Wooden Bowls and Indris

The morning sun peeked through the windows bathing the living room in light. It had a nice glow that washed everything it touched with a yellow glow. The only place the light didn't touch was the nook in the fireplace. Unlike a normal place with wood and soot this location was filled to the brim with blankets and pillows. In the pile of cushion one could see a round crest poking out. Sleeping soundly was Yuju who adjusted themself slightly. While the sun didn't directly touch the fireplace, the Muse's Treasure reflected a good beam of light onto the head of Yuju.

Yuju groggily sat up and blinked(one eye after the other) then looked over at the clock. "Morning already?" Yuju vrred. Yuju looked around at their setup as if looking for someone. "You?" Yuju moved the multiple blankets. They were super thick and clumped up in piles. It was sort of a rats nest where you were not sure what was under them. "You?" Yuju shuffled the lumps knowing You sometimes liked to be buried under all the blankets. However after a few seconds of shuffling there was no browlet in question. Yuju sat there puzzled.

Crash! A loud shattering sound was heard from the kitchen.

Yuju shot up and was now fully awake. Their ears swiveled towards the direction before they had time to look. "You?" Yuju looked towards the kitchen "Are you ok?" Yuju quickly rolled out from the fireplace before hearing another breaking of glass. The sounds were becoming more continuous.

In the kitchen all of the cabinets were open with their contents scattered and disorganized. Pots and pans lay on the floor with various food items like cereal bits in the mix. Yuju looked up to the the shelves above. Normally Yuju kept the bowls and dishes there but it sat empty. The dishes were nowhere to be found. Yuju's step stool was pressed up against the counter and on top Yuju spotted You. They were in the process of throwing silverware around. The teenie browlet seemed to pause to listen as they dropped each fork, knife and spoon onto the floor. You seemed to be enjoying the sound and almost mesmerized by the clatter and tink. You held up a glass and dropped it.

Crash!

"You! Are you okay? What are you doing?" 

You's face whipped around to stare at Yuju with a very surprised look on on their face.

Yuju took a step forward but You shrieked. Yuju stopped a little surprised. You very rarely made loud noises. 

You gave a guilty look before dropping the illusion and revealing all the broken dishware on the floor. Various sizes of glass shards littered the floor like a kitbull popping mine field. That explained where all the dishes went. 

You began to pout again before grabbing a large pancake bowl. You had both their tiny hands on the bowl and was gripping the rim tightly. They started to bang the bowl on the counter, and let out one large wail. 

Yuju couldn't tell what You had been doing but that didn't matter now. Yuju carefully brushed the dish shards away to make a path to You. Yuju stepped onto the step stool and now could see what You was crying over. On the counter was a box of pancake mix, its contents dumped over the top like snow. A few eggs were broken and the milk carton was empty. In the bowl all the milk seemed to be with a bunch of mush sloshing around.

 "Did you try and make pancakes?" Yuju rrr

You went quiet and stopped banging the bowl. Then without looking at Yuju they nodded vigorously with teary eyes. They let out a frustrated huff.

"Let's clean up and then I can help you make them. How's that sound?"

You still didn't look at Yuju but nodded again. You wiped an arm across their teary face.

After cleaning up, You and Yuju spent the rest of the morning making pancakes.

Yuju dropped the bag of kitchen chaos into the trashcan and then prepared to go out for the day. They were going to need new dishes after all. Yuju slung the outing bag over their shoulder. It wasn't a very fancy bag with a few pockets and zips for Yuju's ids and wallet. It's main purpose was being filled with things for You like snacks and bandaids and such. No need to be fancy when it was constantly getting things spilled on the bottom of it.

Yuju placed the Fortune Lightglass into the window and lit it with their own hand. It was a family tradition whenever someone left the house. They had made it the first time Yuju had to leave the house without You. You was convinced Yuju was going to leave and never come back. In an attempt to calm the browlet Yuju lit this lightglass and said when ever it's lit they can find their way home. You clung to this tradition and hasn't let Yuju forget it since. Yuju also didn't have to worry about the flames burning the house down since they were their own flames. Yuju's confident grasp on their fire was pretty good. However even if there was a lapse, the lightglass was a magical artifact that seemed to contain most minor powered fires within it.

You walked up to the door and pulled the cord that was wrapped around the front door handle. The latch unlocked and with a push from You, it lazily swung open. Yuju followed You outside and pushed the door shut behind them. The door made a clicking sound as the door locked back into place. With that they were on their way to town.

You and Yuju walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. It was a very adorable but strange scene for anyone who walked by. In the town, they occasionally were stopped by strangers asking questions about their situation. Some even though Yuju was kidnapping You. Thankfully, in their neighborhood most people knew them so they only really got stopped when a Neighbor said hello. The two didn't have to walk far for the public transportation. The bench was a little high for the two so they normally stood instead of sit. Yuju looked at the sign, the bus was quite a few stops away. On closer inspection it also looked like it was having a problem at one of the stops. Yuju was fine waiting but for You it would feel like an eternity. 

As if on cue, You started to fidget. It was too soon to try and bribe You with snacks. Yuju looked at the map again. The bus still hadn't moved and the delay estimation had become longer. Yuju started to worry and glanced over at You. You was not going to hold it for long. "Just a little longer You. The bus seems to have stalled"

You didn't like the sound of that but was trying to hold it together. Yuju knew some of these trip were hard but You hated to be left with babysitters. Nothing got You to cry faster on outings than the mention of babysitters. 

"Any minute now" Yuju smiled with their eyes and patted You on the head.

