The Adventures Of Hat Boy & Firelizard Girl {Fide}

[Admin]

So pretty, so smart,
Such a waste of a young heart!
What a pity, what a sham,
What’s the matter with you, man?

A new life is supposed to change you. An opportunity is supposed to be taken full force. Being search should make some difference in you. Children dream of being able to try to Impress a dragon. However, Sonia hadn't been a child for many turns, and becoming a candidate hadn't changed her inside. Outside, it had actually prompted a slight change. The dress she wore was used but in good condition and clean. Her hair was brushed and tucked back from her face for once, though it remained slightly messy from where she had arranged it so that Zola could hide behind it. However, she had only been at the Weyr for a few days, and two bruises remained on her face, only half faded. Her behavior remained the same. Polite. Curt. Submissive. She worked, doing her assigned chores and more. She tried not to bother anyone.

Sweeping a corner of the dining hall, which was empty since it was the middle of the afternoon with drills, she had less company than she normally did. Green Zola was curled close to her neck, bronze Ruy hovered beside her, and pink Esti darted about, bored by the task but still somehow happy. All of the other firelizards in her fair of seven were away, basking outside on the rim. Keeping her head down, taking no chances, she dutifully continued with the task, going along. Her tiny body looked a little better than usual, except for the bruises. Even hunched towards the ground, she didn't look old. A couple of days of proper food had added a stability to her. Her skin had smoothed, hiding bones entirely, and actually properly expressed the light tan that colored it. If only she would straighten up, she might have looked normal, but she didn't dare try normal.

Finishing the sweeping, she went to put the broom away. No one was supervising her, but that didn't feel odd to her. The fact that no one was watching her didn't keep her from continuing to work. After turns as a drudge, it was drilled into her mind. Work. Just because someone wasn't watching didn't mean that the job didn't have to get done. Someone would notice later. Someone could always yell. Always. The Weyr was better than the hold, but she saw no reason to tempt fate. She wasn't a risk taker, and not working seemed like a risk to her. It let her avoid other people and made her look like she was a part of where she was. She didn't feel like she was a part of anything, but faking was generally her goal. She only had to fake everything she needed to be in order to survive. She didn't have to truly believe anything she did to live.

Sonia grabbed two rags and turned to start scrubbing down the tables. No one else would be around. The job probably would have been more suited to three or four people, but she barely thought about that fact. Anyway, she could get some help without involving anyone else. "Ruy;" she said, holding out one of the rags she had taken. He took it and darted off to another table, where he pushed it around with clawed feet. Esti and Zola were excused from the task because they were too small to handle the rather difficult job. Giving the agreeable if often controlling bronze a smile, she leaned back over the table she was cleaning. From a mix of a warped pride and a fear that had driven most pride into hiding, she didn't rush. She worked quickly, but she strove for an acceptable result. So many things like that had built themselves in her mind.

Call on all your girls, don’t forget the boys,
Put a lid on all that noise!
I’m a satellite heart, lost in the dark.
I’m spun out so far, you stop, I start.

[fidelli]

Hey soul sister,
Ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo,
The way you move
Ain't fair you know.

New lives were like being reborn in a way. You had the chance to start over, to be a new person... And yet, even as you had the chance to have this magical new life, as most children do not... You really don't. New lives were just a fancy way of saying you moved, and no one knew you, and life sucked all over because you had to make new friends. You didn't stop being who you were the moment you came to a new place - it just didn't work like that. Frankly, it ticked Hatoter off everytime a Rider or an adult said, "You are so lucky, coming to a new place, with a chance to start over." Start over what? Start over a new place, with no contacts, with the urge to take but not know from who, because you have a code? He hated adults.

And what sucked more was that even as Hat had been searched, been taken to this new place and given a chance to be a new person - which would never happen - the Hatching had started... And the friends that he had begun to have were all Impressed, leaving three people on the stands - two girls, and him. It was a crushing blow - to give up everything in your life and be turned down with such a huge force. So many dragonets, and he was one of the few standing. It had been hard, and then to listen to the keen of chilling death in the air right after... It had not been one of his favorite nights.

But Hatoter was a surviver, and he took it as it was. His Lifemate would not be coming then - and the Pink that had thought him so good for Impression could not have been wrong. So, it was just not his time, and he would wait. It did not mean it was not fun, watching the friends he had made go through Weyrling training while he did Candidate chores and waited for the next batch to run through, but he amused himself. He was Hat, after all. He found amusement in mostly everything he did, and he loved to quote his mother. "Only boring people get bored."

