Furnado Animal Shelter; Thursday, 12/21.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon had been able to convince the lovely people who had done their best to help him out for his injuries at the clinic to release him that morning so he could make it to his shift at the shelter, under the caveat that he took it easy and spent the rest of the day in his room, in his tank, resting up like a proper Zora since they all agreed that dry clinic beds weren't the best for him now that he was patched up and healed over enough. Taking it easy, he could do, and gladly, since everything still sort of hurt, though he was feeling a bit restless. As soon as he got the okay, he'd be hitting the salle much harder.

He knew he shouldn't feel bad about nearly getting killed by a much bigger, much older, completely corrupted version of himself, but he didn't exactly feel good about it, either.

But the shelter had cute animals, and cute animals made everything a little better, and it felt good to take care of something, even a little bit, as he tried to think of what he could possibly do to thank Breq for saving him. There didn't seem to be anything in the world good enough for something like that.

Furnado is open!

Comments

[myownface]

Sparkle was so perplexed, now, but he still kind of stood there and nodded stupidly as Sidon spoke.

"Zack," he echoed, a little dumbly. "On Tuesdays."

He blinked.

"But, I mean, if you can call him up, that would be great. I don't want him to spend half a week wondering any more than I want to spend half a week nerving myself up to it." He paused, and then added sheepishly, "And I'm kind of worried about the chickens."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"I'm sure they're quite well," Sidon offered encouragingly. "If they're even half as durable as a cucco from back home, they're probably better off than the majority of us right now! But let me call him up."

And so he took out his phone (how he did it and where he kept it when he clearly had no pockets was a great mystery, one probably best left unsolved) and pushed in a few numbers to see if he could get a hold of Zack. Phones were still such an interesting novelty to him that he sort of seemed to dance on his feet a little as he waited to see if the bossman would pick up or if he'd get the sheer joy of leaving of a voicemail for him.

[puppy_fair]

No joy for Sidon today! Or, well, potential joy of a different sort, perhaps? Zack was answering the phone as Sparkle did a little toe-to-toe dance of his own.

"Hey! Zack speaking!"

This as going to be the most exuberant phone conversation about stolen chickens ever.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Zack!" Sidon spoke brightly into the phone, a bit more loudly than strictly necessary. "It is I, Sidon!" Sure, Zack couldn't see him, but he was still getting the bright grin and the (for the time being) tiny little fist pump. "The Zora Prince! And your faithful employee. Do not be alarmed. Everything at the shelter is running smoothly and quite well, save for one small thing. Would you be available to stop by? I have with me here a gentleman who claims to have stolen your chickens, and he would very much like a word with you."

He flashed his smile at the chicken-grubber as he awaited Zack's response, throwing in a thumbs-up for good measure.

[puppy_fair]

"I'm pretty sure I can make time for the chicken thief," Zack replied, sounding vaguely bemused. "Does he, uh, have the chickens? With him?"

Sorry, Zack.

Meanwhile, Sparkle was throwing an uncertain thumbs-up of his own.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Errm." Although the foul fowl fiend had made it seem like he didn't know where the chickens had in fact gone, Sidon took a moment to check for any signs of any feathered friends on the man. "No, it does not appear so. In fact, he expressed concern for the creatures, which leads me to believe that he has not only stolen your chickens, but that he then proceeded to lose the looted goods."

His hand covered the phone for a moment as he whispered to Sparkle, "That assumption is correct, yes?"

[puppy_fair]

Sparkle grimaced, and then nodded a little.

"Gave them away, actually," he murmured.

Zack was grimacing, too.

"And he's... what... turning himself in? Does he want me to drag him to the trooper station or something?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"I think," Sidon replied, "that he would simply like to speak to you about it to see if there is anything he can do to make amends. He seems most remorseful, I must say, but I shall ask him."

And he covered the phone with his hand again, and whispered (which wasn't actually all that quiet) to the chicken thief, "Would you like for Zack to escort you to the trooper station?"

[myownface]

Sparkle's eyes went a little wider, there.

"Oh god," he muttered, and then shook his head. "I would really, really rather he didn't? I mean, unless he wants to, like, I guess that's his right? But I don't do well in captivity."

And his roomie would probably bust him out by the end of the day and then he'd never live down that he'd been taken in by the troopers, the most useless law enforcement the multiverse had ever seen.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon nodded, clearing his throat a little before relaying the information to his boss. And he knew he was just sharing what one person said to the other, but he was rather pleased by it. He felt so useful, so important, so diplomatic! Surely, this exchange may one day help him in his future as king!

"Our sticky fingered friend would quite rather you did not take him to the trooper station, Zack, if it could at all be avoided, though it appears as though he understands that it is completely your right and your power to do so if you so desire. Personally, if I may intrude with my own opinion, I believe his sincerity is genuine, and, were it me in your chicken-less situation, I would be pleased to let him go with but a warning and a promise to never steal chickens or any other creature, feathered or otherwise, again, with the threat of a serious or more harsh punishment in the event of a repeat incident. After all, it is important that we learn from our mistakes, is it not?"

And, yes, Sparkle, that was a big giant shark-man showing you all his shining teeth in a big grin and winking at you right now for the solid he was clearly doing you right now.

[puppy_fair]

Sparkle's eyes could not get any wider, Sidon. It just wasn't possible. But he was giving two thumbs-up anyway, because that seemed to be the thing to do even while he was so completely out of his depth, here.

"Well," Zack drawled, sounding thoughtful, "I might be willing to let him off with a warning, then. I trust your judgment about people, you know?"

Sidon reminded him so much of a taller, less jaded version of himself, after all.

"But I'd appreciate it if he can at least give me some leads on where to go looking for the missing chickens. There are still a couple left unaccounted for."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon opened his mouth to say something about the fact that his judgement had all-too-recently nearly gotten him killed, but then he thought better of it and shut it, nodding instead. "Excellent," he said, "I think that is wise. I shall ask him.

"Chicken thief," he continued, covering the phone again as if it was a secret that he'd be asking the culprit exactly what Zack had told him to ask, "it appears as though Zack agrees that a warning will be sufficient enough to redeem yourself. A warning, and perhaps a few clues as to where you think some of the chickens may have ended up. It seems that, while Zack has been masterful in acquiring a few of them, there are still some that must be located and rescued. And perhaps, if you do not have any suggestions on where we might begin such a quest, I personally believe it would mean a great deal to him should you happen to discover them before he does and return them safely to their coop to save him the trouble of searching more."

[myownface]

"It's Sparkle," Sparkle sighed. "You can call me Sparkle. Which, uh, isn't the point, I guess, is it?"

He chewed his lip a moment.

"Unless they've run off somewhere, they should be out by Selkie Peak somewhere. Where the, uh, the people from the future were casting their crazy doomsday spell? I can look around there for them, and see if maybe they haven't wandered too far..."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon sighed a bit in relief. Although it was totally appropriate to do so, he was wondering if Chicken Thief would be this young man's only epithet. It was good to have an actual name.

He nodded again to relay the information to Zack. "Sparkle the Chicken Thief,"--it was practically a title now, okay?--"believes that they have likely not traverse far from the point of the utterly failed ritual in which they were attempted to be used, so he will make haste in searching from that point outward, if that pleases."

[puppy_fair]

Zack considered that option - and made a mental note of the name 'Sparkle,' just in case.

"That sounds fair to me," he decided. "If he can find the missing chickens, I'll consider it square. Hopefully nothing bad's happened to them. If he can't find them... we'll work something out. Coop cleaning duty or something. He did wrong by our chickens, he can make it up to them one way or the other."