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Post by The Jenn on Dec 8, 2007 13:02:39 GMT -5
"No, shopping isn't fun," Lior agreed with a small sigh. Especially not with his father and Linda. He didn't like jewelry shops, with all their gaudy baubles. He didn't like magic shops, full of esoteric items and ingredients to spells he'd never be able to manage, no matter how much he wanted to. He didn't even like banders, really, not enough to stand there and chat with the smug shopkeep for hours on end. His father's Sultana didn't care for him overly and had made her dislike known through one too many nips for him to be anything but wary of the creatures.
So, in short, he didn't like shopping with the pair of them.
"I can respect that, though. I go to the gardens at home sometimes for a bit of peace and quiet. The place can get loud sometimes, and far too busy for anyone to just stand around and think." He paused. Tilted his head. Why not ask? "What do you think about that makes it sad?" he asked curiously. He thought about enough depressing things during his own 'down time' that he wondered.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2007 13:20:15 GMT -5
"Er... well... I..." Did he really want to know? Did anyone really want to know what he thought about? He was a complete stranger. It couldn't hurt to tell him what he missed. What he wanted to see again so much. This was just a chance meeting, nothing would come of it, or at least he wouldn't expect anything to come from it.
Eilwyn let out a chirp, yes, a good and proper low chirp coming from an eagle. It wasn't unusual to him. After all, most of his siblings were sparrows. If they could chirp he should be able to chirp too.
"I just think about what I can't do anymore. It makes me sad not being able to see my dad smile or my brothers laughing." He sighed. It was something he would never be able to see again. Losing something so important and making his family said just didn't sit well.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 8, 2007 13:35:57 GMT -5
"Ahh," he said in quiet understanding, wings spreading slightly. That chirp was notable for its oddness and he blinked. His father was part eagle and he never chirped, or at least, never anywhere Lior had ever heard him. Sometimes he hissed or screeched or made other angry animal-noises, but he never chirped. "That would make me sad too, I think. I can't understand the degree, but... I can understand the sad."
Yes, he could understand sad rather well. He shouldn't have anything to be sad about. He was a King by birth, had the gift of wings, and lived in the royal palace of Hearts. All of that just served to make his life more difficult, or so it seemed.
Not as difficult as losing his sight, however. Especially if the eagle had it at one time but slowly lost the ability, as his words implied. "You'll have to forgive my curiosity, though it wasn't obvious to you, I suppose. Your eyes are very attention-catching."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2007 13:45:46 GMT -5
"Why are you apologizing? It's the truth. Most people mention it right away," Eilwyn shrugged. Lior really had no reason to be polite. It surprised Eilwyn to some degree that his eyes weren't the first thing that were mentioned. It made him curious though, Lior sounded like one of those people in the courts who tried not to be improper around dad. Lior was from the Highlands, but where else was her from?
"You don't have to be formal, you know. It's not like I'm anyone important like my Dad, my brothers or my sisters." He shrugged again and shook his head. Of all the family he was one of the least important members. With the loss of his sight it just made things so much more obvious. He had no direction. No goal. He was just there to make his Dad sad or his brothers lament when he accidentally ran into a wall.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 8, 2007 14:05:12 GMT -5
"Most people aren't very nice," Lior murmured in a quiet answer before smiling again. Whether or not the bird could see it, the expression made him feel more aware of his surroundings. With a smile, no one knew what you were thinking. They could judge all they liked, but they were usually wrong. Unless they were his sister. She just... knew, and it made him feel even worse to worry her.
He shoved those thoughts to the back burner, to stew and mull around, attention going back to the young man in front of him. "Ah, but you're a Jack of Spades, and that certainly doesn't make you unimportant. Besides, you've done nothing to deserve anything but proper manners, at least not from what I've seen. I can... try to tone it down, if you would like. I don't wish to make you uncomfortable."
The rank had made him assume instant politeness and Court policy, but perhaps that had been a false assumption. Especially if the boy were blind. He wouldn't stand nearly so well in any Court's eyes then, would he?
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2007 14:13:57 GMT -5
"Oh! No! I don't mean for you to change anything on my account!" Eilwyn shook his head emphatically. He really didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable because of him... he didn't really want anything to change because of him. He shouldn't make people feel bad for him, or pity. He hated pity. It just made people so upset. He didn't like the idea of people being upset over him, and Dad was most of the time.
"I don't know. Everyone in my family seems to have some goal. I don't really." He shrugged, "That's why I guess I don't see myself as very important. It's not like I'm going into the Courts. I don't think anyone would take kindly to having someone who was blind, capable or not, in the courts." And Eilwyn had no idea if he was capable or not for a job in the courts. He didn't really have that many usable skills.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 8, 2007 14:20:11 GMT -5
Lior slowly hunched his body as the bird spoke, his head ending up nearer his shoulders and his wings bunched tight against his back again. Oh, ouch. Ouch...
"I suppose we can be unimportant together, then," he said softly, voice gone very quest and expression lost for the few seconds it took him to realize how he must have looked to anyone - besides present company - who might be watching him. They would be ashamed of him back home for saying something so stupid. That didn't make it any less true, but still. His papa would probably whack him across the back of the head.
He took a slow, deep breath and sat up straight again, wings settled properly rather than pinching in against his sides. "They don't expect you to do any of that, do they?" His own family certainly did, and he always felt like he disappointed them rather spectacularly. He couldn't be merciless and strong like papa wanted. He couldn't exude a sense of power like father wanted. He couldn't be magically adept like uncle wanted. He couldn't even be happy with himself like Linda wanted.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2007 14:31:12 GMT -5
Eilwyn blinked at the sudden change in tone. It was so very obvious that something was bothering Lior. It was the same tone Dad had when he was upset and trying to hide it. People did a bad job of hiding disappointment or loss. Covering it up never really worked, but who wasn't guilty of that? Some people were more transparent than others, and voice was one of the few things that Eilwyn had left. So he wasn't surprised when he picked up on that sudden change of tone over the water
"I guess... but I think my Dad would scold me for saying something like that. I don't think he ever wants me in Courts, he says it's too vicious and doesn't think I should subject myself to it. Then again, almost the whole family is in the courts."
Almost. Malch sometimes debated. Asha wasn't going to be in Courts ever. Mori? She seemed fine without them. Everyone else, however, just seemed to be dragged into Courts.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 8, 2007 14:42:18 GMT -5
Lior laughed a little, the sound lighter and airier than his previous words. He'd practiced that laugh when he was alone. Perfected it. He could summon it at a moment's notice. Usually it seemed to reassure people that nothing at all was wrong and he was just having a lark.
"Well, I suppose we're in a similar boat, then. My parents would love to see me in the Court with them if I were up to the task. My sister is doing a better job of it than I am, I think. She's going to be Queen someday." He didn't say it with any bitterness, but there was a definite note of wistful sadness.
"Your Dad sounds like a good person, though, to keep you away from all of that if he thinks it's too much. You should listen to him. The Courts are vicious." And some of the people in them. He didn't even want to imagine someone like Eilwyn pitted against his papa or his father. Or even his sister, if she wanted something out of him.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2007 15:02:36 GMT -5
Eilwyn sighed. A laugh. He wished he could see the look on Lior's face. "Queen of what?" he found himself saying. Being blind he never could tell who he was talking to. Suit didn't really matter, neither did rank. People were simply people. It didn't matter who or what they were when you couldn't see them. It only mattered how they acted and how they treated you and the ones you loved. Lior was obviously a kind person, regardless of what he was.
"I usually listen to Dad, but I want to find a goal by myself like everyone else in the family. I want Dad to be proud..." He squinted his eyes. He didn't have much of a chance now, did he? He was blind and not many people understood that he still could do a few things. All they did was pity him now. Even when he was very sick of it,
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