Head in the Clouds | Claimed (Fey)

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“Ah, no, no, it’s my fault, I should have- hm?” She said, pulling herself up to a sitting position. The crow stroked at her ruffled feathers, flattening them back out. She regarded the magi girl in wide-eyed curiosity for a moment before breaking the tension with a soft giggle.

“I didn’t think you were!” She said. She stood up and went to work gathering the rest of the scattered groceries. She approached the girl with a smile and gently took one of the vegetables she held, placing it neatly in the bag. “Don’t be silly. Thank you, too! I’m sorry; sometimes I just get lost in my dancing and don’t look where I’m going. Are you okay?”

Upon the girl’s confirmation, she’d flash a smile. “Okay, good.” She pointed to the fruit in the girl’s hand. “You can keep that one. It’s so nice of you to help me; most people are too busy and just walk off.” She shrugged, and turned, crouching down to pick up more scattered groceries. They were mostly fruits and vegetables, things that could be made without much preparation. She had splurged a little on some basic seasonings; they went a long way to making the community’s soup taste like an actual cuisine instead of just slurry they had to swallow to survive. She picked up some other things, that couldn’t be grown or scrounged; bread, crackers, noodles, rice… cheap staples that would help fill over a dozen hungry mouths.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” she said. Her tone was sing-song and casual, as if their collision happened years in the past and had been long forgotten. “I’m Cadence! I love your dress, wow! Do you sew?”

The bird was unaware of the curious eyes watching the pair of them. This far into the slums, where Cadence often tread, it was mostly people making sure the little walking entertainment was safe and sound. But there was always the chance that less friendly eyes were around. Still, she hummed to herself, oblivious to them all.

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW

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“Oh, I know!” She said, shaking her head. “Wasting food is one of the worst things, isn’t it? So many people would have loved it! But a little dirt isn’t going to hurt these~” She sung the last few words and laughed. “But really, I insist you take that!”

Between the two, it didn’t take long to refill the grocery bag with all the scattered goods. She dusted herself off, leaving the bag on the ground between the two magi. She moved her head around, examining Fey’s dress with her usual ignorance of personal bubbles. Her own dress was poorly altered; Cadence had tried to learn sewing by fixing up the kids’ clothes, but her stiches never did last long. There were obvious tears in the fabric where she had to open space for her wings. Speaking of wings, Cadence beamed at the compliment, then turned around as she put her arms out, spreading them fully.

“Thank you!” She said, spinning her back to the girl briefly, to show her what they looked like from that angle. She had no intent of showing off, but she was happy to be proud of her looks. “Most of my family has black feathers, but I was born with white. Al-bin-ism, I think,” she said, recalled how Shinzu had pronounced it. “It means my feathers and hair don’t have color! I… didn’t used to like it,” she admitted, her voice dropping a little. “I felt kind of… alone? But nobody really cared, so I kind of like them now! It makes me different.”

When she turned back to face her, she examined her face a little more closely. She spotted the girl’s curling horns, nearly hidden under her hair. “Oh! Fey, those are such pretty horns, too! Hm? Oh, oh yes, I’m okay.” She looked down and around at herself. Besides some superficial scrapes, she couldn’t feel anything wrong with her.

“Pardon me if this is prying, but I haven’t seen you around before. Do you live in the city?”

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW

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Cadence jumped and made a delightful little squeal, that came out more like a chirp. “I am a performer, actually! I’m a musician and a singer!” She was in full ramble-mode now, completely oblivious to the girl’s discomfort. Nobody could say Cadence wasn’t passionate about what she did. “I do some singing at the bars around here, and even in the streets sometimes! Oh, if you ever find yourself in my area of the slums, say hello! I could do a little performance for you, maybe a song or two, if you want. Do you really think I look like a performer? Wow, that’s so nice of you! I do have a little better dress for those but it’s not much to look at.”

The problem with air magi singers was that they had endless lungs. Fortunately for Fey, Cadence’s brain ran out of words before she ran out of breath. She nodded at Fey.

“Yep, I’m fine; I fall a lot, so I’m kind of used to it,” she said, adding a sheepish laugh and scratching the back of her head. She tapped her feet up and down. Stupid huge bird feet. If only there was more airspace in the city.

“Oh, that would be sweet, but I couldn’t ask that of you,” Cadence said. “You don’t need to do that for me. It’s not pretty but it does its job, you know?” She did perk up at the offer; it would be nice to have a little less in the way of holes and tears in her clothes, but… Oh!

“Actually, if you, ah, do mean it,” she said, looking down as if shy to ask her for a favor. “There are a pair of kids I watch. Orphans. I think they could use better clothes more than I could. I just… can’t really afford to get them nice things.” She sighed with a wistful little smile. “I’d like to get them into a school, but if I can’t even get them clothes, I’m worried it’s a long shot.”

She jumped up a bit. Ah! She did it again. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to go on. I just don’t know when to shut up! D-don’t worry about it, really. I have a pretty big performance coming up, actually. Maybe with that money I can… well, give them a better life than one on the streets. Y-you don’t need to, ah, worry about it.”

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW

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“Yeah, me either!” Cadence said at Fey’s admission. “The camps didn’t have much of one, and I can’t afford it for myself. I can’t even read or write much.” She shrugged, clearly okay with this. “I don’t really need school for what I do. But the kids are young; they can make use of it! Even if I can get them in for a year, it’s better than nothing.”

She cooed with delight and jumped up with a spin, her airtime a little floaty as wind whipped around the pair. “You’re so right! It’s nice to meet people who know it’s good to help others. Well! I’ll take you up on your offer- are you free now? I don’t live far from here. Oh! And you can stay for dinner, if you’d like! Really, it’s the least I can do. And then you’ll know where to find me if you want to come see me!”

