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Post by moralhazard on Apr 18, 2019 0:56:22 GMT
“It must be amazing to be able to make music,” Thea said wistfully. “I took lessons as a girl, but it just isn’t - in me,” she grinned at Echo. “I would love to see you perform some time!”
Thea raised an eyebrow at Echo’s gesture. She giggled, slicing off another piece of meat and nibbling at it as well, setting it down half eaten. She hadn’t even finished half of the first piece of meat on her first kebab.
“Yes and no,” Thea said, thoughtfully. “I don’t - well that is -“ she giggled, remembering a few nights earlier and feeling her face flush a deeper blue. “I can hold my breath more or less forever,” she explained. “I think that helped me get started! It certainly made it fun, I - a whole branch of my family,” she paused and giggled, “on the human side, that is, are glassblowers.” The blush was fading fast. “My uncle taught me a little at a young age, and I think I liked it because of that. But I still had to learn the techniques.”
Thea bit her lip again, noticed it, and stopped. “But some of my favorite pieces use magic. I won’t spoil it, but if you come by the shop, I’ll show you,” she grinned at Echo. “I think you’ll like them.”
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Apr 22, 2019 20:06:37 GMT
It was! Music was amazing and beautiful and had been a part of Echo’s life for as far back as she could remember. A few in the troupe had used music with their performances, her father had taught her how to play and sing, and…the tabaxi brushed her tail against the tip of the flute at her hip. Even her mom had played. Wisp had tried to sing to her once too, but, like, that was maybe not the best example of music being pretty? Sorry, Wisp. Still a special musicish moment, though!
Echo’s ears perked and she tossed the bit of meat she was nibbling on back onto her plate. There was always room for more moments, too!
“YesyesyesyesYES! You gotta! Performing at the Notch is super fun and everyone there is, like, super friendly too. Consider yourself invited any day, any time!”
The treasure hunter was bouncing a little on her crate now. That was such a good idea! She would have to think about doing something special, though, just for Thea. Maybe add some flips off the tavern’s ceiling beams? A wind-themed ballad? Dagger juggling?
Grinning, Echo prodded at her plate with a claw and tabled her musings for now. She would think of something later! Her eagerness only grew the more the genasi spoke, though. Not only could Thea blow wispy winds at will, but she could also hold her breath for, like…forever? Huh! No wonder she was blushing so much, that was awesome! Useful, too. Echo stretched her throat. She certainly could have used that with her, uh, negotiations a bit ago. It was also nice to hear that it was a family thing. Kind of like with her music!
The tabaxi licked some spice off her claw.
“If? You bet I’ll be there! You can’t just mention signs and cool magic and cool magic signs and expect a tabaxi to, like, be chill about it.”
Thea had punched her curiosity wide awake and, honestly? That was a little dangerous. But it would be fun, too! She would try really hard not to touch or break anything when she got to see them. Super hard.
Echo grinned and pointed at the genasi.
“But that sounds like the makings of a deal to me! You come see me perform some day, and I promise I’ll look at all your signs! Like, literally all of them. I gotta see these things, Thea.”
She then leaned back on the crate and stretched her arms and tail, catching herself just short of knocking the meat-laden tray out from a dwarf’s hands. He scowled and shuffled to a barrel further away.
“But, uh, there is no way I’m finishing this. None. You want some?”
The tabaxi pushed her plate a bit closer to Thea with a prod of her claw. How could anyone even eat that much? She looked to the side and spotted the half-orc from earlier, now shoveling actual fistfuls of charred meat into his mouth, and wrinkled her nose. Someone normal, at least. A small crowd seemed to have also gathered just beyond him at the mouth of the courtyard. Why? Who knew? Maybe there was an orc eating an entire cow too.
“Eggo!”
Echo’s ear twitched. That voice seemed a little familiar, though. Huh.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 22, 2019 21:44:55 GMT
Thea started to laugh. “No – no, the signs aren’t magic,” she was laughing harder, grinning at Echo. “Or, well – the things are magic aren’t signs. Don’t make me spoil it, please! I don’t want to give it away!” She grinned at Echo, biting her lip. She had several magic-infused glass items now; the storm orbs would always have a special place in her heart, but since coming to Waterdeep she had learned to make trap windstorms inside glass as well, making a strange swirling phenomenon that had been exciting, magically and creatively, and had sold well also.
