[Amber]

[petiteaubergine]

[The amber glows upon the face of a frustrated young man. It's turned a few degrees, then a hand slips up and messes with with tangled strands of hair. His face shifts from side to side, eyes following the outline of his face. He's fascinated with the odd little mirror. Comfortable with the outcome of his quick-fix effort, he looks up towards the hole in the ceiling.]

Now, I will surely get up there this time!

[Alla spreads his midnight-blue wings and wobbles into the air. The room around him tilts, then shrinks as he ascends. The scrunched-up lines in his face soften into a smile. He's done it!

Then, without warning, he slips from view, crashing back down onto the floor with a yelp of surprise followed by a moan.]

Oh dear... this was my best garment. Oh no...

Comments

[evantuality]

There was something gratifying in the fact that this newcomer had as many questions as Evan had when he'd first arrived. "You absolutely can. For one, being this tiny just shouldn't be physically possible -- well."

He'd been forced to admit after trying to explain this selfsame idea to a few others that his knowledge of molecular physics wasn't complete enough that it didn't sound like gibberish when he tried to explain things to the uninitiated. Instead he shrugged and moved on. "The wings. The ability to use the wings. Actually, that's most of it, but as far as I can count that's plenty."

He inclined his head, a little sheepish at that realization. "It all sort of dovetails with the idea that the Tree's brought us here because it wants us to complete tasks for it. I can get why having servants that could fly would be more useful than ones that couldn't, but that doesn't really make it any less obnoxious."

[petiteaubergine]

"Euh, I suppose not."

Fairies and insects managed at this size, if one believed in the former. Of course, now that Alla possessed a pair of wings, he'd find it difficult not to believe in fairies. Alla shifted uneasily, glancing to the helpful fellow, and then to the floor, uneasy with this strange bit of conversation. No doubt his questions were odd ones to someone familiar with their situation. Yet he was about to ask another.

"Are these wings tricks? They feel quite real, when I am...wearing them?" He flushed at his strange phrasing. His entire body, from scuffed boots to mussed pink hair, perked to attention as the fellow mentioned them completing tasks, being servants to the tree. His lips downturned at the last bit.

"Service is not obnoxious, sir. I serve a gentleman, the Duke Airen. Perhaps it is not right that the Tree did not ask our services first."

He felt as if he should add something, but couldn't quite think of what. After all, he knew some people considered servants low beings, but it still bothered him quite a lot.

[evantuality]

"But that's my problem with it entirely," Evan exclaimed, pointing at the pink-haired young man. This was a topic for which he had some feelings. "We weren't asked. Weren't even warned!"

Evan huffed and shook himself out. He wasn't one for sustained bursts of exuberance. "No, the wings aren't a trick. Although I suppose that depends on how you define trick -- if you're asking whether they're corporeal, they seem to be, at least while you're wearing them."

[petiteaubergine]

Alla recoiled from the naked finger dashed at him, as well as the man's tone. He's not used to such a direct sort of rudeness. Subtler and more poisonous, yes, from the nobility on his world. This was new. He blinked, eyes and eyebrows skewed wide before settling back into a just slightly uneasier expression than before.

"It is unfortunate. Perhaps, once the Tree no longer needs us, our assistance, it will return us to our homes."

[evantuality]

"That's the common hope." It was still a sore point for Evan, who had recently had someone disappear back into the ether in exactly that manner. The redhead sighed, and tucked his hands back in the pockets of his jeans.

It was no good dumping all this on the new fellow, he was realizing. Thinking back to his own arrival he felt a flash of empathy.

"What's your name? If you don't mind my asking. I'm Evan," he offered, popping one hand back out of its pocket to give a little wave. He wasn't the handshake sort.

[petiteaubergine]

"I do wish we knew more."

Alla folded his hands in front of him, flexing his fingers in unsettled patterns. Perhaps if he knew, if the Tree told him, or any of them about their purpose and their fate, he might not worry so much about Duke Airen. The man might simply think he ran away. Would he ever get back there? The cobweb-tangle of worries broke as the man spoke again, introducing himself.

