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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 10:59:25 GMT -6
“No, not that one. This time of year, none of the vines you’d see there would be beautiful,” Aster said. Withered, yes; macabre and strange, yes. Beautiful… Well, beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but Rhys’s tastes, as far as Aster could tell, ran towards more conventional lines than the mansion’s current method of appeal. “We are going to look at some houses though. Old ones, mostly. A lot of them are abandoned.”
The part of town Aster lived in was far flung from the city’s center, and hosted sprawling overgrown properties at the edge of wilderness. Most of them weren’t owned by anyone anymore, or at least weren’t regularly inhabited by their owners. Many had buildings that had fallen into various states of disrepair over the years.
Some of them had gates and fences, but without proper security to back it up, those weren’t a real source of trouble for Aster.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:00:07 GMT -6
Even carrying Rhys’s weight, he scaled them with ease, dropping lightly down on the other side. Rhys wasn't light, but Aster was a practiced hand at scaling barriers like this.
The house on this lot wasn’t far from the gate. They came upon it almost immediately: a two-storey brick building, the roof already caved in, and the walls of it alive with vines.
It wasn’t just your regular run of the mill ivy either. The leaves of this vine were beautifully shaped, delicate and elegant. In the spring, the walls would come alive with fragrant pink flowers, even more delicate than the leaves themselves, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the season for it. Still, the leaves didn’t disappoint in autumn, having changed into vivid shades of red and gold.
Aster chanced a glance at Rhys, and was relieved to see the Felusine’s rapt attention on the vines.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:00:36 GMT -6
Truth be told, he hadn’t been sure that this would be enough to make an impression on Rhys, but he had figured that, with everything else about this, it was worth a try. That seemed to be the theme of the day, really.
Still, he couldn’t help but ask, though he was smiling as he spoke. “What do you think? Think you’d want to see more of these?”
{They’re beautiful,} Rhys said, his pleasure suffusing his words with warmth. And then came a moment of introspection. {I think I can try, at least.}
“Well then, show me some vines,” Aster said as an invitation.
Nothing happened at first, of course. This kind of thing took time. Rhys concentrated for a moment, and Aster waited for the first sign of… anything.
He wasn’t sure that anything would happen either, regardless of how much either of them wanted it.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:01:03 GMT -6
But then, snaking out of the ground came the beginning tendrils of something that bore a resemblance to the vines that crept up the walls of the old, run-down house.
It was slow, and when Rhys was done, there weren’t very many vines scattered on the ground. But he had managed it--- he had done it, and that was a start. Now that they knew that he could, they could go on much more confidently than before.
“Hey, not bad,” Aster said, indicating the vines on the ground. “You did it.”
{Ah, those are mine, aren’t they?} Rhys must not have been watching the ground as he worked. He seemed pleased, and Aster gave him a gentle scratch behind the ears.
“What did it feel like?” he said.
{Hmm…} Rhys mulled the question over a moment. {It’s hard to describe, but I guess it was kind of like asking the ground to wake up. Or maybe imagining that it was… filled with things?}
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:01:16 GMT -6
That did seem like it would have been hard to explain. Even now, and even with their telepathic connection, Aster didn’t know if he could have wrapped his mind around it. The real question he had in the back of his mind was whether Rhys could do more of it, and faster--- a great deal all at once. A few slow vines like this were pretty and all, but had no real practical use if Rhys ever found himself in a pinch.
But he also didn’t want to undermine Rhys’s accomplishment now, and all things would happen in due time. So Aster merely nodded.
“Do you think you can do it again?” he asked.
{Probably,} said Rhys. A little different from what he had been saying this whole time--- I’ll try. Maybe having seen it actually happen once, he felt more confident about it, as if he had proved something to himself in the process.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:01:32 GMT -6
“Alright, give it a go then. Make some vines,” Aster said.
Rhys didn’t close his eyes this time. Instead, he glowered at the ground. Aster hadn’t asked him to keep his eyes open, but he was glad of the development all the same. In a live and dangerous situation, closing his eyes would have left him open, and he wouldn’t have been able to see what he was doing either. Maybe he had realized that himself, and that was why he had made the change. Maybe he’d just felt like it, or he’d wanted to see it in action himself this time.
Either way, Aster waited and watched. And slowly, vines sprouted out from the ground, coiling around on the ground.
