private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
While Ætheron was doing his thing, Ædriga wasn't done with the manticore either, she cut into the neck a bit more, taking out one of the vertebra, she then cleaned it up using her fire and tongue, before making a rope of sorts out of plantation she could find and making a necklace out of the vertebra, and putting it on her neck, her first trophy.

This probably wouldn't take as long as dismembering the whole creature, so she would spend rest of the time watching Ætheron curiously with her trophy hanging on her neck. She looked happy when Ætheron praised her, she didn't understand all the words, but she was good at reading small differences in tone, expression, and general small details that told about one's intent without words. She also tried to smile again, but it still didn't come naturally, so the result was what it was, though at least it was clear that it was supposed to be a smile.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was surprised when he saw the rudimentary trophy that Ædriga had made for herself, but he didn't comment on it. He had known a number of other creatures to do something similar after their more impressive kills.

He chuckled at her smile as he loaded the dismembered limbs and coat onto his back, "Let's go back to the cave then, tan this hide and cook some of this meat so we can eat well tonight."

If they didn't encounter any obstacles. Ætheron would lead the way back to the cave and start a fire to cook the small creatures they had killed and to smoke and dry the larger cuts of meat for longer storage, while he let Ædriga take whatever she wanted to eat that night while she studied words if she wanted to.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
There wasn't any obstacles, but Ædriga noticed the smell of meat had gained the curiosity of some other creatures, but they didn't seem to be interested in taking on a dragon right now, so she didn't warn Ætheron, wild animals didn't really scare her like dragons or other such creatures did, because animals were predictable, and easily readable, while the latter were more complicated and thus more unpredictable. 

Ædriga would pick only pieces of the manticore, not really caring for smaller animals when there was something bigger to eat, and would take a amount comparable to her own size, bit more, she had injuries to heal so eating a lot was important, because while her kind's bodies healed fast, it took lot of energy. She would eat most of it before staring studying, eating smaller pieces as she did, she was starting to be done with this book, she had gotten mostly everything she could out of it, some of the things she would need to learn from hearing it to be used, but she understood the basics, it would just take some use to master them.

There was few things she wanted to ask about though, and one of them she remembered when she saw the page with words relating to friendship and family, she lifted the book up in a way that Ætheron would be able to see it and pointed at 'sister' and 'brother', "What is?" the concept of siblings was unknown to her, so she didn't understand the meaning even with the pictures.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was surprised by Ædriga's metabolism, she certainly ate far more than he did despite likely weighing more or less the same as him. While she had put on a bit of weight since they had met, she had been undernourished at that point as well. He was happy to let her have as much food as she wanted.

7 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

pointed at 'sister' and 'brother', "What is?"

Ætheron thought for a moment on how he could explain, large families were pretty common for centaurs after all. He started to draw a family diagram with a mother and father on the top, then after a bit of thought he drew four child lines, two daughters and two sons. In each circle he drew a face that looked similar to his own, but each had some distinction to it. He put his name under the son on the far right. "So this is me, these two would be parents," he pointed to the top circles, "Mother and Father," tracing back down he pointed to the other son, "Brother," then he pointed to a daughter, "Sister."

He'd look over to see if she understood, a family tree likely wasn't something she'd seen before so it may not be obvious what it represented.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga looked at the drawing as she thought about the information, it was true that family trees wasn't something she was familiar with, but it didn't really take genius to figure out what lines coming from parents and connecting may indicate.

She then drew her own line, first drawing a dragon, under which she wrote "I" since she didn't know how to write her name yet due to Æ not being in the book, she then drew a line upwards that split in two, on top of which she drew a bigger version of herself on one side and on other side she drew a featureless dragon-shape. She then drew another featureless dragon to the other side of the bigger her, and connected it to it in a way that it was still separate from the previous line, and from the new line she drew a line downwards and finished it with yet another featureless dragon. 

She then pointed at the last featureless dragon and asked "Brother or sister? If..." she pointed at herself "...is sister, if...." she pointed at Ætheron "...is brother?"

