The boy,( for I feel calling him a grown stallion would be a bit too generous), stares blankly at me for a handful of moments, and in that time, I am reminded of a fish I speared when hunting for you. I remember it's large, vacant eyes, staring into space, its mouth gaping and gasping for air (or water?) dumbly. Perhaps it was unfair of me to compare him to a fish, for I am yet to hear him speak, and if I were to judge everything on its ability to speak, I probably would fall into a spiral of thinking myself greater than everyone else, and I knew irrevocably that that simply was not true.

How could I possibly call myself better then anyone else when I had lost you?

He speaks, and my ears prick forward eagerly, looking forward to hearing an explanation for his strange - well, not necessarily strange, as I had seen stranger, but perhaps, different? - behaviour. I am rewarded with three words that explain why he was looking at the sand, at least. Amusement begins to spark behind my eyes, and I almost feel guilty for it. The emotion is lighter than what I have felt recently, and I am not sure I am entirely ready for it. There is little time for me to consider it, however, as he elaborates. Or, at least, attempts to. His fumbling words allow a small smile to cross my lips, kind and gentle in its contours. I suppose my arrival took him by surprise, he did seem quite enraptured in what he was doing, and I can't help but admire him for it.

I was never enthralled by my chosen path of study, the art of healing was something I had chosen because my father had willed me to. In saying that, I was fairly accomplished in my art, receiving the rank magic and studying under the wise eye of Onni, who was always such a natural at all things healing. I had always wanted to follow in my father's hoofsteps, to fight and defend my home, to perhaps rise to the rank of General, to lead and teach others how they could defend not only themselves but that which they held dear too.

How could I deem myself worthy of such a goal, such a rank, now, when I had failed to defend you?

He mentions that he is from the World's Edge, and without even meaning to, I allow my glance to drift to the cliff that shadows the northern end of the beach whose very sands I was born upon. As he continues to speak, revealing, perhaps by accident, his insecurities in himself, I feel for him. I remember being in a similar position, one that I wasn't entirely comfortable with but slowly coming to grips with. The smile upon my façade only glows with more genuine determination, and I decide, as fumbling and bumbling he seems to be, he is almost, cute. I wasn't attracted to him physically, but even though he tripped over his words and explanations, there was something genuine and true about him, something that hinted even if he wanted to lie, he wouldn't be very good at it. Perhaps it was a naivety I recognised within him, one that I knew existed within myself.. Or one that used to, at least.

"I did mean the wood," I admit softly, feeling so bold as to take a step closer to him, my eyes focussed upon the rope he had dangled before me. "But everything else is fascinating nonetheless," I add, trying to soften the blow of his mistake. It wasn't a true mistake anyway - he wouldn't be the first one to function less-than-appropriately in a social situation. I remember with some guilt, my methods as a healer, of attempting to get a patient to call down, simply giving up and telling them to shut up.. We were all put here to learn and grow, were we not?

"What.. Would you use all of it for?" My curiosity is genuine, and I hope I am not overstepping the social bounds I had just observed before.. I am surprised to find myself hopeful to have made a friend in this odd, different and yet delightfully refreshing steed.


@[Dragomir] :D whee random table change~