Every now and then I volunteer my time and my writing to TalentEgg.ca. They’re a career hub resource for new and current grads seeking guidance on the real world after school. They have a content partnership with Toronto’s newest commuter mag, TONight Newspaper. I’d never really heard of the paper–or seen it for that matter–but a friend alerted me that an article I had written for TalentEgg was featured in Tuesday night’s edition! Sweet!

Cassandra from TalentEgg was kind enough to scan me the feature. Click the photo to enlarge.

இடி விழுமோ விழுந்தாலும் கட்டை விரலடியில்
முடி பிடுங்கப்படுமோ இழந்தாலும் நானே ராஜா
இருள் வருமோ வந்தாலும் நான் சூரியனாவேன்
குரல் கெடுமோ கெட்டாலும் ஓம்காரமாவேன்
தரணி எதிர்க்குமோ எதிர்த்தாலும் தரம் தாழேன்
பேரணி பேசுமோ பேசினாலும் ஒருபடி குறையேன்
ஊர் சிரிக்குமோ சிரித்தாலும் வயிற்று வலியாவேன்
பேர் கெடுக்குமோ கெடுத்தாலும் செயல் மாற்றேன்
புயல் வருமோ வந்தாலும் பொய் புரட்டிப்போடுவேன்
செயல் தீருமோ தீர்ந்தாலும் செத்த பிணமாவேன்…

காகம் பித்ரு எண்றெண்ணி கூரையிலே சோறு
நாகம் தேவி எண்றெண்ணி பாலும் முட்டையும்
நாய் நன்றியுள்ளது நடுவீட்டில்,தாணுண்ணும் உணவு
பூனை எலி பிடிக்கும் என்றெ அதற்கும் உணவு
காதல் கிளிகள் கூண்டுக்குள்ளே அவைகளுக்குமுணவு
அழகு மீன்கள் நீந்தும் தொட்டியில் அவைகளுக்குமுணவு
மாடு பால் தரும் என்பதற்காகவே அதற்கும் தீனி
கொழியும்,ஆடும் சமைத்து சாப்பிடலாம் என்றே தீனி
ஊறி வரும் சிற்றெரும்புக்கும் அரிசி மாவிலுணவு

இவையேதும் கேளாமல் உணவளிக்கும்
பண்பு கடவுளேயன்றி யாருக்கு வரும்
மனிதா உன் விலங்கு நேசத்தை பார்த்து
மெய் சிலிர்த்து போகிறேன் மெச்சுகிறேன்
இதோ வாய் பேசும் விலங்கொன்று வாசலில்
உன்னை உரிமையொடு உணவிற்காக அழைக்கிறது
என்ன புளித்த சோறும், மீதிய குழம்பும் மிச்சங்களுமா
இதை கொண்டா உன் சகொதரனை பசியற்றுவாய்
கர்வம்கொண்ட காட்டேரியே,சுயநல பிசாசே
இப்போது புரிந்ததடா உன் விலங்கு நேசம்…

இருப்பதும் இழப்பதும் நம் முடிவன்று
வருவதும் வாராதிருப்பதும் நம் விருப்பமன்று
கொடுப்பதும் கொடாதிருப்பதும் நம் முடிவன்று
எடுப்பதும் எடாதிருப்பதும் நம் சுதந்ததிரமன்று

நிரந்தரமற்ற உலகத்தில் என் வாழ்த்து பதிவுகள் இதோ இவர்களுக்காக…

வேலை பளு காரணம் சொல்லி செல்லாதொரு இடமுண்டு
அங்கே தெய்வக் குழந்தைகளுக்கோ ஒரு இல்லமுண்டு
காலை மாலை வேலை சனி ஞாயிறு விடுமுறை ஓய்வுண்டு
இங்கே செல்ல மனமில்லாதோர் சார்பாக தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள்…

ஊன்,புறம் சுத்தம் செய்வார் உள்ளத்தில் அழுக்குடையோர்
தெரு வருவார் குப்பை போடுவார் உமிழ்ந்து துப்புவார்
வீண் பேச்சு பேசுவார்,சுத்தம் செய்தே அழுக்கானோர் பார்த்து அவர்
தெரு சுத்தம் செய்வாரில்லை அவர் சார்பாக தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள்…

வானுயுரப் பறக்க சுழன்று சுற்ற சத்தம் போட விதவிதமாய் வெடி செய்வார்
திறந்த புத்தகம் திறந்தே இருக்க பழைய காகிதம் வெட்டி ஒட்டியிருப்பார்
தானுயுரப்போகிறோமென வானெட்டும் அஸ்திரம் செய்வார் அவர்
தகுந்த வாழ்க்கை கொடுப்பாரில்லை அவர் சார்பாக தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள்…

இன்னும் எத்த்னையோ உயிர்கள் பிறப்பு வளர்ப்பு காரணமாய்
இத்துனை துன்பம் கொண்டு பலர் கொண்டாடும் பண்டிகை நோக்கி
விண்ணும் மண்ணும் அதிர உலகம் உலுக்க உரக்க குரலில்
எத்துனையோ கடமை தவறியோர் சார்பாக தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள்…

