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Description

Official RidgeRunner Stables storyline.

Featuring:
Tuli and Jarin Jackson

Follows After:

(keep scrolling down, there's a summary way down there, no need to suffer for details <''3)

NOTE: Jarin and Tuli do not speak the same language. I'm not going to provide Tuli's language in his tongue; it will be presented in English. This is because I don't want to provide mis-translations (it's not the point here) and Tuli speaks a language that is very close to what we know as Icelandic but it has slightly different inflections, terms, slang, pronunciations, etc. Sort of like how American, England, and Australian "English" are not quite the same. And I'm not going to invent a whole new language. So, everything is typed in English but Tuli is not speaking English.

Sometimes, Jarin could just stare at the castle for hours. How did this go unnoticed for so long? With every chipped, broken, and weathered stone, how did someone keep walking by? Why did it take him this long to find it? As much as he had been there recently, it was finally starting to show signs of life again. And soon, the renovations were set to begin. It would be raised from its leafy grave and restored to its pristine condition, used as an attraction for the stables for both hosting events and as a location for grandiose.
He hadn’t told anyone he really thought he had been dying on that castle floor, bleeding out from a stroke or something. He should probably get checked out but… insurance and medical bills were no joke. After begging for a stupid expensive horse, he really didn’t want to dig his grave deeper with a medical bill on top of everything else. So he went with the “I feel fine” approach and hoped whatever happened was just a one-time thing from the stress. But he just kept wondering if that person hadn’t checked on him, maybe he wouldn’t be here. Maybe he did nothing at all, but Jarin knew he was in great pain until they got there. And then the pain just went away. Even if they had nothing to do with his situation, Jarin was curious about them. If they lived in the area. How long had they known the castle was there? Why did they keep hanging around?
Jarin shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder, stepping foot through the castle doors. He wandered the same routes he always did, peeking into rooms in hopes to make contact of any sort. He'd carry on through the halls, having full conversations with himself in hopes the stranger would hear any of it and no he meant no harm. The conversation went on until his mouth was dry and he couldn’t think of anything else to share outside of just starting with his childhood and working forward. He stopped near the grand entrance, taking a seat on the stairs, and dropping the bag to the floor. He sighed, rummaging through the pockets for a quick snack to replenish. As he munched on a granola bar, he stared at where he had collapsed. He squinted at the crushed tiles, noting there wasn’t a trace of blood around. Weird. He was sure his whole face had been gushing. It was all over his clothes. But not a drop on the floor? Weird.
Jarin might have given up for the day but that didn't mean he was going to stop trying! He wanted to talk to the person before renovations began! He was growing concerned maybe they'd be intruding on his land without knowing! Although it was on public property and there were no signs of an address or driveway or mailbox or well, any signs of living there! Again! He'd try again and again! And each time he left a treat as a peace offering. He'd keep seeing the person here and there but never face to face.
Until about five days of bothering Tuli . Tuli had yet to get any real answers as to where he was at. Outside of the wildlife, this boy was the only other creature that might stand a chance at communicating. It wasn't that Tuli didn't want to try to speak with him. It was the forever sense of dread that only his kind could feel. To be discovered. He had been hunted many times in the past, detained, escaped, and hunted again. These were truly cruel and trying times of ruthless discrimination met with merciless hatred. And now when he thought he could break the cycle, he was so unsure. If there was magic, of which he knew there was, there was no doubt some degree of hate towards his kind. He'd have to tread carefully.
"Okay! I'll be seeing you tomorrow, I hope!" Jarin called throughout the halls, making his way back to the front entrance to leave the snacks. Clearly, it was working as he'd find the wrappers all torn open and nibbled on!
Tuli sighed, looking upwards in disbelief. More of those revolting treats the rats liked to eat. He decided to save the boy the trouble, jumping down from the ceiling. With a swift landing, he cupped the snack in the boy's hand to halt him. Tuli flinched and scowled hard as the boy screeched and fell to the floor like he had been attacked. So loud! And absolutely no kind of sense about the world! Anyone could have heard him fluttering down!
