Mabinogi: The Beginning
Seven years ago:
"Atturi!" Coby said in exasperation as Atturi stopped yet again to talk to a clothing merchant that was at the market. Atturi laughed. "I know. It's almost noon, we'll eat lunch then." "But that's not..." Coby stopped. Atturi wasn't listening anymore anyway.
Coby tugged away from Atturi--who turned quickly. "I'll meet you at the clocktower at noon, Atturi. I'm ten years old already! I can go off by myself." Before Atturi could respond to that, Coby took off through the crowd. "Your little sister's a spunky one." The clothing merchant said. "That's my brother." Atturi corrected. "And yes, he is."
Coby ran through the crowd, not really sure where he was going. It was probably because of that that he bumped into someone. Both Coby and the boy he'd bumped into fell down. The boy had blondish hair and greenish eyes. The boy looked to be Coby's age.
"Sorry!" Coby said, sitting up as the boy stared at him. Coby had shoulder length black hair and blueish eyes. "No," said the boy as he stood up. "It was my fault too. I'm Piet." He held out a hand to Coby. "I'm Coby." Coby replied, letting the boy pull him to his feet.
"Were you running from someone?" Piet asked. Coby shook his head. "No. I just wanted to explore while my brother was busy talking." Piet thought about that for a minute. "I have an idea then," he said. "Let's explore together, Coby."
Atturi found Coby very quickly after he'd run off. But, seeing how much fun Coby seemed to be having, Atturi let him play with his new friend, and just watched.
Coby looked up a little guiltily when the clocktower rang noon. "I told my brother I'd meet him..." he worried. "Then we'll go." Piet said with a shrug. "I know a shortcut."
Atturi followed Coby and Piet for most of the way, then went around them so that it would appear that he'd been waiting at the clocktower. "Atturi!" Coby called as he and Piet got closer. Atturi smiled.
Piet studied the brother of his new friend. Atturi had pale black hair and startlingly violet eyes. "Atturi," Coby introduced, "This is Piet. Piet, this is my brother, Atturi."
Present
"Coby!" Coby poked his head out of his bedroom window on the second floor of the mansion. "Shhh!" He warned Piet. Coby glanced at the room behind him, then clambored onto the windowsill and jumped to the tree that was opposite the window. From there he climbed down the tree.
"Are you sure sneaking out is a good idea?" Piet asked as they walked away from the mansion. Coby shrugged. "I told you. Atturi's been weird lately." "Only lately?" Piet asked skeptically. "Well...weirder than usual."
They walked across town to Piet's house. Peit's mother greeted them absently, as she was in the middle of baking something. After a moment though, she said "Piet, will you go to the market and get some milk? We just ran out."
Piet looked at Coby, who shrugged. So they walked to the market. "Are you going to get in trouble for sneaking out?" Piet asked. Coby thought about it for a minute, then said "Probably. Don't worry about it. Besides, I left a note." "A note." Piet repeated, a slight question in his voice. "Telling Atturi that I'd be back by dark."
The boys were silent while Piet bought the milk. They had met in this very market. Piet remembered. He, like many, had thought that Coby was a girl at first. It didn't help that when Coby was younger, Atturi had insisted on dressing Coby in girl's clothes. And in fact, still did when he could bribe Coby into it.
It was as they were leaving the market that someone banged into Coby, knocking them both down. Coby looked over. Glaring at him was a woman, about 25, with dark hair and blue eyes. Heping her up was a man with dark hair and blue eyes. Twins?
Coby scrambled to his feet. "Sorry," he said. Without responding, the two walked off. Though the woman did look back once, a strange expression on her face.
Late that afternoon, Coby climbed back through the window, on the (very slim) offchance that Atturi hadn't noticed he was gone. No such luck. Atturi sat on the edge of Coby's bed, Coby's note in his hand.
Neither said anything for a long couple of minutes. Coby didn't like his brother's expression, and so, spoke first. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was going out, Atturi."
Surprising Coby, Atturi stood and walked over to pull Coby into a semi-tight hug. "Atturi?" "Mother left by sneaking out the window." Atturi replied after a long moment. "Oh!" Now Coby hugged his brother back just as tight.
Their mother had left when Coby was only a few weeks old. Although only ten at the time, from then on it was mostly Atturi who took care of Coby.
"Sorry." Coby repeated. "Don't do that again!" Atturi replied.
The next day, Coby went to Piet's house (this time with Atturi's permission). While Coby was gone, Atturi decided to run to the market. Coby usually hated being dragged to the market. Atturi had just closed the front door behind him when he noticed a small figure standing at the front gate.
