Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was with a faint grumble that Maq entered the shop by window, his wings billowing out behind him. Errand boy again it seemed, and just as frustrating as before. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Sinrei as long as he'd wanted to, but at least he was comfortable in the knowledge that Tera would be spending a good deal of time with her in these first few days.

Starting to cross the room, he drew up short in the air. Several beings were in the shop today, including a human. This was rather new.

Silva finally looked up from the board, still not sure who this Tera was and how her presence would affect his status as the shop manager's feien. He smirked as he realized the green feien was gone, then caught sight of the black feien she was talking to. Huh... It seemd a lot of people had entered while he was reading... It wouldn't have happened if the damn scrolls had pictures.

After a moment, Simon looked away from the board. "Would you say the distance down Wimpole Road was closer to two-point-two or two-point-three miles?" he asked of his human friend.

"Just say it was a little over two, it's not a cartography test," the girl replied. Now her reading of the noticeboard was nothing more than a disguise. She was far more interested in the conversation of the nearby feien than their spells and abilities! Her first chance to observe other feien interacting!

Simon didn't count, of course. He was just Simon. The girl shuffled slightly closer to Averno and Patience, pretending to be looking for some minute detail of information hidden among all the scraps of paper.

Averno smiled down at Patience. "How do you do? I don't believe we've met," she extended a hand to the other fairy in the manner that her bond greeted others, "I'm Averno." She peered around the smaller Feien to try and get a better look at Simon, whose horns were rather intriguing to look at. "I say, the shop is certainly busy today, isn't it?

Black leathery wings twitched at the sight of Silva, but she was mostly sure he didn't recognize her yet. A grin played at the corners of her mouth as she weighed playing with him a bit, but she stayed it for a few moments as she looked at Patience once more. "I don't believe I caught your name?"

There was something about the black feien though... it seemed to mess with his head. Sure, she was pretty hot, but that wasn't it--

"Princess!" He finally said, irritated by how surprised he sounded. "You grew up, huh?" He headed for them, sure he would get a dirty look, but not caring. She was one of the few feiens he knew that was close to his own sight so far, Neruo being the other.

Returning from the frigid wasteland known as Maine had put Sunil in an excellent mood, so it was on a positive note tha she and Ruya re-entered the feien shop for the first time in ages. Sunil touched down on the windowsill first, annoyed at having to wait for Ruya to catch up.

"You didn't have to come you know, if you didn't feel up to the trip." Sunil said slyly, "accidentally" kicking Ruya in the leg with a grin.

"I'm not an invalid Sunil." Ruya said, grimacing as Sunil kicked her.

Both of them surveyed the shop for a moment from their perch, a little unsure of how things might have changed in their absence.

After a quick scan of the others, it wasn't difficult for Maq to decide who he wanted to meet first With a lengthy stroke, he made his way over to the green and the black Feien, friendly smile on his face.

Simon startled at Silva's sudden words and dropped his notebook and pencil lead. He tried to back up into the safety of Careli's hair, only there was no Careli, and he was suddenly very confused-- And just like that, the familiar shade of red spread over his face and shoulders. He bit his lip and closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

While Patience was waiting to see if Averno would respond to her, she made note of everyone there.

There was Silva, who at the moment wasn't exactly someone Patience wanted to try speaking to again is he was going to be annoying. She was waiting to for Averno to return her greeting, and was quite impressed on how well her hair looked in those curls. Also another feien had arrived, she had not seen before. And the one studing the spells and taking notes was called Simon. Atleast that's what the girl had called him. He was quite tall too.

Patience's thoughts were broken when Averno had actually responded. She brought her attention back to the taller feien. Patience looked at the extended hand and brought hers up to complete the greeting.

'Nice to meet you Averno, my name is Patience. And yeah, this shop seems lively today."

Patience watched the larger feien's attention drift to Silva and she watched a grin form. Maybe she knew him.

"It looks to me like Silva grew up. Unless of course there is some other adult feien who happens to look just as ugly."

Without waiting for a reply from Ruya and with absolutely no regard for the conversation she might be interrupting, Sunil launched off the windowsill and down into the shop to land over by Silva.

"Silva? Too bad you're still alive."

Ruya remained perched on the windowsill, her lips pursed in a thin line as she watched Sunil jump back into the thick of things.

Averno's eyes flitted towards yet another Feien having entered. She'd never met Maquinar before either...the day was certainly turning out to be a wealth of new faces. She found it oddly suiting for the "new" her. Now if she could just get the hang of her newly distributed weight and the difference in distance to the ground from up there.

At Silva's exclamation she silently cursed at not having played around with him for a bit before recognition kicked in. But a familiar face, even it if was one she found arrogant and full of himself, was better than an entire room of strangers. "And a good day to you as well, Beanpole. Yes, I've grown. How observant of you." She forced such a sickly sweet smile as to almost make her words not sound sarcastic.

She smiled back at Patience again, and gestured to Silva. "This is Beanpole, if you haven't met. He's been in a state of refusing me his name, so I've take the habit of arbitrarily giving him one." She flitted her eyes towards the approaching Maq, nodding to him.

Silva cursed, then smirked, nodding at Sunil. "I could say the same, Darlin. Long time no see." And now everyone knew his name. He turned, ignoring that fact and looking at Ruya. "Going to come say hello?" He asked casually.

The noticeboard was completely forgotten now. The human girl's attention was riveted (quite rudely) on the assortment of feien. Simon was completely forgotten.

Which unfortunately did not ease Simon's embarassment as he drifted down towards the floor to retrieve his notebook, glad to be ignored by the other feien at least.

Maq had just nodded back to Averno and was in the process of saying something when Sunil's sudden appearance caught him off guard. Something twisted in his chest, and he found himself glancing back in the direction she had shot in from. Ruya? His breath caught momentarily, before his grin returned and he lifted an arm in greeting to the Feien still on the sill. "Your Bond let you loose, huh?" he called out to her.