Jarin put a hand over his heart, trying to keep from hyperventilating after the sudden pounce from the person- er guy? Were they a man? Jarin didn't want to judge… but their build suggested perhaps, even if they were very slender. "H-hiiii," he wheezed, pulling on a smile as best he could and offering the snack in shaking hands. Peace! He came in peace!
Only Tuli's eyes shifted just to the side of Jarin, somewhere to the back of the room. He could see the boy squirm backward as he flipped his glass knife around, preparing to make use of it. Tuli stepped forward boldly to crouch beside the boy, grabbing his ankle to keep him from crawling backward more, still looking to the back of the room.
"Eh-eh, i-im s-sorry if I'm bothering you! I-i'll leave!" Jarin's eyes were about to fall out of his skull, looking at the makeshift knife made of glass. This guy was insane! Jarin screamed as Tuli lifted the weapon, thinking it was all over for him again! He was doomed to die in this castle! He should have taken the warning the first time! Snacks were supposed to make friends! This isn’t how it was supposed to go! He heard the knife hit its mark! He was dead! Done for!
Tuli let go of the boy's ankle and stood back up to go gather his kill. This boy was a coward, for sure. One of those sheltered soft boys. Probably had handmaids and footmen that worked for him. He screamed at the sight of a knife. Sheesh. Tuli fetched the rat he had impaled that was waiting in the shadows for the snacks to be left. He returned to the shivering body of the boy and crouched beside him. He took the granola bar from his hand-
"Oh-oh!" Jarin realized he was alive. A change of heart!? How kind! The power of snacks was powerful. "You can have-" Jarin couldn't believe the guy just threw it across the room like garbage. That was a good one! Chocolate chip and cherries!! Oh... then Jarin felt his hand filled with something warm and hairy. What. Was. That. Jarin didn't want to look. Knew he shouldn't look. There was a knife. Then no knife. Now something furry in his hand. No, no, no. Trembling from head to toe, Jarin shook his head, "N-no thank you," he muttered quietly. He refused to look. No. No way.
Tuli stayed crouched next to the boy refusing to look at the hunt. Wow, soft. It was a good rat. Far superior to the sugary conglomerations of abused oats and honey. "What is your name?"
"Uh…huh?" Jarin must have misheard him. What did he say??
Tuli scowled and sighed, tipping his head to the side. "Do you not speak any other language?" Not that he could really blame him. Wasn't like Tuli knew any other language either. But...there was a different reason for that.
"I…I'm sorry, I don't understand…" Jarin admitted, trying very hard to pick out any word he could but nothing sounded even close to English. The only other language he had a vague concept of was Spanish because of his mom but even that wasn't something he knew lots of. "Do you speak English?"
They were getting nowhere like this, Tuli could tell. He patted the dead rat in Jarin’s hand, "Rat." He then patted his chest, "Tuli." Surely he could follow with the association. He repeated the actions and then pointed to Jarin for his turn to participate. Surely even a sheltered boy could follow along here.
Jarin followed Tuli's hands the second time. He wished he hadn't. That's what he feared. He squirmed and squealed, dropping the dead rat's body by instinct alone. It sounded like the guy had said rotta… rat? So then… Jarin moved past the dead rat now that it was out of his hand. He poked a finger at the guy, "Tuli? Your name is Tuli?" Jarin smiled, seeing him give a simple nod like he understood Jarin. "Ah!" He patted his chest next, "I'm Jarin!"
"Jarin," Tuli repeated. Definitely not a common name based on the pronunciation of it. "Stop eating garbage." Since Jarin couldn't understand what he was saying anyway, Tuli let his opinion rip. Almost with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too!" Jarin smiled brightly, sitting up and offering a hand to Tuli. "Uh?" Tuli took his hand and pulled him up to his feet instead of shaking it. It was becoming very apparent to Jarin that Tuli had wildly different customs. "Uhm… do you live here?" He gestured to the castle with a grand sweep of his arms. "Tuli live here??" He was trying any combo of words, hoping they'd sound somewhat close.
Tuli perked up slightly, repeating a word, "Here?" He gestured by pointing a finger down to the floor. "Here?" Then he touched his chest again.
"Ah! Yes! Here! You. Here? Uh, live?" Jarin asked enthusiastically! They were getting somewhere, he felt!
"Live here?" Tuli understood what he was asking. If he lived here. How did he answer that without exposing who he was? Say no and he'd ask why he was here then. Say yes and then he'd link this castle to him and that could be incriminating as it was. He didn't know if Jarin knew what this castle really was. Tuli didn't really know what this castle was anymore, judging by its condition. Has it been here so long? Did it come over at the same time? Maybe it was best not to associate with it for now. Tuli simply shook his head.
