Once upon a time, as stories go, a caveman encountered a heavily injured mammoth escaping its pursuers. With a lucky shot from throwing his spear, the caveman struck the mammoth in a particularly vulnerable area. As it bled out, the last thing the mammoth saw was the incoming figure of its killer.

Centuries later, a less hairy, more intelligent man met a rampaging elephant at the same place. Fearing for his life, the man exhausted first all the arrows in his quiver, then every dart his blowgun carried. Somehow, he managed to deter the elephant from getting into close enough range to hurt him. Instead, the elephant escaped, but not before the image of its imposing form was etched deep in the man's mind.

Decades went by. One day, while driving through the streets, the man, now old and wizened, passed an elephant trainer. The trainer's charge, which was normally well-behaved, went out of control and rushed at the man. It was, of course, the same elephant, who remembered the man as clearly as he did it. Perhaps far better! Vengeance was had, for the elephant trampled the man, car and all, despite his shooting at it with a rifle. The elephant's wounds were comparable to those inflicted on the mammoth, however. It died shortly after.

The elephant was also supposedly the many-times-removed descendant of that mammoth, but who even knows.

We can take this story as being about how elephants never let go of grudges, or something...there is another theme, if you look closer.

Weapons. That which aim [heh, "aim"] to pierce the body of a living entity, to deal a fatal blow with greater efficiency. Coupled with the passing of time and the associated development of technology is an increase of power, range, and general destructiveness granted by wielding a weapon.

Over the past few days, I have heard mention that some among us [herself included -- though Strength is not entirely aware] are "not themselves." They won't do this, they won't say that. Maybe so. But I wonder: does seeking improvement in weaponry, whether sooner or later, suggest an inclination toward conflict, regardless of species? Is it inherent within everyone present to think, why be content with a slingshot when you can build a ballista?

[she's poised to go on, and probably will. Passersby on deck might spot the origin of the tl;dr perched on a ledge above, peering contemplatively at whoever ventures out into the open. So brave. So foolish. This is an excellent vantage spot to open fire from, were she to feel like it, because why not?]