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Diluc’s eyes went all over the place as Crepus led him into the pet shop. There were so many things, from giant fish to loud barking dogs. Being in a place with so many animals felt like heaven. He wished he could be here forever. But he was here for one thing and one thing alone.
“So, do you know what you want?” Crepus asked as they got to the counter, where a tired worker stood. Right, he needs to pick a pet, but that is so hard, how can he pick just one? A lizard? A cat? What kind of pet would he want?... A bird would be pretty cool. “Umm, can I get a bird?”
Crepus nodded and turned to the front desk, “Can you show us the bird section?” and off they went to a small room full of cages, big and small, some hanging from the ceiling, some on the floor or shelf. “Go take a look and find what you want,” walking off probably to look at the items he had to get for a bird, leaving Diluc alone in the cramped, filled room.
Diluc was careful walking in the sounds of large chirping felt like it was echoing or parrots repeating random words. None really got his attention, parrots didn't seem like his style, and the small flinches were cute but still didn’t seem right. The farther back had a shelf of tanks with newborn baby birds; some had barely gotten their feathers yet others had all their feathers down.
He was drawn to them, looking through the glass at the birds. Most found some baby birds ugly-looking before their permanent feathers came in, but honestly, the funny look was just as cute, he read the small labels underneath each box. One read meccaws, another pigeons, one had ducks, but they were only eggs with a heat lamp over them. But then there is one box. It had three little hatchlings; the label below said falcon. Sadly, it didn’t say what kind, but they were so cute. Just three little puff balls like they are fuzzy, living snowballs.
He got a bit closer, listening as they chirped quietly. One was asleep in the nest, making small cooing sounds while the others were moving around, probably getting used to walking around with their wobbly legs. One of the puff balls noticed him slowly walking over to the glass with their large cartoonish brown eyes looking at him. Diluc tilted his head to the side, and the owlet mimicked the movement, which made the boy giggle.
“You're so cute. Archons, I want you so bad.”
He wants one so bad to raise a baby falcon all by himself, then the realization dawned on him. His gift is to get any pet he wants, so why can’t he get a baby falcon?
Diluc was quick to run out, peeking through the allies before finding his Father. “Father! Father!” he ran over, getting the older man's attention. “Did you find the bird you want?” Diluc nodded, “Yes, Father, but umm it isn’t a full-grown bird, it's only a hatchling.”
“A hatchling? Huh, fine, you can get it only if you take care of them, okay?” Diluc nodded energetically, “Good, umm, go get the staff to collect the animal while I get the rest of the things he suggested.” he turned back to the bird items, letting Diluc run off to the front desk.
“Um, sir?”
The guy looked up; he seemed tired, only a few years older than Diluc himself. “Yeah?”
“I found the pet I wanted, so I was wondering if you could help me,” the guy nodded, following a very excited Diluc to the back of the bird room. He pointed right at the owl staring at him. “Can I have her?” he wasn’t sure if the bird was really a girl; he could only guess.
“Sure, let me get things set.” Diluc stood behind politely watching as a cage was picked, as the box was opened, and with gentle care, the owlet he picked was grabbed and put into the cage. The man held out the cage for Diluc. “Is that all?”
Diluc nodded his head. All he wanted was the little puffball taking the cage in his arms. She was shaking slightly, the room was probably colder than it was in the tank, or she was scared of being taken from the other two, maybe both, which made Diluc feel a bit bad. “Don’t worry, I got you.” he was careful as he slipped his fingers through the bars, he didn’t start petting her down feathers yet, letting her decide.
The owlet looked at his fingers, tilting her head at it, and slowly waddled over, leaning her head forward so that most of it could look like she was smelling his hand, but Diluc knew owls' sense of smell was poor. After a bit, he was prepared for her to bite him or something, but instead, she did the cutest thing. She tilted her head farther down, leaning forward just a bit more, letting Diluc pet her.
He felt like his heart was going to explode with cuteness. He was careful to move his fingers back and forth, fighting the overwhelming urge to open the cage to hold her and squeeze the little puff ball.
The moment was interrupted by his Father coming in. “Are you ready to go?” he was holding a bag, probably of all the other things Diluc would learn to use for his new pet. “Yep, I'm ready!” he gave his last pets before pulling his hand away, following his Father as they left the store. Now Diluc has a new friend, he can’t wait to show Kaeya.