Rapunzel has left the tower (gleamnglow) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-09 20:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, rapunzel, tasslehoff burrfoot |
Who: Rapunzel and Tasslehoff Burrfoot
What: Random meeting
Where: In a park
When: Recently
Rating: G
Status: Complete
Sunny California was, Tas was beginning to discover, was pretty fitting. The weather was beautiful, and really the perfect weather to go and sit in the park. It appeared to be a nice, quiet park. Kids were playing cheerfully in the nearby playground, some couple was cuddling under a tree, some old people were playing chess. If it hadn’t been for the living Halloween decorations, and the interesting stories on the Network, Tas would almost be bored of the place. But now he knew about magic, and he really wanted to meet one of the magical wizards out there that could turn someone into a cockroach for looking at them funny. While Anna maybe hadn’t said that that’s what they did, Tas’ imagination had filled in the blanks.
He wasn’t going to meet any wizards just sitting around in his apartment though, and so he’d decided to go the park. He sat down on the grass, his bright blue pants and neon green t-shirt making him stand out quite a bit, and began to play a shepherd's pipe.
If the weather continued the hold up this long then Rapunzel was going to be completely spoiled because the weather wasn’t always this nice back home. So, in order to take full advantage of it she had decided to go to the park every other day to work on her art. Today she had been focusing on sketching the various animals that were around the park and had found herself a spot on a bench by the lake. Green eyes glanced around to people watch as she sketched and found herself studying a strange boy with bright clothing entering the park.
The moment he took out the pipe she watched him intently. Nimble fingers flipped over the sheet she had been drawing and she began to fill the blank sheet with a sketch of the boy. Her blonde hair fell down in a wave and created a bit of a curtain as she worked on the sketch and began to tune the world out.
It took Tas a few minutes to notice the girl with the long blond hair who was apparently drawing him. He checked over his shoulder to make sure that there was nothing terribly interesting going on behind him, and then, finishing the song he had been playing, he quietly got up and went to circle around behind her to get a look at what she was drawing.
It was a little hard to see around her hair, but from what he could see, she was pretty talented. “Wow, that’s pretty good!” he said from immediately behind her shoulder. “Do you draw a lot?”
The only bad thing about Rapunzel’s ability to focus was that sometimes she got sucked into that black hole and didn’t notice what was going on around her. Which was exactly what was happening when Tas got up and made his way over towards her. When he spoke is what startled her out of her mind and she jumped. Her hand flew to her chest as she took a couple breaths and started to laugh.
“Oh goodness, you scared me,” she brushed the hair out of her face so she could study the boy in front of her, “And thank you. I do draw a lot, that’s what I’m going to school for right now. I hope you don’t mind, but I liked the colors in your outfit.”
Tas stifled a giggle behind his hand when she jumped like that. He hadn’t meant to startle her, but it was still a little funny. “Oh, sorry!” he apologized. “I do too! Like the colours in my outfit, I mean. I really like bright colours. But I like drawing too. Especially maps! I don’t go to school for it or anything though! That must be fun, getting to go to school for drawing.”
“It’s totally okay. I get sucked into the zone sometimes,” she explained to him quickly before giving him a full smile, “And I really like going to school. It doesn’t seem so horrible because I get to do something I love every day. And you should keep wearing bright colors, it makes you easy to pick out. And I think if your clothes are happy it helps keep you happy through the day. I’m Rapunzel, by the way.” She might as well introduce herself to her latest subject.
Tas really didn’t need any help to stay happy throughout the day. People could knock him down, but he’d just pop up again like a weeble-wobble, grin still plastered on his face. “I was homeschooled so I never really did the school thing, but my friend Caramon let me go with him to classes one day and it was so boring. His teachers wouldn’t even let us finish a conversation. It was really quite rude the way they kept interrupting us. It’s a wonder they have rude people like that teaching in schools.” He stuck out his hand for a handshake. “I’m Tasslehoff Burrfoot,” he chirped. “But my friends call me Tas.”
“Oh! And yeah, teachers like the class to be quiet when they are teaching. I can understand why you would think that is rude though. Did you enjoy being home schooled?” Rapunzel wasn’t surprised that he would have a reaction like that since he was home schooled. It was a bit silly because Rapunzel fully understood the teacher’s position, but she knew it would be pointless to argue it with this boy. So, instead she reached out to return his handshake, “Nice to meet you, Tas. That’s an interesting name. Mine’s strange too, we should make a club.”
“I loved being homeschooled!” Tas said. “It was way better than regular school. I didn’t have to learn all that boring stuff that you’ve got to learn in school, and I got to learn how to make maps and about all these really interesting places that my parents went to when they were younger!” He smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you, too! Rapunzel’s a really pretty name, I think. I think a lot of names can be kind of boring, especially since everyone is named them. Like Mike. And John. Yaaaawn. But Rapunzel is really nice. I think it shows that your parents didn’t want you to be like everyone else; that they think you’re special!”
