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 Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:45 pm
Tumelo was far too entranced by his memories of those soft, kind beasts that everything else within his reach was forgotten. It was such a fond memory that he couldn't help but find himself clinging onto it as if it were the only one he had. Which wasn't true, but often times it could feel that way. It was not until Zekiel placed his hand ontop of his own did Tumelo find himself pulled back into the realities of this room.
"Oh. Yes! Yes I would! I do not know of which stories you'd wish to read, but I would like to hear it." A soft pink warmed his cheeks as his hand moved ever so slightly, making to actually turn over and squeeze the other's hand back for once. He couldn't bring himself to look up at Zekiel, instead using his long golden curls to hide the red that had over come him.
"Your words are warm and sweet... I think I would like to hear them endlessly, were there time."
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:29 am
“Any that please you,” Zekiel said, warmth spreading in his chest like a bird stretching its wings when Ottolo’s fingers clasped against his. The other boy was getting better. Every sign of his improved mental state alongside his gradually improving physical one, brought Zekiel joy. He rubbed his thumb over the other’s knuckles. “I will read these I’ve brought with me first if you wish? So that you know what the words are within them even if you do not recall them all, and later if it please you to listen, I may come with tomes from my studies and the great library? They have less pictures, but more words…so many as to fill pages and pages and stack atop one another in walls of words written. Have you been within a library?”
Zekiel reached after asking, using his spare hand not clasped to Ottolo’s to pick one of the children’s books and draw it closer. It was simple, perhaps ‘too’ simple for a boy of his own age group—but since he was not literate, and might have interest in learning the words in addition to a base appreciation for pictures, the simplicity did not strike Zekiel as wrong.
The beginning was often a good place to start, after all.
“In this story,” he said, “Dafiel and Lurin begin alone in the great heavens and there is nothing. No day or night…” His gaze lifted again to Ottolo, bright and warm. “I would share all my words with you, as many as you liked for however so long as it took if that pleased you.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 9:03 am
"They all please me, I think. And I would like to know what your studies are like. I seem to only truly know what you do when you are within this small room of mine. And there are times when I ponder what you may be doing elsewhere. 'Are your studies going well? Do you enjoy them?' I think to myself at times..." The smile he had turned a little sheepish as he looked back up into Zekiel's glowing eyes. "I should learn to ask those questions to you directly, than continue wondering. Ah, but no, I have not ever been within a library, though there were many in the land of snow, in Zena. I dared not entered for fear of looking foolish as a boy who could not read."
After a pause too look at the book Zekiel had retrieved, Tumelo withdrew his hand from Zekiel's, instead using it to lift up his uninjured hips and shift himself a little closer to the wall. He was still small, and did not take up much of the space at all. Still... A bit of room would be needed if...
"Would you... Would you join me here as you read?" Tumelo's voice was soft and shy, but full of the hope that Zekiel would agree. It would be more comfortable than sitting in the chair and leaning over for Tumelo to see if he were sitting beside him.
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 10:55 am
Zekiel smiled, nodding. “You may always ask,” he said. “And we may speak of whatever you please. This morning, I rose before the first bells and prayed, then cleaned my space and ate with Edeline and Azlas, Rekal and Yrideh for the morning meal. I then studied under Father Borthe, who speaks of the Sanctum and the language of the gods. Today we recited prayer from the old books, and of the nature of humility and its importance in remembering to structure our thoughts not on what we wish of the gods, but on trusting that all that we do and bear and learn is part of their design.”
At the other boy’s request, Zekiel immediately beamed.
“Of course!” he said, already stooped over and reaching to work open the fastenings on his boots. After pulling them off, he stood, perching and then hopping carefully onto the bed and moving over to settle in beside Ottolo. At his side, Zekiel reached for the book again and brought it in to rest between them, opening it to the first page. “In the beginning,” he read, “there was nothing, and the goddess Dafiel raged into the emptiness…”
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 11:40 am
A response to his outloud ponderings was not expected. It seemed that so many of the things Zekiel did were unexpected and strange but he didn't mind it a single bit. In fact, Tumelo found himself adoring each little quirk and action Zekiel had shown. Perhaps due to that and the comfort he found in the man, his heart was able to rest completely easily for the first time in nearly a year.
Once Zekiel was by his side, the young windling instantly leaned against him, resting his head on the other's shoulder. For a long while he watched and listened, taking in both the image on the page and the imagery painted by the Acolyte's words. Still, it did not take long for Tumelo's eyes to grow heavy and near the end of the reading, he was fast asleep. As if knowing this would happen, within his grasp he clutched the fabric of Zekiel's robes, holding on so that were the other to move, he would stir.
Hopefully Zekiel would be willing to stay for a bit. As damaged and broken Tumelo had become, things were looking better, and he found such comfort with his friend. So he would sleep in pleasantness just this once, and pray through his dreams that it would last for a long time.
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