Exploring the World (Open!)

The flutter of wings was almost magical for the young child as she watched the multi-colored insect go flying up and off of the flower it had been perched on and into the sky; flying through the streams of sunlight that filtered through the leaves above her. Green eyes tracked the movement as, step by step, she followed after the lovely tiny creature. She wanted to get close to it, examine it and see what all colors made up the beauty that caught her attention in the first place.

She stepped lightly so that she barely disturbed the foliage around her. The butterfly she was tracking fluttered down and landed on another flower that stood proudly in the sunlight; the flower petals a lovely mixture of both pinks and yellows: but their beauty wasn't what she wanted to see right now. Ciaran continued forward as she kept her steps both light and as quiet as she could manage. Each step caused her to draw closer and closer until, as she paused, she was standing only a foot and a half away from the flower and the butterfly.

The butterfly seemed almost unreal to the child; a beautiful combination of blues and pinks that faded into purples towards the edge; all outlined in black with many tiny little circles and ovals and other details that caused the tiny creature to stand out as a mark of beauty in the world. Slowly she reached her right hand out, pointer finger extended towards the butterfly. For a brief few seconds the butterfly remained where it was on the flower but as Ciaran remained perfectly still the butterfly fluttered up, flew in several tiny circles, and then landed on her out-stretched finger. Ciaran slowly lifted her hand, making sure not to make any sudden movements that would startle the creature, and brought her hand closer to her face so she could get a closer look at the butterfly perched on it.

The butterfly put up with the closeness for all of ten seconds before an exhale from Ciaran annoyed the small creature enough for it to fly up... and then land on her nose. Ciaran went cross eyed for a moment; eyes attempting to focus on the creature so close on her face now. The butterfly moved lower which caused a tickle of her nose, followed by a sudden and violent sneeze. The butterfly took off, startled and with no intentions of returning, while Ciaran went toppling backwards and onto her butt.

As she laid there on the ground, staring upwards at the sky, she couldn't help but giggle and lift her right hand. She rubbed at her nose, attempting to get the tickling sensation to stop.

"If you blow your nose, it should stop, Sister." Simple enough, and it worked for him, when his nose would tickle and itch during the spring flowerings. He was a tad sensitive to the fresh pollen; something he'd inherited from their father, but should grow out of in a few years time. "Will you spend all your time sneezing when the clouds of butterflies migrate through? You love to touch them, and they shed so much wing dust and such; it is a miracle you haven't blown down a tree yet." He was amused more than anything, sitting in the grass not far away with a small assortment of toy tools and materials between his legs. He was attempting to build a toy slingshot, similar to the one he'd seen their father making earlier that day. Mimicry was something he did; he wasn't sure why; but he was always copying what their mother and father did. "Maybe you should cover yourself in flowers. The butterflies would come to you faster. The birds as well; the little hummers with their jewel feathers and invisible wings, hm?"

Ciaran lifted her head up off of the ground, blue hair now filled with grass and a few leaves that had fallen - neither of which bothered her, and looked towards her twin. She then sat up, nose wiggling slightly as it continued to itch; at least until she followed his advice and pulled out a small square piece of white cloth from her sleeve which she then proceeded to blow her nose on. Just like her brother had said it would, her nose stopped itching right away. She folded the square of cloth back up and stuffed it back up into her sleeve where there was a tiny hidden pocket for such things.

Still ignoring everything in her hair because it didn't bother her in the slightest she got up off of the ground and wandered over to her brother; curious as to what he was building. She sat down nearby, waiting until that point in time to actually respond. "I'd cover myself in flowers, but if someone else touched them it might not end so well." Truth in it too; she didn't like risking touching things others might have, simply because on the rare occasion that she touched something someone had touched who had been hurt, or hurt someone else: that was the last thing she wanted to see, feel, or otherwise experience - and the first thing she had seen and felt the moment her power had awakened. Which, was why she was being extra cautious given she had her special gloves in her pocket instead of on like she normally did: she just didn't bother with them much when it was just her family around her compared to everyone else.

Her head tilted a bit in curiosity as she looked to what her brother was doing. "What are you making, Brother?"