"Oh, that's a relief," Jarin sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "My stable is planning to renovate this place. I was afraid we were intruding…. Uh! I wanted to say thank you! Uhm… thanks! For helping me. Uhm…" How could he express this… it didn't look like he was understanding anything he was saying. "Uhhhm…mm!" Jarin plodded over to the crushed tiles and laid down on them as he had been before. "I, uh, Jarin, dying. You. Tuli," He pointed at Tuli and then to his chest, "helped me!"
Tuli watched the charades play out with a blank expression. "Dying?" It was a close word to what Tuli thought he might be referring to. He gestured to the rat's carcass. "Dead."
Jarin's enthusiasm waned but he slowly nodded. "Uhm, yes, dying… d- how did you say it?"
Tuli chuckled at the idea which turned into a laugh. He padded over to Jarin, crouching down to him again. "You thought you were dying?"
Jarin nodded, not sure what the laughing was for but he'd take that over another rat body any day. "Deyja…" he tried the word that Tuli said a couple of times now.
"Oh? You can learn. Good boy," he patted Jarin's head. "Many have died around me. You were lucky. But I'm happy for you. Good for you, Jarin."
Jarin felt embarrassed suddenly. Sat on the ground with a total stranger petting his head like he was a kitten. The way he talked made Jarin feel like a little child again even if Jarin was sure they were probably around the same age! But… he didn't look angry or sad. He looked like he had said something nice. Maybe along the lines of "you're welcome." Maybe he understood.
"Oh!" Jarin jerked upright, spooking Tuli to jump away from him and glower. Loud and sudden outbursts. Jarin pulled out his phone with a smile, "I have a translator!" He pecked around and had to hold the phone just right and there was only a whisper of service to slowly load the page. "Uh..." Jarin had to figure out what language he was talking for it to be able to help... "Ah!" He clicked for the microphone and repeated the words he had learned thus far, "Rotta. Deyja."
Tuli leaned forward, staring at the phone with intrigue. Well, this was interesting. It looked a little... like the creatures of this area. Mundane and clunky. This was the technology of this area? They really had to carry it around like that? Dumb. And eventually the right side of the boxes translated for Jarin, coming up as "Icelandic" for "a dying rat".
Jarin cleared the english side and typed "You speak Icelandic?" After waiting for the poor signal to catch up, he tipped the screen for Tuli to read it.
Tuli could read it just fine. But what was Icelandic? Did they call it something different here? Just how remote was this place? Weird animals, bad food, spoke a weird language, raised their men to be loud and terrified, didn't know much of the outside world... Tuli felt his hair stand up a bit, remembering that maybe... this wasn't his world at all... He swallowed and nodded. For now, he'd just go along with that since it seemed he could at least read this "Icelandic" language.
Jarin was enthralled! He typed excitedly, "I know a few people that speak Icelandic too! I can call them so we can talk better!" He had Dave in mind, feeling like maybe he and Chris hadn't quite mended the their bridges after stealing his horse from him... Besides, he was probably busy with his new job... "Ah, yea, you can have a turn. Just click this button and talk..." Jarin handed his phone over to Tuli's outstretched hand.
Tuli just wanted a closer look at this hunk of glass. As soon as his hands touched it the screen went black. A second later, the screen popped and a spiderweb of broken glass rippled over it. Both the boys stared at it like it was an alien. What in the world?? Jarin was the first to wheeze out a whimper. His phone! Just like that, splintered to death! He took it back, clicking all the buttons, turning it over and over, denying the truth of the matter. It just up and exploded! Why!?
Tuli sighed, relaxing his hands to lean on his knees. "Sorry," he said quietly. Not that Jarin would be able to understand now. "Ah...dead."
Jarin nodded, with a heavy frown. The word he had learned today. "Very dead." Parting was awkward as Jarin tried to make it clear he'd bring back another phone to try and continue the dialogue between the two of them. Besides being a stone cold killer of rats, Jarin wanted to get to know more about Tuli! Like how did he learn to jump so high!? Why was he hanging around here? Why did he hate really good granola bars?? He would be back!
Tuli watched Jarin leave, wholly unconfident in anything he babbled about. But he seemed nice. He didn't catch on to who Tuli was. Not yet anyway. He'd continue to monitor the situation here. Part of him wanted to move on from this place but what harm was there to keep close to the only thing he recognized in the world and that was the castle. At least until he had more answers. That crummy piece of tech might be able to give him a time and date. If other people spoke his language, maybe they had some insight where the hell he was. Then again... what the hell was an Iceland? Tuli truly dreaded he had landed on another planet.

