Owner	Pose
Stephen Strange	With the weather finally getting warmer, with it comes the tell-tale signs that spring is finally arriving. There are more pedestrians, more traffic, and generally more people present in the city. Those that spent most of the colder months shuttered indoors are finally getting some long-awaited sunlight. And, from the paleness of some of the denizens of the city, it has been long overdue. As such, the public parks have certainly seen the pickup of patrons. The Central Park Zoo has seen the uptick, fueled by both the warmer weather and the fact that the Polar Circle exhibit has a few newly born residents...the King Penguins had welcomed a couple of chicks over the winter and the newborns were just allowed to join the exhibit recently. Baby animals was a sure draw for the crowds. Not that Stephen Strange is there to see penguins, but, when at the zoo, it helps to follow the crowd. It was unusual for him, to go outside of the Sanctum. Even more so to ask Illyana if she would like to come. For no apparent reason than to enjoy the company and the fresh air. There wasn't even an attempt to explain. Just a shrug and a simple reply of "I think we need to go outside." Besides, those penguin chicks really were cute...
Illyana Rasputina	'Winter.' People in this state don't know how lucky they have it. Illyana's been wearing short sleeves, short shorts, and leggings for weeks because the apparent lack of snow and bone-freezing temperatures warrant enjoying being outside. Her hair up in twin buns wreathed by fake cherry blossoms, a fake hummingbird buzzing busily over one messy odango, she looks the part of young, dangerous, and cool. Her skater dress bears pockets, of course, and her hands are in them. The cropped blue t-shirt emblazoned with a trifork is a conspicuous homage less to ocean gods and more like the Vishanti. "They are fuzzy and grey," she intones with all the frosty purpose in the world, as though such facts are lost on the world. They really aren't! But little fuzzy chicks being angry stormclouds in the world truly brings a thrill. Their cuteness isn't lost on the Demon Queen. She uses Stephen's shoulder for leverage to see, him being the tall one.
Zatanna Zatara	Like so many others, Zatanna stands on the edge of the King Penguin exhibit, craning her head to look at its newest arrivals. It was a long-established custom in the Zatara household to visit the Zoo in whichever city her father was performing. Besides watching performers backstage, some of her earliest memories are of being flanked by her parents, each holding her hand and walking to exhibits. She fell in love with the penguins before she was five - loved their black and white attire, much like her father's stage costume and now hers. Their antics and grace underwater, contrasted with their waddling gait on land, enchanted her. A visit to the Central Park Zoo has remained a part of her itinerary in the City. The Polar Circle exhibit given top priority when her busy schedule allows. Recent erratic weather kept her from visiting until today. Just in time for the fluff balls of love. A must.
Stephen Strange	Stephen doesn't seem to mind being used as a perch of sorts. Because yes, the fuzzy grey puffballs do warrant a good view and, again, it was more the fact that both Yana and Stephen were outside rather than not. And, with the small gathering being rather immobile at the penguin exhibit, it would seem that others do agree. The chicks definitely deserved the attention. One of those chicks waddles up to the edge of the exhibit, looking out through the barriers to the world beyond. It pauses, turns back towards what could only be its parents, then turns back to the crowd. The head tilts, as if contemplating universal truths, then turns back and chirps back to its parents. At least, for *most* of the crowd, it sounds like chirps. However, for a select few, of which it seems would be more in the way of the few children there and a certain group of magically-inclined individuals, it definitely wasn't chirps. But words. \Mama, why are there all those animals out there watching me?\ //Oh, they do that, dear. Pay them no mind.// \They look like the funny things that throw the...fish, you said?\ //Yes, they do, dear. We can't fault them for that. Poor things.// Needless to say, there is quite a stir in the younger set.
Illyana Rasputina	With everyone naturally crowding to the front windows for a better view of the chicks, Illyana needs whatever advantages she can find to see the little penguins and their surprisingly doting parents. The kings may not be much taller than three feet but the wall of six foot tall adults pretending to help their kid spy the adorable fluff-balls get in the way. She makes do with the glimpses she can get, keeping pointy teeth and elbows to herself. Mostly to herself. "They need a mirror ceiling in here, da?" Her Russian skims the contours of English, whittling down the distinctions in vowels and cracking consonants with a satisfactory, iced bite. "It would give a better view." A /bird's eye/ view, perhaps? Her understanding a plethora of weird languages isn't very sagacious of her, considering her upbringing. Zatanna's stir caused in the crowd as they recognize her blurs a bit of the inquiry, but not Mama Bird's reaction. Muttered, under her breath, in the vilest dialect of the City of Brass: "I don't resemble one of the many-armed Accursed octopi of the Fourth Dimension!"
