[ Alberto would do well to learn when to run away and when not to fight. But that's... gonna be a long, long lesson. Today, he has not learned it.
He sinks into the tub, only a few inches full, enough for his tail to grow and his feet to turn to flippers. He lets one arm hang over the side of the tub lazily, and slides his tail over the side of the tub just the same, the end of it swaying idly as they chat. Luca's comment draws a wry smile on his face, though, in spite of himself, as he leans back and closes his eyes. ]
Pssh... Y'know, of all the crazy things that've happened to me here? This is the dumbest.
[ He pauses, glancing at Luca suddenly with one eye. ]
[ The tub is starting to fill up by now, Alberto now about halfway submerged and halfway transformed. He reaches for the cereal bowl he keeps on the side of the tub just for this reason, scooping up water and pouring it over himself to complete his transformation. Sometimes he gets a kick out of staying half-and-half a while, but he's not in the mood. He just wants to feel at ease. He keeps talking as he does so, already imagining the worst of this goose.; Luca's far more forgiving and hopeful. Alberto's holding a grudge. A-Against a bird... ]
What if the goose smells the food? It could just chase us and attack us to try and get the food. Can gooses smell?
[ Period, can they smell. How should he know if every land animal can smell or not. All he knows is he does not trust this bird. ]
[Luca likes relaxing in the bath in full sea monster form and frequently makes use of the cereal bowl, so Alberto's choice makes perfect sense to him. As for his question...it's a reasonable question. Geese might not be able to smell, who knows how land animals work? But, of course, Luca, having even less experience with the surface than Alberto, has no idea.]
Um...I don't know. Maybe? I mean, it's already attacking us whenever it sees us, so it's worth a shot.
[ He narrows his eyes at Luca and lays the dramatics a little more thickly. At least for how aggravated he is, he's still keeping his good humor about him. He idly dumps another couple bowlfuls of water over his face, leaning his head back again as they chat. ]
We've still got that chicken in the freezer, I think. That's not weird, right? Fish eat fish. Birds probably eat birds. Cuz I'm not giving it the salami. Or the prosciutto. We're not rewarding it for attacking us, ha...
No, that's not weird at all! I mean, gooses and chickens are totally different animals, just like sharks and minnows! I bet the goose will eat chicken.
All right, then let's do that. You bring fish and I'll bring chicken.
[ He pauses, before a thought occurs to him. ]
...Think I'm supposed to cook it? Or just— give it to him?
[ Even if they googled "can geese eat raw chicken breast..." they wouldn't find an answer. Because no one but these children has ever wanted to find this out. ]
[ Alberto barks a laugh at that, sliding a little further down into the waters of the tub comfortably as it fills up more. ]
Hah! You're right. And I don't want to cook for it! Perfetta~
[ He sticks a finned foot out of the water and uses it (with a couple clumsy, slippery tries) to turn off the faucet. He wiggles to get comfortable, adjusting his tail, and looks to Luca with a lazy smile after a beat. ]
So how was your day, Luca...? Assuming it was better than mine. Hah. D'you go to the practice school again?
[ Cuz that's what summer school is for, right, practicing to go to school for real...? As far as Alberto's concerned, it must be. At least for kids like them. ]
I did, yeah! It was fun. We're learning math stuff!
[As far as Luca's concerned, Alberto's probably right about it being practice school. He lights up when he talks about it, preferring to think of school far more than he wants to think of that horrible goose.]
[ Alberto cocks a brow, having of course learned only rudimentary maths from his father — so he's not really sure how much else there is to be learned... He has no concept of anything beyond basic arithmetics. His father certainly wasn't even quizzing him on square roots and exponents, let alone anything more complicated like Luca's probably learning in school. But nevertheless, he's supportive and glad for Luca's sake. And hesitant (read: resistant) as he is about joining any kind of formal education, his father's hodgepodge lessons not really leaving the best impression on him, there is a growing part of him that wonders how different it might be... He's interested in what human kids their age should know by now, curious what all Luca is studying — and maybe a tiny part of him that feels some competitive need to keep up with him. Even if Alberto doesn't have any intention just yet of joining Luca in school, he also doesn't want to be left in the dark behind him.
He offers a wan but encouraging smile after a beat, then lifts a leg out of the water lazily, stretching his muscles with both hands tugging against the sole of his finned foot. Even snugly relaxing in a bathtub, Alberto's not able to keep still for more than a second. And unconsciously, it also sort of helps distract him from his many looming question marks... ]
Yeah? I didn't think math stuff could be fun, ha... Is it real different than Giulia's school in Genova? Or are you learning pretty much the same stuff?
It's similar stuff. I mean, of course there are some differences in what they're teaching us, but it's similar. It feels a bit easier than Giulia's school? But that might just be because I've had a couple of weeks to learn the basics before I got here. Oh, and the building is way bigger.
[ Alberto sits up at attention at that last bit, lowering his leg into the water again, causing a little splash to spill over the edge of the tub. ]
Wha—? How big does the building need to be? How many kids are there?! I mean, this is just the practice school, cuz real school's broken in the summers, right? So that means there'll be even more kids in an even bigger building when the real school starts...!
