Wisdom Without Age

Log Info

• Title: Wisdom Without Age

• Emitter: Simony

• Characters: Simony, Skielstregar

• Place: Wilderness

• Summary: Simony and Skielstregar talk about wisdom in the wilds.

The mists have descended the mountains once more, filling the wilderness with a warm, thick, muggy blanket of grey. The forest rebuffs the mists somewhat, the greenery causing the mists to condense, falling from the trees like a scattering of rain.

A small fire burns just past the periphery of the forest, it's glow moody and diffused. Nearby, a Goblin crouches, her blue summer dress standing out from the greens and greys of the forest. She focuses on a colourful pitcher plant, yellows and oranges meant to attract insects on which the plants feed. Simony paints the flowers onto a small canvas being held up by an easel.

At a buzzing sound, the Gobbo's eyes flick, watching a large fly land, and crawl into the pitcher plant's offering of sweet nectar. "Hahahaa, one more fly for the plant god!", she says to herself with a cackle.

From the mists, off to the northeast, comes a fluttering of wings as a flock of nesting birds get disturbed. They're heard as they fly overhead, barely seen past the canopy as formless blobs. A few moments later, wood cracks, a dull, heavy thudding of foot steeps stamping the ground with each step. Dread creeps in. Something... something bad was coming.

And it was... talking? "I am telling you, we require /more/ standards," a growling voice tries to convey, the peaks and valleys of their tone sounding metallic.

"Thisss one doess not know how we can fit more of them in there-- better quesssstion, /why?/" another voice, deeper and also rumbling, fires back.

Stepping into view was a silverscaled makari, bits and pieces of ice cling to their neck and arms, some of which gets scraped off with a talon. Armed and armored, the most noticeable thing upon them was a cryohydra head strapped to their shoulder, as well as a gleaming halberd with a wide crack down the axe head. The towering figure stops, sniffs the air, and looks about, spying the fire. Then peers around to find- He blinks. "... peassse on your nessst?" he greets, mildly bewildered at the sight if a figured in a dress casually painting in the wilds.

It is only when Skiel speaks that Simony becomes fully aware of his presence, and there's a quick flash of blue ducking behind a tree while the Sith is wishing peace upon her nest. After several moments, the Goblin's face appears slowly, her eyes squinting at the silvery blob nearby. "Oh. A Sith. Peace on your nest!", is her cheerful reply.

Simony fully steps out from behind the tree, clutching a Goblin-sized warhammer in her right hand. "I did not see you come up." Her nose wrinkles up as she squints further. "I am Simony Smithsdottir. A poor day for travel, with the mists, yes?"

Skiel blinks as the figure dips away to hide, him left there, scratching his head. But soon enough they reemerge. It's hard to discern who the makari is, but he sniffs the air, sits on his haunches. And the fanged visage of the Warrior comes into clarity.

He stares at Simony, even after her name.

...

"Ah!" he grins. "Thisss one remembersss now. Ssssimony. Hello. We meet in foressst before, and at Warrior Andelena and Dolan'sss party. Thisss one remembersss you drank much of the dirty water. How issss?"

The Goblin sets her warhammer down, leaning it against a stump close by as she walks up, a grin spreading across her face as recognition dawns for both of them.

"Yes, I do recall meeting you out here before, you let me have a tree that had been damaged by some large beast. It was a goodly amount of firewood. We gave much of that to some of the nearby villages, people were scared to leave their homes due to the werewolves. Ous was pleased that we could give them that."

Simony clears her throat. "Please forgive my accent, but I have recently begun learning your language. I enjoy studying and learning languages." <Draconic>

The Gobbo blinks. "Dirty... water?", she wonders, with an embarrassed expression.

Skielstregar's tail thumps the ground in approval. "Good, good," he rumbles warmly, shifting a bit to sit on his knees. Still towering, despite the reduction in stature.

Scaled brows rise upwards at the switch of tongue, and he releases his polearm to rest his hands on his knees. The weapon remains upright. "That is well to learn, and glad you are learning the langue of The People. You are doing well enough that this one can understand you," he rumbles back. <Draconic>

He bows his head. "Sssa. Dirty water. Alcohol. Thisss one thinksss you drank one meant for thisss one. Thisss one wasss listening to you talk about ssssomething called.... what wasss it...?"

