Post by HungryHunter on May 6, 2021 4:38:55 GMT
“Right here. See the cuts in the ground? They look pretty fresh.” Arthur pointed out some long gashes down the side of the hill. It wasn’t often that Love asked him to take her hunting directly; usually they scheduled it long in advance, but today she insisted on some father-daughter time and he had accommodated. She was quiet today, mostly just following his lead. He didn’t push her. He knew she had something eating her up, and she’d talk about it when she was good and ready. “Looks like a big one.” Love said, reading the depth of the slashes.
“Less than you’d think. This is only in level 2, after all. The adults migrate out to 3.” Arthur said before leading her on. It was a hilly region, the forest a bit more open here. No need to follow a trail, they could walk anywhere they wanted, and they did so for quite a while before Love spoke up. “...so uh… I wanted to talk.” She said. “Then talk. What’s up, my lovely little lady?” Arthur flicked out a sword of ice, smoothing out the top of a nearby stump. He sat patiently, letting her speak at her own pace. “I want to know how you make relationships work! Ariana and I, we just keep getting into the stupidest of fights!” Love was eventually able to spit out, after a long time working through her thoughts.
“Well, you’re teenagers. You’re a smart girl, Lovely, but you still have a lot of growing to do, and so does Ariana.”
“That’s not helpful advice, that’s just saying I’ll get better without saying how. How do you and Jenifer do it?”
“Uh, actually…” Arthur sighed. “We’re not seeing each other anymore. It was a mutual decision. We’re still friends, but it didn’t feel right being more.”
“What!? But I was just getting used to her… I was… when was this?”
“Yesterday.” Arthur said. “I was going to tell you, just… after the trip. I didn’t want to ruin it. We do like each other, and we’re still friends. There just wasn’t a certain spark. I don’t really know how to explain it to you.”
“Was it about…” Love went red. She really didn’t want to talk about this with her dad, but she had to know. “About sex?”
“I mean, not entirely, but a little. She wasn’t as comfortable waiting as I was. But there was plenty more. This kind of thing just happens, Lovely. All the time. Even adults break up.”
“That doesn’t help at all. How are you supposed to give me advice when it didn’t work out for you either?” Loveline pouted and floated up to sit on a tree branch.
“Well you’re the one who asked for advice.” Arthur grew ice wings and with a single flap, jetted up to a branch across from her. And I do have a few things to say, if you can listen to your failure of a dad.”
“Oh shut up, you’re not a failure. Please. I want to hear what you have to say.”
“Okay the, professor Arthur’s lecture begins! First rule! Communication! If you’re yelling, you’re not listening! If you’re mad about something, try to broach the topic calmly. If you yell, she’ll start yelling too.”
“But what if she does something really bad?”
“Bad enough for you to break up with her? Or call the cops?”
“Uh… well not that bad.”
“Well then it might not be bad enough for yelling. Just think about it before you start getting mad. If they respect you, they’ll listen. And that’s rule two. You need to listen to your partner too.”
“Well of course I listen to Ariana.”
“Do you actively listen? Ask her questions to let her know you’re listening?”
“...sometimes.” Love blushed. Now she was feeling really bad at this.
“Hey! No judging yourself. Everybody starts bad at this. My two best friends haven’t had dates in years and they’re twice your age. No pouting. That’s rule three.” Arthur smiled. “Uh… I didn’t have an actual rule three. For avoiding arguments that’s kind of all I got.”
“That isn’t much.”
“It’s a small part of making relationships work. If you’re just walking on eggshells to avoid an argument, you’re not really connecting. There’s way more. Boundaries, knowing how much time to spend together, se- uh, intimacy.”
“Pff. You can say the word sex, Dad. I'm basically grown.” Love rolled her eyes. “But no, don’t talk about it. That’s weird.”
“I didn’t plan on it. That one’s entirely out of my wheelhouse. Still, I hope this helped. Come on, rate my class, how was Relationships 101?”
“It was goooood.” Love sighed in admittance. “I’ll try to keep it in mind. But what if I mess up?”
