[Rainbowfox Ari]

Dejar had 'Benji Duty' today, and had chosen to take the now-teen to the park, maybe walk around a bit, maybe sit and watch the birds... The ex-demigod was missing his Malkov something awful, but duty was duty, and who was he to shun the duty of a guardian? Especially to Benji. He didn't take the job all that seriously, though. Ben was old enough to know to stay close, and he felt comfortable with the fact that the kuhna kid could take care of himself if push came to shove. As a matter of fact, he felt so comfortable that he paused to talk to a lucain-lady he knew, and let Benji do whatever he was going to do.

As for Benji... He wasn't a little boy anymore, but he wasn't an 'adult' either, hovering somewhere between fifteen and twenty. He tended to like to travel alone these days, but his medical condition often required someone nearby. Today, that was going to change. It was while Dejar had his back turned, talking to someone else, that Benji took off at a run, sliding behind some trees, and slipping out of sight. He felt terrible running away from his guardian, but he also didn't want to be led around by the nose forever. Even if he did have a chronic condition, he could take care of himself! He didn't need a babysitter to hold his hand and pat his head, and tell him everything would be alright. Besides, he already knew it wouldn't. That was sort of the definition of a chronic condition. It didn't go away. Ever. That was no reason to hole up in the house and do nothing all day. Getting away to the park was his chance!

As Dejar realized he was gone, and started running toward the other side of the park looking for him, he felt a bit bad. He would text the other in a bit and let him know he was okay, but he had to get far enough away that Dejar wasn't going to be finding him any time soon. A tiny note of resentment for the way he was usually treated crept into his thoughts. He wasn't a child anymore, and he wasn't a pet! Nobody was going to leash him and take him home for 'misbehavior'. In the meantime, he explored this area of the park. There weren't any swings here, but there was a nice large pond, and he plopped himself down beside it, relaxing back. While he sat there and watched the water, he sang a little bit of a song he'd heard back at the castle, and enjoyed. As he'd grown up, his voice had gotten a lot better at the singing thing.

"If blood will flow, when flesh and steel are one,
Drying in the color of the evening sun,
Tomorrow's rain, will wash the stains away,
But something in our minds will always stay.

Perhaps this final act was meant,
To clinch a lifetime's argument,
That nothing comes from violence, and nothing ever could.

For all those born beneath an angry star,
Lest we forget how fragile we are...."

He stopped singing, and started humming the refrain, leaning back against a nearby tree, and closing his eyes.

[SpringsSong]

Zelaen, 471281

Terrace Park was a far cry from Lamenolai, where his father's estate was, but the reprieve was much needed for Zelaen.  He could appreciate his father's concern for his half-sister's condition, since there was always new staff brought on in the kitchens (not that there was any problems with the old staff--some of them just decided to move onto other things) that had to be told at least twice that the SleepyHollow Kuhna girl was lactose intolerant, and while it wasn't fatal if she ate some sort of a product with dairy in it, it was anyone's guess as to if she would be okay in a day's time, or in a week's time.

He sighed as he walked to the beat of the song that was playing through the single earbud that was in his ear.  There were a number of songs on the young man's mp3, ranging from his other half-sister's own music to music from various bands--classical, jazz, blues, pop, and some different varieties of rock.  Rosilla had often teased him for how often he had a single earbud in his ear--"You never know, one day you might try to take it out and you'll find that it's fused with your flesh or something," she'd teased once.

"Honestly, Dad should just hire a full-time nurse who can also police the kitchen staff on a daily basis," he muttered to himself as he scrolled through his mp3 player, looking for one of his favorite songs.  Just as he found it, he stopped as he heard someone singing--it wasn't a song he had on his mp3 player, but he could've sworn that he'd heard it before.  Taking out the one earbud that was in his ear, the young man (who looked easily in his early twenties) listened as the lyrics dropped off.  The voice he'd heard had sounded like it was coming from by the lake, so he started to walk off in that direction.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Benji was apparently in a sing-song mood today, so he started up with another one. This one of his own creation. There were a lot of times when he had to sit and take medication, or wait for an exam. In those times, he wrote. Mostly, he jotted down ideas, short poems, character sketches for things he wanted to turn into a book someday... but sometimes, he wrote songs. They popped into his head. He wouldn't have any idea how to write the music for it, as he wasn't clear on how to actually read sheets of the stuff. But the words were all he really needed, and his mind filled in the blanks with a tune.

"So what if I'm a loser, so what if I'm insane,
So what if I'm a failure, not a penny to my name,
So what if I'm the worst thing, your mama's ever seen,
To me you look so fine, like a technicolor daydream..."

He crooned, crossing his legs, and humming a bit of how he thought the guitar should go, before he started up again.

