deercountry | Catch-All

Entry tags:

Catch-All

Who: Fat Billie (

wapples) and you!
What: Open and Closed Prompts
When: Throughout April
Where: Around Trench, and at home

Content Warnings: Will mark threads as necessary

1. Around Town [Open]

[The dark doesn't do much to discourage Billie at all. The perpetual twilight caused by the Coronet in Crystal Bay doesn't seem like it was all that long ago, and this doesn't seem like it should be so different, except for the knowledge that it will likely only last for a month. He might be a small boy, but he's also a thief. He is not afraid of the dark.

Besides, he's even managed to make a new friend, who happens to be a very adorable fluffy looking moth, about the size of a housecat. It's hard to feel too grim or afraid in his comforting presence.

Billie will happily make friends with anyone who is even a little bit nice to him, so of course with Argonaut's trusting nature, the tiny halfling is more than willing to protect him and offer him rides on his back throughout Trench. They're probably quite a pair - The Pthumerian moth peering over the shoulder of a boy in a raccoon skin cape who isn't much bigger than he is, as Billie offers up bites of his croissant.

He greets both Sleepers he knows and strangers with a little wave and a 'hello!' and if he catches someone staring at one of the Moonlit butterflies, he'll try to help pull them away.]

2. Lunch Date [Closed to housemates]

[What else is one to do with their new pal who needs protecting from the dangerous things in the world, but bring them home for lunch? Besides, the tent and the house, as far as Billie is concerned, are both pretty safe places to hang out. The catch is, he's not entirely sure what Argonaut likes to eat, so instead of actually asking, he just tries a variety of foods. Everything from bowls of gravy, raw potatoes, croissants, crackers, and whatever sweets he can lay his hands on. There's the telltale signs of the pair getting into the house pantry as well, as a trail of dropped snacks can be found leading from the kitchen to the kitchen in tent.

Oops.

Billie has even taken it a step further and emptied out a second drawer onto the floor, and moved some of his fluffy bedding into it to share with the giant moth, so he has a place to rest as well. He has their smorgasbord of ill-gotten gains spread out on the counter between them, and is happily munching on a raw potato.]

I bet it's really cool being able to fly anywhere you wanna go.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Billie exchanges a glance with Argonaut at the Chizuru's flustered expression, but he grins brightly anyway as though he hasn't noticed she just said it was nice to meet them.]

It's nice to meet you too! I bet Argonaut thinks so too. He likes everyone.

I'm Fat Billie.

[ W-Wait.

What? ]

Your name is.. Fat Billie?

[ That seems a little.. W-Well, maybe it's a cultural thing where he comes from?! After all, who else would name a poor child something like that? Maybe 'Fat' is just a first name in his world! S.. Surely! And she can't be rude by questioning cultural norms, now can she!! ]

Oh. Okay! So.. um, do people usually call you Fat Billie, or are the names ever used separately..

Lots of people just call me Billie. You can too, if you want!

[It's clearly not the first time that he's had this conversation, and he even takes pity on Chizuru's shock and decides maybe he ought to elaborate for her.]

Just there's a lot of Williams, and Bills, and Billies and Billos in my hometown, so we have to be able to tell each other apart.

[He starts ticking names off on his fingers.]

We had Old Bill, and Young Bill, and Regular William, and then there was Big Bill, Little Bill, Hungry Bill, Skinny Bill... and lots more too!

[ Oh, thank god. That's one problem resolved here. And his explanation does make sense as to why he has that name, but.. surely they could've thought of something else for a little kid, right?

.. right? ]

But.. they could've called you Cute Billie, right? You look like a Cute Billie to me!

[ Hey, he looks like a little kid, hence why Chizuru can say as much without getting all flustered about it. Kids are always cute! ]

[Billie's face turns a little red, and he suddenly finds himself feeling a little shy. He's not really used to strangers calling him cute.]