"Forgive me. I ought to have introduced myself, sir. My name is Alla dAubergine." Handshakes weren't quite the thing for his people, either. Instead, he swept his head in a not-quite-bow, one arm bent inward. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Evan."

[evantuality]

"Likewise." The courtesy didn't escape Evan, and though the young man was in something of a mood that day, he wasn't so full of ire that he wasn't going to be polite.

"Give the wings another try," he suggested, nodding to Alla. "I'll spot you if you're nervous about falling. Once you've got the hang, I can show you where our all of our fantastic arboreal amenities can be found."

Evan was finding it hard not to be just a little bit sarcastic.

[petiteaubergine]

Alla rippled his wings, first one, then the other, then together. Perhaps he could fly after all. The appendages felt natural where they emerged from his skin, even muscle deep, as if they were truly a limb and not a sort of magical trick. He blinked a bit at the fellow's choice of words. "I do hope I can...get the hang," he said, trying out the term, for it had to mean something good. At least he supposed and hoped so.

"Do we have fantastic arboreal amenities? The tree is quite generous, if so."

Sarcasm wasn't only lost on him, it might as well have been kidnapped to another land. Alla couldn't help but take the words sincerely. Besides, such things were common in fairy stories, the fairy court and such.

[evantuality]

"Aaaaah." When Evan realized that the young man was sincere, that hadn't just volleyed back a bit of top-tier sarcasm of his own, he had to do a double-take.

Only a few times had he been around people who were so obviously alien to sarcasm, and Evan had to admit it threw him. However, it did make his impression of this new young man fall into place a little more clearly.

He cleared his throat and inclined his head a bit. "I may have been exaggerating a bit. Although I suppose 'fantastic' is subjective. There are... well, we have food, shelter, beds, baths, and our wits and not much else." He sighed. Public bathing: he would never get used to it. He slipped his hand into his pocket, retrieving his shard again and unfolding his own moth-wings. "How about I just show you."

With a small spring of the knees he launched and, with a trick he'd learned only recently, hovered in polite wait for Alla to give his a try.

[petiteaubergine]

His eyebrows perked in opposite directions as Alla tried to gauge Evan's reactions. Thankfully, due to Alla's lack of an attention span, those thoughts quickly faded into the background of the conversation.

"That is all one needs to live, is it not? At least the tree is gracious enough to give us that much." At least, it didn't sound as if the tree kept them as prisoners, or slaves. Still, it would have been courteous to have been asked first before being kidnapped. He smiled, nodding at the other's offer. He was ready to explore, even if it meant spreading his wings again.

"A tour would be most helpful. Thank you. Please lead the way, Mr. Evan." Alla's navy wings fluttered apart, revealing the lighter pink hind-wings. He copied (or tried to copy) Even's lift-off. However, he was still rather wobbly, unsure of how to steer and also fearful of colliding with something.

[evantuality]

"You can just call me Evan," the young man offered. "Not many people who stand on ceremony inside a giant tree."

Evan had been at the tree long enough that flight did not fuss him anymore; he traced lazy little figure-eights with long beats of his broad wings, and watched Alla sort himself out.

"You've got the right idea," he called to the wobbly young man. "Try leaning the direction you want to go, it helps."

[petiteaubergine]

"Ah, yes..." Alla tapped a finger against his lips, considering the concept. Even the other servants, at home, kept him behind a wall of courtesy, and the many nobles, though they viewed him with contempt, did the same in their backhanded sort of way. He wasn't certain how to not stand on ceremony, or he supposed, in this world, fly on it? He had no experience of casual interaction, but more than a little observation watching people, which at least gave him ideas. Probably bad ones. Still, he thought he could do it.
"I understand, Evan," he said, a bit proud at just first-namedropping such a new acquaintance.

Meanwhile, Alla shook his muscles loose and aimed his torso toward the ceiling. He flailed his arms and legs as if he was swimming. The spasms transitioned to liquid motion as he fluttered higher. As he reached the opening, he gasped, fluttered lopsided, almost fell, but righted himself just in time. The 'door' was plenty big, but still he fussed over hitting something, as if scraping an edge would drop him down like a stone.