Her newest project was trying to trap a snowstorm inside glass as well; she had been thinking often of the snowstorm that she and Echo had been trapped in, as well as the one that had so called to her in her second week in Waterdeep, trying to coax them both into the glass. Perhaps it would be finished by the time Echo came to see her! She hoped, very much, that it would be possible to have perpetually falling snow inside the little globe.
The Notch. Thea knew she had heard of it – Echo had always called it the Notch, but it had to be Maelstrom’s Notch, didn’t it? Funny that Echo had been only three blocks away from Thond Glass and Glazing all these months and yet she and Thea had never run into each other before. But Thea was so glad that they had now.
“It’s a deal!” Thea promised.
Thea looked at Echo’s plate, with the thick slab of meat on it, then back at her own. She had worked through most of one chunk of meat on one skewer – there were three chunks per skewer, though, and Master Bowman had given her two skewers! “Oh, it looks so good, but I just – ” Thea giggled again. “Do you want some of this?” She offered, helplessly.
The water, at least, was delicious; she wasn’t sure where the little girls got their mint and lavender, or who got it, but the water was cool and fresh and the herbs gave it a wonderful flavor.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Apr 25, 2019 23:28:48 GMT
“Eggoooooooo-!”
There it was again! Super familiar, really, and the tabaxi thought, for the briefest of moments, that she could see the glint of familiar white scales in the courtyard cluster of patrons. She tilted her head. That sure was a double huh!
“Awesome!”
Echo shrugged, turned back toward Thea, and flashed her a grin. Yes! Yes, yes, yes, and even more yes! Not only would she get a chance to see some really cool magic signs (because, like, Thea was sooooo wrong – any sign that pretty was magical in its own way!), but she would finally get to perform for someone who she could maybe…possibly…kinda consider a friend now? Did she finally have one of those in Waterdeep? Well, there were the kids of course, but she had a hard time calling them her friends. They were sort of more and less than that at the same time. Like…innocent little street goblins that needed to be herded around but who she also really, really cared about at the same time. Just having a friend, though? It had been a while. Since...
Since Wisp.
The treasure hunter’s grin faded, however, and Thea’s own offer of meat only made it worse. She quickly shook her head and hands. No! No way! If she ate even a single bite more Echo would, like, totally explode or die or just curl up and fall asleep or something! Though that last one did sound kind of nice, too.
“Nope! Or, uh, no thanks. I still want one of those tart things and even eating that might kill me.”
Echo purred as she lifted her own glass of weird berry juice. Those tarts had looked amazing! She began to take a sip, the sweetness on her tongue only making her think more of pastries and cakes and other little sweets. Mmm! There was no way she was missing out on-
“Eeeeeeggoooooooooooo!!!”
The tabaxi’s ears twitched as she heard a yell and the patter of running feet. Wha-? Her body lurched forward. Her body lurched so far forward as she felt something slam and cling onto her back that, her head being thrown down and her stomach into the side of the barrel between her and Thea, Echo choked and spit a whole mouthful of juice across her front. She had just enough mind to somehow manage to keep the glass in her hand from tipping even more over. But, ahh! What in the Nine Hells? Twisting her head as far as she could, Echo caught a glimpse of a wriggling bundle of white and black fur, felt a set of tiny claws digging into her leather vest, and met a pair of glistening green eyes staring right up at her. Echo coughed and then sputtered.
“L – ack – Lily?”
Past the tiny fellow tabaxi Echo could see the other four kids of the group, Damian and Rosie and Nysa and Syllen, as they pushed and prodded their way through the crowds and came running up as well. A few of those nearby gave the ragged bunch a bit of a stink eye, but Echo was quick to send them a glare of her own. She placed a hand on top of Lily’s head.
“Hey! What…what are you guys doin- “
“W-w-we tat y-y-you was d-d-dad!”