(2672 wordcount)
well so much for shorter stories

SUMMARY;
--Jarin brings more snacks in hopes to meet Tuli
--Tuli needs more information on where he's at so he decides to greet Jarin but keep his identity pretty vague
--immediately tosses the granola bar; those are gross
--Tuli gives Jarin a rat instead because those are far better tasting that the "snacks" he leaves
--Jarin dies on the inside. no thank you.
--They then begin the struggles of not knowing how to speak to each other but eventually get names figured out
--jarin brings up a translator on his phone (what a smart boy)
--figures out Tuli is speaking Icelandic
--Jarin know Dave, Chris, and Fabian speak Icelandic! So he offers to call them!
--Unfortunately, Tuli touched Jarin's phone and for reasons unknown to both of them, his phone committed instant suicide and busted into pieces.
--Tuli did apologize. He figured he probably had something to do with it (even though the literally just touched it...)
--Tuli is now pretty convinced he has been thrown to a different planet and everything sucks here.

Previous: Delirious Existence Within Insanity || Next: Just a Spark

So much for a short story xD
But there's a lot of info I need to move around >: ""( At least establish! Step one: make them meet!
Step two: try to establish some line of communication xD That's a WIP.

I love the contrast of Tuli and Jarin. Tuli can already tell Jarin is a flower boy. Who wouldn't appreciate a nice fresh rat snack? Soft boys. That's who. Just trying to help him out. -shrug-
Jarin just... no. Don't ever give me a rat ever again. Rude. I think he'll reconsider the granola bars though xD Now that he knows those are going unappreciated.

ANYWHO. I've just about got this plotline wrapped up to integrate Tuli into the universe and then I get mah castle! (that i will never draw~)

Tuli/Jarin/Dave/Chris/Art © Drasayer
Fabian © Saoradh (maybe not in the story but c'mon, he was thought about)
No specific ref for rat catcher or rat receiver

Procreate/Photoshop CS6

Description

Official RidgeRunner Stables storyline.

Featuring:
Tuli and Jarin Jackson

Follows After:

(keep scrolling down, there's a summary way down there, no need to suffer for details <''3)

NOTE: Jarin and Tuli do not speak the same language. I'm not going to provide Tuli's language in his tongue; it will be presented in English. This is because I don't want to provide mis-translations (it's not the point here) and Tuli speaks a language that is very close to what we know as Icelandic but it has slightly different inflections, terms, slang, pronunciations, etc. Sort of like how American, England, and Australian "English" are not quite the same. And I'm not going to invent a whole new language. So, everything is typed in English but Tuli is not speaking English.

