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 Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 9:56 pm
"This sucks," the boy muttered, arms crossed as he sat on top of the counter at the petshop. It was early in the morning, the day hardly begun, and he was stuck holding down the fort. Again. This wasn't his job! He was proud of his title as "janitor" to the store - the underage looking child who lurked about in the back room and rarely showed face.
They all had their places - Shanuh was the store manager and overall "big wig" of the four of them. Nikel was the assistant and Jojo the occassionall extra help. The blue haired being wasn't even part of the store, really - he tended to activities in the nearby apartment complex. Everyone had their place on the world, and Kirwan's was placed as a companion to a broom.
The child (or so he appeared) preferred it that way. Given, that wasn't to say he didn't care for the Birds and his wards, and he surely loved the Birdcage! But . . . . he liked the break of responsability. He enjoyed having free time to do nothing, enjoyed taking pleasure in the simple habits of living.
Sweeping was a comfort.
Scrubbing floors was fun.
Kirwan truly ENJOYED doing menial labor. He'd delt with life for such a long time, that being given an actual chance to live was very, very appealing.
Staring blankly at an empty shell of a shop was not living.
Shanuh could enjoy playing Manager as much as he pleased, but Kirwan had better things to do.
Like sleep.
In fact, a post-breakfast nap sounded very tempting indeed. It started slowly, the boy undersanding that he SHOULD stay awake. How could he help customers if he were asleep? Ah well. There would be no harm done, he was just resting his eyes. Yeah. . . that was it.
Resting his eyes.
Slouched on top of the counter, dark haired head rolling to rest awkwardly on his bony shoulder, Kirwan dozed.
Like anybody was going to come into the shop this early in the morning.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 10:16 pm
He had been walking with the aimless gait of one getting to know their new surroundings. Walking with heavy booted footsteps thumping against the pavement with nary a care, except for what he was going to have for breakfast now that the hangover was going away. Likely the man would have kept walking except there was a shop front that had caught his silver colored gaze.
Perhaps a pet will make his new home feel more like an old home? He stood still and stared at the door for a long moment or two. It wasn't long before he stepped forward and pulled open the door finding it unlocked and opened.
...Who the hell opened shop so damn early?
The man shrugged and slipped through the door so as not to rudely stand in the entry way and uttered a nice firm, "'Ey? Anyone mindin' the shop?" it was an honest enough question as he hadn't exactly looked toward the counter yet.
Looking at the man there was nothing really 'odd' about him other than his fiery orange hair but his 6'3 height seemed average enough. It was what was seemingly behind him that made him odd for despite his obviously human looks he had a long black lizard's tail swaying about behind him. The tail had three bands, which were same color as his hair, toward the tip. His clothing was mostly covered by a long black jacket.
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:51 am
The soft jingling of bells, followed by a slurred voice. Huh? Wha. . . ?!? "Yes!" With a starteled, almost scared jerk on the counter, the boy quickly pushed aside his nap.
Good thing Shanuh or Nikel hadn't walked in! Kirwan hightly doubted that either would have cared to see him asleep on the counter but it wasn't great customer service either. Slacking on the job wasn't exactly smiled upon.
Reaching a pale hand up, the boy sleepily rubbed at his eyes. Who was out looking for pets this early in the morning?!? Bleh . . . He'd been dreaming such interesting dreams. There had been cages and humans twisting and turning into decayed corpses. Shadows of his past had lurked within his dreams, beckoning him to return to his former glorious position.
Kirwan had enjoyed the sensation, the dreams - and yet he'd been starteled awake by some lousy customer.
Oh well.
His nap could wait.
Stifling a yawn, the boy didn't bother budging from his spot on top of the counter. "Im mindin' the shop," he responded sleepily, offering the man a lop sided grin.
"S'bit early for my tastes though."
Kirwan noticed the tail, but wasn't surprised. There were stranger sorts to enter this place - hell, Kirwan himself easily fell into the category! Death reformed was not normal in a world that worshiped life. Death reformed as a 12 year old boy who helped out in a petshop was even more crazy!
Thankfully, though, nobody ever questioned and thus, nobody could ever care.
"Can I help ya find anything, sir?" He yawned, the last of sleep reticent to leave his bones.
