"- okay, of course we can go outside, just gotta -" The loggers were already interrupted, and are now going out again with the bird out of the picture, but Haru pushes the cage ahead of them straight through the portal, relying on the strangely convenient portal feature where things float gently to the ground when shoved through them. Then he and Julien can follow.

Hug hug hug hug.

"What's the matter and should I kiss you about it?"

"No - you hurt the bird - and they're going to kill the dungeon..."

"...it looks okay? Apart from not having feet but I think it didn't have feet to begin with."

"It might be okay.  I stopped reading it because I felt if I didn't right then then I might not be able to choose to again."

"It - crashed into the cage at high speed? But otherwise they'd've shot it and if that didn't happen either it'd've gone and kidnapped someone."

"I don't think you should have done anything differently, probably, I'm just - really upset - about the whole world -"

Hug.

Hug.

"Is there a place we can go be shirtless until I can trust myself to think again?"

"We can see if that tent's taken."

The tent is not taken and has an air mattress still in it.

Flop.  Shirt off.

Shirtless snuggles. ...retrieval of his phone and the cessation of recording.

Right yeah that.  Snuggle.

"You can kiss me if you don't mind me being upset for it," he determines.

"I'd mind you being upset about it but if you don't find it to be a problem to be upset during I don't necessarily either?"

".......It seems hard to tell."  In comparison to the omnipresent horror.

"Then we can just snuggle. I'm sorry I clonked the bird too hard."

"You can tell it yourself if it wakes up into a person when we kill the dungeon.  ......Was that out of line, I'm sorry -"

"I can if it does but it probably won't, Cricket's very special."

"Okay.  What's going to happen to it?  Do you already know of a zoo?"

"I know who to call but I don't have a specific home for it lined up. It's worth trying Bird Kingdom first and if they don't want it I'd try High Park and Parc Safari next and then there's other lower percentage possible destinations. The insect zoo is really good about taking monster bugs but the reptile zoo wouldn't want a dragon if I bagged one, it's pretty idiosyncratic. I've had the thought that there should be a dedicated monster zoo."

"There should be, yeah."

"I could maybe bankroll one if I do more dungeons than I have been, I think I can at least double, probably quadruple it if we're an ongoing partnership."

"I don't want to do anything with my future plans while I'm like this.  ... But I think I should spend not more than five seconds checking on whether the bird is still in pain, now."

"Of course." Snuggle.