[ Because Alberto got the impression Giulia's school in Genova was pretty big! Big enough to have a giant telescope, after all. And Kaisou's so huge in general, in Alberto's eyes, with massive buildings compared to any he'd ever seen — he's having a hard time conceiving just how big the school would need to be... No idea yet that they're only talking about one cram school, and one middle school — let alone other elementary schools, the high school, private schools... As far as he knows, it's all the kids and teenagers of the city all in one school. So his mental image of how big this building needs to be is more staggering than it actually is in reality. ]
Oh, no. It'll be in the same building. There's like...a small section of the building that gets used for summer school while the rest of it's closed off. But even if we're just in a small section I can see how big the rest of the school is!
How many kids you think will be there...? Is it for every kid in the city? From little kid age to like— Ercole-not-so-kid age, or what?
[ Because Ercole is hardly a kid, surely seventeen, maybe even eighteen, yet spent his time picking on preteens for no reason. And going to school with someone like Ercole along with every other age group at the same time just seems... overwhelming. Alberto doesn't even realize how he's already physically shying away from the thought of it, doesn't hear the skepticism in his voice, as he idly pours another bowlful of water over his head. ]
I'm not really sure...but everyone in my summer school class is the same age as me. There are kids of other ages in the building, but they all seem to go to different rooms. So maybe that's why the school is so big? To divide up the different ages?
[ This draws a short silence from Alberto, who swishes the tip of his tail over the side of the tub, fidgeting as he's reconsidering his preconception about human school a bit. If it's not all the kids, all at once, all the time — maybe that's not so bad. His idea of human school seemed maybe more overwhelming than it actually is, from the sounds of it — not that that's necessarily any more convincing that he should attend... At least at this juncture. He dumps another bowl of water over himself. ]
...So everyone's the same age— learning the same stuff, at the same time— and everyone's human... yeah? By the time real school starts, you'll be all caught up with the rest of the humans, then, huh. ...Nice.
[ He's glad for Luca, he is; but still, there's the faintest hint of something not quite dejected in his tone, but a certain familiar resistance — jealousy? — apprehension. Some mix. Nothing at all surprising, nor new, even in this world. But just in engaging as much as he is: it's progress? ]
[ Alberto gives a twitch of a smile in the corners of his lips, gazing at Luca with sly narrowed eyes. ]
Heh. Yeah— everyone but you. ...Aaand any other secret monsters you don't know about yet, ehhh~? Bet you're not the only one, ha!
[ After all, if there's one, why not two? That was true in Portorosso in their case, technically. And if there's two, why not three?! He wants to be optimistic here. Aaand crack a joke to cover up anything that makes him even the slightest bit uneasy ever, of course... Because far be it for Alberto to be "the other secret monster" in this scenario and go to school with Luca. Oof... ]
[Thinking that there might be other secret monsters at school is pretty exciting and makes him look forward to school that much more. After all, why would he necessarily be the only monster there? He's met other non-human kids in this place, after all.]
I bet there's plenty of other monster kids there! I wonder if I'll be able to figure out who they are.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2022-07-15 01:53 pm (UTC)[Since there are a lot of bites. Alberto really needs to learn to run away sooner and not try to fight.]
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Date: 2022-07-15 07:12 pm (UTC)He sinks into the tub, only a few inches full, enough for his tail to grow and his feet to turn to flippers. He lets one arm hang over the side of the tub lazily, and slides his tail over the side of the tub just the same, the end of it swaying idly as they chat. Luca's comment draws a wry smile on his face, though, in spite of himself, as he leans back and closes his eyes. ]
Pssh... Y'know, of all the crazy things that've happened to me here? This is the dumbest.
[ He pauses, glancing at Luca suddenly with one eye. ]
...Not me. I mean the goose is dumb.
[ Of course. ]
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Date: 2022-07-16 09:13 pm (UTC)[Luca follows Alberto into the bathroom, sitting on the toilet seat to chat while Alberto got cleaned off.]
Maybe the goose is like Machiavelli. Maybe it won't be as mean if we give it food.
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Date: 2022-07-17 01:35 am (UTC)You wanna try and find out?
[ Because Alberto, for one, is not so keen to revisit the park any time soon at all... let alone make amends with the goose. ]
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Date: 2022-07-17 10:40 pm (UTC)But I guess if we want to go to that park for any reason, we could bring food to throw at the goose to see if it works?
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Date: 2022-07-18 02:52 am (UTC)What if the goose smells the food? It could just chase us and attack us to try and get the food. Can gooses smell?
[ Period, can they smell. How should he know if every land animal can smell or not. All he knows is he does not trust this bird. ]
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Date: 2022-07-18 01:22 pm (UTC)Um...I don't know. Maybe? I mean, it's already attacking us whenever it sees us, so it's worth a shot.
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Date: 2022-07-20 04:24 am (UTC)...Fine. Let's try it. What do gooses even eat? Fish? Like seagulls? I mean— seagulls eat almost anything, though...