"I saw father working on a slingshot earlier. Nothing special, at least that I could see." True enough, even his bad eye that let him see magics and invisible energies if he focused with it saw nothing; so he was assuming it was just a bit of idle practice for the day. Their father liked to keep his hands moving at all times when not wrapped around a bow and arrow, or playing with himself and his sister. Keeping them nimble and well practiced was ingrained in his nature; and something that Cian was trying to emulate in a way. He didn't want to be a warrior if he could help it; conflict left a sour taste on his tongue after all; but the idea of being a craftsman of some sort did appeal to him in some regards. He loved to work and build with his hands, and while being 'blind' in one eye would be a cause for many to pity him in most professions; for a craftsman it was a hazard of the job, and would be easily ignored. He didn't like the way people treated him differently over his golden eye. It was only 'bad' in that he couldn't use it to see the physical world; but it let him 'see' so much more, when he wanted too. But they didn't know that, and he'd promised his parents that he would keep that a secret for a while, until they could figure out exactly what, and how, he was actually seeing with that eye.

"I thought I might try my hand at replicating it. Or maybe design my own. I'm not sure, really. I just feel the urge to build things, sometimes; just as you feel the urge to play with the insects and animals. It is my safe place, as they are yours."

Ciaran smiled and laid back down; preferred better than sitting so that she could comfortably watch the clouds pass by as they drifted lazily overhead. She could feel an ant crawling across her fingertips of her left hand but paid it no mind; insects never bothered her, nor did animals, simply because they were some of the few living things she could touch without seeing psychic impressions. It was something that seperated her from 'normal' girls who would scream and freak out when something that was perhaps a little creepy looking crawl too close, or on them for that matter.

"I like slingshots.", she commented to her brother as she glanced over to him before looking back up at the sky. "Momma wants me to learn how to fight with my hands and feet... she says I should know how even if I won't ever have to", her nose wrinkled slightly at the idea; a normal habit when something came up that she didn't like.

She fell silent then, continuing to stare up at the clouds, head tilting a bit as she saw one float by that looked a bit like a bunny rabbit whose left ear was slightly longer and more floppy looking than the other. Just as she was about to comment on such a thing her stomach growled and she sat up, beginning to look around for the small bag she brought with filled with all sorts of snacks.

"As do I. I want to maybe learn to use the bow like Father one day, if I'm ever large enough." Given how small he was for his age, he did slightly doubt he would ever be tall or strong enough for the type of long bow their father used; but that wouldn't stop him from picking up and trying a short bow or shot weapon. Simple, easy things. Too easy. He liked harder things; liked having to work to learn and perfect. Easy was boring, and he was always so good at everything he'd been taught. Books and school came easy; it was the same for them both. They could finish an entire week of lessons in one morning, then spend all their free time enjoying themselves. They where already years ahead of their age mates; not that they had any around, but that wasn't a problem. He wasn't super social, and she had good reason to avoid people she didn't know. He preferred to just be with family; his twin and parents; maybe their uncles sometimes. Otherwise? Alone with Ciaran, that was his happy time.

"It would be smart to learn to protect yourself that way. Better to be prepared than left defenseless. Mother would be a great tutor for that; she moves like a ghost and has more power than she's shown us. I've seen it, the glow of her power held back. It is... scary. Like when I saw Grandfather's power. So much they hold back, for our safety. Or maybe just to show us later; Father and Grandfather are always speaking of how we may have inherited far more than we know. Possible, given our family line."

Ciaran smiled suddenly, getting a very far away look in her green eyes even though she continued to stare at the clouds that passed lazily by overhead. "One day you're going to wake up and it'll be like you grew a good many inches just overnight.", she said softly; though if that was a guess or something that she actually had foresaw she didn't say.

"That's what she said, too, to me.", she said in response to her brother's comment about how it was better for her to learn then not. "Better I know how to do it even if I never have to, then to one day come across someone I can't fight from far away and end up defenseless to them. It's just hard to imagine wanting to fight someone like that; what if I don't have my gloves that day?" She knew one day she would likely get control over this pyshic power of hers, that one day she would find the on/off switch and be able to stop herself from seeing stuff each and every time she touched someone; she just didn't know exactly when that day would come, and had a feeling it was rather far away from here and now.

She turned her head, moving her gaze off of the clouds and onto her twin. "I don't see anything when I touch either mother or our grandfather... it's like they're always blocking me because they're scared of what I'm going to see. On the rare chance I do see something it's normally something tiny; like grandfather giving us some sweet, tasty surprise, or mother wanting to do training later that day. Small, insignificant stuff." She looked back up towards the clouds, seeing one that looked very much like a sailboat go floating by. "But I never see anything about them using any of their abilities... or any indication of how strong they really are."

