thebastion | Second Word

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Second Word :: Day 119

Who: Paarthurnax and anyone who decides to talk with him
Open: Open
When: Throughout the day of Day 119
Where: By the river and apartments
What: An old dovah decides to spread his ways.
Format: Any

It is no secret by now that every "morning", Paarthurnax takes to the air and heads to the Skyway. It's actually probably hard to ignore it- you know, with the sound of giant wingbeats and the distinctly dragon-shaped shadow which passes over the Bastion. It's not a very long trip and, while Paarthurnax himself doesn't exactly explain them, the Pecker feathers in his jaws usually say enough.

Today, however, anyone paying attention might notice that the old dragon takes a bit longer than usual to return. Perhaps an hour over when he usually returns. There's no reason for alarm, because he comes back eventually... Just with a large slab of rock clutched in his talons. The weight of it means he moves a bit slower than usual, but he makes sure not to damage anything with it before landing the rock not too far from the river. It takes some work to force it into the earth so that it can stand upright, and some more work still to adjust it with his head so that it stands straight... But soon enough, there's a rock with some symbols carved onto it. Coincidentally, Paarthurnax's talons seem to be a bit more dull...

Paarthurnax himself is quite content as he looks over the rock, more or less the size of a wall and with jagged edges.

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[The events of two days ago had left Alucard a bit more leery of interacting with people than normal, but the sounds had been enough to draw him out of... not hiding exactly. Just finding spots to sit that are not terribly obvious.

Regardless, he makes his way over to the dragon with considerably less hesitance than he would most human-shaped beings.]

...These symbols... What meaning do they have?

[Considering the noise he had made trying to get this thing just right, Paarthurnax isn't surprised when someone finally decides to approach. He twists his long neck to look back at the approaching man.]

It is the vuruun- the alphabet of my kind. With my world gone and no other dov having arrived as of yet, I am the only one who remembers. Some aspects of the past deserve to be preserved.

Edited 2013-10-19 06:25 (UTC)

[He stops a bit short of the wall, just far away enough to really get a good view of the letters. It... reminds him of home in some ways.]

...That is true.

[It also reminds him of how much older he is than most of the Bastion.]

[Paarthurnax lets him look over the wall for a while, always more than willing to share what he can of his language. It is admittedly refreshing to spread it to people not of the Greybeards. Finally, however, he speaks up.]

You were one of those affected by the plant, were you not? How are you recovering?

...Physically, I have recovered. [Subconciously, he crosses his arms over his chest.] Emotionally... It may take some time for the old scars that were opened to close again. I doubt that I will ever be able to trust Crona again either.

I see. For some things, only time can truly ease the wounds closed once more. I am always here should you desire to speak, however.

[What would probably help most would be a good long stretch of no traumatic events and some therapy.]

...Perhaps I shall take you up on that offer in the future. For now, I would much rather hear more about your native tongue.

[Therapy? In the Bastion? ...Maybe later.]

As you wish. It is dovahzul, dragon voice. It is for more quiet conversations, and not debates or arguments like one would use for the Thu'um, where words are more weaponized than is normal for many other races.

[Maybe if everyone pools their shards, they'll be able to afford a therapist after they get other important things.]

I see...

[He pauses for a moment, as if pondering something. Then...]

...Would you care to teach me?

The Thu'um would possibly take more time than we have.

[There was a reason he was the Grandmaster of the Greybeards and not the Head-Full-Of-Luscious-Hair Guild, after all.]

Dovahzul? It would be a pleasure.

[To be fair, as long as nothing murders him, Alucard will remain eighteen pretty much forever. He smiles slightly.]

What is my first lesson, Old One?

The alphabet of our kind. [A nod to the wall.] I have seen some of the writing of this land, and a few are similar to the letter of the language used here.

[He starts to point them out, using his nose as best he can. A, B, N, Q... Those sorts of things. There's no 'C', it should be noted.]

