The Newcomer
Chapter 2
Falin swung his sword in giant graceful arcs as he practiced his swordplay in the attic.
His english had improved dramatically. Leo was a great teacher, and he sometimes conversed with the sisters often, and with Morlfan making him revise his english daily, his command of both his own language and the one he'd just been introduced to.
He suddenly broke into a fast and furious attack on an invisible enemy, blocking, attacking and spinning and dodging the invisible blade. His slim tall and muscular body leapt through the air like a falcon in flight; graceful, swift and deadly.
He finally slowed to a halt, brought his legs together and put the flat of his blade to his nose. His concentration was broken by a whispered 'wow' from the door. Irritated, he opened a solitary eye and looked towards where the sound came from. He saw Phoebe, Piper and Prue standing there. He closed his eye again. 'Let's give them a show to enjoy,' he thought, as he slowly bent his knees and moonsaulted backwards, coming to face the wall that was behind him. He slashed seemingly wildly, but halted and reversed the cut. He then proceeded faster and faster until the sisters at the door could no longer see him. But he was still there. It was a type of magic from his world, requiring great patience and luck to learn, as some things would spark the flame, and others would douse a weak flame.
He was behind them. And they still wondered where he'd gone. He walked up to the door and shouted at them, 'STILL WONDERING WHERE I AM?' They jumped literally feet into the air.
'Christ! Where'd you come from?' Piper shouted. Falin just tapped his nose.
'No, seriously, what happened?' asked Prue anxiously.
'It's my type of magic,' Falin said as he shrugged.
'What do you mean?'
'You have magic with…rituals…in it. My magic is just simple tricks with light and warmth.'
'Anyway…' Phoebe said, 'we want to get you some clothes so you can go out into the real world, instead of just staying here all day.'
Falin smiled at that. 'Great, when can we go?'
'Well, now, if you want.'
'Let me just get some food, and we can go.'
After Falin had been shown what breakfast is (a bowl of cereal as oppose to the flowers in the garden or the leftover chicken drumstick), they set out to the metro.
First stop: The Gap.
Clothes shops were new things to Falin. In his reality there were only tailors.
'How do they know the different sizes for each person who comes in to buy something?' he asked Phoebe.
'They don't,' she replied. She explained to him about sizes and factories and everything else.
Falin raised an eyebrow. 'This really is a strange place.'
'Not strange,' he reminded himself. 'Just different.'
After buying lots of clothes for Falin, he walked out and saw across the road a scruffy-looking middle-aged man pushing his belongings along in a trolley. Falin stared at him.
'What're you looking at Falin?' Prue asked him. He pointed at the tramp.
'He doesn't have enough money to feed himself and clothe himself like we do. It just reminds me how lucky we are,' she said.
'Could I borrow one of those bills you paid the woman in the shop with?' he asked her.
Prue handed a 20-dollar note to Falin and he wrapped his hand around it. He gave it back to Prue, and ran across the street to him.
'Hey mate,' said the tramp. 'Could you spare us some money?'
Falin pushed something into his hand. 'Don't waste it,' Falin said before rushing back across the street to the sisters.
They frowned in puzzlement at him as he began to walk calmly away.
'Coming?' he said to them. As they walked away the tramp across the road shouted to them, 'thank you, thank you very much. God bless you!'
'What exactly did you give him,' Prue asked Falin.
'Oh, just some money.'
'How much money, exactly?'
'20 of those bills you gave me,' he replied non-chalantly.
'What!' Prue began, but Falin just said 'where to next?' and walked on as if she'd never said a word.
* * * * * *
Falin sat on a sofa, watching the television with great interest. He'd learnt quite a bit about the world from the news. So far he'd learnt about different animals unique to this reality, as well as certain aspects about the Middle East conflict. He was watching a documentary on tigers when Phoebe walked over and sat next to him.
'Watcha watching?' she asked him.
'A television show on Panthera tigris.'
'The tiger, you mean?'
'Yes, or that. Whichever you prefer,' Falin said sadly as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Phoebe looked worried. 'What's wrong,' she asked him.
'That humans can kill these creatures of beauty without remorse, and they know that if they don't stop, they will make them extinct.'
'I don't know…people do it for money, I guess. My knowledge about them isn't as vast as many others'.' She reached for the remote and switched off the TV.
'Strange people, these are. Not different, just strange,' he thought.
'Do you have music where you come from?' Phoebe asked.
'Music?'
'Stuff you listen to. For fun,' Phoebe said, trying to think of a definition for music.
'I…I don't think so,' said Falin. Phoebe stood up and walked to the CD player, putting on some music.
Falin jolted upright. 'What's that?!' he said anxiously.
Phoebe giggled at his fear. 'It's music, silly.'
'Interesting…it sounds like, like, different sounds with mixed pitches, played together to create different sounds in themselves,' Falin said.
'Now that's a definition,' Phoebe said.
'This is very pleasant.'
'Can you dance?'
'Even if I knew what…dancing…is, I doubt I could.'
'Then I'll teach you,' Phoebe said as she took Falin by the hand and put his hands into position around her.
'Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot,' she chanted and Falin followed.
Falin was a fast learner, and before long, he had the gist.
'Tonight, we're going to a club, where everyone dances and socializes and so on,' Phoebe told him.
'If I like this dancing as much with someone else as I do with you, I'll be very happy.'
Phoebe laughed at that.