[PRP] This is Too Easy! (Adalansia and Hatsuharu Sohma)

[Cajmera]

 

[Cajmera]

Adalansia (Ada)
~~~

She had done it again, Adalansia reflected with a sigh. She still didn't understand how it was she did it, but she was getting very good at identifying when it was done. The startled looks, the polite comments that were followed by her conversation partner leaving rapidly, sometimes in a huff; they always said they had some commitment they were late for, or they needed to go take a nap (even though they didn't look tired) or they needed to go get something to eat (even though there was perfectly acceptable grazing all around). It never made sense to Ada, but it had happened enough that she had begun to notice there was a trend.

She just wished she understood what the tipping point was, what it was that she kept doing or saying that drove them away!

Looking after the latest departee, she sighed and drooped her shoulders. Ada knew she shouldn't be taking this so hard, but she had been in this region for over a year now and nothing seemed to be changing. She had come to the Kawani lands specifically to get away from this pattern of light chit-chat, followed by rapid departures; she had always wanted to have friends like the other Soquili, but it never seemed to go her way. And no one ever seemed willing to tell her WHY they didn't like her.

It was very frustrating.

For the umpteenth time, she reviewed the conversation. Every time one ended badly, she went through this same ritual, attempting to figure out where it had gone wrong and failing. She had seen the mare grazing, approached, introduced herself, asked the mare's name. They had commented on the weather, the grass and the grazing. It had seemed so promising! Then the other mare had made a comment about how she really ought to stop with this grazing, because she was starting to get fat. At that point, Ada had nodded and commented that the other mare was right, that she looked rather on the round side but could no doubt slim herself down by reigning in her appetite and maybe working some exercise into her routine.

The interaction had pretty much ended at that point, with the mare simply staring at Ada for a few long minutes before saying a short 'Good bye' and stalking away. Ada had been left bewildered, and she still didn't understand what she'd done in retrospect. She hadn't said anything the other mare hadn't instigated, so why the abrupt departure? Ada hadn't been judgmental or rude; the other mare had mentioned she was getting fat, which any observer could see; Ada had merely agreed with her, and offered some options. Surely those innocent comments couldn't have been the problem when the other mare had opened the subject?

What had been lost on Ada, however, had been the joking tone in which the other mare had made her weight comments. Though Ada herself didn't realize it, that was, as it always had been, her problem. Tone, expression, jokes and sarcasm; all of these things were lost on her, and she took everything anyone said at face value. It wasn't that she didn't mean well, but she was certainly unprepared for the realities of social interaction.  

[Cajmera]

Hatsuharu Sohma (Haru)
~~~

Haru yawned as he ambled along, wondering as he did so just what the heck he was doing. There was nothing out here worth doing, seeing, eating; it was just a big open grassy space, full of dry, unappealing grass and uninteresting Soquili. He could have accomplished just as many things or had just as much fun if he'd just slept in that morning. In fact, he hadn't ruled the idea of going back to sleep out of his mind. Still, that was such a depressing idea that he continued on, holding out hope that something would change, something would spark his interest.

Preferably something that didn't wake Him.

Haru shuddered slightly, shaking his two-toned crop of hair. No, bringing Him out was more excitement than he really wanted, or so he always heard afterwards; one of the downsides of His time was that Haru never remembered anything afterwards. Anything that he'd said or done while under the influence of Him, he heard from whoever happened to be around at the time.

At the moment, given there was no one else around to observe and report, he would be on his own. Though if there was no else around, then there was no one who could trigger Him out into the open. Small blessings, anyway.

Man, now he was just getting depressing. What was he going to do, just spend the rest of his life tiptoeing around the edge of civilization, avoiding any possible conflict or drama on the chance that it would trigger an episode. Mind you, he wasn't proud of His behavior; He could be nasty, to say nothing of rude, crude, and belligerent. But was it worth avoiding Him, to avoid life itself?

Such were the ponderances of Haru, the thoughts that dogged him every day as he went about his business. He hated idleness, so he put himself through a punishing exercise regime every day. But that only ate up a small part of his day, leaving him the rest of the time to seek out other interests. Failing in that, he could always castigate himself for wanting to seek out other interests...and there he was, back full circle.

Haru shook his head again, and was about to start off in another direction when a flash of pink caught his eye. His curiosity piqued, he strolled towards the pink, his smile broadening as he realized it was a mare. Here's hoping she lived up to her promise.

