Goodfellow

Styrm barked out a laugh and said, "Aye, jus' so." And the, "An' the last sound? 'Ow's she go?"

Styrm put two fingers to his forehead and thought hard. He could read, but he didn't have nearly the internal catalogue of words that Taru did. Sure enough, ah was the next sound, but was it A or O? He'd never seen the name Joz written, so he wasn't entirely sure. He traced out the letters on the floor in front of him, brow furrowed; J-A-Z. Nah, he shook his head, 'at don' look right. He looked up at Joz and shook his head. "Yer close, but I think i's this'un," he said as he flipped to the O. He traced the slightly oblong curves of the letter as he spoke. "O," he said, "like the shape yer lips make when ye say 'er."

"Well, she's J, she's the one what makes 'at juh sound firs' part o' yer name, juh-juh-Jozzie." He traced the lines of the J, the hook and the bar. "An' what comes next? Ye've got yer J fer juh; 'en what?" he asked.

"Aye, a'right then. Jus' as ye like. Joz'll be simpler, anyhow. Jus' three letters, should be," he added as he turned to the page with the letter J. Indicating it with his finger, he asked, "D'ye know this'un?"

"Aw shite," he groaned, "that is a shite name, that'un." He reached down and flipped open the book on her lap. "So ye pick yerself a new name, a good'un, an' we learn how t'write it, ye an' I." An' won't that surprise Taru when 'e gets back. Big drunk me, teachin' letters an' givin' out names. Styrm smirked to himself.

Styrm huffed in response and said, "Aye, if yer doin' it right." He let out a chuckle or two at his own joke before again addressing Joz. "But ye'll not throw me that easy, ye won't. Le's 'ave yer name, then. Jozzie who?"

Wha's this now? Styrm thought to himself as he watched Joz...prevaricate? "'Ey now, no need fer shame er nothin'. Know a few miqo names, I do, an' howe'er breathy, wheezy, er buzzy it be," he said, thinking of all the Hs and Zs and Xs in the Keeper names he knew, "we'll spell 'er out t'gether, ye an' I. 'Ells, could be worse," he said with a pause, "ye coulda been born a roegadyn." At the last, he winked.

"Aye, right, uh..." he droned off as he thought for a moment. How had he begun to learn. It had been Ahldbyrm, strangely enough, who had set about teaching him his letters. He smiled as he recalled the largely illiterate crew of the Eyriberk struggling to help Ahldbyrm teach the huge child. He looked down at Joz and examined her closely briefly. Keeper. Hm...that won't work. "Joz. A name's good a place as any t'cast off. Joz wha's'it, then?" he asked.

Woah. I know we've never interacted a great deal, but even I noticed that you weren't around. I'm glad to know why and even gladder that you're alright (all things considered) and getting better. Welcome back, Erik!

Now that I think about it, I believe that Lolo plays the ukulele or something similar. It hadn't occurred to me before, but it seems like something he would play around with.

Styrm's face fell in response, but only slightly. "Ah, there's the rub then, eh?" He pulled himself out of his reclined position and twisted around to seat himself at Joz's side. "If ye don' know their names, firs' thing's t'introduce ye t'each other."

Styrm's eyebrows shot up. Taru'll be tickled, he mused, already knows more 'an 'e thought! Heavily, he settled back onto his elbows and crossed his feet. "Well, well, Jozzie, sure we ain't had some bit o' schoolin' some time? Knowin' so many, we can finish the last ones right up and be off fer a pint 'fore twelve bells!"

Styrm put his hand over his heart and feigned indignation. "Good fer loads, I am. So," he continued as he reached his hand out to the book and flipped it open to the alphabet primer, "which o' these 'ave ye already got knocking around up there?" He indicated Joz's head as he spoke.

His big, dumb grin became bigger and dumber and he replied, "It's a book, girlie. Ye open it."

Styrm pantomimed indignation, waving his outstretched hands in front of himself. "'Ey! Said I 'ad it, not a whisper 'bout buyin' it meself," he said with a smirk. "Aye, 'at's all Taru, 'at is. Yer learnin' yer letters 'as 'im all jumpy. 'E's wantin' fer ye t'get started, an' quicklike, wha's more."

He harrumphed loudly through his nose in response. "Jus' me pals," he said with a wink, "an' them I got gifts fer." He extended the copy of Ahldklind's Tales before him.

