winds_voice | 21

[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?

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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?

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.

...that must have been difficult for them. I cannot imagine why anyone would wish to abandon their own children.

[Then again, he could only imagine what it was like to have children of his own. There was much he didn't know about the workings of the human mind.]

You are clearly compassionate about others, Saleh. Why else would you seek to protect others so readily and learn the healing arts? Though I have improved, I am not sure if I am truly worthy to be seen as a parental figure to another.

[He thinks back to the previous incident when he had lived another life with a family of his own. Did he even know what he was doing back then either?]

I can only imagine because they were unable or unwilling to handle the responsibility of raising their children. In most cases, they put the children in an orphanage...but that did not seem to be the case with Ewan.

[He almost smiles at the latter.]

Becoming a parental figure is a learning experience, especially if you're doing it for the first time.

How selfish... to abandon your own children and not even give them the courtesy of a home and a chance at a future.

[Eley still couldn't quite understand why they brought a child into the world if they could not accept the responsibility of caring for it. The least they could do was allow them to live elsewhere.]

I would... be interested in learning more, though Spirits were never made to bear or rear young. It is another aspect of life that is alien to us, as you can likely see already.

Indeed...

[He can't understand why they'd do that either. Ewan's parents had abandoned not one, but two children.]

I hope you do. I'm afraid I don't know much more about parenting myself. But bearing children is like passing a part of yourself to a new generation.

I wonder if it can really be considered the same for Spirits... Aether created me from the essence of the planet itself, as he did the others, but then he disappeared. I do not have the power to create as he did, yet here, I do have a human body. If it were possible for me to bear children like a human, what traits would it share? Would I simply outlive it? Would it be a Spirit like myself?

[All speculative ponderings of course, though Eley can't help but get a little lost in his fantasy now.]

With your human body? Since your body functions like that of a normal human, it may be possible to bear children.

[Eley's human body had gotten him sick at one point, whereas as a spirit, he wouldn't have gotten sick.]

If you were to bear children, they would likely be human, but they may inherit some of your power.

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