Azira's questions didn't come as much of a surprise to Phobius; he enjoyed answering them almost as much as he did asking his own, being the curious soul that he was. And while many Yasi tended to be uncomfortable with sharing personal things about their lives before they'd come to the nursery, the boy was quite fine with it. Not that he'd ever had anything outside of the comforting stone walls, to begin with, but still.
Just how long had it been, anyway? It was Spring, now...and his birthday was in the Winter, which hadn't come yet...so that'd be six years. Six years spent in the nursery. Relatively simple math, but Phobius took a moment to count them on his tiny fingers, anyway, mumbling numbers to himself until he was sure that he had the right answer. Then he held both hands up to the girl, all five fingers spread on one while only one was sticking up on the other.
"This long," he said. "So I...guess that's really long. Sometimes I forget, though."
It was only the truth. Phobius didn't seem to think this was odd, and if he was being honest with himself, the years felt as though they'd been melding together, recently. He often lost track of time, content to idly sit by as the seasons came and went; considering the fact that he'd been in the nursery his whole life, there didn't really seem to be a point in keeping track of it all, so he didn't.
Not having moved from the spot where he currently stood, Phobius was quiet for a few ticks. Then he remembered Azira's other question and, without a single change in his facial expression, answered it. "I never met my mommy or my daddy. Dunno where they are, either," was the reply, accentuated by an unconcerned shrug.
All in all, his story wasn't too different from a majority of the other Yasi's, despite their lack of willingness to go around telling it. As sad of a truth as it was, the nursery was a potent mixture of children whose parents had been too busy to raise them, children whose parents hadn't felt like raising them, and children whose parents hadn't been around to raise them at all, whether due to some premature death or simple disappearance. The adults that made it their jobs to care for them all in place of those mothers and fathers were helpful, kind people, but no matter how young a Yasi was, there was simply no filling the void within their hearts. Even those who hadn't known their parents could tell that something important was missing in their lives, something that they desperately wanted.
Phobius differed from the majority in that he recognized this emptiness, yet chose not to be bothered by it. The boy had spent more than a few times trying to pull things from his deepest, fuzziest memories, hoping for some glimpse of his mother's face or a sliver of her voice, but he could never find anything. The only reason he was sure that he even had one in the first place was because the teachers had told him so. They'd never really met her, though, which admittedly made Phobius a little sad when he heard it; adults could remember lots of stuff, and it would have been nice if they'd been able to tell him what she looked like.
But he didn't miss her. It was hard to miss someone who you'd never seen, before. Thus, the boy was able to go about his days in his normal, characteristic cheeriness, his tiny shoulders free of any of the burdens and anxieties that assaulted the other children.
This couldn't have been any more obvious than it was, right now, as a friendly smile returned to Phobius' face. Going outside was next on their "tour" agenda, assuming that one of the teachers was nice enough to let them. He was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a problem, but turned away from Azira for a moment so that he could go and find a nearby adult to ask. If they left on their own, they'd get into a whole mess of trouble.
Within ticks, Phobius had bumped into a familiar pair of legs. Looking up, he realized that it was the nice lady teacher from earlier; the one who'd fixed his wooden birdie's wing. He gently tugged on her bryda, and kept tugging until she turned her attention to him.
"What is it, Phobius?"
"Can me and Azira go outside?" the boy asked, bouncing on his toes a little in mounting excitement. "I'm showing her around the whole place, and I want her to see where we play outside, sometimes."
"Well, that's very generous of you, but it isn't one of our scheduled outside-periods. And you can't go by yourself."
"You can go with us!"
The woman looked as though she'd been somewhat expecting that answer. "I suppose, but...don't you think it's a little late? The sun will be setting in a few bells."
"It'll only be for a few minutes, I promise. Super, super promise. Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase...?"
Staring up at her, Phobius was ready to add in a couple more earnest "please"s, but it didn't take long for the woman to relent, sighing before she brought a small smile to her face. "Alright, then. Only for a few minutes," she said, wagging a finger at him to make sure that he would remember his own words. Then she started toward the nursery's entrance and exit. Feeling as though he'd accomplished something, Phobius trotted back over to Azira and let her in on the good news, just in case she hadn't been able to hear them talking. He paused when he finished, staring at the wooden bird in her hands for a moment before thanking her and lifting it into his arms. Seeing real birds sounded great, but Phobius wanted to keep the scruffy toy with him as they went.