The weapon beside him, in that metallic growling sound heard early, pipes up as the axe head shifts and bends like a jagged maw. "Color theory."

"Color theory! Thisss one doesss not now how colorsss can be theoretical, they are real, but you were very passionate about the sssubject."

The tail thump gets her curiosity, the Gobbo taking a few steps around the back to peer at the tail for a few moments. "Erm, does the tail thumping mean something? I've seen a few of your People do it. Seems to be something... cheerful? In agreement?"

"Thank you very much, I am glad I am speaking it properly. Aelwyn has been helping me, as well a few of my learned colleagues and friends. Some of the sounds are a fun challenge." Simony snorts then, and sighs, rubbing at her nose. "That would explain why I can't remember everything. If I drank a Skiel sized drink, well, that's way past my limit of sobriety. Erm. I am sorry if I was boring. Colour theory is fun for me, and important for those wanting to decorate or host a wedding and so on. But I know that for many, well, their eyes just sort fo gloss over. And that's fine, I understand, everyone's passionate about different things."

Skiel quirks his head to the side as Simony dips around to inspect the noise. The armored tail idly sway from side to side behind him, making swirls in the mist. He has to think about that for a moment. "... yessss," he concludes. ".. thisss one doesssn't think about it when they do it. It isss like... when softkinsss nod. But perhapss more... 'thisss one agreesss and approvesss' rather than... what isss word..."

"Acknowledgement," the halberd fills in.

"Sssa. That!" There's a beat as he's mentally having to swap back and forth between tongues, him instead sticking with Trade to reply. "Ahh, you know Dragoon Aelwyn?" he rumbles. "Thisss one hass known him for ssssome time."

The silverscale shakes his head. "No, it wasss good conversssation, not boring. Jussst that thisss one.... how to ssssay... did not underssstand mossst of it. All they know isss isss water colorsss are cool, and fire colorsss are warm."

The Goblin's ears perk up at the halberd, and she stares at it a moment, before giggling lightly. "Your weapon talks! You're full of surprises, Skielstregar.""

She moves closer to the sith's tail, and leans down to lightly rap her knuckles on the armor. "Gosh, that has to be heavy, your tails are very strong. I think you've more armor here than I weigh."

Simony nods, tilting her head slightly. "It is nice of you to say, but it must have been a one-sided conversation, and for that I am sorry." She pauses a moment, as if considering. "Uhm, so.. it's not that colours are theoretical, color theory is about.. simply said, using colours in an appealing manner. Haha, most people go for 'close enough, it looks nice to me'. But some people are perfectionists."

"I have many talents aside from talking, bite-sized," the weapon cackles.

Skiel softly sighs and shakes his head. "Sssa. Malefic doesss," he nods once. The tail is comprised of several plates that are strapped on, them layered over one another to keep full range of motion. However, unlike Aelwyn's thin and nimble one, this one was as thick as a large tree branch, with quite a lot of muscle behind it. He chuckles. "Thisss one'sss armor isss actually quite light!" he informs, turning slightly to knock on his breastplate. "Mithral isss hard metal to find, but weighsss far lesss than other metalsss, but just as ssstrong!"

At that, he just shrugs. "Thisss one doess not mind. Thisss one doessn't underssstand mosst thingsss. And that issss okay."

He scratches his head. "Thisss one thinksss they are part of the 'close enough' group."

The Gobbo frowns momentarily at the halberd. "Bite-sized? Hmmph."

She glances at Skiel, "Hopefully Malefic can still be used as a weapon?" The plates are squinted at further. "Mithral? Haha, Skiel, you're shinier than mithral even." Her expression grows curious, and after a moment's thought, she turns and carefully lowers herself to sit on the bough-thick tail. "Are you able to lift me, along with your armor?", she wonders.

Simony giggles lightly, "And that's okay too. Close enough is good every time. But if you want perfect, you can just ask someone to do it, and not worry about it. Let the colour geeks get it right for you."

Skielstregar rumbles. "Sssa. They are ussed as a weapon-"

"I /am/ a weapon! A means for in which our shining lord can strike down the very things that threaten him! Praise unto the Dragonfathe- ACK!"

The silverscale, in almost a rote manner, picks up the polearm and tosses it further into the woods. "Time out for you," he grumbles before turns back to Simony. His expression brightens. "Thank you. Thiss one doesss enjoy being thisss sparkly."

