Flutter

[Lovely]

June 20 2009

Sander's home no longer existed, though if asked, he'd say he was home. As long as he could see the stars above and hear the sounds around him always in rhythm and telling him stories, he was comfortable and content to absorb his surroundings. Comfortable when there was hope of some sort of shelter nearby, at least. He'd traveled four days now with the sun's unmerciful glaring darkening his skin to a delicate bronze. He traveled onward, seemingly unaware of it except for the quiet of the earth that cracked slowly under his where the lake waters had once sprawled. The quiet disturbed him but the horizon drew him forward - a faint shimmer of something green that kept his feet moving over the parched earth. His back and shoulders were only shielded it seemed by the drawings placed on his skin that seemed to ripple and shift at times. He came upon the thicket within the hour, his legs grey with the salty dust from the dried lake he'd walked over. He didn't notice. Instead he was marveling at the light that shimmered at this late afternoon hour through the leaves overhead. He closed his eyes and listened, opened his eyes and let the light play over his senses, gently patting out a melody forming in his thoughts. He swung gracefully under a long-hanging branch and padded onward, deeper into the cool wooded area not expecting or worrying about others. Why should he? Most were dead or long gone in their caravans. He wasn't watching behind him as he thumped into something that unexpectly moved. That... wasn't a stump, he realized, turning slowly.

There was an ever so slight rustling as her wings folded down, hidden behind her back and her long curly hair. The hair was a dark brown with hints of lighter colors in it which caught the light at different angles, amber eyes blinked as she looked at the man. Her expression was as curious as it was surprised, she dressed like most of her kind did, in light farbrics or lace that barely covered the curvy figure beneath. Nisari had been sitting silently on the fallen log entranced by what she'd been watching and she hadn't even noticed him coming.. that wasn't good. There was a dagger in it's sheath, tied around her waist with leather laces, another smaller blade attached in the same manner to her opposite thigh.

Her story was like most, what had been home to her was destroyed, her people slaughtered or scattered, mostly they were killed. The dark armies were meant to be like exterminators, leaving alot of nothing in their wake. The edges of Nisari's clothes and hair had tell tale signs, being slightly singed and she still had a few streaks of soot and ash on her. She'd been travelling nearly two weeks before finding this patch of forest where she felt a bit like she was home again. It was here she planned to rest and bathe and eat of the more lush offerings, but before she'd gotten too far in that plan, she was distracted by.. "Oh!" She whispered, moving to quickly clamp her soft hand over his mouth. "Shhh, you'll disturb them.." She then gestured behind her to the flock of butterflies which seemed to be dancing in a small clear patch.

It was a girl.. an incredible one speaking his language, although quietly and quickly as she placed a hand over his mouth, startling him further. He reached up to her hand to move it, about to protest such an attack when he'd said nothing but then he heard them, the small flipping of tiny wings in large numbers. He hadn't seen such a thing since he'd been a tiny boy running away from his mother toward the river that ran near his home, entranced by the flickering colors flowing over the top of the meadow. Entranced as he was now, with the filtered light shimmering over the irridescent fluttering wings. He wanted to laugh, to sing out about such a small joy after seeing such horrors on his way here. Then, there was the girl. A living being with no intention of killing him or she would have. He noted the daggers when he pulled his attention back to her. He noted several things about her attire and how the slightest movements would tell him stories that should embarrass them both, though he continued to look.

[Lovely]

"I'm not going to hurt you, or them," he spoke out loud with a wide smile of delight toward them all. The slight rise and fall of his words was like a whistle of the barest breeze over a meadow, nearly a song in itself. The cloud of shines and sparkles startled only a little at the sudden sound but settled as quickly and a bit nearer as if listening to them. He laughed a little louder. "They know, see?" His brow knotted a little and he teased. "Or I've just offended their mother and I'm about to be fluttered to death. You sparkle like they do," he noted quietly, watching the butterflies flicker in and out of the light.

His smile set her at ease and she admired the sound of his voice for the next few moments as he made his comments about her and the butterflies. She laughed ever so softly and her eyebrow arched up. "Most boys like it when I flutter."

He nodded, feeling his cheeks shone as well for a moment. He looked to the floor of leaves and loamy earth about their feet. "Have to admit, I like the flutter... very much." As well as the craftsmanship of her cloth and blades, but he wondered if she'd be alarmed at his admission of looking so closely. He thought better of that for now. The simple things were just as nice, he decided. "And the laugh. I haven't heard anything like it in months. Thank you."

He was sweet and it seemed strange to find a strange boy in a strange place, so sweet. She fluttered a little more, a tiny soft giggle floated from her lips. "Aww.. you're cute." Nisari bit her lower lip as she confessed that she thought he was cute.

