private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought for a moment again, going through what she had been told "I like move, but like sleep and no move too." "I like go cave alone, no ponys, no dragons, no griffons, only I. " "But I like you, no want you go, want you other cave, close, but no cave if you no like caves." she didn't know  why she had taken such liking in Ætheron, but she knew that she didn't want to go to live in a cave if it meant that Ætheron went on his way to never return, and while she was ready to keep moving with him since to her his lifetime was a relatively short time, she was a loner by nature, and would need a safe place where she could be alone, a safe one because if she constantly had to worry about threats, it wasn't really alone time.

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron thought on what she said, it was certainly different from what he had expected. When centaurs formed a family, they typically stayed together as they traveled. He could see that that style likely wouldn't make Ædriga happy, and he didn't know if he would be happy staying in one place for the rest of his life. Besides, it would likely be years before he would have enough money to not need to work, and he'd have to give up the protection being part of the Pony Express afforded him.

He looked over the map, "Well, there are a number of good caves here in the forest, like the ones we've used so far. Any of them could be for you if you want them. We could look for caves near open plains, but I don't know if I'd be able to sit still long enough to get a house nearby." He looked sad as he looked at Ædriga, "I could always visit you at least, when the route sends me your way."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle

"No now, after many years." Ædriga refused, or assured, depending on one's perspective on it "I new here, no know forest, cave only when know." she wasn't fully sure if year was the correct word, but from what she had gathered, she figured year was the same as a word in her language that roughly translated to 'cycle', which meant the passing of all seasons, aka year, the exact amount of days may have been bit different. and while it may be odd that she would bring up a thing like it was related to now when she meant it as in sometime in future years, one should remember that anything less than a decade was a very short time for her.

"I and you move, many days, I want one day alone, move again." "When Ponyville..." the 'ville' part took a second for her to figure out "...one day no move?" now that it had come up in the conversation, Ædriga realized that one reason why she found her head to be such a mess, was because she hadn't had any real peace since the injury.

 

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron thought a moment, then nodded, "Once we get to Ponyville we can stay a day, even three if you want, no go anywhere if you don't want to. I could use a rest now that I think about it."

He thought back, wondering when exactly he had last taken a break from the Express, it had certainly been quite some time, even when he did it typically wasn't even a whole day, he seldom stayed in the cities overnight as they often lacked properly sized accommodations. To stay in Ponyville, or at least near it, would be something new for him, maybe he'd finally get the chance to have breakfast or dinner with Ditzy as she had countless times invited him to.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
"Good." Ædriga simply said with a nod, she sounded pleased, though also bit surprised, as she wasn't used to getting what she wanted. For her it didn't really matter if it was a day or three, as long as she was allowed to be alone at least half a day, though more was of course better, as she could also use that time to learn more of the language. She didn't know where they would be staying during that time, and she assumed in some kind of building, but she did hope it was somewhere with thick enough walls for it to be actually silent, though she could always block her ears with her body in a way that she didn't hear as well.

"Three good too, but question, why three, why no two, why no four? Reason? no reason?" this wasn't important really, but she wanted to know if there was a reason for it being three specifically, because at least based on the books she had been given, creatures here seemed to be oddly specific, week was 7 days, month was around 30, and while she understood the concept of counting time, the numbers seemed oddly specific for someone who barely counted years, and that was without mentioning the whole clock thing, why would someone want to count so short parts of time.

 

 

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron chuckled as he shrugged, "No real reason why, it just felt like a good amount of time. Although, now that I think about it, I think that was how long it took me to get acclimated when I first arrived, I figured it would do you much of the same good, though with less of the mishaps I had. Likely best if you don't get attacked by the town defenders while trying to protect their foals from a manticore like I did."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga turned serious when Ætheron said the last part, until that she had had her usual listening expression "They hurt you? why?" she may have asked about this before, she wasn't sure, but now that she understood the language better, she would at least understand the answer better if she had asked it before. She seemed to realize something and continued before Ætheron had time to answer "Pony like dragon no like you, I see no all ponys like you, why?" 

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron thought a moment, "When I first arrived here, I came to this forest. I didn't know where I was or how I might get back. I heard the voices of several foals calling for help and so I came over, and found them surrounded by timber wolves, vicious living plant creatures. Once I had saved them from the wolves I started to lead them back to town when we were set upon by a manticore. I scooped them up onto my back and ran for the edge of the forest, the manticore in hot pursuit." He became more animated as he continued, using his hands to demonstrate the chase.

