PKA Lesson 4: Homesickness and Hitches (RP Log)

Firuz: Yo ho, yo ho, a knight's life for Firuz! Such a diligent student, he is, what with scanning the oceans by the portholes to make certain no dastardly pirates or seal life are threatening the boat...oooor he's just, well, napping on said porthole. That's probably more correct, actually.

Thamina: Belowdecks, the sound of footfalls above is more or less constant, but there is a louder -- and perhaps more familiar -- set of them heading down the small stairs and in Firuz's direction. "I wondered if I might find you here," says Thamina, hair tied back messily and jewelry absent; presumably, she's been at work on deck.

Firuz: And pop goes the lovely dream of an ocean near a familiar beach, surrounded by friends and family in golden inner tubes, to float away into the ocean where Cresselia and Darkrai reside, for reality has come in to remind Firuz it exists. "Oh...oh, Tham, Tham, dear! I was just...making certain no sea water splashes through here! How about you, mmm?"

Thamina:  "... it's a glass window," says Thamina, somewhat redundantly; by now, it's a little pointless pointing out excuses. "I've been trying to help out on deck. There are a lot of chores... it's good work. Not interesting, but good."

Firuz: He waves a detatched arm dismissively at Thamira pointing out her silly 'logic' excuse at him and floats over to meet with her at eye level, wiping at his still-sleepy eyes with the butt of his palm. "Mmm, yes, yes. I agree wholeheartedly with the "not interesting" part. Especially when no one will even so much as fetch your favorite drink while you watch others work!"

Thamina: "There's nobody assigned to drink duty. ... Firuz, pardon me for asking, but are you really this disinterested in this?"

Firuz: "If by 'this' you refer to doing a peasant's job of tending to a ship? Well...maybe. A very positive maybe." Firuz shifts in midair, rubbing at the tiny goatee the young Hoopa is still growing out. Thamina will know this gesture well from all the times she's seen him doubt something he thought was correct and was made unsure of by new evidence to the contrary. "Well, it is not like Libzi does not have a grand history of living off the ocean to survive, of course..."

Thamina: "Mm," says Thamina, thoughtfully. "And you've been on a ship before, of course. ... I haven't. Maybe that's why it's interesting to me, but... it is interesting."

Firuz: "Only a few times...mmm?" He leans in closer to her, mouth as round as his rings in surprise. "YOU have never been on a ship before?! But are you not...well..." It's hard to say if he's struggling with words or just realized to late how terrible his question just sounded. Probably the former.

Thamina: Thamina doesn't seem to think this is any great revelation, apparently. "We lived by the coast, but... my family's innkeepers, not sailors. My mother sails for her business, and to see us, but I've never gone with her."

Firuz: "You...haven't? That's...that's actually sad to hear! To not once get to sail to who knows where with family, it's a magnificent  feeling! ...oh..." His eyes suddenly go downcast, his lips quivering. "...oh..."

Thamina: Wait, what? Has this actually... upset him? Truth be told, Thamina hasn't really been sure that's possible. "... it's all right," she replied. "It was just how life was... ah, are you all right?"

Firuz: "...do you...miss...your family, Tham-Tham?"

Thamina: "Of course I do. But there's nothing to be done about it."

Firuz: "O-of course there is! Maybe I-I could...use my rings to drop you off at your place while I go and...um...you know..." Is Firuz...sniffling?

Thamina: Thamina blinks. He's legitimately upset, but... there's a sharp end there, and he isn't being forthright. "While you go and do what, Firuz?"

Firuz: Firuz grabs on to the ring dangling on his left horn. He looks into it as the portal activates. Thamina will be able to see the same thing he does: the usual darkness...but it doesn't stir from within as it's supposed to. Instead it's still. It's as if it still has its usual magic, but wherever is supposed to lead is simply not responding. Thamina will have no problem figuring out what this means: it's part of his 'punishment'. "I want to go home."

Thamina: "Why? ... are you just homesick, or is it something else?"

Firuz: He pouts. "I'm homesick, of course! That's where my bed and room and my family and friends are, after all. It' where my people are, surrounded by ocean and magic, living their lives like usual. The beach is lovely and clear and full of boats filled with workers and foreigners bringing in food and trade from all over. Sometimes there were even fairs by the sea, where people could sell and share their lovely artwork inspired by life in Libsi. So beautiful..." His lip quivers, as if ready to burst into tears any second. "I want to go home. I shouldn't be on a boat, I should be back in Libsi!"

