A Duck in Manhattan [Active/Closed]

[onceuponaduck]

Characters: Duck, Wolf and possibly Elphaba? Don't know if that's it yet.
Content: Alone, frightened and duck-a-fied, things can't be worse for Ahiru... except they can when along comes a big bad wolf! Oh noes!
Location: Uh... maybe near the Empire States Building?
Time of day: Mid-morning
Warnings: None as of yet.

Comments

[wingsformonkeys]

Elphaba was flying on her broom when she spotted a friend. Wolf stopping to sniff the air wasn't at all unusual, but when he dashed off on some newfound scent, her curiosity got the better of her and she swerved between some buildings to keep up with him. There were no animals left in Manhattan, at least none that were edible except for that questionably sanitary already dead whale, which surely he'd have already investigated.

It was a duck. A small yellow duck. The creature didn't seem able to speak, so Elphaba watched the scene for a few moments. The meat shortage was probably taking a much harder toll on Wolf than on most of Manhattan's residents, and she supposed she couldn't begrudge him the bird, although she was quite curious as to how an animal had come to be in Manhattan, since she'd seen none. Having arrived a moment later than the man, she hadn't seen the bundle on its back.

As Wolf removed a pendant from around its neck, she noticed the clothes on the ground and watched the animal even more closely for signs that it was indeed an Animal. What would an ordinary duck have a pendant or possessions for? Could it be like some of the animals in Oz, and have forgotten how to speak!? Whether it remembered how to speak or not, if it were still a thinking Animal, she couldn't let him eat it. "Wolf!" she called out, her voice loud and forceful, with a note of authority and urgency in it. "Is that bundle on the ground yours?"

[onceuponaduck]

Real quick? What would be real qu--

Oh...Oh no! NO! He was... GOING TO JUST EAT HER?! As IS?!!?!

Ahiru whimpered sorrowfully as she was held up. She'd given up trying to squirm free as it seemed hopeless. After everything, her story was going to end like this? Mytho... Rue... F-Fakir! I'm so sorry! I... Fakir...

Tears pooled in her big blue eyes, and started overflowing down her tiny feathered cheeks at that point as her thoughts turned to the dark-haired teen. She'd never ever see him again now, would she?

Seeing his mouth open wider as he brought her up to chomp down on her, she clenched her eyes closed, waiting for it to be all over. Hopefully it would be as quick as he promised.

She only half noticed the voice that called out, and it took a moment for it to dawn on her that the woman had mentioned a bundle. Her clothes? A tiny seed of hope was quick to blossom.

[huff_puff_wolf]

Wolf was just a few seconds away from chomping down on the first really fresh meat he'd ever had in Manhattan, when a familiar voice interrupted him. "Wh-RRAAAHH!" He nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise; he'd been so absorbed in the tasty duck that he hadn't even noticed Elphaba approaching. When he did, he very quickly tucked the crying duckling inside his jacket and wrapped his arms around it in an effort to both silence and hide it...even though he wasn't doing a very good job of either. She sounded rather urgent.

"Awwwrrrr, bundle? Hrrf, mmm...no, that's not mine! I Just found it lying there!"

[wingsformonkeys]

Elphaba's eyes narrowed, her gaze sharp, as he made a hasty attempt to hide his would-be meal. Guiding her broom swiftly to the ground and landing in front of him, she pursed her lips and kept her gaze on him as she picked the bundle up on the end of her broom, opening it.

Well... those weren't Duck-sized clothing, but no normal duck would be running around with clothes, and it seemed far too great a coincidence for the clothing to have just appeared at the same place he prepared to devour the creature. Mild sarcasm and accusation in her words, she told Wolf, "Somehow I doubt you found it lying right in the spot you were about to devour something. No normal duck would be carrying them. Take it out from under your jacket. And don't eat it. At least not yet."

Elphaba folded her arms, broom tucked against her side between the cast her bad arm and her body, and waited for him to comply. She didn't begrudge a Wolf a meal, but Elphaba loathed being deceived.

[onceuponaduck]

She quacked slightly as she was suddenly shoved into Wolf's jacket, her quack muffled. His tight grasp on her stopped her from squirming and she could only let out a muffled whimper.

Ahiru went quiet, however, as she listened to the exchange and her heart soared as the woman ordered him not to eat her. Well... not yet anyways, but it was a chance!

[huff_puff_wolf]

At first Wolf considered thinking about denying he had any duck on him, but that'd be kind of pointless at this point. He grimaced and whined quietly before slowly pulling the duck out from under his jacket. He still kept a tight grip on it, and began stroking it again in the hopes that it wouldn't try to squirm out of his hands once more. Was he just doomed to bad luck when it came to fresh meat?

"Awwwr, awwwwrrrr, maybe the duck just appeared on top of that stuff, Elphaba! Just got tangled in them!" he whined, and then added in slightly quieter growl, "And it's so tasty..."

[wingsformonkeys]

Wolf's whines and growls were disturbingly reminiscent of the beginning symptoms of forgetting how to speak in Animals in Oz, but since she was certain that wasn't the case with Wolf, and it really wouldn't do to keep worrying about that here, she let them slide by without demonstrating the little flicker of discomfort they caused her.

Instead, she addressed the duck in his clutches. "Nod if you can you understand what I'm saying." She flicked her gaze back upward for a moment, warning Wolf, "Keep your hands away from its head."

