Title: Quiet Time
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: General
Length: 800 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: This is complete nonsense. :) Ferio and Clef (and friends)(a bit after the end of canon).
Summary: “…Clef? Are you - is that mantle made of feathers?”

oOo

Halfway into the library, Ferio stopped to stare. “…Clef? Are you - is that mantle made of feathers?”

Clef never looked up from the pile of books he was shelving, just made a shushing noise and walked on a few paces and put the next book away. The strange balls of downy feathers that were covering his mantle wobbled a little as he walked, each of them slightly different shades of gold and tan, and…

The weirdest fashion choice Ferio had ever seen, particularly as they now seemed to be cheeping. “Clef, are those-”

Half of the feather-puffs turned around and glared at him, before opening startlingly large mouths and making the most horrendous squawking noise. Stumbling back a pace, Ferio had to throw off memories of the forest of silence in the seconds before Clef started humming something and his little -friends- quietened down again.

“We’re having quiet time now,” Clef murmured, once the griffin-like bird-creatures were settled again… and then he went right back to what he’d been doing.

Ferio came over slowly, half the little creatures watching him as he came. “Quiet time. I can do quiet time…” Getting closer, he could just about see Clef’s usual wide mantle on his shoulders, all the decoration being clung to by tiny sharp claws. And he hadn’t been wearing that one out and about recently, Ferio had wondered what had happened to it. He kept his voice as quiet as possible. “Is there a reason you’re now a colony? Just asking.”

“One of the Guard found an abandoned roost, back when things were - in the dissolution. All the parents were missing but the eggs were still warm enough to live, so he brought them back; they hatched a few days ago, and they’re just about big enough to insist on not being left alone… Could you pass me that history? Thanks.”

Ferio put ‘guard’ together with ‘he’ and ‘rescuing small creatures’ and came up with Lantis. (He ignored the implication that, yes, these creatures were probably going to get big enough to eat him. With that stare it was like they knew how many creatures he had killed - only when they were trying to attack people! He was pretty certain they’d all been magic-creatures, manifestations of negative energy, and not real living ones - pretty sure…)(He wasn’t going to ask what they were, just in case he was right.) “If these things start following you around like Primera does with Lantis-”

“Primera had hardly anyone of her own species in the castle to talk to, whereas these little ones have plenty of company.” One of them cheeped softly and Clef raised a hand absently to pet it. “Besides, they won’t be so small in a few more weeks, and then we’ll go and find some extended family for them. Otherwise I’ll probably end up with a broken shoulder… There, I think that’s all of them.” He patted the book he had just set in place. “Did you need me for anything, or were you looking for a book?”

As Clef turned around, almost all the creatures clinging to his shoulders opened their eyes to stare at Ferio. One at a time, they might have been cute, but all together- it was more like a scene from a nightmare. (And from the way Clef’s lips kept twitching towards a grin, he knew exactly how disturbing it looked, all those dark eyes gleaming at you.)

Ferio sighed. “I honestly can’t remember why I even came in here?”

At that, Clef did grin. “Well, if you’ve nothing else to do, you can help with suppertime. Come on,” and he walked for the door, surrounded by a gentle chorus of peeping noises.

“Wait - wait? Uh, Clef - wouldn’t Ascot be better at this?”

“Probably, but I believe he is out of the castle today, on the trip out to Bentley that you wriggled out of joining. So you can help me, instead. Here.” Clef lifted one of the fluff-balls trying to fall off the edge of his mantle and deposited it in Ferio’s hastily-cupped hands. “This is Peep.”

Peep stared up at him, and Ferio didn’t dare move. “…How can you tell them apart to name them? I know the colours are different, but-”

“Oh, I can’t pronounce their real names, so I’ve nicknamed them all Peep. This way!”

Ferio stared at Peep. Peep went ‘peep’, and then nipped Ferio’s finger, hard. Ferio snorted, and wrapped his fingers carefully about the fragile little body as he started to walk. The feathers were soft, and warm, and he could feel the tiny heart racing as he got cheeped at again - probably for walking too slow to keep up with Clef and the rest of the flock. “Well, just don’t feed me to them.”

Clef laughed loudly enough that the flock started up squawking again, and this time they didn’t stop until they’d been fed.

oOo