Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here with a review after a looong time. I'm sorry it took so long but I was just not doing as many reviews as I did because I was feeling so dead and I just kept Team Tortoise going with reviews on the shortest works I could find. But here I am, finally back somewhat and writing a few more reviews than the required 31. So hopefully I remember enough things to not be lost.
First Impression: Okay...umm...I had somehow managed not to forget a good size portion of this this is good news and so I did enjoy this chapter. It was fun to explore the effects the recent developments would have on Buck's mother.
Anyway let's get right to it,
I guess I'm technically still going slow here but I just had so much fun xD
Having fun is good.
As Buck and Dorrea wandered around the market, Buck kept waiting for Dorrea to ask him if he was sure about what he was doing, but the question never came.
“You can’t be serious!” Dorrea laughed. “Are you sure?”
Okay....not sure if that was meant for the irony there or if I completely misunderstood what just happened...umm...let's hope its the first one.
That, to be fair, was not quite the question he’d been thinking of. She was holding her head in her hands and looking at the shirt Buck had just picked off a metal rack. It was light blue, almost white, and Buck thought it was a perfectly good candidate to be the new formal shirt he purchased for his trip.
He put his hands on his hips. “Hey, I like it! Aren’t ‘neutral colours’ like a whole thing?”
Okay....well that definitely got me there...
“It has tassels!” Dorrea exclaimed. She flicked the tassels, which to Buck’s surprise resulted in a little ringing sound. “And bells, apparently.”
That sounds like a good idea.
“Butta- Buck. I mean Buck. You’re meant to be looking for something professional, remember? Something that’s different from all the rest of your wardrobe?”
Buck rolled his eyes and grinned. “Yes, mum. I’m still buying this though.”
Oh he most certainly has to buy that one.
“Uh…” Buck mumbled. “I thought I was…”
Dorrea tsked and shook her head, lifting the shirt towards the stallkeep. As she placed it on the counter of the stall, she said, “Bucket, I’m your mother.” At first he thought she was going to stop there. She did pause, as if she’d forgotten quite what she was going to say. But finally she looked up from the stall at him and continued. “I’m your mum. I like to buy you things.”
Okay...is it me or was that more awkward than it should have been?
With that she sighed and paid the slightly alarmed stallkeep for the shirt. Buck thanked her, smiling as he took it despite the tension. The bells rang with every little movement, though Buck still couldn’t find them. He made eye contact with Dorrea and shook the shirt at her, which got a laugh as the ringing got louder and louder.
Oh dear...how well hidden are these bells then?
As they made their way to the next stall, Dorrea’s emphatic statement kept ringing in his mind. Of course she was his mother. But it was understandable that she be worried. He’d chosen to stay in Resador after all, once Pires had made her offer to train him all those years ago, and now he was heading even further away. Not only that. he was going to meet the father whom neither of them had seen since that time. That was what he kept expecting her to ask if he was sure about.
Right, that does actually seem like a rather reasonable line of questions.
The next rack was awash with drab colours and a disappointing lack of sequins. It was perfect. He flicked through the shirts on the rack until he found one that looked loose-fitting, remembering the lengths his father had had to go to in order to stay cool on the continent to the south. He wondered if there was a plan in place for that. Alkset certainly wasn’t wearing any big coats or anything, suggesting she wasn’t acclimated to dramatically warmer temperatures.
Okay...I assume technology plays a part in all of that.
As he got a few coins out of his pocket to pay for the shirt, Dorrea caught his arm.
“Buck, we talked about this,” she said.
Ohh..this is starting to get a little interesting here.
“No need to apologise, just… scoot to the side, would you?” Dorrea sighed, her exasperation clear.
Uh oh, exasperation doesn't sound good.
Buck got out the way and let her stand in front of the counter. She had to wave her hands a bit to get the stallkeep’s attention, but eventually managed to pay for the shirt and hand it back to Buck. Neither said anything as they made their way out of the market. They were drifting in the direction of Dorrea and Victane’s street, but Buck actually had to head to the palace.
“Uh, Mum, I’ve got to go meet Alkset to fill in some paperwork for the council…” Buck said, stopping and turning to face her.
Oh, thankfully that didn't get any worse there.
“Oh,” Dorrea said. She swallowed. “Alright… Do you still want dinner tonight?”
“Of course,” Buck said, “I can’t wait. Honestly, Mum, I’ve been loving spending evenings with you and Victane. Please, please don’t think that I don’t value that. Me going to meet Dad… that doesn’t change anything, okay?”
Now that is a surprising amount of insight on that statement there, I love that he's thinking about the ramifications of that carefully.
Dorrea’s gaze dropped from his and she moved her foot around in a circle on the ground. When she looked back up, she said, “Just be careful, alright? Unless finally having something to work on has changed him… No, scrap that. Look, I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you. It will make his year, I bet. But just… try not to expect anything from him, okay?”
That was certainly a warning there...poor Buck better watch out.
Buck made sure to nod slowly, showing that he was taking what she said on board. He’d wondered a few times how their relationship had been, but hadn’t been sure that it would be negative, since his father had been taken against his will. This didn’t sound especially positive, in fact this was almost a plea not to get his hopes up.
That was one of those indeed.
She nodded vigorously and wrapped her arms around him. When they pulled apart, Buck noticed her glance back towards the market. He followed her gaze, wondering what she’d seen.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, seemingly noticing his eyes’ direction. “I was just thinking I might see if I can find anything made by cotton from the Royal Valley.”
Hmm...that appears to be another interesting thing happening at this market, well it is full of surprises isn't it?
“Not necessarily for wearing right now,” Dorrea said. “No, I’ve been thinking for a while about what I’ll do around here. I was a shepherd back in the Valley, and while I may have been getting a tad old for running around after sheep all day, I did love the thought that the product of my work would end up all the way down nearby you. Maybe I just pick up the other end of that now.”
“You want to be a wool vendor?” Buck asked.
That does seem like an interesting decision to make but then its also surprisingly rather believable.
Dorrea nodded. “The huge range of clothes down here is wonderful too.” She pointed at Buck’s two shirts. “There’s a whole world of possibilities.”
“Well, sounds like a good plan,” Buck said.
Agreed with back there.
“Yep, and now both your parents will have a life’s work!” Dorrea exclaimed.
Buck panicked as he realised what she was getting at with all of this – he had been wondering.
Okay...that's not great...
“Oh gods, relax. Buck, I’m sorry, that was meant to be a joke, I am so not funny. To be honest neither’s your dad; I’ve no idea where you get that from. Please stop me talking,” Dorrea said.
Buck laughed and put a hand on your shoulder. He quickly looked around to see that nobody was in immediate earshot and said, “You called me Butty for my entire childhood. You are hilarious.” He grinned and her and she smiled back.
Hmm...okay I'll bite and say that was still a little bit suspicious. Considering the overall tone of this, I think the joke thing is probably what's actually happening but it doesn't hurt to overthink something...okay it does hurt but whatever.
“At dinner?” Dorrea asked, looking intently into his eyes.
“At dinner.” He nodded.
Hmm...well...certainly an interesting place to cut this chapter in two.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall this chapter promises to be an interesting one and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next part went as soon as I get time for another review...and I'll get around Tayburn zoo soon enough too.
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry
Points: 254163
Reviews: 4102
Donate