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 Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:14 pm
As the sub-tropical breeze meandered lazily over the thatched roof of number three, Ar'Idil, it wavered and shone, bearing along the soft, easy sound of a flute. It sounded like some kind of celtic tune, eerily out of place on the sultry island, but pleasant and soothing nonetheless.
Until it was punctuated by a shriek of glee and a colorful oath.
"Sorrysorrys--orry!" Kala whimpered in distress, watching as her keeper gasped and seethed, rubbing his jaw. She'd been in such a frenzy to show him the horde of candy she'd amassed from the evening before she'd thoughtlessly darted past the end of his flute, hit it with her awkwardly large wing, and smashed the head joint right into that man's face.
" 'Salright, Kalarune, I'm alright...ah..." Progolo mumbled in his soft, heavy voice, muffled slightly by the hand that was gently assuring he hadn't managed to knock out his teeth with the impact. "Ah..."
Just to be sure, he sidled out of his chair and made his way to the bathroom to examine his face in the looking glass. Kala trailed after him, stammering an unintelligible stream of apologies.
"I'm fine, Alvea," he murmurred, pronouncing the foreign pet name delicately as a tiny trickle of blood oozed from his mouth. Progolo sucked in a breath, and a cringe rippled across his normally calm, vague features. Pale hands groped for a washcloth, which he ran under the warm-water faucet and carefully held to his face.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:32 pm
It wasn't a long walk from Six to Three, especially when you ran at a speed only attainable by the very young or the very panicked. Wyv had trailed behind him for part of the way, then sauntered back from whence she came after exacting yet another promise he wouldn't eat all of the candy he'd amassed.
If he got sick, she told him, it'd be his own fault. He supposed being sick was like having a sprained ankle- not much fun at all. But there were so many kinds of candy, hidden is so many colorful wrappers... it was tempting to try it anyways.
But that was part of the reason she'd husseled him off to go share with a friend, partially so he might get distracted with play and partially so he might come back with some of those caramel things she liked so much. He grinned at that.
He halted outside number Three, straining his ears. Had he heard something? He was quite sure he had, but he couldn't place it. It was gone now, but maybe it'd come back.
Makai straightened and knocked out a rapid salute. Just to be sure, he called out cautiously, "Kala? Y'there?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:07 pm
Several pairs of ears perked up at the sound of the knocking--triangular gryphon ears, slim fae ears, funnelled giraffe ears, and plain old round human ears turned insitinctively to the noise.
"Who--?" Progolo gurgled through his towel. Kala slithered past him and hurried to the door, eyes shining with curiosity. Behind her followed a slew of fellow inhabitants, anxious to see the invader.
Kala afforded her keeper no explanation before throwing open the door. Her freckled face shone with pleasure at the sight of the diminuitive little boy, familiar from the night before. It was wierd to see him in broad daylight, with no shinies hanging all over him, and, for the life of her, she could not place his name.
But what was the importance of names, anyway?
"Aaaaaammmmhaaaaaaaa!" She purred, throwing her her skinny frame onto his short form in an overbearing hug.
Above, fluttering around in elation, was the small fey from the night before. She, for one, remembered his name well and belted it out loudly, "M'kai~!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:40 pm
"Whoa!" Yep, this was the right house. No mistaking Kala's tall frame for anybody else's. He hugged right back, finding her happiness to see him quite infectious. He stepped back adfter a moment. "I got your house number from the lodge," he waved a piece of paper clenched tightly in his fist, "but I don't read so good sometimes."
It had been his intent to go down the list until he found someone to share his haul with; Kala's name had simply been at the top. "Wyv says the best parta Howl-o-ween is sharing and trading," here he raised other hand, gripped around the handle of his jack-o-lantern bucket, "So if you wasn't busy or nothin'...?"
He trailed off, as he caught sight of Yaraif. It was she of the gorgeous voice! He blushed a little - she even remembered his name!- and nodded in a greeting. "'allo." He wanted to say something, but words failed him. Maybe one day he could sing like she could. Not the same, of course, but with a similar level of skill.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:57 pm
Progolo watched the scene with a cocked brow. And who was this youngster? He could only presume she had met him last night during that strange candy-collecting festival. The man smiled a bit into his towel. Kala certainly made friends fast...