Thamina: Oh, Arceus. Is this authentic, or is it another elaborate ruse? Half the problem with Thamina's "job" is, on balance, the lack of trust. Maybe this would help, but... "All right," begins Thamina, slowly. "Let's think this out, Firuz. If you go back now, what do you think would happen?"

Firuz: "Well, Father and Mother would ask me what I learned in school...and probably ask how I finished my studies so quickly. And maybe...maybe if I can prove I HAVE learned things at a fast enough time, they'll let me come back!" Optimism forms on his face. Very, very stupid optimism.

Thamina: "And how would you show him that? We both know how much work you've been putting in. How little, I should say. ... which isn't to say you can't improve, and you should, but... think about it."

Firuz: Cue the twiddling fingers and the quiver, which Thamina at this point can probably tell is genuine. Firuz has his skills as a trickster, but as irony would have it lying is actually his weakest skill. "Well it's not THAT little...well...maybe it COULD be a bit...little bit...m-more?"

Thamina: "There's still a great deal to learn," Thamina replies. "You'd at least need enough to give a decent progress report... and isn't there anything you enjoy about it?"

Firuz: "Well, it's not that I don't enjoy the sights and sounds and lovely people and all that...But it's not really the same..." And then, a pause. "...though maybe....i-if you help me to find a way to convince my family I've learned my lesson, I can get us both back home! What do you say, Tham-Tham?"

Thamina: Thamina closes her eyes to think. This isn't going to be an easy thing to say, but it has to be said. "Firuz," she begins. "I'll advocate for you with your father... but not right now. I can't lie to him, and I won't. But when the time comes that you've really gotten what you can out of the school... maybe then, but for now..."

Firuz: "But Tham-Thaaaaam! Don't you miss your home, too? I mean, aren't you here mostly becaause of...well, me?"

Thamina: "That's the problem, Firuz! If you go, I go, and -- I don't want to go. This is my best chance to make something of myself. I love my family, but if I go home I'm never leaving that town, never getting a real education. Don't ask me to give this chance away."

Firuz: "B-but..." he goes silent. He gets a look at the inert loop in his hands - his means of returning home, sealed shut - and slides the ring back on his horn. "Well....well, I guess I'll just ask someone else to help, then! And then I'll be home before you know it!" A pause. "...but I suppose in the meantime we can play it your way. I mean...how hard can it be to become a knight, right?"

Thamina: Thamina pauses again. "... Don't do it just to go home. Do it because there's something for you here. What do you want to do with your life?"

Firuz: " Do with my life? Well, that's a silly question -- whtever I please, of course!"

Thamina: "But what is that?"

Firuz: "Erm...what?"

Thamina: "What is 'what you please?' What would please you to do?"

Firuz: "What...ever sounds fun or exciting and all that? Or do you mean like 'become king' and all that?"

Thamina: "Something more like that, but... do you really not want to do anything? Build anything real out of your life?"

Firuz: "It's not that...It's more, well, for the longest time I was treated like a prince back home. I am a prince, in fact! What else is there to aspire to? I mean, I could be king....wait." He pauses. "According to Libsi law....oh, but that's...that's silly, my exile is only temporary, after all! There's no way I CAN'T be king of Libsi, I'm the first in line! ...I-I mean, they wouldn't count it as an actual exile and revoke my right to the throne...would they?"

Thamina: "I couldn't tell you that, but what do you think is more likely? That they'll let you inherit if you go home now, or if you get through the Academy and learn some skills?"

Firuz: "....It'd be nice if it were the former...but knowing my parents, it's very unlikely." He cringes. "VERY unlikely. Ohhh...Tham-Thaaaaam! I need you to help me get skills! All the skills! I need skills!" He is attempting to grab her by both shoulders to do this. Being such a tiny Hoopa and Thamina such a large Wailmer, this makes for a very odd scene, to say the least.

Thamina: The grabbing doesn't appear to actually do much -- she's probably a bit too solid for Firuz to easily dislodge. "I'll do my best," she replies. "... What do you want to do first?"