So, finished with chores for the day - he had had to help A'mor reorganize the Infirmary - and with a shudder hoped he never had to do it again. The Masterhealer may not have realized that his dragon was proddy, but his infamous temper was worse than usual and even Hat could tell that the Gray was a proddy female. But he had escaped with his life - barely - and now he was bored, wandering the halls. He hadn't yet decided if he was hungry, even as a little spool of thread was spun between his hands. He had stolen it from the infirmary - something about stitching up sheets - and now was coveting his prize happily... But he was sure he wanted something. He just wasn't sure what yet. According to his ever mysterious sources - usually the drudges he charmed and female riders, most of which now knew him - a few new candidates had been trickling in...

He wanted to meet them, and greet them, but he had yet to run into them as it was, and hadn't taken the time to search them out. He didn't even know what they looked like - he figured, like the lazy boy he was -that he would run into them soon enough.

And speak of the devil. He knew most of the drudges, and none he knew had this many firelizards. Three was a huge number, even if you were in a Weyr, for a drudge. Most of them with three tended to get Impressed then... He leaned against one of the far tables, and just watched the girl for a moment. She was tiny - her Bronze flit zooming by on one of the tables amused him for a moment - but she was much more interesting. When he had had this job, it had been several of them tackling the huge tables in the dining hall... Not just one person. But she took it quietly, and she had that air about her... As she shifted, he stilled suddenly. She had bruises over her face, half faded but still noticeable with the sickly greens and yellows.

That was not cool. With an irritated fountain of emotions, Hat did the gentlemanly thing he usually did and decided that he did want to make a friend today... Plus, he would make sure that this tiny scrap of a girl never got a bruise again, if he could help it. Hitting a girl - that was despicable. He straightened then, walking in easily, and scooped up another of the rags. He felt that he could probably do another chore today - actually, he had only done half a chore before driving A'mor completly irritated with his chattering. The Grayrider had kicked him out.

So he grabbed the rag and began to attack the table with will, right across from her. "Hello my beautiful pearl. I hope you gave the sharder who hit you as good as you got." A brilliant smile, he tried to meet her eyes with his own blue ones, although fast hands kept pace with her.

Hey soul sister,
I don't wanna miss
A single thing you do...
Tonight.

[Admin]

Some people you can never please,
You might as well just let them be,
They mock everything not their own,
From their imaginary throne.

Sonia knew that someone was in the dining hall after only a few moments. Even with her eyes down, she was quick to pick up on the presence of others around her. Watchful. Wary. Anyway, Esti immediately caught sight of the boy and the image she captured was passed onto her bonded in a flash. Ruy glanced at the boy, but continued his task, assured by the distance the other kept. A chiding thought from the tiny candidate kept all of her firelizards where they were. She bent over her work, not giving the boy a glance. If she didn't act like she noticed him, she didn't have to bow. She didn't have to speak. Scrubbing away, she knew he was watching. The back of her neck, under Zola, prickled in a familiar manner when she sensed eyes on her. Worries flickered in her mind, kept at the back for her fair. Why was he watching? Why?

Footfalls marked his approached. He picked up a rag and started scrubbing the same table as her. Why was he doing that? So inefficient! Doing separate tables worked so much better. Part of her sneered at him, called him a fool. However, her head remained ducked until he spoke. He called her a beautiful pearl. He spoke about the sharder who'd hit her. Tilting her head slightly, she met his eyes. Hazel eyes locked with his for the briefest of seconds. They were the only thing that showed the slightest bit of disdain. Beautiful pearl. Liar. Flirt. No good to her. Senses put onto alert, she lowered her gaze quickly, focusing back onto the task that she had. She moved to speak, lips parting, but was interrupted as her fair, all of it, sensed the new development. With a cry, four more appeared to join the trio already with her, led by a golden Queen.

Claws outstretched, the gold streaked for Hat. Threat! Good for nothing boy! He would hurt hers! Abandoning his task, Ruy charged to join her, more than happy to remove the male from near his bonded. A grumpy blue flew with them, more than happy to simply be able to attack. The others, except for Zola, clinging more firmly to her neck, darted about near the ceiling. "Eulo! Ruy! Jary!" Hat was left unharmed by several feet. All of them pulled off, turning to gaze at their bonded. She regarded them with one eye. They had wanted her to come here because they thought it better. It was their fault for not realizing that boys existed everything. They would remember the manners she had taught them. "I apologize, sir." She dropped a curtsy, before returning to her work. Her fair had been quieted and landed on tables near them.

