Buoyansie stared into the nearby brush that marked the edge of the true woods from where they all stood at the island of younger trees. She gave a brisk nod with each successive point Sparrow made, but when the girl finished with a question, the gnome's lips twitched with a grin before twisting into a skewed knot. She turned to regard Sparrow with this gleeful mug and snapped her right thumb against her middle finger, and simultaneously slashed the air with her index finger to point at her.
"Oh, that's what it is," she began. The self-satisfied tone that seemed to creep into her voice as she geared up to answer wasn't quite unfriendly or superior. "I want to know . . . if you want me to know. That's why."
Bosie set her feet slightly further than shoulder's width--as a little lady, she needed to stake personal real estate wherever she could--and held her hands up in front of her person like individual blades to cut the path she was about to expound upon. She glanced briefly over her shoulder to see that Thokas was still lingering, then stared back at Sparrow.
"Not wanting people to know," said Bosie, with an emphatic sweep outward of her right hand, "isn't wrong."
She took a single step forward towards Sparrow as if to give her a closer look at herself. "I don't mind you knowing, you know, what I am." She folded her arms over her slim chest and gazed down the sloping plane of scrubby land that led towards the city. "I'm a woman of the people, but I'm not the type to pretend I don't enjoy unusual freedoms."
Her words may have been noble, but her tone was pleasant, not humbly dignified.
"I understand the desire--the need--to keep these things as a matter of privacy. A public figure like myself--oh yes, oh yes--makes certain sacrifices of privacy to enjoy a special amount of respect." She furrowed her age-lined brow and looked back at Sparrow. "But individuals shouldn't have to live with a lower level of respect."
Almost a picnic
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Bosie Vaporgate
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- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Somewhere along the way, Sparrow got lost.
She understood the first bit, even though she had already assumed that not wanting people to know was fine, but after that the gnome stopped making sense. The only bit she understood was when Bosie looked over her shoulder to check on Thokas, because she herself had been doing the same thing, keeping an eye on him. He wasn't doing anything worrisome, so she turned her attention back to the gnome.
Having been travelling for several years, often going without human company for months at a time, she didn't entirely understand what Bosie meant by saying she enjoyed unusual freedoms. Did she mean a freedom to come and go as she pleased? Or was it meant to be an innuendo that had gone over her head?
So the gnome was a public figure... Sparrow wondered what exactly she did. It could be anything. Just because she'd never heard of Bosie Vaporgate before today didn't mean she wasn't a very important, highly influencial person. She also felt that this statement wasn't meant to make sense to her, as it was almost entirely self-reference.
"Oh, I don't. Live with a lower level of respect, that is. Because most people think I'm human, they treat me the same as anybody else." Although having grey hair when she was only eighteen had drawn a lot of attention. In a couple of pubs she had the nickname 'Grandma.' "Do you get treated differently because you're a gnome?" Was it polite to ask that outright, to bring up someone's race so blatantly, without insinuating it? She didn't think so, but her only level of subtlty would have been to replace 'a gnome' with 'short' and that somehow seemed worse.
She understood the first bit, even though she had already assumed that not wanting people to know was fine, but after that the gnome stopped making sense. The only bit she understood was when Bosie looked over her shoulder to check on Thokas, because she herself had been doing the same thing, keeping an eye on him. He wasn't doing anything worrisome, so she turned her attention back to the gnome.
Having been travelling for several years, often going without human company for months at a time, she didn't entirely understand what Bosie meant by saying she enjoyed unusual freedoms. Did she mean a freedom to come and go as she pleased? Or was it meant to be an innuendo that had gone over her head?
So the gnome was a public figure... Sparrow wondered what exactly she did. It could be anything. Just because she'd never heard of Bosie Vaporgate before today didn't mean she wasn't a very important, highly influencial person. She also felt that this statement wasn't meant to make sense to her, as it was almost entirely self-reference.
"Oh, I don't. Live with a lower level of respect, that is. Because most people think I'm human, they treat me the same as anybody else." Although having grey hair when she was only eighteen had drawn a lot of attention. In a couple of pubs she had the nickname 'Grandma.' "Do you get treated differently because you're a gnome?" Was it polite to ask that outright, to bring up someone's race so blatantly, without insinuating it? She didn't think so, but her only level of subtlty would have been to replace 'a gnome' with 'short' and that somehow seemed worse.
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Bosie's chin dipped forward and she squinted at Sparrow carefully. Perhaps she had made an error of judgment in how to speak to the girl. She shifted her weight on her moccasins, the better to feel the wildness of the earth and twigs beneath her feet. She sighed vocally--"hmmm"--before going on.