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was interesting in the tree she drew, it looked like she either didn't know or at least had never really seen, her father, which he supposed wasn't out of the ordinary for dragons.

While the dragon she was pointing to would more accurately be a half sibling, it was common enough for ponies and centaurs alike to have larger family units and half siblings were often referred to as full siblings within the herd unit. "That's right, gender would determine the use of whether the term is brother or sister." He drew a circle around his siblings to group them "Siblings" He pointed to them individually, "Sibling."

He was then more concerned with the family she had drawn, and thought it best to start with the one she more likely knew, he pointed to what he assumed was her mother, "Mother, good dragon?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
"Sibling, sister, brother." Ædriga quietly repeated after Ætheron had told about the word sibling, she was starting to understand the concept, but for her they were still pretty useless words as for her sibling was just a stranger that happened to share blood with her. 

She shook her head when Ætheron asked about her mother, "mother yes, good no" the change in her expression showed she really didn't remember her mother with joy, she gestured Ætheron to wait a second as she started gathering small stones and sticks, building a pile with the rocks and putting the stick around it, some upright like trees and some laying on the ground. She pointed at the rocks "Cave, I eat, I sleep." she then made herself look bigger and pointed at herself "mother" before destroying the cave. She then dropped the act as she continued "Mother hurt I, dragons hurt I, no friends, I go away, I come here." "Big fly, no sleep, no food, I here, sleep, no food." "I hurt..." she pointed at the injuries she had gotten from getting crushed "....you come, friend." 

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron listened closely, he was saddened by the tale of how she came to be here. It wasn't right in his mind what her mother had done to her, but there wasn't anything he could do about that now.

He'd reach a hand out, see if she reacted positively to a comforting touch, if so he'd get closer so they'd be sitting side by side, "I'm glad I found you when I did, and that I was the one to find you. I don't know how you feel about your mother, but I won't let her, or anyone, hurt you again."

He knew that most of the words would be lost on her, but it was more of a promise to himself than to her. If she were receptive enough he'd go for a sidelong hug.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't flinch this time because she saw that Ætheron  was going to touch her, she wouldn't protest, though she wouldn't react strongly in a good way either, because comforting touch wasn't something she was experienced before, so for her it was just a touch, though in a way it still communicated the right message since any non-painful touch was a surprising and thus a pleasant experience.

Ætheron was right about her not understanding what he had said that well, but it wasn't only because she was lacking understanding on words, but because something in the tone got her by surprise so she forgot to even try to translate it, there was a difference between a friendly tone and...well, this, she didn't know the word for it because she had never experienced it.  

She would also allow Ætheron's hug, though it wasn't hard to tell that she wasn't really sure how to feel about it or how to react to it, part of her enjoyed it a bit but other part of her felt nervous being so close to another creature.  

Edited September 2, 2020 by Catpone Cerberus

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron would eventually release Ædriga from the hug, it had been a long time since he'd found someone large enough for him to properly hug, and he had forgotten how much he enjoyed them.

He'd give her a soft pat before retiring to his bedding, "Better get some rest, we've got another day of traveling tomorrow."

If Ædriga didn't stop him he'd soon be asleep.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga had no reason to stop Ætheron, so she just watched for a moment when he went to sleep before returning to her book, scanning it through to see if there was anything she had missed. She would then put the book close to Ætheron's stuff and bury her leftovers away from the camp, there wasn't a lot of leftovers but enough to attract scavengers so it was better to bury them.

She stood awake in thought for some time longer but would eventually also lay down to sleep.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron would rise soon after the sun, he'd make sure all their stuff was in order before stowing away the now perfectly smoked meat he had prepared the night before. With the store he'd accumulated over the past two hunts he had enough meat for a few weeks, they'd only have to hunt the fresh meat that Ædriga needed going forward, at least for the next two weeks or so.

He stowed away the book that Ædriga had finished, placing it behind the second language book so she could start on that one next. That done he would wait by the entrance of the cave watching the forest as the sun rose until Ædriga got up, unless she was up already.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga would wake up not long after Ætheron had moved to the entrance, she had been aware of what was happening around her for bit earlier but hadn't been fully awake before now. "Good Morning." she would say, though the word 'good' would need bit more practice, she then inhaled her lungs full of morning air, seemingly noticing something before sniffing the air curiously and following a scent until she ended up sniffing the ground around the camp, far enough that it was just outside of the area that the fire illuminated during darkness.