He hadn't imagined it. The flutter wasn't just her hair or her dress, but real wings as fragile in appearance as the flickering blues and greens on their tiny friends that continued to flit around them. His smile was just as fragile and dimmed a little bit, his brow knotting again as he glanced to her with his secrets. He listened closely to the words she spoke - what they meant but also how they sounded in her voice. He couldn't acknowledge the compliment or he'd be vain and to ignore it he'd be rude. He chuckled a little with a shake of his head. "Thank you.. again. I.. I've forgotten how to talk.... with people, I mean. Been a rough time... when all the people you know.. when they're all gone - one way or another."

Nisari's smile faded a little as she watched his dim, it was completely gone by the time he finished speaking. She knew what he spoke of and of course had experienced it first hand, as she was sure he had as well. "You don't have to talk.. if you prefer not to.. I know how it is.." She touched the singed edge of her 'dress', remembering the carnage that had caused her to be alone in this place.

The movement caught his eye and he watched a few moments how her fingers moved over the edge of the burned and tattered dress. The edges were just that, the outside, not the whole which was still solid and strong like the girl wearing it. His smile peeked out a bit to reassure her. "I don't mind. I just... well I haven't had anyone to talk to about it for a while. It's still pretty," he said, pointing slightly to where her fingers traced. He was being rude again and pulled his hands back to himself. "You're pretty. I'm sorry, I'm just... being honest. I kinda just... well I say..," he stammered a bit more and tapped a finger against his temple. "Whatever's up here just comes out sometimes."

She glanced down at the dress, what there was of it, it was delicate and barely covered her before it was torn and singed. It was still pretty, it was normal for her kind to dress in scant coverings. Nisari glanced back to the man and his gentle eyes. "Don't be sorry for saying what you truly feel or think.. you think I'm pretty.." She smiled softly, her wings fluttering in a similar manner sweet and shy.

He bit his lip, trying to keep the bashful tremor to a slight quiver. "I really like your wings. They're delicate... and they sing. Can you hear them?" He let go of his lip and let the smile widen. The instrument that had shielded his back was pulled down into his lap. He strummed a little and the sound echoed through the clearing, sending the butterflies into a flurry into higher branches.

She watched him curiously, smiling a little more warmly as his expression changed in slight ways. Her fingers tapped on her bare thigh. "They look delicate.. but they are much stronger than they appear. That's pretty, the sound.." She motioned toward the instrument he played. "My wings make different sounds when.. what's you're name?"

[Lovely]

"When... what?" He looked up with a smile, almost guessing what she would say next, but that was wishful thinking, perhaps. "Sander. My dad called me Sander. I'm more than that, though."

"When.. I do different things.. they flutter in different ways, the sounds aren't always the same.." She shrugged a little, leaving it to his imagination as to what those things were. She played with her lip, catching it in her teeth and letting it go. "Sander.." Her gaze stayed on him for a few moments as she seemed to consider something. "My father called me Nisari."

"You paused," he said, a tilt of his head as he listened to the way her name sounded and how her wings moved now, differently like she said. "You've heard my name? Or you hear something else?" He looked around the clearing, finding them alone except the wisp of the occasional butterfly that remained near them.

"I like your name." She explained with another bite to her lower lip, she inched a little closer to him, curious but still somewhat cautious of him. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you my name." The rustle of her wings was still sweet but nervous.

The rustling inspired a light melody he played softly as she came closer. It sounded like sunshine and morning dew as he played and watched her move. He kept playing softly as he spoke. "Why shouldn't you tell m... ah. Because of them? I'm not one of them. Does ... does it mean something? Or are you... royal?" He whispered the word even though they were alone and his music continued.

Her eyes shifted away for a brief second and then back to him but they lowered and she didn't answer his question, he was correct on both accounts. She'd removed as many traces of her former position as she could, they were hidden in a plain satchel hung from one of the branches of the tree he'd found her near. She wondered if she'd missed something or if he was merely that observant and clever to recognise the reasons she might not reveal things about herself.

"Hm. Don't need to say. It doesn't matter too much now anyway, huh? I'm not royal. Never really seen royalty, but you know what? They're people too. Just like us. Well, maybe not... all their shiny plates and people doing things for them. Not too many left at all to do anything for anybody now," he sighed, stopping the music and setting the instrument aside.

Her face contorted in pain though she tried to stop it and then turned to hide it from him, the sound her wings made was a sad melody. "Shiny plates don't matter.. jewels and crowns are nothing." Her voice was very soft like a whisper and her hand rubbed over her thigh in a frustrated gesture. "Have you ever heard wings screaming?"

"I have," he nodded, watching her curl inward over painful memories. She'd seen horrors herself and he felt he shouldn't have mentioned what he had. "I'm sorry," he added, crawling forward from where he'd sat against the gnarled stump. His hand curled over hers on her thigh.

"It's horrible.." She turned her gaze toward him again, first to his hand and then to the kind face that looked up to her. Her head tilted slightly and she slowly lowered down to meet him face to face. "No, I'm sorry." Her hand shifted from under his to rest over it in a gentle clasp.