Sometimes, Jarin could just stare at the castle for hours. How did this go unnoticed for so long? With every chipped, broken, and weathered stone, how did someone keep walking by? Why did it take him this long to find it? As much as he had been there recently, it was finally starting to show signs of life again. And soon, the renovations were set to begin. It would be raised from its leafy grave and restored to its pristine condition, used as an attraction for the stables for both hosting events and as a location for grandiose.
He hadn’t told anyone he really thought he had been dying on that castle floor, bleeding out from a stroke or something. He should probably get checked out but… insurance and medical bills were no joke. After begging for a stupid expensive horse, he really didn’t want to dig his grave deeper with a medical bill on top of everything else. So he went with the “I feel fine” approach and hoped whatever happened was just a one-time thing from the stress. But he just kept wondering if that person hadn’t checked on him, maybe he wouldn’t be here. Maybe he did nothing at all, but Jarin knew he was in great pain until they got there. And then the pain just went away. Even if they had nothing to do with his situation, Jarin was curious about them. If they lived in the area. How long had they known the castle was there? Why did they keep hanging around?
Jarin shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder, stepping foot through the castle doors. He wandered the same routes he always did, peeking into rooms in hopes to make contact of any sort. He'd carry on through the halls, having full conversations with himself in hopes the stranger would hear any of it and no he meant no harm. The conversation went on until his mouth was dry and he couldn’t think of anything else to share outside of just starting with his childhood and working forward. He stopped near the grand entrance, taking a seat on the stairs, and dropping the bag to the floor. He sighed, rummaging through the pockets for a quick snack to replenish. As he munched on a granola bar, he stared at where he had collapsed. He squinted at the crushed tiles, noting there wasn’t a trace of blood around. Weird. He was sure his whole face had been gushing. It was all over his clothes. But not a drop on the floor? Weird.
Jarin might have given up for the day but that didn't mean he was going to stop trying! He wanted to talk to the person before renovations began! He was growing concerned maybe they'd be intruding on his land without knowing! Although it was on public property and there were no signs of an address or driveway or mailbox or well, any signs of living there! Again! He'd try again and again! And each time he left a treat as a peace offering. He'd keep seeing the person here and there but never face to face.
Until about five days of bothering Tuli . Tuli had yet to get any real answers as to where he was at. Outside of the wildlife, this boy was the only other creature that might stand a chance at communicating. It wasn't that Tuli didn't want to try to speak with him. It was the forever sense of dread that only his kind could feel. To be discovered. He had been hunted many times in the past, detained, escaped, and hunted again. These were truly cruel and trying times of ruthless discrimination met with merciless hatred. And now when he thought he could break the cycle, he was so unsure. If there was magic, of which he knew there was, there was no doubt some degree of hate towards his kind. He'd have to tread carefully.
"Okay! I'll be seeing you tomorrow, I hope!" Jarin called throughout the halls, making his way back to the front entrance to leave the snacks. Clearly, it was working as he'd find the wrappers all torn open and nibbled on!
Tuli sighed, looking upwards in disbelief. More of those revolting treats the rats liked to eat. He decided to save the boy the trouble, jumping down from the ceiling. With a swift landing, he cupped the snack in the boy's hand to halt him. Tuli flinched and scowled hard as the boy screeched and fell to the floor like he had been attacked. So loud! And absolutely no kind of sense about the world! Anyone could have heard him fluttering down!
Jarin put a hand over his heart, trying to keep from hyperventilating after the sudden pounce from the person- er guy? Were they a man? Jarin didn't want to judge… but their build suggested perhaps, even if they were very slender. "H-hiiii," he wheezed, pulling on a smile as best he could and offering the snack in shaking hands. Peace! He came in peace!
Only Tuli's eyes shifted just to the side of Jarin, somewhere to the back of the room. He could see the boy squirm backward as he flipped his glass knife around, preparing to make use of it. Tuli stepped forward boldly to crouch beside the boy, grabbing his ankle to keep him from crawling backward more, still looking to the back of the room.
"Eh-eh, i-im s-sorry if I'm bothering you! I-i'll leave!" Jarin's eyes were about to fall out of his skull, looking at the makeshift knife made of glass. This guy was insane! Jarin screamed as Tuli lifted the weapon, thinking it was all over for him again! He was doomed to die in this castle! He should have taken the warning the first time! Snacks were supposed to make friends! This isn’t how it was supposed to go! He heard the knife hit its mark! He was dead! Done for!
Tuli let go of the boy's ankle and stood back up to go gather his kill. This boy was a coward, for sure. One of those sheltered soft boys. Probably had handmaids and footmen that worked for him. He screamed at the sight of a knife. Sheesh. Tuli fetched the rat he had impaled that was waiting in the shadows for the snacks to be left. He returned to the shivering body of the boy and crouched beside him. He took the granola bar from his hand-
"Oh-oh!" Jarin realized he was alive. A change of heart!? How kind! The power of snacks was powerful. "You can have-" Jarin couldn't believe the guy just threw it across the room like garbage. That was a good one! Chocolate chip and cherries!! Oh... then Jarin felt his hand filled with something warm and hairy. What. Was. That. Jarin didn't want to look. Knew he shouldn't look. There was a knife. Then no knife. Now something furry in his hand. No, no, no. Trembling from head to toe, Jarin shook his head, "N-no thank you," he muttered quietly. He refused to look. No. No way.
Tuli stayed crouched next to the boy refusing to look at the hunt. Wow, soft. It was a good rat. Far superior to the sugary conglomerations of abused oats and honey. "What is your name?"
"Uh…huh?" Jarin must have misheard him. What did he say??
Tuli scowled and sighed, tipping his head to the side. "Do you not speak any other language?" Not that he could really blame him. Wasn't like Tuli knew any other language either. But...there was a different reason for that.
"I…I'm sorry, I don't understand…" Jarin admitted, trying very hard to pick out any word he could but nothing sounded even close to English. The only other language he had a vague concept of was Spanish because of his mom but even that wasn't something he knew lots of. "Do you speak English?"
