estoria | (no subject)

Entry tags:

ankh,
hikari yagami

(no subject)

Who: Ankh

notsogreedy
When: IC 7/25
Where: The zoo
What: A chance to talk about wings without so many emotions getting in the way
Rating/Warning: None

It wasn't usually a common sight to find someone, even a zookeeper, standing in an enclosure with a bird of prey. That said, it had been a somewhat more frequent occurrence at the one here since a certain Greeed with an affinity for birds had arrived. He was sitting on a rock by the fence, not far from the path where guests of the zoo could walk by and look in. His arm was the one that was clearly not human, armored in red and black with a sculpted bird along the back of it... and on the top of that was a real bird. A hawk, specifically, sitting there as calmly as if he were a tree.

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Hikari liked seeing the animals. It would have been better if they could be free, of course, but...at least most of them seemed pretty happy. Even Tailmon was enjoying herself as they walked along each exhibit. Stopping on occasion to get a better look. One stop, in particular, caught her interest for two reasons. One, because of the beautiful bird sitting so still on that person's arm. And two, that person was someone she recognized.

"...are you part of the zoo too?"

A faint smile at the question. It wasn't meant to be a joke, exactly; she'd learned over time that some of the jobs in cerealia were...a little unusual.

Ankh had had some thoughts as well about some of the birds being free. His thoughts were probably less noble than hers, more about having something like this hawk as a fighting companion of need be, but either way... He hadn't yet teated how much the zoo would actually care if one of their birds went missing, but the thought had crossed his mind.

He was turned away from the path, and as Hikari approached, the hawk watched her much more intently than Ankh did. He only glanced over when she spoke, and then only briefly.

"Are you saying they have me on display?" Given how weird this place was, he should probably be glad that wasn't the case. It sounded like a miserable job.

"I didn't say anything. I only asked."

Point of clarification. Coming from an eight-year-old, it might have sounded a little precocious. Maybe even smart-alecy. But her tone and body language continued to convey an aura of pure innocence.

"Your friend is very pretty. What's their name?"

Only a child could pull that off.

"Well I'm not. I wouldn't have taken that job, anyway." He glanced to the bird on his arm, who seemed indifferent to the compliment. "I wouldn't call this my friend, either." Despite how he seemed perfectly content to be this bird's perch for the moment.

"Why not? They seem pretty friendly to me."

Like the oh-so-friendly Tailmon standing beside her. Eyeing both Ankh and the bird with a neutral curiosity.

As if to illustrate a point, the hawk hopped off of Ankh's arm and flew off to go pick at what was left of a dead mouse. Friendly indeed. But maybe that was why Ankh seemed to get along with this one.

Oh.

Well...that...

...at least it went after a dead mouse, rather than a live one?

"They must be hungry," she commented weakly.

That was more her luck in timing than anything else. The bird probably would have preferred a live one. Ankh glanced back briefly, maybe enjoying the look on the girl's face just a bit.

"The zoo calls her Gavina." A delayed reply to an earlier question.

Momentarily distracted by the sight, Hikari turned back with a look of surprise. Clearly not having anticipated an answer after not being initially given one. A few seconds later, however, her mind was able to catch up. She blinked twice, and then her face broke out into a small smile.

"Gavina..." she echoed, trying it out for herself. "When she comes back, would you please tell Gavina that it was a pleasure to meet her?"

It was a stupid name, really. It just meant hawk. Someone probably thought they were being clever by saying it in another language. Though at least it probably wasn't too far off from however the bird thought of herself.

"Heh," was his only answer to that. It seemed like a pretty ridiculous request to him.

Rediculous to him, perhaps...and there was no guarantee, with an answer like that, he would even do it. But Hikari smiled back all the same, before turning her attention to the trees above.

"Are there any more? Do you think they would come out and say 'hi' too?"

"Just her." At least in that enclosure. He glanced over to where Gavina was still busy with her mouse. A brief moment passed in silence before he looked back to Hikari. He would be just as happy to let the conversation die here, without bringing up anything that happened the last time they ran into each other, except there was something he was still curious about.

"What did you mean before, about having wings too?"

"...hmm?"

Hikari turned back with an honest look of confusion.

Of course she didn't remember. He looked a little frustrated, but he let his wings materialise, stretching one out in her direction.

"When you saw these."

She remembered. It'd just taken her a moment. The visual cue certainly helped, though this time, even Tailmon was around to react. Namely with a wide-eyed stare. Also recognizing the wings in her own context, and turning to Hikari in question.

"Oh. Right." Bowing her head sheepishly at having momentarily forgotten. "I was just surprised. You looked a little like Angemon. Only more colorful."

The wings faded, and he met the stare flatly. "Who's Angemon?"

Some people knew about the Angel digimon. This person, it seemed, had yet to meet or even hear about him.

"He's Takeru-kun's digimon." She began. "He's what Patamon evolves into when Takeru-kun uses his crest. Just like how Tailmon evolves into Angewomon."

She smiled so brightly as she spoke. Proud of her and her best friend's digimon companions. Thinking of how beautiful they were, how strong they were, and how safe she felt with them around. Always.

He had met Takeru, but he hadn't gotten a name, so he couldn't even connect that she meant the other kid he'd met at the zoo before. This was the first time he'd heard of any of that about digimon, though, aside from the part where Hikari sometimes wandered around with a talking cat. Who he glances at briefly, then back to Hikari.

"So the cat turns into something else?"

She nodded.

"Mmhmm. Just like you."

Like him? He was like a transforming cat? First being asked if he was part of the zoo and now that. This girl liked these strange implications.

"Huh?" He did not sound pleased.

Hikari often gave off an aura that she was wise beyond her years. Most of the time, it was because of her silence. Those eyes. Always watching, always observing. They tended to hide the fact that...in the end...she was still only eight. With the mind of an eight-year-old, who saw certain connections in the simplest of terms.

Which meant, this time, it was her turn to elaborate what she meant:

"You transformed too. You grew wings."

...and that was all. The type of transformation didn't need to be the same, and he didn't even need to possess the same forms. Just the wings alone were enough, in her mind, to warrant such a comparison.

Well, if she'd meant anything more than that, it would have been stupid, because that was where the similarities ended. Still, he raised an eyebrow at it.

"Heh. I doubt that's the same thing." Though now he had an unpleasant image in his head of a cat with wings like his. Thanks for that, Hikari.

You're welcome.

"Well...no, I guess not completely the same thing. Angemon and Angewomon's wings are white."

She wanted to ask why his were so colorful. Very much. But...she was worried it would have sounded too rude.

He made some vague noise in reply to that. He also doubted that color was the only difference, but he didn't feel like getting into the details of exactly how these things she was talking about worked.

But whether fortunately or unfortunately for her, he could tell there was something she was holding back from saying. Something like that felt different from the kind of desire that could create a Yummy, but it was a desire nonetheless. Curiosity. He didn't mind humoring it for now. "What aren't you asking?"

Her head bowed. A child having been caught. Still...since he did ask...

"I...wanted to know why your wings look like they do. If...you want to tell me."