Móno (
monochromatically) wrote in
aterat2021-08-21 04:55 pm
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Little Adventures
Who; Mono and all of you!
What; Open Logs!
Where; Market shops, Park, Harbour district
When; Mid-August to now
Warnings; None aside from parts of a weird kids song in the last one atm, but I will update if anything comes up since Mono does come from a canon that can have sensitive topics.
Melancholic Melody - Something charming about the sound of a music box.
Mono had learned to budget what money he managed to get, and he was looking forward to having an actual job soon to make that easier… But he should be saving what he had for now to buy bread at a discount later from the baker’s stall. Or saving it away to buy clothes, or to get the ones he had repaired.
What the child was currently doing was staring in the window of an old-fashioned shop that had music boxes in the window. Specifically, one that worked with a little crank on the side… It wasn’t the same, of course, as the one he remembered seeing… But it was close enough that it had caught Mono’s attention enough for him to press his face against the glass and stare at it pensively. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to buy it… Just in case Six showed up.
It wasn’t like he owed her one. The more he thought about music boxes, the more that nagging, prickling sensation from the back of his mind bothered him. Almost like he did owe her one. Like he had a reason to feel kind of bad, like he’d done something.
But he remembered her having a music box in the Hunter’s cabin… And it had seemed important to her then… So maybe that was why? Maybe it was simply because he hadn’t stopped to grab it and take it with them when they fled that horrible place.
So anyone walking by would see the kid staring intently, as though debating something of great importance. Humming under his breath as he tried to remember the melody, and wondering what the one in the shop sounded like.
Learning that nature can be fun - Climbing trees or getting on eye level with the creatures!
Mono tended to stick to the city since arriving, but slowly he’d eventually gotten curious enough to venture into the park. He’d never seen so much green, or so many interesting creatures before. The forest that the… Hunter’s cabin… had been in had been ominous and full of fog and a number of very unpleasant things and sights.
The park was bright and green, and the sound of wildlife was far more inviting than the squawking of the crows (although he had happened upon a few in his time here) feasting on who knew what. Mono had to admit… Nature like this? It was kinda nice. He still didn’t think he’d be wandering into the actual forest anytime soon, but he was happy to run around in the grass or climb the trees there to get a better view of the park and what people were doing in it.
Mono could be found doing just that, or if you happened to spot the child later in the day? He was lying on his stomach next to the pond, feet kicking in the air lightly as he poked at the water and considered some frogs that were swimming around or sitting on the rocks nearby.
Sent on a ferry upon our sea - Why are kids songs … so weird?
Mono, like any child, got little ideas in his head when he was bored that may or may not make sense to everyone else. He liked to wander, and today had found him wandering around the harbour district. Specifically, near the docks. The child was wandering down the weathered wooden planks, bare footfalls drowned out by the sound of him humming a song stuck in his head, and sometimes the odd pieces of the song being sung quietly. “Having a nightmare in a boat. Come with me, oh no, no, no…” Humming a little more, he never could figure out all the actual lyrics. The bullies always sounded so garbled and… honestly, he was pretty sure they changed them sometimes. “He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone… Don’t leave me. No more bellman among the sea.”
Mono sat on the edge of the docks, his little feet dangling over the edge as he considered a little rowboat. He’d been on the river before. It was kind of nice and peaceful. Just floating across it on the door… It still had taken him back to the Pale City, but it had been nice after the horrors of the forest. And the child couldn’t deny that, as daunting as it had been, he felt like he’d been meant to return there. “Run, run, here comes Veronica… Sent on a ferry upon our sea.”
Tugging his yellow sou’wester hat a little more snug on his head and down over his eyes, he finally slipped off the edge to hop into the little rowboat. Exploring the inside of it for anything interesting. Wondering absently how hard it might be to go out in it.
What; Open Logs!
Where; Market shops, Park, Harbour district
When; Mid-August to now
Warnings; None aside from parts of a weird kids song in the last one atm, but I will update if anything comes up since Mono does come from a canon that can have sensitive topics.
Melancholic Melody - Something charming about the sound of a music box.
Mono had learned to budget what money he managed to get, and he was looking forward to having an actual job soon to make that easier… But he should be saving what he had for now to buy bread at a discount later from the baker’s stall. Or saving it away to buy clothes, or to get the ones he had repaired.
