username: breadstick | name: chester | gender: male
If you were to ask Chester who his favourite person is, it might come with a swift shake of his head. Nobody. There is no person that he would describe himself to be particularly close to; in fact, he is rather known to be reclusive, limiting social interaction to the smallest of nods in the streets to the people he knows. social outings are rare, and attending gatherings even more so. It’s just how he is – and how everyone he associates with has come to expect him to be. It would be of no surprise to find out that he has no particular person of interest, nobody he considers his best friend, partner, or otherwise.
However, the answer he gives is not the whole truth. For when Chester returns to his isolated cottage, he’s greeted with enthusiastic chirping in across the house. He can only smile to himself as he closes the door behind him and makes his way over to the back room, to the toucan who resides in his house. In his mind, the bird’s name is Lee, but their means of communication are limited. Chester does not speak, and the toucan would not be able to understand him even if he could. He doesn’t think he particularly wants to communicate with him in the conventionally understood way.
Subtle nods, small nudges and expression shifts from Chester, and the chirping and flapping of Lee’s wings to indicate certain things – it’s clumsy, but they have found ways around the limitations of their friendship. From the start, from the moment Lee flew into his house, bedraggled, and refused to leave (Chester has never found the reason why), they have attempted to create a sort of mutual understanding between them. At first, it was a challenge; but the more time they spent around one another, the more they understood what certain gestures from Chester and certain squawks from Lee mean in relation to one another. It’s rough around the edges, but they get by just fine.
As a mute plumerian, Chester’s always found it difficult to communicate with others. But having found someone who wouldn’t stand a chance at understanding him even if he talked, and forging something between them regardless – it gives him comfort and reassurance that relationships can be forged out of unconventional ways of communication.
word count: 388
