[Infirmary] Zeltiva Puppet Theatre (Satevis)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

81st Day of Spring, 512 AV Minerva was back at the Infirmary every night to get her foot checked and have her accelerated healing magic done. She was back at work during the day, mostly still restricted to light duty. Her boss insisted she only perform tasks she could do sitting down, both because he didn't want her hurting her foot more, and because her coworkers were very uncomfortable around the magic crutches. He had almost tried to get her to leave them home, but that just wasn't happening. So instead, he made sure she did her carving seated, with her foot up, and with the crutches parked safely in a corner. After work, she had classes at the University some nights, and usually headed straight to the Infirmary from class. Being there every day was starting to depress her... not because of her own injuries, but because of the kids. There were far too many sick and injured kids. She'd helped a lot of them out last week by making crutches to get them back on their feet, but they were still stuck in the Infirmary. It wasn't fair... Tonight, as she was waddling down the hall from class on her animated crutches, a child pointed at her and said, "Look, Mommy!" This kind of reaction was common, and she just waved at the kid. But then the kid added something unexpected, "She looks like a puppet!" Minerva paused and looked down at herself. Between the way her feet dangled just above the ground, and the jerky, clumsy movements of her crutches, she supposed she did look like a puppet. She looked at the kid. He was clapping and laughing. Minerva watched him for a moment, then a grin spread across her face. By the time Satevis found his way to her for the nightly foot healing, she was delving into a detailed, yet simple set of blueprints. If he looked them over, he would see what looked like a small puppet stage. About six feet wide and tall, it consisted of a simple wall in the front with a window at about waist height. A short stage three feet deep was attached to the window, and there were short side walls, but no back. The three-sided structure would be the right size to hide a couple of puppeteers behind it, with a wooden rack above the stage to hang the puppets from. A curtain would hang behind the stage to preserve the magic of the show, so the children would never know there were people behind the puppets. Without looking up from her drawing, Minerva said to Satevis, "Oy, you's a good story teller, ain'tcha? Ya wanna write me up a script? Somethin' 'bout ya Dad, Leth?"

[Satevis]

There were many, many things going through Satevis's mind when Tock asked him to write up a script, things like--'I'm not a good storyteller', 'I've never written a script before', and 'For the last time, Leth is only my father in a figurative sense. He's the god of the moon.'. Unfortunately, as it often was when he dealt with Tock, what went through his head and what came out of his mouth were two different things. In this case, Satevis had fully intended to tell Tock that he didn't know what the first thing about writing a script was, but the more he thought about it, the more he considered the idea.

The end result was that he ended up pulling up a chair next to her, his notebook propped up in his lap as he quickly jotted ideas down on a blank page. Syna and Leth's story, he decided, would make a good show, and it would be entertaining for the children. He would have to downplay the violence of the Valterrian, of course, and maybe leave out the fall of the Ethaefal all together, but his collection of notes were starting to come together into a rudimentary outline of a script.

He had even ended up drawing preliminary sketches of the puppets, but his drawing skills were embarrassingly atrocious, especially next to Tock's detailed sketches, and he had wound up accidentally spilling ink over them before Tock could look over and see them. He had removed the ink-stained pages from his notebook, and was currently considering the merit of accidentally reducing them to ashes with his Reimancy.

"I was thinking of perhaps having the script be about Syna and Leth," he said, setting his quill down and looking up at Tock. "Specifically, a simplified version of how they became the gods of the sun and moon respectively. Religious tales usually make good plays, and the children walk away learning something at the end. What do you think? Also, are we using cloth puppets, or are you making automatons?"

He already halfway knew what the answer would be to the second one, considering this was Tock he was talking to, and he couldn't think of anyone who would be able to sew.

