21 - [Video]

[winds_voice]

[Hello, Luceti. Today, Eley's decided to set up a little video for people to look at while he asks a few important questions. He appears to be sitting under his willow tree, as he so often is, but this time he isn't alone. And he's not joined by a fellow Lucetian either, at least not the kind of Lucetian you might expect.

Sitting in his lap is a rather resplendent and fluffy chicken who appears to be enjoying some pettings whilst turning her head to glance at the camera every so often.]

I am not sure how many would recall but sometime in the past I found myself under a shift whereby I would believe in daily messages known as 'horoscopes'. On the final day, I found myself with an irresistible urge to adopt a chicken, and with the help of a friend we found one.

...however, I do not know exactly what to do with it now. I usually allow it to roam as I would hate to rob it of its freedom yet... I grow concerned for it at the same time. I leave food for it here and it often comes back for it, yet I know little about chickens or their care, or indeed their proper diet.

I am also unsure about its gender, nor do I know what name it should go by. If anyone could help me in that regard, I would be grateful.

[He seems to be about to turn off the feed but then changes his mind.]

I have one more question. I recall that my explanation of how I care for my people could be likened to that of a parent and child. Then I must ask, what is it like to have a mother? To be a mother? Or even a father for that matter?

Comments

[Video]

[lordhotman]

[Zuko sees this and he has to think about this for a little bit before he actually replies. He's already told Eley that he doesn't really know anything about chickens but...]

If it lays an egg it should be a girl.

[That's a pretty safe bet.]

And its... nice... to have a mom.

[Video]

[winds_voice]

[Ah eggs. It was true that some creatures were born from them, dragons included.]

I understand. Though I have to wonder exactly how long it would take to find out about these eggs.

[He tilts his head at the next comment.]

Could you elaborate? Perhaps you could tell me more about your own.

[Video]

[lordhotman]

I don't know, but chickens lay a lot of eggs, I think.

[He really has no idea, he's just guessing here. A farm boy he is not. Anyway, to the other topic. Tell him about his own mother? Well... okay.]

My mother is an amazing woman. She loved me and cared for me even when my father didn't. She risked everything to protect me.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Hmm...I'm afraid I do not know much of chickens either. However, if it comes back for the food, it must feel at home with you.

[At least the next topic, he knows much more about.]

As for having a parent? It's actually rather essential. When we are first born, we are unable to care for ourselves, and we know nothing. We could not even walk or speak. We depend on our parents to feed us and teach us how to live.

As for being a parent, it is a grave responsibility for these same reasons.

[Video]

[winds_voice]

Perhaps... It does seem to be friendly at least, though does not have any fear of the great outdoors.

[When Saleh goes into his explanation about parenthood, the Spirit listens well. Laying down each of those tasks makes it seem a lot more important than he realised.]

I see. And what of yourself? Are you a parent? Did you have a good relationship with your own?

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

I...have not become a parent in the biological sense...but Ewan and his sister were abandoned by their parents. The sister raised him on her own before I took him in. So I suppose I am the closest thing Ewan has to a father.

[That could be one reason why Ewan worships him so much.]

I got along well with my family. My parents have been gone for some time, so I care for my grandmother, the elder of our village.

[voice]

[ofwesternwinds]

I'd say that looks like a hen 'f ever I seen one.

[It's been a few years but Rudy's definitely handled chickens before, having worked many times as a farm hand back home. Enough for him to tell, anyway.]

[Video]

[winds_voice]

Ah, Rudy. You are able to tell?

[Eley picks the chicken up and looks it over, leaving it looking rather annoyed.]

Then a hen would indicate a female, yes? In that case, it will need an appropriate name. Hmm...

[Video]

[ofwesternwinds]

Yeah, I've handled 'em before. [There's a smile.] If it were a rooster, it'd be a lot bigger for one. Their tail feathers tend to be longer too.

[That, and they crow. A lot. His expression softens slightly in concern at Eley's handling of the hen, noting the reaction.]

Careful how you pick her up there. Looks like she's not used to being held much.

private to eley

[amonglions]

If you don't want it? It's a weight.

[Technically the only experience he has had as an actual father was when he was a piss-drunk and piss-poor kid. He weaseled his way out of that as soon as he was offered a sum great enough but to his credit he tried to renig the deal.]

private!

[winds_voice]

...surely if you did not want it then you would not bear children to begin with.

[It seemed simple enough to Eley, being a Spirit who knew little about the complexities of human life. Even so, he was sure he was about to find out the truth.]

private!