It was a little boy, about 4 years old. The boy had short pale brown hair and greenish eyes. "Well. Aren't you cute?" Atturi said as he approached the boy. The boy simply looked at him "Hi." Atturi said. "My name is Atturi. What's yours?" "Teo." the boy replied in a sweet little voice. Atturi smiled. "Are you lost? he asked the child. Teo shook his head. Atturi shrugged. "In any case, I was about to go to the market. Do you want to come with me?"
Atturi opened the gate, stepped out, then held out a hand to the little boy. Teo hesitated a moment, searching Atturi's face. Then he took Atturi's hand. They walked to the market, rather silently. Atturi was deciding what color would look best on Teo.
When they reached the market, they ran into Coby and Piet. "Atturi?" Coby said startled. "I thought you didn't like the market." Atturi replied. "Piet's mom asked him to get milk...who is this?"
"This is Teo. Teo, my brother Coby and his friend Piet." Teo looked at the two of them. "Hi Teo." Coby said. Piet nodded to the child. Teo looked away suddenly, his attention caught by the smell of food. "I bet you're hungry." Atturi said to Teo. To Coby and Piet, he said "Have you two eaten yet?"
"No." "Not yet." Atturi smiled. "Then let's go get lunch." They went to one of the food stalls that had tables near it. Coby and Piet picked a table while Atturi and Teo went to get the food.
It was as they were finishing eating that a voice called "Teo!" All of them looked up. Two girls ran towards them. One was about 19, with long, almost waist length curly brown hair and green eyes. The other was about 10, with slightly longer than shoulder length blonde brown wavy hair and green eyes.
Atturi looked at Teo. Teo nodded. "My name is Gia. Gia Victoria. This little kid is Teo. Teo's my younger brother. Oh, and this is my younger sister, Eleri." The 19 year old said. "I'm Atturi Seppo. My younger brother Coby, and his friend Piet."
Gia nodded. Then she looked at Teo. "Teo! Where have you been all day? I thought I told you to stay with Eleri while I went to the market!" Teo just looked at Gia, not replying. Eleri started coughing, and Gia turned to her, worried.
"What's wrong?" Atturi asked. Gia hesitated, but since they hadn't hurt Teo... "Eleri's a little weak." Coby offered Eleri a glass of water. She managed to stop coughing long enough to drink it, then she smiled at Coby when her coughing didn't come back.
"What did the doctor say?" Atturi asked. Gia laughed at him. "Doctor? We can't afford a doctor. In fact, most people that use this market couldn't afford a doctor." Atturi half frowned.
" 'Ri." Teo said. Gia and Eleri looked at their brother astonished. Atturi nodded. "Come join us for dinner at my house. I'll pay for a doctor. On one condition." Gia looked very wary. A total stranger was offering to pay for a doctor? That was expensive! "What condition?" Coby saw the expression on Atturi's face and half choked. He knew that expression. "Let me pick your clothes." Gia looked startled, and still wary. She bit her lip and looked at Eleri. Then she looked at Teo. Then, finally, back at Atturi.
"That's the only condition? You won't change your mind later?" Atturi nodded. "I won't change my mind. I give you my word." Gia hesitated, but then nodded. If Eleri had been the same as always, she would have said no. But Eleri had been worse lately.
Gia noticed how Teo held Atturi's hand as they walked to the richest section of town and wondered at it. Teo did not usually take to strangers quickly. Nor had Gia and Eleri been successful in convincing him to talk.
Gia practically choked when she saw their house. Eleri murmered a stunned "Wow." Atturi shrugged. Coby looked at Piet, suddenly slightly embarresed. Piet guessed from his expression, and said "Different people have different things, Coby. Not all of that is optional."
They walked into the house. A man came down the stairs. He had short dark hair and dark blue eyes. He looked like he could have been anywhere from mid-twenties to late thirties. "Father!" Atturi and Coby said startled and in accidental unison. The man smiled. "Atturi. Coby. New friends?"
"Yes. Father, this is Gia, Eleri and Teo Victoria. And you remember Piet Ayelan." The man smiled, and nodded. "I'm Marcus Seppo." He introduced himself to the Victorias'. To Piet, "It's nice to see you again." "And nice to see you again, sir." Piet replied. Eleri (and Gia) had been looking around the entryway to the house in amazement, but now Eleri started coughing again.
"I promised them a doctor," Atturi told Marcus. Marcus nodded. "I'll make the call. You stay with your friends." Atturi nodded. Marcus went into another room, and Coby and Atturi brought them upstairs to Atturi's room.
Atturi's room was clean. In one corner of the room were bookshelves. In the next corner was his bed, which was raised quite a bit off the ground. In the third corner was a couch and two chairs, as well as a table. In the next corner was another door--Atturi's closet. Directly opposite the door they'd entered from was open space, then the wall with windows.
Atturi lifted Teo up and set him on the edge of the bed. Eleri and Gia sat on the couch, and Coby and Piet took the chairs. Atturi headed for his closet. Atturi came out of the huge walk-in closet with a lot of clothes. More than was needed for three people. Coby started to get up. "Maybe Piet and I will go to my room..."