OOCYvera arrives in Zeltiva on the 83rd, and her character is a Vantha storyteller. I know you're having a topic with her on the 86th (she's talking to me about it now). Satevis could probably get her as a narrator, if you want, since the show will probably take a few days to set up, lol.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

OOCThat'll be perfect! It'll probably only take a couple of days to build the stage itself, since its very small and simple. But the puppets will take a lil more time, giving us time to bring her in. Tock didn't bother to ask for details when Satevis sat down. The gesture alone was a clear answer. Which was a good thing, because of he had tried to say no, she had been prepared to drag him into the room of a couple of sick children, and make him explain to THEM why they weren't getting a puppet show. Though she might still use that trick on her boss to convince him to donate materials for the stage. "I'll 'ave time ta animate maybe two, maybe three," she said, still working on her drawings. "Still takes a couple o' days per, but ain't nobody done said the show can't be scheduled next week o' somethin'. Dunno what Sanny and Leth s'posed ta look like, though. Might need some 'elp wit' 'at part..." When she was satisfied with her blueprints, she pulled out some more paper and started sketching a basic puppet design. They wouldn't be masterpieces; simple round knobs for hands, flat feet, and ball joints on all the moveable parts. She'd need to animate them to be mobile on the arms, legs, and waist, so it was a bit more detailed than the last humanoid Automaton she did. But she could pull it off with something this small. Once she had the doll-like bodies sketched, with joints drawn in, she asked Satevis, "Anythin' special 'bout 'em? 'Ey got like, glowy skin an 'orns an' stuff like you?" She didn't know the first thing about religion. Sure, she had heard the names of some of the Gods in passing, and in a pinch could probably tell you which was the God of the sea as opposed to the sky or what have you. But she had no use for the Gods. They'd never done a thing for her, and she got along just fine without them, thank you very much.

[Satevis]

"I can help you with that," said Satevis, nodding when Tock mentioned needing help with their appearances. He was sure likenesses of the gods could be found in a book in the library somewhere, not to mention his own personal memories of Syna and Leth. He was horrible at drawing, though, and didn't trust himself to fully describe their appearances. A book would probably be best.

"No, they don't have horns, as far as I can recall. But their skin was..." He paused for a moment, then decided to use her word for it. "...glowy. Leth is paler than Syna. Syna has long blond hair. I'll find you a book in the library for reference."

As for the rest of the cast... Satevis paused, trying to think of how they would do this with only two or three animated puppets. The story he was thinking of had at least five characters. He would have to pare it down, focus on the main pair and leaving the rest as background narration. But where could they get a skilled narrator?

A storyteller would be able to do it, but Satevis didn't know any storytellers around. He supposed he could try to do it in a pinch. The children probably wouldn't notice that he had never done this before. He picked up his quill, finishing up the outline on his page.

Scene I: Tanroa with Dira and Kihala--Narration
Scene II: Enter puppets
Scene III: Valterrian
Scene IV: Epilogue

It was a rough outline, but he would refine it a little more as Tock built the puppets. He already knew that he would be next to useless on that front, although he would try to help as much as he could. "We might need to paint backdrops and things like that as well," he said. "A starry sky should be enough for the whole performance."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Awright, well, glowy ain't gonna 'appen, Guv," Tock replied, jotting down some notes on the side of her drawings to get white paint. "Not 'less ya know someone what wit' fancy schmancy magic what fer ta make 'er glow. But pale? Pale I can does." She took notes on the hair color and other attributes he mentioned, so she could get the details as close as possible. "I can do backdrops easy 'nough," she said. "An' like, a carved wood moon 'angin' down. An I can carve up little regular puppets what fer the extras, if'n ya need like, background guys o' whatever. But it'd take a dang while ta animate more'n three wit' magic. So's we can does the main cast in magic puppets, an' jus' normal puppets fer the co-stars." "You gimme a list o' whatever ya think we need, aye?" she said. "If'n 'ey got like, a swordfight o' somethin', I can make wee wooden swords. O' if'n 'ey got a dinner party, I can make a wee table. Dunno what 'ey does in the story, but I can make up somethin' fer whatever ya need." She started up a list of what she expected to need so far, then showed it to Satevis so he could add whatever he wanted to the list: -Stage -Curtain -3 Animated puppets -X co-star puppets -Starry backdrop -Moon

[Satevis]

Satevis nodded at Tock's instructions, glancing at her list. He would need to go through the script more thoroughly and actually write it before he could get a better idea of what they needed, but it would take Tock a while to make the other things for the performance, so it wasn't like all of that needed to be decided right that minute. "Give me a little longer to come up with a good script, and I'll add to that list," he said. "I'm going over to the library after this, so I should be able to pick up the book you need as well. How long do you want the performance to last?"

