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"Sphinxes would have the same problem as dragons," Vivian points out. "One war was enough."

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"Obviously. But you said you were looking for dragons."

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"Well, wyverns aren't particularly feline looking. Are there other newly discovered critters in the area I should be talking to...?"

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"Your story doesn't hold together," says May, shaking her head. "If I knew where to find hiding sphinxes why would I tell you? You're an environmentalist? That's a hell of a way to talk about species of people who were genocided."

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"I'm hoping to bring them back without causing a second genocide."

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"Because of their effect on the ecology?" wonders May.

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"It seemed the obvious next step once I learned to restore animals."

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"I'm sure the falafel and peanut butter of the world will delight in the return of its keystone predators."

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...?

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"I don't think you're telling me everything, if you are telling me everything I'm deeply unimpressed, and as far as I know I'm just convergently reptilian. Thank you for telling me that it's unusual for me to survive interrupted incantations before I tried to teach anybody magic. Good afternoon."

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Vivian can't leave without answers. Her daughter. "Do you have ideas?" she asks. "I'll take whatever help I can get, honestly. I just want to try to fix things."

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"Okay, first, if you think somebody might be a member of a species you're interested in... let's say 'helping'... or might be friends with them or whatever? Don't describe it in the same terms you'd use to talk about reintroducing spotted owls to a region or saving the honeybees. That's gross. Do you understand?"

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Vivian hadn't really thought about it like that before. Isabella mostly focuses on the healing everybody aspect of critterdom. "You're right. I'm sorry."

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"Two. Preventing wars is all very well and good. A million people do miscellaneous activism about it every day, mostly ineffective, and you are not presenting any reason to believe you're competent at wrangling historically antagonistic species. Do you know what their grievances were? Do you know how these species would reintegrate into the general critter population even in a best-case scenario, let alone how to bring that about?"

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"I'll spare you my history as an activist." And her family history, which is probably more relevant. "But a good first step is finding them and talking about it, I think."

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"That is like step three or four, at the earliest. First you need to tighten your information security, because you're probably not going to find sphinxes and dragons living together under a rock, and if you find them living under separate rocks, you might not want them to be able to find each other right away. Second you refine your diplomatic approach so you don't find someone in a delicate political situation and then give offense when you compare them to charismatic megafauna and thereby damage your anti-war message. Third you come up with anything that makes you seem less like, well, a nosy neighbor. Maybe you care if sphinxes and dragons exist and get along; why should sphinxes and dragons care if you exist and want to know how they're doing? Do you come bearing gifts? Are you yourself one or the other authorized to sign a permanent peace treaty? Thirty seconds of perspective taking, if you find yourself The Last Unicorn, this is very exciting for you but not very exciting for The Last Unicorn." Pause. "Don't go attempting to conjure unicorns just in case they once really existed to see what happens, please, not without actually thinking about it."

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"I promise I have no designs on unicorns." She pauses. This girl sounds rather like Isabella with a Canadian accent, it keeps throwing her. But Isabella is usually much more polite.

Of course, condescending lecture aside, the girl does have good suggestions, and she's Vivian's best shot at making sure Isabella is safe. For that, she can handle a lot.

"So, say I do have a personal stake in all this." At this rate this May girl probably thinks Vivian is a sphinx, but she'll live. "I want to make sure dragons and sphinxes can live together peacefully. It's important enough to me that I get on a plane the first time I hear of someone who might be able to help me... And I'm bad at first impressions."
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"I cannot direct you to any capacious rocks."

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"I am also losing track of your metaphors," Vivian admits. "What?"

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"I said you weren't likely to find sphinxes and dragons living together under a rock...?"

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There was not an r in that word, the rocks are spacious not volatile. Vivian is now less confused, and also an idiot. "I think I misheard, I'm sorry. My brain just caught up to the word capacious. I heard capricious, which... did not make sense, terribly."

Yes, that will get her foot out of her mouth. Focus on the issue here, not the fact that she keeps hearing Isabella saying things. Isabella isn't here, they just sound alike. "Do you know of any- smaller... rocks...? I could find? Poor presentation aside, finding out if any grudges have persisted is very important to me."
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"Back to discussing your tactics, do you have any way to credibly indicate that you are a well-intentioned... environmentalist... and not, say, an assassin?"

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"References, mostly. The critter community is fairly small, and the runecaster community smaller. Nothing's perfect, but your magic store owner at least would likely recognize me."

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"You didn't lead with that," points out May.

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"Well, I mostly led with confused incoherent spluttering," Vivian says ruefully. "And knowing runecasting is usually an identification by itself. You're the first self-taught caster I've met, actually."

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