Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 21:04:20 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 21:04:20 GMT -5
Aodh leaned against the trunk of a tree close to the wall that divided the schoolgrounds from the forest, listening to the sounds of the quiet courtyard around him. Michael ought to be here any minute, and then hopefully Aodh would find the answers he wanted to perhaps finally be free of his curse. And after this little chat, he planned to go right to Dr. Evans-Barros to see about getting the use of his eyes back.
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 21:34:00 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 21:34:00 GMT -5
An eagle circled down from the sky to land on the outer wall. He looked down at the man beneath him and screeched a greeting.
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 21:38:43 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 21:38:43 GMT -5
Aodh tilted his head at the sound of rustling wings above him, wincing a little at the harsh screech of an eagle. He turned his head toward where the sound had come from and smiled.
"Afternoon, Michael," he greeted the bird.
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:02:47 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 22:02:47 GMT -5
The eagle tilted his head at the man, then leapt down to the ground and transformed.
"Smoke mentioned a curse?" he said with mild interest.
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:25:03 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 22:25:03 GMT -5
Aodh blinked at the utterly indescribable sound of the bird transforming into a man. He was sure that there were limbs being moved in directions that they were never made to move in. It was over surprisingly quickly.
"Aye," he nodded, once Michael addressed him. "I heard you might be able to help me with a curse I'm under. Long story short, last autumn I accidentally damaged a tree that was home to a colony of rare bats, and before I had the chance to apologize or offer to repair the damage I'd done, the mage who owned that land cursed me to turn into a bat with human proprtions every night at sunset, and back into a man every morning at dawn. My blindness is an unfortunate side-effect of the spell being cast. I'm not sure what can be done about that, but I was hoping you could help me figure out how my curse could be undone. If it can be."
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:27:21 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 22:27:21 GMT -5
Michael walked up to Aodh and looked him straight in the eye, staring intently.
This went on for a few minutes.
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:31:38 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 22:31:38 GMT -5
Aodh stood still as Michael moved very close to him; he could feel the man's breath on his face. Very confused, he stood in silence, eyebrows raised, wondering just what was going on that he couldn't see.
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:35:15 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 22:35:15 GMT -5
Michael stepped back.
"Find the bats. Rehome them, in such a way as to make them more comfortable than before. Apologize to them. Possibly, then return to the mage, but this should be unnecessary."
"Alternately, become a bat entirely. It should wear off over some time. If you then wish to return to a human form, that would require more magic."
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 22:51:23 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 22:51:23 GMT -5
Aodh nodded slowly, digesting this.
"The first option sounds logical enough," he replied. "I'd have to wait until summer, most likely, as the bats live in Scotland, and I doubt I could get away for long enough during the school year to search very thoroughly. I doubt I could return to the mage if I tried, as he banished me from his property after he cursed me; he'd probably curse me again if I set foot there, regardless of the reason.
"As for the second idea... I'm not sure how I'd manage it, or what I'd do once I was a bat permanently. If I were to live in the wild like a real bat... I don't know of any trees that would be large enough to house me, or how I would survive a winter on my own."
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:01:43 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 23:01:43 GMT -5
"It would be trivial to reroute the magic to do that. It would not make you a human-sized bat," Michael explained. "However, the difficulty involved would be the point of that option. It would be more usual to take the path of humility than that of pride."
"It should be relatively trivial to undo the side-effects of the curse. The oaken-haired one can remove it slowly and easily through medical magic, or I could dispel it."
He scratched a spot on his back. "The second option will hurt."
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:13:26 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 23:13:26 GMT -5
Aodh nodded again. The first option definitely seemed the better one, being the path of humility and apology. And it was very heartening to know that he could easily regain his eyesight, if only he knew who to go to.
"I'm afraid it's no use mentioning colors to me," he said with a half-smile. "I can't see a thing unless I use sonar, and even then all I see is shades of grey. I'm guessing you're referring to Doctor Evans-Barros as the oaken-haired one?"
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:27:17 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 23:27:17 GMT -5
"Ah. Yes. Ellie," he said softly.
Michael rather liked Ellie. Perhaps it was her kindness, or her beauty, or simply her five-pepper sausage gumbo, but she ranked just below Smoke and one other person on his list of humans that were good people; he was more than happy some days to sit in her window for hours and watch her cook. (And he could never remember who the second person was, anyway.)
"Do you have any other questions?"
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:35:49 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 23:35:49 GMT -5
"No, thank you. I think that's all I need to know for now." Aodh's smile widened, and he carefully held out a hand in Michael's general direction. "Thank you very much for your help. I am indebted to you; if there's any way I can repay you, please, by all means let me know. Blessed be."
|
|
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:37:58 GMT -5
Post by Michael on Jul 3, 2010 23:37:58 GMT -5
Michael blinked, then shook Aodh's hand.
"Let there be no debt between us. Peace be to you as well."
Hm. Interesting man.
|
|
Aodh Breannan
Ireth
Bio Prof. Not Actually A Bat
To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.
Posts: 58
|
Waiting
Jul 3, 2010 23:44:22 GMT -5
Post by Aodh Breannan on Jul 3, 2010 23:44:22 GMT -5
Aodh smiled, taking his white cane out of a pocket of his coat and unfoldng it, then tipping his head in farewell and turning away, making his way carefully back toward the school.
Halfway there, it struck him that Doctor Evans-Barros was away on the field trip with many of the Academy students, and she wouldn't be back until the end of the week. Oh, well, no matter; he could wait a few more days. It would be well worth it if he could regain his sight in full.
|
|