thenearshore | -Overflow- for 016

Just a little test. I won't let anything happen to you.

[His hands close over Shun's and he gently pulls Shun with him as he steps backward, walking them out of the shelter of the door. His gaze is still on Shun, but his attention is focused outward on the sound of wingbeats or anything else that would indicate an approach.]

[The vultures don't attack anything that isn't a threat; Fubuki pops in and out of the temple just fine. But he can't...leave that to chance. At the end of the day, they're carrion birds, portent of death, cause of desecration ...a kind of "necrovalley," if you will, and they're just kind of unsettling okay]

[Although...this little test would probably work better if the vultures weren't busy eating right now. ...That just means Fubuki has successfully reduced the danger level—]

Okay. [Shun believes that statement very easily, mostly because if this is to do with the vultures, he doesn't feel like anything is likely to happen to him anyway. Either way, he lets Fubuki lead him out into the open with his main focus being staring in apparent fascination at the feasting vultures.

Most of the vultures do indeed ignore them both in favour of food for the moment, but a few moments after they step out, a certain (relatively) small vulture hops over in their direction. It's Fubuki's good friend Shoulderbird, and the vulture's eying passes over Fubuki quickly in favour of the tiny Shun.

She hops a little closer, turning her head in apparent confusion. It seems like he might feel the same to the vultures and exert the same influence, even if he's confusing them by not looking the same.

Shun, for his part, looks delighted by the large bird's approach.] Can I touch it? It looks kind of confused and cute.

[OF COURSE IT WOULD BE SHOULDERBIR]

[A slight tightening of his grip is all the outward response he makes. After a second, he glances over and establishes eye contact with his mortal enemy. ...Shoulderbird had been hand-raised, and if little Shun can tell that it's confused, maybe he'd be able to tell if it starts getting agitated as well. During that very first patrol, it'd stared at him while staying with Shun, and nothing had happened to either of them. Then again, Shun must have been used to dealing with them by that point...]

[...What...should he do?]

[Even as he thinks that, his grip on Shun's hands loosens.]

...Shun. Call my name. Say "Yamiki."

[When Fubuki's grip tightens, Shun frowns a little worriedly at him. Not because of the situation, but because Fubuki seems really scared right now, and Shun tightens his grip a little too to try and be reassuring.]

It's okay. You don't need to be scared. [This is probably an exchange that should be going the other way...

Shoulderbird takes another few cautious steps, neck out as if she's planning to prod Shun with her beak as a check. While Shun's attention is very much on the big cool bird, he glances up to Fubuki in obvious confusion once he settles on his course of action.]

Why? [But he was told to do it, so...] "Yamiki", right?

[He quite clearly has no idea what the significance of it is.]

[He glances back at Shun at the reassurance, because he hadn't realized he'd been showing it so obviously. Has Shun always been able to tell...?]

[Shoulderbird please don't peck Shun]

[He has a brief second to ponder the "why," and that's why he's caught off-guard. (...Again.) But as soon as the unpleasant feeling fades, he's in mask form, just...as planned? Rend can't be used like this, or at least he doesn't want to force the issue when Shun and Shoulderbird are such buddies, and Fubuki's disorientation ability might actually make things worse since it doesn't enforce his target to stop...but he has it in a pinch and now Shun's eyes are covered.]

[(Because the danger of Shoulderbird is obviously worth hatching this overly convoluted plan, you see.)]

...Okay. If you're going to do it, be very careful of your fingers...

[This time, Shun is just as caught off-guard by the change as Fubuki is for once, and he reaches his hands up to his face immediately to touch at the weird mask that's there now.]

Hello...? [Did he just turn into the mask? Is that what's happening here? Little Shun isn't really sure, but it is kind of reassuring to hear that voice in his head. At least he didn't just disappear.]

It's okay. [It's not like Fubuki can stop him now anyway, so Shun reaches a hand carefully forward to meet Shoulderbird's head. The vulture hestitates a moment, but eventually extends its neck to bump at his palm experimentally. If it looks like Shun and feels like Shun, even if he's small right now, apparently Shoulderbird is satisfied that this means it's Shun.]

