private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"How can want new if only know one way?" Ædriga questioned "All time when see, hear, or smell thing, I ask, it hurt I? All time I need say I, no hurt this, no know if it bad." "I no want hurt, but it here..." she again pointed at her head, her brain to be exact "....hurt, or it hurt you." "I sleep, I see dragons want hurt I." she started to walk around the cave restlessly "When there thing I know can hurt I, I hide, but when no thing, I try find it." "I no want more, because it all I know. I no know what I can want." her thoughts were bit all over the place, but she wasn't used to talking about things like this, and it didn't help she hadn't eaten or rested at all since they left Ponyville, not only that, she had used lot more energy during all this than usual in such time due to the constant flight-or-fight she had been in since the attack

(I don't see any problem.)

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron thought more on what he could say, letting Ædriga say her piece and giving adequate pause before answering, "Maybe you don't know what you want now, but you do know what you don't want, and there are plenty of creatures who will happily teach you new things if you want, maybe then you'll discover what it is you really want? For now though, you need to rest, and to eat. You won't be able to protect anyone if you lose your strength. I can keep watch for a few hours while you rest."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga was going to argue but then decided to give in partly, she was feeling hungry, and the smell of food so close didn't help. "I eat but I no can rest." she uncovered a chunk of meat that she pulled aside "And it no because I no want, I know I no can, dragons hurt I before, I know I can no rest after, I can try, but I no get rest." any battle that didn't lead to someone dying brought the risk of revenge, and considering that the attacking dragon had been in good enough shape to flee, Ædriga's instinct said they would be back, she may have not agreed with that instinct necessarily, but it was hard to ignore. 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron didn't look too happy about it, but ceded that it was a fair compromise, "Alright, no worries. I don't think that dragon could even fit in a cave as small as this one, so we have that going for us. Plus this cave has another hidden exit out the back if they were to try and trap us inside. We're safe here for now."

He'd then turn his attention towards the mouth of the cave, leaning heavily on his halberd as he watched the forest for any signs of hostile activity.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

"Mother too big when try hurt I, mother break cave." Ædriga said between eating "Cave no more" "And fire hurt you, fire no too big." she always kept a short pause as she ate between sentences "Fire more bad here, no can run away, too fast." if dragon was to breath fire in, it would fill the whole cave and there wasn't really anywhere where to dodge, it was even worse with another exit, since that caused a airflow through which could carry the fire further and faster. 

@Illiad Easle

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron snorted softly, "I may have taken a beating, but I'm not helpless. Had that dragon not taken me by surprise it would be a very different fight."

He took a steadying breath before spinning his halberd, revealing a bit of magic potential within himself and within the weapon as hidden runes activated, casting a defensive ward like a shield in front of him, enough to block the mouth of the cave.

He only kept it up for a second before stopping, "I don't think that dragon is as big or strong as your mother, he'd have quite the difficulty breaking this cave, but your concern is noted and appreciated."

Inwardly he felt weak, and he didn't like that. Among centaurs the weak and feeble were left behind in the town they visited, unable to run with the herd or defend it properly they were a liability. He feared that Ædriga would leave him behind as well, now that he was practically crippled, and as such strove to prove that he was still strong, still capable. He wouldn't be able to hold that ward for much longer than he had demonstrated, if the dragon did return... he didn't like their chances of beating it again. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga looked at the magic curiously but didn't say anything about it, the little show didn't really tell her anything though, since she knew nothing about magic besides knowing it was a thing. "If mother see you, she no kill you, mother think you too weak, no fun." she stated thoughtfully as she ate "But mother want hurt I because I small and weak, no want weak daughter." "Dragon say I weak, I hear mother, I hurt dragon, I want kill dragon before see you." "Dragon who look like pony, I feel mother, I fear." "I sleep, I see mother, I hide." it was like a slippery slope, one mention of her mother and it filled her mind, though it could have been a good thing, to get it out "I fly here, want away from mother and other dragons, but I no get away, mother no leave, mother here." she again pointed at her head. 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was familiar with the sort of trauma Ædriga described, having traveled with one who had suffered similarly, but he did not have a first hand account of how to deal with it as said companion died before it could be resolved. He hoped that such was not the fate for Ædriga.

