12671/Wild, Wild Life

Wild, Wild Life
Date of Scene:	04 September 2022
Location:	Kían's estate, Kyshán
Synopsis:	Kaida and Kían feed the local wildlife.  One of them takes Kaida for a flight.  Without asking first!
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Kaida Connolly

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Kian has posed:
    Despite his protestations that his home is a small one by Akiár standards, 'cavernous' seems a good word for it, and some places are just not accessible unless you can fly to them.  This has left Kían in the job as ferryman for his non-flying teammates sometimes, to get them to various places inside the space.
    The kitchen, at least, is reachable by foot, and it's surely no surprise that Akiár cuisine is energy-dense.
    Right now, that's where Kían is taking a break, over a plate of… something local, and a cold glass of… something else local.  There's no international travel guide to the Akiár worlds after all.  At least not yet.
    If he thought about it, Kían would not envy anyone tasked with writing a guide explaining Earth foods and customs for an Akiár audience.
    It has been peaceful and quiet on a scale that most Titans haven't experienced in a long time—if ever.  One might think that Kían had the entire planet to himself, except for the ongoing cycle of friends and family dropping by to visit.  The ongoing twitter of birds and chitter of small, rodent-like gliding animals in the trees, and the absence of almost all noises of technology, might even be disconcerting to someone used to Earth cities.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    It's true, for most, many places are inaccessible by those who can't fly.  Of course, Kaida isn't most people.  She's no spider-person, but she is a mouse person and those tiny claws on her toes and fingers are the main reason she never wears shoes or gloves.  If the surface isn't perfectly smooth, she can walk on it, run on it or climb it.  For now, though, she comes zipping into the kitchen and sniffs about.
    "I smell something delicious!  What is it?" she asks and leaps up on to the table as if she were simply leaping up a single step on a staircase and peers at the food and then at Kian.
    As for peace?  Well, no one has much asked Kaida about some recent changes in her life but she does seem a lot more cheerful since being here though there is this occasional edge.  A disconcerting twitch that has her shifting from time to time as if she were having an itch she can't reach.

Kian has posed:
    Kían picks up a small roll with what sure look like chopsticks—and honestly, it looks like he has a plate of dim sum and sushi, although the grains are clearly not rice.  "This?  We call it dóti.  It's… I've seen somethin' like it in some of the Asian restauran's around the Tower.  Have one!"  He points with the roll, still expertly clutched in the sticks.  "Those are mos'ly vegetable, those haf fish, an' those are sweet.
    He raises his roll and bites it in half.  It smells like grains and greens.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    "OH!" Kaida says happily and picks up one of the one he indicates has fish and she takes several large bites out of it.  For someone used to it, it's not that strange to see Kaida eat but she just takes several bites, opening her mouth wider than should be possible for a normal person and her cheeks puffing out with food as she chews and mmms.  It happens fast, too.  She flops down and uses her tail to pull one of the vegetable ones near enough to her for the next attraction.
    "Yes!  They are delicious!  Thank you!"  She then twitches her tail back and forth as she chews.  "So, no one on this planet wants?  Are there not predators?"

Kian has posed:
    Kían thinks about that a moment.  "Well, there are still some wild predators, I'm sure.  I know there are a couple ka'yw nesting on my land somewhere.  That's why the trees around my home are usually full of birds and rut'yw.  They know I will chase any káe away."  He takes a sip of his drink, and laughs.  "Which is weird, because káe is my clan.  Kían t'Káeh."
    Indeed, with the weatherproofing rolled back, it's clear that Kían's 'treehouse' is a small animal haven.  Songbirds and what look like small gliding raccoons abound in the branches, kept out by an unobtrusive and nearly invisible mesh.
    "As for wantin' things… I suppose everybody wants somethin', but nobody does without.  I call this my home, but it belongs to the clan Káeh and has been assigned to me.  After I am gone, it will be assigned to someone else.  If I actually want anythin'," he finishes, with an unexpectedly bitter note, "it iss for the priesthood to jus' leave me alone."

