the ocean

[instar]

Five pigeons, one with a beetle glued to her foot, fly to Seattle and find the aquarium and the orca tanks.

There is one with just one orca in it.

Five pigeons land on the glass edge of the tank.

Comments

[aeskhyne]

Trouble beams.

[instar]

Bella is downstairs soon after, bearing a notebook. "Ooh. Thanks, Trouble."

[aeskhyne]

"You're welcome," says Trouble.

[morphbox]

Ax in human morph - having mostly figured out the clothes for the second time himself, though the pants are backwards - enters the house. He sniffs the air, puzzled.

[palmofyourhand]

Ethan comes down the stairs and passes him in the hall.

"You have your trousers on backward," he observes.

[morphbox]

Ax looks at his pants. "This is bad? Bah-duh."

[palmofyourhand]

"If you were trying to pass for a normal human, yes. Since everyone here knows better, I don't think it's a problem."

[morphbox]

"Ah. Ahhhhhh." Ax continues, backwards pants and all, into the kitchen, sniffing the air curiously. <This smell is much more arresting with this nose than with my usual nose,> he remarks.

[instar]

"Out of necessity we've been doing some experimenting with eating in morph," Bella says, "do you happen to have more precise information about it?"

[morphbox]

<It will continue to sustain a person for a few days, but how long beyond that depends on how often they morph and how similar the dietary requirements are.> He sits, taking a moment to inspect the others and reconstruct how to do it.

[aeskhyne]

"You can try some French toast if you want," says Trouble.

[morphbox]

"That is this food? Fooooooooooooood. Ood. French toast. Oast oast oast."

[pandion]

[aeskhyne]

He giggles. "Yep! Want some?"

[palmofyourhand]

Ethan certainly does. He helps himself to a plate, some French toast, and a seat at the increasingly crowded table.

[instar]

Swans also want French toast. With syrup on it.

[morphbox]

"Yes," says Ax. "Sss."

[aeskhyne]

Trouble loads a slice of French toast onto a plate, adds syrup because why not, sets it in front of Ax, and (not without a thoughtful pause) hands him a fork.

[morphbox]

Ax looks at the fork.

He watches the other humans eat with forks, and manages to get a large but conceivably bite-sized portion of French toast sawed off the corner.

He stabs it.

He puts it in his mouth.

And he falls off his chair.

[aeskhyne]

"...Okay, I wasn't expecting that," says Trouble. "You okay?"

[morphbox]

Ax gets up off the floor and picks up the French toast in his hands and crams most of the slice into his mouth. <I am uninjured! Toast!>

[aeskhyne]

...Trouble giggles.

[morphbox]

Ax half-eats, half-mauls his French toast, and then he steals Ethan's.

[palmofyourhand]

"D'you bloody mind? I was eating that," he says, giving Ax a look.

[morphbox]

<TOAST!> says Ax heedlessly.