"I have no idea what the ones who happened to hit me got;" she informed him in a mild, polite, quiet voice, keeping her eyes and head tilted down. The correction was slight, and even then she was sharply aware of it. Singular to plural, telling him some of the truth of what had happened. She had considered, in the brief moment she had to think, of not making the alteration. She could have allowed him to continue to believe that it was just some man, some boy she'd kissed or canoodled that had hit her. However, she hadn't. She didn't know who he was, but he was helping her with the chore. Badly, but helping. She didn't trust him at all, but he was helping, and that invoked some honesty in her. Some honesty that didn't exist in her manner. Beautiful pearl. Eulo snorted for her. Nearby, Esti and Ife wiggled with interest. A flirt!

Why kiss the feet of,
The people who kick you,
When you can be,
Anything that you want to?

[fidelli]

One of the things you pick up on fast as a thief was the body language of a person. The good ones, those who steal and don't get caught, learn to read the posture. It's easier to pickpocket someone who is happy, not someone who is tense and angry, and to steal from the home of someone who is casual and easy going. You learned to read them fast, from the wary way their shifted their eyes, the casual angle of their back. And you learned fast never to pickpocket anybody with a firelizard. It was the second time he had ever been almost caught, and thankfully, the `lizard had been a little flightly pink. He had made it seem as though the man had dropped the marks and Hat was only returning them - gaining him several marks anyway. The Bronze had noted him, to be sure, which meant the little girl knew he was standing there. He wondered if she was controlling the three lizards around her, because the Bronze had not started up on him, or whether they didn't care... It didn't matter much, to him. He had escape the little claws of lizards enough - nuisance-y things. He didn't quite like them - didn't see the amusement in them like others did.

Hat didn't actually think it was inefficient - two hands on the table meant it was done so much faster, compared to each one at a huge table, solitary. Plus, he didn't care. He was doing this to talk to the new candidate - whom he might have thought was a drudge if her knots had said differently. But he wasn't caring about what she was right now - he was more interested in the fact that hazel eyes had met blue ones, and the disdain was clear. His smile grew broader, and he flashed her an innocent look. It was his nature to compliment her, and by Faranth she would be complimented. Her lips parted, perhaps to respond, but hte faint wash of cold air from between was enough to make him look up.

Four more, claws outstreached in battle, were streaking for him. Four? Plus three, that would be... Seven flitters. No wonder this girl a was a candidate, if he counted a Gold, a White - they were rare critters - and a Bronze, plus four other creatures. The Gold did not look happy, and the Bronze was with her as well - he wasn't sure if he was going to get in trouble but he was definitely going to smack the Bronze, throw the rag over the small Blue that was joining it, and hurtle the table to hide behind the Girl from the Gold. But he heard the girl speak for the first time, halting the battle with firm tones. 'Eulo! Ruy! Jary!' They pulled out of the screaming triangle of death, but he had already noted - if he guessed right, the Queen was Eulo, the Bronze Ruy, and the blue Jary. However, he had more interesting things to worry about - she was talking again. 'I apologize, sir.' So shocked was he that she called him sir and curtsied that he just looked at her, even as the rag was held limp in his hand. Normally he would have preened if he was called sir... But something told him that she was doing it not because she respected him, but because of the bruises on her face.

'I have no idea what the ones who happened to hit me got.' Happened to hit her. He snorted then, even as her next words were enough to make him start again on the table, scrubbing furiously to catch up with her. So it was more than one... Well, she didn't look like one of be around kissing all of the boys in whatever manner-forsaken hold they had yanked her from. He regarded her more carefully, and decided at once that he liked her. She looked all meek and timid, and even was doing a fantastic job at keeping her body language down... But he had heard her tone when she had called the `lizards off, and when she had looked at him she most definitely had emotion.

First things first, now that she seemed to sink back into silence. He paused in his scrubbing, and found the Gold Queen. With an elegant bow, he crossed his fingers and hoped that she had gone in rank. "I apologize for any threat you thought I imposed on Yours, Queen Eulo, and I will try my hardest not to offend." With proper gravity in his voice and emotions, he proposed a shorter bow to the Bronze and Blue. "And to you as well, Ruy and Jary." He wasn't one hundred percent sure on the male lizards, so he blended it together - yes ladies and gents, years of training as a Harper for politeness to flitters. Good use of his time. He returned to his scrubbing, but kept talking, looking up at her occasionally. "I'm not sir, beautiful one. We are the same rank, after all, and even then, I'm sure sir is very stuffy and boring and I would hate to be called that on a regular basis."