Cadence chattered on like a bird chirping away at a morning song. Every movement bounced with delight. She leaned down to pick up her grocery bag and heaved it up to her chest once more, nodding for Fey to follow her, if she was agreeable to the plan. Either way, Cadence would continue rambling on to Fey. She would tell her all about the kids, and how nice they were, and then go on to talk about the rest of the little homeless community, and how helping each other out really put them all in a better spot. Her lungs rarely ran out of breath, and she was completely ignorant of whether or not Fey was trying to edge in; though if she did, Cadence would take an embarrassed pause, finally realizing how carried away she got. If not, she would chat with the girl all the way down the winding alleys to her home.

“This is where I live!” She said, proud of the ramshackle, worn, and vandalized little storage facility. Garage-like doors in various degrees of rust and abuse lines the dirty alley; her unit was the one with music notes painted on the door. “Here, would you like to come inside? I can show you my harp! And my piano!” She would set the bag down and, with a little struggling, open the dented and dirty door, lifting it up to reveal her living space, whether Fey said yes or no.

The inside was dusty and small, but neatly arranged. The walls were filled with chalk drawings done by the kids. A piano and harp sat against one wall, taking up almost the entire thing; they were clean, unsullied, and pristine, contrasting sharply with the rest of the minimal, dingy room. A cot on the floor and two other dresses hung from scrap wire strung from one wall to the other. There was also a little amp and a violin case, in similar condition to the instruments. It was clear Cadence didn’t own much of anything beyond them.

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW

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Cadence laughed as she took a seat in the stool before the piano. “Not surprised! They’re kind of expensive, I’ve heard. I got lucky; they were my mom’s; she must have had them before the relocations. Lucky too that whoever owned this place must have forgotten about it!”

She danced her fingers on the keys, playing a low, muted scale all the way to the end of the piano. The sound was lovely, echoing lightly in the confined space and out into the alley.

“It’s not always easy to maintain them,” she admitted. She gave the piano a few pats, like it was a pet. “Had to learn myself, but… it’s nice, now. It’s kind of like taking care of memories, making sure they stay pure and happy.” Her smile quivered for a second, but she shook the sadness free. No, just like Ari had said. I had to be strong for them, and pave a better future. She scooted over on the bench and pat it lightly. “Come on, play a few notes! You’re not gonna break it.”

After letting Fey tap at the keys, if she wanted to, Cadence would point out the right ones to press to play a small, basic scale. She would give her a thumbs up and a wide smile, telling her that she was a natural. If the girl seemed happy enough to do so, Cadence would say “You can come by whenever if you want to learn!”

After showing Fey all the instruments and talking about her parents some more, she would pick up the bag of groceries once more and ask her to follow for another block, down a winding alley, which grew surprisingly cleaner as they went on. The alleyway widened out a bit to a clearing, obviously frequently used not due to trash, but to the halfway homely feel to it; a nice looking fire pit, clean (but obviously once trash) benches and picnic tables and patio umbrellas, organized crates and bins filled with various things like tools, cookware, and firewood, clothes hanging from lines… As far as the slums went, this place looked rather nice. She set the grocery bag on a table, then reached up and grabbed some small clothes from the lines.

“So these are the ones,” she said, holding the outfits out and displaying the many tears in each. “I guess they’re not around right now. So, um, I’m not sure if you want to do this now? I have a sewing kit in that box of tools, though it isn’t much. If you wanted to do it now, I could start cooking, if you’re hungry? O-or whenever! I don’t want to bother you...”

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW

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With smile and encouragement, she let Fey play with the instrument a bit longer; she was clearly enjoying it more than her hesitation claimed. She recognized that little spark; she saw it from each of the kids as she taught them, and even a curious older magi or two, who had always wanted to play but never did. She tilted her head, then at Fey’s unexpected protest to her offer.

“You’re sure? It doesn’t have to be useful to be enjoyed, you know,” she said. She stood up from the bench with a small smile. “Well, the offer stands. Come on by anytime. I’m usually here, or by the temple, if I’m in town.”

Before they departed, Cadence would take a thin cloth and wipe the keys down before lowering the wooden cover over them. She would prattle on about music during the short walk down the alley, to the “community center” as it was dubbed. With an excited jump, the bird fetched her meager sewing kit and set it near Fey. There wasn’t much to it; a few half-used bobbins in black, white, and a few other colors, three needles, and a piece of spare cloth that was used as a pushpin for the dozen pins she had.

“Sorry, it’s not much,” she said, suddenly self-conscious about the meager supplies she had. “I’m going to start cooking. Is there anything you dislike, or are allergic to?” She started gathering food from the various coolers and makeshift shelves in the area, having to tip-toe up to reach the higher shelves. The amount of food she was gathering made it clear she was planning to make food for a lot more than two people.

She hummed lightly as she gathered up fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish, put them on a table, and went to work preparing them with as clean of a knife as she had. She was grateful for her little family of a dozen or so; some spent their days fishing, some had gardens, some knew where to find good salvage, and some were crafty; together, they could keep each other fed, and sheltered. The little clearing here was an intersection for a few alleyways, back in an undeveloped part of Dagos; it was mostly ignored, and often out of the way, so they didn’t get much trouble, aside from the occasional wandering hunter. It was a surprisingly homely setup; shelves, nooks for shelter, supplies, and even a beat-up minifridge hooked to a half-broken solar panel.

She would punctuate her singing with conversation with Fey as they both went to work on their various tasks. Mostly, she was curious about the girl. What did she do? How long did she live here? Does she have a place to stay? What does she do for fun? Does she have friends? She couldn’t help herself from bombarding the girl with questions; she was a curious crow, after all, and her social graces were, well, lacking.

the leviathan @ GS & BRSW