Oh…right. The smaller tabaxi pressed her face into one end of Echo’s scarf and she felt the girl’s head bob underneath her hand, and Echo realized that she was crying. Like, really hard. The treasure hunter felt her heart catch in her throat.
“Lily…”
The sobs only grew harder. Oh, Cat Lord, what had she done! Maybe she should have, like, told them she was fine before coming here. Maybe? Maybe! Of course! The tabaxi’s ears drooped. She never figured they would, like, actually think she had died though. Come to think of it, how the heck did they even get off the roof of the Notch so fast without her? Echo looked over the group and sighed when she saw nothing bad or unusual. Huh. Still! That had been a bad move. A very, very bad move. With a weak smile Echo scratched at Lily’s ear.
“I’m sorry Lily. I didn’t mean to make you guys worry so much! I’m fine!”
She looked up. The rest of the kids’ faces were a mix of relief, annoyance, and embarrassment as their youngest member balled her eyes out, but a couple had begun to also sneak peeks as they noticed the sheer heap of roasting meat around them. Nysa lifted her snout and sniffed the air. Her eyes gleamed even brighter than her scales.
“What is that a-MAZ-ing smell?”
All the kids began to sniff in near rhythm. Even Lily quieted down long enough to peek out from Echo’s scarf and eye the tray of meat nearby. Echo grinned and rubbed at her neck.
“Trust me, it tastes even better than it smells! Want me to get you some? To, uh, make up for…y’know? The almost dying bit.”
Any sliver of anger at the older tabaxi vanished. Completely. Echo giggled as they all crowded around and nodded. Her ears and tail perking up (she had really dodged the imaginary fireball on this one!), the treasure hunter batted at a few drops of spilled juice under her chin with the back of her hand, gasped, and then waved to Thea.
“Oh! Guys, this is Thea! We, uh, did some stuff a couple months back together and she was the one who stopped me from falling today. She has super cool wind magic and makes signs and things!”
Rosie waved at the genasi and Syllen’s eyes were as wide as one of the meat trays. Ha! Cool, right?
“But, yeah! Um…these are those kids I hang out with. Tall one here is Damian and that’s Rosie. Scales is Nysa, skinny one is Syllen, and this little bundle of trouble-“
Echo jostled Lily in her lap and her grin widened as the younger tabaxi, eyes still a bit red, shrieked and giggled.
“-is Lily!”
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 26, 2019 1:59:11 GMT
There was a loud yell, and Thea looked up, wide-eyed, at the tiniest little tabaxi she had ever seen sprinting full out towards Echo, shrieking what Thea realized a few moments later was her name. The tiny tabaxi leapt onto Echo, slamming her into the barrel and wriggling about on her back. Four more children came running in. Without knowing Echo was doing the same, Thea turned to a few of those giving the kids the stink-eye and firmly glared them down.
Thea realized a moment later that the little kids must have been watching Echo on the rooftops, and must have seen her fall. Her heart sank, and her eyes went wide; she pressed a hand to her mouth, swallowing hard. Oh, those poor children! They must have come running looking for Echo – and Thea, heedless, had taken her away from the spot where they’d have last seen her! She could only imagine how frantic and terrified they must have been.
Thea didn’t interrupt, just sitting and watching as the kids reassured themselves that Echo was alive and totally fine. She could see the moment when relief had sunk in enough that they noticed how lovely the courtyard smelled, and Thea couldn’t quite suppress a giggle at the way they all kept smelling the air nearly in unison.
“Hello!” Thea said cheerfully, smiling. She made eye contact with each little one when Echo introduced them, giving each their own smile. She giggled at Lily.
“I hope you guys take good care of Echo,” Thea said, seriously, frowning in an over-exaggerated way and squinting her eyes at the tabaxi. “She definitely needs it,” she grinned at the kids again.
“You know,” Thea glanced around. “They have really delicious meats here, but they also have some delicious sweet tarts!” She raised her eyebrows. “Maybe Echo would be willing to get you some of those as well,” she cheerfully finished chucking the tabaxi directly under the bus. “And while you wait, maybe at least one of you would be willing to help me with a problem I have.” Thea picked up her plate, with two full skewers and half of a third.
