[Flashback] Midday in the garden of goat and evil

[Dhanya]

Timestamp: 3rd Summer, 508
Tag: Rigil


Summer had come to Jenon's garden, the first summer Amala had ever seen. She could feel the new warmth of the day and relished the disappearance of the spring rain. The flowers were now hers throughout the morning, with no threat of mud and chastisement. Amala loved the garden. She often imagined that it had been made for her, as her playground. It was rich with nooks and crannies that were essential for a young explorer.

When she had a quiet moment to divest her clothes, the many garden beds provided excellent snacks. She was a bane of the gardener and the delight of his wife. While she did make the occasional (fairly regular) mess, she was also terribly cute. She delighted in sharing her affection, so despite lacking time for a child in their midst, the many people that worked for Jenon did not especially resent her. Perhaps pitied, there were few around that she could play with. Not the most normal circumstance for a child.

When there was no one she could talk to, and Amala would make quite certain there were no alternatives, she would settle for imaginary friends. While they weren't real, they were quite entertaining. Bob was an excellent plumber, who was very good at fixing pipes and making aquaducts. Fuschia was bright blue and had self esteem issues because of that fact. Edward was sparkly and always drank his tea.

Amala often chose to sing to them. Practice made perfect, as Jenon so often told her. Her mother had told her that practice was essential but had been disappointed she preferred to practice singing over tracking. There just wasn't much that was interesting to track. Everyone stayed in roughly the same places all day.

"Sady is a lady and she lives across the sea." Amala sang, sitting on a picnic rug in the middle of the gardens, across from three empty cups. "Her cousin lives in muslin and a psycopath is he!"

Amala did not actually know what the words meant, she had heard one of the cooks singing it and memorised the words. Any adult passing by would have likely recognised the song and known that naughty words were soon to follow. Amala had yet to ask her mother what any of them meant.

[Rigil Kentaurus]

“Take the road to the right, you’ll find the library in no time, Sir,” one of the young men gestured towards the road and Rigil nodded his head in understanding.

It was a few days since his arrival into Zeltiva, though evidently he was only here to see the great university and meet up with some scribes that his fellow colleagues referred him to. His steed was stabled near the inn and so Rigil decided to walk. Naturally, people stared at him and he simply took it in his stride, nodding his head to the various people he passed, here and there.


It did not take long for the scribe to lose himself in the winding cobbled streets. The young man’s directions were simple enough, but yet again, Rigil came to realise the deep difference between the words of theory and the reality of practicality. Various people passed him by and yet Rigil hardly wanted to swallow his pride and yet ask again for directions.

Walking and walking, it was evident that he would never find his way to the University’s library, let alone returning to where he had initially started from. His frown creased along his forehead, forming rows of worried lines along it. It reminded him of his first inception into this world, the raging cold water that made him cry out in pain and despair. He almost shivered, but the warmth of the sun was something he found incredibly delightful.

Bless Syna, he thought to himself. And just as he thought of his Goddess, slivers of a voice sang through the air. He heard it coming not too far. A pleasant sound which seemed to radiate a sense of innocence that Rigil always admired and something inwardly which he knew would never be able to attain.

Walking towards the voice, he brushed his shoulders against other pedestrians, but they hardly seemed to process his almost sudden intrusion, simply going along on their way to wherever their prerogatives lay.

The garden was beautiful, he thought, when he arrived at the Wizard Jenon’s garden. His green eyes glinted, the earthly colours which seemed to provide his own link with the world he now found himself in. Taking in the various floras that dotted along the expanse, it was then he saw Amala and he paused. For indeed, the source of the voice came from that young girl. He blinked and he could only stare, forgetting his goal of reaching the library.

“I wonder, do all children sing songs like that?” he called out, before he even manifested those words into his thoughts. It seemed to simply blurt out of his mouth of its own volition. He cleared his throat and pretended to busy himself at looking at a particularly fine plant. It was only while busying himself in that did he realise who this child was. A Kelvic! Here, out of all places. This did intrigue Rigil and so he cast his gaze back towards Amala. It was suddenly quiet and since Rigil was lost, he hardly knew where to go. Besides, it was easy to ask a child instead of an adult where he should go.

“Err you wouldn’t know where the library is though, would you?” he asked, a faint smile tugging along the ends of his lips.

[Dhanya]

Amala took a moment to realise that Rigil was speaking to her, most passersby did not.

"I wouldn't know." She replied to his first question.

She simply didn't know enough children to say. She left her tea cups, happy to postpone her solitary games until she was actually alone again. Amala approached Rigil with no fear or reserve, naive to the potential threat posed by a stranger.

"I sure do know where the library is though." She continued, reaching up to hold onto the wrought iron gate and staring at the older man. "I have horns too, sometimes."

She had seen Ethaefal before, though only from afar. She had never spoken to one. He was very beautiful and it was easy to be drawn to beauty. He was also strange and shining, golden-hued and statuesque. Her strange gaze did not leave him for a moment, even when blinking she seemed to be taking his presence into mind.

