@ everyone

[theidlemaiden]

𝘏𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 — 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘢ï𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 — 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴!

[A combination of deep exasperation and resignation doesn't show in Altaïr's 'handwriting', but if it could, it absolutely would.]

We discovered a pair of mated lizards in the woods of Solvunn some time ago. One appears entirely normal, the other is half-mechanical, with gears in its midsection. It should clearly be dead regardless of where those gears came from, and yet it both lives and has fathered eggs.

[Unspoken: 'That's fucked up, right?'

Hilda's handwriting interjects, clearly addressing Altaïr. ]

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 “𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥” - 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦! 

[He feels as though he should be too dignified and composed for internal bickering in front of others but he absolutely is not.]

Miracle implies the presence of divinity. This is clearly something else. I would like to know what, and to know whether any other Summoned have encountered anything similar.

[ Somewhere Hilda is rolling her eyes and mimicking him but thankfully everyone else is spared the theatrics. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 – 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴.

 

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘤𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!

( ooc: visit the lizards here! and you may get replies from either one of the new parents or both! don't worry about posting order, thread jacking is encouraged ) 

Comments

[restingstitchface]

Absolutely not. Are you at all familiar with calling someone a snake? Lizard has much the same meaning.

[If she doesn't get this, what is Blake even teaching her?]

[theidlemaiden]

[ Definitely not lizard vs. snake lingo. ]

𝘖𝘩, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩? 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 - 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 - 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩!

[restingstitchface]

Indeed. Unfortunately, anybody who claims no bias is a consummate liar. What a doctor is supposed to do is keep personal bias out of their work. That is what I do.

[theidlemaiden]

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩?

[restingstitchface]

More often than not, yes. Experience has taught me that amongst the criminal element are bullies, emotional cowards who terrorize their victims rather than face the cause of their behaviour. But my role is to guide them as well as any other.

[And if means he lacks the absence of consent for treatment then so be it.]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶!

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰?

[restingstitchface]

Well, I have respected the power of the mind since I was a boy. It is why I do what I do.

[That he gets to help others is just a delightful bonus.]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?

[restingstitchface]

And how strong, yes.

[Strong. Weak. Malleable. Immovable.]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯?

[ As far as Hilda is concerned this is like the equivalent of a fun personality quiz that she'd found in the back of the newspapers. ]

[restingstitchface]

Hard to say. I've only known you ten minutes.

But you strike me as the mischevious sort.

[theidlemaiden]

[ She gasps aloud, the thing he said about being mischievous completely flies over her head. ]

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 - 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

[restingstitchface]

>Well, I would hardly have commented on that otherwise, would I?

[If only he were sixteeh and could tack a :) at the end without looking stupid.]

[theidlemaiden]

[ He should just do it anyway. Emotes shouldn't be confined to age. ]

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴.

[ She's gonna cry. Just kidding, unless? ]

[restingstitchface]

Ah, how time flies.

But I am joking, just this once.

[Forgive this serious man his funny turn.]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘋𝘳. 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘦!

[ In actuality, she isn't that hurt by it but it's only fair that she keeps playing along, right?]

[restingstitchface]

Well, better one breaks a heart than never leave a mark. I know that coming from a man like me it sounds bizarre but love is what it is.

[A complete and utter farce.]

[theidlemaiden]

[ It's not like Hilda knows any better! ]

𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵.

[restingstitchface]

Oh, perhaps you already know this yourself, but pain is a fact of life.

Regardless, one word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.

[theidlemaiden]

𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?

[restingstitchface]

Hardly. Consider it my thanks for a wonderful dinner.

private

[theidlemaiden]

𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯!

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦? 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳.

ditto that

[restingstitchface]

Yes, I noticed. But perhaps you should ask him? I can only say that our differences are more than professional. We hold different idealogical opinions.

[Very different. Blake doesn't lock people away in a scary science dungeon.]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥?

[ She just has to ask to be sure. Blake had never seemed the sort to react to things like ideological opinion or professional differences, at least that was her impression. ]

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 - 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 - 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺.

[restingstitchface]

Ah, that sounds like the case. One the same for both of us. Blake knows my reputation whilst I know nothing of his. I have never met the man in my life.