Red Ribbon

[Boheme]

---With Gamma's Wagon----

The grey haired Zercan turned to smile at the younger boy. "Ah. Good evening, child. I am Delta, and yes...I could do with help," he said, pausing to look at the gramba snorting besides him. "Tell you what. There is a stream not to far from here..." He walked to the otherside of the wagon and grabbed a bucket before returning to Zeraek.

"Take this over there. Just keep walking, you'll find water eventually. Dip the bucket in, and fill it up before bringing it back here," he said as he handed the pail over before chuckling. "Well...Do you think you can actually carry it when it's full. If not, I can find a spare son, grandson, or so on to help you out?"

[Zeraek]

Zeraek smiled and nodded. "Okay! That sounds like something I can handle," he stated, glad that the man hadn't asked him to do anything incredibly difficult, though the teen wasn't looking forward to having to walk more. The Zercan took the bucket and headed off in the direction Delta had pointed out for him. Once he was out of ear shot from the older man, he sighed heavily. Even though he had had a chance to rest, his feet had not completely recovered from his day of traveling. He hoped he didn't have blisters.

After more walking than Zeraek would have liked (though, he would admit, it probably wasn't nearly as much walking as it had seemed to him) he finally found the stream. He sat down heavily before stripping off his footwear to dip his feet in the cool, flowing water. "Ah! That's much better!" the dark-haired teen mumbled to himself, leaning back on his hands as he let his feet rest in the stream for awhile longer. He was sure that Delta and Gamma wouldn't mind if he let himself recover for a moment before returning.

[Boheme]

---Back to Boheme---

Finishing up with the gramba's watering down (he had used the melted ice from the icebox because...Hey, he was lazy), he helped his mother gather any kettles or other things that might be needed for tonight before heading out for Gamma's wagon. The walk didn't take overly long (just about five or some minutes).

"Good evening, Gamma," Anless called to his grandmother. "We finished up quickly and decided to immidiately come here." He laughed. "I'm lucky to have such a strong son who can easily finish up tasks, huh?"

The elderly man's eyes twinkled as he smoothed his skirts. "You are," he agreed, reaching out to pat Boheme on the cheek as the boy set down the pots and foods his mother had insisted he bring. "Boheme, dear, how have you been?"

"You saw me just this morning, Gamma," he grinned, flipping his braid behind him. "But, I am well. I'm looking forward to relaxing in the hot springs after dinner tonight...What are we having tonight, anyways?"

The Matriarch shook a finger at the boy sternly, though a smile still danced on his lips. "Never you mind, child. It is a surprise, like always," he said before chuckling. "You leave your nose out of the kitchen. Go...do acrobatics or whatever with your friends while we old lifebearers work. Give us a kiss first."

After dutifully giving Gamma and Anlee pecks on the cheek, Boheme sped off to join his cousins in their entertainment.

[Zeraek]

Zeraek groaned as he pulled his feet from the water and decided that there was no way on Zerca that he was going to put his shoes back on his sore, pained feet. Instead, he picked up the bucket, dunked it in the water, and hefted it back out. The Zercan scooped his footwear up in one hand, cradling the shoes between his arm and his body to use both hands for the now heavier bucket, before slowing making his way back to Gamma and Delta's wagon.

When he finally arrived, he went to Delta and carefully placed the water on the ground beside the elder. He stood and stretched before letting his arms, which now felt rather heavy themselves from having to carry the bucket, fall with a sigh. "I'm sorry it took me so long to return," he stated before smiling weakly up at the man. "Would you like for me to do anything else?"

[Boheme]

Delta shook his head. "Not really, lad. I'm just going to splash it on this beast and then go..." He trailed of before chuckling. "Go do something. Probably sit with the lifebearers and listen to them chat. My sons will be the ones to arrange the wood into a suitable firepit. You, though, can do whatever you wish. Stay here or wander around. Your choice," the elderly Zercan said, ruffling up Zeraek's hair.

[Zeraek]

Zeraek smiled and nodded. "Okh-ahk!" He flinched away from Delta's hand, his own hands moving quickly to mend his dark locks. Looking up at the elder's shocked and rather confused look, the young teen couldn't help but blush. "Ah.... Sorry. I'm just... very fussy about my hair...," he admitted.

[Boheme]

Delta rearranged his shocked face into an amused one and he laughed. "It is fine, young one...But I'll let you know right here, that I doubt you hair will be much in tact after you spend time with my boys," he said, knowing his decendants quite well. They were a...rowdy bunch.

Speaking of rowdy boys...

A black haired teen was running towards them and was about to run by when Delta suddenly reached out and grabbed the youth by his arm. For such an old man, he had amazing reflexes, but that's what came with being the head of such a large family. "Oak, cool your feet for a moment," the patriach said in amusement.

The boy, Oak, had the decency to look sheepish before nodding. "Yes, Delta," he murmured before looking over at Zeraek curiously. "Ah! Guest!"

