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This story has been written in collaboration with Lass1e as a roleplay then adapted to suit Philip’s perspective

"Oh goodness!" A voice exclaimed from not too far away. From what Philip could see from where he was laying, it was a blue quad and she was headed directly for him. "Are you alright?" She asked, concern bubbling up in her voice, once she got close enough to stop. "I saw that wibble lob that towards you from over there, are you hurt?"

Philip gave a small nod, grunting a little as he pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He spoke, dusting off his legs slightly. Ok, sure, he was lying through his teeth, his leg and side were rather sore now. It was only natural that falling onto stone with force like that was bound to leave a bruise even if it didn’t break skin. But he didn’t want to worry the stranger. “I never knew they could be that strong with their tiny hands.” He laughed.

The quad smiled in response and laughed along with him, "Yeah I guess so! Maybe all this heartkindle flying is making them stronger!" She joked, taking a cautionary glance in the direction the wibble had flown off in.
“Maybe.” A big goofy grin crossed Philip’s face as he imagined a buff wibble, so silly, how would it even fly? “There sure are a lot of them just kinda... around... lately. I do wonder just how many there are.” He mused, signalling to Blip to get back up after checking to see if they were ok. The tyke hesitated for a moment before scrambling up their owner’s back and returning to their spot on his head. “Feels strange not to have the post delivered by a wyngro... especially if they’re going to be like that.”

"Yeah... It is a bit odd." The stranger agreed, looking further into the town square. Following her gaze, the wyngling was very quickly able to pick out another few in the distance just now delivering a letter to another Wyngro far away. "Sure is weird how they've grown in numbers, I wouldn't doubt it could be in the hundreds! They sure are cute though aren't they?"

“Oh, for sure! In their own strange, gooey, little way.” He smiled, letting out a nervous laugh shortly followed by a small sigh as he made his way over to the parcel that had been delivered - almost tripping on the way as the front leg he’d fallen onto threatened to give out from under him. “Here’s to hoping there wasn’t anything fragile in here.”
"Oh I hope not, otherwise it would probably be ruined with a throw like that.". The quad agreed, turning her attention back to him. Hovering over his shoulder as she appeared to be waiting for him to open it.

Quickly moving the letter that he’d been firmly grasping in his claws to his mouth, Philip double checked the label and then began to work on undoing the rope bow that was wrapped around the box. It didn’t take long before he’d gotten it open saw that nestled between a few sheets of tissue paper was a blue beeb beanie. The relief he felt in that moment was more than he could ever put into words... which was good because he still had the letter carefully being held in his mouth.

"AWwwwww! That's adorable!" The quad cooed loudly from behind him. While it started him slightly he wasn’t allowed to focus on it for long as his tyke was already piping up from on his head. Blip sure seemed excited about the gift, patting their little feet nubs against the wyngling’s hair. Taking the letter from his mouth, Philip placed it into the box.
“Adorable and functional!” He grinned once more before addressing his tyke, “Yes, it does look like a beeb, doesn’t it, Blip?” He chuckled, “Blue and everything, just like you, buddy! Goes in the same place too.”

"The ‘gro who sent it must have been really thoughtful to think about your beeb!" The quad commented with a smile.
“Oh, absolutely!” He agreed, encouraging Blip onto his good shoulder while he put the hat on. “There’s only two people I can think of who could have sent it after reading the letter. Shame I can’t say I’ve ever seen any of their writing. Real great shame, love to thank ‘em personally but I guess that’s the fun of the ‘kindles, huh?”
"True!" She responded, seeming in deep thought for a moment. Thinking about past heartkindle’s she’d received perhaps? Or something completely different... there was no way for Philip to know.

“I’ve sent a few myself this year and boy if it isn’t difficult to keep my lips tight. It’s that strange mixture of wanting them to figure it out but also wanting them to never know at the same time, ya know?” He paused for a moment, “Say, speaking of figuring things out, I never told you my name, did I?” He laughed at himself before reaching out a claw, “Name’s Chase!” He winced slightly as all the weight shifted to his left, maybe lifting up his good claw for a shake was a bad idea... Oh well, he was committed now.

She smiled, reaching out her paw to shake his claw. "I'm Fey! Good to meet you Chase! And I know what you mean, its exciting, like playing a game of chase olmost!"
“Nice to meet you too, Fey!” He thought for a moment for a way to compliment her pun, trying to think of one of his own but coming up short. Perhaps a few rhymes would do to take its place. “As the lovely Sammie would say, that was quite wonderful use of wordplay.” Nailed it! Probably...?

