"Yeah, about that cat...", Bruno said, seeing a good spot to bring it up. "Could he always talk? Or is that something you or someone else magicked him to be able to do? I mean, I know little Antonio can talk to animals now, but none of the animals can talk back to anyone else."
"As for Julieta, I don't know if her gift is something she could teach to others. I'm sure she could show them what she does, like the cooking process and everything, but I don't know how much of it is actually part of that and how much is just her unique gift. Though even if they didn't learn to heal, they'd at least become really good cooks; her arepas are the best. And there's nothing like a big bowl of her ajiaco after a long day too." Bruno would always be glad to sing the praises of his sister's cooking if an opportunity arose.
He'd never really heard the term 'theater kid' before, but it fit somehow. There was a great deal of difference between telling a made up story and talking to someone about things that would happen in their real life, at least for him, but he understood the principle at least. "Theater is one thing, but having conversations with people is different," he said. "Or at least, it feels different to me. If you're putting on a show or telling a story, then it's not really you you know? And everybody knows that. But when I'm having a conversation, I'm just... me. Talking to the other person. And even when I think it's fine, a lot of the time it comes out wrong or the other person misinterprets it. I mean, look what happened with Pepa's wedding." They'd gotten past that particular incident, thankfully, but it was still a good example of how even a comment made with the best of intentions could go horribly wrong.
And if he was being completely honest with himself, Bruno knew that much of the ritual probably wasn't strictly necessary. But it did help him get into the right mindset for a vision, and that was necessary. Plus the circle let him include others in the vision as well, which had proved important with Mirabel. So he held off commenting on that for now, just giving a small nod and a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement.
And then Dominic launched into his story. Bruno had to wonder if the wording was deliberate at the beginning- a conspiracy was afoot after Dominic has lost his leg- but didn't want to interrupt. Though as the story went on, he privately wondered if maybe he should have gotten a snack first. It was all very exciting, what with knights, treasures, demons, intrigue, and betrayal all involved, but he didn't really see what any of it had to do with him. It really made it sound like Dominic deserved the title of 'oracle' though, being involved in all those big, far-reaching events. And made him even more certain that such a title would never really fit him.
All in all he was glad when Dominic got back to the point. Bruno nodded thoughtfully as he talked about learning different sorts of things. "I guess that makes sense," he said. "Honestly I was kind of doing the opposite though, before I went into hiding. I'd kinda learned that most people didn't want to talk to me, so it was easier to just.... not talk to people that much rather than trying to force thing, you know? And my rats might be my friends, but they can't really tell me thing like they can Antonio." Though that was another thought; animals might have information that humans wouldn't be aware of. Though he should probably wait til Antonio was a little older before trying anything with that; animal perceptions filtered through the understanding of a five year old might not be the most reliable.
As for the last bit though... "Nah, I wouldn't say that to Senor Trujillo. He's not a bad guy, honest. He's just... really not much in the tact department sometimes." Which, yes, he should probably work on, but that wasn't Bruno's job to fix. Which was a good thing, because Bruno wasn't always the most tactful either.
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"As for Julieta, I don't know if her gift is something she could teach to others. I'm sure she could show them what she does, like the cooking process and everything, but I don't know how much of it is actually part of that and how much is just her unique gift. Though even if they didn't learn to heal, they'd at least become really good cooks; her arepas are the best. And there's nothing like a big bowl of her ajiaco after a long day too." Bruno would always be glad to sing the praises of his sister's cooking if an opportunity arose.
He'd never really heard the term 'theater kid' before, but it fit somehow. There was a great deal of difference between telling a made up story and talking to someone about things that would happen in their real life, at least for him, but he understood the principle at least. "Theater is one thing, but having conversations with people is different," he said. "Or at least, it feels different to me. If you're putting on a show or telling a story, then it's not really you you know? And everybody knows that. But when I'm having a conversation, I'm just... me. Talking to the other person. And even when I think it's fine, a lot of the time it comes out wrong or the other person misinterprets it. I mean, look what happened with Pepa's wedding." They'd gotten past that particular incident, thankfully, but it was still a good example of how even a comment made with the best of intentions could go horribly wrong.
And if he was being completely honest with himself, Bruno knew that much of the ritual probably wasn't strictly necessary. But it did help him get into the right mindset for a vision, and that was necessary. Plus the circle let him include others in the vision as well, which had proved important with Mirabel. So he held off commenting on that for now, just giving a small nod and a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement.
And then Dominic launched into his story. Bruno had to wonder if the wording was deliberate at the beginning- a conspiracy was afoot after Dominic has lost his leg- but didn't want to interrupt. Though as the story went on, he privately wondered if maybe he should have gotten a snack first. It was all very exciting, what with knights, treasures, demons, intrigue, and betrayal all involved, but he didn't really see what any of it had to do with him. It really made it sound like Dominic deserved the title of 'oracle' though, being involved in all those big, far-reaching events. And made him even more certain that such a title would never really fit him.
All in all he was glad when Dominic got back to the point. Bruno nodded thoughtfully as he talked about learning different sorts of things. "I guess that makes sense," he said. "Honestly I was kind of doing the opposite though, before I went into hiding. I'd kinda learned that most people didn't want to talk to me, so it was easier to just.... not talk to people that much rather than trying to force thing, you know? And my rats might be my friends, but they can't really tell me thing like they can Antonio." Though that was another thought; animals might have information that humans wouldn't be aware of. Though he should probably wait til Antonio was a little older before trying anything with that; animal perceptions filtered through the understanding of a five year old might not be the most reliable.
As for the last bit though... "Nah, I wouldn't say that to Senor Trujillo. He's not a bad guy, honest. He's just... really not much in the tact department sometimes." Which, yes, he should probably work on, but that wasn't Bruno's job to fix. Which was a good thing, because Bruno wasn't always the most tactful either.