Tales from the Faelands

[Hyacinthus]

As Miersck pulled away, Sophie could feel the heat slowly begin to drain from her face; She mused to herself silently that the silly boy likely wouldn't have ever moved had he not gained stock of their situation. Silly. Cute, admittedly, but very silly. Their meals secured, Sophie thought to recommend they sit somewhere and rest while they ate, but the fae had other plans-- nibbling away at... the netting on the dumpling? Oh, dear. Sophie stared blankly, a bit confused, before remembering something rather important; Her moth-friend lacked... what was the word... ah, yes-- common sense. Well, 'human' common sense.

A giggle escaped her lips as she collected herself. "Oh, you-- Not that part... here, let me help." She reached up, taking one of his dumpling-holding hand in her own, and bringing the net-coated away from his mouth. She then showed a tiny bit of dexterity-- single-handedly fiddling with a knot tied at the top of the netting, and deftly undoing it, causing the steamed treat to come properly exposed-- proper-soft exterior and all. "There-- now try it, and tell me what you think?" She directed, hiding her amusement in the back of her mind as she observed.

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Miersck looked down at the dumpling, then at Sophie with the netting, then back down atcthe dumpling.
"So... is the skin.. poisonous or do you just discard it?" He asked,  seeming a bit baffled.

[Hyacinthus]

The mouse-girl stifled a giggle once more with all of her strength. "Th-That's no skin, silly. It's a very thin, fine... cloth of sorts, that keeps the food inside nice and clean until you want to eat it for yourself!" She explained, trying her best to hold back a smile, and failing miserably. Good grief, he was such an-- Sophie shook her head, before unwrapping her own dumpling in kind-- a sort of show of trust, to make sure he didn't think she was trying to trick him.

"Like so-- And you can use the cloth net for whatever you might prepare in the future, to keep it safe from dropping it in the dirt." Sophie punctuated her explanation by taking a bite out of her own dumpling-- and happily humming in response to the surprise of savory goodness within. It was filled with vegetables! A bit of cabbage, some sliced, steamed carrots, and-- did she detect a bit of squash? Lovely!

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Miersck watched her, a little skeptically but with general interest. He then peered down at his dumpling after watching her eat it and mimicked how she did it, biting into it like it was an apple as steam and juices and sweet smells of steamed vegetables assaulted his senses. He wasn't sure how he felt about the soft, doughy dumpling itself, but the insides...
His red eyes widened and he noted itnwas.leaking its juices everywhere and tipped his head back to drink down the inside juice.

He licked at his glistening, juice coated lips as his wings moves lightly.
"Hey, thats pretty good. I like this juice."

[Hyacinthus]

"Isn't it? It's one of my favorite meals!" Sophie beamed as Miersck took a bite and displayed his please reaction-- happy that he found some joy in the dumpling they shared. She couldn't help but watch over him as he ate, finnicking about with the warm juices within the dumpling. Well, it WAS likely his first meal prepared by a human-- she couldn't exactly fault him for not knowing best etiquette when handling something so complex as a dumpling.

Perhaps, with time, he might grow to learn to use a spoon and a fork? Some proper knives? Maybe prepare a meal of his own? The girl couldn't help but giggle a bit; That might be pushing it too far, even for a member of the fae. But... maybe someday, he'd trust her enough to eat a meal she prepared for him? The thought, for whatever reason, caused her cheeks to tint a bit red as she took another bite of her own dumpling. Perhaps one day.

A gentle, passing wind crossed them as they ate, reminding Sophie of something she'd noticed some time ago, but hadn't brought any attention to. "Miersck," She said tilting her head a bit, "Where do you plan to spend the evening? It can get rather cool in the nearby forests at night-- do you sleep somewhere warm?"

[visualspice]

Miersck was still messily enjoying his dumpling,  juices dribbling down his face.  At her question, he blinked and popped the last bit of food into his mouth before speaking through chews, "I just sleep in my cocoon." He went on, wiping off the juices with the back of his hand, then he processed to suck off the juice from his fingers.

