these are the haunted halls ((Faris))

[losthunter]

For the last few weeks, Hunter has been spending a lot of time on his marble sculpture. Most of the sculpture is roughly exposed now, with no large blocks of marble remaining to be seen. But it is now getting to the delicate work, which takes a lot more time and patience.

Hunter has a lot of time and patience right now. One of the nice things about being an artist is that most of his deadlines are flexible. And right now he only has a few other commissioned work, which he is able to work on, during extended breaks away from the marble piece.

Much of Hunter's mind has been on Kendra, and how her most recent dream could have meant that he needs to go back, and reflect on the memories and experiences he had as a child, youth and young man. The life of Kyle, before he became Hunter.

And so today, needing an extended break from the marble work, Hunter decides that perhaps he should take a walk through his old neighborhood.

He doesn't want to go alone. So of course, that is one of the benefits of having a symbiotic creature in his household. He can always depend on Faris being around.

"Faris?" He calls out into the apartment.

Comments

[poetwarrior]

"I see. Then this is a journey of great courage for you." He won't claim to understand all the nuances, but he's gotten a good idea so far, especially after seeing Hunter's dream and discussing the implications.

[losthunter]

"I really want to try to see what Kendra was trying to tell me." Hunter shrugs with a slight blush at the compliment.

He stops, standing before a large two-story mansion. It has a very well-kept and maintained lawn. And a flashy sports car in the driveway.

"This is where I grew up. My dad's home."

[poetwarrior]

Faris risks a better look, although he doesn't become three-dimensional enough to be noticeable by anyone nearby. "Your parent still lives here?"

[losthunter]

Hunter steps off the sidewalk, and towards the house. He selects an area, covered by bushes so no one can see him. And if Faris wants to become three-dimensional, he has cover now.

"He does."

[poetwarrior]

Faris stays put for the moment, although he becomes a bit bolder in looking around, fairly confident no one will see. "You said you do not wish to encounter him. Is this a risky situation for you?"

[losthunter]

"Not really. He would not be at home during this time of day."

[poetwarrior]

"Then you have an excellent sense of timing." Faris decides it's safe enough, and drops from Hunter's skin, landing lightly on all four paws. He tastes the air, taking in the scents of the property. "You have not been here in a very long time."

[losthunter]

"No. I don't even want to know what he did with my room." Hunter shakes his head a little sadly.

He is not feeling any connections or memories resurfacing from standing here, so he won't stay long.

"It used to be up on the second floor."

[poetwarrior]

Faris tilts his head slightly. "Are there no good memories associated with this place?" It seems rather sad if so.

[losthunter]

Hunter pauses to take time to reflect on the question. "I wouldn't say that..."

"I was provided with a very privileged life. So I never had any hardships when it came to material desires."

"My dad and I were not emotionally close... but he provided for me."

[poetwarrior]

"Is it not expected that he would?" He hasn't really been in a situation to notice human parenting philosophy before, so he isn't sure how much caring for offspring humans even do.

[losthunter]

"Unfortunately, there are some human parents who can't afford to provide for their child or children. And those families struggle for food, housing and security."

"And some parents who are not even active in their offspring's life."

[poetwarrior]

"I see." He doesn't, really. The K'da are a social people by biological necessity, so the idea of simply not interacting with your children is an alien one. But then, from his perspective, humans can be quite alien, so he doesn't expect them to act exactly the same as his people.

[losthunter]

"Let's head towards the school. Maybe that will lead somewhere." Hunter turned away from his house, and headed down the street.

[poetwarrior]

Faris touches Hunter's hand and hops aboard, wrapping himself around his host's torso again. "Tell me of your school. What kind of place is it?" he asks curiously.

[losthunter]

"It is a Preparatory School. Basically, it is mostly attended by children of wealthy families. And you can go right from high school into post-secondary and university classes all in the same place."

[poetwarrior]

Faris doesn't know what a lot of that means, although apparently it's common terminology in English, by the way Hunter speaks. "What does it prepare you for?"

[losthunter]

"In most human cultures, young people go to schools during their childhood, where they learn different subjects like social science, history, math and English. The school tries to prepare these students for their life, when they become adults. So they can get jobs, have a career, or pursue other studies."

[poetwarrior]

"Is it all... I believe your word is 'academic'? There are no physical arts or weapon training?" Such a strange thing to him, but human society also isn't under the same kind of looming threat as the K'da and Shontine. Still, to be unprepared...

[losthunter]

"There is Physical Education, but it is more based around team sports and cooperation with others. No weapon training."

[poetwarrior]

"How odd." Humans do tend to do strange things sometimes. "Still, cooperation in a group is an important skill to have."

[losthunter]

"In my world, there is no knowledge of other species on any other planets. And humans are the most intelligent species on Earth."

"Humans will fight with other humans. But generally, we don't feel that we should be trained to defend ourselves against something else."

[poetwarrior]

Faris pauses while he composes his reply. "To my people, even if we were not in active war, it is seen as historically and culturally important to maintain the ancient arts and invent new ones to be shared across the species. Even a blade that is simply maintained and never used is far more valuable than an empty hand."

[losthunter]

"Are there any stories to how that started? Why it was culturally important?"

[poetwarrior]

"There is no one specific event, no. It is a mindset developed over thousand of years of our civilization, much as humans seem to find the art of painting significant," he adds, hoping to bring across an analogy that might resonate better with his host. "Or your languages. I have been learning from your television... documentaries?" He's uncertain of the word, but it seems to be the right one. "There are small cultures in your world that are dying out, but their languages and cultures are seen as worth preserving by some who make efforts to record them. There is no practical benefit to maintaining this knowledge, but it is significant regardless, yes?"