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Welcome to my Home! (DragonSong)

Started by Kalak8538, November 24, 2015, 05:56:24 AM

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Kalak8538

Eihmo'tei looked up at the mention of his name. He had been working on the notches of another spear. He had no idea what the others were saying, but it sounded positive, so he offered a toothy grin in response.

Once that spear was notched, he moved to the next. His cuts were very careful and precise, making it slow work. The Zerdani feared that his knife was blunting, and he wondered if it was best to try and sharpen it, or make a new one.

DragonSong

Seeing his dilemma, Kiara reached out to tap his soldier, saying, "Remind me to buy you a real blade when we take you to watch that smith." She brandished her own knife as an example.

"I could make him one," Ras offered with a smile.

Kalak8538

"Ras, you will show me how to make one of these?" he asked, pointing to Kiara's dagger. "Is it hard to do?"

Eihmo'tei remembered what Kiara had described. To make "metal", rock had to be melted until it was soft, before being shaped. It could not have been any harder than moulding wet sand or clay, right? Then again, even during the hottest of days in the desert, rocks did not melt. The concept was hard to believe, but if his friends said that is how it is done, that was how it was done. Perhaps it was best to only observe when the time came.

"Nevermind. I will just watch when you make it...

DragonSong

After listening to Kit translate, the boy nodded with a smile. "Sure you can watch." He frowned slightly and added, "I'm not sure if you could manage some of a smithy's tools though- I think the bellows might be as big as you are."

Kiara smiled slightly at the mental image that brought and Kit huffed a chuckle.

Kalak8538

Eihmo'tei often forgot how tiny he was. Even the younger humans were taller than he was. It made sense that human tools were too big for him to use.

That revelation disheartened the little Zerdani, and it showed in his face. His work ceased to a halt. The best thing to do was change the subject.

"Do you know how to throw one of these?" he asked Ras, holding up the spear that he was notching.

DragonSong

The boy gave a small shake of his head. "But I have pretty good aim, I'm sure I can learn," he said quickly, looking at the Zerdani eagerly.

Kit translated lazily, fanning his wings to get as much sun surface as possible.

Kalak8538

"Good! I will teach you!" Eihmo'tei said with a smile. He admired the boy's confidence. Another spear was notched, and he began on the next. It seemed like the others had finished with their cordage now, and the Zerdani was behind on his work.

"Anyone else care to learn?" he asked.

DragonSong

Perryn and Bibi exchanged a look and shook there heads, but to Kiara's surprise Tala piped up, "I do!"

Ras grinned and ruffled her hair, muttering something in Essyrni that made her stick her tongue out at him and the other two laugh.

"You better keep an eye on them," Kiara told her small friend cheerfully. "I think you're gonna have your hands full."

Kalak8538

Eihmo'tei let out a chuckle. How hard could it be to train two younglings to throw a spear?

The Zerdani worked diligently to finish the notches in the bases of the spear shafts. Finally, all five had been completed. Collecting the cordage his friends had braided, the Zerdani put the final touches on them all. Now, there were five arrow-like spears ready to be used.

With all the work complete, Eihmo'tei was able to relax. He sat in a more comfortable position and heaved some long breaths. The sun was still high, leaving plenty of time to lounge around.

"When it is later in the day, I will teach you two. Maybe you can also hunt with me tomorrow, yes?"

DragonSong

Ras and Tala nodded eagerly at the suggestion.

Seeing that their work was done, Kiara leaned back against Kit's outstretched front leg with a contented sigh. "When was the last time we just got to relax like this?" she asked the dragon quietly.

As Bibi, Tala, and Perryn began climbing his flank in the process of some sort of game, he narrowed an eye at her and muttered, "Define relax." He jerked his head at Eihmo'tei. "Oi. You wanna be on babysitting duty for a minute?"

Kalak8538

"Baby... sit... Duty?"

The term confused Eihmo'tei. He tried thinking of what it could mean, but came up short.

"How do I do that? Will you teach me?" he asked curiously.

DragonSong

Kiara couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her at his confusion. "It just means looking after the kids," she told him, grinning. "Kit's just being a grouch, don't pay him any attention."

