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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:38:07 GMT -6
Of course, when he was unlucky, he was plagued by those episodes for days, weeks; sometimes he spent months on end with nights of consecutive bad dreams and little else. And on those occasions he had no choice but to get on as best he could, even deprived of restful sleep as he had been. But he had lived through so much worse, and the prospect of falling apart over sleepless nights of all things, now, seemed so absurd that it wasn’t even worth contemplating.
All in all, it made him a poor test subject, if only because he couldn’t produce a case at will for Rhys to practice on. “Let’s start you off with the drakes,” Aster said instead.
{The drakes? Why?} Rhys didn’t refuse, but he did question it. He fell into step behind Aster as Aster got up and walked away from the table.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:38:21 GMT -6
There was no sense in staying there anymore; his appetite had vanished as the topic of conversation broke, and he suspected it wasn’t going to come back until lunch. And right now, he needed to be doing something, just so he wouldn’t have to think.
“I can’t control when I have my… bad dreams,” Aster said. “You might not see one again for months if you wait on me to have another one, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to help walk you through what to do. Even when I wake up, I’m not… always myself.” It was uncomfortable to talk about. Aster couldn’t bring himself to say any more. It was only because he recognized the necessity of communicating to Rhys why they were doing things the way they were that he managed to force out this much. But fortunately Rhys did not press the point any further than that, and quietly accepted his explanation.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:38:46 GMT -6
{I guess that makes sense,} said Rhys. {Okay. Well, I was curious about the drakes anyway, actually. You think about them a lot, and you’re always saying how scary they are.}
“Well, they’re not easy to manage,” Aster said. “They make good fighters because you know they’ll never turn on you, since it’s so goddamn hard to get one to listen to you in the first place.” He had been hoping that a subset of Rhys’s abilities could be turned to making them easier to manage, and he was probably about to find out whether that was a viable idea.
The two of them headed out together to the stables where the drakes were kept. The setup was very roomy, with the two grown drakes situated at opposite ends, so that they would be as little disturbed by each other’s presence as Aster could manage.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:53:12 GMT -6
They were kin--- father and son, in fact--- but that didn’t make a difference once they had reached their full growth. Once they were big enough, all bets were off between any two drakes, as far as they were concerned.
Aster looked between the two of them, and decided they were better off taking on Albion first. “This way,” Aster said, and led Rhys to the left side of the stables.
Albion was his usual cantankerous self, but that was hardly a surprise to Aster. The drake took a cursory look at them, then ignored them when it became clear that Aster wasn’t here to bother him. Turning to Rhys, Aster said, “There’s a lot of distance between Albion and Aurelius, and they’ve gotten used to this, so Albion should still be himself, but… skim his thoughts, see what you find.”
Rhys blinked at him, then hopped onto the stable door with help from his wings, and concentrated.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:53:23 GMT -6
Aster had nothing to do but to wait and watch for the moment. It felt odd, but there were some things that he couldn’t observe, just by the nature of how they happened. He could try and probe into Rhys’s mind, but it wasn’t like a ribbon of telepathy, where the connection was two ways. If Rhys didn’t let him in… No, perhaps even if Rhys did, he would only be privy to what Rhys chose to show Aster, if anything. Generally the extent of their connection was Rhys’s broadcast thoughts, and Aster’s ability to make himself understood when he spoke.
It didn’t take Rhys long to do what he needed though, presumably because he was only getting a surface read on Albion for the moment. {He sure is cranky,} the Felusine concluded.
Aster laughed out loud at that assessment. Well, Rhys wasn’t wrong about that.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:53:40 GMT -6
Albion had never had a good temper, and no amount of age and wisdom could cure him of that particular ailment. But Rhys went on, inclining his head as he considered what he had found in further detail. {He’s also kind of… He doesn’t like the other guy over there, does he? The big one. I can’t see him, but this one--- Albion, did you say?--- is aware of him all the time, a little. It’s kind of like an itch, and also kind of like having a splinter on your side that you can’t get to, no matter how hard you try.}
That was, if not wholly surprising, at least somewhat news to Aster. “Is he? Ugh, I thought I’d made the stables long enough… But Aurelius is pretty big, I suppose, and Albion is pretty… cranky.” The corner of Aster’s mouth pulled up into a wry smile at the word, despite himself.
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:53:58 GMT -6
Albion’s continued discomfort was no laughing matter, of course, but it was pretty funny to hear Rhys put it so plainly, that was for sure.
“Still,” Aster said, “this works out for us. He’s not too bothered, but just bothered enough that you can have a go. See if you can soothe him down, make him forget about the other guy for a bit,” Aster said.
{Alright,} Rhys said. {What do I do, just think calming thoughts at him?}
“Worth a try,” Aster said. “To be honest, I’m not all that sure either. No, actually…” An idea came to him, and he thought on it for a moment before starting again. “You remember what you do to cure poison? Think of that ‘thorn’ in his mind as if it were like that, and… try to draw it out, or whatever it is you do, the same way. Maybe that would work.”
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Post by Noa on May 17, 2020 0:56:08 GMT -6
Aster didn’t actually know if it would work, but having a more concrete thing to focus on or imagine couldn’t be a bad place to start. Rhys seemed to think so too, or at least he seemed to have thought of a place to start, since his eyes closed a moment later.
