Chapter Text
Rui and I made our surprise visit to Emu and Nene this morning.
We met one of the more friendly elders on our way there. He was surveying the area earlier since many of the members participating in their hunt today were fairly inexperienced. As he guided us to where Emu and Nene were at, he asked how we were doing and we eased into a rather pleasant conversation even if I did most of the talking between me and Rui. Once they were in view, he lingered back and bowed his head politely before returning to his post.
Emu was more than delighted to see us and frankly speaking, her joy was so contagious that I couldn't help but break out into a smile myself. Rui handed them the gifts he'd bought: a wooden penguin carving for Emu and a small box for Nene to store the pebbles she apparently collects. It was great to see them and briefly catch up after such a long time away from town. Nene brought us to the holding area where the chickens and their junglefowl were kept at so that she could also stop by her tent to put the gifts away.
I'm half-certain they are bigger than they were 2 weeks ago. Their adult feathers are fully showing as far as I can tell, but they looked like teenagers that were clumsily settling into their bigger and maturing bodies in the sense that their bodies are maturing, but they were still the same old chicks they were on the inside. Rui had a small bag of seeds with him that he scattered for the birds and they (including the junglefowl) instantly crowded around him to snatch a peck at the free food. Richard screamed at his fellow brethren for existing but he ended up getting viciously pecked by Pickles for standing in her way.
It was fun watching Rui. Dahlia nuzzled against his hand and nipped at him if he stopped petting her. While he was distracted, Layton nipped at his shoe instead of eating with the other chickens.
When Nene asked quietly if I was falling in love again, I could only laugh in response.
When we headed back to the estate, Rui was a little more upbeat than before. It wasn't very obvious, but his pace was a little lighter and he didn't drag his feet as much.
I wonder if Rui would be open to letting the soldiers pet the chickens to boost their morale. A little like how he lent the demon to Touya previously. I'll ask him tomorrow.