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 Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:47 pm
Toulouse stopped and stared at Piero with a solemn look on his face. “My, you are a smart one. I gave you less credit than you deserved. Bravo.” Toulouse said vaguely in a shockingly queer voice from the one he had been using from moments ago. He cocked his hip out just a bit. “I doubt it’s just me though. She’d probably react the same to anyone else. It’s probably just our aura’s clashing.”
He looked at the trembling egg that Piero held out to him and blinked his eyes slowly again in thought. Toulouse set his chocolate on the ground, levitation had lost its fun, and loosened the strap of his violin case so that he could sling it over his shoulder. He should have done that earlier he thought wryly.
“Holding this egg in favor would be a joyous act compared to some.” Toulouse took the proffered egg from Piero’s open hands. He held the humming, warm egg of Pasayo close to his chest feeling somewhat sad for it. Toulouse cradled it like a child and laid a delicate kiss of the surface of the smooth shell. “Wisdom is only a fleeting state of mind. It doesn’t exist.” Toulouse added with a sigh. Wishing that Piero had not said such a silly thing.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:05 pm
"I bet you're often told that you're adorable, aren't you?"
Piero lifted the bags into his hands after Toulouse took Pasayo from him, smiling at the interaction of the two. When Toulouse had kissed the shell the egg had seemed visibly shocked, the small clouds that surrounded its base swirling quickly and the two tiny wings fluttering about like crazy.
Whomever was inside had certainly not been expecting that type of action to occur, and Piero couldn't help but chuckle at Pasayo egg's miniature expression of embarrassment or delight.
"I'm not sure if she liked your kiss or was offended by it. Either way it seems that you have a great impact on her and I am thankful for you listening to my request."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:23 pm
“I try to ignore such things.” Toulouse said with a regal sniff. He watched Piero pick up his shopping bags full of chocolate wondering if the stuff would be melted before he got to a fridge. He turned he attention back to the little black egg, who’s wings seemed to be flapping madly about.
“I’m guessing the latter. Most women are offended by such things. Sorry Pa-sa-yo.” Toulouse patted the egg gently, drawing out her name into three long syllables. “I just couldn’t help myself.” He looked back up at Piero with a half apologetic half shy smile and shrugged. “Please don’t thank me either. Like I said, it’s not a loathsome task. Will you walk with me now?” Toulouse was secretly glad for Piero’s company, knowing that the presence of the seemingly older man would deter others from approaching him.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:40 pm
"Of course I will accompany you, and if the comments that I say do bother you then I shall try and refrain from saying them."
He motioned with his head for the boy to start walking and he would follow, though he had to admit to himself that Toulouse's personality was quite similar to Lune's...minus the malice and extreme violence. Perhaps if the two boys were ever to meet the world would end up feeling like one giant ball of idiocy thanks to being constantly talked down towards.
Piero was amused at Pasayo's consistent fluttering in the young teen's hands, her wings not having settled at all since Tuolouse got a hold of her. The cloud had stopped swirling like it was going to be blown away, so the older man took the flapping to be a sign of excitement over anything else. She was still keeping the happy thrum as far as his ears could hear, but if it were to change at all he would have to ask politely for her back.
"Is there anything you would like to talk about as we walk, or would you prefer silence?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:55 pm
“Don’t worry about it. Say what you want. I don’t mind.” And he didn’t. Toulouse began to walk up the street towards the outside of town. Once there he knew it would be another three and a half miles until he reached home. He was in no hurry though and walked slowly, careful not to jostle Pasayo. Toulouse wasn't expecting Piero to follow him to far.
Toulouse sighed a bit was he walked, wondering why Piero was so polite. It was a grotesque habit and it reminded him painfully of his father, who was the exact same way. Absolon always spoke in tones of quiet politeness so you never knew what he was thinking or if he meant it. He could hate a man yet never shown it save for underhanded comments that were all just part of a petty graciousness that was merely a lie. Toulouse had been on the receiving end of those gibes all too often when his father had still been alive. There was no way to combat a person like that. Was Piero the same way?
“What do you want to talk about?” Toulouse asked after a time. “I would think that you’re full of questions about Pasayo.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:20 pm
"Questions about her? To be honest I would rather she tell me herself when she is able than have someone else talk about her or her kind."
Piero did wonder slightly how far they were going to go with this new teenager as their walking companion, but seeing as Piero had planned on taking a long walk anyway this wasn't so bad. He probably could have worn better shoes but he really didn't own anything that would have suited his outfit and still be comfortable to move around in, so he had to grin and bear it.
This was mostly all for Pasayo's sake, after all. There was no one back at his home who could care for her the way she most likely needed, until she hatched that is, and so taking her out and around with him was the best he had to offer. Finding Toulouse was like a blessing in disguise.
Or rather a blessing with a cocky attitude and a know-it-all personality.
"I just hope that when that little child decides to grace us all with her presence she doesn't find our world to be too scary. I've always gotten this lonely feeling from her, like her largest fear is to be forgotten, and I find myself keeping the small child at my side always. When she hatches and becomes able to explore the world, will she still feel that way?"
