eastbound | [Text; UN: heavenly four seasons]

Distraction good. Always need good thing to think.

Kahl say kubrow. Kubrow have many brothers, all live together in forest. Some try to catch kubrow, but brothers defend. Kahl like that.

[Distractions are how he spends most of his days. It's a good way to not go insane.]

I'm afraid I don't know that species. What do they look like?

[Kahl keeps finding new ways his world is different from others. Maybe at this point he should explain every time--he's not annoyed by that, though. He might have trouble putting words together, but he likes to share these things.]

Kubrow is this big, [He gestures, a little less than one meter long and half that tall.] Have four legs, hair all over, not like Kahl. [Kahl's never grown any hair, his skin just doesn't try.]

Long face, pointy ears on top. Make little homes for brothers from sticks and dirt.

Kahl not know fox or hawk. Tell Kahl?

[The explanation leaves him smiling. Cute. He can see why Kahl is drawn to such a magnificent animal.]

They sound like foxes or wolves. [Since they are too large for the former.]

Foxes are furry too with big, pointed ears and fluffy tails. They can be red, black or white depending on the season. They are a little larger than cats with bright eyes and a liking for mischief.

Hawks, on the other hand, are birds. They are smaller than Eagles... [He motions with his hands to give an idea.] They can be brown, black or red too. In flight, they are swift and they dive suddenly to gather their prey from below. Their eyesight is impeccable.

[Kahl nods.] Kahl know wolf. Grineer--that people like Kahl--[because he was pretty sure now that "heavenly four seasons" wouldn't know Grineer either] we have big kubrow. Drahk. Keepers call drahk that. [Keepers had lots of words for drahk, almost all of them good ones.

Kahl doesn't know what cats or eagles are either, but he listens, nodding. He still has some idea what these things should look like. Colorful kubrow with long tails, and fast birds.]

Those good animals. What planet they from?

Then think of foxes as smaller, cuter wolves. [No, he doesn't know the Grineer.] They sound like beautiful, intelligent animals.

[He would have no problem watching wolves or foxes or hawks for a living.]

Earth. I believe I come from a country called China.

Ohh. Kahl like. [Now Kahl's imagining a young kubrow.] Tenno brother have little kubrow, come to camp sometimes. Horrek feed them any time kubrow get close. [Horrek has little bits of meat for them while he's cooking. And after he's cooked. And any time the kubrow comes near. It always makes Kahl laugh. Thinking about that now is nice.] Kubrows like Horrek.

[He'd thought that might be the answer.] Kahl from different Earth. Alternate universe. Or different time. [Those are new ideas for Kahl, but people have explained them well enough that he understands. He still has to pronounce some of the words carefully, though.]

What China like?

I wouldn't be able to deny them food either! I have a soft spot for anyone young. [He just wants to protect them and see them fed. At the very least. If they allow, he will teach them how to protect themselves too.]

Of course they do. He is part of their pack. [Just less...furry, he presumes.]

Mm I've heard about that happening. [It's interesting to see how much things can change.]

Big with forests and mountains and rivers. Most of the land is beautiful.

[Kahl likes this person. They seem nice, and they come up with good things to talk about.]

Horrek is good brother. Cook good too. Kubrows like that. [Horrek also waves a spoon at anyone who tries to feed kubrow any meat from the stews he makes. The spices are bad for them, he says.]

China sound very pretty. Kahl live in forest like that. River go down cliff next to camp. [It was very pretty, and made good noise to keep brothers calm. Lots were still afraid of Narmer finding them again. The river and the cliffs helped them feel safe.]

[Zishu likes Kahl too! He always has time for - and likes speaking to - kind people.]

I've met very few people who can say no to a good meal. Kubrows have the right idea. [Some spices definitely are bad for canines.]

Sounds like a good place for a camp. I enjoy riding or walking in the forests myself. Towns and cities are useful, but nothing beats clean, fresh air.

Edited 2022-11-23 15:34 (UTC)

Mmhmm. Horrek make kuaka stew and fried pobber. Very good. Much better than food in army. [Army food was bland rations, scraps you found in settlements, or whatever hungry soldiers could catch and cook on a fire until it probably wouldn't make you sick. The army wasn't very good at feeding anybody.]

Camp peaceful. Good for brothers. [He's not sure what this planet is like outside of Eidris yet, but he hopes there's some quiet places here too. Somewhere his new brothers among the off-worlders can feel safe.

Which leads him to another question.] Heavenly Four Seasons have brothers here? [Kahl isn't sure whether that's actually a name or not, but his brother Chipper's talked about a Solaris named "the Business" before, and his own name has numbers in it. He's not sure what counts as a name for other people.]

Homemade food is always preferable. I'm a horrible cook, so I respect those who can. [Seriously, he is one of the few who can cook a fish or a chicken and make everyone wonder which one he started with. It's not that he burns it; it's just disgusting and no one knows how to fix it.]

I bet. I like being on my own sometimes, but at night, being with my brothers...my family...was nice. [Except the majority of them are dead. Zishu finds that very difficult to live with.]

I...did. My soulmate was here. [Was. He chuckles at the name.] I am Zhou Zishu. Please feel free to call me Zishu.

Kahl can't cook like Horrek, but Kahl know hunting. [His new friend said he was good at that. And Kahl was pretty sure everyone could learn from what they already knew, if that was what they wanted.] Kahl cut up meat, help Horrek make food. Listen to Horrek, learn more. [He hadn't wanted to learn much, until Horrek declared their new brother Olvar couldn't help make food. Olvar was a Corpus, not used to messy stuff like Grineer or Ostron were, and he was clumsy sometimes, but he wanted to belong in the camp. So, Kahl learned, so he could teach his new brother.

