Things They Won't Talk About Later //Tundra and Verdana//

[Verdana]

Thus, a rubble-fight started. It was something like a food fight, only with more dust and more pain. The two of them hurled whatever they could find at one another, and to her surprise, Shay found herself laughing. Laughing was painful, but so was any other form of motion. In comparison, laughter was a good pain, so she didn't force herself to stop. Kuar gave out first. He sank to the floor, chuckling. To herself, Shay wondered how often Kuar got the chance to loosen up. Probably less than she did, and that was saying something.
No, you started it, she insisted. She watched him for a moment, and then grinned.

She had an idea. Which could never be a good thing.

She trotted over to Kuar (or hobbled, more accurately) and grabbed hold of his arm.
Come on, she urged.
Let's go back to my house. I want to teach you to play the piano.
And, with that, she frowned slightly, and flitted.

Shay had been pretty good at flitting ever since Vlad had allowed her to teach herself to do it. Once one had the feel for it, it was not very difficult. Even moving through time and dimensions was manageable. However, Shay was not in Valgaderion. She was in England, and it was a place very much lacking in her sort of magyck. She was also rusty, and had not tried to take a passenger in a very long time. By the time she remembered this, she was already halfway there, and had no choice but to press on.

Flitting feels pretty horrible the first few times. It doesn't hurt, but it's awful. It cannot be compared to any existing sensation besides itself. It feels something like being pressed into a space the size of a pinprick while expanding to touch every possible existence there is. The place you've come from is trying very hard to keep you there, and every other space is sucking you towards it. It feels, in short, as if you're about to fly into billions of tiny little bits and be lost forever.

It's not fun.


Shay arrived on her cathedral floor with a gasp, and fell to her knees, coughing. Her head spun. None of her limbs were missing which was good, and she didn't have any extra ones, which was not a bad thing either.

Had she brought Kuar? She thought so, but she wasn't quite ready to look up just then.

[Tundra]

Kuar chuckled stating that the piece of drywall she had thrown over her shoulder had hit him, thus she started it. He looked up at Shay as she hobbled over to him and before he could say anything something happened. Kuar couldn't even wrap his mind around it before he appeared on the other side, gasping for air. His claws dug into the floor as he stared down at the thin cracks. His eyes were focused into slits as he tried to make out what had just happened. He had just been sitting in his house, and now, he was back at Shays. Had they just teleported or something? no, teleporting didn't give the feeling of being torn apart from the inside out. He started to lift himself off the floor, but found his sense of balance lacking and fell back down with a thud, biting his tongue by accident. He yelped in pain as he growled. He was starting to get pissed of because..he cust couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened.

So, he turned to Shay, who appeared to be out of breath and just started yelling. He couldn't help himself, he not only was pissed off, but was hurting, confused, and at the same time oddly scared. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!" His voice was hard, and sounded like he was about to tear her apart. Though if one looked they could see his eyes were not glowing, which gave away his intentions. No he was more concerned the fact of he felt like he was missing things. That actually was when he realized he was missing some fathers, lucky for him they weren't primary feathers. When he realized this he growled and looked at Shay yelling again "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO!!" He stumbled to his feet and managed to run into the piano, using it as support as he collected his own mind trying to put this puzzle together.

[Verdana]

Where was Kuar? Had she brought him? Had she lost him along the way? She wasn't sure. She could barely tell up from down. She started to feel a bit funny, or perhaps noticed that she was feeling odd. She wasn't sure. But where was Kuar? That was important. She quailed at the thought of having to track him down. Tracking made flitting look like a fun hobby. Did she even remember how to track? There was something to do with... With... Now... She gritted her teeth. Had to stand up. Had to... Had to see... She'd been phenomenally stupid to try flitting. By the blade, she could barely heal a wound! And with a passenger! She'd be furious with herself when she could feel anything at all. But Kuar...

Ah, not to worry. There he was. And he was articulating, too, which was always a good sign. If she'd splinched him, he would certainly have been yelling, but he would have been completely unable to form words. She knew this from experience. That was a stroke of luck. Retrieving limbs was far beyond her area of expertise.

