[PRP] knock knock (Rabbit & Pax)

[shibrogane]

The squeeps were small and delicate, and seemed to be perfectly happy to exist on single cheerios and tiny medicine cups of water. They kept warm by sticking close to p***k, their little humanoid faces shoved into his fur. When the sun came up, they sang like birds; when the sun went down, so did they. It was on one such night, the squeeps lulled to sleep by the rain on the window, that Pax came to visit Rabbit.

Its dark face with its six luminous eyes peered in the corner of Rabbit's bedroom window, and then it--very politely--knocked.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

His reaction was a lot less panicked than anyone could have predicted.

Sure, he nearly wet himself at the unexpected sound, but he recovered quickly after that, hurrying to the window and quietly sliding it open. There was only one being with eyes like that, and from what he had seen it was a friendly one when it wasn't being attacked or startled. More importantly, it knew of his birds, his squeeps, and he was eager to learn more himself.

His room wasn't terribly large, and once The Peaceful One was inside, the space was almost cramped.

"Pax. Hello." He motioned to the bed, which was clear except for the cat, the squeeps, and his folded blankets at its far end. "Sit. Please. You want a towel?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Pax blinked all six of its eyes in that odd, circuitous pattern it enjoyed. It kept itself small out of respect for the space, and by necessity inhuman: a poorly-articulated pool of shadows. A humanoid head and shoulders rose from the shadows, antlers dripping dark purple smoke instead of flowers.

"Noble Rabbit," said Pax. It inclined its head. "I came to tell you about the babies."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

The title pulled his spine straight even as his expression shifted to slight worry. He was almost used to Oroh's 'Lord Bennett' at this point, but hearing his responsibility expressed in a different way reminded him of it all over again.

"Okay, yeah. They seem all right. I take them out with me sometimes and they eat and sleep and do baby things, I guess." They had proven to be less trouble than he assumed human babies were once that first harrowing week had passed, mostly because they were small enough to keep under control. Rabbit made himself shut up, crossing his arms to hold the excess words in. "I'd like to know more."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Pax nodded again. Or maybe it bowed? Hard to tell when most of it was a goopy shadow puddle on Rabbit's floor.

"They are called sirens," said Pax. "They are small now. They will grow." It took a deep breath, formed a poorly-articulated limb and gestured to the tiny wings, the flexing fingers. "Until they are as large as you. They sing, and they take the form of birds, and they take the form of people. They will develop a preference. As they are people."

It asked, "Have you named them, Noble Rabbit?"

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Pax had barely said anything at all, and still it was too much. Rabbit took a sudden seat, aware enough not to do so with any great weight so the squeeps—no, the sirens—wouldn't be disturbed. He tucked his hands between his thighs and the mattress to pin them someplace where they wouldn't flail.

"As big as me. Okay. Will they talk too? Could they get jobs, or...? No, forget that. I'm mostly just... My size? Really?" He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do with a pair of giant bird people. "When?"

Belatedly remembering it had asked a question, he added, "No, they don't have names," in a smaller, more resigned voice.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Children should have names," opined Pax.

It formed up a body, then, smooth and androgynous. It gathered up each squeep. "Yes," said Pax. "If you teach them to talk, they will talk. They will present powerful allies if you give them care." The bed didn't so much as sag underneath Pax's weight when it sat next to Rabbit. "They can do anything you can do. They shed their bird-skin for the first time in two weeks." The way Pax handled the squeeps was delicate but clinical, like a veterinarian or a doctor. "You must bounce them like this. So they will shed their baby feathers."

The squeep that was calmly putting up with being bounced reached out for Rabbit, tiny fingers spread wide for him.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"They will. Soon. I promise." He had certainly wanted to name them, but they seemed too important to be dubbed something like Rabbit or p***k, and that was before he had known they would be more than pets. He held out his hands for the one being bounced, looking to the shadow deer for permission before he took the squeep and tried to mimic Pax's movements. Two weeks. He and Olivia were going to have to have another talk. And so soon after the 'I can turn into a lightning bug and climb the walls like a spider' one too.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"I believe you," said Pax. The reaching squeep was relinquished peacefully. The quieter one put up with being bounced just as patiently. "The names of their parents are known to me. Does it matter to you? They are dead now, but these children are alive."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Yes." Their parents. Of course they'd had them. "There was another bird there who wanted me to save them. Was it related somehow?" He'd wanted to get it out of there too, but he hadn't understood how to help. Not that he could have done any better at that these days, but he would at least know some things to try.

"Either way, yeah, I'd like to know their names."

shibroganebestdad

 

[shibrogane]

"Yes," said Pax. "Mother's brother. I do not remember the human word. He was Alwise. His sister was Shininover, and their father was named Watersring." It settles the squeep in its lap and smooths a hand over its feathers, brushing down away. "Sirens are watchers and warners. You do well to have saved them from the shadows."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Rabbit repeated the names in his head over and over, even as he spoke, determined to commit them to memory. He would tell the squeeps all about their uncle when they were old enough to hear.

"Okay. Got it." He alternately bounced and smoothed, mimicking Pax's movements with much steadier hands than he'd had five minutes ago. "Alwise..." The name was strange on his tongue. "He could have found someone better to help, I guess, but I did what I could. Are there a lot of sirens on the other side?" He didn't think he had ever met any, but to be honest, he would have had no way of knowing if he had. "What do they warn against?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"He found someone better," said Pax, its six eyes on Rabbit, its tone deathly serious. "He found you to do what he could not."

Pax stilled, letting the squeep he held curl up in its hands. They warped to something less hand, and more nest; this did not seem to bother Pax even a little bit. "Corruption," said Pax. "Consumption. Sometimes this world seeks to eat the other. The sirens warn against it; they prevent the otherworld's demise. It makes them a treasured commodity, though they are as intelligent as you or I."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He had no response to that. It was a flattering thought, and he had gotten them to safety, but he still didn't feel qualified for any of this. Mostly he was nervous, and he wished he had been forward thinking enough to ask someone about the squeeps while they'd still been eggs. Of course, he'd been indisposed for much of that time, but none of that changed the fact that he still didn't know a thing about babies, supernatural or otherwise. He might have been better prepared.

Eventually he nodded shallowly. "He'll be proud, even if he isn't here."

The rest was just as confusing, although for an entirely different reason. "What if the otherworld tries to eat this one instead? It feels like it's doing that right now. Do they just sit and watch?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Why would you want to preserve this world," asked Pax. There was no rancor in its tone. Its voice lilted on the end of the phrase: a curious inclination. "If there was something worth saving. Then perhaps. I am unsure."

Smerdle

rabbit + the squeeps 5eva