Welcome to Gaia! ::

Makai had never had cocoa either, but nummy was something he could relate to. He gave an afirmative nod and followed her inside.

He blinked at the towel offered to him, accepting it hesitantly from the woman waiting inside. He rubbed it between his fingers, then looped it over his head like a shawl to towel off his hair. Guardians were the same everywhere, it seemed. At least she wasn't forcing him to take a bath like Wyv would have.

He paused in his towling to get a good look at Sin. "Hello! My name's Makai. Nice to meet you, you have a nice place." That last part came out rushed, the words of someone who knows what he's supposed to say, if not why he's supposed to say it. Greeting Gael earlier had helped to jog his memory. He continued to dry off, careful not to slop water or mud anywhere in his eagerness.

(( *is so quoting that* BABEH! The other white meat! :3 Nah, I'm RPing as he's only been child-ified for two weeks. Mebe three. So he hasn't gotten to far in the sampling of foodstuffs. 'sides, hot liquids on a hot island? Wyv does not stand for such a thing! XD ))

Makai beamed at Sin as she tousled his hair. She seemed like a nice lady. His stomach gave a lonely rumbled as it was announced the food would be ready soon. The boy gave his stomach a quick pat, as if to remind it that it would be filled soon. More important things were to be done first. He only had time to fold his towel in a slopy stack and drop it to the side before Gael was hauling him off into another room.

The specimens! This is what he'd been waiting for. He let her pull him along. "Label...? Like... name? You gots lots of 'em?" This was different to him, that was certain.

(( Now that you mention Gaiman, that sounds vaguely familiar. And I can't say that I've ever had cold soup. I'm deprived. ))

Ooo, stuff! Specimens were stuff- and neat stuff at that. Makai peered intently at the collection on the coffee table and eyed the books curiously, wondering if they had pictures. Probably, or Gael wouldn't use 'em to label.

Gingerly, he accepted the shattered bit of pottery. He sniffed it, decided against tasting it, and carefully ran his fingers over it, wary of the edges where he might cut himself. "Moving... 'sa dance?" This was kinda fun, like a puzzle. No wonder Gael labeled stuff all the time. He sat down slowly, pondering the pottery chunk. "... mebe... a sela, celi... a party." It seemed happy to him. Bright colors, soft, gentle shapes. There was something missing to it, he thought. Other than the rest of the pot or jug or whatever it was. Subconsciously, his fingers began to tap out a rather lively rhythm on the piece.

(( Could be. It's not a Florida thing, that's for sure. You'd think it might be, what with the humidity and hot weather and all. ))

"Mm!" He nodded at the question. Something about the position of the figure in the pottery to him said motion, and smooth motion at that. A rolling motion, fluid but steady, like waves pounding against the shore, giving and taking according to the moon's beat. Yes, there's was a song there, he could feel it and his fingers adjusted accordingly, lengthening a beat there, slowing another there...

"Hee hee," Makai giggled, self-consciously as Gael noticed his idle drumings. "Wyv calls 'em diddles. T'ere little tappin's and patterns. Jus' a rhyffym. Notta song yet, jus' a place t'start fer music." Suddenly shy, he couldn't meet her eyes and dropped his gaze to stare at the pottery shard. Scuffing a foot along the floor in his nervousness, he asked hesitantly, "... ya like?" His fingers kept tapping.

Makai flushed beat red for just an instant and almost as quickly, recovered his aplomb. "Nuu, nothin' wrong." He wasn't sure if he could explain how important his music was to him and that sharing it - even something as minor as a random diddy - left him feeling vulnerable. Criticism was something he hadn't learned to handle yet. He'd said he'd show her music, and he would, but he wasn't sure if he'd show her his music. Yet.

And then she giggled and he giggled too. Relaxed once more, he handed the chunk of pottery back to Gael. "'sa good piece. Good picture." It was too, even if it was only a portion of the picture. "Makes me wanna dance." His stomach rumbled, again and he stuck out his tongue in self-mockery. "Makes me hungry too."

(( Aw, s'okay. Illness = teh suck. *offers choice of soup, hot or cold* ^^ ))

Shy? Was he that easily read? That idea bothered him, although he wasn't sure why. It would be something to ask Wyvern when he came home. He felt a brief pang of worry, as he'd said he'd be home before it got dark. Of course, with an overcast sky, he wasn't sure how dark it needed to be before he should head home. He supposed that when the sun started to go down, it would be time. Surely he'd finish this soup before then. Besides, he'd gotten distracted and that was understandable. Specimens were neat! He hoped Wyv'd understand that ad promptly put it out of mind.

Makai didn't need much encouragement to head for food, happily clambering after Gael as she led him along. He eyed the table curiosly. At home, nobody had assigned seats, except for Yule who liked the seat closest to the kitchen, as he was the one who did most of the cooking. He also wondered about saying grace and other such nuances.

He remembered that day clearly: A rather large amount of information had been crammed into his head on the nature of manners. Yule had lectured, with Wyv grunting or nodding in appropriate spots, and occasionally rolling her eyes or steering the yuniko back to the point when he wandered off topic. Wyv had eventually hustled Yule off as she watched Makai become more and more confused. After a moment's pause, she summarized for him: "Be respectful, always, and if you're uncomfortable with a custom, politely refuse."

He thought he could handle that, if it should come up. But now, to the more pressing matter of finding a seat. "Um..."

Makai watched the proceedings with an air of curiosity. It wasn't really different from what he went through at home, although the stools at the counter were high enough that he didn't need a booster to reach. He nodded. Maybe this soup was trickier to eat than, say a sammich. Although sometimes a sammich would dump its' insides, but that had happened to Wyv too. Hmm. This was a puzzle...

A puzzle which he promptly forgot as he seated himself and watched Sin set down bowls containing soup. He poked his spoon into it hesitantly, swirling it around, watching the colors and the ripples. It was like melting ice cream! He could handle this. He cast a furtive glance at Gael, then at Sin. Was it okay to eat now?

(( Sorry for poofing for a few days there. >< ))

The salute seemed harmless, so Makai mimiced Gael's motions as best he was able. With a cry of "Spoon Salute!" he dunked his spoon. "S'fun!" He told her with a nod. Carefully, so as not to slop soup on the table or on himself, Makai took a hestitant mouthful.

It was different from anything he had tried before, but he figured that was mostly because he never ate a liquid before. "C'n I ask... what..." he fumbled for the right word, "type... the soup is?" He looked at Sin curiously.