A/N: Here I go again. Roni of the Ginger Muffins, here! Yes, I'm starting something else. Isn't that smart of me? It's just a short series, though– something I've thought of and decided to write because... well, why not? Again, I'm trying to keep to canon as much as I can with my writing, so if you think something is out of place, please tell me. :3
Cooro, Husky, Senri, Nana, and the entire of Anima doesn't belong to me (duh), but rather Natsumi Mukai. Kudos to her for such a great work of art and storytelling. :3
"Senri! Come on, you can look at the flowers later!" scolded Nana. The teenager had nearly been left behind (again), kneeling in a spot just off the road while the others, including Nana herself, had walked on.
The foursome were in what was called Foggy Valley. It was a relatively charming place, with many fields of grass peppered with yellow flowers, much like the one the eldest of the group was presently looking at. He stooped over it, his eye transfixed upon it as if in a trance.
Cooro walked over to him, curious. "Do you like it, Senri?" he asked.
The boy nodded. "Pretty."
Cooro squatted in the grass, looking at the same blossom, while his Kim-un-kur friend rummaged his meager collection of possessions, eventually pulling out a small book. As he flipped through the pages, the other took notice. Whenever Senri took out his book, it was often important, though none of the three children ever really knew why. That's just how it was with him. "Do you have one like it?" the younger of the two guessed.
Senri gave no reply for a moment, still absorbed within the pages of pressed flowers. But then, he quietly closed it, a sigh and a shake of the head confirming that he didn't.
By then, the other pair had wandered over, waiting to continue on. "Come on you two." huffed Husky, "We don't have all day."
The black-haired boy stood up from his spot, looking out at the silhouette of Foggy Vil, the one town in the valley. "But we're so close!" he whined.
"We need all the time we can get to try and find some jobs." Husky reasoned, "We only have enough money left for one night's stay. Then we'll be stuck camping out again."
This, of course, proved to spur Nana on (as she never was fond of camping), and under her lead, the small band of Anima set off again.
Foggy Vil, unlike another town they had visited before, had remained a village since its founding, though a big one it had grown to be. Most of the houses clustered about the main street, and that's where most of the activity was. People and carts went back and forth along the dirt road, happily going about their grown-up business. Some children, smaller than Cooro or Nana, played a game of tag. The valley's namesake morning mist had drawn away, letting the noontime sun beam down upon the town. Soon, the air was delightfully warm.
Overall, it put the foursome in a pleasant mood, especially Cooro, who had been happy already. He skipped about, humming to himself, until Husky made him stop. At this the boy pouted for a moment, but came quickly back to his sunny self. It was something the fish Anima never could quite get. He had seen his companion down before, but in between those times, the kid seemed to be an unending fountain of cheer. And one that needed constant feeding, he was reminded as the brown-eyed boy proceeded to complain about being hungry.
"Notnow, Cooro." he sighed, "We need to look for jobs first!"
"Butwhy?"
At this, the older of the two had had it, and smacked his other over the head with his staff. "I already explained it to you!" he shouted angrily.
Nana had stood to the side during the entire exchange, her hands on her hips. There they go again... she thought. She turned over to Senri, also quietly standing aside. However, instead of his normal distracted look, he seemed very intent on something. "What is it, Senri?" she asked him. Then, without the adolescent even giving any acknowledgment to his friend's question, she heard the answer.
Music. Somewhere, nearby, someone was playing something. It sounded like the strumming of strings, like with a guitar or something of that sort. The person was singing, too, though she couldn't hear the words. She was almost tempted to use her Anima to try and hear it better, but the amount of people about discouraged her. So, instead, she looked about, trying to find where the song was coming from.
"Over there." Nana turned around to see Cooro standing nearby, his tiff with Husky finished, one finger pointing out in front of him. "It's coming from over there."
Sure enough, through the throngs of people milling about, the could make out someone sitting against a building. Though he was far away, she could see he had something in his lap.
Before the bat Anima had any time to react, Cooro was off again, heading towards the musician. Quickly she sprang after him. "Cooro, wait!" she cried. Images of the boy pestering the person flew through her mind. However, once she got there, he had stopped, and was instead quietly standing by.
The musician was female. She had settled herself next to the door of the one inn in the town and was content to play. Nana stopped beside Cooro, cautiously standing by as the young woman played. She was half-aware of Husky and Senri coming in behind her as she listened.
If a brother,
Needs a helping hand,
You give your's.
If a sister,
Needs a shoulder to cry on,
You give your's.
Doesn't matter,
What they did to you,
You help them.
Yet those,
Who did nothing,
Are denied that.
Just because
Of one simple thing
They can't help.
Who are we
To spread teachings
Of kindness
When we
Spread no kindness
To them?
