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

[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?

Doesn't it hurt when they bite you?

[because boy he's sure they must have pinched her at least a couple times]

It pinches a bit for a few seconds... but it hurts more to get a shot, kiddo! [She smiles.] You wanna give it a shot?

[that just makes him seem more nervous! but he's lacking the backbone needed to either retreat, or take that last, important step forward. he eyes the birds, all nervous and excited indecision.]

I don't know...

C'mon, give it a try. [She holds her own hand out to him. Looks fine!]

See? You can pull your hand out if you feel too scared.

Okay...

[and boy he doesn't seem sure about this. and the way he starts to put his hand into the enclosure is just as tentative. which could be bad news--his hand isn't completely flat out, and he looks like he's going to snatch it back as soon as one goes for him.

he's totally going to get his fingers bitten at this rate.]

[Hm.]

One second, kiddo...

[She will just take him by the elbow and draw his arm back.]

Make your hand flat. Like mine, see? [And she holds her own hand up in a more appropriate posture.]

Copy me.

[oh, yes... direct, demonstrative instruction seems to be the trick. he stops everything else he was doing in order to really look at what she's doing and copy it.

okay, this part he can do.]

Good! Just like that.

[She gives him a pat on the back, modified from its usual thumpy force so as not to knock him right over.]

Now you try.

[he nods, a little. not looking too much more confident than before, but at least not on the verge of collapsing at the slightest startlement and having his hand pecked off.

he at least focuses on keeping his hand super-flat as he hesitantly sticks his arm through the fence again...]

[There's a second of peace... and then one bird takes notice of the preferred grain and darts its head to peck some off his palm. Then another and then in an instant there are three birds practically slurping food off his hand, pecking enthusiastically. Sometimes it pinches some and makes the skin feel tender but it's not shockingly painful or anything. Hange speaks up enthusiastically.]

Good job, kiddo!

Aaah... aaaaaaaah...

[it's taking every once of what little willpower he has to keep his arm in that fence. and as it is, he still flinches and curls his fingers, and is really risking some fingers being painfully nabbed. but he can't help it.

he's trying, conflicted between fascination and terror, with just this constant uttering of wordless stress-sounds.]

--Aaah!

[She keeps an eye on his hand and after letting this go on a few seconds more she reaches and takes hold of his shirt collar, scruffing him back. You're safe, Nel.]

Brave job, kiddo! [With sincerity. She thumps him on the back again.]

See? You did it.

[he's got that excited, nervous laughter of a child who has just lived through something scary and can't decide how they feel about it. both terrifying and a wonderful rush.

also rubbing his hands together compulsively--to clean off the dust and the feeling of enormous beaks pecking away at his palms.]

Wow... they're really strong!

I guess they'd have to be, since they're big!

[She claps him on the shoulder and then drops her hand.]

It was fun, right?

[the claps and thumps still make him flinch a little, but he's too distracted by being recently assaulted by giant birds to care very much]

Yeah! ...Still scary, though.

mingle post? mingle post. MINGLE POST!!

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