Styrmsthal looked up from the book and raised an eyebrow, then slammed the volume shut and guffawed. "'Chocobo?' C'mon, Jozzie, ye ain't so mousy as that, are ye?"

The day was beginning to wane as Styrmsthal swung himself in through the window of Joz's room. It was much darker inside than out. "'Ey, Jozzie, ye 'ere?" he called out into the shadows as he removed the shoulder bag he was wearing and sat it on the floor. Inside was a thick, but straightforward, copy of Ahldklind's Old & New Tales. Taru had found it at the market and told Styrm to deliver it. It was a child's copy the first pages of which featured beautiful and simple renditions of the Eorzean alphabet. He had been visibly excited when he found it and gave Styrm strict instructions to give it to the girl and see to it that she had made progress in learning her letters before he returned from Wineport. And so he lit a greasy tallow candle and sat down on the dirty floor. Several minutes passed before he pulled out the book and began to flip through its crisp, wide pages with his thick fingers. He enjoyed the stories and waited.

Lolotaru watched her go from his seat. He considered ordering something to eat or drink, but decided against it. He stood and made a move toward the Mizzenmast's concierge, halted, and exited in the direction of the Aftcastle. He descended to the Octant and continued down still to the docks. He ducked into a smallish inn and immediately saw the big man he sought. Styrmsthal was seated precariously on a dirty old chair that looked fit to buckle at any moment. Animated as always, he was shaking tiny dice in his giant fist. His grin was colossal. He rolled the dice, took one look, and through his head back in laughter. Lolo gazed at the dice; the way the roegadyn was carrying on, you'd think he'd have won the roll. "Hello, Styrm--" he was cut off as the chair, unsurprisingly, buckled and broke under the roegadyn's shifting, shaking weight. Lolotaru stepped onto his supine friend's chest and cleared his throat. "Hello Styrmsthal," he repeated. "Heh, 'ey Taru!" He looked at the lalafell's face for another moment before continuing, "Needin' a favor, then?" Lolo nodded and stepped off of his chest back onto the floor before extending his hand as though to help the big man up. Styrmsthal considered the gesture a moment before they both cracked and cackled.

Without moving from his seat, Lolo called after her, "Miss Joz! Are you sure?"

He nodded his assent. "I'll send word when I've returned. Do try to at least memorize some letters in between your casting practices. Think of them like arcanima symbols, like Ruin. They each have a meaning and a shape, but just as casting is easier with a personal touch, so too is reading and writing more natural once you've developed your own handwriting." He nodded again and slipped the books back into his pockets. He moved as though to stand and leave, but stopped himself and settled back down. "Have you still got any food left at home, Miss Joz?"

Lolo stacked the two books before him and placed his hands across the top. "You'll need to do both before too long. Keep practicing Ruin until you feel comfortable with it, but only at the Gate or outside of the city!" he admonished. He cocked his head and gazed off thoughtfully for a moment. "I don't have any...er...level-appropriate books here in the city, but I may have some that we can use at my room in Wineport," he mumbled to himself, and lower still, "There or in Ul'dah...no, better to simply buy them here." His head snapped forward again and he addressed Joz directly, saying, "I'll need to return to Wineport for a few days. I can have Styrmsthal bring a few primers by your home and we can begin in earnest when I return, or, well, you may join me in Wineport." He waited expectantly.

"'Cause ye can't answer questions?" He grimaced at that. "Because it is a question, Miss Joz, and questions are for asking. Axiomatic, yes, but it is essential to the character of the arcanist. If you would be one, then you must never stop asking questions."

Lolo's nose crinkled and his lips pursed as he responded, "It means there was someone to read it, at least." He pulled the tome back around toward himself, ignoring for the moment the other book. His eyes and fingers moved across the page, pulled, magnetized. He spoke. "You're asking a great many questions, Miss Joz, and it's very well indeed that you should. And that is why I've given so much for this book, why it above all others is my constant companion. That is exactly what makes it important."

Lolo appeared exasperated. "I've tried doing just that. Thaliak confound it, that's half the reason I moved all the way across Eorzea!" he muttered harshly, mostly to himself. He composed himself somewhat and turned his eyes back up to Joz. He smiled wanly and was quiet.