Song: Pudhu Vellai Mazhai

Singer: Unnimenon, Sujatha

pudhu vellai mazhai ingu pozhiginradhu

indhak kollai nilaa udal nanaiginradhu

ingu sollaadha idam koodak kulirginradhu

manam soodaana idham thaedi alaiginradhu

nadhiyae neeyaanaal kadal naanae

siru paravai neeyaanaal un vaanam naanae

pudhu vellai mazhai ingu pozhiginradhu

indhak kollai nilaa udal nanaiginradhu

pen illaadha oorilae adi aan pookaetpadhillai

pen illaadha oorilae kodidhaan pooppooppadhillai

un pudavai mundhaanai saaindhadhil indha bhoomi pooppooththadhu

idhu kamban paadaadha sindhanai un kaadhoadu yaar sonnadhu

pudhu vellai mazhai ingu pozhiginradhu

indhak kollai nilaa udal nanaiginradhu

ingu sollaadha idam koodak kulirginradhu

manam soodaana idham thaedi alaiginradhu

pudhu vellai mazhai ingu pozhiginradhu

indhak kollai nilaa udal nanaiginradhu

nee annaikkinra vaelaiyil uyirp poo vedukkenru malarum

nee vedukkenru odaninaal uyirp poo sarugaaga ularum

iru kaigal theendaadha penmaiyai un kangal pandhaadudho…

malar manjam kaanaadha pennilaa en maarboadu vandhaadudho…

படம் : கேப்டன் மகள்
இசை : ஹம்சலேகா
குரல் : S.p.பாலசுப்ரமணியம்

எந்த பெண்ணிலும் இல்லாத ஒன்று
ஏதோ, அது ஏதோ?
அடி ஏதோ உன்னிடம் இருக்கிறது!
அதை அறியாமல் விடமாட்டேன்!
அது வரை உன்னைத் தொடமாட்டேன்!

(எந்த பெண்ணிலும்………….)

கூந்தல் முடிகள், நெற்றி பரப்பில்
கோலம் போடுதே அதுவா?
கோலம் போடுதே அதுவா?
சிரிக்கும் போது கண்ணில் மின்னல்
தெரித்து ஓடுதே அதுவா?
தெரித்து ஓடுதே அதுவா?
மூக்கின் மேலே மூக்குத்தி போலே
மச்சம் உள்ளதே அதுவா? அதுவா? அதுவா?
கழுத்தின் கீழே கவிதைகள் ரெண்டு
மிச்சம் உள்ளதே அதுவா? அதுவா? அதுவா?
அதை அறியாமல் விடமாட்டேன் !
அது வரை உன்னைத் தொடமாட்டேன்!

(எந்த பெண்ணிலும்………..)

முல்லை நிறத்துப் பற்களில் ஒன்று
தள்ளி உள்ளதே அதுவா?
தள்ளி உள்ளதே அதுவா?
சங்கு கழுத்தைப் பாசி மணிகள்
தடுவுகின்றதே அதுவா?
தடுவுகின்றதே அதுவா?
ஒவ்வொரு வாக்கியம் முடியும் போதும்
புன்னகை செய்வாய் அதுவா? அதுவா? அதுவா?
ஓரிரு வார்தை தப்பாய் போனால்
உதடு கடிப்பாய் அதுவா? அதுவா? அதுவா?
அதை அறியாமல் விடமாட்டேன்!
அது வரை உன்னை தொடமாட்டேன்!

Here is a post dedicated to all the Tamizh lyrics in the world I like!!! There is no better language in the world which better describes nuances and feelings like tamizh, in the most beautiful manner. These lyrics will probably leave you spell bound!!!

I feel honored to include a masterpiece as the first in this long list of my favorites . Kannadasannin kavi katru veesum varai vazhgha.

m: varumayin niram sivappu

singer: SPB SJ

lyrics: kaNNadaasan

song: sippi irukkudhu muththum

thanananaana thyana thathananaana

thanananaana thaananana thaanaana

ahA….

sippiyirukkudhu muththumirukkudhu thirandhu paarkka

nEramilladi raajaaththi

lalalalallala lalla laalalal laalalalaaa

sindhaiyirukkudhu sandhamirukkudhu kavidhaipaada

nEramilladi raajaaththi

eppadi…hummmm

sandhangaL..nananaa…neeyaanaal

… risari…sangeedham…hummhumhummmm..naanaavEn

… sandhangaL neeyaanaal sangeedham naanaavEn

sandhangaL neeyaanaal sangeedham naanaavEn

sippiyirukkudhu muththumirukkudhu thirandhu paarkka

nEramilladi raajaaththi

hA……

nanan nannana nanannaanaaaa

come on say it once again

nanan nannana nanannaanaaaa

sirikkum sorggam…

thara rana thararanaa naa

thangaththattu enakku mattum…okie

thaarE dhaanE thaanaa

appadiyaaa…hummmmm

thEvai paavai paarvai

thathanana thana…

ninaikka vaiththu…

nananan lalala nanana

nenjil ninru nerungi vandhu

nanana na na naaa thananana thanana lalalalaa thanana

beautiful….