Her ears perked up and she laughed, grinning from ear to ear amused, "You have quite a way with words! Have you been learning from Sammie?"
He gave a strong nod, his eyes lighting up. “You could say that. I come to see him whenever he’s in town! Or at least in the town square... He’s been teaching me all kinds of music and singing things since I was very little. He says I have quite the knack for it.” A proud smile crossed his face, “I was... uh... actually headed to the shrine today to see if he was here but it seems not...” He gave the shrine one more glance, though he knew full well that the green bard was one of those people you heard before you saw. “Oh well, he’s got to rest his voice some days and at least I got to meet you, Fey! Always nice to meet new people!”

"Awww thank you! Hey maybe we could practice singing? I'm not that good- but I can try! Or i want watch! I'm sure you're super good if Sammie complimented you! Maybe you can even draw a crowd like he does!! Wyngrew would love it!!" She encouraged, her eyes sparkling.
“That’s a brilliant idea!” Philip gasped, why didn’t he think of it himself? “Eheh, I mean, I wouldn’t say ‘super good’, I’ve still got a lot to learn... and Sammie usually leads most of the time... but I’m sure I could figure out something! No shame in getting a bit more practice in. Now, I just need something to actually sing about...”

"You're right, practice makes perfect!" She smiled, lifting her head, "Hmmmmmm, maybe something loud? I don't know too many songs..." She lifted her paw to her face - it, in turn, twisting in thought. Had she misunderstood his request? While singing the material of others was an alright pastime, he’d always preferred to fill a stage with some semblance of variety.

“That’s alright. All I need is a word. Any word will do and I’ll make something up from there!” He beamed, wiggling slightly as he tried to contain his excitement.
"Okay!! What about- hmmmm... Watermelon!" She exclaimed, looking at him excitedly. Perfect.

Philip clears his throat, hopping up onto the nearest short wall. He lets out a short sigh, takes a deep breath and begins to sing, “Sitting in the garden, under the tree
And a watermelon comes wanderin’ over to me.
I’m confused as ever, as in this weather
A watermelon shouldn’t be walking.
No, that watermelon shouldn’t be walking.”

He’s making sure to gesture while he sings to put emphasis on certain words, occasionally trotting up and down the wall as well.

“So, I take a closer look and what do I see?
Well a pair o’ small eyes in it, staring back at me!
Jumping back in surprise,
Couldn’t believe my own eyes!
No, that watermelon shouldn’t be walking!

So I wander around it, tryin’a get a good peak
And what do you know, this melon has feet!
Are there two? Four? No, a total of six!
More than enough to hold a big ol’ bundle of sticks!
That watermelon shouldn’t be walking!

But what was that? A noise from inside?
Take a closer look and what a surprise!
That watermelon was a runeboo in disguise!
Guess that watermelon should’a been walking!” He smiles and sits down to show that he’s finished his little song.

Fey let out a loud gasp and began to clap. "WOAHHH!!! Good Job!! That was so nice, i can't believe you made that up on the spot!" She said grinning, having taken a seat while he was singing.
Blip, who had hopped down to sit next to Fey during the performance, mimicked her clapping motion. Though their little tyke feet didn’t make much noise at all and they didn’t fully understand what was going on, they knew that the action seemed to make Philip happy.
“Ehehehe, thank you! Both of you.” He laughed awkwardly, flushing a deep pink before turning his face away, just out of view. “I’ve been... uh... working a lot on my improv lately.”

"You're really doing good! What's your technique? How do you learn to improv like that??" She asked curiously, moving to pat the little tyke on the head, seemingly in awe at the tyke’s clapping.

Philip thought for a moment, “Hmm... well. It mostly comes naturally at this point but what I mainly look out for are simple words with a lot of rhymes, like bat or see, to help to bail me out when I’m struggling with the more tricky ones. It helps to have a big vocabulary if you’re going in blind like I just did... um... It also helps me to have a vague idea for a story. You don’t need one, of course, but I tend to find it easier to improv if I have at least an idea of where I want it to end... like when you said watermelon, I thought about a place and why it would be there. Then I remembered that there’s a runeboo I often see around here and the dots kinda connected themselves.”

"THATS SO COOL!" She yelled, "How did you get started? It must have been super hard at first, Chii you must have put in so much practice, you're almost almost as good as Sammie himself!"

