Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. It belongs to J.R.R.
Tolkien
Author's Note:
Since this chapter came out too quickly, it's actually rather short. But again, it is better than nothing. Working on File Cabinet sequel and title. Have a nice day!
~naheka
Wind and Fire
Chapter 6
String, Coin, and Fire
When Narcissus stood out on the porch next to Oni, neither of them said anything. He was sitting on the steps, his long fingers folded together as his figure hunched over into a tired crouch. Narcissus leaned her body against the wooden walls that made up the arch of the Inn entrance. The night was dark, but the moon, strangely almost as large as the harvest moon, shed light on the snow, illuminating every falling flake with a pale, gentle light. The town was blue and cold, with empty shops and lightless windows, glazed with frost from the week's snow. She wanted to go back inside to get a coat, but that would mean going back to face the throng of women who were probably turning the subject back to the recent rumors. Narcissus enfolded her arms tighter around herself. Oni sat motionless below her, staring out into the night with no reaction to the cold whatsoever. Although, unlike the waitress, he was wearing a cloak around his shoulders.
Then, Oni reached into his pocket. His movement quickly caught Narcissus' attention. He pulled out a white string with a large knot at each end. In the middle there was a very thin silver coin with a small hole cut through the middle. The waitress was heavily intrigued, awfully curious as to know what exactly he was going to do with this strange contraption. The coin wasn't very big, its face capable of being covered with his thumb, but he took both knots in opposite hands, raising the string just above his knees. Then he shook the string and pulled it gently. The centered coin spun in its place and Oni pulled again. The string vibrated and the coin twirled with the same consistency as he pulled the string repeatedly.
It seemed that poor Oni was so bored that he was trying to entertain himself with a childlike toy that he made himself. Narcissus wanted to laugh. How simple, yet entertaining it seemed. The very idea of the spinning coin was fascinating to her, and she began to wonder how he had ever learned that little trick.
After what felt like ten minutes of watching the man pull the string, her curiosity could not be contained. "May I see that?" she asked quietly, smiling at her own nerve to speak to him after such a long stall. She moved from her leaning position to stand behind him when he scooted over to the left to make room for her to sit. She sat down and he handed her the coin on the string. Narcissus gave the string a small shake and pulled it, but the coin stopped spinning once she was too late to pull the string again. She tried again but pulled too hard. On the third time, she finally caught the rhythm and was able to keep the coin twirling for a few minutes. "That's interesting," she said, handing the toy back to its owner. "How did you learn about it?"
Oni did not answer immediately. At first he stared at the object clutched gently in her hand, then glanced up at her face. He took the string and started pulling at it himself. "My mother taught it to me when I was small," he answered with such softness, that the falling snow seemed loud in comparison. He did not add anything else to his reply.
"It is very nice," said Narcissus. She held herself tighter and shivered for a moment. She glanced at Oni, who had stopped playing with the string. His eyes carried a mellow expression, just as they usually did, but there was an absence of the chronic scowling. Narcissus recognized the glint lingering around his dark iris. It was a somber, pensive look that was hard to achieve as an adult. It was a hint of sadness that only a child could express. It was depression, suppressed with a great amount of latency. Yet to one who knew unhappiness as well as Narcissus, he couldn't hide it. "My parents are dead, too," she said.
"Mother is dead," replied Oni. "Father is evil."
Suddenly he stood up from his seat and took a step back to the entrance door. But before he turned the handle, he said, "You're smart, Narcissus. You can think like an understanding human." The waitress' back straightened at this comment. She turned her head to look up at him and grinned, but could not say anything. "I'll assume that you'll be out here for a longer while." As she nodded, she turned her head back to look down at the moonlit snow. Shortly afterward, there was a warm sensation coming over her figure. Oni had draped his heavy cloak around her shoulders after realizing that she was indeed shivering. By the time she had rendered this, he had swiftly slipped back into the Inn.
Narcissus sighed. So perhaps there was kindness behind that dark frame of his. She examined the cloak for a few moments, and in one of the pockets she found the string toy dangling out. Narcissus drew the cloak closer around herself, then took out the string again. The cloak collar was high and was still warm from him. Thus, that was the night that she learned his scent.
---
The fire was warm, Oni concluded inwardly. It was three o' clock in the morning, and all of the employees had gone home to their beds. All except this particular worker. The grate was alive with crackling flames, but their existence was not meant to warm their kindlier, nor to provide a light. Oni squatted in front of the mantelpiece, staring intently into the fire. Reaching forth, he took an iron poker, and with it he began to draw in the sand below the firewood. He wrote the ancient designs of a strange craft, foreign to Middle-earth itself.
There was a symbol for earth, and a symbol for water, another for sound, and another for thought. Oni remained in his position, staring into the firelight. Then he picked up the poker again and drew two last symbols, the one for wind and the one for fire.
