[ prp ] be awarg of chikn (America & Leila)

[cibarium]

"Mmm-hmm," Julian finished off. His impression of Boomhauer was pretty good. While moving to open the gate to the backyard, he put some extra effort into keeping balance for the tiny woman on his shoulder. This went better than one may have expected -- his small bit of magic made him difficult to sabotage, so at the very least there was nothing lying around for him to trip over.

America's assessment earned an exaggerated and understanding set of nods from Leila, who'd gathered Biscuit up in her arms while they moved into the backyard. "Tell me about it. Psychic s**t is nothing but headaches," she said. "It doesn't matter whether you're connecting with something human. I've been able to enjoy it a lot more since we got back."

The rest of the flock was eager to see Leila as they entered the chicken run, gathering affectionately around her ankles while creaking softly at each other. Toots, like Biscuit, was large and exceptionally fluffy, and resembled a cloud with a head more than she did a bird.

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[lizbot]

"OH GOSH! CAN I RIDE ONE?"

Across town, Taym would get a blank look, the sort where he was firmly refusing to react, though he'd have no idea why.

With a tiny cough, America added, "I wanted to check up and see how the bond stuff was going for you! Are you able to communicate with her yet? It took awhile for me and Mr. B to reach that level, but you already got some critter talk built in with your little Friend, right?"

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[cibarium]

The image of a tiny America riding one of the chickens was cute... but it sounded unsafe.

Leila shook her head with a shy smile, "No, I wish I could though," she answered. "I think the other me could. It was hard for Biscuit to learn how to scale back."

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[lizbot]

"It'll come about with time," America assured her. "Have you taken her over to the Other Place yet?"

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Leila put Biscuit down to give the other chickens a chance at some attention. She considered giving some affection to Earnest, but she had decided to take a small nap at her feet -- so instead she allowed Toots to hop into her arms instead. There was an easy smile on her face as she chatted with America. The chicken she'd named was now much less far away from her!

"I hadn't thought about doing it," she said. "I didn't bond with Biscuit for any grand world saving reasons... it just happened that way, you kind of saw."

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[lizbot]

The girl tugged at Julian's ear, "Lemme down so I can hug my goddaughter, okay?"

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"You're gonna make yourself fullsize again before you try... right?" asked Leila, smirking but concerned. "I don't want Toots here to think you're food."

Julian was unbothered by all the ear tugging. He'd already held out a hand for America to step into, but seemed like he was going to wait until the tiny woman answered. "You might be too big for a chicken to eat," he added nonchalantly. "But you could still get your head bitten off."

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[lizbot]

"Excuse you, but Toots and I have a connection," America hotly asserted. "But also I'm probably pretty tasty," she admitted, humble as usual.

And then, a little chagrined, "Uh, I was gonna have my boyfriend pick me up. I'm learning how to work this, but I kind need his hugs still to get big." Even tiny, the blush was unmistakable as she stepped into Julian's hand.

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[cibarium]

"Eve walked me through a lot of visualization and stuff to help me with the... weight magic?" Leila gave a small grimace, not liking how that sounded. "But I've found the best way to make it work is to have a reason. You might need something different though, yeah." She delicately kept Miss Snootytoots's head in place as Julian handed America down to a part of Leila's forearm not covered in feathers and fluff.

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[lizbot]

"It's a stress thing, I'm gonna start yoga or something I guess," the girl assured her, carefully stepping onto the forearm and then edging down to reach toward the giant feather sphere.

"It's okay Toots, it's me America!"

Mr. B peered around Biscuit, a bit of a sphere himself.

"Whosa good little cluck cluck? Yousa good little pluckity puff!"

Toots looked like she was questioning her life choices, in as much as a chicken is able to question their life choices.

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[cibarium]

The contact with Leila's forearms meant America was also getting a feed some of Leila's feelings, which amounted to similar gushy affection for Toots and the rest of the chickens around her.

"She's real sweet," the older woman said, gently letting go of the bird's head after deciding there wasn't any danger. "Always happy to meet new people. Sometimes a little capricious about being held or pet, though. I'll probably need to put her down in a second."

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[lizbot]

Life was short, and so was America, so she promptly spread her arms wide and smooshed against the chicken. When she moved away, the girl was also now covered in fluff.

"I love you, Tooooooots!"

Turned to look up at Leila, America added with approval, "You have such sweet chickens, Leila! You're a good birdmom."

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"Other me did most of the work," Leila admitted, smiling a bit sadly as she put the white hen back down. "But I think I'm doing okay. Living what part of the dream I can grab, you know."

"They're all different too," Julian added. As he reached out to retrieve America from Leila, he continued, "Our rooster likes to perch in high places, and the lavender one keeps to herself more often than the others. Earnest likes to sleep under that milkweed over there." He swung around so America could see the milkweed plant. "You can't help but love all of them. Eve won't admit it to you, but she loves them too."

Fortunately, Eve wasn't around to hear that last bit.

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[lizbot]

Stepping back on to Julian's hand, she cooed over and admired all the chickens. "Animals are the best people," she commented. "I've started naming the bats that hang around my camper." And of course all the strays she's met about town. And other people's already named pets...

"You've got a nice big animal family, here." Turning, she gazed up at her trusty chauffeur, "What about you, Julian?"

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[cibarium]

"I have five finches," answered Julian amicably. "One time they all got together and summoned Finch Satan from his prison in Other Ashdown, so if you see him flying around it's kind of my fault." He let America step back onto his shoulder. "I don't think they're up to anything evil since then, if you want to meet them."

Leila gave Julian a weird look and a shrug, then smiled back at America. "Yeah, you can stick around here as long as you like, just stay safe." Then she sat herself down fully on the ground and beckoned Biscuit into her lap. "I'm going to do a warg meditation thing, okay? Let Julian know if you want snacks or something to drink."

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