Ugh.
There would definitly be another nap as soon as the man left. Kirwan would guarentee it.
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:13 am
He didn't exactly whip his head about to look at the individual behind the corner but he did manage to look surprised. After the initial surprise his features relaxed into an easy grin and he sort of rolled his shoulders a bit, "Didn't expect ya to be open, honestly," he drawled as he rubbed the back of his neck and approached the counter.
"Would be a bit early for my tastes, too but I woke up feelin' a lil' down in the gut. Decided to walk it off, always worked for me," he glanced around once more getting a better look around the shop while trying to be mindful of the tail behind him not wishing to knock things over by accident. It was obvious that it was a fairly new appendage.
"While I'm here, might as well look into getting m'self a little friend I suppose," it wasn't exactly crazy that a boy watched the shop at least not for this particular man, though noticeably he was being on his best behavior just in case guardians of some sort come out of the woodwork, "Sorry I if disturbed ya, by the way. It wasn't my intention."
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:34 am
Kirwan listened to the man, not bothering to remove himself from the top of the counter. Throughout the man's casual conversation, the boy yawned again, and lazily reached up to scratch his head. He truly was sleepy, but whether that was because of the hour of day, or merely out of plain boredom, no one could be sure.
He watched, with little interest, as the man carefully made his way throughout the shop. It was obvious his tail was new, and the boy was partially curious as hoe someone came in to possession of a tail. It didn't really look all that natural.
Hmm. Maybe he'd ask about it later.
For now, it was his time to respond. That was the way conversation typically worked, wasn't it? "No worries 'bout disturbing me," he chattered, doing his best not to yawn again. "Shouldn't be sleeping on the job."
Which was true enough. As . . . . celestial as they might be, there wer still certain rules they needed to abide by. Being fully awake and conscious while tending the store was one of Shanuh's a**l peeves. Like anything was going to happen in the store! They were protected by Gods of Life and Death! And even if they weren't, the owners all were supernatural! They were figments of Death - what mortal being could stand up to that?
Still, no matter the reasons, Shanuh was still a**l and Kirwan didn't feel like getting a verbal lashing. It wasn't fair to be a superior, only to be managed by the underlings. Oh well. The underdog could have his day. . . But when everything went back to how it should be. . .
Shanuh would get his.
But those idle thoughts were neither here or there. Customer service was next on the list!
"So what sort of friend are you lookin' for? Rodent? Bird? Fish? Feline? Canine? Reptile?" Kirwan's interest was slowly starting to pique. The sooner he found this guy a companion, the sooner he could phone up Jojo to cover the shop, and Kirwan could go catch up on some sleep.
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:22 pm
He watched temporary shop keep as he spoke and then nodded lightly, "Yer secret is safe with me," he replied. The tail tip of the stranger twitched side to side as he continued to listen to the lad speak and mentioned the options that were to be had in this particular store.
"Well," he began thoughtfully, "I maybe a bird would be best. Rodents and I don't have good luck with each other. Canines are too dependant and felines are too independent," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment going silent before adding, "fish I'd probably fry up and eat one day while drunk and forget about it the next morning." He chuckled a bit and shrugged, "No man is perfect I guess," the man's tail tip twitched slightly faster as he worked through his other options, "reptiles they are also fickle and since they are usually quiet critters I'd forget to feed 'em."
He was more or less talking to himself as he rambled. Most other people would ask for reading materials and yet he seemed in touch with most or all of his flaws and weaknesses, "Aye, I suppose I can take care o' a bird easily enough for sure. They make for better conversations," he finally concluded.
At this point it was almost safe to assume that perhaps the man wasn't too right in the head by the way he reached most of his conclusions.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:36 am
Kirwan listened to the reptile-tailed man go about his prattling. He offered a slight smile in response to his words, though boredom slowly started to glaze over his eyes. Boredom, or sleep. Whatever the case, by the end of it, Natural Death reborn felt himself nodding off.
No no! . . . no. Sleep came first - no, that wasn't right. The customer came first.
"Hmm - Avian it is then." Forcing his eyes open, Kirwan yawned. He didn't try to hide it, didn't try to pretend he was more awake and not desperately wanting a cat nap. But he'd do Shanuh's dismal work to the best of his ability when he could. He owed Death that much, didn't he?
