|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:08 pm
It hadn't been apparent to the young hybrid, but apparently Aten and Burvia had been listening to their conversation. As impolite as Syke found that...it wasn't like he could speak out against family. Granted Aten wasn't his father...but Skye had seen him around and he really didn't have enough notes about him. So he'd take this one as a win for him. Skylar watched as Hasina retreated into the kitchen and looked up at Aten. "Do not punish her...she is just another child that fears things that are different than her. I know that I am not like other children. I know that others look at me strangely because of that. I am quite used to it at this point, she should not be punished."
It wasn't that he felt sorry for Hasina for being reprimanded, on the contrary he was quite thrilled about that, but he knew the reason for her outburst. He wasn't a stranger to bullying at school...why should his home life be any different?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
Aten kneeled down before Skye, resting his forearms against his thighs as he crouched. There was a small, faint smile on his lips as he listened to Skye talk. Aten could feel a sense of maturity in this child that most of his own children didn't possess even as juniors. But Aten could also sense that Skye was different. Not ... odd or bad. He just didn't look through the same lenses as most children did, and that was alright. Though perhaps, if Skye was willing to learn, a professional might be able to teach him how to at least cope with that aspect of himself.
"Why do you feel you are different, Skye?" Aten asked cooly, his head tilting subtly to one side. "You still go through all the same motions as everyone else. You wake up every morning, you get your clothes on and you prepare for the day ahead of you. You go about your day, just like everybody else, and you come home in the evenings and you do your nightly routine and then go to bed. Just because your day is made up of different elements, or because you view the world in your own way does not necessarily make you different. What leads you to believe that you are?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
As Aten leaned down to his level, Skye couldn't help but scrunch his nose up. It had always felt patronizing when adults felt like they had to crouch down to talk to them. It would have just been far easier to stand and have a conversation. This was never a good sign. Adults always did this when they wanted to ask was was wrong or understand the situation better. It was beyond him why they couldn't just stand and talk to him. He feared he would never quite understand what it was that made adults want to be at eye level with children. It couldn't be comfortable for them.
"I do not feel different. I know that I am different. I watch the other children at school, they have friends, they laugh, they play. All while I sit to the side alone and watch. I do not believe that being different is a bad thing. I am who I am. They are who they are. If we can learn to accept the differences, we could all live peacefully. From what I have seen...that is not possible. While it is true that I go through the motions...there are things that I do, things that I say, that are not normal..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
"And have you noticed all the children who also sit alone? Who don't have friends of their own? You're not the only one like you, Skye. There are others out there. They just have a tendency to go unnoticed or to fly under the radar." Aten was one of those people himself, though it was because he was far too manic as a freshling. He had been to hyper, and chased people away with his overeagerness. It wasn't until he was paired up with Smolder -- and someone was practically forced to be around him -- that his personality started to shift and he started to learn what was acceptable and what was not. It was during his junior years that he kept to himself and was largely quiet and retiring. That he always ate alone. He had separated himself from his so-called friends ... focused on his studies and didn't even second guess his actions.
Then, somewhere along the line ... he married his friends.
Aten saw a lot of himself in Skye, even if Skye presented themselves in a different way. Even if their quirks were of a different flavour. Aten was curious about the child.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
Feeling somewhat at ease around Aten, Skylar decided to pull out his notebook. It was the atmosphere, but also the fact that he wanted to prove Aten wrong. Not notice someone? Even if they sat alone? Those were the easiest ones to take notes on. They never changed their pattern because they couldn't. They didn't have anyone to change their pattern with or even for. He brought out the book and held it up, hesitating to open it. The adult seemed to actually kind of understand him. Should he even dare to change that?
No. His ego as a studious person was at stake. He couldn't shy away now.
"I beg to differ with you," Skye flipped open to a page and held it up for a second before flipping to a different page and then another page after that. "The 'lonely' children seem to be the most easy to catalog. I do not worry about their lives other than what I can see. Why they have no friends is not up to me. Why I have no friends...that is up to me and I would like to keep it that way. I have seen what happens when you open up to others. The rejection. The heartbreak. The deception. I do not wish that for myself. I enjoy keeping to myself and studying others. I can understand life through them without having to go through it myself...."
