private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

11 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"But if you happen to know someone or something that could help me with getting away from this cursed existence I'm happy to hear it." "I have tried to destroy myself in several ways but I always come back."

Ætheron seemed relieved to hear this, as well as a bit surprised, "I can't say I blame you. It certainly looks like you live a cursed existence. So long as you don't cause trouble, I suppose you're welcome to join us. We'll ask around as we go and see if anyone can liberate your soul from this dark magic."

He lowered himself to the ground. "As it stands though, the two of us still require sleep. Do you think you can make sure nothing unsavory approaches us before morning?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
"Though I appreciate the offer, I must refuse the invite to join you on your travels, it is better for the comfort of many that I keep my distance, but if you could still ask around, I would be ever thankful, as I can't really go into cities or towns...for obvious reasons." the undead stated "I'm sure our paths will cross several times in the future, so that you can inform me if you find someone or something." "But I can watch over your camp for the night, it is the least I can do for waking you up." 

Ædriga finally spoke, simply asking "Name?" from the confusing thing, to which the undead answered "I have many names and my original name went with my memory, but I have taken to call myself Scarecrow." which Ædriga then repeated before backing off and heading to her own sleeping spot, this creature confused her, but she was happy to meet friendly beings, even if they looked and smelled disgusting. 

If there was nothing else, Scarecrow would walk back into the darkness and stop not far from the camp, his red eyes scanning the area.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron slept lightly that night, mostly due to the fact that he didn't fully trust the lich that called itself Scarecrow. He would get up a bit later than he usually did, provided nothing else woke him before that time came, at which point he would prepare breakfast and see if Ædriga were already awake and if the lich were still around.

Once or if Ædriga were awake he would ask, "Learn new words last night?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
The undead was nowhere to be seen, but there was slight sound of something moving away from the camp in the forest when Ætheron got up, the sound matching what one would expect something of that size to cause. 

Ædriga would get up right after Ætheron, implying that she had already been awake or at least awake enough to notice him getting up, she would also say 'Good morning' to him as she got up and stretched. 

"New words, speak some, read many, understand lot." she responded thoughtfully after thinking for a moment "More learn, learn more fast." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron had a kind, slightly proud, smile as he listened to Ædriga. "That's good to hear, I hope you continue to learn much and fast."

Once breakfast was prepared for the both of them he looked at his map and the path they would take to get to Trottingham, if they took a bit of a detour, they should pass close by a forest recluse that might know how to help the lich with their problem. Even so, they wouldn't get that far today, but the next stopping cave would give them time to pass by on their way to the city.

If Ædriga didn't have something to ask, and nothing happened to stop them, Ætheron would put his harness on once he finished his breakfast and be ready to set off, helping Ædriga get her harness on if she needed it. "Learn fun words? Words you like?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't have anything more to say to which she expected an answer, but she did say "Scarecrow no here." after sniffing the air a bit, confirming that the undead had left.

She enjoyed her meal in quick pace and headed to put on the harness, she again didn't have trouble with it, it still didn't go perfectly, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Can like words?" Ædriga questioned after Ætheron's question, having favorite words wasn't really something she had ever thought about "I like word friend, and happy." "There no friends and I no happy before, now I friends and I happy." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

17 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"I like word friend, and happy." "There no friends and I no happy before, now I friends and I happy." 

Ætheron smiled as he listened to Ædriga, "Those are good words to like. Many like those words here. I like word friend too, like 'help', 'family', 'protect'."

As they continued walking he would ask, "Is there word you don't understand? Word you hear often?"

He idly thought that soon she'd need books on certain subjects instead of just language as her comprehension grew. A book on nature or the forest would likely be best for her, or at least the easiest for her to apply to real life.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga turned thoughtful, as her vocabulary grew, it got harder to answer questions like this one, and at the moment she couldn't remember words she had struggled to understand, she knew there had to be some, she just didn't remember what they were at the moment, and while she did come up with few she didn't fully understand as a concept, she didn't feel like she could understand the explanation yet either. But there was something she wanted to ask that she believed she would understand the answer to too "No words, but...." she was looking for a word  but didn't find it and shrugged to show she didn't know the word.

