Sumiko had secretly been looking forward to going to the sanctuary. Despite having heard and read about the location, actually seeing it was something else. It was during her walking around that she thought on Kioku's offer before, and sent a message to the woman to tell her she was in the Aerie section of the sanctuary currently if the woman was available to meet.

Leaning on a rail, she watched the birds flying around the forest region with interest. Just enjoying the sounds while she waited to see if her friend was free.

In the forest section, the calls of number of birds and other winged beasts were somewhat muffled, but still made up a symphony that ensured remarkable immersion - and also meant it wasn't very easy to hear the steps of others approaching.

The Soshi didn't take long to answer Sumiko's text, and some 10 minutes later the girl hears a soft voice behind her. "Sumiko-san. Good to see you again.

Kioku would find Sumiko with her eyes closed, just listening.

"Kioku-sama" she replied "forgive me if I have interrupted your day. I hope you are well?"

She turned, giving the woman a smile and a bow before looking back out again.

"I feel like a recognise the bird calls out there, but I can't put my finger on it."

Noticing the girl her eyes closed, the woman smiles, waiting quietly until she turns around.

"No apologies needed, Sumiko-san", she says, bowing back. "It's been a calm day so far, and the new hatchlings' training is going well." A small smile. "A good enough day so far, I suppose".

That wistful aura is still there, though, through smile and all. It's almost as if it never completely faded.

"Oh... it's been a while since I've tried to really listen to them, but..." She stops for a moment to listen to the birds... "the one that sounds like a rising "whoo" is the hard-headed brushturkey, on the enclosure just behind this one", she gestures to the area cloest to them. "Then there's that shrill 'reeee' in the background that sometimes gets real loud... that should be a Chalemeon Thrush. And there are others... some of the screeching bats too, I think?" She keeps paying attention for a while more, but soon turns her attention to Sumiko.

"Although.. were you focusing on one in specific, Sumiko-san?", she says with another small smile. "I think all of the flyers here are World of Dreams natives, but I think some have relatives in other worlds. Is it a sound from your homeland you recall?"

Sumiko turned back and listened quietly for a few moments. There was a shake of the head after that.

"Not that one. I can hear a raspy, drawn-out hissing sound. Somewhere nearby, but the birds I know that make that sound don't frequent forests. Mm....does the World of Dreams have vultures?"

She looked back at Kioku.

"The Vultures that frequent Whispers are nasty creatures, and they can get violent sometimes. The sound reminded me of when I heard a vulture fighting another animal."

"Oh, hissing?"

She seems to intently listen again. As she thinks, she answers thr Spider's other question.

"Oh, vultures? Those are like carrion feeders, ne?"

Still listening intently, thinking.

"If I remember correctly, some studies suggest there was at least one species here in the past... but we sadly don't have any here. We do have screeching razorteeth eagles, which could be what you're hearing. Their rasping sound seems to frighten land dwellers, and they use the resulting movement to hunt them down." A small smile as she looks to Sumiko, although her ears still seem tuned to the environment. "Of course they now usually hunt only what we feed them"

Some more time and she seems to reach another conclusion.

"Although this hissing... I think it could come from the flap necked scavenger Drakes too. I mean... we do have scavengers, just not birds... I hear some of those have even found a place on the streets of some districts"

She then looks at Sumiko again as she gestures for them to continue walking.

"Your world, what's the wilderness like there?", she asks, yer eyes as if a bit far away.

OOC: Sorry for the late reply, wasn't around yesterday with my parents getting married after getting back together

"Hmm...screeching eagles would be very similar. as could Drakes" Sumiko conceded as she followed after the woman "and hai they're like carrion feeders, but the ones on Whispers can get especially aggressive for some reason. I think it might be due to the amount of land they can actually use."

She looked thoughtful at the question.

"Mmmm...lacking. Because of the issue of Whispers not moving the planet is rather split between half the planet being facing the sun and thus quite difficult to stay in, and the other half not facing the sun, so the Susumu have built heavily into the limited space they can use which has disrupted the wildlife that previously existed there. Lots of solar farms, lots of factories. It's not the nicest place sadly for wildlife unless they can survive in the sun all the time. Spider worlds are in general very bleak and tough to survive in, which shapes a lot of the limited wildlife. "

She seems thoughtful, obviously surprised and somewhat fascinated by what is clearly new information on the Spider world.

"Oh... it's almost as if it were three very different worlds for wildlife there, then."

Some more thinking.

"But... there are lifeforms in the all-day and all-night zones, too?"

Then a thought seems to cross her mind. "Oh, and... with the middle strip being obviously highly populated, then, do you have a conservatory movement there as well?"

A few moments.

"I wonder what it must be like, growing up there. Raising a child there..."

