private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought about Ætheron's words and didn't have time to respond as his suggestion for heading to bed, it was more complicated thing to think about that one would think, because she had never actually thought about what she wanted from a potential partner, mostly due to not even considering it to be a possibility, not only because of her situation, but also because her kind didn't have partners in general, there was no fathers, the males were chased away or killed after they had filled their purpose. A side effect of that culture was that the creation of offspring was lot more...meaningless, meaning that even if they would have felt love normally, it would be separate from continuing one's bloodline. In other word, something like sharing one's treasure would be seen as a lot bigger show of affection than offspring

She nodded "Yes" her tone being more how one would say 'okay', as she got up and walked around a bit, if there was nothing more, she would head to sleep soon enough, not studying this time, as she had gone through most of the book already.

In the morning, there would be a small surprise waiting for Ætheron, the fire had been lit and above it was a rabbit on a stick being cooked, Ædriga wasn't anywhere to be seen, but there was writing and a small drawing on the ground. Next to the rabbit's stick there was the text 'Take and eat' and near that was 'I close' with a line to a drawing of a dragon with wings open above what looked like a top of a tree. If Ætheron called for her, she would after some delay appear from above the trees and land, she had been flying around. She would eventually come back even if Ætheron didn't call for her.

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was surprised when he woke up to find that Ædriga was not there, he hadn't realized how used to her presence he had grown in the time they had been traveling together. He calmed down as he found her note to him and was touched that she had taken steps to prepare food for him. It was a bit overcooked by this point, but he could hardly fault her for that. He had clearly slept longer than she might have anticipated. He would take the rabbit off the fire and move to the mouth of the cave to eat it with some bread while watching the skies to see if he couldn't see her flying about. He realized she hadn't flown much since he had found her, so maybe her wing had finally healed enough to fly?

He would wait for her to return, visibly pleased that she did return. "Your flight went well? See something you like?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga landed smoothly a small distance away from the camp, walking the rest of the way as she closed her wings on her sides, it felt good to fly again for sake of flying, especially since the last few times she had felt the air under them she had been fleeing from something. "Yes and no, fly good, and like what see, but no see what like." she responded rather cheerfully, it wasn't hard to tell that her little morning flight had gotten her spirits bit higher than their usual level. There hadn't been anything specific that would have gotten her attention, but she enjoyed the views she had when she was in the air. "Food good? I no know how you eat you food, but I try." she gave him a smile, it seemed that she was getting the hang of the whole smiling thing.

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron chuckled, "That's good to hear, what were you looking to see? Something you need to find?"

In regards to the food he shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I'll teach you some time how to do it right if you want. Are you ready to get going? Once we get these to Ponyville we can start our break."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga shook her head "I no need or want see, only fly." flying for sake of flying, there wasn't always a bigger reason.

"Yes I want learn, when I know how, I can help you." she didn't cook food herself, so there was no personal reason to learn cooking, she just wanted to help Ætheron with it, since in her eyes she owed it to him. As she spoke she got her harness back on "And yes, I ready." 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron shrugged before putting his own harness on and putting out the fire, "Let's get going then."

Once they had gotten into a good pace he would start speaking, "First thing to know about cooking, is you want to get the skin off first, especially with furred creatures, the hair burns and it taints the food with a foul odor. That however is very good at keeping other predators away, especially the ones who live in this forest. Good way to get a moment of peace."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
There was some words Ædriga didn't understand by themselves, but most she could figure out from the context, though one she had to ask about after nodding to indicate she understood mostly what had been said "Predator? what mean?" she didn't really know 'taint' 'foul' and 'odor' either, but she understood that it was something that was not wanted to happen to the food, and with her knowing what burned fur smelled like, she had a slight idea that it may be talking about that. 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron looked over at her, thinking for a moment how to explain before nodded, "Predator is any creature that hunts, eats other creatures. Prey is any creature hunted by a predator. You are predator as you hunt rabbit, rabbit is prey because it is hunted. Manticore is both predator and prey, it hunts ponies, and we hunt it."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
"I understand." Ædriga stated, she knew what predators and prey were as a concept, she just hadn't learned the words for them until now, though to her it may have been less scientific definition than for Ætheron and the ponies, though the idea was the same. In her eyes, there was three types of creatures, those like her kind who were on the top, the predator species without any creatures considering them as prey, those who were on the bottom, prey, herbivores, and lastly the one that Ætheron belonged to, a predatory creature. Difference between predator and predatory being that while the latter was a predator from point of view of its prey, they were also prey, a manticore also fit the latter.

