"Let the rain wash away all
the pain of yesterday"
~Diddy, Coming Home
"Just a little more gold, I think… just… a touch…"
I carefully swiped my smallest brush through the dark yellow paint and promptly mixed it with the white I also had, creating a sort of dark ivory with the brown I had already blended in. Then I (more or less) tapped the end of the brush against the lighter eggshell color on the canvas, and stood back, nodding with satisfaction.
"There we go," I said dramatically, sticking the paintbrush behind my ear. I knew that I would most likely pay for it later when I had to wash the paint out of my hair, but at the moment, I could really care less. My painting was finished. I had all sorts of blue paint on my left hand and on my cheek, but it was done.
"I was right," I murmured with a smile, inspecting the full canvas. "That blue against the stone does make a really pretty painting." No fewer than two hours after returning from the patrol with the Cap—Rolith—and the other knights had I enlisted Sir Vivor's and Sir Fanturf's help to stretch a few squares of the heavy white cloth Maya and I had found across a couple of birch frames from fallen branches we had discovered right outside the walls of the Keep. The cloth had to be stretched tight, taut to the point where if I tapped the wooden end of a paintbrush, the wood would bounce right back at the hand. From there, all I had to do was mix the colors on my palette that I would need. Then off with the armor, up went the canvas, and I started to paint. I had been at the Keep a week now, and it was my day off. Technically, since I wasn't officially employed by Oaklore Keep, I could help out at my leisure. But I just wasn't that mean, so I helped when I could and pulled my own weight before giving myself anywhere from one to two days off per week.
After placing my palate on the table, I stretched my arms above my head as high as I could reach, feeling nothing but pleasure as my back popped in two different places while my left shoulder slid back into place with a startling snap. I fell backwards onto my bed, arms outstretched, eyes closed in bliss.
"Success," I giggled, resting my hands behind my head. I hadn't been sitting there for two minutes before I was up again, taking off the scrap of a smock I'd decided on using. Before leaving my room, though, I bent backwards, not stopping until my palms touched the floor behind me. My ribs didn't hurt at all, so I decided that they were fully healed.
"That backbend feels way, way too good," I groaned softly, then wondered if I had enough room behind me to flip my legs back over my torso. "Only one way to find out," I mumbled, almost swinging my hips up and above my head. They hovered there for a moment (and only a moment; my balance wasn't as great as my flexibility) before tipping the other way, landing solidly on the thick wooden floor so that I was, more or less, placing my palms on the floor in front of my feet. I straightened up, my hair a mess around my face, and pretty much bounded out into the hallway.
When I wasn't in my armor, I was in brown leather breeches that were usually reserved for men and a thick and heavy gray shirt with a shallow v-neck that could stand up to all sorts of activities, from sliding down a muddy hill on a rainy day on your belly (which I actually had done before) to swimming across a Hydra-infested river (which I had no intents of doing). It wasn't overly flattering, but that didn't matter overmuch; it was comfortable, it would hold up, it covered me, and that was what counted.
I wasn't afraid to go running around the Keep barefoot. It was usually kept pretty clean, and all that I needed to worry about was getting stepped on by either a horse or a knight. I just about pranced out into the fresh air, only to get slapped in the face by an abnormally large raindrop. I then snorted in a very unladylike way, trying to get the scattered droplets of water out of my nose.
"Get that catapult dismantled and indoors!" Rolith bellowed at Sir Vivor and some other knight over by the med center. "If the rain gets into the wood, you can just spend the next two weeks building another!" I rubbed my ear, glaring balefully at him.
"Thanks. We'll see if I can hear anything tomorrow."
Rolith offered a quick smile before his attention was captured by something else. "You're welcome." I glanced up at the sky, and groaned before I could stop myself.
"Great. Rain. Perfect."
"I know it rusts the armor, but really, don't look so excited."
"I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," I groused, running my right hand through the blonde hair that I had left down today. Wavy and capturing light rather than reflecting it, my hair normally stretched to almost the small of my back—but only if I tilted my head the right way. I had honestly always admired (and even grown jealous of) those girls who had so few worries that they could afford to grow their hair out to their butts, because at least they could stand to be vain about one part of themselves. I was stuck with slate-gray eyes and honey-colored hair that seemed to just stay the one length, no matter how much time had passed.
"Why? Made of sugar?" Rolith sniggered, ushering me towards the doorway of the weapons shop as the drizzle became something a little heavier.
