Private Finished Owl with a Cloud

It looked like Hazel was having quite the time writing all of this stuff down. Béatrice felt a small sense of amusement seeing her trying to take notes on this lecture. She did think about becoming a teacher at the school but decided against it because she wouldn't be able to deal with the more stubborn students. Doing one-on-one teaching was her specialty, but she only ever did it for family members and close friends, so doing it for a newly made friend was an experience.

"I can create, manipulate, and absorb water, as well as cool water into ice. It is not the main source of my nutrients, but it does give me an adrenaline rush depending on how much I absorb. Oricenta are omnivores, but we are predators as well, and we must hunt every once in a while to avoid becoming agitated and feral. And you are not being mean at all, Hazel. Opposing elements do not breed as often, but we still interact with one another. My wife is Mud, but I suppose we have it a bit easier because we are both Water. Even so, she has to be more gentle with me because I am delicate and light from being part Air, and she is strong and heavy from being part Earth. She could easily hurt me without intending to."

"It depends. I do not hunt a lot, so I prefer easier animals on the smaller side. What counts as smaller to you is probably different for me, however." She giggled. "I could take down a large bird or an antelope, but I also like hunting different sea creatures. My wife likes to challenge herself and try out inventions on her prey, so she goes for the bigger, tougher animals like bears and wolves. She does prefer being on the ground, but she likes wet areas like me and doesn't mind being high up, she just isn't a good flier. I have seen her climb up mountains at a terrifying place. She's so strong. I just love it." Béatrice clasped her cheeks as they turned an intense violet, nearly letting out a squeal in the process. However, she managed to remember she was in front of someone and hold it back before she got too loud. "M-My apologies. Just . . . it is hard for me not to admire all she can do. I will keep myself more composed next time."

"Th-Thank you. About finding me adorable, I mean." Béatrice was not the type to act humble about compliments, but she was also not called adorable often. She was called beautiful, intimidating, big, and many other things that ranged from flattering to infuriating. Adorable was often reserved for others with a smaller and more demure appearance. It was nice to be labeled that word again as an adult.

When asked to talk about her wife more, Béatrice almost felt sorry for Hazel. She was going to need to hold back on this one; otherwise, she would fall into an endless ramble that there was no way to escape from other than ditching the conversation altogether. "Oh, where should I start?" she began. "We met when we were very young as teenagers. I heard about a great inventor who was also a performer in musicals and went to attend one of her shows. I do not think I would have spoken to Ade if not for the fact that the outfits in the show were abysmal. Do not get me wrong, she was a great actor and was beautiful up there, but whoever was running the costume design should have been fired immediately. It was an insult to my eyes that someone so attractive was put in something so undignified and inappropriate to aesthetic of the show." She took a deep breathe, realizing she was experiencing the agitation she felt back then again. "Anyway, I went to talk to her and would not allow her to reject my help. Since then, we have been very close, though at first, that was because I would not leave her side. She actually found me annoying when we first met, but I was one of the few who could deal with her constant sarcasm and rude tone toward everybody. But all love starts with some struggles, does it not?

"I think the biggest struggle for me was that, uh, we only got married recently. I am Ade's second spouse. The other one she married when she only just started her adulthood, so they have been together for many, *many* years. I would prefer not speaking about them, but they had a child with Ade named Oluremi, who is twenty now. Ade and I had another child named Arjean, who is four. Oluremi and Arjean are their human names, by the way. We all have human and oricenta names."

"Thank you. My family is already here with me. The only one missing is my parent Archard, but they have to deal with home. They are the Royal Oricenta, so they only pop in once in a while to make sure we are all fine, connect with the kids, and learn more about the island. My friends also moved here too, albeit, a little bit before us. They are the family we are thinking about combining with but does not seem likely anytime soon."

"We still have blood." She laughed, then took a slice of cheesecake. It was difficult restraining herself from eating everything at the table. Once she got home, she was going to let go of all of her restraints and treat herself big. "And Archie asexually reproduced me. They look just like me, but everything about me that is violet is gold for them, they have much shorter hair, their horns are a different pattern, and their freckles are only on their cheeks. Oh, and they have a strongman physique, while I am all fat. Not that I mind, it makes us look different enough, but it can be awkward when they are mistaken to be my sibling than my parent."

Bringing up her kids activated Béatrice's motherly instinct to brag about everything they've achieved so far in life. "Well, I guess I should start with my first, yes? Remi is as beautiful as her mother." The traits she inherited from her other parent still annoyed Béatrice, but that was nothing to blame the child about, and she still took on more from Ade anyway. "She has some eyesight issues, difficulties learning certain subjects, and is still working on her magic, but she's such a sweetheart. She's going to the school here to learn dancing and be like Ade. She is an excellent cook, and her baking skills are amazing. I taught her those, in fact. She also has great at the violin, guitar, cello, and the best instrument of all, her voice. I am *so* proud of her. All she needs to work on is expressing her emotions in ways outside of dancing and music, but I can tell she is on a path towards greatness.

"Then there is Arjean. They are so young but have gotten so far. I used to homeschool them, so most everything they know is from me, but now I got them into the first grade at Starlight. I bet they could have gone further, but I did not want to stunt their social development by surrounding them with kids they did not know and are much older than them. Even just seeing the teenagers and adults get used to a world full of strange creatures shows how much of a struggle it can be. Imagine what that must feel like for a child who just left their toddler phase. Particularly one who has trouble socializing and many anxiety issues. They have been trying to get around that by using a notepad to write and draw out all of their responses when talking to people they are not familiar with. Luckily, their friend moved here too, so they are in the same grade now. He is quite the extrovert, so I hope he helps them break out of their shell. I think what I am most proud about Arjean, other than their intelligence, is how good they are at drawing. They take after my love of art and fashion and always try to impress me with their clothing and doll designs, then I make them a reality. Just the other day, they were attempting to make a stuffed animal because I was too busy."