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 Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:34 am
[Scar via discord]
Casimir and Calliana went to school, most days. They had teachers who taught them about the world - how to write, how to speak 'properly', and about the history of Belrea. Casimir wasn't especially studious but he liked school, most days; there were fun people there, and sometimes they learned some neat things, and it was worth it. But Casimir's favorite time? Was when the fields were ready to harvest, and school was closed. For most kids, it was because they were needed back home in the villages and settlements they lived in, expected to do their part to pull in the crops.
But for Casimir, it meant times when their family could leave the inns, or rented houses they stayed in, and got to travel around - every night spent by a new fire. His papa would dress up, and look beautiful, and dance with his swords and it was amazing.
There'd be singing, and dancing, and while Cas wasn't like big brother Siel, who played instruments skillfully, he enjoyed it a lot. Enough that this evening, as his papa was getting ready, Cas had moved to a spot outside the tents, grinning as he opened up a pouch of 'makeup' he'd gotten, with Calliana, a few weeks ago. It was like glimmery dust - sparkling, shimmery, and when he dipped his fingers in and dabbed it over his eyelids in unknowingly sloppy strokes, he felt maybe he might be just as cool looking as his papa. He'd tied his hair up, adding simple braids at his temples, and he didn't have swords so he'd taken a knife from the dinner table, cleaned it, and was hoping it might work. And now, he just waited for his papa to finish up and come out!
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:35 am
Callum wasn’t sure what to make of Belrean education. He’d done his best to make sure his older children knew their letters, but there was only so much one could do when they couldn’t read all that well themselves. For the most part he’d left all of that to Nimueh and what tutors they could get during their travels. When Ygraine and Sol were younger he’d learned enough to know road maps, basic ledges and the like, but now he thought school was horrible. Mostly because Belrean education took the children away from whatever rented place they’d settled into and even on his off days he had to wait until they were finished to see them.
Still, they were learning so much that he minded himself. It was humbling to have a child that was barely to his thigh correct him on pronunciation, but still, Callum was proud. Even if they weren’t at the top of the class they were still doing so much more than he could have ever dreamed for them.
Callum was decked out in his best performance gear and had been in the process of tying up his hair when he’d noticed one of the children was missing. If it were earlier in the day he wouldn’t have worried as much, but night would be setting soon and he didn’t want Casimir to get lost. So, once his hair was properly tied up and decorated with just enough jewelry to catch fire light the sword dancer made his way out of the tent –
-and just as quickly found the ‘missing’ boy.
“There you are, Cas.” What was…? Oh Gods, what was all over his face? “Why do you have a knife?”
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:36 am
[Scar via discord]
Cas slowly twirled the knife in his fingers. Very slowly - with deliberate turns that, at this speed, were careful and precise. But in his mind, he imagined it faster, so fast - like those knife games he saw people play sometimes, stabbing knives between their fingers on a table --
He fumbled, and nearly dropped the knife when the tent flap moved, but managed to catch it by the handle, looking up when his dad emerged. "For the dance, of course." He said, simply, hopping up to stand. Then, holding the tiny handle of the knife with both hands, he slowly maneuvered the sword - in a mimicry of the slow, methodical way his papa did during his dances. "It's my sword - see? And it's - little because I'm little."
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:38 am
Nope nope no- “That’s so wonderful, Casimir, but do you know what’s even better for dancing? Practice swords. They’re much longer and have better balance.” They were also made of wood and far less likely to result in the boy losing a finger. Or worse. What if in his spinning he managed to stab himself or someone else? Seeing him with a training sword would also help Callum in believing they weren’t raising a little sociopath-
Still, there was something adorable about the whole thing. He wanted to be like his papa and that went straight to his heart. He’d also obviously watched Callum enough to pick up the base technique, which was impressive. “If you want you can always practice with me, but only if we use training swords.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:39 am
[Scar via Discord]
Maybe if Casimir was better at reading people, he would realize the panic he'd put his father into. But as it was, the boy was more fixated on the praise - even if it came with a challenge. Cas pouted at first, immediately seeing an issue with his papa's suggestion - though he did perk up hopefully when Callum continued. "Really? You'd let me? I wouldn't slow you down too bad?" He asked, happily. His dad was always so peaceful when he danced - the movements were too complicated for Casimir to follow, exactly, and people enjoyed his papa's dancing too much for him to want to interrupt.
Besides, he didn't really see his dad practice a lot - he imagined it happened, mostly, when he and Calliana were at school. "Where do you get training swords? Can I get one with a ring, like yours??"
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:40 am
Considering the alternative was either letting Casimir run around with knives unsupervised or seek out a Belrean trainer who would very likely teach him more on mathematics than swordsmanship? The answer was obvious. “Of course not; I would love to have you there, Cas.” He reached forward and put his hand on the little ones head, threading his fingers through the boys thick waterfall locks. “We can even come up with some special moves; just me and you.” Flashy, non sensical things, but as long as they were with wooden swords Callum was sure he could handle any accidental damage.
“We could pick up one in town or we could ask Baba to help us make one. It’s not that hard. You could even paint it if you’d like, but a ring might be difficult. They’re weighted and you need to work up to that.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:41 am
[Scar via discord]
Wow... ! He could dance with dad? Casimir beamed, preening as his papa pet through his hair. The knife wasn't nearly as cool now, so Casimir casually set it down on the box he'd been sitting on before, smoothing his makeup covered fingers over the front of his shirt, leaving glitter in their wake. "Aww...! I wish I could get one-" He grumbled, scuffing his foot against the dirt. But then he perked up and looked at his father, grey eyes glimmering, creased up in a smile. "You have three rings - wow! How long did you have to work up for THREE? Can you teach me to do it? D'you think my arms'll get all big like baba's?"
