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Post by Milo on Jun 21, 2020 17:48:14 GMT 1
Day 22, early morning Settling in had been easier than expected, the overall rules simpler here. No one expected him to be up and working, though he had yet to find a task that would be his, some way to be useful. Mostly Milo stuck to Choice , for he'd been friendly and didn't poke at the uncomfortable topics. For now he skipped breakfast, had instead stolen away to the Hot Bath, after making sure Keleero wasn't around – after the initial reaction he'd made sure to keep out of the gliders sight, though sometimes he watched his flying with longing. Not daring to ask that particular one for help. It wasn't just for cleaning though, Milo knew that hot water helped his aches. Having put off all but his loinclothes, he settled on the edge of the bath with a sigh, only legs hanging in the water for now. No old wounds there, his limp coming from them both being different length, almost a hand-width apart. Arms too, even his fingers appearing too long for his hands, the small one forever locked in a slightly bend position no matter how much he willed it to move. But worst was the pattern of his skin, not one area that could be covered by his hand all the same color – a light pale contrasting against tan and darker bronze patches, swirls and dots, wavy lines, all uneven and sharp edges. Not to be explainable by dirt or anything else, the reason he usually covered in long cloth. Closing his eyes he let the warmth seep into his bones. |
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Post by Choice on Jun 21, 2020 18:27:59 GMT 1
Choice had been out hunting all night, having brought back a two ravvits and a deep chill in his bones for his efforts. He was ready for the furs, a good day's rest, but the lure of hot water before sleep had him ending up in the room Keleero had made for bathing. Half-asleep, he didn't notice Milo sitting on the edge of the pool until he'd already gotten his shirt off. "Oh, there you are," he said, smiling around a yawn. "You prefer to be awake with the sun, am I right? There's so much to get used to here." He kept undressing as he spoke, careful not to stare. He'd gotten the impression that Milo was self-conscious about his appearance and tried to think something nice to say that wouldn't be too personal or forward. "I see you've got your own patterns, like Panaetha and Spotfur," he ended up saying, hoping that would be both complementary (because he did think the patterns looked lovely) and a thing that would make Milo feel welcome instead of singled out. |
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Post by Milo on Jun 21, 2020 19:17:59 GMT 1
Having very much not expected anyone to join him, he'd sat frozen as Choice entered, not sure if he was ignored on purpose and should leave, if he even wanted to stay. The smile won him over, his own back a bit shy though, and the realization that Choice would likely go to sleep soon, leaving him alone to deal with everyone else. He nodded at the question, while used to getting up before the sun and only have little sleep, the day was more his time, what he had done all his life. “I can't see well. Light makes it better.” he offered a quiet explanation, glanced at his glasses. Different as they were to what everyone else here wore, he tried putting them off, but there was no denying he needed them. In the darkness it was even harder, especially outside, with no walls to follow.
Of course a comment on his looks followed, expected though nicer than much Milo had heard. “I don't like them.” he whispered. “Tried to scrub them off when I was younger, but it wouldn't work.” Only gave him patches of skin rubbed raw and scoldings for being stupid when he cried over it.
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Post by Choice on Jun 21, 2020 21:49:04 GMT 1
"We've all got our own sleeping rhythm," Choice reassured Milo. "You're far from alone in preferring the daytime. I'm just unused to being up and about when the sun is; back in my home the heat would have been exhausting, so it was best to move at night, or dawn and dusk." He noted Milo's glance at the eye-decoration he had put to the side. "I was meaning to ask you, why do you wear that? Is it jewelry?"
Choice flinched at Milo's admission to not liking his skin. It was so sad to hear that. It was skin, hating skin was like hating your hair or your eyes! It was heart-breaking to hear. "Well, you are of course free to like and not like what you will," he said, hesitating. "But I think they're lovely. Like star patterns." He needed something to distract with. "Are you getting in?" Putting aside the last of his clothes, Choice lowered himself into the water, wincing a little at the change in temperature but quickly smiling again. The pool was deep on this end, leaving him up to his neck in water. His fingers and toes ached, but in a good way. "It's good Keleero didn't make this pool so deep. I've never had the chance to learn to swim. I'm counting on you to save me if I slip!"
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Post by Milo on Jun 21, 2020 22:56:27 GMT 1
To stay inside during heat made sense, some summer days being just like that, though that never stopped work in the monastery. Part of their order of being humble was to never cease it, the only allowance to switch to inside ones during the worst of it. He shook his head at the question. “They help me see. So that things stop being blurry if they're more than a few steps away.” Put him into a delicate position, since they were fragile and if they'd break here, there was no repairing them. In relation to his elf-side it hurt too, because he'd never be a hunter, was at risk of not spotting dangers in time, couldn't use his skill in climbing for anything useful like scouting.
