And So It Begins

Ines chewed incessantly on her bottom lip, lurking a fair distance away from the boy. She was certain she had seen him- of course, Ines had committed his face to memory, so there was hardly any chance at all that it had been a mistake. It was definitely Zander. Zander Dawson. Yes, she remembered his wonderful Italian accent. Wonderful. And it was so wonderful that she had even chanced upon him- after all, it was so rare that the girl ever ventured outdoors herself.

The girl began to chew on the inside of her cheek, her bright blue eyes fixed on the back of his head as she proceeded towards him- deliberating how to greet him. A simple hello? Or a playful remark? A handshake? How- which one would be the most appropriate- would he react differently? Did she look presentable? How clean were her shoes and- Merlin, if her skirt were to rip again-

"Zan-" She choked out, but quickly dashed behind the nearest tree, praying to God that he had not seen her. Ines scrunched her eyes closed, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. She could do this.

He was walking, quite calmly, watching the small little birds sing to him as they circled above his head, telling him all about their times while he was away, the change in temperature, the way they'd all grown from the small eggs he had found them as. He laughed as one of them flew down and rested on his shoulder, a canary that had been conjured and forgotten about. Speaking quietly, the small bird told him many things about the travelings of people on the lake, idle gossip about how the birds nests had been moved from one tree to the other, stopping to talk about his own tree.

Suddenly, the bird's song changed, the tonnage a bit different, all of them saying the same thing.

"Ines?" He asked, turning around, sure he'd heard her voice, he frowned. The canary took flight, twittering off and diving behind a tree. Landing on a low branch, the bird continued to sing, pointing out the girl to the beastspeaker.

Walking around the tree, he gave a hesitant smile, glancing up at the bird. "Leave Ines alone, little one. She is a friend." The canary gave an indignant huff, but flew off anyway, singing something about love and lost.

"Hello." Zander said politely, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I uh- How are you?"

Ines' breath hitched in her throat as her name reached her ears, and she edged slightly away from the source of the noise- although could not muster the courage to move away from the tree. He was going to find her, wasn't he? She'd look so odd, hiding behind a tree. She didn't want him to think her odd, she wanted him to think her pleasant. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she watched her feet and she folded her hands neatly together, now simply awaiting to be discovered in a patient silence.

Ines was going to continue to keep her gaze fixed on her feet, but it flickered upwards curiously at the bird, then back to him. Her brow furrowed into a little frown. "You speak to birds." She said, clearly confused. Maybe he was crazy, after all. Admittedly, it would be easier for her if he was- then she could stop putting so much effort into appearing to be constantly pleasant. Or, in other words- not odd.


"Hi." She answered, flashing a sheepish smile at him, still feeling a little uncomfortable for being caught. "I'm doing well." She lied. The Hrabrost could barely sleep anymore, caught up in her thoughts about new, different people- evident from the dark rings that circled her eyes.

"And how are you?"

Grinning a bit sheepishly, Zander shrugged. "I'm a beastspeaker." He explained. "I can talk to any animals who will talk to me." He offered his hand to her, gesturing with the other to the way he'd been walking. "Would you like to walk with me? I was only going around the lake."

His eyebrows furrowed, and he leaned a bit closer, eyeing the girl worriedly. "Are you sure?" He asked, the very picture of concerned. "Is there anything I can do to help? Though, I suppose you don't want to talk about whatever it is with me. I mean... you must have many other friends." Blushing slightly, he waved it off, giving a slight huff.

"I'm alright, I suppose. Just got over- well my girlfriend broke up with me so- I'm as alright as could be expected."

Ines paused, taking a moment to digest the new information. She'd never heard of beastspeakers- then again, she'd never heard of several things that were commonly regarded as general knowledge. She'd spent most of her life shielded in her home. She blinked, her face suddenly braking out into a grin, thinking of all the possibilities of such a gift. "That's brilliant."

The girl blinked down at his hand, deliberating whether or not to join him. If she went with him, there was a chance that she would embarrass herself- or appear to be odd. But, if she left now, she wouldn't have the time to ruin it.

Ines gaze flickered upwards to his face, and felt her heart flutter a little. It was too late, she'd already been completely sold. "Okay." She answered, taking his hand shyly.

She frowned up at the boy, a little frustrated with herself. Was she that bad a liar? "I have trouble sleeping." Ines confessed, shrugging sheepishly and returning her gaze to their feet. "Oh, no." She said hurriedly, her eyes quickly snapping back upwards to his. "No, I'm quite all right." Ines reassured, trying to not seem weak.

"Well, I..." The Hrabrost trailed off, her cheeks tinging red slightly. Rhys, Afonka, Juliet, Fletcher and Zander. "Five friends." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Five will do. They're all very lovely people."

Ines bit her lip, not quite knowing how to respond. Relationships were alien to her, she had no idea how to comfort him. Talking about feelings was meant to be therapeutic, wasn't it?

