[Audio]

[sand_wormie]

[There is no visual, since the datapad is in Luke's pocket. The sound's a bit muffled, but a little of the ambience can be picked up on - traffic and wind. He's outside somewhere. And speaking.]

Hey... it's okay, little guy. I won't hurt you.

- I'm not food, either. Yes, I'm sure you do eat dead people sometimes, but I'm alive. See? ...That's better

Comments

[video]

[abominable]

[...] Uh, are you sure you should be playing with that... friendly looking thing right there?

Re: [video]

[sand_wormie]

[There's a pause, and a little fumbling before Luke digs his datapad out of his pocket and gets a look at it.]

[He's on a balcony, and there's a hawk-bat clinging to the duracrete next to him. It's molting, the green juvenile skin crinkled up and disgusting on it. The thing is about three feet from beak to tail, with a five-foot wingspan.]

It's fine. He's not going to hurt me.

[The hawk-bat goes and bites at Luke's fingers - it's not biting down, but it's making that kind of motion - and he pulls another patch of green skin off its back.]

[video]

[abominable]

[oh, it was more... delightful than it sounded. Hm.] ... What is it exactly?

Re: [video]

[sand_wormie]

[It's still... rather big for a kid like Luke to call "little guy", but he doesn't seem to know that.]

It's a hawk-bat. They're supposed to be only one of two native animals left - almost every other animal on this planet was taken here from somewhere else. Or its ancestors were. [A little self-conscious, as he starts on another piece, apparently not caring that there's ichor on his hands now] -I downloaded this whole thing on animals that live here, yesterday.

Usually they're in flocks, and they're really close... But this one's alone. So I'm helping him.

[glowyball]

[Huh. This is interesting.] What is that?

[sand_wormie]

[After Anders called, Luke gave in and stuck the datapad where it could see him helping the animal molt.]

He's a hawk-bat. They are... 'native reptavian scavenger-predators, among the only creatures who will prey upon granite slugs and shadowmoth larvae, though they will in fact consume nearly anything that is or was alive'. [Sounds like he's quoting something.]

[glowyball]

[It's easy for her to pick up that he's quoting something, and makes a thoughtful noise, like a hmmm.]

Are you finding this information on the holonet, or are there actually books here you can read? I was wondering what the technology difference was, if everything was only digital or if there's actually printed sources of information too. [She pauses, only long enough to take in a breath.]

I'm working on putting together information, so I want to figure out everything about this planet that I can, even the native scavenger-predators.

[sand_wormie]

Yeah, I got a primer off the Holonet. They've got a lot of stuff for tourists, which is only so good, but it's a place to start.

Printed... books? [There's a moment where he acts like she's making a joke; when he sees she's not, he clears his throat, making the animal twitch, and puts on a straight face.]

I wouldn't think there's a lot of those, but this is the past.

[video]

[nobody_number_8]

[Axel doesn't seem particularly worried about Luke interacting with the hawk-bat. It's already been sufficiently proved by Axel that the critter isn't likely to hurt him. Nor is he especially weirded out by the fact that Luke would bother to interact with the hawk-bat in the first place, much less help it with something that frankly doesn't look like too pleasant a task.

No, what Axel takes away from this is...]

You can talk to animals?

[He sounds somewhat surprised, but much more in a 'that's kinda cool' way than a 'that's really weird' way.]

Re: [video]

[sand_wormie]

What? No, not really. ...Not like that. I just pay attention.

Re: [video]

[nobody_number_8]

[Axel nods. He thinks there might be more to it than that, given what he's learning about this universe, but doesn't know if Luke is aware of such, so he makes no indication of it.]

Ah, alright. I've got a friend that can talk to droids- the ones that can only talk in beeps and whistles, that is, not the humanoid ones- so I wondered. [slight shrug]

Still pretty cool, though. You hang out around animals alot back home?

Re: [video]

[sand_wormie]

The beeps and whistle's are a language called Binary. I know some, but really only enough to get the gist.

Some. I helped raise a dewback once. [And pensive look.]

[sand_wormie]

Huh...? [Picking stuff off the hawk-bat's clawed tail now.]

Oh, yeah. He could do this himself, but usually the flock helps. I think he thinks I'm another hawk-bat now, but tragically deformed.

[The hawk-bat's head jerks and its leathery wings reposition. Luke grins.]

And noisy.

[sand_wormie]

Not really. He's a hawk-bat, he doesn't have real language. But even animals can tell you something, sometimes.

[soloing]

[aw animals, jacen luvs the widdle animals] What've you got there?

[sand_wormie]

Hey, Jacen! He's a hawk-bat!

[The creature permits him to scratch its neck.]

[soloing]

Oh? Did you catch him on your own somewhere?

[sand_wormie]

I found him up here trying to molt alone. I think he's going to fly away and find food, soon.

[There is a tail-flip from the hawk-bat, who's had all the loose the green skin picked off. Luke sighs.]

And then I'll go find somewhere to wash my hands. Silicon-based animals don't have toxic skin or anything, do they?