(no subject)

[quackingly.livejournal.com]

When; November 21st
Rating; PG (a few instances of swearing--You know, Fakir)
Characters; Fakir (sword_and_quill) and Ahiru (quackingly)
Summary; Fakir takes Ahiru out to the petshop to find a pet. Cuteness ensues.
Log;
Fakir stood near the Opera House front doors, one hand pulling the black sleeve of his coat back far enough to display the watch on his wrist. He sighed, flipping the sleeve back down and crossing his arms over his chest. How long did it take her to get a damn coat?

Then again, if she'd actually been prepared to leave when he was, the dark-haired boy would have been midly surprised. Afterall, running late was a common thing for her. He sighed again, briefly reflecting on the last few days. Fakir was glad that she no longer had to bear the burden of the curse that had forced him into a role like Drosselmeyer's, but then through the following curse he'd made her sit in a fountain for hours, resulting in her catching a cold. The momentary stab of guilt he felt was dulled by anger toward that Envy person - homunculus, or whatever they were called - that had stopped by the Opera Abandoned to offer Ahiru soup for her illness. The ex-knight got the feeling that he was trouble and was even more irritated with the fact that he was sickeningly sweet to Ahiru. Couldn't she simply stop making friends with every unsavory person in the goddamn City?

Fakir let out another sigh, letting the events fade from his mind before his aggravation could build any further. The least he could do for now was not ruin this little visit to the pet shop. He owed her that much for what he'd put her through as of late. Inwardly nodding, he turned his gaze to the stairwell, attempting not to tap his foot impatiently as he waited for the familiar head of red hair to appear.


Aaaack! Where is it where is it where is it??

Ugh, how embarrassing! Fakir had gone out and bought her a nice coat, and she'd already lost it! Oh, Fakir would probably be mad if he found out...hopefully he wouldn't come up and ask her what was taking so long. She got down on her hands and knees and dug through a few piles of unwashed clothing. It seemed like every time they had a curse she got more behind on her laundry. She thought that odd 'washing machine' would help make things quicker, but she could never figure out how to get it to work right.

With a cry of 'Aha!' she spotted the missing coat--it had somehow been kicked under her bed. She pulled it out and quickly brushed it off, shaking it out to get rid of any stray dust bunnies. There! That looked good! She wouldn't tell Fakir about how she'd found the coat, she decided as she pulled it on. ’And I'll make sure to hang it up when I get home, too!’ she thought with a firm nod of her head.

She quickly ran out the door and downstairs, her shoes clacking loudly against the wooden steps. "I'm coming! I'm sorry!"

Finally spotting the frantic redhead coming down the stairs, Fakir let is arms drop down, raising an eyebrow at her as she approached. With the hint of a blush, he noted that she was wearing the new jacket he'd bought for her. The yellow color of the coat really made her hair and eyes stand out more in contrast to it and it didn't look half bad on her. Forbidding any further distraction from his mind, Fakir quickly cleared his throat, gesturing vaguely in the direction she had just come running from. "What in the world were you doing, moron? Did it really take you that long to put on a coat?"

"Ummmm...." Ahiru folded her hands in front of herself and tried to decide how to answer. "I...........I'm not used to big buttons like these, so I had a hard time buttoning them!" she lied, adding a nervous laugh onto the end. She knew she probably shouldn't lie to Fakir, but making it seem like she was just being clumsy again was probably better than telling him she'd nearly lost her new coat.

He wasn't convinced of her explanation, to say the least, but whatever it was that she was hiding probably wasn't that big of a deal anyway. Or perhaps she'd come clean with it on her own later. Not likely, but they'd already wasted enough time as it was. Turning toward the door, he looked over his shoulder and caught her gaze for a moment. "Well, come on then. We don't want to be out too late."

"Oh! Right!" Ahiru quickly ran up to join Fakir at his side, her momentary embarrassment all but forgotten as a smile appeared on her face. She was almost skipping more than walking, and her eyes shined with clear excitement. "Thanks so much for taking me out to get a pet, Fakir! I think this'll be a lot of fun!"