mayakkam thandhadhu yaar thamizhO amudhO kaviyO

sandhangaL …ahA…neeyaanaal ahA….sangeedham ahA… naanaavEn

ippo paaklaam…

thanana thanana nana…immmm

mazhaiyum veyilum enna

thananana thanana nana thana

unnaikkandaal malarum muLLum enna

thanananana thanananana thana

ammadiyO

thanananana thanananana thana

radhiyum naadum azhagilaadum kaNgaL

sabaash….

kavidhai ulagam kenjum unnaikkaNdaal

kavinjar idhayam konjum

koduththa sandhangaLil en manadhai neeyariya

naanuraiththEn

koduththa sandhangaLil en manadhai neeyariya

naanuraiththEn

sippiyirukkudhu muththumirukkudhu

thirandhu paarkka nEram vandhadhu ippOdhu

sindhaiyirukkudhu sandhamirukkudhu

kavidhai paadik kalandhiruppadhu eppOdhu

sippiyirukkudhu muththumirukkudhu

thirandhu paarkka nEram vandhadhu ippOdhu

sindhaiyirukkudhu sandhamirukkudhu

kavidhai paadik kalandhiruppadhu eppOdhu

imm ahA lalalalal immm lalalal

lalal lallalal laallalalal laaaalalalalaaaa

Alaipayuthey Kanna

Movie Name: Alai Payuthey (2000)
Singer: Harini, Kalyani Menon, Neyveli Ramalakshmi
Music Director: Rahman AR
Lyrics: Oothukkadu Venkatasubbier
Year: 2000
Producer: Maniratnam, Srinivasan G
Director: Maniratnam
Actors: Arvindsamy, Kushboo, Madhavan, Shalini

alaipaayudhae kaNNaa en manam alaipaayudhae
aanandha moagana vaeNu gaanamadhil
alaipaayudhae kaNNaa en manam alaipaayudhae
un aanandha moagana vaeNu gaanamadhil
alaipaayudhae kaNNaa aaaa

nilaipeyaRaadhu silaipoalavae ninRu (2)
naeramaavadhaRiyaamalae miga vinoadhamaana muraLeedharaa en manam
alaipaayudhae kaNNaa aaaa

theLindha nilavu pattappagal poal eriyudhae (2)
dhikkai noakki en puruvam neRiyudhae
kanindha un vaeNugaanam kaatRil varugudhae (2)
kaNgal sorugi oru vidhamaay varugudhae (2)
kadhiththa manaththil oruththi padhaththai enakku aLiththu magizhththavaa (2)
oru thaniththa manaththil aNaiththu enakku uNarchchi koduththu mugizhththavaa
thaniththa manaththil aNaiththu enakku uNarchchi koduththu mugizhththavaa
kaNai kadal alaiyinil kadhiravan oLiyena iNaiyiru kazhalena kaLiththavaa
kadhaRi manamurugi naan azhaikkavoa idhara maadharudan nee kaLikkavoa (2)
idhu thagumoa idhu muRaiyoa idhu dharmam thaanoa (2)
kuzhaloodhidum pozhudhu aadigum kuzhaigaL poalavae manadhu vaedhanai migavodu
alaipaayudhae kaNNaa en manam alaipaayudhae
un aanandha moagana vaeNu gaanamadhil
alaipaayudhae kaNNaa aaaa

Lyrics of Anbe en Anbe from Dhaam Dhoom

Pallavi

Anbe en Anbe un vizhi parka
Iththanai naala thavithen
Kannave kannave kan urangamal
ulagham muzhudhai maranthen
Kannil sudum veyyil kaalam
Un nenjil kulir pani kaalam
Andril adai mazhai kaalam
Enni azhaghinil vasapadum sugam sugam

Charanam 1

Nee Nee oru nadhi alai aanai
Naan naan adhil vizhum mazhai aanen
Undan madiyinil mithanthiduveno
Undan karai thoda pizhaithiduveno…
Malaiyinile pirakkum nadhi
Kadalinile kalakkum
Manadhinile irupadhellam
Mounathiley kalakkum

Anbe en Anbe ….

Charanam 2

Nee Nee pudhu kattalaigal vidhikka
Naan naan undan katupattu nadakka
Inda ulaghatai jeyitiduvene
Anbu devathaiku parisalupene
Yedhai koduthom yedhai yedhuthom
Teriyavillai kannaku
Yengu tholainthom enga
Kidaithom puriyavillai namakku

Anbe en Anbe …

Song sequences from the Tamil film Meendum Meendum (2009, color, 2 hours 18 minutes, Directed by Hari Das, 21st Century Films Productions). There are seven songs in the film– ranging from totally rhythmic to melodic, contemporary to classic, pure Indian to fusion– but always focusing on the listener. Meendum Meendum is a love story with a difference; you will note the difference as you watch these excerpts from the songs. The songs were shot in various settings– ranging from an interior …

વાતવાતમાં કેમ ભરાતાં અશ્રુ આમ નયનમાં?

