Strings

[Ziv]

Just a few minutes ago, Ziv was cheerfully tuning the viol for another song, and another, and another, getting coins thrown into the case, and it felt like heaven had decided to shower him with coins, even though it was mostly copper mizas, and the some silvers. He honestly wasn’t the most social type, but with the crowd looking at him, and some kids looking at him admirably, he felt, well, adored. He’d be lying if he said, “I didn’t like that at all.”

Then, his string broke. He cursed loudly, and the crowd looked surprised momentarily, until he sighed, pausing. “Sorry, folks. String broke..” A kid sitting near him looked a bit sad, then face brightened, looking more cheerful, and said, “But.. you’ll be here tomorrow, right?” He paused, as he bent down to collect the coins. “Whenever it takes for me to fix this up- also, I need a string. Might not be tomorrow. I’ll try, though.” He smiled a bit at the kid, and his mother tugged him a bit for him to leave. “But I wanna stay..” He heard him murmur, and his mother getting him up anyway.

He collected the coins- some silvers, mostly coppers. He counted quickly, wanted to fix his viol right up. 4 silvers, and 32 coppers. Good enough- he had enough for string, he thought, and he walked around to find the shop that could get him string. He looked downward, his feet kicking the sidewalk, when his eyes caught something. A line. No, not a line- string. And it looked like it could be long enough for the violin, which was good. He bent down, and tried to quickly get the string, muttering, excuse me, and he took it, and quickly got out of the way, looking for somewhere to sit. He soon found a stool that was currently unoccupied, and sat.

Ziv might’ve been good at playing the violin, but he didn’t.. really know how to manage these things, like when a string broke. He always had someone to do it for him- his parents (that made him frown a little) and when in Zeltiva, his sister. Of course, he had seen them do it, but not closely. He always expected he would have them, always at his side, but.. yeah, they weren’t.

He examined the violin, checking where he had seen his sister look, but he couldn’t see anything. He sighed, looking around, hoping he could find someone that could help him fix this and learn from, so he could fix it without going off and being confused about it. If only he had payed attention, he couldn’t help but think self-critically, and sighed. It was all in the past now- and now, he had to fix his viol.

[Natsu Nendo]

The Pycon had spent most of his morning running around, enjoying the warm weather and basking in the sun. The sounds of music seemed to flow through the air around him, and Natsu felt an urge to dance, though his experience was little and many years ago. To the unknown relief of the public, he kept his urges suppressed, yet his ears perked as he realized that indeed the music was real, and coming from Lapis Park. He scrambled quickly towards the source, but with a snap the music came to a sharp end. With a sigh, the small mouse-like figure sat himself upon a warm stone, laying his small pack by his side and enjoying the sun. It must have been a snapped string or something of the sort He thought idly, but in a moment he was up and searching through the bag. It held his few coins, the small amount of clay, but no Py-string. His father's gift, flecked with gold in the sharp webs, was missing. He racked his brains as to where he could have dropped it, and in an instant recalled dropping his bag earlier. He was in a rush to get out from under the feet of travelers, so he hadn't paid much mind that he collected everything. With a frantic desperation he carefully climbed down from the stone and began scurrying as fast as his legs could carry him. Natsu scrambled around the cobblestones, sure that this was where he had dropped it, and by pure chance a ray of sun reflected off the flecked surface of the Py-string and onto the ground before him. His eyes traced it to the source, a musician who seemed to be staring at his instrument, looking very confused. The clay creature almost sprinted towards the human, coming to a stop a few feet away and giving a short bow as he caught his breath "E-Excuse me sir... m-my name is Natsu Nendo... I believe you have my... er... belonging" he managed to stutter between gasps of air

[Ziv]

Ziv kept fidding around with his viol, and he sighed, his face getting red. It always was like that, he thought, that when he was working like this - rushed, his face always got a bit red for some reason. He kept trying, until a mouse came up to him, and he raised his eyebrow. Not just a mouse. A mouse made of clay, moving? He had heard of magic able to animate things, but it seemed.. more, odd? He didn’t know if that was the word, but soon the mouse started speaking in a nervous voice.

"E-Excuse me sir... m-my name is Natsu Nendo... I believe you have my... er... belonging." He looked quizzically at him, and then looked at the string. Why did a piece of clay want string? Perhaps to trip someone, or something? He didn’t know, but he replied. “This?” The selfish part of him wanted to just keep it and figure out how this worked, but he said anyway: “Come up here, I’ll give it back.” He examined the mouse quickly. Very, very small compared to him, and could pick him up. The mouse had wings, but he doubted he could fly, or anything like that. His fur was a light grey, with a hint of red, and he kept thinking about how these creatures worked, his find full of questions but with no answers.

