IC Date: 05/26/2026

The sight of the geese, well giant giant geese had been more than enough to distract Sailor Tempesti and Hildegard from whatever else they might have had planned for their last visit to this forest, but today the senshi was determined to make her way to that riot of blossoms they’d spotted from atop a hill to the north. As beautiful as the woods were, and as much as she wanted to explore them in the future, the opportunity to discover what looked like a farm was more than she could pass up. From a distance at least it seemed like an untended mass of windflowers and if the year and a half or so of her research had drawn her to the correct conclusion, she would see a Teruda silk farm for the first time in her life. Maybe the first time in any life, Elysia had certainly never seen one.

It was, of course, impossible to know what Hildegard thought of their little excursion. Whether or not her wanderings had ever brought her to a place like this, she hopped and fluttered along with her characteristic enthusiasm, occasionally taking to the lower branches of the trees before diving after bugs, foliage, motes of dust and pollen. With an unusually quiet squawk the horrible fairy chicken landed on Tempesti’s shoulder, playing with a lock of her hair.

A soft gasp escaped the senshi as they reached the edge of the forest. An overwhelmingly vast expanse of trellises arranged in concentric circles ringed a small, impossibly clear lake. Rising from the center of the lake, a spirit shrine called the Teruda who danced and feasted among the flowers. She suppressed a squeal as she realized that large, fat caterpillars contentedly munched upon the leaves that clung to the vines. Though they didn’t have quite the same shine as their parents a faint glow emanated from within them, a quiet promise for their future.

The sound of splashing from behind her drew Tempesti’s excitedly fickle attention toward the water and the sight of frilled heads bobbing in the water. Struggling to temper her glee enough to not startle these new friends, she crept over for a better look. A group of curious faces peeked from just above the surface. Hildegard hopped up onto a trellis, turning a beady eye toward them as Tempesti approached. With a sudden hop, the bravest of the newcomers crawled onto the edge of the lake and flopped toward the senshi, who crouched to get a better look at the creature waddling in her direction. If she had to compare it to an animal on Earth, it bore the strongest resemblance to an axolotl, though much larger and clearly eager to meet her.

“Hey there!” She kept her voice low and even, watching as it tilted its head back and forth, pink skin shimmering in the sunlight. The eternal question of how many other animals remained unseen skittered about in the back of her head a mix of excitement and frustration at the knowledge that she could never possibly meet them all. A quick glance back at the buildings at the edge of the trellises told her that she could wait a little longer to go inside. After all, there were so many new friends to make.