Once he'd made sure that Azira was following him, he started to speed-walk after the teacher, unable to keep his happiness from spreading to his feet and making him move quickly.
[1031]
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.
Just how long had it been, anyway? It was Spring, now...and his birthday was in the Winter, which hadn't come yet...so that'd be six years. Six years spent in the nursery. Relatively simple math, but Phobius took a moment to count them on his tiny fingers, anyway, mumbling numbers to himself until he was sure that he had the right answer. Then he held both hands up to the girl, all five fingers spread on one while only one was sticking up on the other.
"This long," he said. "So I...guess that's really long. Sometimes I forget, though."
It was only the truth. Phobius didn't seem to think this was odd, and if he was being honest with himself, the years felt as though they'd been melding together, recently. He often lost track of time, content to idly sit by as the seasons came and went; considering the fact that he'd been in the nursery his whole life, there didn't really seem to be a point in keeping track of it all, so he didn't.
Not having moved from the spot where he currently stood, Phobius was quiet for a few ticks. Then he remembered Azira's other question and, without a single change in his facial expression, answered it. "I never met my mommy or my daddy. Dunno where they are, either," was the reply, accentuated by an unconcerned shrug.
All in all, his story wasn't too different from a majority of the other Yasi's, despite their lack of willingness to go around telling it. As sad of a truth as it was, the nursery was a potent mixture of children whose parents had been too busy to raise them, children whose parents hadn't felt like raising them, and children whose parents hadn't been around to raise them at all, whether due to some premature death or simple disappearance. The adults that made it their jobs to care for them all in place of those mothers and fathers were helpful, kind people, but no matter how young a Yasi was, there was simply no filling the void within their hearts. Even those who hadn't known their parents could tell that something important was missing in their lives, something that they desperately wanted.
Phobius differed from the majority in that he recognized this emptiness, yet chose not to be bothered by it. The boy had spent more than a few times trying to pull things from his deepest, fuzziest memories, hoping for some glimpse of his mother's face or a sliver of her voice, but he could never find anything. The only reason he was sure that he even had one in the first place was because the teachers had told him so. They'd never really met her, though, which admittedly made Phobius a little sad when he heard it; adults could remember lots of stuff, and it would have been nice if they'd been able to tell him what she looked like.
But he didn't miss her. It was hard to miss someone who you'd never seen, before. Thus, the boy was able to go about his days in his normal, characteristic cheeriness, his tiny shoulders free of any of the burdens and anxieties that assaulted the other children.
This couldn't have been any more obvious than it was, right now, as a friendly smile returned to Phobius' face. Going outside was next on their "tour" agenda, assuming that one of the teachers was nice enough to let them. He was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a problem, but turned away from Azira for a moment so that he could go and find a nearby adult to ask. If they left on their own, they'd get into a whole mess of trouble.
Within ticks, Phobius had bumped into a familiar pair of legs. Looking up, he realized that it was the nice lady teacher from earlier; the one who'd fixed his wooden birdie's wing. He gently tugged on her bryda, and kept tugging until she turned her attention to him.
"What is it, Phobius?"
"Can me and Azira go outside?" the boy asked, bouncing on his toes a little in mounting excitement. "I'm showing her around the whole place, and I want her to see where we play outside, sometimes."
"Well, that's very generous of you, but it isn't one of our scheduled outside-periods. And you can't go by yourself."
"You can go with us!"
The woman looked as though she'd been somewhat expecting that answer. "I suppose, but...don't you think it's a little late? The sun will be setting in a few bells."
"It'll only be for a few minutes, I promise. Super, super promise. Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase...?"
Staring up at her, Phobius was ready to add in a couple more earnest "please"s, but it didn't take long for the woman to relent, sighing before she brought a small smile to her face. "Alright, then. Only for a few minutes," she said, wagging a finger at him to make sure that he would remember his own words. Then she started toward the nursery's entrance and exit. Feeling as though he'd accomplished something, Phobius trotted back over to Azira and let her in on the good news, just in case she hadn't been able to hear them talking. He paused when he finished, staring at the wooden bird in her hands for a moment before thanking her and lifting it into his arms. Seeing real birds sounded great, but Phobius wanted to keep the scruffy toy with him as they went.
Once he'd made sure that Azira was following him, he started to speed-walk after the teacher, unable to keep his happiness from spreading to his feet and making him move quickly.
[1031]
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.
