 Tanzer sighed contentedly as he floated, eyes closed, in the warm southern waters. There couldn't be a more perfect day. No rain, no Thread, just warm sun and clear sparkling waters. By some lucky chance, today was also a Restday, and Tanzer had no duties whatsoever. His older sister and her new husband Tharsos had come to spend the day with Tanzer and his family, so the cothold which had seemed a bit empty after Telizae left was just as comfortably full as it had been. All five children, who weren't really children, the youngest being Aresil at 14 and the oldest Telizae at 23, had gone down to the ocean which North Beach Cothold was built on. Telizae and Tharsos has since snuck away, undoubtedly to a secluded bush, leaving the four boys and their respective flits swimming. The only, thing, Tanzer reflected, that could make this day more perfect was if Tharsos hadn't been here. Through no fault of Tharsos', Tanzer had taken a strong disliking to his brother-by-marriage. It might have been partly through his gold, Singer, for Tharsos also had a gold, though he, being the son of a rich holder, had bought his where Tanzer had found his Singer's egg. It was also partly the fact that Tharsos was from the North. To Tanzer, he had become the representation of all he resented. Stone walls, cold weather, and the limited space there was to the North. Here, in the South, there was all the space anyone could want, and more.  Without warning, something hit Tanzer in the stomach, breaking into his thoughts. A flit trilled indignantly and sharp talons tickled his belly. "Singer!" Tanzer exclaimed at the gold, who was crouched on his tanned skin, giving him a disspointed look and making clucking noises of dissaproval. "What was that for?"
Singer cheeped and conjured an image of him swimming and scaring away all the fish accompanied by feelings of hunger. Tanzer chuckled. "Well I can't move as gracefully as you, Singer, humans just aren't made that way." Singer chirped an indignant reply and, already flapping, dipped her wings into the water, spraying Tanzer in the face and repeating the images as well as the hunger pangs. "Alright alright," Tanzer sputtered, bringing his feet down to touch the rocky bottom. "I'll get you your food, you don't have to drown me." Singer warbled happily from her perch on Tanzer's shoulder as he trudged out of the water and up the short path to the cothold. Tanzer listened to the gold's song with a harper's ear, his father had been a hold harper before establishing his own cothold and had given all his children basic harpering skills. Therefore, Tanzer could sing and play a few basic songs on the pan pipes. The resident of the cothold who picked up the most of the harpercraft, it seemed, was Tanzer's flit. Most flits just harmonized with singing; Singer came up with her own tunes and sang them in perfect pitch. She could imitate many ballads with ease but, to Tanzer's Father's constant annoyance, refused to be trained to learn any part. Clearly, Singer sang for herself, when and where she wanted to. Singer's song ended on a rich, low note as they entered the cothold. Now she hummed in anticipation of the meal she knew awaited her, launching herself from Tanzer's shoulder and zipping ahead into the kitchen, where the barrel of scrap meat kept for the cothold's six flits was full to the top, as usual. The gold descended on the barrel and promptly began gorging herself. Tanzer sat down in a chair, taking a glass of red fruit juice and sipping at it as his gold ate. A few minutes later, two more flits arrived. The first of which Tanzer gladly recognized as Telizae's blue Jezin. When Tharsos' gold Rahlis winged her way into the kitchen, Tanzer knew there would be trouble. Singer was too busy gorging herself to notice the other queen, and Tanzer hoped she'd stay that way. Soon after their flits, Telizae and Tharsos arrived, hands entwined, heads enclined towards each other. When Telizae saw her little brother was in the kitchen, she broke away from Tharsos and walked over to sit near Tanzer. "Singer's gorging again," Telizae accused with a grin. Tanzer smiled easily, picking up the old joke. Singer and Jezin had hatched from the same clutch, and had been fighting over dead clutchmate when Tanzer and Telizae had happened upon them. The two had managed to pull the gold and blue apart, and had, as a result, Impressed them. "So is Jezin." "Is it alright for Rhalis to be near Singer?" Tharsos wondered worridley. He had a right to be worried, Tanzer noticed smugly, Singer was far larger than Rhalis, almost twice the smaller gold's length from muzzle to tail. Singer could easily maul Rhalis if she was in the mind to do so. "As long as they're stuffing their faces, they won't notice anything else but their stomachs and their food," Telizae assured her husband. Singer, however, had noticed Rhalis' arrival. As soon as Rhalis was completly engaged in gorging herself, Singer pounced, landing on the other gold's back. With a screech of defiance, Rhalis tried to raise her wings, but found them pinned to her body. Jezin shrieked and went between as Rhalis' claw found his front leg. Tanzer, fighting the urge from his flit to attack Tharsos, ran over and bodily pulled Singer away from Rhalis, who quickly winked between. Singer's eyes slowly returned to normal, though she continued snarling low in her throat. When Tanzer felt it safe to release Singer, the gold cheeped as though nothing had happened and sat down on the table to preen. "I told you they shouldn't be in the same room," Tharsos thundered, bearing down on the leaner Tanzer. Tharsos was not fat, but muscled, and he put Tanzer uneasily in mind of an angry herdbeast bull. "You've probably cost me my flit, you..." his hand was at his belt knife, and Tanzer realized with a start that his belt knife was in his room. An angry snarl from Singer reminded both men that Tanzer had an angry gold on his side, who would think nothing of clawing at Tharsos. "Tharsos, come on, we should leave. I think Jelin and Rhalis went back to the Hold, we should go back and find them," Telizae instructed her husband, forcefully linking her arm in his and dragging him from the room. Tanzer collapsed into a chair once they were gone, eyeing Singer ruefully. "You've caused quite the commotion with your queenly dignity, Singer," he told the flit, who only hummed and sent feelings of happiness that he was safe and the rival gold gone. Telizae must have told their mother about it, for Anzeila's green Sika promptly appeared in the kitchens, scolding Singer furiously. Singer took no notice, but Tanzer winced, knowing that Sika's rage was a flit-size of what Anzeila's would be. Sure enough, Anzeila stormed into the kitchens. "What have you done?" she roared, causing Tanzer to wince and Singer to raise defiant wings. "You let Singer attack Rhalis? You have more control over your gold than that! You deliberately set Singer on the poor gold to get even with Tharsos!" Anger boiled inside Tanzer. Set his gold on another flit? Never. Not even Tharsos' flit. Singer could have been hurt. Who would deliberately hurt their flit? Tanzer thought angrily and said as much to his mother. "No excuses Tanzer, it's quite obvious what happened. To your quarters for the rest of the day!" she instructed him, holding up a hand to stop his explanations. "Now." Seeing that Anzeila was not going to reason, Tanzer left the kitchens and started down the hall to his room. He waited until Singer was safely in before slamming the door and throwing himself on his bed. He would not waste a rest day on account of Tharsos' wherry of a flit, he decided angrily, but could think of nothing to do about it so he contented himself to lay there until dark, refusing to come to the evening meal and eventually falling asleep. Some time later, Tanzer awoke to quiet in the cothold and a view from his window of the sun beginning to set, which meant it was well after the evening meal. Deciding there would be no one around to catch him, Tanzer awoke Singer, instructed her to be quiet, and made his way to the beach... |