"This thing I'm talking about, it's about respect--or disrespect--received based on what what one is--like one's race . . . or creed!" Buoyansie balled her hands into energetic fists and swung them at her sides as she talked. She had let her gaze wander upward to the bulbous white clouds sailing through the clear sky; she was concentrating on how best to lay out her position to the girl if she hadn't understood her the first time.
"Respect is . . . well, let's say it's a construct of both the agent and the recipient, right?" She peeked at Sparrow to see that she was following. " . . . The giver of respect and the getter of respect."
"But in this case, so let's go ahead and talk about the recipient. For example . . . you! Sparrow. The werewolf. You don't generally tell people you're a werewolf, and people don't usually see what I saw: that you are a werewolf." At this point the gnome raised her eyebrows for emphasis, and to see that her audience was keeping up, was eagerly awaiting the point she was teetering on, about to make.
"So people don't know you're anything but human! You see? Then the agent--the person giving the attitude of respect or disrespect--treats you with the attitude reserved for humans. So of course it follows that if you don't tell people you're a werewolf, or if they don't see you change, then you don't receive a lower level of respect."
Bosie sort of wiggled her head briskly, as if to shake off a bit of dust. She looked very pleased with herself as she rambled along onto her next point. "And even if I don't tell people explicitly that I'm a gnome, they know I am one because it is visually obvious. But I'm not really the greatest example of the phenomenon of the respect then granted, because I'm kind of a big deal. People know me."
She shrugged buoyantly and let her point dissipate into the surrounding air.
"This thing I'm talking about, it's about respect--or disrespect--received based on what what one is--like one's race . . . or creed!" Buoyansie balled her hands into energetic fists and swung them at her sides as she talked. She had let her gaze wander upward to the bulbous white clouds sailing through the clear sky; she was concentrating on how best to lay out her position to the girl if she hadn't understood her the first time.
"Respect is . . . well, let's say it's a construct of both the agent and the recipient, right?" She peeked at Sparrow to see that she was following. " . . . The giver of respect and the getter of respect."
"But in this case, so let's go ahead and talk about the recipient. For example . . . you! Sparrow. The werewolf. You don't generally tell people you're a werewolf, and people don't usually see what I saw: that you are a werewolf." At this point the gnome raised her eyebrows for emphasis, and to see that her audience was keeping up, was eagerly awaiting the point she was teetering on, about to make.
"So people don't know you're anything but human! You see? Then the agent--the person giving the attitude of respect or disrespect--treats you with the attitude reserved for humans. So of course it follows that if you don't tell people you're a werewolf, or if they don't see you change, then you don't receive a lower level of respect."
Bosie sort of wiggled her head briskly, as if to shake off a bit of dust. She looked very pleased with herself as she rambled along onto her next point. "And even if I don't tell people explicitly that I'm a gnome, they know I am one because it is visually obvious. But I'm not really the greatest example of the phenomenon of the respect then granted, because I'm kind of a big deal. People know me."
She shrugged buoyantly and let her point dissipate into the surrounding air.
Re: Almost a picnic
Sparrow somehow managed to translate. The gnome was saying that she should receive the same level of respect she did as a werewolf as she did when she was a 'human.' She ran a hand through her messy hair and yanked it through the tangles that got in her way. "But... i don't mind. I realise it shouldn't be that way, but it is and i'm perfectly fine living like this. I can 'come out of the closet,' as it were, later, if i really want to. I'm not old, i've got ages." She didn't want the excitable gnome putting herself out. She coped with life, and life didn't throw too many impossible challenges her way. Saying she was a werewolf to the general public and expecting them to accept her would be like saying she was a practicing witch - a stupid risk and entirely unnecessary.
She moved on and hoped that the rest of it would slide. She didn't want to get into an argument just yet, not when she found herself intrigued by the short woman. "So, what makes you important?"
She hoped her genuine curiosity came through as well as her rather embarassing half-growl. She had been about to yawn when she started talking, and a growl had escaped before she managed to stop it. She wondered if she was blushing - she had never been able to tell - and decided to bluff her way through it by carrying on. "I mean, you're obviously very good at what you do or you wouldn't be important, but i've been out of town for... quite a while. I don't know an awful lot about people hereabouts." There didn't seem to be anything offensive in there that she could find. Human interaction was so fraught with danger. Animals were easier.