"You're funny looking." She concluded, with a childish directness that was compounded by the scant months she had spent in the world. It was hardly enough time to teach her social grace.

"That's fine though, I am too. I can take you to the library. I'm bored, you can get me icecream, they have icecream there." She added, relieved to finally have someone to release her thoughts to.

She opened the gate and shut it behind her, still looking up at Rigil. She took a few steps closer and held up her hand, so that he could take it. She always held someone's hand when she went for a walk, unless she was being a goat. She didn't have hands when she was a goat.

[Rigil Kentaurus]

It felt as though he was in a different world.

There was very little experience with children to count upon when Amala made her way towards the gate. Rigil’s lips parted as he watched her with an intense gaze, trying to study her. His eyebrows tapered into a frown, not expecting such an extrovert personality from her, especially to a man of his features. He cleared his throat, attempting to regain his sense of composure.

“You know where the library is then?” he repeated, mulling over her response. He smiled then and nodded his head. “Wonderful. I would appreciate that.”

He took a moment to try to make sense of her frankness, hmming aloud. He tilted his head, trying to imagine her with horns as well. There was a distinct ambience around her, but it was somewhat difficult to identify the nature of her animal form.

“Well, people who have horns are not so bad,” he replied with a faint chuckle expressing from him. “In fact, horns are like crowns. They make you look beautiful.”

He maintained the smile, wondering if this was the way to treat children. Ultimately, he was unsure if she was even allowed to walk out into the streets alone with a stranger. Yet he recalled his own previous life’s youth and the freedom he had had. Albeit, it was always around the library, combing the whole entire structure of the library that he found some adventure. Even then, his curiosity was never satiated.

“Ice cream is nice, I’ll buy it for both us,” he said, taking a step to the side when she closed the gate. “But I hardly look funny. It’s the people without horns who look funny, I dare say.”

He grinned at her but then it wiped away the instance she offered his hand. He shook his head at her.

“I cannot touch you,” he said slowly in a careful voice. “I....I do things to people when I touch them and I do not have much control over it, I’m afraid.”

With that vague explanation, he waved his hand. “Come on, you won’t get lost. Besides, you’re the one leading,” he continued on, attempting to lighten his words.

[Dhanya]

"Horns are nice." Amala replied, reaching out to take his shirt sleeve instead.

Maybe he had some sort of magicalness going on, like Jenon. That did not mean she was going to walk about without holding someone's hand. She might get lost and have to track her way home and she wasn't superbly good at that. She still found all the scents outside the garden to be quite confusing. There were too many to follow and she didn't have a wolf hiding beneath her skin to help out. She did have a wolf living in the same house but that was her mum. Katya couldn't be there all the time.

"So, why can't you hold hands? Is it just me or childrens or other people too?" Amala asked, having to take quick steps to keep up with Rigil's slow stride. "That must annoy you."

Rigil might have noticed that her wording was casual but her pronunciation was somewhat clipped and formal, with little hint of the accent that permeated most of the working people Rigil had met to date in Zeltiva. Amala spoke like the child of an academic that had forced into lessons on deportment and had only taken in half the message home.

She led Rigil through the main streets of Zeltiva, past elegant shopfronts and stone passageways. Zeltiva was a beautiful city, though the smell of refuse coming from service lanes was clear to anyone with a decent nose. The city was far from perfect. The pair drew more than one stare for their oddness, a child with mud on her shoes and an Ethfael, shining in the sunlight. Amala enjoyed the attention.

Rigil could see the library now, though more immediately he could see a stand that purportedly sold ice cream, as indicated by the ornate and colourful sign beside it. Amala looked up at him expectantly.

"Oh, I do declare, that man sells desserts." Amala announced, slowly and carefully, hope and a fear of bitter disappointment obvious in her sudden high-strung posture. She was almost vibrating in anticipation. It was like watching a rabbit shivering.

[Rigil Kentaurus]

There was a moment of uncertainty when Amala grasped the sleeve of his shirt. Rigil stood still and was unsure whether to extricate himself from the child’s hold or simply let her have her way. He pursed his lips for a moment, mulling over that until he resigned himself. After all, it was he who had initiated the conversation with her. “Well, let’s just say that when I touch someone, I take a day of their life away,” he said as quickly as possible. It was evident Rigil was hardly comfortable with that ability himself. His eyes flicked around, parting his lips while he continued to follow Amala by her side. His footsteps beat up a staccato rhythm, providing an onslaught of noise which joined the vastness of the busy city. Many people strolled around and gradually the Ethaefal was learning more about the streets of the city. “So I can only touch those who are willing to lose a day,” he continued to explain this time with a sense of sincerity in his words. “I suppose it is annoying, but when you’ve lived a life of solitude well...you get used to it, my little friend.” He provided a smile towards her and managed to get through the crowds until at last they were approaching the library. Rigil paused, staring at the library, but his ruminations were interrupted when Amala suddenly spoke out. His gaze flicked back to her and then towards the direction where she was pointing to. He almost grimaced, but was able to successfully maintain a semblance of his stoic appearance. “Indeed, if he sells desserts, he sells ice cream too,” he chuckled aloud and walked towards the stall. He nodded his head to the ice cream man. “Good afternoon, my friend,” Rigil hailed the man. “Could I have a vanilla ice cream?” Then he turned to regard Amala. “Which flavour do you want?” he asked her, arching an eyebrow while his other hand moved towards his pouch, ensuring he had the coins to pay for it.