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    A smile and then she laughs a little.  She looks over at the mesh that lets one see out but keeps the critters from wandering into the wrong places.  She considers it a while before finally saying, "I guess until recently, I never noticed how much I do sense and see."  She takes a bite of the veggie bun and then looks to Kian.
    "Here, I can't feel any pain or suffering.  Not from those who are weak or lesser.  I don't know why I know that but I do.  Back at home, home for me anyway, I can feel it.  Constantly.  A soft simmer of pain and hopelessness that permeates the world in a way."  She nods her head.  She then smiles and looks to Kian and shakes her head.
    "Sorry to be a downer, I won't bring it up much but this world is weird to me."

Kian has posed:
    Kían laughs brightly.  "Like I don't always say Eart' iss weird?  I think I would be surprised if Kyshán seemed normal to you, since it's not the world you grew up on."
    And then he peers closely at Kaida.  "What do you sense?  You don't haf the ki'thar… I mean, you're not a telepath.  How do you sense it?"

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    "I don't know."  She looks over at Kian.  "I think I might have been doing so for a while but only just recently noticed that I…."  She considers and shrugs.  "That I can feel them."  She looks over at a flying creature as it passes by.  She watches it and then looks back to Kian.
    "Anything small, weak, and in trouble.  I can sense it.  I can kinda sense these creatures but only a little.  They seem at ease."  She lets out a sigh.  "Something has been happening lately and I don't understand it."

Kian has posed:
    Kían nabs a small grain roll with… something… on it, and chews on it thoughtfully.  "Nnh.  I wonder if that iss anythin' like the way I can feel the minds around me, an' the automated systems that run the estate."
    He follows Kaida's gaze to the birds and rut'yw, and gets up.  "That reminds me, I haven't fed them for a while.  Come on!  They're totally safe.  Almos' like pets."
    As ever, things appear to happen by magic, but they're just automated systems and robots responding to Kían's telepathic commands.
    This is also certainly why Kían doesn't know how to cook for himself.
    The food is put into storage, his drink it topped off, and a small robot awaits at the balcony with what should be treats for the tree creatures.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    Kaida looks at him and then looks around as things just happen around them.  She watches various things move, her own movements not being too different then the creatures they are going toward.  She's an odd mix of human and mouse, occasionally seeming to naturally go into a three point stance or run on all fours as if it were so perfectly natural for her.  She leaps over things, hops to spots.  Her life is basically just parkour.
    "I didn't know you had psychic robots." she states and then looked around at the animals as they approach.  She peers at them with curiosity before looking to him.  "And I don't know how it works at all.  I don't seem to read things, I just know them.  Feel them."

Kian has posed:
    "Not really psychic," Kían explains.  "The entire estate iss run by computer, and we can order that through the mindport."  He shrugs.  "At least that's the best translation I haf for it.  I can give everythin' commands with a thought, and they carry them out.  They're just machines, though, they don't haf any actual awareness.
    He collects the bowl—looks like dog kibble, really—and steps out onto the balcony.
    Fifty, sixty meters in the air, no railing to speak of.
    "They're harmless," he mentions off-handedly, then looks up and makes a noise like 'kh! kh!' and it's only a matter of seconds before three rut'yw—they look like small raccoons with a gliding membrane—have dropped down and are sitting expectantly on the edge of the platform.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    "Oh, so you guys have thought to data conversations with computers."  She considers and nods her head even as she follows him out and watches him grab the 'kibble'.  She peers at it and then around at the things before he makes a noise.  She watches the things land, peering at them and creeping over to them, to peer closer at them.  She looks at the three, not moving in too close.  Not due to worry about them being dangerous to her but a worry they might think she's dangerous.
    "What are they called again?"  She asks and looks up at Kian briefly before looking back at the creatures.

