On Feathered Wings

[Paladienne]

@DragonSong


Artemis walked carefully through the crowd of people, doing his best to keep with the flow and not draw attention to himself. Well, more than he already had. A seven foot tall being with dark skin and strange eyes tended to draw a lot of attention, especially around here, in Connlaoth. This latest village he'd decided to stop over for a few hours was much larger than some others he'd visited, and there was plenty to see around here. After getting something to eat, which had been an adventure in itself, Artemis had continued walking through the town until he'd found the market. He decided it must've been market day, for the streets were clogged with people and stalls as well as the usual businesses that lined the streets. There seemed to be far more people around, too. And there were all sorts of humans that Artemis could see. There were peasants and merchants, lords and ladies (or at least, were dressed as he expected lords and ladies to be dressed), and others that Artemis wasn't exactly sure how to label. And besides the humans, there were animals. Some ran free and others were in cages. Others certainly wouldn't be running around any longer. There were all sorts of sounds and smells, too. It almost reminded Artemis of home.

But only almost.

Artemis paused at a stall here and there, looking at the offered wares. He stood back, though, and let others go ahead of him, since he was able to see over their heads anyway. But he didn't want to get close enough to touch in the event he broke something and the humans demanded payment. Even though he could likely fix whatever it was that he'd broke, most humans didn't want something fixed. They wanted to be paid for it, and then he could do whatever he wanted with what he'd bought. Except Artemis barely had enough coin from doing whatever odd job he picked up while wandering to feed himself, so he knew he had to be extra careful with whatever he did. Which is another reason why he was moving on from each stall after a few moments of cursory looking - so he wasn't tempted to touch.
As he wandered down the street, something else caught his attention. It was of a man's voice, loud and strong. It was clear to Artemis that the owner of the voice was angry, and he didn't care if everyone knew it. Following the sound of the voice, Artemis spotted a rather well-dressed man standing in front of a stall, arguing with the person behind it. What they were arguing about, he couldn't tell, but when the well-dressed man pointed at something in a crate by the ritzy lush carriage that waited nearby. Curious, Artemis stepped closer to be able to see into the crate.

It looked like a simple timepiece, but an exotic one. Artemis had seen similar before, but he didn't particularly know how this one worked. His fingers twitched with the urge to reach into the crate and touch the object, but he knew better than that.

Instead, he looked at the merchant - for the man had to be a merchant - and, when a lull came in the arguing, said, "I can fix this, if you want. Sir. Or at least take a look at it and see what's wrong with it. I don't think it's defective, just broken."

Even as the last syllable faded into the air and Artemis found himself being stared at by every single pair of eyes nearby, he held his ground, his face emotionless.

[DragonSong]

Samuel Barkus started, then turned to face the owner of this new voice, still glowering with irritation at this whole damned situation.

The expression of irritation quickly faded though when he saw who had spoken. The man was a veritable giant, with red eyes that almost seemed to glow. Not exactly a common sight out in the rural coasts of Connlaoth-- or really anywhere in Connlaoth, probably.

But Master Barkus was a shrewd man, and he hadn't gotten to where he was in life by taking things at face value. He gave the man a quick, calculating look, eyes flicking from his feet to his face. Then he grunted something like an affirmative and nodded briskly.

"You have any proof of your skills then?" he asked bluntly. Before the red giant could answer, he snapped his fingers and the crate was lifted back into the carriage. "You know what? Never mind. If you're serious, you can come back to the manor with me and show me what you can do there. If I like your work, you're hired. Acceptable?"

He was tired of wandering the village in his anger, and just wanted to deal with this issue in the comfort of his own home. Not to mention at the manor they would have less of an audience-- though to be fair, people weren't really staring at him.

[Paladienne]

Artemis blinked, certainly having not expected the man to take him up on his offer without much of a fight, or much bartering for his services. The fact that the merchant had simply agreed and then had decided to bring him back to his manor without even consulting Artemis shocked him a little. And why wouldn't the man think he was serious? Did he often get offers of service and only to have them reneged upon? Artemis didn't know, and he wasn't about to ask. And it wasn't like the man could hurt him. After all, Artemis was taller and wider than most of the creatures he was surrounded by. And it wasn't like he couldn't defend himself. He knew how to use the weapons at his waist and, if his need was really dire, he could utilize his other gift. But that was the one he didn't want to reveal, the one he didn't want to use. Especially not here.

