Restless Magic

[saving_sound]

[Action; Gefion Park]

[It's a rare day off, which means Hibiki can be found sitting on a bench watching her animals at play! She really doesn't have enough time to spend with them, so she's happy to see that they seem to be enjoying the outdoors on this sunny day.

Happy, and a little... tired, actually.

By the time people come across her, she may well have just nodded off in her seat, her form slumped slightly to the side as she rests. The sheep, hummingbird, gusk and Cyndaquil currently running/scampering/flying around don't seem to have noticed, but there is a small hamster on her shoulder now nibbling on a bit of her hair.

...Someone may want to wake the poor girl up.]

[Video]

[And later, a video call! She is clearly pretty uncomfortable, her hands twisting and fidgeting in front of her.]

I... I didn't really want to ask about it before. I thought I could take care of it, but there's so much going on...

[Deep breath, Hibiki. It's okay to ask for help, remember? With a short gulp, she continues.]

I... have a lot of pets. But I can't take care of them as much as they need it. I work with the medical team and the suppliers. I just--

[Her expression falls as she falters.]

...I can't take care of them by myself anymore.

[As loathe as she is to admit it. Even at home, she had managed to take care of Shii-chan even while juggling her work, but here...

It seems she's bitten off more than she can chew.]

I don't know what to do with them... I have a sheep, a hummingbird, a gusk, a Cyndaquil, and a hamster. They're all really great, and they're well behaved, s-so...

I don't want to have to get rid of them... but I want to make sure they get cared for. What should I do...?

[It's almost like a plea. These animals - each one reminds her of people she can no longer see. To give them away just doesn't seem right. But neglecting them hardly seems proper, either.]

Comments

video;

[familyissues]

Do you need some help taking care of them, Hibiki?

video;

[saving_sound]

I--

[Even now, it's impulse to say everything is okay, but...]

...Yes, I think I do.

video;

[familyissues]

There's nothing to be ashamed of, kiddo, it sounds like you have your hands full. Do you need a place to keep Mary? We--that is some friends and I--keep our horses stabled on some pastureland outside of the city that would work well for a sheep.

video

[runtothesunlight]

I'll help.

[Here comes animal lover Minato for pet-sitting duty... never mind that he's more experienced in taking care of furry animals like the hamster. But he'll learn.]

video

[saving_sound]

[Minato you are her new hero.]

Y-you can-?

video

[runtothesunlight]

[You and everyone else's.]

Yeah. I work in a pet shop, so I know the basics. Of course, we don't handle sheep or... cyndiquills? But, I'm willing to learn new things.

action

[abhero]

[Hamel doesn’t notice Hibiki, even though he’s only a few feet away. He’s busy glaring at the sheep, which is currently chewing on his cape. If looks could kill, the sheep would probably be on fire right now but the stupid thing just keeps munching, staring up at Hamel peacefully.

There’s only one sufficient punishment for the rude animal, but first Hamel has to check something. Not that he cares if it belongs to someone, but the last time he ate a pet sheep there was an awful lot of yelling and crying and he has no patience for that.

He takes a deep breath and yells at the top on his lungs.]

IF NO ONE CLAIMS THIS SHEEP IN THE NEXT THIRTY SECONDS, I’M GOING TO EAT IT!

action

[saving_sound]

[Well that wakes her up quickly. She looks around in a short daze before her eyes settle on Hamel and the sheep, and her brain suddenly makes the connection.]

W-wai--

Mary, stop!

[And she's on her feet, running on over to try to gently guide Mary away from Hamel and his poor cape.]

[abhero]

[Ah, here’s the owner. It’s probably a good thing he checked first because if it’s Hibiki he might’ve actually felt the tiniest twinge of guilt.

He tries to pull the cape away.]

Aw man, it’s ripped and there’s slobber all over it… control your animals!

Video

[samantha_grey]

[blink blink]

What's a Cyndaquil? [She'd actually known Red pretty well while he was here, but pokemon tended to scare her, so she hadn't gotten too close to even the little ones. They all screamed "Monsters that could eat me" to Sam.]

