Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 15, 2021 20:38:27 GMT -6
Tale.Encounters On Training N/A Current Companion
Lillian. [1.0/1.0]
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Tale
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Posts: 43
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:19:19 GMT -6
1.1 | 1.1 He brought her home. He gave her food. They found a place to stay out of the cold. They slept together, her cuddled in his lap the same as the first night they met. They spent a week together, moving around each other like they had lived a lifetime with one another. They spoke like strangers, conversations halted and shallow.
Tale didn't sleep a wink. He'd go days without being able to shut his mind off, only to find himself suddenly awake in some warm corner of the cavern they were slowly building into a home. Each time, he felt the warm press of Lillian at his side, desperate to stay close. When they woke back up, she gave him space.
After another restless night, he felt dead, but also, empty. There was no war of emotions raging for his attention: just quiet. He took advantage of the change, and turned to Lillian with a proposition.
"How about we go fishing?"
[1]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:26:10 GMT -6
1.2 | 1.2
As they walked down into the basin, Lillian was working to gather enough courage to speak. He could feel her trepidation about their outing, questioning his listlessness turned to motion. Tale knew he should explain himself, but still felt uneasy about what exactly he would say. He wasn't entirely sure any answer would give her much solace.
"What is fishing?" She finally asked, her voice soft and sweet.
It caught Tale off-guard. He realized that, for all she seemed to know instinctively, that this was a newborn. This draconic hadn't seen the world like him, or like Isa. He was the one responsible for teaching her about these things, bringing her through their shared world just like he did his children. He wasn't sure if his detachment from that thought was his fatigue or something else; Tale chose not to think about it.
"Well," he responded, weighing his words. He gestured to the gear he carried: nets, a rod, hooks and bait. "Fish are creatures that live in water, like this, or the ocean. Fishing is when you catch them."
[2]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:33:18 GMT -6
1.3 | 1.3
"What's the ocean?"
They had made it down near the water, which ran thin but thundering throughout the acoustic canyons around them. Tale put down his equipment, trying to organize some of what he had come with. He'd never been fishing before either, he conceded, so wasn't the best person to answer questions about this particular activity. Still, he wanted to do his best.
He walked further down from their vantage point over the river to a place with easy access to the stream: he cupped a handful of the cold water and take a drink. Lillian had followed him down and watched him. Pressing herself against his side, trying not to show she was nervous, the draconic lowered her head to the water and took a sip herself.
"See? It tastes like the water we have back at the caves, right?" Lillian nodded slowly at his words. "The ocean is salty, you can't drink it. And it's bigger, much bigger than this: it goes for as far as the eye can see."
[3]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:42:12 GMT -6
1.4 | 1.4
He felt Lillian's wonder at his words, saw her looking down the stream and trying to imagine something more grand. Tale gave her an awkward pat and stood back up, returning to his fishing gear. She followed him again, brewing with more questions but anxious about voicing them. He didn't know if he should assuage her concerns: he didn't know what kind of rapport they had. What kind that they should, could have. Even so, she found Isa's voice again.
"What's it like?" she said.
Tale busied himself tying the hooks to the fishing line, fumbling through knots he vaguely remembered. "I've never been, actually."
"Then how do you know about it?"
"I have a friend who's been there," He'd always known about the ocean, learned about it in the lessons he went to with Isa, but it was just as foreign to him as it was now to Lillian. He remembered the pictures he saw of it in their textbooks, gleaming cerulean blue with edges of white sand. Touj told him the parts of the ocean he had visited were much less idyllic: cold, stormy waters cut in by a jagged stone shoreline. "But there are books about it, things that other people share."
[4]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:49:57 GMT -6
1.5 | 2.0
"Books?"
He knew she would enjoy them. He knew he needed to teach her how to read, how to explore the world around her and open up new ones through text. He just wasn't sure if he could handle being the one to teach her.
"People write down their words, and sometimes use pictures. Writing is like, ah, using your hands to put something down, speak more permanently. That's how people learn a lot of things." he tried to explain. He stood back up and threw his arm behind him, clumsily bringing it forward in a would-be cast. The line, luckily, didn't break or loosen, but stayed resolutely closer to shore than he had hoped.
"Other people write about things that don't exist, stories they make up themselves. Or poems, which are another way to tell stories, which rhyme or are written in a certain way. There's," Tale caught himself rambling. "Books can be a lot of things."
Lillian looked down at her cloven hooves. "Could I write? Or read?"
[5]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 16, 2021 2:56:09 GMT -6
1.6 | 2.1
Tale turned toward her, seeing the frown marring her small face. He felt an urge to pet her and wipe that expression away. He felt another urge to vomit.
"I don't know about writing," he said carefully. "But you can definitely learn how to read. And it's useful, even for stuff but books. Do you remember any of those signs we passed coming here? The wooden posts with things carved into them?"
Lillian nodded. "Those are letters, which make up words, that's writing. Those symbols tell you things, like the one we passed, told us how to get to the river. It's useful to know, makes it easier to get around the world in general."
She walked away from Tale as he spoke, peering back down their path, trying to catch a glimpse again of the sign they had passed marking the entrance to the fishing area. They were too far away, but Tale could tell she wanted to go back and see it. Should he give her permission to? What he should do, he recognized, was accompany her back to give it a look.
[6]
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Post by Nadia on Nov 16, 2021 11:42:47 GMT -6
Uh... this guy doesn't look very friendly.