"Teln M'kai!" Yaraif burbled by way of explanation to the tall man, who remained lurking within the cool shadows of the house. "Tan trickertreat wif ero, Kala!"
Kala could not form the words to express her puppy-dog happiness at seeing him (imagine, someone actually seeking her out to play with?!). Fortunately, she was spared the need to try and force words out of her clumsy mouth by Progolo, who drifted up behind her and pried the door a little wider to get a better look at the child. He could appreciate Makai's explanation a little better than Kala--who was yet grasping English--could.
"Welcome," he crooned softly, lowering the towel from his gums, which had stopped bleeding. "Kala, would you like to invite him in?"
Kala nodded feverishly, seized Makai's arm, and hauled him in before (heaven forbid) he could change his mind.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 7:15 pm
Makai laughed a little bit at Kala's enthusiastic (and fierce!) grip. She really was excited to see him, it seemed. He was glad he'd put her name first on his list. He gave her arm a little reassuring squeeze. He wasn't going to go anywhere just yet.
As he was yoinked inside, he stared owlishly at Progolo. That wasn't the human she'd been with last night. He felt obliged to say so. "Um.." he blinked. "You're not duck-guy." He blushed, realizing that this man had allowed him into his house and now he was being kinda rude. "Sorreh," he muttered, giving Progolo a more thorough examination. "My name's Makai. I met Kala last night! Who're you?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:29 am
A labrador-sized gryphon clicked his beak at the young boy and sauntered around him in suspicious circles. It was the same half-grown beast Progolo had dragged into the lodge on the day of the eruption--though slightly bigger. Progolo shooed him away from Makai with a click of his tongue. "Leave him alone, Taal," he ordered. The creature jumped at the command and scurried away, tail between his legs. That was Taal the Courageous for you.
He shook his head muttering under his breath about this thing or another, when he heard Makai's awkward inquiry. Progolo glanced back at him, simling softly. "I'm Kala's keeper. The Duck-man...that was the neighbor's son, I think." He extended his long fingered-hand to Makai. "You can call me Progolo or Mr. Dgagn--whichever you prefer."
Whilst this was occuring, Kala managed to pry herself from her newbestfriendintheworld to fetch her candy, which had been laid out in a handsome pile on the rug before the fireplace.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:42 pm
Fearless, that was Makai, not batting an eyelash as Taal circled around him. As most if not all of his bumps and bruises had come about of his own mistakes and mishaps, the idea that something else might be out to cause him harm was one that had yet to occur to the Aerandir child. He got a vague sense of deja vu as he watched the gryphon scuttle away, but shrugged it off. He wasn't really sure what that feeling meant, only that it was only expressable in French. He wasn't sure what French was either, but those were only minor setbacks.
Dgagn... he wasn't sure he could pronounce that correctly, but that form of address would be more polite that simply calling him 'Progolo.' He always had been good at mimicry, so he tried anyways. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dgagn," he said mumbling a bit over the unfamiliar name. He shook the offered hand firmly, but quickly, as he caught a glimpse of Kala heading over to the fire place. It was clear he wanted to go over, but he knew he needed to finish what he called "the greeting ritual." Wyv would be proud of him for making the effort. "And thank you for inviting me in."
That finished, he trotted over towards Kala. "Whacha got?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:25 am
Progolo cringed a bit at the mispronunciation of his name, but decided he shouldn't take it personally. Not many people could say his name right --though Makai had been notably close. Yaraif and Kala couldn't even pronounce 'Progolo' right...both tended to drop the middle syllable from his name, calling him 'Prolo'.
Ah well...the man wandered over to the kitchen area, keeping his ears trained on the children’s conversation. Eavesdropping, one might call it, though Progolo thought of it as more of a...paternal instinct. Yes, that was it. "Don't eat too much, children," he chimed. "I'm going to make lunch in a few moments."