"Oh, so it's a normal thing for him to avoid giving out his name, and I thought it was just me. Beanpole. Interesting name..."

Patience responded, a small smile peeking across her lips as she looked at the slightly miffed seeming feien. She took in everyhting that was going on, and was trying to keep track just in case something happened. But man, there was alot of feien in today. And since there was so many conversations going on, it was hard to keep track if anyone said eachothers name. And everyone here was new to her.

Sunil pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as Silva turned to speak to Ruya.

"You want to talk to her? No accounting for taste." Sunil blinked a little as she realized who Silva had to be speaking with. Shiny black hair, tight curls - who else could that be?

"What? Did every friggin' juvenile feien grow up while I was away?"

Ruya sighed, trying not to look uncomfortable at Silva's question and made her way closer.

"Hello Silva." No harm in saying his name, since Sunil had already managed to blurt it out to everyone present. "How have you been?"

Maq's comment drew Sunil's probably rude seeming stare off of Averno and over to him. An uncomfortable weight settled in her stomach and she narrowed her eyes. Suddenly she wasn't in such a good mood.

"Finnally let us come home, more like." She sneered at Maq. "Surprising to see you, Maq. Can't really say it's a pleasure. I don't suppose your sister is a long on this little trip?"

Silva...so that was his name. Averno let out a soft snort. "I think I prefer Beanpole, it suits you better..." She flicked a hand towards his lengthy physique as if to demonstrate the suitability of her moniker. She controlled her expression to look dead serious as she deadpanned her response.

The Darkness Feien couldn't cover the sudden surprise on her face at Sunil's arrival, however. "My goodness...Sunil? It has been a while. The tavern has been closed for a goodly bit, but I'm sure Sajhiri may be considering reopening it. Will you be available for work again?" She looked hopeful. In spite of Corvus' vocal dislike of the female, she was very tough and strong, and Averno certainly felt safer with her keeping order in the tavern.

She idly glanced over at the horned fairy retrieving something he dropped, marking off "possibly clumsy" in her internal checklist of 'things to exploit later.'

Sunil's stare was once again drawn back to Averno and she forced a smile.

"Of course. I imagine my bond will want me out of the house as much as possible. Nice hair."

God that probably sounded stupid. Sunil glared back in Maq's direction as if daring him to say something about it.

"I'm better now." He responded, smirking slightly. "Neruo's missed you." He said, unwilling to admit that he had, as well. "You might check in with him." Oh yeah, that was a great idea. Shove her over just as soon as she showed up. Smart, man, very smart.

He glanced over at Averno, trying not to laugh. "Jack complex."

"Depends on which sister you mean, Sun." It was easier to watch Ruya, but he made himself look back at the blue Feien. "Tera picked up a new bloom long after you guys had to leave, and it emerged the other day."

One ear kept turned towards Ruya, in case she had any trouble with this "Beanpole" character, but otherwise his attention was on Sunil.

As Patience let her attention drift since Averno was talking with Silva, which she now knew his name, she noticed the tension between a few of the feiens. She was hopeing nothing might happen, though there was enough other feien here that might be able to stop a fight if it did break out. Though she couldn't find whyere the tallest feien had gotten. After a quick scan, she noticed he was collecting his notebook off the floor. Seeming to be avoiding everyone. Patience had also noticed the human gaping at them all, but decided to ignore her for a bit and made her way over to Simon.

"Are you ok? Or did you just drop that and was getting it?"

She asked, concern in her voice.

Simon finally managed to close his fingers around his notebook and remained down on the floor for several moments. He thought he might want to leave, but he couldn't just leave every time something happened in the shop to unnerve him, could he? He had to learn to deal with other feien. It was his job now.

But he wasn't entirely sure he was feeling up to it today. Maybe he should leave and come back another time and try again.

Frowning, Simon looked up at his companion, decided to advise her to not wear skirts to the feien shop, and wavered back and forth on the idea of leaving. This was his shop now. He owned it. There was no reason for him to be down on the floor with half a dozen feien having a conversation above him. No reason whatsoever. Come on, Simon, just go and talk! he told himself. Now why couldn't he just listen?

"You know which sister I mean." Sunil hissed.

Was he making fun of her, asking which sister she would care to see?

"Quantel." She said finally, crossing her arms over her chest as if to protect herself. "I am asking about Quantel."

And then suddenly Simon was jerked away from his thoughts by the arrival of another feien.

Another feien. Not one he lived with, not one he knew (though he didn't really talk to the feien he lived with, did he?), but a face he did not immediately recognize.

"I, ah, I've got it," he managed, waving the notebook in the air. He swallowed nervously. He thought he might have met this feien before, but wasn't sure. If he had it was too long ago to remember.

Averno smirked at Silva, letting it show plainly once Patience turned her attention to Simon. She turned her back on him to face Sunil only and murmured a quiet "Thank you. I'm still getting used to being so bloody tall though. I have my bond home working on making an alternate to my room in the tower. I can't duck under the portcullis chains like I used to be able to to climb up there, and I can't squeeze through the space between them due to ah..." She glanced down at her chest "...Extra padding. So she's renovating on my behalf. I was tired of the racket she was making doing it, so I decided to pay a visit here."

She twirled a raven lock around one finger. "Would it be rude of me to inquire as to where you've been. I was worried when you stopped showing up for work."

Maq's grin widened, those orange eyes of his gleaming a bit at Sunil's defensive stance. "Nah, she didn't come. She's back at the House with the new Feien." As he looked her over, he bit back a remark that would probably sound bitter. The phrase he chose to use instead was a lot more jovial. "Maybe you should drop by? See if she still remembers you and all..."

Okay, so he'd slid a little towards the end. Big ******** deal. Sunil was probably too wrapped up in thoughts of Q to even notice.

"Ah, I see. My name is Patience if you didn't catch it before. Your name is Simon, right? You companion had called you that earlier."

Patience smiled, good to know he was ok, but it seemed he was just kind of a Shy feien. Which was a bit different. Most of the other feien she had met had been not as shy as he seemed. Well, except for maybe the first time she met Shux when she was younger.