[Lovely]

His hands were roughly calloused despite their gentle music and seemed clumsy and dirty against her smaller feminine fingers. "Why are you ashamed?" He shook his head, confused as to why she'd apologize to him. His smile was still gently there, but a sadness lurked behind it. He pulled a roll of cloth from the sling of his pack, a torn shirt he straightened out on the ground beside him for her to kneel or set down on.

"For being selfish." She told him softly, for a moment she'd only been thinking of what she'd experienced and not what he might have been through himself. "You don't have to.." She gestured to the cloth he set out and then slowly eased down onto it, not wishing to insult his kindness. "Thank you."

"The ground's dirty," he pointed out, though with the burned edges of her lacey dress she might not care much if it became dirty. "And hard." He watched her settle beside him, still deep in her thoughts. "You don't say what's on your mind. You think about it too much first. You can't offend me. Well, if you really wanted to, I guess you could, but it's okay to tell me things."

She looked down at the edge of her dress, playing with the short hem again. "I'm not allowed.. well I never was allowed to say what was on my mind before. There are rules and a pri.. girl has to act in a certain way. Proper. Speaking of whatever is on her mind can be looked at as weakness. She has to be strong and guarded." She glanced up at him again. "It is not my wish to offend you."

"Rules? What kind of rules tell you what you can say? Well, except when your dad tells you can't speak up I guess. But that wasn't all the time in our house. Heh, when we had one. Don't now, so I can say whatever I want. You can too. Please?"

"I don't know what to say." She laughed softly at how silly it sounded but for a moment she couldn't think of a single thing. Her wings fluttered in a gentle motion, her natural curiosity surfacing again as she reached to brush her finger over the back of his hand.

"Can you fly with them?" He glanced from her thumb brushing his back to her face as she laughed. "I never learned really."

"Of course!" She giggled again and looked up to the awning of leaves and branches above them. "You never learned? You.. you have wings?" She leaned closer to him as if she were trying to look over his shoulder to what he might have hiding behind them.

Sander chuckled, dodging her curiosity like it tickled him. His laugh was sweet and innocent like a small boy despite its depth in his voice. "No, I never -really- learned. I learned how to land really well and not break things, though. See? Look." He turned his bronzed shoulders and moved aside the remnants of cloth that had been the shirt he still wore to pad his shoulders under his pack. It was little more than a torn vest now and under it his skin was darkened more by ink and colors awash in broad strokes where seeming feathers sat idle, though they gleamed strangely, shimmering, rippling like paper.

"Well landing is very important too." Nisari smiled and watched him, thinking his laugh was as nice a sound as the music she'd heard him play. He was very pretty to look at, broad shoulders, bronzed skin, muscle and painted. "Ohh your wings are beautiful." She whispered softly, the flutter of her own showed her delight, she reached to touch his shoulder above the strangely gleaming wings. "Who painted you? The pictures are gorgeous."

[Lovely]

He laughed. "Never tell a mage you want to fly when he's drunk... when you both are. Could be why I never really got the hang of it, but I still try. I painted them, but he put them on me," he explained.

"Why would I tell a mage I want to fly?" She asked, leaning around him with a soft smile. "Your painting is beautiful and it looks very nice on you. You are quite talented even if you can't fly very well."

He shook his head, denying the compliment and his cheeks darkened. "No. I just paint what I see.. like I play what I hear. Some people just don't pay attention and don't see what's around them. I help," he smiled.

She leaned against him with her chin on his shoulder, batting her lashes at him - completely adorable for a moment. "But that is exactly why you are talented.. that is your talent. You show the world what it can not or does not see and hear. You see the beauty and you express it.. you share it with others. That is a great gift."

He bashfully chuckled, still trying to deny any real talent but part of it was true. She rested sweetly on his shoulder and he turned to see the batting while he blushed. "You're like a will o' the wisp, aren't you? You charm me and I follow you? I... I want you to know, it's working."

"Are you going to follow me?" She asked him softly, the batting of her lashes stopped and the sweet expression remained. She reached a delicate finger up to brush over the light blush of his cheek, she'd never seen a boy blush like that before, it made him even more handsome. "I wasn't doing it intentionally.. but I don't think I would object to it."

His skin was a little weathered, but unwrinkled with a short growth of whiskers and his hair had been left to grow long, falling into his eyes. It had become quite light on top from the sun's scorch but remained dark underneath like hers. It caught on his shoulders when he turned again, sifting slowly over the tight and tanned muscle. "We can't stay here," he said simply enough. "The lake has gone dry and the trees will be dying soon," he said, looking up sadly at their beautifully darkening canopy as the twilight set in around them.

Nisari shifted away from his back, she nodded to his words and turned her gaze away, as if looking deeper into this patch of woods. He was right, she knew he was, but for a few moments she'd forgotten the sadness that filled her. She had never intended to stay here long, it was only a place to rest awhile before she moved on. The trees would die and soon everything that was around them would be as barren as the area around this patch.