[PLOT - PRP] Afternoon Lessons (Faroth / Celestia) [FIN]

[Teigra]

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the window, tiny dust motes dancing in the light, drifting into the room and towards the floor. It had begun growing increasingly cool, colder than normal even for this time of year, especially since the Isle had become so tropical. Still, as cold as it was, the sunlight remained, casting its light calmly over the land.

It was a quiet afternoon, little to disturb the peace...until a scroll was suddenly crumpled and tossed over the dappled Faun's shoulder in frustration. "This is hopeless," he snapped in exasperation, slumping back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. Maybe it was a childish posture, but he was tired, frustrated, and discouraged. He deserved a childish fit now and again. After all, he couldn't even accomplish what most children could do.

Sighing, he glanced around his simple abode needing a distraction from the discouragement and the swimming scripts before him. He found it in his companion, his instructor...his girlfriend. Frowning, he glanced towards Celestia, then back down at the table, muttering, "I don't know if I can do this."

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

This was not the first time the fauny princess found herself in an alcove other than her own, arms resting lightly on the wooded table her eyes glancing around. There had been some number of occasions earlier for the same reason: literacy lessons. They had stemmed from a promise made by her in their time trapped underground, and she always kept a promise. Truthfully, it also felt nice to return some of the help that he had given her, even if it was in a less dire situation with little potential consequences. Even so, it filled her with a genuine warmth unlike any other, except maybe their sparingly-used kisses.

Still, at times she felt herself drifting from focus in the home of her beloved. It was his table, his window, his... and it was wonderful.

Blinking as the sound of a scroll hitting the floor brought her out of her thoughts, the princess frowned lightly before excusing herself from her seat to go and retrieve it. She crouched down to pick it up and began to try and smooth out the creases as she walked over and set it again on the table in front of him. Smiling lightly, she placed on her hand on his shoulder. "Nothing is hopeless unless you quit." Pausing, she glanced away before placing a soft, reassuring kiss on his cheek, her own lighting pink before she looked to the paper.

"Surely you must know how much you have been improving. It may be difficult now, but the rewards are quite great." Placing her finger on a line, she continued. "Here, try to repeat this to me. Take however long you need; you cannot rush these things." Looking to him, she again smiled. "I know you can do it."

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

Faroth sighed, stifling the grumbling under his breath as Celestia neared. He sincerely doubted this was half as easy as she thought it was...or even possible. He was still playing catch-up with a bunch of kids. And he wasn't even doing that well!

He dropped his eyes down and away as she kissed his cheek, closing his eyes with a resigned sigh. "Alright, alright..." he conceded, leaning over the parchment again. He followed her finger to the designated line, then tried to focus on the symbols.

"...B...blessed...by the...Er..Earth," he struggled, one word at a time, squinting at the script on the page and just trying to make it through a line without another headache. Not looking good. "...the F...Fa...Fun...no, Faun...are the...ch...chiln...children...of the Gra-Great T--" The symbols seemed to scatter and scramble even as he tried to focus on them. Eventually, he groaned and dropped his head heavily towards the table with a thud. Muffled, he muttered quietly, "I think there's something wrong with me."

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

A fleeting thought came to Celestia as Faroth began to look at the parchment. How did the written language of the fauny, completely isolated from any influence of the tree, come to be the same as the faun's? It was quite perplexing if you thought about it, though perhaps that, itself, was a sign that they were connected as one.

Leaning forward, she gave him an encouraging smile and slowly read along with him, hoping to help him out in this way. As he struggled, however, she wondered if perhaps she had gone at too fast of a pace for him. There was no reason to frustrate him with things above his level. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "No, I just asked of you more than you were ready for; the difficulty of this parchment is too great for you right now." Moving to take his hand between her own, she smiled lightly. "One moment, I believe I have a simpler one about me somewhere."

She stood up, walking to a small pile of papers she had brought with her. Her fingers delicately moved through them, hoping to find a more elementary one, stopping only as she did. The script was larger, the words simpler.

Yes. This should suffice.

Taking it with her, she returned to the table and placed it before him. "Perhaps this is easier for you? How about you try it?" At this she again sat down. As long as he kept practicing, it didn't matter how simple the material seemed to be; he could keep improving and improving until it came naturally.

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

While he appreciated that she was trying to make him feel better, it seemed like purely sentiment, not fact, that she offered his way. If he had not been at this so long, perhaps he'd have believed her. But, no matter whether he was looking at Faun runes, Common scripts, or gibberish (for all he could tell sometimes), the strange little scratchings on the page continued to be just that: odd markings with little meaning behind them.

