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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:39:44 GMT -6
Name: Start
{I think I'll be Rhys,} he said. {I like that one. It has a nice sound to it.}
Aster arched a brow. He hadn't, of course, read the contents of the actual book to the Felusine, but he remembered this novel, and the Rhys in the story was a charismatic wizard who later fell to the temptations of the dark forces that he had been studying. Aster hoped this wasn’t some sort of prophetic choice. But the Felusine had no knowledge of it, and Aster supposed there must be perfectly good, and perfectly ordinary Rhyses in the world.
Well, if there were, this Felusine wasn't going to be one of them--- the ordinary ones, anyway. There was nothing mundane whatsoever about this situation.
"Rhys it is then," Aster said. Not as strange a name as it could have been, all things considered. And the Felusine looked satisfied, so that was well enough, considering he was the one being named.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:40:51 GMT -6
Of course, choosing a name and then using it were two different things.
Aster left the Felusine to his own devices for a while, letting him pore over the books--- not that he could read them, but he could still look and touch. But eventually Aster wished to move on and show him the rest of the house.
“Rhys,” Aster said.
At first, the Felusine did not respond. It was only when Aster called him again that he turned. {Oh,} he said. {That… will take some getting used to, I think.}
It was hardly a surprise, given how Rhys had come into his name. "We'll work on that," Aster said.
He was as good as his word. The next time he needed the Felusine's attention, he made a point of using the name. "Rhys," he said. The Felusine, who had been staring out the window, took a moment before he looked at Aster, but at least Aster hadn't had to call a second time.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:41:04 GMT -6
{Did you need me?} said the Felusine, looking bright-eyed up at Aster. He seemed eager for... something. Company, maybe, or something to do. Aster wasn't sure which. For all that Rhys had easy access to Aster's mind, the reverse wasn't necessarily true, and they didn't know each other very well as of yet.
"Yeah," Aster said. "Come eat."
It was a little odd at first, to make a point of using the new name, but Aster pushed past it, and in time it became easier, a little less conspicuous.
"Rhys, come look at this."
"Rhys, maybe you shouldn't sit there."
"Rhys, this is your bed."
"Rhys, did you call for me?"
There was a period of acclimation, where Rhys responded more and more readily to the name, and it seemed to settle in as a part of his identity, both in his own mind and in Aster's. The first few days, it still took him a moment to respond, especially when he wasn't paying attention.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:41:22 GMT -6
End: Name
But this was the sort of issue that corrected itself with time. And eventually, they reached the point where neither of them were thinking about it much, if at all, anymore. In the grand scheme of things, this wasn't such a monumental milestone, but it did make things a little less… strange. Rhys no longer reminded Aster quite so strongly that he was a newcomer to this space, and it began to feel more as though Rhys was part of the family.
A new creature had never felt so much like a new roommate, not the least of which was because Rhys lived inside the house, unlike most of Aster's newer acquisitions these days. A new... Sarane, say, or a new Thundergug, had always felt more like an undertaking, a project, the simple matter of training and earning the trust of a new creature.
In some ways, it reminded him a little of becoming acquainted with the gargoyle who also lived with them now.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:52:51 GMT -6
Start: No
Aster hadn't seen it fit to teach him anything in the way of basic commands, since it seemed a little awkward to be asking a sentient creature, with whom he could communicate clearly in a nuanced way, to do things like coming when called on command. But there was one thing he felt he needed to emphasize before he began working with Rhys in earnest.
Taking Rhys aside one day, Aster set him atop a table--- something he found he was doing more and more often these days, since it felt better, somehow, to be at eye level when speaking to him.
"I know you can think for yourself and you're going to have your own opinions about what you want to do, and how you want to do things. And that's fine," Aster said. "This isn't going to be one of those master-servant deals." At least, not if Aster could help it, anyway.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:54:45 GMT -6
“But for now, if I tell you something is bad or off limits, I need you to listen to me. And if I tell you 'no', I need you to stop, no questions, and possibly get away from wherever you are."
He paused here to clock Rhys's reaction, half expecting Rhys to look affronted or mulish about this. It couldn't have been a pleasant thing to hear, and Aster didn't trust himself to put it in an appealing manner. But Rhys was merely listening with polite attention, so Aster went on.
"The thing is, you'll probably be around a lot of dangerous creatures here. I can control most of them, but I'm not saying accidents won't happen or that I'll be able to see and hear everything. And until you've learned enough to know for yourself what will and won't get you hurt, I'm going to need you to trust me and listen to what I say," he said.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:55:29 GMT -6
It was, if not an appealing spiel, at least what Aster hoped was a compelling one. He wouldn't have asked this from Rhys if he didn't think it was important, which he hoped he managed to convey. Aster himself had never taken direction well, even when it was well meant, and he didn't enjoy being authoritarian now, when he might have been in a position to do so.
But now--- especially now, when Rhys was new to everything and had no real experience to fall back on--- it was essential. Aster had no desire to end up with a dead pet to take to the healers in town. Besides, it wouldn’t help anyone if Rhys wound up traumatized by the trouble he got into.
Aster had gotten to know a little of Rhys’s temperament over the last few days, and for the most part, the Felusine seemed to be an eager, earnest type.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:56:04 GMT -6
Aster half expected him to agree without really considering it. He was gratified, therefore, to see that Rhys did seem to be mulling his words over.
{Okay,} said Rhys. {I’ll try. But it might take some practice, like my name… I might not remember right away.}
“I figured as much,” Aster said. “I won’t take you anywhere dangerous yet.” There was a lot they needed to do before that point, and no sense in getting ahead of himself.
