„Can I feed mom today?“ Levi asked, her screen shining bright.
“Of course.” Nicolai shoved the bird seeds over the bench to her. She took out a handful and held them up. Hato fluttered onto her wrist and began pecking at the seeds in her hand. She petted her mother’s feather with the other hand. After Levi’s hand was picked clean, she flew on top of Levi’s TV head, cooing contently.
“Was that delicious, sweetie?” Nicolai gently petted Hato’s head. She answered with another coo.
Some would call them an odd family. Eccentric electrician excluded from the rest of Bladegrave Town living on top of a hill with his white dove wife and adopted TV Akephalian daughter. But every family that loves one another is a family.
Nicolai’s gaze tried to remain on the beautiful shores and stay away from Edward’s ugly weapon factory in the north. He made hundreds of pounds with selling weaponry to the Anachrom. Or with whatever they paid him. Technology was for helping people, not hurting them, not helping people walk over the corpses of other people. It was wrong. Timothy Edwards was a sad, disgusting little man. But there was another being Nicolai learned to loathe.
“Ah shit, there they are again.”
A pigeon flew past and put themselves on Nicolai’s shoulder like the audacious little shit they were.
“Back off, don’t you see my wife on my daughter’s head?” he pushed them off.
The pigeon was unimpressed and began dancing on the bench next to Nicolai.
“Disgusting. You should leave, before I zap you.”
“Yeah, go away DW! Dad’s not gonna leave mom for a prick like you.”
Levi liked shortening words. She called Hato the prettiest WD there was and her home was at the border of BG. Nic thought it might be because her object, the TV, donned initials too. DW stood for Dad Wooer, for that was what this idiot kept doing. The Pigeon ignored them. Levi’s screen flickered in annoyance.
Nicolai took a few bird seeds and threw them downhill.
“I just want to have a nice morning with my family and you’re ruining it! Go get the seeds!”
DW flew after the seeds and Nic sighed in relief.
“What an AH.” Levi growled.
“We should get inside before they come back.”
Levi’s screen changed to a picture of an angry looking dog.
“We can have a nice morning inside too. I could finish patching up that hoodie for you. Then you could wear it today.”
“Ooh, that’d be great, dad!”
No clothes fitted over Levi’s head, so before she could only wear dresses. A zipper hoodie would be perfect for her. Nic had bought it in town. The previous owner lacked the ability to stitch it back together, but Nic was good at sewing.
He stuffed the seeds back into the pocket of his jacket and took Levi’s hand as they went back home.