Wind Legato I

He was starting to like the way the sand crunched under his iron boots as he slid into the riverbank. Seth welcomed the crashing water that echoed from the falls as he removed his helmet and shook his hair out. The humid, yet cool air kissed his face, moist with sweat. He sighed and smiled as he gazed over the falls. "Come on out, now. I know you're here," he called out to his empty surroundings.

No response.

No matter. Leon's advice echoed in his head and Seth already knew what to do. Be patient. Be friendly. Make it clear that Sin could show himself no matter what. He wasn't about to turn and leave with such a minimal effort this time. Seth grunted softly as he thrust his lance into the sand, leaving it standing upright, and began to remove the remainder of his armor. First, his gauntlets and then shoulder plates, arms, chest plate, boots, and all until he was stripped down to his trousers and chainmail. Each piece landed in the soggy riverbank sands with a thud or a clank in a pile. "See? No armor or weapon. I'm not about to harm you and I'm not going anywhere all night!"

Make it clear that Sin would be safe. That's what Seth had told himself. He'd disarm himself so that they were on equal ground. We'll- almost. He hadn't planned to strip completely naked, but chainmail was practically useless on its own.

Still nothing. Not a sound save for the waterfall and the mist hissing in the aftermath from its descent against the rocks. Then it caressed over him gave off a soothing sense of secrecy that was, although a bit uncanny, also relaxing. Seth knew there was nothing to fear despite the unusual happenings.

Seth scanned the area. He must have sounded like a madman, the way he was throwing his voice out when there wasn't anyone present, but he wasn't about to give up, just yet. He had every reason to believe that Sin was around here, listening and watching him. His friend was either waiting for the right reason to show himself or for Seth to finally give up and leave. The dragoon stepped into the river and curled his toes at the slight sting from the icy waters. He winced but ventured forth until he was standing knee-deep. "You know, if you summon up some fish, I could cook us dinner again. How about it?"

The water stirred. Ripples bubbled and circled out from seemingly nothing at all. Towards the center of the river where the water seemed much calmer, a sudden violent splash could be sighted, yet there was no person nor animal there to have been the cause of anything.

Bingo. Seth smiled in its direction, knowing he had caught Sin's attention. "And I'd be honored if I could hear you play again." Once more, the water torrented and bubbled. He shrugged, holding both hands up, open-palmed as he shook his head. "Seems like a fair trade, doesn't it? A hot meal to hear another song? What do yuh say?"

With that, it seemed Seth had won. The water acted as though it were alive. It bubbled and rippled in a fit of chaos until it exploded. A jetstream shot from the water's surface and sent a small wave to crash against the riverbank, forcing Seth to take a step back, lest he loses his balance and fall. Still, the dragoon smiled even as river water rained down on him. When the mist cleared there he was.

The fossegrimen was standing only a few meters away from the dragoon on the water's surface. A long, twinkling silver flute was in his hands and held up to his lips. He blew softly, slowly, creating a smooth flow of music.

The falls slowed to a halt and droplets suspended in midair, twinkling like stars. Seth playfully tapped one with the tip of his finger and watched as the water seeped into his naked skin. He even playfully licked a few right out of the air. "Heh~ tasty work yuh do here, Sin. This your way of bringing the drinks for both of us? You didn't seem like the kind of guy to enjoy intoxication so much."

He didn't say anything at first. Sin only stared at Seth as he lowered a flute from his lips. His eyes narrowed to thin lines that had some resemblance to a cat, yet there wasn't the slightest disturbance on his face. He stepped forward. The soles of his feet connected with the surface of the river with a soft splash. "Have you ever wondered why that is? We grims often eat our food raw and quickly. It's to avoid being discovered by the few blessed by whichever means allow them to hear our music and see us. God forbid anyone to hear us and come looking. It's rare to enjoy something hot, especially something other than fish."

"Well if I had known that then I would have brought some raw poultry or beef from the village market to roast for you." Seth stepped back, not once turning his gaze from Sin. He moved slowly as he felt his way from the river back to the bank. "I thought no one was supposed to ever be able to hear yuh, anyway? Why so much precaution? Hell, surely you could leave this river if you wanted, right?"

He reached the bank, noted by the back of his heel collided against a piece of his armor. A sharp pain exploded in his foot. He held his poker face, trying not to allude Sin's attention away from his question.

Once again, Sin only went as far as but a few paces from where the water ended. "It is in our nature to take precautions. Should someone terrible find us, then it could prove to be fatal. Maybe even warrant abandoning our domain."

"Well then I'll count myself lucky that you're still here after three visits," he said with a slight chuckle. "Then again, if I recall correctly you actually invited me back this time. Asked me to return right before I left last time." Well, right before Sin had rudely ended their conversation and created a wave to keep him from his pursuit into the river, but Seth didn't want to say anything that'd upset the other right then.

"Why is it that you return as often as you do? You've already said you do not play an instrument of your own. You've nothing to gain from me."

"Not true," Seth said as he finally began gathering sticks for a fire. Thanks to Sin's little show it was proving hard to find anything that was soaked and covered in sand. For a moment he thought to venture into the woods to gather fresh dry ones. It'd probably be best, but it'd also give Sin the perfect chance to disappear again if he wanted to. "I told you earlier, didn't I? I don't want anything from you other than to hear you play another song."

Sin remained silent, only watching Seth's backside as he continued collecting wood for a fire. Without any response, he brought his flute back up to his lips and began to play. The winds began to stir and trees shook. As the grim's fingers picked and pressed quickly across his flute the warm summer breeze swiftly climbed to a howling torrent until Seth was knocked onto his bottom. The wind sliced over his skin, stinging him, preventing him from opening his eyes unless he faced his back towards the wind. The force of the gale alone was enough to press his chainmail into his back to a point of irritation. It rattled.

What happened next Seth thought was a mad hallucination. Crows. A small flock of them came flying out of the trees and ventured low to the ground. They were following the wind's pull and then suddenly~ His eyes widened in disbelief as the same birds dived straight into the river around Sin. The grim immediately dropped his flute into the water, vanishing without so much as a drop of a splash, and all the magic surrounding them ceased. The water that had been suspended in midair pelted down on the surrounding area. The falls collided once again into the river, and rapids screeched. Sin grabbed the birds in his claws, holding them tightly in the water as they violently shook about, wings beating and talons scraping and whatever they could find. Yet it was no use. Sin spared no mercy as he squeezed each bird around its neck and snapped them.

"Can you cook pheasant?" he asked as he stood with three dread crows in his grip.

Seth could only stare at him in a moment of awe and silence before finally answering, shaking. "Yeah. Just let me get more wood."