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 Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:55 pm
Life had grown blissfully uncomplicated as of late for Tzao - but he was not sure yet if that was good or not. He did not feel pangs of hunger as he might once, no compulsions to eat. He barely even felt the need to drink tea, but spent his time instead in reading and study. He'd bound together the pages he'd gotten at the amusement park last year and read them quite carefully, learning what he could about his fellow Fa'e, and extrapolating on what he knew. And what he'd come to realize was somewhat baffling.
These confusions drove him now back to the Fa'e HQ - a place he'd rarely visited, despite his yearning to meet others of his kind. The heavy manuscript was wrapped in a plastic bag and carried under one arm. Guelherme lived here, he thought. His flame-headed friend may not be able to answer his questions for him, but at least he might be able to get some comfort out of conferring with the other Fa'e teenager, some assurance that what he saw was not true....
But then there was Calcifer to contend with.
"Look, bud," the flame was arguing, "I know Fa'e. You look Fa'e, maybe, but if you were Fa'e, I'd know. It's built into me, kid, right in here," and Calcifer thumped a fist-like limb against where his supposed heart would be, "to know these things."
The redhead pursed his lips together, and delicately began to explain, for the second time - "It is my nature, and I am afraid I cannot fix it. Even if you should sense, you will not with me."
"Yeah, that's a real great excuse," the fireplace guardian sniffed, "but it doesn't convince me. If you want to get in, you're going to have to give me something."
Patient as Tzao was, he was beginning to feel exasperated. He looked like a Fa'e; he was born like a Fa'e; he grew like a Fa'e; he was raised like a Fa'e! He was Fa'e, and but for the curse of his unique abilities, he would have grown up among his own kind. How was he to prove his nature, if he was not to be believed by any other proof?
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:59 pm
Bhel flicked his tail from side to side behind him, still enjoying the novelty of the jingling sound the gold bangles around his tail made at the motion. He had not really spoken to anyone yet about his interesting meeting with the god Teshub yet, though, preferring to keep it secret. It just seemed right to do so - something that important was not information Bhel could just casually hand out to just anyone.
... That said, it was also incredibly difficult to keep such a thing a secret, too. He had half-expected his guardian to ask, since, well, if nothing else, the boy had turned up to breakfast one morning bigger than he had been the night before. But Kumoru had, politely and entirely unexpectedly, not pressed Bhel at all regarding what had transpired that resulted in his growth. If the bull Fa'e was going to tell anyone, though, it might as well be another Fa'e. And since he had not heard from his mother in some time, he figured the headquarters was the best place to start.
With confidence in his step, Bhel reached for the doorknob and let himself in without knocking, and stopped just inside to look around.
"Hello?" he attempted, his voice coming out hoarsely. Bhel cleared his throat and took a few more steps in, leaning around to glance behind the furniture in the living room as though expecting someone to be hiding there. Then he tried again, calling out, "Hello? Anyone here?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:44 am
"... Give you something?" Tzao had murmured back as the door opened, feeling his patience slowly begin to falter. What now? He was to be charged for the opportunity to see his friend, his brother among the Fa'e? For the same reason that had cost him his childhood among his own kind?!
It was probably very well that Bhel had come in at that moment. Tzao did not let his temper rise often, for it was an ugly thing - but at that time, for a few brief seconds, he felt a hunger not unlike that near-constant sensation that consumed him, and his fingers curled into claws. He would not pay for his birthright, and if something were to stand in his way....
The anger was fleeting, and dissolved easily into surprise. The redhead turned abruptly to face the voice entering the room. "Ah! Yes, hello." The teen's golden eyes flickered once back to the fire, which was giving him a smarmy look. Later, he promised himself quietly, later I will settle that score.
The newcomer was a face that Tzao remembered, and it didn't take a great amount of effort to place where. "Ah - it's Bhel, isn't it?" the Taotie assumed, a satisfied smile coming to his face. The little bull Fa'e had grown since they'd last met at Prom- this was good! Tzao did not know what he would think otherwise, except to be deeply troubled. He had enough of that on his shoulders without outside help just now, thanks all the same! "I see that you have been doing quite well!"
"Yeah, that's it. Try sucking up to the little Fa'e, see if he'll get you in," Calcifer groused behind him. Tzao glared at the impertinent flame demon, and felt the chains of his patience loosen a step more.
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:36 pm
"Yeah, Bhel," the bull confirmed as he scrutinized the other Fa'e, trying to scrounge up the memories of him from Prom. Things from before he had grown were a bit of a blur to him now, though, and, after a moment, the boy just shrugged it off.
