+++++ The Feather and The Scale
It had been an exceedingly long day for Shinji. The Manor was, he hoped, going to be quiet at the moment. Several of the ladies that ruled his heart had taken the opportunity to head out into town that he'd unintentionally provided by going in and helping Ritsuko obtain more data pertaining to his ability to compress water beyond what she understood to be the bounds of physics. Her hope, or at least what he believed was her hope, was that she would be able to use the same physics to increase output on the hydraulics around the facility. Truthfully, he expected she just wanted a chance to break the laws of physics and see what happened.
Riding silently in the back of 'his' vehicle, listening to without truly hearing the private that was driving him as she hummed a song that seemed to be popular of late, he let his mind drift towards topics he took comfort in. What to make for dinner, how best to accommodate Nozomi's increased nutritional requirements without risking diabetes, the feel of Hikari's hair between his fingers…. Stifling a blush as the last thought was set aside for when he wasn't in such a public area, he listened for the sounds of any familiar songs as the car approached the manned gate.
A few of his Aspects, the only other male Lilin-based lifeform, and an otherwise empty home was all he could sense. There was a little shame as he began to relax, the idea of finally not having to constantly be sociable appealing to him greatly. "Thank you, Private," he made certain he was seen to smile, accepting Misato's admonition that a leader couldn't expect his people to be steady if he was frowning all the time, "I doubt I'll have to head out again today. Please make certain that the Motor Pool Sergeant takes a look at the brake pad on the front right tire. I'm hearing squealing when the car has to lean into a turn."
"Yes sir," leaving the car idling, the junior enlisted pulled out a notebook left in the vehicle for just such complaints and annotated what he'd mentioned.
After closing the door to the vehicle, he began shedding his emotional armor on the short walk up to the main door. 'Duke Ikari' had to be dignified. He had to be conscientious. He couldn't allow those who sheltered under his wings see just how stressed and terrified he was at times. Unwrapping the layers of mental controls, for the first time in weeks, he was already mentally in the kitchen preparing a feast worthy of those he loved. That, unfortunately for him, did not put him in the best state of mind to handle what he walked into.
Life itself paused, in the manner it tended to when someone catches another in a position they probably had not wished to be caught in. Shinji saw, from his position at the mud step behind his front door, what had likely precipitated the situation he was witnessing. Carefully balancing on Gaghiel, the piscine Aspect shrunk down to a size that wouldn't risk damaging the interior of the house, was Pen-Pen. Pen-Pen, from what Shinji could surmise, had been attempting yet again to affect entry into the 'All He Could Eat Buffet' that was the fish tank which dominated the living room beneath the television. At some point during his attempts, the Aspect had most likely made the offer to assist the Penguin.
Now, a rational, logical, being would have most likely simply created several fish for the warm-water bird. After all, Gaghiel could easily summon an ocean's worth of delicious treats for Pen-Pen. 'Rational' and 'logical' were not words that any rational or logical being would apply to Gaghiel, however. Pen-Pen, while decidedly far more intelligent than even some of the idiots Shinji had to deal with day to day, was still a bird in the end. When excited, or stressed, instinct and not intellect took the fore.
They had, before Shinji arrived, managed to carefully position themselves nearly three quarters of the way to the moveable flap that allowed feeding those fish inside the tank. Sharpened talons outstretched, Pen-Pen had that flap roughly a third of the way open. His beady eyes were focused on the Patriarch of the house, a series of perfectly plausible explanations already developing themselves in his mind to explain why, exactly, he was engaged as he was.
Gaghiel, noticing that Shinji was both perplexed and irritated, went to speak first, "He…uhm, he was hungry. And he hasn't had a lot of exercise. When Arael arrives, I didn't want her to be upset that I wasn't taking good care of one of her children that spends most of his time around my children. I…well, I figured he could hunt a little in the…." Trailing off, he seemed to recall a statement Shinji had made, "In where you keep your pets."
Retracting his claws slowly, Pen-Pen attempted to make the case that it was only natural that he keep his combat skills sharp. After all, there were often times that he was the only male around! It was his duty, when the Patriarch was not in attendance, to ensure the safety of the Raft. He wasn't stealing any fish. He was simply making the best use of his native environment!
"Gaghiel…." Shinji worked his tongue against the inside of his lower teeth, striving to maintain an even keel, "How many of the fish in that tank are native to this planet?"
Curling his fins inward, he looked abashed, "Uhm…some of them."
He was a big brother to him. He had to keep his temper in check. "Did we not already have a discussion about making sure that nobody was exposed to poisonous or venomous fauna?"
"We…uhm, we did." Slowly descending back to the floor, he tried not to make any motions that might trigger Shinji to attack.
He was winning. His words were calm, his voice steady. "How many of the fish, specifically the ones Sakura-chan asked for, did you mention literally emit neurotoxins?"
With Pen-Pen safely on the floor, Gaghiel began to shimmy, unable to contain his shame, "All but one of them."
Shinji sighed. They were children. He couldn't expect them to behave if they were left unsupervised for long. "I don't care that they're pets, you can make more. What I care about is that they would kill my friend," he gestured towards Pen-Pen. "Which would not only hurt me, but it would devastate Misato. I need you to think about what he's asking you for, Gaghiel-kun. If you're going to give it to him, you need to do so in a manner that's not going to poison him!"
There was a small light that popped into being behind the former Sixth Angel's eyes, "So…I can give him what he wanted, if it won't poison him?"
Pleased that progress was being made, and ecstatic that he hadn't begun yelling like a psychopath, Shinji missed the opportunity to stick the landing, "So long as it isn't going to hurt him, or kill him, I don't care if you give him as many fish as he asks for." When he saw Pen-Pen's eyes widen, and a hungry cast to his beak, he realized his mistake.
Gaghiel's mood brightened considerably, "Oh, that's fine then!"
Shinji could feel the rumble of the air being pushed away from the central mass of his error. He wanted to shout that he needed his Aspect to give him back the words he'd just uttered. That he needed to rearrange them in a manner that would preclude what was about to happen. He could see in Gaghiel's eyes that it was far, far too late. The tidal wave of aquatic life that struck the Lead Pilot blasted Pen-Pen against his chest and sent both backwards through the door and into the front yard. Once again, he had been caught flat footed and brain locked. Summoning a wall of water to contain the overflow and prevent it from continuing out towards the military encampment, the man known as Paladin groaned in irritation and dismay. Gaghiel, you dismiss these fish right now!
Pen-Pen, of course, recovered quickly and dove into the water to begin ravenously snapping up whatever he could reach before they were sent back to where they'd come from. After all, wishes weren't always granted every day.