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 Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:26 pm
Patience was not in a prying mood, and he was not a prying person. It went with his profession. If he wanted to know a thing, he asked, and he expected to receive an answer, preferably a true one. He knew enough about people to tell from their manner and their voice if they were telling the whole truth, a partial truth, or an out-and-out lie. He would never use his abilities to pry the other way that was available to him. It would be the grossest breach of etiquette.
Etiquette! He was the only person he'd ever met with his abilities, though Meshach had exhibited some strange ideas about what he ought to have been able to do. After seeing that he couldn't do the things he supposed, Meshach had spoken no more of it. That one had also thought himself a dragon, however, so Patience took his words with that in mind.
"There are no others like me anywhere that I've seen. I'm self-taught, mostly. Some I picked up from my predecessor, the Eyrie's former healer, but the rest I learned by experimenting based on folktales and by reading."
He didn't mention that he was one of the few people at the Eyrie who could still read the languages of the outside world. Most everyone else could only read the shorthand code that the Eyries had been using for centuries, though they could, of course, speak normally. He, Courage, Silence, and Valour were the only ones left who could read the other writing. He and Silence were no longer at the Eyrie, and he knew not what Courage and Valour did with their ability. Likely nothing.
"As to your other question: there's little you can do. As you can see, I am recovering. I am lucky enough to be of a resiliant constitution. It goes with the healer territory."
He didn't know why he was saying so much to a perfect stranger. Perhaps because he had been more starved for company than he had realized these past weeks. Or maybe because he was simply too tired to hold his tongue. Both were likely possibilites.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:01 am
She nodded, relieved that he was going to be fine. She wished she could help, but there was nothing to do for it, apparently. He seemed thoughtful, pondering. "So what's next?" she wondered aloud, as she leaned back, resting against a tree. She supposed it was simply back to normal. She would ride Creseyda, and they would never return to this place. They were free again, unattached to anything -- a thought that made her sad, but she also realized was necessary.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:00 pm
"I suppose you continue on your journey, and I do likewise," he said. The idea neither depressed nor cheered him. It simply was. This had been interesting, but he had a duty to Ambrosia to place her in Gethsemene's keeping, and a duty to Silence to find her, and those weighed more heavily with him than anything else.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:55 am
She nodded. "I suppose so. Though I'm hardly on a journey." She shut her eyes. The stress of the encounter had worn her out. "Which way do you go?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:29 am
Ordinarily, Patience was circumspect enough, cautious enough, that he wouldn't have told a near-perfect stranger his destination, but it seemed to him that she had already had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him - whatever advantage she thought she might take - and she had not done so. Having seen what he was capable of when he was on his form, he doubted that she would do anything to provoke that from him.
"I'm going to Xuan City to give Ambrosia to her owner."
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:33 am
Mishu nodded. "That's where I live. We should travel together, in case something else happens. ... Unless you object."
((blah, stupid post. I must be out of sorts))
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:18 pm
Patience refrained from making the remark which came to mind: What more could happen? That would just be inviting trouble. He was not a superstitious person by nature, but even he knew better than to tempt whatever higher power might exist by challenging them to make a situation worse. They never seemed to improve situations when challenged to do so.
"I have no reason to object," he said. Which was not exactly a yes, neither was it a no. It was a simple statement of fact.
He looked to Ambrosia, sitting on his feet, cutting off their circulation. Tentatively, he nudged her ribcage with one booted toe, and she ignored him completely. While griffins were much lighter than they looked, when their bodies were at rest, they always seemed to weigh every bit as heavily as they looked like they ought to.
"Ambrosia," he said softly. "Move."
The slender she-griffin gave him a look which could only be described as arch and settled herself more comfortably on his feet, rolling back against his leg as large dogs will do. He was not, it seemed, going anywhere without her say-so, or without becoming forceful. He was too tired for force.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:48 pm
"She's worried about you," Mishu said. "Griffins are easier to read than humans. They're less... deceitful. They also have instincts we lack. You tell me you're feeling better, but Ambrosia knows better. Lie back, rest. sleep if you need to. I'll keep an eye out."
