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 Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:03 pm
 Xing-Huang was lost. He had no idea where he was, and the fact that he wasn't able to see made it a little bit more difficult. He had been learning from his father how to 'see', yes, but he had yet to perfect the technique. He knew he was far from home, and the fact he had wandered off from it, probably farther than he meant to go, wasn't helping.
For the moment, he found a place to sit, though he was unsure of what it was he sat upon, and just chose to listen. It was so quiet, but he could still feel the warm sun upon his fur, and folded his wings in against his body. Perhaps someone would come by and help him out? Hopefully someone who would be fairly kind... jinxgirl5 ((Sorry it took me so long!))
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:41 pm
 Sho carefully set his tools down on a table and stretched stiff back and shoulders out. He'd been crafting a new flute for days, and this one was turning out to be one of his finest works yet! It was ornamented with engravings of a spiraling ivy vine and a few leaves. Tucked between one of the leaves and a section of vine was a little lark he had spent several hours on, pain-stakingly detailing it so that it.
His magic was a complicated thing. Yes, flutes were his domain. He could walk outside, pick a tree, and pull a perfectly-made flute out of its wood with a mere fraction of the work he was doing now. Same for metal and any other materials. Crafting wasn't his domain, and even though he knew what was needed to assemble a perfect flute he was as much a novice as anyone when it came to making the material do what he wanted without magic.
Most might have wondered why he even bothered when he could have perfection in seconds, but to Sho it was a matter of pride. Nothing was really worth having if you could just have it; it was the journey to the end that mattered, not the results!
He needed to take a break though, or else his eyes would cross from peering at tiny details and his muscles would turn to stone!
Sho stook, stretching again, and wandered out of his family home. It was a large place, though currently only his grandparents, his father, his uncle, and he himself actually lived there. All his aunts lived elsewhere, though one had a little cottage so close by that she was part of the household, if not living in the house itself. The house boasted a lovely flower garden (his grandmother had some plant magic), but Sho found his feet carrying him away from the house and towards an entirely different garden.
This was Aunt Serenade's garden. Grumpy creature she could be, and she liked her privacy. Probably why she'd built her cottage and workshop separate from the house. She even kept her garden separate, claiming she had to keep all the "useful" stuff away from the flowers, though Sho was sure it was more of her stubborness. Still, when one wanted to "get away" without going far, Aunt Serenade's gardens were a nice place. She alone out of all her brothers and sisters had gotten Cadence's plant magic, purely plant magic with not a drop of music magic or music interest. He didn't think her powers had anything to do with plant growth like Cadence, but her gardens were still beautiful and well-tended things. There were even rocks arranged into formations here and there, meant to provide shade and shelter for some of the less hardy plants. Some of those places made excellent places to sit and practice playing his flutes, or just to soak up sun and relax.
It was indeed that thought that steered his steps. Tired and sore as he was, it wasn't until he was well within sight of the rocks that he noticed a splash of color very out of place...
Surprise brought Sho to a halt. His first thought was of Lorik, but a second later he dismissed the notion. Lorik's blues were all over, and much darker than this strange god's blues were. Maybe a friend of Aunt Sera's? It was possible, though it didn't strike him as likely.
He resumed his approach, slower than before, looking around for Aunt Sera hidden somewhere in her garden while keeping a cautious eye on the stranger. If he was a friend Aunt Sera would most likely be somewhere close by, but he couldn't spot the orange female...~Lady Kanna~ lol It's fine, I've been fairly distracted myself!
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:45 pm
Footsteps.. Now that he could hear, among all of the wildlife around him. He couldn't tell what sort of friend, or foe for that fact, it was, but carefully sat up a little higher, ears perked in the direction Sho approached from. Carefully turning his head towards the stranger, he inclined his head a little.
"Wonderful day, is it not? I'm terribly sorry, but could you tell me where I am?" He asks, being rather quiet. He doesn't like loud noises, so why cause them himself? Ironic for what his own domain is, after all....Gears tended to turn rather noisily after all, and he was going to, as soon as he could find somewhere to work, preferably close to home, he would start solving that. Of course, he wouldn't be getting rid of the noise completely! Just tone it down a little bit. Maybe a slight redesign would work~.
Xing-Huang nervously flutters his wings, waiting to hear back from this mysterious stranger. He doesn't get away from home often, and is more used to the company of his brother and half-siblings than that of others, though if it is perhaps a mortal, he would be used to it. Hua-Ling and Sy-Rinn were easy enough to play around with, after all.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:20 pm
Sho started a little as the stranger's head turned towards him. He hadn't been looking in his direction and Sho thought he'd been walking silently. Then there was the odd was the stranger was looking at him. He was facing him, but it was like he wasn't really seeing him. Sho could see the whiteness of the stranger's eyes from here. Were they just really pale, or...?
