IP: 95.149.92.59
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 10:58:30 PM by thoth
“You can do it,” Thoth replies encouragingly, full to the brim with confidence. There’s really nothing that Tristan can’t do. Following the prince’s suggestion, he updates Atkiss on the possible side-effects of telekinetic surgery. Atkiss immediately responds with something along the lines of ‘just let me die’, but Thoth isn’t listening. He lowers the snake towards the ground in between him and Tristan, while maintaining a gentle but firm grip on Atkiss’ body. No snake, even one told to by a polylingual fairy, will happily lie on its back of its own accord. Thoth nods to indicate he’s ready, the quiet intake of breath and the set of his mouth being the only indications of inner nervousness. Atkiss may be a whinger and a bit of a pain at times, but he is the closest thing Thoth has to a pet and, in spite of Tristan’s reassurances, he’s already though of several other ways in which this could go horribly wrong. The first attempt does nothing to quell those worries. As Atkiss begins to slide across the floor, he lets loose a storm of loud hissing; Thoth automatically grips him tighter, which causes even more hissing. Rudy’s head pops out from behind the bed-post in order to watch with interest. Tristan quickly corrected his mistake, and within the minute the splinter was out of the snake’s scales and resting on the palm of Thoth’s opened hand. Rather than congratulate his friend immediately, the young demigod’s first attention is to Atkiss. Hissing softly, he examines the scales before rolling the snake back over onto its front. “It’s no use,” Atkiss moans, “I’m already infected. It’s cancer, I tell you. I’ll waste away slowly in complete agony.” He glances hopefully at Thoth’s sleeve, but the latter has already returned his attention to the prince. “That was awesome!” He exclaims, “it must have been really fiddly. You didn’t even pull out any of his scales – oh,” he glances down at the snake, which is hissing in indignation. “Sorry, Atkiss.” Thoth lowers his arm enough for Atkiss to glide happily up it again, resuming his favourite position over the boy’s shoulders under his shirt. Once again, he resembles a hunchback. “Snakes are agoraphobic,” Thoth explains to Tristan, returning to his old elaborative ways for a moment; “that means they fear wide open spaces. A snake will always prefer to hide away in a little hole somewhere rather than stay out in the open… they don’t like unfamiliar places either. That’s fairly common in the animal kingdom, although Rudy seems to be an exception to that rule.” He frowns lightly at the mouse’s tail as it whips back behind the bed-post. “Thanks, though. Atkiss is… well, I don’t have many friends, and he’s…” He breaks off, flushing slightly. As one of the princes of Shaman, Tristan probably has millions of friends and hangers-on. At the very least, he would have met loads of other children while they were living in the castle during the war. Aside from Tristan, Thoth has had next to no interaction with other children: because of the war and who his parents were, he’d been isolated from a young age. Tristan would also have been protected, but his existence was already known to the enemy; Thoth was a secret kept even from most of the islanders. Now that the war is over and he has the opportunity to get out and make new friends, he’s too caught up in the past to even try. Not that he would have an overly successful time even if he did try – Thoth is all too aware of how different he is from other children. He’s reminded on a daily basis by the looks given him by Nimueh’s other adoptees. “What did you start the fire for?” He asks, determinedly pursuing an alternative topic of conversation. “I guess your dad must have been pretty mad. What’s he like when he’s angry?” thoth someday you'll walk tall with pride |
Replies:
- the children of kings - By tristan & celidon April 20, 2012 at 02:41:09 AM
- son of man, a man in time you'll be. - By thoth April 20, 2012 at 03:48:34 AM
Post a reply:
<--
-->