"Not hardly, although by the way you're acting, I would almost think you might be a cat," I retorted, grinning brightly. Rain could never keep me down for long. I hurried inside the armory as lightning cracked across the sky right then, and the rain became decidedly more vicious. The Captain scurried in after me before shutting the door behind him. No sooner had he done this than he promptly looked out the window. Sometimes men's logic just amazes me. Note the sarcasm.
"Ooh, shiny."
The words were out of my mouth before I could even think about them, and I wandered over to the rack of weapons that had caught my eye. One of them was a beautiful sword that gleamed brightly, and had a series of small jewels forged into the blade at the center, but very close to the hilt. "Impractical, but eye-catching," I whispered to myself. Somehow, just sitting there, the blade seemed much, much wider and thicker at the tip than—
"Ah," I murmured as I removed it. "It is." Truth was, the sword was seriously overbalanced. How someone would adjust to using that kind of weapon was just a little bit beyond me.
"You talk to yourself often?"
Rolith's voice made me jump. I had been so absorbed in looking through the sword racks that—
"I completely forgot you were there," I said truthfully, then my eyes widened as I realized that last bit had been said out loud. I rubbed my temples ruefully as Rolith raised both eyebrows, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, waiting on an explanation. Though, judging by the look on his face, it would have to be a good one. A very good one.
"I… talk to myself a lot," I started, "And I can't really help it. A lot of my thoughts come out of my mouth, like there's a chute or a slide between them, and whatever I think just flies out before I can stop it. Huh. You know, that's probably why I've grown up being so nice to everyone and seeing the positive side, because when I see the truth I can't stop myself from saying it. That's odd. But probably spot on," I rambled, using my left hand to brush my hair out of my eyes again. "Lore, that gets annoying. Another thing is that—"
A metal hand clapped over my mouth suddenly, and I froze with my left hand still in the air. I hadn't even gotten around to putting it down. Rolith looked like he was trying not to laugh—something he was doing a very good job at. I just blinked up at him, unintentionally trying to look as innocent as was humanly possible. Outside, rain tapped impatiently on the window panes, and we heard another crack of thunder.
"You're wiping paint on your face," he finally said, the grin breaking its way through. "You do know that?" Shoving Rolith's hand away from my face, I lifted my left hand back up. Yup, the paint was all smeared.
"Fantabasticulous," I said cheerfully. "Yes, I just made up a word, yes, it is copyrighted to me, and no, you may not use it."
"I'm not sure I could repeat that… even if I wanted to."
"What?!" I demanded. "You don't want to?"
"Calliope, have you ever heard of a tongue twister?"
"Of course. The sixth Sheik's sixth sheep is sick," I told him promptly, then smirked in triumph as he fumbled with the phrase. I had actually spent months trying to get that right, and I was honestly worried I would screw it up this time.
"The sick's six Shiek—wait, what? Say that again?"
"The sixth. Shiek's. Sixth sheep. Is sick," I pronounced each word slowly, and Rolith just shook his head helplessly.
"Pick an easier one."
"Well, no better way to pass the time while it's raining," I chirped before spouting off another one. "Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat. Three times fast. Go."
"Toy boat, toy boit, toy—Shit," he muttered, rubbing his chin in aggravation. "Toy boit—Damn." He eyed me suspiciously, and I just grinned. "How long have you spent on these?" In response, I shrugged, my smile never dimming. "Change of subject. Why are you dressed like that? Why are you purposely rubbing paint on your cheek? And why do you have paint in your hair?"
"I was painting," I told Rolith obviously, as though it explained why the world turned.
"That… doesn't answer my second question."
"Oh. I like seeing color under my eyes," I told him, beaming. Lightning from outside cast everything in white light for a second. "You know how if you look down really hard, you can actually see your cheeks? Well, I like seeing the rainbow."
Rolith just shook his head at me. "You are a piece of work."
"I know," I slipped in smoothly before picking the jeweled sword back up. I tested the balance again in distaste. "Question for you… why would someone forge a sword that would more than likely handicap the user? And to make matters worse, why would they place it in an armory?" Rolith sat down on the bench by the door, and shrugged with one shoulder. That little wing on the one shoulder guard still cracked me up, and I had told him as much during our second outing.
"It's pretty," I admitted, raising the sword so I could look down the length of the blade. "But it's essentially useless. The balance just isn't salvageable." Rolith's eyes narrowed at it, and I held it out to him, hilt-first. "See?"
