oathshackledbird | Ruby City Mailbox/Inbox

Current Location: Spiral Training School

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Ruby City Mailbox/Inbox

You have found the Mailbox/Inbox of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, owner and teacher of the training school, Spiral. If you have business with him or the school, please feel free to leave a message and he will get back to you as soon as possible. Considering his abilities, that might be quicker than you think...

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Hmm...smaller than what I grew up with, but most dogs are now a day. I will gather up out other 'kiddos' and that way we can introduce them slowly. That is usually the key to getting animals to like each other.

[Except with Shizuo. Who knows what it will take to make him like another...]

How big were your dogs?

That would be a good idea. Having them all meet one by one that is. I hope they get along...

[Shizuo was probably going to be a lost cause but Afonso hopes everyone else will get along. He's not actually sure what to do if Rocky can't get along with them.]

Don't worry. I know a few tricks if anyone has issues. Well...besides Shizuo. We will figure out something with him later.

[Diarmuid pauses to think back to just how big the dogs he knew were. It's tempting to get lost in his memories, but he manages to stop himself.]

The head of the biggest one I ever had actually came up to my shoulder...when he was standing on all four legs. Like I said, we bred them big back then.

[He appreciates that reassurance.]

I've never had a dog before so any tricks or tips would be appreciated... Shizuo might be tricky though.

That's huge! Rosa could probably ride a horse that big.

[Diarmuid can't help but laugh.]

Yes, several of my children actually did use them as horses. Until they got too big to anyway or until my wife caught them at it.

[She never really liked the dogs that much for some reason.]

Don't worry about Shizuo. We will figure something out when the time comes. Maybe we will find he has a secret fondness for dogs?

[Yeah, right...]

Somehow I doubt that, with Shizuo. It would be nice though.

[So doubtful though.]

How many children did you have?

Five. Four boys and a girl. The two youngest were twins. Maybe if I can't get the tricks I know to get animals to behaving to work on Shizuo, I can move onto trying the tricks I used on my children to get them to behave...

Four brothers? God, if I remember this and the next time Rosa complains about me being annoying I'm telling her she's lucky there are three more of me... Actually. If it weren't for the fact I probably wouldn't remember, I'd ask you for some of those tricks.

Don't give up hope. One of the things we are working on is trying to find a way for us to remember this place when we leave. There has to be a way... If you would like, I don't mind telling you some of those tricks. You know, for when we are successful in finding a way to preserve our memories.

Really? That would be great if we could, though probably a little jarring.

[He debates for a moment, biting his bottom lip before typing.]

Vegetables. Did your children give you a hard time eating them because Rosa refuses to eat her vegetables for me. She used too for Nana, but Nana never told me her secret and I KNOW Rosa isn't eating any vegetables while I'm at school.

[Granted, there are more reasons then his sisters stubbornness.]

Jarring yes, but I would rather that than losing my memories and all of the growth I have made here.

[Diarmuid laughs and then shakes his head, before typing up a reply.]

I am afraid when it comes to that, I really don't have any tricks. Back when I was with my children, food was not so easy to come by as it is now. We ate what we had whether we liked it or not because there was always a chance tomorrow there would be no food. I guess perhaps you could mention that there are others who would be glad to have what she has? Who go without anything at all for days sometimes?

[He has to agree with that, though Afonso's not sure he's made too much growth yet.]

Funnily enough I've told her that before and she said something along the lines of "give them to those people then".

She's a bit of a brat...

Not really a brat. Just a child, but...did you ever actually do that? Did you ever take the food away and make her do without?

[It might sound a little cruel, but doing that a time or two to his kids had quieted them very quickly.]

No. She's really a brat.

[There's a frankness to his text that comes 100% from an older brother standpoint.]

I've never done that before. but she's seen ME go without food once or twice. Not that I've actually ever told her I was going without but I'm sure she's realized it.

[Well, then...]

There is a big difference between knowing someone else is going without and going without yourself. One can never really understand how it feels to have a painfully empty belly until it is their own hunger they feel. Give it a try. It doesn't have to be long and it is the least she can do if you have gone hungry for her sake in the past...

I'm her older brother, it's my responsibility to make sure she doesn't go hungry or anything. Though I guess I can give that a try. If anything it'll be a lesson.

It is also a big brother's job to teach his siblings the harsher realities of life because no one else will do it as gently as a big brother will...

I suppose so... I guess you can only shelter them for so long.

[Even if he doesn't necessarily like the idea of it.]

Sadly, that is all too true. No matter how much a big brother or a father might want to keep their siblings or children safe, no they can't shelter them forever. In fact, they shouldn't either. There are some kinds of experience that can only be gotten on one's own.

See, I'm almost afraid of what sort of trouble or experiences Rosa will learn on her own.

[It's in instances like this where Afonso feels older then he is. Really, he shouldn't worry as much as he does over his sister. He knows she's smart, knows that she can take care of herself and yet...]

[And yet the worry is still there and it always will be. It is just how this kind of thing works...]

Better to try not to imagine it. Even if you sit and ponder a long time, you will never be able to prepare her for everything. Just have faith in her that she will be able find her way out of whatever trouble she gets into.

How'd you manage not to worry yourself to death with five children? I mean, I don't even have a child so if I worry this much about Rosa.

Actually. I don't even want to think about that. Period.

[Diarmuid chuckles to himself before he replies.]

It is hard, but after a while you realize that there is only so much you can do. Teaching. Guiding. Protecting. Even after you do all of that, it's up to them to take the lessons and the advice you have given them and act on it. They are the true masters of their own Fate, not us. Never us, no matter how much we may wish we were at times.

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