[Leliel is the best chicken of all time!! Ochako never even considered keeping a chicken as a pet back home, but here she is, crouching down on the ground to coo over this adorable little clucker. She even stretches a hand out to give the bird a quick scratch or two before she glances back up at Dextera.]
You have to look away until I'm done, all right? And you can't peek.
[As soon as he, you know, actually does look away, Ochako reaches into her basket and pulls out the teeniest, tiniest flower crown imaginable. The flower options in Chroma are... limited, but dandelions are still cute, right? Plus the yellow really pops against Leliel's feathers.
So she slowly, carefully settles the crown on top of the bird's head, gently holding it in place as she calls out—]
Okay, Dextera! Look!
[How long will the dandelion crown stay on when Ochako pulls her hand away? It's a mystery.]
[ leliel is?? confused??? when there’s suddenly something on her head, but it’s not like she has the ability to shake it off. luckily for ochako, leliel has a fluffy little pompadour of extremely soft feathers that the crown catches on, so even when she boks softly and swivels her head around, the flowers stay right in place. ]
…!
[ dextera opens his eyes, and immediately a soft gasp leaves his mouth. it’s a completely involuntary sound. ]
[This might just be the cutest thing she's seen? Ochako sits back on her heels, grinning, because Leliel rocks a flower crown way better than Okuyasu's silly frog does.
But that gasp... hmm. She's pretty sure that's a good sign, but she still looks up at her friend to confirm.]
So? What do you think? Maybe we should start calling her Princess Leliel.
[ princess is good. queen implies a stateliness that leliel does not yet have, and she just looks so youthful with that little crown on her head.
he crouches so that he’s closer to level with her, and he reaches out to touch the feathers at her back. she’s soft and she looks like royalty. the perfect chicken. ]
What are they?
[ the flowers, he means. the yellow is so nice on her. ]
The flowers? They're dandelions! You can find them all over the place in Flavo.
[She watches them both for a moment, thinking about going through life without seeing dandelions. Or maybe he's seen them, but he just didn't know what they were called? Hmm. Another Dextera Mystery™.]
Did you ever make flower crowns like this, Dextera? When you were little, I mean.
[She thinks that might be a no, but, uh. Positivity!!]
[ dextera thinks about it, for a moment. the answer is almost definitely no, but he’s not good at brooding around ochako. while the question might have bothered him with anyone else, his attempt not to make this awkward means he gives the most diplomatic reply he can think of. ]
I don’t remember. [ an apologetic smile. ] My memory—is bad.
Oh! That's— [Hmm. Ochako hones back in on Leliel, smile shrinking the tiniest bit.] I'm sorry.
[About his (lack of) memories? About asking her question in the first place? It's a combination of both, honestly, but while she is slightly curious as to just how bad his memory actually is... well, she feels like the best thing to do is to move right along. Happy thoughts!]
One day, if you're really bored, I can show you how to make them? Maybe we can make a new memory.
[Not that it can replace the one he potentially lost, but...]
[ dextera shakes his head when she apologizes, but he also understands that trying to explain it or even reassure her that it’s fine is only going to make a bigger deal out of it than either of them want. ]
I’d like that.
[ leliel, true to form, has no idea what’s going on. she fluffs her feathers and sits, a round blob right there on the floor. with a crown. ]
[Before she leaves this weird, weird town, Ochako is determined to teach everyone how to make flower crowns. It's an important life skill, thank you!! But oh, Leliel... how sweet...]
I'm glad! I'll even show you my favorite flower field.
[It's supposed to be a secret, but shh. She pulls the basket closer to her once again, shifting away from him as she reaches inside.]
Now it's time for your surprise. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but... I think Leliel would really like it if you did.
[Because the surprise is... a matching, human-sized flower crown, of course. Turning back his way, she carefully holds it out to him.]
[ dextera is still trying to imagine ochako’s favorite flower field when there’s suddenly a human-sized flower crown being offered to him. his eyes widen slightly, and he takes it as delicately as if he were handling glass or an eggshell. ]
…
[ he needs his hands to respond, so he doesn’t stop to ask whether or not it’s really for him. instead, he carefully, gingerly places it on top of his head, making sure it’s balanced… and then when his hands come away, he’s still for a few moments longer. ]
[...Oh. Oh. She blinks at him for a second or two, wondering if it's okay to tell him that he looks perfectly precious, before deciding that... oh, what the heck. This is Dextera she's talking about.]
I think it looks great! It really suits you.
[Maybe it's the way the yellow dandelions pop against his dark hair, just like they pop against Leliel's dark feathers? Hmm.]
I know you're supposed to be Duke Dextera, but... [She tilts her head to the side, pretending to give this some serious thought.] Now you're more like a prince? Prince Dextera.