The singer's voice was actually really nice. But then again, Nana hadn't heard many people really sing. Cooro sang a lot, but his simple diddles of "taking a bath, taking a bath..." weren't anything like this. The only thing like it that the could recall was when her mommy sang to her. She remembered her soft, comforting voice helping her sleep at night. It was sort of like that, but this person's voice was stronger, and maybe sadder.
The person stopped singing and the music descended until she ended it with one slow chord. Then, she looked up and jumped.
"O-oh, hi there!" she said, apparently startled. Her hazel eyes were wide around. "Sorry, I didn't see you. I, uh, kind of get caught up in my playing."
"It was really nice music, Miss!" said Cooro cheerfully.
The contagious nature of the boy's smile caught on, and soon the musician's lips also turned up, although she still had a shamefaced look. "That's a surprise..." she said quietly.
"Why?" But not quietly enough.
She looked up at the feathered boy in front of her, hesitation clear in her face. "Well, uh..." She froze up when she discovered four pairs of eyes staring at her, each one intent on hearing what she would say. Her own darted to each face as she frantically tried to come up with some excuse for not telling them. But then, when she came to the tallest of the four, she couldn't pull away. Her gaze locked onto his, and for a moment, everything stopped. All she could see was his one grey eye, looking at her as if he could see right through her.
And then it was gone. She blinked and glanced around. It was if nothing had happened. But then, the words spilled from her mouth before she could catch them and shove them back into the recesses of her mind. "It's about Anima."
Surprise of varying degrees crossed the children's faces. She was mortified to say the least, but she still kept going. "I-I wrote it myself, because I think all of this treating Anima badly is wrong and all that. I-I mean, they're still people, you know? They should be treated the same as any other person. I wanted to sort of spread that message."
"Well, that's not so bad." Cooro again.
"You might not think that, but there's those who do. I've gotten kicked out of town once or twice because of it." The singer looked down at her instrument, a guitar like Nana suspected, running her hands over the wood. It's only adornments were scratches.
"Why would you get kicked out simply for singing it, though?" said the girl, "I didn't know it was about Anima until you explained it to us."
The musician's face turned grave for a moment, even angry. "You must have come in the middle of the song, then. In the first two stanzas, I make it very clear who I'm talking about."
Husky finally had to put in his opinion. "If you made that song up just to talk about Anima, why are you so scared to, now? I doubt if you were so determined to do that, you wouldn't be so easily defeated."
"You'd be surprised." sighed the young woman. For a moment, all was silent between them, for each was lost in their own thoughts.
But then, Senri, who had remained quiet during everything (though that wasn't a surprise to his companions), suddenly stepped forward. Again, he shuffled with his belongings, this time, supplying a coin: five gillah. Without a word, he dropped it in the female's guitar case. Nana had seen it before: people rewarding musicians for their work by putting money in their case. However, the soft leather shell was completely empty, except for a flower– one that looked like those she saw in the field.
At once, the instrumentalist grabbed the coin and stood up, holding it in front of her. Nana realized then that she wasn't very old at all– nearly the same as the Kim-un-kur, judging simply by looks. "I don't take sympathy money." the young woman said, her expression firm.
But Senri didn't yield. He pushed back her hand. "Keep." he said, "Sing nice."
For a moment, the female looked surprised, even awed, and she withdrew her hand. But then, she shook it off, and sat down, unceremoniously tossing the coin back into the case. She took up her guitar again, giving the strings a couple adjustments. Finally, just before the foursome began to wonder if they should move on, she looked at them again, managing a semi-genuine smile. "Come on, sit down! You won't get yelled at or anything. People hang about here a lot."
For a moment, the four exchanged glances, surprised by the sudden change in the young woman, but then they lined up against the wall and settled down.
"So, do you have any requests?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Requests?" echoed Cooro.
"Any songs that you'd like me to play." the musician elaborated, "Though, I think it would be fair that the person who paid have first pick." She glanced over to Senri.
The bear Anima gave her a slightly confused look.
Nana spoke up for him. "I don't think Senri–"
But then, in his same, flat tone, he said, "Blackbird May."
Apparently, the young woman recognized it, because her face lit up instantly. "Gosh, I haven't played that song in... years. I think I might still remember it, though. Could you sing some of it for me? Might help some."
Senri looked distraught at that. "Can't sing."
"I don't believe you." said the singer, playfully defiant, "You can just hum, if you're so self-conscious. I can pick up on the words as I go along."
For a moment, she thought the boy wasn't going to go through with it, but then, she could hear a soft rumble coming from his throat. As she listened harder, she picked up his tune. "You might be a little off, I think, but I got you."
She strummed the strings of her instrument, trying out a few chords. Eventually, she found the ones she wanted, because she then ascended into a set pace, a slightly faster than that of her previous song. For a little while, she just played, bobbing her head with the music. But then she opened her mouth and began to sing.