Milo didn't had that much choice in what he liked when all around him people had whispered how horrendous it was, a bad omen, twisted and broken, meant to be hidden from sight not just with clothes but by sending him very far away. “Like two sides fighting war over me.” he held back, albeit not very convinced. As long as they didn't change he could pretend to forget about it when clothed. Now he put the last of them away, followed fully into the water after a moments hesitation. Being in the swallow end and a bit taller than Choice meant he could comfortable sit and the idea of saving him from drowning finally had him smile. “So long as I can stand, that's easy. I just... do better, when the ground isn't even.” With rocks and branches he could balance out the difference in his legs.
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Post by Choice on Jun 22, 2020 21:12:43 GMT 1
This explanation drew Choice's curiosity to the eye-decoration, no, eye...helper? "That's fantastic! How often do you need to wear them for it to help?" He'd noticed Milo took them off now and then, so he didn't fully connect the dots on how they worked. "Fighting...war? I'm sorry, that's a new word for me." Choice balanced carefully on his toes, keeping his head and neck above water. "And I can see how uneven ground would be easier." Argh, clumsy! "I-I don't do so well on snow or in trees, but give me a long run on grass or dirt and I'll keep up with any four-leg for nights on end. We've all got our strengths." He wobbled a little. "I should ask someone to teach me to swim; Reefshadow or Badger maybe. Are you used to water?" |
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Post by Milo on Jun 22, 2020 22:32:13 GMT 1
„Always.“ he replied with a sad tinge in his voice, „it can't be fixed.“ Just another broken bit of him, part of why he tried to wear it less here. Even if it made life harder and his head hurt at times, but rather that than looking out of place here where glasses weren't common sight.
“Dominance. Like fighting for dominance.” A good metaphor for his whole life, two sides that didn't quite agree, that could neither come together nor be taken apart. “I don't think I ever run.” It was a nice thing to imagine, though he doubted ever being capable of it. But he could climb, had at least that when moving was the best way to put some thoughts away. Milo shook his head. “I was rarely allowed past the walls. You could start by coming closer, so you don't end up swallowing water from toppling over.” was his recommendation, mostly because he didn't want Choice hurt. “Could show you how they work” A gesture to his glasses and a invitation, after his previous distancing from touch.
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Post by Choice on Jun 23, 2020 22:01:47 GMT 1
"But you wear that and you can see better," Choice said, still fascinated. "Why would you ever take them off?"
A fight for dominance Choice could understand. He nodded to mark that he'd followed Milo's reasoning, then said, "Well, if I could fly, I don't think I'd ever bother with running. It looks like some much fun!" He carefully avoided the topic of Milo's legs, desperate to stay positive. The mention of 'walls' didn't exactly lighten the mood, but Choice tried to put a spin on it that at least hopefully would be healing, if not heartening. "Our dens had walls of a kind, but I suspect that's not the kind of place you lived in. Could you show me?" He meant share in a sending, thinking it a clear request in that wording.
He leapt at the chance to try the eye-helper. "Yes please! Is there a special ritual I need to do before wearing them? Is it magic?"
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Post by Milo on Jun 24, 2020 9:25:42 GMT 1
“They make me look different.” he replied quietly, only wishing to fit in, to not stand out. “You can't see my eyes with them” Hindering others to read his expressions, it made it all the harder to build up trust, especially with elves who didn't knew glasses in their daily life. And as much as they helped it also was another sign of how faulty his whole body was.
“It is.” Flint replied, smiling a bit. Might be that he only could boost himself some hand-widths up, it still was freedom, felt right. Showing he knew and could do, the deer-elves having asked many times for it, despite his explanations of the stories coming from books, from reading, not someone sharing in word and mind. Still he closed his eyes, concentrated a moment before sending glimpses of his life: houses, brick walls all around him, not enough room to ever escape. Grey and red blocks rising up like canyon walls and not enough trees to fill his longing.
After, he focused on his glasses. “No, it's not magic. It's <glass>, a kind of stone that comes from heating sand. It melts and then you can shape it and some shapes make things look different – like clear water making what you see on the ground appear bigger.” The overall mechanics weren't known to him either. “Hold still” Careful he placed the glasses on Choice. “Your eyes don't need fixing, so it'll make it blurry like I'm seeing the world.” Within his arms reach no difference, but beyond the world blurred together, details lost and broader areas turning into blobs of color.
