futurology | ᴜsᴇʀɴᴀᴍᴇ: ʜᴜɴᴛsᴍᴀɴ (VIDEO)

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ᴜsᴇʀɴᴀᴍᴇ: ʜᴜɴᴛsᴍᴀɴ (VIDEO)

( graham doesn't like using the video feature much, so mostly he avoids it. people might recognize his username, though, he hasn't been silent on the network that connects members of ALISTAIR. in fact now that he's a fugitive he has a bit too much time to flip through messages, though that's neither here nor there.

still, the fact he's using it means he does so with a purpose. after Sakura encountered him in the woods, he doesn't see a better way to get his message to everyone that needs to hear it. hopefully the townsfolk themselves will just stay away, and his brother is clever enough to stay clear of people that might hurt him. he's smart and wary of humans, it doesn't seem impossible he'll manage on it's own. it just feels dangerous to leave him out on his own without trying to assure people the wolf is not a threat. )

A friend of mine came from home. I hear that happens on occasion.

( Graham tilts his pendant enough to capture the wolf in the feed, just long enough for the details to be picked up. a vibrant red eye, white and gray fur. a little too friendly with a human, one could argue, as the wolf is looking up at him with an open-mouth grin, much like a dog. )

He's not a threat to humans. He'll more than likely run if you get too close to him, but all the same. If you see him, don't hurt him. He won't hurt you unless you threaten him.

( the wolf still has instincts enough that he will fight if he feels he has to for survival. being so close to a human has tempered many of his wilder instincts, yet the wolf is still and will always be a wolf. )

If you hurt him despite this message I promise you'll regret it.

( there's a steel edge to that threat that is very sincere. Graham was a better man than the Hunstman ever claimed to boast, and the wolf is about all the family he's ever had. if someone is bold enough to try and harm him (or worse), they'll have a dedicated hunter after them, and a ruthless one at that.

with that the video feed closes. if there are questions, they'll likely be answered via text. )

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In town?

( that sounds like something he'd be interested in having. the Huntsman couldn't read or write, had to rely on his memory and that alone. the curse gave him the ability to read, so he could take proper advantage of the knowledge now.

buying it as a fugitive, though... that'd be more difficult. )

I'll remember that. When I can, I'll get a book and keep notes of what you show me. Until then whatever you think is most important.

Yes- in the western market.

[She nodded- then paused to think a moment. It would be better if he could keep notes sooner rather than later...]

In the meantime, then, I will draw some of them for you.

[Her memory was nearly photographic, and books she had read before, the text and illustrations both, were not difficult to recall. Pleased with the idea, she rummaged in the saddlebag slung over the beast that accompanied her and came out with a few pages of crumpled parchment and charcoal, merrily beginning to draw without as much as a by your leave...

But. What soon would become unfortunately evident was that, for all her genius... Sieglinde's drawing skills seemed to be... about on par with any normal eleven year old's.]

( he'll get a book as soon as he's able. maybe the huntsman had never used a book to gather his thoughts but the sheriff is more than capable. buying things isn't as easy as it used to be as a fugitive, but he'll figure it out.

as for right now, he watches her draw with a tilted head, a slight smile running over his features — something that was rather rare, usually. Seiglind looked about her age, even though she acted rather maturely, but her drawings were much less adult. he could remark but he doesn't. he likes the drawings just as they are. )

Thank you. I appreciate the help.

( the drawings may be simplistic but he thinks that he can still learn something. by the time he gets a book of his own he can transfer the information over. )

[When she's working, Sieglinde's focus is razor sharp, and so despite the fact that her drawings were hardly first rate, she put her entire ability into making them.

In the end, basic as they were, they could at least prove somewhat useful.

Pausing, Sieglinde looked up, holding her charcoal in a dirty hand.]

Do you speak German? Or English?

[For labels... ALASTAIR may have provided translators for their speech, but, best to be safe.]

( they are basic, but they'll do him just fine. honestly if he tried he might not do much better. he's good at quite a few things, drawing isn't something he's ever attempted. as long as he can recognize it he doesn't need much more. )

English would be fine.

( he sounds Irish, even if he's not... but he's never heard german before and would likely get more than a little lost. )

Then I shall try to label them in English!

[Sieglinde had no way of knowing any accents beside British and German, having never left the confines of her village and meeting only British people who had wandered into her forest.

But she took her charcoal back to the paper, beginning to carefully label what she could... though several did end up in German, humming to herself as she did before handing over the papers with a flourish.]