They were getting nowhere like this, Tuli could tell. He patted the dead rat in Jarin’s hand, "Rat." He then patted his chest, "Tuli." Surely he could follow with the association. He repeated the actions and then pointed to Jarin for his turn to participate. Surely even a sheltered boy could follow along here.
Jarin followed Tuli's hands the second time. He wished he hadn't. That's what he feared. He squirmed and squealed, dropping the dead rat's body by instinct alone. It sounded like the guy had said rotta… rat? So then… Jarin moved past the dead rat now that it was out of his hand. He poked a finger at the guy, "Tuli? Your name is Tuli?" Jarin smiled, seeing him give a simple nod like he understood Jarin. "Ah!" He patted his chest next, "I'm Jarin!"
"Jarin," Tuli repeated. Definitely not a common name based on the pronunciation of it. "Stop eating garbage." Since Jarin couldn't understand what he was saying anyway, Tuli let his opinion rip. Almost with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too!" Jarin smiled brightly, sitting up and offering a hand to Tuli. "Uh?" Tuli took his hand and pulled him up to his feet instead of shaking it. It was becoming very apparent to Jarin that Tuli had wildly different customs. "Uhm… do you live here?" He gestured to the castle with a grand sweep of his arms. "Tuli live here??" He was trying any combo of words, hoping they'd sound somewhat close.
Tuli perked up slightly, repeating a word, "Here?" He gestured by pointing a finger down to the floor. "Here?" Then he touched his chest again.
"Ah! Yes! Here! You. Here? Uh, live?" Jarin asked enthusiastically! They were getting somewhere, he felt!
"Live here?" Tuli understood what he was asking. If he lived here. How did he answer that without exposing who he was? Say no and he'd ask why he was here then. Say yes and then he'd link this castle to him and that could be incriminating as it was. He didn't know if Jarin knew what this castle really was. Tuli didn't really know what this castle was anymore, judging by its condition. Has it been here so long? Did it come over at the same time? Maybe it was best not to associate with it for now. Tuli simply shook his head.
"Oh, that's a relief," Jarin sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "My stable is planning to renovate this place. I was afraid we were intruding…. Uh! I wanted to say thank you! Uhm… thanks! For helping me. Uhm…" How could he express this… it didn't look like he was understanding anything he was saying. "Uhhhm…mm!" Jarin plodded over to the crushed tiles and laid down on them as he had been before. "I, uh, Jarin, dying. You. Tuli," He pointed at Tuli and then to his chest, "helped me!"
Tuli watched the charades play out with a blank expression. "Dying?" It was a close word to what Tuli thought he might be referring to. He gestured to the rat's carcass. "Dead."
Jarin's enthusiasm waned but he slowly nodded. "Uhm, yes, dying… d- how did you say it?"
Tuli chuckled at the idea which turned into a laugh. He padded over to Jarin, crouching down to him again. "You thought you were dying?"
Jarin nodded, not sure what the laughing was for but he'd take that over another rat body any day. "Deyja…" he tried the word that Tuli said a couple of times now.
"Oh? You can learn. Good boy," he patted Jarin's head. "Many have died around me. You were lucky. But I'm happy for you. Good for you, Jarin."
Jarin felt embarrassed suddenly. Sat on the ground with a total stranger petting his head like he was a kitten. The way he talked made Jarin feel like a little child again even if Jarin was sure they were probably around the same age! But… he didn't look angry or sad. He looked like he had said something nice. Maybe along the lines of "you're welcome." Maybe he understood.
"Oh!" Jarin jerked upright, spooking Tuli to jump away from him and glower. Loud and sudden outbursts. Jarin pulled out his phone with a smile, "I have a translator!" He pecked around and had to hold the phone just right and there was only a whisper of service to slowly load the page. "Uh..." Jarin had to figure out what language he was talking for it to be able to help... "Ah!" He clicked for the microphone and repeated the words he had learned thus far, "Rotta. Deyja."
Tuli leaned forward, staring at the phone with intrigue. Well, this was interesting. It looked a little... like the creatures of this area. Mundane and clunky. This was the technology of this area? They really had to carry it around like that? Dumb. And eventually the right side of the boxes translated for Jarin, coming up as "Icelandic" for "a dying rat".
Jarin cleared the english side and typed "You speak Icelandic?" After waiting for the poor signal to catch up, he tipped the screen for Tuli to read it.
Tuli could read it just fine. But what was Icelandic? Did they call it something different here? Just how remote was this place? Weird animals, bad food, spoke a weird language, raised their men to be loud and terrified, didn't know much of the outside world... Tuli felt his hair stand up a bit, remembering that maybe... this wasn't his world at all... He swallowed and nodded. For now, he'd just go along with that since it seemed he could at least read this "Icelandic" language.
Jarin was enthralled! He typed excitedly, "I know a few people that speak Icelandic too! I can call them so we can talk better!" He had Dave in mind, feeling like maybe he and Chris hadn't quite mended the their bridges after stealing his horse from him... Besides, he was probably busy with his new job... "Ah, yea, you can have a turn. Just click this button and talk..." Jarin handed his phone over to Tuli's outstretched hand.
Tuli just wanted a closer look at this hunk of glass. As soon as his hands touched it the screen went black. A second later, the screen popped and a spiderweb of broken glass rippled over it. Both the boys stared at it like it was an alien. What in the world?? Jarin was the first to wheeze out a whimper. His phone! Just like that, splintered to death! He took it back, clicking all the buttons, turning it over and over, denying the truth of the matter. It just up and exploded! Why!?
Tuli sighed, relaxing his hands to lean on his knees. "Sorry," he said quietly. Not that Jarin would be able to understand now. "Ah...dead."
Jarin nodded, with a heavy frown. The word he had learned today. "Very dead." Parting was awkward as Jarin tried to make it clear he'd bring back another phone to try and continue the dialogue between the two of them. Besides being a stone cold killer of rats, Jarin wanted to get to know more about Tuli! Like how did he learn to jump so high!? Why was he hanging around here? Why did he hate really good granola bars?? He would be back!
Tuli watched Jarin leave, wholly unconfident in anything he babbled about. But he seemed nice. He didn't catch on to who Tuli was. Not yet anyway. He'd continue to monitor the situation here. Part of him wanted to move on from this place but what harm was there to keep close to the only thing he recognized in the world and that was the castle. At least until he had more answers. That crummy piece of tech might be able to give him a time and date. If other people spoke his language, maybe they had some insight where the hell he was. Then again... what the hell was an Iceland? Tuli truly dreaded he had landed on another planet.