Though it wasn't much promise, he observed as he got closer. She was a mare, certainly, but a somewhat short, somewhat pudgy, incredibly unprepossessing sort of mare. Not his type; not anyone's type, he was sure. Still, she looked lonely, and he was bored. The least he could do was pass a few minutes with her; if he found her boring, he could always just move on.

So with that in mind... "Hello!"  

[Cajmera]

Ada
~~~

Ada was just getting into the point of her socialization review where she fell into depression when the cheery 'hello' broke in on her thoughts. Immediately, her mood shot up back into buoyant, and she turned with her brightest smile to greet the stallion who'd spoken. "Hello to you, also!" She was beyond delighted; after her short but abysmal conversation with the mare, she needed something to lift her spirits. And preferably keep them raised.

He looked like a nice enough fellow, she reflected, if a little...well, punk. He had a spike mane and tail in black and white, and a bunch of chains hung around his neck. He had a pale peach colored coat, and he wore the oddest little cuffy things at his ankles. And most importantly, he had a smile. That was a great start to the conversation, if only it would stay there.

That thought firmly in mind, she lifted her chin even higher and stretched her smile even wider. She wouldn't repeat her previous mistake...whatever it was. "It's so nice to see you!"  

[Cajmera]

Haru
~~~

Haru was more than amused at this point. He'd been hoping for a bit of interest, but what he seemed to be getting was...well, what? An overly enthusiastic mare who was greeting him like her long-lost lover, rather than a stranger who had said 'Hello.' He wasn't sure if it was desperation, boredom, or extreme interest on her part, but whatever it was, it was something he could work with. Hadn't he been looking for interest? If nothing else, the mare wasn't inclined to blow him off. That was a promising beginning.

His eyes were dancing with amusement as he strolled up to the mare, returning her smile with a grin of his own. "I'm sure it's nice to see you as well, though you have to give me a chance to get to know you before I make any promises. You seem to have the jump on me, though; obviously you're in a good mood! I only hope I can live up to your expectations, whatever they are." Grinning, he stuck out a hoof. "Haru. And you are?"  

[Cajmera]

Ada
~~~

Well, he hadn't left yet, so that was a positive thing! Though Ada was already lost before the conversation even got underway; what could he possibly mean by her 'having the jump on him?' Did he think she was able to jump higher than him? If so, what did that matter? Was this a region where jumping played some integral role in social chit-chat? As she considered that thought, her eyes rounded; perhaps that was the problem she'd been facing all along; perhaps she was supposed to jump when she met someone new!

Quickly and promptly, she jumped as high up into the air as possible, landing solidly and firmly as she gave the stallion a grin. "Now I have the jump on you, but I am in a good mood regardless. It's just nice to have someone to talk to, don't you think? I was just standing out here thinking about how lonely things can be, and then you walked along! That's what makes me happy."  

[Cajmera]

Haru
~~~

...Ok, that was strange. Haru snorted out a laugh at the mare's little leap, unsure exactly what the point had been but unable to argue with the ridiculousness. Obviously she wasn't afraid to open an interaction by playing the fool; that could be a deterrent for some of the Soquili he knew, but he'd rather a fool than nothing. At least with a fool, he had plenty of opportunity to laugh! "Well, I'll concede this jumping contest to you, Miss, although you still haven't told me who you are so I can properly award you your prize. I'm not much of a jumper myself, so I'm not even going to try."

So saying, he cocked his head at Ada and regarded her with the same amused expression. "But I'll agree with you it's nice to have someone to talk to, within reason. I don't know about you, but there have been times in my life where the conversation has left me pulling my hair out in frustration!" He snorted, thinking of some of those dull conversations where nothing more interesting than the weather or the seasons was discussed; there was only so much time that could be spent talking about the unseasonable warmth of the day, for heaven's sake!

"Though I'm glad you're happy, at least for the time being."  