She absently started tossing the drupicot stone from hand to hand, still keeping her eyes on the gnome and half an ear on the human who seemed to be doing absolutely nothing. Maybe he was shy? He didn't seem to be a danger, though, so she let him be.
Suddenly she saw a flash of white as a small rabbit started slowly and tentatively hopping over to its warren on the other side of the clearing, and she was torn between the urge to kill it and eat it, and to go 'aww, bunny wabbit'. She hoped the gnome didn't notice where here eyes were flickering, because she hated the fact that even in human form she was still at least half animal.
She moved on and hoped that the rest of it would slide. She didn't want to get into an argument just yet, not when she found herself intrigued by the short woman. "So, what makes you important?"
She hoped her genuine curiosity came through as well as her rather embarassing half-growl. She had been about to yawn when she started talking, and a growl had escaped before she managed to stop it. She wondered if she was blushing - she had never been able to tell - and decided to bluff her way through it by carrying on. "I mean, you're obviously very good at what you do or you wouldn't be important, but i've been out of town for... quite a while. I don't know an awful lot about people hereabouts." There didn't seem to be anything offensive in there that she could find. Human interaction was so fraught with danger. Animals were easier.
She absently started tossing the drupicot stone from hand to hand, still keeping her eyes on the gnome and half an ear on the human who seemed to be doing absolutely nothing. Maybe he was shy? He didn't seem to be a danger, though, so she let him be.
Suddenly she saw a flash of white as a small rabbit started slowly and tentatively hopping over to its warren on the other side of the clearing, and she was torn between the urge to kill it and eat it, and to go 'aww, bunny wabbit'. She hoped the gnome didn't notice where here eyes were flickering, because she hated the fact that even in human form she was still at least half animal.
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Buoyansie screwed up her face into a comically puzzled expression when Sparrow asked what made her important. She stared at the girl from dark hazel eyes and suddenly tipped her head once to the side: half a gesture of disagreement.
"Oh gol, I don't think you understand," she sighed, though energetically. "I'm on the side of defending privacy. Not on forcing you to--um--come out of the closet?"
Bosie put her hands together with her fingers interlocked and gently shook her knuckles at Sparrow as she tried to put something delicately. "So, I guess you really haven't been in the city very much, have you?" She left out the explanation of who she was and why she was presumably important, for the conversation seemed to be heading in a direction to uncover that in due time.
"You see," she said with another shake of her intertwined fists, "some people--some people--would have it not be a private matter, whether you want to reveal personal secrets or not." At this, she tipped her head again to eye Sparrow through a knowing squint.
"And how would you think of that, hm? Before you tell someone . . . they already know? . . . And they treat you like it."
"Oh gol, I don't think you understand," she sighed, though energetically. "I'm on the side of defending privacy. Not on forcing you to--um--come out of the closet?"
Bosie put her hands together with her fingers interlocked and gently shook her knuckles at Sparrow as she tried to put something delicately. "So, I guess you really haven't been in the city very much, have you?" She left out the explanation of who she was and why she was presumably important, for the conversation seemed to be heading in a direction to uncover that in due time.
"You see," she said with another shake of her intertwined fists, "some people--some people--would have it not be a private matter, whether you want to reveal personal secrets or not." At this, she tipped her head again to eye Sparrow through a knowing squint.
"And how would you think of that, hm? Before you tell someone . . . they already know? . . . And they treat you like it."
Re: Almost a picnic
Sparrow ignored the implication that she was out of the loop. She didn't care whether she was in the loop or not. The loop was unnecessary for her existence. It might have helped it some, but she didn't really expect to meet local celebrities on a regular basis so it would have never been useful until now.
"The issue, as I see it," said Sparrow, leaning backwards slightly from the overabundant enthusiasm of the gnome, "Isn't that you should have the choice of whether or not people know - unless it involves a brand on the centre of my forehead - but how they treat you once they do know. Sure I don't want to be forced into wearing an 'I-be-werewolf' sign, but i equally don't want people to hate me if i do wear that sign. I shouldn't matter what I am. I wouldn't mind people knowing if they didn't act like such idiots."
Whoa. She hadn't realised she had quite that much to say on the matter. The immediate explanation that jumped into her mind was that the drupicot she had eaten had fermented. She glared accusingly at the stone in her hand as it registered that the drupey had been fresh, and tossed the stone over her shoulder.
"It's more- i don't care that they know. I just care how they act when they know." She wondered if she was making any sense at all, because she seemed to be rambling just a bit. And she still didn't know who the gnome was.