“You see,” Thea said, solemnly, “I ate so much already today that I can’t have another bite! But if Master Bowman and Master Gorunn find out I haven’t finished my food…” she glanced in mock fear at the two meat cutters, and shivered, looking back at the kids. “Maybe you would be willing to help me?”
A little silvery burst of air whisked into appearance. It scooped up the plate out of Thea’s hands, dancing it forward towards the children, and hovered it in the air in front of them, temptingly.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Apr 30, 2019 22:31:45 GMT
Each kid gave Thea a big smile or a wild wave or a gleaming bit of both as she greeted them all in turn, though Lily, quiet now, ducked behind part of Echo’s scarf as the genasi giggled. Only her wide green eyes peeked out over the tan fabric. Echo scratched her behind the ear, shrugged at Thea, and then quickly snaked the rest of her scarf round and round the younger tabaxi’s neck and face. Lily squealed again and thrashed her little feet. That was better! She had always been the shyest and quietest and most timid in the whole bunch, at least when it came to strangers. It had even taken the tiny tabaxi a long while to warm up to Echo when they had first met. But, after that? Ha! She was like glue stuck to gnoll fur!
Though, that almost made her sound kind of bad, actually? Lily was awesome.
Echo stopped pestering the younger tabaxi, though, and rubbed the back of her neck as Thea continued. She met her squint with flat ears and a half-hearted grin. Yeah…that was true, huh? Without the genasi she would be one heck of a street pancake right then, and not the good kind the street vendors in the Trades Ward sometimes sold. More like the feline that needed to be scraped off with a shovel kind. Not a good kind at all! She sure was lucky. Lucky to know someone like Thea, lucky to still have a pair of unbroken legs, and lucky to know a group of kids who were as great as the urchin bunch. A group of kids who were also pretty quick to forgive her colossally bad mistake. Or...forget. Either way!
“Uh…yeah! Yeah, that sounds great.”
She really did owe them that much at least. That, and those tarts really had looked amazing. Echo lifted Lily, stood, and then handed her over to Rosie. She stuck her tongue out and tried to wipe at the juice stain that now covered most of her vest and the upper part of her pants. Ugh. Wet fur was the worst!
“Right! I’ll, uh, go get them then! I’ll grab you something too, Thea.”
She gave Lily one last boop on the nose, fist bumped Damian, and then gave them all a wave as she dove back into the crowded courtyard.
In the meantime, all five kids, even Lily, now with her arms wrapped around Rosie’s neck, shuffled in and around the barrel and listened intently as Thea spoke. Their eyes followed from the tray of meat up to her. Problem? A few of them tilted their heads to the side. What problem? They then glanced from Thea to the two meat carvers, mouths open and eyes just a bit wider. Why had she shiver-Master Gorunn slammed his cleaver into the haunch of a whole hog as a customer waited close by. The crunch of sinew and bone reached even them. Rosie and Lily shrieked, Nysa made a face, and both Damien and Syllen stood rigid and followed the arc of the blade closely. A hushed “…cool” passed between them.
Their attention was completely and totally captivated as the tray of meat danced toward them, however. Even Rosie and Lily hushed as the gust of wind jostled their hair. One second. They looked up at Thea. A second. They looked down at the tray. And then a third. Each of the kids practically dove at the tray, even Lily detached one of her arms to hang off Rosie, and fell upon the skewers of meat with eager little fingers and whoops and cheers. A few moments and all that was left was a couple crumbs and the sound of five open mouths chewing away and smacking their lips.
Damien was the first to pipe up. Swallowing, he brushed a mat of hair off his face and looked at the genasi.
“So ya can do magic, aye? Can you use it to fight and stuff too?”
Syllen was quick to follow, shoving what was left of his meat into one of his trouser pockets.
“How strong can you make it go!”
And then…chaos. Five mouths stopped chewing, five throats swallowed, and five sets of eyes and smiles gleamed up at Thea.