Kala dropped to the floor in front of her candy, trembling with excitement. Her yellow eyes watched Makai with something like puppy-love gleaming in them, such was her weird joy at having someone to share her candy with. Yaraif alighted on her shoulder with a similar (but slightly more reserved) expression, gibbering a long stream of foreign words.
"Sit!" she ordered, gesturing with her staff. "Here, wanna h-old the baby-y?"
She twisted around where she sat and seized a lump of downy feathers and fur that had been snoozing on the chair. The mound, which turned out to be another, rather pretty gryphon chick, made a warbling noise in her throat as she was pushed unceremoniously into Makai's lap.
Yaraif cackled and pointed to the ruffled gryphon. "Look Makai, Myrrh same cowur!"
Kala nodded brightly, understanding Yaraif's broken English. "Ye-ah! Myrrh's s-a same color!"
The dark blue gryphon--apparently named Myrrh--peeped in distress.
Progolo looked over his shoulder from where he'd been digging through the cupboards. "Be nice to her, you three," he warned. Then, in a slightly kinder tone, he asked "will you be joining us for lunch, Makai?"
He'd completely forgotten that his flute still lay precariously on a chair by the fire place.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:33 pm
Makai was good at obeying instructions. He sat where Kala indicated. "Oooh, nice haul," he said admiringly, looking over Kala's pile. He placed his pail on the floor and tipped it over, sending a wave of colorful wrappers onto the floor. It seemed Kala's pile was bigger. Oh well. Because of his pre-occupation with the candy, it took him a little while to notice Kala's stare.
He thought she looked lonely and grinned broadly at her, and Yaraif too. He wasn't going anywhere. And the village wasn't that big. She could come visit! That, however, made him think of Gael with a twinge of regret. He owed her a visit too...
So distracted by that thought, he didn't follow what Kala and Yaraif were doing and found himself with a gryphon chick suddenly plopped in his lap. He did what any young male would do when found in an unfamiliar situation: he froze, going absolutely rigid and quietly still.
"H-h-ey there," he said, voice quavering. One dog-like dragon aside, the boy's experience with animals was nil. He didn't even have any experience with other Aerandir gryphons, save when he was a gryphon himself. Progolo's words of caution didn't help to ease his nervousness any. "uh... if it wouldn't be a hassle, I'd like to stay." He turned his focus back to the bundle in his lap.
With an anxious swallow, he attempted to make friends with the chick. "You 'n' I, we match," he said, softly, almost crooning. "Let's get you back in the chair, so you can nap s'more." He tottered carefully to his feet- and froze once again, spying a silver shape dangling on a nearby chair. He froze for a second time.
"You gotta FLUTE!" he breathed, ecstatic. Only the feel of Myrrh's fluff in his hands, kept him from darting over to investigate.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:10 am
"Certainly; no hassle at all," Progolo said broadly, turning to dig through another cupboard. It was then that he saw Makai trying very hard to carry Myrrh back to the couch...and not handling it well. She was an easy enough burden for someone Kala's size, but the lion-cub sized chick was just about as much as the small Aerandir boy could handle, from the look of it. Myrrh, who had been unable to move anything from the knees down since she hatched, could do nothing but dangle helplessly, her legs jutting out stiffly in a comical manner.
"Here, let me take her," Progolo said, striding across the room to Myrrh's rescue. He stooped down, and was in the act of lifting the fussing chick into his arms when Makai blurted "You gotta FLUTE!"
Any response he might have had was cut off by Kala's breathless explanation. "Ye-es, tha's Pro-o-lo's! He plays..s..s real good! 'N' so-ometimes Yar'f sings wi-ith him!" She stood up where she'd planted herself, unable to remain still so long, and capered over to the flute. Her tail wagged frantically.
Yaraif's ears perked up at the mention of her name, but her attention was long gone...how could she be expected to focus when there was so much candy all over the place?
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:36 pm
"Aaah," he breathed reverently. Makai looked at Progolo again, as though seeing him for the first time. Maybe even a hint of hero-worship was lurking behind his eyes. Glancing over at Kala, he relinquished Myrrh to the man's arms. That done he trotted over to inspect the instrument.