"The issue, as I see it," said Sparrow, leaning backwards slightly from the overabundant enthusiasm of the gnome, "Isn't that you should have the choice of whether or not people know - unless it involves a brand on the centre of my forehead - but how they treat you once they do know. Sure I don't want to be forced into wearing an 'I-be-werewolf' sign, but i equally don't want people to hate me if i do wear that sign. I shouldn't matter what I am. I wouldn't mind people knowing if they didn't act like such idiots."
Whoa. She hadn't realised she had quite that much to say on the matter. The immediate explanation that jumped into her mind was that the drupicot she had eaten had fermented. She glared accusingly at the stone in her hand as it registered that the drupey had been fresh, and tossed the stone over her shoulder.
"It's more- i don't care that they know. I just care how they act when they know." She wondered if she was making any sense at all, because she seemed to be rambling just a bit. And she still didn't know who the gnome was.
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Buoyansie furrowed her brow as Sparrow spoke, and she gave her an odd sort of sad smile that seemed somehow disingenuous. It wasn't that her sadness wasn't real--it was that it was also tinged with something patronizing or pedantic. She even shook her head just a bit near the end of Sparrow's speech.
Giving the girl hardly a moment to take a breath after she spoke, the gnome jumped in with her earnest critique. "Yes it's all fine and good to want people to behave a certain way, but the fact of the matter is, there is no controlling people's thoughts or behavior! Well, not their thoughts, at least--their behavior, that can be punished after the fact, but that's a tricky situation in itself. This is the puzzle of government: You can't control people. Just their surroundings."
Bosie glanced over her shoulder to notice Synius had taken the opportunity of her distraction to disappear into the woods. She tossed her hair in a shrug; he probably didn't want to keep himself out in the open so long. She didn't seem be distressed or even regretful to have caused his departure; he should have known she was a busy woman and wont to relevant distraction.
She knelt to scoop up her bag of dusty fruit and took one big, swinging, initial step back towards the city. A jerk of her shoulder indicated she wanted Sparrow to follow. "You could maybe go to school, learn about government." She paused dramatically with her face turned over her shoulder at Sparrow before taking another few, smaller steps.
"The reason I'm saying is, see, you can't control whether someone's going to do something foolish when it comes to treating you somehow or other on account of your race. You can feel like it's wrong for them to do that, but you can't force their opinions. Ideals, you see." Here, Bosie paused and shook a finger back at Sparrow to emphasize her point. "You have your ideals--" she indicated an imaginary block of substance with her hands, framing a chunk of air-- "and then you have your . . . implementation!" She indicated with a dynamic shake of her hands another, apparently more exciting chunk of air to the right of the first.
"The implementation," she said as she started walking again, with an easy gait, "is in not revealing what you choose not to reveal. And, well, ideally this wouldn't have to be a worry, ideally they wouldn't behave foolishly. But as long as people have a right to behaviors that aren't punished . . . others should have the right to keep secrets."
Giving the girl hardly a moment to take a breath after she spoke, the gnome jumped in with her earnest critique. "Yes it's all fine and good to want people to behave a certain way, but the fact of the matter is, there is no controlling people's thoughts or behavior! Well, not their thoughts, at least--their behavior, that can be punished after the fact, but that's a tricky situation in itself. This is the puzzle of government: You can't control people. Just their surroundings."
Bosie glanced over her shoulder to notice Synius had taken the opportunity of her distraction to disappear into the woods. She tossed her hair in a shrug; he probably didn't want to keep himself out in the open so long. She didn't seem be distressed or even regretful to have caused his departure; he should have known she was a busy woman and wont to relevant distraction.
She knelt to scoop up her bag of dusty fruit and took one big, swinging, initial step back towards the city. A jerk of her shoulder indicated she wanted Sparrow to follow. "You could maybe go to school, learn about government." She paused dramatically with her face turned over her shoulder at Sparrow before taking another few, smaller steps.
"The reason I'm saying is, see, you can't control whether someone's going to do something foolish when it comes to treating you somehow or other on account of your race. You can feel like it's wrong for them to do that, but you can't force their opinions. Ideals, you see." Here, Bosie paused and shook a finger back at Sparrow to emphasize her point. "You have your ideals--" she indicated an imaginary block of substance with her hands, framing a chunk of air-- "and then you have your . . . implementation!" She indicated with a dynamic shake of her hands another, apparently more exciting chunk of air to the right of the first.
