Oak Forest - Historical Marker

[slomoto]

Ridgy wandered through the forest aimlessly while holding a long twig fallen from a tree and swinging it left to right. He was in very deep thought. So deep that he found himself distracted from his usual research. It wasn't common for Ridgy to do that, and he didn't know why. 'Melinda certainly has a role in it,' he thought 'Wouldn't anyone else in the village be glad I helped them with something? But she just wants me to stay out of the way.' Also, it was all the awkwardness in the cafeteria. Whatever the Freedom Fighters were doing always occupied his mind, because it meant change.

'I guess everyone else is too on edge for me to be comfortable,' he concluded. 'Or rather, maybe I'm just too restless myself.'

Ridgy stopped in the middle of the woods and looked around. He'd just done something else entirely out of character: he'd gotten himself lost. Ridgy felt a twinge of regreat and fear but instantly stuck his chest out and said aloud "Get a hold of yourself Ridgy Didge, you can get out of any ominous woods! You just need your bearings and a clue to where civilizaiton lies." He bent over and picked something off the ground. "Shaved tree bark, and it was pointed like an arrow in....that direction."

And with that, Ridgy shuffled off into some even thicker trees.

[V for Vizetta]

It would take a few minutes, but the possum would eventually come across a clearing, the kind that almost seemed to come out of a mythical tale... for in the center, was a solitary tree trunk, large enough for its occupant, an elderly echidna, to sit cross-legged upon it.

Athair had waited with Pachacamac back at their campsite until he finally could stand the younger male no longer. Fortunately for Paccy, Athair decided that simply leaving to clear his head was a better option that beating sense into his grandson.

As a result, he had come to find this clearing, and the trunk in the middle of it.

So now, he was meditating in an attempt to clear his mind from his descendant's idiocy... and seemed to have not yet noticed Ridgy.

[slomoto]

Ridgy looked at the scene while opening and closing his mouth several times. The place seemed almost unreal, and short of that he hated the idea of interrupting this old man, whoever he was, in the middle of his peaceful meditation. Instead, he leaned against the tree, which made a bow bend, which made an egg fall from a nest and land in Ridgy's open hand, which made amother dragonfly-bird screech and peck wildly at Ridgy's head. "Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah!"

[V for Vizetta]

Of course, the sound immediately got Athair's attention, and he opened his eyes, viewing the scene in front of him. One eyebrow hiking up, the echidna stood, and approached the possum and his attacker.

"..." With a glance at the bird, the elderly echidna spoke quietly, but firmly.

"Stop that."

and almost immediately, the bird ceased its attack, instead perching on Ridgy's head.

With a slight nod, the priest then turned his attention to Ridgy.

"Perhaps you should place her egg somewhere safe so she may put it back in her nest later."

[slomoto]

"Yeah, that'd be...that'd be wise." Ridgy was simply dumbfounded. Just how did this man make this bird listen to him? He rested the egg in the grass just underneath the tree. He then took off his pith helmet and touched the tender lumps on his head. Thankfully, he wasn't very badly hurt. "Where am I? What is this place?" The words escaped Ridgy's mouth at a speed that startled him. If he wasn't so shocked, he'd simply try to take a wild guess. It then occurred to him that maybe it wasn't the forest that was special around here.

[V for Vizetta]

Taking a look around, the elder smiled to himself.

"I believe people call this a 'forest'." With a chuckle, Athair turned, and headed back for the tree trunk he'd been meditating on.

"And I imagine you're most likely lost."

[slomoto]

Ridgy gasped. "How did you know that!?" Ridgy likely had his brains plucked out by that dragon-fly bird. Either that or he was so in awe of this strange man that he momentarily forgot he had some control over the events transpiring before him. "Uhm...I am lost. I'm looking for my way back to Meadowood."

[V for Vizetta]

Once he reached the trunk, Athair turned, and took a seat on it, his cane resting across his knees. He didn't make any attempt to answer Ridgy's question though, until he was settled.

"Your prior questions seemed to imply you didn't know where you were. So you must be lost... Besides, you just told me." The elder considered Ridgy's mention of Meadowwood, and looked upward, trying to remember if he'd heard of such a place...

And much to his surprise, he hadn't.

"I'm afraid I can't help you find your way back. Not immediately, anyway. Perhaps after I've given it some thought."