"I don't need to," he said dryly. "It's obvious by the way you handle it."
"By the way I handle it?"
He shrugged again. "The way you swing your sword… it's just overreaching a little. The way you handle that sword, if you tried to use it in the middle of a battle, because you overreach, even a sword that's slightly overbalanced would send you toppling." I glared at him, replacing the sword on the rack. Heavy rain continued to drum against the window.
"You're too observant for your own good, you know that?" I grumbled, blowing a paint-covered piece of hair out of my face. The paint was dry now, and it would be almost impossible to get out.
"I have a question for you."
"Go ahead…"
"What were you painting that you got paint all over yourself?"
"Not all over myself," I corrected hotly, allowing myself a small grin. "Only on my head and hands." Rolith waved it off.
"But what were you painting?" he asked again, seeming genuinely curious. I hesitated. People were sometimes interested to see what I painted, but as soon as they saw them, they weren't ever mentioned again. As a result, I took to just not showing them to people. It wasn't that I wanted recognition for them—it was just a hobby, something I was actually very good at. But as time passed, I became more and more reluctant to reveal my works. Same rule applied here.
"It… it was just something I saw a few days ago," I answered lamely. "It's nothing big."
"Oh really? Is that why you've got paint in your hair?"
"Maybe," I replied a little defensively. I love my paintings, I really do. But too many people had all but thought them useless, and I didn't know about what Rolith might think. To my great relief, though, he stopped grilling me with questions, and simply looked amused at my reluctance.
"So tell me, Calliope, what did you think of the mare that you rode last week?" he finally asked, a sparkle in his eyes. I tilted my head a little bit, curious.
"I absolutely loved her, she's a jewel," I responded, brushing my bangs out of my eyes again and wiggling up onto the main counter in the armory before swinging my legs back and forth. "I'm actually surprised someone hasn't bought her yet. If I had the gold, I would," I admitted, looking down at my toes. I had difficulty saving up gold over an extended period of time, if only because too many shiny things caught my eye at once. I barely had 50 gold right then as it was. "That reminds me, what's her name?"
"She doesn't have one. She was brought over to Oaklore Keep with the traders last winter, and Sir Donic decided that she would make a good addition to the stables."
"He certainly knows what to look for in a horse, then." Rolith made a noise of agreement, then continued.
"While you're staying at the Keep, would you like her to be your assigned horse?" he suddenly asked, raising both eyebrows. When I failed to form an answer at all, Rolith went on like he was walking on a minefield. "Each knight has an assigned horse that they ride at any point when venturing outside of the Keep, and among others, that mare is unassigned. You really seemed to like her when we were on the bandit hunt, and—"
"YES!" I squealed abruptly, leaning back far enough that I was in danger of falling off the wooden counter. My arms were outstretched over my head, and I was excited enough that I literally did fall off the back of the counter when an extremely loud crash of thunder startled me enough that I jumped. And if it wasn't obvious, jumping in shock while a little bit off-balance on the edge of something can, in fact, cause you to fall. And when you fall, if there just so happens to be a stool or a chair behind the counter, you have to find some way of not breaking your neck when the upper part of your back hits the floor. I got the breath knocked out of me, and lay there gasping for a few moments.
That was when I heard the stifled laughter coming from nearer the door.
Scrambling in a very undignified way to set my chin on the counter, I glared over the wooden surface at Rolith, who was doing his best not to laugh. I said nothing, just continuing to glare daggers at the Captain, who promptly started laughing even louder. I had to fight to keep the smile off of my own face, but then I was giggling too. Laughter was contagious, and besides, I couldn't help it. I had always bounced back from an embarrassing situation fairly quickly, and right now was no exception. I slipped back below the level of the counter, and I couldn't get a full sentence out of Rolith for a good eight minutes or so—though, to his credit, he was trying.
Nature, it seemed, was also catching the laughter radiating from the room, and when I next glanced out the window, I saw that the storm was letting up into just a playful sort of rain that pitter-pattered against the windows. It still wasn't light, by any means, but it wasn't the complete downpour that it had been only a few minutes previously.
"The storm's fading," I pointed out, grinning. "So what's on the schedule for tomorrow, Captain?"
"Patrol going from early in the morning until around noon, then there's another one going out about an hour after. You tagging along?"
"Depends. Who's going on the first one?"
"Sir Prize, Sir Anade, and myself," Rolith answered amiably. "Do you want to come along?"