[Natsu Nendo]

Natsu noticed the musician's questioning look, now directed at him instead of the instrument. He recalled that Pycons were rare in this region, and he let out a sigh. He scrambled up the man's leg, ending up on the other leg from the viol, and he gave another bow "T-that string was a gift from my father... I-it is a weapon, not an instrumental object" Natsu resisted the temptation to grab for the belonging, its gold-flecked sheen glinting in the light. He nodded at the man's questioning looks, inviting him to continue asking questions. He kept his desperation hidden, not wanting to seem rude.

[Ziv]

Oh, his guess was indeed right, but how did this string do much in a battle? One could easily cut this string and the clay would be finished unless he ran. He was tempted to withhold his string, until he had answered his questions, but he shrugged and gave it to him. "Mind me asking a few questions?" He smiled a bit, mostly looking apologetic, "Unless you have to go somewhere, 'course you can, but..anyway, how the hell do you move? And.." He frowned, considering that his question he was about to blurt out could be considered offensive.

"Nevermind, just answer that one first. By the way, name's Ziv. Nice to meet you, Natsu." He leaned back, waiting for the clay's statue's answer.

[Natsu Nendo]

Folding the string carefully, Natsu placed it gently into his bag. His clay body seemed to move as if it was flesh, smooth and quiet as he raised a sculpted eyebrow " The string is strengthened spiderweb, sharpened to cut and slice. If you think it can be broken, you are sorely mistaken" his shy manner was replaced momentarily by a sort of pride, and his clay wing fluttered slightly "I am a Pycon, as I said before, and we were originally... well, it depends on what you believe. Some think we were enchanted by a powerful sorcerer, others such as myself believe the god Harameus created us and gave us the ability to move and live. Either way, we are as alive as you and any other creature" As the clay mouse looked up at Ziv, he tilted his head, seeing an unasked question and hestation in the musician's eyes. The light had begun to fade as the day came to an end, and the Pycon leaned to the left slightly, trying to enjoy the last few warm rays, even as he mumbled "ask your question, I will not take any offense" his voice was soft and gentle, and the proud way with which he had held himself faded back into his shy mannerism

[Ziv]

The string was sharp? If he still had it in his hands, he would’ve touched the ends of the string, and it couldn’t be broken? He couldn’t see how it couldn’t be broken, but perhaps there was some magic or something. He listened to the explanation of how Pycons were made, and nodded.

“Well, you just answered it.. So, d’you happen to know how to fix this? If you do, though I doubt it, can you tell me how to?” Ziv laid the viol on his legs. He doubted the Pycon did know, but if he did, he could save mizas. Being a busker was hard, relying on people you didn’t know much to give you money, and he saved quite a bit, rather than spending like a spoiled brat.

[Natsu Nendo]

The creature noted the skeptical look on the man's face and his tail swished back and forth behind him in slight irritation, but he remained polite "Regretfully I do not know how to fix instruments, but perhaps for the safe return of my heirloom I can assist you in paying for the repair" the Pycon said softly, giving a short bow once more to show his gratitude. "If you do have any further questions I will be more than happy to answer if I know, no matter the subject" Natsu was both curious and... bemused by the musician's mannerisms, but perhaps if he played his card right he could end up with a warm place to stay for the night. The days were warm and sunny, but the rapidly approaching night was more often than not cold and accompanied by spring showers

[Ziv]

He nodded- he would get extra mizas whenever he could. Night was soon coming, and it would be good if he could get it so he could go busking around again tomorrow. "I have no idea where string should be.."He murmured, looking around. "Ya don't have any idea, right? I suppose we could just go to the Zhongjie Warrens, but who would sell string?" He sighed, feeling a bit lost

[Natsu Nendo]

"I don't know of any instrument sellers or fixers within the Zhongjie Warrens, but I haven't been there very often so I can't be sure" the pycon replied, his tail twitching back and forth as he lowered his head in though. This musician seemed to be very straight to the point, not bothering with long introductions or pointless questions about the past. He seemed to be very focused on the present, and it was a personality which Natsu did not have much experience with. Natsu felt very at home in Riverfall, yet there were a few places he had not visited often enough to know everyone, and he did have difficulty often with names. He looked up quickly and shook his head slightly, realizing his forgetfulness "I haven't even asked your name good sir" he said again, his neck turning to scan over the instrument besides him. He had seen only a few such instruments, but when and where escaped him. It occured to Natsu that the sun was all but gone, and night brought a shivering breeze with it as the shadows began to cover the city