(1938-10-24) Tiny Steps
Details for Tiny Steps
Summary: Kaleb and Takeshi bump into each other at a Book Store and soon Kaleb is giving Takeshi life advice.
Date: October 24th, 1938
Location: Books Unbound
Related: A Piano Walks Into A Bar
Characters
KalebTakeshi

It is a cool afternoon and Books Unbound is still open, though Thomas is off doing who knows what in the shop. Takeshi however has found himself sitting under the tree in one of the large overstuffed armchairs, a sharp contrast to his bright yellow robes, a book on various Herbology and Plant Poisons in his hands, while he flips the pages his hand moves every so often to pick up either his bright orange cup of tea or steal a biscuit from the small bowl on the coffee table next to him. His gaze every so often moves up from the pages around the store, he likes it here, quiet and he can hide in his chair, though that manx cat keeps coming up and trying to nuzzle his leg, to only get shooed away by Takeshi with a few words in Japanese.

"Nope. Nope. Maybe. Definitely not. Perhaps. Not touching that with a ten foot pole made out of manticore tail." Kaleb seems to be going through books nearby on the subject of magical animals. "Here we go! A beastiary of dangerous creatures." His voice sounds happy. The manx that Takeshi just shooed away seems to find it's way to Kaleb, rubbing up agains his legs. "Well, hello there lil fella." He kneels down to scratch its head a little bit. "Having fun keeping book finders company?" He chuckles.

Takeshi hears the voice of Kaleb and his eyes move up from his book slowly, looking around for it. He remembers all the curious stories, he heard last time from Mr. Gamp and rather enjoyed them, finally noticing him, petting that cat he brings his hand up in a simple wave, "Mr. Gamp." he says softly, trying not to disturb anyone else in the story, a smile on his face.

"Hmm?" Did he hear his name? Kaleb looks around. It's not often he can say, in his travels, that he actually runs into people multiple times. But, if he's going to be staying around the U.K. for a while, he might as well get accustomed to it. "Ah! Hello, my good lad!" He stands and gives Takeshi a wave. Closing the distance between them, he smiles. "Good seeing you again. And so far, I've yet to need your handy assistance as a Healer. I've only got a few mild scratches in my time here." He grins.

Takeshi gestures for Kaleb to come have a seat next to him as closes the distance, "Good, Good!" he says softly, "Have you seen anything interesting?" he asks curiously though the hint of excitement lingers in his voice, "Oh and if you ever… need someone to stand by for medical reasons…" he says slowly looking around, with a small grin on his face, "I would be happy to come." he says nodding a bit.

"Thank you, lad. Thank you. I've been out all day trying to find a book like this!" Kaleb holds out the book he picked up. The title reads: 'Dangerous Creatures of the Amazonian Forest'. Taking his seat, he sighs happily. "I'll definitely keep you in mind. I never asked, but I was curious, is there a particular kind of healing you're interested in getting into?" He smiles, tilting his head at the man. "Anything interesting…anything interesting. Well, a whole bunch of differing kinds of flying horses. Including thestrals. Being as the fact that I can see them, I've endeavoured to study them, as there are a fair few who can't see them."

Takeshi smiles softly, "Potion and Plant Poisoning" he says softly with a small nod, "Oh Thestrals…" he says slowly with a small nod, not wanting to poke on the topic too much, "I hear they are interesting." he says slowly with a nod, "How is you studies going? Good I hope." he continues, picking up his tea and taking a small sip, "Well you would have to keep my condition in mind… I would hate to put you in a odd spot with it…" he says slowly shifting slightly in his chair.

"Ah, yes. Had a healer down in South Africa heal me for plant poisoning, back in Nineteen Twenty-odd-something. Let me tell ya, that was not a fun week. Taught me to not eat a plant unless I was completely sure what it was." Kaleb looks down at his book and shudders a little bit. "On the upside, I met a fellow there from French Upper Volta. Told me where I could find myself runsepoors there. I'd always been curious about 'em, so I went on a journey. He'd plotted out on a map for me where I could possibly find them." He frowns and sighs, "Unfortunately, to this day, I've still not seen one."