Wasn't that how it was supposed to work though? If he stared at them long enough, the little symbols would adopt some sort of meaning to him, rather than just abstract little pictures. He'd struggled through a couple more lines with her encouragement before falling silent and frowning. The symbols were swimming before his eyes again, blurring, moving, making him dizzy. Faroth shoved the scroll away, leaning back and rubbing at his eyes with a muttered excuse about needing a break because his eyes hurt.

To be honest, if not for her insistence on helping him and the enthusiasm she'd shown at first in doing so, Faroth may have never attempted this again. Maybe he'd have lived the rest of his life without reading and been just fine. Instead, here he sat on yet another pleasant day, inside and trying to puzzle out the mystery of these stupid symbols.

After a moment, he glanced towards Celestia, too frustrated at this point to bother trying to hide it. "Is it like this for everyone? Just staring at these symbols until they magically mean something instead of nothing?" He understood well enough that they were supposed to mean something...it just didn't matter how many times he was told what one meant...it never seemed to 'stick'. He couldn't keep the connection between the symbol and what it was supposed to mean together. For as far as he was concerned, it was all scribbles on a page. He'd managed to memorize a few smaller words, explaining how he could read those easily enough when he got to them, but that only worked for the really common words, like 'the', 'and', and 'or'. When he got to a word he'd never seen before, he was lost as to what to do with it.

Frustrated, he reached up and rubbed his eyes again, then moved his hands up to his head as he continued to answer his own question under his breath. "I doubt it. Doesn't seem to be. I'm probably just stupid and doing it all wrong, like everything else..."

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

The princess could just about feel his frustration radiation from him as the time continued to pass. With all the time they had spent by now, it was true that he was learning more slowly than the colts she had taught. It seemed like he was beginning to flat line in progress, something Faroth understood by his irritation. Perhaps it was because of his age; she had always heard that it was more difficult to learn such things as time passed. If this was true, then there was likely no reason to continue pushing such things.

But... She did not want to leave it like that. Literacy was a gift she had promised to him, a way to help him as he did for her. Surely the spirits were mocking her, leaving her unable to even do that much for her love. For his sake, in spite of his lack of confidence, she had to remain stubborn in her belief that she could do that much for him. If she faltered, he too would.

Looking to him, smiling lightly as she would to any other, yet not true, her eyes averted from his for but a moment before she spoke, "It comes more naturally for some than others, yes, but most have succeeded through persistence and repetition." Most. There had been perhaps one or two that came to mind that were simply unable to ever understand. They said that the print seemed to switch places amongst itself, creating strange and indecipherable words. It was something foreign to her understanding.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she shook her head. "I have had students who were never able to understand..." her voice grew quiet. Maybe they should...

No.

If they kept at it, surely she could teach him. Surely. Taking a quill from the table, she dipped it into a pot of black ink before scribbling on a blank page 'I would like to take a break for tea'. Softly, she set the quill down and sat back, saying no more.

Teigra

So I kinda suck trying to explain how one would teach reading XD;

 

[Teigra]

Most had succeeded? Most? Wonderful. So maybe this was all for nothing. Maybe he was just unteachable, maybe that was the problem. Maybe he was just too stupid to learn to read like most other Faun.

His frustration was taking the form of a restless sort of energy, the urge to get up and go somewhere, anywhere, to get away from this. If they'd been in Celestia's quarters, he might have just gotten up and left, excused himself to go do something else, take care of some supposed forgotten business or something. It wasn't so easy to just leave when they were in his own alcove. Just added further frustration at the helplessness of the situation.

He still may have stood if she hadn't placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Serving as a grounding force, the simple contact brought him back to the moment, reminding him that she was here out of care and concern for him. He reached up to place his hand over hers, even as the as the final blow seemed dealt.

"I have had students who were never able to understand..."

What hope did he have then? He might as well give up. He'd made it this long without being able to read; why bother changing that now? Especially if it seemed to be impossible to change anyway? Why fret over changing things that couldn't be changed?

He'd slumped back in the chair when Celestia pulled away. Only when the scrap of parchment was pushed in front of him did he glance over at Celestia's scribbled message. I...to take a...tea. That was all he got for his efforts. The rest was gibberish. "...something about 'tea'," he grumbled with a shrug, arms crossing over his chest again. He turned away after a moment, away from Celestia to drop his head into his hands. Resting on his knees, he felt the heavy weight of despair settling onto his shoulders. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," he muttered quietly after a moment. "I appreciate the effort...but I guess I'm just too stupid to do this. You should stop wasting your time."

o0_Daisuke_0o

((*chuckles* No worries...I can't exactly remember HOW I learned to read...don't think anyone really 'taught' me directly. XD We'll just sorta'....fake it.))