“You know how to make maps? How interesting! Do you make them often? I would love to see some of them. And what kind of places did they go to?” his home life certainly sounded interesting. Making maps wasn’t something that she had ever encountered before, but with parents that travelled a lot it made sense that he would do something like that, “And thank you. And I like your sentiment about my parents wanting me to be special. It’s kind of true. It has to be a bit boring to have such a plain name and an interesting name certainly makes you memorable. So, Tas, what do you do around here if you don’t go to school.”
Tas beamed. “Oh, I try to!” Tas said. “I like to map out the places I go, and sometimes I’ll draw maps for like, books and stuff too. So these authors write about what their world looks like and sometimes I’ll even get a rough sketch of where they want things, and then I have to turn it into a map that looks real.” Tas nearly reached for his map case before he remembered that, now that he had an apartment, he didn’t carry it on him anymore. “I’d love to show you them, but I don’t have any on me right now.” He sounded almost sad, but he brightened up nearly immediately. “If you ever wanted to come by my apartment though, I could show you my collection! I have a lot of maps that I drew, but even more that I’ve collected! Even some that my dad drew!
“My parents used to go all over the place. They’ve travelled a bunch of places in America and they even took their honeymoon in Europe where they backpacked around for four months! They had to come back early though because I was born, and they don’t travel so much anymore.” It was a little sad, when he thought about it. If ‘settling down’ involved not travelling anymore, Tas wanted no part of it.
“I live with my friend Raistlin here,” he said. “Mostly I just explore around and see what’s around. There’s all sorts of interesting shops around here, and then there’s the beach and a ton of parks. I was thinking I might go hiking up Santiago Peak soon!”
“That’s actually a really good idea. It makes sense to map out a world that you’ve read about especially if they haven’t included a map. Sometimes it takes place in so many places that you need a map for reference. Wait, do you send the maps to the author? Because that’s pretty cool if you do,” Rapunzel asked with excitement in her voice, “And don’t worry about not having them on you. I will have to make sure to stop by and see your maps. And your dad drew some? I bet those are really special.” It did actually sound like a lot of fun to see.
“That sounds like so much fun. I’m so jealous. I want to travel around the world some day. I’m sure they’ll take up on travelling again in the future. I know a lot of people to it after they retire,” Rapunzel explained and then smiled when he talked about exploring, “I like to explore as well. Maybe I’ll have to join you on your hike up the peak. I’m having a lot of fun seeing what’s around here. I think I could explore for years and not find everything that’s here.”
“To the author and the editor,” Tas said. “If they need me to change anything, they send it back and eventually they send it in to the publisher.” Though, Tas was already bored of the subject. He could talk all day about drawing maps, and how much he loved them, but talking about work was just so painfully tedious. “My dad’s maps are great though! He mapped out his entire honeymoon!” According to his father’s map, Germany was about four times the size of France, but that wasn’t too important.
“Oh, I would love it if you joined me! It’s so much better than hiking alone. Not that hiking alone isn’t nice sometimes, because it is, but it’s just so much better when you have someone to talk to about everything and that you get to share everything with.”
Rapunzel noticed his quick change of subject and easily accepted it. It was a fascinating thing - to be a map maker for an author. She would have to bring it up again if they had another conversation just to get more details. “Aw, that’s so sweet. Did he give it to your mother as a wedding present?” That seemed like a proper gift for a couple like his parents.
“Very true. If you don’t mind I’ll probably take photos along the way. Just so I have something to use for painting later. I would bring my paints with me but that would be awfully boring to just stand up there and paint when someone is with me. I would much rather do the hiking and exploring new things in the area.”
“I think so,” Tas said. “I guess it’s really more of both of theirs. They have it hanging in the living room. Right above the couch!” At least, that’s where it had been the last time Tas had gone home, but now that he thought about it, he hadn’t been home in almost ten years. Time really did fly.
“Oh no, that would be great! I love photos! I always forget to take them when I’m out, but they tell stories too! And you never know what kind of really interesting thing you’ll see and want to show all your friends when you’re out and about!”
“Perfect. I think we’ll have a great time going on a hike together. When would you like to go? I’m usually free on the weekend afternoons, but I can also move around my hours at my job. And it’s almost the holiday time so my classes will be finishing up soon,” Rapunzel explained to him. She would be travelling back home for the holiday, but she would still be back after that and have some free time before the next set of classes started.
“Oh, I don’t work, so I’m free whenever!” Tas said cheerfully. “No need to move around any hours! A weekend afternoon sounds great!”
“That will work well then,” Rapunzel finished up the drawing she had been working on of him and quickly signed it and added her phone number at the bottom, “Here is my phone number. We can chat about when we want to go. I should probably get heading back home to finish up some homework, but I wanted to make sure you have the drawing I did of you.”
Tas gasped when she handed over the picture. “Really? For me?” Tas asked. Well, he’d have to think of something to give her! Maybe he’d draw her a picture for the next time they met up. He prefered making maps, but that didn’t mean that he was unable to draw. “You’re too nice! I can’t wait until we go hiking!”
“Of course. And you’re welcome, I’m lucky that you let me draw you and didn’t get mad. Thank you again for that and coming over to talk. I look forward to planning our hiking trip,” Rapunzel commented with a smile as she placed the strap of her bag over her shoulder and started to make her way to her car. She waved at him once again. Sometimes the best things were the unexpected things.