“What do you, like, use it for?”
“Did yous always know magic?”
“Are you a wizard!?”
“Can ya make Pippers fly rally fast?”
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Post by moralhazard on May 1, 2019 13:17:14 GMT
Thea kept the smile from her lips, although not her eyes, as the five children devoured the skewers; it was almost like watching the flesh-eating fish she had seen on a journey with her mother. The fish had been less cute, but equally impressive. One moment the cow had stood squalling in the river; nearly the very next it was nothing but bones.
Thea grinned at Damien. “I can do magic, even for fighting, if I have to fight.” The slender genasi crossed her legs, one ankle resting over the other, perching as elegantly as inhumanly possible on the edge of her crate-seat. Her long gray pants were mud free despite the damp ground, and her white shirt only served to highlight the pale blue of her skin.
Thea giggled at the burst of questions, trying to keep track of them, mostly unsuccessfully. “What do I use magic for?” Thea’s eyes mock-widened. “Well - all sorts of things! You know... if you wanted, I suppose I could show you some of them? But only if you’d like that,” she made her tone as hesitant and deprecating as she could manage - it was hard with how fun this was - and waited for an enthusiastic round of agreement.
Thea murmured; a little gust of wind swirled around them, ruffling the leaves on the ground and the hair of each child, tugging at their clothes. Only her own hair kept dancing as it settled down. “Wind is my favorite, of course,” she said cheerfully. “But I can do a few other things too. Let’s see...”
Thea took a breath, and set her hand down flat on the barrel. “Oh!” She gasped. “What’s this?” She lifted her hand, and an image of Damien’s smiling face, as if drawn on a piece of paper sitting in the barrel, appeared beneath it.
The same little wisp of silvery wind that had carried the meat over reappeared; it felt almost like a hand as it brushed through the kids, tweaking a nose here or ruffling hair there, straightening clothing and flicking bits of meat to the ground.
Thea grinned at the kids, marveling to herself at how easy and natural the magic felt, what a change that was from just six months ago, and most of all how much she enjoyed it. “I didn’t always know magic. I was older than any of you before I could do anything at all! Except, of course, to fly.” Thea paused, tapping her chin with one finger, and then slid off the barrel, crouching down to give a special smile to Lily. “Now, flying is very special and very hard, but if I really, really try I can do it for just a little bit. Would anyone like to try it with me?” If she tried, she hoped, she could probably get all five kids off the ground with her.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on May 6, 2019 22:12:08 GMT
Echo squeezed past a few of the constantly shuffling and growing lines. She edged just around the firepit and Master Bovine and the dwarf. She gave Thea’s awesome glass sign a salute. The tabaxi twirled, shimmied, and slid past every customer, barrel, and carried tray of meat that she came across, just like she had the first time, as she made her way back across the courtyard. It was…almost kinda fun, now. Like a dance! Echo was starting to get the hang of it, too. Ever the performer, Echo threw in a couple spins, a low slide, a jump, and even a (small) kick and a bow, only stopping when the drink and tart stands came into view among the crowds. The treasure hunter wore a huge grin. Her breathing was hard, and her full stomach ached a little from the movement. Someone had even stepped on her tail! Which, like, ow, but she was still super excited. The urchin bunch and then Thea and then the urchin bunch with Thea and now some tarts as well…it was a fun day!
Her smile, however, began to fade.
Tabaxi had pretty good hearing! And, since Echo was one such tabaxi, she could hear things better than most might expect. So…she heard them. The people talking around her. Hushed voices, downcast faces, and carefully guarded looks aside, she…could hear them all.
“ - are they doing here?”
“ - dirty, filthy little things – “
“ – thought this was a respectable place – “
Echo’s ears twitched at every single word. Her grin faded into a smile and then into a frown and then into an open scowl, her fur bristled, and her tail lashed from side to side, almost sweeping the legs out from under a halfling hurrying by. The tabaxi had been called a lot of things in the past. She was once a thief, after all! People were not a fan of thieves. Less so when they were covered in fur and small and made them look like big dumb idiots when they stole their wallet. But, this? This was sooooo not cool. They were kids! Just…kids! A little dirty and rough around the edges, sure, but kids all the same. Echo tightened her scarf and took a deep breath. And then another. She then made it to the tart stand, slammed down a fistful of coins harder than she intended, and hissed.