Shay staggered to her feet. The room spun. She looked at Kuar, and was relieved to confirm that he was all in one piece. However... As he spoke (or, rather, yelled), Shay caught a glimmer of red around his mouth. Her stomach flopped slightly. This was odd, as she was not in the least bit squeamish, usually.
It's okay, Shay, she reminded herself, It's only a bit of...
Flecks of blood flew from his tongue as he bellowed. The smell hit her a few seconds later. She gulped, and went pale.
Steady, girl, she thought. You can handle...
He was waiting for her to reply. She knew that she had to explain.

She opened her mouth to do so, retched, leaned forward, and threw up onto the cobblestones.

She staggered back. Her vision went into black and white. Before she could do anything, say anything, apologise, even, her knees buckled and she lost consciousness.

[Tundra]

Kuar was holding his head trying to get the world to stop spinning. He finally actually realized he was bleeding, at least his tongue was. He closed his mouth swallowing any of the blood that had trickled out. He was looking away from Shay, until, he could make clearly make out the sound of Shay puking. Normally, he would have been able to handle this, but, being as he was already having trouble from the whole flitting ordeal, his breakfast decided it was a good time to come up. He cursed as he had to force his body to move so the puke would not end up inside the piano itself. He stumbled forward, his breakfast spewing from his mouth. O god how he hated the burning sensation he got from this. His body continued to heave trying to expel anything else he may have had inside him. He cursed again when it finally stopped. This was about when Shay passed out, falling to the ground.

Kuar didn't really know what to do. First the woman had expelled her stomach content, and now she was passed out. For Christs sake, Kuar barely could handle her puking, let alone her passing out. He growled as he walked over to her carefully, trying his darndest not to puke again at the smell of her own. He keeled down by her side and checked to make sure she was breathing, and had a heart beat. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't breathing, or lacked a heart beat. After confirming she indeed had both he carefully lifted her off the floor and carefully walked to her room where she had stayed last night. He set her down on the bed and fetched a rag to get rid of the remnants of puke on both hers and his lips.

He wasn't sure what to do now, other then maybe sleep himself. But, he actually felt a bit concerned for Shay. He cursed at himself for feeling this way, but it was certain to happen. Kuar probably had had more fun with Shay these past few days then any time before...other then when Conis was alive. He sighed sitting down on the bed as he wrestled with his need for sleep. Though he found himself losing this battle as he laid himself down at the foot of her bed. He yawned folding his unbraced wing close to himself, his tail curling so it wasn't in anyone's way. He yawned again as he watched Shay, but soon found himself moving to where he was not in danger of falling off the bed. He probably would regret it, but he laid himself so he was facing Shay. He watched her for awhile longer, before his eyes closed themselves and he fell into a slumber. O how he would regret this when Shay woke, he just knew this.

[Verdana]

Shay dreamed of the Pirates, but she dreamed of one incident in particular. When she'd been nine years old, she'd been stolen from The Finishing School by pirates. They had not meant to take her, as they had needed someone of royal blood and she clearly did not fit the bill, with her gangly legs and intense face. There was nothing regal about her, but when they'd tried to send her back, she had been adamant that she'd wanted to stay. So, stay she did. At first, she pottered around, getting in the way and generally annoying the crew. But, slowly but surely, they began to give her jobs. Small ones at first, like scrubbing the deck. Bit by bit she began to become part of the crew...

//The Mast//

Thwack!

Ow!

Young Shaygrin rubbed her head, staring resentfully at the back of the ship's captain. He walked on, apparently undeserving of her hostility. His stick, which had just made sharp contact with the girl's skull, was tucked under his arm. She scowled ferociously, and turned to a tiny, red-haired man who was walking past with a coil of rope under one arm.
So? Why did he do it this time? she demanded.
He didn't even look at her.
You were in his way.
Shay fairly popped with indignation.
In his way? There was plenty of room around me!
A tanned, attractive young man with a mischievous face patted her arm.
Thing is, he doesn't respect you yet. You have to earn his respect.

Shay thought about how to do this for several weeks. She mulled and pondered, getting in everyone's way more often than usual. This in itself was quite a remarkable feat, but she came no closer to discovering how to impress the grim captain. Then, one day, when the ship was changing course, Andurin yelled,
Raise foresail! and that's when Shay knew what she had to do. Before anyone could stop her, she ran to the foremast and began to climb.

She had not picked an easy task for herself. To raise the foresail, the entire front mast had to be scaled. This was the mast which leaned precariously towards the sea, and was always soaked with slippery spray. Still, Shay was not one to back down, so she scaled the mast anyway. She heard Andurin bellow after her.
Girl! What in the icy pits of damnation are you doing?
With more audacity than she'd thought herself capable of, Shay called back,
Raising foresail!
She did not listen to Andurin after that. She climbed on.

