milliways_bar | (no subject)

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There's a very cranky phoenix sitting on the bar.

Why is he so cranky?

Did you know phoenixes molt?

They do.

Even in human form a few feathers fall drift away from him with every movement.

Anyone want a phoenix feather?

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Wanting feathers or not has nothing to do with this. Ako's not touching anything until she's sure it isn't contagious.

"Are you supposed to be, um, shedding?"

"Molting. I'm molting," he grumbles.

Ako frowns a little.

"Oh," she says, "What sort of a bird are you?"

"Phoenix."

"Oh, wow."

Normally Brenton would be preening at this exclamation but he's too surly at the molting to do so. So he just nods.

Ako bends down to pick up one of the feathers.

"Molting doesn't look like fun," she says twirling it between her fingers, "Is it something you could use some help with? Like brushing really long hair."

"It's like you're itching all the time in all parts of your body. There's nothing really to do but wait for the old feathers to fall out while the new ones poke through." He sighs and plucks another feather from his head.

"Ugh," says Ako, "I'm glad I missed that when I had feathers. I doesn't sound fun at all."

"You had feathers? Were you a bird too?"

"For Cubefall one year. Flying is awesome."

Bees in your teeth afterward call for generous flossing though.

"Oh. Yes it is! One of the best things in the world!"

Ako nods.

"Have you ever tried being something else, or been changed by one of the holidays?"

"I haven't! The idea never occurred to me. I've been me for ... eons."

"If you can manage to pick which holiday to try, I'd go for Cubefall," says Ako, "It lets you pick from a list and it's all about trying a different body and starting new things."

Also, from a world of space robots! How can you possibly go wrong?

Everything!

"I'm already about starting new things," he laughs a bit as he says that. "But I suppose it might be interesting to try. Is that when you became a bird?"

"It is," she says, "I've been an elf and a robot too. On different years though, you only get one each year."

"I wonder why that is."

"Part of the rules, I guess," says Ako, "You wouldn't really have any idea what the new body was like if you could change it all the time."

"I change every five hundred years or so."

"When you do the, um, fire thing."

"Yes. The fire thing." He smiles. "It's not a bad thing. And it doesn't hurt."

"For you," says Ako, "I think that everyone else would be startled at least."

"People do tend to get startled when they see it happen..." Is that what she's talking about?

Let's go with that, sure.

"Well, hmm, it's a fair bit of time until the next holiday when people usually end up changing," says Ako, "Since Halloween is over and nothing like that usually happens over Christmas or New Years."

It's the only thing he can think of.

"I guess that means I have plenty of time to think about what to be," he says. "What sort of bird were you?"

"A blue tailed bee eater."

So much flossing once it was done.

"Those are lovely birds!" Brenton agrees. "I've talked to a few before."

"It would have been nice to have someone who could understand me when I did that," says Ako.

"Maybe this next time we can talk."

"That would be nice," agrees Ako, "But I have no idea what I'm going to be this coming Cubefall. I had no idea I was going to be a robot last year until the option came up."

"What was that like?"

"Fun mostly. I was a pretty human looking robot and I didn't have a rocket punch or anything, but I could see extra colors that a can't as a human and things tasted a little different."

Also, taller. Being temporarily taller is kind of awesome.

"Really? Huh. So it didn't change your mind to think that it was how you always were?"

"...Not as far as I can remember," says Ako, "I mean, if there's that kind of memory editing happening it would be good to check with someone else, but as far as I can remember I always know when I've been changed for a holiday."

Wanted or not they're collecting in the mane of a light blue alicorn.

Who is sleeping.

Feathers, what? He'll notice them.

They are quite warm to the touch. Like reverse snowflakes.

Which would help Wheel notice—

—if the fireplace wasn't nearby.

Still sleeping...

He fluffs up, sort of, and a few more feathers fall, one drifting onto the alicorn's nostril. Meanwhile he orders a drink from the bar.

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