The request gets him to tilt his head to the side, but he he shrugs, levels his tail out, and slowly rises. Yep. Gobbo bench. A somewhat cold gobbo bench. Perhaps nice in this muggy and hot weather. "... very well, thisss one will leave the colorsss to color... geeksss."

He murmurs off to the side. "... what isss geek- oh. Right. Thisss one threw you."

Simony's head tilts slightly as Malefic goes into a religious ferver, and snorts loudly as the weapon is casually catapulted into the woods. "He is a worshipper of Daeus?", she wonders. Her eyes widen then and she nods, "Yes, you are very sparkly. It is utterly amazing. I can only imagine how blinding it must be when you're freshly polished and in bright sunlight." She gasps and then laughs as she's lifted gently into the air.

"This is one point where I don't mind being so small." Her legs swing back and forth then, enjoying her cold bench. She giggles lightly, "A geek is someone who is knowledgeable and to some degree obsessive. So I would be a colour geek, I could talk ages and ages about it. You could be a combat geek, you must know quite a bit about combat and fighting, and probably could inform on all manner of combat-related things, right?"

Skielstregar bobs his head once, the twitch of his tail denied to smack against the ground. "Sssa, ssshe and thisss one both are. But Malefic isss... a bit more fervent," he explains, his tail curling around some so that Simony was at his side to speak with them easier.

He smiles some, gnarly teeth and fangs flashing. "Thisss one isss very, very sparkly in the sun. It isss very enjoyable. Thisss one thanksss you for the complimentsss, thisss one isss thankful for their sscalesss."

At that, he can't help but chuff. "Thisss one, dessspite the isssuesss, prefersss their sssize. Much doesss not get in the way." The explanation gets him to scratch the side of his head, some ice shavings falling down that has collected from the mist. "... probably, yesss. A... combat geek. Perhapsss... hrm. Thisss one enjoysss a good fight, but they would prefer to not do so. But they are very good at knowing how to chop treesss down. Isss a tree geek sssomething to be a geek about?"

Simony's eyes widen once more, and she looks down at the ground below as she's moved around. "Oh gosh, you're most welcome for the compliments." She lowers an arm to the surface of the armored plates, comparing the pale colour of hers to the metallic colour of the armor. "It's taken me a while to get comfortable in my skin. I am glad that you're comfortable in your scales."

"Are you one of Daeus' paladins? Or a cleric? I bet He's glad to have a strong warrior on His side in a fight. I'm a Temperance, a uhm, oh, a shaman of Navos. So Malefic's fervency is familiar to me, just strange to see a weapon possessing such."

The Goblin rubs at her chin. "Hmm. Yes, I suppose that would make you a lumber geek. I think tree geek is probably a term for druids and outdoorsmen."

Skiel rumbles. "It isss hard to get used to what one isss. Thisss one wass not always thisss shiny. Their scalesss usssed to be tarnished and flaky. Did not help thisss one's confidence in the ssslightest, but they were able to accept it. The fact they have their true sscaless now iss merely a kind blesssing."

The question makes his tail droop slightly, but is raised back up to keep the seat. "Ah, erm. Yess, but no," he waffles, the pendant of the Dragonfather clanking softly against his armor. "Thisss one triesss very hard to be a Sunblade, but they do not have Hisss direct blessing. Dessspite that fact, many of brothersss and sssisters in His service accept thisss one as one of their own." And at that fact, his mood picks back up considerably. "Ah. Navosss. Then you mussst be very wissse and learned," he bows his head. But there is a glance to the woods. "... Malefic hasss... their reasons for it," he mumbles.

"Very well. Thisss one isss a lumber geek."

There is a distant metallic sound of a voice being faintly heard. "... Nerd...!"

He rubs his face. "... Malefic getsss like thisss when the sssun issn't out. Apologiesss."

"Oh." Her expression falls slightly. "It must have been a tough journey. I would ask you to share, but I can hear in your voice that it is a sore subject. So, I would save it for another time." Simony's smile returns in full force. "If the others in Daeus' order accept you as one of their own, then I would say that you do have Daeus' direct blessing. Just that your path is not the one of a Sunblade, yet you walk in Daeus' service, yes?"

