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Gaeta accidentally acquired a new pet last night.

Granted, he's not really thinking of the bird as a pet yet. Tame as it seems, he has the feeling it'd do better back out on the grounds than cooped up with him in his room. He doesn't know what it eats or how to care for it. He doesn't even know what the frak it is.

Which accounts for the sizeable stack of bird guides and encyclopedias on a coffee table near the fireplace. Gaeta's stretched out along one of the couches; in the space below his right knee, the bird dozes, its comically large beak tucked under a (just as comically) tiny wing. If he remembers right, the outside was modeled on some place called "Scotland." A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe seems like a good place to start, then.

(Gaeta doesn't know that he's aiming about thirteen thousand miles too high and four hundred years too late.)

[ooc: and the mun is off to bed, but this post is open until it scrolls!]

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He's exhausted, but it doesn't matter. He'd made a promise.

Hoshi lets the door drop shut behind him, and scrubs the back of his hand over his eyes before starting toward the bar.

Maybe a cup of coffee will help, first.

The thump of the closing door attracts the dodo's attention; pretty soon, Gaeta's attention follows.

His face lights up -- just as Louis is too tired to notice him, he's too relieved to notice Louis' state right away -- and he lifts a hand overhead, trying to catch his eye.

The movement draws his attention, and he pauses for a moment, then changes direction and heads toward the couch.

(Looks like coffee will have to wait.)

"Hi," he says as he approaches. "I see you're out--"

Only then does he draw near enough to see over the back of the couch, at which point he discovers that Felix isn't alone.

"Hey," he says; some of the light to his expression dims when he catches sight of the bags under Louis' eyes. "Yeah, I've been out for a little while now. I, ah...think the time differential might have gotten frakked up."

Please, gods, he thinks: say it was just the time differential.

He looks completely startled by that.

"It - you - wait, what? How long have you been out?"

That sparks a twinge of guilt, but Gaeta can't help it: the relief grows, overshadowing his last worries.

He didn't leave.

"About a week and a half," he says. "...How long has it been for you?"

"... three shifts."

He catches himself on the back of the couch, staring at Felix in bewilderment.

"How-- "

Three shifts in a row? he almost asks. Swallows it back, though the concern amps up a notch.

"It's...like that for a lot of people," he says, a little helplessly. "Time doesn't always match up right. It's okay, it's not your fault -- "

"I--"

He shakes his head, giving up on words, and scrubs a hand over his eyes before pointing at the bird.

"What is that?"

That brings the burgeoning torrent of words to a halt. "Oh."

"Plock," says the bird, by way of greeting. It's eyeing Louis warily, as if not sure why this human is here or why he's talking to its new nestmate.

"I honestly have no godsdamn idea," he admits. "It...sort of followed me home yesterday."

Hoshi blinks at Felix, then at the bird.

"Er. Hello?"

"Plock."

Without moving away from Gaeta, the bird pushes itself to its full height, extends its neck (there's more to extend than is immediately visible at first glance), and stretches its beak toward Louis with all intention of prodding him.

"Don't you bite me," he warns, but he remains still and glances back at Felix with a wry smile.

"Followed you home, hm?"

No bites seem to be forthcoming, luckily. Louis gets a nudge in the arm, but, when it doesn't spur any serious reaction, the bird withdraws to settle back in its spot.

"Yeah." He shrugs a little, gaze dropping to the creature for a second. "And...actually it woke me up when I started, ah, not sleeping too well."

"...oh."

His other hand tightens on the back of the couch. Hoshi looks at the bird, too.

...What? Why's everybody lookin' at it? The bird cocks its head, blinking up at Louis.

"Speaking of," says Gaeta, deliberately trying to lighten and shift the subject, "do you want me to get you some coffee? You look like you could use it."

"Hm?"

He looks up again, his expression blank for an instant before he nods.

"Coffee. Right. I was -- that'd be a good idea."

"Okay," he says, gently.

An uncertain beat goes by.

"Or, um. If a nap would be better, we could get you a room or -- " He realizes what he's going to say right before he says it, and -- too late -- delivers a sharp mental kick to himself. "I could give you a key to my room -- "

"I think maybe I'd better stick with coffee for now," he says, after only a moment's hesitation.

Hoshi smiles, a little.

"I've got a feeling that as soon as I go down, a nap's not going to be enough."

"Yeah. Good point."

Rueful, as he manages to return the smile.

"Hang on one second," he adds, before shifting on the couch to hail the closest waitrat.

"Sure."

A beat.

"Think your friend there'll mind if I sit down?"

"I think it ought to be okay," he says -- then, to the waitrat who scurries over, "Hi, could I get two coffees, please? One black, one with sugar?"

The rat squeaks assent before taking off across the bar floor. Gaeta, meanwhile, tries to push himself a little further up the couch so Louis will have more room to sit.

"You're fine," Hoshi assures him, and gingerly takes a seat, trying not to disturb the bird overmuch.

"Oh -- okay," he says, but scoots a couple more inches anyway, just in case. The bird studies Louis for another second before tucking its beak back under one wing, the feathers barely hiding anything at all.

Gaeta's earlier question bubbles up; this time, he doesn't suppress it. But he has gone quieter as he asks, "Were those three shifts all back-to-back?"

He hesitates, but only for a moment.

"Yes."