There were several near slips, but eventually she reached the swinging arm of the sail. With deft fingers, she began to undo the ropes. This in itself was not easy, as it was hard to tell which ropes coiled the sail up and which held it to the wooden crossbeam. The pirates watched her silent. Shay's tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration as she inched along the beam. She pulled the final cord. There was a moment of suspense, and then the sail dropped neatly into place. Although nobody said a word, Shay knew that the pirates were impressed. Grinning, she skipped back onto the foremast. Then she made the mistake of looking down to see what the pirates were doing. Unburdened by coiled ropes, the swinging did what it was supposed to, and swung. It smacked Shay on the back of the head, plunging her overboard and into the roiling, dark sea...


Shaygrin sat up with a gasp. Instantly, her body told her that sitting up so fast was not a good idea. She groaned, holding her chest, which ached. She experienced a moment of disorientation. This was becoming a frequent state of being. How did she come to be in her room, in the bed that still smelled, very faintly, of Vlad? Maybe she'd been sick. It was all a deranged dream. That made sense, since her mouth tasted foul and she ached all over. She turned, to look for the figure who would undoubtably be sitting beside the bed, when she got rather a shock. It wasn't Vlad beside her. It was... Oh. She suddenly remembered what had happened. She couldn't recall getting into bed, but they'd... Oh. Shay's face became very red indeed, out of embarrassment and shame. It was terrible that she'd thrown up. It was even worse that she'd passed out. But that she'd tried to flit the poor demon... That was inexcusable.

As gingerly as possible, Shay crept out of the bed. She wasn't sure what to do or say for herself, and was very relieved indeed that Kuar was asleep. She wasn't going to wake him. Bless, he was exhausted. He could use the rest. She stole out of the room and closed the door behind her. Then she walked into the main hall. Her nose told her that Kuar had not had the decency to clean up. With a sigh, she got the necessary equipment and began to clean. She also noted that there was a second pile of... Emesis. She smirked. Sympathy-vomiter? At least she'd have something to tease him about. She cleaned up without any problems. She was feeling better, thanks to her snooze. Then, once that was done, she found herself at something of a loss. What was she to do? She paced around for a while, before making for her piano.

She sat down, lifted the lid, and began to make music.

[Tundra]

Kuar's dream was definitely one sparked by the sound of music. In fact, one could say his dream could be made of music.

the building was dimly lit, the air silent. From the silence broke a sound, was that a violin? The sound permeated the air, vibrating with each pull of the bow across the strings. The song itself was a ballad, in fact, it was Mozarts requiem. Of all the things to play that just seemed to fit the whole situation. At Kuars feet, lay a body, blood tricking from a fresh wound place though their neck. The death was quick, but the heart still beat. As the song came to its close, Kuar stood, setting the violin and its bow next to the body. He had taken his time in this kill, only because he wished to learn the instrument. Kuar stared at the body for a bit before walking away, his tail flicking as his mind scolded him for having become attached. The woman, she seemed not to care what Kuar looked like. And since Conis was the first person who had shown any compassion for him. But, Kuar couldn't deal with it, his, instincts took hold. Conis had always said never to get attached to a target, but, Kuar had. And when the time came for him to strike the blow, he stalled. He regretted it, blood seeping from a open wound on his chest. But, in the end, the job was still done. Maybe she knew death was at her door, and thought, maybe teaching him would change his mind. And, it had, but, he had to finish the job. He left the building, closing the curtains and the stage down.

Actually that was about when Kuar woke up, but, he stayed still listening to the sound of the piano emanate the room. Was that what brought about the dream? reminded him that he could feel emotion? He stared off at the door wondering if he should go out there. He sat himself up, much to his body's displeasure. He growled lightly as his entire body shrieked at him. He sighed, finally lifting himself to his feet and walking towards the door. He opened it slowly, walking down the hall and looking over at Shay. Her fingers ran along the key's with ease, each key emitting a beautiful note. Kuar sat there for a bit, just listening. It, oddly put him at an ease. Maybe something about music quelled the beast within him, but he always felt a sense of ease when he listened to it. Especially if he could see the person play, the instrument play. He pondered walking over, but he had a feeling the music would stop if he did. So, he stood there, taking in its sound. O how he wish he had a violin right now, he could join the splendor of the song with a tune of his own. But he didn't, and he probably wasn't in the best of states to be able to play anyway. He sighed closing his eyes in thought.

