:[PRP]: Of Faeries, Stones, and...Lockpicks?

[Kira of Flames]

Shale looked up from the peach pit he was gnawing on. Smiling, he held it out to Cabel proudly, having cleaned it of all fleshy peach. "What we do with fwuit wocks?" He asked softly, oblivious to the fact that what he thought were rocks were really seeds. Juice was dripping from his face and arms, leaving a sticky mess all over him.  

[Teigra]

Cabel looked amused for a moment. "Fruit rocks? Well, never heard them called that before, but that's a peach pit. It's like a big seed. It doesn't hurt to just toss those into the woods, and in fact, it may even grow into a whole new peach tree with enough time, if we're lucky!" He smiled, knowing all too well that the process was more complicated than that, but the simple explanation would be enough for the children for now.

Eudora giggled, as she was already busy amusing herself by pinging seeds from her earlier apple core into the woods. One seed bounced off of a tree trunk and she cheered. "I hit it! Hey, Shale! You see that? I hit the tree with a seed! Bet you can't do that!"  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale, who listened to every word Cabel spoke out the seeds and pits, looked down at his. "Woooooow....." He said in pure amazement, then looked to Eudora just in time to see her hit a tree trunk. He smiled and clapped his hands. "YAY Udowa!" He cheared for her, then thought a bit when she challanged him. "I... I twy...." He took the peach pit into his hands and threw it with all his might...

...and it landed a good 6 inches in front of him and rolled to a stop three more inches. "No can do it like Udowa...." He said, a little dejectedly.  

[Teigra]

"Aw, don't let it get you down, Shale. Eudora's been up to this for longer than she lets on. It just takes some practice. Why don't you keep trying and see if you don't get better at it?" Cabel smiled, gently patting Shale's shoulder in encouragement. If he worked at it a bit, it wouldn't be long before the coordination and strength began developing naturally.

"Yeah! Just takes lotsa' practice, Shale! Like this!" Picking up the core from her pear, Eudora took careful aim before letting the fruit seeds fly for the nearest tree trunk again. The seeds pinged off the trunk...most of them at least, and Eudora grinned proudly. "See? I've been doing this for a whiiiiiiile," she nodded, dragging out the last word on purpose.  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale nodded, determination filling his eyes. "I be da best seed thwowa eveh!" He smiled a little, deciding that he would practice every chance he got.  

[Teigra]

Cabel chuckled, "That's the spirit, little guy! You just keep practicing and I'm sure you will be." He winked at the child, gently ruffling his hair.

"Hee hee! Yay, Shale! But..." A devious grin crossed Eudora's face as she looked back to Shale. "You'll have to practice lots and lots if you're gonna' keep up with me!" She laughed, standing in a pose that would have appeared grand and heroic...if she wasn't only a child.  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale smiled brightly at Cabel and Eudora's support and picked up another pit with both hands. He rocked back a bit, held the pit over his head, then used the momentum of rocking forward to send the stone farther. He giggled and clapped as it went a bit farther from him the last time. This new game was really fun!  

[Teigra]

Eudora continued making silly faces at Shale, picking up pits and seeds, throwing them just a bit farther each time so that he'd keep working to beat her.

Cabel watched his little girl knowingly, smirking. Even if she'd practiced enough to easily beat Shale at this sort of contest, she was holding back just enough to make it seem fair. Just enough to keep Shale trying his hardest without giving up in frustration. What a kid.

"So, Shale..." He started after some time. "Do you have any idea where your caretaker might be right now? Somewhere nearby? If not, I suppose you could come home with us for a while."  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale giggled and laughed at the silly faces Eudora was making at him, then continued to work hard at picking up the pits that he had thrown and trying to make them go as far as Eudora had thrown hers.

He looked up at Cabel when he was asked where Koorie might be. "We wive by the lake..... maybe Kowie there?"  

[Teigra]

Eudora's eyes lit up and she scrambled over to grab onto Cabel's arm as she started bouncing up and down. "Ooo...can we go to the lake, Daddy? Please, please, PLEASE!!!" she begged, bouncing with the energy only a young child can possess all the while.

Chuckling, Cabel ruffled his little girl's hair affectionately and smiled warmly at both children. "Of course we can. We'll see if we don't run into Koorie there. And who knows? Maybe we can all go for a little swim while we're there." Taking both children's hands, he started off for the lake. He knew the way there from anywhere in this forest; the path was quite familiar to the male Fae.  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale's face lit up. "Tadpowes! We look fo' tatpowes?!" It was his favorite thing to do while he was at the lake, since the little baby frogs seemed to not notice him; after all, he looked like a rock.  

[Teigra]

Cabel smiled, nodding. "If there are any around, I'm sure we can find them. All three of us." He wondered idlly if this 'Koorie' would be at the lake now or not. If not, then where could she be? She had to be worried about Shale by now, shouldn't she?

"Tadpowes? What are tadpowes, Shale?" Eudora looked completely baffled. Though she had been to the lake with her daddy to go swimming many times before, she'd never seen any of these mysterious objects before. What in Telrunya were they?  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale giggled and clapped his hands. "Tadpowes are baby fwogs! They cool looking!"

Koorie, at this time, was in a full throtle heart attack. Where in the world had that little Pae gone?! She had backtracked all the way back to the camp from the night before, but found no sign of Shale. After giving instructions to Raziel to 'watch Pastela and don't either of you two move', she ran off looking for the little rock colored Pae.  

[Teigra]

"Oooo...I've never seen a baby frog!" Eudora's eyes sparkled, wondering what these new creatures could look like. Wouldn't they just be little, tiny frogs? Shale seemed to act as if they were different creatures altogether. She'd definitely have to see these 'tadpole' things. "Come on, daddy! You're so slooooow!" She tugged on Cabel's hand, bouncing and fighting the urge to break away and dash ahead of the trio.

Cabel chuckled, gently pulling Eudora back again. "Alright, alright...we're going fast enough. Now, calm down a bit. We'll be there soon enough; I promise." Smiling, he continued silently scanning the forest for other Pae'il...or anything else. One could never be too careful, even in Loka Nei. Not with two little ones to watch out for.

Already, the forest began to thin and ahead the beach stretched out along the shoreline, small waves lapping up on the sand.  

[Kira of Flames]

Shale smiled brightly at Eudora. "Tadpowes don' wook wike fwogs though...." He warned, but he couldn't exactly put into words what they DID look like. He just didn't know enough vocabulary yet to do so.

Koorie slumped down on a tree stump and sighed, resting her head in her hands. "What am I going to do...." She whispered to herself. "Shale could be anywhere by now, and he's probably cold and alone and afraid.... Ok, he knows we live by the water, maybe I should walk along the shores for a bit." She stood up, taking a deep breath. "When I find him, I'm tying bright, neon scarves to him. I don't care how unmanly it is...."