"Ah, pleased to meet you." Simon stuck out his hand, then realized it was the wrong hand and hastily switched his notebook and extended the other hand, nearly fumbling the notebook again in the process.

Zelda flicked into the shop, wings fluttering out behind her. That damn bond of hers, fussing over that damn bloom... she was vaguely annoyed at herself for caring so much about what Sunny, of all people, thought. Sunny was vaguely useless. Sunny and her new bloom... it was ridiculous. The thing would probably interfere with all of Zelda's plans...

...maybe she should fortify her tent?

She emerged from her inner thoughts to eye the other feien here. Most she didn't know... but there was that one tall skinny feien. Again. Hrmph.

Zelda folded her hands behind her and moved closer.

Sunil turned back in Averno's direction with relief as the dark feien spoke. After her little outburst to Maq, she would rather be looking anywhere but in that direction. Speaking to him made her uncomfortable.

"Padding?" Sunil's eyes were drawn to Averno's chest and the minimal markings there for a second before she jerked them back up in panic.

"Ah yes. Hrm. Well. I have been in a frozen wasteland outside of gaia. My bond decided I was," Sunil made air quotes here, "out of control and Ruya and I were shipped off to stay with her brother. We were forced to eat cold pizza and remain in a tiny room all day everyday. It was dreadful."

Sunil gave Maq a sidelong glance.

"Maybe I will." And she probably would. "We'll have to spar." She raised one arm and made a muscle with it, making sure it was at a good angle for Averno to admire. "I've gotten weak in my confinement. I doubt I could even kick your a**."

Patience supressed a giggle at his fumbling and accepted his hand shake. She had to crane her neck to look at him though, since he was very tall compared to her. Almost 3 inches.

"Nice to meet you."
She smiled up at him, though the note book was interesting her. She glaced at the notebook and then back up at him.

"You seemed to be taking notes on the spells. You interested in magic?"

She wondered, curious about magic herself.

Simon looked down at the notebook. "No, actually, I'm taking notes on the information that needs updating. Due to the change in management and all." He quickly pushed at his glasses, hoping he wasn't coming off half as badly as he thought. "I'm not much for magic."

Silva almost laughed at the sight of Averno smirked, then jerked as he felt his new "Magic Detection" ability catch another presence in the room. He turned, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the juvenile he had met a while back. The dark skinned one... What was her name again?

"Hello, little darlin. Come to play with the big kids now?" He asked, motioning her forward. As he remembered, she had been entertaining.

"Change in management? This is new... When did this happen?"

Odd. she would think such a think would have been posted in a place where most could see it. She wondered when it happened and who was now in charge.

"I guess updating is a good thing though. Sadly I am trying to learn magic on my own and haven't had much luck. I have been looking for someone good with magic, but everyone I ask I find out they are as clueless as I am, or know someone but haven't seen them in a while. Oh well."

"Don't call me that," Zelda scowled automatically. "I am not anyone's 'darling,' least of all yours." She circled closer, head tilted, smiling distantly. Were all other feien as annoying as this one? She hoped not. If that was the case she'd go home and shred that bloom right away.

Exactly as she should have expected, Ruya thought to herself coldly as Silva blatantly ignored her to speak with some juvenile.

"I suppose I'll speak to you some other time." She said coldly to Silva's back before moving over to stand a bit apart from the group. She didn't really want to go home, but she wasn't sure the shop offered her anything either.

After a moment's consideration she took to the air and slowly made her way out. No doubt the pixapets would need to be let out and fed soon.

"The previous owners left," said Simon, a bit more weakly than he might have liked. He recovered well enough, continuing, "One of them was very good with magic. He gave lessons a few times. I suppose you might try the two feien I heard him mention having talked to about magic, Sunil and..."

At that Simon cocked his head to the side, thinking a moment. "Avernum? Averna?"

Averno gave an admiring glance at Sunil's bicep. "I fear I am woefully unequipped in the arena of fighting, though I am not a bad hand at weilding a rapier. I've been focusing on trying to learn more magic."

"Looks like we have a runner-up for the role of princess, then." He replied, amused. This was an interesting gathering, felt close to some sort of f'ed up family reunion. But he was starting to get claustraphobic...

"She holds that role." He said, motioning to Averno with his toothpick. "You're going to have to work harder if you want it." Sure that would piss her off, he turned, looking at the others for a moment. "It's getting too crowded in here. Think I'll leave."

This whole time the little girl had just been listening to the conversation. Finally, now that a bunch of fairies were leaving, she saw an opening. "What sort of magic do you know so far?" she asked Averno.

Her ego swelling just a little bit, Sunil spoke graciously to Averno. She had previous thought rapiers to be useless, but after a run in with Ruya's she had changed her mind.

"Magic is also very important. I have to admit, I've grown rusty in that area as well. I plan to start training immediately now that I am home."

She noted Ruya's exit with a sneer. Running away already? The girl had no spine at all.

"I'm sure we'll all miss you very much," Zelda said coldly. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She pressed her lips together. Did he try to be so aggravating? Or did it just come naturally?

"Sunil... Wasn't that one of the names of the feien that was above on top of the counter?"

Patience tried to recall when her attention was grabbed by the human making mention to magic. Looking up, she was tempted to fly up there right that second, but it was rude to leave in the middle of a conversation. So she turned her attention back to Simon and bowed her head.

"Forgive me, but I think Sunil is above and someone just mentioned magic. I enjoyed our conversation. Nice meeting you Simon."

Nodding her head once again, she took off and landed back up to catch the rest of the magic conversation. Maybe she could get some good help from listening.

Seeing that Ruya was heading out before coming by to say hello, Maq thought something was up. He shot back to Sunil as he flew in Ruya's direction, "You know where the House is. Swing by whenever!" Then, in a blur of red, he was after Ruya.