[Verdana]

Shaygrin learnt to play instruments on the deck of The Eulogy, Andurin's ship. On a long voyage, when the water supply is getting low and the crew is living on a diet of pickles and something that could be called leather if the speaker was being particularly kind, any time spent without anything to do should be filled. Every member of the crew had had a different way to kill time. Amigo had planned recipes for when he had actual ingredients, and then made them into ballads, sung in his strange Pixie language which nobody could understand. Caviann had done gymnastics from the masts. Andurin had just wandered around, arguing with himself.

So, Shay had taken up music.

This had not been an easy pursuit. There were few musical instruments aboard a pirate ship. Fewer that could survive being soaked by an unexpected wave. She had tried whistles and wind instruments, but to no avail. Eventually, she'd broken into Andurin's private apartments in the hopes of finding something there. By then, she'd been well on her way to losing her morals, and she'd struck lucky. She found herself a violin. It was a beautiful instrument, with a lacquered sheen and a pure, spirited sound. She'd loved in instantly. The crew had loved her a lot less while she learned to play it. Andurin must have known that she'd stolen it, but oddly enough, he never said a word about it. Over the months, Shay got more and more proficient, and by the time she made The Error, she was very good.

//In England//

That very same violin sat atop a shelf in its case in the cathedral. Shay very infrequently took it out of said case, for the instrument was very old and she feared it getting damaged. The piano was much newer and more robust, and she felt good taking out her stress on it. She was a very proficient pianist. She'd learnt to play a similar instrument at the Finishing School, and had a natural touch. She played with emotion and care, and the piano responded kindly to her touch. She didn't play any set pieces. She wasn't good at repeating what others created. Instead, she just played around with sound, letting her embarrassment, her fear drain away.

She smelled him a moment before he sighed. She stopped abruptly, turning around to face Kuar. However, instead of looking angry or indignant, she smiled gently.
Sleep well? she asked. She gestured to her piano.
I don't know why I did it, she said thoughtfully, an odd look crossing her face.
I mean, I'd left him. But then I went back, and I started taking back what was mine. Clothes first, because I needed them, and then the armour and my weapons. I was going to leave it, but...
She shrugged helplessly.

You can't imagine what a chore it was to flit it here!

[Tundra]

Kuar looked over at her opening his eyes as she spoke. His tail flicked as he thought about the situation earlier in the day. "Yes..I did sleep well..the music helped actually....Flitting? is that what you did this morning?..not that it made either of us feel well..." He walked over noticing the case up top one of the shelves in the room. He was curious, but didn't ask. He looked back at Shay as he looked at the Piano. "Its well tuned for not being played that often, though sound is a bit off due to this" He pointed in the general direction of the gash that lay on its side.

He was curious really now what flitting was. Especially since they both hadn't came out in the best of shape. He looked back at Shay changing the subject asking "What..caused you to pass out? I mean..I can understand the puke...but really, it..dose confuse me..which takes a lot." He flicked his tail lightly looking back at the case on the shelf. The shape fit the bill, but again he would not ask. It wasn't his business to ask, not to mention practicably any instrument he touch ended up with claw marks. He flicked his tail again as he sat down in a chair near Shay, his legs still weak from how much blood he had lost in the past few days. He rubbed his shoulder easing out the knot that had formed due to the pain he had been in. O how he hated the pain. He cringed slightly as he moved his arm, the one that had popped out of place. He looked at it in a slight annoyance before returning his gaze to Shay.

[Verdana]

Shay smiled lightly and began to play again. The music was very soft, adding ambience to her speech rather than blocking it.
I'm glad that it helped you, she said, stroking the keys lovingly. She reddened slightly at the memory he conjured up.
Yes, that's flitting, she sighed, and added, slightly sheepishly, And baby flitting, at that. It really should not have taken so much energy. I'm sorry that I did that to you. I had forgotten just how unpleasant it can be. I promise, I won't do it again.

She was lying. She would.

