A Meeting of Beasts (Zareah & Nastarai)

by **Nastarai** on July 12th, 2010, 6:28 pm

She was standing in the road outside her home. She didn't know where she was going. The foul, heavy odor of burning leaves and greenwood filled the air. She looked around. The trees along the road away from Syliras had all combusted. She looked down the road toward Syliras. Something was on the wind, flying toward her. She snatched it before it flew past her. It was The Empress, but neither upright nor reversed. She had caught it sideways.

Her fingers fumbled and she looked down. With a sigh she set the harp aside. The Empress, she thought. The road she was taking was the wrong one? She looked at the wolf and the girl and shook her head. Nurturing herself and another, or several others. Like the wolf had nurtured the girl's chin.

She sighed again and looked at the fish. The fish's scales were black on the side nearest the fire. She tried to pick up one of the fish and dropped it. It was definitely cooked. "Hey, you want to come get one?" She called to the girl. "It's still hot, so be careful."

by **Zareah** on July 12th, 2010, 8:53 pm

She stroked Aikens fur absently and watched Nastarai pluck at strings attached to some funny shaped bit of wood. The sound that came out was mesmerizing, slow and soft, like nothing she’d ever heard. That along with Aikens warmth began to lull her to sleep. A yawn split her lips, and this new shock to her chin made her whine, just then the sounds coming from Nastarais instrument clashed and stopped. Fully awake now, she watched the Konti, confusion and then annoyance flitted across her face before she pushed whatever was bothering her away and got up to look at the fish.

She picked up a stick and speared one of the cooked fish, waving it around to cool it as she walked back to Aiken. She leaned against him and peeled off the burnt scales, then ripped into it with her teeth. It was good, she liked the taste better when it was raw, but it was very nice to have hot food. She wiped her hands on the grass around her then flashed a smile at the cook
“Thank you,” She said, and pointed at the discarded harp, “What is that? You make such pretty sounds with it,”

by **Aiken** on July 13th, 2010, 3:23 pm

Aiken swayed between consciousness, slipping into sleep for a few minutes at a time. Zareah's smaller self felt comfortable against his side as his ribs slowly rose and fell.

He smelled the cooked food, but didn't bother getting up. He had already eaten his fill, and cooked food didn't interest him anymore than raw. He breathed deep and tilted his head up to lick the small cat-girl's face. She was still feeling pain, and Aiken felt bad about it. But it would take time to heal, and she would have to put up with the discomfort.

by **Nastarai** on July 20th, 2010, 12:47 am

She smiled to herself at the child's curiosity. "It's a harp. It was my mother's. It is the only thing I have to remember her by other than myself and my cards." A flash of red and green clouded her vision and she quickly pressed her hands against her temple, massaging the image away. She looked at the child again. "I can show you how to play, if you want. Or if you are too tired now I can show you in the morning if you like."

by **Zareah** on July 20th, 2010, 6:41 pm

She mirrored Nastarais smile and came over to her. She folded her legs under herself and examined the harp.
“Yes, now please!” She picked up the instrument gingerly and tried to hold it like Nastarai had been, then plucked gently at one of the strings and laughed with delight at the clear note that sang from it. “The sound is as pretty as you!” She scooted closer to Nastarai and held the harp out to her, “Which ones do I use to make the long sound that you made?”

by **Nastarai** on August 4th, 2010, 10:33 pm

The firelight lent a happy haze to the scene as she gently moved the girl's hands so her fingers rested on the strings for the first notes. "You hold your hands there," she said as she took her own hands off. The girl looked at her hands and waited. Nastarai laughed, "Hold on for a moment. I need to figure out how to teach someone else how to play."

Nastarai put her hands over the child's again and directed her fingers to play the opening of the song. "You move your fingers like this and a sound comes out according to what finger you are moving and where it is. I'll show you again, then try it yourself."

She set the girl's hands back to how they had started and directed her fingers through the pattern again. "Now you try."

by **Zareah** on August 6th, 2010, 4:45 pm

She focused hard on Nastarais hands and the pattern she plucked the strings in, but she still missed a few. She winced at the sound it made when she missed a note, and on the fourth one she held the thing back out to the Konti, “I can’t do it,” She huffed angrily, “I make sounds that almost hurt because they are bad,”

by **Nastarai** on September 4th, 2010, 7:06 pm

Nastarai pushed the harp back toward her and smoothed her hair. "I did that too when I started. Just try it again."

She looked anxiously at the wolf, making sure it was still asleep. Satisfied, she showed the girl how to do the notes again. She ate a piece of fruit and one of the fish as she watched.

by **Zareah** on September 6th, 2010, 5:59 pm

Zareah sighed and plucked at the strings again, still wincing at every missed note. This time however, she managed to push through the whole piece. She smiled at Nastarai, feeling very accomplished.
“How was that?” She chirped to the Konti.

by **Nastarai** on September 12th, 2010, 11:52 pm

"That was great!" She rubbed the girl's head and smiled at her. "I'm getting tired, though. You should go to sleep too. It'll be morning in just a few hours. Eat more if you want, then we need to put out the fire."

She looked toward the tree-line Aiken had disappeared through and wondered frustratedly where he was. He should have been back a while ago. He should be here helping with the cooking or the fire or something. Instead there was a child and a sleeping wolf.