 

[Daisicle]

It was taking years of learned resistance to keep her from breaking the mask plastered to her face, to hide her concern from him. Letting him see would only make the situation worse, a situation which was entirely her fault. Faroth had been fine as he was, there was no need for him to learn and to change. It was merely a want on the princess's part, a desire of hers to repay him for all he did for her.

It was such a selfish wish, serving only to frustrate and pain him. He had not asked it of her; she had insisted. How cruel of her.

Smiling lightly, yet unlike how she had begun to smile around him, she rose as he mentioned the tea. "Tea? Yes, it is an appropriate time for a break. Please allow me to prepare some." Removing herself from the table, she let her smile drop as her back turned to him, using the opportunity to calm herself and ease the situation. Perhaps she was running... but perhaps that was the best she could hope to do for him right now.

This was not the first time she had prepared tea here, but the princess was by no means well acquainted with his kitchenette. It took some time looking through the cabinet before she came across something... familiar, yet she had no idea why. Placing it on the counter, she called to him, "What is this peculiar bottle you have?"

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

Despair and frustration were serving well to sour Faroth's mood, giving way to other dark thoughts and feelings. Wasn't this just a sign of a larger problem? Just one of many things that the dappled Faun constantly screwed up. Whatever he touched either broke or never worked in the first place. He couldn't do anything right.

His head sank lower, fingers tangling in his hair. And now she wanted tea. Well, best she make it and not him; he'd just find a way to screw that up too. A snide voice at the back of his mind mocked, 'Really? Tea's the answer to everything wrong? I'm sure that'll fix everything!' He grimaced, attempting to shush the voice, knowing that she was only trying to help. He probably had her stumped on how to help him, if it was even possible at this point.

He was shaken from his dark haze by the question, blinking before looking up wearily. His gaze fixed on the bottle and he had to think for a moment before answering. "Oh...almost forgot that I'd kept that," he murmured. "It's the one I found underground in the cabinet. I suppose...I dunno why I kept it." A memento of their near-death experience? Seemed a morbid thing to keep a memory of. He supposed he'd put it away upon getting home and not really thought about it again until now.

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

The princess had glanced over at Faroth as she began to grab things; and everything she seemed to be doing had the opposite effect than what she wanted. Try to be useful: fail. Try to help him calm down: fail. Try to be supporting: fail. Was there anything she could do right? What if she was just using him for her own selfish needs, wringing him along with her own desires without allowing him to follow his own? There was surely much that he was forgoing to please her: his travels, his outside friends... What else was there that she was depriving him of?

Was this really the best she could do? What if she was simply not one suitable for such a relationship; what if she was meant to remain distant; what if this was all a mistake fueled by her own emptiness?

What if she could never be worthy of his affections?

In any case, she simply could not bear watching him suffer on her behalf. As painful as it was for him, it was similarly painful for her. It made her realize that he knew far more about her than she of him; she wanted to know more about him, to be better for his sake. If she could allow him to come to her when he needed someone close, as he had been for her, just that much would make her happy. But it did not feel as if he had really ever opened up emotionally to her. It was like she was the wind, flowing this way and that, while he was the earth, steady and strong.

Taking the bottle in her hand, she glanced down, turning it over. While the smile had gone, her face remained calm and steady, a carefully-created mask to shield her thoughts. "What do you suppose it is?" she mused lightly, as if to herself. A few moments passed before she moved to take the cork between her fingers, working carefully to loosen and release it. The next thing she did, naturally, was to bring it to her nose and sense the scents.

Wow.

That was something... well... "It has a... peculiar... scent, but it is rather lovely." She smiled lightly, holding it out to him. "Come smell it yourself." It may have been said in a gentle tone, but she was clearly not going to let him sulk about. If nothing more, she would help to distract him from his frustrations. That much she could do.

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

To be honest, Faroth had no idea what it was. He couldn't even recall why he'd kept it. He should have been alarmed when she opened the bottle and sniffed the contents within. It could have been some dangerous poison for all they knew. However, he was more amazed by a simpler fact:

She'd opened the bottle.

How many times had he tried to open that bottle before? Underground, on the trip back, even once he'd gotten home before he'd given up and put it away to be forgotten. None of the times would the cork even budge. He'd assumed it would never be opened and was more likely to break than open normally. And he'd been unwilling to break it, for whatever reason. Better a strange trinket than broken trash perhaps?