Oh, um... I don't think they really give nicknames like that. There's no Ugly Bill, or Handsome Bill either. There's a Fancy Wilhelmina, though!

Really?

[ Apparently that does take Chizuru's thoughts away from the fat/cute dichotomy about Billie though. Because she's used to there being so many worlds represented here with various customs, but this one is entirely new to her. It's not something she's ever heard of back home, nor in this place.

It makes her a little curious - genuinely so! - about the rules for this. ]

Why can't you call ugly or handsome, but you can call them fat or fancy..?

[ Where's the line?

She isn't too sure if Billie knows, as young as he is, but.. who knows! He was raised in that culture, so he has to at least know more than Chizuru herself. ]

[Billie shrugs a little. He's never really given it a whole lot of thought. The nicknames given to the various halflings just seem to kind of crop up naturally.]

I dunno, I never really thought about it. I mean, I guess it could happen, but not everyone agrees whose handsome and whose ugly? So maybe those ones just don't stick.

[ Things Chizuru is learning today: apparently there is consensus among halflings about the definition of 'fancy.' ]

I see. [ At least she won't push it further. After all, Billie seems to be just as kid! He can't know everything. ]

At least you're the only Billie here! Or.. um, I think so. I haven't met any other Billie.

[ So there hopefully shouldn't be any confusion even without the 'fat' part attached to it. ]

Yeah, I haven't met any others either. Or Bills, or Williams or anything! Maybe I'm the only one.

[Not that he really minds. He's kind of glad there's no other halflings from home in Trench.]

Hey, I haven't met anyone else named Chizuru here either!

[ She smiles. ]

Me neither! But.. I'm also the only Chizuru I know back home.. [ Not that it's a very high bar to clear, considering the fact that Chizuru only.. knows a handful of other people..

But she doesn't have to mention that part, right. It might make her sound kind of sad to this sweet kid.

.. let's instead give him a fun tidbit! Teach a kid something new on this day. ]

Where I come from.. we write names using special characters. If you write my name that way, you can read it as 'Chizuru', but also as 'thousand cranes.'

[Billie's eyes widen when she tells him that there's an alternative meaning behind her name as it's written. That her name is uncommon doesn't strike him as so odd, but that it has a double meaning -]

Thousand Cranes? THAT'S SO COOL! My name doesn't mean anything at all! It's just a name.

[Not that he minds - he's never really given it a whole lot of thought.]

What kind of special characters, though? Like letters? Or like little stick people? Or little stick cranes? DO YOU HAVE TO DRAW A THOUSAND LITTLE STICK CRANES TO WRITE YOUR NAME?

[ Chizuru did kind of expect that the other might find it interesting. But this level of enthusiasm? She sure didn't see that coming.

Not that it's a bad thing. Sure, it leaves her staring at the boy in surprise for a moment or two.. but then a small giggle actually escapes her. It's adorable, and that level of excitement does suit his age, doesn't it.. ]

Here, I can show you.

[ She points at a patch of dirt nearby, walking over towards it. Chizuru looks around for a moment until she finds a stick, and then starts using it to write in the dirt.

She ends up drawing two characters: 千鶴 ]

There, that's how you write it where I come from. It might be a little difficult when you're not used to it..

[Billie doesn't really know much about reading or writing, beyond being able to read faerie runes. Tuck and Vyng have tried to teach him before, but he loses interest quickly.

Still, he knows enough to know it would be rude if he just kind of wandered off while Chizuru was showing him how to write her name, so he at least tries to pay attention.]

Whoa. Yeah, I don't think I can draw that. It's still cool, though!

That's okay. I haven't really seen anyone use it here anyway..

[ Though some people do seem to be Japanese here, thankfully. Chizuru thinks it's probably just since there's no need for kanji in a place where everyone seems to understand each other pretty naturally..

But hey, it gives her this to show off as a neat party trick, right? At least this little kid here seems impressed.

That clearly counts. ]

It's just a sign of how different everyone's place they come from is, don't you think?

