Pales: It was a nice spring day. Well, spring-ish. There was a light chill that still clung to the air as winter insisted upon trying to stick around for at least a week or two more. Pales was taking advantage of the nice weather to bring himself outdoors to enjoy the cool air. It had been ages since he had been outdoors, especially since the injuries he had sustained that had left him with a nasty scar across his torso and abdomen and missing his left eye. What was more that he was a man once more, having spent some weeks as a female due to a bit of supposedly misfired magic (or so the hired 'professional' explained to them). The man held an infant bundled in a blanket. The way in which the blankets were folded and wrapped it formed a makeshift sling. Why a sling? One could only guess.
Today the man had decided to wander with his daughter to the park. It was hard to see the world through one eye and it was even harder to get used to having a patch of cloth over a part of his face. Pales still seemed to smile, just happy and content to be out. The infant in the sling was staring up at her parent with a look that could be described as confusion. Whatever questions she had were lost since she was unable to speak.
Arrien: Having emerged again from the safety of her woods (for yes, she regarded them hers now; territory staked and all that), Kiv had spent the past hour skulking and stalking her way around the smelly, stone-paved human city. The woman thought very little of the place, for certain, but she knew that the pup needed to be among her own kind if she were to ever grow comfortable around her own sort; young as she was, it was important to socialize the little babe to more than just the wild plants in the woods and the little creek that ran between them. But where to take her?... that was a question not so easily answered by one unacquainted with the streets of the human world.
But imagine her surprise when, in the middle of her wanderings and wonderings, her bare feet found soft dirt to trod upon. To find any portion of nature in the middle of the city- it was unbelievable, completely apart from how she'd come to understand the humans of this world! It wasn't until she'd leaned her face close enough to see the tiny black forms of ants crawling in the grass that she'd come to fully believe her eyes. This place was real and living, for certain; a little piece of life in the middle of the barren grounds, as unexpected and blessed as an oasis in the desert.
Carried with little finesse in the crook of one arm, the fern-pup Vanaja began to clamor with chirps and giggles and hand claps, obviously very pleased with the pretty sight of happy plants. "Shush, pup, shush," Kiv growled dimly, still uncomfortable with her position in the human lands. Was this place already staked as territory? The smells of the cars and buildings were so strong, she might miss an obvious warning marker and not even know it... was it safe to bring her pup here?
Pales: After a while Kaveri began to look about from her sling. She was trying to see as much of the park as she could from her slightly confined position. The infant gave a small plaintive whine at the inability to see everything she wanted to.
Pales murmured, "I'll let you out soon as we get to the playground. Would you like to play in the sand?" he softly reached down and stroked the girl's cheek in a furthered attempt to quiet her. As the child quieted the man looked up and began to again pay attention to his surroundings. It was easy to see that the man wasn't used to having just one eye because he had started to walk past the barefoot woman and just then clamoring child (which were in his blind spot) when he gave a small startled sound at the commotion and someone talking.
Kaveri suddenly got the sensation of being spun about a little as Pales turned to face the source of the sound. The infant giggled a bit clapping her small hands.
Arrien: Any sort of fast movement sounded alarms in Kiv's head, especially at such a time as she was on unfamiliar ground that could be in another's territory. Hunching down and bringing Vana promptly and forcefully to her chest, elicting a muffled squak from the poor babe, Kiv made good use of those sharpened canines of hers as she bristled defensively at the source of the sudden movement.
But this was no threat, so far as she could tell; at least, the man that she saw there was not making any aggressive posturing, and seemed more surprised than threatening. Her nostrils flared, trying to catch some scent of him- but alas, the wind was blowing the wrong way, and all she got was another breath of that nasty city air. "... We weren't doing anything," she growled softly, her sharp eyes flicking from side to side behind that strange, feral mask of hers. "We didn't do anything."
Pales: Pales' one eye widened a bit as he raised a hand to show that he was no threat while taking a step back, "N-no. You weren't. I-I'm very, very sorry. I was just startled by sound close by me. I..." the man tried to explain in an attempt to smooth out the situation. In the back of his mind all he could think was about how he wasn't doing well at keeping the 'stay out of trouble' promise, the trouble being the possibility of getting maimed even further.
Kaveri peeked over the edge of her sling at Kiv and Vana. Her amber colored eyes wide and blinking. She gave a small squeak of her own after assessing the situation and seeming to sense her guardian's unease in the situation.
Arrien: Kiv seemed to feed off of Pales' uncertainty, drawing power and force of personality from where he lacked it. Even giving so little ground as a single step was enough to spur her forward; she paced closer, half-circling Pales in order to get properly downwind.
Now she could take her measure of this man. Certainly not an alpha sort; there was the heavy scent of female on him. A mate, more like than not. If this territory was his, he must share it with her, and she must be the dominant of this little piece of nature. It could be dangerous if she did not tolerate the presence of others within her realm, but were that the case, the man would have no doubt gone for the help of his mate by now. For the moment, at least, she was confident that this place was secure for her and Vanaja.
"... You have a pup," she noted gruffly, her gaze sliding down to the little face that was inspecting her back. Loosening her grip on Vana at last (and thank goodness she did- the poor girl was looking terribly abused, clutched so tightly!), Kiv let the baby get a good look at the stranger at last. Tilting her head far to the side, the little girl batted her heavy lashes and made a small bird call to the other child, asking her some question that could never be understood. Proudly, Kiv declared- "This is mine. Her name is Vanaja. What is yours called?"
Pales: He stood still while being circled closing his one eye for a moment or two as if to distance himself from the situation, at least for a moment. In this state of mind he couldn't assess the situation properly. Pales seemed to slowly relax now that he wasn't being torn asunder by the very aggressive female. He shifted his shoulder a bit to stare down at Kaveri and lightly smooth the infant's light brown hair.
Pales' attention returned to the other as she spoke. He tilted his head a little as he smiled and nodded a bit, "I-I do." He replied and watched as Kiv exposed Vana to better view.
Kaveri had ignored her guardian's smoothing of her hair to stare at Kiv and Vanaja. As the other girl made a bird call at her Kaveri tilted her head uttering a soft, "Oooouh," showing that she was impressed and even delighted as a small (albeit toothless) smile graced her lips.
"Mine is named Kaveri," the man replied after a moment, "Vanaja is very pretty." Pales felt that he should make up for getting off on the wrong foot by complimenting the female's child.
Arrien: No doubt encouraged by the man's compliment, Kiv nodded eager agreement and drew even closer, now within arm's reach. "Yes, thank you. Kaveri looks like she is a strong girl as well," she replied, imitating a smile as best she understood it. The gesture seemed vaguely threatening somehow, only a few notches away from what would be a normal gesture of baring her teeth for her, but the intentions behind it were kind enough. Her eyes had fallen to the little girl's tail, no doubt, when she questioned- "what sort of pup is she, though?"
Meanwhile, a rising commotion was eminating from the little girl in Kiv's arms. This was the first that Vana had been face-to-face with another child for months, ever since having been given into the care of her new guardian, and to have found someone that responded to her on a level that she could understand... she could barely contain her excitement! Rustling her tail and peeping boldly to the other girl, Vanaja wiggled and squirmed and spread her hands out to the other girl, waggling her fingers as she tried to reach out and explore the small-sized face that was smiling at her.
Pales: "Thank you, I try to keep her healthy." He replied to the return compliment and seemed to relax a bit further now that the situation was melting down and becoming a bit more manageable. Pales tilted his head at the questioned and then looked down at Kaveri. Gently his hands went about to lift her out of the sling so that everyone could get a better look at her. The tail seemed to serve as her legs as well because obviously the girl had no legs, "W-well I believe she is a Naga," the man explained, "I believe they are water creatures of some type." He was proud of himself for finding out that much.
Kaveri gave out a giggle as she was lifted up and given a better view of the situation and she blinked as Vana reached at her. Her small tail wriggled a bit more in an excited fashion. The other girl's excitement was apparently quite contagious for the small naga infant. "Ah-Ahhh~," she burbled while reaching in return toward strange child in front of her. She wanted to play! She never really had the chance to play with someone her own size before!
