1stknight | PSL (closed)

[It might be best not to spoil his mental image of how the story ends, yeah. Bedivere preferred stories with a happy ending.

The cranes were as majestic as he had imagined they would be, though he did insist on staying for a minute to watch them. But there were a few buildings up ahead: the penguin house, the apiary, and the reptile house.]

Oh? Why are those all enclosed?

It depends on the animal in question.

The obvious one is to keep predators from indulging in their natural instinct to hunt. Some of the other creatures, like penguins, are more suited for a particular habitat, and their enclosure is modeled after that. Then others are classified as endangered species - for one reason or the other, their numbers have dwindled to the point that they're almost extinct.

Being bred in captivity, as you can imagine, may have an effect on those animals' capacity to survive elsewhere. Nevertheless, it's one way for humans to try and make up for the consequences of the wanton pillaging of natural resources.

[What Dazai said, it made sense. And it was nice that humans thought of those things and treated the animals well. But at the same time, it reminded Bedivere that these animals were affected by humans, and that they wouldn't have to live in these zoos if not for what humans had done to the environment. It caused conflicting thoughts in him, which he disliked.

But Bedivere's hopeful side won out, and he chose to believe that the humans in charge of the zoo, at least, really were doing this to help the animals.]

I suppose it is kind of them, then, to help even animals in need.

[Time to go see PENGUINS! And since they're indoors, that means one wall of the enclosure is glass so everyone can see the penguins swimming underwater. That was the part Bedivere was most fascinated with, and he had his face pressed up against the glass as he watched the penguins swim by.]

[Dazai simply nodded - it was interesting to see Bedivere focus on that aspect, precisely because he wasn't wilfully naive. If there was a champion for humanity or some such title that was selected based on merit and character, he was pretty sure Bedivere would qualify - and the certainty he felt with that thought was surprising in and of itself.]

They eat fish. [He still felt off-kilter as he watched Bedivere watch the penguins with the kind of bright fascination that did funny things to Dazai's heart.] You would've needed a ship to go south... ah, before, and the journey has its fair share of perils. Think of their birthplace as a land of perpetual winter, isolated from the rest of humanity.

That's amazing! Of all the places I have traveled to, I have never seen a land of perpetual winter. Such a thought would have been fantastical, until recently.

[He became aware of how much space he was taking up, though, when he saw a bunch of kids trying to crowd around the glass too. Looking a bit embarrassed, Bedivere stepped back over by Dazai to give the kids room to see.]

Let's go see the other building, then.

[Mostly because he wanted to escape the parents staring at him.

They were in for a treat at the reptile house, though. One of the zookeepers had a chameleon out of the exhibit and was demonstrating how they could change their color and pattern. That was another moment where Bedivere forgot himself and went right up to see the strange-looking creature, and he audibly gasped as he watched it change from green to orange, to match a posterboard set up right by it.]

[Dazai's smile looked just a little too bright - that was some contest for viewing space! Other people clearly needed to mind their own business, because Bedivere appreciating the penguins wasn't harmful for anyone.]

Very well.

[By the way, he took a stealth photo of that reaction to the chameleon. Dazai had been too distracted earlier, and now was the time to make up for it.]

Clever aren't they?

[Ah, but if the zookeeper had taken the chameleon out - Dazai approached the guy after he finished explaining things about the chameleon. Was petting the reptile allowed? Because this was his date's first time seeing a chameleon in person, and he absolutely adored them.]

[Dazai was right, too: Bedivere absolutely adored the chameleon, and he spent far too much time watching the thing stand there on a stick and just exist. It didn't move fast, but the way its little strange feet grasped the stick and slowly moved it around was absolutely fascinating. And the way it changed color, he had never seen anything like it before. He would assume it was some kind of magic if he didn't already know the modern world was very lacking when it came to magic. A trained mage wouldn't waste time changing the colors of lizards.

The zookeeper saw Bedivere's reactions, and when Dazai asked, he allowed it. He picked up the chameleon and let it hang onto his arm, that way he could grab it if it got spooked and ran off or something. But the chameleon was remarkably well-behaved and didn't mind having Bedivere touch its back.]

It's so rough-skinned! It truly is like a small dragon.

[The zookeeper got a chuckle out of that, but Bedivere did not sound like he was joking. He may have actually met a dragon before.]

Mm-hmm!

[Dazai didn't doubt Bedivere's seen a dragon before. After all, dragons were part of King Arthur's myth, and Merlin exists as an actual mage.]

Without the hazards of, oh, fire-breathing and flying around. [The zookeeper already mentioned that chameleons ate insects, so. And here, Dazai snapped another photo.] Some people keep them as pets, too.

You can keep these as pets?

[The zookeeper was quick to say that they required special licenses, and that Bedivere would have to learn how to take care of one before he would be allowed to keep one. But even with that in mind, Bedivere was already imagining himself with a chameleon friend hanging around with him.

'After the Grail War,' he silently told himself, 'If you win and get your wish, you will have plenty of time for a companion like this.'

The zookeeper also helpfully pointed out that the gift shop at the zoo had a book on chameleons in it, if Bedivere wanted to learn more. Guess what Bedivere was going to ask for as soon as they found the gift shop.]

[Dazai could guess pretty well, and he'd happily gift the book to Bedivere. If this, too, doubled as something to motivate Bedivere to win the grail war and not vanish prematurely, that was fine.

Ah, but if they were done with Mr. Chameleon for now, he'd give the zookeeper a grateful smile .]

There are still plenty of exhibits for us to check out, Ellis, but we can go back here before leaving. How does that sound?