There was a blackbird with a broken wing,
Though that blackbird would still sing,
Sing more than any bird I passed by,
Even though that bird could not fly.
On springtime branch I saw him perched.
To find his love, forward he lurched.
But then he fell upon his wing,
So only mournful songs did he sing.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Thought I,
When winter had been pushed away,
Blackbird may,
Fly some day,
Blackbird may.
There was a blackbird with a broken wing,
Though that blackbird would still sing.
Sing more than any bird I passed by,
Even though that bird could not fly.
On summer worms he'd always feast,
In mornings when he dread no beast.
But when the night came he'd fear,
The cat's purr and fox's leer.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Thought I,
When summer sun caught me astray,
Blackbird may,
Survive, I pray,
Blackbird may.
There was a blackbird with a broken wing,
Though that blackbird would still sing.
Sing more than any bird I passed by,
Even though that bird could not fly.
When fall came, I was concerned,
For how to fly he hadn't learned.
He must leave me with his friends,
Or in the winter meet his ends.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Thought I,
When in fall's leaves I would lay,
Blackbird may,
Fly some day,
Blackbird may.
There was a blackbird with a broken wing,
Though that blackbird would still sing.
Sing more than any bird I passed by,
Even though that bird could not fly.
When winter came, he was still there,
And I was worried how he'd fare.
I hoped so much his strength would stay,
I prayed that he would be okay.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Thought I,
When in winter's snow I'd play,
Blackbird may,
Survive, I pray,
Blackbird may.
There was a blackbird with a broken wing,
Though that blackbird would still sing.
Sing more than any bird I passed by,
Even though that bird could not fly.
Springtime returned with him alive
Nested by where I would dive
And sang more than any bird I passed by,
Even though he still could not fly.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Thought I,
When spring had chased winter away,
Blackbird may,
Fly some day,
Blackbird may.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Survive I pray.
Blackbird may,
Fly some day,
Even though,
He'd fly away.
Blackbird may,
Blackbird may,
Fly some day.
When the musician ceased to play, everything was quiet for a moment. The young woman could faintly hear the noise of a wagon passing by, the door to the inn opening then closing again, a couple people bartering down the street. However, in the spot she and the other four sat, it was completely silent.
She was the first to break it. "Did I get it right?" she directed her question to Senri.
The boy had a far-off look on his face, but it soon landed, and he gave a nod. The singer heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good."
A growl broke through the brief pause. Many heads turned to Cooro, who grinned and laughed sheepishly. "Haha, sorry!"
Husky hid his face in his hands, sighing heavily. "Fine." he said, before the crow Anima began to ask, "We'll go get something to eat."
"Yay!"
The silver-haired boy shook his head, quickly getting up to run after his companion, who had promptly zoomed off in search of food. Nana nearly left to do the same, but then she turned around to face the musician. "Oh... we never asked your name, did we?" she said.
The older female looked up, again that surprised look crossing her face. It annoyed Nana. It was like she'd never treated nice before or something.
"Nell."
The younger blinked. "Huh?"
The singer smiled a little. "Nell. It's my name."
"Oh! I see." Nana smiled as well, "I'm Nana. The tallest, who gave you money is Senri, the black-haired one is Cooro, and then Husky."
Nell nodded, looking rather cheerful compared to before, but at the same time, somewhat anxious. The watched as she fidgeted, obviously trying to find a way to say something.
"Uh, well, do you mind if I join you?" she asked when she finally spat it out, "I've been wanting to get something to eat for a while, but I haven't had any money to get anything until just now." she looked over Nana's shoulder, "Thanks again for that."
The bat Anima glanced behind her to see Senri, who had apparently stayed behind while Husky and Cooro dashed off. Another look down the street revealed that they were still nearby, apparently waiting for their friends to join them.
The young pondered for a moment. She herself had never been fond of strangers, and what would Cooro and Husky think? Well, Cooro probably wouldn't mind either way, and Husky would probably protest simply because she was a . As she turned her eyes up at Senri, he returned the look, but gave no hint of an opinion. It was up to her, then.
Nell was nice, she thought, though she had learned many times before that people were often not as they appeared. She was still surprised that the musician had talked so much about her song and what she thought, even though it was obviously a hard subject. Though, she could remember an odd look coming across her face before she started...
"Alright." she said, trying to erase any unease from her face. She might as well. It wasn't as if she was traveling with them or anything. It was simply getting some food down the street.
Nell looked like Foggy Valley, right when all the mist had been drawn away and the sun poured in, brightening every crevice until the entire vale seemed golden. "Alright." she said, and though her mouth spoke the same word as Nana, she seemed to be saying something completely different.