“Then you ask her to forgive you. Or if you’re lucky, you won’t even have to ask. Riri is a great girl and so are you. Now come on, it’s nearly sundown. Let’s catch that thing before it gets dark.” Arthur slid off of his branch and landed lightly, followed shortly by Love floating down. She was smiling now, nodding and listening when he pointed out tracks, asking questions when he paused. She would get this soon enough. Relationships were complicated, but she was smart. She could figure it out.
“Less than you’d think. This is only in level 2, after all. The adults migrate out to 3.” Arthur said before leading her on. It was a hilly region, the forest a bit more open here. No need to follow a trail, they could walk anywhere they wanted, and they did so for quite a while before Love spoke up. “...so uh… I wanted to talk.” She said. “Then talk. What’s up, my lovely little lady?” Arthur flicked out a sword of ice, smoothing out the top of a nearby stump. He sat patiently, letting her speak at her own pace. “I want to know how you make relationships work! Ariana and I, we just keep getting into the stupidest of fights!” Love was eventually able to spit out, after a long time working through her thoughts.
“Well, you’re teenagers. You’re a smart girl, Lovely, but you still have a lot of growing to do, and so does Ariana.”
“That’s not helpful advice, that’s just saying I’ll get better without saying how. How do you and Jenifer do it?”
“Uh, actually…” Arthur sighed. “We’re not seeing each other anymore. It was a mutual decision. We’re still friends, but it didn’t feel right being more.”
“What!? But I was just getting used to her… I was… when was this?”
“Yesterday.” Arthur said. “I was going to tell you, just… after the trip. I didn’t want to ruin it. We do like each other, and we’re still friends. There just wasn’t a certain spark. I don’t really know how to explain it to you.”
“Was it about…” Love went red. She really didn’t want to talk about this with her dad, but she had to know. “About sex?”
“I mean, not entirely, but a little. She wasn’t as comfortable waiting as I was. But there was plenty more. This kind of thing just happens, Lovely. All the time. Even adults break up.”
“That doesn’t help at all. How are you supposed to give me advice when it didn’t work out for you either?” Loveline pouted and floated up to sit on a tree branch.
“Well you’re the one who asked for advice.” Arthur grew ice wings and with a single flap, jetted up to a branch across from her. And I do have a few things to say, if you can listen to your failure of a dad.”
“Oh shut up, you’re not a failure. Please. I want to hear what you have to say.”
“Okay the, professor Arthur’s lecture begins! First rule! Communication! If you’re yelling, you’re not listening! If you’re mad about something, try to broach the topic calmly. If you yell, she’ll start yelling too.”
“But what if she does something really bad?”
“Bad enough for you to break up with her? Or call the cops?”
“Uh… well not that bad.”
“Well then it might not be bad enough for yelling. Just think about it before you start getting mad. If they respect you, they’ll listen. And that’s rule two. You need to listen to your partner too.”
“Well of course I listen to Ariana.”
“Do you actively listen? Ask her questions to let her know you’re listening?”
“...sometimes.” Love blushed. Now she was feeling really bad at this.
“Hey! No judging yourself. Everybody starts bad at this. My two best friends haven’t had dates in years and they’re twice your age. No pouting. That’s rule three.” Arthur smiled. “Uh… I didn’t have an actual rule three. For avoiding arguments that’s kind of all I got.”
“That isn’t much.”
“It’s a small part of making relationships work. If you’re just walking on eggshells to avoid an argument, you’re not really connecting. There’s way more. Boundaries, knowing how much time to spend together, se- uh, intimacy.”
“Pff. You can say the word sex, Dad. I'm basically grown.” Love rolled her eyes. “But no, don’t talk about it. That’s weird.”
“I didn’t plan on it. That one’s entirely out of my wheelhouse. Still, I hope this helped. Come on, rate my class, how was Relationships 101?”
“It was goooood.” Love sighed in admittance. “I’ll try to keep it in mind. But what if I mess up?”
“Then you ask her to forgive you. Or if you’re lucky, you won’t even have to ask. Riri is a great girl and so are you. Now come on, it’s nearly sundown. Let’s catch that thing before it gets dark.” Arthur slid off of his branch and landed lightly, followed shortly by Love floating down. She was smiling now, nodding and listening when he pointed out tracks, asking questions when he paused. She would get this soon enough. Relationships were complicated, but she was smart. She could figure it out.