Arrien: Oh, that. That tail. Vana hadn't spotted it before, but now that the babe was out of the sling, it was impossible to miss- and Vana wanted it. A note of astonishment burst through her lips, sudden and unexpected, before she began kicking her feet around through the air and begging to be let closer, just close enough to reach it; just a little....
"I know what a Naga is," Kiv said, perhaps a little snappishly so. Her indignance melted away swiftly as the young form in her hands began her unintelligable demands- a moment of pleading from those sweet little eyes, and Kiv was sold. "... May the pups play together? I think that Vana would like that very much, she has not met many pups her own size."
Pales: Kaveri's eyes widened a bit as the other girl suddenly became very active. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She raised her hand and waved it a bit, maybe that would do something! Unlikely, but still she tried. Kaveri's tail wriggled a bit impatient to be let down anyhow. She had enough of being held for the moment.
"I-I didn't mean to make you think that I was trying to..." Pales faltered after flinching at the somewhat snappish reply. He blushed as he continued, "I-I was sort of hoping you knew more. I am a little uneducated about those sort of things."
He went quiet for a moment before nodding, "Of course they may," his smile returning again. Pales seemed the type of person to not hold onto bad feelings for long. "I know of a place near here they can play at that is safe enough."
Arrien: Ah; Kiv understood now. It might have been Pales' imagination, but behind her mask, the woman seemed briefly bashful when confronted with his admission of ignorance- a silent echo, in fact, of his own embarrassment for not knowing his pup's origins. If Kiv knew more of the Lesidhe, she was certain she could be a better guardian for her own pup; her knowledge lacking there, though, it was useless to worry over. But all because she knew little more of Lesidhe than them being spirits of the forest, didn't mean her knowledge of other creatures were so limited....
"... If you were interested," she mumbled roughly, "I know some of the Naga creatures. Things I have heard in the past, at least. I would share my information with you. After," she amended, her voice picking up some of its former confidence again, "we reach this place of yours, of course!" Vanaja was becoming quite a handful for the woman, it was plain to see, and Kiv was uncertain how best to hold the struggling child without hurting her; she gingerly supported the baby at arm's length now, letting her squirm awkwardly over the ground as she continued to make loud one-sided conversation with Kaveri (or Kaveri's tail; it was unclear which Vana was actually trying to communicate with at just that moment).
Pales: He nodded eagerly, "Anything you can tell me would be wonderful, really. My only regret is that I don't have anything real questions to ask that could be specific." Pales chuckled a bit seeming glad to just be able to move on in the conversation, "Yes, a good idea." He then tilted his head toward a direction and began to move that way but walking a little more cautiously than before.
Kaveri was leaning toward Vana, but suddenly the larger guardian had started to move her away and thus she began to whine slightly pulling at the sleeve of his shirt as that was all she could currently reach. Why was he being so mean? Why, why, why!?
Pales seemed to ignore the whine until he responded softly yet firmly with, "Calm down, Kav. We're almost there and you two can play." It seemed to work for now as the nagaling quieted and merely continued to look sulky. It didn't take long for them to reach a small children's play area with a sandbox, a small merry-go-round, slide, and a set of swings. A classic set up. Some benches were set near the sandbox and another set of benches were also placed along the other side of the play area.
Arrien: Vana's reaction to the growing distance between herself and the other girl was a similar statement of disappointment. Slowing her wiggling, the little girl looked up at her Guardian with a pout on her face and a complaint on her lips. "Shush, pup, stop your fretting," Kiv told her sternly, flicking the baby's nose. This mistreatment of her face drew a harsh cheep out of the girl's mouth, but she did as she was told and settled down.
Following after Pales, Kiv's reaction to seeing the unfamiliar structures of the playground was... less than positive, shall we say. Furrowing her brow and skirting around the nearby swing set, she bristled slightly at the threatening bright colors of the slide. "This place? These are... what?" She turned to Pales, demanding answers for her clear confusion.