"As you wish, sir," Artemis answered, his voice low and rumbling. He didn't want to seem rude or pretentious, as his own survival depended upon this merchant's kindness.

He fell into step behind the merchant, following him to the carriage. It took some maneuvering, but Artemis finally figured out how to fold himself into the tiny box on wheels, even if it meant that he was constantly stooped so he wouldn't be banging his head on the roof with each bump and dip in the road.

It wasn't until they started moving that Artemis began to feel anxious. He'd never felt like that before, at least in a situation like this. He pushed down his uneasiness and focused on the merchant. Should he say something? Should he try to prove himself now? He didn't know. What he did know, though, was that he was going to have some work ahead of him, and he needed to focus on that before he focused on what he would be doing after it was complete.

[DragonSong]

The ride back to the merchant's home was accomplished mostly in silence. Barkus himself seemed to be too irritated to speak much, and the two servants he'd brought with him were both in a state of semi-awed shock, both trying not to stare at the elf while still getting a good look at him.

As the carriage rounded a bend and began the long trek up the winding thoroughway up to the manor's front door, Barkus suddenly snapped, "Eli, when we reach the house send for the raven keeper. I have a few messages I need to send, if this man here can truly fix our device."

the younger of the two servants nodded quickly, obviously eager to please and get his master into a more charitable mood. "Yessir."

"Good."

More silence, at least until the carriage stopped just outside the front door of the manor that had come into view. It was modest enough as far as such things went, but still easily ten times the size of any home in the village they had just come from.

Impatient, Barkus nearly jumped down from the carriage, beckoning for Artemis to follow him. "Alright, come along now. There's a workshop in the back where you can show me your skills. If I judge them satisfactory, we can discuss a contract. Eli!"

"On it, sir!" The skinny little servant scurried off toward the west end of the manor, where the aerie tower could just barely been seen peeking above the rest of the main house.

[Paladienne]

Artemis silently followed the merchant to the workshop, his fiery eyes flicking everywhere to take in his surroundings. The manor was beautiful and huge. He certainly appreciated the architecture, and he could see that the people who lived and worked here truly loved the place. There was the usual wear and tear of time and living, but the entire property was well-cared for. Artemis didn't doubt that the servants, and the merchant himself, would apologize to anyone for the appearance of the place not being sparkling brand new. They probably would show the person the door and slam it after them. That thought brought a tiny amused smile to the red giant's lips, but the smile was short-lived as he saw the workshop.

'Workshop' was a modest word for the building. It wasn't as big as the manor, but it certainly could be a separate dwelling with its size. It was somewhat cluttered, but there was probably a science to the clutter, a controlled chaos that meant everything was in its place and there was a place for everything. Artemis swallowed hard as he stepped into the workshop and looked at all the knick-knacks and bits and pieces that were strewn over the tables, desks, chairs, and walls. He found tools that he'd never seen before, and tools that he had. He found larger versions of his own tools, and tools he'd wanted but couldn't afford. There were even crates full of parts that seemed to have either been extra or had yet to be used, for there were pieces of work sitting around that seemed half-finished.

When Barkus sent the servant running for this raven-keeper, Artemis waited until the man's attention was on him before asking, "What is it you'd like me to show you?"

The merchant hadn't had the piece he'd offered to fix brought with them, after all. But that was fine. Artemis knew he could tinker with any one of these unfinished pieces and, once he figured out what he needed to do to it, complete the piece and make it work.

[DragonSong]

"Mm?" Barkus turned his rather sour attention to the tinker. "Oh. Just-- impress me. I don't have time to tell you how to do your job," he replied, short and sharp. The other servant from the carriage winced slightly, lowering his eyes.

It seemed the Master was in one of his moods. Hopefully Eli would have the presence of mind to warn poor Shae.

And it seemed he had, for the raven keeper came racing into the workshop on the young man's heels, panting lightly, one hand on her chest and her ever-hunched shoulders drawn just a little further up toward her ears than was typical. Dressed all in black, she nearly blended in with the shadows around her, save for the ruddy crimson of her eyes and the flash of movement from her hands.

I came as soon as I knew you wanted me, my lord, she signed quickly. A raven was perched on her shoulder, preening while awaiting orders.

"Well, what took you so long then?" Barkus grumped-- though it was clear to anyone the young woman must have nearly sprinted down from the aerie to reach them so quickly. "I need to write a message to our buyer. Someone fetch me ink and paper!"

