Open + Closed prompts/ Catch all

[iustaegis]

♥ Who: Pyra and various.
♥ Where: Around Town
♥ When: Around Jan
♥ What: One General OPEN Prompt + Catch-all!
♥ Rating: E for everyone, will update if necessary

Hand-holding
[ Have a woman with short, red hair wave and then approach you, whether or not she knows you. Her presence is warm, and her smile is even warmer. She offers a hand. Easy enough, right? This is the simplest method to generate some of this contact-energy and get money out of it, too.  ] 

Would you like to go for a walk?

Catch-All
[ This is a catch-all for January! Top Levels to follow below. If you'd like a thread for this month, HMU with a wildcard below (Pyra can be found just about anywhere around town), PM me or PP me at drinksteapots! ] 

Comments

[meridio]

[ Removing his hand, he takes the plate to the counter and sits. It's true that a second handler might allow for a more flexible schedule—routine is not a luxury that's long for a dying world in need of recovery—but he's loath to give Pyra yet another thing to do on top of all that she's already done and is doing. ]

I would not take any more of your time than I already have.

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ Wh.... Where is this coming from? She’s surprised at his response as they begin their meal, so much so that she must place down her utensil to cover her mouth as she laughs softly. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Looking at him once more, her smile is kind. She reassures: ] If I did not have time, I wouldn’t be offering.

[ Also... selfishly, she would like to interact more with Horus and learn of this hobby of his.

If nothing else, hopefully he can believe in her capability to make a choice of focusing on something more pressing to take care of than his falcon, should the need arise. ] It wouldn’t be a bother at all.

[meridio]

[ The smile by itself doesn't reassure him. When she says those things, however, she presents a reasonable argument. As foolish as it is to continue to care for the falcon, it would be best to accept her hand on this. ]

I mean to feed him after we eat. If you have no pressing matters to attend, I will show you how it's done.

[iustaegis]

[ It's a holiday... and her current employment involves basic lab work. She'd choose potential hand-holding wit him over that any morning in general, but going out with him to learn of falconing is an added bonus.

And so, she brightens further at his offer, perking up. ] Oh--- that would be wonderful. I... haven't even gotten to properly see him fly yet. [ She speaks as if she had been hoping to see Horus take to the skies, only having never had the opportunity until now. ]

[meridio]

[ Then this will be a new experience for her. Small wonder she perked up at that. She clearly wants to see Horus in flight, but it's gotten a bit late for that. At this time, the city will be bustling with natives and foreigners alike. ]

Accompany me when you next rise at dawn. You will see him fly then.

[ For now, breakfast—or, more accurately, brunch. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Oh... not today? Regardless, Pyra makes a pleased sounding hum as she begins to her meal with him. ]

And you will show me how to properly handle him today...?

[meridio]

[ He nods in the middle of chewing. As soon as they're done eating, he'll show her and Horus can finally get a meal himself. ]

He already knows your face. All he needs is time with you.

[iustaegis]

[ All he needs is time with her...? She chuckles at that. ]

Somehow, I think you're making it sound easier than it actually is...

[ Regardless, he can best believe she'll be finishing her meal more quickly now. ] But I will do my best to gain his approval.

[meridio]

[ Easier said than done, but not impossible to do. They finish their meals and, once they've made themselves decent, reconvene at the spare bedroom, where Somnus unleashes Horus to take onto his arm. He explains the process of handling the jesses secured around the bird's ankles and the bird himself, then leads them outside somewhere they can sit out in the daylight.

With Pyra seated on his opposite side, he holds the synthetic meat dispensed from the replicator in his fist, exposing just enough for Horus to pick leisurely at it. ]

He will not be forced; only when he desires a meal, will he eat. This process can take hours.

[iustaegis]

[ She pays respectful attention to his explanation... and is naturally in awe of it. He truly enjoys this— but for what reason? The focus of it? The animal himself? Maybe all of the above. It speaks of disciple, patience.

For hours, apparently. Somnus has been doing this all alone since Horus has arrived. ]

Does he mind the replicator’s meat...? [ It doesn’t seem like he does, from what Pyra can tell, which is admittedly not much. Somnus would know if he had more enthusiastically pecked at his meals back in life. ]

[meridio]

He has yet to turn away from it. If he does, he will refuse.

[ The same diet isn't ideal for a number of reasons, and he doesn't know if the meat is nutritionally sound either. Should Horus tire of the synthetic meat, the gods may be hearing from Somnus sooner than he thought. He glances at Pyra. ]

Once he finishes feeding, I will guide him to you.

[iustaegis]

[ With a nod, she waits for him to do so, straightening up where she sits. While having no protective arm guard of her own, she doesn't appear concerned. Her gaze drops to falcon once before returning to Somnus, patiently excited.

She's ready when he is. ]

[meridio]

[ Somnus has fewer concerns for Pyra than if it were anyone else to sit beside him. After Horus draws back in a seemingly contented mood from his meal, Somnus guides him toward Pyra as promised. Soon the bird is perched on her hand with minimal fuss and some intermittent squawking. Previous exposures to her presence and her gentle nature keep Horus in a more or less mild mood through the brief walk back to the townhouse.

Surely she remembers the steps to unleashing a raptor. Somnus stands back and allows her to work the steps backwards to leash Horus back onto his perch in the bedroom. Once the deed is done, he closes the door behind them. ]

He overcame his fear of people long ago. All that remains is to recognize you as another handler through repetition.

[iustaegis]

[ "I look to the future. In doing so, I damn the past."

In the dim light of the temple and under the watchful gazes of the dragonlings, he had confessed this to her. Unburdening had come with the price of being forced, but Horus is no reward or consolation prize. Horus is... more than a sacred gift he's received from the unburdening. The falcon had been of his world, of his life, a part of a past returned to Somnus for him to have in the present.

A new year has turned. She hopes Horus will bring him comfort in a way she never could, as she is not from his past, his world, or his family.

With the door to Horus' room closed, she steps up to him to take his hand, the familiarity of his roughened palm and knuckles, the strength of his fingers, the warmth of his touch ever comforting. To become Horus' second handler, sharing Horus with her, teaching her of him and how to properly care for him, is sharing a part of himself with her... ] This... is an honor, you know. [ Or maybe he's only using her offer so that he might sleep in. Even so-- she cannot help the smile that forms upon her lips, softly humble, ever-appreciating. ] Sharing a piece of you with me... is an honor.

[ He can rest assured that she will treat Horus well and not shirk in her newfound duties. ]

[ She pauses. ]

Happy New Year, Somnus