Philip felt like his cheeks were on fire as his blush deepened. Sure, he was trying his best to improve from his younger years with the whole trying to leave stealing and sneaking out behind him. But he was still so used to being told off for things that compliments still felt weirdly wrong. “I... um... uh... well... Like everyone else, I guess... I’d gotten lost on my way home... It was getting late and was here just humming along to his quitar and Sammie calls people nearby over quite often so...” he trailed off, getting a tiny bit overwhelmed by the praise as her words bounced around his head on repeat. So cool... Almost as good as Sammie. Wow. How was he even meant to feel? Getting told off by strangers was easy but this? This was something else entirely!

"That's so lucky! You're so good now!" She continued, "Do you think you could do another? About hmmmm..." She stopped to think for a second, mind jolting in memory of her acorn bracelet and hat, a smile appearing on her face once more. "About acorns! Or trees! That would be so cool!"
“Well... I could try.” He said, trying his best to keep his composure. Come on, Chase. You can do it. Just... breathe. Closing his eyes for a moment to focus, he opened his mouth and began to sing again. It was a little shaky at first and he opted for a softer tune this time but it was clear that he wasn’t trying any less.

“Swaying in the wind, a lone tree.
What secrets, doth hold thee.
The gift of new life, reborn here.
No scorn here. Just me.

Alone I stand, but I will replant the forest. (oooo)
Each acre you see a single acorn sown. (A-aaah)
Given light and love they will sprout into...
A sea... of... green.
Of green and red and orange and blue.
So care for this land and the land will care... for... you.”

Fey laughed and clapped, cheering for how quick he put it together "Thats amazing, Philip!" She looked around, was she searching for anybody else near the Nova Shrine that might have heard?

Philip flinched at the mention of his hatch name. He... he had told her his preferred one when he had greeted her, right? Of course, as always he didn’t mind it... Alma always referred to him with it and it wasn’t as if it felt entirely wrong like some gros who changed their names. He still identified with it to an extent but... It was just so unexpected. He just... must have let it slip at some point in their conversation or something. Nevertheless, she seemed happy and he allowed himself to get wrapped up in her praise yet again. The blush quickly returning to his cheeks.

"Oh question question!" She exclaimed, completely oblivious to his sharp movement at her addressing him, "How long have you been practicing? I wonder if I should try to get good at improv, it sounds so fun!"
“Well, uh...” He started, calming down slightly as he felt the familiar pressure of Blip pushing themself against his leg. Even if the other wyngro had no clue, the tyke had very clearly picked up on Philip’s signals and had quickly gotten up to rush to his side. The wyngling smiled down at them, wrapping his tail around to gently brush the tyke’s head. “I’ve been practicing for as long as I can remember really... That doesn’t mean you need as much practice as I have to get good at it though. It’s all really more of a depends on the person kinda thing. I do recommend trying it though! It’s a good way to exercise your brain and stuff.”

"Oooohhh! That sounds fun, I wonder if Sammie will come by anytime soon, maybe I could ask him to teach me, OH OH MAYBE if i got good enough we could sing together!! That would be exciting!!"
“Maybe.” Philip mused, “Though Sammie usually only arrives at the shrine at a specific time. Whether he realises it or not... so if he isn’t here now, then it’ll be likely he won’t be here for the rest of the day.” Sitting down on the wall, he continued, “That doesn’t mean I can’t give you a few pointers though.” The pressure of standing lifted from his side causing nigh instant relief. He hadn’t realised it while it was happening but that jumping and waving of his arms that he had done during the first song had really done nothing but make the pain of his fall bruising worse. The front left leg especially.
"OHHHH???" She exclaimed as she scooted closer to hear better.
“Well, I, um...” He sputtered out, not expecting the quad to get closer than she already was. Oh good gravy why did he say that? “Nothing too serious, I’m still learning myself, you know... but... uh... we can do some pretty standard warm-ups and stuff together, if you want.”
"YES! Totally! How??"

Trying his best to not be intimidated by her sheer energy, he thought for a moment before coming to a final idea. “Ok, well how about we try the rhyming game. I’ll say a sentence, then you’ll come up with a word that rhymes with the last word of my sentence and make a new sentence of your own that includes that word somewhere.”
"OH!! OKAY! That sounds fun! Hmmmm... Right you start right?" She replied, looking at him expectantly.

