08-05-2017, 01:17 PM
"No. No, just other people like me who learned how to tap into their greater selves. Come on Strazio, I didn't take you for the type of guy to give up on something the minute he starts trying." Tearen said, raising an eyebrow at the fuming mage. Naturally, Tearen did not hold the rage mage's ire against him; it was a function of his reality. Part of who he was, and therefore, part of Tearen as well. In fact, this gave the eldritch Prime an idea. He delicately plucked a strawberry that had been left on Malon's plate between forefinger and thumb, and held it out to the white-clad warrior. Rockwell looked down at the piece of fruit, then back at the Shadow.
"...what? What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?" he snapped. Tearen took on a nonplussed expression, gingerly grabbed Strazio's hand, and closed the man's scarred and pitted fingers around the sweet morsel.
"I'm going to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. May I borrow a piece of your sensory input for a minute?" Tearen said, slowly raising a hand towards Strazio's face. The angry wizard instinctively shied away from the gesture with a wary glance. He understood that he had basically elected to take Tearen on as a teacher, but there was a limit to how much he was willing to be made and example. Still...
"Just don't do anything fuckin' weird." Strazio muttered. Tearen couldn't agree to that, subjective as it was, so he just did his best to reassure the mage.
"It will only be for a minute...There." Tearen said, lowering his hand. He glanced over at Malon as her disguised form rejoined the group on the gazebo floor. Whatever phone call she had made had evidently caused her to lose her appetite, because she dutifully moved to clean her place setting away from the table. Tearen motioned for her to stay for a moment; she had already missed some important stuff. It would help for her to witness this. Strazio looked around, scratched his nose, and blinked.
"...what am I supposed to notice? Nothing changed." he said, tossing the unwanted piece of fruit back on to Maru's platter. He froze.
"What the fuck was that." he said suddenly, snapping a glare at Tearen, who was clearly trying to suppress a smile. Dane looked at the strawberry with a curious expression.
"What was what? I didn't see anything either." the mathematician said, picking the strawberry up. Strazio shuddered and waved his hand vigorously.
"S-stop! Put it back! I can...feel that. I can feel what the strawberry...is feeling." Strazio said, trying to process the alien sensations that were being fed to his brain from a few feet away. Gamzee immediately shot to his feet.
"DUDE. I wanna touch the Strazberry!" he shouted, snatching the red mote of life out of Dane's fingers. Strazio shuddered in a peculiar way as Gamzee fondled and poked the fruit.
"TEAREN! Knock it off! I don't wanna feel that stupid fucking thing!" Strazio snapped, marching over to Tearen's smug face and grabbing the elder Prime by the cuff of his tank top. Tearen simply offered the rage mage a quaint smile.
"But it's yours to feel. It's always been there, you just didn't know how to tap into it." Tearen said softly.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Strazio roared. Gamzee grinned peevishly and gave the Strazberry a little squeeze.
"Honk."
Strazio's legs went weak, and he lost his grip on Tearen.
"You and the strawberry are both extant. Part of the same universe. Part of the same body. Physical separation means nothing in this perspective, no more than a soul has a physical connection to the body. You are the strawberry and it is you. I am you. You are me–"
"–and we are all together, yeah I get it fuckwit. But it's not...like...But you're MAKING this happen though. You're just messing with my head!" Strazio said, getting back on his feet. As usual, Maru was blushing fiercely. To her credit, though, she managed to work through her mortified feelings and offer a suggestion.
"I think...maybe...Tearen is helping, yes. But the point is that the connection was always there. Right? We just didn't think to look for it because..."
"...because it doesn't make a lick of sense." Dane said, finishing her sentence. Tearen nodded approvingly.
"Not in the natural sense, anyway. No. But you're going to have to give up your instincts in order to learn your sovereign right to these abilities. It seems wrong. It seems impossible. It may even seem–"
"Can you...stop doing that...before you keep talking." Strazio said, pointing at Gamzee. Tearen blinked, then obliged the incensed wizard, once again covering Rockwell's connection to the unassuming berry with eons of evolutionary fog. The rage mage breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." he said, straightening his collar and going to sit down. Gamzee looked down at the strawberry before shrugging and popping it in his mouth.
"HEY!" Strazio barked, wheeling around in his wicker chair. The clownish troll just gave Rockwell a blank stare. Tearen was pleased.
"What's the matter, Strazio? I thought it was just a 'stupid fucking thing'. Not an actual part of you. I even spared you the agony of it feeling itself being chewed up, so why the anger?" Tearen cooed, his green eyes seeming to leer into Rockwell's soul. Strazio fumed silently, then broke the table in half with a single, sparking punch.
"...whatever. I need some time to think." the furious wizard mumbled. He kicked his chair to the side and stalked off into the jungle, muttering to himself. There was a long silence before Tearen spoke.
