The Raptor and the Dragon stepped out of the dark cinema together, both of them blinking in the artificial light. It had been daytime when they entered the cinema, but on this windy winter evening, the sun had long since set.
“So what did you think?” Kairos asked, keeping his arms by his side but holding his tail behind Phovos. As to not look obviously like a time god, Kairos had added a greyish colouring to his scales and trimmed back his horns, making himself look like an average Thraki.
“Of the movie?”
“Yes, of course.”
Phovos took a deep breath. “It was alright. But honestly? I can’t get over a fundamental flaw in the story.”
Trickles of rain began to fall. Phovos pulled her hoodie up, her horns sticking out through the holes she had cut in the hood. The Whenvern just let the rain drip down his head. Despite the rain, they both continued walking.
“What sort of flaw?”
“Well…” Phovos trailed off. “Uh… How comes there was no police department for rabbits anyway? There only seemed to be a police force for larger, more powerful animals. It was either carnivores or heavily built herbivores.”
“I don’t follow…” Kairos admitted. “Are you saying that it’s insane that there were never fox or rabbit police officers?”
“Yes!” the Raptor exclaimed, before calming down. “Heh… I ran a multi-species city. Sure I handed it off to others, but our astynom, we had departments for the main species living here! Ksithans, Temthans, Rethans, Vrekans and Skyavok! How the fuck did the zootropolis place not have dedicated police forces without becoming a hive of corruption?”
A vehicle sped past. Kairos lifted his wing, deflecting the little wave of water. Phovos smiled, amused by the gesture.
“I guess that makes sense,” Kairos shrugged. “After all, how would that big bull character be able to police a place like that tiny mouse and gerbil city?”
Phovos raised her arms in the air, glad that someone else got it. “Exactly! And honestly not even the bunny would be able to effectively police that place! Plus, they’re completely missing out on the traits of non-bulky beings! Imagine having an antelope police officer! They would be able to chase down suspects with ease!”
The Whenvern smiled. “Apart from the massive plot hole…”
“Eh, the animation was good. I really did like the design of the city, but it did seem a little impractical. Music was alright as well. But the story… it bothers me!”
“More than just the plot hole?”
“They had a chance to have an actual theme about racial and interspecies issues but it kinda just turned out that there was a shitty mastermind behind the whole thing. Whose plan didn’t even really make much sense.”
“That’s true…” Kairos picked up the pace as the rain started to get heavier. He noticed that Phovos was walking closer beside him, but he wasn’t sure whether she was just trying to keep herself dry. “What was the next step after making the meat-eaters isolated? Surely that would have driven them to even more violence?”
“It’s like instigating religious laws and wondering why the local Rethans are so pissed off!” Phovos tutted. “But you know what pissed me off the most?”
“Her parents?” Kairos asked.
“YES!” Phovos shouted, a little too loudly. “Who the fuck treats their kid like that! Their kid needed reassurance, going off into a dangerously different world but managing to get her dream job, and they basically pissed all over her breakfast oats! What the fuck! Oh. It’s raining quite heavily now.”
Phovos ducked into a small bus shelter. Kairos stood outside. He liked the rain normally.
“You don’t like rain?”
“No, I do, I love rain… but I don’t want to get soaked and then go to a fancy restaurant all soggy.”
Kairos shook his head, shaking off pools of water. “We don’t have to go to a fancy restaurant.”
“We don’t?”
“We can go to a cheap fast food place if you prefer…”
Phovos smiled. “Well… I’d love a burger…”
Kairos smiled back as he lifted up his wing, providing Phovos with some shelter from the rain. “Let’s go get burgers then.”