"Don't worry about them - they didn't mean any harm. I've been clawed by worse." Indeed he had been - he had a fantastic scar across his shoulder where a heavy Brown had crossed him once, that had caught him in his thievery. If the Hall hadn't been very nearby... He would have probably been caught. But Hat lived on short thrills, and everything was just another adventure in his kleptomaniac mind. He didn't believe it was one of the males from around here, at least. She looked too new, the bruises looked too old. "I'm Hatoter. Just Hat, for short." He paused in his scrubbing to tip said hat to her, smiling cheekily. "And you are, oh shining star?"

[Admin]

She never slows down,
She doesn't know why,
But she knows that,
When she's all alone.

Part of Eulo was satiated by the respect that the boy chose to pay her. The rest of her wasn't the slightest bit interested in his apologies. She had learned well from the person that had raised her, but she had none of the girl's fearfulness. She settled on the table and took to ignoring him, stretching out one wing and neatly cleaning it. Ruy returned the boy's bow with a slight dip of his head, keeping quiet and giving off nothing. Jary let out a hiss. He wanted to claw someone, but, no, he had to behave! Esti and Ife darted by him and he didn't even get to snap at them. Floundering away on stiffened wings, he went to sulk. Attention carefully split, Sonia kept part of an eye on their antics, but she mostly focused on the task still in front of her and Hat. He'd snorted at her words. His right. He'd apologized to her flitters. He obviously didn't know them.

Inside, she rolled her eyes as he continued to talk, every word he spoke prickling in her mind, putting her ever on edge. Outside, her eyes remained down, not showing anything. Giving a fraction of a nod, not raising her head, she showed that she understood that he didn't want her to call him a sir. When he said that he'd gotten worse, Eulo's gaze suddenly snapped back to the boy. Worse? Worse than her? An imperious snarled started to form in her throat. However, Sonia, not even raising her gaze, quelled it, silencing the gold before she even spoke. No. The weight of the word, carried by a mental strength, was directed at the gold, but all of the seven heard it, so it worked as a reminder to them of how they were to be acting. Zola shifted her position against her neck, her steady weight and meekness a comfortable reassurance for her.

Shining star? Beautiful one? Really? Her mind doubted every single one of those phrases. The tiny girl made sure to pause, checking her steadfast wariness and the anger that his teasing vaguely threatened to invoke in her, before she slowly tipped her head to look up at him in order to answer his question. "I'm Sonia;" she said. Stopping her work for a moment, she actually straightened, displaying her less than impressive height. Her eyes darted over her fair, brushing against each of their minds to reassure them and assure herself. "The gold is Eulo, as you caught." She pointed to the Queen, the motion simple. With anyone else, the regal creature would have protested. With her owner, she didn't. "The bronze is Ruy and the blue is Jary." She pointed to both of them. At her, Jary didn't even growl or snap. He remained sullenly and grumpily quiet.

Most of the fair knew to mind their manners, when they were reminded that they had them. The smaller girls were all the sort to behave, and Jary was fit to simply sulk, Eulo to lord, and Ruy to assist their bonded. However, Olya rarely minded his manners. A free spirit, the orders his strong, wonderful Sonia gave him only lasted so long. He didn't have the attention span to think of them much. One thing caught his attention. He tilted his head, staring at Hat. Easily as smart as Ruy and Eulo, possibly smarter, because he lacked their dysfunctional personalities, he waited. Then he launched himself into the air when his was distracted by speaking. He didn't move with anger or aggressive. Playfully, he darted forward, hardly noticeable with his tiny size beside the already energetic Ife and Esti. Just another form soaring through the air.

"The pink is Esti. The green who is with her is Ife;" Sonia continued, happy and somewhat more confident to talk about her flitters, though her voice remained quiet. She waved her hand more vaguely towards the pair, who crooned in a swooning fashion at Hat, so easily pleased. "This is Zola." While affection had touched at her voice before, it became clear as she raised a hand to brush her hair back from her face to reveal the tiny green. The darling, a mimic of her bonded in form, gave a soft, sweet croon of greeting, staring out from her hiding place. Placing her hair neatly back over the green, Sonia turned away to find Olya. Too late, she saw his darting form, detected the kind malice behind his innocence. Too late, she saw the images in his mind. All of a sudden, she threw her shoulders back, sharp eyes widening.