He sighed as he thought on what to say, "You may not believe it, but I do. I know that one day you'll be even stronger than her. In some ways you already are, but one day you'll realize she doesn't have any power over you."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"I know mother no can hurt I here, mother no here, but it no help." Ædriga stated "It like there two I, one I know mother no here, know ponys friends, but other I no know, other I fear all." "It no new, I all time two, other I why I no die where I from." it was the only way she could put her instincts to words, it was something that was clearly part of her, but also something she couldn't really control.

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron didn't know how to respond to that, but he got the impression that it wasn't something that necessarily needed a response, he simply nodded to acknowledge that he had heard her and returned his attention back to watching the forest outside.

Unless Ædriga drew his attention he'd watch all through the night, only rising from his post once the sun was rising, "Your turn, it's time for me to rest."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
After she had finished eating, Ædriga laid down, but as she had stated, she couldn't rest, she was constantly either changing position, clawing the cave floor, or otherwise doing something that showed her restlessness, and it lasted the whole time Ætheron was on watch. She did seemingly fall asleep for a short while, but it didn't last long and was equally as restless as her waking moments. 

She got up when Ætheron was done "Remember eat, need food too." "I back soon." she then walked outside, now that the rain had calmed down, it was a good time to re-mark the small territory she had taken, since rain had most likely washed most things away. She would be back after couple of minutes, sitting down on her guard spot.

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

(I assume) The cycle of switching off guarding would continue for several days without incident, Ætheron gradually recovering strength as he healed, but not nearly at the rate he would have preferred.

After a few days a few pegasi came by to collect the packages that weren't too damaged to deliver, taking note of the ones that had been too damaged so their recipients and senders could be properly informed. Ætheron was further depressed by this, in all his years as a courier he had never failed to deliver a shipment, until today. It only reinforced in his mind that he was getting too old and weak to be useful.

Ætheron was worried that once he was healthy enough to leave the cave, he wouldn't want to, that he wouldn't see a point in leaving.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga was silent most of the time, only talking either as a response or to inform Ætheron about something, like for example her leaving the cave or her bringing more food. It took almost full couple of days before Ædriga finally got real rest, though to her credit, her lack of rest wasn't that obvious outside, and anyone who didn't know she didn't get rest, wouldn't have been able to tell. Resting didn't solve everything though, she still blamed herself for what had happened, Ætheron's attempt to argue otherwise wasn't enough to push aside the feeling that she could have done more. 

Ædriga didn't think much when the packages were taken away, she had actually partly forgotten their existence, her mind was so busy with all the thoughts relating to the attack and Ætheron's state that the reason why they had been in the forest in the first place kinda just left her mind.

After getting rest, Ædriga no longer just sat in one place when guarding, and instead made herself useful during it, getting food, getting wood to keep the fire going, making small changes to the cave, things like that, when it came to guarding, she didn't need to see anything to sense a threat, she rarely even actually used her eyes to spot anything, her other senses usually did the job.

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was happy at least to see that Ædriga was improving, though it did little to combat his growing self-loathing. Seeing how Ædriga still blamed herself for what happened further deepened his sorrow.

Things would eventually come to a head, one morning Ætheron would get Ædriga's attention, "You should go, I... I'm just holding you back. You deserve better than what I can give you."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"Go where?" Ædriga pointed out, she lacked the social skills to comfort someone through empathy and such, so her approach was more logic based "I lost all, there no thing." "You no keep I back, I keep I back." "If no you, I only sleep and eat." it was the simple truth, if it wasn't for Ætheron, Ædriga would be bound to return to the lifestyle she had lived before, which would most likely eventually lead to her becoming hostile like her mother, she didn't have morals and empathy keeping her in control, the limits she had only existed due to Ætheron, because while she may have not been fan of hurting others, the urge was still there. 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron sighed, "I don't know. I don't know where you might go by yourself, but I also don't know where you'd go with me. Sure, I've brought you here, but is here somewhere you want to be? Do you follow me because you want to? Or because you don't see an alternative? Because you don't know anything else? You may not know another way now, but what if there's a better way for you out there, and staying with me keeps you from that?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"I no know and I no care." Ædriga stated "I young, you friend, I follow you now." "It sad but you no alive long, when you die, I still young." "If there some thing more, I find it after you die, there time." the sad truth was that the time she would spend with Ætheron would in the grand scheme of her life be merely a blink in time "I know you no understand, but time, time no matter I, what you see long time, I see it very short." "If you keep I from thing, no matter, I find thing after, it no long time."