Aster didn’t want to arbitrarily say ‘no’ to Rhys just to practice though, so the arrangement they came to was Rhys spending a lot of time in Aster’s company instead. Aster felt that if they did that, naturally incidents would come up. Besides, this way Aster could keep him out of any real trouble.
The only problem was that this meant he couldn’t go out and work with the Sarane much, for example.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:56:18 GMT -6
As a result, he relied even more on Rabbit than usual. It was grim, thankless work, considering none of them were particularly loyal or receptive towards her, but at least she could deal with them. Metal did a lot to deter snapping jaws and the like.
A tour of the house was well and good, but they were running out of things to see, and Aster was… running out of things to do. They ended up holed up in the library again while Aster looked something up. Maybe he had gotten complacent, but he’d taken his eye off Rhys for a moment… and when he turned back, he found the Felusine investigating a music box.
“Hey! No,” Aster said sharply. He felt bad about it after the fact, but reminded himself that he wouldn’t have felt the same way if he’d been admonishing one of the younger Hara away from something.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:56:38 GMT -6
Fortunately, it worked, though he suspected that Rhys was more startled by his voice and the amount of force in it than he was obeying the ‘command’, such as it was.
“Don’t touch that,” Aster said, picking up the music box. “It… might not affect you, but it’s got a bit of magic in it, and I don’t recommend playing around with it.”
{Ah,} said Rhys. {What’s it doing here?}
“It shuts people up. I felt like the library room was appropriate,” Aster said, smiling slightly. “It was a gift from a friend.”
Rhys fell silent for a moment, long enough that Aster turned to look at him, arching a brow. Rhys caught Aster’s gaze, then looked down for a moment before locking eyes with him again. {Was it… a parting gift?} Rhys asked.
Aster took a deep breath. “Well,” he said, “no, not at the time. But it is true that I haven’t seen him in a while.”
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:58:47 GMT -6
{Do you miss him?} Rhys said.
Aster paused. This--- this was another thing. How long had it been since someone had asked him questions about himself? But it wasn’t an… It didn’t feel like an invasion. Maybe it was because Rhys wasn’t human.
Slowly, he answered, the words coming almost ponderously, as if he wasn’t aware of what he was going to say until after it had been spoken. “Sometimes. But he was always doing his own thing, so it doesn’t feel all that strange, really.”
The moment passed, however, and Aster felt no need to divulge any more. He put the music box back down on a small table off to the side. He lingered on it for a moment longer, then turned away. “Come on. I need something to eat.” He held out a hand to Rhys, who stood up on his hind legs obligingly so Aster could pick him up.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:59:41 GMT -6
Rhys could have gotten there by himself, but this was easier--- especially since Aster had never seen him fly. Maybe Rhys liked to be spoiled a little, in his own unobtrusive way. It was also possible he didn’t know how to fly himself. If that was the case, that would have to be remedied too.
In the kitchen, Aster set Rhys down on the counter, then cleared a space so he could work, chopping up meat and vegetables to throw into a stew pot.
Rhys watched him work, which Aster didn’t mind, but after a while the Felusine drew a little too close. “No,” Aster said, though not so harshly this time. Rhys wasn’t moving fast enough to make him seriously concerned, so this time it was only a warning. “It’s sharp. You could get hurt.”
{I’ll be careful,} Rhys said, but he stopped and backed up. Aster nodded.
“Good.”
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 12:59:56 GMT -6
Aster continued cooking in peace, though he kept an eye on Rhys while he did. At one point he had to issue another ‘no’ when the Felusine wandered too close to a bottle near the edge of the counter. “If you knock that off by accident, I’ll have to clean it up,” he explained.
{You’re pretty strict, aren’t you?} said Rhys.
“About broken glass? You bet. It’s the worst to clean, and I’d have to worry about one of the Hara hurting themselves on anything I missed. You too, now,” Aster replied.
As the days went on, Aster took Rhys with him to more places, even occasioning to have them take a walk together outside. Whenever a small incident occurred or Aster needed to warn Rhys away from something, he made a point to tell the Felusine ‘no’. He always explained too, afterwards, since Rhys was smart enough and capable of understanding his speech.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 13:00:24 GMT -6
End: No
Fortunately for him, unlike when he rebuked the Hara or even Summer, Rhys never protested. Maybe it was just because Aster had started early with him, and so Rhys was more receptive to Aster’s guidance because he didn’t know a lot of things. Maybe it was simply that Rhys had the more pliant, agreeable personality. ‘Pliant’ and ‘agreeable’ weren’t words he would have used to describe Damien or Summer, certainly.
It wasn’t long before Rhys had grown used to responding to the signal, stopping what he was doing whenever Aster told him ‘no’. And as the days turned into a week, and then two, he began to learn more of what was and wasn’t okay on his own.
At that point, Aster felt confident enough to take the Felusine out for a more proper training session. It was about time, and he even felt a little eager for the work, though he wasn't sure how Rhys would take to it.
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Post by Noa on Sept 7, 2019 13:49:59 GMT -6
Fly: Start
With the Felusine in his arms, he went out to a remote bit of the estate, far from where the Sarane were quartered. Well, excepting Avander, who generally had the run of the place so long as he stayed out of trouble, but Avander knew where Aster was, and knew better than to show up when he wasn’t wanted.
Besides, so long as Aster was present, Aster doubted that Avander would have hurt Rhys… But still, the fewer things he had to worry about, the better.
“Alright,” he said, “today we’re going to work on your flying skills. If you get yourself into a pinch, getting aloft is one of the easiest ways to get away. A lot of my creatures can fly themselves, but it’s still a useful thing to know.” Aster studied the Felusine for a moment longer before saying, “You… don’t know how to fly, do you?”
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