For.some reason, she seems wistful for a moment, but Dusk flying around in front of her brings a small smile back to.her face

Hm...what's the nice way of saying most Spider don't care about the environment...

"No conservatories unfortunately. I don't think it's something the Susumu have considered, at least on Whispers. I believe there are some wolves and foxes that populate the sun side of Whispers though, as well as other animals. Not many, and those that do we rarely see due to having adapted to the sun. I confess I've not visited many other Spider worlds, so I can't say much about those."

She tilted her head, looking at the woman as she seemed to ask an odd question about raising a child.

"Well...I was raised there, and I think I turned out ok? It wasn't perhaps the most fun childhood but there are worse ways to be."

"Oh. I suppose the movement is not as widespread elsewhere, then?" She seems thoughtful. "Preserving the world's lifeforms is an important theological matter for us here, you see. Change must happen... but we see it as showing respect for the Celestial Order. Although I suppose the different clans have different ways of paying their respect, ne?"

She falls quiet for a while as they walk throughout the forested path.

"Sounds like an interesting place in quite a few ways, though. I'd be very interested in seeing those wolves and foxes", she says. "And of course, Sumiko-san turned out fine", she assa with a small smile.

A long silence while they walk, and she speaks again.

"Sumiko-san turned out really fine", she repeats, her voice crackling just a small bit. She then looks at her. "Anything in particular you wanted to see in the Sanctuary? Would you be interested in seeing our work at the Spine Drake Centre?"

"Hai, everyone is different. I imagine the Crane care for the beauty of nature more than the Lion or the Phoenix. The Spider work with what we have unfortunately."

Sumiko looked to the woman curious. An honourable person wouldn't ask, but Sumiko despite appearances wasn't too honourable.

"Is everything ok Kioku-san? Forgive me for prying, if I have caused offense I apologise."

"Oh?", she asks, turning to the girl somewhat surprised. "No offence taken, Sumiko-san. And yes, everything is fine - forgive me for worrying you."

She falls silent for a moment more, then speaks again, her voice soft.

"I was just thinking of... childhoods, I suppose you could say."

And interrupted ones..., is what she doesn't say, although a hint of it shows in a wistful smile.

"Ah... but again. Were you thinking of visiting anything specific in the Sanctuary? Our project at the Spine Drake Centre maybe?", she repeats, shaking her head slightly as if to shake off the thought.

There was a tilt of the head, then a nod.

"I understand, don't worry" she smiled at the woman "how about we visit the Spine Drakes, and you can tell me about them? As I've never seen one before."

It was obvious she was doing this to give the woman something else to think about.

"I'm always excited to see a project in action."

The wistfulness is still there, but it retreats deeper under the surface as she smiles to the girl.

"Oh! You've never seen them up close? Really? Come then, I'm sure you'll like them", she says in a surprisingly excited tone, starting to guide them towards the Centre.

"Do you have any experience with other pets? Maybe had one?", she asks as she enters the glass and plasteel building. Inside, a number of glass enclosures are distributed on the sides with Spine Drakes playing in trees and artificial play houses of sorts, visitors watching them do their antics. She nods to one of the windows as she greets some employees around and in a counter in the back. A number of doors seem to lead to offices and, judging from the outside view of the centre, to laboratories, training rooms, nurseries and other facilities.

"I have never in my life owned a pet. There was a cat down the street from my parents place before that I fed and visited when I was younger but that's as close as I got."

Sumiko hurried after the taller woman, pleased that she seemed much happier.

""Oh wow" she said quietly, looking at the creatures closely "are they natives of the planet?"

Susumu Sumiko wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 1:34 pm

"I have never in my life owned a pet. There was a cat down the street from my parents place before that I fed and visited when I was younger but that's as close as I got."

Sumiko hurried after the taller woman, pleased that she seemed much happier.

""Oh wow" she said quietly, looking at the creatures closely "are they natives of the planet?"

The woman's face is not quite happy, but it's clear the creatures are very dear to her. She looks around and smiles slightly towards coworkers and drakes as she walks.

"They are. Or well, were is perhaps a better way to put it. I'm not sure there are any left in the wild - they were on the verge of extinction when the Sanctuary and other Conservatories across the World of Dreams started making efforts at keeping viable populations alive. Our own programme has been one of the most successful - with our breeding programme here, the areas we reserve for them back here" she points to a general direction at the back of the Centre "and their continued existence as company as pets and companion animals - which we also count on for breeding when necessary - the population in Oborozuki is now more or less stable".

Then, looking straight to Sumiko again. "It sounds like Sumiko-san likes animals, though? Would you be interested in adopting a pet, by any chance? You learn fast, as you said yourself", she adds with a slight grin..

