excaliburden | ic inbox.

I will, I will!

[Cheerfully!]

... Oh, but in the meantime... can I open the presents you brought over?

Do as you please.

[ He tilts his hat over his face—an action she knows to be an expression of embarrassment. ]

[She sure does know. She laughs a little in response, and then reaches for the box, unwrapping it quickly and opening it up.

........ Oh.

Oh.

She reaches out to touch the necklace reverently first, and then reaches for the bows, putting

literally all of them into her hair.

It looks ridiculous.]

Yuu! Everything is so cute! These are all soooo cute!

[ She looks so silly with all those bows in her hair, arranged at random. It puts a smile on his face, though he tries to hide it by keeping his face straight. (It's not very effective.) ]

You look ridiculous.

[ The little bird settles on Altria's head again and starts picking out one of the bows, prompting the drifter to snatch the bird off her head in displeasure. ]

Not this time, you little pest. Can't escape now, can you?

[ the little bird squirms in his hand, chirping pitifully. ]

[It's hard to take him saying she looks ridiculous as anything but endearing, given that smile he is failing to hide. So she just grins at him in response.]

Aw... be nice, okay? I don't mind if it spends time on my head like this. It's been really gentle, I promise!

It was trying to eat one of the bows. It doesn't deserve any mercy.

[ He holds the bird in front of him, using his other hand to poke at it and bully it some more. The bird tries to bite him, but he's wizened up to its tricks and avoids the bird's beak easily. There's a satisfied look on his face as the bird begins chirping angrily at him. ]

Not so happy now, are you? You brought this on yourself, dumb bird.

Yuuuuuu! You're being such a bully!

[She reaches out to cup her hands over his, gently covering the bird from further poking and bullying. And kind of holding his hand in the process. It's fine.]

At least pick on someone closer to your own size!

[ The bird calms in his hand now that it's fully covered. Meanwhile, the drifter's attention turns to Altria and he leans into her personal space. ]

I didn't know you wanted my attention that badly. You could have said so.

[She is starting to realize that this is how he teases her.

Of course, that doesn't help the fact that she reacts automatically, cheeks flushing read and heart thumping more rapidly.

But.

It does mean she can puff her cheeks out at him in a pout.]

Don't flatter yourself! You're just being difficult because I called you out for being mean to your bird....!

[ He smirks, seeing her flush. And the way she tries to cover up the reaction by yelling at him is exactly why he keeps doing this. It's just too fun to keep teasing her. ]

I don't see anyone else my size to pick on, so who else could you mean but yourself?

[ And just like he did to the bird, he'll reach out to poke her puffed up cheek. ]

[She huffs even more at that, cheeks even redder but scowling at him. There is nothing at all malicious in her expression, of course.]

H-hey! Bully! Bully, bully, bully, bully! [If that's the best she's got, clearly she's not doing too great in the Retorts department.]

[ He snorts. She's terrible at retaliating. But that's enough teasing her for now. If he keeps pushing, she'll probably short circuit. So he pulls back, shifting the hand with the bird and releasing it from his grasp. It trills in excitement and immediately starts flying, enjoying its freedom. ]

There, happy?

[She's so predictable--because the moment he releases the bird and it starts to fly, she relaxes again, smiling.]

Yeah!

I mean, don't you think it looks so much better this way? It's so happy, and feels so much more natural when it can fly wherever it wants.

You should keep it, since you like it so much. Take that nuisance. I don't want it.

[ The bird defiantly lands on his hat and chirps loudly, to which he groans and adjusts his hat in annoyance. ]

All it ever wants to do is harass me!

Aw, I couldn't take it away from you. It clearly wants to stay with you!

[That's important! It's metaphorical or something.]

You've gotta let the people who stay by your side stick with you, even if nobody else.

[ He rolls his eyes in response. ]

It's just a stupid bird. Hardly anything you could call a good ally or companion.

[ The bird retorts with some more chirping and pecks at his hat. ]

Hey! Stop that! Shoo!

[ He waves the bird off his hat but it chooses to boldly settle on his shoulder once more. Okay. Fine. Whatever. Damn bird. He doesn't shoo it away again. ]

Fine. I'll keep it. Because you're going to argue with me until I accept it, aren't you.

