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Ai turns, standing on the chair, she's eye to eye with him and she reaches out and places a paw on either side of his face.

"Shhh... don't fret. Let me dry my hands and we'll go look at them. I don't know about the flute... I may simply have to replace that one, but the harp I shuld be able to meld once more."

*let's leave Hopian out of it for now. Ai can save the pieces for a later date*

Ai goes to sit at the table while Kero fetches the broken instruments. When he brings them in, it is easy to see which instrument had been on the bottom of the two as they came down on the floor. The bone harp is shattered beyond repair, even missing a sliver or two. Taking a dinner napkin, Ai carefully gathers it's shards together and ties it into a careful bundle.

"I can't fix it right now, Taro... sorry. But the harp isn't too bad. See? A broken peg and the seam I melded before has cracked again. It shouldn't have crack like that there, unless it hit the floor just right. That seam should have been stronger than the original. As for a peg... look in my top right desk drawer, you'll find a box of them. Better bring a few, we need to find one that fits snugly."

Having sent Kero off for a peg, Ai pulls the harp close and begins to hum as he reaches into the instrument with his power, seeking the severed edges, willing them whole.

Ai is hard at work, the harp glowing slightly in her hands. Suddenly her magic sets in with a aural pop that is almost physical it feels so right. And in her hands sits the harp, ready for restringing. She hands it to Kero with a tired smile. "Here, you can do the rest, I'm going to look through the music cupboard to see iffin I have any pipes I can rework for your paws."

Ai pretends she doesn't hear him and looks through them anyway, coming up with four fairly good possibilities. One is bone, like his original one and easy to drill. Another is actually a panpipe arrangement, made of various lengths of reed. And the other two are metal, one with levers, one without. She gathers them up and carries them to the table.

"Ye know... this might be a good opportunity to learn a new way of piping." she remarks setting them down before him. "Give these a try. If you like the pan pipes, I can teach you how to make yer own. In the guilds making one's own pipes and drums are required to step up from apprentice to journeyman. Ye think ye can do this?"

Ai nods. "Very well..." she says seperated the levered pipe from the rest. "These three are all hand crafted by me and rather simple in design. First though you need to learn how to play this one..." she points to the pan pipes. "It's all a matter of blowing, no fingering necessary... but it's harder to control one's breath than one might think. Tomorrow, have Corby show you how. For now, experiment with it. See what sounds you can make."

Ai figured as much. Most clawed or furred creatures played the pan pipes over the fingered ones as they were easier to handle. She looked down at her own stubby paws and sighed. No harp playing for her, at least until she got a bit bigger.

So while Kero practiced with the pan pipes, she crawled back up on the chair and finished the dishes. leaving the pan of soup for last. Suddenly she turns to Kero and asks. "Have you seen Puss? He is usually in here by now begging."

Ai looks at the pan and then hauls down a bowl, pouring the ldregs of the soup into it and putting it by the cat's water dish. "Well, he'll eat when he's hungry, I suppose... that's given he hasn't gotten himself locked up somewhere. Maybe you should do a quick run about the house and store rooms just to make sure."

Ai ushers the hungry cat to his bowls, sighing. "You poor thing. Wonder how long you have been shut up in there." she laughs as he practically buries his head in the soup, he's so hungry.

"Puss... take your time. It's not going to disappear on you."

Kero eyes him thoughtfully. "He doesn't look underfed. And Bez is rather fond of him. I don't think he was in there all that long."

Ai nods. "He'd have let us he was there know eventually. Probably crawled in there for a nap while someone was putting something away.."