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Post by Choice on Jun 27, 2020 17:25:15 GMT 1
"But we all look different from each other," Choice said before he could stop himself. Then, considering he'd already put his foot in his mouth, he added, "You wouldn't confuse me for Keleero or Reefshadow would you? Or Swish for Badger?" The sending of Milo's hope was hard for him to process, the scenery far stranger than the tents he'd seen humans live in back in his own home. It reminded him of getting his leg trapped in a hidden snare. "That...looks very different from anything I've seen. Where did you sleep?" Talking about flying might be the wiser option, but curiosity got the better of Choice, so he didn't try to steer the topic differently. Instead, he accepted the glasses. "So you melt sand to make this? Do you think a sandshaper could make some?" There had only been one sandshaper in living memory of his people, but who knew who could appear in Beacon Call next day? He gave a little gasp as he put the glasses on. "You see the world like this all the time?" Everything was a blur, even Milo's face. OOC: Just to make sure I understand Milo's glasses right - is the glass clear or tinted? Or are the frames really thick? Asking because he said others' can't see his eyes. |
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Post by Milo on Jun 28, 2020 19:02:04 GMT 1
Milo shook his head, wouldn't mix the others up, at least not from near or wearing his glasses. It was another kind of different, of being too human in an elfin world, too elfin in a human one, fear of being outcast of either world. A protection mechanism of trying to please everyone if it meant a little more acceptance. “I had my own small room – it's like a man-build cave with many sections in it.” Not the ideal place when half your ancestors had never known walls or other boundaries.
“I don't know. I never met one.” Careful avoiding the fact of him barely knowing any magic-users in person. Choice tried so hard to tip-toe around the sensible topics of... well, all of him, he didn't wished for the other to feel bad. “Long as I can remember.” Maybe not exactly like Choice saw it now, but the point was that the world turned blurry. Had taken them quite a while to figure out, any trouble put down to him being clumsy or stupid, until a teacher in the monastery noticed that he couldn't read the board in front at all.
OOC: Clear, but thick glass – he's mostly referring to light constantly reflecting in it, fire and such making it harder + the fun of having them get fogged up
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Post by Choice on Jul 4, 2020 22:20:42 GMT 1
"Oh, almost like Keleero's people then?" Choice said before he could stop himself. The warm water and tiredness had loosened his tongue far too much. "Eh, I just mean, not all elves live in trees, like my people- Oh dear." Magic. Magic would have to be the distraction. Again. "Well, if we ever meet one, we'll have to ask them." He blinked, tried to focus his eyes, and failed. Carefully he gave the glasses back to Milo, very worried he'd break them. "I understand why you're careful with them then. We should make sure the others know not to play around with them, especially cubs like Swish. Should we make something soft for you to wrap them in, when you're not using them? Or do you already have something like that?" OOC: Got it! Oh, and I'm locking the "Half and elf" thread and archiving it, unless you have anything else you want to write over there? |
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Post by Milo on Jul 5, 2020 18:13:52 GMT 1
It was fine mentioning the glider in his presence, he wasn't going to flinch from it – only try to avoid the direct confrontation with him. Given that Milo had no idea how Keleeros people lived, he only shrugged anyway. “Trees feel more right for me. Somewhere I can see the sky.” Instinct told him that outside, in the forest, would be best, but in this weather he'd certainly not try for it, cold and wet not good for his aching bones.
Blinking wouldn't help with his eyesight and he carefully placed the glasses back on his pile of clothes. “It's fine. I always have them on me anyway.” Either on his nose or in a pocket. If it broke there he likely was in enough trouble to worry about other things. “And I only got them some years ago, it worked before too.” Not well, but he survived after all. Also Milo rather kept them around instead of confronting anyone about what he needed, as if asking for anything might put him in a spot of being too much of a burden.
(OOC: Sure, go ahead!)
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Post by Choice on Jul 11, 2020 18:26:20 GMT 1
"Trees is what I prefer too," Choice said, happy to find a common thing to share. "But the weather outside is dreadfully cold, so I'm afraid it's the caves for me for now."
Choice listened to Milo explain about his glasses with forced calm. Milo would know how to handle his own tools best, surely. Still, an instinct of caring told Choice he should be arguing with Milo, should be helping him in some way. He's almost grown and you're not his sire. Get a hold of yourself!
"Very well. What are your plans for the day?" Choice asked, hoping to distract himself from any further pushing.
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Post by Milo on Jul 12, 2020 21:20:52 GMT 1
For him it was not just about living among trees, there'd been little option of that for him and he still feared not to be capable of surviving in it. But trees meant climbing, getting closer to the sky, an environment not dominated by straight lines and smooth walls, where he could be himself without stumbling at every step. “It'll get better.” he replied. “Spring will come.”
Milo was used having to care for himself, no one being there to fill the role of missing family. Would take some getting used to that people here cared, that he didn't need to weight every word if there was too much of a demand hidden in it. “I... don't know. Aren't there tasks to do?” Someone always told him what to do in the monastery, what little freetime he had mostly spend in his room, if he didn't break curfew to tell stories to the elves.
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