08-06-2017, 02:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2017, 08:00 PM by Tearen Wover.)
"The strawberry was just an example, Dane. It's possible to extend this type of sensory connection to any conceivable thing in the world." Tearen said, raising an eyebrow at the red fruit. The bookish warrior's face had a worrying amount of stress buried beneath his usual staunch demeanor. It made sense the most dedicated logician out of all of his students would be the most troubled by the type of greater truth Tearen was professing.
"That, then. Do that." Dane said, twiddling the berry nervously between his fingers. Tearen shook his head.
"No, you're not ready for that. Taking in the perceptive spheres of everything around you has the capacity to literally light your brain on fire. We seek to transcend our evolutionary limits, yes, but they did evolve for a purpose." Tearen said, crossing his arms firmly. A bird in the misty distance keened dolefully in the warming sun of late afternoon, and streams of sunlight speared through the canopy overhead. Dane sighed.
"Well, yes I can imagine that feeling the pain of one's prey would put a damper on the appetite, but...just for a moment. Just so I can...see. Understand. Please." Dane said, a pleading tone creeping into his voice. Tearen tilted his head back a little bit; this was starting to get a little creepy, so better to just indulge the man for an instant than be harangued indefinitely.
"Take a deep breath." Tearen warned, before holding a hand up towards Dane's face. The elder Prime didn't have to ask the spellsword twice; Dane sucked in a great volume of air before abruptly getting hit in the face with absolutely everything.
airunderwingsflingwatchoutforbugspinnin gsilkfromspinneretteitis astrangepullin gsensationiambeingeaten alivebyavelvetwormthatisusingits radulatoskinoffmyexoskeletonijustpoopedam inuteagoa ndican feelthewormsinsidemyaviangutc hurningthereissufficie ntwat ercollectin gonmyleavestobloomtonig htsflowersitfeelsniceinacool wayilovethetasteofbloodastra ngebu lgingthrobbingsensationasil ayeggsfo rmytadpoles toconsumethereare seventhousandeighthundred nenetytwotre eswithinasquaremileradiusandmyhawkeyes havespott edamon keysome whereintheforestamanisscreamingloudly fearfearfearisthereamolehuntin gmemysticknomystickicansensethatitwi llrainsoonbecausemyfe athersar egetting heavyisthisediblewhatthe hellischewingonmy leggetitoffmyburrowistwelvedegreestothenorthwhentakingintoc onsiderationthemagnetizatio ninsidemybrain–
"STOP!" Dane shrieked, falling to his knees and clutching at his head. He breathed heavily for a long minute, trying to hold down his lunch as the pain of a thousand deaths faded from his immediate memory. In hindsight, asking for total sensory connection inside a jungle had probably been a bad idea. Once he had regained a modicum of his composure, the enervated intellectual staggered to his feet and glanced at Tearen with sunken eyes.
"How...long...?"
"Approximately half a second." Tearen said softly. Dane was initially disappointed that he hadn't been able to endure more, but just trying to remember everything he had taken in in that half second abolished any sense of pride. He simply nodded his head and stared down at the strawberry, clutched in his sweaty palm.
"Your point has been taken. How about just this, though?" Dane asked, lifting the fruit up weakly. Tearen's mouth drew into a thin line, but waved his hand and wiped away the evolutionary blocks between Dane's mind and the strawberry's rudimentary sensory abilities. Dane flinched slightly, but steadied himself before squeezing the fruit and tossing it up into the air a few times. It was...odd...the feeling of wind against his bare skin from a few feet above his head. It wasn't unpleasant though...quite the opposite really. Dane was beginning to understand why Strazio had been so enraged by the interaction...but Tearen had described the sensation of the strawberry's consumption as 'agony'. It didn't stack up. Dane opened his mouth, and Tearen immediately piped up.
"Are you...sure you want to do that?" the Shadow asked, turning his head to the side, slightly. Dane shrugged.
"Can't be worse than my previous error." he said with a note of mirth. Tearen opened his mouth, then sighed.
"Do as you will, but I'll leave you two alone." Tearen said, with a different sort of amusement. Dane's eyes followed the teacher's retreat with a curious look before staring down at the fruit. Now that he thought about it...strawberries or any fruited plant relied on being consumed to propagate their seeds. It was an important part of their reproduction cycle. Dane stared at the berry harder.
The strawberry...wanted to be eaten.
