Sallie & Raguel's hot date

[un_fallen]

"I have to say, I'm glad that you chose the zoo," Raguel says enthusiastically, piloting the battered pickup along a climbing, winding road toward Griffith Park. "I spend as much time as I can in this area, but I don't get to wander that part of it much."

Once they enter the park, the road takes them through an area that has clearly been devastated by fire, now with signs of new growth here and there as the greenery starts to come back. Around and around goes the road, Raguel taking turns confidently enough but with no apparent reasoning. He points out landmarks as they go, some more recognizable through the devastation than others.

"There was a fire here last year," he says by way of explanation. "A few of these roads are still closed, but I think it's worth the detours to come this way instead of the freeway."

He glances over at her hopefully. Though at this point he should be mostly hopeful that she's not about to be sick.

Comments

[un_fallen]

"Of me?" he says, still staring upward. "Hey, look at that one-- damn, it's flown away. I swear, it was electric blue."

His chin comes down for a moment and he rubs the back of his neck.

"Oh. You didn't know I was, er. One of the flying types?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"Not...not that I can be sure on?

"You folk really ought to come with some sort of educational material. A pamphlet? Data sheet? Somethin'."

[un_fallen]

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't a flying type till a year or so ago. Almost two, now. Well, once I was, I guess, but that was before there was a universe, and-- and I should just go back to bird-watching."

[realmrsreynolds]

"I'm thinking that'd be a good plan for the both of us, really."

Except, now? Sallie's still watching the birds go about their business.

But -- also watching Raguel.

More specifically?

His back.

She's not staring. Polite women do not stare.

[un_fallen]

Raguel nods, turning back to the birds, but Sallie's divided attention is hard to miss. He leans over to speak quietly.

"Kinda hard in here. But I'll show you when we get back, if you want?"

They were long enough coming, so it's not hard to get him to show them off.

[realmrsreynolds]

"Oh! O...of course. But...

"I'm more curious as to how you hide them. But okay. Bird time. Yes."

[un_fallen]

"Oh," he says, now completely ignoring the birds. "Well, it's been suggested that it's something to do with shapeshifting, but I don't really think so. It's sort of an... out or in, up or down thing rather than forming them. But I don't change shapes otherwise so I guess I wouldn't really know, would I?"

He laughs, completely unaware that he's starting to shed a few tiny feathers. His wings are still nowhere to be seen.

[realmrsreynolds]

Squawk!

Sallie jumps with the nearness of the noise, but laughs along with Raguel, even if it's at a bright scarlet bird's quarrel with another of lesser authority over branch position instead of her companion's original topic.

"What do you say we move on?" She points to the dueling birds. "Folk're getting a mite antsy."

[un_fallen]

"Oh. Yeah," he agrees, eyeing them. "Wouldn't want to come between those two."

They duck out of the aviary, Raguel with some sense of relief to be leaving the flashy creatures behind.

"You know, I think that fuchsia one looked like it was up to something," drifts back to the birds as they wander deeper into the zoo.