| Logs |
2009 February 07
| When The Bough Breaks |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Bough Logs |
Second Movement, Second Solo
Mikal doesn't know what to say to the poor woman, so she politely puts her palms together and bows slightly, "Blessings on your search, then, and should I meet him in our wanderings, I will ask him to either send word to you, or return to you." She smiles faintly at the woman... then glances at Ataraxos inquiringly, "Was there anything in particular you wanted here, Ataraxos? Now I know it takes determination and will power to travel wherever you want, and ordinary maps don't work... I think I'm done?"
Shen Yi smiles, inclining her head in return. "Thank you, Mikal. I appreciate that. Now, please excuse me, there is yet much work I must do this day."
Ataraxos shakes his head, smiling. "I thought you might be interested in the map room, that is all, MIkal. There are a number of books as well regarding forestry and herbs and plants and such, though I confess I've not read them myself.
Mikal hesitates, then grins ruefully, "Um... I can't read, Ataraxos."
He nods, smiling sheepishly. "I know, though there are a great many illustrations, which I thought might be of interest.
Mikal grins again, "Well, are they different from the flora and fauna around the Winter Palace?"
Ataraxos says, "They certainly can be. Have you noticed how as we've gotten closer to Thebes, the trees have changed? And the grass has become taller nearer to the river valley. It's gotten warmer overall. There are some that are similar, but others that are different.
Mikal blinks in startlement, considering that... then nods slowly, "That's true, now I think about it!" She's silent as she thinks -- then she nods firmly, "Yes, I'd better know all of them, so I can keep my pack safe. Can you show me the books about the other places?" She has lived in one place all her life. It hasn't quite registered how great the potential differences in the flora and fauna of these locales might be.
Ataraxos smiles, nodding. "Certainly. This way. Keep in mind that there are a lot of places in the Dreamtime. I'll show you what is between here and Thebes, which should be enough for now, but other locations might be slightly different...
Mikal looks inquiring, "How many different types of environment can there be, though?"
He starts to lead Mikal through the winding corridors of the Library to another wing. "It's not a matter of environments, so much as what part of the Waking influenced a different part of the Dreamtime. Places near each other in the Dreamtime will probably be similar, but if they're separated some of the flora and fauna can be fairly significantly different.
Mikal sounds fascinatedly bemused, "Huh. But that... that would imply there are as many environmental types as can be imagined, no?"
Ataraxos nods, "That's very true... and out in the Deep Wyld, that can definitely be the case. Closer to the Mirror, though, the environments are more... communal. Like cultures that have some connecting threads or themes, like they share something in the Waking.
Mikal nods slowly, thinking hard.
For the next hour or so -- it seems strangely timeless, perhaps that is another aspect of the Dreamtime -- Ataraxos ushers Mikal through the extensive collection of forestry and herbalism texts in the Library. He helps to translate the words, and makes sure that the books he brings out are not only accurate to his experience, but also well-illustrated. He is patient and content to let Mikal absorb the information at her own pace, though it really doesn't take a great deal of time.
Mikal finally sits back after a handful of hours with a slightly dazed expression on her face. She rubs the back of her forearm across her forehead, murmuring a bit confusedly, "Whoa, I -- I had no idea there were so many... so many different ways of doing the same thing!"
Ataraxos nods, smiling to her and leaning on his arm. "Oh, yes. The Dreamtime is wonderfully complex, so much to see and do and so much that's different. I can't imagine how the Waking might be to have influenced such a place as this.
Mikal blinks, looking shocked at that thought, "Oh, my!" She slides off her chair and just sits down on the floor next to Raphael, looking a bit overwhelmed, "It... but... so big to do that?!"
Ataraxos chuckles softly, turning in his seat to lean on his knees, facing Mikal. "It might be! I sometimes wish I could explore the Waking... but there's still so very much to see in the Dreamtime, so much to discover... so much to relearn."
Mikal looks up a bit bemusedly at Ataraxos -- she's still somewhat in overwhelm due to the amount of information she's just soaked up, "Er... relearn? Did you forget?"
Ataraxos nods. "After a fashion. The Godswar made everyone forget a great deal when it was over and the Architect split apart the Waking.
Mikal looks a bit shellshocked, her voice very small, "...oh..." After a few moments of stroking Raphael's heavy ruff, she murmurs softly without looking up, "Are you... I mean, c-can we go someplace quiet, please?"
Ataraxos smiles gently, and nods, standing and offering Mikal his hand. "I know just the place. May I show it to you?"
Mikal blinks up at the satyr for a heartbeat or two -- then nods silently, taking his hand and rising. She tends to lean slightly against Ataraxos as she walks out with him, and her hand rests on Raphael, walking on her other side. It's almost as if she's hiding between them.
BoughGM walks with Mikal at her own pace, through the quiet, faintly musty bustle of the Library, through the slightly more -- and brighter -- activity of the outside city. But he quickly guides her through side-streets, steep and narrow cobblestone paths that wind their way through the stone and whitewashed buildings, until they reach waht looks like a small bower atop one of the low side-buildings of the Library. A small pool here is fed by a small fountain, a bench is shaded by an arbor with twining leafy vines, and the air is nicely scented with some blossoms. The bower commands a generous view of the lands outside Alexandria proper, the slightly rolling hills and plains. Far, far in one direction, rising out of the haze, is an immense white-capped mountain barely visible with the distance and clouds.