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was silent for a while, when he turned to face Ædriga there were tears in his eyes, and a small amount of confusion on his face, mixed with a bit of hope, "You... you would do that for me? You're not saying that just because I'm the only one you know right? You... you really do care."

He turned his gaze back outside, "My kind, when one gets too old or weak, they are left behind, abandoned by the others. I... I was worried you would do the same, thought you should, but I see now, you don't want that, it wouldn't help you."

He sighed, "Another week, maybe, and I should be well enough to leave the cave. Where should we go?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga was mainly confused about Ætheron's reaction, crying as a reaction was unfamiliar to her still, and she wasn't fully sure about Ætheron's emotions either, so she didn't really know how to react, though the confusion wasn't necessarily that visible, since it wasn't what she focused on.  "I know Ditzy, and Spike, and scary pony..." she started, going things in order, she wasn't really the right shoulder to go for in need of emotional support, not because she didn't care, but because she simply didn't understand emotions that well, she tried to figure everything out with reasoning instead of emotions, though sometimes that may be exactly what someone needs. "...you no only one, but you best."

"We leave weak too, some kill." "But I no leave, I no see why leave, it no help I, it only make I alone again." "And you first ever who help I, first who give food, first who no want kill I."  "It mean lot." for a species like hers, something like giving something, anything, held lot more meaning than it did for most creatures, their kind wasn't big on romance or relationships, they didn't have the concept of marriage or such, but that only made little things like that lot more special, sure most of them didn't react positively to such, but she wasn't like most.

"I no know where go, I like forest." "Ponys friends but I no want stay there long, no fit I, I no like noise, no like smells, I like this." she gestured at the forest "It like home, but no dragons, no fire, no dead dragons." "Trees and caves small but it no bad." 

 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron flinched a bit when Ædriga confirmed that her kind also abandoned the weak, but was glad when she confirmed that she didn't want to do that. He simply listened as she expressed where she wanted to go once he could leave the cave. "That... sounds fine. We'll need to go to Canterlot first, so I can stop being a courier, but then we can stay here in the forest, occasionally visiting the ponies. I should be able to survive out there a few more years at least, but we'll see."

He sighed, it was an odd feeling, planning out his future like this. He had never been one to really plan ahead before, preferring to live in the moment and deal with things as they came up. Now that there was a simple plan before him, it was almost relaxing.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"You no need stay cave, make house?" Ædriga half asked half pointed out "Make stone house, fire no burn." she didn't really have that much planned, mainly due to the reason already stated, her life, especially here, would most likely be so long that this all would eventually be meaningless, as sad as the idea was. All that mattered to her was that if she was going to stay in one place, it should be at least near a forest, and not in a loud and smelly city. 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron chuckled, "Yes, we could do that. Maybe find a nice spot near the edge of the forest? With a river or a lake nearby? That would be nice. We'll have to bring the stones in, or have some ponies build it for us, but we should be able to make it work." He nodded, "A peaceful secluded house, I like that idea."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Illiad Easle
"Need ponys, I can move stone, but no know how make house, only know caves." Ædriga stated, she understood enough about houses to know that things that worked with caves didn't necessarily work with houses, good example being reshaping of the walls, you didn't need to know anything about building a house to realize that melting a wall didn't do good. 

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron mostly recovered from his injuries over the course of the next week, suffering from a shortness of breath every so often for the rest of his life.

He and Ædriga, together with the help of some local ponies, built a house for Ætheron a short distance away from Ædriga's cave near the edge of the White Tail Woods. 

They had a happy life together, at one point investigating if there were some way that magic could help them to have children together.