Delta nodded and let go of the boy's arm to pat his shoulder. "Right you are. Zeraek will be travelling with us for a while, I believe...Care to introduce him around, or to at least keep him entertained until dinner?" he asked lightly, smiling as a gleam entered the youth's eyes at the word 'entertain'.

"Can you dance?" Oak asked Zeraek as seriously as someone dressed as a gypsy could ask. "Some of us were going to dance for the tourists heading towards the city." He paused in thought. "Of course, if you don't like dancing, we could go to the hot springs...But then you'd be wet for dinner...."

[Zeraek]

Zeraek could almost feel the color draining from his face as he finished retying his hair. How bad could they be? Surely Delta was over-exagerating.... right? The young Zercan bit his lip in worry. He was almost too afraid to ask the older man to elaborate.

By the time Delta had the stranger completely stopped, Zeraek was able to realize that someone had been running past them. He blinked slowly, looking around in confusion before he was suddenly caught up in the other's questionings. Did he dance? Zeraek had barely even tapped his foot to a tune. He supposed that was a 'no.' The dark-haired Zercan looked at Oak with an overwhelmed look.

"I.... I don't know..." He wasn't even sure what question he was trying to answer. The look the other had given him made the city-dweller fear... mostly for his hair, but it was a fear none-the-less.

[Boheme]

Oak made a pouting face. "You don't know how to dance, or you don't know which you would prefer?" he asked after a moment before shaking his head. "Nevermind. We'll do something else. I know! Cards!"

His pout twisted into a smirk. "I know a lot about cards. Not as much as cousin Boheme and his friends, but a decent amount. Hey, you should meet them. I don't know where they are right now though...Anyways, cards!" the black haired youth exclaimed, flourishing a hand in which a pack of cards seemed to appear. "Ta da! What's your poison? ...Or...Card game, in this case?"

He paused a second again and tilted his head to the side. "Or do you not like cards? Man. You're kinda...quiet."

[Zeraek]

Zeraek just stared at the Reyl teen with wide, confused eyes. "How did you...? Wha...? But..." Obviously, he wasn't quite sure what to say. "Uh.... Hi... It's nice to meet you...," he mumbled, "Ah.... Do I even know your name yet? And... I'm not entirely sure about much of anything you just said... but I don't really feel like drinking any poisons right now.... Also, I don't think I've ever played much of cards, either."

[Boheme]

Oak snickered, obviously thinking the other boy incredibaly slow. "No...Poison is a nickname for a drink. And Delta here mentioned my name was Oak...It's nice to meet you though, Zeraek, officially," he said really slowly (or just slowly for him, perhaps).

Thinking aloud, he observed the other Zercan in wonderment. "You don't dance...or play cards...We shouldn't visit the hot springs until later...What do you do?" he asked, bewildered. "Or, do you want to just sit with the lifebearers as they talk and cook or whatever?"

[Zeraek]

Zeraek blushed, ducking his head in embarressment. "I'm sorry to be inconvenient! You can leave me, if you wish. I can just stay here! You can go have fun...," he mumbled. At home, he hadn't realized how boring he was. He hoped that he could learn to do all these things that the Reyls did for fun before everyone didn't want to be around him. Then he would just be lonely again.

[Boheme]

Oak stared at him for a second before he laughed and picked the smaller boy up into a hug. Once he sat Zeraek back down (and messed up his hair quite nicely), he grinned. "You, my dear, are absolutely amusing," he said. "I never said you were inconvenient. Just...different in interests. Though I'm sure that you'll find a Ptah around here who has similar interests."

Delta smiled at the younger Zercan's look of confusion. "A Ptah would be us," he explained. "We are the Ptah clan. Now, off you to go, and Zeraek...If you wish to do something other then what Oak's doing...You may return or find someone else to hang out with.

(You know...It's been a while sine we've seen Boheme. XD I bet this is the longest time a main character has not been part of the beginning.)

[Zeraek]

Once Zeraek was safely back on his feet, his tie was removed as he tried to fix his hair again. He was getting rather weary of having to repair the damage again and again, though he supposed that it would only get worse... He only hoped that he was sorely mistaken.

After Delta's explanation, the younger Zercan smiled weakly. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Besides, I didn't get to have much room for interests at home. I wouldn't mind trying a few new things."



(XD I think you're right!)

[Boheme]

Oak smiled happily. "It's settled then," he said, keeping his words calm and even - for a change. After all, it seemed like the younger Zercan had so much trouble following his words if he spoke normally. "We'll try out a bit of everything during your stay. Let's try to get as much as we can done before dinner. Come on!"

He grabbed the other boy's hand and started dragging him off, after bidding goodbye to his great grandpa. "We could teach you how to play a small musical instrument! ...Though that is harder. Dancing's more easy because we don't follow form. You'd have to play cards with the younger kids if you wanted to actually learn," he murmured before chuckling with a roll of his eyes. "All the older ones cheat. Juggling is fun, but again hard...So is other acrobatics. Crafts are fun and easy. Just choose something, and I'll take you there."