વહ્યું નથી કે વહેવાનું નહીં દુ:ખ ક્યારેય રૂદનમાં!

સૌને દુ:ખ છે તેમ છતાં સૌ કોઈ તો નથી રડતા,

હસીને સહેશો? રડી રડીને? ખૂબી છૂપી ચયનમાં!

બધી વ્યથાઓ ભૂલી જઈને ચહેરો હસતો રાખો,

કે ના બગડે દશા કોઈની જોઈ તમારા વદનમાં!

રહે નહીં જો દુ:ખ સખણું થઈ હ્રદયમાં ટૂંટિયું વાળી,

બહાર એને ફેંકો સાચા-ખોટા કારણ કે પ્રહસનમાં!

સમજો તો હવે સમજો કે આ સીધીસાદી વાત છે,

હસતા રહેશો ઘણું જણાશે જીવવાસમ જીવનમાં!

શર્મિલ અમે તકલીફો પણ હસતાં હસતાં સહેશું,

જન્મારાનો સાર શોધીશું જઈને અમે કફનમાં!

- સંજય વિ. શાહ ‘શર્મિલ’

Want. And they just opened a new store in Toronto.

યાદ રહી ગ્યા ભૂલી જવા ‘તા જેને મારે

હવે વ્યથાના વમળમાં ડૂબતા કોણ ઉગારે

રોજ વરસતા વાદળ એનું રૂપ ધરીને

મારા મનની છેક તરસતી પ્યાસ વધારે

સૂરજ ડૂબે રોજ દઈ ઘનઘોર નિરાશા

ઊગે અશ્રુધાર બનીને ફરી સવારે

ભૂલ અમારી ભૂલી જાત એ ભૂલમાંયે તો

જીવન મૄત્યુ જેવું થઈ ના જાત અમારે

જુગજુગ જૂની પ્રીત અધૂરી રહી જવાની

લેવો પડશે હજી એક લ્યો જનમ અમારે

- સંજય વિ. શાહ ‘શર્મિલ’

(આ કૄતિ ૧૯૯૨માં લખાઈ હતી)

હજી ઘણીયે પીડાઓ છે…

બોલ ખરા તું છે તો ક્યાં છે?

મને ખબર છે તને ખબર છે…

સમજણમાં પણ સમજણ ક્યાં છે?

રાત બધાએ રોજ વીતાવી

અજવાળાની ઈચ્છા ક્યાં છે?

એકમેકના પ્રશ્નો સૌએ

પૂછ્યા ને કોઈ ઉત્તર કયાં છે?

માણસ તો છે શરીર ખાલી

ખોલ કાઢ તો માણસ ક્યાં છે?

પૂછી પૂછી જો પોતાને હું

તને પૂછું છું શબ્દો ક્યાં છે?

આજ અમસ્તું મને થાય છે

તનેય થાય જે મને થાય છે?

બધું છે ખોટું બધું છે મોટું

નાનું અહીંયા કોણ થાય છે?

જીવે મરે કે જાય અવગતે

શર્મિલ પૂછવા કોણ જાય છે?

- સંજય વિ. શાહ ‘શર્મિલ’

Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southwest at 7 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.92 and falling, and the relative humidity is 49 percent. The dewpoint is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.)
Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (40% full).
It is currently 19:35 Pacific Time on Tue Jun 16 2009.

Tenement Building – Ground Floor
 The ground floor of the apartment building is taken up mainly by the lobby, an open space with the front doors at one end and the elevator and the door leading to the stairwell at the other. The floor is covered in black and white tile in a checkerboard pattern, and the walls have been painted a neutral grey shade. Some attempt has been made to make this place more hospitable, as an old, sagging couch, an equally old and sagging armchair, and two wooden chairs have been set up in a rough semi-circle around a somewhat splintery old coffee table, facing toward the front doors and positioned so as not to interfere with any traffic moving between there and the stairs.
 To the right of the main doors are mailboxes for building residents, and off to the left is the doorway into a cramped rental office (see +view), and other doors that lead to the building’s large laundry room.

Obvious exits:
Stairs Super’s Apartment Out

The day is drawing to a close as Tim arrives at the Tenement with take-out in one of those standard white bags. He’s allowed in after making a face at the monitor, and glances around the ground floor, clearly looking for someone in particular. “Olley olley oxen free…” he says lowly.

Seated at the battered table with a laptop and a stack of papers, Kendra seems to be working her way through -something-, occasionally making a note as she does on one of the papers before shuffling it or tapping at the keyboard. “You aren’t Jack,” she accuses in a cheerful voice, looking up when Tim enters. Her eyes cut toward the bag. “Though my stomach says that right now, you’re better than Jack.” A gift bag sits at her feet.

