[PRP] The Trouble With Sight (Tonalhuiteca and Sigmundr)

[Geyser Eelborn]

The trouble with sight was that it was so fleeting. The average B'alam could see well in light, and reasonably in darkness. It was just part of how they were made, or how they were, or...something. The point was, it was as natural as just being to most B'alam. Some were blind--he'd met at least one cat who was blind entirely. But for the most part, nature had reserved sightlessness for those who had taken their name for the only condition under which they could see--Dark. During the day, it was all a confusing blur of light, all too bright, and all too confusing. At night, everything was crisp and clear, the entire world suddenly in focus. Was it any wonder that Tonal was nocturnal?

Twilight had fallen hours ago, and since passed. That strange time of day, when things were slowly coming into focus in front of his eyes, had been spent sitting on a hilltop, listening to crickets and the call of wakening night-birds. But now darkness had fully settled in. The last vestiges of light from the sun had faded, and now the stars filled the sky like curious eyes. All was dark. And all was clear. Clear enough to see another B'alam in the distance.

Tonalhuiteca could stand company for at least a short time, and the shape of this B'alam was unfamiliar. Not quite water tribe, not quite fire tribe. Which one, then? He pushed himself off of the hill and spread his wings to catch the air between him and the stranger. He landed a short distance away. "Good evening," he murmured.

CaliWolfe

 

[CaliWolfe]

To Tonal it might have been instinct to be out in the night. He might have been blessed according to Sigmundr, to be able to see clearly at night without troubles. But being one of the light tribe members, the brown and gold B'alam was utterly and completely blind in the dark, while in the day he could see almost twice as clear as any other.

So why on earth would such a creature, who could not see more than a few feet away from his face, choose to wander around in the darkness?

It might have been for the scales along his back, and the horn resting on his forehead that shone brightly with the sunlight he had collected during the day. It might have been because of goal, to be brave even when the odds were against him. Then again it might have been his stupidity. Sigmundr was a hero to himself and yet he had done few, if any heroic acts. He wandered the dark with a predetermined mindset dedicated to changing that fate. He wanted to earn his name as a hero out here.

However he jumped with being startled at the voice of another he had not even seen be there to begin with. "H-hello?" He called out, unsure of where to look. "Yes! It must be quite nice out! Tell me, are the stars shining brightly?" He couldn't even see them, which to Sigmundr was a completely embarrassing fact.

Geyser Eelborn

 

[Geyser Eelborn]

But instead of storing water, the orbs shone with the intensity of the sun. He could see a dim outline and smear of brown at the center of the light, but could see no more. It seemed as if the B'alam shone from his skin. It was like he carried the day with him with every step. Not unless he had very good cause to would Tonal step into that ring of light. Instead, he crept close to it, close enough that the edges of the light just caught the pale spots on his fur and reflected off of his eyes. To go any further would be to court night blindness, those dancing colors on the inside of the eyelids. Even as it was, the light hurt the Dark Tribe member's eyes. He squinted them half-shut. Admittedly, it dimmed the reflection of his eyes, but at least now he was shielded from the light.

With his vision thus partly restored, he could see now the shape of the stranger. He carried no orbs on his paws but one on his forehead, embedded in a single horn. Neither fire nor water, then, perhaps a mix of both? And even more wondrously, his back shone with scales all up and down. It was quite a stunning look, in more ways than one. "It is," he murmured softly. The stranger seemed distressed, panicky, even. Was it possible that he was blind? Or merely as blind as Tonal felt in daylight? Perhaps that was why he carried the light with him. To see even in darkness. "The stars shine in multitudes tonight," he added. "Perhaps if you were to dim your light you might see them." It was a hopeless, selfish suggestion, but he could not prevent it from tumbling out into the cool night air.

CaliWolfe

 

[CaliWolfe]

Dim the light of his horn? Now wasn't that a glorious idea! Yet, Sigmundr somehow was aware he could not. "Hmm... Sorry, friend! I can't do that. Even when I try I wouldn't be able to." He sighed at this. "I think it has something to do with the sun and something, something, brightness." He shook one of his paws around in illustration of his point and then waved it frantically as if to dismiss the subject altogether.

Sigmundr turned in a circle or two in his own sort of effort to try and locate where the other B'alam was hiding. "Ah, ha, ha... This is sort of embarrassing but where are you friend? I can't see you when it's this dark!" To him, the land was cloaked with a blanket of black. He could hear the chirps and sounds of grass breaking at the will of night-dwellers. He could feel the dirt and the grass or even water as he stepped upon it. Yet even while squinting he was cursed to view nothing. Daylight was truly where he belonged. In the sun he could see everything. The fine detail of a blade of grass. The clouds and all their layers hoisted above the sky.

If Sigmundr could choose one over the other he would have gladly chosen to be born of the night. For he desperately wanted to see who and what were hidden from his sights.

Geyser Eelborn

 

[Geyser Eelborn]

With that revelation, Tonal knew that the conversation to follow would be a challenging one. He, a child of the Dark, unable to see in light, and the other, a child of, perhaps, the sun? The day? His horn stored light as Water Tribe store Water, which meant...

He must have been Light Tribe! Tonal had not yet heard of such B'alam, but it was as plain as the light and the horn that his new acquaintance was from such a tribe as that. Tonal wondered what it meant--for him, and for the stranger. If Dark and Light were polar opposites, did that make them rivals? Enemies? Or perhaps they were meant to be friends, separated by fate to meet only as each struggled to see. How strange. He sat down abruptly and spread his wings out. He dared not open his eyes further, however much they might show the stranger where he was. "That is unfortunate," Tonal said quietly. "The stars really are quite beautiful, and the moon provides ample light for a long walk beneath the stars. I am standing in front of your left front paw--I am afraid my colors are quite dark, so you may not be able to see me. I would allow your light to glance off of my eyes, but I'm afraid I was made by the darkness, and your light hurts my eyes."

In spite of himself--objective, calm, solitary--he found himself hoping that Light Tribe was indeed allied to Dark Tribe. "I think our tribes are together entwined," he added. "I am a member of Dark Tribe, and I would guess by your horn that you are a member of Light Tribe?"

CaliWolfe

Have fun on your trip! <3

 

[CaliWolfe]

"That I am friend!" Sigmundr said loudly in response to the other's comment on him being of the light tribe.

He hadn't really intended to be loud, but he found himself excited and happy and had the need to loudly announce such. Or something along those lines anyway. Sigmundr was just a happy guy in general really.

"Hmm though it's really quite unfortunate. I wish I could dim my light somehow so not to hurt your eyes..." Yet while saying that Sig knew that he would have been less happy if it was bright. Even now, surrounded by darkness he was having some difficulties remaining calm...

"Hmm. I can't really say if our tribes are entwined or not..." He said in a quieter tone. Then, in something of a loud whisper he murmured "I haven't even seen another that looks like me yet. Kind of makes me feel like the only one so far."

Geyser Eelborn