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 1:06:23 GMT -6
1.7 | 2.2
Suddenly, he felt the line go taut. Against all odds, he had caught something. But, Tale acknowledged, this was where the whole "never been fishing before" deal might cause a problem. He turned away from Lillian and focused on getting a better grip on his rod. He just had to reel, right? First going the wrong way, and then the other, he felt the reel arm snap into place, pulling up the fishing line.
Whatever was on the other side didn't want to get taken out of the water. While Tale didn't blame it, he also didn't stop reeling it in. It was an interesting fight, pulling in and up, responding to its thrashes - he knew that if he were in a different mental state, he'd be having a lot of fun.
Lillian came up beside him and looked at where the thin shimmer of thread led. She leaned out over the cliff, peering at the water below. It was a rupture of waves and spray; she leaned even further out as if that would help her see better. Tale took one hand and pushed her back, distracted.
"Careful there, Is," he said, his eyes still on the water. "Don't want you getting hurt."
[7]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 1:15:13 GMT -6
1.8 | 2.3
It wasn't til he got the fish finally out of the water that he registered what he said to Lillian. Tale pulled a hand down his face. Stupid, stupid. She hadn't moved an inch since he pushed her back from the cliff, and while he could tell there was a war of feelings within her little body, he didn't have the slightest idea on how to start parsing it. He cast out his line again, averted his gaze and waited for her to find her words.
"Is," she started, tentative. Lillian took a moment to steel herself, and continued. "Is... As in Isa?"
Tale tried not to grimace. This is what he got for getting carried away, not paying attention to his surroundings. He didn't want to talk about this, but he knew that wasn't an option. Instead, he just nodded.
"You said before, I remind you of her." He nodded again, and she waited a moment for his response. None came. "Who is she?"
[8]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 1:28:14 GMT -6
1.9 | 2.4
Tale still didn't respond. He could feel Lillian's annoyance building up; He knew it was deserved.
"Look, I know you don't want to talk to me," she finally choked out. "I'm sorry. But I don't know why! And I want to know and fix it! And... and, I feel like Isa has something to do with it. Please, tell me."
Her voice was watery, breaking as she neared tears. Tale sighed. He never stood a chance against that tone.
"Isa... was my best friend, you could say," He got out. "I used to be... really small. Not in the way you are, but... I don't know how to explain this. But she was the one that raised me back then. And then when I grew up, she was - "
"Why are you saying was?" Lillian interrupted, her head cocked to the side. She was genuinely curious, and meant no harm. It didn't help.
"She died."
[9]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 1:36:42 GMT -6
1.10 | 3.0
Realization dawned on Lillian. Shame flooded her, and she dropped her eyes to the ground. Tale watched and tried not to feel vindictive, just in making this young creature feel so guilty. But he couldn't even muster the energy: none of this had anything to do with her. Isa's death should be as irrelevant to her as everyone else, but once again it was Tale's own fault these problems arose.
"I'm really, really sorry," Lillian said. She was still speaking to the ground. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
"I know," he said. It was the honest truth. "It just. Still hurts to think about her. Talk about her. But it's okay."
That brought up another wave of mixed feelings, but she didn't voice any of them, still embarrassed by her earlier comment. Tale was okay with that. He watched her for a minute more, before awkwardly turning his attention back to the fishing rod.
[10]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 1:40:43 GMT -6
1.11 | 3.1
"Does that mean," she spoke again, and Tale tamped down a wince. "You said I remind you of her. Does that mean it hurts to be around me?"
He didn't come out here expecting a heart-to-heart, but he realized it was quickly turning into just that. He didn't want to get into this. Tale prayed for a giant fish to come out of the water and end the conversation, but as far as he could tell, his wish went unanswered.
In truth, he didn't even know how to start answering her question. There was an easy answer, of course, but he knew it was bad. Tale was well aware his feelings were unfair, and hurting someone who he now was tied to for life: but that didn't make them go away. He was always still touchy about Isa, and the idea of having to be the bigger person right here, right now made him even more resentful. That resentment, in turn, didn't make him any less in the wrong.
[11]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 2:24:52 GMT -6
1.12 | 3.2
"I know this isn't right. To you," He said in stilted words. He couldn't keep from starting and stopping each sentence. "I'm trying. To work on it. It's not your fault."
"But it feels like my fault," Lillian implored. "I'm sorry. I want to help. What can I do?"
He shrugged. What was there to do? It's not like he had many ideas on what would help him get over this, help him be okay with his new draconic life partner. It'd been years since Isa died and he was still acting like this: it seemed impossible to him for anything to change. But he had to try, didn't he? Tale wracked his brains for how he could respond to such a request, but fell short. Before he could even think of a decent excuse, way to tell her it's okay, he heard her speak again.
[12]
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Tale
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Post by Tale on Nov 18, 2021 2:30:50 GMT -6
1.13 | 3.3
"What if I talk like this?" Lillian tried, not very successfully, to lower her voice an octave, speaking in a would-be gruff tone. "I talk like this now."
It was so funny, so painfully cute and innocent and well-intended and Isa that Tale wanted to cry. He realized belatedly, that he had no need to want: Tears were spilling down his cheeks, and his eyes were scrunched so tight that he couldn't see the draconic before him. She ran to his side as he wracked a sob, desperately holding onto any tendril of composure to bring himself back into control.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Lillian cried out, back in her child voice. "I didn't know that would be bad, please believe me, I was trying to help - "
"It's okay," Tale choked out. Lillian's hoof rested on his knee, offering a point of comfort. He took in a deep breath and set it back on the ground. Deep breaths, in, out. "I'm fine. Everything's fine."
[13]
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