[The Rearing Stallion}{Open} A strange lullaby

by **Ethne** on January 12th, 2012, 1:50 am

18th of Winter, 511 A.V.

Ethne stood outside of the Tavern known as the Rearing Stallion, setting down her sachel, she pulled out her Shakuhachi and leaned against the wall by the door. Her ferret popped out of her sachel and took his normal position of laying down atop it. Anyone who tried to take the bag or something from it would arouse an angry ferret. Ethne knew that her ferret, like others of his species, was a violent creature when angered, and would attack viciously any unfamiliar hands that disturbed him.

Crossing one leg while leaning against the wall, Ethne closed her eyes and began playing. The song wasn't very long, barely three minutes or so. But it, like all music, had a power beyond that of simple song. It carried, long and sweet, floating into the tavern and down the street. Enticing, slow and sleepy as it would draw in those who heard it. The ferret, who was usually wide eyed and alert, slowly laid down and relaxed. The song slowly putting him to sleep.

by **Etrius** on January 12th, 2012, 6:04 am

Etrius made his way down the silent street. It was almost completely empty, save for a few people making their way to whatever their destinations were. It was that odd time of day. That period between day and night, when half the world was sleeping, and the other half was rousing to alertness. The cold night air helped to create a calm stillness which swallowed both light and sound. The cold, unmoving stone surrounding the traveling man seemed to amplify the chill on his skin. This was twilight. This was serenity.

As he continued his slow trek, a gentle sound floated through the sky, coming to rest on Etrius' ears. He stopped and tilted his head. It was a soft song which seemed to almost dance around his head. He listened for a few seconds before deciding to seek out the source of the song. He quickened his pace as he heard the song become louder, drawing nearer. It was an eerie song, instilling feelings of both peace and fear in Etrius. As he turned the corner, he found the musician behind the strange song. Etrius froze, pure fear filling his body. It was a ghost! He could tell by the pale white of the small girl's skin and hair. He couldn't move, the fear paralyzing his legs. He never knew why, but he was always terribly afraid of ghosts.

He almost turned to run away, but he stopped himself, and took another look. No... this was not a ghost. The darkening sky and eerie song had played a trick on him, a particularly mean one, at that. He looked harder at the girl and realized: he had seen this girl somewhere before. He could not remember where at the moment, but he recognized her. The girl's extremely small frame and pale skin and hair brought a feeling of familiarity. Regaining his composure, he walked towards the little musician as quietly as he could, so as not to disturb her performance. Drawing as close as he thought he could without her noticing he stopped a few feet away and leaned against the tavern wall. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes, he silently waited and listened to the rest of the girl's song.

by **Ethne** on January 12th, 2012, 6:35 pm

Ethne continued to play, slowly hitting each note as to create a deeper feeling of eerie. She drug out the last note for a second longer than she normally would and ended the song. Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her sleeping ferret and smiled. Sliding down, she sat and began running her fingers along his head and down his back. He gave a shiver of enjoyment before going completely limp on her bag. Her blood red eyes glanced up and spotted the young man that had been listening in on her song. Smiling, she greeted him.
"Hello! Did you like the music?"
Ethne spun the Shakuhachi flute in her left hand as she spoke, she remembered this man from somewhere, but could not seem to place where she had met him, if she had met him.

by **Etrius** on January 12th, 2012, 11:36 pm

The final note faded into the darkening night as a small shiver ran down Etrius' spine. He'd never heard such a song before. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had actually heard music. It was truly refreshing. He opened his eyes and looked at the young girl now sitting on the ground. He smiled back and said "Yea. It was unlike anything I've ever heard." He spoke honestly, although not being a musical connoisseur himself, he wasn't entirely sure how much weight his compliment held. He slid down the wall, also, to sit on the ground and continue their conversation. He met her eyes with his and realized exactly who he was talking to. The blood red eyes, the pale skin, the white hair, the petite figure. He couldn't remember exactly what her name was, but he did remember that the little musician had knocked the wind out of him a few days earlier.

