Northstar Vale baby's blue

He was about to turn to inspect another, less offensive flower before a soft chuff distracted him. Haruki whirled around to spot the pale adult making her way towards him and he stared unblinkingly, for a moment mistaking her for mother. Beyond the obvious similarities in appearance, the stranger had the same soft, almost calming presence as Reiko, with a lilting voice that coaxed the puppy forward despite not understanding a word of what she had said.

"Yunnnngh...suh," he responded proudly, making the most out of his newfound ability of speech, even if it was just incomprehensible mimicry for the moment. He was beginning to understand certain words, such as what his mother and father were most often called as well as his own name, but recognising more than that was still just beyond his grasp for the time being. So he looked up to not-Reiko with a smile as she lowered herself down before him, wandering forward and making to touch her nose with his own as an introduction.