the gym - sunday morning - 6/8

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Liir should have been practicing. It was why he'd woken up early, why he'd gotten dressed and warmed up. He'd spent most of yesterday practicing his various skills in one way or another to the point where he hadn't actually seen another soul for most of the day, but he still should have been practicing.

He wasn't.

Instead, he was sitting on the ground, grinning his head off, feeding and playing with some of the tiny albino monkeys that seemed to have scampered onto the island last night. There were a couple on his shoulders, one on his head, and another one swinging between the broom handle and his arm. He spoke to them, told them all about Chistery and the others even as he knew they were animals and (probably) would not understand, and wondered absently if they were there to stay for a time or if they leave come the next day.

[open for all your gym or Liir needs]

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[intraspective]

"You've become a monkey-playground," Ino noted from the door of the gym.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He beamed up at her, his smile happier than he'd been for at least two months, and carefully waved her over.

"They're very friendly and we've already tackled the difficult bits."

[intraspective]

She shook her head slightly; amused, and stepped over to him. "You're telling stories now?"

Ino wiggled her fingers cheerfully at the monkeys. "Stay out of my hair and we'll get along fine," she informed the monkeys.

This was a lie. She'd probably still like them even if they got in her hair. Ino had, after all, let sheep play in her hair. Monkeys weren't any worse.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

There was an inquisitive look at Liir and he smiled and nodded to a couple of them.

"Go say hello," and he gestured with his chin to Ino. "She's very nice."

Liir spared a hand to point at his bag.

"There's some nuts in there that they might like, if you want to be their favorite person for a few minutes. And yes, I'm telling them all about the Chistery and Squawk and Blibber and Eep and the others. It's just chatter to them, more than likely, but they seem amused."

[intraspective]

Ino settled herself on the floor, one hand sneaking to his bag and coming up with a few of the nuts he'd mentioned. The monkeys perked up when she offered them the nuts, chittering excitedly, and Ino giggled when she found herself with one in her lap and looking up demandingly.

More, clearly, was warranted. She offered the wee monkey another nut. It was snatched up eagerly.

"Their affection is easily bought," she observed, with a grin. "Is that how you've garnered a swarm of them?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"That," he said with a lift of his chin, "and my winning personality.

"Also a few bowls full of all manner of things earlier. It's earned me a fanclub."

[intraspective]

"Oh, I see how it is, you'll just keep feeding them to keep your fanclub. Tricky."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"No, now I'm just playing with them and being interesting."

He held up his arm as one of them swung back and forth on it.

[intraspective]

She offered 'her' monkey another nut. "They're sweet," she conceded. "Playing with them is totally acceptable."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"They're terribly friendly," he said with a nod, cradling a couple now.

"And I figured I should be all right since I spent all of yesterday practicing things."

[intraspective]

She laughed. "We could try to train the monkeys?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He raised an eyebrow archly.

"Oh? Do we want them to speak? Do the dishes? Tricks?"

He looked amused at the thought which, considering, spoke to just how happy the little creatures made him.

[intraspective]

Ino glanced down at the monkey in her lap.

"...the fact that we can't rule out the fact that they could possibly learn to talk..." Oh, Fandom.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He smiled.

"The Witch did it. She gave them wings and she taught them to talk. The first she did with magic. The second, I think... was just hard work. Goodness knows it took long enough just to get a few words out of Chistery."

[intraspective]

"How long?" she asked curiously. "And wings?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"The wings she used the Grimmerie for," he said explained, matter of fact. It had taken some time for him to get comfortable talking about it, but the monkeys filled in the space between how comfortable he actually was and this.

"There were some mistakes made, but most of them came out all right.

"And she taught them all while I was growing up. A little less than ten years. We found Chistery during the journey to Kiamo Ko from the mauntery."

[intraspective]

"Did they like flying?" Ino, clearly, thought they'd have to be crazy not to. She wiggled her fingers at the monkeys. "Would you guys like flying?"

They chittered at her. Ino was taking that as a yes. Just because she could.

"I need to see more of your world," she informed him.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"The liked it as much as anything else. It was natural after a time. They could roost up in the rafters and find little niches in the stone..."

He looked down at the monkeys and held out a few more nuts and berries from his pocket, which were snatched up.

"And you'd be welcome to come with me should I go back. At the moment, though, I'm letting things settle down."

[intraspective]

"Flying totally rules," she told the monkeys, wrinkling her nose cheerfully at Liir. "Totally."

A beat.

"And, yeah, settling down might be a good thing." No kidding.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I do wish one of the people there could come here, though," he admitted as he watched the monkeys use him as their personal jungle gym. "He helped me, for one. For another, he actually seemed pretty nice."

He carefully shook that off before turning to Ino.

"I suppose we should get to lessons, hmm?"

[intraspective]

"Oh?" Ino looked interested at this bit of information, even as she attempted to shoo her monkey off her lap. "Who?"

And yes, lessons, of course.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I met him just before I came here," he told her. "We shared an overhang during a sudden downpour. He was a soldier, a fifeplayer in the Home Guard, and he told me how I could enlist since it hadn't worked before.

"His name is Trism. He's about our age, or maybe a little older. I'm not the person to ask. He was working for Shell while I was there, a part of the Guard assigned to him for his use, and he helped me get out.

"He was why the rope marks were so slight."

[intraspective]

"I owe him a thank you then," Ino noted. "Because that's a terribly awesome thing for him to do." And, she knew, there would've been risk to him considering the situation.

A beat.

"Fifeplayer?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He nodded.

"Part of the Honor Guard. He's... pretty. Handsome, really. Looks good in uniform and everything."

Oh, and he kissed me.

"He also snuck me food and after everything happened, he was the one who came back to untie me.

"Like I said, I wouldn't mind him being here."

The monkeys looked to him and he shrugged, letting them know that he was done with food for the moment.

[intraspective]

"Because looking good in uniform is totally a requirement?" Ino teased him. "I'm sure. But he does sound nice."