Sophia befriended the blue parakeet Mira created with magic and decided to call it Blu. While it wasn't the most creative name, the blonde thought it was cute, and that was all that mattered. Once that was taken care of, she, Mira, and Blu went to the tiger’s domain to inspect the new cherry blossom biome. Arriving there, everything turned out just as the blonde had hoped it to be, but she was especially excited over the floating island above the forest that magic had created as an observation platform for Sophia.

“By the way,” The blonde and Mira were still on the floating island when Sophia patted Blu's head after he returned to her shoulder while the tiger looked at the overseer. “I’m fine with not telling the others what Blu really is. I’m not lying if I simply say I found an amazing bird in your domain, after all, but I can still introduce Blu to the group, right?”

“That’s alright.” Mira nodded. “While pure animals that can use magic, especially smaller ones like birds, are rare, it’s not unheard of. Nobody should expect anything there, especially when it came out of my domain.”

“Perfect!” Sophia clapped her hands. “Everyone will love you, Blu!” She immediately returned to patting the parakeet’s head. “Speaking of everyone, let’s go and get them! They need to see this!”

“Do they need to see this, or do you need to boast about it?” The teal fox raised an eyebrow.

“Yes!” Seemingly in a good mood, the tiger then quickly made yet another portal and stepped through it.

“If there’s one thing’s for sure, it’s that it doesn’t get boring with her around.” Not entirely sure how to feel about it, Mira then also followed after her.

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“Sophia! Mira!” Back in the cottage, Chloe happened to be in the entrance hall and greeted them. “Bird? Cute!” She saw Blu on the blonde’s shoulder. “Wait, later!” She seemed to be in a hurry.

“What’s wrong?” Sophia was confused over her twitchy acting.

“Toilet!” She had a very good explanation. “Also, thank you very much for bringing Feyfey back! I hadn't even noticed that you overheard me needing her!” After saying that, the pink fox disappeared into the bathroom.

“Your daughter is something else.” Sophia wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Mh-hm.” Mira just nodded. “Also, you really weren’t lying earlier when you made Fey leave to talk alone with me in my domain, huh?”

“I have no idea what Chloe was talking about just now.” She shook her head in return.

“I should’ve known.” The overseer rolled her eyes.

“To the living room!” Ignoring her, Sophia then started walking again and entered said room.

“I love that bird!” Everyone except Chloe was in the living room, and Steph immediately noticed the little parakeet on Sophia's shoulder.

“It really is cute!” Ari, Anna, and Maya had the same reaction, too.

“Mhmm…” Fey and the wolves seemed to have noticed something about it as all three were staring at it with an oddly serious aura around them.

“This is Blu!” Sophia focused on the girls while giving the bird a gentle head pat. “I came across it in Mira’s domain, and we became friends! So good friends that it's staying with me now!"

“Blu?” The dog-girl tilted her head. “Come on, sis, I know that your naming sense is… basic, but that's a little too on the nose, even for you! Don’t you feel sorry? W-WHOA!” The moment she finished her sentence, Blu flapped its wings and hit her with a strong blow of wind that knocked her over.

“Blu can use magic, by the way.” The blonde grinned at her. “It also likes my name a whole lot.”

“That’s amazing!” Steph bounced right back up. “I take everything back! While it may be a simple name, simple is best!” She smiled at Blu. “It’s a great name!”

“Thank you very much!” Sophia also was glad that she reconsidered.

“Alright, I’m back! That was a close call…” Looking visibly relieved, Chloe returned and joined the others in the living room. “So, now that I’m not preoccupied any longer, why does Sophia have a bird with so much magic authority that it could beat all of us up? Like, it wouldn't even be close to a fight, I want to add. It's S-E-V-E-R-A-L times stronger! Like, triple digits or even more!” She stared right at Blu. “Mira excluded, of course.”

“Ah.” Sophia, Mira, and Blu froze.

“That’s what felt so odd about it!” Fey and the wolves had the same reaction.

“You hadn’t factored in that your daughter is dangerously sharp about these kinds of things, huh?” The blonde glanced at the overseer.

“I might have not, yes.” She nodded slightly. “How were you able to notice?” The teal fox looked at her daughter.

“I’m not stupid, you know?”

“I do know.” It wasn’t what Mira was implying. “No, you should only be able to feel that Blu is strong, but not how strong because the difference is too big.”

“And how would that not lead to the conclusion I came to?” The pink fox tilted her head. “Yeah, sure, I can’t see how strong it is, but it vastly overshadows Sophia’s feel as it’s sitting on her shoulder.”