"You're in the middle of my aunt's garden," Sho responded, continuing forward with light steps until he stood about ten feet away from where the stranger sat. His wings fluttered on his back into a more comfortable position.
"Not the exact middle," he amended. "More like a bit northwest of the true center. Assuming she hasn't moved the center somewhere else, which is always possible with her." While he spoke Sho shamelessly examined the stranger through his silvery-white bangs. His collections of colors and patterns were very odd, yet not unpleasant. His suspcions that the stranger might also be blind were growing firmer with each passing moment, for the eyes did appear to be completely blank and didn't follow his movements as they should have.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:39 pm
The middle of a garden? Or not, actually. Well maybe. Xing-Huang felt terrible! He was in the middle of some wonderful woman's pride and joy! "Oh, I'm terribly sorry." He murmured, bowing his head. "I do hope I haven't trampled any of her aunt's hard work. I will make sure to be far more careful next time." Ah, he hoped he hadn't ruined anything....Plants were so far from his domain that he couldn't bear to think of what he would do if he had!
"I'm terribly sorry, my manners seem to have eluded me. I'm Xing-Huang, god of gears." He gave a quiet smile. "Somehow I seem to have ended up here of all places, and I don't know my way back home." With a quiet sigh, the male fluffed his wings again, having felt an insect land upon them. "I am unable to find my own way, I'm afraid...."
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:15 am
"Sho, God of Flutes," he responded somewhat absently before lapsing back into silence. No hope that his examination of the blind god was because he was looking for tactful words; that introduction was about the extent of his manners. Nightingale really had tried, and Sho could put on a polite mask when he had to. Trouble was, he rarely thought he had to.
"Aunt Serenade will be plenty pissed if she finds you trampled something," he finally agreed. "Not that I can tell if you did or not. I tromp through wilderness, I don't cultivate gardens."
He shrugged lightly and took two more slow steps forward. "If you can't see and don't know where you're going, why on earth did you start wandering without a guide," he asked bluntly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:39 pm
"Ah, so you're a god too?" Xing-Huang perked up, smiling a little more. "You'd be the first outside my family. It's a pleasure, Sho." He really was excited, though the same calmness overtook him as well. He was most certainly happy he had strayed off now, though hoped he hadn't caused too much trouble, especially at Sho's next words.
"If it turns out that I did, I would be happy to help her fix it." He bowed his head regretfully. "Though I do hope all is well. I am no master at gardening either. My realm lies far more in line with metal."
"I wanted to...well, pardon the irony, see the world. I'm old enough to start to make my way on my own, and I need to learn how to do so. Though perhaps while this wasn't the best idea, I've still had the pleasure of meeting a fellow god, haven't I?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:01 pm
Sho’s thoughts wandered for a moment. A god whose domain was in metal? He wondered how much overlap there was between their powers. It wasn’t like he could have turned metal into anything more than a flute; it felt more like forcing a flute to reveal itself rather than forcing the metal to take the shape he wanted. Was that enough to qualify his powers as being metal-related, or was it something more of the power equivalent to a cousin-by-marriage?
“It’s not so big a deal,” Sho said absently, pulling half his mind back to the god in front of him. “I’ve met a couple others, and it wasn’t much different from meeting normal foxes.”
He finally dragged his mind away from philosophy to give the god another look-over. Young, it seemed. Younger than Lorik and that music goddess he’d met. Perhaps the same age as Lorik’s youngest nieces and nephews, or perhaps even the same age as Sho himself; he wasn’t that old, after all.
“If you did, best thing you can do is apologize, sit there and try to give of a meek aura while Aunt Sera yells, then run for it as soon as she tells you to scat.” Sho had some personal experience on that end, having accidently trampled a whole row of young thyme plants once.
He shrugged again, a habit even if he knew the god couldn’t see him. “If you think the pleasure of meeting me is a fair price for a potential scolding, I really need to point you out to some places where you can actually meet normal folks. I’m too much of an a** to be worth any of Aunt Sera’s scoldings.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:13 am
Xing-Huang seemed to perk up at his mention of others. "Well...You're the first fox, god or not, outside my small family as well. I consider it to be a rather wonderful happenstance." He gave an even more serene smile, enjoying the company Sho was giving him. "I suppose it won't be much different if I do meet any other foxes, whatever type they may be. I do hope I will have the opportunity some day."
"Of course. It sounds like wonderful advice, though the running part may not be wise. Perhaps flying away would be better, since there's less likely hood of trampling her plants again, or in my case, running head on in to something." He chuckled. It wasn't like he was uncomfortable with his blindness. His father was blind as well, after all! It was just a different way of getting around, nothing too terribly bad about it. Except for getting lost.
"Ah, it might be. Even if it might be bad, I would be able to meet your Aunt Sera. And I don't think you're an a**, everyone's different after all, right?" Another smile. There was a role for every person to fit in this world, he knew. His mother had said so, even as he was a bowl, tucked close to her with her warm tail around him and his brother...