"I may not be that fancy, I may not be that grand,
So what if I don't drink or smoke, I still can hold your hand,
Your daddy's probably thinkin', that you're not keepin' clean,
But honey, look into my eyes, this technicolor dream,

And when the stars are out, they dance,
The perfect time for us to fly,
And dream about a sweet romance,
In the technicolor velvet sky..."

Chuckling a bit, he made a mental note to rework that line as he continued. It didn't seem quite as natural in voice as it did on paper.

"So what if I'm a pauper, so what if I'm a pain,
So what if I'm a has-been, without a chance to gain,
Your parents both despise me, the rest all think I'm lame,
But I hope someday you'll join me in this technicolor game..."

He broke off, since he wasn't finished writing the song quite yet, although the tune carried over quite well to humming.

[SpringsSong]

Eventually, the singing started to pick up again; this time, a different song--one that Zelaen had never heard of before.  Nevertheless, it caught his attention as he followed the voice to a nearby lake where the owner of the voice finally came into view.  The first thing that he really noticed was the young man's pale skin--it was almost hard to miss, with the black-and-orange ensemble that he had--but, at the same time, there was something that was slightly unsettling to Zelaen about the paleness.

At this point in time, Zelaen realized that he was more or less staring at the young man.  He looked down quickly, fiddling with his mp3 player as he took a couple more steps forward, away from the tree, but stopping again as he listened to the lyrics of the song.  While not any song he knew, they did have a nice flow to them--or so he thought, at least; while he loved music, that did not mean that he knew the rules behind actually writing music out.  He'd attended a master class or two on the topic, and the subject had nothing short of flown completely over his head, with all sorts of rules on this or that.

As the lyrics of the song stopped and the young man began to hum the tune, he found that his foot was tapping inside his shoe.  Whatever this song is, it's definitely got a good tune to it, he thought.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

It took a moment for Benji to realize he wasn't alone, and when he did, he turned slowly to see who it was that was watching him. There was a rather nice-looking redhead standing about six or seven feet away, just watching. He blinked those odd straight-orange eyes, and smiled at him, turning to face him. It didn't take too many observation skills to notice the earbuds, the pretty blue eyes, and the curious expression on the guy's face. But what he zeroed in on in an instant was a grand total of two things. The maker of that shirt... and the model of that MP3 player.

"Oh hey! That's a Silverflame original!" he said, noticing the design. "Silestre's gonna be stoked when he realizes people actually wear his designs. That's kind of neat. And that MP3 player is the newest DeepTrak! Dude, you have no idea how long I've wanted a DeepTrak. How's the specs? Doesn't that one come with a mic attachment?"

In his excitement, he sort of forgot that there was such a thing as 'people freaking out' - about his eyes if nothing else. Immediately starting to talk to someone who he didn't know was one of Benji's bad habits. It hadn't gotten him in trouble yet, but Luminare was always saying he should watch what he said and who he said it to... However, Luminare wasn't here, was he?

"Erm... my name's Benji, by the by. What's yours?"

[SpringsSong]

When the young man noticed Zelaen's presence, Zelaen noticed the young man's straight-orange eyes.  He was taken aback by the lack of pupils, but after a moment, he shook his head (only slightly) and turned his attention to his shirt and his mp3 player.  When the young man--Benji, he'd said his name was--said that he knew the Silverflame design, and even said that... Silestre, was it?--would be stoked that people actually wore his designs, he chuckled slightly.

"You know the person behind Silverflame?" he asked, taking a step or two closer.  "This is one of my favorite Silverflame designs," he added, chuckling.  As he looked down at his mp3 player, he couldn't help but smile.

"My half-sister got it for me for my birthday," Zelaen said, smiling.  "Mic attachment, a slot for a micro-SD card to expand the memory, 16 gigs of internal storage alone, excellent sound quality..."

Here, he realized that he, much like the young man, had forgotten to introduce himself.  Chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck, he said, "Mine's Zelaen.  Nice to meet you, Benji."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Yeah, I know Silestre! Me and him are pretty close, actually. I knew him before he was a designer." Benji stood, and approached the other, offering his hand to shake. "It's good to meet you, Zelaen. Erm... I'm from Rainbow Castle. You know, that huge building at the edge of Medicai?" He smirked a bit. "I.. erm... ran away from my babysitter for a bit."

He eyed the shirt again, then chuckled. "He really will be stoked. He was talking to me the other day about how he thought his stuff was too avant garde to actually be worn. It'll be good to know he was wrong. So... what are you doing here in the park?"

Okay, so standing up quickly might not have been the best idea. His color drained to near-white, and he weaved on his feet a bit. Bracing his hand against a tree, he quickly sat down against it, and pulled his legs up to his chest while the color started to flow back into his cheek.