“Five tarts. No, wait…seven. Seven tarts. Y’know what? Make that, uh, ten tarts. Did I say ten or twelve? Fourteen tarts. Lets, like, go with that one.”
Back across the courtyard, back with Thea, the five kids were still crowded around the genasi. They had all either finished or stuffed away or just plain forgotten their bits of meat by now. All their attention was on her. To them, she looked like…like…a super cool wizard. Or a super cool sorcerer. Or a super cool wizard-sorcerer! What with her regal posture, her very clean clothes, and the way her white shirt seemed to shine and shimmer on its own against her pale blue skin. Pale blue skin! She had pale blue skin! So cool.
Damian grinned and brushed his hair when Thea first answered him.
“Cool.”
All the kids gasped, though, and leaned in closer when Thea mentioned that she could do all kinds of magic. Like, what kinds? They were quick to hop and cheer and wave their hands in total agreement. They wanted to know! All five listened carefully as the genasi spoke, though Lily batted at the air with a single hand as the wind flew by and jostled their hair and clothes and fur. They listened. And listened some more. And then they absolutely lost it when Thea conjured up the image of Damian. The boy himself blushed, the crimson streak only partially hidden by his black bangs, as Syllen nudged his shoulder and Rosie smiled up at him. Then the wind came on stronger. All five kids looked around them in wonder, mouths open and eyes wide, as the air rushed by and almost felt like it was caressing and playing with them – even Nysa who, up to that point, had stood with her arms crossed and feigned disinterest. It was awesome! How could she do that?
Syllen grinned.
“Do you think I could learn magic, too?”
Rosie raised her hand.
“Oi! Me too!”
“I’m the oldest! Bet I could!”
“Guess it would be pretty cool.”
Lily dared a peek from behind Rosie’s arm.
“Da ya tink I cod do the ma-ma-majacks?”
Her eyes widened.
“D ya tink Pippers cod?”
They all momentarily hushed at the mention of flying, though. No way! Could…could they really do that? They all nodded quickly. Even Lily dropped down from around Rosie’s neck, shuffled forward, and looked up at Thea with her big green eyes sparkling. Then, Damian started the chant.
“Fly! Fly! Fly!”
Soon, all of them were chanting, arms pumping in the air, as Lily giggled and jumped around to join in.
“Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly- “
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Post by moralhazard on May 7, 2019 16:23:09 GMT
The children’s response was everything Thea could have hoped for and more. The looks on their faces as the magic blossomed around then made Thea feel wild and free. Their delight caught up a delight in her, the sort of delight she had always imagined she might feel while casting, but never really had, not before Waterdeep. Now, she seemed to feel it more and more. The magic felt like a part of her, rather than a hated thing that she put up with out of necessity.
Was this what Citrine had meant, all those months ago, when she’d scolded Thea about how she was treating her magic? That this sort of happy, easy joy was not only possible, but well within Thea’s grasp? When Thea thought about how long she’d spend keeping the magic at arms’ length – refusing to cast more than necessary, and having to be cajoled into the simplest spells – she felt a pang of regret.
But it wasn’t strong enough to dim the bright joy of this moment.
“Well – I’m not sure,” Thea admitted, as they started to discuss magic. “I got my magic from a shipwreck,” it was a truth she’d thought of as terrible, that had haunted her for years, and here she was sharing it with a cheerful smile. “I wouldn’t recommend it! There were very big waves, and a lot of lightning, and I was stuck out at sea alone for a long time,” Thea made a face.
“But,” she continued, “there are a lot of people who learn to use magic other ways! There are wizards, and clerics, and even perfectly normal people who learn a few spells here and there. If you want it,” here, Thea paused, meaningfully, “you can make it happen. Even though it might not be easy.” Thea hoped she had struck a balance between cautioning and encouraging.