She didn't recognize the smell but it seemed that whatever it was was gone, so she turned to Ætheron with calm expression "No here now, here night." 

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

On 9/4/2020 at 9:14 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

She didn't recognize the smell but it seemed that whatever it was was gone, so she turned to Ætheron with calm expression "No here now, here night." 

Ætheron tensed up when she talked about their apparent night visitor, it was clear enough that something had gotten too close to them while they were asleep. "Recent? Which way did they go?"

He looked back at their pile of stuff, if it was close they could go after it, otherwise it'd likely be best if they just went on to the next stop in their journey and hoped they weren't followed or attacked along the way.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga started sniffing the air again, walking around a bit as she followed the scent's direction before pointing to the direction they had came from "Go there." she again inhaled her lungs full "Go away, no here." the scent was weak enough to indicate that whatever had been there had left the area. There was no prints on the ground anywhere besides their own, so whatever it was either didn't leave obvious footprints or knew how to hide them.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

That was a relief then, it was apparently going the opposite way from them, so their travels today should further increase the distance between them. Ætheron relaxed at the news, "No problem then. As we travel today be careful, tell me if you smell them again."

That said he had no desire to remain at this cave any longer than they needed to, he set about packing up their things and securing them to his back, "Ready to go?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga nodded to both, she understood enough of Ætheron's words to know what he was telling her to do, and she was ready to go since it was really only Ætheron who had anything to prepare for the travel. Speaking of having something to prepare, Ædriga wanted to ask something, but it took her long enough to figure out what was the best way to ask it so that they would most likely be already moving when she finally did ask.

She would first get Ætheron's attention by saying his name, she made sure to make her tone such that there was no reason to think anything was wrong, because there wasn't and she didn't want to make it sound like there was. She would then point at him, or more specifically at the stuff he was carrying "You" she then imitated putting something on her back "I no" she then pointed out her empty back "I no hurt." she jumped to proof a point, it did still hurt a bit but for her it was same as not being injured "When I?" she again imitated putting something on her back and then finally tilted her head.

 

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was quite surprised at Ædriga's offer, "Um, you want to carry packages?" He thought as they continued, as the Fey magics guided his hooves he kept looking back at Ædriga as they walked. "Hmm... I'll talk to the ponyville office when we get there, maybe they'll have a harness, but until then..." he looked around and then at what he was carrying, rarely had he been sent with heavy objects, as those were typically valuable enough to warrant being sent by train, so he rarely had difficulty moving things across the forest, but if she were willing to help they could likely take a whole day off the crossing, stopping in the middle instead of the first and final third.

He turned his attention back to Ædriga and nodded, "Tomorrow, I make something help you carry. You find long straight sticks, some vines, I make you harness to carry."

He used the pole of hil halberd to demonstrate a long straight stick, and he pointed out the hanging vines when he said vines. There should be plenty between where they were and the cave, he should be able to make one to her size that would last at least all the way to Ponyville, and he could get better materials there if the office didn't have one she could fit.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga nodded getting the basic message, 'Tomorrow' and 'get sticks and vines', and would now and then separate from Ætheron to get those things, showing just how good she was at moving in forests as even the highest of places weren't out of her reach, and she didn't use her wings even once. She would also show that she had understanding of how to pack things up for carry, as she would tie the sticks she found in a one pile with the vines on her back, before tying the whole thing to herself so that it wouldn't fall off even if she left flat ground. 

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was only more impressed by her dedication to the task he had given her, we wondered what had brought about his desire in her. Had Postmark said something to her? He'd watch whenever she left the path to gather wood and vines. With her level of dedication they'd definitely have more than enough materials by the time they got to the shelter.

As they kept walking he pulled out his carving knife and sharpening stone, it had been a while since he'd last carved anything, and with the amount of wood she was gathering there'd be a good deal of carving in his near future.

