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Practical Philosophy, Thursday

"There is something about this place," Ender said, "That inspires fear."

They didn't meet on the lawn this time. Instead they were inside, in the Danger Shop, in a perfect recreation of Fandom's lawn on a very nice, sunny day.

"Do you feel scared?" he asked. "Does the dread of that place get to you? If so, how? If not, what does this place look like to you? Does it offer opportunities, or only terrible things?"

He reached for his bottle of water.

"I don't think the island was eager to dive into these old nightmares," he mused. "I wonder why it has."

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Like you've left Rapture for somewhere sunny and kind.

Prince Sidon

Lana Beniko

Norman Babcock

Nina

Juillenne Milone (and Camden)

Shuri

Keyleth

Or hang out in the grass, drink some water, enjoy the sunlight.

Norman didn't speak today. Didn't even reach for the water or seem to care about the sunlight.

Norman just found himself a spot on the grass, wrapped his arms around his knees, and stared at the ground.

This place had... too much. Too much, and the screaming of the ghosts seemed to never end. But he didn't want to be alone.

Ender didn't speak to him. At least, not until class was nearly over, and everyone else was packing up.

He sank down next to Norman in the grass.

"You don't have to stay on the island this week if you don't have to," he said.

Norman glanced up after a moment, and it was another moment more before his eyes really found focus on Ender's face, instead of one of a dozen invisible faces sharing the room.

"I don't think I could explain this away to my family, if I went home," he noted, quietly.

He didn't want to leave for good, and his parents were already iffy about this place after his weak excuse for being arrested a while back. Apparently 'I was an actual crab' didn't cut it as an excuse for public indecency.

"My husband, our children and I stay in a hotel room just off the island," Ender noted. "I can find you a room of your own to stay in for a few days, if you'd like to leave and staying with a teacher is too uncomfortable."

Norman bit back a knee jerk urge to leap on that offer, not wanting to impose, either. If this reality shifting kept up, how many more times would he find himself sitting in the middle of some sort of violent purgatory? He pulled in a breath.

"I don't want to impose," he hedged. "And who knows if the next place will be any better?"

But this... what this was, wouldn't go away. He could. He stared at the grass in silence, at a loss.

"But a break would be appreciated," he added, quietly.

"It's not an imposition, it's an offer," Ender said, matter-of-factly. "One you're more than welcome to turn down if it makes you uncomfortable."

He looked at Norman.

"But I've seen kids push themselves beyond their boundaries, back when I was your age," he said. "And if there's anything I can do to make sure none of my students break themselves the same way, I'm more than happy to do it." A beat. "Besides, my daily life involves hearing the word 'why' more than any human should. 'Imposition' is relative."

That reply, at least earned a soft laugh out of Norman.

"I guess it would be," he allowed, and fell silent again, just for a few moments, while he thought. "... And this is my last class this week, I wouldn't be missing anything if I were to take just a few days, maybe..."

God, he wanted to take a few days. Right then, in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to just go home. And he knew that wasn't what he needed. This place had grown on him. Or maybe it had helped him grow. Not... not necessarily in easy ways, but it was there.

"Take that break," Ender said quietly. "No one will blame you for it, and you clearly need it."

He glanced to the door. "Think it over," he said. "We have a few minutes before Ben gets here."

Another little nod.

And then a quiet, "Thank you."

Ender was right; Norman desperately needed to not be here right now, if only so that he could sleep at some point this week. He was still going to worry about whether this was going to have to become a habit, how many more times the island was going to be overrun with traumatized dead. But that was a bridge he'd cross when they came to it, if they came to it.

For now, Baltimore was sounding pretty great.

"I'm your teacher," Ender said, rising to his feet with a faint smile. "I think making sure you're all right is part of my job."

Norman allowed himself a bemused smile as he compared that statement to some of the teachers back in Blithe Hollow. Mrs. Henscher had enthusiastically rallied the town in an attempt to have him burned alive once, accusing him of necromancy.

"... Sometimes I forget that's what teachers are there for," he settled on. "I'll take a minute and think it over."

"If you decide to come along, you can meet us outside the door," Ender said. "It's your decision; no one knows your mind better than you."