"You no like food smell like fur, predator eat prey, and predator no like fur fire." she had known the last things before, but she said it to make it known she understood.

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, "That sounds about right, you're picking up on this quickly."

He wondered for a moment if he had already asked this, but decided to ask anyway, "Did you have siblings? Other dragons come from your mother, that you know?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
They had touched the topic earlier when Ædriga had been learning the words relating to family, but she didn't really blame Ætheron from asking it, since her communication skills were worse then and she couldn't be sure if she was understood every time even now. She shook her head "No, no sister, no brother, no father, only mother." "We no siblings, only one from mother, all times." that was the one weakness of her species, growing the population was very slow, as the process of getting offspring was slow and there was always only one egg at a time. "One dragon smell like mother, but dragon dead now, I need hurt dragon or I dead." 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron cringed at her description, or rather his interpretation of her description, of her experience. She had likely killed her sibling, or maybe her father, but a sibling seemed more likely given what he expected the different power levels might be. "That's... unfortunate. Family is very important to centaurs, we typically travel in herds composed of large families led by the oldest common ancestor. When they die the herd splits among the living oldest ancestors, but for the rest of the time you live, play, hunt, fight, along side your siblings, parents, cousins, and the like, for your whole life."

He turned to her, "I can't imagine what it must be like to live without such a group. I feel for you."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga shrugged "I no feel lot, I no know other way." "I no want sibling or father then, I no know what mean, I only know I and mother, all other dragons only dragons." While she never enjoyed her life at the homelands, she also never though about it being related to family in any way, since she didn't know what family was back then, having only her mother like most if not all dragons there. It was hard to want something you didn't know anything about. 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was deep in thought for a good stretch after that, then he continued, "You didn't like how your mother treated you, you want to be a mother so you can do better than she did to you? If you want to have a family of your own, you need to learn what a family is like. You remember Ditzy, the pony that gave you a muffin? I think she would be good at teaching you how a good mother is, if you want?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought for a moment, not really sure how or what to reply, and ultimately she didn't find the right words for the first question, because while it was true her want to be a mother was partly to be better than her mother, it was also because she craved for something, a craving she couldn't put into words but she knew was related to that. 

"Can learn how mother?" it hadn't crossed her mind it was a skill to learn, but then again, her experience on mothers was quite limited "Ditzy good mother?" she was thoughtful for a moment again "Yes, I need learn how family here." she realized that while she was lot better than her mother now, her experience in life still had an effect on her, and she knew there was a risk that she would end up being like her mother because that's the only way she knows. 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron had a kind smile as he nodded in response to her questions, it warmed his heart to see that she was serious about becoming a good mother. "Even the best have something to learn. While there are certain aspects that are more instinctual there is plenty that can be taught. And honestly? Ditzy is the best mother I've ever met."

Given how long they had been traveling, Ætheron figured they should be close to Zecora's house, or at least in that area. He idly wondered if the undead pony were still following them.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga just nodded, falling in thought regarding the topic, while she wanted to learn from those like Ditzy, she also wondered about the things that she wouldn't be able to teach her, especially if she was to assume that she would be taking care of her own offspring, or at least a dragon, since while she didn't doubt the ponies knew how to take care of their own, they were prey animals and lived in herds, while she was a predator from more solitary species, and that was ignoring the difference in the offspring itself, her kind at least, when they hatched, they were already rather independent, the mother's main job being to teach them to hunt and fight, among other thing relating to their survival in the real world, while for ponies the offspring was helpless for lot longer.  

She had kinda forgotten the whole Zebra thing as they have been going, but she did remember that something had been promised to the weird living dead pony, mostly because she could smell its scent now and then as it wandered through the forest, sometimes stopping near them at nights, but rarely still there when they woke up. She kinda felt bad for the thing, it didn't seem like he ever rested, and his smell was always alone, even a solitary creature like Ædriga realized how lonely that must be.

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

It wouldn't take them much longer to find the tree that Zecora had made into her home, Ætheron stopping a ways off from the door, "I won't be long, wait here."

