samuraiter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
samuraiter) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
31_days2018-06-15 09:45 pm
samuraiter) wrote in 31_days2018-06-15 09:45 pm
Entry tags:
[June 15] [Fire Emblem Heroes] In Translation
Title: In Translation
Day / Prompt: 15 / Sunflower, Rose, Iris
Fandom: Fire Emblem Heroes
Character(s) / Pairing(s): Kiran (F), Robin (F)
Rating / Warning(s): All Ages
Word Count: 840
Kiran suspected that the library had a certain magic to it that caused the shelves to reconfigure themselves if she did not have her eyes focused on them at all times. She already had a stack of books next to her on the table, and Robin had displayed no signs of stopping in her quest to find all the different subjects that interested her. Kiran had already started to regret helping her good friend. She had a fondness for books, but it seemed like a candle next to the bonfire that Robin and her curiosity represented.
"This must be –" The voice of Robin seemed to drift up from behind another stack of books. "Kiran? ... Did I bury you?" Her white-haired head popped up above the stack. "There you are. This –" She looked down at her handiwork. "All right, this might be excessive. My apologies. I solved the problem, though." She disappeared again, only to appear next to Kiran after a series of grunts and curses as she picked her way through all of the stacks she had started. "Going to have to clean all of that up. Anyway! I could not find Ylisse in any of these books because they all have it listed as Iris instead. Peculiarity of the local dialect." She shook her head. "Sorry to put you through this."
"No, it's all right," Kiran replied, not liking the amount of reshelving she foresaw in her near future. "I just wish I had your enthusiasm for ... anything." She shook her head. "I look ahead of me, and all I see is more work. You make it all seem like good fun."
Robin smiled. "Most of the Shepherds think I'm a little manic, to be honest. I've got so much energy at any given time, and it's got to have somewhere to go." She sighed. "Really, though, I'm probably just a workaholic. I don't know when to stop." A thought made her pause, and she tilted her head, regarding Kiran. "Many people think the same thing about you, but I don't think they see how much you struggle with some things." A nod. "You've been pushing yourself too hard. From the beginning, probably. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're so afraid of failing that you double down on every effort." Again, she tilted her head. "Am I wrong? You can tell me if I'm overstepping myself."
Kiran sighed. "No, you're not wrong. Where I come from –" She rested her elbows on the table in front of her. "– if you fail once, people will write you off for the rest of your life. No matter what you do, you're stuck with the one thing you did wrong, and that's all there is to it." She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. It's been a long day, and I'm getting tired."
"No, no, it's good to open up." Robin still had a grin on her face, but it had softened. "The only person who really knows anything about your world is you, after all. The rest of us here can have a pretty ... limited perspective, if that makes any sense." The smile disappeared. "You ... hate where you come from, don't you? I can feel that about you."
"I mean, it's my world," Kiran said, "and I shouldn't hate it, but there's so much about it that ... doesn't work. Maybe it used to work, but it doesn't any more." Another sigh. "It's hard to really explain. I know that you, of all people, are most likely to get it, but –" She thought about it for a second. "It's a world where there are no heroes. There are so many people that everyone's individual qualities just get ... lost, and it feels like no one really has any value, or like everybody's part of a much bigger system that will keep going and going without ever really caring about anybody who's involved in it."
"A world of despair, then." Robin turned those words over and over in her head for a long moment. "Well, look at it this way, then: You're here with us now, and there's no one else here who can do what you do. Even if you're not special in your world, you're uniquely positioned when it comes to our world." The smile returned. "Here, if you stumble and fall, well, we won't stop believing in you. We know you're human."
"Maybe," Kiran said, thinking aloud, "if my world had people like you, it wouldn't be the way it is now." She shook her head. "I can't let my brain go down that hole, though. Let's get to work on these stacks so that we can get to bed before the Sun comes up."
Robin nodded. "All right, but ... I'm your friend, Kiran. Never be afraid to share your thoughts with me. I'll listen." She patted her on the back. "Honor among strategists."