Others are a sound. [He points to one in particular.]

This makes the sound of 'ir', for example.

[He points out the other eight as well and what sounds they make, patient as always.]

[Alucard diligently copies the letters down in the dirt as Paarthurnax points to them, matching the strokes as best he can. It's not entirely accurate, but certainly not bad for one who hasn't needed to write anything down in quite literally an age.]

[Paarthurnax is quiet until Alucard finishes completely. It's not a surprise to see that there are a few inaccuracies. The best way to write his language, after all, is to have dragon feet.]

Good. Practice more with it until it is better written and you feel comfortable. Then we shall move onto phrases.

The wingbeats often wake Rin, but it's never an unpleasant waking. It rouses her early, giving her time to lay in bed and take the time to wake up fully before going to her chores throughout the Bastion. It was odd having a massive dragon amongst their ranks, but she enjoyed his company and the unconventional way of starting her day was certainly better than an alarm she would have inevitably slept through anyway.

Paar was returning while she was busy in the Distillery kitchen, so it wasn't until after he had carved in to his giant rock that the half demon emerged, letting her hair down out of it's bun and stretching her arms over he head as she let out a toothy yawn.

Her path back to the apartment of course brought her by Paar's area, causing her to stop and double back to stare at the rock curiously.

"... wassat?"

He shifts so that he can properly face her, nodding in greeting. "Drem yol lok, Rin. This is the alphabet of my kind. I thought it would be wise to pass it on in some manner." He turns his head to look back at his work again, observing it for a moment quietly.

"Not even stone is immortal.. But it bears through time better than most."

"Ouhh..."

Rin cants her head at it, hands behind her back and tail swaying up in a slow and lazy motion.

"Writin' isn't translated here. That's what Kaoru told me, anyway. So... I can't read it... but it's pretty. I think it's a really good idea!"

"Mostly, it is functional." His talons tap along the ground, and there's a certain hint of amusement in his tone. "Unlike the mer, the elves and humans, it is a bit more difficult for us to write. In that aspect, you have quite the advantage."

"Heh. Other people do, probably. I ain't that good at it..."

Rin neared the stone, resting a hand against it gently. It was cool, as was to be expected, but her fingers traced along the etching that had been clawed in to it.

"All that school stuff was what my sister was good at, not me..."

A faint smile twitched on her lips, and for a moment she imagined how fascinated Yuki might be at the idea of seeing another language that wasn't of their world.

"We all have our strengths." Paarthurnax draws himself up a bit, sitting as upright as he can, and just traces the letters with his gaze. It's been a long time since he's written down anything himself by talon. With no other kin to understand it and the Greybeards spreading his word by way of mouth, the symbols had been restricted to his mind. It had felt good to carve them out once more, even in a simple list like this.

"In the lands where I was from, that was apparent by the groups which formed. Your sibling may have fared better amongst the mages' colleges, or with the bards, both groups who knew the strength in words and knowledge."

"Yeah?" Rin asked, looking up at him with the same smile. There was a sadness to it, though, in her eyes more than her expression. It wasn't just missing a sibling that wasn't there, it was missing one that (she assumed) was gone for good.

"Sounds like her. She was a genius even when we were little, and she's-- ... she was the youngest exorcist in the Order."

Ryu normally comes to the river to fish, at least in the mornings. So the appearance of the other dragon, the rock, and the scratching sounds don't go unnoticed. He looks intent on his work anyway, so Ryu just goes back to fishing.

After a while though he's got a bunch of fish that he's caught and killed, and so he wraps them up in the sheet he brought with him and starts dragging them back. He stops at the rock and looks up at Paarthurnax.

"Are you hungry?"

There's too much fish for just him, of course.

The smell of fish hits him before Ryu's voice does, and Paarthurnax politely looks over them. "Kogaani, but I have just returned from hunting. Should you have any left and they are still fresh, I will think otherwise."

"There might be later, I'm not sure."