Much time has passed since I first emerged from my blossom, with the help of Quantel, and I still find myself grateful to her for everything she's done for me. These last few weeks, especially, what with the time she has taken to teach me as much as she can, even though it's meant that she has been unable to do anything of her own.

Our other Bondmate, Maquinar, hasn't been quite as open and giving. It's not that he doesn't speak to me, he just seems to be trying to keep his distance. We've exchanged mayhaps a dozen words in the last few days, and I don't feel as if I know any more about him. Quantel has told me not to worry, as he's not quite as mentally capable as other Feien are, but once he gets used to the "strange new Feien", he'll be more friendly.

It's odd to think of myself as strange, though from seeing the other Feien that have come through the House, as well as Maquinar and Quantel, I can see that I am hardly normal. Quantel has assured me as well of the fact that despite my abnormalities, most Feien, once they've given me the chance to present my inner personality, would most likely not shun me. It makes me aware of just how generous a person that Quantel is, in that she gave me that chance immediately, even before I emerged.

As I flip back through the pages of this journal, given to me by Quantel, I'm amused by how innocent I was in the first few days of my existance. My concerns then with such things as whether the Bond would like me, or how I would conduct myself in such a strange new world, seem so trivial, so obvious. Thank whatever powers brought me here that Quantel was there to meet me.

Aleric sat on the small feien sized swingset, pushing absently against the ground with one foot. His hands were loosely wrapped around the small chains that held the seat up. Silva was watching from the human sized playground, keeping to the shadows as he kept an eye on his brother. Aleric could feel his boredom from where he was.

"You really don't think she's going to show, do you." Aleric said.

"Nope. Not really." Silva replied. They were only speaking as loudly as they had to to hear each other. "But this is better than some alternatives." Like the shop. He laid on his back on the monkey bars, staring at the pinkish sky of sunset.

It was nearly fifteen minutes after when Quantel and Ori finally made the approach to the park, Quantel leading by the slightest of margins. She stretched her magic ahead of her, attempt to feel out who was there, who might have been the one to send Ori such a letter. Likely someone who wishes to use the child... She had very nearly forbidden Ori to accompany her, almost went on her own, but felt that the juvenile's presence might be needed.

Pausing when she felt the magical signatures there, she motioned for Ori to stop. Silva and... some other. Either this other was the Aleric from the letter, or the entire thing was merely a ploy on Silva's part. Quantel's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and she dismissed the second notion; Silva was direct, if anything, and would not stoop to such machinations. With a toss of her head, she folded her wings down over her shoulders, a much less threatening appearance than with the massive things unfurled. Another gesture, and they continued the approach.

Ori wondered at the excitement bubbling in her chest; though Quantel's warnings of being wary of such a situation fluttered through her mind, she couldn't help but be curious as to this person, this Aleric. She did so hope that he would turn out to be a good person, and not someone with other motives, as Quantel apparently believed him to possibly have. Knowing that Quantel would be looking magically, she didn't bother to do so herself, and thus missed all the lovely realizations that Quantel was making beside her.

Quantel allowed Ori come up alongside her as the reached the swing, inclining her head politely as she did so. "Aleric, I presume?" Ori remained quiet at her side, still despite the curiousity within her.

Aleric stood, smiling pleasently as he held out his hand to her. "I am." He said, looking at Ori. "I'm glad that you could come." He gave her a gentle smile, picking up on her excitement. He was serious when he said he was glad. "Forgive me, I don't know either of your names."

Deciding to play nice and not acknowledge the fact that she could tell that Silva was somewhere around, watching them, Quantel extended a slender hand and touched her palm to Aleric's, then pulled away again. This was the custom of Teralinth's people, and one that both Maq and Quantel had picked up as a preference to the traditional shaking of hands. The hand, once removed, was brought up to touch her collarbones softly, briefly, and Quantel lifted her chin while she spoke. "I am Quantel, Bonded Feien of Teralinth d'Kalin."

Her hand came down and beckoned Ori forward, who repeated the ritual of greeting, touching palms gently, and then her own collarbones. "And I'm Ori. We share a Bond." She smiled in addition, and tried not to look at Aleric too curiously.

Aleric hesitated, then touched his own collarbone, since it seemed to be the proper way to do things. "So you are bondsisters? That's nice. I have a bondbrother, myself." He glanced up at the monkey bars, wondering if Silva would bother to make himself known.

"It helps, knowing that you're not alone." He hesitated, then turned, motioning to the feien playground. "We made this for any juvenile that might be interested... would you like to try it?" He asked Ori. "I'm afraid I can't do it properly, since I'm so tall."

Take it slowly, try to ignore the fact that Quantel's magic was similar to Silva's. Things would work out. This was all about Ori, after all.

Ori looked up quizzically at Quantel, who merely nodded, stepping back a bit. Somehow, the young Feien sensed that this might be a test, a way for Ori to see how well she could handle herself around other Feien, and she suddenly, desperately, wanted to please Quantel. This in mind, she turned to look around at what Aleric had motioned to, then back to the Ancient. Choosing her words carefully, she tilted her head to one side and replied, "Thank you for the offer, but as I have no idea what any of that is, I may have to pass." Admitting ignorance of something, after all, was less of a risk than attempting and failing miserably.

At least, she hoped that was right.

Quantel, however, allowed a few shadows to play over her, the familiar sensation calming what little nerves she'd had in coming here tonight. Aleric seemed innoculous enough, actually, and she saw no reason at this time to keep him and Ori from speaking. Silva's attendance lent a different dilemma; as much as she wanted to seek him out, find out why he was here, she didn't want to tip her hand too early. Quantel wondered idly if Silva was, perhaps, this Bondbrother that Aleric spoke of.

"Oh! Well..." Aleric headed for the fort first. "This is a fort. You go up there and then sit on this thing here and slide down. I'm pretty sure that's how it works..." He moved on, pointing to the swing. "This is a swing. You sit there and rock back and forth to see how high you can go..." He paused, looking thoughtful. "But I'm not sure, exactly, either. But it never hurt to try."