"Do-um, are you sad?" She stuttered, trying to figure out where she was going with this. "I mean, we could do something to make you happier, if you'd like?" She offered, trying to provide something in consolation.

Smiling down at her, he began to walk along the lakeside, keeping her hand firmly in his own, just in case she felt like running away. He didn't want to be alone just now anyway, or ever really. He just always seemed to find himself so.

Tilting his head toward her, his eyes searched hers, as if looking deep into her soul. "If you're sure." He rumbled, the sound catching in his chest as his accent thickened with concern. "Perhaps you would sleep more soundly if someone was there to watch over you? Always helps with me."

"Five?" He asked in wonder. "That's an awful lot of friends. Until lately I hadn't had more than that." Ninette, Ondrea, Julian, Juliet, Damian and Ines. That was all he had. "You're the one who gave me six."

His eyes tracked the way she bit her lip, noting the careful way she tried to respond. It was sweet of her to be concerned, but he quickly cleared the air of that. "Don't worry about it. I'm not sad anymore. It's more like being free than being alone, now. Besides, I'm not alone anymore, am I?" He squeezed her hand, smiling at the fact that she was there. She could very well be spending her time with the other four people, who were all most likely more interesting than he was. Instead, she had decided to be here, with him, even if it was just an accident.

"Thank you for being here." He said sincerely.

Ines returned his smile easily, feeling suddenly, entirely relaxed- which was a rare achievement for the girl. She was certain that she had not been so relaxed before she had begun to walk with him. Feeling a wave of affection towards the boy wash over her, the girl unconsciously moved a little closer towards him, her smile now fixed firmly in place.

"Quite sure." She answered politely, seemingly unable to take her gaze away from his. It almost felt rude to. "Like a guardian angel?" Ines' smile widened slightly, entertained by the thought. It would be lovely to have a guardian angel. Would it be as lovely to be a guardian angel? "I don't know, I've never had one."

"Is it?" The Hrabrost frowned. She had thought that five was too few, but she was willing to take Zander's word for it. "Juliet and yourself are my fourth and fifth." She confessed, fighting back any tinge of red that threatened to taint her cheeks. Ines had spent a fair amount of hours training herself to stop blushing- to little avail.

"Not alone at all." She confirmed, before hesitantly squeezing his hand back, if not a little weaker than he had hers. "Especially with all of these birds to speak with." Ines added, glancing around their surroundings, followed with a little girlish giggle. Her attention, however, was drawn back to him, having picked up on the new sincerity in his tone.

"Any time at all." She promised.

"Guardian Angel?" A small smile grew on his face, but he shook his head. "Nah, nothing that cool. More like a teddybear." He gestured to himself. "I make a pretty good teddybear, or so I've been told." He shrugged and gestured to their surroundings, trying to show her something that wasn't exactly visible. "Everything seems just a little bit better with someone beside you, doesn't it?"

"Lucky number five." He praised, tilting his chin up and making a silly face at her. "Friend counting and such aside, I am glad to be your friend. Glad you want me as one, really." He paused, eyes sweeping her features before a soft smile grew on his face. "You're pretty when you blush."

He laughed slightly, gaze lifting to the birds fluttering around them, singing teasing songs about her being cute and him being adorable. One fluttered next to Ines and chirped a hello before flying off again. Zander grinned, looking back at her and nodding his head. "They like you."

"I've never had a teddybear, either." Ines grimaced, looking down sheepishly. As a child, she had never thought it sensible to sleep with a stuffed animal. For one, the very idea of a stuffed animal unnerved her slightly. And she hadn't been able to understand how the toy would have ever protected her from monsters. There had been a family of monsters living in her closet. She was still certain of that. But it had always irritated her that her simple use of logic seemed to separate her from other children. They all had teddybears, and weird Ines refused to cuddle one. "I'd love a teddybear." She blurted, not quite meaning to say the words outloud; but glad that they had escaped, anyway.

The Hrabrost nodded, barely even glancing at their surroundings- she was far too infatuated by him to notice. "Yes." She agreed, and paused. "It would be awful if they ever left." A small frown creased her brow, hardly understanding what she had even meant. Moving? Death? Neither of the two seemed remotely realistic to her- she had never experienced a loss before. Before, the only people in her life had been her parents. And that had been more than enough for her.

Her brow smoothed, the frown instantly relaxed, and she giggled at his silly face. "Lucky number five." She echoed, tailed by another titter. Ines started to swing their hands as they walked, silently reveling in the casual touch- it was more fun swinging, anyway. "No, no, it wasn't a blush." She denied, shaking her head furiously. "It was a- an allergy."

Ines' gaze followed his, her attention now caught by the birds that fluttered about them. She shied away slightly from the bird that came closer to her, although her smile did not waver. "I like them too." Ines replied, then turned to face the boy. "Very much." She added, as if the specification was crucial.