Preferring not to remind her of that detail he continued talking. "I'm Etrius." He went silent, struggling to find something else to say. He had never been very good at idle conversations. He pointed a clawed hand at the odd instrument that she was twirling in her hand. "Is that a flute?"

by **Ethne** on January 13th, 2012, 12:44 am

"Thank you."
Ethne replied after his comment about her music. She wasn't playing so people would fall in complete love of her music, she was playing so that people would get shivers down their spine. Obviously she had achieved her goal. She began to remember where she had seen him before, and that she may have beaten him to the floor. Rather than bring that up, she simply replied.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Ethne, and yes, this is a flute of a sort. It's called a Shakuhachi, I actually made mine because no music shop carries this specific type. So, what are you doing out at this hour? Don't you know that the Knights are particularly suspicious of people out at this hour?"

by **Etrius** on January 13th, 2012, 3:46 am

"Sako... Sakuhash... Shakuhachi." He repeated the word several times in an attempt to get it right. He shook his head and gave up, figuring he had gotten close enough. He gave a small chuckle and grinned at her. "I could ask you the same question. I'm usually out of the city by this hour, but I just decided to stop by a bookstore before I left today. Besides." Leaning his back against the wall once more, he continued. "As long as you don't look like your causing trouble, the Knights won't give you any trouble." Etrius did not fully realize how odd his last statement sounded coming from someone with a weapon attached to his arm.

"Your turn." he said lightheartedly. "Same question you asked me, plus one. You live in the city, right?" Being as young as she looked, Etrius almost felt as if he needed to tell Ethne to go home. But she could fend for herself. Etrius was a first-hand witness of that. He cringed while he remembered that fact, tenderly rubbing the bruise on his abdomen as he did.

OOCSorry for the awkwardness of and slowness between my posts. Time is not something I've had a lot of lately.

by **Ethne** on January 13th, 2012, 3:43 pm

Ethne shrugged, answering.
"Well, I can't get any quiet anywhere unless I'm outside playing my music at this time. Besides, the most any knight is ever going to tell someone of my age is to go home. As for where I live, well, you could say I live in the city. I actually live at the Welcome Home."
As she said her last sentance she glanced at the ground. Living at the Welcome Home clearly meant that she was an orphan, and her parents either left her at birth or died. With Ethne's parents having done the latter. She attempted to change the tone of the conversation, so she asked.
"So, why are you staying here in Syliras, you're a fighter aren't you? I'm here cause I've got no choice, but you-"

by **Etrius** on January 13th, 2012, 7:34 pm

The Welcome Home, huh? Etrius stared off into the distance. Ethne lived in the Welcome Home, which ment she didn't have parents. Etrius began to feel two different feelings well up inside him. One was a sorrowful longing for his own lost parents. The other was a sudden connection he felt he now shared with the girl sitting next to him. It seemed they had more in common then Etrius had at first thought. "A fighter..." he mumbled. Straightening up he said "To be honest, I really don't know why I'm here. I travel from place to place mostly. Doing jobs, getting paid, and just trying to help people out." He went silent again, unsure of what else to say.

Suddenly remembering the book he had recently seen in the store, he perked up. "Oh, and there's something else I'm trying to find, too." Absentmindedly crossing his left hand over his body to reach into his bag he thought about what he was about to say. He figured there was no harm in telling Ethne about it. He shoved his hand into the pack and began rummaging around. A searing pain suddenly went accross the top of his hand. "OW!" He yanked his hand out of the sack and shook it around, as if he was trying to shake the pain off. Looking at the bag he noticed that there was now a small furry creature hissing at him from inside. That wasn't his bag! His own bag had been laid on the other side of him. He had accidentally reached into Ethne's. And paid for it painfully.

by **Ethne** on January 14th, 2012, 1:32 am

Ethne immediately snapped to her bag and grabbed her ferret inside of it without taking him out. Truth to be told if she hadn't then he would have possibly leapt out at Etrius. She began scolding him in Isur, the language she took whenever she addressed her ferret.
"<No! Be kind.>"
The Ferret, even though it stopped hissing when Ethne scolded him, kept an evil eye on Etrius. Looking up at him, Ethne apologized.
"I'm sorry, he is very protective."

She pulled the ferret out, his pure white fur shining in the dim light, his red eyes giving him an almost demonic look. He looked just like Ethne.

by **Etrius** on January 16th, 2012, 4:14 am

"Shyke!" Etrius whispered loudly. "Petch, shyke, petching vagik!" Running out of curses he resorted to simply sputtering in anger and pain. It may have made him sound like a drunkard, but it made him feel better. Wiping away the blood, he saw three short scratches running diagonally across his hand, and it was bleeding a lot more than he thought it should be. "It's fine. I'll be fine." He licked his hand in an attempt to ease the pain. His hand still burned horribly.

Looking at Ethne, he saw the little ferret's glinting red eyes staring at him with hate. It's fur was white, almost silver, and its eyes, blood red. It seemed, to Etrius, that if Ethne was a kelvic, this little creature would be what she would change into. "You got a bandage? A rag or something?"