He grinned. "I've tried and failed before. It's not as bad as it sounds." He flushed as Silva laughed softly. "My brother can verify that." He walked over to the swings, sitting down again.

And there it was. Quantel looked in the direction of Silva's laugh, missing the sudden startlement of Ori, who hadn't realized the other Feien was there. A smile curving her lips, Quantel let her gaze linger on the shadow that was Silva, before looking away and back at the others.

While she was too well-trained to jump, Silva's laugh did cause Ori's heart to beat a bit faster, aided and abetted by the sensation that someway, somehow, Aleric had just read her mind. Why else would he have mentioned failing? Taking a deep breath and dismissing it as coincidence, she hoped that Quantel had not noticed her moment of surprise, which would have revealed immediately that she hadn't swept the park for magical signatures once they'd entered. Blocking thoughts of the older Feien's displeasure, and what feelings it would bring, Ori looked over all of the things that Aleric had shown her. "But these things... What is the purpose of all that?"

Aleric blinked. "Purpose? Well, because it's fun, of course. You've played games before, right? I admit, not all the feien I've met have heard of soccer or football, or even surfing, but there has to be something that you've done to make you happy..."

Silva dropped down from the monkeybars, heading for the other feien. This was getting interesting.

Quantel answered for Ori, in a fashion. "I am afraid that I have not had time to show Ori things of that nature, Aleric." Her voice was low, soft, and held none of the feelings of the disregard she had for anything done for the sake of "fun"; of course, she had no way of knowing that this Feien could sense from other indicators her opinion on the matter. "Our Bond has not been well as of late, and we have been focused on matters of a more serious nature."

Ori nodded in agreement to Quantel's words, even as she wondered whether it had been the best thing to ask what everything was for. Aleric's response made her feel foolish, as if she should have known something so simple. As to happy... Well, it made her happy when Quantel praised her for a job well done, didn't it?

"Serious gets boring after a while, Quantel." Silva said, stepping out of the shadows. He was chewing on his toothpick as he looked her over. "And playing is just another way for her to get physically stronger. But hell, maybe you don't want her to get stronger."

Aleric hesitated, noticing all the feelings in the group. Silva's derisive amusement, Quantel's dislike of fun, Ori's dependance on the other female... Almost desperate, he thought. But none of this showed on his face.

"It's true. Physical activity is very good for you. And if you enjoy it, then it makes it easier to do." He said softly, looking at Ori once again.

"Quantel wants nothing for me that I don't want myself!" Her spines bristled at the implication in this bigger Feien's voice, taking an instinctive step closer to Quantel, much as a bodyguard would. She settled down, however, when Quantel soothingly stroked a magic hand down her hair, but watched him a moment before responding to Aleric's comment. "I am no stranger to physical activity." This was said in a calmer tone of voice, thinking of the training sessions she'd been given with the rapier.

Ah, and there was the reason that Quantel couldn't really believe that Silva would be playing with being another Feien; too direct, that one. She favoured the male with a smile, as warm as one could get from her when not given to the creatures she had more control over. "I merely meant that we had not time to come to locales such as this. The child speaks truthfully, as I see to it that she has reason each day to practice what she wishes." The smile turned warmer, though the warmth came more from an owner's fondness, as Quantel looked at Ori. "More oft than not, this leads her to practicing with her rapier, does it not?"

Ori smiled in return, nodding again, but still not liking the way Silva had spoken to her mentor.

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with the playground." Silva replied. He was ruining it, Aleric thought. He was far too aggressive.

"No, Silva. We won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do." Aleric said, giving his brother a serious look. "This is about becoming friends, not challenging rivals."

"She's not my rival." Silva said, motioning to Ori.

"She wasn't the one I was talking about." Aleric said calmly. Silva twitched. "Ori, if you do not wish to play, that is perfectly fine. Maybe you could tell me about your rapier training? I'm afraid I'm more experienced with a staff." He smiled at the juvenile, trying to restore her excitement.

Ori, however, was looking between Silva and Quantel. Rivals? She didn't recall Quantel having used that term for Silva, in all their conversations about the male.

"Perhaps, Silva, we should go off and leave these two to their discussion, aii?" Quantel tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder, but kept her eyes on Silva. "Have a little conversation of our own, methinks."

"Mmm, that might be a good idea." He replied. "But she's not my rival. Just an old... friend." He headed back towards the human playground, expecting Q to follow.

Aleric hesitated, looking at Ori for a second as he waited for the others to get a little further away.

Quantel took a moment to crouch down before Ori first, reaching up to smooth the child's hair away from her face, fingers lightly stroking the horns that protruded just above her forehead. "I shall remain in sight," she said, looking into Ori's eyes. She could see the younger girl's dislike of the idea registered there, and Quantel shook her head ever so slightly. "There is nothing to fear, ori'Sinrei."

With that, she straightened and inclined her head to Aleric, before turning to join up with Silva. As Ori watched Quantel move off, she shivered slightly; despite Quantel's assurances, she still worried that Silva might not mean as well as he could.

Once she had gotten within his hearing distance, but outside of that of the others, Quantel murmured softly, "I have never considered you to be a rival, Silva. I have no idea where your Bondbrother would have gotten such a notion."

"Hmm? He senses distrust." Silva said calmly, dropping down on one of the monkeybars again. "Mine, yours. And since we aren't enemies, then in his mind we must be rivals." He shrugged. "He thinks a little too innocently, but hell, who am I to complain?"

Aleric spoke, hoping to get Ori's attention from the other two. "Does your bondsister train with you? In your rapier training, that is. I've learned that sparring is one of the best ways to learn." She was worried, and by the way she wasn't looking at him, he had to think it was about Silva.

What could he say to that, though? That Silva wouldn't hurt the other feien? He wouldn't... for now. But Silva was still dangerous. Who knew that better than Aleric?