What the child was currently doing was staring in the window of an old-fashioned shop that had music boxes in the window. Specifically, one that worked with a little crank on the side… It wasn’t the same, of course, as the one he remembered seeing… But it was close enough that it had caught Mono’s attention enough for him to press his face against the glass and stare at it pensively. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to buy it… Just in case Six showed up.
It wasn’t like he owed her one. The more he thought about music boxes, the more that nagging, prickling sensation from the back of his mind bothered him. Almost like he did owe her one. Like he had a reason to feel kind of bad, like he’d done something.
But he remembered her having a music box in the Hunter’s cabin… And it had seemed important to her then… So maybe that was why? Maybe it was simply because he hadn’t stopped to grab it and take it with them when they fled that horrible place.
So anyone walking by would see the kid staring intently, as though debating something of great importance. Humming under his breath as he tried to remember the melody, and wondering what the one in the shop sounded like.
Learning that nature can be fun - Climbing trees or getting on eye level with the creatures!
Mono tended to stick to the city since arriving, but slowly he’d eventually gotten curious enough to venture into the park. He’d never seen so much green, or so many interesting creatures before. The forest that the… Hunter’s cabin… had been in had been ominous and full of fog and a number of very unpleasant things and sights.
The park was bright and green, and the sound of wildlife was far more inviting than the squawking of the crows (although he had happened upon a few in his time here) feasting on who knew what. Mono had to admit… Nature like this? It was kinda nice. He still didn’t think he’d be wandering into the actual forest anytime soon, but he was happy to run around in the grass or climb the trees there to get a better view of the park and what people were doing in it.
Mono could be found doing just that, or if you happened to spot the child later in the day? He was lying on his stomach next to the pond, feet kicking in the air lightly as he poked at the water and considered some frogs that were swimming around or sitting on the rocks nearby.
Sent on a ferry upon our sea - Why are kids songs … so weird?
Mono, like any child, got little ideas in his head when he was bored that may or may not make sense to everyone else. He liked to wander, and today had found him wandering around the harbour district. Specifically, near the docks. The child was wandering down the weathered wooden planks, bare footfalls drowned out by the sound of him humming a song stuck in his head, and sometimes the odd pieces of the song being sung quietly. “Having a nightmare in a boat. Come with me, oh no, no, no…” Humming a little more, he never could figure out all the actual lyrics. The bullies always sounded so garbled and… honestly, he was pretty sure they changed them sometimes. “He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone… Don’t leave me. No more bellman among the sea.”
Mono sat on the edge of the docks, his little feet dangling over the edge as he considered a little rowboat. He’d been on the river before. It was kind of nice and peaceful. Just floating across it on the door… It still had taken him back to the Pale City, but it had been nice after the horrors of the forest. And the child couldn’t deny that, as daunting as it had been, he felt like he’d been meant to return there. “Run, run, here comes Veronica… Sent on a ferry upon our sea.”
Tugging his yellow sou’wester hat a little more snug on his head and down over his eyes, he finally slipped off the edge to hop into the little rowboat. Exploring the inside of it for anything interesting. Wondering absently how hard it might be to go out in it.
Nature
He'd even purchased a bird feeder for the house but those would never just waddle up to him and 'talk' to him as he liked to call it. So he made sure to go out at least once a week to the park to come feed these birds who always seemed to ravenous.
Today though he happened to spot a certain little boy laying on his stomach as if studying the frogs there. And he thought to himself that Sania from back home would more than likely have a willing student in her research of wildlife. And it wasn't much fun being turned into one of them, but that wasn't a story he would ever reveal to the boy. So for now he stood some feet away and spoke to him.
"They're quite the interesting creatures."
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I don't know how I kept missing this thread!
It was something he and Noct heard but as he'd gotten older he figured it was just to make sure the Royal Prince didn't get mixed up with chasing after them. So instead as they became older, they'd occasionally got turned into one.
It's okay!
… Huh… That was an idea that put a spin on the giant jarred frogs the teacher kept in the science room back in the Pale City in a new and horrifying light. Maybe that was why they were so big, and why the only students left in the school were the porcelain bullies…
He very slowly drew his hand back, giving Ignis a look that was a mixture of curious and slightly horrified. “I didn’t know that.” He drew his hand back slowly. “I don’t think I wanna become a frog… Frogs end up in jars.”