Suddenly a melodic tune could be heard from somewhere. You stop whimpering and looked off in it's direction. Yuju's ears flicked towards them first before their gaze was grabbed. It was a weird sort of string instrument with a jaunty tune. Yuju looked around wondering where it was coming from. There was no obvious musician that Yuju could spot. Yuju looked over at You, their mood seemed to be a lot better and the browlet was bouncing a little. Thank goodness for that. Yuju stared at the map again as if hoping staring at it would make it move. Yuju and You were both enjoying the music for a time and then the bus started to move. Yuju let out a happy vvv as if to say at last! "The bus is coming You!"

Suddenly the music changed. It went from a jaunty tune to more of an upbeat jig. Yuju looked over at You and the browlet was just standing there. At first You looked confused but slowly the eyes and brows started to furrow. Uh oh. In a huff You let go of Yuju's hand and took off towards the sound. 

Utter panic flowed through Yuju's veins. As fast as they could go Yuju chased after You "You! You! Wait! Stop!" You didn't seem to hear as they had their tiny hands pressed firmly against their ears. All Yuju could do was chase. Since the two had the same length in legs, Yuju was just as fast as You. You's only advantage was their head start which was still enough to make Yuju panic. The music became louder the closer they got. Up ahead Yuju could just make out the musician. They were sitting on a blanket under a tree with a string instrument propped up in front of them. It wasn't quite a violin but it still required a bow that slid back and forth across the strings. The tune was much faster than before. The musician didn't seem to see them coming. On the blanket were various wooden objects but Yuju wasn't paying much attention to them as You was closing the gap on the stranger.

In a fit of rage You plowed through the wooden assembly and right up to the player. With two hands they began to smack the instrument wildly. This was definitely not You's favorite song.  

The stranger was a little startled by the sudden action again his instrument. Looking down he noticed the small angry browlet banging on the frame. Every once in awhile the hands hitting the strings with a bouncy twang. The bird burst out laughing and was trying to beat down fits of roaring laughter. "I see you're not a fan. Do you want me to change the song?"

You stopped instantly when they heard stranger speak to them. As if broken from a spell the tiny brow suddenly became scared and embarrassed and looked down at the ground.

Yuju quickly joined the two and assets the situation. You quickly hid behind Yuju. "I am so sorry!" Yuju vrrd, their vrrs more wobbly than normal between what would be described as large kitbull panting.

"It wasn't a good song anyways. I was just starting to learn it." the bird chortled as he spoke. "I'm Indris" The bird moved the bow to the hand that held their instrument and held out a hand to shake.

No longer seeing a hostile situation Yuju's posture relaxed. "I'm Yuju and behind me is You." Yuju shook the hand. Yuju could now get a good look at the stranger who they found out was named Indris. They were a very green colored bird of average height. They were dressed in a similar woodsy colored robe with fur lining around the trim. For bottoms they were earth colored pants with a red string laced at the bottom. Everything about their look said woodsy santa.

Yuju held the hand for a second too long now that they noticed that they were a bird. There was also something off putting about the bird's aura that Yuju couldn't pit a finger on. It was like a crackling burning feeling. Not quite like the a fire but it reminded Yuju of some sort of mild and intense feeling. Realizing their own oddness for holding too long, Yuju quickly let go. "Uhh..we liked your song earlier." Yuju praised.

"Thank you! One learns to pick up a hobby when they're selling wares on the road."

You stared at Indris which got a wave from the bird. You tucked themself back behind Yuju.

Yuju noticed Indris smirked and then pull out the instrument again. Again the first tune from earlier.

You poked their head out to look. They absentmindedly bounced a bit. This got a bigger smile from Indris. The bird played until the end and Yuju and You listened. The tune got You to relax a bit more and stop hiding behind Yuju. 

Yuju beamed at You and then looked back at Indris "You said you sell wares? What do you sell?"

Indris tucked the instrument away. "Bits and bobs, mostly wood wittles." Indris gestured to the browlet trampled messy setup that was their stall.

Yuju awkwardly started to organize.

"Eh leave it there. I'll get to it later. It's all wood."

Yuju picked up a bowl. It was super smooth with varied degrees of wood colored rings making up its look. Nice and sturdy, perfect for dish throwing browlets. "How much are you selling the bowls for?"

Indris got up and walked over. He mentioned a reasonable price that Yuju was happy with. "I probably have more somewhere around here." Indrid said in a drawn out sentence. The bird skimmed the clutter. "Ah hah!" Indris picked up another couple of bowls "How many do you want?"

"Three?" Yuju dug around in their bag for their wallet. The two exchanged items and Yuju admired the bowls. "Do you also sell plates?"

Indris scratched their head and looked around again at the chaos "I don't seem to have any at the moment but I can make more and deliver them. Do you live nearby?"

"I do!" Yuju scrawled down an address and handed it to Indris. "We live a couple blocks that way." Yuju pointed in the direction they had come. "We'd love a visit." Yuju looked around and spotted You inspecting the instrument where Indris had left it.

Indris looked that way as well. He grinned when he spotted You.

You however noticed the stares and ran over to Yuju.

"I have your order. it should be done in a few days."

Yuju thanked Indris and took a photo with the Fate's focus to remember the moment. After the photo, they waved their goodbyes before heading back to the bus stop. The rest of their errands went without a hitch. By the time they got home they were both tired. Yuju put all the groceries away and then began making food. Yuju pulled out the wooden bowls and waved a hand over them for the smoothness. They really were so well made. Then it hit them..Yuju had invited a bird to their house and they were coming over. Yuju put the bowl over their beet red face. Lots of nonsense vrring emanated from the face full of bowl. They didn't even have the red clovers. Tomorrow was another day.