It took considerable effort to draw her eyes away from Quantel, but eventually she did, finding herself looking back at a rather concerned appearing Aleric. "No..." she began, considering the question. While Quantel didn't precisely train *with* her, the other woman did explain what she needed to do, guiding her each step of the way. "Quantel is better at magic than fighting." This brought her to a brief thought of Maquinar, who Quantel had once told her also studied the rapier at one time. Now, however, if he continued to do so, he'd shown no indication of wanting to spar with Ori. Or have much to do with her, for that matter.

Senses distrust? "I do hope that he has no intention of filling my ward's head with nonexistant rivalries." And simply because it afforded her a better view of what was happening between Ori and Aleric, while continuing to place her close enough to Silva for a private conversation, Quantel joined him on his perch.

Silva snorted. Her misunderstanding of his brother was almost as bad as his had been when Aleric had first shown up. But he wasn't about to tell her that. Instead he just watched the two feien, thinking over Aleric's latest change. The other feien had always been able to read people, calm them down and s**t... but lately he'd been hitting more buttons than usual... as if he was reading Silva's mind. "Don't think of ******** with him, Quantel. He's one of my daily sources of amusement."

"I'm not sure how compatible a rapier would be with a staff... but I would be willing to spar with you." Aleric said, smiling once again. He stood, heading for the staff he had left next to the fort. "It's a wonderful way to get to know people, you know. Because when fighting, even pretending to fight, they don't have time to..." Hide things, was what he wanted to say. But that wouldn't quite work in this situation. It would sound as if he thought she was hiding something. Even if she was.

"Debate over their responses." He finally said. "And if this doesn't work, I'm not sure, but I might have a rapier back home. We can try sparring correctly next time." He would have to learn how, of course, but it would be worth it.

"Provided he does not '********' with me or mine, naturally." Her eyes followed Aleric as he changed direction, narrowing ever so slightly when he began to head towards the fort. "Tell me, Silva... Does he oft make approaches to young Feien of this nature?"


It took Ori a moment to realize what Aleric was doing, but once she saw the staff he was going for, she flushed. "I don't carry the rapier about," she admitted, dropping her eyes to the ground. Quantel had advised her that she wasn't good enough with it yet, that it would be more of a hinderance than a help if something were to happen. But not wanting to disappoint the purple Feien, she quickly added, "I know Maquinar has a staff that he no longer uses. I could bring it, and the rapier, and we try them both?" The excitement was beginning to grow again, though it continued to be laced with the mild uncertainty that she was doing the correct thing.

"That would be fine." Aleric said, smiling and holding out his own staff. "If you would like, I could borrow Silva's staff and show you how to use it?" He looked over to where his brother was sitting, wondering if he should interrupt the conversation between the shadow feien. He turned back to Ori. "But it wouldn't be a spar as of yet. I'd have to show you some of the moves first."

Silva shook his head. "He's got this thing for beautiful females, if that's what you're asking. But nah. He's practicing for when we get the new brat." He smirked slightly. This just proved that Aleric should be the one to raise her.

That didn't allay her suspicions, much, but she glanced at Silva with an upraised brow. "There is to be a new Feien amongst your troupe?" Interesting. She had to wonder if this new Feien would be used by Silva, much in the way she was currently using Ori.

"I suppose that couldn't hurt." Ori reached out for the offered staff, the slender cream-colored tips of her fingers coming in first contact, followed by the firmer grip of her dark blue palm.

Aleric smiled. "Just give me a moment to get it." He said, taking to the air and heading towards Silva.

"We're getting a girl." Silva replied. There was no hint of his mixed feelings in his reply, just his usual drawl. "A bloom, if what they tell me is true." He reached over his back, pulling the staff hanging over his shoulder off before Aleric was even there in time to ask. "What the hell I'm going to do with a little girl, I have no idea." He had Aleric to spar with, and unlike Q, he wasn't looking for a guard dog. Especially not a little girl.

Aleric drew closer, taking the staff that was offered with a crooked smile. "Thank you." He said before heading back to Ori quickly. He dropped down beside her, holding up the staff to show his grip. "You start like this, make sure your knees are bent and your weight is on the balls of your feet." He instructed. The same words Nick and Nack had given him when he was first starting.

After examining Aleric's position, Ori carefully duplicated it, from the position of his hands on the staff, down to the way he placed his feet. It was similar to the beginning stance of her rapier work, though the weight placement was a touch off. A soft nod indicated that she was ready, which she was; Ori was swift of mind, if not of wing.

Quantel's attention was back on Aleric and Ori now, having followed him from his retrieval of the staff to his return to the girl. "A girl can do precisely the same as a boy, Silva." When Ori mimicked Aleric's postion exactly, she couldn't help but feel a swell of pride, which caused a glitter to appear in her usually dark sapphire eyes. "Certainly you are aware of the fact that we, in actuality, have no gender?"

"I realize that. But I still don't like beating the s**t out of things so much smaller than myself." Silva said, glancing over at her. "And a juvenile girl doesn't even come up to my waist." And it was true, he treated feminine feien differently than masculine. It was just his nature. "Male or female, not many are strong enough to be worth my time, Quantel."

"Now to spin the staff you use both hands." Aleric told Ori, starting out slow as he gave an example. "This is to create a shield, but you need to do it faster for it to be effective." He sped it up, showing how it started to blur. "This way the staff is good for both offense and defense." She learned quickly, he noted, and she was an eager student. He only hoped he could teach her well enough.

This wasn't about fighting, after all.

As tempting as it was to point him in the direction of Maquinar, Quantel had a feeling that if the pair didn't kill each other, they'd join forces. And that was an unbearable idea. Instead, she quietly asked, "So if you cannot fight them, you have no use for them?"

All three of Ori's eyes narrowed as she watched intently. Once she felt she was ready, her hands began to spin the staff, carefully at first, then picking up speed, as this relied more on her dexterity, which was a very fortunate thing. Faster now. Faster. Don't do anything that might shame her... It was difficult, but not terribly so, and she managed to keep the staff spinning in a somewhat even circle.

