After three days in this world, Apollo was still confused. Waking up in a house with a strange bird and a woman who said she was his mother before shoving him out the door into a small town was just the start of it. Not long after he had left the town, a large purple rat had attacked him in some tall grass, probably because he had accidentally entered its territory. The bird that had been following him around attacked it right away, but once the rat was down, he didn't eat it, instead landing on Apollo's shoulder and giving off a triumphant "Speeeaaar" and a sense of satisfaction. Not wanting to waste the chance to have some meat, Apollo had tried to eat the rat himself. That had been an unpleasant experience. Asking the bird why he had attacked the rat if he wasn't going to eat it prompted confusion at the concept, a show of concern for Apollo's safety, and an image of a larger, fiercer-looking bird, apparently what he wanted to be like. Since there was nothing he could do with or for the rat, he left it in the shelter of a fallen tree so that it wouldn't be attacked while it was unconscious.
Continuing on, they were attacked by another kind of bird, then a large squirrel-like animal, neither of which could be eaten. After that, Apollo made an effort to avoid any of the animals, but the bird following him would frequently fly off on his own if it saw another animal, usually a bird, returning happily after winning. He didn't seem to understand Apollo when he was told that he was being needlessly cruel, beating up other animals if he wasn't going to eat them. In fact, he was upset that Apollo would tell him to stop.
This time though, while the bird was off fighting another bird, Apollo heard a slight rustle in the branches of a nearby tree. He instinctively knew that there was some animal there; it wasn't the right kind of rustling for it to be the wind. He projected his lack of desire to hurt the animal and the impression of his walking past without harming it. True to his word, he kept walking past the tree without slowing, not making any sudden movements. The response he got back though was a feeling of distrust and an impression that all the other humans who had passed by had attacked it. The tone of the rustling changed slightly once his back was to the tree and he spun, raising an arm to block. One of the squirrel-like animals had jumped from the tree to attack him in the back, and scratched at his blocking arm before falling to the ground. It charged at him again and his hand dove into the courier bag under his cloak. There was no point in risking getting himself injured by trying to punch or kick it now that he was missing his knife, so he grabbed the first hard object he came across in the bag and threw the red and white round thing at the animal.
The object opened up and the squirrel-like animal turned to light and was drawn inside. The object closed and fell to the ground, wobbled a few times, and was still. Surprised and confused, Apollo crouched down and picked it up, looking it over for some clue as to what had happened. The bird returned and landed on his shoulder, his victory cry postponed upon seeing what Apollo had done. Apollo got a sense of curiosity and anticipation from him.
"Do you know what happened?" he asked the bird, projecting images of of the squirrel-like animal being drawn into the round object. In response, he got an image of pressing the raised part on the object, and did so. The object opened and the squirrel-like animal reappeared in a flash of light, cowering with a soft "Tret~". Apollo projected his apology and lack of desire to hurt her again. He didn't try touching her yet, instead reaching into his bag and pulling out one of the (disgusting, awful, completely inedible to humans) blue berries that the bird had liked and setting it in front of her. He felt her fear and did nothing more, just remaining crouched down and waiting for her to make the first move. She looked between him and the berry a few times, then darted forward, grabbed the berry, and retreated to eat it, the tiny scrapes on her body from hitting the ground gradually fading. He left another berry there and stood up.
"Make sure to hide if any more humans come along, okay?"
Projecting the meaning along with the words, he turned and continued on his way, the bird following him as usual. Unlike usual, he could hear the soft sounds of being followed. He turned. The squirrel-like animal was following them at a distance on her hind legs, the second berry he had given her clutched in her forepaws. The feeling he got wasn't of him as a source of food, but rather him being kind and a source of safety. He projected back the idea of her following him as a question, and got an affirmative response. Her behavior here confused him. Seeing him as a source of food wouldn't have been too surprising, although oddly fast for only having given her two berries. Wanting to follow him was strange though. Why would she give up her territory here to follow him? Even as weak as she was she could always hide if anything came along. Were the humans here really so cruel that she would rather abandon her territory to stay with him? His face darkened at that thought and he remembered what the humans who came to his grandfather's forest did, the wounded animals that he was forced to kill so they wouldn't suffer. Of course they were cruel here. That was what humans were like. He decided that he would let the squirrel-like animal follow him for as long as she wanted. Maybe he would be able to find a place that she would feel safe living in.
He crouched down and held out his hand, palm up and fingers nearly touching the ground. The squirrel-like animal put the berry in her mouth and darted to his hand. She stopped and looked up at him, then ran up his arm onto his shoulder, perching there and nibbling on the berry with a contented "Sen~". Apollo stood up and smiled as he resumed walking. He hadn't been expecting to have another friend following him, but he didn't mind at all. It was nice to have company.
