In a warmly lit room with a large screen on the wall in front of her, Hana sat upright and attentive at a small table adjusted perfectly for her height. She fidgeted constantly, looking around at the sterile room, a massive smile on her face despite there being nothing to engage with yet. She couldn't help it. She'd finally found people, and nothing was going to ruin her mood now.
"Nothing," she insisted.
Nope, nothing. Not the way the bird man went away last night after showing her to a room, or got disgruntled when she tried to hug him good morning. Not because he was an old stuffy grandpa type who didn't take to play or roughhouse or let her go frolicking. He was still the only person around she could touch and talk to. The other bird people seemed to live somewhere else far away and could only talk through holograms. But that was okay, she decided; she could still see them. She wasn't alone.
Her smile slipped a little, regardless. Yesterday hadn't been her greatest moment.
On second thought, she didn't want to think about it. So she didn't, focusing on presenting the best possible image of herself. She sat up straight, forcing her smile back to full width—Mom always said she looked her cutest when she was happy.
She was just wondering if she should change her outfit to something more…. studenty, like Mom's sailor uniform, when the big bird opened the door carrying a stack of books and two tablets.
— — —
Mom and Dad — especially Mom, and even moreso when Turnip came over to tutor— put a lot of effort into making learning fun for Hana. That meant learning took a lot of forms, depending on her mood that day. They played games, presented her with puzzles, sometimes just threw a bunch of interesting things at her and saw what she did with them. She'd thought she'd have fun regardless, but…
Shu-Qi always taught her the same way, by talking at her.
Anyway, that wasn't important. Learning was important. This was possibly the most important learning she would ever have to do.
"Ki-Mo took the seed to the big tree and asked, 'Is this yours?'. The big tree answered: 'Yes, little bird, but you need to take it far away. A seed needs lots of sun and water to grow. My limbs are very long and my leaves take all the sun here, so...'"
THUNK
Hana's head hit the table.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Shu-Qi asked her, voice strained-and-possibly-frightened. Remembering him seeing her freeze up, she quickly lifted her head.
"Story is boring. Stupid and boring," She explained, her grasp of the language still awful even though she'd been working at it all week. "Tells me things already know. Nothing… make heart go pounding, happens. Stupid hatchling book. For chick of half my life." She'd already spent half a day listening.
She really was happy to be learning. She just wished the reading material was better. It was so boring! Where were the tragic romances and love triangles? Where were the epic fairy tales with magic and fantastic creatures? How about grand battles to save the world?!
"It may be boring, but it is easy to read. We will read something more exciting when you have improved enough."
She let her head hit the table again. Deliberately.
She hated that he was right. If she ever wanted to have a decent conversation with him or the other Chozo, she needed to better her grasp of their language. So she had to read these… dumb, lame kiddy books where nothing bad or complicated or exciting happened. Mom could make even boring children's books exciting, but mostly, Mom wouldn't try.
This was even worse than Peach's books. At least her stories sometimes had sort of sad endings. Hana remembered this one time…
"And so the Hero left his village behind to find the Overlord, determined to be with her no matter what. The villagers believed that he died fighting her, and went on with their lives, eventually forgetting about the both of them. After many moons, the Hero reunited with the Overlord and they lived together, happily ever after. The end."
Peach glowed as she finished her story, a big smile on her face and a little tear in her eye. She looked at Hana, sitting next to her on the sofa, and leaned forward to study her expression. Parsnip, half-asleep and squished in between them, made a soft complaining noise at the abuse.
"What do you think?"
Hana looked at nothing for a few moments, her mouth forming a small 'o' as she lost herself in contemplation.
"Why was everyone so scared of the Overlord? She never did anything to make anyone scared of her, did she?"
"Um… well, she dressed really scary, and lived in a huge scary mansion where nobody would go."
"They smashed a bunch of free food and ran the Hero out of town because of that?"
"Yes."
"That's stupid."
"... Eh?"
"That doesn't make any sense! Why would anybody do that?"