He approaches the stone, reaching out to brush a hand over the characters.

"Writing?"

Perhaps, perhaps not. Paarthurnax has a lot of time to wait, so he isn't concerned. It's simply fish- readily available for now. Starvation is not a threat.

"That is right." A heavy breath from his nostrils flows across the stone. "Ours- the letters of dovahzul."

"... Do you think you could teach me sometime? Nina was trying to teach me how to read the common language back home, but there wasn't enough time. It'd... be nice to at least be able to write my name."

He smiles a bit sadly. He's aware that his name isn't much, but it's his - one of the few things that belongs to him alone, and not Fou-Lu as well.

"It would only be proper." Paarthurnax gives a nod. "Every dovah should know their language." What does it matter that Ryu is not quite like the dragons of Nirn? It would be like a Altmer saying Dunmer were no elves. (Which, to be fair, had no doubt happened at some point. So many mer were vain in ways that often got them killed.) Paarthurnax was certain that they were all of the same origin in some way, and did not think himself arrogant enough to presume how. He was not his brother. He did not consider himself a god.

"This is a good place to start, then. The alphabet is a simple thing."

"... Thank you."

He smiles up at Paarthurnax a little, and goes over the characters with his hand.

"I guess it'd be hard to write on paper with how big you are..."

Edited 2013-10-24 03:02 (UTC)

"It would be difficult for other reasons, as well." His talons tap along the earth. "You said a friend was assisting with your name? Ryu.." A low rumble in his throat as he goes over the name in his mind. Going by sounds alone...

His dull claws begin to sink into the earth and move with purpose, something Paarthurnax seems to manage with a surprising amount of grace considering things. When he's done, he shuffles back to reveal three particular characters written in the dirt.

Ryu blinks a little, and studies the characters carefully. He kneels down and copies them down next to it a little shakily.

It's not great, but it's passable.

Paarthurnax observes closely, and gives a nod. "A bit of practice, to make your symbols sharper... Words are important, and it is best to make them clear." His head bobs in the direction of the stone wall he's brought into the Bastion.

"This will always be here as reference, should you need it."

"Thank you."

He considers his own thoughts for a moment, and then looks back up at Paarthurnax. "... Can you tell me more about yourself? Like... things you like to do, food you like to eat..."

What he likes to do? Hmm... When's the last time anyone asked him about himself like that? A very long time, although Paarthurnax cannot recall the exact date. Perhaps a novice to the Greybeards, a long time ago, tentative of voice and only meeting him by accident.

"I meditate often on the Voice and to calm my own nature. I inquired to the state of the world, now and then, but mostly the stories that were told. You can learn more of the state of the world by what the bards say." As for food? He's never been picky, venturing down in the cover of Skyrim's night and snatching whatever roamed the plains and was far from civilization. "It has been some time since I have had mammoth flesh.."

"You don't really do anything for fun?"

That seems kind of sad, grandpadragon.

Wow, it sounds depressing when you say it like that.

Paarthurnax makes the winged equivalent of a shrug. "I suppose I am content when flying. Being able to do so freely is... pleasant."

"It sounds like it. The Wind Dragon was always flying. We had to go up in the sky just to talk to him."

"It is another thing that is in our nature, I suppose." The smile is apparent in Paarthurnax's voice. "If a creature is blessed with wings, then one must use them."

"I can't really fly. Not on purpose, at least." Kaiser form is uh. Something else. "It seems like fun, though."

He looks over at the stone again, thinking. "I wonder how many people here don't know how to write. We could all have lessons together."

"I would not be opposed to teaching any who wish to learn. Knowledge is strength, after all." And for more than the Thu'um, Paarthurnax knows this well enough. "If you speak with any who express such desire, direct them to me."

"I will." He nods seriously, and looks over at the fish again.

"I should probably get these over to the distillery so they can be cooked. If you ever want some fish though I'd be happy to catch some for you."

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Second Word :: Day 119

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