005 || [Accidental Audio] || Fifth Son

[patternal.livejournal.com]

There is precious little to occupy Corwin’s time in a place such as this. No family crises to deal with, no wars, hell not even a decent barfight. It was the worst kind of place for him to be—all peace and no excitement. For a soldier, that spelled complacency, and complacency was equivalent to death. Always alert, even if it was unnecessary. Always vigilant, even if it was superfluous.

But it was damn hard to stay that way when there was nothing to at least irk him a little bit, put him on edge. The lack of anything to be on edge about had him on edge, though not the kind he liked. More paranoia than preparedness—which was still a feeling that was a little more than kin and less than kind.

The sound of metal striking wood is, perhaps, less jarring than metal striking metal, but the force behind it is still evident. It doesn’t take much to figure out that Corwin is hacking at a tree with Grayswandir—something that an experienced fencer would know is terrible for the blade, but, experienced though he is, Corwin evidently doesn’t care, as the sound continues for several moments. Less exciting than live targets, but effective for venting stress. And it would give him several more hours of activity as he re-sharpened the gleaming silvery sword after the terrible treatment his old friend was getting, and all for the sake of some venting that he could very well have done with his fists.

Anything to occupy a soldier’s time, right?

When his voice drifts into the post, it truly sounds just like that—drifting—and only serves to further erase any doubts about the posts intentionality—clearly, it wasn’t done on purpose. The language is strange, though, almost sounds ancient, tones softer and angrier all at once. That, though, may simply be that this is the language he has the greatest command of—it is the tongue of his birthplace, after all.

“…if farli gra’dar…sevath’ri…”

((DISCLAIMER: This is not a real language. I made it up. There is one sample in Corwin's canon of the language, about three words long, and I based the sentence off of that--at least in terms of sounds. It doesn't work grammatically at all, and, in fact, has no meaning. Corwin's not likely to translate, but, if necessary, I'll come up with something~))

Comments

[audio]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

[The strange language and whacking noise catch his attention.]

Trying to chop down a tree? An ax might be a bit more effective...

[audio]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

[...damn.]

I don't want the tree.

[audio]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Then why try to chop it down? That can't be good for your blade...

[audio]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

It isn't. But at least I'll be occupied for the next few hours trying to fix the mess I'm making of it.

[audio]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

So it's boredom?

Beckett and I shot at targets about a week ago. She could teach you to shoot.. if you don't know...

[audio]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

I know how. You don't get through military service without picking it up.

[audio]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Exactly when were you in the military service?

[audio]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

A long time ago.

[audio]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Well, that's my point. Were you using black powder and muskets? Firearms are uh... a bit different now.

[imperial-long.livejournal.com]

Soldiers may occupy their time hacking up trees; Long occupies his own fiddling through active broadcasts of Taxon, casually eavesdropping without ever having to leave the comfort of his own rooms. (It is almost perfect.)

He idly listens to the sound of hacking and slashing for a few moments, dismisses it as ultimately uninteresting, and is ready to move to the next 'channel' when he catches the muttered words.

He perks up.

"Forgive my intrusion, but what language might that be?"

[patternal.livejournal.com]

There was definitely something about being the subject of eavesdropping...too much a reminder of political and family intrigue. But then, one couldn't really call it eavesdropping if it was broadcast over an entire network of tiny little devices that seemed at times to have a mind of their own. Perhaps Corwin should have simply left it behind. Seomthing about it, though, made him want to have it--just in case, though what, precisely, he hoped to do with it "just in case" was still a mystery.

He hadn't even realized that he'd been speaking something other than English until it was pointed out to him. It was hardly surprising, though, as the same phenomenon had happened in the past, though there was little this time to spark the use of ancient words over modern ones. At the very least, he answered in a more widely-understood one.

"What language is it? Nostalgia."

[imperial-long.livejournal.com]

An appreciate chuckle for the witticism, or at least Long took it as such.

"Your native tongue, perhaps? I don't mean to pry--" (he so does) "--it is simply that languages are a great love of mine and it is very rare that I hear one completely unknown to me."

[patternal.livejournal.com]

Of course. He was never that lucky. "I'd be surprised if you had heard it before. But yes, it is native, as much as such things can be." Native to a place that he'd forgotten once, a place that as far as he could convince anyone existed only in his head. After a certain kind of fashion, maybe it did. At least, memory was how he would have to find it again if he could ever make it past whatever barrier held him here in the first place.

[imperial-long.livejournal.com]

"Not of this earth, then?" Long asked as if the concept were completely normal, and then realized he might have to clarify what 'this earth' meant, considering Taxon. "That is to say-- not of the planet usually known as Earth, inhabited primarily but certainly not exclusively by Homo sapiens as its intelligent species, et cetera.

"Does the language have a name?"

[patternal.livejournal.com]

That definition didn't precisely clarify anything--Corwin could have visited any number of places called "Earth" and populated by Homo sapiens sapiens. But revealing that meant delving into all kinds of closets hiding skeletons that he wasn't ready to expose yet.

He even had to stop and analyze the pros and cons of answering the second question, though he ended up deciding that revealing the name of a language that only he knew wasn't all that dangerous, so he answered, pretending that the first question hadn't been asked in the first place.

"Thari."

[imperial-long.livejournal.com]

"Thari? I shall have to write that one down. What were you saying, if I may ask-- gra'dar sevath'ri--"

He doesn't know the language but Long can mimic the accent and pronunciation perfectly.

[patternal.livejournal.com]

Somehow, Corwin managed to keep the surprise out of both his face and voice. Asking questions implied ignorance, and yet here he was pronouncing the words with absolute efficiency. But if he didn't even know what it was called and was, indeed, asking for a translation...

"I think a direct translation might prove a little more than difficult."

[ voice ]

[lajolieblonde.livejournal.com]

What on earth are you doin'?

[ sookie's not aware of the sounds a sword whacking a tree makes, but generic metal on wood is familiar enough. ]

[ voice ]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

Currently, I am inventing things to do.

[ voice ]

[lajolieblonde.livejournal.com]

And whackin' away at a tree with somethin' is the best you could come up with?

[ sook. hon. you are not this dude's mother. chill. ]

[ voice ]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

This and fixing the results will keep me occupied for several hours. I don't suppose you have any better ideas.

[ voice ]

[lajolieblonde.livejournal.com]

...You can fix trees?

[ sookie, you shoot power from your hands. shut up. ]

[ voice ]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

No, but the blade will certainly thank me for putting it right.

[ voice ]

[lajolieblonde.livejournal.com]

Oh.

[ sookie can't quite hide her disappointment; for one brief moment she let herself hope there was someone here who had... well, something like her powers. faeries like trees, right? but he just meant the sword and she's still stuck figuring all this out on her own. ]

What in the world made you want to attack a tree with a sword?

[ voice ]

[patternal.livejournal.com]

Like I said, this and cleaning up will at least keep me occupied for several hours. I'm still waiting for other suggestions.