[Dhanya]

Amala had been listening to Rigil quite studiously. Perhaps with more intensity than one might expect from a child. It was the most attention and conversation she'd had all day. She revelled in the attention.

"You should learn how to not do that." She said, nodding her head at Rigil's explanation of his limits on touching. "I know what it's like to be lonely. I have no one to talk to but Jenon and he gets annoyed at me and mummy is busy because she has a job but she says it's a shit job."

When Rigil asked her what icecream flavour she would like, her eyes lit up. It was like seeing a ray of light on gold, only goatier. She opened her mouth in excitement, then shut it.

The various choices flashed by so quickly that they plugged up the little door in her brain that ideas went down. How could she choose? She liked pink but didn't superbly love strawberries compared to lime but she wanted something creamier and chocolate was bit not suited to the weather...

"You pick." She said, immediately followed by, "No, caramel!!! Caramel!!!"

Her little arms were bouncing up and down and her feet were tapping one at a time, like an excited puppy.

"Caramel!" She added, for good measure.

----

"Where is Amala?" Katya asked Jenon, standing in front of his desk, voice coarse and almost growling underneath her breath.

[Rigil Kentaurus]

Rigil seemed to fumble with his pouch as he attempted to produce the coins needed to pay for the ice cream. The shop keeper was a rather patient man and looked at the scribe with a sense of reverence which Rigil was learning to become used to. “There, I have it,” he said. “Yes, a vanilla for me and...hmm what to choose, strawberry for the little girl here.” Just as the ice cream man was about to work on scooping a strawberry flavoured ice cream for Amala, her voice cut in, repeating the word caramel. Rigil seemed surprise. He was rather accommodated with those who were soft spoken, under the constant companionship of the various scribes he travelled with. So when Amala shouted aloud, he literally took a step back. “Alright...alright, it’s caramel. Caramel for the girl, Sir,” he told the shop keeper. They waited for the man to scoop up the ice cream. While they did, Rigil realised he was not very good with kids at all. He would barely be able to keep up with the waves of energy that they seemed to have. Resilience was one thing, perpetual energy was quite another. Breaking through his thoughts, the ice cream man offered two ice cream cones. Rigil took the vanilla flavoured ice cream with his left hand and the caramel flavoured with his right. Turning to Amala, he offered the cone to her and paid for the ice creams. “Thank you, Sir,” he said to the man and then moved on to walk. “Well I would assume we cannot eat in the library, I’m afraid. Still, the summer is just new so it won’t be melting too soon, I hope. So tell me, child, who is this Jenon you mentioned? Is he a Kelvic too?” While he waited for her to respond, he licked his ice cream, even though as an Ethaefal, such nourishment of food and water was hardly needed. The sustenance of Syna provided him with the energy to move around without tiring himself.

[Dhanya]

"Noooooo." Amala replied, "Kelvics never get to do anything important and Jenon is very important, I don't know. Other people say he is, I don't think he looks important. He has a really big desk, I look at him over his desk until he talks to me."

It might not have been clear to Amala but it would have been painfully obvious to Rigil that she was a very lonely girl.

"He taught me how to do some stuff, like what you do with your hands but different. It's like feelings magic. Want to see?"

Amala very clearly wanted to show him. Though her eyes were as strange and inscrutable as they always would be, her smile was bright and easy to see. She was holding her breath. She had even stopped paying attention to her ice cream, which had dripped down and onto her fingers.

[Rigil Kentaurus]

Rigil listened carefully, hanging onto Amala’s words while he weighed them in his own manner. He nodded his head at the appropriate moments, when understanding seemed to flicker over his facial expressions. “Jenon, I cannot say I’ve heard of this man, but well, this is my first time in Zeltiva, at least...in this form,” he said, a flicker of grief transpired in the depths of his eyes. He blinked and looked at Amala intenty. “He must be some kind of a sorcerer, to be skilled in the art of magic.” Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he nodded his head to the girl when she posed her question. Then he gestured for her to continue. “Of course, let’s see what you know,” he told with a kind smile etching upon his thin lips. He noticed how eager she seemed to be and he admitted to himself he wanted to know how skilled a child would be in the form of magic. “To be sure, what is it that you can do, hm?” While asking that question, he took out a cloth and crouched down, wiping away the melting ice cream form her fingers. “On second thoughts, perhaps its best you eat that first and then show me, eh?” He chuckled, a grim smile appeared on his face and his eyes narrowed, his skin wrinkling at the sides.