She continued right away though, so Ætheron would probably be able to guess what she had been trying to say "You touch I, but no hurt, it..new, and good?" "Why and what mean?" it was bit challenging thing for her to ask because she had trouble putting in words even in her own language, it was so weird to her in general. 
 

 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron looked confused for a moment as he thought, then an idea struck him, "Touch, like this?" He would gently pat her head as he had before, "Is, hmm, friend touch. Show that we are friends when touch and not hurt. Some ponies like friend touch from new friends, some prefer touch only when good friends. Is good to ask before touch, not touch when no like, then no good."

He hoped that he didn't confuse her further with his explanation, "You understand? Friend touch maybe called 'pet', 'pat', or 'hug' in book."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga looked almost excited when Ætheron explained the concept of friendly physical contact, and would nod when Ætheron asked if she understood, she had seen the words he mentioned, but she hadn't asked about their meaning because while the idea was weird to her, the actions were pretty well explained in the books. Ætheron's explanation didn't really explain the good feeling related to the hug or such, but she understood that she probably needed to learn bit more before she could ask that well enough.

It was bit sad maybe, seeing her react to something like that in such manner, since it told pretty clearly that she had never gotten hugs, pets, or even gentle pats before coming here, but for her, she didn't see it that way, mostly because that was the norm to her, instead she saw it as exciting, what kind of things she had still to experience?

"I like touch, but when no see, I..." she acted like she had gotten scared by something, but she kept it as mild to make sure it was clear that she was just acting "...many hurt, no many no hurt, it new, no ready when no see." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, "Ah, you don't like to be surprised. I will make sure you know I'm near before I touch you so as to not scare or surprise you."

All things considered he felt pretty good about himself, Ædriga had really warmed up to him over the past few days, and her abilities to communicate had grown very quickly over the past few days.

As they continued walking he thought of other things to ask, "Food you like to eat most?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga though about it, it was again one of those things she had never thought about before, because she never really had the option to be picky, having had days sometimes when she had to even settle on rotten food, it didn't make her sick, since her kind had strong stomachs and they rarely got sick, but it was still disgusting. "Deer good, rabbit good but small." "manticore..?.. good." she said 'manticore' in unsure manner as she wasn't fully sure if she had said it right. "Many food good, fish and some..." she made a gesture that could be understood as 'meh' or something similar. "...and dragon no good." she looked disgusted as she said it, she had indeed tasted dragon too, her kind didn't really have morals that would have made it something not to do, and sometimes you just didn't have a choice, one had to eat to survive after all.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Catpone Cerberus

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron chuckled at her depictions of the food she liked and didn't, "Rabbit easy to get, same for fish, the fish in the oceans are very good. No dear to eat here, but Manticore is okay, more difficult to get. When we get to Trottingham we will get some fish, see which you like and which not."

He figured he should answer his own questions, he was sure she wanted to know more about him as well, but likely didn't feel confident enough in her abilities to ask herself. "I like rabbit too, easy to cook and clean. Fish good too, but not many in this forest. Griffons, up north, make food from many parts of animals with other foods, make meat called sausage, very good."

He would pause a moment to let Ædriga ask a question if she felt like it before he continued, "You like to talk to ponies? They like to talk to you."

Edited November 12, 2020 by Illiad Easle
Should ask a question to keep conversation moving.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga listened to everything and processed it for a moment, there was lot to take in so it took some seconds "No understand why deer no food here." she would then say if Ætheron hadn't yet asked the next question, if he had, she would say it after responding to it.

"Ditzy good pony, like talk Ditzy, but pony..." she pointed at her wings and horns "...no good, like dragon, dragon pony no good, no like talk."  it was still the only way she knew to say it, she was trying to say Twilight had acted like a dragon, but she hadn't really gotten the right understanding from the book regarding the word 'act'. She also hadn't figured out words like 'mean' or 'rude' yet, so she couldn't use those either. 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

10 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"No understand why deer no food here."

Ætheron smiled, "Deer here like ponies, smart, talk, are friends. The ponies don't like when ponies or other friends are killed or eaten." Deer were pretty rare in this forest, the one she had been chasing before he found her would have been a good ways away from the whitetail woods where the nearest tribe of them lived. Maybe they'd run into the deer again, and Ædriga could see that they were like the ponies.

10 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Ditzy good pony, like talk Ditzy, but pony..." she pointed at her wings and horns "...no good, like dragon, dragon pony no good, no like talk."