And then, just as cheerfully, she threw caution to the wind.
“All right!” Thea lifted her voice and her hands, beaming. “Let’s see…” she glanced around. There was a nearby pallet of wood, and Thea stepped out of the group of children and fetched it from where it was leaning again some spare barrels, laying it out on the ground towards the edge of the little restaurant square. She sat, cross-legged, at the head of it, as ethereal as she had been on the crate, and beckoned the children to her.
“We’ll all need to sit here,” Thea said, doing her best to sound mysterious and commanding. She would wait until the children were settled however they liked, as long as everyone who wanted a ride was somewhere on the pallet, and looked well-settled. Sitting only; no standing. She wasn’t sure she could manage a second dramatic rescue in one day.
Thea took a deep, careful breath, murmured a few words, and touched the palm of her hand flat to the pallet beneath them. It creaked – it heaved – and, slowly, winds swirled beneath them and lifted it smoothly and evenly off the ground. They soared up, and up, nearly ten feet straight away, and held, hovering, there, even with a balcony and a little line of laundry.
Thea waited, not quite holding her breath – she didn’t need to breathe, after all – but just very much hoping she wasn’t about to discover that Echo’s little friends were all afraid of heights.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on May 17, 2019 9:35:01 GMT
Echo, claw extended, counted each tart. Twelve Thirteen. Fourt – yup, all there! They looked super delicious too. All different kinds: some were filled with black and red berries, some with apple slices (she was sooooo grabbing one of those for herself!), and some with a creamy yellow custard. The tabaxi licked her lips. Some were even filled with really weird fruits she had never seen before! Hopefully they were, uh, okay to eat too! She picked up and balanced the tray on one hand, grinned, and then waved at the old lady behind the stand. Great! The urchin bunch were going to love them as well, she could bet on that. The weight of the pastries heaped on the tray. The smell of their warm, flaked crusts filling her nose. The little, tiny bit of space left in her stomach. It was all almost enough to make her forget why she was so, like, mad in the first place!
Almost.
The tabaxi’s ears twitched again. Dirty. Another twitch. Disrespectful. A third. Uncouth. She heard them: more words! More bad words. More bad words about her kids. It was so unfair! Echo clicked her tongue. Just…leave them alone! Cat Lord’s twitching whiskers – it was as easy as that. She started to turn away, to just forget all about the dumb situation, but, eyes narrowing, she caught a pair of moving lips among the crowd. Just as she heard even more bad words. A pair of elves, perhaps a husband and wife, sat alone at a table. Both were dressed in fine silk clothing. Both leaned together over a single, barely touched tart. Both laughed to themselves as they pointed back toward the other side of the courtyard. Back toward…where her and Thea and the urchin bunch had been!
It was them!
Or…mostly them, at least. There had been a few different voices. And, honestly? If she was there alone? Echo would have spent most of the afternoon making sure she stole all their wallets or tarts or hats or whatever. Gladly! But Thea and Damien and Lily and the others were waiting for her, she wanted to eat a dang tart already, and her (mostly) full stomach was making her a little sleepy. She would settle for them. The tabaxi tapped a finger against her chin. Thirteen…no, twelve tarts would be good enough, right? Right. Echo fished into her coin purse, pulled out the last few coins she had on her, and flicked them onto the tart lady’s counter. The older lady looked up at her, a puzzled look on her face. Echo shrugged.
“Like…just in case you, uh, get some trouble for this. Oh! And sorry ahead of time.”
The treasure hunter glanced up at the tray in her hand, bumped it upward, and then caught two tarts with her free hand as they flipped off into the air. She weighed them carefully. Light. Flaky. Delicious. And…messy. Echo grinned. Perfect! She cracked her neck and squinted, tucking her tart-holding hand underneath her opposite arm. Then, she waited. An armored dwarf lumbered by. Master Bovine hacked at a roast off to the side. Her ears twitc – Echo threw her arm forward. Once! Twice! Each time she let go of one of the tarts, arching them upward, and watched as they sailed over the crowd. Right into the elves faces. Splat! Echo pumped her now empty fist. Ha! Score!
