A rose, ma chère? [Zozee!]

[Klezmer Gryphon]

'Twas with a sigh François flew back and forth outside of the college that cold morning. One of the teachers here heard him struggling with Common, and invited the Vulpegryph on numerous occasions to private lessons so that he might learn the language and not have to struggle with even simple things. However, numerous times, he declined, and as a result the artist had trouble finding patrons, as not many people in Uthyln were willing to learn a second language just to get a painting done.

He wasn't ready to make up his mind. François enjoyed speaking his own language, yet had no one to speak with. Even as people weaved their ways around him going about their daily lives, he really had no inclination to go inside. With another sigh, he found a nearby bench and laid on it, and covered his face with his dark grey wings. He wanted someone he could talk to....

[zozee9]

Fèlicie exited the library with a smile in her eyes. She hadn't been in Uthlyn for long—just over half a year—but she already loved it! It really did feel like her knew home, even though before she was hesitant to believe that would ever happen. But the people, the places, the atmosphere... it was all so great!

She glanced around the busy streets, wondering if she knew any one. She had met so many people already and loved almost all of them. Many of them waved of said a brief greeting to her as they made their way to their destinations, and she returned the favor. But as she glanced around, one person specifically piqued her interest. Or, more accurately, one Vulpegryph.

He was the only Vulpegryph she had seen since entering the city and, if she remembered correctly, the only one that lived there. But she hadn't yet spoken to him. She had watched François, sure, but never got the guts to go and strike up a conversation. It was strange for her—she normally had no troubles talking to strangers... and one would imagine that a fellow Vulpegryph would be easier than everyone else here. After all, he even spoke the language she grew up with!

But for one reason or another, it always seemed like the situation was bad when she saw him. It didn't help that she constantly had to be somewhere. After all, getting a scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in the town wasn't an easy thing, and she had to make sure they didn't regret giving it to her. But, for once, she had nothing to do. And he looked so distressed.

So Fèlicie took a deep breath and walked over to him. She sat down and coughed lightly, just in case he hadn't heard her already. And then she turned her gaze to straight in front of her, where she could watch people and try to hide the embarrassment that was welling up inside of her. If she could have, she would have gotten up and walked away. But she knew there was no turning back at this point. Plus, she didn't even know why she felt embarrassed!

[Klezmer Gryphon]

His wings parted at the sound of a light cough; somebody wanted his attention. With a sigh, he looked up from his thoughts, and blinked with a certain surprise at the sight before him. Before him sat another Vulpegryph! Someone from his homeland... Someone he could talk to. So in shock was he at the sight that he almost forgot common courtesy.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle. Comment allez-vous?" he asked, trying to hide his embarrassment on his face from the fact that he was completely oblivious to the other gryphon's presence until the point when he looked up. In spite of the embarrassment, the sight of the vulpegryph girl made him think back to his younger days in his homeland.

[zozee9]

Fèlicie jumped in her seat slightly when François started talking. It wasn't the talking itself that startled her however, it was the language. It had been so long since she had heard the language of her homeland, and she had almost forgotten it. Of course, she knew he would speak it. But she wasn't quite prepared for it.

"Très bien, monsieur, merçi... Et vous?" she replied after a second. It had been months since she had spoken the language, and even her thoughts were starting to change to common. Nonetheless, her accent seemed to be uninfluenced. "Euh... Je m'appelle Fèlicie. Et vous, monsieur? Comment vous appelez-vous? She knew his name, of course. But since they had never officially met, she didn't want to seem strange.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Fèlicie.... J'adore votre nom... Elle est belle..." came from his beak as François listened. It had been so long since he had heard anyone speak the language he used, it was like a song. However, he came back to reality rather quickly after he realized what he had said.

"Excuse moi, mademoiselle," he chuckled, trying to hide his sudden loss of manners. "Je m'appelle François Lafayette. Vous êtes nouveau à Uthlyn? He wanted to move on from the slight slip of manners. As he spoke, the vulpegryph sat up and moved a bit closer to his new acquaintance in order to make room for an older gentleman that looked like he might have needed a rest.

((OoC: Feel free to do something with the old man.))