Eli scurried off while Shae winced back, attempting to hide herself in the corner of the room. Trying not to be too obvious about it, she looked their guest over curiously. Eli hadn't exactly had time to explain the whole situation to her, and all he'd said about Artemis was that he was "large and a bit odd-looking"...

Well. She supposed she couldn't exactly say that was entirely inaccurate.

[Paladienne]

Artemis wasn't sure what to make of the merchant's brusque attitude toward him, but he supposed since humans were so short-lived, they wanted to move as fast as possible and not bother with the niceties that most deemed polite. Rolling his shoulders in the approximation of a shrug without actually making the motion, Artemis pushed aside the thoughts that had begun to cloud his mind and looked around the workshop to see what there was he could tinker around with. He found what looked like a broken timepiece in a crate nearby, and lifted it out onto the nearby worktable. As he become involved in figuring out how to take the piece apart and see what was wrong with it, Artemis pointedly ignored any movement that was taking place in his peripheral.

Or would have, if the merchant hadn't barked out words that made Artemis curious. He remembered that the man had sent someone to get the raven keeper, and he assumed the person must have arrived. Curious, Artemis glanced up.

His hearts suddenly skipped a beat. His hands stilled and his eyes focused immediately on her face. He wasn't sure how his mouth didn't just drop open, as he'd seen some humans do when they'd spotted him. He was absolutely stunned. He couldn't help but tense in a surge of anger at how the merchant spoke to her, but he didn't move. He couldn't move. He was completely frozen, even his thoughts, and despite the fact it felt like he wanted to move, he couldn't make his body obey. Only his emotions ran rampant, and his soul sang in harmony with the notes that were reaching out to him from across the room.

He'd left home seeking it, but he hadn't expected to find it so soon. And there she was, standing right in front of him.

His Resonance.

And then he saw her head turn just slightly, as if she was trying to be sly about it, and her eyes focused on him. He saw her thoughts flash across her face, and Artemis could almost imagine what she was thinking. The girl in black was so beautiful, so perfect, that Artemis couldn't draw his eyes away from her. What was her name?

He wanted to ask her, but his tongue felt far too heavy and he didn't think he could string two words together.

Then he could breathe again and Artemis quickly averted his gaze, the skin of his cheeks darkening with a blush. He focused on the timepiece in front of him and tried - and failed - to ignore the beautiful girl in the corner staring at him, his hands shaking even as he began to take the piece apart.

[DragonSong]

The stranger seemed just as fascinated with her as she was with him...and that surprised her. No one cared about the raven keeper, she was just there to care for the birds and send the messages. Entirely nonplussed, Shae dropped her eyes and fidgeted slightly, peeking up at the tinkerer every few moments curiously.

Evidently uncaring just what Artemis had chosen to work with to show his skills, Barkus finished scratching out his message and held it out with a gruff, "Here." Shae sprang forward to take the bit of paper, rolling it up and quickly tying it to Lyla-- her raven's-- leg. She cooed softly to the bird, a dry, rasping sound barely louder than a whisper, and stroked her feathers as she moved toward the window to set her flying with the message.

"Good." The merchant huffed out an irritated breath and rubbed a hand over his head, then moved toward the door of the workshop. He laid a hand on Shae's shoulder as she passed, and the young woman flinched, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you, girl," her master muttered, patting her shoulder awkwardly before moving away. "You stay here. Come fetch me when the tinkerer is done."

Shae nodded quickly, relieved his foul mood seemed to be passing, and signed a short, Yes, my lord.

Eli, hanging back by the door, waited until the older man had left before he bounced forward to the window, craning his neck to watch Lyla fly away with the letter. "You're stuck babysitting then, huh?" he teased the raven keeper. Shae rolled her eyes and crinkled her nose at him.

"Oh, uh--" Eli quickly whipped around and shot Artemis a sheepish grin. "Not that you need babysittin' or anything, sir. Just a joke. I'll just..."

Shae gestured to get his attention, then signed something, glancing sidelong at Artemis as she did so. Eli watched her hands, relaying her words to the tinkerer every few seconds.

"Right, ah, this is Shae. She says hello, and she hopes you don't mind her staying here while you work." Looking away from her hands, he added quickly, "Oh, um, she won't speak. I mean, she can't speak, she's-- anyway." He looked back to Shae's flickering fingers. "She says she'll try to keep out of your way, and if you want her to get rid of Eli she can because he tends to chatter and-- oi!"