[ He's not wasting good pasta on this goose, that much he knows already. ]
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Date: 2022-07-21 09:16 pm (UTC)[His knowledge of geese is strictly limited to being chased by one.]
Probably some kind of meat with how much it wanted to bite me, though.
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Date: 2022-07-22 12:08 am (UTC)[ He narrows his eyes at Luca and lays the dramatics a little more thickly. At least for how aggravated he is, he's still keeping his good humor about him. He idly dumps another couple bowlfuls of water over his face, leaning his head back again as they chat. ]
We've still got that chicken in the freezer, I think. That's not weird, right? Fish eat fish. Birds probably eat birds. Cuz I'm not giving it the salami. Or the prosciutto. We're not rewarding it for attacking us, ha...
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Date: 2022-07-22 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-01 06:52 pm (UTC)[ He pauses, before a thought occurs to him. ]
...Think I'm supposed to cook it? Or just— give it to him?
[ Even if they googled "can geese eat raw chicken breast..." they wouldn't find an answer. Because no one but these children has ever wanted to find this out. ]
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Date: 2022-08-02 12:58 pm (UTC)I don't think it wants the meat cooked.
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Date: 2022-08-03 05:08 pm (UTC)Hah! You're right. And I don't want to cook for it! Perfetta~
[ He sticks a finned foot out of the water and uses it (with a couple clumsy, slippery tries) to turn off the faucet. He wiggles to get comfortable, adjusting his tail, and looks to Luca with a lazy smile after a beat. ]
So how was your day, Luca...? Assuming it was better than mine. Hah. D'you go to the practice school again?
[ Cuz that's what summer school is for, right, practicing to go to school for real...? As far as Alberto's concerned, it must be. At least for kids like them. ]
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Date: 2022-08-05 03:47 pm (UTC)[As far as Luca's concerned, Alberto's probably right about it being practice school. He lights up when he talks about it, preferring to think of school far more than he wants to think of that horrible goose.]
oof, sorry for the long delay!
Date: 2022-08-20 04:42 pm (UTC)He offers a wan but encouraging smile after a beat, then lifts a leg out of the water lazily, stretching his muscles with both hands tugging against the sole of his finned foot. Even snugly relaxing in a bathtub, Alberto's not able to keep still for more than a second. And unconsciously, it also sort of helps distract him from his many looming question marks... ]
Yeah? I didn't think math stuff could be fun, ha... Is it real different than Giulia's school in Genova? Or are you learning pretty much the same stuff?
That's okay. I sometimes lose track of and later find threads.
Date: 2022-08-22 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-22 08:48 pm (UTC)Wha—? How big does the building need to be? How many kids are there?! I mean, this is just the practice school, cuz real school's broken in the summers, right? So that means there'll be even more kids in an even bigger building when the real school starts...!
[ Because Alberto got the impression Giulia's school in Genova was pretty big! Big enough to have a giant telescope, after all. And Kaisou's so huge in general, in Alberto's eyes, with massive buildings compared to any he'd ever seen — he's having a hard time conceiving just how big the school would need to be... No idea yet that they're only talking about one cram school, and one middle school — let alone other elementary schools, the high school, private schools... As far as he knows, it's all the kids and teenagers of the city all in one school. So his mental image of how big this building needs to be is more staggering than it actually is in reality. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-30 07:45 am (UTC)[ Because Ercole is hardly a kid, surely seventeen, maybe even eighteen, yet spent his time picking on preteens for no reason. And going to school with someone like Ercole along with every other age group at the same time just seems... overwhelming. Alberto doesn't even realize how he's already physically shying away from the thought of it, doesn't hear the skepticism in his voice, as he idly pours another bowlful of water over his head. ]
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Date: 2022-08-31 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-03 11:54 pm (UTC)...So everyone's the same age— learning the same stuff, at the same time— and everyone's human... yeah? By the time real school starts, you'll be all caught up with the rest of the humans, then, huh. ...Nice.
[ He's glad for Luca, he is; but still, there's the faintest hint of something not quite dejected in his tone, but a certain familiar resistance — jealousy? — apprehension. Some mix. Nothing at all surprising, nor new, even in this world. But just in engaging as much as he is: it's progress? ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-05 04:08 pm (UTC)[And it's not like the people at the school knew he wasn't human.
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Date: 2022-09-05 09:26 pm (UTC)Heh. Yeah— everyone but you. ...Aaand any other secret monsters you don't know about yet, ehhh~? Bet you're not the only one, ha!
[ After all, if there's one, why not two? That was true in Portorosso in their case, technically. And if there's two, why not three?! He wants to be optimistic here. Aaand crack a joke to cover up anything that makes him even the slightest bit uneasy ever, of course... Because far be it for Alberto to be "the other secret monster" in this scenario and go to school with Luca. Oof... ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 01:11 pm (UTC)[Thinking that there might be other secret monsters at school is pretty exciting and makes him look forward to school that much more. After all, why would he necessarily be the only monster there? He's met other non-human kids in this place, after all.]
I bet there's plenty of other monster kids there! I wonder if I'll be able to figure out who they are.
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