ledbythewind | [Action]

[Anyone who happens to walk by on the road beside House 28 this evening will be treated to a rather unusual sight: a cloud of fireflies hovering around the front lawn, greenish-yellow lights flickering as they fly back and forth, following the movement of a tiny orb of light.

Closer inspection reveals the source of said orb of light as Richard, who is seated in the grass-- he's using a tiny bit of Hyt's power to combine with his own magic (the base for a Holy Lance, not that he's going to cast the entire thing), creating a soft white glowing sphere that hovers a couple of inches above his finger. As he moves his hand to trace mindless patterns in the night air, the orb follows it, and the fireflies follow that in a parade of blinking lights. Richard can't quite hide his amusement at this, reflected in the slight smile on his face. It may be an odd way to spend one's birthday, but to Richard, it's more than fine-- not that he doesn't appreciate what Asbel and the others have done for him. He just needs a little time to himself to unwind after all of that.

But if anyone wanders by, he'll be happy to converse with them. He wouldn't be in a public place if he didn't feel like talking to anyone, after all.]

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[Now that? Makes her beam.]

Yes, I'd love to!

[She sits down next to him and waits in happy anticipation.]

[He'll just hold his hand up as the fireflies swarm around it; it's faint at first, but if Grune listens carefully she'll be able to hear a multitude of tiny, high-pitched little "hello"s in response. They don't say much more than that, but it's a start, at least!]

[~~And from that point on, Fenimore could never get Grune to clean out any cobwebs or remove any bugs from House 34.~~

Grune bends in close, listening carefully for their little voices. When she hears them, she looks momentarily surprised, and then her smile comes back even stronger than before.]

Hello! It's so nice to meet all of you!

I think they like you already.

[As much as bugs can like anyone, he guesses. He's never really spoken to the bugs here before...]

Oh, I like them, too! [She beams at him again.] And I think they like you!

But do they like me, or do they like my magic?

I'm sure they like you and your magic. You're so kind, and your magic is very pretty!

[He lets out a soft laugh.]

Thank you, Grune. That's very kind of you to say.

[Hearing his laugh, her smile grows.]

You're welcome--but it's true.

[She addresses the fireflies.] Isn't that right?

[There's a tiny chorus of assent from the bugs, causing Richard to look slightly embarrassed (albeit happy).]

It isn't fair to gang up on me like that, you know.

[She tilts her head a little.]

Isn't it?

[But didn't Richard want to know that he has lots of friends?]

[In response, Richard just creates another orb of light in his other hand, then uses a tiny puff of wind magic to scatter the particles of light on the breeze, smiling.]

[Grune waves as the fireflies are scattered with his light.]

Goodbye, everyone!

[But this just has the effect of causing the fireflies to switch their target of hovering to Grune-- now they cluster around her, just floating lazily in the night air.

And Richard can't help it: he starts to laugh. Who would have imagined that something so simple could end up being so much fun?]

[She doesn't object to this state of affairs at all, and she greets the fireflies happily.]

Hello again!

[When Richard starts laughing, she joins in, absolutely delighted. The sound of one of her friends laughing is one of the most beautiful sounds of all, she thinks.]

It seems you've just made a bunch of new friends as well.

[It isn't often that Richard is this relaxed and happy, so he's in no rush to chase her or the fireflies away.]

[That's good, because Grune is pretty bad at leaving on time. Or doing anything on time, really.]

They're both our friends! It's so nice to share friends, isn't it?

[That draws another quiet laugh from Richard.]

You really are a remarkable woman, Grune.

[Once again, she smiles at the sound.]

Oh, my, what a kind thing to say! You're very sweet, Richard.

[He just shakes his head.]

I'm only telling the truth.

Hmm.... But you're still very sweet.

[She smiles at him through the fireflies.] I'm glad we're friends.

As am I.

[He lifts a hand to summon up another orb, this time floating it over in Grune's direction so that she can play with it if she wants.]

[Grune pokes at it with a finger, wanting to see what it does. It's so pretty!]

[The poke causes it to glow more brightly for a moment when her finger touches it, then fade back to its normal luminosity. Richard watches her, happy that she's enjoying herself with it, as simple as it is.]

[She giggles at the response, then pokes it again. Poke poke poke!

The fireflies are probably getting fairly confused at this point.]

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