[zozee9]

Fèlicie couldn't help but blush when François called her name pretty. She grinned foolishly as he excused himself, most likely for his lack of following formalities. But formalities meant little to her, especially when making small talk in a street.

"François est belle aussi, non?" she asked, jokingly. "Et oui... mais non. Je suis arrivée à Uthlyn il y a... euh... six mois. Mais je l'aime bien! C'est une très belle ville. Et tous les gens sont super!" She laughed before noticing that the old man now sitting beside François was writing in a notepad. So Fèlicie decided to quiet down a little, just in case he had to focus. Vous... vous êtes resté à cette ville pour beaucoup de temps, non? Je t'ai vu de temps en temps."

Fèlicie blushed lightly again, realizing that those last couple of sentences might have come out wrong. She didn't want him thinking that she watched him! Though it was somewhat true... but why wouldn't she pay special attention to another vulpegryph?!

[Klezmer Gryphon]

And there came the one question he really didn't want to hear. François knew exactly how long he had been in the city, but it was a tricky subject for him to talk about. So, with that in mind, he tried getting around the subject.

"Je n'ai pas d'ideé." he lied. Perhaps if he felt a bit closer, he wouldn't mind sharing his past, but he had just met Fèlicie! Sure, he felt bad about lying to a fellow vulpegryph, but the truth would be made known... Eventually...

With a ruffle of his feathers, another thought crossed his mind.

"Comment trouvez-vous l'université?" He asked. It seemed like an odd question, as he didn't even know if Fèlicie attended school.

[zozee9]

Fèlicie laughed when he said he didn't have an idea whether or not he had been in the town for a while. Of course he knew! But he obviously didn't want to talk about it, otherwise he would have said something different. So she let it slide.

But when he asked about university, her laughing came to a standstill. He knew she was at university?! Maybe she wasn't the only one paying attention! But, again, it was only normal to take note of another vulpegryph...

"Ah! she exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "Désolé monsieur, je pensais à votre question. Mais je l'aime très bien! C'etait un peu difficile quand j'ai commencé... mais après de temps, c'etait comme avant."

OOC: They don't go to the same school, right? Idk how smart François is but I wasn't kidding when I said that Fèlicie goes to the best school in Uthlyn.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

((OoC: François doesn't go to any school at all, lol))

François raised an eyebrow at the fact that Fèlicie was already in the university after only six months of living in Uthlyn. Still, she was doing better than him in that regard; he had been in Uthlyn about six or seven years, and had never been to classes more than once or twice. It was of his own choice, though.

"Très bien, très bien, mademoiselle. Moi, je n'aime pas l'université. Elle est difficile et barbant." he stated, his face reflecting his position on the place of learning. His mind turned back at that point to the numerous times he had been offered lessons in Common, at no charge even. Mais.... Je voudrais ètudier la langue comun...

[zozee9]

Fèlicie smiled at his comments about school. While she personally adored it, she knew that wasn't the case for a lot of people. Mostly because they struggled more with it than she did—not because she was smarter, per say, but because she had superb memory that made studying quite easy. But when he continued to talk, her smile quickly switched into an excited gasp.

"Vraiment?!" she questioned eagerly. "Mais vous pouvez, non? Si vous voulez, je peux vous apprendre. J'aime bien la langue—elle est très belle. After a deep breath, Fèlicie slowed down and smiled foolishly. "Dèsolè, mais j'aime aussi apprendre. Donc quelque chose comme ça est très amusant pour moi."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

François sat in silence for the moment, wondering how to reply. Here was this stranger, a member of his own race at that, offering to teach him Common. However, his tongue was tied; he was at a loss of words, and merely ruffled his feathers. Maybe they would change topic once more?


((OoC: I apologize for the long wait.... And a crappy post at that. I need to get back I into the swing of things!))

[zozee9]

Sensing his hesitance, Fèlicie quickly added, "Pas maintenant, d'accord. Mais si vous le voulais un jour, dit-moi." She offered a friendly smile to show that she wan't offended. "Euh... est-ce que vous voulez manger? Je suis un peu faim."