The Taotie's compliment earned another shrug, followed by a far less formal, "Yeah, I'm good. What's up with you?" from Bhel. "Oh yeah, and what's your name?"
His gaze strayed to Calicfer then, and he flicked his tail once before waving to the flame spirit as well. Perhaps it would have been better to tell someone he knew a little better about his exciting adventures, but something about a talking fire seemed sufficiently awesome. Bhel decided that he could talk to the other Fa'e for now, and maybe tell the fire about it later ... but he was not about to be upset if the flames overheard.
Bhel glanced back over at the Taotie expectantly after a moment, awaiting his response.
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:53 pm
"My name is Tzao-Hyung," the redhead addressed the bull child politely, "and I am... well enough. Burdened with thoughts, but well." The language might have been a bit high-handed, if Tzao had been thinking about it, but he didn't even consider dumbing down his language. No, he was speaking to Bhel respectfully - after all, he was Fa'e, and no matter his youth at the moment, that would change quickly.
Calcifer wasn't being any help to Tzao in letting him through to visit his friend, but with someone different to focus his attentions on, the Taotie could be patient. "Bhel, you have grown up among the Fa'e, yes? You must know them quite well," Tzao mused. "Would you speak with me a time? I have doubts that I would like to put at rest, if possible, and perhaps you could help me."
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:02 pm
Bhel listened patiently to Tzao's flowery words, tilting his head a little to the side and reaching up into his hair to scratch his head and shrug. The boy got the gist of what the older Fa'e was saying, but he was still not really sure why he had to talk like that. He decided it did not bother him, though, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth after a moment.
So this Tzao-Hyung wanted his help?
"Yeah, I can talk," he said casually. "What do you wanna know?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:10 pm
Tzao smiled slightly, and his head nodded in gentle gratitude. The Taotie drifted over to a nearby couch as he spoke, "You see, I would like to know more about the older Fa'e."
There was a certain definitive air of how he said this, strangely resolute, as though one were approaching a monumental task in searching out the information. He sat; the plastic bag crinkled as Tzao set it onto his lap, smoothing the worst of the wrinkles out of it with both hands, then gesturing an offer for Bhel to join him. "You must have met many of them, haven't you?" he inquired.
Calcifer seemed to be grumbling under his breath, some sort of warning toward Bhel to "not take your eyes off that one," but he did not otherwise interrupt.
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:32 pm
The bull thought he heard something from the flame spirit, and gave him one more quick look before shrugging again. He walked over to one of the other sofas and leaned his elbows on the armrest. With a small grunt of effort, Bhel leaned forward and lifted his hooves up off of the carpet balancing on his forearms for a moment before he let out the breath and set his feet on the floor again.
"I know Momma," he said then, fixing his skirts a little. A pause as he put his hands on the armrest instead and lifted himself up once more. "And Morty, I guess. And Daddy. And...." Bhel trailed off, brows furrowing. He reached up with both index fingers to trace triangular shapes like ears on top of his head. "Another lady, with ears. Dunno her name. Only saw her once."
"... Why?" He took another breath and lunged at the sofa, draping himself over the armrest and onto the cushions; Bhel kicked a little at the air with his hooves to try to slither the rest of the way onto the couch, but with little success.
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:56 pm
"It is simply not as I imagined, I suppose," Tzao confessed plaintively. He struggled with himself, trying to decide whether Bhel were old enough to hear what the Taotie had to say. It was a burden to the teenager already... but if his observations had any merit, it was a burden for all Fa'e to share. So, he would speak his piece.
"I see a great many young Fa'e who are filled with ambition... that is, who want to do great things, become stronger. But when I look for the older ones, look to see who has fulfilled those desires, I cannot find them. Bhel," he changed tactics suddenly, "what do you think of yourself? What is your 'job' right now, should you have one?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:39 pm
The boy stopped his squirming on the sofa and raised his head, and looked at Tzao as though the other Fa'e had just sprouted an extra head. "Job?" He was just a kid, and jobs were for grown-ups. Kumoru went to work, and Jilan went to work (well, he was weird), and Momma went to work, but Bhel did not have to.
But then a thought struck him, and the look of surprise faded from his face. Bhel struggled to a seated position on the couch and caught his tail in his hands to examine the gold bangles fastened around it. Then, grasping his tail in one fist, he shook the tufted end of it so the rings of precious metal jingled against each other, and grinned as he looked back up at Tzao.