(2672 wordcount)
well so much for shorter stories

SUMMARY;
--Jarin brings more snacks in hopes to meet Tuli
--Tuli needs more information on where he's at so he decides to greet Jarin but keep his identity pretty vague
--immediately tosses the granola bar; those are gross
--Tuli gives Jarin a rat instead because those are far better tasting that the "snacks" he leaves
--Jarin dies on the inside. no thank you.
--They then begin the struggles of not knowing how to speak to each other but eventually get names figured out
--jarin brings up a translator on his phone (what a smart boy)
--figures out Tuli is speaking Icelandic
--Jarin know Dave, Chris, and Fabian speak Icelandic! So he offers to call them!
--Unfortunately, Tuli touched Jarin's phone and for reasons unknown to both of them, his phone committed instant suicide and busted into pieces.
--Tuli did apologize. He figured he probably had something to do with it (even though the literally just touched it...)
--Tuli is now pretty convinced he has been thrown to a different planet and everything sucks here.

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So much for a short story xD
But there's a lot of info I need to move around >: ""( At least establish! Step one: make them meet!
Step two: try to establish some line of communication xD That's a WIP.

I love the contrast of Tuli and Jarin. Tuli can already tell Jarin is a flower boy. Who wouldn't appreciate a nice fresh rat snack? Soft boys. That's who. Just trying to help him out. -shrug-
Jarin just... no. Don't ever give me a rat ever again. Rude. I think he'll reconsider the granola bars though xD Now that he knows those are going unappreciated.

ANYWHO. I've just about got this plotline wrapped up to integrate Tuli into the universe and then I get mah castle! (that i will never draw~)

Tuli/Jarin/Dave/Chris/Art © Drasayer
Fabian © Saoradh (maybe not in the story but c'mon, he was thought about)
No specific ref for rat catcher or rat receiver

Procreate/Photoshop CS6