[Hyacinthus]

Sophie's face was anywhere between amused and exasperated as she watched Miersck's near-ravenous treatment of the dumpling, her mind still somewhat struggling to process how little he knew about such meal etiquette or, well, just getting all of his food in his mouth. "Good grief-- You're getting dumpling all over yourself..." She sighed, knowing it'd just make him a bit of a sticky mess after a while if he went about cleaning himself as he was, and stepped forward towards him with the cloth netting she'd been holding onto. She bundled it a bit, and then up onto the tips of her toes she went, gently swabbing and wiping Miersck's face clean of the residual juices.

She hummed a bit as she did so-- either enjoying giving the attention or having a reason to not be idle. She wasn't entirely sure which, and was in too good of a mood to question it too much at the moment... maybe later. "There," Sophie finished, dropping back down onto the soles of her feet and putting away the cloth, "Good as new. Anyway, you said you... sleep in a cocoon? Is that... hm. Does that mean you're able to... produce some kind of webbing?" It was more than possible that the term 'cocoon' meant something different to the Fae than to Sophie-- But on the off-hand chance it didn't... How very strange indeed. The girl's tail slowly coiled behind her at the thought. She was... an oddity, yes, but there were many, many stranger things about Miersck then her. It was interesting... and somewhat disheartening, in a way.

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Miersck blinked as she fussed over him, genuinely confused at what she was doing. He then tilted his head at her words.
"Well, yeah, How else would I make a cocoon?.  Though I don't sleep at night," he went on. "I prefer bein up with tge moon. I'm only awake now because I'm not exactly tired anymore. And I've been traveling an awful lot." He frowned, wings wilting just a little. "Say, what is this place, anyway?" He asked, red eyes peering around.

[Hyacinthus]

"I... see." Sophie nodded as Miersck explained his unique sleep schedule, abilities and so on. Her tail went somewhat limp as she listened, and mentally she felt herself take a step away from him-- or him from her-- though neither happened. It was an odd, apprehensive feeling that she struggled to qualify-- And so she pushed it down, deep into the recesses of her heart for the time being.

"The locals call this place 'La'marri', but it doesn't have an actual, official name, I think. The... the woodlands that surround us are referred to as the Niahi Woods, and they stretch from here to the sea, and the mountains." As she explained, Sophie gestured one way and the next, trying her best to explain the layout of the land. She wasn't sure how familiar Miersck was with the area, in truth-- nor was she sure how he managed to navigate, or what he was navigating to, or from. Some part of her was afraid to ask; Worried that he might take offense to it. His health and well-being was one thing, but his personal life was his alone; She didn't want to pry. "The locals here are, for the most part, magically-inclined... You might find proper mages here, or... maybe even other fae, like yourself." She trailed off a bit at the thought, having not considered it before, and somewhat troubled by the possibility. La'marri truly was a 'free village', after all; it wasn't impossible to think that more of his kin might actually be somewhere within.

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Miersck thought over her description of the land and its people, wings opening and closing slowly in thought.
"Do you live here?" He found himself asking, curiously. Then... his stomach rumbled again and he blinked. It seemed he almost fought back a smile, but the action was very subtle and brief.

"And is there a way we can get more food?" Apparently one dumpling wasn't enough.

[Hyacinthus]

Cerulean eyes averted themselves-- once, then twice as Sophie shifted uncomfortably on the spot at Miersck's question, as if he'd pointed a glowing-hot dagger at her. "...No, I... don't really have a home." She answered truthfully, and to the best of her ability without heading down another rabbit hole of self-pity; He'd more than likely heard more than enough of her woes by now.

Instead, she focused her attentions on his second question, giving an amused smile in place of his own lack of one. Was... now the right time to ask if he... No, no, not yet, she told herself. They'd only just met, after all, and doubtless he trusted her enough for such a thing. Silly Sophie, so eager to... well, it didn't matter. "Of course! There are so many other kinds of meals we can try here-- My treat!" She said with a smile, reaching over and taking him by the hand once more as she began to lead Miersck further into the food stalls, stopping every so often to let his nose guide him once more, as well as point out the occasional favorite of her own.

This... this was fine. This was nice. It felt good to be useful.

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She hadn't a home? Miersck's face twisted in confusion. But he must not have been complete obvious to her plight,  as he considered all of the why's. He also had no home,  as he stole a small glance to the mark on his hand.  Then he closed his hand into a fist.