"I guess I got a job. Sorta like 'get stronger'. I have to get my power back, and then me and Teshub can make it rain and storm whenever we want." By the look on his face, Bhel clearly thought this was the most awesome thing in the world. And so his tone was perhaps a bit condescending when he went on to ask, "What about you?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:48 pm
Now that was the sort of answer Tzao would have expected! It was, in fact, what he would have expected from all Fa'e, in some form. To seek themselves. Wasn't that what they were made for? Hadn't they triumphed death to regain what they had once had?
Or overcome, in some instances. "I have a job as well," Tzao answered softly, "a thing that I must keep from doing bad things. But see, this is what I mean. You and I, and the rest of the younger Fa'e. We have these jobs. We want to accomplish them. It is important for us to do our jobs, isn't it? To train, become strong, reach our full potential?" The Taotie, normally so composed, was beginning to speak earnestly. "Why not the older Fa'e? Have I not seen what I have been looking for, have I been blind to their drive, their ambition, or are they so complacent?"
It was unbelievable to Tzao that they could be. Not after everything he'd gone through, just to get where he was. Not with the knowledge of everything he must do, to get where he needed to be.
"And it isn't just for them that I worry, either," he murmured. "Because they must have been like us once. Will we become like that? Could you imagine losing sight of what you want - to never, as you said, make it rain or storm, simply because you are distracted?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:00 pm
As the older Fa'e went on, Bhel gradually started to lean away from him ever so slightly, raising an eyebrow. It was kind of cool that Tzao was talking to him like a grown-up, but the boy was not really sure he understood exactly what he was getting at. He had ... well, never really spoken to his mother about what she was supposed to do as a Fa'e. At the thought of her, though, he felt a small pang of desire to see her again. Kumoru knew how to get in touch with her, though - in fact, had mentioned that he had seen her recently - so maybe he could speak to his guardian about visiting with his mother again ....
So distracted by thoughts of seeing Aylana again, Bhel abruptly realized that he had missed a good portion of what Tzao had been saying. Except for the part about being distracted.
"Never make it rain or storm-" he started to repeat as he snapped back to the present, jingling his tail adornments again with a bit of anxiety. "... Oh. Uh." Something about losing sight of what he wanted? "I guess...."
The boy trailed off, then shivered. If he lost sight of what he was supposed to be, he would disappear! The ghost at the museum had told him so!
"I'm gonna succeed because I have to," Bhel told Tzao, a bit of fear becoming apparent in the boy's tone. "I'm gonna do it 'cause it'll be really, really bad if I don't." Was failure as bad as disappearing forever for everyone?
Bhel's tail flicked nervously, slipping free of his hands.
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:14 pm
Tzao would have beamed, if the discussion were not so serious for him. Bhel understood it, exactly! That there was no choice. There was no failure. A Fa'e was not a Fa'e if they let their power slip by them without caring, if they did not strive for what they were meant for.
"That is what I think, also," Tzao informed the boy sincerely. "And I think that the Fa'e should all be so minded, and that we should all be working together. We can all be strong, and we can all achieve our goals - and that is what we should be doing. But it is not what I see, and I worry over it."
Now was the time, he thought, to unleash his ultimate weapon. Unwrapping the bag carefully, Tzao produced the hefty manuscript, holding it in plain sight for the younger Fa'e to see. "Bhel, do you read?" he asked, not daring to presume too much after his encounter with Lethe.
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:09 am
Tzao's reaction encouraged Bhel somewhat, and he felt the fluttery nervousness inside his chest fade a little. Maybe the older Fa'e was also in danger of disappearing. Bhel tilted his head a little to the side as he listened to him speak, then nodded.
At the question about reading, though, the young bull's brow furrowed slightly. "Nuh-uh," he replied, shaking his head and then looking away as he crossed his arms. His father had started to teach him, but it was difficult to learn. After a moment, though, Bhel's curiosity got the better of him, and he glanced back at the book, studying the cover.
"What is it?" he asked, his mind filling with ideas of storm-making instructions or recipes for lightning.
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:20 pm
"They're Fa'e," Tzao told him softly, opening the first page. "From a single moment in time. Many Fa'e are here - maybe some you know, probably some you don't - and this tells us about the things that they were thinking and feeling at the moment that these were created."
It was too bad that Bhel didn't know how to read yet. Tzao would have been happy to let him read some of the pages, develop his own ideas - but as was, all he could do was show Bhel the words, knowing that the child couldn't understand them.
"It's interesting to me, because you can learn much about the Fa'e through this book. Aren't you curious to know what the others think, and what they want of themselves? If you knew, after all, you would know who might be willing to help you in your own affairs."
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