Ah, yes, I do like the sound of that.

[Even if chameleons were now his favorite, he still wanted to see the other animals too.

Some he was familiar with, but hadn't actually seen in person before. Elephants were one, as he had only ever seen them at a distance, and he couldn't believe how big they were in person. Giraffes were another surprise, as were kangaroos. Bedivere actually let out a delighted noise when he saw a baby kangaroo poke its head out of its mother's pouch, though a moment later he coughed and looked away in embarrassment.

When they came to an exhibit with mountain goats, though, he had a lot to say.]

Oh! These are similar to the ones we kept on farms. Their horns are much larger though, they must be a wild variety. I can't imagine keeping them would be easy.

[Thus did Dazai's photo collection grow. As did the need to stifle his own laughter, because Bedivere's reaction to the joey was too cute.

All this mountain goat trivia, though - Dazai listened carefully, curious to see if he could glean anything about Bedivere's past life from it.]

I imagine those who keep them as part of their traditions have been taught well! Not so much as the people who first started it.

They were raised for milk, cheese, and meat, I presume?

Primarily that, yes. Some farms had cows, but many areas of England are too rocky for raising them, Goats and sheep are used instead.

The farm I grew up on, it had goats and sheep. I remember getting up at dawn every day to feed them and brush them.

[They were a distant memory, though. 1,500 years back, before his long journey or even his knighthood. Memories from that time were hard to recall. Luckily Excalibur had kept his mind sharp, but so many years of memories meant the years tended to blend together at times.]

I imagine it is less common nowadays, though. Most people don't live on a farm anymore.

Huh.

[Sounded tedious and idyllic.

Reminded him a bit of Odasaku, actually. Or, rather, the kind of environment Odasaku probably wished to raise his kids at: peaceful with lots of fresh air.]

Yeah, that's true. For a lot of reasons, more people from farm lands go to cities like Yokohama rather than the other way around.

One of my coworkers actually came from a farm before the President took him in. He's used to cow wrangling, though you might find his methods... a touch unconventional.

Ah? is that the young blonde boy?

[Bedivere had a guess, because Kenji definitely looked like a farm boy. Earnest, and not afraid of hard work.]

It seems like your Agency has its own 'knight in the rough'.

Oh, I think he'll like that description. Though you better be prepared for his questions once he hears it.

[Kenji was a delightful and carefree child. Dazai had a healthy appreciation for how effortless he made friends.

From the goats, he led Bedivere to the deer next, then to another area with lions.]

I'm aware these creatures are popular symbols, but was one ever presented to the court?

It might not be too suspicious to talk of chivalry, no? After all, if he thinks I am merely a foreigner, he might accept it as normal.

[A pause, and he tapped his chin thoughtfully.]

Some of your co-workers may be too smart for that, though. The young man who lives next door, he seems to suspect I'm not who I claim to be. And that loud detective already knows too much.

Well, we are detectives. As much as it is to our disadvantage, it'd also be terrible form for them to not pick up on such details.

At the same time, however, your circumstances are also too far-fetched even for the chaos we encounter on a day-to-day basis. One mention won't hurt if we keep the details vague - a normal boy in England, for example, would have grown up hearing tales of knights and knaves and chivalry, and the era is covered in history class. It's only natural for them to look up how people actually lived in those times.

[In other words, as long as they stuck to known information about knights and talked about it as historical fact, it shouldn't be a problem.]

For our ease of mind, however - are there other topics you're comfortable talking about? Leading the discussion elsewhere is a viable tactic.

So you're saying I should pretend to be a knight-fanboy?

[It was humorous to Bedivere because he felt like one sometimes. He had come from humble beginnings and was relatively plain compared to the rest of the Round Table. Knights like Lancelot, or Gawain, they were the ideal. And he couldn't deny his favoritism for the king.

The king...thinking about Artoria made Bedivere frown for a moment. His devotion to his king was very complicated, and Dazai just complicated things further. He barely even had to think about last night, and he could feel his skin heat up where Dazai had given his neck extra attention. His heart was a mess, and he didn't know what to do about it.

But he covered up that frown quickly, and he tried to smile as he answered that last part.]

Farming isn't a bad topic. Even if it's been a while, I can still remember it.

Something like that.

[Was that slight dip in Bedivere's smile just his imagination? Before Dazai could dwell on it further, however, he had other things to think about.]

It would be good to mention you use traditional techniques, or something along those lines. Not that the practice itself has changed, but certain innovations have introduced new strains of plants that weren't likely around before. Not to mention all the machinery involved.

Ahh, so like, a 'traditional farm'?

[That was honestly for the best, Bedivere knew nothing about modern farming.

The dip in the smile was long gone though, Bedivere was covering up any strange feelings he had in his gut. His own confusion over his feelings wasn't worth getting Dazai upset.]

I imagine it is very different between England and Japan anyway.

We do have rice.

[Like hell he knew if there was a farm in England that cultivated rice.]

Want to look up the general differences later? Just so you don't get blindsided if it does come up in conversation.

That would be a good idea, yes. The farm I grew up on mostly grew wheat, though we did have some animals for milk and meat. Oh, and we had a vegetable patch for us to live on. The wheat was made into flour and sold to bakeries in the city, though.

For bread, hmm..?

[Speaking of food - Dazai glanced at his watch and made a sound at the back of his throat. They've been walking for how long?]

Want to grab a snack? A sandwich and milk sound good right about now.

It is about that time, isn't it?

[Seeing animals was valid, but so was eating. And a sandwich and milk sounded good.]

Do they sell food here?

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