am i alive?

“that’s okay…who do you have there?”

“O-oh, right.”

“you were a little spaced, yeah. you okay?”

“I think I am.

I...suppose that’s not very convincing, h-heh.”

she comes up to him, cautious of startling him.

“h…hello…?” she tries a low, coaxing tone.

Oh?

It takes him a moment. He shakes his head as if to clear it, adjusts his glasses and turns--thank goodness, it’s her. Mado’s voice is always familiar.

There’s some kind of fuzzy creature in his arms. He’s petting it, the only indication he’s aware that he does, in fact, exist. Otherwise, he seems far away, like he could vanish while nobody’s looking.

“It’s good for their environment to change a little. “ It doesn’t feel like he’s talking about the rabbit as much anymore, but the roundabout way of addressing the man’s odd behavior isn’t really off-putting. Apollo gets the sense that coming out here with company might be just what routine is for this man he’s getting acquainted with.

He had a natural sense to help people, to listen more than he spoke. Not especially one to pry, as the occasional dullness in this Francis’s eyes lent to something deeper, more troubling that he didn’t want to break into. “There’s a small club downtown for owners with small pets. I think you’d have a fun time joining them. Portable Partners, on the main strip.” But, the day is waning, and he’s starting to feel he’s intruded enough on this man’s time and monopolizing Henry. He would scoot the tiny rabbit toward his master,  easing himself up slowly.  “It was good talking to you, Francis. I’ve got a little more to go before it gets dark outside, though.”

“Oh--y-yeah?” It would be nice to bring Clara somewhere for once. Poor girl is too tiny to risk being out in the busy human world. He smiles at the prospect. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

Henry nuzzles his hands one last time before he returns to Francis, climbing into his awaiting arms. He sniffs contentedly, still watching Apollo as he settles back to his former position. A happy change of pace for the little guy.

“Uh, oh, of course,” Francis answers quickly, glancing up as the other man readies to leave. “Um--actually, w-wait, uh...” He obviously didn’t think through his next words very well. It takes a moment as he dips his head, nervously petting Henry’s fur as he tries to verbalize a coherent thought.

If he’s honest with himself, he’s lonely. Maybe he can hope to see Apollo again, if he’s lucky.

“ Mikeko is pretty agile, yes. I’ve had to install shelves just for him to have something to do while I’m gone- but I used to have organized books before he walked into my life.” Books, meaning the comics and manga he found absolutely necessary to keep well past college. Being accepted by Henry is a brightener to his day. As he used to with his own rabbit,  he settled both hands on either side of those fluffy cheeks,  smoothing back, scratching around the whiskers delicately.

“ .. Sounds nice.” Well, all this fur could be cared about later when he fished out a lint roller after he got home today, even if he is getting some direct shedding onto his suitvest. “So, is this a meditative… hobby of sorts? I’ve heard of doing it with goats, but rabbits are new to see here with all the dogs I see running loose sometimes.”

He chuckles, thinking about his own unorganized shelves, though that is his fault alone. The rabbits take up enough room on their own, maybe putting his books away would give them all a bit more breathing room. Though something tells him he most likely won’t anytime soon.

“Um, kind of,” he answers somewhat hesitantly. Why does he do this again? “I--I know people don’t really bring rabbits around, but... W-well, he’s been with me for a while, so I guess he’s used to it?”

He has been worried about other animals in the past; not only dogs, but birds made him wary as well. Some horror story about someone’s pet rabbit snatched up by a hawk... He shakes his head at the thought, remembering why he never takes Clara out of the house.

“I, uh, I never want to be irresponsible,” Francis continues, running his fingertips over Henry’s back. “I-I... I carry him, always. But it helps that he’s a pretty brave rabbit...”

“I know.” she leans against him.

“I don’t want to make you feel bad about it, I just want to be there when you are.”

His hand comes to rest on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. God, she’s a good kid. Even wiser beyond his years.

“ I’d be afraid of crushing something a small as a rabbit.” Though it would be a cute picture, tiny animals were just not meant to be at that kind of risk. “Mikeko gets cuddly sometimes, but if I move too much he leaves- I’ve accidentally kicked him off of the bed so many times.” Felines are sturdy, after all.

 He likely smells of hand sanitizer, cheap cologne and one male cat, hopefully not off putting to the rabbit. He would coast his fingers between the two ears, gently, oh-so-gently petting just his head for now.  Soft as he remembered. Just as calming too,  enough to bring a curve of a smile. “Nice to meet you, Francis.” He keeps his voice conversationally low, in case Henry spooks at all.  Deciding that he ought not to make his newest acquaintence nervous, he only glances up occasionally to let him know he was listening.“ So, I’m guessing Henry here is a lop, right?  I looked up breeds once while I was getting to know Puff.”

“At least cats always land on their feet, right...?” Now that he thinks about it, Harvey would probably be alright sleeping next to him. He’s about as large as a cat is, he would be a lot harder to push off than little Clara. “My, uh, larger rabbit... H-he would probably be alright. Still, I’m not sure I should try, heh.”

Henry does smell Mikeko, though it doesn’t seem to bother him much, especially as Apollo pets his head. He’s a creature of simple pleasures, and seeing as there’s no cat in the immediate vicinity, he decides to bask in the newfound attention.