiled back at Lester, though hiding the fact that he would really like a sibling to spend time with. "My mom is a kitsune, and her name is MoogerMint. Kinda a funny name, huh? That's what I thought when she first told me it. She's also possessed by a demon named Amanesh, but she has that under control for now," he went on, laughing.

After thinking a moment, he asked, "What's a gar-... gar... what your mom is?" He couldn't quite say it, but he knew Lester would know what he was talking about for the satyr had just mentioned it moments before.

MoogerMint smiled to herself as she began reeling in another fish (the other one she caught was gobbled up by Gingitsune). She had never heard Hajari speak so much about himself! It made her very pleased that they were getting along so exceptionally well.

Hajari's feathered ears perked up suddenly as Lester began to reel in his line. Realizing he must have caught a fish, he began to ask, "Do you--" He cut himself off, however, when he noticed that the rod didn't bow as much as it had earlier, and that Lester wasn't having any difficulty in reeling in the catch. He started giggling as the guppy came out of the water. "It's so small!" he exclaimed through giggles, liking the orange tint to the guppy's scales.

He listened to Lester's answer and nodded, agreeing. "That is cool!" He crouched down next to the fishtank as he realized what Lester realized. He cocked his head to the side to see if the guppy was hiding, but it was nowhere to be found. His wine red bangs bobbed into his face and he wiped them away, asking, "Where did it go?" It never occurred to the young harpy that a fish might want to eat its smaller kind.

(( Hehe, that was probably a wise idea... sweatdrop ))

Hajari looked up at Lester with wonder glazed over his emerald eyes. "Really!? A flying fish!?" he asked in amazement. He may have known a lot about wolves, but he was completely new to the concept of fish. He thought a moment, trying to imagine a fish with wings. Though he had never seen an angelic banir kinder, he knew what normal angels looked like from medieval paintings and sketches, and placed these wings onto the body of the orange guppy. As the guppy spread the snow white, feathery wings in his mind, he gasped with excitement. "Do you really think it flew away? I wish I could've seen it!" he exclaimed, rocking back and forth as he sat, feet held between his fingers.

"Oh, right," Hajari said, suddenly remembering that Lester had asked what they should name the fish. "What name would be good..." he asked himself in wonder, tapping his bottom lip with an index finger as he thought, staring at the fish. "Rainbow... or Silver... what do you think? We need to pick a good name!" he said, unable to decide the perfect name. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Serebro... I like it!" Hajari said, wonder in his eyes as he stared down on the fish. "Hi there, Serebro!" he said to the fish as he touched its finned back lightly, scaring it to the other end of the tank. He looked back up at Lester, wonder still glazing his eyes. "You're really smart! I don't know any foreign words."

Lifting his body from the ground floor and dusting himself up, grass stains still vibrantly apparent on his bare knees, he walked back over to the bank's edge. "C'mon! Let's catch a friend for Serebro that won't fly away," he said as he grabbed his small rod and sat back down.

As MoogerMint watched, she shook her head and laughed. They were so naive, it was adorable! She snickered some more as she realized Hajari's line was sagging and the bait was so close to the bank that catching fish was near impossible. Mikadzuki still watched the two vigilantly from the grass, beginning to trust Lester more with every passing moment. He couldn't help but have a lingering doubt, though, as his parental instincts lingered.

Gingitsune sighed. "Don't worry so much, Mika," she said lightly, but only received a snort in return.

Hajari's feathered ears twitched slightly as he gazed at his line, noting himself that the line was rather close to shore. He sighed, but stopped dwelling on the trivial matter as Lester spoke. "Can you teach me some words?" Hajari asked, a thirst for knowledge becoming apparent. He never showed an interest to learn things that didn't pertain to games or hobbies, but the meanings behind words intrigued him, and he felt himself wanting more. "I didn't know plant names meant anything but what they were," he laughed lightly.

Hajari spread his arms out at Lester's question, studying them himself. He flapped his wings slowly and shook his head. "I don't know how to fly yet, and my mom doesn't know how to teach me because she doesn't have wings. I'll probably hafta learn from Mikadzuki or someone I know of that has wings, but yeah, I'm not strong enough. Momma is afraid I might get hurt, but I don't really mind as long as I can learn to soar!" he explained, smiling as he looked up at the clouds floating slowly across the clear sky. "Wouldn't you think? If you had wings, wouldn't it be fun to learn?" he asked. He lowered his arms, snatching up his rod once more. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait," he sighed, eyes twinkling mischeviously.