when i woke up this morning my mind was still spinning around everything that went on with the dragon
medya suggested i talk to either ploughshare for help working through it or dad for a bit of emotional re-centering
i was tired of looping on the same thoughts so i talked to dad
he brightened my day right away with great news – my brother's found a patron!
it's about time really
he's all about paint on canvas and of the two of us i feel that he's the more skilled artist
catchlight is too talented to have been overlooked by the art scene for so long
what he really wants is for others to remember his name for his own art but he's seen little success
when he puts his heart into it his abstract paintings convey clear and powerful emotions like nobody else's ... but most ponies don't care for it
his skill is such that he can mimic other artists' styles and that sells easily ... but when folks appreciate that art it's not his name they remember
dad feels that the difference in catchlight is like night to day because he's walking with more confidence and speaking up more
also he's been wearing a sash gifted to him from said patron – a sash that dad thinks clashes badly with his coat colors but it seems to make him happy and it draws glances and smiles from other ponies so it can't be all that terrible
after all he can't clash more than cousin bran and she sure makes it work
so i asked dad to bring him in on the call
it was ... a strange conversation
i asked how he's doing and he gushed about finally getting some recognition for his art and how helpful and encouraging his patron is
he asked how i'm doing and i was unprepared for the question
little brother it hasn't been easy because i've been falling forward for over half a year and i can't talk about much of it
he asked if we're safe ... and i didn't know whether to laugh or cry
oh little brother
that's not a yes-or-no question
i told him that medya and i are only safe in a relative sense but we're with good friends and i feel certain that together we'll make it through
i don't want to him to think that i'm utterly miserable out here so i told him about some of the good parts like the food and music and such but he seemed to barely hear me
medya says he may have interpreted it all as "out here i've found way more success and friends and fun stuff but it's too dangerous for you to handle so stay home"
he has always been a little bit jealous of my relative success and now that i think about it his defensiveness about his own isn't much of a surprise ... and hopefully with time and confidence he'll relax
even so it was really good to hear from him!
all that aside
we're headed back to lake dark to return the svestjarbi and say goodbye to the svesti then it's off to trolanport
fortunately that's only a teleport away and we'll have a couple weeks to enjoy the city