MLP: The Heart of the Song (Under Editing) Capper x Oc

Chapter Three: Teamwork

A day after Capper had brought Shira to his home, he had made extra room for her upstairs to hide her better. She gazed at small dresser and writing table complete with a stool to sit at in awe. There was another bed with a pillow and a blanket. Between those items alone this left the other half of the room barren of anything other than the bags of stuff she'd gotten from the market and her supplies that she had with her. It was perfect.
"Is this for me?" Shira asked Capper softly.
"I couldn't have you crashing on the couch night after night," explained Capper. "I have cleaned it out while you were gone. Well, not really cleaned, more like shoved the mess somewhere else. I'm sure I'll find it tomorrow. Anyway, decorate this room to your heart's content! It's yours to keep for as long as you want it." Shira whipped her head around at that, but he didn't seem to notice the surprise on her face. She assumed she would be forced to leave once Shira was done helping him, but it seemed like he had other ideas. "If the cot I've found is too lumpy, let me know. I can find some stuffed animals for you in a yard sale or by some merchants."
"I..." She paused, she cleared her throat when it was caught with emotion. "Thank you, Capper."
"Don't thank me. It was nothing." Capper looked away, but he a small hint of red could be seen on his face at her warm smile. "Shira, I'll let you get settled in while I go to the market."
"I will." Shira modded. "Thanks again."
"You're welcome, Shira." The moment he was gone, Shira sagged in relief and start putting things away. Half an hour passed, she dutifully folding her cloth accessories and placing them neatly into her new dresser. When she got to the bag of knickknacks and other items she paused, a slight blush on her cheeks. Capper had bought her a few things when she wasn't around to stop him. This included the first four volumes of "Rayla, the Valiant," a fantasy series that she knew about, legendary myths about six ponies from the Equestrian lands, and five volumes of five different Kingdoms beyond Equestria.
Shira smiled as she finished organizing her corner of the room. Shira was amazed and happy to see how considerate and generous Capper is to her, a complete stranger who just wandered into town and met him.