"Well-"
"I think she was a sorceress that scared people by performing bizarre experiments, but the people were starving and the crops were failing because of a terrible drought, so she went to conquer another town ruled by greedy merchants who refused to sell them any food they could afford. The Hero, unaware of the reasons for the fighting, came from a far away kingdom to stop the attack."
"But-"
"And the sorceress was also a necromancer. She used undead servants to manage the town and tend the fields and animals, because the people were too hungry to work. But necromancy was banned in the whole kingdom because everyone thought it was evil! So he destroyed the undead and killed the town elders thinking he was freeing the enslaved peasants from being turned into undead minions."
"Wait, no, that's terrible! What about the Overlord and the Hero falling in love?!"
"Um, that's…"
"They were teenage lovers tragically separated by war, and they only recognised each other right as they were both dying on each other's swords." Parsnip twisted out from her squished position in-between them, slipping down to the floor and grinning up at them as she continued. "With their final breaths they cursed the cruel stroke of fate that brought them to this."
"But… but…"
Hana finished the story. "Then, because the hero had destroyed their servants, the remaining peasants were taken as slaves by the merchant lords and their town was ransacked and burned down."
She smiled as Peach started crying. Hana always cried like that when Mom finished a story, so she must have told it right. Mom told the best stories.
Then, because too much time had passed since the last one already, she pounced on top of Parsnip and gave her this hour's hug. She'd know she was getting enough when the older girl stopped being clingy. She was a bit conflicted on that happening. Parsnip was too warm and comfy to easily give up.
"Honey, our seven-year-old daughter is bullying a goddess."
"Don't stop her. This is amazing."
"But I'm not bullying Parsnip!" Hana protested, forgetting that only she could hear her parents in the kitchen.
Now stuck underneath her, the girl in question giggled at her words.
— — —
A great deal older and wiser since that had happened, Hana could see now that they hadn't meant Parsnip. She smiled wistfully at the memory, a glint in her eyes revealing that she didn't really feel bad about her actions back then.
However, she did regret that her story wasn't very good, and didn't make a lot of sense. She was seven at the time. She could do a lot better now, and she was bound and determined to do so. Or else, she would literally collapse from boredom.
"The tree could talk?"
Mr. Shu-Qi looked up from the holographic tablet in his claw.
"Yes?"
"Trees don't talk."
"It is a children's fantasy story."
"I know that," Hana told him impatiently. "Not hatchling still in my nest. But if this tree could talk, then it was no normal tree, and the seed, no normal seed. Must be… strange power. Seed could grow another tree? Means seed of great value. Like seed of tree of home."
Right, a lot like Metafalica. She'd been made through the wishes of everyone who lived on her, but Mom and Dad especially. Cocona had told her that, which meant that Parsnip was also her sister, sort of, and Hana tried to live up to that. Her larger body even resembled a tree!
"The story is meant to teach forethought."
Hana ignored him.
"Such power is desired. Many would want to steal it! Ki-Mo must protect seed from thieves, like…"
Hana flipped through the pages until she found something. She turned the screen around to show Shu-Qi the image of a graceful black creature, feathered and serpentine. Then she frowned, and flipped through the dictionary.
"Elegant Sho-Sho, powerful user of magic!"
Mr. Shu-Qi stared at Hana before he opened and clicked his beak.
"The Sho-Sho is a common omnivorous flighted reptile on Qoiza, which has a taste for that particular seed. It is not a… wizard. You are entirely misinterpreting the point of-"
Hana huffed.
"Not wizard! Girl! Magic user always girl!"
The old bird suddenly took on a very pinched expression, despite having a beak.
Hana began in earnest, refusing to let Shu-Qi stop her again.
— — —
Suddenly, a few days into his journey, Ki-Mo came face to face with the mysterious black serpent, Sho-Sho.
Sho-Sho was a great sorceress, known throughout the land for her wondrous powers. One day some winters ago, she appeared bearing gifts for a kingdom in a barren valley, and promised to restore their land. Just as she promised, the kingdom prospered. She brought many boons to the people of her country, and was worshipped like a goddess. She protected them from natural disasters, defended them from invaders, and helped their crops grow.