Takeshi frowns slightly, "Well I am sure you will find a Runsepor." he says slowly taking another sip of his tea, "I just like to think of all the the different plants you must come across in your travels…" he says slowly with a small nod, "Must be pretty exciting, seeing all those different things, just because you haven't seen one, think of all the other ones you have seen." he says offering Kaleb a big grin.

"You'd be amazed at all the different plants I've seen." Kaleb grins. "Big plants, small plants. Plants that only bloom once every three months, and then only if the moon is five-eighths full. Plants that attract creatures of all sorts just so they'll pick up that plant's seeds on their fur and carry them elsewhere." He frowns and thinks for a moment. "I'm sure there've been others…but you get the point." He lets one foot rest on his knee. "What makes you so interested in potions and plants?"

Takeshi looks over Kaleb for a moment, "When I am gardening, dealing with plants and things like that…" he says slowly nodding for a moment, "It is the only time I can get dirty, that things don't have to be perfect, that I don't have an episode." he says softly, sounding a bit ashamed as he talks. "I can just let my mind focus on the soil and the planet and I am free for a little bit." he says softly.

"I think that sounds absolutely wonderful." Kaleb says, only after Takeshi has finished explaining. "If you've found something that helps you get through the day, that helps calm your mind, I say go for it." He speaks in an unassuming tone, speaking kindly. "When you've got something…something that is ever pressing at the forefront of your mind, and it won't stop, and you've found a way to quiet it, that is something quite amazing." He almost sounds like he understands what Takeshi is going through.

Takeshi lets out a small sigh, "Too bad I can't just garden all the time, when I really try not to let things get to me, I only end upi making a scene and embarrassing the people I am with." he says slowly, picking up a biscuit as the cat comes to nuzzle his leg again, shooing it away in Japanese and eying it slowly, "Somedays I just wish… everything made more sense in my head, you know?" he says shaking his head.

Kaleb looks at Takeshi for a few quiet moments. "There was a young man I used to know." He finally begins. "He used to be extremely worried about what people used to think of him. He just…there were days he was annoyed at himself, annoyed at his family, annoyed at the world." He takes a deep breath in, looking as if he's trying to remember the remainder of the story. "He was afraid of failing in this one aspect of his life. Every time he failed, he felt as if he'd either let himself or others down, or that he would be mocked." He smiles sadly, eyes slowly moving toward the ground, following the manx cat. "He wanted more than anything just to have a normal life. He didn't want people to constantly be eyeing him, expecting something of him." After a moment, he looks back up at Takeshi. "It was a struggle for him, but eventually learned to love himself…for himself. Faults and all. And he embraced who he was." He leans back, sighing. "We all come with aspects of ourselves that we dislike. Some aspects are extreme, some are not. Regardless, we cannot stop being who we are. And whether the world makes sense or not, we must learn to search out those people and those things that make sense for us. Those are the ones who will make the world a saner, more manageable place for us in all the confusion."

Takeshi smiles softly, "Thank you." he says slowly after listening to the whole story, "Sometimes I suppose I can be rather hard on myself, but I always feel so comfortable talking to you Mr. Gamp." he says with a small nod, "You are a really good person, you know that?" he says softly, giving him a nod.

Kaleb says, "Don't mention it, Takeshi." Kaleb bows his head, ever so slightly, in a nod. "We're all a little hard on ourselves at times. Part of what makes us human, I suppose. Every now and then we just need someone to remind us that everything's gonna be all right." He smiles widely. He waves a hand dismissively. "I've just been around a little while, is all. I'm not really a good guy. I'm just your average guy making his way in the world, one tiny step at a time, like everyone else.""

Takeshi smiles softly at Kaleb, getting up with his book in his hand, going to go pay for it. But before he does, he looks at Kaleb, "A stone thrown on one side of the ocean, can create a tsunami on the other end, Mr. Gamp." he says softly with a small nod, "So tiny steps can create earthquakes." he says, reaching over and patting Kaleb on the shoulder for a moment, before heading away.

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