"The implementation," she said as she started walking again, with an easy gait, "is in not revealing what you choose not to reveal. And, well, ideally this wouldn't have to be a worry, ideally they wouldn't behave foolishly. But as long as people have a right to behaviors that aren't punished . . . others should have the right to keep secrets."
Re: Almost a picnic
She obediently followed the gnome, not having anything better to do. The school comment was a little uncalled for. She'd thought she disguised the fact that she had no schooling fairly well. It wasn't like there was a sign nearby that she'd failed to read or anything, the gnome had just known. Or guessed. What the hell had given her away? She didn't like the fact that she was an open book.
"What makes you think I didn't?" The question was vaguely challenging. She didn't want to seem hostile, but the comment had put her back on her guard.
She listened carefully as they carried on walking back towards the city, absently wondering why the human had slipped away, but it wasn't really important. Then the gnome started getting more and more impassioned in her speech, and she tuned back in fully so that she could give a decent answer. Sparrow thought she understood. She even agreed. She just wanted to carry on arguing.
"But these ideals," she said, pointing to the boring chunk of air, "are what causes the implementation. And yes, i know that ideally there wouldn't be racism, but i don't have to worry about that. I don't have to wear a sign saying 'werewolf,' so nobody knows that i am one. You're saying that i should be able to keep my privacy - and i can." Unless someone picked a fight with her, or she was forced to change in front of them by either circumstances or magic. But that rarely happened. Today was an exception to the rule.
"It's different for people like you, where your different race is outwardly visible, i know. And i sympathise. But i currently have no problem except how certain people react when they find out what i am, and as you said yourself, i can't control that unless i discover some long-dormant psychic powers. Which are illegal anyway."
"What makes you think I didn't?" The question was vaguely challenging. She didn't want to seem hostile, but the comment had put her back on her guard.
She listened carefully as they carried on walking back towards the city, absently wondering why the human had slipped away, but it wasn't really important. Then the gnome started getting more and more impassioned in her speech, and she tuned back in fully so that she could give a decent answer. Sparrow thought she understood. She even agreed. She just wanted to carry on arguing.
"But these ideals," she said, pointing to the boring chunk of air, "are what causes the implementation. And yes, i know that ideally there wouldn't be racism, but i don't have to worry about that. I don't have to wear a sign saying 'werewolf,' so nobody knows that i am one. You're saying that i should be able to keep my privacy - and i can." Unless someone picked a fight with her, or she was forced to change in front of them by either circumstances or magic. But that rarely happened. Today was an exception to the rule.
"It's different for people like you, where your different race is outwardly visible, i know. And i sympathise. But i currently have no problem except how certain people react when they find out what i am, and as you said yourself, i can't control that unless i discover some long-dormant psychic powers. Which are illegal anyway."
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Bosie didn't respond to the question Sparrow asked, about her assumption that the girl hadn't been to school; she merely clucked gaily with each heavy step as she descended the hill with a slightly uncontrolled gait.
The gnome didn't interrupt Sparrow as she talked, but she did, without even turning her head, obnoxiously wag a finger at the start of her speaking--that line about ideals causing implementation. She quite obviously had something to say on the point, and the patronizing nature of her gesture was hardly better than outright interruption.
As Sparrow's point came to a close, Buoyansie slowed in her step--a spray of dust kicked up as she sort of skidded--and turned her bright face up to look at her. Her eyebrows were raised impossibly high, her upper teeth, like seed pearls, revealed in a too-wide grin. It was an exaggerated expression of delighted disbelief, but with a nasty twinge of irony. She eyed Sparrow and raised and lowered her eyebrows twice quickly.
"Ha! Well, you have to have some semblance of an attention span in order to make schooling work for you so . . . maybe you can forget what I said about that!" She cackled and continued on in explanation. "I just said not five minutes ago--how would you feel if someone knew about something you wanted to keep secret, without your permission? And how about those people who want it to be their business? Reading between the lines, missy! They're trying to do just that."
Bosie shook her head briskly, momentarily overcome by passion. "And it's not ideals that cause implementation, Miss Sparrow. It's ideals that cause one to climb into the ring of politics. Government causes implementation." She gave the girl a brief, blazing look. "That's the vital link. I think if you can remember that much, you could learn."
The gnome didn't interrupt Sparrow as she talked, but she did, without even turning her head, obnoxiously wag a finger at the start of her speaking--that line about ideals causing implementation. She quite obviously had something to say on the point, and the patronizing nature of her gesture was hardly better than outright interruption.