Yet though she provided wonders, none knew from where Sho-Sho came, nor what her motives were.
"Halt, Kin of the Forests! Relinquish to me the seed of Qoiza-Ral, Root of the World!"
— — —
"When did you read the Annals of Nu-Fen?"
"Now," Hana replied, smiling as she rapidly scanned page after page.
"That is far too difficult for you to read, you're going to completely mangle the epic. Nu-Fen is one of our great literary heroes. His story forms the basis for—"
"Ki-Mo said no!"
— — —
"I cannot, Kin of the High Rocks, for my mission is divinely ordained by the Root itself! I must take this seed beyond the seas in the east, where neither our kin have ever flocked! It is destined to bring life to that place!"
"You are chasing a daydream!"
And yet, seeing Ki-Mo's face of determination, Sho-Sho knew that he would not be easily persuaded. She wove her magic, casting a mire of confusion upon him. Ki-Mo was overtaken by hysteria and illusions. Helpless, he dropped the seed.
It was then that Nu-Fen, who had been secretly watching using a special power, decided to show herself. Her appearance was like a tornado, and a tornado filled the air. Sho-Sho was caught by these winds and thrown a thousand meters away, but caught herself, standing on the side of a tree.
"Who are you, to go against providence?" Nu-Fen shouted at her.
"I am the guardian of the people! Who are you?"
Helpless beneath the pressure of their power, Ki-Mo could do nothing but cower on the ground. Had he been less heroic, or less able to endure, he might have been reduced to a pool of blood merely from their gazes.
— — —
Hana tried not to giggle too hard at Shu-Qi's sour expression.
"Then! They both started to sing."
— — —
With every word they shouted back and forth, waves of light and darkness filled the forest. Enormous trees, older than civilization, were blasted into kindling by their passing. Fire filled the world, and the ground itself began to shake.
"I am the kin cut from the Cloth of Heaven, ruler of the shining city of Kikra. Born from the union of a god and a mortal, I am the eternal tie between the heavens and those who lost their wings. Who are you?"
"The guardian of Shakra, Solier and Yera! I began with nothing, I will return to nothing. I have asked for nothing, but given much. I am one who reaches for the stars themselves, so who are you to block my way?"
"I am Nu-Fen!" Nu-Fen roared, and the world shuddered. "And by your actions, you spit upon divinity. Now die!"
There was no more room for talk. With her left hand, Sho-Sho wove illusion, while with her right, she split space itself. A thousand thousand copies leapt against Nu-Fen, and each held the brightness of a star. Against this, Nu-Fen lifted her hand, and space shattered. The treasuries of Kikra opened up for all to see, a trillion weapons of infinite power shooting out to meet Sho-Sho, each with the power to split reality itself.
And yet, they met nothing but air. For Sho-Sho was clever, and would not meet might with might. She knew of Nu-Fen, had in fact recognized her on sight, but had created the stratagem of pretending that she hadn't. She knew, from the start, that if she stood against her she would fall.
Night turned to day around Nu-Fen, though it had already been day, and now Nu-Fen was the one being pressured.
Far beneath them, hidden on the ground, Ki-Mo felt despair as the forests of his home became nothing but a desert wasteland.
— — —
"And then he shouted at them to stop being such idiots, that soon even the seed wouldn't be enough. But they didn't listen, of course. They couldn't even hear him. So Ki-Mo had to brave the waves of force, the spells and laser blasts, and had to make his way to where they could hear. It was hard, for there weren't even trees, and he was scared. But he did it. And then! Then he. Er…"
She hesitated, gripped for a moment by indecision. Should he be in time? Maybe, if he was a bit late, all that the seed could do would be to fix the damage, and barely. Or maybe he'd stop them, but die from going into the battle, and the seed could grow from his body. That'd be a nice tragedy.