"You're doing great!" Aleric praised her, grinning widely. "You're very good at this!" He moved so he was facing her, but still outside of striking distance. "The next trick to being able to strike from the spin." He told her, stopping mid spin and slashing the staff through the air. "That allows you to go from offense to defense before they realize it. You can slash or jab, but slashing was easier for me at first."

"There are other uses. Aleric lasts a long time in a spar, so he's tolerable. He can't beat me, though. Females are good for a snog, if you trust them not to stab you in the back while you're doing it..." Silva paused, trying to come up with some other use for others. "Information comes in handy, too. Other than that..." He shrugged.

Quantel nodded imperceptably as Silva spoke, more as if listening than as if agreeing with what he said. There were certainly deep similarities in the way they both thought, most likely to be attributed to their element, similarities that Quantel had not yet given herself a good chance to consider. If she did, she knew she could only come to one of two conclusions.

She wasn't ready for a mortal enemy yet.

Having continued to watch him as he spoke, Ori decided she'd attempt the move that Aleric had just demonstrated, though it had been a little too quick to entirely see what he'd done. A swift stop, a twist to strike out with the staff... At least, that was the intention, but the momentum of the staff, combined with Ori's inexperience and, to be perfectly blunt, her knack for somehow always getting the worst of things, caused one end of the solid wood to swing up and catch her under the chin, causing her jaw to snap shut audibly. The staff was dropped, clattering to the ground, as she quickly brought one hand up to cover her mouth, hoping to keep the sudden rush of blood from her bitten lip from slushing forward.

Aleric jerked, then tossed his own staff to the side, heading for her, one hand out. "Shh, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Now if you let me, I can heal it." He said, not touching her, but moving his hand towards her face so she understood what he planned to do. "I should have been slower when I was showing you." His tone was calm and gentle, as were his movements.

"Ouch." Silva muttered. "Done that before." He didn't even think about mortal enemies, he had had run-ins with professional killers before. To him, this was just a normal conversation.

It hurt, dreadfully so, but the mental pain of the mistake scorched worse. Stupid, stupid, STUPID. Her eyes clenched shut against the welling tears, and Ori fought to control the whirl of emotions as the swam through her mind. Outwardly she showed no sign of declining Aleric's offer, and she may have even nodded a bit, since she could obviously not speak for fear of spilling blood, but inwardly... She forced herself to swallow a mouthful of the metallic fluid, forced herself to remain still, forced herself not to show how horribly, horribly miserable she felt at doing such a stupid, stupid thing.

Quantel tensed as the scene near the fort unfolded, sensing the gathering of magical energy that Aleric would need for his spell. Not having a shared bond with Ori, she didn't know how badly the child was hurt, and therefore wasn't entirely comfortable with whatever was about to happen. Instictively she grasped one of the staffs with her own magic, but did not lift it, merely preparing if it were to be necessary to protect the child.

Aleric reached forward, touching her as gently as possible as he healed her. He was doing his best to ignore the massive amounts of emotion going through the small body, but it became too much for him to bear. With a sigh he got on his knees and pulled her into a hug, completely ignoring the scratching and jabbing her spikes gave. "Shhh, child, shhh, it's okay now. It's all better." He ran a gentle hand over the back of her head. "Shhh..."

Silva raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word. It kind of figured Aleric was a hugger.

Quantel's reaction was probably the most unexpected: She smiled. Granted it was a thin, ghost of a smile, her eyes once more losing their glitter and returning to the shadowed swirls of blue that was their typical appearance, but it was a smile nonetheless. After all, the very first thing she had taught Ori was that...

...Such physical contact between two Feien was impolite and immoral. Her misery soon gave way to confusion, at the strange sensations this embrace was causing inside her, the warmth that began somewhere in her chest. Then came the unease, tinged by anger, that Aleric, who had seemed so nice, would do such a thing. With the taste and scent of blood still heavy in her mouth, she quietly, but forcefully said, "Please stop touching me."

He let go, falling back and looking at her for a moment. She was confused? And... angry? Because of a hug? "Forgive me, I suppose you don't know me well enough to allow such things." He said calmly, looking down for a second. "A hug is something that should be between close friends or family." Although the only hugging he got from Silva was when the other male dragged his a** out of the pool when he was drowning.

He stood, walking over and picking up the staff. "We can continue if you wish." He said softly, offering her the staff.

Silva almost jerked at the smile on Q's face, but he kept his reaction hidden. "No touching, is that it? Darlin, you're more evil than I thought." It was just a statement of a fact. "Touching can be damn nice if it's done right."

"I have never found that to be true." A simple statement of fact as well, though she was tempted to emphasize a word or two, in order to give said statement other implications. And enough glimpses of Maquinar and one of his numerous female friends had killed any curiousity she may have had to experience the baser "pleasures" physical contact might bring.

If she thought that often enough, she might actually start to believe it.

Reaching up a hand once more to wipe at traces of blood on her mouth, Ori watched him warily, as if expecting him to pounce once more. After a long moment, she shook her head, declining the offered staff. It wasn't in her nature to stay angry, so that emotion subsided, but the confusion remained lurking in the dark corners of her mind. Had she actually started to enjoy the hug? The thought that she might have now caused her shame, and worry, even fear that she might be like those female Feien who debased themselves with Maquinar. That Quantel despised so much.

"Thank you for asking me here, but I think I should go."

Aleric paused, confused by her words, then even more confused by her emotions. "Ori... there are different types of touching. What just happened was something to comfort, not to make you feel uncomfortable. But I'm sorry that it has. I would like to see you again, sometime... I promise I won't touch you again." He stood, then held out his hand. "I very much enjoyed meeting you. And I would like to become friends." One day. He bit back a sigh.

"Hell, darlin, that explains a lot." Silva drawled. "I probably should have taken you up on your offer back then. Could have made you a lot less of a b***h to deal with." He glanced over at her. "Hell, I could fix that now, if you wanted."