Quickly he closed the book. He had said too much. It was time to withdraw again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
Ah, there it was. The real reason. Aten did not allow his expression to change, letting Skye dictate their own willingness and speed. As the boy finished speaking Aten knew now why Skye was the way he was. He could now ease Burvia's concerns, explain to her why Skye came off as so 'cold', as the geist had put it ... or, perhaps, he would make her worry more.
Skye seemed to have incredibly mature worries for someone his age; things a child should never be concerning themselves with. The child felt like an ancient soul to Aten. One who had likely gone through much turmoil in past lives and retained that sense of pain and disappointment without being able to remember why.
Aten nodded and said nothing as Skye snapped his book closed. If he had said anything, he might have completely ruined his chances of Skye opening up any further in the future. If the boy was finished sharing, then Aten would leave it there. He was never one to force someone -- child or adult -- to do something they did not wish to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:09 pm
He cleared his throat and placed his small hand upon Aten's knee. Skylar wasn't dumb. He knew what was going on. Everyone thought he was "weird" and "too emotionless". He had overheard his mother talking to his father about it. They were worried that something just wasn't right with him. Aten was probably just listening to him so he could tell Burvia about it.
This. This was exactly why he didn't like to open up.
"I thank you for listening to me, but please do not worry. I assure you that there's nothing wrong with me. The last time I went to the doctor they checked. Everyone is always worried that---no. Nevermind. Again, thank you Aten. You seem to be a very kind person. I apologize for talking your ears off. I know that this probably is not how you wanted to spend your day. Please just...do not be too upset with Hasina."
He slumped down into himself. Why had he shown this man his book. No one had seen the contents of it aside from him. Today was shaping up to be a weird sort of day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:10 pm
Aten gave a small shake of his head, though he kept his hands to himself despite wanting to place his hands on Skye's shoulders.
"I don't see anything wrong with you, Skye. I'm not worried at all. If you ask me, I think that people should worry a lot less about you than they do. There are too many people trying to tell you how you should be, and I think the only voice you should listen to is your own. If people worry, let them. You just need to follow your own ideals. You'll end up where you need to be." Aten shifted then, standing up once more, using his prehensile tail to tuck his notebook closer to the boy's heart. "If this is how you learn ... it is how you learn. People will just have to accept it."
Aten turned then, glancing over his shoulder for a brief moment. "I won't get Hasina in trouble. I promise. She has good intentions, I'm sure. She just chose the wrong way to address her concerns. I just need to remind her of that. That is all." Aten was by no means an easy parent, but harsh punishments were not something he liked to dish out unless they were warranted.
"Are you hungry? I think your dinner may be ready. Or did you want it tucked aside and heated up for you later?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:10 pm
Skylar eyed the elder apprehensively. What he was saying made sense, but no one had ever told him that before. It was odd and yet very comforting at the same time. "I just know...I know that my parents are concerned. I do not know if they think I am dangerous or if they just think something is wrong with me. I suppose I have given them reason to worry. Still. Thank you." It was the first time in a long while that he hadn't felt like a outsider in his own home. Not even that, it was the first time he didn't feel like an outsider at all. It was comforting. Skye didn't know if Aten was just saying what he wanted to hear, but even if that was the case he still felt like he belonged for once.
"As much as I do not like relying on other people...I guess I am a little hungry. Maybe I should eat in a different room? I do not want to bother Mother or Hasina."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:10 pm
"I don't think you have to eat in another room, but if you wish to then that's up to you. I am going to eat in the kitchen myself." Aten let the boy decide what he wanted to do and headed back in to the kitchen. If he wished to join, he would. If Skye wished to retreat, then so be it. Maybe one day Skye would feel comfortable in his own family ... or, maybe one day, the family would feel more comfortable with him. It broke Aten's heart a little to know that Skye seemed so isolated inside of his own family unit ... but there was nothing he could really do at this point. For now, Aten had to be content with the progress that was made today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