Simony blinks, and begins to giggle. "I would accept learned, I could speak on many things, but wise? I do not know if I will live long enough to be considered wise. But I will do my best to behave wisely." The Gobbo slowly gets to her feet, balancing on the armored tail with her arms held out wide.

"While he seems a bit erm... very willful, especially for a weapon, he is pretty neat. I've never seen an intelligent weapon before, and would never have considered that such a thing could be a worshipper of a god or goddess." She snorts and shakes her head. "Nerd is.. nerd is basically geek, perhaps with a uhm, slight teasing aspect to it?"

Skielstregar looks off into the mists. "Mmm. It isss not suitable to ssshare at pressent," he states. But he looks back down at Simony sitting on his tail. "Sssa. That iss a good way to put it. Thisss one doesss walk in His service. And thisss one will take what they can get."

When the gobber stands up, Skiel ceases moving. While his tail is wide, it's still hard to balance on a branch. "Wisssdom iss not gained through age," he sagely mentions. "It isss through experience and empathy. Even hatchlingsss can show wisssdom that eldersss lack."

He looks back where his weapon was talking from. "Sssa. Ssshe isss. There isss many things they are learning about Malefic, and many more thingsss to come to agreementsss on. One thing for them isss to cease proselytizing so much."

"... working on it...!" comes a metallic reply.

"Thisss one sees. They will stick with geek then," he rumbles. Then cheekily smiles. "Perhapsss Malefic isss a Daeusss nerd."

"... I'll bite you for that."

"Well, you do have a good point about wisdom. Though, my point is that generally older folks have wisdom, because they have lived, made mistakes, and learned from them. But I suppose I could be wise in some things. Like where to buy the best sandwiches in Alexandros, for example." Simony grins, and begins to carefully pace along Skiel's tail.

"Oh, Malefic is a she? Sorry!", the Gobbo calls out. She giggles and nods. "I suppose that must get tiresome, a little, especially since you already follow Daeus. You don't need incentive to do the Sun God's good work, you do it every day." Simony blinks and stares at Skiel, and nearly falls off his tail laughing at Malefic's response.

Skielstregar shrugs. "Usually, yesss, but sssometimesss the older isss more clossed minded and wisssdom doess not lay there." He blinks. "... where... do you get the bessst sandwhichesss?" he inquires as the gobbo wlaks down his tail.

"It mattersss little," the Warrior caste mentions in reply to the apology, Malefic unable to respond as there is some sound of wood being crunched in the distance. Occupied. "It can be, but we both mussst work together. They ssspent a very long time in ssservice to Him, and isss very vocal about Him. Perhapss they were a Speaker of some kind in a different life, or..."

And then Simony nearly falls off as she starts laughing. The makari lowers his tail to let Simony slide off before they eat dirt.

The Gobbo does slip from the tail, though thankfully to being lowered, she simply ends up on her back, peering up at the Sith and canopy beyond. "Oof." She shakes her head, grinning. "It's a secret. But if you want to meet me again in Alexandria, some time, I will show you!"

With a huff, Simony picks herself up from the forest floor, brushing dirt and leaves from her back and behind.

"I suppose you and Malefic must dance an intricate dance, to balance each other out, hmm? Just as you reign in their bad behavior, they must do the same for you, yes? An intelligent weapon is a complicated blessing, it seems."

Skielstregar chuckles as Simony tumbles over, him going back to sitting on his haunches next to her. "... very well," he rumbles, his tail resuming its slow sway. "Thisss one will keep that in mind next time when looking for bessst sssandwichesss."

His brows tick upwards. "Ah. Sssee? You are very wissse. They do jussst that- keep thisss one in check. They have helped thisss one quite a bit." He closes his eyes. "... it isss. But, it isss a fulfilling endeavor. If you two can learn each other to the point you work assss one, then you become greater than jussst by yourssselvesss. Sssimilar to how adventurerersss can pull many great deedsss off when working together," he grins, shifting a bit as the accolades on his armor clink softly.

There is a sound from above. A small branch breaks sticks and falls against Skiel's back. "... buh?" He looks up.

Malefic, coming out of seemingly no where, falls from above, does a couple of flips, and the jagged maw opens wide to fall right onto his armored tail biting onto it. "Got you!"

The silverscale, uncharacteristically, yelps in surprise. "GAH!"

-End Scene-