Oh, but he'd been the original hero, even though he was a boy. Maybe he could survive, and… hmm, there were two girls and a boy, so a love triangle was an option. They'd destroyed the seed, so the three would travel together in hope of finding something better. Then Sho-Sho could die once they did, but sort of happily.
She'd just about decided not to kill anyone at all, when Shu-Qi harrumphed and interrupted her.
"As enlightening as that was—" He looked like he'd bitten a lemon, Hana thought, giggling inwardly. This was definitely a better reaction than Peach had given her.
She sat up straight, waiting for him to tell her what to do next.
"We will continue your lessons some other time."
Hana's smile immediately fell when Shu-Qi got up and collected his things.
"Then… we do something else?"
"No, you may rest."
"But I'm not tired!"
Shu-Qi pulled his head down into his shoulders with his eyes half-lidded, fluffing up the feathers around his neck.
"Oh…" Hana deflated, sinking back into her seat. "You tired. Sorry."
"No, I am perfectly alright," Shu-Qi said with a chuff. "I must attend to other matters."
Hana's hands tightened on the lip of the table.
"You come back soon?"
"I have already told you before that I am very busy. I may not return until tomorrow."
There was a small creaking sound that suddenly stopped when Shu-Qi turned his eyes to Hana. The small girl had her hands shoved under the table, staring back at her caretaker with a strained smile. Shu-Qi blinked.
"Continue your studies in the meanwhile," he said, after a brief pause.
"Yes sir," Hana replied, turning her eyes down.
Shu-Qi slowly made his way out, pretending not to have seen the hand-shaped dents in the metal table.
——————————————————
A/N: For anyone who's wondering, Saki was there because Aoto was visiting Cocona.
Saki's storytelling skills are amply documented. Here's (most of) the story she told Hana and Metafalica: https://youtu.be/U6jPiCc6N5Q?t=2m
I don't believe he can. Or if he does, he doesn't know how to handle it.
Hana needs all the hugs, now more than ever; she isn't in the greatest mental state. Her family was always very touch-feely and.. interactive? ...and yes, that does include 'Parsnip', who's nearly as upset about Hana's disappearance as Cocona is.
She's also been on her own for two years. Really, she needs someone to stick with her all the time, and ideally sleep in the same room as her. She may not have been deliberately abandoned, and she's a Reyvateil and more mentally robust than a human child to begin with, but many of the same issues nevertheless apply. She doesn't feel safe.
"Such power is desired. Many would want to steal it! Ki-Mo must protect seed from thieves, like…"
Hana flipped through the pages until she found something. She turned the screen around to show Shu-Qi the image of a graceful black creature, feathered and serpentine. Then she frowned, and flipped through the dictionary.
"Elegant Sho-Sho, powerful user of magic!"
Mr. Shu-Qi stared at Hana before he opened and clicked his beak.
"The Sho-Sho is a common omnivorous flighted reptile on Qoiza, which has a taste for that particular seed. It is not a… wizard. You are entirely misinterpreting the point of-"
Hana huffed.
"Not wizard! Girl! Magic user always girl!"
The old bird suddenly took on a very pinched expression, despite having a beak.
Hana began in earnest, refusing to let Shu-Qi stop her again.
"And then he shouted at them to stop being such idiots, that soon even the seed wouldn't be enough. But they didn't listen, of course. They couldn't even hear him. So Ki-Mo had to brave the waves of force, the spells and laser blasts, and had to make his way to where they could hear. It was hard, for there weren't even trees, and he was scared. But he did it. And then! Then he. Er…"
She hesitated, gripped for a moment by indecision. Should he be in time? Maybe, if he was a bit late, all that the seed could do would be to fix the damage, and barely. Or maybe he'd stop them, but die from going into the battle, and the seed could grow from his body. That'd be a nice tragedy.
Oh, but he'd been the original hero, even though he was a boy. Maybe he could survive, and… hmm, there were two girls and a boy, so a love triangle was an option. They'd destroyed the seed, so the three would travel together in hope of finding something better. Then Sho-Sho could die once they did, but sort of happily.