It was odd to see her getting so excited over something as trivial as picking up a pet, not to mention strange that a girl who was really a duck would actually want a pet in the first place. But as long as she was smiling and looked as cheerful as she was now, Fakir couldn't complain. It certainly beat the worried and frightened expressions she'd been wearing regularly after the cursed writing mishap. "I don't see the harm in you having one," he replied neutrally. "Besides, you could probably use something that has as much energy as you do."

Ahiru paused for a moment, bringing a finger up to touch her cheek in a questioning gesture. Fakir didn't always make sense to her. "As much energy as I do? Would that be useful?" Her face grew somewhat serious, and her eyebrows drew together slightly in thought. "Autor says I need to learn to calm down and read books more."

"I mean a pet would be able to keep up with you," the dark-haired boy clarified. "They're lively." He half-shrugged as they walked, unable to imagine Ahiru being anything like Autor. "It's a matter of preference. I'm not sure I could fathom the idea of you being very quiet and spending your time reading. That would only seem like you were trying to change yourself."

"Oh! I see! That would be nice." Ahiru took a deep breath of the crisp fall air, purposefully crunching a few leaves underneath her feet as they walked to the square. She 'hmmed' thoughtfully at the idea of spending her time reading. "No, I don't think I would do that. Besides," she added, "I don't think it'd be very fun to be like Autor. He's always frowning and yelling at people. If I was going to choose anyone to be like...I'd be like Rue!"
She straightened her back, mimicking to the point of exaggeration Rue's refined, elegant bearing. "My prince," she spoke in a decent impersionation of her voice, "Would you like to join me for a walk in the garden?"

"Weirdo," he admonished with a light smack to the back of her head. "One Rue is enough as it is. Besides, if you started imitating my sister all the time, I probably wouldn't be-" he cut off abruptly, faking a cough. "Anyway, we're almost there." Taking a momentary glance down at her, his eyebrows drew together slightly as he studied her features. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough for this? You did have a nasty cold. And pets can cause allergic reactions."

Ahiru stumbled slightly when Fakir whacked her head, then turned to stick her tongue out at him. She couldn't help but wonder what Fakir was going to say at the end of his sentence, but when he mentioned the pet store she was instantly distracted. "Oh, don't worry! I think I'm okay." She patted her chest for emphasis. "I don't think I should be running around or anything yet, but I don't think just a trip to a pet store." She paused for a moment, and then straightened her coat nervously. "Besides...it'd be a little weird for a duck to be allergic to pets, don't you think?"

The ex-knight was still skeptical of her condition, but decided not to question her any further on it for the time being. "It's strange enough for a duck to want a pet anyway," he spoke aloud his earlier thought. "So I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if you did develop an allergy to something." Approaching the shop, Fakir's gaze vaguely drifted through the windows, looking at the assortment of animals that could be spotted from his standpoint. They had a variety, at least. And he was honestly a little curious as to what Ahiru would want for a pet. As for himself, he wasn't sure if he was going to get one or not, but it never hurt to look around. Coming up to the entrance, he pulled back the door, waiting patiently for the duck-girl to head inside. Fakir supposed holding a door open for her wouldn't be that odd - or rather, he hoped it wouldn't.

Ahiru may or may not have thought anything of him holding open the door, but as soon as she saw the cute animals in the window every other thought flew from her mind. There were SO MANY pets! Cats and dogs and rabbits and mice and snakes (eek!) and--
Birds! All sorts of birds! Big parrots and tiny canaries and everything in between! Ahiru dashed into the store with unbridled enthusiasm, running over to a cage with a pair of lovebirds in them and smiling. "Hello!" she said to the birds in the cage. They whistled back happily.

The dark-haired boy let the door shut behind him as he entered the store after Ahiru, his sharp green eyes following her rapid progress as she bounced from place to place. A small half-smile lifted up the corner of his mouth briefly when he noted that she'd paused right before a pair of birds. He should have figured she'd be drawn to them right off the bat. "Thinking about getting a bird?" he inquired lightly, the hint of the smile fading away from his features as quickly as it had formed.

Ahiru turned to look at Fakir, a soft smile on her face. "I'm not sure," she said, turning back to look at the caged birds. "I sort of miss how it was at the Academy. All the birds would always come to see me in the morning. I haven't gotten to see them much since...well, you know."
The redhead reached behind her back to play with her braid as she thought. "...Actually...I think I'd like to get to know the birds around the Opera first. I wouldn't want to get a bird that wouldn't get along with them."