Sliding off the counter top, Kirwan's hands went up to rub at his eyes. There there. Morpheus could be fought off another day. All he had to do was actually think and get the blood flowing. That would give him some energy, yes?
"All right, sir. The tropical kind are in cages down here - the typical parrots and love birds, macaws and such. The obnoxious kind." He gestured over to the far corner of the room, the little Bird niche that harbored a variety of wired cages. "They make great companions, though a Birds temperment varies in personality. Some are a lot more work than others, and some need a lot more attention than others. Why not take a look around, see if any catch your eye?"
There. He could discuss the needs of the individual bird's once one was selected. He wasn't in the mood to offer him the Birds on the roof top. There was too much to that, and chances were nothing would happen. The feathered ones had been incredibly picky the last few days, and none seemed to find anyone worth their time.
If this man was that special, Life (or Death, in this case) would find a way.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:51 pm
The man didn't seem to notice the glazed look that Kirwan was giving him or he decided not to be insulted by it. Either way he nodded a little and turned to where he was being pointed to. His tail twitched slowly as he moved forward to go look at the specimens a bit closer.
Carefully he stared at the birds with a mild tilt to his head. The plumage was lovely and they all seemed interesting. Yet he couldn't seem to identify with any of the twittering or squawking birds as they observed him in return. At least he didn't poke his finger in the cages. He kept his hands to his sides as he prowled amongst the birds.
"My mentor had a bird much like this one," he muttered to no one in particular as he indicated a random parrot with a nod, but his voice held no real interest in the bird. "Damn thing tried to bite my ear off."
Other than the parrot he didn't make much of a move as a decision went. Not that he was trying to be a pain in the a**, but nothing seemed to quite appeal to him, "Guess most of these birds lose their splendor after seeing them almost constantly in the wild," he observed. It seemed almost as if he was going to choose a bird at random just to get the process over with and to allow the poor tired substitute shop keep his nap.
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:08 pm
Kirwan watched with vague entertainment as the man continued to ramble on about something or another. The tailed one walked past the cages of squabbling, squeaking, feathered birds, searching for the right companion. Kirwan wished him luck - the tropical ones were always a bit on the bitchy side.
"Hmmm," Kirwan mumbled in agreement, reaching up to rub at his eyes. Another yawn, and his previous nap-time exhaustion was starting to ebb. Full awareness of his surroundings was starting to take hold, full-length phrases were forming in his head, while the burn in his eyes was diminishing.
Sleep, such a curious thing. He'd never been required to rest or sleep in his earlier form. Funny how he now enjoyed the past time, found dreaming to be curiously addictive. Nikel dreamed of the future, and Kirwan dreamed of the past. Life was different at one point, at one time. It seemed that the gods wished for him to remember, to not fully forget.
"Most of them are over rated, that's what," Kirwan quipped, shrugging his petite shoulders blandly. "Parrots and lovebirds and macaws and African Grays - I don't know. They're always in high demand, and aren't really a very unique pet. But one's just as good as the next, I suppose. A bird is a bird, afterall. S'just a matter of how obnoxious you'd like them to be!"
If they wanted obnoxious, oh boy could that shop serve obnoxious! Macaws . . . . ugh. So loud, so very, very loud!
Offering a small, lop-sided smile, the boy with rings under his eyes gave grin. "They'd all make wonderful pets, really. If you don't mind down and feathers. . . "
Maybe he'd pick on out and the transaction could be completed?
It would be nice, of course. "If I might suggest our sun conure. Very pretty, and still fairly young. Easily trained."
. . . sun conure. . . .? SUN CONURE!?! No. Way. There was no way a lousy, foul-mouthed, rat-with-WINGS was going to be taken instead of her! Not a chance!
Golden eyes stared at the tailed one. Flapping wildly, darting back and forth in front of the window, the Barred owl tried desperately to get Kirwans attention. If he heard her pleas, the boy gave no notice. The winged on was always crying wolf, and Kirwan (like the others who worked the shop) ignored her.
If she wanted attention, she was going to have to fight for it.
