gravity beneath my feet; [2430-1-3-sun-7:11pm]

[piper]

The feeling of freedom engulfed Piper today who acted like his usual self. Today the peppy individual walked carelessly along with his eyes closed, fully absorbed in the music that rolled off of his flute. Such a sweet and happy tune too, a melody that couldn't keep a smile off of Piper's face or from some of the other winged people he past. Unfortunately he didn't witness their smiles of approval, but on the upper note those who had grown annoyed with him over the time went completely ignored. Piper never could take a hint.

Today was no exception, and he went along his merry way radiating joy and happiness. A certain contentment grounded him, as it did every day. Each day started through the same routine which drove some nuts and kept others at bay. Currently, walking with his eyes closed seemed a brilliant idea; instead of seeing the world around him, he saw the world the music created, intertwined with nature and all things beautiful. It reminded him of the ocean and of the mysteries that many winged people had yet to discover; it reminded him of treasure lore and of the other planets that held mystery to him. An intriguing tune, needless to say.

In the midst of this melody, Piper was caught off guard and suddenly came out of his reveries when he felt that he had run into something, or someone. Before he could coherently make sense of any of it, the flute was dropped down by his side and he was fumbling to retrieve it, that and with various apologies that rattled off his tongue.

"Terribly sorry there," he murmured, now standing up straight with a bright sheepish smile. Like usual his eyes were dancing with joy and laughter at his stupid mistake. "I hope you're all right." Seeing as it had actually been another person, well, the least he could do was apologize. And like usual, the smile maintained itself, making it hard for anyone to scold him about his carelessness. Not to say he hadn't already received that lecture, and not to say that he surely didn't deserve it.

[open, open, open! xD please join! :3]

[Saphira]

Saphira had her nose almost literally pressed to her eInkr as she walked, studying the business plan she was putting into place for one of the Human bird catchers. This one had been a particular headache, as the Human man seemed to be of the type that would gladly be rid of the hunting regulations set in place if he could. She'd even seen him eyeing a Griffin in the air as she'd spoken to him. She'd have to get someone to keep an eye on this fellow for sure.

She was abruptly thrown out of her train of thought as she slammed into someone and stumbled back, flapping her wings a bit to keep her balance. "Oh! I'm sorry!!" she apologized quickly, almost at the same time he did. The boy seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place his name.

Saphira quickly picked up the padd that she had dropped, dusting it off a little. "I'm okay. I should be paying better attention to my surroundings..."

[piper]

Stubborn tendencies embedded themselves within Piper's daily routine; every day he walked with his eyes closed at one point of another. As of lately, people either managed to doge him or he had been lucky enough not to cross another's path. This sudden collision reminded him of all the other run-ins with people. But considering the positive aspect of it, at least Piper met new people. Well, he was nearly certain he had seen every "fairy" on Corus, at least the majority. Not all of them introduced themselves, but most did. There were no regrets--Piper would end up walking around with his eyes closed again, but that would be another day, or probably tomorrow. There wasn't a fiber of regret in his being.

Hearing her excuse rattle off, he very kindly shook his head and laughed in his sing-song voice. "Or it could have been me since I was walking with my eyes closed," he admitted. His voice held not one single ounce of shame in admitting that fact, or embarrassment. Piper never admitted to not being off his rocker in some aspects. And the smile just grew.

"I'm Piper," he finally added with a small bow. His balance fumbled but the radiating image of his wings propelled him back up to standing straight. In all the words he said, he said them in melodies, and today the melody and musical notes resembled the tune he played upon his flute previously. Talking in dry words never appealed to this winged being, so he more or less just sang what he had to say. It was odd but delightful, for him at least. No one ever said it couldn't get annoying. "I think I've seen you around," he added.

Soon enough his curiosity was aroused and he noted whatever she held in her head. In a very childlike manner, Piper tilted his head and looked at it. "Whatcha got there?" For a brief moment, his glance went to his flute in hand. She definitely appeared more business like, compared to him at least.

[Saphira]

Saphira smiled softly, slightly amused at the other Winged taking the blame on himself with an almost proudness. Yes, she remembered this one now. He always seemed a bit off in is own world. "I suppose we are at an impasse then. Fifty fifty blame, what do you say?"

He introduced himself as Piper. She wasn't sure she'd ever known his name, but she certainly knew his reputation. She returned the bow. "My name is Saphira. I am Winged ambassador to the Humans, so I'm certainly around often, that's probably where you've seen me."

