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If there was some universal list of 'Top 100 Things You Wouldn't Expect to See on the Streets of Gaia,' a toddler sitting alone on the curb outside of a voodoo shop might have been somewhere around 87. It was only when you added a surly-looking little man to the equation that the sight jumped into the top fifty. The man was a mottled dark gray from head to toe, the only exception being the bright purple rings that encircled his disappointed eyes. He also had a large pair of feathered wings, currently spread over the toddler's head, the same head that the little man was perched on top of. There were some who would have surely ranked the duo in the top ten, but Shye and Deph were oblivious to that fact.

"Sing!" Shye demanded, flapping his own wings through the chilly air.

Deph rolled his eyes and sighed, almost losing his balance at the boy's enthusiasm. "Why don't you," he replied. His voice was low, and more monotonous than usual.

"'kay!" the toddler said. He launched into an out-of-tune chorus of Happy Birthday, attracting concerned stares from passing adults and smiles of glee from their children.

Shye might not have noticed Gabrielle if she hadn't had a bird on her head. That far eclipsed the little man on his head, and even though he was quite jealous, he instantly forgave the other child because he was certain he must have adopted the style first. He stood up, fairly quickly for a little kid, and approached Gabrielle's stroller with a wide smile on his face.

Deph promptly abandoned his perch, flitting over to the door of the shop Smerdle had abandoned them outside of. The former parrot desperately wished he was large enough to get inside on his own, but all the wishes in the world wouldn't change the fact that he was muscle deficient.

"Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey," Shye chanted softly, as if that would somehow make the little girl understand him. "Your b-ird is cool." He emphasized the B to show just how cool the bird was, and pointed at its head, still smiling happily.

Remembering his friend Ziya and their bitey experience with a certain crazy dog, Shye pulled his finger back and scowled at the snappy bird.

"What?" he asked, turning his attention back to the girl. He had figured out that grabby hands meant she wanted something, because still did the same thing sometimes, but he couldn't fathom what could be so interesting about his head that she would risk a whopping two-foot fall to get at it. He leaned over cautiously, trying to get within Gabrielle's reach while also keeping away from Freak. "Hi," he said, when he had gotten close enough to fully invade her space.

Shye had never had anyone try to gum his hair before. It was weird, but he held still because she sounded happy. "Nice baby," he said, reaching out to pat her on the arm.

He wasn't anticipating the sneak attack from above. Nearly all of Freak's pecks landed, dotting Shye's head with little specks of blood. He pulled away from Gabrielle's grooming session and screeched, "OW OW OW," his lower lip wavering and his face squishing up in pain. Somehow he managed not to cry. "Your bird is not cool no more!" Shye rubbed at his head and eyed Freak warily.

Now that was impressive. Shye was the master of all sorts of persuasive behavior, but he hadn't quite gotten the hang of ordering animals around. They tended to be unpredictable at best, and apparently pecky and blood-loving at worst. He pulled his hoodie - it was yellow today - up over his head and rubbed at it, soaking the specks of blood that hadn't dried on their own into the fabric. "Sorry I was loud," he said quietly, leaning back in until he was face to face with Gabrielle again.

The door to the shop they were standing in front of opened with a tinkle of bells and Smerdle stepped out onto the sidewalk. She quirked her head at the scene in front of her before noticing Deph hovering near her shoulder.

"That baby's bird attacked your son," the man drawled.

"You were supposed to have been watching him!" Smerdle hefted her bag higher on her shoulder, but remained near the door of the shop, observing. What was a baby doing with a bird anyway?

"I was."

Smerdle rolled her eyes and tentatively approached the children and the woman with them.

"Oh," Smerdle said. "No big deal. I'm sure Shye was doing something to provoke it. This one," she waved a hand at Deph, "was supposed to be watching him, but I'm sure he would have let a car run over him before he did anything about it." Smerdle laughed, but the sound quickly turned into a wheeze, then a cough. It probably wasn't funny to joke about such things. "I'm Smerdle," she said brightly, "and you've already met Shye, sort of."

Shye nodded at Gabrielle. Obviously she was talking about something very important that he shouldn't interrupt. When he heard the chimes and his mother's voice, he didn't turn. He was engaged in serious business.

"Nice to meet you too," Smerdle said. She looked at the kids, engaged in their strange bonding moment. "Shye hasn't met anyone younger than he is really. I never thought he would hold still for that much pawing." Deph poked her on the shoulder and Smerdle gestured toward her shopping bag, inviting him to check out his vicarious purchases. "I found Shye too," she added. "Actually, I found an airplane that turned into him, but whatever. It was still unexpected."

Shye grinned and carefully took the little flower from Gabrielle's hand. "Cool." He cradled it in his palm, fingers making a tiny cage around the blossom so it wouldn't blow away. He rummaged around in his pockets with his free hand, but only came away with a crusty old piece of candy. "Ma!" he said, turning so he wouldn't scream in the baby's face. "You gotta buy..." he looked at Gabrielle appraisingly, "...Stick Head somethin' later. Like a toy, 'kay?" He had plenty of toys of his own, but none he was willing to give away, even in return for a cool flower that had grown out of somebody's skull. "Thanks," he said quietly.

(( Don't worry about it. heart ))

Shye flinched back at the tap for a moment, but quickly smiled at Gabrielle and said, "Beep!" like some sort of broken alarm clock. It seemed like an appropriate response.

"Yeah. Funny." Smerdle looked down as Deph pulled at her elbow, the expression on his face indicating that he wanted to get back home sooner rather than later. "In a minute," she answered before turning back to Rome. "The flowers... come out of her? I thought they were just some sort of decoration. Well, whether she grows flowers or not, she's still adorable. Shye's just wiggly and full of dumb questions." She smiled. "I guess kids are like that though." She had never really taken the time to wonder about children until she had one of her own.