“I guess I was the stupid one here.” Mira had nothing else to say.

"You aren't the wisest of overseers, aren't you?” Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Thankfully, that’s not a requirement for being one.” She awkwardly rubbed her cheek in return. “I mean, look at Canir.”

“Well, you win that argument.” The short tiger had to give it to her.

“So, what or who is this cute bird?” Chloe got back to the topic.

“It’s Blu!” Sophia smiled at her while the parakeet nodded a few times.

“So cute!” The pink fox liked that. “Such a fitting name, too! Simple and easy to remember, but adorable at the same time!”

“And that’s why you’re the best!” The blonde gave her a thumbs-up before facing her sister with a smug expression.

“What are you grinning at me for?” Steph looked back at her. “I know that my Chloe is the absolute best!”

“Ehehe~.” The pink fox got happy over that. “So, I want to know more about our lovely Blu! Where did you find such a powerful bird? Also, I thought only bigger animals could use magic?”

"I came across it in Mira's domain, and we immediately bonded~." Though omitting some crucial details, Sophia did her special and technically didn’t lie.

“Ohh!” Chloe nodded a few times. “Then, it makes perfect sense for such an overpowered bird to exist. I mean, her domain is overflowing with magic, more than enough to affect even animals, I guess.”

“Sure!” The blonde just agreed with her.

“There are quite a few animals in my domain that can use magic.” Mira did the same.

“It really is cute, but isn’t it dangerous to have such a powerful animal around us?” Ari wasn’t quite sure how to feel about their new friend yet.

“Are you dangerous, Blu?” Sophia turned her head to the side to glance at the parakeet on her shoulder, which then quickly shook its head in return. “See?” The blonde smiled at Ari.

“How is it able to understand you?” She only got more confused.

“Blu’s a clever one!” The short tiger sounded oddly proud while the bird continued to nod.

“Animals that can use magic usually are more intelligent, too.” Mira added some vague extra information. “Also, no, Blu isn’t dangerous to any of you as long you don’t attack first.”

“That’s very reassuring!” The jaguar looked relieved. “Well then, welcome to the group, Blu~.” Once she knew that it wasn’t dangerous, Ari was completely on board. Hearing that she accepted the bird in their circle, Blu flew over to Ari and landed on her shoulder instead. There, it gently rubbed its head against the side of her cheek. “So cute!” She liked the bird even more now and started to gently pet its head.

“Blu’s good!” Sophia seemed impressed. “To win over our jaguar so easily.”

“True.” Everyone agreed.

“Hey!” Ari raised her voice. “I’m weak to cute things, and Blu is way too powerful in that regard! No, I’m not talking about his magic here, either!”

“Fair.” The short tiger couldn’t fault her logic. “True and real, too.”

“Unfair!” Seeing how Ari was already bonding with Blu before they got the chance, the other girls got envious of her. “Me, too!” They unionized as they watched the parakeet rubbing its head against the jaguar’s cheek. Noticing what they wanted, Blu eventually left the jaguar’s shoulder and introduced itself to Anna, Maya, Steph, and Chloe in the same manner before eventually returning to Sophia.

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“Alright, with that taken care of, there’s something I need to show everyone!” The blonde got very excited.

“There’s something you need to boast about, you mean.” Mira corrected her.

“Same difference!” She didn’t care. “Anyway, everyone, I’m really proud of the biomes you created so far!” The short tiger smiled at the group. “Even you, Steph.”

“Hey!” The dog-girl didn’t like being singled out like that. “My biome’s the best!”

“Let’s see if you still say that once we take a peek at my new benchmark for area creation!”

“I like how humble you are.” Mira gave her a sarcastic thumbs-up.

“It made even you jealous!” Sophia looked back at her. “I have all the bragging rights here!”

“…” The teal fox quickly turned down her sass.

“Let’s go!” The blonde energetically raised her arm, and so did Blu with his wing on her shoulder. “Be prepared to be amazed!”

“I’ll prepare to nitpick on every single odd detail I find!” Steph was still upset about her sister’s earlier remark.

“Good luck with that~.” Knowing just how amazing her cherry blossom forest turned out, her expression turned rather smug.

Afterward, the short tiger guided them outside and through the portal leading to the floating island above her biome for maximum effect.

"A-Ah.” It didn’t seem like the dog-girl would be able to nitpick because her jaw dropped the moment she arrived there.

 

 

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