Kahl always finds family. Helps them any way he can. Eight Squad were his brothers in the army, until the Narmer Worms killed them. Narmer stole him from the army to make him a slave, kept him from having brothers. But as soon as he was free, everyone that Narmer took was his brother.

Everyone here had been stolen by the undead. The undead tried and failed to turn everyone into slaves. They had less in common that way, and it had made Kahl a little slower to call people brother. But Zishu is a good person. He cares about his brothers. He's lost someone here.

That's more than enough to make someone family.]

Kahl with brothers here. [Clara and the Doctor, new brothers he'd met since arriving.] Brother Zishu welcome, if want.

I suppose I wouldn't mind being a cat. They do get spoiled a ton, don't they? I used to love sleeping in and the idea of napping throughout the day sounds absolutely relaxing.

Being a wolf would be sort of handy in a place like this, but they're quite ferocious, aren't they? And that's not the sort of person I am.

You're good at hunting? With a bow and arrow? What do you hunt exactly?

I can't argue with your logic, though if you ended up as a feral, life would be difficult.

Wolves are ferocious against those who threaten their pack. You would be surprised at how tender a pack can be within the confines of their den.

Animals...people...whatever is necessary.

If a cat's truly got nine lives however, I'm sure I'll be quite all right living as a stray.

But maybe I'd like to be a gentle wolf then. At least, I'll look intimidating. And I'd be strong enough to protect those in need.

Wait, hold on. You hunt people? We're not talking cannibalism here, are we?

Sleeping in the cold, going hungry, being treated like a pest. Think carefully now. Not all humans are kind to cats.

Someone needs to protect the wolf pups while the other adults are out hunting.

No. I was an assassin.

The luck of the draw... ( he's lucky to have been born in a rich family. charles has never had to go hungry a day in his life while he was growing up. )

Well, I certainly wouldn't mind looking after the young ones and helping to guide them. ( it's what he was doing right before he found himself in this strange world. )

Assassin. Right. ( oh. ) Was it by choice? If I'm allowed to ask.

Do you want to rely solely on luck?

[Zishu's luck...no. He would never rely on it unless he had no other choice.]

Who would mind that? They must be cute. [He has a soft spot for kids too.]

It's a long story and it involves my cousin, Prince Jin, and my misplaced belief in him. I pledged myself to his cause and, in the process, committed crimes I would rather forget.

It depends. In this hypothetical situation of yours, would we be able to change forms? Between our human one and the animal one? Because that would make all the difference.

That really does seem complicated. ( but it's a good thing he's no longer an assassin. ) You're royalty? ( this place really does take in all kinds of people. ) Do you have anyone from home here with you?

In my dream, we would be able to change at will. In that case, we needn't worry about another caring for us or harming us.

Unfortunately. [He had fallen for his cousin's tears, thinking him a genuinely good man.]

No, I'm not. Just related. [Zishu is technically a noble lord - if he accepted the title. Which he doesn't.]

I did. He returned.

Then I'll stick to being a cat for reasons already stated. Perhaps a Maine Coon. They look quite intimidating due to their size, but they're really gentle giants. It's not as exciting as being a lion or a cheetah, but I'll be able to sneak into places without being noticed. Because a cat wouldn't attract as much attention.

How long ago was all of that anyways? Being an assassin, that is. I hope you're doing all right.

Went home? Via the ever elusive beacon? ( he's heard that some people have managed to head back to their home world that way. now charles is really hoping that's what happens when people are no longer contactable via the communication devices. )

I can agree with your reasoning. Do Maine Coons have Summer and Winter coats? Any animal that is domesticated tends to lose some of their useful wild features.

Before I turned up here, it was less than a year, but being here has made it longer.

Right around the time I entered the volcano.

[And became a necromancer for awhile.]

They probably do shed a lot of fur during the summer.

What's this about a volcano? ( seems like it might be the start of an interesting story. he'd heard about them dealing with pirates before this. poor number one had told him that she'd found herself in the middle of the sea when she'd first arrived here. )

That must be very refreshing. I wonder if it itches?

Ah the volcano was a source of great power. So much power that unless we lessened it, this world might cease to exist. I was one of a handful that walked along a very narrow bridge to the volcano's core and took some of the power into myself. I was left with severe burns and the abilities of a necromancer. I could hear the dead for weeks.

Edited 2022-12-01 10:27 (UTC)

Probably not, but they'll likely be coughing up more hairballs. The perks of being a Sphynx. Have you ever seen one of those? Hairless beauties.

( so much happens in this world. it's truly a bizarre place. ) And those abilities you got, they're gone now?

A dog. Everyone already calls me a dog, might as make it true.

What kind of dog? Big? Small?

I wasn't called a dog because I was some little yappy thing. A big dog, one of the kind with a lot of energy and stamina.

I can respect that. Dogs are smart and loyal too.

I don't know about smart. A lot of dogs I know are kind of dumb. Friendly and fun but not always the brightest.

[ he's not talking about dogs here ]

I fear my answer would disappoint you.

I believe you are well suited to a fox.

Besides dragons, what animal intrigues you?

Thank you. They are much cuter than I will ever be.

I have a Silver, a horse given to me as a wedding gift. When I ride her, I feel as if I'm feeling. Horses are connected to me and are sacred to many of my people.

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