Coli gingerly scooped up the uprooted flowers, wincing at every bruised leaf and puppy tooth mark she saw. They would probably live if she could get them planted again soon, but who was to say the little one wouldn't come back again? She would have to explain that the garden was off-limits until the child got a little older. Listening patiently, Colibri couldn't keep that small smile from reappearing; she was just so energetic, her entire body reacted to the words she said, wagging her tail and waving her paws every which way. Her name was Asura? No, a Sura, that was what she said. It had been many seasons since Coli had tried to talk to a puppy, but slowly she was catching up with the childish speech patterns and mispronunciations. Sura spoke so quickly, though, that she still wasn't following all of it. The little girl claiming to be an adult didn't offer her a last name, either, but it still shouldn't be too difficult to identify her family if they came looking for her. She didn't seem lost, though... just unsupervised.
"It's nice to meet you, Sura. My name is Colibri, or Coli for short. You said... the flowers were evil and bad? They said things to tease you? Oh, Sura, these are good flowers," she tried to rationalize. "If you have a tummy ache or you hurt your paws, these flowers can make you feel better. That's why the garden is there, to help everyone in Vinátta when they get sick." She wasn't sure that would be enough to convince the little dog to stop destroying them, but it was a start. It was not the first time she had tried to explain gardening to a child who had never encountered it before, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
Sura was very talkative, quick to offer advice when she watched Colibri's failed attempt to stand. Her lips pursed into a wry grimace, vaguely annoyed that she had drawn attention to her weakened condition. "Smaller like you... do you mean I should be on four legs? Ah... sweetie, normally I would, but I, uh, had an accident recently..." She gestured to the bandage on her chest, hiding the forming scar from view. There were other injuries, but it was the most obvious and easiest for a child to understand. "If I try to shift, it could hurt me. I need to wait to get better." There was also the physical toll that shifting exacted; she knew instinctively that she would faint from exhaustion if she tried to change forms now. Whatever was sapping all her strength was making life difficult in every facet.
Curiously, the puppy began to fidget and hop up and down, as though something put her in discomfort. Coli leaned forward, wanting to make sure it was nothing serious, when a wail burst forth from her. "P-potty?" she stammered in surprise. She needed to urinate? "Um, we're outside, so... go ahead," she managed, confused and more than a little amused. The poor little thing had been holding it in for some reason; maybe her parents warned her not to go inside the house, and she didn't know where was allowed? She would ask them once she brought the little one home, lest this happen again.