thebastion | Day 210 [Open]

Entry tags:

Day 210 [Open]

Who: Zuko, ostrich horses, and you!
Open: Open!
When: Day 210, morning
Where: Near the monument
What: More weird animals.
Format: I'll match
Warnings: Honor

Anyone outside this morning might run across Zuko looking over a small flock (or is it a herd?) of ostrich horses. That's right, she's at last used some of her shards to bring more strange animals into the Bastion. The turtle ducks were not enough.

She's touched, used, even eaten things that came from shards, but none of them have been familiar until now. She thought there might have been something to give them away as copies or imitations, but as far as she can tell? They're perfectly normal ostrich horses.

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Red was usually an early riser. Get himself fed, get his pokémon fed, get ready, and have a search around on the Skyway to gather what materials and shards he could. It would be odd how easy he fit into the lifestyle, but really, sitting around and not doing something productive - or productive to him - made his feet and hands itch.

Of course, he didn't need to rush. The Skyway wasn't going anywhere and neither was he (hopefully, not just yet). So hey, about those odd-looking things over there --

But before Red can think to take a closer look, Pikachu with him has spotted first the familiar form of Zuko over there! With a few happy loud chirps he begins to pounce over there, only stopping a little before the animals, not knowing if he should be mindful or approach or or or --!

Zuko glances over at the excited chirping and smiles a little to see the rabbit mouse. "Oh, hello again."

One of the ostrich horses saunters closer to the much smaller animal, lowering its head on its neck to peer at him curiously.

"Just don't get underfoot," Zuko advises the rabbit mouse. The ostrich horses are pretty docile, generally.

Good, good; no ostrich horse things are to be frightened by a little yellow mouse today. Pikachu heeds the warning well enough, much more interested anyway in tipping his head back to sniff at the animal that's approached for its scent. And then, after, to give a lowered but still cheerful chirping in hello to the other animal.

Red's not going to keep back while this is going on. He approaches, more calmly than his yellow friend, and stops before getting too close to Pikachu or the birds, but not a large distance apart. Pikachu might've been okay to them to come close, but he was larger, and he wasn't about to intentionally upset the herd.

He's close at least to know he should be heard by the woman, and he looks at her, lifting up his cap to not shade his face so much. "Sorry about that; he gets excited about meeting new faces. Are they yours?"

The ostrich horse makes a low warble in response to Pikachu's friendly chirp.

Zuko nods to the approaching boy. "They're from my world at least. Is that your... rabbit mouse?"

He probably calls it something else entirely, but at least it doesn't seem so strange to Zuko as a lot of other animals.

Rabbit mouse? That makes him smile a little in amusement. "Half right. He's a mouse pokémon - a pikachu."

Pikachu turns his head from the ostrich horse, waving up a hand. Yep yep! Red bends down on one knee to be on the same level as his pokémon, while at the same time examining the creatures from the different angle. Pretty good looking down here too!

"What do you call them?" He nods his head to them.

"Oh- Like the one Rin has." In that they're both pokemon, that is, because they seem like very different creatures.

"These are ostrich horses. I thought they might come in handy."

Rin? That's not a name he knows, but no matter. Actually, he's more curious about their use.

"Yeah?" Out in the Skyway? Food? "What do you use them for back home?"

"As mounts, or as pack animals. They'll make it easier to travel farther, and carry back any wounded."

Please don't eat them.

Delicious bird. Red rises back onto his feet. "Not bad. And you have the experience with them too?"

Zuko nods. "Yeah. They're a lot easier to handle than komodo rhinos, too."

Then she had not only the idea of what to do with them, but how to go through with her ideas for the creatures. He was going to take her word for it anyway; there was no reason for him to think otherwise.

But maybe he can find a small way to help out.

"Will you need anything for them? Like materials for housing or making riding equipment. We're going out to the Skyway today - we can take a look around for things if you describe them."