Darting back and forth in front of the store window, the owl could only hope her demands would be noticed before it was too late. He was hers and no lousy tropical, unintelligent, flear-ridden, no-class avian was going to snatch him away!
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 12:40 am
"Very overrated," the man agreed with a small nod while watching the birds with his tail twitching thoughtfully side to side. "Just about any bird makes a wonderful pet, I guess. Just so long as ya don't let 'em rule over you," he observed with a shrug as a hand reached up now to rub his chin. As the boy felt more awake the man was finding himself becoming steadily sleepier. Perhaps when this business was completed he could go take a nap and hopefully leave the stubbornly clinging hangover behind once and for all.
His gaze went to the Sun Conure as he replied, "I don't mind the feathers and stuff, and they are quite colorful birds. They'd match my hair," he gave an amused chuckle as he turned his head to look back at Kirwan but his gaze stopped at the window staring at the frantic bird flying about, "Hmm? What is wrong with that one, I wonder?" He couldn't help but take notice of the agitated state of the owl.
The tail of the man stopped its movement as he turned his body to face the bird and simply watching it for the moment as he waited for Kirwan's response.
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:32 pm
So the man had noticed. Well, good job for the owl, but Kirwan wasn't so certain today was any different then the others. The barred owl was one of the more selfish brats that habitated the store. She came and went as she pleased, and was always causing a fuss over something.
It was too cold out.
Her wings needed preened.
The mice were too difficult to catch.
Blah, blah, blah.
Nikel was the one who doted on the owl the most, feeling sympathy for the Bird. Her lot in life was cruel, despite being given such a beautiful avian physique. She truly was beautiful, and everyone in the store (including the owl) knew it.
She loved attention, and was always pretending to be interested, only to flitt off after wreaking hell. Kirwan didn't want to put up with her this morning, he truly, truly didn't.
"Don't mind her," he responded, giving a jerk of his head over at the owl. "She's fussy and an attention whore - likes to cause trouble just because it was she who caused it."
She'd get over it, wouldn't she?
Probably. She always did, so why was the tailed one any different?
"Ver high maintenance."
Part of Kirwan knew he wasn't giving the Bird a chance, but. . . . if she kept up her fit, he knew he'd have to succumb to her wishes. Regardless. That was his lot in life, really. He had no choice - he could put marshmellows in his ears, and a bucket over his head, but eventually something would have to happen - she'd get bored with her game and fly off, or he'd cave in and let her play her game.
Kirwan truly didn't want to go through the latter.
. . . . . but the longer she continued to throw her fit outside, the more inclined he was to let her in.
Kirwan decided to wait, but a moment, to see if there was sincerity in her plea.
The Bird, on the other hand, was truly desperate. There was something about the tailed one that piqued her interest like no other had. There was something . . . . something that she knew was right!
It's him! Him, him, him! He's mine, so don't you DARE think about letting him walk away with anyone but me! I'll kill 'em! Sun conure - look at me! Look at me!
Whining? But of course!
She wanted her way and she wanted it now.
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:10 pm
He hid a smirk of amusement behind a hand pretending to cough lightly behind it. He stepped away from the Sun conure and walked over toward the window the owl was apparently trying to bust through with quite a bit of desperation. The man only stood there watching the owl with great amounts of interest. Perhaps it was because he was never far or often enough inland until recently to see such a specimen of the avian species.
"A little lady, huh? She one of yours I take it?" he questioned idly he couldn't help but notice now that he was closer that the bird was quite focused on him, "Most of the high maintenance birds are very mischievous because they can get away with it." The man chuckled as he shoved his hands into coat pockets and then looked over at Kirwan, "So you suppose she is only doing this to garner more mischief? T's a shame she is a beauty." He rolled his shoulders a bit.
He watched the Barred Owl again for a moment longer and a growing concern suddenly made itself aware within him as he looked back at the substitute shop keeper, "Though maybe you should do something before she hurts herself, that would be an even bigger shame. If she is high maintenance now, just imagine her injured..." The tailed man laughed lightly having obviously found humor in his own comment.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:14 pm
((Sooo sorry for the delay!))