He nodded, trying to come up with a relatively easy sentence, eventually he landed on “The runeboo walked over and sat.”
She looked away, face twisting in thought. "Uhhh... Hmmm." It took her a second but a lightbulb went off in her head, "Little did he know, there was a bat?" Fey replied hesitantly
Philip smiled, “Good. He gave it a pat and looked around.”
"Hmmmm... He soon spotted a crown? Wait no that doesn't rhyme-"
“That’s alright. You got one. Do you want to try again from the word, around? It might help to think about how the word sounds. Break it up into parts, the last ‘ound’ is the key. I know you can do it, just wait and see.” As his tail flicked behind him, it wasn’t entirely clear if he was aware he was rhyming or not but he did seem to be trying to give some advice at least.

"Okay! Hmmm..." She tilted her head to look up at the sky, muttering Ound a couple times trying to figure out a solution. "...Suddenly he spotted a hound?"
He nodded, “The runeboo ran with a leap and a bound, to safety he fled...” daring not to be found was his first thought... though given how she had struggled with ound before was that really the best idea? “... through the undergrowth and trees.” he concluded his sentence. The ee sound was definitely a lot easier to rhyme than most other endings.
"Oh oh okay! Uhhhhhh! Hm- Now away, he felt more at ease!" She responded excitedly, seemed like his method had worked as she had come up with that one alot quicker!
“Excellent!” He praised, it seemed to him like she was starting to get the hang of it, “Past him flew a little kameeze, it flipped and flapped its wings.”
"He- He didn't know much about these things?" She replied stuttering a bit
“Very good! He stared and stared but no bell did ring, so he tried to follow.” Philip had pretty much forgotten a this point that he wasn’t playing the game with a rhyme master like Sammie as he allowed himself to get a little carried away.
"Uh" She looked around for a little bit, trying to think up of something to complete it, but couldn't seem to find it.

Immediately realising his mistake, he lowered his ears and head. “Ah, sorry!” He brought his tail around and awkwardly fiddled with it.
She looked at him confused, "Why are you sorry? You've bested me! I clearly need more practice!" She joked, smiling and snickering at herself.
He laughed a bit in return, allowing his tail to flip back behind him. “I guess so. That was very good for your first try at it though!” Fey’s smile was contagious it seemed as he was soon smiling along with her.
"Awww!! Thank you!! And that was a very good try for your billionth probably!"
“Yeah, there abouts.” He chuckled, gazing around for a bit, seeming to be in deep thought before speaking again. “Say, what brought you to the Nova Shrine today anyway, Fey?” The curiosity had been pecking away at the back of his head since the beginning of the second song. He’d hate to be distracting her from anything important after all.

She blinked, then realization came over her face, "OH!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO HELP ONE OF MY FRIENDS!" She hopped up from her spot, looking back at the wyngling and smiling anyways despite probably being 40 minutes late. "Thank you so much for reminding me! I'm such a dumby sometimes!" Fey laughed.
“Oh no! Good thing I asked.” Philip felt his ears dip back as he yet again smiled back at the quad, trying his best not to wear his true emotions on his face. Wow, he really had been wasting the time of a busy wyngro... It wasn’t his fault, of course, yet that pit of guilt still weighed heavy on his chest. “Is... there anything I can do to help?” He offered, pausing before adding. “Or would it be better for you to just go now to get there as soon as possible?”
"Nahhh! You should stay here and practice more!" She replied, glancing around for a brief moment, before looking back at him. "HEY HEY!! If I ever spot you again or with Sammie maybe we could do improv together! I might try to learn it on my own, yeah???"
“Yeah, of course!” Philip grinned, his tail gently patting against the wall beside him as he bounced back to his usual happy demeanour. “Or, uh, even if we just cross paths normally, don’t be afraid to flag me down to say hi! It’s been real nice chatting with ya!”
"Of course! It's been nice to meet you too!" Fey replied as she began to walk off, waving at him as she did

He smiled and waved back to her until she was just out of view before turning to Blip. “Guess we should head back home now, huh, buddy?” He addressed the tyke, who gave a small coo in response and jumped up onto the wyngling’s back again. Picking up the box, he carefully hopped down off of the wall and - after giving a cursory glance back to double check that Fey wasn’t still there - began his long trek home. After a while, even allowing the ever so slight limp show but that wasn’t what he was focused on. After all, he’d just gotten and lovely gift and made a new friend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fey belongs to

Wyn Tracker - docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

Description

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This story has been written in collaboration with Lass1e as a roleplay then adapted to suit Philip’s perspective

"Oh goodness!" A voice exclaimed from not too far away. From what Philip could see from where he was laying, it was a blue quad and she was headed directly for him. "Are you alright?" She asked, concern bubbling up in her voice, once she got close enough to stop. "I saw that wibble lob that towards you from over there, are you hurt?"