"That's probably a good idea. Let's recess for now and take a breather. If you have questions, feel free to seek me out on your own, however." Tearen said, motioning for the other students to stand. Everyone gathered their wits about them and shuffled off to see to their own ends. Malon insisted on staying to help Tearen clean up Strazio's mess, but the eldritch Prime shooed her away.
Once he was all on his own again, he whistled a song about a walrus while extracting the ruined table's omnilium. Things were going better than expected!
"...what? What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?" he snapped. Tearen took on a nonplussed expression, gingerly grabbed Strazio's hand, and closed the man's scarred and pitted fingers around the sweet morsel.
"I'm going to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. May I borrow a piece of your sensory input for a minute?" Tearen said, slowly raising a hand towards Strazio's face. The angry wizard instinctively shied away from the gesture with a wary glance. He understood that he had basically elected to take Tearen on as a teacher, but there was a limit to how much he was willing to be made and example. Still...
"Just don't do anything fuckin' weird." Strazio muttered. Tearen couldn't agree to that, subjective as it was, so he just did his best to reassure the mage.
"It will only be for a minute...There." Tearen said, lowering his hand. He glanced over at Malon as her disguised form rejoined the group on the gazebo floor. Whatever phone call she had made had evidently caused her to lose her appetite, because she dutifully moved to clean her place setting away from the table. Tearen motioned for her to stay for a moment; she had already missed some important stuff. It would help for her to witness this. Strazio looked around, scratched his nose, and blinked.
"...what am I supposed to notice? Nothing changed." he said, tossing the unwanted piece of fruit back on to Maru's platter. He froze.
"What the fuck was that." he said suddenly, snapping a glare at Tearen, who was clearly trying to suppress a smile. Dane looked at the strawberry with a curious expression.
"What was what? I didn't see anything either." the mathematician said, picking the strawberry up. Strazio shuddered and waved his hand vigorously.
"S-stop! Put it back! I can...feel that. I can feel what the strawberry...is feeling." Strazio said, trying to process the alien sensations that were being fed to his brain from a few feet away. Gamzee immediately shot to his feet.
"DUDE. I wanna touch the Strazberry!" he shouted, snatching the red mote of life out of Dane's fingers. Strazio shuddered in a peculiar way as Gamzee fondled and poked the fruit.
"TEAREN! Knock it off! I don't wanna feel that stupid fucking thing!" Strazio snapped, marching over to Tearen's smug face and grabbing the elder Prime by the cuff of his tank top. Tearen simply offered the rage mage a quaint smile.
"But it's yours to feel. It's always been there, you just didn't know how to tap into it." Tearen said softly.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Strazio roared. Gamzee grinned peevishly and gave the Strazberry a little squeeze.
"Honk."
Strazio's legs went weak, and he lost his grip on Tearen.
"You and the strawberry are both extant. Part of the same universe. Part of the same body. Physical separation means nothing in this perspective, no more than a soul has a physical connection to the body. You are the strawberry and it is you. I am you. You are me–"
"–and we are all together, yeah I get it fuckwit. But it's not...like...But you're MAKING this happen though. You're just messing with my head!" Strazio said, getting back on his feet. As usual, Maru was blushing fiercely. To her credit, though, she managed to work through her mortified feelings and offer a suggestion.
"I think...maybe...Tearen is helping, yes. But the point is that the connection was always there. Right? We just didn't think to look for it because..."
"...because it doesn't make a lick of sense." Dane said, finishing her sentence. Tearen nodded approvingly.
"Not in the natural sense, anyway. No. But you're going to have to give up your instincts in order to learn your sovereign right to these abilities. It seems wrong. It seems impossible. It may even seem–"
"Can you...stop doing that...before you keep talking." Strazio said, pointing at Gamzee. Tearen blinked, then obliged the incensed wizard, once again covering Rockwell's connection to the unassuming berry with eons of evolutionary fog. The rage mage breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." he said, straightening his collar and going to sit down. Gamzee looked down at the strawberry before shrugging and popping it in his mouth.
"HEY!" Strazio barked, wheeling around in his wicker chair. The clownish troll just gave Rockwell a blank stare. Tearen was pleased.
"What's the matter, Strazio? I thought it was just a 'stupid fucking thing'. Not an actual part of you. I even spared you the agony of it feeling itself being chewed up, so why the anger?" Tearen cooed, his green eyes seeming to leer into Rockwell's soul. Strazio fumed silently, then broke the table in half with a single, sparking punch.
"...whatever. I need some time to think." the furious wizard mumbled. He kicked his chair to the side and stalked off into the jungle, muttering to himself. There was a long silence before Tearen spoke.
"That's probably a good idea. Let's recess for now and take a breather. If you have questions, feel free to seek me out on your own, however." Tearen said, motioning for the other students to stand. Everyone gathered their wits about them and shuffled off to see to their own ends. Malon insisted on staying to help Tearen clean up Strazio's mess, but the eldritch Prime shooed her away.
Once he was all on his own again, he whistled a song about a walrus while extracting the ruined table's omnilium. Things were going better than expected!
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued