[open] if you're the bird, whenever we pretend it's summer

[deathfindsaway]

Who: Kravitz and you!
What: Ren has so graciously gifted Kravitz a new pet, and he is very, very excited about it.
When: Backdated to January 15th
Where: Starting at Elf Camp and then around Enso's shoreline
Warnings: Should be good!

i. [closed to ren, elf camp] you and i left our troubles far behind

[The thing about this plan is that Kravitz was not informed it was even a plan.

When Ren so innocently asked him about birds he liked over a month ago at the petting zoo, Kravitz had truly thought nothing of it. He's spoken about ravens before, and Ren ends up intent on the strangest things- it would be a lot to keep track of if he tried to record everything she's ever done. So the morning it Happens, he's peacefully sleeping away in the main tent of elf camp, none the wiser for what's about to go down.

Good luck, Ren. Or really, good luck Kravitz, in holding his own shit together.]

ii. [open, enso's shores] but i still have just one more question on my mind

[He had no idea this was even going to work, but now that it has, Kravitz is intent on testing the new bird out. He can be found along the shoreline of Enso, a large black bird on his shoulder that Kravitz seems to be talking to. It, on the other hand, is looking very intently at his closed fist at his chest.]

Okay, Lieutenant Pepper, we're going to go over this again. I'm going to throw this, and you're going to bring it back, and if you do-- without swallowing it-- you can have a treat. Okay? Good.

[The arm that has the bird on it produces a rock, which he tosses underhand away from him.]

Go on! Get it, bring it back--

[Yes. He's teaching a bird to play fetch. This is exactly what's happening here.]

Comments

[catpiper]

[That's a hard disagree from Ren, who actually has nothing to do. In fact, this is her big plan for the day. Right here, in the tent, with Kravitz's new pet, even though he should be the one to play around with Pepper. It's his raven, afterall.

She pets the top of her head with a little pat, pat, smoothing out her feathers and poking at her little feet until the food's gone. That's fine. There's nothing else under her pillow and Taako's asleep, which means her job is now to be an alarm clock until further notice.]

Okay, you can go do stuff with her. I'll play with Taako.

[deathfindsaway]

[He slides out of bed, carefully maneuvering around Pepper as she looks expectantly at them for something. But he's not quite going out and summoning her yet- instead, he's gonna take a knee and wrap an arm around Ren, gently hold her to his chest and kiss the top of her head.]

Thank you, Ren. I'll remember this.

[It's the most powerful words he could have said, even if Ren doesn't quite know that. But as a near-immortal being, keeping a memory is strong. Some cultures say you never die if you're never forgotten-- so he'll remember.]

[catpiper]

[The seconds he takes out of his day to dole out these kind gestures-unremarkable, in the grand scheme of his life, but it burns a special memory into her own heart. The warmth that comes from held against someone, to feel the love from that small kiss and hear thank you, as if she's worth thanking. It wasn't her-she wasn't able to conjure up a magic animal companion, like they were able to. It was the Storyteller who did the work and Kravitz who created the bond with the raven to begin with, but-

It's hard to not smile and let the comfortable feeling of being, maybe, loved, wash over her. A couple seconds was all it took to make her day.

So she might as well end it by pulling herself against Taako's sleepy side. Maybe she'll go back to bed now that she's rounded up wildlife-she's confident her cats will join her once the raven's done playing and she needs to be awake to look at the stars later.

And maybe Kravitz might want to join her tonight. They can look for constellations that look like Pepper.

But for now, it's nighty night peanut time and she's so covered up she might as well be a pair of disembodied feet. Have fun being productive.]