"S-sorry about that. Get dizzy sometimes. But yeah. What are you doing in the park? Maybe I could come with? Help me avoid Dejar, and I'm yours forever, I swear. Then again, he's probably out of his head with worry by now."

[SpringsSong]

Zelaen was definitely surprised to hear that Benji knew Silestre (and Zelaen had only heard the name once or twice--usually, the designs were simply referred to as "Silverflame"), but it was definitely something to hear about the person behind a brand.

"Rainbow Castle?" he echoed, tilting his head slightly.  "I can't say that it immediately rings a bell, but that could also be because I've lived in Lamenolai most of my life.  Decided to move from Barakka to Lambastia," he added.  When Benji mentioned that he'd run away from his babysitter for a bit, he tilted his head slightly.

"'Babysitter'?" he echoed.  "Aren't you a bit--" here, he trailed off ever so slightly; while Rosilla's nurse was by no means a "babysitter", she wasn't allowed to leave the house without her for extended periods of time, like if she would need to eat.  Perhaps this was a similar situation?

When he stood up, Zelaen noticed the drain of color from his face, and the wavering of his stance.  As he sat down and the color returned, Zelaen took a few more steps forward, kneeling down so that he was at about the same level as Benji.

"You all right?" he asked.  He didn't question further than that yet; it could have simply been the young man standing up too fast (and goodness knew that he'd been guilty of doing that more than once himself), but given that the color returning to his face wasn't much better than as white as he'd been, he was suspecting that it wasn't.  "What am I--?  Mostly, just enjoying the day before I go back to trying to find a job and an apartment.  Didn't have a lot of luck in Aldrect," he said.

When Benji asked him to help him avoid this "Dejar", he frowned.  There was a part of him that was saying that sounded like a really bad idea, but there was another part of him that was glad for the company.  After a few moments, he said, "Well, I didn't have actual plans aside from just enjoying the day, but I'd definitely welcome the company."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Awesome. We can stay here for a while, I guess. Dejar's gone off to the other side of the park looking for me, and he shouldn't be back for quite a while." He patted the grass beside him. "Have a seat?"

He stretched out a little more, kicking back, and putting one leg out, leaving the other close to his chest, where he circled his arms around it. "It's cool if you don't get out to Medicai. There's not much to do there, other than medical stuff. I mean, there's a small park. It's got a fountain. But other than that, and the restaurants, there's really not that much to do."

After a moment, he perked up considerably, having remembered something.

"Are you any good with art stuff? Or music? Or... anything creative, really? I know Silestre could use a hand with new designs... Dali always needs a hand with his work... Casey's recording studio probably needs some help, and... Well, there's always Luminare, who probably would hire you to watch me, actually."

He grumbled out the last sentence, just a bit bitter about it. "He seems to like to hire people for that."

Picking at the grass a bit, he looked over to the other. "But.. yeah. If you need a job, I can poke at the people I live with. They're almost always hiring for something or another. I heard they pay well too, but I wouldn't know. I'm not... eh... I'm not healthy enough to have a job."

[SpringsSong]

"Sure," Zelaen said, sitting down beside Benji.  By now, he'd noticed the scar on his face, but he didn't mention it.  There were, after all, some things that were better left unasked (especially when you had only just met someone).  He, too, stretched out on the grass and drew in a breath, offering a small sigh as he exhaled.

"Well, I'll probably make my way out to Medicai at least once," Zelaen said, "just a matter of when.  There was plenty of stuff around Lamenolai that could keep one busy, but with the whole war-thing going on, it's been bustling more than usual.  A bit... too crowded for my tastes, personally.  And chances are my half-sister could do with a visit to one of the medical facilities in Medicai--she's lactose intolerant, and she's had some issues with migraines in the past," he said.  After a moment, he added, "...and even if they still are, she's not usually one to complain too much.  She'll shut herself in a dark room for a few hours, minimum.  Dad's usually always worrying about her, and if she's all right."

When Benji mentioned potential opportunities for employment, he perked up.  "I'm... all right when it comes to creative stuff, yeah.  Music and sound manipulation more than anything, though, really," he said.  It was honestly a sheer accident that he'd even made a mix of his own, taking a song file he'd duplicated (for good measure) and putting it into a program he'd gotten for transcribing some of Lori's music for her.  When Rosilla had heard the result, she'd told him that it was one of the coolest things she'd heard--but, surely, she was just being his kind, gentle, older half-sister, right?--but even their father had enjoyed it and said that Zelaen had an ear for those kinds of things.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Benji rolled onto his stomach, putting his head in his hands, and watching the other. He understand the plight of his sister far too well.

