IC Date: 10/27/2025

As Sailor Tempesti stepped onto the Isle of Turning she once against felt an immense gratitude for the ferry. It had certainly saved her a lot of trouble during her trips to and from the island. The long swims were good training of course, but between everything else she had going on it was nice to be able to just step on a boat instead of having to pull herself through the choppy water of the Keraunos Bay and considering the ways in which the city’s days were cooling it seemed unlikely that swimming would be a viable, or at least comfortable, option for the season. The ferry at least had some protection from the elements, more than she’d realized when she’d first encountered it. Her growing ability to read the planet’s ancient language had afforded her more than a mimic’s understanding of the vessel’s controls and had been pleased to realize that it had the ability to provide greater shelter from the more aggressive weather. How that might hold up against a winter storm remained to be seen, but that was a problem for another day.

A series of unfamiliar, startled squawks caught her by surprise as a flurry of motion sped away from her. Standing a reasonable but curious distance away, she saw a group of birds that resembled nothing so much as puffballs perched on a comically long set of twigs. The nearest of the group was uttering a series of peeps she could only imagine were feathery obscenities from its pointy little beak. The island’s new and indignant residents watched her with wary interest as the senshi carefully skirted the wading territory they’d clearly staked out.

The little birds were maybe the size of a robin though they were quite a bit rounder, if not much larger. Most of their bodies were covered in feathers of a very pale, nearly white lilac which faded into lavender wings. Bands of dark purple marked their chests, necks, and foreheads while their inquisitive orange eyes scanned the muck at their feet for whatever tasty snacks might be found in the shallows. Whatever adorable awkwardness might accompany their gangliness clearly did nothing to impede their work as the tiny hunters snatched up any small aquatic worms they could get their beaks on. Even though the worms weren’t quite as cute as their predators, their presence alone filled Tempesti with a profound warmth despite the morning’s chill. They may not be the most glamourous or beautiful of the new life she’d encountered on this alien world, but they were proof that every stratum of this ecosystem was striving to heal. It would take years of observation before she would have a chance to fully understand the note each of these creatures played in this symphony, but because of their will to survive she would have the chance to do so, and maybe even find ways to help them thrive. Heartened and bolstered by this thought, she allowed herself a few more moments with the birds before returning to her work at the Tower.