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Since he was a master at a poker face it didn't show, but finally the advisor decided to show a slight smile. "I'm actually only kidding about turning into a frog. However, it was an expression we heard in the Citadel, and it was one more than likely to keep our crown prince from dirtying himself by playing in the water or falling in it."
Of course, the whole thing about actually being turned into a frog by magic was real. And it was no fun to be helpless and hop around trying to avoid any other damage that a frog could only defend against by trying to hop out of the way.
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The child relaxed a little, at least when Ignis confirmed he’d been joking, “So these frogs aren’t people then, right?” He turned his attention back to them, curious again. Mono wasn’t sure if he could completely write the idea off in his world considering how strange everything was and how little he understood about some things. But if it wasn’t real here? He’d be very glad, indeed. “That’s kinda mean to tell kids though, sometimes getting dirt on you happens!” He was, after all, usually quite a messy little kid. Worse in his world, when he remembered the swamp he’d swam through to make one of his escapes.
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"No." the royal advisor replied with a smile. "And dirt and mud are certainly things that should be part and parcel for growing up." He was more than sure Iris would've loved to get dirty too if he recalled the story correctly about how Noct had gone and saved her when she had gotten lost when she was little.
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But at the confirmation that these frogs weren’t people? Well, Mono was delighted, and he relaxed again. Poking his hand back into the water to see if he could coax a frog closer to get a better look at it. Small, live frogs were exciting and interesting. Most animals in this place were, really. He still wasn’t fond of crows or ravens, but wildlife, in general, was really nice to see in a less sinister setting.
“Dirt and mud are everywhere too, kinda hard to avoid it and all. Plus, it’s not so bad in a place like this, you can wash it off pretty easy.” Yeah, his trench-coat seemed a little beyond hope on that front… It had been through a lot. But he could still take a bath when he felt like it. That was one of the things about being in the apartments that was pretty great.
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"However, as he got older, that same Crown Prince got plenty of chances to sleep out under the stars and we were sent on a mission a few times to collect frogs in order to study them for Miss Sania Yeagre. And he was quite in his glory to go chase after them."
Of course Noctis might tell another version of this story, but Ignis got to get his version in first.
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“I slept outside a lot where I’m from… But you only really got to see things like the stars outside the pale city.” The woods were not safe for sleeping, and it was best to move carefully through them. Of course, to be fair to the forest, no where was truly safe. At least not anywhere he’d been. “I bet he really liked getting the chance to do stuff like that if he didn’t get to normally.” He finally added thoughtfully, sitting up properly now. “I like getting to do stuff here that I never got to before, even if it’s been kinda weird to get used to it all.”
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And this young one was wise beyond his years it seemed, so he nodded. "That he did. He was never one for all of the formality of being royal and moved among his own people as simply another person. He never made any fanfare or fuss of who he was." Of course having the armies of Niflheim hunting the party didn't help, but that wasn't something a young boy should know about.
Obviously this child had been through more than enough back in his own world so Ignis wasn't about to lay any of the horrors they faced out. But the last part of the child's words had him nod. "Well this world hopefully gives you plenty of opportunities to do things that you've never have."
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Sure, they weren’t really, but the child didn’t really need to know that right now. For once in his life, he could enjoy something a little more innocent and less serious, at least until something happened. Hopefully that wouldn’t be any time soon… This world had at least been rather kind thus far. Even the bad stuff had been quite easy to avoid as long as he didn’t get careless. “I hope so! It does a lot already though, I kinda like it… Like, there’s a lot of people who can talk and stuff here! So, I have more friends than I used to.” Not that they were as important to him as Six, but they were all very important just the same. Mono had, after all, been alone a lot. What was stranger was that most of the people he’d befriended were adults. Normal people (by comparison to those in his) who were kind and wanted him around.
Picking up a clover and turning it in his hand, he considered what other opportunities this world might present. “I don’t always know what to do or try though, there’s a lot to figure out.” He’d learned to play hopscotch at the flower festival, and he’d realized that games were meant to be played a lot differently than the porcelain children played them. Mono wanted to learn more because it seemed like fun. It was just a matter of finding people to teach him.
