Meanwhile in the riverbank, Erza and Sting sat next to each other and were getting along, clueless to what happened at the Sabertooth settlement.
"So, Erza, what kind of river is this?" Sting asked, motioning to the river nearby.
"Qui-yough-co-hannock," Erza replied.
Sting twitched his eyebrows, "Man, those are the most unusual names you've got here. Chicahominy. Qui-yough... Qui-yough-co-hannock. Erza."
Erza smiled, "You have the most unusual name, too. Sting Eucliffe."
Sting had to admit that Erza had a point. Suddenly, he jumped when he saw a familiar cat in his bag, eating the biscuits inside. "Hey!" Sting shouted, picking her up out of the bag.
Millianna greeted, "Hello, Mr. Biscuit Man! Nice to see you again!"
Sting asked, "Is this hungry cat a friend of yours?"
"Millianna!" Erza exclaimed, picking her cat friend up. She was not pleased that Millianna stuck her nose into Sting's belongings.
Millianna replied, "I can't help myself, Erzy-Werzy. I was hoping he got more biscuits."
Sting chuckled, "You gotta admit, she's got a steely appetite." He held out his hand, "How're you doing, Millianna?"
Millianna cheered, "Yay! More biscuits!" She searched Sting's hand, finding no biscuit. She then frowned, "Hey, there's no biscuits! What are you trying to give me?"
Sting assured, "It's all right, Millianna."
Millianna replied, "Call me Milli for short."
Sting nodded, "Oh, okay, Milli. It's just a handshake. Here, let me show you." He showed his hand to Erza and Millianna, expecting either of them to take it.
Erza looked at his hand in confusion, "Uh, nothing's happening."
Sting replied, "No, I need your hand first." Erza held out her hand, the latter taking it and shaking it. "It's how we say hello." She stared at him and smiled in understanding.
Millianna looked at Wally, "Can I give it a try?" She grabbed Wally's beak and shook it, shaking him in the process.
Wally yelped, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"
"This is how we say hello," Erza presented. She sat up straight and waved her hand in a steady curve motion. "Wingapo."
Sting repeated after her, following the hand motion, "Wingapo."
"And how we say goodbye," Erza waved her hand again. "Ah-na."
Sting grinned, placing his palm on Erza's, "Honestly, I like hello better."
The two looked at each other and blushed; there appears to be feelings between them. Wally couldn't take it, though, and he separated their hands with his beak.
Wally snapped, "Okay, break it up, you two!" He turned to Sting with a glare, "Buddy, do us all a favor and find a girl who looks a lot like you or your hair."
"Hey, I remember you," Sting recognized. "You're that talking hummingbird from the bushes."
Wally raised his eyebrow, "Oh, you noticed?"
Erza explained with a chuckle, "Sorry, Wally just doesn't like strangers."
Wally added angrily, "Especially a not-so-dandy creep who's hangin' out with the Chief's daughter!"
Sting grinned slyly, "Oh, c'mon! I'm not a stranger anymore. And I'm not a creep." He patted Wally on the head, much to the hummingbird's annoyance.
Wally growled, pushing Sting's hand away, "Go pet someone else's hummingbird."
Sting asked Erza, "Stubborn little guy, isn't he?"
Erza admitted, "He tends to be a bit overprotective." Wally blew raspberries at Sting, making a point. "And yes, he's very stubborn."
Sting saw Millianna in his bag, still looking for biscuits. "Where are they? Where are they? Oh where, oh where, have my biscuits gone now?" she said.
"Hey!" Sting exclaimed. "What're you digging into?"
Millianna came out with what appeared to be a compass in her mouth, and rushed off with it.
Sting yelled, "That's mine!"
Erza protested, "Millianna, come back here!"
Sting shrugged, "Don't worry. He can't hurt it."
Millianna stood by a large rock and took the compass from her mouth, looking at it. She wondered, "Gee, I wonder what this is? Must be a new biscuit." She took a bite of the compass, and then noticed that it wasn't tasty or filling at all. Millianna pouted, "What kind of biscuit is this? It's gotta be an egg or something!" She then clanged the compass onto the rock, much to Sting's alarm.
Sting yelped, "Hey, hey, what are you doing?! Get—" He jumped at Millianna, but the cat dodged his arms and climbed up a tree with the compass in her mouth.
"Millianna, bring that back!" Erza shouted, as Millianna climbed to the highest branch.
Sting groaned, "No, it's alright. She can have it. Call it a gift." Millianna clanged the compass against the branch, trying to break it.
Millianna cried, "Come on, egg! Break! Break! I could get something to eat out of it!"
Erza asked Sting, "What was that thing, anyway?"
Sting answered, "That's my compass."
Erza questioned, "Compass?"
Sting explained, "It tells you how to find your way around when you get lost. But it's all right; I'll get another one in Fiore."
"Fiore?" Erza asked curiously. "Is that your village?"
Sting nodded, "Yeah, it's a very big village."
Erza became very interested in the subject. "What's it like?"