"Well, you can ride them bareback but it'll be easier with halters and saddles."

She tilts her head. "Who's 'we'?"

Halters and saddles... admittedly, he barely remembered what those look like. The times he had ridden on pokémon like dotrio and rapidash, it had been without them. Bareback as well.

But hey, he could look out for it. But for right then, the question pops Red out oh his thoughts -- oh. Right.

"Me and my pokémon." Saying that, he points downwards at himself to his waist, then leads the finger over to Pikachu. "I'm a trainer."

A trainer with the bad habit of saying we than I, obviously.

"A trainer?" Zuko glances down at Pikachu, looking skeptical. "I know they're supposed to have special abilities, but... He's so little."

Is it really okay to take such a small animal into battle?

Pikachu takes his shortness being pointed out with some amusement, waving his arms and little legs and making a nonsensical sound. It means nothing, just like his height means nothing! (in reality he just looks silly)

Red takes the scepticism with ease as well, smiling though instead of doing a weird hula-like dance on the spot like some. "Size doesn't matter if a pokémon knows what they're doing. It comes with advantages."

The mouse stops his dance when Red hums a short sound and tilts his head to the side with his eyes on his pokémon, an unspoken command for Pikachu to come and join Red on his shoulder.

But Pikachu doesn't simply go over to Red and climb up on him, but instead breaks into a run that's sweet and brief, just enough to give him the necessary boost to get into the air, a small spark of electricity to the soft ground bouncing him up as well, and in the one leap he lands onto the shoulder Red had indicated to before with his head.

Once his tiny feet are on that shoulder, just let Pikachu adjust himself to face Zuko and -- ta daa! Peace sign, Zuko!!

"He has his own way of attacking too."

Zuko tenses at the sound of the electric spark, but quickly forces herself to relax and even manages a small smile for Pikachu.

"I can see that. He'd be pretty hard to hit, too."

Red notices it (noticing details is what a trainer should be good at), but he takes it to mean that she wasn't expecting it. Which is a good thing, really; Pikachu doesn't need to be showing off his electricity recklessly.

He nods to her observation. "It's his thing." There's a beat, and then, "anyway, so halters and saddles..." He looks over the group of animals once more. "Have you ever seen them out on the Skyway before?"

Whether or not there's any indication on her that she's a fighter, it's just quicker to ask that.

She wasn't expecting it, no, but she also associates the sound with certain members of her family attacking her. It's not a fun sound, but she has to remember neither of them are here.

And of course she's a fighter. Even if she isn't carrying her swords at the moment, there has to be something about the way she carries herself to tip him off. People have never really assumed she couldn't fight.

"No, but I haven't been looking. I wonder if this world even had horses of any kind."

Most fighters carry themselves around by wearing martial art uniforms in his world, really...

"Well, I'll check around. It might be good to ask around here too -- someone might be able to help, and if you can offer people a safer ride around, I think people would be willing to see what they can do."

It was Red's own interest it, admittedly. He had his own pokémon, but if there was a situation where a steed could be useful for others? Hey, it was the end of the world; if it was a useful possibility, it was a useful possibility.

No uniforms here, sorry. Zuko didn't bring her armor.

She nods at his offer. "I'll be keeping an eye out myself. ... Thanks."

He puts up a hand to the thanks, as well for it to mean a good bye, but just as he begins to put movement into leaving he stops with a small audible "oh," and looks back to her.

"My name's Red. What can I call you?"

"Red?" Well, if you're going to be named after a color, she approves of the choice.

"My name is Zuko."

"Zuko?" He's teasing, just for a moment, a smile on his face from the beginning. He gives that small and quick lift of his hand again, chuckling a tiny bit. "Nice meeting you."

Pikachu will do the same. Piii!

Zuko isn't sure what she said that's funny, but it doesn't seem mean-spirited so she just scratches her head.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, too."

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Day 210 [Open]

hope it is still ok to tag!

absolutely!

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