[AW] Allie allie lou.

[Dearest]

oh my Dearest
they will eat you alive

“Mama! Mom! Watch this one!” And the tiny red creature launched herself into the air, twisting wildly, kicking her legs out behind her.

Her mother laughed. “Well, you certainly have the spirit. But I think a little practice will help.”

”Practice? It was perfect. Watch again!” 

She took in a deep breath, a breath that stretched her lungs and filled them full to the point of bursting, before slowly exhaling. She did this two more times, letting her eyes close, black lashes touching gently to her red cheeks. Anyone watching might mistake the ritual as one to calm her nerves, but that was not the reality. She was excited and that feeling burned inside her, needing to be settled before she could find the calm needed for her first performance.

Finally, like clouds pulling away from the sun, she opened her golden eyes. They smiled from her face, large and bright, welcoming in anyone who happened to catch their gaze. Slowly, with an exaggerated slinking of her hips, she stepped forward, and the bells within her hair fell into a rhythm, one that she maintained with a rolling of her head that made the delicately carved muscles of her neck flex and dance.

She added a deeper beat next, with the hard stomping of a foot on the cobblestones. It echoed through the streets, falling into a pattern with the higher pitched ringing. Only then did she smile, those upturned lips parting to add the sultry rumble of her voice. It was an old song, one taught to her by her mother, and it seemed fitting for this place she was already growing so fond of.

“The maiden fair, the maiden sweet
Oh, allie allie lou
The maiden made of sun and heat
Oh, allie allie lou
Place your love on the grass at dawn
Oh, allie allie lou
In the night you find it gone
Oh, allie allie lou
Perhaps you will see her there
Yellow ribbons in her hair
But if you did, what would you do?
Oh, allie allie lou.
Allie allie lou”

Her voice trailed off on a sweet lift, body becoming still. The music she had been creating fell silent though the air around still hummed with energy. Some had passed by in the market, either too busy or too jaded to pause and listen to the words of a song, but those that had stopped stomped and made noise, causing her to break into a stunning grin as she dipped into a graceful bow. The bells twinkled again as her curls fells forward over her neck and so did her laughter. It was almost impossible to tell those two sounds apart.

“Thank you. Thank you all.” she said in a breathy way, blushing from the excitement of the moment. A few called out for more, an encore, but she shook her head and the market street slowly settled back into its normal routine. She turned to leave, feeling like that had at least earned herself a drink at the closest bar, when she felt a tug on her tail.

Dearest found herself looking at a child, still fuzzy with baby hair. They had huge blue eyes, and were looking up at her with awe. “Hello there, darling.” She said in soft motherly way, bringing herself down to the level of the little one so that she wasn’t looming above.

The child just giggled, seemingly shy, tucking a tiny white flower into the space between the girl’s black tipped ear and small horn before running away down the stone road.

This gesture, to Dearest, was better than all the praise in Novus.