Ætheron nodded, "Ditzy very good pony, first pony to be friend with me when others scared. Princess Sparkle, the pony like dragon, hard to talk to. She cares deeply for other ponies, do anything to protect them, doesn't trust those who might hurt ponies."

After a bit of thought he chuckled, "She is very much like dragon, hoarding ponies." He turned his attention back to Ædriga, "Dragons where you're from, they gather things? take from others? Eat gems?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't really get why the opinion of ponies mattered, since to her, one's level of intelligence didn't mean anything when talking about prey, but she didn't argue and just nodded, as long as she could get good enough food from somewhere and her life was generally better than it had been, she would keep from hunting those that Ætheron said she shouldn't, but that didn't mean she wouldn't consider it if she got hungry, she was a predator after all.

She seemed thoughtful after Ætheron's explanation about Twilight, but didn't say anything, it wasn't clear what she thought about what she heard.

"Gather yes, take yes." Ædriga confirmed "I cave, lot things, mother come, take all." she looked bit sad for a moment, but soon returned to her new usual happiness "But only eat animals, and dragons....and no animals, like pony." "No eat gem." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, he'd have to send that ahead to Ditzy, make sure she didn't make the gem muffins she made for Spike. It was another tick in the column of her not being like the dragons here, and being more like the dragons from his home. Had she wandered through a portal like he had? Mayhaps their spirits were more kindred than he had thought.

"One day, I will own a place, maybe you start to gather things again? What do you like to gather?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
"Gems and other." Ædriga said, this question was bit harder to answer to as she didn't know how to explain everything she wanted to explain well, shiny wasn't a word she had yet learned and while it would have been a good short answer, there was bit more to it, because while she would take anything shiny, there was certain type of shiny she liked the most. She tried nonetheless "Like many things, but no speak word..." she thought for a moment "...things...like water when day..." she made a gesture showing something hitting something "...like..." she pointed at her eye and positioned it in a way that light would bounce off it, making it shine. "But things I like more, when day..." she again made the 'things hitting each other' gesture "...thing green or red or blue, or all." 

 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

It wasn't too difficult to deduce that she meant reflective of shiny things, or rather things that caught her eye, but it was less clear what she meant with the colors, did she mean gems of those colors? or other things of those colors?

He nodded nonetheless, "Easy to get many things like that in cities, ponies like those things too, and give them to get things, like these packages."

He pulled out a small pouch of coins from his pack, pouring a few of the gold disks into his hand to show her, "Things like these, yes?"

He thought it wouldn't be too difficult to convince the Express to hire Ædriga to accompany him on the deliveries, with her they'd be able to deliver twice as many per trip, and double the security of the packages, not that he had lost one yet.

"If you like to continue to deliver packages like me, you get many of these." He put the coins back in the pouch and back in his pack.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga nodded when Ætheron showed the coins "Yes, and gems, and other." for the last sentence she took a moment to understand as 'packages' was still outside her vocabulary, and 'deliver' while a word she had learned, took a moment for her to remember "lot things like...?" she pointed at the coins in excitement, or the pack if they were already in there, it probably wasn't hard to tell what part of what Ætheron had said interested her most. 

She didn't really understand the whole working thing at the moment, but it wouldn't be hard to hire her to do something, because for her, getting treasure just by doing something for someone, that was basically free treasure, because anything she may end up doing in Equestria was lot easier and safer than what was required back where she came from. 

She was bit frustrated that she hadn't managed to communicate what was the most important part to her better, that being her favorites, because while she couldn't know if Ætheron had understood that part, she knew it hadn't been a good explanation, but she couldn't help it, it was hard to explain that you liked things that bend light in a way that it created colors when you didn't know the science nor the words for it.

 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

10 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"lot things like...?"

Ætheron nodded with a smile, "Gain many over time, though first need somewhere to keep them... we move often, hard to keep in cave if not often sleeping in cave, too easy to steel."

He had never gotten around to purchasing a house of his own, he was perfectly used to traveling around and never staying in any one place long enough to justify buying a house. He figured he had saved up enough for a house by now, all that remained was to find a central one, maybe one with a basement where Ædriga could keep her hoard?

