Completed [The Herald's Arms] Tiger-Boy (Sei)

[Lyrri Snowsong]

28th of Summer, 513 AV
17th Bell

Lyrri was spending far too much time at the Herald.

The warm afternoon was now descending into evening, and the Vantha girl sat at the bar once again, mug in hand and bright yellow eyes assuming their all-too-common faraway stare. Still jobless for the time being, Lyrri was only here to enjoy the atmosphere and try to relax.

She really needed a new hobby.

With another sip of lukewarm ale, she peered down. Her well-loved wooden flute was tucked carefully into one of her boots; she sighed at the heirloom, a dismissive, yet somehow apologetic sigh. What do you want me to do? I've been playing every day for a month!

She supposed she was being a bit childish, though. The flute deserved to be played every day, and managed well; maybe even taken in to Wildwood Music for a check-up. She really did love the thing, and she had mistreated it so... A dull blue flicker of guilt flashed through her changing eyes. "Sorry, my friend..."

And, naturally, she was speaking Vani to a wooden flute. "Hmm, new hobby, new hobby..."

The crowd carried on their merry way, the usual supply of drunks being chatted up by clever young ladies of questionable virtue. None seemed to take notice of the odd girl mumbling to her feet.

Well, she shrugged with a large gulp, I wonder what today's entertainment will be?

[Sei Tendo]

Sei Tendo Sei walked casually through the doors of the Heralds Arms, and shifted the weight of his backpack to his right shoulder. When he entered, a girl was speaking vani to a.. Flute? He strolled past the tables and assumed she knew common tongue. "That flute must be special to you." He said with a smile. He took a seat next to the woman, his catlike eyes danced playfully around the room. He then looked back at the woman. "Sorry if I'm intruding." He said apologetically. He looked curiously at the flute, wondering why it was so important. He motioned toward the flute and spoke. "Are you good at it?" He asked.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

"That flute must be special to you."

Lyrri whipped around to see a tall, somewhat strange-looking man address her. Ah, so someone had noticed. The bard laughed unabashed and nodded slightly. "You could say that," she replied. "It's sort of an heirloom. Reminds me of home, I guess."

"Oh, no! Not at all! I could always use some company," Lyrri smiled cheerfully as the man sat down; she took another sip of ale as she looked him over. Somewhat long black hair, very pale, and, yes, rather tall, compared to the little Vantha. His clothes were interesting, too. He looked like...

"A zebra!"

The proud declaration was quickly followed by a realization that not only was she speaking what must have been utter gibberish to this man, she was also equating him to a striped horse. A little rude, wasn't she?

Besides, that couldn't be quite right. His eyes...

She shrugged it off with an unfailingly merry ability to distract herself as the zebra-boy motioned to her flute. "Are you good at it?"

"I should hope so," she exclaimed with a small chuckle. "I'm hoping to start work here as a performer."

"My name is Lyrri, by the way!"

[Sei Tendo]

Sei Tendo Sei thought about this for a bit. What would it be like to have an heirloom of his own... He then smiled a bit when she exclaimed he was a zebra. "I'm a white tiger not a zebra." He laughed. He really needed to get some new clothes. Sei found the woman amusing, and turned back to her as she spoke. "I guess that was a silly question," he said. "Well good luck." She then told him her name, and he extended his hand to her. "Well, it's nice to meet you Lyrri. I'm Sei." He said kindly.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

Electric green shock lit the Vantha's eyes. "You speak Vani!"

Though she supposed she should be more concerned with what he said. "And, excuse me... You're... A tiger?" What did that mean? Was he trying to look like a tiger? Was he fierce and violent and somehow tiger-like?

Was he a Kelvic? One of the wild ones that Lyrri had only ever heard about... ?

"No, not silly at all," she replied, taking a bit more time to turn her mind from this interesting development. "And thank you, I appreciate it!"

Oh, well. "Hi, Sei!"

She grinned. The zebra- no, tiger-boy- was awfully intriguing, wasn't he? And she hadn't met many people who spoke her native tongue- how fun! Lyrri couldn't help but switch back to the musical language; tipsy patrons gave strange looks as they passed, and the bard very briefly wondered if she would be making Sei uncomfortable.

Oh, well! "So what brings you to the Herald's Arms, Sei the tiger?"

[Sei Tendo]

Sei Tendo Sei chuckled a bit. "I can understand Vani when I hear it, but I'm not so great when I speak it." He said. This was amusing. For an older woman, she was somewhat childish, but he didn't mind. "Yup. I'm a tiger Kelvic." He said proudly. He noticed her confused expression, and flashed his catlike eyes. "Look at my eyes." He said playfully. "I just decided to stop by. I've never been here before." He said.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

"Ah, I see," she smiled sheepishly. "Still, that's fantastic! Have you been to Avanthal?"

A tiger Kelvic! The green in her eyes flew about faster as she looked into Sei's own catlike gaze, occasionally sparkling with pale violets- she didn't know how she hadn't noticed it before. He had the eyes of a tiger, predatory even in his playful expression.

"Amazing!" She exclaimed loudly, bouncing with unhindered cheer. "There were always Kelvics in Avanthal, but they were Morwen's creations. They were all bears, and they all had bond mates... So you can change into a tiger?"

"I see! Well, I really like it here. Try to keep your wits about you, though- they have a selection of ladies who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a situation." She gestured casually to her left, where a nearly unconscious drunk was being helped upstairs by a young woman who had far more on her mind than being a good citizen. Shrugging emphatically, she took a deep draught of her ale.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei Tendo Sei grinned. "Thanks. No, I've never been to Avanthal." He said. He watched as her eyes toyed around the room. She had a little violet in her green eyes, and she caught sight of his. She spoke full of excitement. "It sounds like a wonderful place." He said with a smile. "Yup, I sure can. Being a tiger is the best. I could never be a bear." He said casually. He then looked over at the woman helping the man upstairs. This was hardly as nice a place he thought now. "Well, just don't wisk ME away and I'm fine." He said.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

"No? Then, how did you pick up Vani?"

"It is at that," she said behind a gulp. "Well, I don't exactly have a problem with them, but a tiger is... Well... Amazing!" She chuckled as her eyes dimmed back to their normal, still-bright yellow; she'd probably say that a fair 30 times before the night was done.

At this last comment, she let out a sudden, roaring laugh which cut through the din of the Herald. The green resurfaced in her irises, accompanied by a subtle red-violet as her merriness subsided into a carefree grin. "Don't worry, Sei. That's not my sort of business."

[Sei Tendo]

Sei Tendo "I learned it from a book." Sei replied. He then smiled and took her response as a regular saying. "I like the praise, but there are greater Kelvics than tigers." He said with a laugh. He figured that she would say this regularly, and he couldn't help but notice how excited she was. "Thats good to hear." He said, letting out a puff of air. "At least thats one thing I don't have to worry about." He said jokingly. He turned to the stairs, but the two people were already gone. He turned back to Lyrri, and grinned. "I'm guessing you use your free time for music right?" He asked