Firuz: "Ah...first? First...first...you know, as many times I have been on a ship, mostly I just...slept on it and let others do the work, so I'm not sure where to start..." He twiddles his thumbs, looking this way and that, every way save for straight into the Wailmer's eyes.

Thamina: "We could go up to the deck and see what needs doing," Thamina replies. "Most of it's simple. The ropes are tricky, but... most of it's simple."

Firuz: "Simple? I like simple. I'm good at simple!" He nods with newfound excitement. "Yes, yes, let us get some simple ship-faring skills!"

Thamina: Thamina leads the way up to the deck. It's relatively peaceful, but there are certainly things to be done. "... Maybe ropes? You can work high, I can work low..."

Firuz: "Ropes! Ropes are simple! It's just tying knots, right? Anyone can do that! Just lead the way!"

Thamina: "Mostly. There's the sail rigging, but that's complicated, and the sailors would rather we didn't try. Mostly it's for securing things. Do you know any knots?"

Firuz: " KNOT in the slightest!" Firuz chuckles. Ahh, that's a keeper. "Well, maybe one or two...after all, some of my best pranks have required the aid of a rope!"

Thamina: "What sorts do you know?" says Thamina, heading towards a quiet part of the deck where a few coils and assorted lengths of rope sat; from the array of knots tied in some of the lengths, this was likely a practice ground for the students aboard the ship. "I've been learning a few."

Firuz: "Well, ah, mostly I just picked up a couple from watching the sailors...let's see..." He begins to work, taking advantage of his unconventional arms to make loops with said arms without them getting tied up in the process. The first one is a sloppy-looking bowline.

Thamina: Thamina watches him, idly picking up a bit of rope and working on a bowline herself; what her large hands lack in fine motor control, she makes up for in care, and the result is plausible. "It's a good knot to know," she says. "Easy to tie, easy to loosen, but it holds."

Firuz: "Mmm! And great for foot trap, too! Bonus, I'm immune to my own trap due to not having feet!" He holds up his knot in pride. "Give me another, this is simple!"

Thamina: "... whose feet do you trap? ... Well, from there, there's the Carrick hitch to bind two ropes together. It's quite sturdy."

Firuz: "Well, no one RECENTLY. There was that Sneasel and Gardevour duo, but to be fair that wasn't by their FEET..." He undoes the knot -- which turns out to be harder than he thought -- and then looks to Thamina to see how she does the Carrick.

Thamina: Thamina takes a pair of rope-lengths and begins to loop them through each other in what looks like a symmetrical arrangement. "When was this?"

Firuz:"Um...couple days ago on the boat. It's fine, I let them free afterwards!" He grins from horn to horn as he follows along with Thamina's lesson, adjusting his arms to make up for the significant size difference between both their hands.

Thamina: "But why did you do it in the first place?" Thamina is being slow and careful enough that her movements are easy to follow, even as she pulls the finished hitch tight. "Things like that can be dangerous on a boat."

Firuz: "Well, you know...boredom, mosty." And he pulls his rope aaand...good news, it holds tight. Bad news, his arm (left or right, hard to say at that angle) just got caught in said knot. "Erm."

Thamina: "That's not much of a reason, you know," replies Thamina, even as she rises to try and untangle Firuz's arm. "Hold on. This isn't hard to untie either..." Of course, it's trickier with someone's arm trapped, and Thamina isn't exactly an expert at these knots...

Firuz: The explanations are cut short as Thamina is forced to help untangle the mess or rope and detachable arms Firuz was in. Luckily, it proves far easier for her to free him than it did for him to undo the knot from before. He looks up at the Wailmer with large, grateful eyes. "You saved me, Tham-Tham!"

Thamina: "I'm trying to, Firuz," the Wailmer replies, voice soft. "I'm trying as hard as I can."

Firuz: "...this isn't about the rope, is it?"

Thamina: "It's not entirely about the rope. Just now it is, but..."

Firuz: "...well, I...well, we have time still! And if I work a bit faster than maybe...."

Thamina: "Let's just work at a steady pace," says Thamina. "... We've still got plenty of time. Let's just be patient." And Arceus, how she hopes she can.