[Kendra]
 There’s something striking about Kendra. It could be her height, at five foot ten, and the solid build of her frame. There’s nothing dainty about the woman, from well-shaped shoulders to a slightly heavy frame. It could be her strong features–she isn’t a beautiful woman but her high cheekbones and wide mouth, so often smiling, have a certain ‘average woman’ appeal, her age appearing to be late twenties or early thirties. She has dark brown eyes, which flash with a sharp intelligence, and a dark mocha complexion, scattered with a few freckles. Her dark, straightened hair is cut relatively close to her head, easy to maintain and managing to look good at the same time. Either way, the woman’s posture, usual expressions, and eyes imply someone very confident in her own abilities and capabilities.
 Her dress is usually professional. A bright turquoise button down shirt with a wide collar is tucked into rather pricy navy pants. The clothes are very well-tailored, flattering her figure while still being practical for a day of constant work and movement. She wears discreet gold earrings, a small gold chain, and an opal pendant that is bright against her dark skin. If in a medical setting, she wears a white doctor’s jacket. Outside of hospital or clinic, she forgoes the jacket.

Sora stumbled off to bed as soon as she was brought back to the tennement late last night. Now it appears the girl has finally awoken. She comes moving slowly downstairs, taking her time to note every little detail of the building as if it might disappear right before her. Once she hits the ground floor she stops and blinks at Kendra and Tim.

[Sora]
 Small would be the word, she’s fairly short and thin, probably ending up a little over five feet if one took the time to measure her. She’s mostly typically Asian, though the stucture of her cheekbones hint at something more European, and her skin is a tad darker than would be expected. Her hair is long, straight, and black, usually bound into a pony tail and artificially curled at the ends. Her clothing’s fairly typical for a teenager: jeans, long sleeved shirts and a nice jacket, and she wouldn’t stand out in a crowd.

Tim holds up the bag. “If Indian take-out’s your thing, I am in fact a little better than Jack right now. I think he’s chattin’ up some of our contacts about that guy who was playing Burning Man the other week.” He starts towards the coffee table and sets the bag down, then spies Sora and simply stops, watching her. “Hey,” he says carefully, with a sideways glance to the Kinswoman. “How’re you doing?”

“Oh, I can dig Indian takeout,” Kendra says. She’s in the midst of rifling through the bag, a laptop and some papers open on the table before her and a gift bag at her feet. When Tim’s demeanor changes, she turns to study the girl coming down the stairs, the usual cautiousness of a clued kin in her posture. She offers a small smile but doesn’t say anything yet.

Sora looks between Kendra and Tim wide-eyed for a moment. Then, in response to Tim’s question, she shrugs. The smell of food draws her attention towards the take out bag, and she starts to move towards it.

Tim gestures to Kendra, although it’s not clear which of them he’s specifically addressing when he says, “It’s alright, she’s not a stranger or anything.” After a moment of indecision, he nods at the bag. “There’s ah, chicken tikka masala, and some naans, some saag paneer, rice…plenty for all of us.” He resumes watching Sora carefully, as if waiting for some kind of sign.

Kendra pushes to her feet slowly, which shows that she’s not much shorter than Tim, after all. The laptop powers down and the papers are stacked, ostensibly to clear space on the table. Setting out the various dishes, she organizes the bounty with the efficency of someone who eats on the fly. “I’m Kendra,” she offers in a friendly enough voice to Sora. She gestures for the cub to dig in first before glancing toward Tim.

Kendra pages: You are very clearly getting a ‘is this kid safe’ sort of look from her.

<OOC> Tim: And if no one has any idea what those foods are, in the bag is flatbreads, chunks of chicken in what looks and smells like a fragrant tomato sauce, and chunks of farmer’s cheese in a sort of spinach-based sauce. (And rice.)

Sora nods to Kendra, pauses, and then gives a faint smile. “I’m Sora.” She replies softly, before digging into the food. It’s clear the cub is revenous, she starts by taking just a meager portion but soon heaps more onto her plate. Some remaining notion of politeness is all that keeps her from devouring it all.

“Sora’s had an interesting time lately,” Tim explains slowly to Kendra, glancing over at her meaningfully before his eyes move back to the cub. Probably working on the assumption Sora’s going to be occupied with eating, he goes on, “She had her First Change just a little while ago.”

You paged Kendra with ‘Tim is equally clearly giving Kendra a look of, ‘not really sure’. (How comforting!)’.

“Ahha.” Kendra leans down and picks up the little gift bag that is at her feet. It seems like the sort you’d pick up at any Target store. “Look, Tim, my paperwork would take over the table. I should head back to my place. I was waiting for Jack but could you pass this to him for me?” She watches Sora eat for a moment, concern in her eyes as she gathers her things and tucks them into a sturdy shoulder bag. “Thanks. Good luck kid,” she adds, grinning before she heads toward the door.

Sora stops stuffing her face briefly to look back up at Kendra. “Bye.” She says, before going back to the very important buisness of food.

Tim accepts the bag, eyeing it with amusement, and nods at Kendra. “Sure. Take care yeah? I’ll tell Jack to stop being a stranger.” He can’t keep the concern out of his eyes as he keeps glancing at Sora, but manages to make himself watch Kendra as she leaves.

The kin disappears with the well-honed instinct of her kind, disappearing into the night.

Sora does eventually slow down with the food consumption. She doesn’t do anything to ease that nice little awkward silence the two Ragabash have going for them though, keeping all her concentration on the table in front of her. Wood grains, very interesting.