Creseyda emitted a series of squawks that sounded like nothing if not a laugh. Some humans were stubborn. Well, a griffin could be more stubborn. And had more strength. It looked as if this human was going to get a rest if he wanted it or not.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:42 pm
Patience sighed. Many forces conspired against him it seemed, both human and griffin. He could probably have resisted one or the other separately, but between Ambrosia's weight on his feet and Mishu's politely-phrased commands, he doubted he would have much of a choice. Unless he cheated. But that would only take its toll later.
"Ambrosia's former master died of starvation and exhaustion and disease. She's a little over-sensitive to these things," he said. "I'm trained as a physician-healer, and a little less of an alarmist. I'll be fine."
He was improving rapidly. It was one of the nicer things about being a healer, the tendency to heal oneself quickly. Ambrosia shifted herself reluctantly and rolled off his feet, but she shot him a reproachful glance as she did so. Clearly she meant for him to feel as guilty as she could manage. Fortunately for Patience, he was used to receiving such looks and could ignore them.
"See. Even Ambrosia can be reasoned with. Shall we, if we're traveling together?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:00 pm
Mishu tipped her head. "Fine then, if you feel well enough. I'm not your mother." Nor anyone's anything else, she thought as she checked the harness on Creseyda, making sure it wasn't too tight. Fool girl, she cursed herself. That was your choice. No one made you leave home. You would be in company, even if not his. She growled softly. Stupid to linger on those things for so long. Creseyda clicked her beak and nudged her, bringing her back to the present. "Yes, well, I don't anticipate any problems. Shall we leave?" She pulled herself up to Creseyda's back and rubbed her flanks affectionately.
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:33 am
"As you will," Patience agreed.
He approached Ambrosia cautiously, making it quite clear through his movements what he intended to do, which is to say, climb onto her back. He had been forced to train her to be ridden without harness, which he knew he would regret later, when he (or Gethsemene) wished to break her to harness later, but he hadn't had any other option. At least he knew how to ride bareback. There were many who did not, even at the Eyrie, and who had become completely reliant on their harnesses.
Ambrosia did not give Patience any difficulties in mounting, save that she bumped his shin once he was seated with her beak in a gesture which was uncharacteristically friendly. He would definitely have to do something soon to convince her that he was not her new human.
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:44 pm
Mishu watched Ambrosia. "You treat her as a stranger, but she cares for you. You should treat her as a friend." Creseyda ruffled her feathers and gave her wings a test flap before beating them more intently. "I suppose this will be good bye, then."
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:20 pm
"As I said before," Patience felt compelled to explain, "she's not mine. I'm on my way to deliver her to the person her former owner wanted her to go to. It does neither of us any good to form attachments."
He couldn't quite keep the crispness out of his voice. It irritated him that he had to be aloof toward Ambrosia, who was a beautiful, clever creature and deserved to be adored. She was not, he had known at once, a griffin like those at the Eyrie, born for a life of service and occasional battle. She was more like the griffins which had been kept by the Empire as status symbols, and deserved to be treated as such. This Gethsemene FaHannoth seemed to be a person of sufficient means to do so - or so he hoped. Patience found himself placing a lot of hopes on Gethsemene lately.
"And, I suppose, this will be good bye, then. Fair skies and gentle winds to you, then."
He raised his arm in salute, and Ambrosia, very eager to please her aloof rider, danced under him, preparing to leap and become airborne.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:37 am
"The gods grant you the end you seek, then. I hope we shall meet again." She signaled to Creseyda to lift. She still intended to fly with him. But conversation was hardly something that could be done while the parties were in the air. She felt a touch of sadness, but it was no different than her life had been for years now. Perhaps Xuan held something for her. She simply didn't know.
((unless you object or have an idea, I think that ends this story.))
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:33 pm
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