Quick as a wink, Olya grabbed Hatoter's hat and pulled it from his head, clutching it in his claws as he darted for the ceiling. "Olya!" The vocal command was harsh, authoritative, positively irritated, none of the things she portrayed. Even in her sudden shift of body languages, traces of meekness still lined her tiny, gaunt body. However, her faint bruises looked tough rather than soft against her skin as she shoved her chin out. Ignoring her, the white continued to try to carry the hat away. It was far too big for him, but he looked quite determined. "Give. It. Back." She ducked her head, and her expression returned to utterly mild, but her voice rocked with force. Letting out a sigh, Olya fumbled back with the hat. However, he didn't follow his instructions quite properly. He dropped it, with expert aim, onto Sonia's little head. While too big, it managed to stick at a jaunty angle.

She won't make a sound,
Alone in this fight with herself,
And the fears whispering,
If she stands, she'll fall down.

[fidelli]

Hatoter really did like the little flitters - he just didn't like them enough to ever have one. Besides, all dragons, even little Gold's, deserved respect, so he paid it and moved on. He much preferred things that could talk back to him and play with him... Girl's especially. He liked girls, although he hadn't met any in Dalibor yet who seemed to like him. Javyk was fun, but she mocked him for his hat, and he really just wanted to make friends. That other one too, that he had made friends with in the rain... Ah well, he was meeting people!

This girl, however, was taking up most of his attention now. She was making him crazy with her silence and her servitude-ish ways, but he held off shaking her yet. It just made him more interested in tugging her out. One hand kept scrubbing the table, but the other dove into a pocket to touch, just lightly, his lucky dice. The smooth bone clicking under his hand just once made him feel more confident, even as the slightly deflated young man picked himself back up and kept grinning his slightly crazed smile. The Gold snarling at him meant nothing - he really had had worse. He was so much more interested in the girl than the flitters anyway, so he could ignore them - although the male in him that loved the ladies made him apologize. "Of course, none so imposing as you, m'lady."

When she paused, he did as well, searching the down-turned body and face for anything he could take. No sign of anger, no sign of emotion at all - but it did not really dissuade him. In fact, he could dare to say it made him even more eager to drive something from her. 'I'm Sonia.' He looked at her eyes, smiling a dashing smile that would make the lower cavern girls melt as she introduced herself. "Sonia." His smile widened as he tasted it. "Very pretty." He followed her eyes as she shifted, introducing the litter flitters that he guessed she was very fond of. 'The gold is Eulo, as you caught. The bronze is Ruy and the blue is Jary.' He noticed the White taking off, but didn't really take much from it - it was only the shift of movement that caught his attention and he was back to focusing on the girl. 'The pink is Esti. The green who is with her is Ife.' He was pleased that she was talking, sounding happy - he was right, she did care. She seemed like the type to love her flock, but Hat wasn't always the best at reading people. He was better at knowing what they needed or wanted him to say, but nothing more.

He smiled at the girls that cooed at him, fixing every name to memory with the clarity of a thief who had to remember tiny details his whole life. 'This is Zola.' The change of her voice did catch his attention, however, and he watched her closely. The Green under her hair crooned sweetly, and Hat's face melted, eyes going big. She was so cute! It almost made him want one. Almost. So distracted was he by the cute little Green did he almost miss the way that her mistress shifted, and when he did see her come to attention, he looked around for what could have made her start. Of course, the thief was not expecting one of his brethren to make a stand, and an air attack was not expected either.

Suddenly, his hat was snatched off his head, and he looked up, quick fingers snatching at it a moment too late. 'Olya!' He watched in disbelief as the little white took off, laboriously flying away with the hat that was almost twice his size. 'Give. It. Back.' He had looked at the girl when she had called the White's name, forgetting about his hat as he watched her with calculating eyes. Look at that - she did have spunk in her, even as she stayed within the lines of meekness. He could fix that - and he would. There was something he could do to drag her out... He was almost sure of it. He turned back to see if the White was going to listen, and watched as it was dropped... Right onto her head. What was it with girls liking to steal his hat? Technically, she didn't, but they all seemed to look better in it than he did apparently.

But Hat was not one to complain or say anything like that. Instead, he easily slid over the table to land infront of her, using one hand to tip up her head by her chin so he could see her face again. "It's a good look for you, pretty one." He waited for a moment, then dropped his hand back before he got mauled by a `lizard. "So why the meek act? You look," despite her small body, "like you can handle yourself. So why the charade?" Eyes were slightly narrowed, one eyebrow cocked, voice smooth and open innocent curiosity on his face. He wasn't trying to tease - just wanted to know. To give her a moment, he leaned against the table and found the White. "Hey, Olya. I'll have my parents make you one your size, if you'd like." There were no hard feelings - just as long as he got it back.