As Sparrow's point came to a close, Buoyansie slowed in her step--a spray of dust kicked up as she sort of skidded--and turned her bright face up to look at her. Her eyebrows were raised impossibly high, her upper teeth, like seed pearls, revealed in a too-wide grin. It was an exaggerated expression of delighted disbelief, but with a nasty twinge of irony. She eyed Sparrow and raised and lowered her eyebrows twice quickly.
"Ha! Well, you have to have some semblance of an attention span in order to make schooling work for you so . . . maybe you can forget what I said about that!" She cackled and continued on in explanation. "I just said not five minutes ago--how would you feel if someone knew about something you wanted to keep secret, without your permission? And how about those people who want it to be their business? Reading between the lines, missy! They're trying to do just that."
Bosie shook her head briskly, momentarily overcome by passion. "And it's not ideals that cause implementation, Miss Sparrow. It's ideals that cause one to climb into the ring of politics. Government causes implementation." She gave the girl a brief, blazing look. "That's the vital link. I think if you can remember that much, you could learn."
Re: Almost a picnic
Sparrow tried to think, but it was all just swirling around in her head. From past experience, she knew she was going to end up growling against her will some point soon, especially since the last few months had been spent in animal form and it was sometimes difficult for her mind to keep up with the change her body made in the blink of an eye. She was fully aware that she was flickering between being a relatively sharp, intelligent human being and a wolf with an attitude problem.
"Well, whether they're trying to do that or not," Sparrow said, frowning from the effort of not growling whenever she said the letter 'r', "I can't help it. I can't do anything about it. I can hope they're not going to do anything about the whole revealing races thing, but how are they going to bring it about, make it obvious, if they choose to?"
So far so good. The growling had been kept at bay. Sparrow had a moment of internal celebration where she imagined her human persona high-fiving her wolf. She couldn't keep on doing that, though, even though her imagination had somehow moved the human and wolf to holding hands and doing a dance, because she was in the middle of a conversation that required her full attention. It was very demanding, having to think.
"And I would also like to point out that the ideals do cause the implementation. Ideals cause people to implement things. I was talking in a more general sense than strictly government." That had come out harsher than intended, but concentrating on being human had made her lose most of her meagre social finesse. Besides, she had no incentive to be nice. The gnome was insuting her left, right and centre.
"Well, whether they're trying to do that or not," Sparrow said, frowning from the effort of not growling whenever she said the letter 'r', "I can't help it. I can't do anything about it. I can hope they're not going to do anything about the whole revealing races thing, but how are they going to bring it about, make it obvious, if they choose to?"
So far so good. The growling had been kept at bay. Sparrow had a moment of internal celebration where she imagined her human persona high-fiving her wolf. She couldn't keep on doing that, though, even though her imagination had somehow moved the human and wolf to holding hands and doing a dance, because she was in the middle of a conversation that required her full attention. It was very demanding, having to think.
"And I would also like to point out that the ideals do cause the implementation. Ideals cause people to implement things. I was talking in a more general sense than strictly government." That had come out harsher than intended, but concentrating on being human had made her lose most of her meagre social finesse. Besides, she had no incentive to be nice. The gnome was insuting her left, right and centre.
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Though Bosie's words might have insulted Sparrow, the gnome's mood remained upbeat. She didn't seem to register that her forceful voicing of her opinions might have any effect on someone other than to make them--however gradually--realize she was right. So pleased in her sense of correctness was Bosie that as Sparrow struggled internally to keep her wolfish temper at bay, the gnome beamed up at the sun and all but whistled a happy tune.
Their brisk pace was taking them closer to the city now. They were just barely within earshot of some of the louder merchants barking their wares. Bosie was straining to hear the ring of a familiar voice, perhaps someone with some interesting new item to sell, whom she might be able to squeeze into her pocket. She shook her head briskly as she came back to notice was Sparrow was saying.
"Now correct me if I've heard you wrong, young lady, but you're not going to get far in school if you can't muster up some degree of cogency! String your thoughts together: first, you say you don't care about racism because it doesn't necessarily affect you . . . then you say you sympathize with individuals whom it does affect! So you do care. Or, you're all hot air . . . " Bosie skipped a few paces back, as she had barreled ahead, in her fervor.
"So then, you say you're sure that ideals cause implementation--and for starters, you could use a few pointers on what causality is, and maybe that's what to focus on in order to be taken seriously as a student, but I digress!--So if your point stands, that ideals do cause implementation--which I already explained, dear, is not a direct causative relationship--then why would you ever say that it's totally out of your hands to do anything about it?" Bosie licked her licks and waved a hand in a broad, hasty gesture at the looming city. "You said it yourself, 'I can't help it.'