That was an important question, since the length of the performance would determine the length of the script. He knew it couldn't be too short, or the children would complain, but too long and their attention would begin to wane. He added 'Dira, Tanroa, and Kihala?' to his list of notes, along with 'Zintila?'. If they had room for one more animated puppet, it should be Tanroa, he decided. Even though she had a small role in the story, she was still the Goddess of Time.

Satevis wondered for a moment whether or not constructing puppets would be irreverent, but decided against it. It was to teach the children religious stories, was it not? He didn't think the gods would have any problem with him using puppets to help the children better understand the stories. He couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable about the whole thing, though. His Benshira upbringing had been rather strict where gods had been concerned, not accepting less than utmost respect.

He put the thought out of his mind. He had already agreed to do this. At least he could help make the puppets and the script as accurate as possible.

"So..." he said as he wrote, realizing that he had never asked Tock this. He looked up at her, smiling slightly. "It seems a little late of me to ask this question, but what made you decide to put on a puppet show?" He was starting to learn that Tock's mind, no matter how odd the conclusions it drew were, worked in a logical progression, going from cause to potential effect. She wouldn't have decided on a puppet show out of the blue.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock scratched her head at the question of time. "I dunno," she said. "'Ow long ya think the lil biters can sit still fer?" She didn't know kids. She didn't understand kids. Her childhood experiences had consisted of her Da beating her, and her Granddad teaching her to work in the shop. She preferred the latter, so her method of dealing with the little monsters usually involved putting them to work. Her children were her inventions, and they always did what she said. She also generally didn't give her creations the ability to speak. If they couldn't talk, it meant they couldn't talk back. His next question made her gesture down the hall to the common room, where the children that were able to get out of bed were allowed time for activities. "Oy, lookit 'em!" she said, as if this should've been obvious. There was a distinct lack of vibrance and energy in the Infirmary. Most of the kids were just going through the motions of playing, but their hearts weren't in it. It was like their spirits had been crushed. Being sick or hurt was no fun. The kids needed something to lift their spirits. She didn't offer up any more information than that, however, unless he pressed her for more details. To her, just looking at the poor kids should have been answer enough. Even if the healthy ones were little monsters most times. With the basic bodies of the puppets sketched, she had to figure out how she was going to control them. She bit on the tip of her quill, trying to decide what would work best. Ideally, she would program them to just have a memorized set of motions that would follow the script. Except, she didn't think she could animate them with that much intelligence yet. If she were a bit more experienced, she would just animate up a little set of actors, with the ability to choose their poses based purely on verbal cues from the narrator. Except, she didn't think she could pull that off just yet. She decided to add a small, hidden reflective surface atop each of their heads. The puppets would be able to 'see' through these, and watch her hand motions above the stage. She could program them to stand in certain predetermined poses based on the positions of her fingers. It would be just like controlling a regular puppet, but without the strings.

[Satevis]

"You're asking me?" asked Satevis with a faint smile as he continued to write, outlining the narration for the opening act. At the beginning of the world, before the arrival of man, there were no lights in the sky. The world was dark. At that time, Tanroa, the Goddess of Time, would often walk with Kihala and Dira, the Goddesses of Life and Death... Satevis paused for a moment, trying to think of where to go next. Kihala and Dira could be costars if he needed more puppets, he decided. Even though they took on important roles in the pantheon, there were only so many puppets that Tock could make. He put down his quill, looking up at her. "The only childhood I remember was over 200 years ago. And even then, I wasn't exactly typical."

"I would have sat through the whole play, no matter how long it was," he said, his mind going back to those brief flashes of memory he had of his own childhood. One of his childhoods, anyway, the only one that mattered to Taras. "But I probably wouldn't be playing like this. I would read everything I got my hands on, and ask questions about anything and everything." He--or at least the Benshira that he had been--had driven his mother crazy as a child, asking questions even about things that should have been obvious.