"As you say," Kiran replied, smiling in spite of herself as she started picking up books.
END.
Day / Prompt: 15 / Sunflower, Rose, Iris
Fandom: Fire Emblem Heroes
Character(s) / Pairing(s): Kiran (F), Robin (F)
Rating / Warning(s): All Ages
Word Count: 840
Kiran suspected that the library had a certain magic to it that caused the shelves to reconfigure themselves if she did not have her eyes focused on them at all times. She already had a stack of books next to her on the table, and Robin had displayed no signs of stopping in her quest to find all the different subjects that interested her. Kiran had already started to regret helping her good friend. She had a fondness for books, but it seemed like a candle next to the bonfire that Robin and her curiosity represented.
"This must be –" The voice of Robin seemed to drift up from behind another stack of books. "Kiran? ... Did I bury you?" Her white-haired head popped up above the stack. "There you are. This –" She looked down at her handiwork. "All right, this might be excessive. My apologies. I solved the problem, though." She disappeared again, only to appear next to Kiran after a series of grunts and curses as she picked her way through all of the stacks she had started. "Going to have to clean all of that up. Anyway! I could not find Ylisse in any of these books because they all have it listed as Iris instead. Peculiarity of the local dialect." She shook her head. "Sorry to put you through this."
"No, it's all right," Kiran replied, not liking the amount of reshelving she foresaw in her near future. "I just wish I had your enthusiasm for ... anything." She shook her head. "I look ahead of me, and all I see is more work. You make it all seem like good fun."
Robin smiled. "Most of the Shepherds think I'm a little manic, to be honest. I've got so much energy at any given time, and it's got to have somewhere to go." She sighed. "Really, though, I'm probably just a workaholic. I don't know when to stop." A thought made her pause, and she tilted her head, regarding Kiran. "Many people think the same thing about you, but I don't think they see how much you struggle with some things." A nod. "You've been pushing yourself too hard. From the beginning, probably. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're so afraid of failing that you double down on every effort." Again, she tilted her head. "Am I wrong? You can tell me if I'm overstepping myself."
Kiran sighed. "No, you're not wrong. Where I come from –" She rested her elbows on the table in front of her. "– if you fail once, people will write you off for the rest of your life. No matter what you do, you're stuck with the one thing you did wrong, and that's all there is to it." She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. It's been a long day, and I'm getting tired."
"No, no, it's good to open up." Robin still had a grin on her face, but it had softened. "The only person who really knows anything about your world is you, after all. The rest of us here can have a pretty ... limited perspective, if that makes any sense." The smile disappeared. "You ... hate where you come from, don't you? I can feel that about you."
"I mean, it's my world," Kiran said, "and I shouldn't hate it, but there's so much about it that ... doesn't work. Maybe it used to work, but it doesn't any more." Another sigh. "It's hard to really explain. I know that you, of all people, are most likely to get it, but –" She thought about it for a second. "It's a world where there are no heroes. There are so many people that everyone's individual qualities just get ... lost, and it feels like no one really has any value, or like everybody's part of a much bigger system that will keep going and going without ever really caring about anybody who's involved in it."
"A world of despair, then." Robin turned those words over and over in her head for a long moment. "Well, look at it this way, then: You're here with us now, and there's no one else here who can do what you do. Even if you're not special in your world, you're uniquely positioned when it comes to our world." The smile returned. "Here, if you stumble and fall, well, we won't stop believing in you. We know you're human."
"Maybe," Kiran said, thinking aloud, "if my world had people like you, it wouldn't be the way it is now." She shook her head. "I can't let my brain go down that hole, though. Let's get to work on these stacks so that we can get to bed before the Sun comes up."
Robin nodded. "All right, but ... I'm your friend, Kiran. Never be afraid to share your thoughts with me. I'll listen." She patted her on the back. "Honor among strategists."
"As you say," Kiran replied, smiling in spite of herself as she started picking up books.
END.