"Now," Hana replied, smiling as she rapidly scanned page after page.
"That is far too difficult for you to read, you're going to completely mangle the epic. Nu-Fen is one of our great literary heroes. His story forms the basis for—"
Hilarious, but how hasn't Shu-Qi noticed how fast she managed to read that? Sure she probably did mangle it, but all things considered he should know she's capable of learning material much more advanced than that book.
That aside, the ending did cut into my heartstrings. Hana deserves better than these lessons and this isolation, considering all the time she spent alone. I think the real problem here is that the Chozo haven't realized that despite her intelligence and otherworldly physics, she's still a little human girl that spent years living alone, with all the trauma that entails. Though I guess Hana's constant attempts to keep a strong face don't help, as well as the fact that the Chozo aren't likely to notice that sort of thing either way because they're a race of Hermit Bird-People and thus don't have quite the right sort of empathy to notice those things in humans.
Not that Mir dislikes Saki, no. She just doesn't like Saki's stories, and finds it fun to see the girl distressed.
Now, about that scene. Hana is a bit of an unreliable narrator, and she is biased in her perspective on Saki. (her memories are also not completely stable, remember)
Saki is used to children sometimes being fussy about her stories. She's taken care of lots of children. In that very video where Saki tells her finished story (but doesn't get to finish it) a boy asks if it won't be more weird nonsense. So Saki is not typically phased by that.
Hana is just worse, and Saki's original impression of Hana was of the kind of child who would love her stories. I mean, would you expect this bright, bubbly, adorable girl, who seems to love everything that moves, to hate happy cheery kids' stories? Saki sure wasn't.
Also, kids normally don't go to such extreme lengths to completely change her stories into something dark, violent, depressing and tragic.
Is there somewhere i can read or watch the backstory of the characters you're talking about ? Because i'm not familiar with that fandom so I'm kind of confused...
Is there somewhere i can read or watch the backstory of the characters you're talking about ? Because i'm not familiar with that fandom so I'm kind of confused...
Mir is a very......complex....character, and there isn't really a quick way to learn what makes her tick. Saki is complicated in a completely different way, and any explanation of how she's complex is extremely spoiler-heavy.
Not that Mir dislikes Saki, no. She just doesn't like Saki's stories, and finds it fun to see the girl distressed.
Now, about that scene. Hana is a bit of an unreliable narrator, and she is biased in her perspective on Saki. (her memories are also not completely stable, remember)
Saki is used to children sometimes being fussy about her stories. She's taken care of lots of children. In that very video where Saki tells her finished story (but doesn't get to finish it) a boy asks if it won't be more weird nonsense. So Saki is not typically phased by that.
Hana is just worse, and Saki's original impression of Hana was of the kind of child who would love her stories. I mean, would you expect this bright, bubbly, adorable girl, who seems to love everything that moves, to hate happy cheery kids' stories? Saki sure wasn't.
Also, kids normally don't go to such extreme lengths to completely change her stories into something dark, violent, depressing and tragic.
Though it's fair to add that Saki changed that story's ending partway through AT3: instead of the Overlord and the Hero marrying, it ends up with the Overlord disappearing to who-knows-where after the villagers destroyed all the watermelons she gifted them and the Hero crying at the sight of the pile of watermelons she left behind, which are the feelings for the song Sands of Time. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to compare it to the Varda Rhaplanca legend (heroine who tries to do something for the sake of the people and is met only with ingratitude for her troubles), but with it having a tragic ending instead of an uplifting one.
Though it's fair to add that Saki changed that story's ending partway through AT3: instead of the Overlord and the Hero marrying, it ends up with the Overlord disappearing to who-knows-where after the villagers destroyed all the watermelons she gifted them and the Hero crying at the sight of the pile of watermelons she left behind, which are the feelings for the song Sands of Time. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to compare it to the Varda Rhaplanca legend (heroine who tries to do something for the sake of the people and is met only with ingratitude for her troubles), but with it having a tragic ending instead of an uplifting one.