Speaking of caves though, they would soon arrive at their cave for the night, their conversation having made short a long day of travel.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought for a moment, it was true there wasn't really a place anywhere where one could hold their treasure, sure it would probably be a while before the amount of treasure got too much to carry around for her, but it was still a valid point. She could always bury it, but it could become hard to find the hiding spot again after moving around so much, she didn't know this forest well enough. She didn't stop thinking about it until she realized they had arrived to their next stop.

When she realized where they were, Ædriga would take her harness off and would start collecting things to burn from nearby area before lighting the fire. Her version of a camp fire was bit less orderly than most creatures, having quite many other things that wood there too, but it was safe and burned well after she lit it, so it shouldn't be a problem, she may not know the correct way to make a camp fire, but she certainly knew how to make things burn.

If Ætheron didn't ask or say something, Ædriga would ask a question after sitting down and staring at the fire for a moment. "Ætheron?" she first said to get his attention "Why no more centaur?" "I, dragon, you friend, ponys, you friend, others you friends, but no centaur friend?" she didn't know where this question came to her mind from, but when it did, she started wondering about it, why was it that creature that was lot friendlier than her kind was around all creatures expect his own. 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron was surprised, but grateful that Ædriga had set out to set up the fire herself, while it wasn't the best fire, a bit smokier than he prefered, he was sure that study into nature or survivalism would help her get better over time.

He had just set down his pack when Ædriga asked her question, and it surprised him, but he supposed it shouldn't have been so unexpected. "Hmm? Oh," he thought for a moment as he sat next to her by the fire, "Well... I, like you, from other place, place not like this place, place where pony no talk, not friends, where others like me, others like you" he made a hand motion to indicate 'more or less', "I was adventurer, had a group..." he scooted back a bit from the fire so he could draw out what he was saying, there was a simple rendition of himself, and four creatures that apparently stood on two legs, "We fight evil magic man in cave, he cast spell on me," he drew a line from the rendition of the 'evil magic man' to himself, then erased everything around him. "It was dark, then I woke up in the forest" He pointed out back the way they had come from. "I, haven't found any way back to where I'm from, but now... I don't want to go back."

In all honesty, there wasn't much back home for him to return to even if he had found a way.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga listened attentively as Ætheron answered, trying to understand as much of everything he said as possible, observing his drawings as he drew them. There was some words she didn't know, 'adventurer' 'evil' 'man' 'fight' 'cast' 'spell', but she knew the word 'magic' and had a some idea what it meant, so while she didn't understand what could be considered important words in this context, she did get the general idea thanks to what she did understand and the drawing.

She did find it curious that he was from somewhere where there was dragons similar to her, she knew for sure it couldn't be her kind, since she would have been told about centaur if there was any around, so maybe a related species? or maybe it was just a coincidence? it wasn't hard to believe that somewhere else too would be the need for dragons to adapt like her kind had.

"No from here, and no want come here but when come, no want go back." she summarized after being silent for a moment as she processed everything "Like I no want go back." technically speaking she also hadn't wanted to come here either, she just wanted away from her homelands and ended up here. She hesitated a bit about something before carefully rising one of her forelegs and taking a gentle hold of Ætheron, it was clear she was bit unsure about the whole touching thing "And, I no want you go back, you friend." she tried to smile, as she figured this was a time for that, and it was better than it had been before, though again, it wasn't hard to tell she did it as a communication thing rather than a natural reaction.

 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

10 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"No from here, and no want come here but when come, no want go back." she summarized after being silent for a moment as she processed everything "Like I no want go back." technically speaking she also hadn't wanted to come here either, she just wanted away from her homelands and ended up here. She hesitated a bit about something before carefully rising one of her forelegs and taking a gentle hold of Ætheron, it was clear she was bit unsure about the whole touching thing "And, I no want you go back, you friend." she tried to smile, as she figured this was a time for that, and it was better than it had been before, though again, it wasn't hard to tell she did it as a communication thing rather than a natural reaction.

Ætheron was a bit surprised when Ædriga initiated a friendly touch of her own, but it was a pleasant surprise to be sure. He met her smile with a soft one of his own, then reciprocated the touch, holding her the way she was holding him. "I'm... I'm glad I found you. Glad that we are friends, glad you want to be with me."

He was content to sit there, mutually embracing, for as long as Ædriga wanted.