She glanced down at the eInkr padd as he asked about it. "This? It's called a padd. A human device, but it's extremely useful in keeping track of all my records and meetings. It's quite ingenious, really. They definitely have some amazing tools. With it I also have access to all of their media through The Network, but I admit I rarely have time to rifle through it. Sometimes I use it to listen to their music while I work, though... some of it is quite nice, when you sort through the noise..."

[piper]

As if he had to consider the proposal, Piper finally nodded his head in agreement. "Sure, that sounds all right," he responded. If she wanted to share some of the blame herself, he supposed he would concur to that.

"Very nice to meet you, Saphira!" No matter the timing of the day or the circumstances, meeting new people always kindled a strong enthusiasm in Piper. There was never a moment when Piper didn't enjoy making friends. One day he hoped to know everyone on Corus, more specifically the winged people because some of the the merefolk insisted on keeping mysteries.

Piper made a grand attempt not to forget her name. Names never came easy to him but he put a valiant effort behind remembering names. And upon hearing that she was a Winged ambassador for the humans, well that sounded terribly important and his eyes widened with even more curiosity. Humans were odd little creatures; he didn't understand how they managed to reside here without wings or fins. Such a fascinating thing they were, always coming out with new gadgets and whatnot. Of course Piper didn't think they could sing very well, or most of them at least, and he had never heard one play an instrument.

But he liked them fair enough. There was more of a neutral stance between him and the humans. "Probably." He rocked back on his heels, using his wings to keep him from falling. "I don't pay attentions to the humans too much," he confessed. Piper just went about his daily routine and very rarely did he deviate. Playing music, visiting others, and going down to visit some of the merefolk was just about all he did in a day.

For now his attention went strictly to that device she held in her hand. Piper remained oblivious to the interesting tidbits the humans tossed into this society. There wasn't much Piper did pay attention to; on various occasions, anyone would swear he had some type of ADD. He always had to keep moving. He leaned forward just a bit; what an interesting small little thing! Piper decided to stick to his flute and other instruments though; perhaps one day he would explore the realm of human technology, but for now he enjoyed the simpler things. Then again, it wasn't as if he held an important position in this society either.

"They have music?" Something that humans made actually piqued his interest. He never heard them play any musical instruments; he had heard them sing but . . . Anyway, this excited Piper and his face bore the expression of complete shock, surprise, and a terrible happiness. His eyes danced with a grand dose of life. "Surely their music isn't just noise." Music could never be noise; music was beautiful, an embodiment of nature itself and of the life that dwelled within each being. But the music Piper thought of was aesthetically pleasing: flutes, violins, cellos, bagpipes, and all of the other royal instruments that could never produce an unpleasing sound.

"I like music."

[Saphira]

Didn't pay attention to the humans much? Saphira was a little more than surprised at this comment. You had to pay attention to the humans. They were new and interesting and most importantly, they thought Corus was also new and interesting. Saphira couldn't think of anything more exciting than sharing things about her world with new people. And to ignore the humans would mean ignoring the few who might also do their planet wrong. She couldn't forgive herself if she had ignored some of the humans who had tried to capture a Pegasus the other day.

He kept eyeing her padd. "Oh yes, they have music of many different types... there is quite a vast selection. But some of it is nearly frightening, I'm afraid. There is screaming and banging and... oh, it's not very pleasant at all. But there are kinds with some of their stringed instruments that are very beautiful. Not nearly as nice as our people's music, but it's nice to listen to for a change sometimes."

Human music certainly would never rival that of the Winged, Saphira thought. It lacked the ethereal qualities she enjoyed in her peoples' creativity. "Though they are nice enough that they have begun adding some of our music to their digital libraries. I don't listen to it much, though... it's really not the same in their digital recorded forms as it is to listen to the real thing." She gave a shrug. "Maybe it's the same with Human music as well..."

[piper]

Piper paid attention to humans--to an extent. It was more safe to say that he really didn't though because his concerns no longer revolved around their type. Since his younger days he explored the realm of humans, his interest growing; but now all died down and everything was "normal." The politics involved were vague shadows to Piper who didn't think twice about anything. Evil or blatant wrong-doing failed to register in his mind. Not to say he was perfect, but Piper held good intentions all the way; good intentions paved the road to hell, but his downfall laid within this concept. To comprehend the shipping off of sacred animals went beyond him. Piper had a tendency to reject reality and rewrite what he thought. Acceptance of these actions remained impossible and so, Piper continued being oblivious. It was a mixture of rejection and actually being oblivious; even the simplest things sometimes went over his head.