Perhaps the agony that Tearen had been hinting at was not in the physical feedback, but in the social and emotional fallout implied in the previous circumstances of the luncheon. Dane wasn't sure he wanted to do this experiment any more.
"That, then. Do that." Dane said, twiddling the berry nervously between his fingers. Tearen shook his head.
"No, you're not ready for that. Taking in the perceptive spheres of everything around you has the capacity to literally light your brain on fire. We seek to transcend our evolutionary limits, yes, but they did evolve for a purpose." Tearen said, crossing his arms firmly. A bird in the misty distance keened dolefully in the warming sun of late afternoon, and streams of sunlight speared through the canopy overhead. Dane sighed.
"Well, yes I can imagine that feeling the pain of one's prey would put a damper on the appetite, but...just for a moment. Just so I can...see. Understand. Please." Dane said, a pleading tone creeping into his voice. Tearen tilted his head back a little bit; this was starting to get a little creepy, so better to just indulge the man for an instant than be harangued indefinitely.
"Take a deep breath." Tearen warned, before holding a hand up towards Dane's face. The elder Prime didn't have to ask the spellsword twice; Dane sucked in a great volume of air before abruptly getting hit in the face with absolutely everything.
airunderwingsflingwatchoutforbugspinnin gsilkfromspinneretteitis astrangepullin gsensationiambeingeaten alivebyavelvetwormthatisusingits radulatoskinoffmyexoskeletonijustpoopedam inuteagoa ndican feelthewormsinsidemyaviangutc hurningthereissufficie ntwat ercollectin gonmyleavestobloomtonig htsflowersitfeelsniceinacool wayilovethetasteofbloodastra ngebu lgingthrobbingsensationasil ayeggsfo rmytadpoles toconsumethereare seventhousandeighthundred nenetytwotre eswithinasquaremileradiusandmyhawkeyes havespott edamon keysome whereintheforestamanisscreamingloudly fearfearfearisthereamolehuntin gmemysticknomystickicansensethatitwi llrainsoonbecausemyfe athersar egetting heavyisthisediblewhatthe hellischewingonmy leggetitoffmyburrowistwelvedegreestothenorthwhentakingintoc onsiderationthemagnetizatio ninsidemybrain–
"STOP!" Dane shrieked, falling to his knees and clutching at his head. He breathed heavily for a long minute, trying to hold down his lunch as the pain of a thousand deaths faded from his immediate memory. In hindsight, asking for total sensory connection inside a jungle had probably been a bad idea. Once he had regained a modicum of his composure, the enervated intellectual staggered to his feet and glanced at Tearen with sunken eyes.
"How...long...?"
"Approximately half a second." Tearen said softly. Dane was initially disappointed that he hadn't been able to endure more, but just trying to remember everything he had taken in in that half second abolished any sense of pride. He simply nodded his head and stared down at the strawberry, clutched in his sweaty palm.
"Your point has been taken. How about just this, though?" Dane asked, lifting the fruit up weakly. Tearen's mouth drew into a thin line, but waved his hand and wiped away the evolutionary blocks between Dane's mind and the strawberry's rudimentary sensory abilities. Dane flinched slightly, but steadied himself before squeezing the fruit and tossing it up into the air a few times. It was...odd...the feeling of wind against his bare skin from a few feet above his head. It wasn't unpleasant though...quite the opposite really. Dane was beginning to understand why Strazio had been so enraged by the interaction...but Tearen had described the sensation of the strawberry's consumption as 'agony'. It didn't stack up. Dane opened his mouth, and Tearen immediately piped up.
"Are you...sure you want to do that?" the Shadow asked, turning his head to the side, slightly. Dane shrugged.
"Can't be worse than my previous error." he said with a note of mirth. Tearen opened his mouth, then sighed.
"Do as you will, but I'll leave you two alone." Tearen said, with a different sort of amusement. Dane's eyes followed the teacher's retreat with a curious look before staring down at the fruit. Now that he thought about it...strawberries or any fruited plant relied on being consumed to propagate their seeds. It was an important part of their reproduction cycle. Dane stared at the berry harder.
The strawberry...wanted to be eaten.
Perhaps the agony that Tearen had been hinting at was not in the physical feedback, but in the social and emotional fallout implied in the previous circumstances of the luncheon. Dane wasn't sure he wanted to do this experiment any more.
Quote:Dane is free to break the connection with a little concentration, but I figure this would be more entertaining for him to write about.
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