Mitsuhide indeed saw the wings before he saw the rest of the heron princess. Of course, Chimaki reached her first and managed to hop onto the branch in front of her. The little fox gave a yep to try and get her attention.

Meanwhile, Mitsuhide pulled himself up onto a sturdy branch next to her. "Little bird?" he called to her softly. What he saw concerned him greatly. Though she didn't appear to be sick, it definitely looked like she was fading away.