|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 5:02 pm
Tav looked skeptical. A conversation? Why? They were doing the silly mortals a favor! They got to be immortal, as long as they chose to be, they didn’t have to feel useless or like their skills were being wasted.
“What dangers?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 5:06 pm
"Well, the most pressing fact is that any human in here is going to age as if they were out there, but not visibly. In the past, humans have left a fae camp and aged a thousand years in an instant. Basically, if anyone chooses to return to our realm, they die. The passage of time is different here. I'm a little concerned that there may be more time passing than I know about right now." Toby reached behind him and pulled a file folder from his waistband.
"And that brings me to my second point. This right here is all of the people that have gone missing in the past six months."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 5:46 pm
The two Fae exchanged looks. “We didn’t consider that,” Tav admitted, with a shrug. Did it really matter? Their lives were being extended and bettered.
“They’re Happy here,” Tav protested. “They hates their lives there. We set up this place for them, and they’re happy.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 12:34 pm
"The only thing those people were unhappy with were their jobs. I doubt that they realize how long they've been gone, and humans are always a little tickled by fae magic. Lots of people hate their jobs. Everyone hates their job some days."
Toby opened the folder and pointed to a profile of a young man with close-cropped hair.
"This is Taig, and he has a young wife and a three-month-old baby at home. His mother isn't even in her seventies yet and she's been all over the news crying for him to come home. Taking someone away doesn't only affect them, it affects everyone they love."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 12:44 pm
Both fae were silent. They looked at each other. Well, unhappiness was unhappiness--and they'd only taken the people who were unhappy. "But they hated their job more than just one day," Tav explained. "Dad kept an eye on them, it wasn't a one day thing, he watched them over time. Things didn't get better."
Tav fell silent again, when the folder was opened. "Oh..." One person being unhappy at work didn't mean they weren't unhappy at home? He supposed. But... "We didn't intend to take people from their children. We should bring them here! All their families."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 12:49 pm
"Consider the logistics of that. If you take someone's child, you'll need to take their parents from both sides as well, their aunts and uncles, their kids, the kids' friends, even so far as their teachers-- the web of existence is... huge and complex. Losing a loved one is an immense trauma, and you would end up with all of humanity in here. Existence can be brutal, but new jobs can be found. Everyone has a different reason for hating a job. Me, I'd be badly underemployed. Taig here is probably exhausted with taking care of a newborn. Maybe some people are unhappy with their jobs, but they need to find the strength to leave it themselves. Love makes everything worth it, even awful jobs."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:00 pm
Tav considered that for a long time. He put a hand to his chin in thought. ...Humans were really that connected? They'd have the whole world, and they definitely didn't have the space or resources for that. He sighed. "Why do humans have to be such difficult creatures?" he complained.
He looked at the folder again. "We have to let them go live their miserable lives, father," he decided. "Maybe we can collect another sort of unhappy creature. Cats, maybe."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:04 pm
Toby chuckled. "I wish I could say. I only speak from experience. I was human myself once." As Tav spoke, he began to gather Taig back into his file and tucked it under his arm, then grimaced.
"Well... cats are popular pets, and I'd be devastated if you took my cat by accident, and so would my wife. He'd be pretty easy to lure too. Food is kind of his thing even when he's happy. My partner, he has a cat too, and he'd be lost without her."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:14 pm
Did that mean they couldn’t collect cats? Then... Tav studied Toby for a moment, frowning. If they couldn’t help people, and they couldn’t help cats, what could they do? “Maybe just the unhappy ones,” he suggested. “We took only the unhappy humans, but cats must be less complicated.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:16 pm
Toby grinned. "Cats are worse. Peaches gets very unhappy with us if we feed him two minutes later than usual. Growing up, we had a cat that would pee on your stuff if you were in the bathroom when she had to go."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:37 pm
“Oh...” Tav frowned in thought. He seemed to be considering their options. “So cats get unhappy very easily. What unhappy creatures can we make happy?” He asked. “If cats are more complicated than humans, what would benefit from our help?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 1:45 pm
Toby paused and thought. Any domestic animal would be missed, and anything mortal that crept out unwittingly was probably dead. Then an idea lit up his face.
"Actually, there are always creature-entities who need a new place to go. It's hard to find safe homes where they won't be seen by humanity st large. Would you be willing to take some of them in, you think? I mean, most of them are small, but it'd be great if you could take a couple of bigger ones. They have a harder time finding homes and are usually pretty unhappy. I mean, we have an enchanted forest we can't even send them to, because the illusion is only so strong if something crosses the barrier."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:18 am
The two Fae looked at each other—Tav asked something in fae, his father giving a rapid response in the same language. “We’d like to take anything that needs help,” Tav said, then, in English. “We weren’t trying to make people unhappy,” he said. “Are any of them humanoid? Maybe we could provide them with things? We rarely see entries around here that we can interact with.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:21 am
Toby smiled broadly and nodded. "Excellent! We can get you set up with a communication beacon so you can contact us and we can contact you. There may be entities looking for a new home. Where does this camp exist, exactly? Does it have an Earthly location, or is it in another realm?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 11:37 am
"I have a cell phone," Tav offered, with a shrug. "I don't know how to explain it..." Did it exist in two places at once? Or did the portals lead to one place? "Earthly location?" he asked, blinking. "We put it here, but we live in a forest..." He hesitated, and looked around.
"Do you think they'll be happy?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