Zatanna Zatara	The dark-haired woman looks up sharply, searching for the translator. She ignores the couple beside her, elbowing each other and pointing in her direction. Words and logomancy specifically are Zatanna's province and inheritance from both parents. Every living creature communicates in some way, perceiving and interpreting the world uniquely. Enraptured by the baby penguin's courage, the mistress of enchantment is one of the favored few privy to the intrepid baby's dialogue. On the alert for the source of this magical largesse, she softly casts a finding spell and smiles to herself. She only had to make a short cast to find a particular magical signature, one known to her. One accompanied by another sorcery less familiar to her. Hands in the pockets of her wide-legged pants, she strolls over to the couple. "Worth the trip, isn't it? How nice to see you both!" she says quietly, unwilling to broadcast their meeting to the phones being held up in their direction.
Stephen Strange	"Well, isn't that a little precocious baby penguin?" The fact that Strange made the comment is all the proof that is needed to show that yes, he did indeed hear the dialog between chick and hen. The comment is vague enough to be construed as a compliment. Though, for the Russian besides him, it is certainly not a compliment, but an observation. One that is followed up in the most logical manner of....casting a somatic spell for magical traces. And...of course Strange picks up on a certain magician's own attempt of tracking, which regrettably derails his own small casting. Though, honestly, he is not upset in the slightest. He does, however, turn and finds Zatanna easily in the crowd of penguin afficionados, already ready to welcome her. "Hello, Ms. Zatara. I take it you heard what we have?" The baby chick, in that innocent but blunt way that all children have, points a wing towards the trio of magi. \Mama, those big ones heard me! Do you see?\ //It might look that way, dear, but they cannot understand us.// \But....are you sure? They're watching us, Mama.\ //They always are, baby, They always are.//
Illyana Rasputina	"The big one." Sure. Illyana blames the adult rather than the child, for whatever that's worth. The silicone hummingbird flaps its wired wings as she tips her head. The buns hold firm along with the florist's wire responsible for keeping the brightly-hued avian dancing in midair in place of a halo, though in fairness whatever halo she had, Yana burnt out long ago in surviving Hell. Lots of Hell. "You let the little ones get away with everything." That Doctor Strange lets anyone get away with anything? A bit of poking fun on her part. One does not simply become Sorcerer Supreme by lazing about or giving a pass! She clasps her hands together and sinks down onto her heels properly again, long-beaked accessory wobbly, and scrunches up her nose. Birds everywhere. "We have become criminals in a penguinarium. Look." Actually don't look. But it doesn't help, the game is afoot. "Voyeurs of peeps."
Zatanna Zatara	Sapphire eyes lit with humor, the mage glances from Stephen to Illyana, "Should we tell them? The innocent eyes and ears of children. Mama certainly doesn't believe in us." Her gaze grows distracted as she tilts her head to one side, listening to something just beyond hearing. Slowly, Zatanna puzzles aloud, eyes flitting between the two, Yana low and Strange high, "It wasn't you, was it?" A grin blossoms on her face, "Oh, I love mysteries."
Stephen Strange	Stephen does seem amused. That is a good thing. However, when accused of letting the littles get away with everything, he throws up his hands innocently. "Me? Nonsense. I wouldn't dream of it." The poking fun is returned. Stephen's smile twists into a sort of a smirk. He *might* be letting the chick have its fun. Why squash that sense of wonder that most other adults, both human and avian, apparently, just leave to the wayside. "It is only a few weeks old, at most. Give it time to learn proper names. From what I gathered, this is one of the first times it seen this many people." But...when Zatanna asks if the loquacious avian is his doing, there is a definite shaking of his head. "Oh, this is certainly not me. As much as it amuses me to see the children react, I would not have been so frivolous as to cast such an enchantment." At least...not without pulling the adults in and really seeing a show. Still...it does merit the question. If Strange didn't do it, then who is?