Yeah! It's kind of like that at home too, though. My home's not like Tuck or Vyng's home. They do read and write the same, but the places we used to live are all way different from each other.

[Then again, so are most of the places they've visited too, so he just assumes it's all perfectly normal.]

[ So Tuck and Vyng must be his friends.. from the same place, yet different places? Chizuru imagines they do at least come from the same place with generally same rules outside of Trench, so.. ]

Are you saying that you guys come from different countries?

[ Surely other worlds must still have the concept of a country, right.

.. r-right?

Chizuru can't imagine a world without those, given how nationalistic her own home is.

Then again, maybe it's just that Billie is too young to grasp the concept instead. He does seem generally pretty innocent. ]

[Billie shrugs. He doesn't really understand the concept of a country - it's not a thing in the Principalities, but if that's a word that makes sense to Chizuru, he can roll with it.]

I dunno. I guess? Vyng grew up in the north, where it's really cold and frozen all the time. Tuck came from Makaal. It's hot and sandy there and they have demons and stuff. And I grew up in Lone Tree Hill, where everyone had farms.

I.. guess those might be countries. Or just territories.. [ After all, it doesn't sound all that different from how things are within Japan itself, right? Up in Hokkaido it's cold and often snows, and then down even further south from where Chizuru lives, everything is much warmer.. and then there's all the farms in the middle.

She slowly nods. ]

But I think it seems like the differences between the places people come from are much bigger here than they are back home. People from up north might live a little differently than I do, but at least they don't have things that are normal to some people here who come from other places, like magic or dragons...

[ That's a little more than just your average culture shock. ]

[Billie zeroes in on exactly on one part of Chizuru's entire explanation, and his eyes light up with delight.]

Dragons are so cool! We have them at home, and magic, and all kinds of other stuff too.

[He is likely consider dragons just as friend-shaped as his little moth companion, especially since Vyng can talk to them without a problem, but he does suspect she might not feel the same way.]

You guys really don't have any of that stuff at home?

[ She shakes her head. ]

We don't. [ And she.. does definitely think that's a good thing in some cases.. Chizuru really can't see the existence of dragons in Japan ending well in absolutely any sort of way. They've already got enough trouble going on..

.. though it's a little less surprising to learn that Billie doesn't quite think so after how completely unaware of danger the other has seemed so far. ]

Where I come from, there's only humans..

[ Hm.

She's unsure about the next part of what she's about to say, but it probably can't hurt to tell it to a kid who is used to dragons and all.. ]

.. and demons. That's all. There's no dragons, or magic, or anything else..

So there's no halflings or elves or anything either?

[That just strikes him as bizarre, and maybe kind of boring?]

We've got demons too, but I'm not scared of them.

[He pauses. Wait. If there's only humans does that mean... No... That would be awful, but he looks up at her with wide eyes.]

What about cats? Do you have cats?

[Billie only asks the most important questions.]

[ Ah, hm.

There Billie is, saying that about demons so plainly.. And then here Chizuru is, 100% demon, even though it sure doesn't show in the way she looks. It's a little bit awkward to her that apparently most people are afraid of or at least worried about demons in his world too, judging by the way he says he isn't scared of them, like it's some contrast..

.. Chizuru decides it's probably better to not bring up her true nature. She's always been reluctant about that. ]

Yes, we have cats. [ She instead says, smiling a little bit. The question is a little ridiculous, but in an endearing way. It's just silly. ] Why, do you like cats?

[ Sorry her world can't give you the halflings or elves you're used to, Billie. At least there's still cats. ]

[Billie is, perhaps, more afraid of at least some demons than he's willing to let on. The Truth Demon they had encountered trying to escape from Crystal Bay had been downright terrifying with its ability to see the absolute truth in all of them. He's sure they're not all so frightening, though.]

Yeah. Cats are really great. Besides, if you didn't have cats, you might get stuck with a ton of rats, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Catch-All

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject