[PLOT] Cleaning Up (Faroth, Chika, Eligor, & Harveer)

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Chika blinked, looking at the strange males. What were they talking about with the Guardians and the light? She narrowed her brown eyes. This female knew of the forces of nature. Chika didn't think there was something else out there, but then again she couldn't say anything for sure. All that mattered to her was that they not try and push anything else on them.

"Well then, we're working on moving all this debris over to a pile somewhere over in that direction." She gestured towards where Faroth was heading before they had gotten distracted.

"The Guardian's kindness is never ending." Harveer nodded at Eligor. The demon had laid it on quite thick, which meant for the angel to be more subtle about it. "But lets help these two move the tree branches. Surely they would prefer help than preaching about the guardians."

The pale one smiled, moving to pick up something decently heavy. He might have been slimmer and less muscular than the abominations, but he was still a male and would be damned if someone tried to out do him and lifting.

 

[Teigra]

"Of course," Eligor nodded, looking sheepish and reaching up to rub his neck. He paused, glancing at some of the nearby debris, took a moment to stretch his arms and shoulders, then crossed to heft a medium sized branch. He resisted the urge to make a face, but his thoughts wandered. This would be so much easier with magic. Too bad I don't know any sort of levitation charms, or even teleport spells. Or just, I dunno...send the limbs to a different dimension, so we didn't have to pick them up and haul them around in this one.

Faroth raised an eyebrow. Strange fellows, to be sure, but this talk of Guardians and whatnot wasn't completely foreign to the Faun, surprisingly. He merely chuckled at their exchange, shaking his head. "You sound like a friend of mine," he commented idly. Only maybe a bit more...exuberant? Or something.

He'd spent a lot of time in the home of an angel named Takeko, both in visiting her (and enjoying her cooking), and in relation to his friend, Kane, her adopted son, and his daughter, Vika. The angel had taught Kane quite a bit in recent weeks about how to care for his new offspring. Maybe it was Faroth's imagination, but it seemed like his reluctance to learn had been waning. Maybe it helped that she was becoming more mobile...and no longer needed diapers or frequent changing.

Either way, he knew that Takeko believed in entities called 'Guardians', though she'd not shared much of her belief with him. Likely, only because he'd never asked. He just noticed passing comments, like 'Thank the Guardians' and such, muttered under her breath from time to time. Perhaps he should have asked.

Despite his wandering thoughts, he didn't let his expression change, only continued to look amused. "Here we go, another one for the cart," he nodded, shouldering the harness and planting his hooves to get the cart moving again. It protested at first with a slight creak, then rolled slowly behind the Faun, coming to rest next to the winged pair.  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Chika shook her head. "Faroth, that cart is already pretty full isn't it?" She frowned a bit. If he was going to over do it, she was going to walk behind the cart and help push it. Or was he just trying to prove how strong he is? The female couldn't tell.

Harveer shrugged, stretching a bit with his fellow squire. Before picking up anything though, the angel looked about. "The cart is a little full. Perhaps we should help you empty this cart before we load it down once more?" He suggested, about as fond of heavy lifting as Eligor was.

 

[Teigra]

Faroth chuckled, looking sheepishly over his shoulder at the overloaded cart. "Err...yeah, you're probably right, Chika. Maybe you two could help us unload at least?" He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, then prepared to start pulling the cart back to where everyone was supposed to gather the larger debris for recycling.

"Sorry, for not introducing ourselves properly," he started, realizing as he plodded along that he didn't even know the names of their new friends. "I'm Faroth, and this is Chika, as you might have picked up already," he grinned.

Eligor was only too happy to leave the hefty limb behind, even if they were only going somewhere else to move other hefty limbs. He nodded at the Faun politely, "I'm Eligor. My friend here is Harveer," he replied, gesturing to the angel.

Introductions made, there was little else to do but talk as they made their way through the forest, following the Fauns. "So, Faroth," Eligor looked curious, but tried not to look too eager. "You said that we reminded you of a friend of yours? What did you mean? Is it another of you, or one like us?"

Faroth glanced back and shrugged. "Nah, she's an angel, like you," he gestured towards Harveer with his head. "Actually, she's the mom of a friend of mine...well, adopted mom, but I get the feeling she adopts a lot of lost kids," he chuckled, thinking about the few he'd heard of already, aside from her own biological children. "Sweet lady. Wonderful cook. I'd heard her mention these 'Guardians' before, but to be honest, I never thought to ask who it was she was talking about or thanking all the time."

As the Faun turned forward again, Eligor raised an eyebrow in interest, glancing towards Harveer. Perhaps...the door was already open then.  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Chika beamed a bit, glad he wasn't going to be too stupid about cleaning things up. She nodded towards the younger males. "It's nice to meet you."

Harveer grinned as Eligor introduced him. There wasn't much to add, so he kept silent for a while, listening to what was being said.

"Would you perhaps be interested in learning? You never really regret knowing how great the Guardian's are." He offered, smiling at both Faroth and Chika. At least Faroth had a bit of hope. He couldn't quite get a reading on the female. She was a bit different from what he had assumed she'd be like in the first place. Who knows, they could always give it a shot.

"Maybe... At least, since there isn't much else to talk about while we wait to unload the cart." Chika shrugged. At least they didn't seem like they were going to push this belief of theirs onto them. That's all she could have hoped for.

 

[Teigra]

Faroth returned Chika's smile easily. Once he got the cart moving, it was just a matter of keeping it steady and moving in a straight line, at least until he needed to move around an obstacle. Either way, inertia meant he didn't have to strain so much and could concentrate more on the conversation.

Chuckling, he couldn't help but note the way they kept going on about these Guardians. "Sounds like you have a bit of hero worship going on there," he joked, good-naturedly. He remembered, he used to be a bit like that with Chieftain Rais when he was younger. "So, these Guardians. They your leaders or something then?" The Faun had Chieftain Rais and his Circle, so it made sense that the winged Pae had to have some sort of leaders as well, right?

Eligor kept an easy pace beside the overloaded cart, glancing sideways from time to time to wonder at its weight. These creatures were strong! Or at least this 'Faroth' was. He wondered if they all possessed such strength.

At the Faun's question, he shook his head slightly. "Yes, but so much more than just that. They are leaders, caretakers, givers of life and power. Without them, Pae would be nothing. Life could not exist. Therefore, they are to be revered, honored, and obeyed."  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

"It sounds like they're a lot like Chief Rais and his mother." Chika tilted her head, looking over to Faroth. There was another she was thinking of, but she didn't want to say it aloud. Artemis had been there when she came to the great tree, and she had seemed almost as 'guardian' as what these two teens were talking about.

"No, the Guardians are much better than this Chief Rais. Because of them we all exist. This Island exists because they wished it so." Harveer frowned. How could she think there was something out there other than the Guardians? Well, they were abominations... He mentally shook his head, and tried to move past it. He knew better than to expect them to already believe in The Guardians.

 

[Teigra]

Well, this was getting a little more out of Faroth's realm of understanding. He frowned, looking puzzled, then amused as the thought crossed his mind. Ah, wait, he saw what was going on here. "Oh, I get it!" he exclaimed suddenly, grinning. "You're not talking about other Pae, more like...an idea or force. Like the Earth. Only you call it 'Guardians'." He nodded, confident he was catching on now. "It's like...where you come from, then where you go when you die. We come from the Earth, and to the Earth we return."

The moment of sage wisdom was broken with a glance around and a stage-whisper to the pair, "By the way, I know you didn't mean to be rude, but uh...I wouldn't talk bad about Rais within hearing of the other Faun. I mean, I know you didn't mean it, of course, but it's generally not nice to talk about people like that," he chuckled, plowing ahead with the cart.

Eligor raised an eyebrow silently at Harveer. The Faun may have been willing to listen, at least in theory, but he just wasn't getting it. What the heck was he talking about dirt for? Figures, only ignorant primitives would think to worship the dirt. "No, Faroth, not like the dirt," he tried to correct with patience. Ignorance could be fixed with instruction. "The Guardians are powerful beings, yes, but more than mere Pae'il. They are great entities that care for us all, granting us life and all the blessings included within. They are benevolent rulers, but require obedience and reverence and gratitude from their children." Surely his calm, fervent witness would begin to sink through.  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Harveer looked to his companion, "Eligor, I don't think we're getting through to them..." He was still frowning. The angel wished that these two abominations weren't such a lost cause, but it was clear they weren't going to be declaring their love for the guardians any time soon...

Perhaps a different strategy? Yes, teach them about the guardians slowly, until they realize that everyone, everything, everywhere was because of them. Not because of their Rais.

Chika just sighed. "Faroth and I are kind of busy. If you two are just going to preach about these guardians, can you do it to each other and help clean up around here?" She questioned, not really wanting to hear too much more. She believed deeply in the earth and the great tree that had become her home. Nothing was going to change her mind. Even if she could acknowledge that there might be something else out there. After all, everyone should be allowed to believe something different right?

 

[Teigra]

Eligor sighed, resignation in his tone. "Perhaps, you're right," he agreed with Harveer, then to Chika commented, "My apologies. We did offer to help out. I'm afraid I can get a bit carried away sometimes. Forgive me?" he questioned, shifting the responsibility onto his shoulders, to lessen the feelings of hostility that had started to grow.

Faroth eyed the group a bit warily, staying quiet during the exchange to seemingly concentrate on pulling the cart only. He could feel the air growing tense as well, and was relieved when the winged Pae seemed willing to back down from the inevitable head-butting they seemed to be heading towards. Honestly, he was still convinced that he understood what they meant earlier, that these Guardians were like the Earth to the Faun; a sacred source of life and power to be honored and protected. Perhaps they were just confused. They were still young.

"Of course; everyone can get a bit carried away once in a while. No harm done. Now, there's still plenty to be done today, and no shortage of work for willing hands."

"Indeed," Eligor agreed, shooting a nod towards Harveer. Alright, they'd help out for today. They were Squires of the Light; it was their duty to help the residents of the Isle...even the heretics, if there was any hope of saving them. And since the direct approach was met with hostility, they'd just have to take things slow, teach by example, as the Guardians would wish them to do.