And soon found himself guided back towards the market, where he was overwhelmed with delicious smells.
"You sure it's okay if I eat more?"

He wasn't sure about human customs,  or mouse fae's.

[Hyacinthus]

The girl's mouse-like ears flopped a bit as she happily nodded in response to Miersck. "Of course! I'm sure you likely don't get the chance to mingle with human society that often... if ever," She noted, turning back to look at Miersck as she did so, "So I want you to have a happy experience! Hopefully, you'll..." She began, before finding herself fiddling with her words a bit, a light bit of blush to her face. What did she really want to say there? That he'd hopefully grow accustomed to being around humans, maybe? That he'd hopefully decide to stick around for a while longer, rather than continue traveling alone? That... well, maybe he would stick around... with her?

"...Hopefully you'll remember it fondly, as you travel!" She couldn't be that selfish. It wasn't right. Right now, the only thing that mattered to Sophie was doing whatever she could to help Miersck enjoy his time here. Reaffirming her resolve on that front, she turned to look about at the different stalls-- the different styles of food gathered from all around the continent. "So-- what do you think? Does anything catch your eye-- or your nose?"

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If Miersck noticed her stuttering over words, he didn't show it. Truthfully,  he was distracted by all the sites and smells again but his wings fluttered suddenly as he smelled something sweet, and approached a stall of baked goods.

He was not even an inch away as he sniffed at the sweets before the woman behind the stall suddenly smacked a wooden spoon off of Miersck's head.

"Yeeouch!" The mothe fae howled, rubbing at where the old woman whacked his noggin. "Hey!" He growled,  bristling. "You hit me!"

"And you got too close to my baked goods without paying," the old woman countered. "Payment comes first "

[Hyacinthus]

"Ah--!"

Sophie, who'd slowly begun to withdraw into her own head about one insecurity or another, had lost track of Miersck, if only a little. She knew he was nearby, and didn't think to keep as close an eye on him as she probably should've, given how new he was to integrating into human society. That was when she heard the boy's sudden yelp of pain, and snapped back to reality to find him being admonished by a nearby stall owner.

Of course; Sophie, who'd gotten so wrapped up in the idea of having someone she could freely spend time with, had completely forgotten the basic rule of shopping... Keep your children by your side at all times. She quickly trotted over to the stall where the interaction occurred and stepped in between Miersck and the stallkeeper, taking him by the hand and holding him behind her to prevent any unneeded backlash. She then, as deeply as she could... bowed her head in apology. "I'm so sorry, ma'am! My frie-- Um," She paused, mentally checking herself-- She wasn't entirely sure Miersck would be too happy about her taking such a liberty as calling them 'friends', "He isn't very familiar with trade as a concept, and didn't mean any harm. I should've been more attentive of him-- Please forgive me."

Admittedly, hitting him was rather unnecessary, and in her mind, Sophie knew that. But the poor girl had not a confrontational bone in her body, and would more than happily accept any punishment or reprimanding on behalf of another than to let the situation at hand worsen. "Did he touch anything? I'll happily pay for whatever he was interested in..."

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"I didn't touch anything!" Miersck snapped,  growling and showing his teeth, even as Sophie stepped between them. He was about to say more before Sophie dropped her head in apology.

"Hey, hey! Don't apologize, she hit me!" he complained with a shake of her shoulder.

The old woman eyed the pair,  and noted the boy's wings with a sniff
"If your companion does not understand human customs perhaps you should not take him near human markets. Or, " She went on, eyes still callous. "Keep that thing on a leash."

She bristled before them and smoothed down her dress, contemplating the rest of Sophie's words and ignoring the dogged growls of the moth fae.

"He basically touched this entire front row,: she went on, gesturing with her armed, wooden spoon. "How do I know he doesn't carry a disease? Now I'm going to lose a day's worth of money thanks to it!"

Oh Miersck was about ready to boil over.

"What!?" He snapped. "I didn't touch even one of them!"

