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 Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:44 pm
((rp was done completely via discord with Mr Glacial))
It took quite a bit to get a boy like Kuno riled up. The laid-back kid enjoyed just gliding through life without overthinking the relatively small world he lived in. He was getting older though, and was exploring a little more on his own. Of course, this ran the risk of more negative interactions to ruffle his usually smooth feathers; and today had been one of those days.
Cheeks still pink with irritation even after the long walk from town, the now preteen went into the main sitting room and stood in front of the fireplace. Kuno looked at a palm-sized wood carving in his hand and chucked it hard into the fireplace with a growl. Ignoring the rain of sparks from the disturbed coals, he dropped facedown onto the couch. Who could he talk to about his new predicament? Azreal? Oh, heck no! His father? …Probably not the best to give advice on the matter. Mother? …No. Was Zyphire around? He didn’t think so. Maybe Uncle Eresin or Aunt Talisia? Could he really talk to anybody?
..Was he smelling smoke?
Shoving himself up, Kuno yelped and hopped back to the fireplace, stomping on the rug that had managed to attract a few of the sparks from the fire. “Crap crap crap crap crap!” Could this day get any worse?!
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:47 pm
-Mr Glacial-
Eresin went about his business by reading his books. It felt like any other day for him, being in his study and snacking on dried fruits and nuts while he read, but something in the back of his mind kept nagging at him. "I'm not forgetting something, am I...?" He shook his head as he thought out loud.
The smell of smoke ripped him from his book, panic and sudden realization hitting him all at once. "Oh my Maker! I'm supposed to be watching the kids today!" He shot up from his chair, almost stumbling and tripping over his feet. "Please don't burn down the house!" He said out loud to himself as he rushed down the hall towards the faint smell. He arrived at the room to see Kuno stamping out some embers off of a rug. Rushed over to help, and once the flame was out, he examined the boy, trying to find any signs of injury. "Are you alright? You don't look hurt." He sighed in relief at the almost disaster. Talisia would have given him an earful for forgetting she was going out for the day. "How did this happen?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:49 pm
Horror rose through him when he heard someone rushing along the hall. This was going to be a sight to walk into! Being the only one in the room, he was sure to be blamed, too. A mix of relief and embarrassment flooded through him when it was his uncle who burst through the door. Kuno winced at the sight of the singed fabric of the rug once the fire and the smoke were gone before he looked up at his concerned uncle and sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Ain’t nothin’ but the rug hurt,” he huffed, scuffing his boot over the sooty fibers. His eyes shifted over to the fire curiously, and then widened slightly. The carving… Oops.
Okay. Maybe the blame was rightfully on him…
“I- uh- musta been too rough puttin’ in a log,” he said with an awkward chuckle, shifting to stand between the fire and Eresin to block the view. Now he really didn’t want to talk about his day leading up to that mess. “My bad. It’s fine now.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:50 pm
-Mr Glacial-
His prior experience with raising his own children allowed Eresin to see the guilt written plain as day on Kuno's face, yet he decided that it wasn't very important to pursue the issue. You have to pick your battles, Eresin. Either way, he knew that the only thing that really mattered was both the house not being on fire, and Kuno being completely unharmed. The rug, however... was not so lucky. He couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the singed parts of the rug. "The rug can be replaced. You, however, cannot." He smiled at the young boy, and patted his shoulder.
As he examined the boy's face, he could gauge that something else was bothering him, something that may be worth pursuing. He went through all of the phases and emotions of a kid, so it wasn't hard for him to figure out that something was bothering him. Eresin kneeled so he was at eye level with Kuno and asked, "Are you sure everything's alright?" He paused letting the question sit in the air for a moment and followed up with another question, keeping his voice as soft as possible, "Perhaps there's something you wish to talk about?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:54 pm
Kuno couldn’t help giving a more sincere smile back. If nothing else, everyone in his family could be counted on to remind the others that they were important. More important than material goods. More important than a silly trinket and some snob’s opinion, certainly.