Philip gave a small nod, grunting a little as he pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He spoke, dusting off his legs slightly. Ok, sure, he was lying through his teeth, his leg and side were rather sore now. It was only natural that falling onto stone with force like that was bound to leave a bruise even if it didn’t break skin. But he didn’t want to worry the stranger. “I never knew they could be that strong with their tiny hands.” He laughed.

The quad smiled in response and laughed along with him, "Yeah I guess so! Maybe all this heartkindle flying is making them stronger!" She joked, taking a cautionary glance in the direction the wibble had flown off in.
“Maybe.” A big goofy grin crossed Philip’s face as he imagined a buff wibble, so silly, how would it even fly? “There sure are a lot of them just kinda... around... lately. I do wonder just how many there are.” He mused, signalling to Blip to get back up after checking to see if they were ok. The tyke hesitated for a moment before scrambling up their owner’s back and returning to their spot on his head. “Feels strange not to have the post delivered by a wyngro... especially if they’re going to be like that.”

"Yeah... It is a bit odd." The stranger agreed, looking further into the town square. Following her gaze, the wyngling was very quickly able to pick out another few in the distance just now delivering a letter to another Wyngro far away. "Sure is weird how they've grown in numbers, I wouldn't doubt it could be in the hundreds! They sure are cute though aren't they?"

“Oh, for sure! In their own strange, gooey, little way.” He smiled, letting out a nervous laugh shortly followed by a small sigh as he made his way over to the parcel that had been delivered - almost tripping on the way as the front leg he’d fallen onto threatened to give out from under him. “Here’s to hoping there wasn’t anything fragile in here.”
"Oh I hope not, otherwise it would probably be ruined with a throw like that.". The quad agreed, turning her attention back to him. Hovering over his shoulder as she appeared to be waiting for him to open it.

Quickly moving the letter that he’d been firmly grasping in his claws to his mouth, Philip double checked the label and then began to work on undoing the rope bow that was wrapped around the box. It didn’t take long before he’d gotten it open saw that nestled between a few sheets of tissue paper was a blue beeb beanie. The relief he felt in that moment was more than he could ever put into words... which was good because he still had the letter carefully being held in his mouth.

"AWwwwww! That's adorable!" The quad cooed loudly from behind him. While it started him slightly he wasn’t allowed to focus on it for long as his tyke was already piping up from on his head. Blip sure seemed excited about the gift, patting their little feet nubs against the wyngling’s hair. Taking the letter from his mouth, Philip placed it into the box.
“Adorable and functional!” He grinned once more before addressing his tyke, “Yes, it does look like a beeb, doesn’t it, Blip?” He chuckled, “Blue and everything, just like you, buddy! Goes in the same place too.”

"The ‘gro who sent it must have been really thoughtful to think about your beeb!" The quad commented with a smile.
“Oh, absolutely!” He agreed, encouraging Blip onto his good shoulder while he put the hat on. “There’s only two people I can think of who could have sent it after reading the letter. Shame I can’t say I’ve ever seen any of their writing. Real great shame, love to thank ‘em personally but I guess that’s the fun of the ‘kindles, huh?”
"True!" She responded, seeming in deep thought for a moment. Thinking about past heartkindle’s she’d received perhaps? Or something completely different... there was no way for Philip to know.

“I’ve sent a few myself this year and boy if it isn’t difficult to keep my lips tight. It’s that strange mixture of wanting them to figure it out but also wanting them to never know at the same time, ya know?” He paused for a moment, “Say, speaking of figuring things out, I never told you my name, did I?” He laughed at himself before reaching out a claw, “Name’s Chase!” He winced slightly as all the weight shifted to his left, maybe lifting up his good claw for a shake was a bad idea... Oh well, he was committed now.

She smiled, reaching out her paw to shake his claw. "I'm Fey! Good to meet you Chase! And I know what you mean, its exciting, like playing a game of chase olmost!"
“Nice to meet you too, Fey!” He thought for a moment for a way to compliment her pun, trying to think of one of his own but coming up short. Perhaps a few rhymes would do to take its place. “As the lovely Sammie would say, that was quite wonderful use of wordplay.” Nailed it! Probably...?