"Not many people know of this place," he says quietly with a smile. "I came upon it last time I was here in Alexandria. A scholar seems to have put it in some time ago and promptly forgot about it."
Mikal sighs softly, visibly relaxing a bit as she finally lifts her head and looks around. Her voice is still very small, but a bit more calm as she murmurs, "This... this is really pretty." She does a slow 360, then smiles uncertainly at the satyr, "Th-thank you." She sits down on the ground, pulling off her soft boots and socks, then rolling up her loose trousers. After that she grins with shy mischief, hopping up and darting over to sit on the edge of the fountain with her feet in the pleasantly cool water. She sighs softly again, this time with pleasure, and closes her eyes, "Ohhh... this is nice!"
Ataraxos beams, sitting on the bench. "I'm glad I can give you something pleasant during this trip!"
Mikal grins over her shoulder at the satyr, then happily kicks her feet a bit, splashing water around. She giggles, tossing a handful at Raphael, where he leans his big head in to lap up a drink, and he snorts amusedly at her before going back to lap-lap-lapping with his long tongue.
Ataraxos laughs softly at the sight, simply content for the time being to let Mikal recover from the overwhelm of information at her own pace.
Ataraxos says gently, "If I may ask... how did you come to discover Raphael was your half-brother?"
Mikal hms, looking up from where she'd been splashing water on her face. She smiles at the question, her gaze going to the big raptor-wolf, and answers, "Oh, that's easy. We heard each other in our heads."
"Oh? You just saw each other and you then heard each other in your heads?"
Mikal grins a bit proudly at Raphael, then looks back at Ataraxos, still smiling, "Well, no -- we heard each other moving around first, then saw each other... and then I knew he needed some help, and was starvingly hungry." She dries her face off on her sleeve, then flops out comfortably on the ground in the shade of the sweet-scented bower, "Why? Do you have a sibling like that too?"
Ataraxos shakes his head, "No, I am an only child, actually. I was curious as to how two very different mortals came to recognize each other as half siblings.
Mikal smiles a bit ruefully, affectionately stroking the now-dripping raptor-wolf, who has come to flop down next to her. She lays her head on his side, curling up against him, and he snorts softly, giving her a few quick licks with his tongue before he sighs gustily and lays his head on his forelegs. His cat-slitted eyes are still half-open, dreamily watching the satyr. Mikal murmurs quietly, "I... well, I guess it shouldn't worry me any more, since I know now what was wrong -- but most of my life I knew I didn't really fit in the village. Father was a forester, a hunter and trapper that helped keep the monsters from the village, and that's what I did all my life. At some point I realized the reason no one in the village knew my mother was because she must have been not human -- and that's why Father never brought her back to the village. That explained why I'm so good at hunting too -- Father used to say... t-to..." she falters, her eyes filling up as she whispers, "A lie... it -- it w-was all a lie, w-w-wasn't it..."
Mikal turns her face into the raptor-wolf's heavy mane, breathing in the scent of him as she clutches his fur and reminds herself firmly: she's here with her pack. She's not alone. It's all right.
Ataraxos shakes his head, slipping from the bench to kneel beside Mikal, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "No... no-no-no, Mikal. Your life in the dreamscape was not a lie. A dream, perhaps, but not a lie.
Raphael blinks, his eyes focusing as he watches Ataraxos. Mikal doesn't move, her voice muffled, "H-how is a d-dream n-n-not a lie, though?"
"Because your dreams are a part of the Dreamtime. And the Dreamtime is not a falsehood. There are those within it who will lie, sure. But the Dreamtime, and your dreams, they will not lie to you. Your dreams never lie to you."
Mikal sits up, looking up at the satyr with tear-streaks down her face, "B-but how do we know, Ataraxos? How d-do we know this isn't just an-n-nother dream that's n-not really true?"
Ataraxos smiles gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Mikal... If it is all just a dream, then isn't it true enough? Say that you are dreaming. When you dream, isn't it your mind exploring itself? And if it is, won't it be showing you the truth of yourself in some way, even if it's not recognizable as the truth?
"But for as much as you can trust my word, please trust me when I say this: The Dreamtime is real. You are, each of you and your pack-mates, your own individual person, with your own hopes and dreams and souls, and real. And I for one am very, very glad to have met such an interesting and wonderful and kind-hearted person as yourself."
Mikal gives Ataraxos a slightly worried look, then absently rubs her face with her sleeve as she whispers, "B-but... but that means my home's t-t-true too, Ataraxos... a-and that th-they -- that they're all g-going to d-d-d- that the sp-p- spiduh-der- spi-" She cuts off, shaking her head almost frantically and covering her face, "No! No no no no no! That cuh-can't be right!"
Ataraxos gently puts his arms around Mikal in an embrace. "It's okay, Mikal... it will be okay. The spider-wasps aren't immortal, and they can be beaten. But you don't have to do it all today, or alone. Most importantly, you don't have to do it alone."
Mikal sniffles, leaning against the satyr and turning her face into his shoulder. Her voice is muffled as she does so, "It seems so -- so hopeless, though! No weapons, no way to reach them, no plan, no nothing! It's hard to believe anything but old age ever killed any of them."
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