Shopping (Chapter 5)

"Where exactly are we shopping?" I questioned, for we had been walking for a long time.
"Oh, you'll see." Khanna replied, smiling mischievously. Faalan remained silent. His eyes were slightly unfocused. He seemed to be thinking about something.
Presently, we saw a cave and a man sitting nearby, staring off into the distance. His long golden-almost white- hair fell to his shoulders, swaying in the breeze.
"Oi! Kaija!" Faalan hollered, hands cupping his mouth. The man whipped around, searching for the the source of the noise.
"Oh, Faalan!" Kaija shouted back when he realized that it was Faalan. The two apparently knew each other well, for as soon as they came closer, they pulled each other into a bear hug.
"Where have you been?" Kaija chided Faalan jokingly.
"Nice to see you again too, Kaija!" Faalan replied, rolling his eyes.
"So, what brings you here again? And who is the newcomer?"
"Oh, her. She's Fala."
"Nice to meet you." I said quietly, looking down and fiddling with the flute in my hands.
"Ah, a shy one." Kaija said, smiling gently when I looked up again.
"Getting to the point," interrupted Khanna, "we need to buy some instruments. Or at least try some out."
"Instruments.... I have a lyre and a drum." Kaija declared after rifling through various boxes in the cave.
"We'll try the lyre." Faalan said firmly, stretching out a hand to take the lyre. Kaija muttered something about it improper to try an
instrument and not buy it, but Khanna shut him up with a glare that could send shivers down anyone's spine.
"Try it." Faalan urged, holding out to the lyre to me. Not complaining, I took the simple wooden lyre from his hands. It was made simply, just the bare essentials. There were no elaborate carvings or paintings, but it was carved with loving care.
The lyre seemed to call out to me as soon as I touched the smooth wood, just like the flute had. Once again, I found my body moving on its own accord, shifting to play the instrument. Chords of notes drifted through the air. Breathing in deeply, I felt an inner calmness; it was just so peaceful and beautiful in this past world. I also felt the love and dedication it took to make the instrument.
When I finished, the last few notes seemed to hang in the air as if they didn't want to leave. The last echoes of the music faded and I looked around to see Faalan, Khanna, and Kaija with calm expressions on their faces.
"That music...it seemed to calm the soul..." Kaija murmured, losing the joking tone he had before. His face had the expression of a completely relaxed person.
"I can't feel angry at anything at the moment." Khanna said wistfully.
"The melody was enchanting. It was like a spell. I found myself breathing with the ups and downs of the tune." Faalan said. "It seems that you can work your powers through other instruments."
"That's her power?" Kaija questioned.
"Apparently so." I said, smiling lightly.
"Ironic...."
"How so?"
"Mines is dancing with weapons. They're both forms of art."
"I see what you mean now."
"Perhaps this means we were meant for one another." he said huskily, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me to his side, his hand starting to slip downwards.
"LET GO OF ME YOU PERVERT!" I screamed, tearing myself from his side. My heart pounded and my breath caught in my throat. It was way too sudden and I had only known the guy for what, two minutes?
"Kaija, I never knew you were that kind of person..." Faalan chuckled. Khanna let me fall into her waiting arms and pulled me
close her her protectively.
"What is wrong with you, Kaija?!" she yelled at him. "You've only known Fala for such a short amount of time!"
Kaija's face flushed bright red in his embarrassment.
"Aww.... But she's cute...." he stuttered. Then my own face burst into shades of red too. To tell the truth, he was a little cute too, but I loved Tahi. But Kaija was the opposite of myself, playful, fun, and cheerful. I'd always admired people who could do things that I couldn't bring myself to do. But Tahi... And I always thought that boys with long hair were cute. But I couldn't possibly...could I? Had I fallen for the boy that I had only known for such a short period of time? I hoped not. I always considered myself faithful to Tahi.
The days past as we spent more time where Kaija lived. He constantly got new merchandise to sell and more instruments passed through my hands. Every one that I tried was compatible with my gift. Kaija showed me his own gift, the graceful dancing with deadly weapons. It was incredible to watch him, the weapons flashing in the sun. His favorite weapons were the twin swords he carried on his sides.
Faalan and Khanna helped me to train. They eventually eased me off of wearing my shoes, and soon, I felt more comfortable without shoes than with. I found that I didn't have to submit to the wills of my gift drawing me to the instruments. I learned that I could control it so that I could play as usual, just not controlling the listeners.
They also helped me with my fighting skills. For Kaija, it came naturally, so he couldn't really help to explain. But the two siblings had trained themselves. They mainly used daggers, and that was what I was taught to use, but they had decent skill with other weapons, so they taught me all they could with swords and things I couldn't figure out what the name was. I suppose that's unimportant, seeing as you don't really need to know the name of something to defend yourself or kill someone. Although, I really hoped that it wouldn't come to that. But deep inside, I had the feeling something bad was going to happen.
I settled on the flute and lyre, for they were the first two that I played with my gift. Kaija found me a pouch that could hang in front of me, holding the flute snugly within. For the lyre, he produced a side belt of sorts that crossed in front and in back, allowing the lyre to hang by my side.
All was peaceful until he came.

AN: Well...this isn't the best chapter ever, but it was kinda fun writing it. I could have gone without it, but I decided to keep it anyways. I think I'll do more edits after I post the whole things. (AKA 21 or 22 chapters)