"Considering I've come on all of the patrols since the start of the week, I would think the answer's obvious."
"Not to mention, you make things chaotic."
I beamed. "A compliment from the Captain!" I gasped dramatically. "However can I repay it?"
Rolith rolled his eyes at my antics, though he smiled as he usually did. "By coming on patrol tomorrow," he answered, a grin still tugging at his lips. "So are you game?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" I asked sweetly and condescendingly. I batted my eyes, looking as falsely innocent as I could at one time. He shook his head at me, and just to put him out of his misery, I broke my awful act and laughed, "Yes, yes. I'd love to come. It's always fun going for a ride in the woods."
"It's not meant to be fun, though," he warned me.
"Yeah, yeah. But the day I lose my ability to have fun in strange situations is the day you start preparing for the apocalypse."
"You are… something else."
I grinned unrepentantly. "I regret nothing!" I squealed, racing out of the door to the armory into the precipitation that had lightened into a faint drizzle. But the point was, it was still wet enough outside that Rolith couldn't follow me without risking rust on his armor. That didn't stop him from standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly irked that he had to stay inside.
"Life's not about staying dry!" I called to him over the steady, light pitter-patter of the scattered drops. I spun around in a circle, tipping my face up to the sky. "It's about learning how to dance in the rain!" My mother had told me this one time when I was younger, and I had promptly gone out to run around during a thunderstorm. I wound up with a bad cold for the next four days, but she hadn't reprimanded me, and had made sure I got better with a somewhat contented air.
Even as I stood there, looking up at the sky, the drops fell merrily onto my face, neck, and shoulders. It was only when I saw a slight blue drop running off of my nose that I realized the paint on my cheeks was getting washed off, and I giggled, in high spirits. I turned my head to Rolith, who was still standing in the doorway, and gave him a blinding grin.
"You're getting soaked," he pointed out with a wry smile.
"I know!" I piped up, pushing my now-wet paint-stained bangs out of my face again. "But it's just water—it will dry!" The Captain shook his head, but it was good-natured, and it spoke volumes about how I had, yet again, added an element of humor to his day. I was always doing that, and he didn't seem to mind as long as I didn't goof off while it really mattered. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it, or at least looked forward to it.
"We're setting out tomorrow morning, a little after dawn," Rolith chuckled, a smile tugging at his lips. "I trust you'll be on time?" I stared at him quite seriously for a long minute.
"I'm juvenile. I'm creative. I have a hard time paying attention and I love to play around. I'm a little bit naïve. I'm gullible. I act like a six year old sometimes on purpose. I love to pull pranks on people even though I am really bad at them. I love horses, and I have selective hearing when I don't want to listen to someone. But when have I ever been late?"
"Good point," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But you've only been here a week, so the last bit remains to be seen."
"… Touché."
Hey, everyone! :) I hope that everyone's month went well. ^^ This chapter was supposed to be a little bit about how Calliope speaks, acts, and just works and functions in general- in other words, giving everyone an idea of her personality. :3 Also, it's setting up the next update. xD And I wanted to give that gray mare to Calliope, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity, yanno?
Reviews:
Arieta41: Yup! :D If sparks haven't flown yet, just wait... juuuust wait. B) It might be next chapter- it might be in the last chapter. I'll never tell. BWAHAHAHA!
MusicalPoetess: Light romance is (sometimes) the best kind! :D Thank you! I'm just glad you're betaing for me! *glomp* DANKE.
And PRUSSIA approves? *O* I feel special!
Skythorn: Here's your dialogue- a lot of it. If this doesn't give you an idea about their interactions, I'm not sure what will. x3 Thank you so much!
And don't you worry, Artix and Magiya are definitely gonna make a guest appearance. :) I've actually already written that part (the once a month chapters were a good idea), and have time to touch it up and make it realistic. ^^
If you've got any questions, feel free to PM me or leave a review, I'll be happy to answer them (unless they involve story spoilers)!
Thanks to my sister-friend MusicofPoetry12 for looking over the chapter again! :D You rock, mah ladeh! *tacklehug* Outside of two of my RL friends, you're the best friend I have. :3
Another pair of tongue twisters if you want to try them are "red leather yellow leather" and "unique New York." :) Juliet has done her research!
Thanks if you've read this far, thanks again! ^^ I am loving how this is going so far, and I love how Rolith and Calliope's personalities are becoming clear!
Juliet, over and out!