Galenna and Zhilbar at play; A Daddy-Daughter Day!

[zhilbar]

Zhilbar finally mangaged to get finished with all the emergencies and urgent parts of His backlog to spend some time with His daughter. He considered several options, then thought: "Eh, I'll just play it by ear." Smiling, He went off to pick up His little fooch...

Comments

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*He wraps His arms around Her and hugs Her close, beaming*

Absolutely golden, honey! I can't think of a reason I wouldn't be. I'm going to get to spend time with My daughter, and We're going to have fun!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Hurray! What are we going to do?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

Well, I thought We'd try going to a zoo!

It's a place with many wild creatures that people often don't get to see, with people looking after them and making sure they're in good health. Plenty of fun to be had there!

And if there's time, We may have a super-secret-special surprise place afterwards!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Yay! That sounds like lots and LOTS of fun!

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! Let Us away!

*Hugs Galenna a little tighter as they blink in front of a large and expansive place called The Shetland Zoo, with a great deal of different species standing in line at the front. Oddly enough, it seems that in almost every case, the line involves one or two adult members of the species, and a considerably smaller one eager to get inside. As Zhilbar steps into line, a new window coincidentally opens, calling for the last half of the (exceedingly long) line they were standing in to come over in reverse order. At the ticket window, Zhilbar snapped His fingers and showed a small, solid-gold card to the ticket creature, who gasped and immediately started fawning over the twain; both had cloth-of-gold wristbands attached, that Zhilbar masked immediately with a little light illusion to look like the normal Deluxe Trip bands.

As They went inside, Zhilbar bounced His little girl that He was carrying for the moment, then kissed Her on the forehead and set her down*

What do You want to see first, Galenna? We have all day, lots to see, and there's the map over there! I'll grab a couple extras, just in case.

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*Galenna stays quiet, hugging her daddy tight when the other people are talking to them. She looks around a moment after he sets her down.*

Um...do they have bears?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

They do indeed! Is that where you'd like to go first?

I'm afraid there's a bit of walking to get to the bears, though.

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Hmm...maybe we can head towards the bears, and see other things on the way?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*Smiles*

That sounds like a wonderful plan, My dear! Come, let's head to the left. That's where we'll find the bears after a while! Be sure to hold on to My hand, though... You don't want to worry about getting lost!

*Will know where She is anyway, but likes holding His daughter's hand... and the physical contact is reassuring to Him as to Her whereabouts*

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*She holds his hand tight and stays close to his side, skipping along beside him* I'll stay really close!

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*Laughs*

Excellent. Now, do you see the gazelles? Just look at them! *Points*

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Ooooh...they're pretty! And...bouncy! *she grins*

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*He looks a trifle suspicious at that, but lets it pass*

Yes, they are indeed! Oh, and can you see the giraffes?

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Oooh! They're pretty too! Why are their necks so long?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

So their feet can reach the ground!

As a matter of fact, honey, it's because there were so many animals eating the grasses that the giraffes started specializing in eating tree leaves, and as they switched over like that, longer and longer necks became the most useful adaptation. The longer the neck, the higher up on the tree they could reach!

Their knees are kind of knobbly and funny, though.

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Yeah they are.

Do you think my neck would get longer if I stretch a lot?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

It'll stretch a little, yes, but not like that.

You see, Galenna, it took them thousands and thousands of years to get that way, and since giraffes don't live that way, they had to use breeding instead.

The taller giraffes lived longer and were healthier, and they had more children, The children were more likely to be tall, and they often mated with other tall giraffes. The combination meant that the children's children would be taller still!

It's an interesting design. I wish I had been one of the ones working on it, but...

Ooh, look! See the hippo? They're great fun!

They're really tasty, too!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Oooh...

*she peers at the hippo* I've never had any! What do they taste like?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

Why, they taste like hippo, of course! The same way cow tastes like cow and not anything else, and how you can't explain chocolate properly to someone who has never tasted it...

They're a little bit oily, and rather fatty, but a rotisseried hippo is darn good eatin'!

Say, since we're just passing by, want to stop at the petting zoo over there?

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I'd like that very much!

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

All right, then let us away!

*Smiling, He walked Her over to the petting zoo, then gave her 3 WHOLE DOLLARS in quarters to get feed for the animals there*

Now mind You, darling, don't feed too much to any one of them!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*She feels very rich indeed, and gives her daddy a GREAT BIG hug* Thank you! And I won't!

*She scampers off, quarters tucked safely in a pocket, and is soon friends with everybody there, human and otherwise--any other kids she sees there who haven't anything to feed the animals get some of hers, because sharing is good!*

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*He laughs, hugging Her right back*

You're a good girl, Galenna.

*Watching pleasantly as She makes friends with all the species of children that came to see the Earth exhibit including the humans, He smiles and spends a little time acquainting Himself with a pleasant chestnut mare. As many of His mortal avatars were expert ecquestrians, He rather liked horses... He didn't even eat them very often!*

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*Galenna, being quite in her element, will have to be told it's time to go before she leaves the petting zoo. In the meantime, she's having lots of fun; she's even managed to organize a game of tag. The goats are winning.*

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*Chuckling, He finishes up with the horse, bidding it farewell.

Going over to Galenna, He touches Her shoulder to get Her attention.*

Ready to get back to our bear expedition, My dear?

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*Galenna smiles to him and nods* Ok!

*she gives all her new friends hugs before taking his hand to go, however*

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*He laughs fondly at Her charming displays of affection, and leads Her out and on their way.*

Okay, Galenna, now We're coming up to the feline section. I know You like cats, so this should be very fun. Do You see the lynxes? They're small, but they're clever!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

I like cats a lot!

Can the lynxes talk like the ninja kitty?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

Sadly, no... all these creatures are unable to talk, honey. If they could put ideas together with words and have conversations, even as rudimentary as Athena the Ninja-Kitty can, they wouldn't be here. This is for those who aren't self-aware, whose thoughts are pretty much hardwired in from their instincts. Still, they're living things too...

Ooh, look at that! See the cheetahs on one side, and the leopards on the other? Can You tell Me what the differences are? I think it'll say on these plaques, if not!

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

*Galenna pauses, quiet for a moment before looking up at him*

If they're living things too, why are they in cages?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

*He sighs. This is going to take a little time to explain well, but She's a smart girl... She should be able to get most, if not all, of why. Still, He thought He'd answer the immediate question now, and if She wanted to learn the reasons behind the reasons, He'd tell Her that too*

It's for protection, Galenna. It's to protect us from them trying to eat or maul or attack us, and it's to protect them from people trying to kill them for their teeth or skin or other such trophies; not to mention mean little children that poke at them and mean older people that tease them as best they can.

Also, they've been living in cages their entire lives, and if the cages weren't there anymore, they wouldn't be able to feed themselves. They'd starve to death.

[childof2worlds.livejournal.com]

Oh.

But...

Why put any animals in cages ever?

[zhilbar.livejournal.com]

Well, the reasons for that aren't all that pretty, Galenna. You see, back in the old days, most people didn't move around that much; most didn't see anything besides the village they were born in... the animals had to be brought to them. THe rich people who didn't move around much had their own private zoos, while the groups that brought animals to other people were called menageries... but they both started with the same premise; hunt down animals, catch them, and take them away from their homes, then show them off to other people at a profit. These together eventually became some of the older zoos, as well as the basic concept of zoo.

The other reason is rather worse.