Kirwan had to admit that IF the Barred Owl were to lose a few feathers, or actually do herself harm, she'd be absolutely unbearable! The tailed man did have a point! Not only that, but he'd have to deal with Shanuh's woe and angst all because one of their precious Kin got wounded.
That alone was enough to cause Kirwan's stomach to churn. It wasn't as if he didn't love the Birds, their wards, as much as the violet haired man. . . but . . . he wasn't nearly as obsessive about them. They were their own creatures and had to hold their own in this world.
Shanuh, in a sense, babied them. Kirwan, the Guardian of Natural Demise, felt no such feelings. Life was life, and was as natural as death. There wasn't a war between the two realms so much as a neutral compromise. If the Birds got hurt or wounded, so be it, that was life, and that was the path that they chose.
"I suppose you're right," Kirwan added, moving over to the front of the store. Opening the door, listening to the jingling of the bells, he whisteled.
"Hey! You - get in here before you start molting out of anxiety!" His words were laced with affection despite their insensetivity.
It was enough.
The Barred Owl's attention was captured, and the moment was hers and hers alone. A brown streak and she entered the shop, ignoring Kirwan and heading straight for the one who was stupid enough to think about owning a CONURE.
He was hers and hers alone! There would be no other feathered beings to stand in her way, there would be no such competition. He was going to love her and care for her and dote upon her! She was the most beautiful one in the universe, she was the most precious and glorious avian of them all!
Circling the tailed one, she gave him no choice. He must admire her, he must realize that he was hers! A few times around, and the owl perched boldly a top of a nearby fish food display. She kept her wings spread, steadying herself, and stared intently at the man.
Was she not most glorious?
Kirwan rolled his eyes, shutting the door with another jangle. Part of him hoped that she did decide this customer was worth her time. The sooner she left the shop, the less aggravation they'd have to worry about!
"So what do you think of her? You like?"
The owl turned to glare at Kirwan. As if he needed to ask!
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:16 pm
((You're fine. Life is getting in the way for me as well. n_n))
The man nodded to Kirwan and smiled a bit, "Naturally I'm right," he replied with a playful tone to his voice. He meant the comment as a jest, of course. Very rarely was the tailed man ever right about anything as much as he'd loved to be right, but that was just a hand not dealt to him in life.
He watched as Kirwan moved to let the owl in and suddenly he found himself being circled by the owl. The tailed man spun about a couple of times trying to keep track of her in spite of himself. He forced himself to stop wobbling slightly and feeling as if he were about to be sick. This was all a bit too much for a morning filled with oddity and hangovers, "Uuuuugh," the man murmured for a moment not looking at the owl where she perched just yet. When he felt as if he wasn't going to heave chunks he finally turned to study the bird in all her glory.
The man tilted his head as he reached a hand up toward the barred owl to gently stroke a fingertip along a wing, "She's beautiful," he cooed softly in response to the question presented by Kirwan, "What does she cost?" obviously a bird of this nature had to be expensive. The owl had such lovely plumage and fantastic wingspan to boot.
"Is she named or anything?" It was obvious that he didn't go to many pet shops.
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Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:56 pm
((Oh man - sorry about the delay! But here she is, all for you! n.n ))
"Cost?" Kirwan was always surprised when the customers asked the cost of their Birds. He frequently forgot that they thought nothing of the animals free will and choice. An animal to anyone seemed to come with a price attached to their foreheads. . .even if this were Gaia!
"There is no cost for her - she's yours if she likes you." A little giggle, the boy reaching up to rub at his eyes. "You don't have much of a choice in the matter, I'm afraid."
The owl had indeed made her choice, her decision final. The words spoken were said enough - he was it, he was her prince she'd been waiting for! Giving a soft huff, the owl demanded that the tailed one take her to their abode. With a hop she was off her perch and had attached herself firmly upon his arm. She gave no thought as her talons dug deep into the fabric of his clothing and flesh - if he wasn't going to keep her stable she'd have to go about it her own way.
And no amount of complaining would force the owl to move.
"She has no name, feel free to pick one yourself," Kirwan explained, amused by the entire situation. Who'd have thought that the owl was an early morning riser? Well, at least she'd finally made a choice! Good riddance, as far as he was concerned. Her complaints and bitching were no longer his problem.
The owl, though, would go by no name but her own.
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