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 Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 11:12 am
Not that theatrical.
Damissan observed the sweep of hair and positioning, and smiled, humming to himself. At I can't help but think I'll lose interest very quickly, however, his lips pinched very briefly. He had never been good with animals himself. He didn’t like animals—or, such had always been his position. In truth, he supposed he would have to admit at this point that some of the adamancy there had been chipped away at. It was difficult not to like Gadot after enough time spent around him, depending upon his aid, observing his loyalty, and being the beneficiary of his attention regardless of how brusque and anxious he’d been at first in the large beast’s company.
And as to Nazakai, for all that he had taken him on out of complete necessity and nothing else, the beast had been a weight to depend upon throughout his journey. Perhaps he didn’t have all the character of another speaking individual, but he was a live and dedicated creature.
When working with animals every day, while having the fact that their presence and work ethic was necessary for every goal he currently had impressed upon him by way of that, it was difficult not to develop an appreciation for them. So, he wasn’t certain he could any longer honestly say that he ‘didn’t like animals.’ However, regardless of how much or little he’d come to admit that he appreciated them, he still was not familiar with most of them and certainly not birds. He could not be a suitable active caretaker for them if Xilarn grew ‘bored.’
But perhaps he would tackle that obstacle when it presented itself in earnest. In the meantime…
“Obviously I wouldn’t be trying to…” he murmured, half to himself as he watched Xilarn unfold the small bundle currently the focus of so much concern. “And I-” But, he found, his words did not make it any further than that, instead stalling in his throat with sudden nervous inhibition as the small, feathery package was dropped in his lap—and truly, he would not have thought himself capable of experiencing so much anxiety on behalf of a dirty little wild beast a handful of months before.
But it was not a handful of months before. This was now, and, after a fleeting glance in Xilarn’s directing, Damissan conceded the point, turning his focus to his lapful, rubbing two gentle fingers beneath its head to keep it roused, and then making a small offering of meat, breaking off a piece manageable enough that he hoped it could be processed without much struggle on the part of the bird. In the moments before it ate, its eyes blinking slow and tired, he felt a splinter of fear that it wouldn’t at all and this would be it. But then, half to his surprise and the remainder to his relief, it did nose forward, taking the small scrap into its beak and, after a little struggle, swallowing it down.
Damissan didn’t anticipate the flush of satisfaction that warmed his face, but he didn’t spend much thought on it, instead turning back to his bowl and working to edge off another small piece which he propped on a fingertip and offered back up just before the little waiting beak.
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:36 pm
When the rattling and clinking of a beak diving into the bottom of his bowl subsided, Xilarn and Damissan were almost immediately assaulted by a continuous slew of quietly ringing peeps. The active kinfa was obnoxious in its persistence, as it circled and tottered through their camp, emitting the same, repetitive chirp. At first, Xil thought it took comfort in hearing the sound of its own noise, but as he watched it from the corner of its eye, it started to become clear that it was searching for something- for its mother, Xilarn realized as his expression pinched. The thing was just a nestling. It had had its excitement, eaten a meal, and now was likely prepared to hunker down with its mother for sleep until it was hungry again. Whatever norm the kinfa was accustomed to was being broken, and when its search yielded no results, it seemed to realize this. Its attention shifted between the two Obans in front of it. When Xilarn made the mistake of catching eye contact with a pair of cloudy blue irises, the kinfa seemed to come to a decision. The bird hopped closer, made a circle around him, and then took up a post at Xilarn's back, where it hunched down and against him, quieted, and as far as Xil could tell, drifted off. Xilarn craned to peer over his shoulder, and wondered if he ought to move it someplace more peaceful that wouldn't involve it being woken every time Xil so much as moved, but he decided against it, and instead hesitantly stretched his arm backward to just barely touch a stray feather. Xilarn had never had to deal with babies before. Both Gadot and Naeght had been fully grown, perhaps not fully matured in Gadot's case, but grown and given a certain degree of understanding. Even Akiyal had been past toddler-hood enough so that he could walk and talk and comprehend, if it pleased him, and capable of taking care of himself, though still needed convincing to do so. Akiyal had needed so much of his attention, but still nothing like what would be required to give an infant. Xilarn's attention wandered back to Damissan and observed silently as the younger man fed the little nestling from his hand. "I think you've mentioned... wanting a wife and children at some point," Xil hummed. "But I can't imagine any woman knowingly trusting you to sire any of her offspring. I hardly trust you with yourself. It will be good practice, I think, to try and tend to a more inconsequential life, first. You could tell anyone who asks how much experience you have with infants."
