Rustling of trees and music in the air (open)

KHEELAN

There was such a beautiful day today. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and Kheelan had a few days off which meant enjoying himself in nature. Leaves had begun to slightly shift color but so far it was just a few leaves here and there on some trees, most of them were still green.

Kheelan had been looking for that perfect branch to make a new flute from, so far he was in no luck. He placed his satchel by a large roots and sat down by a beautiful tree in front of a lake which seemed to spring from two large rocks. It was a beautiful place here. The smell of sweet grass was calming to the mind, as was the late blooming flowers who still hung on to the sun's warming rays even though the new season had started now.

The redheaded fae took his flute from the side of his belt from where it had been hanging since before he sat down by the tree and put it against his lips. He began playing from the heart. He closed his eyes after a few notes on the instrument he had come to know so well during the years at Greatwood and the city of Sidh. Now however, he had wandered freely and was currently at the Glade and by the oasis, a place he had come to like when he wasn't at home in his own forest. Not many places could hold up against fae forests, but this was one of very few places that came close.

The tunes of the flute almost seemed to become one with the rustling of the trees as the wind played with them as well as Kheelans hair that flowed free all the way to below his behind, the rippling of the waterfall held a soft rhythm to his flute and the chirping of the birds accentuated the music he created. It was, in its own way... magical.

Swords can only kill the heart it aims at,
but music can mend all hearts that listen.

Sascha wiped his sweaty brow before he collected the wood on the grass under him that he had been collecting for the day. He had FINALLY found that red wood he had been searching for the past week and was convinced it would be perfect for the project he was in the making of. The wood was heavy as he started walking through the glade and as he had walked for quite a while it had started to hurt his hands to the degree that he felt it was time for some well earned rest. He had yet to notice the music nearby considering he had been caught in his own head for the struggling travle he had made. But now as he had set down the huge pile of wood he started to hear the melody and confusing enough it was VERY close by. He looked around quite intruiged by the music and located that the source must be coming from behind the very bushes he was resting by.

There was a thought to just leave it alone and mind his own business since he had work to do, get the wood back to his home and start building but Sascha had never been very good at focusing on what he SHOULD be doing when something else caught his attention. Since he couldn't leave his precious wood though he bent down and lifted up the heavy pile again before stearing his steps around the bush to the place where the fae was playing. Ofcourse Sascha didnt even know about Fae's yet since he was still very new to this world which made a slight gasp leave him when the eyes had adjusted to the sunlight. A fair looking man playing that nice song sat against a tree a slight bit away, so calm and peaceful that it almost put Sascha into chock.

Sascha gathered his sences and put down his pile on the ground before watching the fae in front of him thats seamed to be lost in the music he was playing. Sascha was a bit dirty after the wood collecting he had been doing. Smudges of dirt was planted on his face and on the black clothing he was wearing together with grass stains on his knees and his hair kind of ruffled from the wind. It was a habit the trade he was in had on it's presuers after all and Sascha didn't mind it at all. What was he gonna say? Should he still leave the man alone to not disturb that peace? After a few moments of consideration he decided to make himself known to that peaceful man and opened his mouth. "That is a beautiful song, have you written it yourself?" Sascha said in his normal, kind way and attacked the man with one of those charming smiles that Sascha seamed to always pocess no matter how he tried to dull it down a bit.

SASCHA

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

KHEELAN

Somewhere in teh back of his mind, a pressence was nearby, but he didn't seem to mind more than taking a note of it. It could just as easily have been a deer or some other animal. It wasn't too unusual that animals stopped and listened to when he played his flutes so he didn't quite mind it and put the movement in the forest aside in his mind.

He lost a bit of time while playing and wasn't sure how long someone had been standing not too far away from him as he played, listening to the tunes he played. His fingers touched the holes on the wooden flute with skills, knowing exactly where to put the next finger to generate the next note carrying the melody forward.