Kian has posed:
    "These are rut'yw.  Rut is the singular."  Kían pronounces it with a faint trill on the 'r', and a long 'u'—'hroot' wouldn't be too far off the mark.  He gets down on one knee and scatters a few treats on the balcony, about a meter and a half away.  "It's been so long since I've been here regularly, they've probably forgotten me.  This will remind them."
    It seems to.  One scampers closer almost immediately and sits down to feast.  The other two take a little longer, but they're soon enjoying the treats as well… and two more land behind them.
    The leader, or at least the one most easily bribed with treats, hops over and up onto Kían's knee.  "Yeah," he says warmly, "he remembers me now."  He scritches just back of the rut's ear, and is rewarded with a pleased cooing noise.  "This one thinks he's a pet.  He always has."
    So, one on Kían's knee, three enjoying the goodies… and one peering curiously at Kaida, head cocked to the side like a baffled puppy.  It doesn't approach, but it does lean forward in her direction and sniff.
    Tail goes flick.  Flick flick.
    Sniff.
    Satisfied somehow that Kaida isn't a predator, it backs up and grabs a kibble, watching Kaida as it nibbles away.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    Looking at how they react to Kian, Kaida seems to take note, her own sense of smell at a near phenomenal level, she doesn't lean for a sniff, she can smell so well it is almost like sight for her.  She looks at each of them in turn, peering at the one that is peering at her before it goes back to what it is doing.  She then considers and pronounces it nearly right but missing a bit of emphasis when she repeats it.
    "Rut'yw," She says before nodding her head and watching the one getting scritched.  She walks over to the knee to look up at it before looking again at the others.  She considers them and nods.
    "So, you have flying squirrel raccoons then?  Are they all so mild mannered?"

Kian has posed:
    "Actually, they're doing better than I thought they would around me, since I've been almost entirely absent for… two and a half years?  Somethin' like that.  But I think both Shíri and Keth have been droppin' by to feed them."  Kían bends down to beep noses with the rut still on his knee.  "Haven't they?  You don't look like you've had to fend for yourself."  The rut chitters, and puts its paw on Kían's chin, which elicits a completely silly grin from him.
    You've heard of crazy cat ladies?  Meet the crazy gliding raccoon birdman.
    More rut'yw are landing, and a few birds as well, and Kian scatters more treats around, including birdseed.  Have to feed everyone, after all.
    Now, your average rut is not a hunter.  Nuts and leaves and berries are their usual fare.  But they are curious little critters, so Kían really should have been expecting one to dive down and scoop Kaida up… which is exactly what happens.
    "Don't hurt it!"  He sets the rut on his knee to the side and kicks into the air, giving chase.  "It's only curious!"

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    Watching Kian work, Kaida really didn't expect what happens next.  She was watching all the strange creatures, smiling brightly as she watches birds come in.  They were not exactly Earth birds and she was curious how they're different when her ear twitches and her nose does the same.  She turns just in time to be snatched up off the balcony and immediately tries not to flail.
    "Whoa!  What the?!" she gasps as she goes up into the air and looks up and around before saying, "You're definitely not my type!"  She calls out and looks over toward Kian as he kicks off and hten back up before yelling, "I'll try not to hurt it but it's not making it easy!" she calls out, trying her best to not kick the thing and go flailing to the ground below.

Kian has posed:
    "Jus' hang on an' enjoy the ride as best you can!" Kían advises, which is easy for him to say.  "I want to be sure I'm in position to catch you when I make it let go, you haf nothin' to worry about!"
    Again, easy for him to say.
    Wait, what was that about making it let go?
    Well, if there's any comfort, it's that Kían has caught up easily, so he's very likely not to miss if the rut lets go.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    Trying her best not to flail, Kaida looks over at him as she flies about before shaking her head.  "You underestimate how tough I am, I'm more worried about what I hit when I fall!"  She is a very solid two pounds.  While two pounds of feathers and two pounds of rock might fall at the same speed, effectively, which would you rather get hit by?
    "Exactly how do you intend to make it let go?" she calls out as she hangs there, her tail and ears whipping behind her as she hangs there trying her best not to, still, flail at the creature and then see where gravity sends her.

Kian has posed:
    "Like this."
    Well, what exactly 'this' is remains unclear for another moment, as Kían gets directly underneath the rut and his unwilling passenger, and says something in his own language.
    And then he keens like the káe, the hawk his clan is named for.
    The poor rut panics and lets go of Kaida so that it can dive for cover at maximum speed, and Kían makes the catch easily, holding her securely against his chest as he wheels about to head back to the balcony.
    "I hate scarin' them like that—" and indeed, the balcony is clear of birds and beasts when they arrive, "—but it was the easies' way.  I hope I can bring them back soon."

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    A small yelp comes out of Kaida at the sound and the release even as she turns to shake a fist at the little creature as she is caught.  She glares after it before looking to Kian and letting out a huff.
    "I'm fine with you scaring it as it showed its true colors.  It gets scared and drops me at the fastest convenience!"  She sticks her tongue out toward the fleeing creature and shakes her head.