[Hyacinthus]

Sophie's ears twitched as she flinched a bit. Between the older woman's scoldings-- fully deserved in her mind-- and Miersck's indignant lashings out-- likely also fully deserved-- She wasn't sure how best to diffuse the situation at hand. On one hand, it might've been enough to simply turn tail and run away, with Miersck in hand. He was all but ready to explode, and aside from his very visible differences in physiology, Sophie didn't know enough about what he was and wasn't capable of to risk him doing something rash.

On the other hand, if they left now, would Miesck ever be allowed to return? Would rumors spread about the moth-winged boy, and tarnish his reputation for the future? Would he... be forced to continue to wander alone, not even accepted in such an open community as La'marri? The thought was too hard for Sophie to comprehend-- too painful. Even if her own reputation was marred, if she could salvage this situation for Miersck...

Slowly, Sophie raised her head a little-- Not looking into the eyes of the stallkeeper in an attempt of deference. Miersck seemed all but ready to leap into action in defense of himself, and on some level the mouse-girl completely understood... but she held firmly to his hand all the same. This... this sort of thing just happened sometimes. "I... I understand. I'll gladly pay for the losses you'd incur... Or help to make up for it, if you'd prefer, but I..." She paused, her voice cracking a bit as she worked to find the right words that would hopefully alleviate the situation, as well calm herself emotionally... as best she could, at least.

"...Please forgive him." She eventually managed, lowering her head again in apology. By now, the three had begun to draw passing gazes; Nothing to the extent of folks stopping and staring, but Miersck at the very least was beginning to find attention through his actions and loud words.

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Oh, if he could give a woman a piece of his mind....

The lady looked down her nose at the little mouse girl.
"Payment for the ruined goods should suffice. After all, I'll have to now throw them all away "

Miersck's jaw dropped open.

"Throw them all away!?" Miersck bristled. She couldn't be serious!

'Well you soiled them! Once they're paid for I'm putting them in the trash. "

"What!? You'd throw them away..even after she's paid for it!?"

[Hyacinthus]

The mouse-girl could feel her eyes widen and her breath catch in her throat as the dour woman's words struck her somewhat deeply. Such wasteful behavior-- Surely she didn't mean it, did she? She could feel it, in the back of her mind; repressed memories slowly creeping forward, like a cold blackened, revolting mold, spreading from the base of her neck, out throughout her body. This situation, this feeling... of being looked down upon, and spoken to so callously.

"...I..." She began to speak, her head still lowered, only to stop almost immediately. She could hear them... through her. She could still hear their voices, even through this woman.

'How unsightly. Look at that tail-- you'd do best to keep that thing on a leash.'

She trembled a bit, as the older woman and Miersck continued to banter forth; An unforgiving cold washing over her entire body, alongside the disgusting feeling of her sense of security-- her sense of self-assuredness-- being rotted away by the black, creeping mold that was her past life.

'A diseased rodent, that's what it is. Matters not how 'female' it looks. Take it back to the market-- Or throw it away out back, just get it out of my sight.'

Tears formed in her eyes; All the more reason for her to not raise her head, as she simply nodded in compliance with the woman's demands. "...I understand," She responded quietly, reaching down for her purse pouch with trembling hands. It can't be helped, she told herself over and over. It can't be helped.

[visualspice]

Miersck let out a roar of frustration, smacking the coin pouch away and snarling at Sophie.
"This woman will not get all your money, Sophie! She's a liar and is trying to cheat you out of all your money!"

The woman gasped.
"How dare you accuse me! The pair of you aren't even human."

Miersck's eyes were blazing at that last comment.
"That's it!"
His form seemed to shiver, wavering as if a mirage. But it was a brief visualization and not even a moment later, the moth fae and woman were bantering. As they did so, from Sophie's perspective, it looked like Miersck was now the one offering the woman a pouch of money, when a ghostly image passed through it, passing a baked good to the woman instead. The woman accepted without so much as noticing,  handling the biscuit as if it were a bag of money, which soon it appeared to be as two moth fae's dissolved into one.

But something was stirring and a moment later, Miersck was stepping away from the pantomime version of himself, the baker none the wiser as Miersck stood before Sophie with an arm full of baked goods.

"Come on. Before she realizes I used any trickery," and despite juggling so many baked goods, he managed to grab onto Sophie's arm to drag her away.