Crickets chirp and the leaves in nearby trees along the road rustle from the recent rains. Noise emanates from an old dilapidated barn; casual post-storm passerby might remark it to be cows, or nightowls. However, on closer inspection, one might hear voices, in fact.
Muldoon opens the upper loft door with a creak. "Told ya. The rain's stopped." The young fox inhales deeply. "Yep. I love the smell after rain."
Scilly pokes his head out and takes a big sniff. After a moments hesitation and a grimace he rapid fire sneezes several times.
Muldoon chuckles softly. "You don't stick your nose into the wind, paly. You go crosswise, and that way all the pollen don't go up your schnoz."
Scilly wipes his nose on his sleeve and comments, "naw... ain't that. It smells like damp fox fer some reason."
Muldoon pulls off his battered ten gallon hat and holds it out under the rivulets of water.
Muldoon hrfs. "I didn't get wet."
Muldoon says, "Much."
Scilly wrinkles up his nose, "Make it wet fox now. Don' go tellin me yer gonna drink it that way?"
Muldoon shakes his head. "Naw. I'm not thirsty. But we might need the water later. This is a trick m'da taught me."
Muldoon peers into the hat, squinting in the darkness, and nods, leaning back in, and pulling the bandanna out from his shirt pocket. He dips the cloth into the hat, and brings it back out, dripping.
Scilly leans out and looks into the hat. Some of the water drips off the back of his head, "ain't gonna hold that long. Whatcha thinkin we're gonna need it fer?"
Muldoon pulls a tiny tin hip flask out of his vest pocket, and squeezes the water into it. "Well, I'd rather drink rainwater that's not been sitting in rain barrels for a few days the next time we get thirsty."
Scilly comments, "Uh, why didn'ya all just hang the flask unner the running water rather'n put it in yer hat an put it in yer used kerchief?"
Muldoon chuckles. "Because it's easier to catch it in the hat."
Scilly says, "Yah, but it tastes like yer head, an ya know, yer head after it's been wet don' smell too appetizin."
Muldoon chuckles. "Actually, tastes like the back of my hand on hot days sometimes, but that's why the hat's so big. Not all of it's on my head."
Scilly angles his head up and slurps a rivulet of water that's coming down, licking the dribbles off his muzzle. A half moment later he comments, "iffin yer hat ain't on yer head, then where's it at?"
Muldoon holds up his hat next to his head. "See? The hat's a LOT taller than my head, partner."
Scilly frowns, "I don' see... git it a little closer?"
Muldoon thinks . o O { Sometimes I wonder why I hang around with this ferret-kid, but he's the only one who doesn't laugh at the way I talk. Besides, he needs me. }
Muldoon empties out the rest of the water, then inverts the hat right side up. Holds it up next to his head, at about the level it would sit if he were wearing it. "My head's only this high. The hat's yeay taller than that."
Scilly hmfs a little, "guessin yer right. Anyway.. ya know, th'rain does smell nice. Sorta like... fresh bread?"
Muldoon chuckles. "I suppose. Though they say that dead folks smell like bad bread."
Scilly thinks, ( Ya know.. if only he'd left the water in. Would have been a neat trick to get it on his head. ) A bit of that mischief wavers on through.
Muldoon's stomach rumbles. "Hrr. Hey, you hungry?"
Scilly says, "Hope not.. I ain't ever seen a dead folk. Me? Hungry? O'course!"
Muldoon chuckles and pulls the bread from Michael's out of his bag. "Here. As long as he's giving it away.." He breaks off a healthy chunk and passes it to his partner.
Muldoon breaks off a hunk for himself.
Scilly plops himself down against the doorway, back a little ways where the floor is still dry. A few crumbs don't even manage to escape the ferret.
Muldoon watches you. "Jeesh. You're really putting it away.." He takes a bite out of his own piece, and chews. "I bet ya he cooks it with dragonfire, eh?"
Scilly stops eating just as quickly, "Don' figure that dragon fire does annathin to it, do ya?"
Muldoon chuckles and leans against the wall. "Gaw. Gotta wonder about that guy. Think he really was a dragon? Huh? Naw, it just cooks it nice and crisply."
Scilly takes another big bite of it, licking away crumbs. "Y'ain't seen alla stuff he c'n do. He's spooky. First night I gotta see him he grew great big an hung over me. Alla doors an windows slammed shut. Then he wanted ta shoot me. All fer a trinket."
Muldoon nods. "Did he hang over you as a dragon, or just the way he looked?" He idly breaks off another chunk and hands it over.
Scilly captures a few more crumbles and stuffs them in the maw. He then says, "I ain't sure... I c'nt remember annathin but glowin eyes. Prolly one of those mind things dragons do." He licks the bread on the crust. "Does good bread though."
Muldoon looks at the ferret, shakes his head, and hands the entire loaf of bread over. "Here. You need it more'n I do."
Muldoon says, "..mebbe he's just a sorcerer.""
Scilly looks at the bread a moment then says, "Ya sure, Muldy? I mean.. yer bigger'n me an all. I just got short stubby legs."
Muldoon itches behind his eyepatch and nods. "Yeah. I'm not hungry anyhows. You just ate twice as much as I did without stopping for water."
Muldoon leans out, opens his muzzle under the rainwater rivulets, and drinks.
Scilly scritches his head a little bit then digs into the bread heartily. He doesn't bother tearing it but takes large bites, starting from the side corner.
Muldoon idly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a grape. Pops it into his mouth, and then spits it out. "Yick."
At the middle bite of the loaf, the ferret squeaks and nearly knocks his head against the door he was leaning on. "My toof... oow! Whaa?"
Muldoon ehs? And turns, getting a splatter of water neatly in his left eye. "Yah! What happened, you bite your mouth?"
Muldoon rubs the rainwater out of his eye.
Scilly inspects the bread a moment, tilting his head just a little bit then muttering, "by th'third tail o'Tenna... lookit that." He pulls something shiny from within the loaf.
Muldoon hmms? "Whassat, he drop a spoon in there or something? Mebbe he's not such a good cook..."
Scilly says, "Ain't no spoon, Muldy. It's a treasure... bet it's enchanted like."
Muldoon comes over, naturally blocking out what little light comes in through the doorway. "Gar. Bring it out to the light more. I can't see.. what is it?"
Scilly waves it in Muldoon's direction, "n'a wand.. " he then leans over so that it's outside of the barn. "A flute?"
Scilly says, "Meh.. I think it chipped a tooth."
Muldoon reaches out to grab it, but remembers his manners at the last minute. "Kin I see it?"
Scilly starts handing the flute up and says, "Onnla if I c'n have it back." Before getting the promise, though, he hands it the rest of the way up. "I bet it plays enchantied music."
Muldoon thinks about it. "Hey... you don't suppose.." He takes it absently, eyeing it under the moonlight. "It's silver. I hear that silver's inchanted, or somethin' like that."
Muldoon runs a fingernail over the surface. "Ya marked it."
Scilly snorts, "I bit it... an it broke m'tooth."
Muldoon hmms. "Open your mouth, lemme see."
Scilly turns his chin up a little and opens up his mouth. The teeth.. well, his breath is bready, and one tooth seems to have caught just a bit of a chip.
Muldoon screws up his muzzle a little, and delicately runs a clawtip over the chip. "Well, you chipped it a little, but it's not busted."
Scilly says, "it didn't feel too good. Anyway.. y'think silver's inchantied?"
Scilly looks up at the flute for a half moment then says, "prolly turns people inta frogs."
Muldoon studies it. "Do you think the dragonguy left it in the bread on purpose? How'd he know we were coming? Mebbe it was an accident.."
Muldoon ahas! "I know! He likes his food piping hot!"
Scilly shrugs a bit then sticks out his tongue.
Scilly says, "Ya know.. I heards of people who'd want ta cook things faster so they'd put a junk of something metal through th'middle Mubbe he wanted fast bread?"
Muldoon hmms. "I heard of burying potatoes under your cookfire, but not sticking musical instruments in your food. Anyways. Ya play?"
Muldoon holds out the flute.
Scilly shrugs a little. "Ain't good. Them bard types tossed me out on m'ear..." . o O ( After I tried to swipe one of those bard-type instruments... )
Scilly motions his hand back up at Muldoon, "Ya try..."
Muldoon sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth. "Well, I suppose it can't hurt. Mebbe dragonguy left it in there so it maybe opens a portal if you play it right."
Muldoon sits down, and puts the round end of the flute to his mouth. -whush- It's upside down.
Scilly giggles, "or turns ya inta a shiny gem iffin ya play it wrong... nonono, put the hole t'yer mouth. The big hole."
Muldoon looks at it. "This -is- the big hole.'
Muldoon holds it up. "See?"
Scilly snorts, "no.. th'one on the side. See alla'm little holes an one big hole? Blow 'cross that one."