Piero sort of winced after he finished speaking, quite aware of how dramatic he must have been sounding. Perhaps it was really odd for someone to care about something they had no idea over this deeply, but for Piero it had become second nature thanks to his living environment.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:53 pm
“Aren‘t we all afraid to be forgotten?” Toulouse sighed in a melancholy sort of way. “We are a lonely race. It can be difficult not knowing who your friends and enemies are. Right or wrong though, you can still end up dead. Sometimes it’s better to be alone and forgotten. It‘s a dangerous place.” Toulouse wasn’t sure why he was divulging this particular bit of information to Piero. He wasn’t sure if the man would have any idea what he was talking. Probably not.
He shook his golden head and looked up at Piero, giving him a wane smile. “But, you’ll be there right? You’ll make sure that she isn’t forgotten. You’ll love her, right?” There was a plaintive tone in Toulouse’s voice as if this was the most important thing of all.
Toulouse hugged Pasayo closer, wondering who she was and where she had come from. Was she perhaps someone that he had known in a different life? Probably not, unless she was High Sidhe or some kind of ranking noble. He sighed again, knowing he most likely wouldn’t see her nor Piero again.
“Let me know when you tire of this.” Toulouse said a little forlornly. “I don’t want you to wear yourself out on my account Piero."
Toulouse could almost see the trees that he knew hid the path to his house. He liked the lonely little path at dusk and enjoyed the walk. He was glad that he hadn’t taken the bus. A million years of walking lost in an open forest was better than a moment in a smelly iron bus that was on the right path.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:49 pm
"I'm hardier than I look, despite being a human you know. If I can keep up with half of the children my dearest cousin sends to me I can certainly walk a distance with you. However if you start to fly I may have to tip my hat and bow out."
Piero chuckled a little as he shifted the bags in his hands, the whole while his gaze turning from the road back to his companion and the precious egg he carried at his breast.
"I believe that some would say 'to be forgotten is worse than death'. I for one would hate to die alone regardless of who I knew and who would come for me. To die in the arms of a lover or on the blade of an enemy is to never die alone."
He shifted the bags again. It wasn't that they were getting heavy, hardly the case, but it was more or less that Piero was used to using his hands when he spoke. As an assistant teacher who often gave lectures it was important for his students to always be able to see him, and in response to this the man had developed the unfortunate yet helpful habit of gesturing as he spoke.
"As for Pasayo, I will be at her side for as long as I may. If not me, then my brother. If not my brother, then someone. My home is always open to anyone who wishes a place to stay for as long as they need, and as long as she stays with me or in that house she will never be alone. She also,"
he paused and turned to look at Toulouse once more, a smile on his face that seemed to not only age him but sort of demonify him.
"has you for now, for what it's worth. Though chances and are we shall never meet again without some act of God or fate, she will never forget you. Nor will I."
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:31 pm
“Ah, spoken like a true mortal working through his own coil, knowing that someday, he too, shall taste the bitter defeat of death. I met with Death once already and I don’t hasten to his arms again. He frightens me.” Toulouse knew what it was like to be forgotten and to die. If he had his choice he would choose to spend all eternity with not a single soul knowing what it was like to feel his name upon their lips. He would rather be forgotten then to feel Death’s cold hands on him again. He had never told anyone of his fear of dieing before. Odd.
Toulouse sighed in his melancholy, his mood having shifted once again. He walked alongside smiling Piero and replied presently, “I’m glad for you and I’m glad for her and I’m glad for all your children. You’re a good man Piero.” Somehow, Toulouse knew that this was true all they way down to his little toe.
He stopped walking, pausing for a moment to look at the sky. Home was closer now then it had been before and Toulouse was eager to get home. He didn’t want to take up anymore of Piero and Pasayo’s time. He held out the fluttering egg of Pasayo. “Here. Thank you for being so kind to me.” Toulouse smiled at Piero, and for a moment it was a dazzling flash of his old brilliance coming to the surface once again. For a split second, Toulouse was all that he was and all that he had been. The moment passed swiftly.
“I suppose we’d better part ways here. I wish you good luck and long life Piero Hofmeister,” Toulouse hugged Pasayo close to his chest once again, leaning in against her shimmering black shell in an almost kiss. “And to you too, sweet Pasayo.”
Toulouse reached out to Piero, holding Pasayo towards him expectantly.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:50 pm
"Toulouse."
It sounded odd for the older man to be saying his name, but Piero spoke it out without any hesitation on his part. He had reached out and taken Pasayo back, though he'd clapped his hands softly over Toulouse's own before the boy could pull back.
He wasn't holding him captive - the boy could get free if he even moved slightly, but it was a thought to simply have contact like this. Pasayo's egg seemed to greatly approve of the contact between her Master and this young man, as she thrummed loudly and seemed to vibrate in their hands.
"If you ever wish to find us again, I pray you seek us out. It is not an offer to take you away from everything you have here, but more of an offer to spend time with others who simply enjoy your company. You are always welcome to see us."
Piero's message was cryptic as he left not a hint of an address to actually find them with, but he knew that if the boy really wanted to see them nothing would probably stop him. Inhuman children had their ways of getting what they wanted quickly and easily after all.
He released Toulouse's hands but kept Pasayo in his own, having already set the young man's bags down at the pair's feet. This was a meeting he had enjoyed, speaking with someone who seemed to mixed between two worlds at once, and he tipped his top hat in Toulouse's direction.
"I bid thee farewell, until we meet again."
And with that, he turned on his heels and slowly started walking back in the direction he had come from, entirely aware of the painful mourning that the egg in his hands now released. . .
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