Her ears perked up and she laughed, grinning from ear to ear amused, "You have quite a way with words! Have you been learning from Sammie?"
He gave a strong nod, his eyes lighting up. “You could say that. I come to see him whenever he’s in town! Or at least in the town square... He’s been teaching me all kinds of music and singing things since I was very little. He says I have quite the knack for it.” A proud smile crossed his face, “I was... uh... actually headed to the shrine today to see if he was here but it seems not...” He gave the shrine one more glance, though he knew full well that the green bard was one of those people you heard before you saw. “Oh well, he’s got to rest his voice some days and at least I got to meet you, Fey! Always nice to meet new people!”

"Awww thank you! Hey maybe we could practice singing? I'm not that good- but I can try! Or i want watch! I'm sure you're super good if Sammie complimented you! Maybe you can even draw a crowd like he does!! Wyngrew would love it!!" She encouraged, her eyes sparkling.
“That’s a brilliant idea!” Philip gasped, why didn’t he think of it himself? “Eheh, I mean, I wouldn’t say ‘super good’, I’ve still got a lot to learn... and Sammie usually leads most of the time... but I’m sure I could figure out something! No shame in getting a bit more practice in. Now, I just need something to actually sing about...”

"You're right, practice makes perfect!" She smiled, lifting her head, "Hmmmmmm, maybe something loud? I don't know too many songs..." She lifted her paw to her face - it, in turn, twisting in thought. Had she misunderstood his request? While singing the material of others was an alright pastime, he’d always preferred to fill a stage with some semblance of variety.

“That’s alright. All I need is a word. Any word will do and I’ll make something up from there!” He beamed, wiggling slightly as he tried to contain his excitement.
"Okay!! What about- hmmmm... Watermelon!" She exclaimed, looking at him excitedly. Perfect.

Philip clears his throat, hopping up onto the nearest short wall. He lets out a short sigh, takes a deep breath and begins to sing, “Sitting in the garden, under the tree
And a watermelon comes wanderin’ over to me.
I’m confused as ever, as in this weather
A watermelon shouldn’t be walking.
No, that watermelon shouldn’t be walking.”

He’s making sure to gesture while he sings to put emphasis on certain words, occasionally trotting up and down the wall as well.

“So, I take a closer look and what do I see?
Well a pair o’ small eyes in it, staring back at me!
Jumping back in surprise,
Couldn’t believe my own eyes!
No, that watermelon shouldn’t be walking!

So I wander around it, tryin’a get a good peak
And what do you know, this melon has feet!
Are there two? Four? No, a total of six!
More than enough to hold a big ol’ bundle of sticks!
That watermelon shouldn’t be walking!

But what was that? A noise from inside?
Take a closer look and what a surprise!
That watermelon was a runeboo in disguise!
Guess that watermelon should’a been walking!” He smiles and sits down to show that he’s finished his little song.

Fey let out a loud gasp and began to clap. "WOAHHH!!! Good Job!! That was so nice, i can't believe you made that up on the spot!" She said grinning, having taken a seat while he was singing.
Blip, who had hopped down to sit next to Fey during the performance, mimicked her clapping motion. Though their little tyke feet didn’t make much noise at all and they didn’t fully understand what was going on, they knew that the action seemed to make Philip happy.
“Ehehehe, thank you! Both of you.” He laughed awkwardly, flushing a deep pink before turning his face away, just out of view. “I’ve been... uh... working a lot on my improv lately.”

"You're really doing good! What's your technique? How do you learn to improv like that??" She asked curiously, moving to pat the little tyke on the head, seemingly in awe at the tyke’s clapping.

Philip thought for a moment, “Hmm... well. It mostly comes naturally at this point but what I mainly look out for are simple words with a lot of rhymes, like bat or see, to help to bail me out when I’m struggling with the more tricky ones. It helps to have a big vocabulary if you’re going in blind like I just did... um... It also helps me to have a vague idea for a story. You don’t need one, of course, but I tend to find it easier to improv if I have at least an idea of where I want it to end... like when you said watermelon, I thought about a place and why it would be there. Then I remembered that there’s a runeboo I often see around here and the dots kinda connected themselves.”

"THATS SO COOL!" She yelled, "How did you get started? It must have been super hard at first, Chii you must have put in so much practice, you're almost almost as good as Sammie himself!"