In a near instant, the fire went ablaze and shot up to reach past the grate and into the chimney shoot. The symbol-drawer stood back and crossed his arms, glaring even more intently into the flames. "Tenna sacha ke Tata," he said quietly, "kunshu donda zhulna!"
For a while, the fire continued to go at its unnatural power. Then a voice came booming out, speaking a different language. Yet if this language were the Common Tongue, which it was not, the conversation that followed would sound like this:
"My idiot son has finally called," roared the fire.
"You said you were to call for me," replied Oni impatiently. "I have been waiting for nearly six months for you to say something to me!"
"Waiting? Is that all you have been doing? You're talking to an old man. You expect him to do all the work for you?"
"You were supposed to give me information! Instructions!"
"So... you've been sitting on your arse doing nothing for six months?"
"I've been scouting territories. I have to have covered at least a hundred miles--"
"Useless!" interrupted the voice. "Your brothers and sisters could have covered a thousand--"
"By foot, father!"
"You are useless. I should just leave you in that universe for being so stupid."
Oni just stood in front of the fireplace, his jaw hanging in outrage and bewilderment. He had nearly killed himself at least a dozen times, and been disrespected over a million. Yet here he was, being harassed by his own kin, his own father. The fire lowered. "I have instructions for you, you ungrateful... thing," it murmured. "Prove your skill to me. Cut the hair of a maiden in broad daylight. But keep your operation eluded." Oni groaned. What a stupid and pointless mission. No, what a stupid and pointless "mission". "If the hair is good then we can spin it into gold." Ah. More money, he thought. That's the ticket.
"Those are your instructions. Good bye."
Then there was a cloud of black smoke, and the fire went out entirely. Silence.
"What's all the noise about now?" came a panicked voice from the kitchen doors. Thomas came in again, white as a sheet except for the few dark spots that made up his freckles. "I heard some really strange noises coming from right here!" He walked across the wooden floor, long enough to stand next to Oni. "What have you been doing?"
Oni blinked. In reply to the young one's question, he took a bowl of leftover soup that just happened to be lying on the counter.
"Would you like some chicken broth?"
This string toy was found on sugar cane plantations of the early and mid 1900's. It's very simple to make with a section of string and a bottle cap. I don't quite remember how to make it, but once it works, two people can battle against each other and compete to cut each other's strings with the edge of the bottle cap. It's fun. ^_^
Author's Note:
Since this chapter came out too quickly, it's actually rather short. But again, it is better than nothing. Working on File Cabinet sequel and title. Have a nice day!
~naheka
Wind and Fire
Chapter 6
String, Coin, and Fire
When Narcissus stood out on the porch next to Oni, neither of them said anything. He was sitting on the steps, his long fingers folded together as his figure hunched over into a tired crouch. Narcissus leaned her body against the wooden walls that made up the arch of the Inn entrance. The night was dark, but the moon, strangely almost as large as the harvest moon, shed light on the snow, illuminating every falling flake with a pale, gentle light. The town was blue and cold, with empty shops and lightless windows, glazed with frost from the week's snow. She wanted to go back inside to get a coat, but that would mean going back to face the throng of women who were probably turning the subject back to the recent rumors. Narcissus enfolded her arms tighter around herself. Oni sat motionless below her, staring out into the night with no reaction to the cold whatsoever. Although, unlike the waitress, he was wearing a cloak around his shoulders.
Then, Oni reached into his pocket. His movement quickly caught Narcissus' attention. He pulled out a white string with a large knot at each end. In the middle there was a very thin silver coin with a small hole cut through the middle. The waitress was heavily intrigued, awfully curious as to know what exactly he was going to do with this strange contraption. The coin wasn't very big, its face capable of being covered with his thumb, but he took both knots in opposite hands, raising the string just above his knees. Then he shook the string and pulled it gently. The centered coin spun in its place and Oni pulled again. The string vibrated and the coin twirled with the same consistency as he pulled the string repeatedly.
It seemed that poor Oni was so bored that he was trying to entertain himself with a childlike toy that he made himself. Narcissus wanted to laugh. How simple, yet entertaining it seemed. The very idea of the spinning coin was fascinating to her, and she began to wonder how he had ever learned that little trick.
After what felt like ten minutes of watching the man pull the string, her curiosity could not be contained. "May I see that?" she asked quietly, smiling at her own nerve to speak to him after such a long stall. She moved from her leaning position to stand behind him when he scooted over to the left to make room for her to sit. She sat down and he handed her the coin on the string. Narcissus gave the string a small shake and pulled it, but the coin stopped spinning once she was too late to pull the string again. She tried again but pulled too hard. On the third time, she finally caught the rhythm and was able to keep the coin twirling for a few minutes. "That's interesting," she said, handing the toy back to its owner. "How did you learn about it?"