Pales: Pales blinked a bit at the reaction. That was odd. Usually everyone knows about playgrounds and yet by the way the female reacted it was as if she felt somehow threatened by everything. How to assure someone like that? He shifted his shoulders as he went quiet as if to figure out how to best answer and at first it almost appeared as if he was disregarding Kiv's questions until he finally spoke again, "Well, this is a playground. It is where many children come to play. It is safe so long as parents keep a watchful eye on the children, especially the young ones," Pales was becoming somewhat used to Kiv at least enough to not duck back into his shell every time she became all bristly, and honestly he understood her concern, "Our little ones are too small to play on the larger equipment." If asked he'll likely explain what all the equipment on the playground did, but for now the sandbox.
He moved to the sandbox and stepped into it to show that it is indeed safe and that he wasn't going to sink in or that traps weren't going to suddenly pop out. "This sandbox should be safe enough," Pales said softly as he placed Kaveri down, "Only thing we have to watch for is when they try to stick sand in their mouths. Most little ones seem to like to stick everything in their mouths that they can. At least Kaveri does." The man said with a chuckle and a sigh as he began to step out of the sandbox.
The nagaling's eyes widened for a moment as she pressed her hand down into the sand. It was so squishy! The texture seemed to make her very happy as she patted her tiny hand on the sand surface leaving a messy imprint.
Arrien: Despite Pales' reassurances, Kiv still insisted on giving the structures of the playground a wide berth. You never could tell what they might do, after all; Kiv had already had a brush with one of those moving "cars", and that was enough to spook her off all of these strange new inventions humans had come up with. It was only after observing Kaveri settled comfortably in the sandbox that the woman was willing to inch closer to it, squatting down to peer closely at the small play area before permitting Vanaja to squirm out of her arms into the soft sand.
Free at last! Vana went straight on her belly in the sand, stretching out like a cat in the comfortable sunlight and fanning her tail out luxuriously. Crawling was a technique she had mastered, but such an act seemed far too formal for the moment; grinning widely over at Kaveri, she wiggled forward on her belly to greet the other baby more properly, reaching out her hands to try and run her fingers over that fascinating tail.
"... It seems safe," Kiv decided aloud, ceasing her hovering at last.
Pales: Most other people would have bristled or been insulted at Kiv's reactions to the playground or even insinuating that he would take them somewhere unsafe. Pales, however, seemed to just go with the flow. So he simply observed Kiv as she cautiously placed Vana down and then deemed it safe. Pales just smiled and nodded, "You are here to protect her, how can she not be safe." There was a warm tone to his voice.
Kaveri giggled as Vana wiggled forward on her belly toward her and reaching to touch her tail. First couple of times the tail twitched playfully out of the other infant's reach until finally it just laid there. The texture against Vana's fingertips was scaly and thus a little bumpy, but soft making it appear to be quite vulnerable.
Pales watched the two infants for a moment before finally removing the sling and moving it and spreading it out on the grassy ground nearby (closer to the sandbox than the benches) and went to sit on it. Leaving it up to Kiv to join him or sit elsewhere.
Arrien: The comment was unexpected, but quite welcomed; Kiv answered him with that sharp smile of hers, and said nothing.
Trying to capture the tail was a game quickly picked up upon by the baby; mouth opened wide with a happy chirp, Vanaja simply kept stretching toward the elusive limb, rolling over on her arched back as she waggled her hands in earnest play, unbothered by the grains of sand nestling into her grassy hair. Despite her best attempts, the fern child was unable to catch hold of the tail until Kaveri laid it still for her. At that point, with a triumphant cry, the baby girl flipped back on her stomach and attempted a small pounce, a clumsy gesture that was successful only because Vana had scooted so close to the tail already, there was no distance she needed to cover to catch hold of it.
Feeling the mysterious thing over, the baby clacked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, quite thoughtful about the uniqueness of this tail. Finally content with having discovered it, she looked with bright and fascinated eyes to Kaveri and declared her opinion with a loud krrrp!, obviously quite impressed with what she had found.
Meanwhile, Kiv sat plainly in front of Pales, seeming unbothered to sit directly on the grass. "So, you wanted to learn about the Naga, yes?"