"I wanna learn to play the flute - and so many other instruments - but Wyv won't get me one 'til I can get a teacher." He didn't dare touch such a precious item, even though he knew a little bit about what keys needed to be pressed for what notes, and a little bit about the different kinds of flutes. Even if he couldn't read, he could be read to and he always listened intently. Besides all that, he knew better than to touch someone else's stuff with out permission."I wanna know more, but books can only teach so much."
He sighed, dotting over the instrument with a mix of loving admiration and slavering hunger. "'m not gonna be a very good musician if I can only play the drums."
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:30 am
Progolo lifted Myrrh against his chest, quirking a curious brow at the look of reverence that had come into Makai's eyes. He opened his mouth cautiously as the boy moved towards the flute, but was relieved to find that Makai was not about to try and play with it like Kala did (flutes were NOT meant to be twirling batons!)
He straightened, listening to Makai's rambling with his trademark lost-in-thought expression. He stroked Myrrh's head a bit, pondering. Then, having come to a decision, he placed the chick back on the couch and moved over towards Makai.
"Well...if you're truly interested...I could teach you what I know?" Progolo offered deliberately, picking up the flute before Kala could get any ideas. He opened his hands, displaying the hand-made flute to the child who actually appreciated it for what it was. "I could even make you your own instruments to practice with."
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:58 pm
For moment, Makai's heart refused to beat. Heat flushed his cheeks while his stomach attempted acrobatics in the cavern of his gut. It was terrible and wonderful, hearing that offer. Time seemed to stop.
But only for a moment. The boy exhaled loudly and looked to Progolo with eyes round and watery. "Really?!" This was better than the candy-fest of last night. Oh, the chance to work on his beloved music and maybe even learn to make his own instruments- he hadn't thought that far ahead. His eyes drank in the instrument, from the mouthpiece to the end piece, as if memorizing it.
"I-I... I dunno what t'say..." he stammered, then bowed, the only gesture of respect he could think of. "Thank you. I would like that very much." He said, enunciating very clearly lest his excitement over take him completely. It didn't help much. Enthusiasm was off and running. "I can come over whenever you want - I have to ask permission first but I don't think she'll mind not about my job anyways and I-" He inhaled sharply and blushed, but he did so with a smile and a small laugh. "Hee hee, yes, thank you very much."
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:41 pm
Progolo watched with concern for a moment. Goodness, the kid looked like he was going to pass out! All of the occupants of the house stared blankly at Makai, having never seen someone look so excited in their lives. Kala gurgled something that sounded like "y' alright?" but probably couldn't be heard over the choir of angels that seemed to be singing in his head.
"You're welcome," Progolo responded with a light chuckle as Makai stammered out his gratitude. He shifted his weight to one hip and cocked his head. "Now, what would be a convenient time? Does your keeper make you nap? After naps is a good time for a lesson...one's mind is more engaged. But...then again...It doesn't seem that keeping your interest will be a hard task..." he added with a soft smile.
Kala clamped Makai up in a sudden bearhug. "Wow, he's r-really gon-onna teach you music! You're a l-lucky ducky-y!" She relinquished him almost as fast as she'd grabbed him in the first place, and toddled over to wrap her arms around Progolo's hips instead. "Now you don't have to make me learn-earn, riiiight?" she asked innocently. Apparently, this was an issue, because Progolo briefly wore a disgruntled frown.
"You still ought to try playing something, Kala..."
Kala summoned a stubborn look. "No, I d-dun wan' learn t'play-ay. I jus' like to-o listen...en!" She pulled away from Progolo and did a silly little happy-dance. "An' now I-I can l-listen t'bof of you-ou!"
"You can listen as long as you don't distract Makai," he said, deciding to leave their keeper-charge bicker to a time when Makai wouldn't have to sit through it. Besides, there was good chance she'd absorb something from eavesdropping on their lessons...
Turning to Makai, he resumed his gentle smile. "Shall we begin now? We can discuss practice schedules with your keeper later."
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