[PRP] Birds and Bots (America/Chester)

[Smerdle]

In the wake of the 2017 edition of the seasonal plague of Rider-Waite, Chester found his classes cancelled for today, as both of his professors were too ill to teach. Rather than head home or to the gym like he normally would have, the sunny weather pushed him toward the center of town instead. He might have preferred to use this time to search for otherworldly parts for his creations, but the otherworld hadn't seen fit to let him in today, so mundane items would have to do.

Following a bit of wandering, he turned down a shop-lined little alley, eerily similar to the one where he'd stumbled across a creepy fountain and a creepier creature sitting at its edge. Thankfully, he wasn't alone this time, and a handful of dogwalkers, elderly people, and other directionless students strolled or shuffled past while he peered in the window of an odd little pawn shop.

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[lizbot]

America was just walking out of the pawn shop, face a little flushed from having to apologize for the shamelessness of the bluejay currently perched on her shoulder. He'd stolen a ring well out of the price range of just go back to pay for it, and she wasn't sure if the shop owner even believed that it was the bird and not her that was the thief.

The bird in question was also giving an irritated warble at having lost its newest piece of treasure. Rolling her eyes, she glimpsed Chester and paused in her step, smile forming as she waved and made her way toward him.

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[Smerdle]

He didn't recognize her at first, not because she wasn't memorable, but because she had a bird on her shoulder and it kind of drew the eye. A parrot might have been noted then ignored, but a bluejay was another story. People didn't just go around taming those.

When she waved, Chester actually looked over at her face, brightening when he saw who it was. His brightening was still fairly dim, but at least he tried.

"Good afternoon. It's nice to see you after..." He had been pretty sure no one had been lost to the void, but what might have happened later was beyond him. "Your bird. He's very striking."

lizbotoroboto

 

[lizbot]

The bird in question preened, clearly pleased. America might have preened a little as well.

"Chester, right? Good to see you're in one piece yourself, hun." The girl looked him over and there was a flicker of something almost maternal about it. Like she was checking for smudges or scrapes or any sign there was something for her to Take Care Of on his behalf, near strangers though they were. It was an odd look in a nineteen year old.

"Mr. Bitterberry says, thank you, by the by. He knows he's a handsome fella, but likes to hear it all the dang time. How have you been settling?"

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[Smerdle]

And then he realized he didn't know her name. Or, more accurately, he had heard it before, he just couldn't recall it right now. Embarrassment warred with politeness, though the latter won out, especially in the face of hers. Chester nodded.

"I'm doing well. Things have changed, but nothing too drastic, at least for me. I have a home, I go to school, you know, boring normalcy." Still no job, but he was working on that.

He paused, glancing between the girl and her bird. She could hear him. Of course. It explained a lot.

"Mr. Bitterberry is... most welcome... America." Yesssssssss. Name: remembered. "The two of you can speak to each other? Is it rude to ask how that happened?" Regardless of whether her reply would be terse or wordy, they remained awkwardly standing in the middle of what amounted to a sidewalk. "Are you in a hurry? We can walk if you have somewhere to be."

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[lizbot]

"I'm a warg," the girl explained cheerfully. "It can happen a couple ways, far as I know."

There was a bench around the corner and a good hour of free time ahead of her, so America happily settled in next to Chester to explain the rest. "It can start happening without a person understanding it, so the more people who know about it, the better." The bluejay hopped from her shoulder to the back of the bench, slowly hopping its way toward Chester in order to inspect him.

"The jist of it is that either a magical person picks an animal to form a bond with, or the animal sorta picks a magical person and the bond develops from there. It's possible, I'm pretty sure, for both to maybe do it unconsciously too, like two paths kinda line up just right and connect."

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[Smerdle]

Chester sat taller, very aware of the jay at his back. What was bird introductory protocol? He decided that remaining as still as possible was probably a decent bet, much as he would have for any animal he didn't know.

"A warg." He kind of wanted to take notes, but that would be weird. "I wasn't aware that could happen at all." He immediately thought of Pern and Pullman and all of the other fantasy novels about people with animal companions he had read as a kid, about how the human in the equation would go crazy or die if their other half did. Mr. Bitterberry suddenly seemed very fragile indeed.

"So, when you realize you're bonded is there a burst of clarity? Do you share names and vow to be together forever?" He might have sounded like he was making a mockery of the whole thing if his tone hadn't been so earnest.