It was a trait that stuck with Satevis now, even though he was much more subdued. He would learn things simply because he wanted to know.

His eyes moved towards the children in the common room as she spoke, nodding once in understanding. There was something wrong about the children. Although they played, they didn't have the same spark of energy that the children in the streets had. He knew that that was partly because they were sick, but like this, it was almost as if they didn't have the will to get better. "You're right," he said, dipping his quill in ink and continuing to write. "A puppet show like this should do wonders for their morale."

He wrote down a few more words, glancing over at Tock's work. She had just about finished sketching the puppets. Her sketches were detailed and technical, much better than his vague drawings. A part of him almost envied her for her skills. He couldn't imagine encountering someone like her in his former homeland. He was sure she would throw a fit if asked to wear the head scarf the Benshira women wore, or get together to weave each night. But she would take the Seat of the Sons by storm if she decided to study gadgeteering.

Or would she? He frowned, dipping his quill in ink again as he wrote out his next line. He realized that although he and Tock had been speaking every night for almost two weeks now, he really didn't know much about her. "What about you?" he asked. "You probably have better memories than me. What were you like back then?"

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Ain't no puppet shows where's I's from," Tock said. "I dunno what the lil biters like. An' I done spent most o' my kid time workin' fer my Granddad. Too many kids out runnin' 'round the streets 'ere," she frowned, shaking her head. Back home, kids didn't play out in the streets. The streets were where you got robbed or hurt. Here, everything was so peaceful. Kids could be out in the sun, running around like little hooligans, getting in the way of merchant wagons, disrupting people's work, and generally being happy. Tock had only ever been happy working at her Granddad's side. He was the only person back home who was ever good to her. "I ain't done never seen a play o' a show o' nothin'," she said with a shrug. "Dunno what 'ey're like." She briefly wondered if she was even remotely qualified to put on a puppet show. But, meh, Satevis had to make it a good show. She just had to build stuff. "Ya think the lil bugger'd wanna 'elp out?" she asked, looking up from her drawings. "I mean... 'at's what I did what when I were 'at age. 'Elped my Granddad out 'round the shop. Done were the best times o' my life, 'ey were. Learnin' stuff an' buildin' stuff... Maybe we oughta teach 'ese kids 'ow ta build somethin'. What fer ta make 'em feel like 'ey's part o' the show, o' whatever. Make 'em feel good..." The greatest pride in her life had always been when she made something and saw the proud smile on her Granddad's face. As far as she was concerned, the kids would feel more better helping out than they would just watching the show.

[Satevis]

Satevis listened as Tock spoke, a small frown on his face. He got the feeling that there was more to her story, but he didn't want to pry. Everyone had their secrets. He certainly carried enough emotional baggage around with him for the both of them. But something about the way she spoke of her childhood made him feel slightly sad. He couldn't remember most of his own--and his current form technically had no childhood--but what little he could remember had been happy. His people had been nomads, but his home had felt like home.

What he thought and felt about the way Tock spoke of her past, though, he kept to himself. He smiled as she talked about her grandfather. Now there was something he hadn't had, at least in the memories that were available to him. His Benshira form's parents were tolerant and loving, but they never shared in their son's interests. As he grew older, he had realized that they probably thought he was a little strange, but had just gone ahead and accepted him for it anyway. He had never had a real mentor.

"...Well, they're still sick and healing," he said as Tock asked him whether or not the children would want to help out. 'So we can't have them do things that are too strenuous. But I think they'd really enjoy it if we let them help with little things." We. It was amazing how quickly Satevis had gotten caught up in this scheme. But he could easily appreciate the value of what Tock was trying to do here. He was committed to seeing it through. His eyes moved over the playing kids again.

"The backdrop," he finally said, turning back towards Tock. "We can let them do the painting. It'll be a bit of a mess, but they'll enjoy it, and they'll feel proud for doing it themselves."