[Day 12 MA] Animals Like Us (Expecting)

[Yūrei]

Yūrei shares a laugh with the zookeeper as she fingers her new sanctuary platinum membership, a little necklace in the shape of a drake. The staff entrance was more utilitarian than the public gate, a series of doors into the various admin buildings and then a wide road deeper into the compound itself. But, she was pretty sure none of that would matter to the Unicorn.

And of course, she was dressed in her Yamako-bought best.

[Ide Yamako]

Yamako was slightly confused by the entrance Yurei had told her to take but she'd brought any necessary protection...just in case. Maybe something had gone wrong and Yurei needed a way out. Either way, she was there. Dressed comfortably and practically, but with upgraded versions of the fabrics and flair in the design.

She knocked at the door and waited, hoping her imagination was just being a bit overactive.

[Yūrei]

Snip

The door opens and a grinning Yūrei sticks her head out.

"Ide-sama! So glad you could make it. I've just bought myself a platinum membership which, among other things-"
Lowering her voice conspiratorially
"-means a behind the scenes tour of the sanctuary with one guest of your choice. And you're that guest! So, are you ready for a couple hours of exclusive time with some of the planet's cutest animals?"

[Ide Yamako]

Her body had been so prepped for danger that it took her a second to even really figure out what Yurei was saying. "You mean...nothing's wrong? You're ok?"

And then the rest of the sentence caught up. "Kami, are you joking? Please say you're not joking."

[Yūrei]

Snip

"Hmm? Oh yeah! I'm fine, better than fine. I hope you didn't worry too much."
She looks guilty for a moment before grinning.

"Oh and I'm not joking Ide-sama, I would never joke about little furry animals."
Pretending to ponder
"Do you want to feed the burrowing lynxes? Or are you more interested in the baby phoenixes?"

[Ide Yamako]

An observant person might notice a distinct sense of tension or vibration surrounding Yamako. Her face contorts very slightly, as if she struggles against an invisible opponent.

Finally, the tension snaps and she lunges forward. "LYNXES! THE LYNXES!" She yells, before getting herself under control.

"Ahem, I mean, I would be amenable to feeding the burrowing lynxes. I have never seen that particular species. Deeply honored by your consideration of me. Yes, yes. Too kind."

[Yūrei]

Snip

"Anything for you Ide-sama, I think it's only fair to repay your kindness with the cutest, happiest and cuddliest animals I could find."
She holds the door open and then leads Yamako deeper into the facility, nodding at the staff they pass. The sanctuary seems bustling as the various keepers rush this way and that, while the two have to stop a couple times to allow animals to pass.

Finally they reach the back of the lynx enclosure, a dusty and hilly compound with a few small desert trees. A few small holes dot the dirt and as they watch a small lynx burrows its way out and sprints across, chased by another lynx. The two fall into a ball of play fighting before disappearing beneath the dirt again.

[Ide Yamako]

Yamako could be best described as captivated. If yurei had said a single thing on the walk through she likely didn’t hear. There was just..,so much.

She desperately worked to restrain herself as she looked at the baby lynxes. “Kami…how can they be so cute?”

[Yūrei]

Snip

"The keepers told me that when they play like that they're learning how to outrun predators. Watch how quickly they change direction and burrow in and out of the soil."
Two smaller lynxes shoot out of a borrow and zizag rapidly across the enclosure, from the hole the head of their mother could just be seen.

"They are very cute...would you like to feed them?"