Cheep cheep. Cheep cheep cheep.

Zero starts to sing, softly - a low, melancholy Song, wholly unlike the burning energy that'd poured off Five - though her high and clear voice is soon joined by a sourceless music that chimes like birdsong - that hums like the wind - 

And the bird begins to glow - to experience the first moment of a soul entering its body - and then it twists into whatever shape that soul demands, so long as its soul meets the boundaries set by the Zeroth Song - that it must fly, that it must bear Zero into battle, that it must be clever and loyal, that it must be able to hold its own in a fight, that it must love her -

It twists, stretches, enveloped in a burst of pure white-

And her long shining coils flow out, and she loops for joy, fluttering her wings.

" - Huh, didn't know I could do that."

"Do what?" Twist twist loop loop. "You could do anything you wanted, I bet."

She hums. "Maybe." The ¿bird? gets the sense that Zero wants her to land nearby. "Hey - do I smell weirdly tasty to you?"

Yepyep, she can land. And wind her neck around Zero in a big hug! Sniffsniffsniiiiiiff. "You do!!"

Smug grin - and, unlike how she acts with literally everyone else, she doesn't make any effort to enforce her personal space. "That smell? It's the Flower." She gestures at the petals sprouting from her eye. "It's a parasite - and dragons eat them."

Hmmm. She stares at the Flower very seriously.

"Can I eat it without eating you?"

(The Flower's petals flex, almost curling back a little - away from the dragon, closer to Zero's skin.)

"Not while it's in me. And if you try to nibble it, it'll move back into my body. But Eliese's figured out a way to rip it out; we're working on that right now."

Ooh? Which one's Eliese? She turns to sniff at the other two humans.

She points her out. "The other one's Five."

"Uh. Hi! I also didn't know Zero can just create dragons what the actual fuck - "

"If it makes you feel better, making a second would cost too much."

"Hello there."

"Hiii!" Sniffsniff. Nope, not tasty.

"You have pretty friends." She rubs her cheek on Zero. "But not as pretty as you."

She tolerates this. (The ex-bird gets the distinct sense that she secretly likes it but also doesn't want explicit attention drawn to that.)

"Thanks. And, hmmm... You'll be Daniella."

"Daniella! That's my name!" she says excitedly.

"And mine's Zero."

"Zero. Zzzzzzzzzero. Zzzeeeeeeero. Zeroooooooo. Hm. I like my name better."

Heh. "Don't wear mine out, then."

"Okay!" she chirps. "Don't worry, your name is good because it's yours."

"Not something that keeps me up at night."

"Good." Nuzzle.