#amphibius drift

[mischiefandspirits]

Hippopotamus Amphibius

For Day 25 of @platonicvldmonth​: Broganes

This is part of the Cat of a Different Color series, but it’s not necessary to read for this. Just know that Angel is Keith’s birth name.

Angel and Shiro visit the zoo and Angel sees the most beautiful animal in the world.

“So what do you want to do now?”

Angel shrugged and snagged another handful of popcorn out of the bag Shiro was holding.

“Hey! I said no more! We’re going to have dinner soon.”

The seven-year-old opened his mouth to argue.

“ANGEL!” Shiro shrieked as the boy suddenly dropped the popcorn and took off running to a nearby fence. He followed after him and grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t run off like that!”

“What are they?” Angel whispered.

“What?”

He pointed past the fence and Shiro turned to see a pair of hippopotamuses half out of the water, gaping at one another.

“The hippos?”

“They’re beautiful.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. Out of any animal for his nephew to be taken by, he never would have expected it to be the hippos. The wild cats, sure. Especially the cheetahs, who bore a striking resemblance to Angel’s own beloved, red-tinted cat. The wolves and birds of prey would make sense too. Hippos though?

“Really?”

The young boy just nodded, watching the hippos swing their massive jaws a little before the smaller backed off.

The older boy chuckled and looked around before spotting a sign attached to the fence. He grabbed Angel’s hand and began dragging him in the direction the sign was pointing.

“Shiro! What are you doing? Stop!”

“Come on, this way!”

“But I wanna watch the hippos!”

“Trust me.”

Shiro pulled the whining seven-year-old down a ramp and into a tunnel. Angel immediately went silent as he spotted the large glass wall that took up one side of the tunnel.

On the other side hippos waded through their fake river, occasionally jumping up to the surface to breathe before walking on again. One was even dozing near the glass, which quickly caught Angel’s attention.

He shot forwards and pressed up against the glass. “Is he sleeping?”

“Looks like it,” Shiro said, catching up at a more sedate pace.

“But won’t he drown?” Angel gasped before slapping the glass. “WAKE UP!”

“Angel, don’t do that,” Shiro hissed, grabbing his hands. “I’m sure he’s fine. Hippos can probably breathe underwater.”

“Actually, despite some misconceptions, Hippos can’t actually breathe underwater.”

The two turned to see one of the zoo’s workers walking up behind them.

“So he can’t breathe down there?”

“She, and no, but don’t worry about Darla. Hippopotamuses have adapted to sleeping in the water. Watch.”

The boys turned back to the glass and a moment later the hippo hopped up to take a breath before drifting back down to the riverbed.

“See, she never even woke up.”

“Wow! That’s so cool! What else do you know about hippos?”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

Shiro watched on as his nephew spent the next half hour asking question after question before he finally dragged the boy away.

“Come on, it’s time to head home.”

“But I want to watch the hippos some more!”

“Next time, squirt. We promised Akira we wouldn’t be late for dinner.”

Angel pouted, but stayed at his side. He stayed quiet until they reached the gift shop next to the exit. He gasped and tugged on the older boy’s arm.

“Shiro! Shiro, look!” he said, pointing at a table with a pile of stuffed hippos the size of his chest. “Can I get one?”

Shiro frowned at the price, but said, “Fine, but that’s your birthday present.”

“My birthday isn’t for two more months!”

“Do you want the hippo?”

The two stared each other down.

“Can I also get a giant lollipop?”

“You can’t let Akira know I got it for you and you have to wait until after dinner to eat it.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

“Yes!” Angel ran over to the table and started digging through the pile until he found a blue plushy. “This one!”

“Alright. Go grab your candy and meet me at the register.”

“‘Kay!”

Shiro made his way to the register and Angel appeared at his side a second later carrying a rainbow sucker nearly as big as his head. “You better keep that hidden. I’m taking the hippo back until next year if I get in trouble for buying you that.”

“You can try,” Angel snorted, setting the candy and toy on the counter in front of the cashier.

She smiled at Shiro as she started ringing them up. “Your brother’s adorable.”

He shrugged off the usual misconception and just said, “Give it ten minutes.”

“Yeah, Shiro’s really annoying after that,” Angel teased back and Shiro shoved him.