[ prince dextera… certainly not. still, he finds that his cheeks warm at ochako’s earnest compliment, and he would shake his head if he didn’t feel like the crown were too precariously balanced on top of his head to chance it. instead, he’s trapped into acceptance by his inability to deny her. ]
It would—look better on you.
[ leliel looks up at the quick movement of dextera’s hands, and clucks quietly, picking herself up to peck over to him. a father-daughter pair… ]
[That's sweet of him to say, but she shakes her head all the same.]
That's not true! Yellow isn't really my color, but it looks good on you.
[Ochako is a big fan of pink, you see. And besides, yellow honestly does go well with his dark hair? Both he and Leliel look awfully snazzy, in her opinion, and she wishes that she had a camera for, like, the hundredth time since arriving in this olde fashioned towne.]
[ quick, call zelda over so she can take a beautiful family photo. ]
…
[ dextera exhales a shy but grateful laugh, relaxing somewhat and taking leliel into his arms. indeed, they look like they could be related, with the both of them dark and fluffy and wearing their sunshiney dandelion crowns. leliel clucks. ]
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You have to look away until I'm done, all right? And you can't peek.
[As soon as he, you know, actually does look away, Ochako reaches into her basket and pulls out the teeniest, tiniest flower crown imaginable. The flower options in Chroma are... limited, but dandelions are still cute, right? Plus the yellow really pops against Leliel's feathers.
So she slowly, carefully settles the crown on top of the bird's head, gently holding it in place as she calls out—]
Okay, Dextera! Look!
[How long will the dandelion crown stay on when Ochako pulls her hand away? It's a mystery.]
no subject
…!
[ dextera opens his eyes, and immediately a soft gasp leaves his mouth. it’s a completely involuntary sound. ]
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But that gasp... hmm. She's pretty sure that's a good sign, but she still looks up at her friend to confirm.]
So? What do you think? Maybe we should start calling her Princess Leliel.
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he crouches so that he’s closer to level with her, and he reaches out to touch the feathers at her back. she’s soft and she looks like royalty. the perfect chicken. ]
What are they?
[ the flowers, he means. the yellow is so nice on her. ]
no subject
[She watches them both for a moment, thinking about going through life without seeing dandelions. Or maybe he's seen them, but he just didn't know what they were called? Hmm. Another Dextera Mystery™.]
Did you ever make flower crowns like this, Dextera? When you were little, I mean.
[She thinks that might be a no, but, uh. Positivity!!]
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I don’t remember. [ an apologetic smile. ] My memory—is bad.
[ he has amnesia, that is. ]
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[About his (lack of) memories? About asking her question in the first place? It's a combination of both, honestly, but while she is slightly curious as to just how bad his memory actually is... well, she feels like the best thing to do is to move right along. Happy thoughts!]
One day, if you're really bored, I can show you how to make them? Maybe we can make a new memory.
[Not that it can replace the one he potentially lost, but...]
no subject
I’d like that.
[ leliel, true to form, has no idea what’s going on. she fluffs her feathers and sits, a round blob right there on the floor. with a crown. ]
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I'm glad! I'll even show you my favorite flower field.
[It's supposed to be a secret, but shh. She pulls the basket closer to her once again, shifting away from him as she reaches inside.]
Now it's time for your surprise. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but... I think Leliel would really like it if you did.
[Because the surprise is... a matching, human-sized flower crown, of course. Turning back his way, she carefully holds it out to him.]
no subject
…
[ he needs his hands to respond, so he doesn’t stop to ask whether or not it’s really for him. instead, he carefully, gingerly places it on top of his head, making sure it’s balanced… and then when his hands come away, he’s still for a few moments longer. ]
Is it OK?
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I think it looks great! It really suits you.
[Maybe it's the way the yellow dandelions pop against his dark hair, just like they pop against Leliel's dark feathers? Hmm.]
I know you're supposed to be Duke Dextera, but... [She tilts her head to the side, pretending to give this some serious thought.] Now you're more like a prince? Prince Dextera.
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It would—look better on you.
[ leliel looks up at the quick movement of dextera’s hands, and clucks quietly, picking herself up to peck over to him. a father-daughter pair… ]
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That's not true! Yellow isn't really my color, but it looks good on you.
[Ochako is a big fan of pink, you see. And besides, yellow honestly does go well with his dark hair? Both he and Leliel look awfully snazzy, in her opinion, and she wishes that she had a camera for, like, the hundredth time since arriving in this olde fashioned towne.]
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…
[ dextera exhales a shy but grateful laugh, relaxing somewhat and taking leliel into his arms. indeed, they look like they could be related, with the both of them dark and fluffy and wearing their sunshiney dandelion crowns. leliel clucks. ]
Thank you.