Rhia's squirrel found him before Rhia had. The small creature had been hunting for any scrap of food that could be found in the winter here, well away from his family’s winter stores. Seeing another squirrel, Ixtma braced to see if it was going to attack or might be friendly enough to approach.

With a shadow like a hawk a winged girl flew overhead just for the joy of flight. The squirrel, knowing who it was didn't duck or hide as it otherwise might have.

As for Rhia herself, from below she probably looked like a part of the trees grew wings and decided to go for a fly sometime in early Spring had hadn't bothered to notice Winter's cold, as she was all brown and green save her eyes and wings.