Apollo | Genesis of Aquarion OVAs | No Reserve (2/2)
After three days in this world, Apollo was still confused. Waking up in a house with a strange bird and a woman who said she was his mother before shoving him out the door into a small town was just the start of it. Not long after he had left the town, a large purple rat had attacked him in some tall grass, probably because he had accidentally entered its territory. The bird that had been following him around attacked it right away, but once the rat was down, he didn't eat it, instead landing on Apollo's shoulder and giving off a triumphant "Speeeaaar" and a sense of satisfaction. Not wanting to waste the chance to have some meat, Apollo had tried to eat the rat himself. That had been an unpleasant experience. Asking the bird why he had attacked the rat if he wasn't going to eat it prompted confusion at the concept, a show of concern for Apollo's safety, and an image of a larger, fiercer-looking bird, apparently what he wanted to be like. Since there was nothing he could do with or for the rat, he left it in the shelter of a fallen tree so that it wouldn't be attacked while it was unconscious.
Continuing on, they were attacked by another kind of bird, then a large squirrel-like animal, neither of which could be eaten. After that, Apollo made an effort to avoid any of the animals, but the bird following him would frequently fly off on his own if it saw another animal, usually a bird, returning happily after winning. He didn't seem to understand Apollo when he was told that he was being needlessly cruel, beating up other animals if he wasn't going to eat them. In fact, he was upset that Apollo would tell him to stop.
This time though, while the bird was off fighting another bird, Apollo heard a slight rustle in the branches of a nearby tree. He instinctively knew that there was some animal there; it wasn't the right kind of rustling for it to be the wind. He projected his lack of desire to hurt the animal and the impression of his walking past without harming it. True to his word, he kept walking past the tree without slowing, not making any sudden movements. The response he got back though was a feeling of distrust and an impression that all the other humans who had passed by had attacked it. The tone of the rustling changed slightly once his back was to the tree and he spun, raising an arm to block. One of the squirrel-like animals had jumped from the tree to attack him in the back, and scratched at his blocking arm before falling to the ground. It charged at him again and his hand dove into the courier bag under his cloak. There was no point in risking getting himself injured by trying to punch or kick it now that he was missing his knife, so he grabbed the first hard object he came across in the bag and threw the red and white round thing at the animal.
The object opened up and the squirrel-like animal turned to light and was drawn inside. The object closed and fell to the ground, wobbled a few times, and was still. Surprised and confused, Apollo crouched down and picked it up, looking it over for some clue as to what had happened. The bird returned and landed on his shoulder, his victory cry postponed upon seeing what Apollo had done. Apollo got a sense of curiosity and anticipation from him.
"Do you know what happened?" he asked the bird, projecting images of of the squirrel-like animal being drawn into the round object. In response, he got an image of pressing the raised part on the object, and did so. The object opened and the squirrel-like animal reappeared in a flash of light, cowering with a soft "Tret~". Apollo projected his apology and lack of desire to hurt her again. He didn't try touching her yet, instead reaching into his bag and pulling out one of the (disgusting, awful, completely inedible to humans) blue berries that the bird had liked and setting it in front of her. He felt her fear and did nothing more, just remaining crouched down and waiting for her to make the first move. She looked between him and the berry a few times, then darted forward, grabbed the berry, and retreated to eat it, the tiny scrapes on her body from hitting the ground gradually fading. He left another berry there and stood up.
"Make sure to hide if any more humans come along, okay?"
Projecting the meaning along with the words, he turned and continued on his way, the bird following him as usual. Unlike usual, he could hear the soft sounds of being followed. He turned. The squirrel-like animal was following them at a distance on her hind legs, the second berry he had given her clutched in her forepaws. The feeling he got wasn't of him as a source of food, but rather him being kind and a source of safety. He projected back the idea of her following him as a question, and got an affirmative response. Her behavior here confused him. Seeing him as a source of food wouldn't have been too surprising, although oddly fast for only having given her two berries. Wanting to follow him was strange though. Why would she give up her territory here to follow him? Even as weak as she was she could always hide if anything came along. Were the humans here really so cruel that she would rather abandon her territory to stay with him? His face darkened at that thought and he remembered what the humans who came to his grandfather's forest did, the wounded animals that he was forced to kill so they wouldn't suffer. Of course they were cruel here. That was what humans were like. He decided that he would let the squirrel-like animal follow him for as long as she wanted. Maybe he would be able to find a place that she would feel safe living in.
He crouched down and held out his hand, palm up and fingers nearly touching the ground. The squirrel-like animal put the berry in her mouth and darted to his hand. She stopped and looked up at him, then ran up his arm onto his shoulder, perching there and nibbling on the berry with a contented "Sen~". Apollo stood up and smiled as he resumed walking. He hadn't been expecting to have another friend following him, but he didn't mind at all. It was nice to have company.