She knew the way he was thinking the instant he shoved the animal (Animal?) under the jacket, and wouldn't have been surprised if he tried to stealthily hold its head in place and then scarf it down quickly on the grounds that it didn't respond to her question.

[onceuponaduck]

Glad to be out in the open again, Ahiru gazed up at her rescuer. She couldn't say she'd ever seen a green lady before, but then... she was a duck, so who was she to judge?

Fell on her closed? She was almost insulted. Sure, she was a klutz and... okay maybe she'd gotten tangled in her blankets more than a few times, but that was as a human. She was already trying to shake her head at that comment.

Then came Elphaba's question. Her bright blue eyes lit up! She couldn't have nodded more vigorously.

"Quack!" she added in, for good measure.

[huff_puff_wolf]

Wolf looked down and made a distressed sound as the duckling vigorously nodded its head. "Oohhhh-hoohhr!..." It understood them? He should've known there was no such thing as a free lunch! "Rrrf, but...but..."

His stomach growled in protest, and Wolf clutched the duck to him as if he were cradling a beloved pet rather than a tasty lunch. He really never was going to see another live animal he could have for a meal, was he? "Awwwwrrrbut everything else here has talked! Why doesn't this duck talk then?!" Not that that would excuse the fact that it could understand them, he just couldn't bear the thought of having to give up something so tasty again.

[wingsformonkeys]

The involuntary sounds of distress issuing from both her friend's mouth and stomach did cause her a brief pang of sympathy. Despite her one time vow to forsake good deeds however, old habits died hard, and Elphaba had sacrificed so much defending the rights of Animals in Oz. She'd defend Wolf too, for that matter, from anything except his own hunger; he'd have to figure out a way to handle that on his own.

She gestured to the clothing and the necklace, assuming the duck's gender from theim. "Maybe she's forgotten how to talk, like some of the animals in Oz." The witch eyed the duck as she spoke, looking for signs of assent or disagreement, "Or she might never have been able to speak. But if she can understand us, you can't eat her."

With the vaguest hint of a smirk, Elphaba drove the final nail into the coffin of Wolf's dietary hopes and dreams. "Giselle would be so devastated if you did."

[onceuponaduck]

How Ahiru wished she could cry out that she could understand. The best she could continue to manage, however, was more shaking her head to forgetting how to talk, but nodded vigorously again to being able to understand.

Looking from Elphaba to Wolf, a desperate, pleading look seemed to be somehow on the face of the duck. Her large, blue eyes so desperately pleading, 'Please don't eat me!' Or, well, as much as the small duck could manage on her very not human face.

[huff_puff_wolf]

The comment about Giselle was like a blow to his heart. If Giselle did hear about him eating a duckling...she'd get that awful sad look on her face and be so disappointed in him! Wolf let out a sad whine and stood up suddenly. He began to pace back and forth, still stroking the duck's back...at least stroking the soft feathers helped keep him a little calmer.

He resisted the urge to mumble about how unfair this was, especially if the duck could understand everything they said now. Instead, he just resorted to whining and growling. "Forgotten? How do you forget how to talk?" Maybe it was something from Elphaba's world that he didn't know about. "Awwwwrrr, but then...then what should I do with it?"

[wingsformonkeys]

Elphaba smiled slightly as she saw the effect Giselle's name had on him. The way he felt about her was practically tangible. A blind man could see it. And in fact, one had. Watching Wolf pace and earnestly consider what to do with the Animal that he'd considered nothing but a meal a moment earlier was definitely grounds for one of her rare shows of happiness and approval.

A dark expression flashed briefly across her face as she informed Wolf slightly more sharply than she meant to, "If there's enough pressure to keep silent, it's entirely possible. My mentor was a Goat, and he was one of the Wizard's many victims in that respect."

The witch pursed her lips and considered the dilemma also. "Well we can't just leave her out here, or she'll be eaten by a crab. Then she'd be dead and you wouldn't even have gotten a meal out of it. One of us has to take her home and take care of her. For now, give her back her things."

[onceuponaduck]

Her fate seemed rather uncertain still, which wasn't very comforting, but at least it seemed she was going to get back her things, and hopefully remain uneaten. It also sounded like perhaps it was a good thing she'd been found. Eaten by crabs? What did the woman mean by that? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

She also wasn't sure of what to make of the whole forgotten how to talk thing. She'd never been able to talk in the first place. In fact, she'd never heard of normal animals being able to talk then forgetting. Although, there were certainly lots of animals in Kinkan Town who did know how to talk. Neko-sensei for example. She'd never put much thought into how they could talk, yet she couldn't. Perhaps it just all had to do with the story...

For now Ahiru glanced up at Wolf, wondering what his reply would be.

[huff_puff_wolf]

"RrrrrAAARH, crabs!" Wolf snarled at the reminder. No way did those nasty things deserve to get at a little duckling. He sniffed the air momentarily to check for any that might be eavesdropping in on them, but it looked like they were alone, thankfully.

"Ooooh, ohhrr...I'll take it home! There's no place safer in the city than our apartment building!" At least this was true to Wolf, what with a wizard, a sniper and nun sharing the same space with them. "Hrrrm...maybe Giselle can talk to it." Although truthfully, Wolf wasn't sure how much he wanted to let Giselle know about this. She might still scold him and be disappointed.

After another moment's hesitation, he stooped down and picked up the bundle of clothes, as well as the pendant he'd removed. He kept ahold on the duckling, and tucked the clothes bundle under one arm. He tried hard to ignore the fact that he was still very hungry.