Muldoon blows across it, as specified. -ffft!-
Scilly mutters, "I betcha ain't even seen a bard."
Muldoon shakes his head. "A jester, yea, he played the drum."
Muldoon rolls his eyes. "I tol' ya you should have played it.."
Scilly says, "Jesters ain't bards. Bards're more serious an more know'n when it comes ta music."
Muldoon hmms softly. "Aokey. So, how do I get this metal to make real music?"
Muldoon blows on it again. Still more whooshing sounds."
Scilly says, "Gimme?"
Muldoon nods, and hands it over.
Muldoon shrugs, putting his hat back on. Water dribbles out the sides down his cheekruffs.
Scilly pauses then smacks his lips a couple times. After a moment, he shakes his headfur from his eyes then tilts his head back 'eloquently'.
Scilly makes a couple 'ahems' of coughs then a snooty sniff.
Muldoon snickers. "Oh, I didn't do that, does it help?"
Scilly licks his lips once or twice then comments, "it's how it's s'posed t'be done. I watched a bard meself."
Scilly starts lifting the flute to his lips then pauses. He looks down the tube where Muldoon had been previously blowing. A prompt turn of the flute later and he gives it a good hard blow down the other end.
Muldoon chuckles, and his ears crinkle a bit. "Hah."
Muldoon says, "I thought you said blow in that hole up there?"
Splook! a big round cylinder of bread slowly pushes its way out of the flute.
Scilly says, "Yup.. but it don't make sounds iffin it's full t'the top of bread."
Muldoon hehs, and picks up the fragment of bread. "That might be a problem, yea."
Scilly nods, trying for wise and ending up with silly. "Anyway...." he says. The entire procession of 'proper things to do' starts over again, with the smacking of the lips and the snooty sniff.
Muldoon hides a smile, and sits, watching expectantly.
Scilly lifts the flat end of the flute to his lips and starts playing. The first sound that comes out is a damp sounding pfffffst which promptly goes into a squealing sharp-key'd off tone note.
Scilly puts his fingers down differently and that squeal becomes a squawk of protest as notes come from that instrument that were never meant to be made, much less heard.
Muldoon winces, baring his teeth. "Ayah! No gate yet.."
Muldoon's ears flex back reflexively, trying to flatten against the din.
Scilly makes quick flicks of his fingers, trying for different sounds. Perhaps the first one wasn't so bad after all as this one grinds right into the teeth of the listener. Then the next note.. actually sounds okay. After that, though, most dogs would start howling.
Muldoon ughs. "Okay, okay, thassa enough."
Scilly makes one more note then puts the instrument (thankfully!) down. "See? That sounded pretty good, ne?"
Muldoon raises an eyebrow, and just stares at the ferret. "That was a joke, right?"
Scilly says, "Huh? Wha' joke?"
Muldoon never-minds. "Maybe it's a specific song we gots to play."
Muldoon sighs and yawns. "I think the best thing for us to do is to bring back the flute to the dragonguy, and ask if he'll play it for us-- that way we know if he meant us to have it or not. You think?"
Scilly says, "There's lotsa songs in th'world. How're ya gonna know which one t'play?"
Scilly nods, "iffin he'll tell ya.
Scilly scoops up the rest of the breadloaf, including the part that was inside the flute and starts munching it again.
Muldoon chuckles. "Well, lemme see about maybe he wrote something on the paper the bread was wrapped in.. no wait..."
Muldoon says, "..he just handed it to us.""
Scilly licks his lips and comments, "Mubbe it was written insidea th'loaf? Or on th'bottom."
Muldoon ohs.. "Well, if that were the case, there's no way to tell now."
Muldoon muses, mock-responsively, "Mister dragonperson, we accidentally lost the secret song to open the gate to send me home. Can you give us another copy?'
Scilly scoots back a little and kicks back into some hay near the doorway. "An this time mubbe make it buttermilk bread wi' a little bit o'marmalade on th'top?"
Muldoon giggles. "Right. First thing in the morning."
Muldoon yawns softly. "Get some sleep, Scilly."
Scilly yawns, "yah.. first thing.. righ' afta wakin up.. an gittin a bite t'eat. I'm hungry."
Muldoon's ears go up. "Still? Jeesh..." He yawns. "Well, maybe there'll be blackberries on the road back to that dragonguy's place....."
Scilly hummms as he drifts off. "Blackburries... an mulburries... " he mutters sleepily. "G'night Muldy... we'll gitcha home."