Not until the person spoke, did Kheelan stop and look up. His teal colored eyes glimmered like gems in the sunlight at the same time his hair glimmered in golden mahogany as the breeze caught a few strands and played with them. He stared at the man for a moment and blinked and hesitated a bit before opening his mouth to speak.

"Yes, it is played by heart. It changes through the season depending on what the heart wants to tell"

He tilted his head slightly and watched the man, by the stack of branches the male looked like he was going to either burn the forest down by a huge bonfire, or perhaps attempting to build something? His clothes were a bit strange, not at all like fae clothing which only made him assume the man was not from around here.

"Your clothes are strange.... you are not from here, are you?"

He took another hesitant glance down at the man's clothes. He didn't seem like a threat thankfully enough, yet a bit odd. Kheelan rose from where he was sitting by the tree, his dragonfly looking wings partly spreading from behind the cape before they disappeared behind the fabric on his back again as he straightened his back.

Kheelan held his flute in his left hand as he watched the man who was quite a bit taller than his 5' (153cm). His clothes looked more like some kind of elven costume Legolas would wear, coming somewhere from Middle Earth and lord of the rings to a person who wasn't from this world.

"Who are you?"

He asked, still a bit hesitant towards the man in front of him.

Swords can only kill the heart it aims at,
but music can mend all hearts that listen.

It is a melody she has heard before. The soft wind, whispering through leaves, the gentle babble of water over stone, the chorus of her kin and the sacred forest, The Greatwood, united to celebrate the turning season. The tiny Fae is drawn to it, pulled free from the stale streets and sun-scorched wasteland that she has apparently committed her interests to; how could she resist. Music She finds herself straddling two worlds, dipped in the murky shadow of the trees, the borderline between two clashing cultures; and sees the sickness leaking from one into the other. Though a frown greets the obvious (at least to the eye that is trained to see), it is short-lived and swiftly smothered by a broad, cheerful smile. Two figures loom, one of reasonable (Fae) size, the other of them, and upon long, shining wings she ventures nearer. “You play beautifully,” honeyed words compliment, but she fails to heed the winged man otherwise, instead she turns to the taller. “Don’t let Her highness catch you beyond the clearing.” A warning proffered with curious warmth and gleaming white teeth exposed. Bright eyes indicate the other, the one similar to she, and her shoulders shrug. “Rumour among our folk suggests they are savages, and there’s that little thing about not entering The Greatwood without permission from the crown…” A kind, though cheeky, wink. Finally, her focus turns to the one with the flute. “What brings you into our world, musician?” There is a flicker through those soft, young features that suggests humour, maybe mischief, but it is so fleeting that true intention quickly is lost, or else confused. She stands on the side of the barrier-man, naturally, and fastens her fingers across one titled hip, lips pursed to the side. Any opportunity to prove her side...

Sascha rubbed his sore hands slightly as he waited for the man to say something, saw how he seamed to hesitate before replying to him which made Sascha wonder how bad he actually looked after the woodchopping. What was he doing here? It was quite aways from the community after all but maybe that was the point? To get away and be alone for a bit? ... OMG! Did Sascha just destroy a nice alone time!? With that thought in his head he started to feel a bit guilty all of a sudden, even though he might not have disturbed the man at all. Just constant guiltiness about others welfare was something Sascha had a lot of. He was the kind of person that wanted everyone to feel happy in their lives which probably would bring him into a lot of trouble with the Queen.. The Queen he had first met before she was a queen.. The woman that had stated to do what was best for all and had given Sascha that feeling of not really believing in her words in that matter. This had lead to him given her a reply stating that if what she said was true then she could count on his support, but if not he had kindly said he would not like to join in. This might come back to haunt him..