And then Aster had nothing to do but to wait again.
This one took more time, both because of the more involved nature of it, and because Rhys was doing it for the first time, so presumably he wasn’t going to be good or practiced at it. Aster did see Albion’s head jerk up; too late, he remembered that Albion had a psychic injection, and that he might have been resistant to, or at least more aware of, anything going on in that sphere. Still, he wasn't immune; at most he ought to just be a... trickier target.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:41:55 GMT -6
With that in mind, Aster honestly didn’t know what the outcome would end up being for this particular attempt--- nor for any subsequent ones, since Aurelius had the same blood running through his veins, and thus, the same resistance level. But to his mild surprise, he saw the drake subside somewhat after his initial start, shaking his head quickly at first, and then more slowly.
Rhys opened his eyes.
“How was it?” Aster asked carefully. He was looking over Albion as he spoke, trying to find any outward sign of the effects that had been achieved. Albion didn’t look much different from before, but Aster presumed that was a good thing. If the drake had been enraged further, or showed signs of any pain, then obviously that would be a tell that something had failed. But if he was calm, then there was some chance that they had succeeded.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:42:13 GMT -6
Rhys seemed a little disoriented at first, blinking a few times before his gaze focused properly on Aster. {I think I did it,} he said, though he didn’t sound too certain. {At least, I can’t feel the thorn anymore. But that was a lot harder than I thought it would be.}
“I… guess Albion’s a bit of a tricky target,” Aster admitted. “He has a little resistance to psychic force, so... “ Unfortunately, Aster didn’t have any drakes of any other lineage, and Avander was no longer available as a test subject. Or, well, he was, but Avander was a Wiurn now, and being near a drake, or even another Wiurn for that matter, did not cause him any real trouble.
“Take a break,” Aster suggested. “We’ll try Aurelius next. He’ll probably present some of the same problems, but at least you can get a little more practice in.”
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:42:37 GMT -6
Albion having already been taken care of meant that they only really had one more target to work with. None of the other Sarane were grown, which was for the best, all things considered. All of them were third tier, at which point even the females got a little territorial. Having them all grown without Rhys being able to help calm them down would have necessitated a complete overhaul of their arrangement.
Rhys took a brief break to recover his energy, and then they moved on to the next drake. Aurelius greeted them more brightly, though he lost interest too once he saw that they weren’t here to let him out. “Try probing him and see,” Aster prompted.
Rhys closed his eyes, presumably reaching out with his mind again. It took less time for him to come back out than it had with Albion, presumably because he knew what he was looking for now.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:42:47 GMT -6
{The thorn is there too, though I think he’s sad about the anger, a little,} said Rhys. He sounded slightly confused at his findings, and even Aster was surprised by it. He hadn’t imagined that Aurelius would harbor such a complicated sentiment. Aurelius had a better temper than his father, but was a genial sort by default, and it was the last thing Aster would have expected out of him.
“Well, maybe this will help then,” he said. “Soothe him. Go on.”
It was, of course, easier said than done, but at Aster’s behest, Rhys closed his eyes to try to soothe the second drake. It still took a significant amount of time, but again, not as much as his first attempt had done. He had a slightly better grasp of what he was doing now, and what he felt had worked for him, so that cut down on the time he spent at it.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:43:13 GMT -6
The effect of what Rhys had done wasn’t especially dramatic, but Aster could see Aurelius relax somewhat. Not long after, Rhys opened his eyes again.
“That’s good, I think. We’ll have to continue tomorrow, but that’s not a bad start at all.”
{It’s trickier than the poison is,} said Rhys. {Or at least, that’s how it feels right now, anyway.}
“Hopefully it’ll get easier with practice,” Aster said. He couldn’t offer any more than that; he had never had a creature with this ability before, and couldn’t say for sure whether it would get easier. But practice did take the sting out of most things, and he was optimistic that it would here too.
There was no way to find out but to keep going. And so they came back the next day, and the next, to do more of the same.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:43:38 GMT -6
Slowly, Rhys got more accustomed to doing it, and it stopped taking so much time, not to mention energy, for Rhys to manage it.
At that point, Aster thought they were finally ready to up the ante a little on this.
“Today we’ll try something a little different,” he said. “I’m going to play back the roar of a drake for Albion; that’ll get him more riled up than you’re used to. It might be harder to calm him when he’s like that, but at least you’ll be able to see right away whether it worked or not.”
Rhys held himself at the ready, and Aster braced himself in preparation for what was to come. It brought him no joy to do this, but, well… His creatures played against one another on occasion when it was conducive to the training of one or both creatures involved, so this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this.
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Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 20:44:41 GMT -6
It generally worked out alright, and Aster always stayed on hand to make sure things didn't get too hairy, though in this case, if Rhys failed, Aster could only let Albion out for some exercise to work off the energy. It was only the clip of a roar; and the discomfort, if all went to plan, would only last a few minutes.
Aster pressed the button, and the sound clip played back. At once, Albion’s head went up, wings mantling as he searched for the source, the other drake that had dared to challenge him on his own domain. “Now,” Aster said to Rhys. “Soothe him.”
Rhys closed his eyes. Aster watched Albion for any sign of change, and saw it not long after. The drake’s movements halted, as though arrested by some invisible thing, and then his body relaxed, until he was no more on edge than he had been before Aster had played the roar.
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