He took off his harness as otherwise he wouldn't fit through Zecora's small door, and went over to knock. He spoke in hushed tones with Zecora when she answered the door, asking if she knew anything about reanimated corpses and how to put them to rest properly. He would return to Ædriga and relay, in simple terms, whether Zecora would be able to help.

(I'll leave it up to you if she knows how to help and/or what would be needed to help.)

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga waited as she had been told to, looking curiously around her, a home inside a tree, now that was something she hadn't seen before, or thought about really, since to fire breathing creature like her it would be inconvenient way to live, it not being fire-proof. 

She was slightly surprised that this Zecora actually offered to help, not for any specific reason, she just hadn't been fully expecting it. What wasn't too surprising though, was that the zebra would need to see the weird pony herself before she could come up with any specific solution, it only made sense with something this unusual. "I say when dead pony close, we say zebra want see dead pony." she said as response to Ætheron after he was done talking, 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron and Zecora looked over in surprise, Ætheron speaking, "Is it coming this way? Do you know if it will be here soon?"

If she answered affirmatively they would sit to wait for the pony's arrival, Zecora bringing out some spicy soup for them to share if Ædriga was interested.

If she answered negatively Ætheron would nod, turning to Zecora "We'll come back and let you know when they get into the area. Maybe you can find some of the components in the meantime?" And with that he would put his harness back on and turn towards town, "Let's get these packages dropped off then."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga shook her head, it seemed she had been understood wrong "No close now, dead pony move lot, know this place, move here, no here now." she pointed out a route not far from Zecora's home "I mean, when I smell dead pony, I say I smell, and we say dead pony go here, dead pony talk, dead pony no need we two here." 

She was ready to continue when Ætheron was.
After they had walked a bit Ædriga spoke again "When we Ponyville, I need books." "I no like when I no understand and others no understand I." 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron looked over in surprise, "Sorry about that, but of course! In fact, it would give you a good opportunity to get to know Spike, he's a much younger dragon than you, and he runs the library, which is where they keep all the books. He'd be able to make some good recommendations."

It wouldn't be long until they reached the edge of the forest, by the very same bush Ædriga had hid in the first time they had come here. Ætheron would head straight for the post office so they could drop off their packages, Ditzy once again was the pony at the desk. "Hey there! Any chance I could tempt you two to join us for dinner?" She asked when they got inside.

Ætheron chuckled, "Actually, yes, we'd love to."

Ditzy shrugged, "Maybe next t-" she stopped, looking at Ætheron with a surprised expression, "Wait, you said yes? You never say yes!"

Ætheron chuckled again, "What can I say? Your charms have finally convinced me."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga wasn't really sure why Ætheron apologized, because in her eyes the problem of understanding was mainly at her end, she having different native language than everyone else. Regarding Spike she didn't say anything, but she thought about it, trying to figure out how exactly she felt about the idea, it wasn't easy when your knowledge and sense were in direct conflict with your instinct and experience. 

She didn't say anything in the post office either, besides of course greeting Ditzy, mainly because the conversation didn't sound like a one where she was expected to say something, and she wasn't really the chatty type that would involve themselves in conversations. Instead she used the time by getting her harness of and doing her usual warm up. 

Getting into the office wasn't any trouble to her this time, the bigger cities having made Ponyville lot easier to deal with, though the usual vigilance was still there, it was one of those things that would probably never go away, it was so deep in her instinct that it was stuck for good. 

[Illiad Easle 3,131]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ditzy turned her attention to Ædriga soon enough, "You seemed to enjoy my muffins well enough, do you like that sort of thing to eat?"

Ætheron also added, "She is more of a carnivore, I was thinking fish would be a good middle ground, though now that I think about it your daughter might not be able to appreciate it as much."

Ditzy shrugged, "Maybe not, but I don't think she'd mind if I made some for you two, she'd get more of the muffins in exchange, which she'll think is more than fair."

She turned her attention more directly to Ædriga, "Still, is there something in particular I could make for you to eat?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,591]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga shrugged "I only know animals, no eat other." she didn't really know how to answer the question because she wasn't used to having a choice, she usually just ate what was available, as long as it was meat of course "No lot food where I from, eat what can." that wasn't fully true, as there wasn't lack of food per say, and the problem was more that she was so weak that if there was any competition for the food, she was usually the one left without.