Sting explained, "Well, it's got streets filled with cars, boats, and other vehicles, bridges over the rivers, and buildings as tall as trees." He moved his hands in the air, making a picture.
Erza seemed to be excited. This "Fiore" place sounds like a nice village to be at. She said dreamily, "I'd like to see those things."
Sting nodded, "You will."
Erza asked confused, "How?"
Sting climbed a tree branch while explaining, "We're going to build them here. We'll show you people how to use this land properly, how to make the most of it."
"Make the most of it?" Erza didn't understand.
Sting replied, "Yeah. We'll build roads and descent houses…"
"What's so wrong about our houses?" Erza interrupted, slightly taken aback. "They're fine just the way they are."
Sting sat face-to-face with her, "You think that only because you don't know any better."
Erza sulked at this comment; she stood up and left in a huff. Sting was surprised. "W-Wait a minute! Don't take it that—"
Wally prevented him from chasing after Erza by flying around his body. He frowned, "I knew you were trouble when you came in. So beat it! Erza doesn't need jerks like you to know what's fine and what's not!"
"Get outta here!" Sting frowned back, knocking the hummingbird into the bushes.
"WHOA!" Wally cried.
"Look at him go!" Millianna remarked.
Wally came out of the bushes, groaning, "Darn un-dandy guy…" He then collapsed to the ground.
Sting continued his pursuit of Erza, who was already rowing off with her canoe. "Wait! W-Wait!" He blocked her path, "There's a lot of things we've got to teach you. I mean, we've improved the lives of savages all over the world."
"Savages?!" Erza exclaimed, being offended.
Sting blushed, trying to get things right, "Oops… I'm not saying that you're a savage."
Erza glared, clearly not impressed, "Just my people."
Sting shook his head, "Wait, that's not what I meant. Let me explain..."
"Let go!" Erza protested. She forced to row her boat, but Sting was holding it, preventing it from moving.
"Nope, I'm not letting you leave," Sting gave her a knowing smile. Erza scoffed, jumped to a nearby branch, and swiftly leaped to the others. Sting sighed, "Look, don't do this. Savage is just a word, okay?" He chased her, climbing the tree, "It's a term for people who are uncivilized."
Erza hung upside down from a branch. She frowned, "Like me."
"No, when I say uncivilized, what I mean is—" Sting tried to balance himself, but when he reached for the closest twig above him, it snapped. As a result, he fell down, hitting tree boughs on the way. "Ow! Ouch!" He landed on the grass, and a small rock hit him on the head, "Yeow!"
Erza jumped down from the tree. "What you mean is, 'not like you,'" she said, as Sting groaned and looked on. Then, Erza began to sing.
Erza: You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places, I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know
As Erza left, the wind blew around. Sting followed her in curiosity. Erza picked up a stick and placed it to the ground.
You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
Erza went over a tree and rock, kneeling down and touching them, causing them to glow.
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name
Soon, the butterflies flew out. A bit later, Sting saw a bear nearby and was about to cast White Dragon's Roar at it.
You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
Erza stopped him before he could do so. The two followed the bear's footsteps as it led them to a few bear cubs.
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew
Erza picked up a bear club, as it played with Sting's hair. Erza looked up at the sky as the shadow of a wolf was seen.
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue-corn moon?
We now see the starry sky showing the constellation of a grinning bobcat.
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Sting looked at the sky, amazed.
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain?
The wind blew when we see Erza what appears to be painted.
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Sting smiled as he came up to Erza and held hands with her.
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
The wind blew Erza and Sting up in the air until they landed on the ground safely, running with the spirits of animals. They then jumped over the falls, landing on the ground beneath them. Later, they began to run through the forest.
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the Earth
They rolled down a field of sunflowers.
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth
The next thing Sting knew, they were in a river. At this point, they were swimming to the surface with the heron and the sea otters.
The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
They splashed out the water. We now see Sting and Erza lying together on a small plot of land.
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends
The two had an eagle each on their arm. They lifted their arms, and the eagles flew towards the peak of a sycamore tree.
How high does the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
By this time, Erza and Sting were standing on the cliff again, the wind and leaves breezing on their faces.
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue-corn moon
For whether we are white or copper-skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind
The two glanced at the sunset. Erza then walked to a rock and scooped a handful of dirt.
You can own the earth and still
All you'll own is earth until
You can paint…
With all the colors…
Of the wind
Sting opened his hands, accepting the dirt. He then realized that there was more to this land than he already knows. The two stared at each other and placed their palms against each other, as if in a trance, as the wind softly blew the leaves past them.
But this moment of silence was broken by the sound of beating drums. Erza turned to her village's direction, looking worried.
"What is it?" Sting asked.
"The drums," Erza replied. "They mean trouble. I shouldn't be here." She walked away, but Sting grabbed hold of her hand.
"I want to see you again," Sting said.
"I can't," Erza shook her head.
Sting insisted, not letting go of her hand, "Please, don't go."
"I'm sorry," Erza said sadly. "I have to go."
She left. Sting couldn't say anything. He sighed as he watched her leave, hoping that he could see her again.