He bounced, excited, puffing out his little chest proudly.
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:10 am
[4/10]
Since his youngest son seemed to be briming with questions, Callum pulled another crate close and sat down. He had a little time before his performance to chat so that wasn't a concern so much as the steady ache in his knees. It didn't seem to matter how much he stretched and worked these days; age wasn't taking too kindly to all the abuse his body had suffered through the years.
"Let's see...It was after Ygraine and Sol were born that I started training with one. I'm not sure how long after I was using three, but I know it took a lot of work to make sure I didn't drop the sword." How many times had he gone through a practiced move, only to have the sword over correct itself and go skittering across the ground? He'd even accidentally chucked it at Nimueh once. They'd both taken precautions after that.
"Maybe. If they are then you'll be able to have swords a lot bigger than mine." Callum could see it now; Casimir wielding a broadsword like a knife and giving his fathers heart palpitations. Still, his aishan blood was already diluted and it would be a toss up if he carried those same traits. Siel was large, but while he was broad he wasn't as tall as Ygraine. Only time would tell where Calliana and Casimir fell.
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:45 am
[Scar via Discord]
"Woah..." The boy breathed, eyes huge as he listened, leaning forward intently, oblivious to his father's discomfort and reason for sitting. Instead, he set the knife down (finally) and moved closer to set his hands against his father's legs, wanting to crawl up into his lap, but realizing that he was a bit too big for it now. As a youngling, he was earthling sized - not that it wasn't possible for him to suddenly sprout up, as Ygraine had.
"You make it look so easy. You're so cool, papa--" He beamed up at him, the mess of makeup on his face only exaggerated by the whiteness of his teeth and bright eyes.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:34 am
If he were sitting somewhere with support for his back Callum would have taken the boy into his arms. He didn't care how big his children got he would always make room for them. That being said he also needed to work for them and being laid up for a week just wouldn't do. Callum reached forward to lovingly brush a hand through his sons thick, silken hair and brought it down to cup his cheek. Would his skin stain thanks to the boys haphazard cosmetic skills? Yes. Did he care? Not really. He could always wrap his palms in a decorative bandage before performing. "You really think so?" Goddess, how wonderful would it be to look at the world through Casimir's eyes. He was just so utterly precious and Callum was blessed to be able to raise him that way.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2022 8:39 am
(6/10) To that, Cas nodded enthusiastically, only to go still when his dad held his cheek. Instead, that energy transferred into a wild grin, and before long he started bouncing his legs again. As nice as it was for his dad to give him affection, it wasn't a rare thing - he was a well loved child - and so he pushed himself up and danced away instead, peering around the edge of the tent towards the crowd that was gathering to watch his dad perform.
"Have you ever tried to dance with other stuff than blades though? Like a whip or-- or fire? I heard that Obans sometimes dance with fire, or they juggle their swords. Or even swallow their swords!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:18 am
If he had half the energy his youngest son had then Callum wouldn't feel the crick in his bones when he got up in the morning. Still, he was spry for his age and was happy enough just to watch the boy bounce about.
"Can't say I've ever tried a whip; Talisia beat me with one a few too many times for me to try." He laughed. He'd mentioned the hybrid woman a time or two to his younger children, but there was never a good time to see her. Actually, he hadn't even seen his friend in so long that Callum wondered if she'd forgotten him all together.
At the mention of fire though, Callum's smile took a more jaded turn. He was a master at keeping it up, however, and only the slightest of sighs slipped out. "Well then, I'm sure they'd like to keep those secrets in Oba, wouldn't they? Maybe you'd like to see how the Belreans perform? I've heard they can use blunderbusses like arrows."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:41 pm
(7/10) Ohhh. Auntie Talisia. He'd never met her, but Cas had heard enough stories. He gawped at his papa, stunned that he'd never tried a whip before. He was so excited that he almost missed the way his father wilted as he continued. It was enough that Casimir looked at him, tilting his head in question. ... Thankfully, he was a simple boy and in the end he decided his papa must be sad that the Obans didn't share their dances with others. Yeah! That made sense!
"Belreans? How do you dance with a blunderbuss?" How did one dance with arrows?? He bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, but was more subdued now, just soaking up his father's attention like a happy little plant.
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:15 pm
"I don't think they can, but it's more in the way they shoot." He held up his hands like a crossbow, but rolled his shoulders a bit, giving the act a touch of flare. Callum knew enough about the proper positions because of Ming'we so it wasn't hard to add glamour. "Can you imagine it? If you had the right music and a big enough build up with a few dangers then you hear the bang!" He couldn't help grinning like the excited fool he was. The story in his mind was at least exciting and he didn't really stop to think of if it was for his son.
"You can dance however you want with whatever you want, Casimir. So long as you feel it in your blood you'll find a way." Granted, the dance itself might look awful to others and make absolutely no sense at all, but sometimes it wasn't meant for others. Sometimes Callum would just move for himself or to get a laugh out of his family.
Sometimes he didn't owe the world a damn thing and that was the hardest lesson he'd had to learn.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:27 pm
(8/10) Casimir's eyes were wide as he watched his papa give his demonstrations. He gasped, out loud, imagining the percussive music that often accompanied his father's dancing, but exaggerated just the way he described with a loud shot. It sounded so cool! He grinned back, broadly, infected by Callum's excitement, holding his breath until it released in a loud gasp.
He wasn't sure he understood the point his papa was trying to make but he nodded gravely all the same, taking the advice to heart even if he didn't fully comprehend it. "And then I'll be like you." He added, voice awed and hopeful, and with the proper questioning in it that showed how he regarded the concept with acute longing.
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