His cheeks heated slightly when Eresin knelt down, eyes shifting away. How did some adults just seem to know? “Talk? Nooo..” he started, dragging out the denial. However, his uncle’s earnest tone made him pause. He had to remind himself that there wasn’t anyone else he would be really comfortable discussing things with. “..Maybe..” His hand rose to scratch at his shoulder bashfully. “Would you.. bother.. tryin’ to be friends with someone who says they don’t wanna be your friend? Even if they seem super cool besides that?” Huh. That had sounded like a more valid debate in his head.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:56 pm
-Mr Glacial-
Eresin had to pause at the question. Answering kids isn't as easy as it would be if an adult had asked the same question. There was also the issue of translating it in a way a younger mind could comprehend. "Hmm." Eresin put his finger to his chin and tapped it. The question of friendships isn't something that all adults have issues with, but in Eresin's mind, friendships were quite important to everyone. Friendships were a source of happiness, but they shouldn't be forced and need to be reciprocated. Now, how to say all that in a way a kid would understand...
"Well, if you ask me, telling someone they don't want to be your friend makes them not 'super cool', especially since you're super cool." Eresin shrugged nonchalantly, and asked, "Why wouldn't he want to be your friend? And why do you want to be friends with someone like that anyway?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:57 pm
Kuno sighed heavily and shifted his eyes away again. That’s what he was afraid of hearing. He knew he was cool! He just wanted the other person to see it. His cheeks heated brighter and he scuffed his boot over the rug again. “……She,” he corrected bashfully. “’cause she’s cool and pretty and stuff, and I’m cool and stuff.. but she says..” his lips pursed again and he looked at his uncle stubbornly. Would he understand? “She said she can’t hang out with ‘commoner’ boys. I ain’t common, though! No one else like me here!” He paused again and cocked a brow. “Right? I heard the ice tribes can be snooty, but can’t I change her mind?”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:58 pm
-Mr Glacial-
"Oh?" Eresin raised an eyebrow at the new information. He nodded several times, hiding his smirk from the boy. Oh, girl problems. Eresin thought. "Well, this changes everything." He sat down in the chair nearby in front of the fireplace, and gestured to the other chair for the boy to sit down in across from him.
"Well, now. She might say she can't hang out with commoner boys, but that doesn't always mean that's how she really feels." Eresin started. "You know how adults have rules to keep kids out of trouble? And you kids don't always listen to what we adults say?" Eresin hoped what he was about to say wasn't going to get the two of them in trouble. "Well, I'm sure you can convince her that you're more than a commoner, and change her mind, even though her parents told her not to. I think this one rule is okay to break."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:59 pm
Kuno’s brow rose curiously as he followed as directed, settling into the cozy chair. At least he couldn’t see the rug anymore. “It’s always the adults,” he huffed, quickly following up with an apologetic since toward the adult he was consulting. “Well, not always.“
His hand raised to tap two fingers to his lips, pondering Eresin’s words. It was true; he had dismissed the words of adults on more than one occasion. He currently liked what he was hearing though, and hung on every word. “What can I do? Tryin’ ta talk ta her more’n a minute is hard with her pushin’ away.” He snorted sourly. “Why are the adults tellin’ her I’m common anyway?”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:00 pm
-Mr Glacial-
Eresin paused, thinking of a clever way to answer the boy's questions. "Ah. Well, It's like you said. They're being snooty icelings." Eresin raised a hand. "But!" He paused, still trying to keep things simple. "That doesn't matter. All that matters is that you do your best to show this girl how great you are."
Eresin chuckled. In the back of his mind, he was probably giving horrible advice, but then he thought of how he and his wife Talisia fell in love, and how he always thought she was completely out of his league, yet she still fell for his goofy self. Maybe I can give him an example...? He thought. "Do you want to know how your aunt and I met and became friends?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:01 pm
Kuno pursed his lips into a pout and tapped his fingers again. Apparently, snooty was just snooty and it couldn’t always be helped. He wished they would have chosen someone else to be the ‘commoner’ target though! Remember, ignore the parents and focus on the girl! It couldn’t be that bad, right?