Once the door shuts behind Kendra, Tim starts to get himself a small helping of food. There’s also two cans of Coke in the bag, and he pulls one out and opens it. “Sleep good?” he asks with a casual air that couldn’t be more forced.

Sora takes a moment to answer Tim, still staring at the coffee table. “Yeah.” A pause. “It’s not Februrary outside is it.” She states more than asks.

The monitors show movement outside, and shortly thereafter, a key turns in the lock and the front door opens. Kavi steps in, closing the door behind him before he looks over to the seating area. “Hey,” he calls, lifting his hand in greeting, and heads across the lobby.

“No, ah, it’s not. It’ll be solstice in a little while.” Tim rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s about mid-June, now.” Kavi’s entrance gives him a momentary reprieve, and he gives the Walker a small smile. “Hey, Kavi, how’s it going.”

Sora pulls her legs up towards her chin, and buries her face in her knees. “Five months.” She mutters. “They kept me there five months. And I didn’t even notice…” Kavi’s entrance is noted with a brief glance from the cub, but she doens’t say anything in greeting.

Kavi gives Tim a nod, but glances toward the cub at her words, his brow furrowing in concern. “I’m… It’s good,” he answers the Silent Strider, sounding more distracted than hesitant.

Tim nods at Kavi, and points at the bag. “Some food, if you’re hungry,” he offers, then looks back over at Sora. He makes a few false starts before saying, “They didn’t mean to do that, I don’t think. I mean they–it’s not the sort of thing their kind think of.” Given how lame that sounds, he settles for a drink of Coke. “They don’t understand us and how we work in the world, so they make mistakes when they get involved with us,” he says finally, and seems satisfied with this explanation.

Sora nods slowly, raising a hand to wipe away the tears starting to form in some of her eyes. “I dunno. They kept saying ‘oh yeah, we’ll get you home soon.’ And every night there’d be some other excuse keeping me from going. Then eventually I… I forgot. How do you forget something like that?”

Kavi glances toward the bag, and then back up to Sora. His hands shove deep into the pockets of his jeans. “You have to,” he says softly. “It’s how you stay alive. Inside. It’s not… not really forgotten. Just pushed aside.” He swallows, looking to Tim out of the corner of his eye and then immediately returning to the cub.

Tim pulls, of all the things, a handkerchief out of one of his pockets and offers it over to Sora. He meets Kavi’s eyes for a moment, considering what the Galliard’s said. “They’ve got ways, too. Glamors that can make you forget. In the Old Country my mom’s people think a lot of them are demons because of that.” He takes a slow breath and lets it out. A bit more firmly, he states, “Either way, it’s not your fault.”

Sora looks up at Kavi for a moment, confused, and then nods. “I guess. But, I could have done more! I just went with…. with her.” The teen suddenly goes wide-eyed. “Oh God, my parents! I’ve gotta find them! I mean, I think they’re okay, but what if they’re not?”

Kavi tugs the corner of his lip between his teeth and then lets it scrape free. He looks as though he may have something more to say to the girl, but when she shifts direction, he closes his mouth and looks more fully to the Silent Strider, his own expression questioning.

“Hang on,” Tim says, holding up his hands. “That’s actually something I was gonna come and talk to you about before, ah, they took you and they made us forget.” Suddenly embarrassed, he admits, “Which, by the way, they did. Jack and I, we had no idea until Ghost led us there.” Not wanting to outright dodge her concern, he backtracks. “You’ve been gone a while, and…” An uncertain look for Kavi, and he just says, “They never reported you missing.”

Sora goes very still, trying to absorb both shocks. Seconds tick past before she responds. “They… they what? You what?” She shakes her head. “No, they couldn’t have do that. How could you know they didn’t? Maybe, maybe the fae made them forget about me too?” Her voice is soft, pained, disbelieving.

Kavi seems mostly confused, now, looking back and forth between cub and cliath. He opens his mouth to speak, once, and then closes it, again, rather than interrupt.

As gently as possible, Tim explains, “We have a Kinswoman who’s a police officer. I had her look you up. When a cub’s found with family in town, the missing person’s reports can be a serious problem.” He has to look away briefly, and then he steels himself and meets her eyes again as he goes on. “They never filed one, and they told your school you’d gone to live with an uncle somewhere in California.” His eyes move to Kavi for a moment, and he gives the Walker an intensely apologetic look. “Which means, they might know about what you are, so we can contact them and tell them you’re alright. But we have to be really careful right now. The next few steps in this process are pretty delicate ones.”

There is a sound of a key in the lock. Monitors, if anyone’s watching them, show Chandini’s shadowed form at the door. Then it swings open and the Fury steps in, pausing, startled, at the sight of people in the lobby. She lets the door close behind her with a soft snick, looking from one to another of the three occupants.

Sora looks up at Tim, and says, slowly. “But if they know what I am… how come they never told me? How come they didn’t find you guys and ask you if I was okay?” Chandini’s entrance provides a welcome distraction for the cub. The Ragabash stares at her wide-eyed for a moment before offering a hesitant, “Hi.”