"Father has said that before; he's sure I'll be small until the day I'm not, then I'll be a giant like he was. It shouldn't be too hard to learn some close quarters techniques. Maybe you should look into short weapons? A staff or something like that; or even small blades. I've seen father teaching with rope darts so large they could be hand knives..."

That was about the moment the Y bend of the slingshot snapped; he'd figured it'd happen eventually given he'd just grabbed a hunk of half green wood off the ground and started carving. He hadn't wrapped any of the stress points yet, nor had he really planned to. It was just some practice for his hands, that was all. "There is much they hide from us... But I sense they do it out of love. Grandfather's past we know has demons. I don't know what Father hides; or if he's even trying. He is mind blind after all, if either of us could read him properly, it would be a miracle. Mother... I see power. Immense power. Darkness of a sorts; but not her own. I can't explain it, properly."

Ciaran nodded in agreement with her brother. She was sure they did it out of love too; she was sure that they had seen and dealt with more than their fair shares in their lives and neither of them wanted her to experience any of it first hand: especially since she would feel it all as they had done. So, she pushed it from her mind and focused on something else; like the fact that what her brother was working on had broke.

She sat up and moved into an indian style seated position. She idly began to pick the leaves and grass out of her own hair as she stared at the broken Y her brother had been working on. Her head tilted a bit to the side as it often did when she was curious about something or deep in thought. "I would not mind learning how to use a staff... I've seen mother practice with one every so often... I think she does it when she's bored. It looks interesting... like a beautiful dance..."

She opened up her small bag revealing several tiny snacks; most of which were fruit, berries, and other delicious edibles that wouldn't go bad too quickly. She stuck the bag between herself and her brother; an offer to share without her having to say anything. She then plucked out a small handful of berries and popped one after the other into her mouth.

"Indeed. The smaller weapons, when used right... it is like dancing. I've seen fans used for just that; you can see the hints of the martial in the dance, and the art in the fight. Ranged weapons lack the grace, in a way. However, for a first line of offence or defense, I do prefer to not be seen if possible. A sniper is safer than most, when smart about their trade."

While not hungry really; he never actually was and only ate because he had to or to please their parents; he reached for a few of the berries and a bit of the nuts; this way he had a witness to say he'd eaten more than the slice of bread he'd forced down at breakfast. Food rarely appealed to him, and he'd never really cared for it; outside of the odd craving for nearly alive meat he would get once or twice a month. Otherwise, he just never needed, or wanted, to eat anything.

"You know, Mother has spoken of wanting to put you in lessons for dance and the like. Maybe combine the two? That way, you're doing something productive, and far more enjoyable than either alone; and it will appease Father by showing initiative. You know how he likes it when we do that. What was it he said... 'Better they learn what they want, then for us to force them and they be miserable as we where?' I think that was what he said to Mother, anyway."

That... was something she wouldn't mind so much; the thought of doing something that would combine beautiful dancing and fighting all into one. The best part of course was that she would never have to worry about someone coming into contact with her, so there was nothing to worry about. She would be able to have fun and do something she could see herself actually enjoying. "I wouldn't mind that so much; it sounds like it would be fun."

She grabbed up another small handful of berries and popped a few into her mouth. As she chewed she felt the berries burst open in her mouth, their delicious flavor causing her to smile brightly. She glanced over, noticing her brother eating some too which only caused her smile to grow bigger. "I love berries!", she said happily before popping more into her mouth: ignoring the fact that her hands were turning blue, as was her tongue and lips due to the berries natural coloring.

"Mother and Father will be happy to hear you ate some berries, too!"

He merely offered a sheepish smile when she mentioned his eating; plan success achieved, however it did enforce the urge to push himself away from the meager meal. He just didn't like food, even less so when he was being watched or around people. A weird quirk, one he didn't see needing to be changed.

"I can make you a little staff to work with... It wouldn't be hard, Father has plenty of split pitch branch I could smooth over, wrap a bit of leather for a grip... A fan wouldn't be... much more difficult. It would be a good project... I can make the frame, you can work with Mother to make the overlay?"