The dragon growled and whipped his tail at her, catching the small of her back. She yelped and glared at him, rubbing the spot. "Jackass," she muttered, standing and arching her back into a stretch.

"I'm going to see if I can find a stream or something," she told the others. "Nobody wander off. Eihmo'tei's in charge while I'm gone." She threw the Zerdani a wink and set off. She wasn't planning on going far, just climbing down from the rocks and poking around a bit.

Kalak8538

Eihmo'tei watched as Kiara walked off. These past few days must have been hard on her and Kit. It was time for him to take charge of the younglings, and distract them from climbing on his tired black-scaled friend.

"Alright! Ras, Ta'la, time for the lesson!" he picked up all five spears. Holding them under one arm, he beckoned to the younglings. "Perryn, Bibi, if you do not want to learn, there are still palms here. Maybe make bracelets... or a necklace? Back home, we wold make dolls with reeds and sticks!"

DragonSong

Kit translated for the young humans and Ras and Tala jumped up eagerly, trailing after Eihmo'tei. The other two eyed the palm fronds, then clambered down off the dragon's back, chattering to each other in a mixture of Common and Essyrni.

Kit grunted, but he threw the Zerdani a gratefully look as he settled down to sunbathe.

Kiara could hear the others behind her, but she knew Kit and Eihmo'tei could handle it. She heard the sound of running water and peered into one of the small caves that burrowed into the side of the rocks. It was gloomy, but she could definitely smell fresh water. She wriggled inside.

Kalak8538

Eihmo'tei did not lead the children too far from the rest. They were well within sight, so everyone could keep an eye on everyone. Kit was resting, so Eihmo'tei had to rely on himself alone to get any messages across. The lesson was a physical one, and would not require much in-depth explanation.

In the near distance, there was a mound of soft dirt. It was a perfect target, since it would not mess up the wooden point too much. He pointed to it with his clawed finger.

"There! Watch."

Looking at his two students, he pointed to his eye, then to the spear. Readying his grip, he let the crude spear fly. The tails did their job, and the sharp stick stuck into the loose dirt, true to its mark. Taking up a second one, the Zerdani slowly mimicked the throwing motion, showing the other two how exactly what to do.

DragonSong

Kit watched lazily with one eye as Ras and Tala took their turn at throwing the spears. They weren't bad- nothing some practice couldn't fix. Bibi and Perryn seemed to be making some sort of intensely long chain out of the palm fronds.

Kiara crept further into the little cave, her foot slipping once and splashing quietly in the trickle of water that had been creating the sound she followed. She turned a corner, assuming its source must be some sort of underground pool.

Her eyes widened. "Whoa..."

Kalak8538

"Good! Good!"

Eihmo'tei was sure to give positive reinforcement. They were only learning after all. The Zerdani  handed the two students the two remaining spears. He gave additional coaching, using more action and physical contact than words. With the tails, the spears flew rather straight. Really, the two just needed more practice on their aim. He scurried over to collect the spears from the ground, before returning once again. With his own practice spear, he pointed upwards.

"When you aim high, it goes farther."

There was no shortage of body language used by the Zerdani to get his point across.

"Keep trying! You will get it soon!

DragonSong

Kiara breathlessly clambored back yo to where she'd left her companions. "Hey, hey!" she called, waving to get their attention.

She was grinning. "You have got to see this!"

Kalak8538

The Zerdani's large ears picked up the commotion as almost immediately. He looked in the direction where she was. She normally was not this loud. Something must have happened.

"Go to Kit!" he told his two students as he pointed at the dragon. He ran off, but before he could go to meet her, she had already arrived. There was seemingly no trouble. In fact, Kiara seemed excited. Rushing over to her side, Eihmo'tei shrugged.

"What happened Kii'arah?"

DragonSong

"Come on, this way," she said, excited, beckoning for the children and Eihmo'tei to follow her as she scrambled back down the rocks. Kit followed more slowly.

"I don't know if you'll be able to fit," she told the dragon, talking quickly, "maybe you can stick your head in..." She looked to the others, grinning and eyes sparkling. "I found this cave- guys, you won't believe it!"