Kavi takes a backward step, half-turning so that he can see the woman who enters while still remaining part of the group by the chairs. He pulls one hand from his pocket and lifts it in greeting, lips tugging upward in a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“They might be waiting for us to come to them. That’s pretty typical.” Tim seems like he might go on, but with Chandini arriving, he subsides and nods a hello to her, even managing a smile. He reaches out and briefly puts a hand on Sora’s shoulder, encouragingly, and then returns to eating and drinking from his Coke.

“Bhai, bhaiya,” Chandini says, in a somewhat uncertain greeting to Tim and Kavi. She puts her hands together, fingertips just level with her lips, and inclines her head over them. “Namaste,” she says to the group as a whole. Her eyes linger for a moment on Kavi; by contrast, her smile is only in her eyes. Then she busies herself with removing her sandals, and leaving them near the door.

Sora watches Chandini with some fascination, eyes lingering on the other woman briefly before her attention goes back to Tim. “Oh.” She says with relief. “But um, can you check on them like, soon? It’s just, before I ended up with the fae, I’d followed someone I’d thought was my mother. It looked and sounded like her… it couldn’t have been her. She brought me there in the first place.”

Kavi steps back from the ragabash pair and heads across to meet Chandini. His voice is low when he speaks, the words meant just for her, intended not to interrupt the discussion by the table. “I was looking for you. Yesterday? KL said… She thought you might be in a tree, but.”

Tim peers at Sora searchingly. “So that’s how they led you off?” He bites his lip, thinking that over, then nods. “I’ll have Jesse get on it right away. And ah, if you see anymore fae, give ‘em the finger and tell ‘em to fuck off.” He says this with complete seriousness, then looks over at Chandini and nods quickly, replying, “Namaskar,” with a faint smile. He looks askance at Sora, and prompts her, “Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

Chandini laughs up at Kavi. “I was,” she says. Then, catching Tim’s greeting and the word ‘introduce,’ she looks over at the stranger, still smiling.

“I don’t think they’ll come looking for me.” Sora tells Tim frankly. At the prompting the cub looks over towards Chandini and manages a shy smile. “Oh, sorry. I’m Sora. Ragabash cub. I don’t have a tribe yet.”

Kavi gives Chandini a curious look, but when the Fury turns to Sora, he does as well. Once more, he finds a small smile, and nods once in approval at the introduction.

“She ah, went on a hell of a field trip. We’re still sorting it out,” Tim adds for Chandini and Kavi’s benefits. “Ghost sent Jack and I out to find her.” He points at the white bag on the coffee table, which has opened cartons with a little Indian food left (though not much now). “Naans, tikka masala, and paneer if you need a snack.” Around a bite of rice, he assures Sora, “We’ll get on it.”

Chandini’s eyes widen as Tim points out the food, but manners come first. She nods to Sora. “Chandini Mukti Bhaskar,” she says. “Ahroun of the Black Furies. On four legs, I am Light of Freedom, although last night, Sonhari-bhai–” the tip of her head seems to suggest that she’s talking about Tim “–called me ‘Freedom that Sings.’” She slides a sidelong glance at Kavi to see how he will take this. “I am very pleased to meet you, Sora. It sounds like your beginning was even more of an adventure than most, and that is saying a great deal, yeah?” Her Hindi accent gives the words an up-and-down music of their own. To Tim, she says only, “Truly, it is okay? Lately I am always being hungry.”

Sora nods, somewhat entranced by Chandini. “Yeah, it was weird. Black Furies’ your tribe right? What’re they like? I’m still learning the tribes. What does ‘bhai’ mean?” And here she butchers the pronounciation, unsurprisingly.

The galliard studies Chandini for a long second at her introduction, glancing back to Tim with a look of curiosity. “What…” He starts, and then drops off, letting the Fury answer the cub’s questions. For as similar as Kavi and Chandini are in appearance, his accent has a much stronger British influence, and almost none of the Hindi lilt.

Tim smiles with amusement Chandini, and nods. “Yeah, absolutely.” He scoots aside so there’s room by the coffee table and sips from his Coke. He glances at Kavi, eyebrows raised, maybe waiting for the rest of the question.

Chandini comes immediately to crouch by the table, tearing off a piece of naan and using it to scoop up whatever’s closest. After she’s swallowed, she pauses with the remainder of the bread in her hand and looks up at Sora. “Accha,” she says, sorting back through the questions. “Haan–yes–Black Fury is my tribe. We are all, or mostly all women, and we are…for women, and also for the wild, yeah?” She considers the bread in her hand thoughtfully. “Fierce, full of love. That has been what the true tribe has been like, to me. And ‘bhai’ means brother, isn’t it? But in India, any man your own age might be ‘bhai,’ just as any woman might be ‘behen’ or ‘didi’ or ‘bhaabhi,’ perhaps, if you did not know her so well. Sister, or brother’s wife, yeah?” She grins suddenly. “In India, we make everyone our family. Bhaiya,” (this to Kavi) “did you eat? Thik hai.” The last phrase sounds like ‘TK’ and seems to be some kind of endorsement.