[ Because Altria can probably tell he doesn't truly dislike it and will therefore happily pester him until he gives in. Or be concerned about his comfort and then his own pride will force him to accept the bird. ]

[She laughs at that, beaming at him. It's nice that he's not fighting it much, and it's also nice that he knows her so well at this point. Of course she'd pester him about it until he accepted the bird.

He clearly doesn't mind having it around near so much as he's pretending to--and the bird is so determined to stay by his side that Altria can't help but have a soft spot for it regardless.

They have something in common, right?]

You bet! Thanks for making things easy this time, Yuu!

[ As if in agreement with Altria, the bird peeps quietly, though no less joyfully, instead of chirping right into his ear, and then sidles up to his face again and nudges him gently. He sighs. Playing nice now so he wouldn't keep trying to foist it onto Altria, huh?

He rubs a finger against its head, which it enjoys immensely. Alright. Fine. Fine. He would keep this damn bird. Dammit. ]

Only because you insist. That's the only reason I'm agreeing.

[ He's going to have to look up what birds normally eat and then find a proper enclosure for it, although this bird doesn't seem inclined to fly away, so maybe he won't need one...

He should think about it later, when he's not conversing with Altria. ]

[She laughs a little at that, amused--and touched, too. He says it's only because she insists, and while she's sure that he likes the bird more than he's letting on... she's also touched and pleased to know that what she wants is such a big part of what he thinks about too.

It's that which spurs her on, and he's probably not going to be surprised by the subject matter, given how she's always felt about names.]

So... have you named it yet?

[ And Altria, who knows the drifter's thoughts on names, will probably expect the response he gives: ]

Does it need one?

[ It hadn't even occurred to him to name the bird even when he decided begrudgingly to keep it. It existed and insisted on being in his presence. That was enough. ]

[She pouts at him at that.]

Of course it does! Names are important, remember? Remember!

[He remembers, Altria, calm down.]

Then you name it.

[ Because he's certainly not going to, if given the choice. A name is life's first gift. He isn't nearly experienced or delicate enough to handle something as precious as that. ]

Edited 2024-01-27 07:58 (UTC)

[Mmmmmm...]

I mean, I could, but... I feel like it'd be a lot happier to receive a name from you.

It doesn't have to be perfect, you know? Just... something that you really mean!

[ The little bird curled up next to his cheek peeps in agreement with Altria, and his eyebrow twitches slightly. This is—too much, for him. He can't be responsible for a name. He only received his not even a few years ago. How can he be expected to create a fitting name for the bird?

...no, it doesn't have to be that deep, right? He'd been lightly called the Kabukimono for his strangeness back in Tatarasuna, and that hadn't been intended as a real name, just something to refer to him by. He just hadn't minded, was all.

This plump, blue bird... he thinks of the fluttering of paper, and the tinkle of a glass bead hitting the round shape of a chime, the pure tone ringing out in the heat of a summer breeze. He looks at Altria, bright green eyes, golden blonde hair, and thinks how lovely it'd be to see her enjoy the beauty of a wind chime on a clear summer's day, the sky bluer than even the seas surrounding Inazuma. ]

...Suzu. Meaning refreshing or clear.

[ But also a homophone for bell, just like how his name was a homophone for so many other words, the Traveler had said, explaining their reasons for picking out his name. He had the potential to be so much, if he so chose. If he didn't liked the Inazuman character they'd picked out for him, he was free to change it, they said. He hadn't. ]

[... Oh. He really--truly did it. And as she thought, as he always does... he didn't half-ass it at all.

A name meaning refreshing or clear. How beautiful, she thinks. The word itself has a lovely sound to it, and she's sure that it means even more to him in his language, just as his own name has so much meaning behind it.

... It's wonderful, she thinks. She knows this bird is not a faerie, and that it would have been fine without a name. But it means so much to her that even just a little bird like this would be given such a wonderful, meaningful name.

She doesn't really think about it--she just impulsively reaches out to try to throw her arms around him in a hug, if he allows it.]

It's a wonderful name! A really, really pretty sounding one!

I really, really like it!

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