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"Well there's no rush, you might wish to try a bunch of things before you find out which thing or things you prefer to do." And of course down time was going to be important since the lad was going to start working here soon. Ignis of course didn't know what down time was other than reading a book or laying about with Nida, but then Ebony or Julia or even Hibiscus now seemed to want attention at some point or other.
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On the note of figuring out what things he preferred to do, Mono looked back at Ignis with a curious expression. “How do you figure out where to start, though? Sometimes I don’t even know what stuff is, or it’s… It’s different in my world? Like um- when I learned hopscotch, it was so different. The porcelain bullies back in the school would always push each other down before they made it to the end of the game and stuff.” Which, it turned out, was not an actual part of the game.
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However, he would simply find a way to bring Nida home with him, that much was certain.
His eyebrows then knitted together when he heard this whole hopscotch game thing. He had no idea who the porcelain bullies were but he would beat each of their little asses if they hurt Mono, should they come here.
But then he realized something as he thought back to his childhood. He was forever at Noct's side shielding him from the king's wrath and everyone else's when Noct got up to his shenanigans. And somewhere along the way his advisor was more than sure that after awhile no matter how many times he stood up for the Prince and took the blame, they knew who the real culprit was.
So for now he looked curiously at Mono. "I must admit I'm unfamiliar with the game. How does one play hopscotch?" No one ever asked the smart kid to play games, the one always tagging along with the Prince. And not even before that because Ignis was in a school for the gifted. Play wasn't encouraged even then unless the children were using their brains.
His uncle in the Citadel had been cold and distant too, so any hugs he received were from the Prince himself. And even they didn't play such a game as the one Mono was describing.
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Now the question from Ignis? That brightens the atmosphere quite a bit. This was something that he knew that someone else didn’t? He could actually show Ignis pretty easily, after all. He was pretty sure he remembered how to play from when Arkady had shown him.
Grabbing a stray stick and walking over to a bare patch of dirt, he began excitedly drawing out squares and putting numbers in them. “So, um…” He started off a little clumsily, “We have these squares with numbers, and… Oh! We need to find a rock too.” He said, dropping the stick and hurrying over to the water’s edge to find a nice stone.
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But then the boy seemed to be inspired by his question regarding the game and he waited for further instruction on it. Green eyes watched as Mono drew squares and placed numbers in them and wondered at the reason for it all. He was curious and wondering what it was that the boy was doing.
Next thing he knew, the boy was off grabbing a rock. The only thing the advisor could do at this point was wait and so he did to see how they would play this game together.
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“And you keep doing that! I guess if you get to the end, then you win? And if you fall over or hop outside a square, you gotta stand aside and let the next person try. I didn’t know that, otherwise I might’ve tried sooner. When was sneaking around and watching the bullies playing, they would push each other over before they got to the end. That never seemed like fun.” He didn’t like the idea of pushing Six, and frankly he was pretty sure she was capable of pushing back harder if she thought she had to… So he was delighted to find out the porcelain bullies were playing the game wrong.
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And of course he couldn't understand why simple rules couldn't be followed without being pushy or abusive but he just shook his head. "When we play there'll be no bullies allowed." Which of course the advisor wouldn't put up with.
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Since they weren’t real children. They were dolls full of shadows, made to be students for the rather twisted teacher. They only imitated life, specifically ill-behaved children. It was hard to say where they’d come from, or what happened to the real children… There was only the barest of clues to suggest real children had ever been there.
Crouching to pick up the stone, he held it out to Ignis. “Did you wanna try?”
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But he waited now and was content to do so to make sure he had the game rules down correctly.
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He carefully gave the stone a toss, not overshooting the little path and landing on a square. Proceeding to hop in the correct pattern, jumping according to the numbers till he made it to the one his rock had landed on. He repeated this action again, only to miss-hop and land outside the square. “Oops.. That means I’m out till the next round. But I can show you again if you want?”
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Watching the lad go outside the square, he had to hide his smile because the other was putting so much effort into teaching him how to play this wonderful game. At the offer of going again, Ignis shook his head. "No, I'll make my attempt this time."
And so he took the stone and tossed it as it landed on one of the other squares he took a deep breath and did his best to follow Mono's example.
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Games were best when both had fun.
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