He nodded, feet carrying rather aimlessly around the shop. "Any pet in particular you were looking for then?" he asked, pausing by a caged area of cats. One in particular hissed threateningly upon seeing him and he glared back at it, moving on without sparing the cat another glance. He didn't particularly want one of them, especially since finding out his soul had taken on the form of a large panther-like one during the Daemon curse. Something about that revelation had unsettled him. Even if they were generally quiet and non-obtrusive pets, even ideal for someone like him, Fakir stubbornly decided that he wanted something different. If he even decided to get a pet at all.

"Ummm...no, not really," she admitted, turning and crossing over to a small, open cage in which some kittens played. "I thought I'd just find one that seemed to like me?"
She paused, reaching into the cage to pet a small, spotted cat. The cat sniffed her hand and let out a curious mew. "Awwww! This one is cute!" Ahiru said excitably as the cat continued to sniff and hesitantly licked her finger. "Maybe I should get a--"
CHOMP! The kitten bit down on what it thought was a tasty duck dinner.
"OW!"

Hearing the exclamation from across the shop, Fakir abandoned the cage where he was looking at a rabbit and went to Ahiru's side, mild concern on his features. "Be careful, idiot. They probably don't care much for being locked up in this place and I don't doubt some of these animals aren't that friendly." Snatching her hand, he inspected her small digit, and upon finding nothing wrong with it save for small teeth marks, he released it. "Are you sure you want a pet? You don't seem like you can handle animals that well. They do bite and scratch from time to time, you know."

Ahiru blushed from embarrassment, pulling her hand back towards herself to look at it and rubbing it to try to soothe the pain. "I know that! That one just seemed really friendly!"

Fakir watched as she rubbed her finger and sighed inwardly. Ahiru really did seem like a magnet for trouble, no matter how small. "If this keeps up, I'll have to start carrying bandages or a first aid kit wherever I go with you," he muttered, glancing down at the kitten that looked innocently back up at him. "That's probably its way of being friendly, anyway. It doesn't look particularly hostile and upset."

Ahiru pouted down at the cat, then looked over at the boy. "...You pet it. Let's see how it'll treat you."

"Fine." Fakir reached down to the kitten, petting the top of its head with three fingers. Instead of trying to lick his hand as it had done to Ahiru, the small cat reached its paws up to grab his wrist. Not even batting an eye, the dark-haired writer pulled back, purposefully showing Ahiru the white scratch marks left on his arm. "Happy now?"

"...Maybe I shouldn't get a cat." Ahiru said with a sigh. "I guess it'd be sort of weird, with Professor Cat and everything..." Ahiru wandered aimlessly to another cage and peered down to look down at a rabbit.

Fakir shrugged neutrally, heading toward the display of puppies nearby and watching them frolic around with one another, making small yipping barks occasionally. "Considering Professor Cat turned into a werewolf before, I doubt he would find that even remotely strange," Fakir mused aloud, reaching experimentally down and allowing a golden lab puppy to lick at his hand.

"Whaaaaat?!" Ahiru squawked, sending the timid rabbits scattering for cover. She turned wide blue eyes towards Fakir. "Professor Cat turned into a werewolf?! When??"

"There was an issue with someone turning people into werewolves in the City some time ago," Fakir replied calmly, now petting the same puppy as another came over to join it, tail wagging excitedly. "You might as well get used to strange things happening here, because you're going to see a lot of it." Switching his hand over to greet the black puppy, Fakir raised an eyebrow at how fast its tail was thumping against the bottom of the pen it was sitting in. "And don't worry about Professor Cat, either," he added, scratching the small animal behind its ear. "He was fully cured."

"O-Oh...." Ahiru sighed, not-so-secretly relieved. She didn't really like the idea of having to deal with Professor Cat as a werewolf, particularly if she was in her duck form at the time. That would be...bad. Fakir would probably protect her, but he'd get cross about having to save her again.
Glancing over at Fakir, she saw him petting the dog in its cage and skipped over. "Oooh! Maybe I should get a dog!"

The young man looked toward the redhead briefly before focusing his gaze back on the puppies. "If you think you'd like one. They seem pretty friendly." He continued scratching the same pup behind it's ear until it gave a sudden yelp and scurried away from him, closely followed by it's tan-colored companion. Fakir blinked, looking at his hand for a moment. Did he scratch too hard, maybe?