His brow cocked doubtfully for a brief moment. Stories about his aunt and uncle meeting? “Just promise it ain’t gonna turn weird,” he instructed. He didn’t need to hear about his aunt kissing! He was in need of advice though, and couldn’t simply turn the offer for a suggestion down.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:02 pm
-Mr Glacial-
Eresin couldn't help but laugh at the young boy's comment. "Yes, yes, I promise to leave out any 'icky kissy' parts." He commented. "Anyhow, I wasn't always a mage, you know. My parents were merchants. I never thought I'd go out adventuring, until your aunt came along." Eresin crossed his arms. "Hm, it feels like so long ago, but your aunt came stumbling into our merchant tent with a whole bunch of cuts and bruises, and I was alone manning the store because my parents went out to trade."
He continued with his story, "So, I helped patch her up. Gave her bandages and some ointment. I liked her, she had spunk, but I didn't think there was any way she'd want to be around some goofy merchant boy. She was an adventurer, and well, I wasn't." Eresin shrugged. "But you know what? I still tried. I became a mage and learned how to do this-" Eresin held out his hand, and blew into his palm, while holding the other hand to cover the wind from escaping. Small gusts of winds blew around the room, making the fireplace fire flicker and go out. When he finished, he revealed in his palm a small rose made of ice.
"I showed Tally this and, well, I guess you can say she thought I was pretty cool after that."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:03 pm
Kuno’s brow rose with the expanding tale. A merchant’s life had never appealed to the boy. It always seemed so boring! It seemed natural that a family member would be the one to take his uncle off from that path. Grinning as the magic spread around the room, he reached out to pluck up the ice rose for a closer look. It really was impressive. “Ha! ‘Cool!’” he laughed at the wordplay, whether or not it was intended, and held the rose back out.
“How did Aunt Tally get all beat up?” he asked, leaning forward with interest. He wasn’t sure he had any magical skill to impress the girl with, but maybe he could pull from his aunt’s book and show off with some kind of thrilling adventure!
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:04 pm
-Mr Glacial-
Eresin chuckled at the boy's excitement. Alright, this is going well. He thought to himself. He didn't intentionally make the pun as Kuno pointed out, but he decided to roll with it. "Ahaha, yes." He watched Kuno examine the flower as he prepared to answer the question. "Mmm, I believe she got hurt trying to help her raptrix familiar. You see, we were in Oba at the time, and raptrix are already pretty rare, and even more so in Oba."
Eresin covered his eye and made a nasty face and made a hook with his index finger, trying to make himself look like a bandit or pirate of some sort. "One of these nasty looking bandits and his friends tried to take her raptrix, you see." He finished his imitation and continued with the story. "Of course your aunt Tally was hot headed and liked to pick a lot of fights back then. So, she thought it would be a good idea to fight them all! All ten of them!" He laughed at the tall tale. Of course he was exaggerating on how many of them there were, but that was mostly because he didn't exactly know how many she had fought. I'm usually a stickler for details, but this is much more entertaining.
"Imagine that! Your aunt Tally taking on a whole group of bandits. Of course they did a number on her, but she was victorious in the end."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:06 pm
Oba! That was so far away! Kuno pursed his lips slightly. As much as he wanted to go on distant adventures, his parents were clear in their intentions to keep him and his brother from going anywhere. Still, even he could tell his mother was itching to be on the move again. Maybe he just needed to work on her a little more? ..Of course, what brave adventurer took his parents on those adventures with him? He would have to figure something out…
“Ten!” he gasped out, fully ready to believe his aunt would be able to take on so many. His family was amazing, after all. Could he take on ten bandits to impress a girl? ….maybe not yet. “I can’t do magic, and I can’t fight off ten bandits… gifts don’t work either,” Kuno sighed heavily and leaned back to slouch in his chair, his eyes sliding over to the now extinguished fire. He could still see the charred lump of his attempted carving among the logs. “You and Aunt Tally had it so easy,” he said with a heavy sigh of dismay. “Relationships are too much work!”
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