the poppies blow;

[notachickenhawk]

Sender: Anonymous
To: Everyone
Subject: War

I know this is a difficult subject for some so please move along if it is for you. But for those of you who have been in wars or battles (formal or not) - how do you deal with it after?

At least from my perspective it's not over yet, but... I don't have to fight here. I don't have to be afraid for the lives of myself or those around me. But the blood is still on my hands. The battles I fought still took their toll. Nothing seems to help. I've heard 'time will help' but that doesn't do anything for me now, when I need help.

I don't normally ask for help, but I'm at a loss here.

Comments

[multidisciplinary]

[ Given both the large population of dreamwalkers in Reverein and the fact that Zelda has never met Tobias before, Anonymous sharing their age doesn't give away as much as they might fear. Instead, their youth simply pulls harder at Zelda's sympathetic heart. The misery of her's and Link's adolescences pale in comparison to what Anon describes, but she can empathize with the stress and misery of growing up burdened with the duty to fight something so much larger than yourself at an age when you hardly know yourself at all.

Simply offering advice doesn't seem to be working too well, even though it's what Anon asked for in the first place. Time for a different approach, then; the one she was using before was working fairly well. ]

How long have you been living here? You needn't be specific if you don't want to: 'a couple of weeks,' 'a few months,' 'almost a year,' anything like that will suffice.

[notachickenhawk]

A few months. We showed up at the same time, thankfully. I don't know what we would have done if we were alone.

[multidisciplinary]

And how have you fared since then? What are your days like?

[notachickenhawk]

[It's not a bad question. Honestly a lot of the days are blurred to him. He thought that was just because it was a dream realm but maybe there's something else going on.]

I wake up early. I hunt for breakfast. I go around town and just people watch. Sometimes I go find books to read. I explore a little. I make sure she's okay. I hunt down food throughout the day and tend to try to sleep when it gets dark. I usually patrol in the late afternoon - make sure the area in the forest near the town is free from monsters or anything that looks like it would hurt people. I scare them off, usually. Sometimes worse.

I don't really have anyone I hang out with other than her. I know I should try to make friends but that's always been hard...

[multidisciplinary]

[ That's a promising answer. It doesn't surprise her that Anon patrols for monsters outside of town, but reading that they do things other than eat, sleep, and fight intrigues Zelda. ]

What sort of books do you read? Why do you choose to people watch?

[notachickenhawk]

I used to read fantasy and science fiction a lot. I guess... fantasy books more than science fiction now, and nothing with wars.

Though I like reading about animals from other worlds, too.

As for people watching... I'm not good at interacting with people. I stare too hard or I get really shy for no reason, it feels like there's no in between.

[multidisciplinary]

I've not read much fiction myself. I have always gravitated towards the sciences: archeology, engineering, botany, zoology. I liked to amuse myself with my mother's technical manuals when I was a child because I found the diagrams so interesting.

[ She chuckles softly when she reads, "I'm not good at interacting with people." Gods, Anonymous reminds her so strongly of Link. Little wonder the approach she is taking with them is so much like the one she took with her knight when she first endeavored to bridge the divide between them. ]

I will admit, I do not spend much time watching people. What sort of things do you notice when you watch them?

[notachickenhawk]

I was always an arts kid. Mostly drawing. I read enough to keep my grades up, but the idea of going through science books... not my idea of a good time. But art isn't for everyone, either.

How they walk. How they talk to other people. The way they look around for threats or not. ... Our enemy was everywhere. They infiltrated everything from the government and police to schools and families. So we had to get good at keeping an eye on people to see if they were friend or foe. I haven't really gotten out of the habit.

[multidisciplinary]

How funny, the arts were not to my liking as a child. I never had any talent for them either, for that matter. And my tutors tried every discipline-- drawing, painting, music, literature, even sculpting, but I did not take to any of them.

[ Ah, people watching through the filter of warfare. Not quite what Zelda was hoping for. But maybe a different angle. ]

Given your skills, I imagine that people do not always notice you watching them. Tell me, what is the silliest thing you've ever seen someone in Reverein do?

[notachickenhawk]

I don't think anyone ever really taught me how to draw - I just sort of picked it up. It was a good activity for a kid who needed to keep quiet a lot of the time.

Silliest... I saw one guy accidentally walk into the river while he was reading. He was fine, just a little wet and surprised.