( he doesn't know German but for now, the notes she's left him with seem good enough to him. he doesn't need an English name, really, does he? as long as he can understand the plant and what it is capable of, German names don't phase him. (and having so little experience with the language, he might not realize it's German, anyway.) )

Thank you. ( her work is appreciated, likely more than she knows. he's not sure he's ever had someone teach him like this before. he's more comfortable than most would be with such a younger instructor, likely, yet he seemed to trust younger better than older. older had too much time to be corrupted by humanity. ) I'll study these. Hopefully when we meet again I can have them memorized.

You are welcome, Graham.

[Though it's not something she could put into words well, Sieglinde has never in her life been treated like a normal girl. Since infancy she's been the Green Witch, the person people counted on, a lord of her village- and since coming to Chantes, she's encountered quite a few people who treated her... like a child.

It's not something she's found she likes. So being treated like she's used to- as competent, more an equal...

It's appreciated.]

Once you have these memorized, we can move on to how best to utilize them for salves and potions, so I will hold you to your studies.

All right. Hopefully I can get them down in a few days.

( he is careful in folding them to put in his pocket. he doesn't have any better way to keep them, but a fold or two shouldn't make them unreadable. he treats them with obvious care when he puts them away. )

Are you going to stay here, or would you like some company back to town?

[It pleases her to see him be careful with the documents- as careless as she could be with her surroundings... Sieglinde valued books. They contained all sorts of knowledge, and learning...

Well, that was the gateway to everything.]

Is it safe for you?

[To go back into town.]

Safer than being here, actually.

( the forest is where he was caught in the first place, and it's still watched by guards for hint of the order. he can't help himself, he comes out anyway, but he's learning to limit it. )

I'm staying in town, I've got to go back sooner or later. I'll go with you if you like.

[Hmm... Sieglinde considers for a moment, and weirdly enough, part of that consideration seems to be... a head to toe sweep of Graham's person.

But she nods, beginning to put away her herbs and parchment into the saddle-bag the beast is steady enough to keep in reach...]

Very well, I shall accept your escort.

[Only to then hold her arms up in a pose most any child used when they expected to be picked up.]

( that is... not what he was expecting. though he supposes with her unusual feet, she's might not be particularly accustomed to walking much. he'd intended to walk her back next to her instead of carrying her and be hesitates for a moment. he doesn't usually favor being close to people, of any size. still... On his own terms, he can manage it. and he appreciates her help and offered his own in return.

so in the end he chooses to lift her up, albeit carefully. she's lighter than he thinks someone of her age should be. it's odd to be trusted to carry an absolute stranger, but if anything it just makes him more determined to deserve that trust. )

You're staying at the inn? ( that's an assumption but most of ALISTAIR was staying in the local inn for accommodations. including himself, now. )

[In the end, she could have walked back by herself if she'd needed to- but when she had the option, Sieglinde did what she was accustomed to. In her own village, she'd never walked more than the length of a room by her own power without crutches or her witch balloons.

Walking with the skull-faced beast provided her with the balance not to fall, but it still left her with the weight on feet broken to fit into three inch shoes and a building ache she was only partially able to ignore.

She was used to being carried, that would be obvious by how easily she adjusted herself, made it easy to carry her, light as she was, small even for her age.]

I am staying above the apothecary in the western market- it is far more convenient for me than any inn.

[The beast rose with her, shaking its shoulders a bit under the yoke of the saddlebag before padding around Graham in a few loose circles, tongue lolling out the exposed bone of its jaw.]

( his own wolf seems to tire of their party and wanders off into the wild on his own. Graham does spare a last glance for his brother but he doesn't call him back or try to curb his wandering. there was no telling a wolf where to go, either it followed or it wandered as it liked. he would likely find his way back to the room he was now sharing with Olivia, or he'd stay out in the woods.

it was hard not to worry about him, Graham likely always would. still, he couldn't trap the wolf to protect him. he'd learned that a long time ago. )

I think I know where that is. I'll get you there safely.

( he doesn't mind the creature curving around him in curious circles. it seemed it had already found a protectiveness for its master; a good thing in a companion. when he sets off he makes sure to be careful. she's used to being carried, perhaps, he still doesn't want to discourage her trust. )

Have you been with ALISTAIR long?

( he arrived a little after some of the rest, but apparently a new host had arrived while he'd been in jail; he didn't know all the faces, even before the new blood had arrived. )

[As confused as Sieglinde seemed to be about how to properly interact with the peculiar creature, it did at least seem protective enough of her- ALASTAIR would be the ones to thank for that. As they walked it padded along beside Graham, occasionally looping around the pair or going off to investigate a scent, but always returning.