A little bit of an uproar broke out at that. The elves, jumping to their feet, looked around wildly for the cause of their delicious, berry-filled and dessert-laden demise. A few of those sitting closest to them had even looked up as well, though it seemed more out of surprise than concern. Echo? The expert tart thrower that she was? Giggling to herself, grin wide, as she skipped and shimmied her way back across the courtyard.
Did she say this was a good day? Cat Lord, this was a fantastic day!
“Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!”
On the other side of the courtyard, the kids chanting continued. It grew louder, even. Fly! All five of them were completely wrapped up in the idea now and, huddling so close their faces were smushed together, the kids watched as Thea ran to grab a large bit of wood. A…bit of wood? They squinted. Was that really what it took to fly? Just wood? Damien scratched his head. All five followed Thea, though, as she set the pallet down at the edge of the courtyard, Lily bouncing just ahead of the group. Damien took up the rear and helped the other four as they climbed onto the makeshift platform. One kid. A second. A third. Then a fourth. Soon, all five of them sat in a circle around this cool, strange and mystical blue wizard-sorcerer. Lily lay flat on her stomach to the left of Thea. Nysa sat sideways to her right. The other three sat cross-legged in between. All five were grinning, all five were holding their breaths, and all five were staring right at Thea.
Fly!
They watched as the genasi sat their breathing. Was she conjuring the winds? Did she have to eat them first? Her palm touched the wood. All five kids leaned forward. Something…something creaked! Lily shrieked. Something wobbled! Then…and then…and then…!
Fly!
Winds swirled around each kid, their clothes and hair and fur billowing, and the pallet groaned as it rose off the ground. Up and up and up and up – until they were at least four Lily’s high! A balcony was on one side. A line of laundry on another. The crowded courtyard, fires and meat, and flying desserts below them. All five kids were silent. Just for a moment. Then, they cheered. Damien and Syllen whooped. Rosie clapped her hands. Nysa grinned. Lily giggled and thrashed her legs. They were flying! They were really, actually, totally flying! Nysa, giving Thea a toothy grin, lightly punched her shoulder with a scaled fist.
“This is actually cool!”
Rosie made a face.
“Cool? This be amazin!”
Damien and Syllen nodded, both too busy peeking over the edge and pointing out people here and there to answer properly. Nysa joined them. Lily, flopping over onto her back, looked up to Thea with wide eyes and an even wider smile. She batted at her knee with a hand.
“Da ya tink we cod go up an up? Up an up wit Pippers!”
At that, all four other kids turned to Thea. A mischievous gleam lay in their eyes. Four sets of fists began to pound against the pallet, Lily thumped her feet, and five kids began to chant again.
“Higher! Higher! Higher! Higher! Higher! High- “
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Post by moralhazard on May 19, 2019 15:32:23 GMT
Thea had learned to hover as a little girl. This was the one bit of magic that had been hers, always hers, from childhood. It predated the storm, it predated the lightning. She remembered using it to make her doll dance up and down, delighted with the swirling winds beneath it. She remembered using them to fly herself and her cousin up to pick apples, hovering them one by one in the air.
After the storm, it hadn’t been quite so care free to levitate. It had changed her relationship with the wind; lighting and thunder had come in, and cold and clouds too, all pulsing in her veins and making it harder to feel the joy of the wind. Her hair had never forgotten, of course, and it waved gently around her head now, swishing contentedly from side to side.
Thea laughed. The spell was as easy to cast as it had ever been. As a girl, she would never have tried to lift so much; even a year ago, she might have been afraid. Now, it was as effortless as lifting herself off the ground to float above the crowds, as easy as the trick she’d played with her silvery wind hand.
“We could go higher,” Thea announced, cutting off the demand with raised eyebrows.
“But,” Thea pointed down at the crowd, where Echo was making her way back towards where they had been with the (remaining) tarts. “It wouldn’t be very nice to Echo to leave without her! And it looks like she’s bringing some very nice treats for you all...”
Thea focused, lowering them back down about five feet - making it a little easier for Echo to come join them, if she wanted.
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