Before he had time to think further, the bottle was pushed in his direction and against possible better judgment, he leaned in and inhaled slightly. Then again. ...pine needles? Fresh pine needles, but also something else. Something not normally paired with the scent...fresh baked fruit scones? Puzzling...but the scent, while odd, was comforting. He felt some of the growing tension leave his shoulders and he frowned at the bottle oddly. "Why...would it smell like that...?" What possible concoction would need to smell like that? Alright, he liked it...but who else would have put that together? Why?

His self-depreciating internal monologue forgotten at least for the moment, until the next time he let it free, Faroth reached to gently take the bottle from Celestia. Holding it up to the light, he peered at the bottle as if seeing it for the first time. "Do you...think it's safe then, whatever it is?"

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

To her, it scented of the winds of Equestria and the aroma of warm vanilla. Comforting, calming, and nostalgic. It was a unique combination, something that she doubted others might enjoy. For whatever reason, Faroth seemed to agree. That alone was enough to make her question it, but perhaps it was a good thing that they enjoyed the same smells? It seemed positive enough, at least.

When he moved to take it, she made little resistance to handing it over. The princess was the one, after all, whom had made the gesture to him. It was nice that his mood appeared to have improved, unfortunately more due to this 'prize' than anything she had been able to do. She was not one to complain, however. If this little thing could restore his spirit, well, she would not hesitate to use the opportunity.

But safe? Well... That might be stretching it. "I suppose...? It does not smell as if it were bad, but I haven't a clue what the liquid might be. Try it if you wish."

If he wanted to try it, though, well, there was little she could do to stop him.

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

Try it? Try...what with it? What was it he was supposed to do with it? As he lowered the bottle, he had to admit the wafting scent from inside was enticing...the temptation growing...

Well, if it was poison, maybe just a taste would tell him that without killing him.

If he'd been thinking properly, he would never have considered any of this. But something had his senses muddled, making him make more foolish decisions than normal. He didn't sense anything amiss at the moment though. Faroth placed one finger against the top lip of the bottle and tipped it, just a drop wetting his fingertip. Just a tiny taste; wouldn't hurt, right? Curiously, he touched his finger to his tongue, then blinked in a surprised reaction.

"It's....really good."

Did that mean it was safe though? Could poison taste so good? He would imagine it would taste bad, but...it wasn't as if he had experience on the matter. He looked at the bottle longingly, tempted to take more... "Maybe...it's alright? I mean, if I don't drop dead in a minute here," he quipped lightly, despite the implication. Surely nothing that tasted so good could be bad, right?

o0_Daisuke_0o

 

[Daisicle]

It was good...?

Well, with a scent so enticing, it wasn't unusual that it would taste the same. There must have been something in the room, dulling their common senses. Neither of them would have normally thought to taste some strange liquid found forgotten for spirits-know how long beneath the ground. Such a thing was foolish.

Yet, she found her mimicking his motion soon thereafter, bringing the liquid to her own mouth on a white finger. Sticking it in her mouth, a few moments passed as she analyzed the taste, her own eyes blinking in wonderment as she looked to it, then him, then back to it. "Yes... very..." strange. This whole situation was strange, they were strange. But oh how she wanted more.

As for resisting... well... she would not be doing so...

"Perhaps. It certainly seems that way." and she was already yearning for a full drink of it. Not that she would ask, openly. Her eyes, however, were clearly showing her desire for it. If he wanted to have more... well... who was she to argue and perhaps join?

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

Faroth still had some common sense left, even if it was strongly being outweighed by desire to consume the mysterious drink. He could imagine tipping the bottle up...

He shook the thought away, hesitating as he lowered the bottle. He'd been mildly surprised when Celestia had followed his lead. She seemed to think much the same as he had...he could only assume then that she too wanted more of it. But, that common sense made him hesitate again.

"Alright, how about this? We wait a bit first...if we still feel okay after a few minutes, then we can try some more. Weren't you saying something about tea, anyway?" Faroth set the bottle down on the counter, then moved closer to place his hand on her shoulder. Even if the matter hadn't been exactly settled, the building tension had at least dissipated from his shoulders and he felt bad for sharing his bad mood earlier.

"Hey," he said in a softer tone of voice, halting just behind her, hand still on her shoulder. "Um...about earlier. I wanna' apologize again. I might have seemed frustrated with you, but I was just frustrated with myself. I've spent most of my life screwing things up, you think I'd be used to it by now." He chuckled quietly, looking at the floor. "I suppose I've just come to accept it then; I'm too dumb to read. I guess I just have to work harder to make up for it elsewhere. All the same, I just...hope you didn't think I was mad at you or anything." He let his hand slide down from her shoulder, fingertips trailing lightly down her arm, then reaching to take her hand. He leaned in over her shoulder to kiss her cheek, murmuring again, "Sorry."

o0_Daisuke_0o