"So you're reintroducing them into the wild? Or are they no longer suitable for the wild and thus only protected in sanctuaries? What threatened their extinction?"

Sumiko stood up a little, looking round at Kioku as she spoke to her.

"A pet? Me? I'm not sure of any pet that would approve of a lot of travelling. I'm confident I could look after any animal without difficulty. What kind of animal was Kioku-sama thinking of?"

Susumu Sumiko wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:42 pm

"So you're reintroducing them into the wild? Or are they no longer suitable for the wild and thus only protected in sanctuaries? What threatened their extinction?"

Sumiko stood up a little, looking round at Kioku as she spoke to her.

"A pet? Me? I'm not sure of any pet that would approve of a lot of travelling. I'm confident I could look after any animal without difficulty. What kind of animal was Kioku-sama thinking of?"

"Oh... well, if you call our created environments here wild, then in a way", she says, and the smile is not quite so happy this time. "They... would probably do fine in the wild, although we've been breeding and training them to be more tame. There's just not much wilderness where they could fit in - you've seen our province, and you probably know the whole world is similar, yeah?"

Another faint smile.

"The world-building process that brought the World of Dreams to what it is today... well, not many species do well in urban environments. Conservatories are the main remainders of the wilderness that existed in our terrestrial environments in the past - or, at times, recreations of what we believe they were like." She shrugs. "It... may not be much, but it's an honest attempt at keeping and paying respect to the world's lifeforms. All those we can keep alive."

A pained grin. "Of course... that isn't all of them. For the reasons you imagine... but also, at the accident..."

Pain. So much pain. "We lost much at the accident, as you can imagine. Some things will just never come back"

A pained grin again, then she shakes her head and looks at Sumiko. "Oh... but I was speaking of the Drakes themselves", she says, trying to bring a sincere and more joyful smile back to her lips. "Is Sumiko-san going to stay in the World of Dreams for the whole winter? They cannot be taken off-world, given their importance for our conservation efforts, but while you're here, maybe you could find a friendly companion."

Soshi Kioku wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 10:22 pm

"Oh... well, if you call our created environments here wild, then in a way", she says, and the smile is not quite so happy this time. "They... would probably do fine in the wild, although we've been breeding and training them to be more tame. There's just not much wilderness where they could fit in - you've seen our province, and you probably know the whole world is similar, yeah?"

Another faint smile.

"The world-building process that brought the World of Dreams to what it is today... well, not many species do well in urban environments. Conservatories are the main remainders of the wilderness that existed in our terrestrial environments in the past - or, at times, recreations of what we believe they were like." She shrugs. "It... may not be much, but it's an honest attempt at keeping and paying respect to the world's lifeforms. All those we can keep alive."

A pained grin. "Of course... that isn't all of them. For the reasons you imagine... but also, at the accident..."

Pain. So much pain. "We lost much at the accident, as you can imagine. Some things will just never come back"

A pained grin again, then she shakes her head and looks at Sumiko. "Oh... but I was speaking of the Drakes themselves", she says, trying to bring a sincere and more joyful smile back to her lips. "Is Sumiko-san going to stay in the World of Dreams for the whole winter? They cannot be taken off-world, given their importance for our conservation efforts, but while you're here, maybe you could find a friendly companion."

There was a nod of understanding.

"So it is similar to Whispers. Maybe you should expand the sanctuary more! Then it could be one giant habitat. We don't really need everything else right?" Sumiko laughed."

She turned back to look at the drakes.

"Keeping one as a pet while here in the winter? I am here for the whole winter, so that would be acceptable. Hmm...They would be a really interesting as a pet. Is there any documentation on the best way to look after one?"

Susumu Sumiko wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 15, 2022 1:09 pm

There was a nod of understanding.

"So it is similar to Whispers. Maybe you should expand the sanctuary more! Then it could be one giant habitat. We don't really need everything else right?" Sumiko laughed."

She turned back to look at the drakes.

"Keeping one as a pet while here in the winter? I am here for the whole winter, so that would be acceptable. Hmm...They would be a really interesting as a pet. Is there any documentation on the best way to look after one?"

"Oh... expanding the Sanctuary would be great, but with it covering so much of an island already?" a slight chuckle. "I'm not sure it could be done. Something to keep in mind, though!"

Then, looking at the drakes along Sumiko. "If you are interested in adopting one of our friends, the staff here will be happy to provide information and help. It is important for us that they be well treated, as I'm sure you understand", she says, smiling slightly. "Although... since you mentioned reading, there are some books specifically dealing their biology, how to care for them and related topics." She seems thoughtful for a while. "I think one of them was not available last I checked in the gift shop... but it may be available again soon. You could probably find something in the Sanctuary library for now, though".

Then, pointing towards the Drakes with her head. "Shall I take you to meet some of them then?"