The following day, Caboose was helping Miia to hang her laundry up on a line to dry on the balcony. Miia had managed to put the negative aspects of the previous day's events behind her and was humming happily to herself, having chosen to focus on how readily Caboose leapt to defend her honor and not let anyone hurt her emotionally. She thought back to how she remembered the day now…

"Look at the snake lady!" the racist couple taunted, laughing.

"Look at the naked monkeys!" Caboose called back, making several bystanders laugh.

"What did you say?" the man roared out angrily.

"Correction: look at the deaf naked monkeys!" Caboose shouted back, causing more laughter.

The man charged forward with his fist raised, only for Caboose to lunge forward and headbutt the fist with his faceplate, causing the man's bones to crack. Caboose then lifted the man by his shirt collar.

"No one hurts my Miia," Caboose declared firmly. His free hand reached out of the fantasy memory to rub Miia on the head. "That's a promise."

"Kyaah!" Miia squealed happily as she swayed back and forth in excitement.

"Wow, I look really cool!" Caboose yelled happily.

Miia yelped in shock. "You saw that?" she gasped out.

"Saw what?" Caboose asked in confusion.

"My…little fantasy…" Miia murmured nervously.

"Oh, you slip into fantasies, too?" Caboose crowed eagerly. "I thought I was the only one. Church was always telling me to stop flying away into fantasy land."

Miia giggled. "Well, don't worry. I'll be sure to pull you back down to earth." As she turned to head inside, a sudden flapping of wings caused her to turn and see that Caboose…was no longer there. "DARLING!" she called out worriedly.

"I didn't mean it literally!" Caboose called from above.

Miia looked up and gasped as she saw a bird shape carrying Caboose off into the sky. "Darling!" she screamed out before giving chase.

Caboose stared around as he was carried off. This was certainly a very strange experience. "This is a very strange experience," he murmured softly. "…did I forget to turn off a jetpack? I don't wear a jetpack…" Holding up a hand, he caught a small blue feather that fell into his hand. "Blue? Oh, must be a new teammate!" With that settled, he relaxed completely into the flight.

Before long, he was dropped towards a tree. Caboose caught a branch and landed perfectly on the ground before looking up at the one who had carried him there. She was a rather short girl – barely chest height from talons to hair – with an understated figure, gold bird legs ending in talons, and blue feathered wings. Her hair was also blue, her eyes were golden, her skin was pale, and she wore a blue tube top and blue jean shorts torn short. "You're heavy!" she complained as she panted, flapping her wings to stay in the air.

"It's the armor," Caboose apologized. "Who are you?"

"I'm Papi!" she greeted happily. "Papi the Harpy!"

"Hi Papi!" Caboose greeted warmly. "I'm Caboose!" He held out his hand to shake.

The girl landed in front of him, holding out the joint of her wing to shake, revealing a hand under the fluffy feathers there. "Nice to meet you!"

"What's a Harpy?" Caboose asked curiously. "Is that a demi-human?"

"Hmm?" Papi inquired, tilting her head in confusion.

As he waited for an answer from Papi, Caboose's helmet proceeded to scan through the documents stored there and revealed to him that Harpies were indeed demi-humans. "Oh, that makes sense. I was wondering why I hadn't seen other humans with wings." He focused on Papi. "Where is your home stay host? Demi-humans aren't supposed to wander alone."

"That's why I brought you!" Papi declared happily.

Caboose gasped in shock. "I'm your host?" He threw his hands eagerly into the air. "Yay! New friend!"

Papi promptly mimicked his actions. "Yay! New friend!"

Caboose was going to say more, but a particular sales stall in the park they'd stopped in caught his eye. "Ice cream!" he declared, pointing past the fountain towards it.

"Ice cream!" Papi declared happily. "Is that food?"

"Best food ever!" Caboose confirmed eagerly.

"Yay!" Papi took his arm and turned to pull him towards the ice cream stall. After taking three steps, however, she froze. She turned back towards Caboose nervously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Caboose!" Caboose declared eagerly. "Who are you?"

"Papi the Harpy!" Papi responded nervously.

"Nice to meet you Papi. Do you want some ice cream?" Caboose pointed towards the stall.

"Ice cream!" Papi declared happily, seizing Caboose's arm and pulling him another three steps…where the discussion repeated itself.

Every three steps towards the stall, the conversation repeated itself, even when they were only a single step from the stall. When the conversation concluded that time, the salesman handed Papi an ice cream cone and Caboose a popsicle.