"I broke the treeline and turned around, dropping the foals so they could keep going, but I was struck by a petrifying bolt, then attacked from the side by one of the ponies. There had been other foals in the group, ones that had split off to get help from the town. The town defenders thought that I was the monster, as I apparently bear some resemblance to a monster they had fought before. While I was petrified the manticore came out and attacked me as well, it was several moments before the petrification wore off and allowed me to fight it off."

He sighed, "The parents of the foals I saved were very grateful, but the town defenders still hold a grudge for the town not trusting them as much."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't still understand everything, but really the only thing important for context she didn't understand was the word 'petrification' and its conjugations, and even for that she gathered enough to understand that it was something that stopped Ætheron from fighting.

She looked genuinely sympathetic as Ætheron explained the story, though this time the look was bit misleading as sympathy wasn't an emotion she recognized, and as far as she was aware, she was just surprised by what had happened and bit concerned about the implications, a concern that she would share when Ætheron was done "Ponys attack..." she hesitated a bit with the word 'attack' as she wasn't sure if she had taken the right meaning for the word "....when no know you?" "Is good there no pony like dragon, if dragon pony there..." she visibly shuttered at the thought, she may have been a dragon used to blood and all that jazz, but the mental image of Ætheron melting was too much even for her.

This may have not been the detail that one may have expected her to stick to, but possible threats was always the first thing she worried about first, especially since she couldn't exactly relate to Ætheron's story, and had no idea how one was expected to response to it. But even with that, she knew enough to think that ponies were in the wrong in this one, between Twilight and Ætheron's story, Ædriga's first impressions of these intelligent prey animals in general wasn't overly positive.

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron shrugged, "I don't blame them much, they are very protective of their young, fighting anything that appears to threaten them even when it puts themselves in danger. Outside of that they are mostly a kind race. Those I've interacted with delivering packages have been very kind. Speaking of, Ditzy, the mare that gave you a muffin when we were last in Ponyville, she will likely want to make food for us once she learns that we are spending some time in the area. If you would like, I can help her make some food more suited to dragons."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't have much more to comment about the previous topic, as she was still thinking about it when Ætheron changed the topic, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have a parent that would put your life above theirs, that was probably a privilege meant for those who weren't defective.

"Sure" she said, not pronouncing it quite right, but one could understand what she meant, she had seen the word with the other basics like 'yes' and 'maybe', and what she had gathered it was the right word for this type of situation "I like food, and I like Ditzy." 

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron chuckled at Ædriga;s response, "Me too." He looked about where they were, "I could probably catch some fish, she'd probably prefer that to any other meat since she's a pegasus. Maybe you'll like it more than others depending on how she cooks it."

He wondered what else could happen while they were in Ponyville. "You remember that very small dragon we saw the first time we came to Ponyville? He is one of the dragons that live here, and dragons like him are quite different from the dragons you've told me about. Would you want to meet others like him? Or would you prefer to stay away from them?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga looked conflicted as she though about the response to Ætheron's question, she knew that Ætheron was probably telling the truth when he said that local dragons weren't as bad, in fact, she could figure as much from the fact that Ætheron, the ponies, and anyone else besides the dragons existed, since if they were anything like her kind, everyone would either be wiped out or just bunch of prey animals trying to survive, but it was hard to go against her instincts screaming danger.

"Maybe small dragon." she finally said after while of thinking "No like big dragons, I small" she could take on someone of her size, maybe even someone bit bigger in worst case scenario, but after certain point she would just be crushed.

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron smiled and nodded, "For now, I get the feeling you'll grow up to be a big dragon one day. For now though, there are a number of dragons smaller than you. Spike and Ember are both smaller than you. But I won't force you to meet others if you don't want to."

He looked back towards where they were going, "There is another centaur in this world, though not exactly like me. He was very evil, so I similarly would want to stay away from those of my kind if they are like him."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't really know if she wanted to meet dragons or not, friends were always nice, and it could help her instincts to get used to this new land if she forced herself to go against them, but then again, they were dragons, and her experience with dragons wasn't great, even if those she had experience with were different species.

