@merccloudstrife
Altair watched the door of 7th heaven, where Mama left a few minutes ago to meet up with an old friend from her childhood. He had never met the man before, but if she trusted him he couldn’t be bad.
Uncle Barret said that he was a mercenary that would be gone when he got paid... But Altair had an uncanny 6th sense about some things and said confidently that the man would be staying for the long run. Barret didn’t seem convinced, but Altair had been right about things like this before, going solely on his instinct.
“Hey Altair, let’s go wait for them on the steps.” Marlene appeared next to him, gently grasping his feathered arm “Then you can see your mama’s childhood friend as soon as he shows up.”
Altair shuffled awkwardly in his seat, but let Marlene lead him outside, where they waited for the adults to return home. They talked about different topics, from the local cats adoring the small child for some reason, (He got good at hunting rats and gave them to the cats as a free source of food) to if he was able to fly yet.
No such luck in soaring the skies yet and Altair wasn’t up to talking about his animalistic instincts either. They made random small talk until Altair suddenly stood up, smelling Tifa’s scent drawing closer before he heard the unique sound of her footsteps. There was another scent too, one that wasn’t Uncle Barret’s. It must be mama’s friend. His eyes slightly drooped. The scent of the man was comforting to him, and his entire body seemed to hum with a strange urge for close contact.
Altair chirped like a Chocobo chick when they made it to the steps, happy to see mama back. He hugged her leg as she greeted him, patting his head as he looked at her friend. He could feel purrs rising in his throat as he tilted his head at the taller man.
“H-hi mister...” his voice was quiet, pushing down the urge to hug. “You’re mama’s friend, right? I-i-i’m Altair. What’s y-your name?”