"The truth is, hun, anyone can help it, but you have to have clout, and while there are a number of ways of achieving clout--myself, for example, I keep my beans in many pots--ideals do not simply materialize into solutions."
The spire of the university rose above many of the other building tops, and Buoyansie pointed to it silently.
Their brisk pace was taking them closer to the city now. They were just barely within earshot of some of the louder merchants barking their wares. Bosie was straining to hear the ring of a familiar voice, perhaps someone with some interesting new item to sell, whom she might be able to squeeze into her pocket. She shook her head briskly as she came back to notice was Sparrow was saying.
"Now correct me if I've heard you wrong, young lady, but you're not going to get far in school if you can't muster up some degree of cogency! String your thoughts together: first, you say you don't care about racism because it doesn't necessarily affect you . . . then you say you sympathize with individuals whom it does affect! So you do care. Or, you're all hot air . . . " Bosie skipped a few paces back, as she had barreled ahead, in her fervor.
"So then, you say you're sure that ideals cause implementation--and for starters, you could use a few pointers on what causality is, and maybe that's what to focus on in order to be taken seriously as a student, but I digress!--So if your point stands, that ideals do cause implementation--which I already explained, dear, is not a direct causative relationship--then why would you ever say that it's totally out of your hands to do anything about it?" Bosie licked her licks and waved a hand in a broad, hasty gesture at the looming city. "You said it yourself, 'I can't help it.'
"The truth is, hun, anyone can help it, but you have to have clout, and while there are a number of ways of achieving clout--myself, for example, I keep my beans in many pots--ideals do not simply materialize into solutions."
The spire of the university rose above many of the other building tops, and Buoyansie pointed to it silently.
Re: Almost a picnic
This time, Sparrow couldn't help the growl that bubbled up from her chest. She was getting steadily more and more agitated and frustrated, and the gnome wasn't giving her time to think. The short woman was twisting her words into things that she had never said, or even meant to imply, interspersed with insults to her intelligence. Of course she was going to be at least partially inconsistent, and she thought that that should be accepted. She was never going to be a politician and make rigid sense in everything she said. If that was the case, there would never be any colour in her life. She wanted the ability to say what she meant without it being caught up and wrung out so that the ultimate interpretation consisted of half-truths and misunderstandings.
And she was getting truly angry now, not just enjoying the argument. She felt powerless, because her point wasn't getting across, and that always got her back up. "I never said i was a student," she growled, not even trying to hold in the thick rumble her voice now contained. "I was making a point because I took offense to your judgement when you don't even know me, so stop with the school cracks." She was starting to become less understandable what with the constant underlying growl, so she made an effort to shove it away. It was still there, but at least she was comprehensible now. "Of course I sympathise with individuals who it affects, just as anyone sympathises with people who misfortune strikes. I never said I didn't care about it, I said i didn't need to worry about it. Can you see the difference?"
She really needed to calm down. In the back of her mind, she knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to actually do it. "And ideals DO cause implementation. There might be intermediary steps - I'm not an idiot enough to believe that i wish something and magically it will occur - but without the ideals, there would be no incentive to implement anything at all." She'd been ranting for so long she nearly forgot the woman's last point.
Dammit, she needed a better, more specific short-term memory if she was going to make a habit of getting into such challenging arguments. The most she'd done in the past was 'no, that's my beer' or 'hey, i claimed this den. dig your own,' or variations on that theme. She'd never had to actually think about her arguments. Running rings around people was normally easy, but this time she was failing miserably, because her opponent was neither inebriated nor lupine. It wasn't a nice feeling.
"Of course there are failed ideals, that never made the grade because the person who dreamt them up didn't have the resources, and the vast majority of mine are just like that." Was that a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice? Never! "So in that way, because I am a nobody, i cannot implement any of my bigger ideals. Smaller ones - ideally i would like a shelter every night and enough food to live on - i can manage," she added sarcastically. "I do not have this marvellous thing called clout which you seem to have so much of. So no, I cannot help it unless I indebt myself to others in some way and that, I can assure you, is not something I am likely to do at any point."
She wished she could have said that in a less angry way, more cold and dismissive, but she was a wolf. Cold didn't figure into it. She was hot-headed and, although not proud of it, could live with it. She ignored the gnome pointing at a spire poking out above the rest of the city, because she didn't know what it was. She had never been to the capital before, and going by her current encounter, she never would again. She was only here because it had suddenly occured to her that a big city was a more likely place to find her father than country towns and villages, despite her discomfort with an overabundance of people.
