asgardeventide | Restless Magic

[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.]

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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.]

[ 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?

Really?

[That gets her to brighten immediately. There may be hope yet!]

Oh! A gusk is-- [Actually, it might just be easier to show him.] Um, hold on for a moment.

[She looks off screen, calling quietly for a "Hiroaki" and a "Fiery." The gusk runs up onto her shoulder almost immediately, whereas the Cyndaquil takes a bit more time to amble on up to her. Once Fiery has reached her lap, she carefully picks him up so Scott can see him properly.]

These two. The gusk is on my shoulder, and this here is a Cyndaquil.

[The Cyndaquil's back lacks fire at the moment, making him look especially harmless. The cute little "Cyndaaaa" just helps enforce this image.]

[ Scott goes a little slack-jawed at the sight of them, letting out an "aaw" at the sound the Cyndaquil makes. ]

Those are some cool-looking animals. What do they eat?

Hiroaki - that's the gusk - eats mostly nuts. Fiery here eats almost any kind of berry. I think as long as it's okay for humans, it should be okay for him, too.

[So nothing poisonous, obviously.]

Nuts makes sense since the gusk kinda looks like a squirrel.

If I did take care of any of them, you could come visit them anytime. I can put them with the other animals at my pet store so they have company... Do they get along with other animals?

[Squirrels are probably a good comparison from what she’s seen of them. But… pet store? Wait, is he…]

Um… Did you used to work with Isaac-san, by any chance?

Hiroaki and Fiery are really good with other animals, though. They play with Kiri and Mary and Teddy all the time, even though Kiri’s a hummingbird and Mary’s a sheep and Teddy’s a hamster. I think they’re all sort of used to it now.

[Like one big mixed up animal family.]

Isaac?

[ Scott's face falls at the mention of him. So much for distracting himself from the misery of Isaac being gone by talking about cute animals. ]

Yeah, he worked with me. [ It was a lot more than a working relationship between them, though. He hates breaking the news to her but someone has to do it. ]

He's... gone. He got sent home a few days ago.

[Her own expression falters at around the same time.]

...Mm, I know. His name isn't on the list anymore. [She's taken to checking these things, every day, without fail.] Actually... Teddy, my hamster, came from there. He said that there wasn't any space for the animals, so he asked me if I wanted to take him.

[And, just as with all of the others who had left her with pets, he had gone. It's definitely painful, but in many ways, it's a pain she's grown used to.]

Oh... well, there's space now so I can take the hamster back. And you can come visit Teddy anytime.

Oh-- No, I couldn't ask you to do that! I really like having Teddy here. I just... want to make sure he still gets taken care of when I'm busy.

[...]

On second thought, maybe I'm asking too much...

[But she just can't bring herself to let any of them go, either...]

You're not. It sounds like you're looking for an animal sitter. Do you live alone?

[She brightens when she hears that, even if only slightly.]

Mm, a pet sitter would be good… I live with Aladdin-kun in the Odin district, but he has a lot of pets, too. He’s already busy with his own things, so I don’t think he can take care of mine for me on top of it all.

Restless Magic

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