Though the happy Sascha smiled ever so widely like he had no problems in the world from the reply he got from the other man, a smile that might be hard to find in general. He waited cause he noticed the man was not done speaking quite yet and as the question arrived Sascha looked down on his dirty clothing for a second with a wonder if he had been buying the wrong clothing all along since he came here.. Though he quickly let go of that thought since he at least wasn't running around naked right? As he looked up with a smile to reply he saw the wings fluttering from behind the man which made his jaw drop almost in such a way that it belonged to a comedy. He totally forgot the question he had been asked and his hands flew up to his face to grab it over these stunning turn of events. It was a... FAIRY!!! This was mind-blowing! He almost didn't know how to even start processing this information. There was fairies here!? He must admit they were bigger then he had expected but... fairy!

Okay he had to compose himself, it was bad enough he had made this overreaction already and he didn't want to be rude by gawking at the fairy like he was the most awesome thing Sascha had ever seen. But then again... it was kind of the most awesome thing he had ever seen. He quickly closed his mouth again and lowered his hands in a not very stealthy manner which made a small, embarrassed laugh leave him. Awkward. He needed to come to his senses right now and for that matter; say he was sorry over the reaction. "I am sorry! Your wings took me by surprise! I'm Sascha, very nice to meet you! You are correct i'm not from around here, i came to this world a few weeks ago.. and.." He stopped his words as a beautiful woman came out from the greenery which even that took him in pure surprise and he closed his mouth to make sure to not talk at the same time as she.

As the woman spoke that happy feeling within him started to crumble and he gave her a slight nervous smile while rubbing the back of his head. Yeah.. he had not heard this information before and as he could not read this language he had no idea about this fact. What would happen if he got caught out here then? Would they believe him when he told them the truth? Such confusing times.. "I.. i really didn't know that. I was just out here to collect a specific wood for my work." He gave the huge pile a slight nod to prove that he was telling the truth and he looked at the short woman a bit curiously as she asked the other short man a question which made him turn his head towards the man again. Also curious in what his reply would be. So much going on! A fairy and a small woman all at once! He had not noticed yet that this woman also were a "fairy".

SASCHA

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

KHEELAN

Kheelan watched the man qho squealed like a child watching a dream come true. He furrowed a brow at the man.  This was usually not the way people reacted when they saw a fae for the first time. Truth be told, Kheelan rather had this than the constant suspiciousness of what he was. More times than not, had he viewed the pointy end of a stick just for being born fae - as if that would be something wrong?

So many tales where fae had disappeared or being maimed, tortured to return wingless to their home. Those fae had never become the same after those events. Some of them had even ventured out in the forest never to return. Exactly what had happened to them, only the Gods would know. The tales lived on even though the specific fae might not.

"I was born with them, just like any fae are."

He said simply, only moments before a voice he knew well spoke out into the air, causing him to flick his eyes her way. A light glimmer in his eyes, silent looks between two seemingly unknown people. His teal colored eyes fell back to the man with the branches and sticks by his feet. He spoke to the woman while watching the tall man.

"I simply let my feet find the way for me. This place was the best place to play at since I didn't find the right branches to make new flutes from. To play by the water, the rustling in the trees and resonance in the rocks. I may be venturing on the border..."

Kheelan openly studied the man while speaking. He seemed young and perhaps a bit lost? Not many humans walked around here to gather sticks and branches to whatever he was going to build. As long as it wasn't built too close to the border, Kheelan's guard instincts told him the boy would be fine.

"...I have no purpose to venture further into the hollowed grounds. Just as I am sure this boy have no intention in entering greatwood, for he would indeed suffer at the hands of the fae guards protecting it with their lives."

It didn't matter he had days off, he would still defend his home if he needed to. This however, looked more like a stray than anything else. Most humans had seen to travel in some kind of packs, at least two and two, sometimes more. Greatness in numbers, just as the fae figured when it came to protecting the greatwood forest. This boy had only been here a few weeks? No wonder he didn't seem to know his way. Did he even have someone to tell him right from wrong in this world he apparently did not know yet?

A part of Kheelan felt calmer just by knowing he had a kin with him at the same time he didn't quite feel threatened by the human either. He glanced down at the pieces of wood that the human had gathered, all dead and picked from the ground. That was at least a plus.

Swords can only kill the heart it aims at,
but music can mend all hearts that listen.