And she was getting truly angry now, not just enjoying the argument. She felt powerless, because her point wasn't getting across, and that always got her back up. "I never said i was a student," she growled, not even trying to hold in the thick rumble her voice now contained. "I was making a point because I took offense to your judgement when you don't even know me, so stop with the school cracks." She was starting to become less understandable what with the constant underlying growl, so she made an effort to shove it away. It was still there, but at least she was comprehensible now. "Of course I sympathise with individuals who it affects, just as anyone sympathises with people who misfortune strikes. I never said I didn't care about it, I said i didn't need to worry about it. Can you see the difference?"
She really needed to calm down. In the back of her mind, she knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to actually do it. "And ideals DO cause implementation. There might be intermediary steps - I'm not an idiot enough to believe that i wish something and magically it will occur - but without the ideals, there would be no incentive to implement anything at all." She'd been ranting for so long she nearly forgot the woman's last point.
Dammit, she needed a better, more specific short-term memory if she was going to make a habit of getting into such challenging arguments. The most she'd done in the past was 'no, that's my beer' or 'hey, i claimed this den. dig your own,' or variations on that theme. She'd never had to actually think about her arguments. Running rings around people was normally easy, but this time she was failing miserably, because her opponent was neither inebriated nor lupine. It wasn't a nice feeling.
"Of course there are failed ideals, that never made the grade because the person who dreamt them up didn't have the resources, and the vast majority of mine are just like that." Was that a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice? Never! "So in that way, because I am a nobody, i cannot implement any of my bigger ideals. Smaller ones - ideally i would like a shelter every night and enough food to live on - i can manage," she added sarcastically. "I do not have this marvellous thing called clout which you seem to have so much of. So no, I cannot help it unless I indebt myself to others in some way and that, I can assure you, is not something I am likely to do at any point."
She wished she could have said that in a less angry way, more cold and dismissive, but she was a wolf. Cold didn't figure into it. She was hot-headed and, although not proud of it, could live with it. She ignored the gnome pointing at a spire poking out above the rest of the city, because she didn't know what it was. She had never been to the capital before, and going by her current encounter, she never would again. She was only here because it had suddenly occured to her that a big city was a more likely place to find her father than country towns and villages, despite her discomfort with an overabundance of people.
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Bosie Vaporgate
- Citizen
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:03 am
- Name: Buoyansie Vaporgate
- Race: gnome
Re: Almost a picnic
Bosie strummed her fingertips against her thoughtfully scrunched chin and then wagged a finger at Sparrow. "You know, I was a lot like you once. I was all riled up about being a nobody. Of course, at that point, I was getting myself an education."
She slowed up in her step as a few worn cobblestones presented themselves here and there in the packed dirt ground; they were coming up on the paved road. "Which is why, of course, I press the matter of schooling!" The gnome craned her neck to eye the spire that briefly disappeared behind a high rooftop.
As if suddenly afraid of being overheard, Buoyansie stopped short and insinuated herself into Sparrow's path to keep her from going further. She held up her little hands to stress the important of her point. "It doesn't have to be like all that, like being a nobody. This is a very powerful government, and they have their ways, and if you're not a human, or maybe an elf, they couldn't give an old shoe about your rights. But, that's where advocates like myself come in.
"Now, you've got spirit, you know, all . . . riled up, like I said. You've just got to focus. And, you know, pay attention." Bosie glanced back over her shoulder and proceeded walking into the city.
"Now, I'm hungry for goose. Sound good to you?"
She slowed up in her step as a few worn cobblestones presented themselves here and there in the packed dirt ground; they were coming up on the paved road. "Which is why, of course, I press the matter of schooling!" The gnome craned her neck to eye the spire that briefly disappeared behind a high rooftop.
As if suddenly afraid of being overheard, Buoyansie stopped short and insinuated herself into Sparrow's path to keep her from going further. She held up her little hands to stress the important of her point. "It doesn't have to be like all that, like being a nobody. This is a very powerful government, and they have their ways, and if you're not a human, or maybe an elf, they couldn't give an old shoe about your rights. But, that's where advocates like myself come in.
"Now, you've got spirit, you know, all . . . riled up, like I said. You've just got to focus. And, you know, pay attention." Bosie glanced back over her shoulder and proceeded walking into the city.
"Now, I'm hungry for goose. Sound good to you?"