[slomoto]

Ridgy put on a brave face once more. "That's fine. I'm sure I can find my way back. I'm pretty good at tracking. He boasted. He opened his eyes, and saw something really genuine about the old man that almost instantly look the wind out of his sails again. "Well, the only reason I got lost was because I was lost in thought..." He scratched the back of his head.

[V for Vizetta]

Athair raised an eyebrow slightly, and smiled.

"Lost in thought, eh? If I may ask, what about?" The echidna's hands, still resting on his cane, flexed slightly, keeping the joints loose, most likely.

[slomoto]

Ridgy was silent. Was he really about to talk about all his problems and distractions to a total stranger? No, of course not. He prepared a mouthful of his usual bull-honkey and spat it out.

"Oh, I was just considering the maneuvers of the mobian army during the battle of Turquoise Hill. It's amazing they were able to get such leverage in an uphill battle, especially since the opposition were driving tanks.......er, historical documentation is something of a hobby of mine." He turned a little red, and scratched the back of his head a bit more energetically.

[V for Vizetta]

The elderly echidna chuckled a little.

"That was an impressive victory... of course, they were fighting on terrain that allowed those tanks no room to maneuver." Athair sighed a little, examining the grass in front of him as he continued.

"History becomes far less interesting when you've lived most of it."

[slomoto]

"But that's impossible....that whole...thing happened way before I was even born." Ridgy looked down at his hand. He'd been scratching his head so long some of his fur had come off and fallen into the palm of his hand. He sighed. He didn't know if it was shock or regret that made him do it, but Ridgy suddenly decided it'd be useless to try and put one over on this old man.

"Atually.....there's....this girl I like..."

[V for Vizetta]

A smile crossed the echidna's face. the opossum in front of him reminding him of a much younger Pachacamac, saying almost the same thing... The boy couldn't have been out of his teens.

"There usually is, isn't there?" Athair chuckled again. His next question seemed almost scripted, especially since he suspected the answer already.

"Does she know?"

[slomoto]

"I don't know." He said idly, looking down at his shoes. "It's hard to tell when she's always asking me to leave her alone." He sighed, deflated. "I know...I know it's not just me. Something bad happened to her a while ago and it's changed her, I can see..." He crossed his arms. "It's this whole freedom fighting thing. We're all venturing out trying to do what we can to ruin Robotnik, even me. I'd like to think I'm doing something heroic to help save the day, you know, besides just keeping history....if I even was a full fledged freedom fighter, she'd never like me for it....It's so complicated." Ridgy shook a little as he said it.

[V for Vizetta]

The elder simply listened as the possum spoke, waiting quietly until he finished, then, after a moment, looked upwards.

"... A person doesn't have to be able to 'save the day' to be a hero. Heroes come in all forms, the simply have to learn their path." Athair smiled faintly, lowering his head to look Ridgy in the eyes.

"If you want to make history, rather than simply record it, then learn. Learn things that your lady, and her friends, can use in this war." The echidna shifted off the trunk, supporting himself faintly with his cane, as he continued.

"After all, are not some of the greatest answers for the future found in the past?"

[slomoto]

Athair's words reverberated in Ridgy's head. It was his turn to remember something from his past. Specifically he thought about his father, and if how he were still around, he may have said the same thing. Then, he felt nothing. Which was a good feeling. All the torment was gone and he could think clearly again. "That...feels better. Thank you. I, uh.....I'm sorry I never got your name."

[V for Vizetta]

"Most simply call me Elder." Athair smiled, as he slowly walked towards Ridgy.

"But you may call me Athair. I rather prefer it, since it IS my name." The elder glanced up into the trees, and at the sun barely visible beyond them.

" Hm... She should have returned by now..." The echidna shook his head faintly, and lowered his head so he was no longer craning it upwards. "I'm sure she's fine. I'd feel if it was otherwise..."

[slomoto]

"Well, thank you for all your help Athair," Ridgy gave a bow. "You will one day be happy with the fat that you made a minor contribution to the soon-to-be indelible legacy that is Ridgy Didge...."

[V for Vizetta]

The echidna simply chuckled, returning the bow... as best he could.

"I'm sure I'll be very impressed."

[slomoto]

"Um...yes....you will..." Ridgy scratched his cheek. 'He sure is a strange one...' He thought. He wandered the forest feeling light as a feather, happily weaving through trees. "Hey wait...I'm still lost...."

[V for Vizetta]

The elderly echidna watched Ridgy walk away, then, once he was sure the possum was still in earshot, yelled after him.

"HEAD NORTHEAST!" He was certain Ridgy knew enough to manage that much.