"Evil?" she asked, she had seen the word in the books but she wasn't fully sure if it meant what she understood it did, since the concept of  good and evil didn't exist for her kind "Evil is no good? Evil hurt others?" again probably not the most obvious direction for the conversation to go to, but she tried to keep it somewhat logical, and since her exact understanding of what Ætheron said depended on the one word, it was good to figure that out before responding anything too meaningful

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was somewhat surprised when Ædriga expressed confusion about evil, such a concept was common knowledge where he came from, and the ponies seemed to have a strong understanding of it as well. Despite all this experience, he didn't quite know how to explain it. "Evil is no good, as you say, Evil hurt others that do not deserve to be hurt. Evil is to take from others who need, when you don't need. Evil is to care about only yourself... Good is to help others, give to those that need, help, like you are doing now." He hoped he wasn't confusing her further, he had always thought f good and evil as more of an internal feeling, having a sense for what was good or evil, he had never had to define it before.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought for a moment yet again, to say that Ætheron's explanation would make her suddenly understand morality was quite far fetched idea, that would take time and couldn't be just explained away, but it had helped a bit with the definition of the word, though not enough to make it fully clear. Realization seemed to hit her after few moments, and she would half ask and half declare "Mother evil?." 

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron thought a moment, far be it from him to morally judge someone's mother, but from what Ædriga had said about her. "I think yes, you mother may be evil. Another reason why you should try to not be like her, be better. Ensure that no one suffers at your hoof, or rather claw, like you suffered at your mother's. That is the only way the world can be made better for everyone."

He chuckled, "The elder of my herd would say things like that to me when I was young. He always had something wise to say when I spoke with him."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Again Ædriga though about what had been said, she didn't need to be told to not be like her mother, not because she necessarily believed in good morals and such, but because she wanted to go against her out of spite, and if that meant helping others so be it, it's not like it mattered anymore anyway since she was despised by her kind regardless. She didn't really know what to respond to it though, so she decided to continue the conversation with what to her was logical continuation.

"Mother say if I no hurt others, others hurt I, where I from, it true, I hurt many dragons there, small dragons, like I, but here no true."

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, "Here not true. Here, if you hurt others, others hurt you back."

Ætheron couldn't think of anything to say back, so he checked the map to see how Ædriga's route compared to the route that they had taken to arrive. He then remembered, "You remember the dead pony that spoke to us? We were going to talk to someone about that weren't we." He pointed out a spot on the map near Ponyville, "We dropped something off at a large tree the first time we went to Ponyville. We need to go there to talk to the zebra that lives there about the dead pony."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga was thoughtful for a moment as she tried to remember the tree, but nodded when she remembered what Ætheron meant. She had no trouble remembering the weird pony though, because not only was the smell quite memorable, she had also smelled it around the forest now and then since the first time, she just hadn't said anything about it because the scents tended to be old and faint, meaning that the pony was no longer anywhere near.

"Zebra can help big pony?" she asked, not knowing any better words to describe the undead creature. "and you say big pony is dead pony, what 'dead' mean?"

For the route that Ædriga had chosen, it was the same one they had taken into the other direction, may be it with few shortcuts if such were available.

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron shrugged, "Maybe? All I know is that if anyone would know how to help, either she would know, or she would know someone else that would."

When asked what dead meant, he looked confused, "Dead is something that was alive like you or I right now, then stopped being alive. The pony died, or was killed, and somehow continues moving."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ætheron's answer didn't really help "No help, books no say what dead, alive, died or killed is, no understand words." they were pony books and they were still rather basic, so death wasn't really one of the things they talked about, she of course knew what dying was, but the words in this language were still unknown.

[Illiad Easle 3,130]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron figured a more practical example might be more instructive, and he scanned around for a rabbit or bird he could hunt. When he found one he would direct Ædriga's attention to it. "Look, alive." He would then take it out with an arrow and recover it, "Now dead." He stowed it away for later preparation. "There is magic that can make dead things alive again, and magic that can make dead things move again, but have no mind."

He would look back over at Ædriga, "That clearer?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought about it for a moment, and after few seconds pointed at herself "Alive" then she pointed at the 'trophy' she had taken from the manticore "Dead." she didn't have much to say regarding rest, since while she got what Ætheron had said, magic in general was outside her understanding currently and she didn't want to even try before understanding the language "Big pony dead, but alive."