☼ six; video.

[recalls]

[Vanille's sitting on a low branch of a tree, bouncing her heels against the trunk. It is immediately apparent that she does so halfheartedly, without her usual overenthusiasm and energy. She lets her head fall back, lets it bump against the bark with a dull thud, and peers up at the sun through a canopy of brilliant autumn leaves. The Queen has

Comments

[made_of_science]

I suppose that most of all I miss Papi... I do hope he will find us soon.

[recalls]

[Her expression turns quizzical, but the melancholy remains.]

Who's Papi?

[made_of_science]

My father. Dr. Isidro Ruiz Lopez, although I suppose you would not understand that; I presume you are from a very different, er, world. He's one of the most brilliant biologists and surgeons of our time.

[recalls]

Ohh... [She understands some, but not all, though she is smart enough to infer the rest by context.] He sounds really important. [She leans forward, rests her chin in the palms of her hands.] What's your world like?

[made_of_science]

What a strange question! [She titters, cutting off just before it starts getting maniacal.] It seems a rather tricky thing to answer; there are so many variables and aspects and places and people...

Is there anything in particular you would like to know? I must admit, I have done almost no travelling, but I shall endeavor to share what knowledge I have!

[recalls]

Mmm... [Vanille supposes it is too broad a question. So she goes to her favorite thing.] What are the animals like?

[made_of_science]

Oh, my, there are so many creatures on the Earth! It's Papi's specialty, of course, not mine, but I do have a reasonably good education in Zoology...

[She launches into a generalized description of the Kingdom Animalia, wandering into an overview of the various phyla. It may be a while before she gets to the really interesting things, unless Vanille wants to jump in and narrow the subject down.]

[recalls]

[That's... a lot of information. Vanille's pretty smart, but it's way too much for her to process. So she'll cut in with a question:] Do you have a favorite animal?

[made_of_science]

hmm... That's a rather difficult question! After all, there are so many interesting elements! I suppose man must be among my favorites, it being such an advanced species... and, of course, that is what Papi and Mami are!

And yourself? Have you a preference?

[recalls]

Oh, umm... I meant, more like pets! What kinds of animals do you think are cute?

[She taps a finger against her chin as she thinks.]

I like chocobos! And the tiny sheep!

[made_of_science]

Ahhh... [She thinks about this for a moment, trying to adjust her worldview from "animals are for experimenting with" to "animals are for cute."] ...I suppose Desmodus rotundus is rather charming in its way.

I'm unfamiliar with those species. Could you describe them?

[recalls]

[What are these strange words! And who would experiment on adorable animals!? Oh, if only she knew...]

Des...modus...ro...tundus? What is that?

[She brightens up quite a bit - describing animals is so much fun!]

Chocobos are big yellow birds! They can't fly, but they can jump really far and really high! They're about thiiiiis tall... [As she says this, she's standing on her tiptoes and stretching an arm way above her head to indicate height.] And they're about thiiiis big. [Here she spreads her arms out wide.} We use them for lots of things. They can pull carts, or we can ride them, and let them dig for treasure. Since they jump so well, they can get us to places we can't reach by ourselves.

The sheep are little wooly guys! [She crouches down, holding her hand about a foot off the ground.] About that tall when they're babies. [She straightens up again, holding her hand about knee-high.] Up to here when they're all grown up. They make the cutest sounds, and their wool is really useful!

[made_of_science]

It is more commonly known as the Vampire Bat. Though perhaps you have no such creature in your place of origin; it seems to be isolated to my region of the world back home.

My, chocobos sound like quite a useful animal! I can certainly see why you would find them preferable.

...pygmy sheep... hm... that does remind me of something interesting I read once... (and with the capabilities and samples available here...)

[recalls]

We don't have those, either... what are they like?

They are, and they're really friendly! If you have the right kinds of greens, they'll do almost anything you want, even if they're wild.

Pygmy? I just think they're the most adorable! I want to squeeze 'em until they pop!

[made_of_science]

Some find them similar in appearance to a mouse, though they are, of course, not the same order at all! But they are small and furred, with wings formed from the webbing stretched between enlarged digits of the forepaws. Unlike most microchiropterans, they feed not on the bodies of insects, but on blood lapped from other mammals. They really are quite fascinating creatures; unique among their kind!

They are approachable in the wild, then? Perhaps they were once domesticated... it's rather unusual to see a wild creature so willing to interact with humans.

...that seems a rather difficult method of slaughter.

[recalls]

They do sound cute! I wonder if I could see one someday.

Yep, if you have gysahl greens, they'll let you ride them. They get nervous and run away if you don't have any. In my village, we raised and bred chocobos, but... [And here she pauses, looking fairly sad again.] When I want back to Gran Pulse... it had been a long time, and the chocobos had all gone wild again.

[D:] Ah, no! I don't want to kill them... I just mean, they're so cute I want to hug them forever!