[Cajmera]

Ada
~~~

Wait, they'd been having a contest? Ada paused, a bit puzzled how they could be competing if Haru wasn't even participating. She was sure she hadn't declared there to be a contest, so there had been no challenge laid. So she had just won a contest of one? How very strange.

However, there was minimal time to dwell on the perplexities of this interaction; Haru's rather pointed words reminded her that he'd already asked her name once, and she hadn't given it. Her eyes rounding once again, she blurted out with much more force than she intended, "Adalansia! That is, my name is Adalansia, but you can call me Ada if you want to. I'm not fussy when it comes to my name." By the end of her little introduction her voice was almost inaudible, her embarrassment at the loudness of her speech causing her to drastically overcompensate.

But that lowered tone allowed her to hear Haru's follow up, as strange as that was. To think, a conversation could make him pull his hair out? How was that even possible, with hooves? It must have been very awkward, and painful to boot. Instantly overcome with sympathy, she asked him, did it hurt you much? When you pulled your hair out? I can't imagine how you possibly did that."  

[Cajmera]

Hatsuharu
~~~

Wow, this mare was either super trusting or else just none too bright. In only a few sentences, it had become apparent to Hatsuharu that he had been unlucky in having this mare come into view; never mind stimulating conversation, he'd be lucky to get ANY proper conversation out of this mare. Really, what was he supposed to make of a mare who didn't seem to get what was meant by a simple turn of phrase? Though she did have a point; there was nothing like a frustrating conversation to actually make him contemplate literally ripping out his hair. Now, if only he had hands...

Still, he could try to be charitable. It wasn't the mare's fault if she was stupid, and if she was really as trusting as she seemed to be, then she was all the more to be pitied. It almost begged the question of how she managed to survive in a world chock full of expressions, idioms, and turns of phrase! Hopefully no one had ever wished her good luck by saying 'break a leg...'

Though to be honest, Haru now found himself in a bit of a pickle. Was the kinder thing to do explaining that she was getting his words all wrong? Or to just brush it off as a harmless eccentricity?  

[Cajmera]

Adalansia
~~~

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Ada didn't know what she'd said, or how she'd said it, but the stallion hadn't said anything in response to her last comments and was just standing there, staring at her. She didn't know what that meant, but it couldn't be a good thing when the conversation ended so abruptly! She couldn't believe this was happening again already, especially when her last conversation had only so recently ended. Why did this keep happening to her?

Still, it wasn't as bad as it could be; the stallion was still there. He hadn't just walked off, or remembered some appointment like so many others. She supposed she ought to be grateful for small favors, but darned if she wasn't starting to think small favors were all she was ever going to get!

Well, she could fret later. For now...damage control! "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? Is pulling your own hair out a sensitive subject? I'm sorry, I had no idea!"  

[Cajmera]

Hatsuharu
~~~

And now they were veering back into the realm of interesting! Just when Haru had been considering creating some excuse to leave, the mare actually went and surprised him! Haru had briefly assumed she was just dumb, but it appeared there was more to Ada's depressing lack of conversation skills than mere mental daftness. His silence had provoked something almost bordering on panic in the mare; he was no expert on the panicked state in mares, but he didn't have to be to hear the rise in her voice's pitch or see the agitated shifting motions she started making. The way she practically fell over herself to apologize for any perceived slight was also intriguing; what on earth was up with this mare that she'd react so badly to a silence?

Interest, piqued.

"Hey. no worries. It's not that it's really a senstivie subject, it's just that it's...well, not really a subject, you know? I mean, it's not an actual truth." He hoped that would clear things up, but one look at the mare's blank gaze told him he'd need to try a wee bit harder to get his point across. "It's just an expression, a turn of phrase. Something I say to get my point across without actually meaning what I'm saying?"  

[Cajmera]

Adalansia
~~~

Yeah, if Hatsuharu thought any of that explanation was going to make things clearer for Adalansia, he was going to be disappointed. While she was relieved to know that she hadn't offended him in any way, the 'explanation' that followed his reassurance was as clear as mud to the mare, in spite of the fact she was desperate to understand. He had said something he didn't mean, that wasn't true, in order to convey a point that didn't actually match up with the meaning of his words? Then what was the point of making the statement, when it would be just as simple and far less confusing to just say what he actually meant? Didn't that defeat the purpose of language and just reduce it to the status of code? How was she supposed to know that he wasn't actually to be taken at his word, and how was she to know what words to mentally substitute for what he was saying?

This was all proving very confusing.

She tried to puzzle things out on her own for a few minutes, but very quickly realized that approach would get her nowhere. With an apologetic glance up at the stallion, she said "I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me. Why not just say what you mean to say? Surely that would be just as simple for you, and far easier for me to follow." Except now she was sounding selfish; best amend that last bit. "Me, or anyone else you'd be talking with."