OOC: short postie on my part, too... XD

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Well, at least she wasn't offended by his silence. And, with the mention of food, François began to feel a little better. He hadn't had anything since the night before, but he hadn't really thought about how hungry he was until just now

"Hmm... J'ai pain et vin à mon atelier." he said. He was about to get up and start towards his workshop when his eyes wandered over to the old man, who seemed to be writing something.... In the language the two vulpegryphs were speaking.... How...... was the only word that worked through his mind.

[zozee9]

Fèlicie nodded at François's statement about the food but was confused about his lack of action. He didn't move or even say anything. She was just about to ask him where his workshop was (though she actually knew the answer to that) when she noticed he was looking at the old man.

She peered over to look at what he was writing and gaped. Not only was the language the language of the vulpegryphs, but he wrote her name in the top right corner. At first she was wondering how he knew her name, since the man had sat down after the introductions, but then she read the common words following it.

Looking up to actually observe the old man's face, she gasped. "Danko!" she exclaimed in common. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even recognize you! How long has it been? Ten years maybe?" Fèlicie was actually rather surprised that he recognized her–after all, she had grown so much since the time he had visited her homeland to learn the language. He chuckled and then glanced over at François with a small grin.

She gasped again and looked back at her vulpegryph companion. "Ah! Dèsolè, François! Je sais cet homme—il a visité notre pays une fois." She paused and then motioned to them each as she introduced them. "François, Danko. Danko, François. François, il peux parler un peu de notre langue. Donc, si vous voulez parler avec lui, peut-être vous peuvent!"

[Klezmer Gryphon]

When Fèlicie said that the man next him could speak their language, François couldn't believe his ears! Finally, someone else who could understand him!

"Vraiment?! Oh, mon dieu, c'est merveilleux!" he exclaimed, scarcely able to contain his excitement. He quickly came to his senses, and calmed down enough to keep himself from looking like a complete fool.

"Désolé, Monsieur. Eeh... On peut se vouvoyer?" He asked, uncertain as to how to regard this man. He was a friend of his new acquaintance, but François simply wanted err on the side of caution. Always better, in his book, to show someone too much respect than not enough.

[zozee9]

Fèlicie laughed at François's excitement and then his immediate swallowing of words. The formality was unnecessary with Danko—the man liked to be respected, but only as a friend. It was something her young self accepted quickly even though it took many of adults longer to get used to.

Danko smiled kindly at François. "Danko est bon! Et vous—vous êtes François? Très bien! J'ai su que Fèlicie à trouverait un bon petit copain un jour."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

François's eyes widened at the old man's statement. Surely, he didn't think they were.. together... right?

"Moi, sa petit copain?! Monsieur, nous n'avons pas connu chacun plus de dix autres minutes." he said frantically, not really realizing what he just said might have been taken the wrong way. He just wanted to clear up a misconception!

((OoC: sorry for the long wait. Feel free to have Fèlicie or Danko take that however you see fit))

[zozee9]

Fèlicie looked over at François. How adamantly he denied it! She knew what he meant, of course, but that didn't mean she couldn't tease him for it!

"Oui, bien sûr. Parce que je suis une femme qui personne n'aime et il ne m'aimera jamais! Bof, je ne sais pas cet homme, Danko, mais je sais qu'il est méchant!" Fèlicie tilted her head up and away from François, as if she was greatly offended. Danko, on the other hand, just chuckled to himself.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

François stared with his beak hanging agape for a moment.

"P-pensez-vous que je suis méchant? he asked, holding back a son as tears started to well in his eyes. He'd be called many things in Uthlyn; he didn't care because he didn't know what the people were saying. This was different. All those years of bullying and torment he sought to leave behind suddenly came rushing back to him. He didn't even want to hear her reply.

"Ferme ta gueule, salope! he sobbed. He didn't care if she was offended by his words; rather, he hoped they stung like a wasp. He was not going to relive his years in that hellhole.

[zozee9]

Both Félicie and Danko's eyes went wide with surprise as the boy was genuinely offended. Their reactions after that, however, were quite different. Danko went back to his journal, writing rapidly in it again. Félicie stared at François for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Mais non, vous êtes très sympa. Je suis mechante, pas toi. Désolé François, je ne voudrais pas blesser vos sentiments... désolé." Her voice showed utmost sincerity, and she could only hope that he would believe her.