[amonglions]

It's not that simple...

[When he found out he was going to be a father, Booker was so happy. Ecstatic and scared and just...happy that something good was happening to him and his wife finally.

Then she died. The one person who grounded him died in childbirth and things got....wildly out of hand.

He might want the responsibility now, but he knows that when he first had a screaming baby to look after he wanted nothing more than to be rid of her.]

[Video]

[mysicksadlife]

[Don't worry about the deadpan face on the video. She always looks like that.]

Are you telling me you went and did something you never would have done otherwise, because the horoscope said to?

[Video]

[winds_voice]

[He'd deadpan right back if he wasn't feeling so bemused right now. At her question though he simply nods.]

Yes. I admit that it was the first time I had come across something called a 'horoscope'. In normal circumstances I would simply have thought it strange, but these simple predictions turned into far more serious matters. On one day, I contracted a minor yet irritating disease that could not be identified. A friend found himself unable to stop dancing...

[It was all rather embarrassing really.]

[Video]

[mysicksadlife]

[After this long? It really shouldn't surprise her someone here is claiming never to have seen something she takes for granted. So she'll just pass over that part.]

They come out every day back home. Some people are really into it, but it's not much more than guesswork.

[Video]

[geniustheveil]

[After a brief inner wince at the thought of some mistaken things she did after taking a horoscope too seriously when she was younger back home, Ami's thoughts are all for the last part of the message.]

Mama is someone I love very much, and who loves me very much, too. She's someone I want to be happy. [This explains it so poorly, really.]

[Video]

[winds_voice]

Hmm... but then I have to wonder how a 'love' between parent and child is different to that of a friend, or... something more intimate.

[Yes, he's still trying to get his head around the mysteries of love and all its many forms.]

There are several individuals that I would like to be happy, yet I have no relation to them.

[Video]

[geniustheveil]

They're your friends, then. Your family are the ones who teach you and help you as you grow up, the ones you help you grow up well to be ready when you become an adult yourself.

[voice]

[fellpool]

[In a situation like this, simple seems best.]

You could ask it if it has any preferences. And if it's male or female.

[voice]

[winds_voice]

Ask?

[Eley looks down at the chicken and seems to think about it, nearly does it, and then stops himself.]

But I do not understand the tongue of chickens, nor can they communicate with me.

[voice]

[fellpool]

It's one of the quirks of this place. You can talk with and listen to the animals, but their thinking can be a little simplistic.

Have you not tried to before?

video

[pokeboy]

[ Woah, look at this totally cool looking chicken. Though at the part about how their relationship came to be, Red did have a giggle at.

But that was off-screen, and now..! ]

Hey! Did you find any good help with the chicken? I don't know anything about them, but they look really cool!

Oh, and about mothers - I like mine! And... it's like having someone who's always watching you and thinking about you, and you know who'll care about you even when you're not around. [ The smile on his face softens. ]

Not everyone gets to feel that... but that's how it is with my mom.

video

[winds_voice]

[Good thing it was off-screen or poor Eley would probably feel all the more embarrassed!]

I have learned a few things. It is female, a hen, and supposedly feels at least somewhat comfortable around me. However, she still needs a name...

[He'll listen intently to the words about his mother too, though he can't help but look a little concerned as his face softens. He's not especially good at reading people just yet, but he wonders if the boy was missing her.]

I used to feel that way about my people... and I suppose those who worship me now must feel the same in that regard. After all, I am always there in Aether, present and watching. I am always concerned for those who show me kindness and respect.

I... know how it feels for that to be gone, however. I hope that your mother is still waiting for you at home.

[private]

[seleniahymn]

[... So while the first thing to catch her attention is the chicken (never mind how he obtained it, just look at how cute it was!), it wasn't what Tear was going to respond to. Others would be help him better with it than she currently can without consulting a library book.

All he focus is on the last of what he said... And on her own experiences with such dynamics. It had been a while, but the feelings were never forgotten as she breathes in to respond through voice.]

I never had a mother of my own. However, my time here has given me the opportunity to have a sense of being one.

[private]

[winds_voice]

You never... had one?

[He can't help but wonder about that. Did she mean that she did not know her mother, was not raised by her, or that she came to be in another way? But no, that was absurd... she was human after all, right?]

Hmm, I wonder if you are referring to what happened to us some time ago. When I too was a parent to others. Or is it that even now you retain similar feelings for certain people?

[If that was the case, he felt he could understand. There were feelings he experienced from time to time that he had never really shaken since Luceti Valley.]