The Park, Sunday Afternoon

[stykera]

The weather wasn't particularly warm today but it wasn't cold and Stark was going to take advantage of that. At least for a little while.

And mercifully he wasn't breaking into song today. At least not yet. He did find himself humming the song but he hadn't felt any overwhelming urges to sing or dance.

He had, however, been approached by a polar bear who had offered a hug and a bottle of Coke. The bears were always surprising at first until Stark remembered them so he'd jumped, a little, before relaxing and accepting both offerings.

He was sitting on a park bench now, watching the birds and the bears, and enjoying his soda.



[Look, I love the coke bears okay? Open post and open park are very open, obvs.]

Comments

[beautiful_boc]

"H-hello, cully," said a nearby tree.

Well. Not a nearby tree, not this time, thankfully, but rather, Boc in the tree, which was a state slightly better than having been the tree himself. But, well...bears in the Lands Between were not to be trifled with, and though these ones were significantly smaller than the rune bears one would be particularly wise to avoid, he wasn't about to take any chances, but didn't trust getting to be able to make it back to the shop without encountering them. And so into the tree he went, until maybe he could slip by under the cloak of darkness. And it was fairly boring business, really, being this safe and all, but then that was when he spotted Stark and thought perhaps he'd say hello.

"Do the bears," he then had to wonder, leaning forward a little in the branches to peek at least his head out, although once he was known to be there, he probably wasn't hard to spot at all, "drop some sort of special physick, then?"

[stykera]

Stark had looked around for the source of the voice and then stared at the tree for a moment before he spotted Boc amongst the branches.

"Oh! Hello, Boc. It's soda. It's sweet. With bubbles. Would you like one?"

[beautiful_boc]

People willingly giving him things that they'd (presumably) earned was also something that was still quite a bit bewildering to Boc, but it had happened here enough times that he did not at least immediately tumble out of the tree to start groveling in appreciation. Besides, there was also the uncertainty in such an action, anyway. Still, he blinked wide eyes at Stark from his perch.

"...I suppose I would," he said, "but....well....you see.....is it safe? Both the soda and the area? Perhaps you haven't noticed all the bears roaming around?"

But, if he hadn't noticed them, then didn't that mean they were gone, and therefor it would be safe? Boc frowned, wondering just how best to go about this particular conundrum, reminding himself again that he really was better just staying in the shop, really.

[stykera]

Stark was prone to sharing. He liked doing it. He liked being able to do it.

"These bears won't harm you," Stark assured him. "They're very friendly. I promise. They only want to give you Coke. The soda. And the soda won't harm you either. I wouldn't offer it if it would."

[beautiful_boc]

It was true that, thus far, Stark had given Boc no reason to believe that any harm would come to him, but it was also true that Stark seemed to say a great many things that Boc found difficult to understand or believe, and so there was some significant hesitation with these alleged assurances. But, finally, with a deep breath and making a quick plan to start scampering off toward the store as fast as he could go, he climbed down from the tree. Or, really, he wrapped his paws on one of the sturdier branches, swung himself down on it, and, after moving forward a bit, jumped to the ground, landing low but easily, and looking around, as if half expecting one of the bears to show up and...

....there! At the edge of the park! There was a bear, and so Boc, with a little bit of a startled whimper, turned right back around and scurried right back up that tree.

"On...on second thought, cully," he then called down, "I think I rather like it up here, it's a very nice view, us demihumans, we spend so much time underground, you know, so it's a lovely change of pace, being up a tree, and without even having to be one, myself. I think I'm quite fine right here for now, thank you very kindly."

[stykera]

To be perfectly fair Stark said incomprehensible things to a great many people who weren't Boc. Boc wasn't wrong.

"What if I went and got a drink for you?" Stark offered. "Then you can stay in the tree. Away from the bear. Would that be all right?"

The odds of Stark being mauled by one of the bears while Boc watched were vanishingly small, at least?

"You can keep an eye out."