"I feel for your sis a bit." he said quietly. "The Lucain who calls himself my father, well... You might know of him. Works in Medicai as a chief cardiologist and GP in one of the hospitals or another. Luminare? Yeah - he treats me like your father treats your sister."

He flopped over onto his back, and looked up at the sky. "From the time I was born, I've always had issues with my health. When I was younger, it was my heart and lungs. But now... who knows. They throw around a lot of complicated terms. Sometimes I get seizures. Sometimes my heart beats funny. I catch everything that comes down the line. Sometimes I also pass out for no apparent reason. Every doctor I've been to, even him, has a different opinion as to what's wrong with me, but nobody's been able to come up with anything concrete."

With a bit of a snort, he sighed and shook his head.

"They call it a lot of things. I mean a lot. I've heard everything from 'It's a nervous disorder' to 'sick sinus syndrome' and everything in-between. I've spent more time in Medicai's various hospitals than I've spent out of them, getting poked, prodded, tested, questioned, and watched."

He pushed himself back up, and leaned against the tree, facing Zel.

"I guess it's sort of a blessing in disguise. I mean, I get the chance to write and draw. I tell stories with my images and my words. I write.... songs." He blushed a bit. "Not very good ones, but I write them. While waiting for test results, or getting blood drawn, or chilling out until the next available specialist can come see me. But it's all secrets and cover-up when I get back home. Nobody will tell me anything concrete, and I'm not allowed anywhere on my own. Dejar's the only one that seems to think I'm not going to drop dead if you leave me alone for five minutes."

[SpringsSong]

"I think I might've heard of Dr. Luminare," Zelaen said.  "Probably from my own father, talking about getting my sister some more care beyond what the nurses he hires give."

When Benji spoke about his health issues, Zelaen fell silent.  He'd certainly never heard of anything quite like that; but, then again, he had never really studied anything relating to the medical field until he became aware of his half-sister's condition--and even then, the most he knew was how to tell if she had recently ingested something with lactose in it, and that was the point in time that his sister, Aundara, took over.

"I can't imagine what that would even be like," Zelaen finally said.  "Not knowing what's up with your own body and immune system... not to mention having to sit through all of those tests."

When he talked about drawing and writing songs, Zelaen tilted his head slightly.  "That song you were singing earlier--before you noticed me," he began, shifting to look at Benji a little better.  "Is that... one of the ones you've written?"

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Benji looked over at him and smiled some. "Yeah, that's one I wrote. Er... am writing. It's not finished yet." he said, shifting his weight a bit so that he was looking at Zel. "I write a couple songs every month. Got them all stored in a journal... but I don't have it with me, or else I would show you... It's a pretty big book." He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing a little. "It's hard to sit there and not do anything, you know?"

He sighed, and pulled his other leg up again, watching Zel. "Ummm... You... wanna go somewhere? I know there's an ice-cream shop nearby somewhere... and there's a restaurant not too far away from here too. If, yanno... you're hungry at all."

Reaching into his pack, he took out a small wallet, and a card, waving it at Zel. "I have a lot of money on here. We could even go shopping if you wanted!"

He seemed very excited, and would probably be wagging his tails back and forth if he were in kuhna form. "I know this great place to get books, too!"

[SpringsSong]

"Well, what you had so far sounded good," Zelaen said.  "I mean, I don't know half of the rules that go into writing music, I mostly just manipulate the sounds to make mixes.  Rosilla said that I did a really good job with the first mix I did," he added, offering a chuckle.

When Benji suggested that they go somewhere, Zelaen thought for a moment.  When Benji wove the card around, Zelaen frowned before saying, "I wouldn't want you to do something like that.  I--we just barely met, after all," he said.  But, the suggestion of ice cream did sound like a good idea.

"How about we go for ice cream, first, and then maybe afterwards, we could go to the book place you were mentioning?" he asked.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Alright, ice cream first, then." Benji said, smiling, and pushing himself to his feet - carefully. He didn't want a repeat, because he might not be able to stop himself from collapsing this time, and face-planting on the ground wasn't really what he was going for at the moment. Not a great way to impress the person he was trying to impress.

Once he was sure his legs were actually going to hold him, and his head wasn't going to fall off or get dizzy again, he started off toward the ice cream shop, knowing it was just on the other side of the park. Actually, it was inside the park gates, and had some of the best mint chip than Benji had personally ever tasted.

He grabbed at Zel's hand, and tugged him toward the other side of the park. "C'mon, c'mon! We have to get there before they run out of mint-chip. They do small batches, so the ice cream is really good, but sometimes it sells out fast... and I love mint chip more than I probably should."

Starting off down the path [Zel in tow whether or not he liked it], he pocket his card, and started to whistle. Something else he probably composed, because it wasn't actually a song that existed... just a random bit of notes with a good tune. Benji was good at whistling too, apparently.