"Sit." Atturi ordered absently. "I have clothes for both of you as well." Coby sat back with a sigh and shot an apologetic look to Piet. Piet shrugged with a slight grimace...in the past ten years, he had seen much of Atturi's taste in clothes.
Atturi handed the first few articles of clothing to Gia. Two brown skirts of differing lengths and shades,a creme colored blouse, and a brown vest, the same shade of brown as the shorter skirt. "The longer skirt goes underneath the shorter one." He told her. "And--though I think this is obvious--the vest goes over the shirt."
To Eleri he handed a thin white dress that would go down to her knees, and a thicker white dress--robe style that would go down to her ankles--that had pink and purple flowers on it. "The thinner one goes under the thicker one?" she asked. Atturi nodded, and turned to Coby and Piet.
To Piet he gave a pair of navy pants (much to Piet's relief), a ruffled white shirt and a pale blue overcoat that would not cover the ruffles. To Coby, Atturi handed a pale blue and creme dress, the blue the same as the one on Piet's overcoat.
Atturi lay some articles of clothing on the bed next to Teo, then turned to the others. "You probably want to change seperatly...Coby, you and Piet can change in your room. Gia and Eleri, you may change in the closet. There's plenty of room. Just please, do not knock anything down."
Once it was only him and Teo left in the room, Atturi turned to the child. "Will you need help?" Atturi asked. Teo nodded. Atturi helped Teo change into the simple pale green dress, telling him it was ok to stand on the bed. Teo looked down at himself and the dress he was wearing. After a moment, he nodded, looked up and tugged on Atturi's shirt. " 'Ri?"
"I'll change too." Atturi said. Seeing the expression on Teo's face, he laughed and asked "You want me to change now?" Teo nodded. Atturi changed into dark green pants, a creme colored shirt like the one he'd given Piet, and a pale green overcoat the color of Teo's dress. Teo smiled, and gave Atturi a hug.
That's what Gia and Eleri saw as they came out of the closet. Both stared, shocked. Teo usually didn't like to be touched. But Atturi, it seemed, was different. "You put him in a dress?" Gia asked in an odd tone. "He looks so cute like that." Atturi replied with a disarming smile.
Just then Coby and Piet came back. Gia and Eleri gaped at Coby. "Atturi's always making me wear dresses." He told them. "Which is probably why he has so many of them. Atturi, you forgot shoes and socks." Atturi went into the closet and came back out with shoes, socks and stockings. Coby, Gia and Eleri got stockings and pretty shoes. Coby's shoes were blue, Eleri's white and Gia's brown. For himself and Piet, Atturi had black boots and socks. For Teo, Atturi had knee high white socks with white bows on the top, and black dress boots with buttons on the side.
Once everyone had their shoes on, Atturi studied each of them in turn. "Almost perfect." he decided. "Almost?" Gia, Piet and Coby demanded in wary unison. Teo laughed, making Gia and Eleri look shocked again.
Atturi thought for a moment, about what would make the outfits perfect. " 'Ri." Teo suggested, swinging his hand back and forth. Atturi's eyes lit. "Great idea, Teo." Atturi went into the closet and came out with matching purses for the Coby, Gia and Eleri. To Teo, he handed a brown teddy bear with a green ribbon around it's neck.
Marcus came in then. "The doctor's on his way." he told them. "Thank you very much." Gia said. Marcus looked at everyone's clothes. "Everyone looks...nice." he noted. Coby laughed slightly. Marcus looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You are the one that lets him." Marcus said, remembering that Coby had complained about wearing dresses in the past. Coby looked at Piet. Piet shrugged.
"Are your friends staying for dinner, Atturi, Coby?" "Yes." both replied. Marcus smiled--the same smile that Atturi had. "Sometimes I think I'm the only normal one in my family." Coby muttered to Piet as they all followed Marcus down the stairs. "Only sometimes?" was Piet's reply. Marcus led them to the sitting room. They had just sat down when there was a knock on the front door. Marcus went to get the door and came back with the doctor, who was slightly out of breath.
Gia raised an eyebrow. This family was rich enough that a doctor came running when they called? Teo was sitting on Atturi's lap. It was Atturi who said "Doctor Tjames. It was good of you to come so quick. Your patient is the blonde girl on the loveseat."
The doctor ended up taking Eleri --and Gia because Gia wasn't about to let her sister go off with a strange man, doctor or not-- into the other room. " 'Ri." Teo said, looking up at Atturi. "You're welcome. But I probably would have regardless." Atturi replied.
"You understand what he says?" Coby asked. Atturi looked surprised. "You can't? I thought everyone could." Coby shook his head. "I can't." Piet said. "It sounds like he's calling your name." Marcus said.