Laughing silently, Shae ducked away from Eli's indignant shove, sticking her tongue out at him. The barest hint of a chuckle scraped through her ruined throat, almost sounding like the ragged croak of a raven when it finally made it passed her lips.

[Paladienne]

Artemis looked up from his work as the boy began to speak. For a moment, his eyes skipped from the boy to the girl, studied her, and then skipped back again. When the boy began to tease her, Artemis felt a flare of anger ignite in his chest. How dare he tease her like that? How dare he think he could say those things to her? To his Resonance?

But the girl didn't seem perturbed by it. If anything, her expression was one of acceptance, and Artemis was able to push the anger aside. It took conscious effort to convince himself that it was the same kind of teasing he and his siblings would give to each other, and there was no malice behind it. She didn't need his protection, which hurt, but it was only a minor hurt, like a small cut you didn't realize was there until you noticed it. Artemis listened as the boy spoke and the girl signed, and understanding dawned on him as he realized that there would be no way he could communicate with her if he couldn't learn her way of speaking.

When the boy, Eli, mentioned their names, the girl's name sounded to Artemis like the sigh of wind. Shae. And Artemis couldn't help but chuckle as Shae made a joke at Eli's expense. It took effort to ignore Eli's attempt at shoving Shae, but since she ducked away and laughed at it, Artemis managed to, somehow, keep himself from lunging at the boy and beating him senseless. Perhaps it was the mirthful chuckle that escaped Shae. Even though the laugh was rough and ragged, to Artemis's ears, it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

He took a minute to force calm into his voice before he spoke. "Nice to meet you, Eli, Shae." His deep voice rumbled softly through the workshop. "My name is Artemis. And you won't be in the way. I don't mind the chatter, either."

After all, how else would he be able to talk with Shae without Eli there to translate for her? It would take time for Artemis to learn the different shapes Shae's hands made so that he could understand her. And, more, if he wanted to have the time to learn to talk with her, he needed to prove himself to the merchant. He felt like he would die if he was told to leave and he was forced to leave Shae behind.

"I don't suppose you could tell me more about this place? I've traveled through this land for a few months, but..." Artemis lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "No one enjoys speaking to strangers."

[DragonSong]

Artemis. It was a nice name, and the slight, rumbling accent he spoke with gave it a cadence that Shae felt herself almost gravitating toward. Huh. That was odd.

She settled back into her familiar role of "Little Shadow" as Eli perked up at the tinkerer's question. "Oh, sure! What do you want to know? I mean, Master Barkus is a merchant-- cloth and other things like that mostly. This house has been in his family for just about three generations I think, he's very proud of it. Um..."

He tilted his head from side to side, tapping a foot as he thought. "There's... Oh, I dunno, twenty some odd servants about the place?"

Shae signed and he corrected himself, "Twenty-six, right. Thanks, Shae. I mean mostly we just--"

"Eli! Gods all damnit, boy, get yer ass over here!"

Both Shae and Eli jumped and looked toward the door, eyes wide, as the voice carried in from the courtyard. Then Eli sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, that's Karis, the stable master. I'd better go see what he wants." He nodded to Artemis quickly and called, "Nice meeting you!" as he dashed through the door.

Shae was left blinking after him, then slowly turned to look back at their guest. She smiled a little sheepishly and shrugged. After a moment of thinking, she reached into the girdle tied around her waist and removed pen and paper, stepping cautiously forward to use the edge of the worktable to write.

Slowly, painstakingly, she scrawled out, I know some of my letters. We can talk this way if you need something.

[Paladienne]

Artemis breathed deep when she stepped close, the scent of her filling his nose and lungs and sending his hearts into a rough beat. It took him a moment to calm down, for he didn't want to scare her away. He wanted this closeness, wanted to keep her by his side, and he didn't want to ruin anything before he had a chance to figure out how he was going to go about telling her exactly what she meant to him. But, for now, he shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind and then he turned his attention back to the device that he was tinkering with.

"I don't mind the silence," Artemis said, reaching for a tool and slipping it between two small gears to work them apart. "I've lived in silence since I left home. Not real silence, but... close enough. Not many people want to get involved with someone like me."