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:58 am
Knowingly trust…
Damissan snorted softly, though the full statement continued to flit back and forth through his head even after the period of time when it might have been normal to respond likely passed. Eventually, however, when it became clear the thought wouldn’t leave him if he failed to make some comment, he said, “Partner, I suppose, would be more accurate. Though I did always imagine it would be a wife, since my parents wanted grandchildren and I thought that eventually that would be something I was mutually interested in…”
His eyes remained on ‘his’ bird as he spoke, his volume some balance between loud enough to be heard clearly and muted enough not to disturb his package. It wasn’t exactly the sort of infant experience he’d thought he’d be getting, though frankly he had never given much thought to actually doing infant raising himself. That was the task of wives and nannies, wasn’t it?
Perhaps not to Xilarn. And now that he thought on it, his assumption was that Xilarn and anyone with him for the process of such a task would be hands on and present, and…
He flushed. Well.
“I suppose if I was going to make mistakes, better a bird than a child, but it seems that if a child was ever part of the picture, the importance of the task would just…make me capable, whether or not I thought was ‘ready.’ It doesn’t seem to be the sort of task where you have a great deal of choice in the matter once the child is your responsibility, and if you’re not a despicable human being you learn to do it best as can be done when the occasion arises…but I assume you know more about it than I do.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:00 am
Though Damis' attention was turned down and on the little bundle in his lap, Xilarn's gaze remained firmly fixed on the young man in front of him. With his own creature hunkered at his back, Xil had nothing else to distract his fingers or his focus. He huffed softly and folded his hands against his legs. He was not, and hadn't been, interested in children of any species since Akiyal had come into his life. Animals at least, were just that: animals that could be obtained and then rid of on little more than a whim, like these kinfa. If they injured themselves or even passed on, it wasn't a problem. Earthling children were another matter entirely. Whether he was fully capable or not, whether he was even willing or not, once that boy had entered his home, there hadn't been any question that Xilarn would not turn him away. If there had been any alternatives for others to care for him, Akiyal probably would have been better off, but- 'They don't come back.'Xil's gaze dropped, and his fingers curled. There had been a time, brief as it was by comparison, that he'd thought otherwise. If the deciding factor came down to being 'not despicable' and doing whatever was best, he must have been a really awful person. There'd been a span of months where he hadn't taken care of Akiyal at all. There'd been a span of months where Xil considered that just putting this boy out of his misery was the greatest kindness he could give. He hadn't, obviously, and Janella had cared for Aki when Xilarn refused. Xilarn pinched his eyes shut as something tasting like acid clawed its way up his throat. It had been so log ago, but introducing more children to his also introduced the chance those feelings could repeat themselves. And he refused to allow that. He rolled his shoulders, stood (with a chirp of malcontent from the nestling at his back), and moved to the task of cleaning and packing the cookware they'd used for dinner. It wasn't his intention to say anything more, since there was hardly a reason to. It wouldn't be his business where Damis' life developments took him. Xilarn shook his head. "Sorry, Damis," Xil murmured. "I couldn't tell you one way or the other how you'll feel or how you'll perform when the time comes."
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:01 am
In contrast to Xilarn, Damis’ perspective on the entire matter was one born of no experience and colored by a sense that any serious pursuit of the prospect of children would occur far in the future at some vague and indefinite point that he didn’t really have to think about in any detail at the present moment. True, his attitude towards his future had shifted over the course of his travels, but if anything, he was far less concerned about the prospect of some distant wife and more so with the immediate details of his relationship with the man he was already with.
It was evident Xilarn had a different perspective.
Still, focussed as he was on the present, it wasn’t until Xilarn spoke that Damis looked up and took note of the man’s mood. I couldn't tell you one way or the other how you'll feel or how you'll perform when the time comes. He blinked, watching Xil for a moment before shaking his head.
“I suppose we’ll see if it does…” After a moment, he stole another glance, this time accompanied by what he hoped would be an encouraging smile. “Until then, I promise to do as best I can with what you’ve brought.”
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