Quantel laughed softly at Silva's comment, amused at the thought that he might be the sole reason she did what she did. "As intriguing as the offer is," she commented, though her voice indicated that she found it anything but, "I think I shall pass."

As it was the proper thing to do, Ori reached her hand out as well, touching her palm briefly and lightly to his. "Maybe. We're very busy at the House." As she tamped down her feelings, since she didn't want to head back to Quantel looking upset, Ori thought briefly, then added, "You can still write to me, if you want."

"I'll do that." Aleric said, smiling slightly. "I will look forward to your replies." So it hadn't been a complete loss... he would just have to take it very slowly. The emotional damage this child suffered was far more serious than he had ever thought. He bowed ever so slightly. "Then I will be writing to you soon."

"You're missing out on a hell of a good time." Silva drawled. Now that Ruya was no longer his Ruya, and never would be... He had no reason to try to be faithful. "But hell, if you're too scared to touch..." He let the sentence dangle, shrugging slightly as he got up. "I've got a midnight sparring match lined up."

Though tempted to prove Silva wrong by touching him, she had a feeling the touch she had in mind wasn't the same as what he was considering, and thus kept her magic hand to herself. A simple smile was the reply she gave, accompanied by a tilt of her head as a farewell. Quantel decided to remain on the monkeybars and let Ori come to her.

"All right." Though she didn't return the smile, Ori did relax slightly and bobbed her head. Extending her wings and flapping them a bit, to help her lift up from the ground, she added, "Until then!" With that, she began to fly towards Quantel at what might be considered a sedate pace to most, but was actually a rather brisk clip for her.

Silva paused before passing her, chewing on his toothpick and moving backwards so he could talk to her for a moment. It wasn't hard to do, she was as slow as Aleric had been at first.

"If you leave the staff on the ground now, you're going to have a hell of a time fighting against one in the future." He told her softly. "Everytime it comes towards you, you'll remember hitting yourself in the face." It was meant as advice, but could easily be taken as a warning. "Not all feien are as nice as my brother, darlin."

He flew past her before she had the time to reply, getting a dirty look from Aleric for his troubles. "What?"

"You shouldn't have said that." Aleric said.

"Only telling the truth."

Ori bristled slightly as Silva spoke to her, an almost defiant gleam in her three eyes. If there was one thing that Quantel hadn't stamped down upon, it was Ori's confidence in her physical abilities. In all truth, it might have even been the only thing that Quantel encouraged in the girl. She didn't respond to the large Feien, however, wanting to simply get to Quantel before anything else tonight could go wrong.

Not needing to ask what Silva had said, as Quantel could clearly see that it most likely wasn't something supportive, she merely lifted one of her wings so that Ori could land beside her on the bars. The child settled down obligingly, just close enough to Quantel for her spines to brush the other Feien's skin.

Aleric tossed Silva his staff, then went to retrieve his own, assuming his fighting position without a thought. Silva looked at him for a moment, just leaning on his staff as he chewed on his toothpick. "It's not going to work." He said finally, assuming his own position.

"What isn't?" Aleric asked as they watched each other to see which would make the first mistake. He started spinning his staff in the way he had shown Ori. Silva took the offensive, jabbing his own staff forward, then pulling back.

"Trying to make her a normal kid. It's not going to work." Silva replied, blocking as Aleric attacked. "You might as well save your effort till we get the kid."

They fell into an easy rhythm, striking and counterstriking, every once in a while landing a blow. Silva's staff slashed out, knocking Aleric's legs out from under him. Aleric fell onto his butt. "Ouch."

"Left, old man. Guard your left." Silva told him, holding out a hand and deliberately looking over at the monkeybars as Aleric took it. He hauled the shorter male to his feet, holding onto the hand for a second longer than he had to.

As the males began to spar, Quantel and Ori watched quietly. Curving her wing in closer to the child, Quantel asked, "Are you able to make out what they are saying?"

Trying, her ears perking and turning towards the fight, Ori finally had to shake her head. "I'm sorry... The staffs make too much noise, and they are too far off." Her ears drooped, and she hoped that Quantel wouldn't be too disappointed. There was still the path home, after all, for the older woman to show her displeasure in Ori's actions tonight.

"Very well." She nodded, then narrowed her eyes as Silva looked back at them, aiding his Bondbrother to his feet. A message, then? Or a warning? Quantel had a feeling that this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

"You''re trying to irritate them, aren''t you?" Aleric asked, pulling his hand away and raising his staff again. "What happened?"

"Well, seems the old lady doesn''t much like touching for one." Silva said before the fighting began again. "And she''s passed it on to the kid. Like I said, give it up. That one''s a lost cause." He wanted them to hear this part.

"I don''t want to believe that. I have hopes that when the bloom arrives, she might become friends with her." Aleric said. "Our little girl will need friends."

"Yours, not ours." Silva said, finally attacking. Aleric blocked.

"Either way, she''ll still need friends." He replied.

"I don''t have any, I came out perfectly fine." Silva replied, speeding up just enough to force Aleric to concentrate. He was done with this subject.

Ori's right ear flicked, as a horse was wont to do towards a fly, catching the conversation now that there wasn't the whirl and crack of wood overlaying it. She began, speaking carefully, so that she could reproduce the dialogue as exactly as possible, repeating every word and adding in none of her own. This was how Quantel preferred it, as it would let her be the one to interpret meaning, and not an inexperienced child. Once she had finished, Ori fell silent, though thinking over it all.

Methinks the man doth protest too much. While very interested in what had occurred between Ori and Aleric, as well as what the child's feelings were now and how much minor damage may have been caused, Quantel had no wish to remain here any longer, and indicated so by swiftly snapping her wings up and out, her more flashy signal for departure. "Come, sweetling. I grow fatigued by this air."

Nodding quickly, Ori slipped off the bar first, keeping herself afloat with a combination of wing beats and magical will, then waited as Quantel slipped off afterwards, the older Feien's wings unmoving, not needing any physical assistance to her flight. Together the two began to head away from the playground, into the night.