driftfleet | mingle post? mingle post. MINGLE POST!!

[Transaction over, she turns around and reaches to ruffle his hair.]

You are pretty short!

[he scrunches up his face when she ruffles him, and immediately starts picking at his hair to put it back into whatever is the right place when she stops]

I'm not that short.

A boy your age should be a few centimeters taller, kiddo. [Mildly teasing tone.] Are you done here, or do you want to shop around more?

[he settles for a little huff, since bantering isn't something he can keep up for very long. it's too much like arguing. and it also requires an attention span.]

I don't know. ...What are you up to?

[She's just gonna start ambling off, since the transaction is over.]

Oh, I'm just sightseeing here, I suppose. Those tallbirds sure are interesting.

[and he's just... sort of following.]

Those big things?? They're terrifying. [--though he's grinning when he says it]

You don't think they're funny? With those skinny bald necks and long legs? [Grinning too, she casually leads them off towards the ostrich pens...]

They're scary! I heard somebody saying that they, like... kick you to death.

[and is still following, despite his claim of fear]

Aw, not in those fences they can't! I bet they're more scared of you than you are of them. [The ostrich pens are a few minutes away; she keeps her pace easy, easy to keep up with too.]

Maybe if you asked the handler they'd let you feed one. Right out of your hand. What do you think about that?

[he fidgets with the boa as they walk, holding one end and wrapping it up one arm so that it ends up like a big feathery sleeve]

Are you kidding? They'd bite my hand off.

Ah, they don't look like carnivores to me. What do you say? Want to see if a handler will let us?

[he clutches his hands to his chest at the thought of it]

I could watch you do it...

What do you say to this: if I do it and don't lose any fingers, you give it a try.

Um. Okay...

[he's run to the end of his arguing leash anyway.]

[She glances over at him... and then reaches out to give his hair a quick ruffle. They're basically at the cages now, though Hange studiously avoids the one she and Zhas sprinted through. Her description isn't that distinct, right? She makes for where she can see one of the monitors.]

Say, a question for you! Can my little buddy and I feed a handful of whatever you feed them to your birds?

[the guy eyes the both of them with much skepticism (maybe he does recognize her after all) but he's not going to pass up an opportunity to make a quick profit. he offers up a typically overblown tourist price, and nods towards the nearby shed where the barrels of feed are kept.

pay up and they can have ten minutes of unbridled ostrich-feeding fun!]

[She has the money to dish out, and dish it out she does. The audience loves Hange. And she'll do it to give this kid a little bump of a fun time. Hange leads the way and scoops up a handful of feed, pausing to let Nel get his.]

I'll go first, kiddo.

[Nel scoops his up, and kind of clutches it close with both hands, just so the ostrich doesn't make the mistake of coming for him instead.

until now, he'd been just grinning and bopping along... but here comes the point where this whole getting close to the monster birds thing looms as reality. now he's hanging back like a nervous kid, eyes wide as he watches Hange.

he only gives a shallow nod. he's pretty sure this might be the last time he sees her with all her limbs intact.]

[She's faced down giant monsters that ate humans like popcorn and wanted to eat her before, so she ain't scared of no tall bird. Hange sort of transfers the grainy feed between her hands so she has just a palmful to offer the birds, flattening her hand as if preparing to feed a treat to a horse. Then she sticks her hand between the slats.

The birds stir around a little. Maybe they remember her somehow: Hange, terrorizer of ostriches. But one of them gets brave and comes and eyes her hand and then figures out that it's food and dives in to guzzle. It kinda has a silly face and Hange laughs after a moment.]

[and Nel just watches with giant, awestruck eyeballs. he's endured all sorts of horrors in his lifetime... but this strikes him as being too much.

he's also fascinated, of course. there's a morbid sort of expectancy going on--leaning in without actually getting closer, to make sure he can see if something terrible does occur.]

[She waves him closer while the bird pecks away at her hand.]

C'mon, take a look, kiddo. I think it's safe.

[he scoots closer, but not by much. the fact that the bird is almost literally twice his size and pecks like a hammer has him spooked.

and there are others making a wary approach, considering joining in.]

[She's almost out of feed, so she takes her hand out to transfer more into her palm and sticks her hand through again. The birds are clustering now, without that much squabbling actually, though she has a few of them slurping up what she's got so she has to take her hand out and replenish the food that much faster.

Jeez this kid is skittish. It isn't right, not that it's under her jurisdiction or anything.]

[she's still feeding them, so he's still hanging back and watching. aside from the occasional gargoyle, he isn't used to seeing animals larger than a dog, so even being this close to the birds is blowing his mind a little bit.

and boy is he still clutching that handful of feed to his chest like a lifeline. he might be imagining what would happen if one of them figured out what he was hiding, and snaked its neck over to bite off his fingers.]

[She takes her hand out, transfers the last little bit of feed, and puts her hand back in... the goodies are gone in no time, and the birds sort of crowd around to stare at her more.

... When nothing happens they disperse a little. She holds up her hand so Nel can see: no blood.]

There, you see?

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