Philip felt like his cheeks were on fire as his blush deepened. Sure, he was trying his best to improve from his younger years with the whole trying to leave stealing and sneaking out behind him. But he was still so used to being told off for things that compliments still felt weirdly wrong. “I... um... uh... well... Like everyone else, I guess... I’d gotten lost on my way home... It was getting late and was here just humming along to his quitar and Sammie calls people nearby over quite often so...” he trailed off, getting a tiny bit overwhelmed by the praise as her words bounced around his head on repeat. So cool... Almost as good as Sammie. Wow. How was he even meant to feel? Getting told off by strangers was easy but this? This was something else entirely!

"That's so lucky! You're so good now!" She continued, "Do you think you could do another? About hmmmm..." She stopped to think for a second, mind jolting in memory of her acorn bracelet and hat, a smile appearing on her face once more. "About acorns! Or trees! That would be so cool!"
“Well... I could try.” He said, trying his best to keep his composure. Come on, Chase. You can do it. Just... breathe. Closing his eyes for a moment to focus, he opened his mouth and began to sing again. It was a little shaky at first and he opted for a softer tune this time but it was clear that he wasn’t trying any less.

“Swaying in the wind, a lone tree.
What secrets, doth hold thee.
The gift of new life, reborn here.
No scorn here. Just me.

Alone I stand, but I will replant the forest. (oooo)
Each acre you see a single acorn sown. (A-aaah)
Given light and love they will sprout into...
A sea... of... green.
Of green and red and orange and blue.
So care for this land and the land will care... for... you.”

Fey laughed and clapped, cheering for how quick he put it together "Thats amazing, Philip!" She looked around, was she searching for anybody else near the Nova Shrine that might have heard?

Philip flinched at the mention of his hatch name. He... he had told her his preferred one when he had greeted her, right? Of course, as always he didn’t mind it... Alma always referred to him with it and it wasn’t as if it felt entirely wrong like some gros who changed their names. He still identified with it to an extent but... It was just so unexpected. He just... must have let it slip at some point in their conversation or something. Nevertheless, she seemed happy and he allowed himself to get wrapped up in her praise yet again. The blush quickly returning to his cheeks.

"Oh question question!" She exclaimed, completely oblivious to his sharp movement at her addressing him, "How long have you been practicing? I wonder if I should try to get good at improv, it sounds so fun!"
“Well, uh...” He started, calming down slightly as he felt the familiar pressure of Blip pushing themself against his leg. Even if the other wyngro had no clue, the tyke had very clearly picked up on Philip’s signals and had quickly gotten up to rush to his side. The wyngling smiled down at them, wrapping his tail around to gently brush the tyke’s head. “I’ve been practicing for as long as I can remember really... That doesn’t mean you need as much practice as I have to get good at it though. It’s all really more of a depends on the person kinda thing. I do recommend trying it though! It’s a good way to exercise your brain and stuff.”

"Oooohhh! That sounds fun, I wonder if Sammie will come by anytime soon, maybe I could ask him to teach me, OH OH MAYBE if i got good enough we could sing together!! That would be exciting!!"
“Maybe.” Philip mused, “Though Sammie usually only arrives at the shrine at a specific time. Whether he realises it or not... so if he isn’t here now, then it’ll be likely he won’t be here for the rest of the day.” Sitting down on the wall, he continued, “That doesn’t mean I can’t give you a few pointers though.” The pressure of standing lifted from his side causing nigh instant relief. He hadn’t realised it while it was happening but that jumping and waving of his arms that he had done during the first song had really done nothing but make the pain of his fall bruising worse. The front left leg especially.
"OHHHH???" She exclaimed as she scooted closer to hear better.
“Well, I, um...” He sputtered out, not expecting the quad to get closer than she already was. Oh good gravy why did he say that? “Nothing too serious, I’m still learning myself, you know... but... uh... we can do some pretty standard warm-ups and stuff together, if you want.”
"YES! Totally! How??"

Trying his best to not be intimidated by her sheer energy, he thought for a moment before coming to a final idea. “Ok, well how about we try the rhyming game. I’ll say a sentence, then you’ll come up with a word that rhymes with the last word of my sentence and make a new sentence of your own that includes that word somewhere.”
"OH!! OKAY! That sounds fun! Hmmmm... Right you start right?" She replied, looking at him expectantly.