[...He is regretting this already.]

Stay away from its beak...

[Too late arghhh]

[Nevertheless, he makes his voice as strict as he can for his next statement.]

If you ever feel in danger, don't try to calm her, just run away.

[Shun frowns a bit at the warning, but Shoulderbird seems mostly interested in rolling the top of its head against Shun's hand right now anyway, so he files it under things that aren't really a problem yet. Rather than move away or be particularly concerned about Fubuki's worries, Shun just keeps carefully running his hand over the downy head.

The attempt at strict advice makes his expression almost petulant, though.]

You're the one who feels like it's dangerous. It's a good bird.

[He's sure it is. To Shun.]

Someone once told me that they shouldn't be treated as pets, even if they seem nice.

[...But maybe that wasn't supposed to apply to Shun himself, as the god of the temple? Questions he should have asked, if only he'd known he'd be in this impossible situation weeks down the line. Aha...ha...]

It'd be great if that didn't happen... But I'd rather not be regretful after the fact.

[Actually...]

You know how to handle them?

It's letting me touch it, though. I wasn't going to if it didn't let me.

[As far as Shun's concerned, you can still totally pet a wild animal if it lets you pet it. It's just a matter of stopping when you start becoming unwelcome, which is a line he doesn't appear to have crossed with Shoulderbird yet.

When Fubuki asks that question, Shun hums a bit, now having relocated his petting from the top of the vulture's head to the back of its neck.]

I know stuff about lots of birds, but I don't really know how people train them and stuff. If I did, I'd train another cool bird, like a falcon. [Because his name is clearly relevant here.]

[A falcon would be better than vultures, probably. Though he has no idea how the gods get their godhood, so that's just...wishful thinking...]

That sounds nice.

[Yeah, no, he doesn't mean it at all. But—]

[Movement. Another vulture came close, but it's just flying away. He lets out a breath...]

[—WAIT A SECOND]

...Shun. Shun.

[He is delighted by this revelation, and his tone reflects it.]

Would you be scared of a falcon too if I had one?

[On one hand, he sounds like he's mostly joking. On the other, Fubuki can apparently never escape Shun judging him for being afraid of birds.

Shun looks over in the direction of the wing sound he hears as the other vulture flies away, and though he frowns a bit at Fubuki sounding relieved, it turns into curiosity once he starts sounding happy about something.]

What is it?

[He feels judged.]

...Not in particular.

[At the other question, though, he snickers internally, because it should be self-evident and unexplainable—]

When did you learn what your name meant?

[...Okay so he explained it but still. He's going to end up calling Shun "Falcon Lord" at this rate]

[As he should.

While little Shun apparently doesn't feel much of a need to pick on that answer to the question of how afraid Fubuki would be, he frowns a bit at the implication he wouldn't know the meaning of his own name.]

As soon as I learnt how to write it. It would be weird if I didn't know what it meant, especially when it's not even a hard word.

[...Okay so it's a fairly long word, but it's still just one kanji that doesn't have that many strokes in it.]

Heh, me, too. [Or something close to it.]

That wasn't meant to imply anything. You're free to like your namesake as much as you like!

[~~Fubuki certainly does~~]

Just take care to be careful.

[He's repeating himself, but... Other vultures are landing nearby. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, or if it was a mistake to ascribe human-like behaviors to birds, but Shoulderbird had seemed pretty curious. If all the vultures decide to be curious at the same, that...would be a thing.]

It's a cool bird, so I don't know why I wouldn't like it anyway. [But the little Shun lets the subject go, since Fubuki seems okay with it anyway. In any case, he gets distracted pretty quickly by the subject of the other vultures landing nearby, and takes a few steps in that direction.

Curious is definitely a word for what the birds are, but some of them almost seem cautious as well. Even if he feels like the boss of the temple, it's a much smaller creature in front of them, and one who appears to be doing a lot of petting and prodding to their companion.

...Honestly, a few of them are ruffling wings and backing away almost as soon as they land. Apparently the knowledge of human children and their usual reaction to animals of huggable size is universal enough to lie somewhere in their heads.]