Papi gasped in shock. "How did he know we wanted ice cream?"

"He must be magic!" Caboose murmured in awe.

Papi's eyes lit up excitedly as she took the cone. "Thank you magic ice cream man!"

With that, the pair made their way over to a bench, where Caboose inserted the popsicle into his breathing grill in his helmet, which opened to let the popsicle into his mouth. He was satisfied with enjoying this until he noticed Papi struggling to hold her cone as she leaned in to take a bite. Her wing-hands weren't suited for gripping, and before her mouth made it all the way there it had slipped out of her hands.

Before it could hit the ground, Caboose's hand shot forward, catching the cone and shifting it to catch the ice cream without spilling a drop. "I'll hold it for you!" he offered happily. "I have a sister who has trouble holding things, too."

Papi gasped happily. "Thank you!" With that, she leaned over to take a bite, moaning happily at the taste.

"What brings you out today?" Caboose asked curiously.

Papi shrugged as she swallowed. "I'm not allowed out until I memorize the Interspecies Ceremony," she explained readily.

Caboose shuddered. "Yeah…I had to memorize a handbook once too. Not pleasant. It was too much for me."

"Too much for Papi, too!" Papi agreed. "So when the terminator wasn't looking, I ran away!"

"Me too!" Caboose agreed eagerly. "And that's how I met Church!"

"And that's how I met Caboose!" Papi continued happily. "Best day!"

"Best day!" Caboose cheered, throwing his hands up and causing half melted popsicle to spray over both of them.

"Wah!" Papi called out in surprise. "Caboose got Papi sticky!"

"My popsicle!" Caboose wailed, seeing that most of it was gone now.

"You can have some of my ice cream!" Papi offered happily.

"Best day ever!" Caboose spoke up eagerly, and the pair quickly devoured the ice cream.

Papi then stood up and began to disrobe.

"What are you doing?" Caboose asked curiously.

"Bathing!" Papi said happily as she pointed to the fountain after discarding top and shorts, leaving her completely nude. "The park has a nice bird bath!" With that, she leapt into the fountain.

"Yay!" Caboose cheered happily. "I'll join you! Splash fight!" With that, he leapt into the fountain and began to splash around with Papi, much to her pleasure and the confusion of everyone watching. The scenario seemed to indicate something naughty was happening, but the innocent excitement the pair were exhibiting said otherwise…leaving no one with a certain answer.

"I found you!" Miia suddenly shouted.

"Miia!" Caboose called happily, turning and waving at her. "I made a new friend!"

Miia blinked several times. Having seen the situation, she had been completely ready to verbally tear into the 'little girl' who was playing in the fountain with her Darling Caboose…but Caboose's eager welcome robbed her of much of her fire. "You…did?" she asked nervously.

"This is Papi!" Caboose introduced eagerly. "She can't go outside without her host family, so she got me to get her ice cream!"

"Wait…you're her host?" Miia gasped, shocked.

"Yup!" Caboose declared happily. "She'll be staying with us, and we're all gonna be friends, and throw parties, and play games…"

"Papi loves games!" Papi declared happily.

Before Miia could respond, a cry of fear drew their attention. Everyone seemed to be looking up into a tall tree…where a little girl was clinging desperately to a high branch, having apparently chased a balloon whose string was caught on the branch.

"Oh no!" Miia gasped worriedly.

"She can't get down?" Papi asked curiously.

Caboose walked up to the base of the tree and wrapped his arms around the trunk.

"Darling," Miia called out, "that's not how humans climb-"

A loud tearing sound accompanied the shredding of stone as Caboose pulled the tree, its root system, and the dirt it fed on out of the ground with a single, "Hup!" Turning, he lowered the top of the tree slowly to the ground until the girl was able to let go and put her feet on the ground, taking her balloon as she stood. Caboose then lifted the tree upright before putting it back in the ground. "There you go!" Caboose declared happily, walking up and patting the girl gently on the head. "It's dangerous to climb too high without a ladder…or a climbing buddy!"

"Thank you!" the girl responded happily before rushing off.

Caboose turned as people applauded…and noticed the ruined concrete around the base of the tree. "…that will buff right out," he offered confidently.

Papi stared in amazement at the human who reshaped his environment like a god, and yet played with her like a friend. Her cheeks colored slightly as she stared.

Miia was not happy seeing that.