Video

[saving_sound]

Cyndaquils are... Well, he looks like this.

[She turns away from the camera and calls out softly for "Fiery," only for a Cyndaquil to come ambling on up to her. She carefully picks him up and holds him up for Samantha to see.

It's probably a good thing the fire on his back is out right now. With his eyes closed the way they are, as well as his lack of squirming, it's hard to tell if it's even awake, really.]

See?

Re: Video

[samantha_grey]

Oh, he's like a little anteater. He's kind of cute. [She cocked her head.] It's kind of a weird name for an animal though. Wonder why they call him that.

video;

[mccallmemaybe]

That's a lot of pets... How come you ended up with so many? Or did you just get carried away?

video;

[saving_sound]

All of them were gifts. Two of them got left behind when their owners left, so they left it with me. Then there's two that people gave me even before they left, and one that's a gift from the gods that comes from my home.

[Apparently something about Hibiki screams "give her a cute animal!" to folks around here - and probably with good reason, since she's so careful to take good care of them all.]

video;

[mccallmemaybe]

[ It definitely sounds like she's got "gift me with your animals" written on her forehead. The poor girl. ]

You sound like a magnet for animal gifts. [ Scott laughs a little, glad to hear she didn't irresponsibly keep getting them herself. ] I could keep some of them at my pet store... [ Minus the sheep. ] But I don't actually know what two of them are. What's a gusk and a Cyndaquil?

[Video]

[comeonthensexy]

We have a big house - two big houses, in fact - and I'm sure no one would mind adding another pet to it.

[ What is checking with everyone?

But really, he doesn't think they'd care. ]

[Video]

[saving_sound]

T-two-?

[Wait how even- but--]

I didn't know you had so much space...

[Video]

[comeonthensexy]

[ He laughs. ]

There’s a lot of us. Even if we’ve lost a lot lately too.

[Action]

[stilledsurgeon]

[Hawkeye catches sight of the girl sleeping on the bench and heads over to check on her, plopping his skinny behind down next to her and giving her a gentle nudge.]

Been overworking yourself again, Hibiki?

[Action]

[saving_sound]

[The nudge is all that's needed to jolt her awake.]

Eh-- Oh, um. H-hello!

[Wait, he just said something, too.]

Overwork...? I don't think so...

[...Though the fact that she fell asleep here of all places says otherwise.]

[Action]

[stilledsurgeon]

Mhm.

[He chuckles and extracts the hamster from her shoulder to save her hair. At least it isn't a mouse. Hawkeye can't stand mice. Still, he makes a face at the little rodent thing and carefully hands it back to Hibiki.]

If you're not over working yourself, then what's go you so worn out?

[Video]

[thralls]

[They've probably seen one another off in the distance in the medic group, though Athelstan has never formally spoken with the girl before now. Now, however, he turns on the feed with a small sigh, offering Hibiki a wry smile.]

My former roommate kept many dogs. He left this city recently, and so- I think I am familiar with your situation.

[Video]

[saving_sound]

[Oh! She knows your face, even if they've never actually chatted before.]

...It's hard, isn't it? Trying to take care of them all once their owner's gone...

[She's definitely got a few like that.]

[Video]

[thehedgehogsdilemma]

[ Shinji smiles knowingly. He thinks of a scenario where what if Kaworu left before him from here. He'd certainly do what he could for Kaworu's three cats, including his own pup. Therefore, he wouldn't want Hibiki to give away her pets who remind of her of people she knew. So... ]

I wouldn't want to see them leave you, either, Hibiki-chan. Would you like me to help out if it ever gets tiring for you? I may only know about cats and, recently, dogs... But I hope I could still be of some help?

[ You could leave Fiery with him for a bit till he returns it back to you~ something like that! And for no pay. ]

[Video]

[saving_sound]

[Oh gosh, that does get her to brighten a bit in hope.]

Are you sure...? You aren't too busy or anything?

[Hibiki, you just asked for help. He just offered. This does not need to be so complicated.]