His large fingers gently picked up one of the gears when it came loose, then gently set it aside on the table and looked at Shae, playfully smiling at her. "Would you like to help me? All you'll need to do is fetch the things I ask you to fetch. It won't be difficult, and everything we need is all right here."

He gestured to the crates and items behind him, his red eyes upon Shae's face, gauging her expressions. If she didn't want to help, he wouldn't push her. He'd already figured out what was wrong with the device and he would be able to fix it in no time. He was just stalling in order to spend more time with her.

[DragonSong]

Shae blinked, then her eyes went wide. She opened her mouth as though to speak, but of course no sound came out. Still, her lips moved, forming the words though her throat could not produce them: Can I?

Cautiously, she crept closer to the worktable and craned her neck a bit to peer at what he was doing. She paused, then looked up at him and slowly signed, What can I do? She mouthed the words as her hands moved, slow and deliberate, hoping that he might be able to read her lips.

[Paladienne]

If Artemis felt awkward staring at Shae's lips - or if he felt awful for making her feel awkward by his staring - he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he focused on the movements of her lips and took his time carefully deciphering their motions to pick out the individual syllables of the words she was trying to say. When he understood her, he smiled.

"Of course you can," he said. Artemis shifted a little to give her a better field of view to the device. "And you can take this," he picked up a small metal tool that was flattened on one end and handed it to her, "and see that little screw right there?" He pointed it out to her, watching her face to see if she understood what he was saying, "Take this tool and turn it to the right. It needs to be tightened."

He gently curled his larger hand around her smaller one and carefully and gently guided her in the motion he wanted her to perform until she had gotten the rhythm. Once he was confident she could do it on her own, he left her to tighten the screw while he went to look for a bolt. Upon finding it, he returned to her side, incredibly pleased to be so close to Shae.

"Finished? Good." He pretended to inspect her work, humming softly under his breath as he did so. Then he met her gaze and grinned at her, displaying sharp teeth. "Very good. You're a natural at this."

[DragonSong]

Shae blushed, dropping her eyes as as his hand curved around hers. He was so warm. She bit her lip and tried to focus on her task. She wasn't completely useless, and while she didn't typically work with these kinds of tools she picked it up fairly easily.

She breathed a small sigh when he stepped away-- though whether it was of relief or disappointment she wasn't entirely sure. She decided not to dwell on that, no good would come from that.

When he praised her work, she glanced up to smile at him. And her eyes went wide, lips parting slightly in surprise. Without thinking, her lips moved around the word teeth in her surprise.

Then she realized what she was doing and her face flushed. Her eyes dropped and she stepped back quickly, hands flying up both to sign and in an instinct urge to defend herself against any potential strike. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that!

[Paladienne]

As her eyes fell to his teeth and her expression turned to shock, Artemis realized that she likely had never seen one of his kind before, nor had she seen anyone with features like his. His lips dropped down over his teeth to hide them from view, not wanting to scare her any more than he had. He didn't want to scare Shae away; Artemis feared that if he did so, he would lose her forever, and if he was unable to even see her, unable to even catch a glimpse of her, he would die.

When she quickly apologized for her behavior, her hands quickly waving through the air in the manner she used to communicate, as well as when she flinched away from him as if she were afraid he was going to strike her, Artemis's expression fell and he looked away from her, back to the object he was tinkering with. He didn't want her thinking that he was going to hit her for staring, or for making commentary about his appearance.

He was quiet for a while, rotating screws into their sockets. Then, he finally looked at her again, giving her a gentle smile that also kept his teeth covered by his lips.

"Shocked?" Artemis teased gently. "It's okay. Don't be. My kind, the Starstrider elves, live in a harsh environment in the far north where we need many different adaptations to survive. Sharp teeth are just part of that."

He lifted his hand and lightly cup her chin to bring her eyes back to his. "Just like you figured out how to speak without using your voice. Don't be ashamed of being curious, Shae. You never learn anything if you don't ask."

[DragonSong]

The smile went a long way to setting her at ease, and she returned it cautiously.

But when he moved toward her the raven keeper flinched instinctively. She was frozen when his hand cupped her chin, eyes wide as she stared up at him. It dawned on her that he really wasn't going to hit her, at least not in the immediate future, and she felt a little guilty at how...sad her reaction had made him.

She couldn't exactly help it though, it wasn't so easy to move passed almost two decades of experience.

Still, she listened to him, almost eagerly storing away any little bits of information he gave her. Slowly, she raised her hands again and signed, Starstrider? She mouthed the word as best she could, tilting her head a bit to the side in an attempt to relay her question.