Kuar pointed at the gash, and Shay faltered. Her eyes fogged at the memory it conjured up. Then she snapped back into the present as he continued to bombard him with questions. She didn't mind, really. It gave her an excuse to get some of the things that bothered her off of her chest.
Yes, it is. It's a good instrument. It's a real pity about that gash. In fact, the story of the break ties into the subject of flitting, so I'll tell you that, and hopefully it should answer your questions.

When I'd lived with Vlad for about a year, I got tired of being his passenger when we flitted. As you felt, tagging along is rather brutal. It's much nicer when one is alone. Anyway, he could tell that I was frustrated, so he tactfully gave me some free time in which to teach myself. Shay smiled fondly at the memory, and the music she played took on and old-fashioned, slow beat.
It took a while for me to learn. I didn't really understand, at first, and kept smacking into trees. Then I started to work it out. I travelled further and further, until I broke out of Valgaderion.

You see, there are several levels to flitting. There's the easy kind, which is just moving space. That should be effortless. Unfortunately, I took a passenger, and I'm out of practice, and England is not conducive, as it were, to that sort of magic. That's why I got exhausted. The nausea, which I'm very sorry about, by the way, came from trying to flit two people at once. The passing out, which I'm also sorry about, was due to sheer exhaustion. If I'd been on my own, I would have found it much easier. I was just foolish, that's all. I got ambitious.

Anyway, you can also flit through time and through worlds, which is what I did back when I was learning. I found myself in a village much more advanced than this world. They had a music shop, and I browsed. There were violins and flutes, but I really wanted this piano. I was an arrogant little brat, and assumed that I could just flit it back.

I couldn't. It was exhausting. I had to sort of half-flit; running and flitting at the same time. Which was fine, until I hit the edge of Valgaderion. My old home, you see, was made of ice. We started to skid, the piano and I. I thought that this was very clever, and that I could slide it all the way down the hill into my cabin. Unfortunately, I could neither steer nor stop. It crashed into a tree. Rather, I crashed into a tree trying to stop it, and it crashed into me. That's why I should never have flitted you, and how it got that gash.

She smiled fondly. Ah, how foolish she had been in her youth. So immature, so cocky, so very wild. She had played through her tale, speeding up and slowing down to fit the story. All the while she'd watched Kuar, and seen him eyeing the violin case.
Do you play? she asked curiously, gesturing with the eyes at her violin.
You're welcome to take her out. Just be gentle, alright? She's older than I am and she's been through many ordeals in her lifetime.

[Tundra]

[[Note..so listening to Celtic Women while posting...you should look it up..]]

Kuar listened to the music, the sound vibrating though the room with almost a harmonic sound. Really he found himself enjoying the music, which took a lot. He was picky with what he listened to, but oddly the sound of the piano reminded him of his past, when life just seemed so much easier. His tail swayed lightly to the sound, barely visible to the eye. It would take someone watching intently for a bit to notice it. Kuar during this time listened to Shays story, how she had come to get the piano, and what Flitting was. He was curious really, what this power could actually do if in the hands of the wrong people.

Assassins all around could easily make kills and leave situations with ease, no recollection of them ever having been there. When she was done explaining what it was, and adding the bit of how she had gotten the piano, she seemed to notice him look at the case. He looked at her for a bit not sure how to answer. Finally he sighed saying "Yes, I did once, its...been a long while...never really found the time, let alone actually own a violin of my own..." He looked down at his claws before saying "well..i cant say I didn't have the time...just..spent it looking for work..until my name became known and people came to me.." He ran his claws together before clicking them apart. It was more in thought then anything else.

He looked back up at the case and could now see just how old it was. He could also smell the distinct smell of sea salt, though it was faint, it was still there. He flicked his tail again before returning his gaze to Shay. He then said "i would play, but to say the truth any instrument I hold ends up with claw marks on it, don't want to damage something that's been with you that long" He smiled lightly, not something someone saw often. Was he really letting his guard down around her? He wasn't to happy with himself just there, and turned his expression back to its usual self.

The recent events should have made him hate Shay even more, but, to say the truth they had brought them together...closer. He could, understand to a point, it was kinda like an apprentice/mentor relationship. First they basically don't like each other, but over time that hatred eases, and a new partnership emerges. Kuar wasn't sure he wanted that. Maybe he would leave sooner then planned, who knows, for now he had to think about now. He was to injured to leave anyway, it would only put him in even more danger. Also, this Demion wanted both dead, and was probably assuming they were working together now. Kuar sighed pulling his mind back to reality, here and now.