Oni did not answer immediately. At first he stared at the object clutched gently in her hand, then glanced up at her face. He took the string and started pulling at it himself. "My mother taught it to me when I was small," he answered with such softness, that the falling snow seemed loud in comparison. He did not add anything else to his reply.
"It is very nice," said Narcissus. She held herself tighter and shivered for a moment. She glanced at Oni, who had stopped playing with the string. His eyes carried a mellow expression, just as they usually did, but there was an absence of the chronic scowling. Narcissus recognized the glint lingering around his dark iris. It was a somber, pensive look that was hard to achieve as an adult. It was a hint of sadness that only a child could express. It was depression, suppressed with a great amount of latency. Yet to one who knew unhappiness as well as Narcissus, he couldn't hide it. "My parents are dead, too," she said.
"Mother is dead," replied Oni. "Father is evil."
Suddenly he stood up from his seat and took a step back to the entrance door. But before he turned the handle, he said, "You're smart, Narcissus. You can think like an understanding human." The waitress' back straightened at this comment. She turned her head to look up at him and grinned, but could not say anything. "I'll assume that you'll be out here for a longer while." As she nodded, she turned her head back to look down at the moonlit snow. Shortly afterward, there was a warm sensation coming over her figure. Oni had draped his heavy cloak around her shoulders after realizing that she was indeed shivering. By the time she had rendered this, he had swiftly slipped back into the Inn.
Narcissus sighed. So perhaps there was kindness behind that dark frame of his. She examined the cloak for a few moments, and in one of the pockets she found the string toy dangling out. Narcissus drew the cloak closer around herself, then took out the string again. The cloak collar was high and was still warm from him. Thus, that was the night that she learned his scent.
---
The fire was warm, Oni concluded inwardly. It was three o' clock in the morning, and all of the employees had gone home to their beds. All except this particular worker. The grate was alive with crackling flames, but their existence was not meant to warm their kindlier, nor to provide a light. Oni squatted in front of the mantelpiece, staring intently into the fire. Reaching forth, he took an iron poker, and with it he began to draw in the sand below the firewood. He wrote the ancient designs of a strange craft, foreign to Middle-earth itself.
There was a symbol for earth, and a symbol for water, another for sound, and another for thought. Oni remained in his position, staring into the firelight. Then he picked up the poker again and drew two last symbols, the one for wind and the one for fire.
In a near instant, the fire went ablaze and shot up to reach past the grate and into the chimney shoot. The symbol-drawer stood back and crossed his arms, glaring even more intently into the flames. "Tenna sacha ke Tata," he said quietly, "kunshu donda zhulna!"
For a while, the fire continued to go at its unnatural power. Then a voice came booming out, speaking a different language. Yet if this language were the Common Tongue, which it was not, the conversation that followed would sound like this:
"My idiot son has finally called," roared the fire.
"You said you were to call for me," replied Oni impatiently. "I have been waiting for nearly six months for you to say something to me!"
"Waiting? Is that all you have been doing? You're talking to an old man. You expect him to do all the work for you?"
"You were supposed to give me information! Instructions!"
"So... you've been sitting on your arse doing nothing for six months?"
"I've been scouting territories. I have to have covered at least a hundred miles--"
"Useless!" interrupted the voice. "Your brothers and sisters could have covered a thousand--"
"By foot, father!"
"You are useless. I should just leave you in that universe for being so stupid."
Oni just stood in front of the fireplace, his jaw hanging in outrage and bewilderment. He had nearly killed himself at least a dozen times, and been disrespected over a million. Yet here he was, being harassed by his own kin, his own father. The fire lowered. "I have instructions for you, you ungrateful... thing," it murmured. "Prove your skill to me. Cut the hair of a maiden in broad daylight. But keep your operation eluded." Oni groaned. What a stupid and pointless mission. No, what a stupid and pointless "mission". "If the hair is good then we can spin it into gold." Ah. More money, he thought. That's the ticket.
"Those are your instructions. Good bye."
Then there was a cloud of black smoke, and the fire went out entirely. Silence.
"What's all the noise about now?" came a panicked voice from the kitchen doors. Thomas came in again, white as a sheet except for the few dark spots that made up his freckles. "I heard some really strange noises coming from right here!" He walked across the wooden floor, long enough to stand next to Oni. "What have you been doing?"
Oni blinked. In reply to the young one's question, he took a bowl of leftover soup that just happened to be lying on the counter.
"Would you like some chicken broth?"
This string toy was found on sugar cane plantations of the early and mid 1900's. It's very simple to make with a section of string and a bottle cap. I don't quite remember how to make it, but once it works, two people can battle against each other and compete to cut each other's strings with the edge of the bottle cap. It's fun. ^_^