[Admin]

I was feeling sad,
Can't help looking back,
Highways flew by,
Run, run, run away.

Sonia caught Hat's motions out of the corners of her sharp eyes, but she was distracted by Olya until too late. Her eyes followed the white as he fluttered away from under the shade of her borrowed hat and wisps of her unsettled hair. When her gaze didn't waver, the lazy sweeps of his wings became quicker and more determined. He often had his bonded angry at him, but that didn't make him cheeky. It made him skittish. He knew her. He knew her fury, hidden as it might have been. Even he had the memory to recall it. Quick on his wings, he soared away. Esti and Ife took off to follow the white, and Sonia watched them go, until there was suddenly a shadow falling across her. She hadn't been paying attention to Hat, and he'd slid right over the table to land in front of her. The barrier that the piece of furniture offered was gone in one quick moment.

When he touched her chin, Sonia held perfectly still. She let him tip her head back, so that her lovely bruises and sharp features were once again plain to see. Despite her complacent behavior towards him, she refrained from properly meeting his eyes. Her neck remained relaxed, but the rest of her body stiffened under his touch. Briefly, she gave thanks to the hat that had been perched on her head. It covered her forehead and kept her eyes half hidden despite the way he tilted her head. The moment where he held her chin seemed to drag on forever. Thump. Thump. Her heart beat away in her chest, and she held perfectly still. He was staring at her and calling her pretty. A normal girl would have swooned or at least done something. She just stood there and let anxiety slowly trace its way into her wary mind as she waited for him to let her go.

Finally, Hat released her chin. Sonia shifted her weight back, subtly, in a not so subtle way, putting another few inches of space between them. For a second, she almost relaxed. Then the questions came. It was only two little inquiries, but they were enough. The questions made her nervous. They set her on edge, more on edge than normal. She felt anxious, and then she felt confused, and then she felt sad. Soon, in the spiral that was that declining moment, she felt overwhelmed. Hat was talking to Olya, but the white wasn't paying the boy a wink of attention. Every last one of the seven flitters had taken to the air, and they swirled around in a jumbled circle. The little candidate's expression remained neutral, so perfectly meek, so perfectly unobtrusive, so perfectly full of nothing. The flitters were the first sign of a change.

"I'm not;" Sonia started, but then she faltered. It wasn't the lie, poised on the tip of her tongue, that was hard. It was admitting that the easy words were undoubtedly a lie that was difficult. She shifted both her posture and her thinking slightly. It was easy to conform. She could always make it work. "I don't have any charade;" she told him. Her soft voice lent truth to her words and gave away her deceit all in one go. The sensation of being overwhelmed lingered, and a new, headier confusion came over her. He'd said that she could handle herself. He could have called her a million pretty pet, but those would have only irritated her. She could handle irritation. However, he'd said something a little more real, and she suddenly felt something a little sharper. He'd noticed her. He had thoughts about her. Run. Flee. Hide faraway.

The urge to fight, hidden down beneath her many layers, too easily turned to the urge to flee, and Sonia ran, abandoning her work. She moved quickly. With one hand, she carelessly tipped the hat perched atop her head off of it, pushing it towards Hat. She didn't want his stupid hat. While her hand was still in motion, she lunged across the table. The hints she might have let slip about herself did nothing to compare to the speed at which she moved. It wasn't inhuman, but she bolted like a proper runner, and she cleared the table with ease despite its height. She hit the other side slightly awkwardly, but she only stumbled for a second. Over the turns, she'd stumbled enough times to know how to pick herself up without even faltering. She tore for the entrance of the hall. Where she was going didn't matter, so long as it was somewhere away.

Not a single sound slipped from her tongue, and her tiny feet were almost silent on the ground. Only the faint rushing of a light wind and some pattering accompanied her run. Despite that, a tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't know why. It was stupid. Of course, boys were stupid, so she supposed it was fitting. Hat was stupid. She let a few tears drip from her eyes. She was too busy running to think much about them, dodging around tables until she felt the thrilling openness of the bowl beyond the sheltered but wide entranceway. Her fair failed to follow, but they continued to swirl about, expanding their chaotic circle as she ran farther and farther. Wonderful as they were, they couldn't understand what was happening. Eulo was tempted to bite Hat, but she was discouraged. No! No, no, no! Nooo! Sonia ran without thought.

All along, not so strong,
Without these open arms,
Hold on tight,
All along, not that strong.