zerotohiro | I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame [Eachdraidh IC Contact]

[Once he's outside he's beginning his search, but he doesn't have look for very long before he spots his target. Or...targets, as it were. He stops short, staring from Grell to the chocobo and back to Grell as he slowly approaches, jumping when the bird squawks again. He's used to the noise and he's more used to chocobos than he was when he first arrived in the Drabwurld.

But that doesn't explain why there's one sitting here.]

Grell...why is there a chocobo in our yard...?

Because I brought her here.

[this is said very calmly, and the bird continues to munch the leaf. she holds the rest of the leaves away from the chocobo, and looks at Hiro while offering him some.]

Her name is Scarlett. I think you should try to feed her a little, see if she gets on with you.

Edited 2015-08-18 02:23 (UTC)

[For being a boy genius, it's taking a very, very long time for him to understand what's even happening here. He gets close enough that he's next to the chocobo, hesitantly taking the leaves from Grell's hand and staring at them.

It's not that he's never dealt with them. He helped Lumina and Grell rescue a bunch of them from Mair, and he also built feeding stations and the like for Lumina at her ranch. But this is still different.]

And why is it important for Scarlett and I to be friends? [He's holding out the leaves to the bird anyway though, eyeing her skeptically and hoping she won't decide to bite his hand off instead.]

Chocobo bites are nasty things.

[as if that was the only reason. Scarlett lowers her head to take some leaves from Hiro after eyeing him for a moment, and the offering has pleased her enough.]

You can pet her if you like.

Been bitten by them a lot? [He shakes his head, but he's allowing Scarlett to eat the leaves from his hand, the other hand coming up to pet her side. He grins slightly once he realizes his eyes won't, in fact, be pecked out.]

She's cute, I guess. I didn't know Lumina gave you one.

Lumina is ever full of surprises.

[she looks at the two of them, how Scarlett likes the petting and is gentle when taking the leaves, and she remembers what she'd been told. she was fit for a knight.]

...I didn't come by to show her off, though. I had a question to ask you.

[Sorry Deathmom, busy petting giant birb. He's mostly just studying the chocobo carefully, still making sure she's really not going to decide to take his fingers with the leaves even as his other hand keeps moving to smooth over her feathers. Lumina usually handles the chocobos. He's been close to a few of them, but not this close.]

Hm? What's up? [His expression turns serious suddenly.] Did something else happen?

Nothing you don't know about. But...I'll phrase it like this. Scarlett's lost her caretaker recently. I wanted to see if you two would get along because I thought that perhaps you could be the one she could bond with again, and that you'd be good for her.

Chocobos are loyal, intelligent, and fast, and she was trained to be a fighter's steed. If you want her, Hiro, and you make good on a promise that you'll treat her well, then she's yours.

[Ah, there it is. It finally clicks somewhere in his head and his hand stills on the chocobo's back, Scarlett still gently pulling leaves from Hiro's fingers while the boy's busy staring at Grell for a moment. He gets the implication immediately, but it still doesn't quite register in his head.]

You're...giving me a chocobo. [He sounds partially amused but also just somewhat stunned. He knows they're very smart birds and that they can really book it when they need too, probably even faster than Max can run. The words "fighter's steed" also don't escape him at all.] You're asking me to take care of her? Are you really sure?

Entirely. I know this is sudden, but if I was going to trust anyone with a chocobo, I would trust you.

[the leaves are gone by this point, but it doesn't stop Scarlett from nudging at Hiro's hand, trying to get herself a petting.

what Grell isn't saying is why. caring for another life helped calm the mind, Seòras had taught her that since he was a chick. in her opinion, Hiro needs that sort of support.]

If you're worried about how to care for her, you know Lumina will give you advice. I know they eat almost every vegetable, and scratch for worms like other birds do.

[He jumps in surprise at the sudden chocobo head, but he doesn't think anything of it as he moves to pet her head like he would any sort of domesticated animal. It's not so much of a surprise that Grell trusts him, but more the fact that she's put thought into this.

If he thought about it himself, he'd realize why on his own. Aunt Cass had Mochi available for her nephews to help them calm after the death of their parents. Having Baymax to look after, having a project to work on and something to distract him definitely helped calm him after Tadashi's death. Without those here, his life had been sort of up and down until recently. So yeah. It made sense, but he didn't think those were Grell's intentions.]

I'm not. Worried, I mean. Lumina showed me her care guide for the chocobos last fall and I've been to the ranch before...they're kinda cool birds. [Considering he's much more relaxed, maybe that "kinda" isn't necessary.] I'll take care of her. We'll be fine. [He's still caught in the "what????" of it, but the idea's more appealing the longer he thinks.] Thank you...for trusting me, I guess.

No need to thank me if she already likes you this much.

[she nods to how Scarlett's happy to be here, and how Hiro's demeanour has shifted. it had been an instinct that was also motivated by practicality - a cat might have been able to give the same comfort and care of a life, but a chocobo could also help him travel, could protect him if things got too dangerous to be alone. Scarlett needed a new rider, and Hiro needed a companion. it suited them all.]

I'll just be happy if it all works out.

[A slight laugh under his breath. It's true. There's definitely some kind of bond forming already and he's pretty pleased that the bird seems so content. Scarlett's almost cat-like anyway with the way her head's pushing into Hiro's hands. He could handle this just fine.]

Yeah, true enough. [He raises an eyebrow suddenly, fixing Grell with a lightly suspicious look.] You've been thinking about this for longer than just today, haven't you. [There's also the fact that he's curious if Grell just knew he'd say yes. It's fact though. Sometimes Hiro likes animals more than he likes people.] Does Lumina know? [Not that it matters. He has zero intentions of giving the chocobo back now.]

Edited 2015-08-18 23:28 (UTC)

She doesn't know, but you're right - I was thinking about this for a few days. Just long enough to know it was a little more than a chance thought. [passingly through the last few days while she made sure everything ran in her total absence.] Maybe she'd like to see how well she's doing and have an excuse to come over and see you.

Yeah, I might give her a call later just to check in. She's been kinda quiet lately anyway. [He doesn't know she was with Saber either. Maybe it's not a bad idea. But for now he pats Scarlett's head one more time before he moves closer to Grell.

Hopefully she doesn't mind the fact that he's hugging her, because that's happening. Living with Clarke Griffin and rebalancing his life has made it easier to initiate affection and Grell...probably needed one after everything. He doesn't know all of the details of the last few days, but it's enough that it's warranted.]

Thank you. For everything. [Not just for the chocobo, but everything else, too. He can only hope she knows that.]

[it's unexpected, but it's welcome - Hiro's right, she does need a hug. she kind of wants many hugs and to avoid what she's going to deal with tonight by wasting time asking Hiro about his world again, but she'd already sent out the message. so instead, she'll just take this for what it is, the first hug between them Hiro's initiated.]

You're welcome.

[she knows what it's for, and she hopes he knows a thank you isn't even necessary.]

[He doesn't know anything about the meeting tonight, doesn't know what's going on and while he wants to ask, now isn't the time. It's not the time and Grell probably isn't the person. She's done enough. So he doesn't let go for a few moments but eventually he does, slowly at first before stepping away.]

I'll take good care of Scarlett. Promise. [A beat.] But you should come back soon to check in anyway. Just in case. [It's not as subtle as he hopes, but he definitely wants to keep an eye on her for now. Just in case.]

I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame [Eachdraidh IC Contact]

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