Sora tips her head to the side, the cub sliding back into her old questioning mode. “All women? Can you not have boys or something? Is there some sort of curse? And what do you mean for the wild? I thought all of us were for the wild.”

Kavi’s attention is all on Chandini as she speaks, and the slight rise in tension through his shoulders may not be visible at the distance at which he stands. Still, when she addresses him he comes closer, leaning against the arm of one of the overstuffed chairs, and he gives a soft shake of his head. “No. It’s okay. You eat.” He swallows as Sora’s questions continue, but this time he doesn’t wait for Chandini to answer. “Boy children are given away. If we breed true. Other tribes take us in. The Children of Gaia take many. I was given to the Glass Walkers.”

Tim’s eyes snap to Sora for a moment when she says the word ‘curse’, and then he quickly moves his gaze to Kavi, squinting slightly. He continues to sip from his Coke, looking interested in the Galliard’s reaction (though not rudely so).

Chandini sets her piece of bread down deliberately, and stands up. It’s not a menacing movement, but the laughter has dropped out of her. “There’s a few things there, yeah?” she says quietly. “First, maybe it’s not so good an idea to go suggesting that something that defines a tribe is a ‘curse’ until you’ve found out a little more. This might be considered not so polite, yeah?” Her dark eyes are serious. She’s not angry–her expression is so transparent, it’s like the moods there are written out for anyone to see. But there’s an authority to her that wasn’t there a moment ago, or if it was, it wasn’t needed. “We bear male and female children. Boys who make the change are found another tribe to prosper in.” She looks gravely at Kavi for a moment, then gives him a slow, sweet smile that last only a moment before she turns back to the cub. “Sometimes there are problems for us, like for anyone, but they are not necessarily everyone’s business to ask, first off, yeah? As long as girls and women are hurt, killed, kept ignorant, denied, deprived, not just as individuals but throughout whole lands simply because they are women, then there needs to be a place and a people for the women, hai na? And that is what my tribe has been, for many thousand years. Because that is how necessary it has been, for many thousand years. And yes, all Garou serve Gaia and fight to preserve the wild places from the Weaver. But a few tribes serve the land and the wild things directly, live with them, know them, and fight for them the way they fight for their own. And we are one.” She lets a small silence fall, and then says, still quietly, “Do you understand?”

Sora shrinks back a bit and drops her gaze instinctually when Chandini stands up. “Oh. Um, I think I do. Sorry.” She answers sincerly. The cub glances at Tim briefly, and then drops back into her previous quiet, more introverted state.

Kavi pushes up from the arm of the chair as Chandini speaks, moving to stand behind it. He sets both hands on the back, thumbs tracing the pattern of the upholstery. His lips press tight together, corners tugging downward in a frown.

There’s only sympathy for Sora in Tim’s eyes, and a little reassurance as well. If anything, he seems fairly pleased with her response, dictated by instinct or not. “I don’t think we got to explaining about the Triat very thoroughly before, ah, everything,” he tells Chandini. “So your Tribe’s focus on the Wyld might not be clear to her.” A furtive and confused glance at Kavi, then he’s looking at Chandini again.

Chandini studies Sora for a moment, then nods, and gives the cub a small smile. “It pays to stay on the safe side, hai na? I am full moon, but not so bad. Some people would just hit, instead of talking. You are ragabash, and you should go on asking questions. But–it’s better to be careful than sorry, for the first few months, yeah? Because you don’t know.” She turns to Kavi. “Did you need me? I’m sorry, bhaiya. Sonhari-bhai said ‘food,’ and everything else went straight from my head, yeah?”

Sora nods back at Chandini, relaxing somewhat, but she stays quiet. Slowly, the cub meanuvers herself so that she’s sitting near the edge of the couch, listening in idly to the other conversation.

Kavi releases a breath and looks back to Chandini. “I. I wanted to talk to you. If. If you have time?”

Tim glances at his watch, then looks at Sora steadily. “How about you and I go over a few things, yeah?” He nods at the stairs, and pulls out that other Coke, offering it to her. “We’ll chat about the Triat a little. And your parents.” Smiling at Chandini and then Kavi, he gives brother and sister both a small bow. “Namaskar. If you’re not out here when I take off, I’ll see you later.” Levering himself to his feet, he leads Sora to the stairwell, already saying, “So, the Weaver–oh, I’ve gotta warn you. Jack? *Hates* spiders. Kind of ironic, when you think about it…” And the door shuts behind them.

Chandini laughs under her breath as Tim leaves, not interrupting him with goodbyes, though she nods to him and to the cub as they go. To Kavi, she says, “Is here okay?”

Sora happily follows Tim out, accepting the offered can of coke and opening it with a snap. She pauses briefly to wave the pair still in the lobby a brief goodbye.

Kavi nods to Tim and to the cub as they leave, not offering a verbal farewell. Once the door closes behind them, he turns back to Chandini and offers her a nod as well. “I. I was just coming. It’s my turn to watch,” he says quietly, and tips his head toward the office.