Everybody had their grumpy days. Or their uncomfortable days, or their just plain wrong-side-of-the-bed days. And for any reason under the sun, really. It all depended on what was up
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"Kiss kiss," Karla said, settling down on the edge of the roof and giving Warren a smile. And then paused to look at him a little more closely. "Uh-oh. Looks like someone's using the roof for its unofficial purpose."
Which was a casual statement and an offer to listen all in one. It all depended on how Warren wanted to take it.
"Molting," Warren corrected with a sigh, setting the feather down on the ledge. "And yeah, it is. Everything just kind of... sits weird, for a while. You have to work harder to stay aloft when you don't have all of your flight feathers, and it's messy and it itches."
It was easy to tell what the crappiest part of it all was, wasn't it?
"But at least it means that the feathers that Hinata's kitten have gotten to are going to be replaced soon."
"Hullo, Warren," said Bod, having wandered up to the roof because it was closer to his room than the deck and he wanted some fresh air. "Everything all right?"
"Hm?" Warren glanced over his shoulder, shooting Bod a little smile and then shrugging a bit. "Mostly all right, anyhow. In the grand scheme of things, this is sort of like one of those temporary annoyances that I don't have to deal with all of the time, at least."
Which was probably for the best. Because if he had to deal with this much itching every day of the year, he'd probably spend most of his time pounding his forehead into a wall.
"Better than you, it seems," he answered, wandering closer. "No temporary annoyances that I haven't caused myself, at least. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not unless me all but begging you to scratch my back doesn't come off as really, really weird," Warren shared, trying a sheepish smile on for size. "But if you were to agree to that, odds are pretty high that I wouldn't let you stop."
There was a thought. He could just pay someone to scratch his back. And his wings. And to poke at the new feathers and to clean up the dust and...
Kitty hadn't been up to the roof before. She hadn't even really realized the roof was anywhere to be till yesterday, so she figured it might be worth checking out. She kind of figured it'd just be like a roof, been there, done that, end of story.
"Oh hey, feathers are new," she noticed, completely casually as she came over to the edge.
"It kinda looks like I have a few to spare today," Warren decided, before looking up at the girl who was making her way over. "I haven't decided yet if that fact is mortifying, or just plain annoying, but I'll get back to you on that one."
"Of all of the guys with huge feathered wings living on this island, you single me out as the Warren here?" He attempted to look stern for all of two seconds before he just dropped the visage and smiled. He didn't have it in him to stay grumpy at a cute girl, darn it. "Sounds to me like I almost have a reputation, now."
"Nah, I'm fine," Warren replied, grimacing a little as he reached for the offered feather. "It's just this thing that..."
He wrinkled his nose a bit, and then shrugged and pressed on. Why not? "This thing that happens when you have feathers. The weather changes, you molt. And you replace the old, ratty feathers with new ones."
He ran his finger over the edge of the feather thoughtfully, and then held it out toward her again, so she could see it more closely. It was a bit on the tattered side, between Yei's efforts at taming the large bird and everyday wear and tear that came from being a teenage boy who happened to be able to fly.
She took it carefully, brushing her fingers over the edges.
"It seems a shame," she said. "Old turns to new, as everything does, but perhaps this feather had just gotten good at his job. He's far too pretty to be so easily discarded."
"Either that, or he's not as sleek as he used to be, and it's time to send him into retirement along with the kids and the rest of his extended family."
Since they were personifying what was sort of like the avian equivalent of shed hair, and all.
"If you don't think it's weird carrying around something that fell off of my back, you're more than welcome to keep it. The frayed ones just make flying more difficult."
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Which was a casual statement and an offer to listen all in one. It all depended on how Warren wanted to take it.
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"That's what the roof is here for, isn't it? Sparing the rest of the island's population the moodiness?"
And also for keeping the rain out of the students' things, sure. But the first reason seemed more important.
"You know, I always hated cleaning my room when I was a kid. But picking up Nintendo games really doesn't have anything on this sort of mess."
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What? Karla'd never had a bird or anything before. Her experience with animals extended to horses and the occasional cat. "Is it bothersome?"
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It was easy to tell what the crappiest part of it all was, wasn't it?
"But at least it means that the feathers that Hinata's kitten have gotten to are going to be replaced soon."
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Which was probably for the best. Because if he had to deal with this much itching every day of the year, he'd probably spend most of his time pounding his forehead into a wall.
"How are you doing today, Bod?"
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There was a thought. He could just pay someone to scratch his back. And his wings. And to poke at the new feathers and to clean up the dust and...
Look, Warren was allowed to dream big.
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"Oh hey, feathers are new," she noticed, completely casually as she came over to the edge.
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"Your feathers appear to be falling out," she noted, lifting one plume from the ground and offering it to him. "Are you ill?"
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He wrinkled his nose a bit, and then shrugged and pressed on. Why not? "This thing that happens when you have feathers. The weather changes, you molt. And you replace the old, ratty feathers with new ones."
He ran his finger over the edge of the feather thoughtfully, and then held it out toward her again, so she could see it more closely. It was a bit on the tattered side, between Yei's efforts at taming the large bird and everyday wear and tear that came from being a teenage boy who happened to be able to fly.
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"It seems a shame," she said. "Old turns to new, as everything does, but perhaps this feather had just gotten good at his job. He's far too pretty to be so easily discarded."
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Since they were personifying what was sort of like the avian equivalent of shed hair, and all.
"If you don't think it's weird carrying around something that fell off of my back, you're more than welcome to keep it. The frayed ones just make flying more difficult."
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