Pales: Kaveri watched as Vana 'pounced' on her already captured tail. She let out a soft 'scree' sound that was followed by a delighted giggle. She sat still as she could, though the tip of her currently tail insisted on twitching back and forth whether she wanted it to or not. Thus the naga didn't worry too much about controlling it. As another interesting sound Vanaja's lips the nagaling tilted her head going silent before bursting into giggles and clapping her small hands. Kaveri, too, wanted to make such sounds, "Rrrr~!"
Pales didn't seem uncomfortable with Kiv sitting plainly in front of him. In fact it probably saved him from altering his own posture so he could maintain proper eye contact with the other. "Yes, whatever you can tell me. In return I will answer you any questions you may have, or I will do a favor for you. Whichever you decide," the promise was good as made as it went from his mouth.
Arrien: Most people would probably regard such an exchange as unnecessary, or even awkward; Kiv, however, merely nodded her agreement. If he thought her services were worth repayment, she would take whatever he was willing to offer in return. First, though, she had to provide what she had promised to.
"I have no personal experience with the Naga, but I have heard of them. Their lands are far to the south-" Are? Were? - "or at least, far to the south of where my territories were. They were creatures of the water, and lived as the humans did in kingdoms." Kiv hesitated here, uncertain of what other facts she knew. Naga were never any concern of hers, and she'd had far greater things to learn of back then.... "Aside from that, I know little other than rumor and superstition, though. They may have had a single leader for their entire kind, or else may have had their own packs. I do know that they were great guardians, though, and I have heard of their fighting prowess during the War."
The new sound brought Vana pause, listening to the naga's little growl with interest. It was like a miniture version of Kiv's voice! Delighting in this thought, the Lesidhe child split her mouth into a huge grin and clapped her hands, her voice perfectly silent and still as she tried to encourage Kaveri to repeat herself.
Pales: The man was silent as he ingested the information handed to him, "I am sure they can be quite deadly if need be. Thanks do you I know a little more than I did before." Pales smiled contently as he mentally locked the information away for later to pick over, "Where did you come from?" he tilted his head in curiosity. It was something he didn't consider to ask until just now and of course she could choose to ignore it completely and he wouldn't fault her for it.
Kaveri didn't feel as if she made a sound worth anything of interest to Vanaja, and it certainly wasn't the sound she was trying to imitate. The nagaling giggled as she took in a deep breath and attempted to make the sound again, "RrrrRRrr!"
After all the audience is always right.
Arrien: Ah, origin questions. Always destined to bring the most awkward and uncertain of answers.
"Ah. I used to live among my Tribe, near a human village called Chemberg," Kiv replied carefully, as if concerned that she might confuse Pales by speaking too quickly. "That was very long ago, however; I would be surprised to find that either still existed. What of yourself? Have you always come from this place?"
This sound was absolutely fascinating to Vanaja. The encore performance only endeared it to her more, and she expressed her glee by bouncing her heels around in the sand, letting little bits scatter around in her enthusiasm. Her eyes were locked on the other girl's mouth as Kaveri repeated the noise, and unable to resist further, Vana answered the noise at last:
"RrrrRRrr!"
A carbon copy of the sound Kaveri had made, down to the tiniest nuance of sound. Thrilled, the fern baby chirped her ecstacy and repeated the noise, incredibly pleased with herself.
Pales: Pales tilted his head as he listened to her response and then found himself distracted by her question at the end. Thus he lost his train of thought. He chuckled a bit and shook his head, "Not from this world, no. I was somehow transported here with my mother..." He smiled a bit, "I was born in a little different world than this." Pales had learned a long time ago that names of places just kind of confused others, but if Kiv insisted he would name is place of birth as best as he could.
She giggled and clapped her own hands at this while her tail swished to and thro happily. The other girl could even copy other sounds instead of making the other neat ones she came with! Kaveri went quiet for a moment or two as if in thought. What other sounds could they do? Or at least the other one could do. Her tiny fingertips sifted through the sand as she thought simply enjoying the texture of it. And it seemed nature answered her quest by a bird that landed on the ledge that began to make its own unique sound. Kaveri grinned and pointed at it, "Ooouh?"