I've never claimed to be anything but an impulse writer. From the beginning this story has been a series of happy accidents, created in large part by how I bumble through things with incomplete knowledge.
I didn't really plan it this way, but it works out sort of like this.
The version of the story Aquagon is talking about exists in Saki's normal ending, when she was going to die soon. That is when Sands of Time is heard. It's supposed to describe her feelings of wanting to leave behind something that will be remembered after she's gone, and the story of the Hero and the Overlord is consequently very depressing.
Saki doesn't have the weight of her imminent death on her shoulders anymore, because Song in the Fog takes place after her true ending. I believe she would have a more positive outlook on things now. We only saw the last line of the story, anyway, and there's nothing about the ending that prevents there from having been difficulties getting to it.
Shurelia would just accept it and move on, I suspect. Lyner might indeed sigh, but putting those two in the same house isn't the greatest of ideas... for starters, Mir would be too busy bullying him to notice Hana bullying Saki.
This was a home-life scene, though.
Present:
- Hana, Metafalica and Saki. (Living room.)
- Mir and Croix. (In the kitchen, at the time.)
- Cocona and Aoto. (Wandering randomly around outside. Talking.)
Sasha might show up for dinner, but Shurelia is far too busy to do so more than once in a blue moon. Misha and Lyner ought to be helping her with administration, the former more than the latter... and I'm not sure if Hana has ever even met Aurica. Luca and Cloche are, of course, just as busy handling day-to-day affairs in New Pastalia.
Shurelia's a cinnamon roll, but I still see her laughing. You might be right about Lyner though, Those two seem like Yusuke and Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho. They might cancel each other out though, and It'd be in good fun regardless.
Hilarious, but how hasn't Shu-Qi noticed how fast she managed to read that? Sure she probably did mangle it, but all things considered he should know she's capable of learning material much more advanced than that book.
Anyway, nothing is ruined about that scene if I just put Saki's canon ending in, with a slight modification. I still think the ending won't be completely the same since Saki isn't doomed to die any time soon, but the purpose behind the story remains the same. At least I feel like it does.
In retrospect, Hana isn't complaining about the way the story ended anyway. She just got off on a massive derailment and then Metafalica egged her on.
I like this better. It gives me ideas for something later, which will make everybody feel warm and fuzzy.
Anyway, nothing is ruined about that scene if I just put Saki's canon ending in, with a slight modification. I still think the ending won't be completely the same since Saki isn't doomed to die any time soon, but the purpose behind the story remains the same. At least I feel like it does.
In retrospect, Hana isn't complaining about the way the story ended anyway. She just got off on a massive derailment and then Metafalica egged her on.
I like this better. It gives me ideas for something later, which will make everybody feel warm and fuzzy.
Hana is complicated. Calling her a gynoid might be more or less accurate, but the word also comes with baggage that is not necessarily accurate for her, and her physical construction in any case has no bearing on how good she is at learning languages.
That's all dependent on how her mind is constructed. But if you put Misha in the same situation, then she'd take a lot longer to get to where Hana is. You may not have noticed--but her broken grammar in the first half of the chapter was largely caused by being bored out of her mind; she improved incredibly quickly once she found something entertaining to do.
Hana is complicated. Calling her a gynoid might be more or less accurate, but the word also comes with baggage that is not necessarily accurate for her, and her physical construction in any case has no bearing on how good she is at learning languages.
That's all dependent on how her mind is constructed. But if you put Misha in the same situation, then she'd take a lot longer to get to where Hana is. You may not have noticed--but her broken grammar in the first half of the chapter was largely caused by being bored out of her mind; she improved incredibly quickly once she found something entertaining to do.
Well, Ok. But what I meant to say is that for a gynoid, (Especially for a fleet of fog mental model [I think Hana's one]) trying to read, learn, and write a language must be second nature for her since programs are made up of languages, but with a limiter to prevent her from almost instantly learning everything.
Edit: also it can be argued that it must be because that she's a bit glitching due to her core missing the necessary components or software.