He nodded, trying to come up with a relatively easy sentence, eventually he landed on “The runeboo walked over and sat.”
She looked away, face twisting in thought. "Uhhh... Hmmm." It took her a second but a lightbulb went off in her head, "Little did he know, there was a bat?" Fey replied hesitantly
Philip smiled, “Good. He gave it a pat and looked around.”
"Hmmmm... He soon spotted a crown? Wait no that doesn't rhyme-"
“That’s alright. You got one. Do you want to try again from the word, around? It might help to think about how the word sounds. Break it up into parts, the last ‘ound’ is the key. I know you can do it, just wait and see.” As his tail flicked behind him, it wasn’t entirely clear if he was aware he was rhyming or not but he did seem to be trying to give some advice at least.

"Okay! Hmmm..." She tilted her head to look up at the sky, muttering Ound a couple times trying to figure out a solution. "...Suddenly he spotted a hound?"
He nodded, “The runeboo ran with a leap and a bound, to safety he fled...” daring not to be found was his first thought... though given how she had struggled with ound before was that really the best idea? “... through the undergrowth and trees.” he concluded his sentence. The ee sound was definitely a lot easier to rhyme than most other endings.
"Oh oh okay! Uhhhhhh! Hm- Now away, he felt more at ease!" She responded excitedly, seemed like his method had worked as she had come up with that one alot quicker!
“Excellent!” He praised, it seemed to him like she was starting to get the hang of it, “Past him flew a little kameeze, it flipped and flapped its wings.”
"He- He didn't know much about these things?" She replied stuttering a bit
“Very good! He stared and stared but no bell did ring, so he tried to follow.” Philip had pretty much forgotten a this point that he wasn’t playing the game with a rhyme master like Sammie as he allowed himself to get a little carried away.
"Uh" She looked around for a little bit, trying to think up of something to complete it, but couldn't seem to find it.

Immediately realising his mistake, he lowered his ears and head. “Ah, sorry!” He brought his tail around and awkwardly fiddled with it.
She looked at him confused, "Why are you sorry? You've bested me! I clearly need more practice!" She joked, smiling and snickering at herself.
He laughed a bit in return, allowing his tail to flip back behind him. “I guess so. That was very good for your first try at it though!” Fey’s smile was contagious it seemed as he was soon smiling along with her.
"Awww!! Thank you!! And that was a very good try for your billionth probably!"
“Yeah, there abouts.” He chuckled, gazing around for a bit, seeming to be in deep thought before speaking again. “Say, what brought you to the Nova Shrine today anyway, Fey?” The curiosity had been pecking away at the back of his head since the beginning of the second song. He’d hate to be distracting her from anything important after all.

She blinked, then realization came over her face, "OH!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO HELP ONE OF MY FRIENDS!" She hopped up from her spot, looking back at the wyngling and smiling anyways despite probably being 40 minutes late. "Thank you so much for reminding me! I'm such a dumby sometimes!" Fey laughed.
“Oh no! Good thing I asked.” Philip felt his ears dip back as he yet again smiled back at the quad, trying his best not to wear his true emotions on his face. Wow, he really had been wasting the time of a busy wyngro... It wasn’t his fault, of course, yet that pit of guilt still weighed heavy on his chest. “Is... there anything I can do to help?” He offered, pausing before adding. “Or would it be better for you to just go now to get there as soon as possible?”
"Nahhh! You should stay here and practice more!" She replied, glancing around for a brief moment, before looking back at him. "HEY HEY!! If I ever spot you again or with Sammie maybe we could do improv together! I might try to learn it on my own, yeah???"
“Yeah, of course!” Philip grinned, his tail gently patting against the wall beside him as he bounced back to his usual happy demeanour. “Or, uh, even if we just cross paths normally, don’t be afraid to flag me down to say hi! It’s been real nice chatting with ya!”
"Of course! It's been nice to meet you too!" Fey replied as she began to walk off, waving at him as she did

He smiled and waved back to her until she was just out of view before turning to Blip. “Guess we should head back home now, huh, buddy?” He addressed the tyke, who gave a small coo in response and jumped up onto the wyngling’s back again. Picking up the box, he carefully hopped down off of the wall and - after giving a cursory glance back to double check that Fey wasn’t still there - began his long trek home. After a while, even allowing the ever so slight limp show but that wasn’t what he was focused on. After all, he’d just gotten and lovely gift and made a new friend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fey belongs to

Wyn Tracker - docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…