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:16 am
Sho had to smile a bit on that. “Well my role is to play the forest hermit and grumpy tinkerer, it seems,” he responded. That was true enough; when he wasn’t wandering the forest alone to practice he was usually at home creating something. His ability to socialize tended to drop even further, if that was possibly, from when he was alone in the woods. Perhaps because when he wasn’t working he was reminding his uncle of the need to eat proper foods rather than snacks and having his tail used as a bed since Requiem only appeared to sleep properly when curled up in Sho’s tail.
“Knowing Aunt Sera, as soon as she knew you couldn’t see she’d probably escort you herself out of her garden to keep you from trampling anything else, then sit you down and read you a lecture about trampling things.” There was an undertone of wry amusement in his voice, as he could picture Aunt Sera doing exactly that.
And actually, it might be better to vacate the garden before Aunt Sera came out for the day to start work. She came off a little grumpy even when she was in a good mood.
“Perhaps it would be better to change locations,” Sho said aloud, watching the male for assent. “I can at least get you out of the garden and make sure there’s no other casualties, assuming you stepped on something as you entered the area.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:58 pm
"So you actually make flutes as well?" Xing-Huang picked up on his mention of tinkering. "That must be interesting! I haven't ever seen a gear, so I doubt without some help I could make one myself. I'm sure I'll find a way one day." He nodded, tail swishing from side by side. "What kind of materials do you like to use?" He really was curious, moreso like a small child than the fully grown adult he was, which perhaps made him more tolerable for Sho.
"She sounds like quite the woman! Full of passion and life..." He laughed about Sho's aunt, trying to imagine being carefully escorted away before being sat down for a lecture.
"Ah yes, I don't wish to ruin her hard work any further if I have." He nodded, obviously serious about not destroying the small garden as if he were a giant monster upon a tiny town. "I'm sorry to be a burden, but could you help?" He managed to flutter up a little to hover above the air, though was unsure of where to go from there. He didn't want to hit any trees or get snagged in branches, though he wasn't sure if there were any even near him at the moment.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 12:16 am
Sho almost snorted. Yup, his Aunt Sera was full of passion and life....in a very scary way. His whole adopted family fell into one extreme at opposites ends of the spectrum; either cheerfully outgoing that bordered on almost invasive or complete social recluse. His father, uncle, and Aunt Sera were all social recluses, but the males in the trio were shy recluses; Aunt Sera was just crotchedy, and entirely on purpose.
"Wooden flutes are my favorites," Sho responded to Xing-Huang's query (though ironicly those were the hardest for him to make in the "mundane" way), but before he got a chance to elaborate the young god sprung into the air. Sho eyed him dubiously, but finally figured that if he could manage a hover then he had enough control over his flight that it might be easier than being led around on foot. Certainly there was plently of open space to move around in up there, and there weren't any trees in the direction Sho was planning to lead him in.
He reached back and pulled out a small wooden flute that he kept nestled in his fur, held in place by his collar. It was a plain little thing, obviously worn but well-cared for. "Just follow the sound and I'll lead you out. There's nothing for you to bump in to," Sho called up to Xing-Huang, then put the flute to his lips and began to play a low-note melody that vibrated through the air. Once he had the instrument comfortable balanced, he began moving across the garden and towards the road that ran in front of the family house.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:47 pm
"Wooden ones? They must sound absolutely fantastic. I'd love to hear one of yours someday~." He smiled, flicking one of his ears absently. Little did he know, soon enough he would be hearing one, and his wish would be granted. He was very careful about hovering in the air, only flapping strongly when he needed to.
"Sound what do you--..." Xing-Huang was cut short by the beautiful noise. Oh. A flute. A wooden flute. He all but relaxed in the air, almost falling, but caught himself at the right time. He was glad there was nothing to bump in to, and followed Sho at a safe distance. It was beautiful, truly beautiful, a warm and well tuned melody that surely was the work of a god.
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Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:14 pm
As soon as Sho reached the road and walked over to a wide section he stopped playing and sat, waiting for Xing-Huang to join him on the ground.
"That was the first flute I ever made by magic," he called up conversationally as he waited. Because of his magic the flute was still in as perfect condition as the day he made it, though it was a fairly plain and simple piece compared to his later works.
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Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:29 pm
Xing-Huang was fairly good at detecting that the sound had stopped moving, and slowly descended, testing the ground with his front paws before landing. There was obviously a story behind that, one that Sho wasn't going to find out about until he asked. He sat down, tail wrapping around to his front paws again as he folded his wings back.
"Oh really?" He asked, interested, "Was it difficult? It sounds amazing! You must make the best flutes in the world if that was only the first one!" He answered, nodding. "I haven't ever made anything using my magic...I guess I'm afraid to, since I can't see what I'm doing..." He laughed a little, trying to lighten up such a sad topic.
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