As a few hours passed, Capper was struggling to bake dinner (aka noddle soup). When Shira was done organizing her section of the room, she came towards the kitchen and started putting the silverware on the table.
"Thanks Shira," said Capper.
"Sure thing," Shira replied.
After Shira made sure Capper didn't accidentally burn down the home. The two of them both sat down on the chairs and started eating respective soups. Over the next few hours, Capper and Shira discussed at length how they could work together with artwork and performances. Eventually, the talks came to an end, with many promising avenues of action agreed upon.
She looked around, eying the window curiously and went towards the ledge while Capper followed her. "Huh. What an interesting view." The sun was low, and the sky was on fire with a blazing sunset and into a calming twilight. Despite the darkness of the appearing night sky, they were so bright and clear like distant diamonds sparkling in the night, while the sky is like deep sapphire blue velvet overhead. As the clouds cleared, a silver lining of the moon had also appeared in the night sky and had casted its soft silvery beams of moonlight over the desert.
"Yeah. I didn't really pick the view." Capper laughed softly with a smile, bumping his fingers together.
Shira's eyes gleamed with bright artistic energy at the sight of the sunset. She immediately gotten to work on her newest piece of artwork that's a spitting image of the sunset. Once it was dry, Shira picked up her newly painted and showed it to Capper, who carefully picked it up and gazed it with amazement. They weren't stylized or exaggerated in any way. These images looked as real and accurate, the colors seemed to pop right out of the page like iridescent butterflies. Her new painting shows that the sun is low, and the sky was on fire with a blazing sunset and turning into a calming twilight. Despite the darkness of the appearing night sky, they were so bright and clear like distant diamonds sparkling in the night, while the sky is like deep sapphire blue velvet overhead. As the clouds cleared, a silver lining of the moon had also appeared in the night sky and had casted its soft silvery beams of moonlight over the desert.
"Perfect," Shira said to herself.
Capper's eyes shone like a pair of bright green emeralds with a combination of all sorts of emotions as he gazed at her. As she stood next to the window and being bathed by the colors of the sunset, her eyes seemed to shine in the light of the setting sun and the rising moon while her fur seemed to have gain an extra shiny glow.
"Sure is Melody," said Capper, unintentionally giving her a new nickname.
"Melody?" Shira gazed at Capper with a puzzled, but amused look at Capper's embarrassment and his circles of excuses behind her new nickname. "It's been a while since I've heard that nickname." She gave him a small, but sad smile at him. "My parents gave me that nickname due to my love for music."
Capper sighed in relief and gently patted Shira's shoulder in a comforting manner before he went to check out the paintings. They weren't stylized or exaggerated in any way. These images looked as real and accurate, the colors seemed to pop right out of the page like iridescent butterflies.
"It looks great Shira." Capper gathered the paintings from Shira, but he struggled to hide his blushing face when his hands lightly brushed against hers as he carefully picked up the paintings. "I'll sell these and get a few things. You stay here, okay?"
"Okay." Shira nodded her agreement and watched as he took off again.
After Capper left, Shira started went through her satchel to find something to pass the time. The Abyssinian's blue eyes lit up when she found a book that her parents had made together. A thick, navy blue book with silver trims. On the cover were two rings, the outer one has intricate designs while the center ring depicted a lavish landscape of vibrant green mountains, colorful trees with purple and blue hues, and on the side of the image was a butterfly, it's wings adorned with luminescent patterns that made it pop. Around the circles were eight gemstones; a ruby, gold, silver, pearl, morganite, amethyst, emerald, and jade.
When Shira opened the book, she landed on the first page. The illustrations were unlike the ones Shira had seen on the tapestry. They weren't stylized or exaggerated in any way. These images looked as real and accurate, only with color that seemed to pop right out of the page like iridescent butterflies.
"Once upon a time, there lives a handsome tom and a beautiful queen (wife in Abyssinian term). They are kind, gentle and generous to all. The tom works hard to make his queen happy, and his queen loves him greatly. They live in a quaint home in the middle of a beautiful kingdom. A large meadow behind the house provides flowers through spring and summer, and in a small field, sweet lambs graze behind contented cows. It is a home filled with cheer. As the husband and wife have a perfect baby girl, the home becomes happier yet."
Shira smiled as she read the first paragraph. This book is based on her family and has been placed into the cottage's library.
"A large meadow behind the house provides flowers through spring and summer, and in a small field, sweet lambs graze behind contented cows. It is a home filled with cheer. As the tom and queen have a perfect kitten Abyssinian, the home becomes happier yet. They named the baby Shira, and from the moment she is born, she is their little princess. True, she has no title or crown or castle. But she is the ruler of her own little kingdom. The forest and meadow are her borders, and the birds in the air and the critters in the fields are her subjects."
Shira chuckled softly at the similarities of it. She loved exploring the world around her and meeting the wildlife in the woods. She's not sure why some folks are scared of exploring the world around them, but she enjoys her explorations there and meeting the wildlife too.
After a while, Shira found herself yawning and put her book away into her satchel. Drowsiness started to take over and she slopped on the bed. In no time at all, she fell asleep on her cot.
With Capper:
Capper closed the door and walked out of the house. Virgo's little friend gave him a look, watching him walk by. Good thing he hid Shira on the way in or he'd probably tell Virgo about her. He doesn't know how to feel towards her, but he feels at peace at her whenever he speaks to her.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Capper was honestly surprised at how fast everyone wanted to pay for the paintings after simply seeing them. He was immediately given pouches of coins as he traded the paintings to the payers. Capper felt amazed and overjoyed that not only he has a new friend, but he might be able to pay off the forceful debt that he owns to Verko.
By nightfall, Capper sighed in relief as the last buyer gave him the last pouch of coins. He soon started walking back towards his windmill home. He's still amazed that Shira's paintings had managed to get over twenty buyers in the marketplace. Capper entered his home, where Shira was waiting for him. He smiled happily as he started to use the giant gears that acted as elevator, reaching up to the windmill.
After climbing up the moving gears, elevators and stairs; Capper has opened the trap door and he got out from it. When he looked around, he spotted Shira already fast asleep.
Capper watched Shira's sleeping form closely. Her chest rose and fell rhythmicly, a soft smile on her face hinted at a pleasant dream. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her just yet. She seemed nice enough to befriend with. She was easy to talk to and a little relatable. Capper wanted to trust her, he really did, but the last time he had trusted someone he had regretted it. She talked to him like he was a friend and, as far as he could tell, she kept her promises. She stayed in his home when he left. She stayed true to her word as she helped him, even though he hardly gave a proper explanation to her about his situation. If he was being honest it was nice to see another Abyssinian since Chummer.
He was glad she hadn't asked him about the cause of his debt, he didn't want to explain it. He didn't want to think about what Chummer had done all those years ago. He didn't care if Chummer was sorry for his actions, the betrayal still hurt. They had been like brothers, practically inseperable. They had both been orphans on the streets, stealing food and money to get by. Those had been some of the best days of Capper's life.
Back then, he never would have believed Chummer could ever betray him like that. But now that he looked back on it he could see the signs all too clearly, Chummer openly disagreeing with Capper about their future together, asking about Verko's words, and even asking to go up on the airship before Capper could give Verko the misfortune malachite, had all been clear signs of Chummer's intent. Capper wanted to believe Shira wasn't like that, but at the same time he didn't want to risk getting hurt again. He had gotten this far with out anyone's help, why should that change now? He didn't need friends to survive.
That said Capper had never meant to stay in Klugetown when he first came here. Maybe Shira would stay here, probably not by choice. The deserts surrounding Klugetown were harsh and unforgiving. As far as he could tell Shira didn't have the money or the equipment to survive the harsh desert climate. That wasn't to say that she couldn't eventually save up enough money to leave this town one day.
But deep down in his heart, Capper desperatly hoped Shira would stay in Klugetown with him. Maybe they could be friends. Maybe if she stayed he wouldn't feel so alone. The distant sound of thunder caused Shira to shift in her sleep. He felt a flash of sympathy for the young Abyssinian, Capper and Chummer had managed to escape during the invasion, so they never saw the aftermath of the attack.
The Storm King had ruined Abyssinia from what Capper could gather. Then again, he had never had much to begin with so would anything have even changed for him if he had stayed? The Storm King and his goons must have done some pretty awful things during the invasion in order for it to have impacted Shira so much. Shira had already had it tough and Klugetown wasn't going to make her life any easier.
Capper took a breath as he came to his final conclusion. He would help her, but only until she could care for herself. This way he wouldn't be leaving her to die. It's her choice if she wants to leave or not. This way he wouldn't grow attached. This way Shira could never hurt him the way Chummer had.