It would maybe be another pair of hours until they got to the cave. The sun hadn't quite hit the horizon by that point so he'd have plenty of time to get started on making a sort of harness. He'd pay attention to how she carried the bundles so he could put the straps where they'd be comfortable for her.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
There was few reasons for Ædriga's sudden interest in having something to carry, first was more to do with having something to carry things with instead of carrying things themselves, Ædriga like most dragons,was a collector by nature, so she wanted a some way to carry things she may want to keep but couldn't be made into something like a necklace.

The second major reason was that she wanted to find her place in this new world, and since she wasn't fan of cities, the only logical option for her was what Ætheron did, carry stuff from place A to place B, and considering that she was quite strong for someone of her size, like her kind tended to be, it was a fitting thing for her to do.

Third, a bit smaller reason was related to her past, having past like hers, she had became to see herself as a failure, which arguably she was if one was to look what she was supposed to become, so she had the need to show others that she could be useful, and more importantly than that, she wanted to show herself that she wasn't totally useless. 

As the amount of wood grew, she needed to add more vines to hold them in place, and the place she wrapped the vines around herself was her body next to her legs, this made it possible to stop the vine-ropes from sliding around on her scales while also making sure it didn't effect her movement. Comfort-wise it didn't really matter where things were strapped into as long as they didn't hinder movement, because her scales were so thick that the material used to tie things to her would break before she would have even slightest of discomfort about it.

She would give Ætheron a curious look when he first took out the sharpening stone, but would soon look away as tools and weapons were familiar concept to her.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Once they got to the cave Ætheron would take a moment to rest before getting to work on turning the sticks and vines Ædriga had gathered into a useable harness. In the meantime he would fish out the second language learning book so she could study while he worked if she wanted.

He'd start with the long straight sticks, measuring them against her body so they'd stretch about joint to joint from her front to her back legs. Then if she had any that were a bit more curved he'd measure them joint to joint the opposite way to act as the bridge across her back. Once the frame was done he'd tie them together with the vines, the front corners with loops that she'd stick her forelegs through, the back just had two lose vines that she'd be able to tie around her midsection in front of her hind legs.

He'd have her try it on before he continued, adjusting the loops and lengths so it fit well and wouldn't move too much when she walked. Then he would weave the sticks and vines together in a sort of mat that sat over the frame.

It would take a few hours for him to finish the harness, and he would focus on it unless Ædriga asked him something.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga took the new book and started flipping through it, first trying to see what exactly there was in it to know what would be most useful to study first. She would look at Ætheron the few first times when he measured her size, but after that mostly ignored him until it was time for her to try it on, which she would do without too much trouble as she had realized what he was doing and thus didn't need to hear words to understand what he wanted her to do.

She wouldn't bother Ætheron with any questions, and only sound she made was now and then quietly repeating things to herself, learning words wasn't too much trouble to her at this point anymore, as she had memorized the alphabet pretty well, and if there were any words she didn't understand the meaning of, she made a mental note about asking about them when it seemed necessary. She still of course had bit of trouble, especially with bit more complicated words, but she avoided those for now.

[Illiad Easle 3,156]

@Catpone Cerberus

Once the harness was complete he'd admire it, sure it wasn't his best work but it was very sturdy and was pretty good all things considered. He affixed the spare vines to the sides so they could be used to hold down whatever packages she carried. That said he would look over his pack to see how the items could be redistributed between them. He didn't want to put too much on her, but he didn't want it to be obvious that he was going easy on her, so he moved a good quantity of the smaller packages over to her harness while keeping the heavier packages on his own.

That settled he turned his attention back to Ædriga, "Questions? Does the study go well?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

@Illiad Easle
"No Questt...Questions now." Ædriga replied happily, butchering the pronunciation of 'questions' "I more good read and speak." she looked proud of herself, her biggest challenge would most likely be learning the use of things like prepositions, conjugation, and other such things, because her own language was very simple compared to the one she was trying to learn, but as long as she could learn enough words to then guess the meaning of other words, she would do fine.