(no subject)

[ps_you_look_hot]

There's a man on a couch by the fire, feet up, two books open in his lap. One is an ancient, dusty-looking thing, the other an English-Sanskrit dictionary.

Someone's researching.



[ooc: Recycled post is recycled! Open until his next EP.]

Comments

[ostro_goth]

Teja has never seen anything written in Sanskrit.

He has seen written Latin, Greek, Gothic, and Hebrew in his lifetime (each language using a different alphabet!), and Japanese, in his afterlife; but never these squiggles.

So he looks at the dictionary, in passing, mildly curious.

[ps_you_look_hot]

The Sanskrit book contains, possibly helpfully, illustrations of a rather impressive looking city, nestled in a valley between several imposing mountains.

The dictionary contains no such pictures, a fact Nikola finds mildly frustrating.

And when he's frustrated, he tends to curse in Serbian, though softly, under his breath.

[ostro_goth]

"Your language sounds like that of the Veneti, that lived east of our realm," Teja says. "So that is how it is written?"

The Veneti had been barbarians, freshly coming in from the east; but with time, they would acquire writing, as all mankind seemed to do.

[ps_you_look_hot]

Nikola glances up from his books. "Hmm? No, this is Sanskrit, that was Serbian.

"Though I believe the Serbs have some sort of vague connection to the Veneti."

His interest in ancestry doesn't general include his Serbian heritage.

[ostro_goth]

"I have heard neither of Serbs nor -- Sanskrit, was it? -- before," Teja says. "One would assume they were all after my time, and have not introduced themselves to me since I came here."

[ps_you_look_hot]

"The Serbs likely were," Nikola says, taking in Teja's appearance. "Sanskrit, though, is one of the oldest known languages, so unless you're from very, very long ago, I doubt it's before your time."

[ostro_goth]

"It was not known among the Greeks and Romans, let alone my people," Teja says. "I died in the year 552 of Christian reckoning, and was an Ostrogoth."

[ps_you_look_hot]

"It was a bit far East for you, then. It was certainly around."

He pauses, frowning. "I'm sorry, did you say you died?"

This would make Teja the first dead patron he's met.

[ostro_goth]

"Yes," Teja says. "A spear to my lung ended my life, in battle. You must be new here, that you have not spoken to a dead man before."

[lady-of-athens.livejournal.com]

Athena tends to become intrigued where old books are concerned, and more so considering the fact that the dictionary happens to be English-Sanskrit.

"You mind if I ask what you're reading?"

[ps_you_look_hot]

"It's a book of fables," Nikola says in a tone that suggests it's very frivolous reading indeed.

Of course, the text is far more detailed than your typical fable and includes maps and historical records.

[lady-of-athens.livejournal.com]

This explanation would fly rather better if Athena couldn't actually read it.

Still, she doesn't comment on it for now, instead choosing to settle down in one of the nearby armchairs.

"Feeling nostalgic?"

[ps_you_look_hot]

If he knew who he was speaking to, he'd never have attempted the lie.

"For Sanskrit fairy tales? I don't think nostalgia would quite be the right word for that."

[lady-of-athens.livejournal.com]

She concedes this with a slight smile.

"Curiosity, then? Because if you will allow me the liberty, I must say you fairy tales read rather more like a history book."

[ps_you_look_hot]

He smiles, entirely unabashed to have been caught in his deception.

"Curiosity is as good a word for it as any, I suppose." He nods. "Yes. I'm extremely curious about the lost city of Bhalasaam."

He's been there, of course, so it hardly qualifies as 'lost' anymore, but that's beside the point.

[lady-of-athens.livejournal.com]

"And I'd guess not just in the sense in which most people are curious about Machu Picchu?"

[ps_you_look_hot]

"Probably not. My curiosity is more practical than academic in nature."

[tragic_mask]

If there's one thing Melpomene can never resist (besides a light, of course), it's really old, really dusty books.

Consequently, there's a curious muse in a nearby chair by the fire.

[ps_you_look_hot]

Nikola is rather engrossed in his attempted translations, so he doesn't notice he's being watched.

Periodically, there's a whispered (and completely inaccurately pronounced) bit of Sanskrit.

[tragic_mask]

Melpomene winces, but doesn't comment.

After about fifteen words like this, she finally leans over and says, quite helpfully, "You know, most people don't speak Sanskrit any more, so you're probably better off not trying to speak it aloud."

[ps_you_look_hot]

He finally glances up. "If no one speaks it, then I'm hardly doing any harm by muddling my way through, am I?"

[tragic_mask]

She makes a pained face.

"That's pretty logical. But if you wanted to speak it, wouldn't you want to know you were speaking it correctly?"

Melpomene always pushes for good pronunciation.

[ps_you_look_hot]

"I would, if I were trying to speak it. Really, I'm just trying to make sense of it, and saying it out loud sometimes helps with that."

Languages are not his strong suit, though he does quite well with them.

[tragic_mask]

She finds a better angle--in this case over his shoulder-- and reads a few lines, murmuring.

"Looks like interesting stuff," she concludes, a bit wry.

[ps_you_look_hot]

"Well, theoretically, yes," Nikola says, flipping to the next page. "It loses a lot of points for being vague and metaphorical."