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[lizbot]

America laughed, "You're not wrong, in a way. For me it was a surprise, I thought I might have like a tumor or something 'til a friend reassured me. My sight went all crazy, different perspectives, different colors. For weeks! But once I met up with Mr. B, I stopped borrowing eyes on accident, started being able to control that. Folks who decide to bond an animal, though, they've got a lot more control from the start." Her eyes scrunched up with her smile. "I named him, but he likes it a bunch, especially the mister part, 'cause it feels important, you know?"

The jay in question delicately nibbled on Chester's collar after deciding he was a Big Terrible. "Bond's pretty much forever, losing him would..." the smile dimmed a bit, "...it'd do a number on me. But even though he's great at finding dangerous stuff, he's even better at getting away from it."

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[Smerdle]

"It is a very important n—"

Chester paused, his small smile lingering as his eyes widened a touch behind his glasses. The bird approacheth. The bird attack.

Okay, fine, it was about as far from an attack as you could get. It was exactly what he would expect from a bird. None of that made it any less strange. Cool, but strange. He slouched slightly, hoping it was simply an invitation and not an invitation to get pecked.

"Do you think he would make a good spy?" Chester imagined a cadre of bluejays infiltrating the vents of a secret bunker. Though she had said 'animal', and 'animal' didn't necessarily mean 'bluejay' or even 'bird'. His mind-vents filled with stoats and moles and deer, and in no time at all, things weren't nearly as stealthy as they'd been.

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[lizbot]

"He makes a great spy," America stated proudly. The bird, hopping onto Chester's shoulder, gave a pleased burble of agreement.

"He can see things other folks can't sometimes, and can tell if me someone's a moonwalker. Different abilities like that crop up here and there. The lady who first told me what was happening, she had a little service dog, and he could tell her when someone was a warg. Sniffed out other stuff with his nose as well."

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Very interesting." He tried to look at the bird, giving up when he had to move too much. "Does he stay with you all the time?" He couldn't imagine the magic extended to the truly fantastical level of allowing Mr. B to poof into existence whenever she wished, but he also couldn't imagine sharing all of his time with a wild bird.

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[lizbot]

It wasn't long before a small, round body began trying to inspect Chester's pockets. "Oh no," she chuckled, "he's got his own little life and adventures. But he lives with me, sorta, and we each like having the other around most of the time. We're a part of each other, but it's not like," her eyes crinkle with a smile, "like we always gotta be within 20 feet or one of us wastes away or anything like that.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

His closest pockets contained a mini golf pencil, a tiny screwdriver originally intended for repairing glasses, and a broken silver chain with a tarnished BFF charm hanging from it. The ones at waist height held even greater treasure: house keys, loose change, and a large plastic, metal, and resin insect made from the springs found inside click pens and a bunch of those old-fashioned blood donor pins layered in scales across its back.

"That's... well, this is all a surprisingly sweet side of the magic that so often seems bent on killing us." Chester laughed, still very aware of the bluejay examination he was undergoing. Besides causing mischief worthy of a sticom, he could think of no innocent purpose for animal spies or the might of people who could turn into creatures like Oliver could, which probably meant they really were supposed to fight at some point. Or, at least, the others were. He could tinker with useless junk and create (probably) unbreakable ciphers, and while that seemed helpful on paper, it was nothing compared to a girl who could see through the eyes of a bird.

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[lizbot]

Pulling out the BFF charm, Mr. B gave a small of gurgle of pleasure before delicately setting it aside and doing his best at claiming the screwdriver as well.

With a small huff of laughter, America nodded, "I guess I was luckier than a lot of folks. Magic started out real nice for me. Sunny showed me how to summon a fish. It helps having Mr. B, no just for what he can show me, but being able to see the good side of magic every day."

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

The charm was no great loss. He would give it up if it helped him earn favor. He carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out the screwdriver too, offering it to the bird.

His own first brush with magic had been in a pseudo-alley, similar to this one, with some telepath. It was interesting to be reminded that all of this was a blessing underneath, but Chester was far too cynical to ever think of it that way first.

"I hadn't met Sunny before everything that happened. At least the world was peaceful for a little while." It was peaceful now too, sitting near a pawn shop with a pickpocket spy bird and a magical girl. "Thank you for being..." He made a vague motion with his hands that looked like he was packing something into a ball.

"You're very positive. It's nice."

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