[She's been...hesitant about calling Jack since waking up, if only because she's been gathering her thoughts for the last day. It was hard to tell right now how much of the dream, either dream, had happened, expecting to wake up back in DunBroch, but when that didn't happen she felt a sense of...sadness? She hadn't been sure what she should feel sad about, which confused her the most.
So when Jack's locket flicks on to record the message, it shows Merida, looking still much the same, except for perhaps a couple of years older. There's a change in her posture, even as she looks down at her twined fingers in her lap, pursing her lips together.]
[Just as he expects, it only takes a week for her to come back. But he doesn't expect how she looks when she does. She's definitely older, though he's not exactly sure how much. At least it hadn't been anywhere near his length of time away.]
You're okay. [At least she looks it, unsure of how she might be emotionally from it all.]
Aye. My ap...sorry, for informin' you so late. I've been readjustin'.
[She catches herself before she says anything too formal, shaking her head at herself with a small sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. Knocking out that formality was going to take a little. Merida drops her hand, smiling at him softly.]
[He hadn't wanted to ask, not sure if the subject might still be too sensitive for her to discuss, but he's giving his attention when she gives him the answer he's seeking anyway.]
Two years, that's ... [Not the worst, but so much can still change in that time.] You got taller.
[It's not much of a sensitive subject. Despite how lonely she felt without Jack and Hiccup and everyone else, in spite of thinking it had all been a dream, it hadn't been so bad.]
Aye. [Merida gives a small giggle.] I'm a little taller now. My nineteenth birthday just passed a few months ago.
[He's glad to hear her giggling at least. He'd been hopeful this wouldn't have ended badly, that she'd wake up alright, and at least he got that much.]
Nineteen, huh? Wow, now you're technically older than me. The nagging mom role will actually suit you now.
[She sounds a little surprised at herself. Either she never told him or he never listened. It's one of those two.]
Long ago, there was an ancient kingdom. Ruled by a wise an' fair king who was beloved by all his people. When he grew old, he divided th' kingdom among his four sons, so that they may be the pillars on which th' peace of th' land rested. [Merida wet her lips, glancing off to the side.] War came. Brother fought brother. Th' oldest prince wanted to rule th' land for himself. He followed a path through th' forest to a witch's cottage, an' asked her to grant him th' strength of ten men.
[Her shoulders slack a little, closing her eyes.]
He called his brothers under th' pretense of a peace treaty, an' drank th' potion th' witch gave him. It turned him into a bear th' size of a small mountain, coarse black fur, razor sharp claws an' teeth. His own men attacked, for they didn't recognize him, an' he failed to heed th' witch's words about mendin' th' bond torn by pride. Death came to all those who witnessed his transformation, an' a darkness fell across th' land.
[She opens her eyes, glancing off to the side.]
We called him Mor'du. Great black. A demon bear with weapons of fallen warriors across his back that had been a plight through th' kingdom before I was even born. My father defended me an' my mother from him once, back when I was little, an' he lost a leg for it.
[Nah, she couldn't have told him about this. He'd for sure listen to a story about crazy mad bears.]
So, your dad's kind of like Hic, huh? [Just replace bears with dragons.] Yeah, you definitely never mentioned rabid bears running around her place before.
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So when Jack's locket flicks on to record the message, it shows Merida, looking still much the same, except for perhaps a couple of years older. There's a change in her posture, even as she looks down at her twined fingers in her lap, pursing her lips together.]
Hey, Jack.
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You're okay. [At least she looks it, unsure of how she might be emotionally from it all.]
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[She catches herself before she says anything too formal, shaking her head at herself with a small sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. Knocking out that formality was going to take a little. Merida drops her hand, smiling at him softly.]
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That's okay. Just glad to see you up and kicking again. We missed you over here.
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[What she could remember of them anyway, what didn't feel like a dream. She twines her fingers together, looking down at her lap.]
It's...it's been two years, for me.
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Two years, that's ... [Not the worst, but so much can still change in that time.] You got taller.
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Aye. [Merida gives a small giggle.] I'm a little taller now. My nineteenth birthday just passed a few months ago.
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Nineteen, huh? Wow, now you're technically older than me. The nagging mom role will actually suit you now.
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[That had been something she'd come to understand that mothers did, that they cared about people in their care in different ways. Speaking of mothers]
I made up with my mum. An' Mor'du's gone now too. Th' kingdom's been at peace for a while now.
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Who the heck is Mor'du?
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[She sounds a little surprised at herself. Either she never told him or he never listened. It's one of those two.]
Long ago, there was an ancient kingdom. Ruled by a wise an' fair king who was beloved by all his people. When he grew old, he divided th' kingdom among his four sons, so that they may be the pillars on which th' peace of th' land rested. [Merida wet her lips, glancing off to the side.] War came. Brother fought brother. Th' oldest prince wanted to rule th' land for himself. He followed a path through th' forest to a witch's cottage, an' asked her to grant him th' strength of ten men.
[Her shoulders slack a little, closing her eyes.]
He called his brothers under th' pretense of a peace treaty, an' drank th' potion th' witch gave him. It turned him into a bear th' size of a small mountain, coarse black fur, razor sharp claws an' teeth. His own men attacked, for they didn't recognize him, an' he failed to heed th' witch's words about mendin' th' bond torn by pride. Death came to all those who witnessed his transformation, an' a darkness fell across th' land.
[She opens her eyes, glancing off to the side.]
We called him Mor'du. Great black. A demon bear with weapons of fallen warriors across his back that had been a plight through th' kingdom before I was even born. My father defended me an' my mother from him once, back when I was little, an' he lost a leg for it.
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So, your dad's kind of like Hic, huh? [Just replace bears with dragons.] Yeah, you definitely never mentioned rabid bears running around her place before.