He looked up at the sky. "Just take care, no matter what," he settled on.

And then he walked away.

At some point during the lecture, a little kitten came padding silently over and curled up beside his feet, just purring very, very softly.

"Oh, hey there," Norman murmured after a few long moments. It took him about that long to really realize she was there at all. He reached a hand down tentatively to give her a scratch behind the ear, but paused just short of actually touching her. "Is this okay?"

Keyleth looked up at him and let out a tiny meow, then headbutted his hand as if to say headscratches were just fine. Her ears were forward, and she started purring slightly louder.

Emotional support druid reporting for duty in feline form!

That earned a soft laugh, there, and Norman nodded, reaching to gently scratch the kitten behind the ear.

"Thanks, Keyleth," he murmured. "I needed this."

It didn't make the screaming ghosts go away, but it was soothing all the same.

Kitten purrs were very soothing! She knew this from experience on both sides.

A couple more little meows, another slight increase in purr volume, and Keyleth pawed at his knee as if to say he was absolutely welcome and she was happy to help. Well, the waving tail said more about her eagerness to help than the purring did, but the purring helped get it across, too.

The truth was, this place felt very like a wetter Korriban. So, not home exactly, but something Lana had become used to for years. She knew how to channel that fear and dread and use it; it was what she was trained for.

She wasn't sure she wanted to bring that up, though.

As always, the floor is open for you to talk about something else, too.

"I actually find I don't terribly mind this place," Sidon said, offering an almost apologetic sort of smile. "In many ways, I have to say, it reminds me an awful lot of home."

He had to wonder, too, just how many of his friends that were in this class with him that had been to Hyrule and Zora's Domain would think him crazy for that statement, but how did he really explain? It wasn't just the constant sound of trickling water; it wasn't just the feelings of water pooled around his ankles whenever he walked somewhere, it wasn't just the vast stretch of ocean. It was....

"Of home," he amended, "when I was growing up. And if one could see Hyrule then and Hyrule now, they might...be able to see what I see, and that there's always opportunity among even the most terrible things."

"What kind of opportunity do you see here?" Ender asked, tilting his head. Thoughtful, nothing else.

Nina was laying on her stomach on the grass, her ankles crossed primly and her chin propped on her hands as she considered both where they were and where they had left behind.

"Like, I think........... I don't think, like, I'd want to stay where we are???????????? It's a sad, hollow place," she ventured. "It's like, there was this huge, amazing dream and they managed it, and then it all fell apart?????????? Living in the ruins of someone's dreams just doesn't sound comfortable??????????????? But I don't mind, like, all the monsters or the water or anything as a visit?????????????"

"It doesn't sound comfortable," Ender echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like, this place is all……………….. sharp edges, tears, and madness," Nina said, playing with a bit of grass. "Living here would be, like, I don't know, living where someone shattered a bunch of plates in a temper tantrum and then for whatever reason, you can't clean it up, only worse………….."

And who wanted to do that?

"There's nothing comfortable about here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He's not at all entertaining old memories.

Ben was late because he'd been adding additional upgrades to the droids at home (because the kids were not getting out. No, Val, you're not) and was hovering outside the Danger Shop ready to escort Ender home.

"Hey," Ender said, opening the door. "So... we might get a houseguest. He's still making up his mind."

"Is he Force-sensitive?" Ben guessed. "Because it's kriffing awful here right now for that."

"Something like that, though not quite," Ender said, glancing over his shoulder. "Let's just say it's hard on him to be somewhere with this many dead."

"Got it," Ben said, wincing slightly. "Well, if he wants to, he's welcome to stay as long as he'd like. Force knows we could've used a few outs in our time as students."

"I told him we'd wait for a while out here, and he can come to us if he wants to come along," Ender said quietly. "If he's not comfortable staying with us, I'll rent him another room. I think that's in our budget."

Please. You could buy the kid a house and it wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket, Jane scoffed in his ear.

Ben nodded vigorously. "Absolutely. Plus then he doesn't get woken up by Val jumping on him and demanding his life story."

I had a nap today. It was nice.

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Practical Philosophy, Thursday

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