A motion which pressed her cheek into the palm of his hand, as she'd almost forgotten he was touching her. Suddenly flushed, she jerked away from him, biting her lip and glancing away in embarrassment.

[Paladienne]

When she pressed her face into his hand, Artemis shivered with pleasure. He knew that the movement had been unconscious, a sign to help him understand that she was trying to ask a question. But, unconscious or not, Artemis loved the way her skin felt against his, and he loved how her face opened up with her curiosity. She was beautiful. He could touch her forever and...

She pulled away from him, quickly. Her cheeks had flared red.

He felt incredibly sad. Had he crossed a line? Had he done something she hadn't liked? What had happened to her to make her react that way? Was it him? Was she afraid of him? He knew plenty of people were, considering his looks. He was taller than most humans, his skin was an unnatural red hue that wasn't found in humans, and his eyes were just as unnatural as his skin. But that was all to humans. To his own kind, he was normal.

And he wanted to be seen as normal by Shae.

"Ah, Starstriders are..." He wondered how he could explain his kind to her so that she would understand. "We're elves whose lives are dictated and guided by the movement of the stars. They're an integral part of our culture."

Artemis dropped his hand and turned back to the device, knowing he could at any time turn the device on and present it to her master. He was delaying only to have more time with Shae. But if she was afraid of him and was afraid of his touch, then he didn't want to cause her any more discomfort.

But before he tempted fate and faced the possibility of never seeing her again, he offered her a little more information, perhaps in an attempt to soothe whatever hurt or fear he had caused. "That's why I look the way I do. I was born under a red star, but my parents, if you ever saw them, were born under different stars, and look nothing as I do. So for all our similarities, we're incredibly different. Just like humans, I've noticed."

[DragonSong]

Her blush started to die down and she leaned against the work table, nodding slowly as she processed his words.

Cautiously, she lifted her hands to sign, once again mouthing the words slowly as she did: If I can ask, what stars were your parents born to? What makes them different?

She bit her lip a little bashfully and tilted her head slightly to the side. Sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds. I-- Shea paused, letting her hands drop as she realized what she'd been about to say, surprised at herself.

She hadn't even noticed how easy it was to speak with this man who was still more or less a stranger. She bit her lip a little harder, considering, then sighed quietly and raised her hands again, mouthing along to her signs. I don't remember my parents. I like hearing about other people's. If that's not weird...

[Paladienne]

"No, you're not overstepping any bounds, Shae. It's..." Artemis smiled, lifting his shoulders slightly in a shrug. "It's just, I'm not used to anyone asking me about my own history."

When she mentioned that she didn't remember her own parents, Artemis's smile became a little bittersweet. He missed his parents. He missed his family. He knew why he'd left, why he'd been made to leave, but that didn't ease the missing any.

"My parents... my bibi, my birthgiver, is a Procyon. She was born under a white star. My opo, my father, is of House Phaeton, so... he was born under a yellow star. So you can imagine what they look like." He looked toward her then, his expression soft. "We aren't like humans, where a child shares its parents' coloring. I have two younger siblings, each of whom are different than I. They were born under different stars, and so are in different Houses. But we're still family."

He wanted to reach out to her again. He wanted to hug her, comfort her, tell her that she was safe and that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. But he didn't. Instead, Artemis turned his attention back to his project. "It isn't weird. You yearn for something you never knew, and so you strive to live through the tales of others, so you can imagine their experiences for yourself and know. But just because you haven't the knowledge that others have doesn't mean you're less than the person who does."

[DragonSong]

She could hear it in his voice, the loneliness that was almost a kind of grief. Her heart ached for him-- though honestly, she wasn't entirely sure why, it wasn't like she really knew him all that well...or, at all, really.

Still, the impulse was there, and she gave him a kind, understanding look, nodding along. His words were comforting in a way, though she'd never truly been all that concerned with what people thought of her before. She'd never really had to be, most of the time she didn't interact with anyone but a few servants, Master Barkus, and her birds.

But that wasn't really what was holding his attention. It was Artemis, the sound of his voice, the slight accent that she couldn't identify to save her life but found herself liking more and more. A little cautiously, she tilted her head at him and signed, Siblings? Or are you the only child?

She knew she should stop distracting him, let him do his work, but...well, she liked talking to him.