voice

[lalliho]

[He's closed himself off. He thought it might help -- slow your surroundings to a standstill, and maybe everything going on inside would learn to slow as well. When he got control over himself, he could control this stupid magic of his that was given to him. He thought he'd be happy, getting back the gifts he was born into, but even with them, the storm inside had been roaring enough to keep him up night after night.

Which meant he'd been even more cut off than he'd intended.]

I can't sleep. I need to. Tell me...what to do.

[Simple as that. Just help him rest, please...]

Comments

[witchofwishes]

[Yuuko doesn't consider herself unkind or vicious. It would be unsightly to act like that in any sort towards others. But she doesn't take well to disrespect of any kind. Especially with humans. There is a somewhat low tolerance there. She felt it with the few selfish people that come into her shop and she felt it during that conversation.

Regardless such things pass as all storms do and by the time he contacts her again there's no current grudge or displeasure within her. Maybe minor annoyance because she'd been enjoying a drink and now she has to deal with what she presumes is another messy conversation.]

Then allow me to speak as clearly as I am able.

I have mentioned this before but I'll state it better. I am not being vague on purpose. And I am not sending you out to find things on your own because it amuses me or because I'm trying to make your life difficult. It's because I cannot really help any more than that.

Too often I have humans demanding I do more to grant their wishes while offering nothing in return. People just want things done for them. And mind you, if I was capable of doing more maybe I would. And there have been many times, more than I can count, that I've wanted to do more. But I can't. I send people out on dangerous ventures asking for vague items and they complete the tasks even at great personal cost.

But they succeed. They find the information on their own and complete the assigned task.

You and I have the same resources here on this world. But your time is not worth more than my own. I will not spend time crafting you a picture book. You see how that is quite a selfish request? You're more than capable of going to the same library here and finding the answers yourself in the books. Just because you've never been to a library doesn't mean you can't go into one now. And maybe instead of asking me to do the research for you your question should have been "How can I learn about these plants, I don't know what they are?" But you opted instead to ask more of me. Not even nicely at that. I have actually spent most of my time spent in this world has been in the library. I could have maybe helped you even more had it been asked properly.

But here is what you should take away from this. It's not my fault that you don't understand me, just as it isn't your fault for not understanding. There's just a gap. And that can happen when certain cultures meet. Understanding the positions of one another helps a great deal to remedy that.

[lalliho]

[He takes a deep breath and tries to be very, very patient while he processes the words -- as much as he thinks there are far too many. She said she can't help it, just like he can't help how difficult it is to understand for him.

So. Breathe.]

I just -- don't understand why. If you know what they are and what they look like, writing a list isnt different from telling me. I didn't want a book. I didn't...

[He trails off, not sure where he's going with that, but even through words, his message carries with it a scrambling to keep up with this conversation. With society. Life. It's hard.]

I want to find the plants you talked about even if they don't help me. I know a lot can be used for medicine. So I'll find them. And I'll bring them back, and -- find what they look like.

[Even if that's terrifying and not in his job description at all. He just feels like he's...failing. Again.]

...Um. But I can't... I don't think I can find them in books if I only guess how they're spelled. It might be really different from what I think. I don't do a lot of that.

[witchofwishes]

Writing a list is different because it's giving you something. I know it's difficult to understand and for something as simple of as a list it's very silly but that's the way it is.

I can't give gifts. Or helpful tools. I can't give another person anything without something in return. Not even a list.

[Every item and present is held under the same rules and scales. Difficult as it may seem to live this way she's long since gotten used to it though it can still be a bit sad or frustrating from time to time.]

You may be surprised what you find in the library. Most books are more pictures than words and better yet you may find a plant that exists only in this world that will help with your sleeping problem. If that's the case, so long as there are seeds I can grow it for you no matter where we are.

[For a price... of course.]