Even though Sieglinde didn't know yet how it smelled when its nose was a dark hole in the skull that simply marked where sinuses ought to be.

Sieglinde perched easily in Graham's arms, three-inch feet dangling free beneath her dress hem, one hand placed lightly on his shoulder.]

For more than thee moons now.

[- Something she seems almost surprised to hear herself say.]

( well for all he knows about wolves, he couldn't explain that to her either. magic? it was probably magic. when all else fails: blame magic.

three months. ) I'm about that myself. ( it's a little bizarre for him, too. three months is barely anything compared to twenty-eight years cursed and all the years he'd lived in the forest before that. still three months seems a very long time for a man whose heart stopped beating before he even arrived in Chantes. )

In some ways this place is different from what I'm used to. In others it's far too similar.

( the hatred between human and goblin, for example. the cruelty of the monarchs, for another. an organization that seemed to care little for the individuals they employed didn't set him at ease, either. )

[Though she could be surprised at how much time she'd spent in this place, she wasn't that it had been that long and yet she still had not met everyone involved in ALASTAIR's operation. Having grown up in a village isolated from the outside world, there had only been the women- less than fifty occupants, and she knew each one by face and name, but here... To her, it was a mind blowing number, let alone that she didn't room in the inn where most did.

So she just nodded. Three months as well...]

In what ways?

[Seeing as she could say the same.]

( a complicated question, and perhaps one he's not willing to completely answer. his history is not something he wants to delve in too deeply. he sees it as his own and it's not something he cares to share without good reason. now is no different, but basics he doesn't mind mentioning. )

The way they treat those they don't understand, for one.

( the animosity between the natives and the goblins reminded him all too much of the hatred that had been leveled at his family, back in Misthaven. that sort of blind hatred disturbed him, and yet it felt almost inescapable. )

[It wasn't an answer she'd quite been expecting- one that made her expression grow slightly dark. The segregation, the rumors, the violence... it was not so different from the stories she'd grown up on.

The witch trials. The hatred of the unknown, the magical, the different.]

... perhaps that doesn't change no matter the world.

[Maybe it was a thread that connected them all- the nature of the mob.]

Perhaps not.

( after all, there had been troubles of hatred and segregation in the land without magic, too. it might be a part of the human condition, to hate and destroy what was unique and unknown.

he nods toward the building not far out of sight. )

That's where we're headed, isn't it?

( he'd never been to the apothecary, but he thinks so. )

[It's easier to let that lie there. Perhaps that was the way of nature, that that which was different was always to be mistrusted.

She didn't wish to believe in such a thing, but it was awful hard to. Easier to follow the line of his finger.]

That is it, yes- the stairs are on the side.

[It would become obvious the closer they got that, what with the jars of questionable contents in the window and the potion shaped signboard, newly put up. The way Sieglinde paid for her room and board with the shopkeeper.]

( he has a surprising lack of uncertainty in silence. for many quiet felt awkward and uncomfortable, for him, sometimes speaking was what made him feel out of place. he'd communicated wordlessly for most of his life before he was cursed. so the dropped subject and silence as he gets her to the door of the apothecary doesn't bother him at all.

he is careful as he sets her down, not minding her wolf as it puttered around with a watchful eye. )

I appreciate your aid in this. I'll study my notes and get back to you when I've got them memorized.

[It bothers her for what it means- that perhaps what they've said is right, that perhaps human nature was simply that way.

Unfortunate.

Small hands grasp his forearms as he sets her down, not releasing him until she'd locked her knees and squared her stance on tiny heels, waving the rather independent minded canine over until it finally acquiesced and she transferred her hold to its collar for balance.]

Then I shall look forward to hearing from you then, Ser Graham.

Take good care of your friend, now.

( it's hard to tell who he means with that, but it's to the wolf in regards to Sieglinde. yes, Graham does talk to animals like they can hear and understand him. if the wolf understands it's impossible to say, but Graham believes that he'll do it without the request to begin with.

he doesn't smile often but sometimes he remembers that he should. those tend to be passing, like he's mostly forgotten what it feels like to smile. but it's there and intentional as he nods. )

Take care of yourself, too.

( that's as much of a goodbye as he offers, turning and leaving her to return to her quarters. )

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ᴜsᴇʀɴᴀᴍᴇ: ʜᴜɴᴛsᴍᴀɴ (VIDEO)

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