Sparkles, and Shinies, and Swords; Oh My!!

Nyuu had been out here in the wilderness, playing all day. There were a few twigs sticking out of her bright orange hair, making the girl look rather comical. Her fox ears twitched as she pranced around, with her tail doing the same. She had been pouncing on butterflies, playing near a stream, and climbing trees all day long. And she wasn't even tired yet!

The thirteen-year-old was currently yawning, looking up at the sky. It had been an eventful, fun day so far. Her ears turned as she heard a sound, her ears having heard it before it actually processed in the girls head. Nyuu ducked into the bushes, watching as a girl with blonde hair skipped by. Oh boy, someone to play with!

Crouching low to the ground, Nyuu stalked after the girl, her fox instincts taking hold for a few moments. Right at the opportune moment, she jumped out of the bushes with a cute little roar and tackle hugged Tania. "NYUUUUU!!" she greeted playfully, clinging to the fairy tightly.

Nyuu's ears pressed against her head at the sound of the scream. Did her new friend not like her? There was a penitent look on her face for a moment as she hoped she hadn't done something wrong. There were a few screams hidden deep in her memory, and from what little her short-term memory could hold, screams were never good.

However, upon being hugged back, her face lit up again. "Nyuu!" she exclaimed when asked what her name was. It was her name, and the only word she could say. She then poked Tania's shoulder with a curious look. "Nyuu?"

Nyuu smiled. Tania was a pretty name. Too bad she couldn't say that, what with her one-word vocabulary. When asked how old she was, Nyuu jumped off of the other female and pulled a stick out of her hair, sitting down in the dirt. She couldn't count very high, but she could at least count to her age.

She drew thirteen lines in the dirt, stopping after each one to make sure each line was correct. "Nyuu!" she exclaimed, proud that she had been able to correctly draw out her age. She pointed the stick at the lines, then at Tania. "Nyuu?"

Nyuu's eyes went wide when Tania said one-hundred-ten. That sounded like it was going to be a lot of lines... it was four syllables, after all! When asked if she could talk, Nyuu pointed to her throat and said the same thing again in a sad tone of voice: "Nyuu."

She obviously couldn't. Her family had spent most of the time as foxes and there hadn't been a need to talk while in her animal form. She had only learned to speak her name and the names of her siblings, nothing else.

Nyuu hopped around in a circle when Tania offered to teach her a few words. That would help her vocabulary a lot, hopefully. "Nyuu, nyuu!!" she exclaimed, nodding enthusiastically. She looked at Tania, her eyes glittering with joy as she waited. Hopefully she would be able to learn this...