Ahiru's eyes widened when the dogs skittered away at her approach. "You...You don't think I scared them, do you?"
For all she knew she probably did--after all, her shoes had been clunking against the floor the entire time she had been there and the more excited she got it seemed like the more noise she made.

"No," he said simply, looking back down into the assortment of puppies. "I probably hit a sore spot on its ear or something." Fakir looked to the far corner of the pen where a small puppy was looking back at him. He narrowed his eyes for a moment as if silently accusing the puppy of being afraid of him as well. But to his surprise, the tri-colored and floppy-eared animal immediately came right over to him and then sat down, staring up at him as if answering his wordless challenge. Amused, Fakir reached his hand back down and brushed his fingertips over the top of the puppy's head, expression softening slightly when the animal closed its eyes and wagged its tail almost contently.

"Oh...I see." Ahiru leaned back on the heels of her shoes, watching as the dog slowly came over to Fakir. She landed back down on her toes with a clack, smiling excitedly at the new dog. "That one seems to really like you, Fakir!" She titled her head and examined the dog carefully. "...He doesn't look like a Grump-Grump, though."

At Ahiru's mention of the puppy liking him, it gave a sudden yip and Fakir ventured to scratch behind its ear. "I think it's a she, actually," he remarked thoughtfully, then frowned at Ahiru's choice of name. "I told you I wouldn't call anything 'Grump-Grump'. Period."

"That's fine! Like I said, I don't think she's really a Grump-Grump, anyway." Hesitantly, she reached out and presented her hand to the dog. "Hi there...! Um...I'm Ahiru!"

Fakir retracted his hand, allowing Ahiru to greet the dog as he backed away a little, contenting himself with watching.

The dog wagged its tail and licked Ahiru's hand to show it accepted her, and Ahiru gently scratched underneath its chin. "Awww! She's such a sweetie! ...That's it, Fakir! You can name her Sweetie!"

The dark-haired young man's expression immediately turned sour. "I'm not naming her "Sweetie", even if I do decide to get her." Coming back up beside her, he picked the puppy up out of the pen and held it, allowing the animal to lick at his hand playfully. "Maybe simple names work for you, but I'll find something I like or that actually suits her based on more than a first impression."

"I don't think it sounds 'simple'. I think it sounds 'cute'. ...But I guess you should name your own pet." Ahiru leaned over the pen and looked around at the playing puppies, turning her head quickly to follow some of them as they romped around the pen. "I wonder if I'll be able to find one, too..." She stuck out her hand into the pen and waved it, her already high voice going up an octave. "Here puppy! Here! Come here puppy!"

Still carrying the puppy in his arms, Fakir stroked her head absentmindedly as he watched Ahiru attempt to hail over one of the other remaining puppies in the bin. "I'm sure they can hear you just fine without you raising your voice like that."

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Ahiru leaned back a little and looked around at the dogs before reaching into the pen and picking up a toy. "Um...here! Come on! I'll play with you!"
A few dogs tilted their heads and looked at the strange girl waving a rubber bone in their faces, but one equally excitable dog quickly ran up and bit down on the bone, wagging its tail.
"Oh! You want to play with me?" Ahiru asked, letting go of the bone. The dog--a tiny little ball of fluff with bright eyes--dropped the toy in front of her and yipped. Ahiru picked up the bone and tossed it across the pen, which the dog then quickly ran after and brought back to her. She tossed the bone again. "Fetch!"
The dog happily agreed, curled tail wagging as it retrieved the toy.

Bemused, the ex-knight watched as the redhead played fetch with poofy and overly-energetic little pup, still petting the puppy he held in his arms as he did so. The rapid movement of the small and fluffy animal almost reminded him of Ahiru in some way, but Fakir felt it was better to keep that thought to himself. "Do you like that one?" he asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Glancing down to his arms when he registered that the puppy he was holding seemed to have stopped responding to the petting, Fakir realized, with slight surprise, that the animal had curled up against him and fallen asleep. He blinked, then smiled just slightly at the pup before turning his gaze back to the duck-girl.

