Mmmm, the sun felt so good on his side. Even still, he managed to sit up to watch the girls talk back and forth a few moments, just resting quietly and listening to their voices as he cleaned some loose debris from his feathers. Zhenga's sounded like she could chase someone off with sharp words if she needed to. But he bet she could be so quiet and gentle too if she felt like it. Like Mother, he figured. Kylin's was so soft though.
Then his attention shifted as the red girl climbed to her feet, shaking herself free of dust and loose strands of grass. He listened to her thoughts without thinking about it, without really meaning to. It just always worked that way, came so naturally to him. She wanted to clean herself off, but was afraid to dirty the water, and he almost smiled. He rose to his feet too, nudging his twin sweetly though she was already standing.
"I don't know about you two, but I'd rather not get in trouble. Who do I need to see about becoming an official kingdom resident?"
He grinned wide and joined her at her side, laying his wing over Kylin and pulling her along with him as usual. He almost draped his other wing over Zhenga's back but remembered how she hadn't seemed to like that before, and so he hesitated, then carefully tucked it back in.
"That's alright. It's our family that rules this place now. We like you, and you like it here, so we can just tell our parents about you when we get home." He ventured a cautious but friendly tap at her shoulder. It was at least less than hugging her, but physical affection was so natural and it felt strange to hold himself back.
"Do you want to see anything else, or find yourself a nice spot to stay?" He hesitated a moment, then added as casually as he could, "There's a few natural springs dotted all over the island. They usually have constantly running fresh water that washes out to sea. Always fresh, tastes really good." And good for cleaning away the dirt she wanted gone from her coat without soiling any drinking pools.