His thoughts vanished on the topic and once again Piper became infatuated with the idea of music, all the music he could want, on one little advice. So he was a little outdated, he was the one who enjoyed playing live music, and this was a grand discovery to him, no matter how belated it might be. Piper tended to live in his own created world instead of the "real" world. In hearing that music was not exactly beautiful, he frowned.

Soon enough the frown dissipated and he became very interested in the beautiful music. Nothing could, of course, compare to their music. Even Piper would readily admit that--the way the winged people held instruments in their hands and made rhythms drove to paranormal extremes; humans couldn't compete with that. No species could. But even Piper admired their attempts and he remained excited with the idea that a species he barely paid attention to could arouse some curiosity. "That's lovely," he responded, his eyes rushing past her as if in his own trance.

"There is nothing that can compare to live music," he readily agreed. "Do they make any other useful things?" Perhaps there were other instruments that he had never heard of, but Piper was almost arrogant in the fact that he knew most instruments.

The one who lived in his own world suddenly snapped out and drove back to reality where he blinked and looked at the woman in front of him. "How do you like your job?" he suddenly inquired. "Are they fun to work with?" From what humans he met, they seemed to be agreeable enough. Piper knew somewhat of the other species, some who could be less than ideal, but that was all right he supposed. Unfortunately for his twenty-three years, he had never so much as ventured out of the boundaries of Corus. While he wanted to, he stayed rooted in this planet. One day he would overcome his fear of those ships and fly off. A world waited and he wanted to explore--perhaps tomorrow he would begin considering this.

[Saphira]

"I suppose it depends on your definition of useful," Saphira shrugged, tucking the padd under her arm as she spoke. "Most of their things are designed to do things for them, so they don't have to. Useful, I suppose. But also makes for a lazy person." She smiled a little, proudly. "And their flight could never compare to ours, eh?"

When he asked about the humans, she wasn't exactly sure what to say. The humans were so diverse, so her experiences with them varied from day to day. "It depends on the human," she replied finally. "Some are wonderful to work with. Very respectful, and full of interest in learning about us. Others, I fear, really wish we weren't on this planet so they could claim it as their own. Those are the ones you really must keep your eyes on..."

[piper]

Piper wouldn't know about what was useful and what wasn't. He happened to be the simple sort of person, knowing only instruments and music. It's what he did for a living so technology wasn't one of his fortes. Even the useless items would intrigue him but with his luck, if he ever happened to get his hands on it, it'd break somehow. Despite his curiosity, Piper oscillated on whether he wanted one or not. Live music was the best, nothing could ever compare, but he was interested in the human's music all the same even if there was no comparison. For now though he lived a content life and understood that it was more his curiosity than anything. Curiosity killed the cat; Piper didn't want to be that cat.

Laziness wasn't something Piper fully understood. Each and every day he remained a constant happy individual going about his tasks. "Yes," he agreed. "Laziness is not good." He couldn't understand why people would want to sit around and watch the day pass without doing anything. This wasn't to say he didn't enjoy sitting in nature, but he couldn't remain cooped up without nothing to do. Even when he sat he was thinking of something and Piper did not equate that with laziness.

A bit of pride swelled within him as she mentioned flying. "Oh, it never ever will!" A smile beamed on his face. Piper could be very vain about this aspect, perhaps even considered somewhat arrogant. But he didn't care: it was the truth and it would always be thus. Poor little humans, so deprived of what life really meant and how flight could be perfected.

The talk of humans made sense to Piper. He understood there were those good and those bad, even though comprehending the bad in the "bad humans" would probably never make sense. He tended to trust almost anyone that came his way; Piper saw the good, he was unable to see the bad which made for quite a few twists and turns in his life. Not among the winged people that he could ever recall, or perhaps he had pushed those memories so far back that they lie entirely forgotten. With a shrug he glanced to the side. "Well I hope the majority are good then," he responded.

It suddenly dawned on him that she might actually have a life unlike he did. "I hope I'm not holding you up for your job or anything," he suddenly blurted, his eyes going wide. The last thing he wanted was to keep her from whatever she had to do. His day simply consisted of wandering around, playing an instrument. "Is it a fun job?"

[Saphira]

"Oh that's fine," she shook her head. "I've just been working on a plan for one of the humans who want to capture birds for sale on their planet. There are lots of rules and things we have to get set into place for him before he can be allowed. It's all very business-y, and probably quite boring for most everyone else."

She tucked the padd away in a pouch on her hip. "But sometimes I admit I work far too much and have very little social life. So bumping into you might have been just what I needed to make me get my nose out of work for a nice conversation for once."