"Uh-huh!" Ahiru looked up at Fakir with a bright smile on her face, before turning to pet the small fluffball, which had brought back the toy and yapped happily at the duck-girl. She gently picked it up and brought it up to her face, grinning at it. "Hi!! Would you like to come home with me?"
"Yip yip!"
"Yes?"
"Yipyipyip!!" The dog wagged its tail.
"Aww! Good girl! ...I think she's a girl...yeah, she's a girl." Ahiru grinned, hugging the dog closely and petting her--before bursting into the most ridiculous baby-speech seen in the City in months. "Good dog! Good Fluff! You're such a good little Fluff-Fluff! Yes you are, yes you are! And you're going to come home with me and we're going to have all sorts of fluffy-fluff fun because you're so cute~!"

"...Fluff-Fluff?" Fakir remarked incredulously as Ahiru proceeded to baby-talk to the animal. Deciding not to question the strange behavior or the redhead's naming abilities any further for the moment, he swiftly grabbed one of Ahiru's arms and pulled her in the direction of the check-out counter. "If you're settled, then we don't need to waste any more time standing around here." Upon passing by a display of pet supplies, Fakir paused, letting go of Ahiru's arm. "Although they do need a few other things before we leave," he decided as he looked at an assortment of leashes. "I don't really feel like having to come back and get this stuff later, so we might as well pick it up now." Browsing the shelves, the dark-haired boy kept one arm secured around the sleeping puppy as he picked out a few choice pet supplies and things for her.

"No, silly! Just Fluff!" Ahiru explained cheerfully. "Fluff-Fluff is her nickname."
"Oh, right!" The redheaded girl said when they passed the display. "I will need some of these things..." Ahiru shifted her tiny dog into one hand as she picked out some supplies. A bubblegum pink leash and collar, maybe some dog food...a book on how to take care of Pomeranians that she'd probably never read, and a few random toys. "Okay! Ready now!"

Fakir gathered his own assortment of pet things more securely with his free arm, the puppy in his arms giving a wide yawn at the movement but not yet ready to wake. "Alright then, let's get going." He led rest of the way to the counter, placing the dog supplies on the flat surface before reaching down into his pocket and extracting his wallet, sending a green-eyed glance in Ahiru's direction. "Hurry up, moron. Get your stuff up here so I can get a total and pay for all of this."

Ahiru yelped and ran over, precariously balancing everything in her arms (and making 'Fluff' look slightly nervous). "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She unceremoniously dumped the supplies onto the counter and carefully shifted her dog in her arms, before turning and giving Fakir a grateful look. "Thank you for the pet!"

Receiving the amount due after the worker had added up the totals of the second batch of pet supplies, Fakir pulled out an assortment of colored coins, getting the proper amount counted before handing them over the counter to the salesman. After the transaction was complete, the man started bagging together all of the pet supplies as the ex-knight turned his gaze down to the redheaded girl. "You're welcome, moron," he replied with the slightest of smiles, reaching his free hand down to ruffle her hair in an almost affectionate manner. "It was the least I could do after getting you sick. Curse or not."

Ahiru beamed, not even caring that he had called her a 'moron' again. She knew Fakir well enough to know that the smallest of smiles and barely affectionate gestures he sometimes gave were rare treasures. "I really wasn't that sick. You shouldn't worry about it so much. I'm already better, aren't I?"

"Not entirely," he stated as he pulled the hand away from her hair in order to pick up the bag that was waiting on the counter. "So you should be taking it easy for awhile yet." Nodding at the salesman, he started toward the door, shifting his arm so the napping puppy was more comfortable in his hold.

"I know, I know," the red-head said, following behind Fakir. "I'll play with Fluff a little when we get home and introduce her to everyone, and then I'll try to take it easy a little." The dog in her arms squirmed a little, so she hugged it closer, whispering "Shh, shh, be a good girl, Fluff."

"Fine," Fakir reluctantly agreed as he opened the door and stepped back to let her pass first. "Just don't overdo it."

"Yes, sir!" Ahiru said in mock-seriousness before laughing and skipping out the door. "Let's hurry back, okay? I want everyone to meet our new pets!"

The dark-haired boy followed out after Ahiru, letting the door snap shut behind him. Watching her bounce on ahead excitedly with her new puppy, and then glancing down at dozing one in the crook of his arm, Fakir decided that the visit to the petshop had been time well spent, for once.