[He watches some of the birds back away with...not interest, but something like it.]

Shun, are you doing that?

[Because this is a totally rational thing to assume, considering most of the vultures have left Fubuki alone. He doesn't pay that much attention to the vultures, though; aside from knowing what to do if Shun doesn't make it back to the temple, he's perfectly happy to let Shun handle them.]

Why would I be doing that? I don't want them to go away. [Though...they do definitely seem to be reacting to him in some way, so Shun has to wonder about that. He extends an arm to them as if in peaceful invitation, but a few of them just seem to consider that a confirmation of their fears and fly off.]

...Maybe they don't like hands. [Which would be weird, because the one he's with right now doesn't seem to have a problem with them, but not much else makes any more sense here.]

Well...

[So Shun thinks stuff like that, too? Ahaha.]

Better not test that too much. [In case they take it as an invitation to bite.]

[But despite what Shun says, Fubuki really does suspect that Shun's doing something. Children aren't lacking in self-preservation instinct, and sometimes that instinct can take over...]

[—Wait, that would be bad, though. Well...as long as no one (else) is distressed here...]

Looks like they don't want to play. Listen, Shun. If you ever want to pet them again...don't do it without me. [Since he doesn't know how long this will last, and all.]

If they fly away when they see hands, then testing it wouldn't be that hard. [His tone is a little petulant, but he at least doesn't push it past that. He does, however, take a few steps closer to one of the nearby ones...that also flies away as soon as he wriggles his fingers.

Shun looks kind of disappointed, but he supposes he already has one that's happy to be touched, so he turns his attention back to Shoulderbird and gives it a few light pats on the back.]

I still don't really get why you're so worried. They're all either nice or more scared of us than you are of them. [Notably excluding himself from the group of scared people there.]

You may be right about that...but sometimes it isn't rational. And you don't want to regret it after the fact.

[Not to mention, there are cases when someone or something might not mean to...]

...People can be easily hurt. Especially one as small as you!

[The mask is the same shape, but definitely smaller. Not like the difference in Shun wasn't incredibly obvious just by looking, but there's something about being in a smaller vessel form that made it visceral.]

Don't worry the people who worry about you too much, Shun.

I'm not that small. [Annoyed child huff. He's used to being the big brother, which usually entails being "big" by at least some kind of arbitrary standard.

Fubuki's last remark seems to remind him more of his situation, though, and he pauses in his affection over Shoulderbird to frown a little, first at the birds and then back at the temple. He did only just wake up here this morning, and he doesn't really know anything about what's going on...but he hasn't seen anyone he knows yet.]

I don't know if the people who worry about me are here.

[He sounds a bit distant from that remark, in the way of someone who doesn't quite grasp the ramifications of what they're saying, but realises there are some somewhere.]

They would if they were here, wouldn't they?

[Probably best not to press that point, though. Shun isn't a shinki and therefore isn't subject to those rules, but Fubuki's gotten used to having to be careful.]

You're smaller than me, so you count as small. [Because being childish at a child is totally a tactic that works right???]

[Shun looks all set to think about that question, but then Fubuki changes the subject and distracts him from it. Probably a good thing, given the faint hint of a troubled look that had been creeping up on him.]

You're not even that big. Adults are meant to be really big, right? [Not necessarily true, but at this point it's basically the verbal equivalent of sticking his tongue out at Fubuki, because it's kind of hard to do that when he's on Shun's face.]

[SPUTTER]

What kind of adults have you been seeing?

[...Does he want to know? ...Maybe Shun means "bigger" in the width sense... (That's what he's going to tell himself and no one can stop him.)]

Besides, you're not allowed to say that until you get to my age.

[...Which is normally a thing to say to be annoying—once Shun (for example) hits Fubuki's age, Fubuki will still be older—except...do gods age here...? Shinki probably don't for obvious reasons...]

[He just made himself sad. His adulthood...!!]

...Or until you get big enough that your bird friend can't swallow your fist whole, at least. [Sobbing internally.]

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