It wasn’t any faster, but the increased confidence had helped something: there were more vines this time, and the ones that manifested were thicker and sturdier than the ones before.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:01:48 GMT -6
{I know these don’t look like most of the ones on the wall,} Rhys said, {but you said it was for tripping down big creatures and tying them up, right? I tried to make them stronger this time.}
“Looks like it worked,” Aster said, allowing himself to sound impressed. “What did you imagine this time?”
{That they were snakes. I gave them a shape. The big ones, like in your encyclopedia, but without the legs.}
Aster thought of the Salaves, then thought of a mass of Salaves wriggling through the dirt. He grimaced. He had nothing against reptiles, but the thought of something like a writhing mass of living noodles was unnerving even to him.
“Let’s try again,” Aster said. “These are pretty good; we just need to get you going faster this time.”
The practice session didn’t last very long--- another three attempts, and then Aster called it to a close.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:02:26 GMT -6
It was a new ability, and he didn’t want to tax the Felusine too much, especially not on the first day. He remembered how tired Rhys had been after healing that Rakai pup before, for the quest. Rhys seemed a little reluctant to stop, but he didn’t argue either, which Aster took as a sign that he was tired too.
He hadn’t gotten much faster, but the vines were pretty consistent, which was something. Speed would come later. He knew from experience now that the hard part was pretty much over.
They resumed the next day, this time in the relative comfort--- Aster’s comfort, anyway--- of their own grounds. It had also occurred to Aster that it would be good to see whether Rhys could reproduce the vines in a different location, when he didn’t have inspiration directly on hand, but as it turned out, he needn’t have worried about that, at least.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:02:36 GMT -6
“Vines,” he said to Rhys.
And Rhys obliged: vines burst forth from the ground, entangling around a space in front of them. They were even faster than before, though not… very much faster.
“Not bad,” Aster said. “Let’s do it again. Vines.”
But after three attempts, it was obvious that something was missing. They were basically stalling here, and Aster was beginning to feel like they needed to try something else.
“Try to catch me,” Aster said.
{What?} Rhys hadn’t expected that, and looked sharply up at him.
“You’ll be using these on moving targets, so you might as well try practicing on one now,” Aster said.
{I guess you’re right, but…} Aster waited, since it seemed like Rhys had something more to say. After a moment, the Felusine said, {Why do you always have to be the target? With the poison too--- if I hadn’t managed to cure it in time, you could have been in some real trouble.}
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:02:46 GMT -6
“I don’t think being tied down is all that serious,” Aster said, but from the way that Rhys was looking at him, this wasn’t even close to an acceptable answer. Sighing, he shrugged. “It’s easier that way. I can consent to get tossed around; it’s more complicated if I have to volunteer someone else for it. How would you feel if you had to ask me to get hurt for the sake of someone else’s target practice?”
Rhys fell silent at that. Aster could tell it wasn’t a point he’d wanted to concede, but Rhys couldn’t refute what he had said. They were both silent for a moment, but Aster wasn’t particularly interested in wasting any more time. He left Rhys a little space for his thoughts, but then he got up, clapped his hands together. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s give this a try. Use your vines to catch me this time.”
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:03:00 GMT -6
He stood a little ways away from Rhys, in the middle of the grass, waiting. Rhys still looked conflicted about it, but Aster merely stretched his arms out and stared at him expectantly, until at last Rhys’s gaze changed. Aster waited, no longer watching Rhys but the ground.
It was unsettling to be in the midst of it while it was still happening. He found out that much very quickly. But after he got over his initial trepidation at seeing the ground boil over, it wasn’t all that challenging to dodge either. Rhys wasn’t very fast for it yet. There were a couple of times when a cleverly placed series of vines made things harder for him, but even so, he got out of it unscathed and with relatively little effort.
When he turned back to look at Rhys, the Felusine no longer looked conflicted. He just looked frustrated instead.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:03:17 GMT -6
Aster smiled. That had been part of the intent. Rhys was thinking too much, Aster suspected--- he needed something else to focus on. A target to catch might as well be it. “Try again,” Aster said. “Use your vines. Catch me.”
This time the response was faster, a cluster of stalks erupting from the ground around his feet. He noticed that they were dispersed over a smaller area now, concentrated around where he had been standing. It was a good strategy--- if he couldn’t make a lot of them and quickly, he could at least compensate for it by staggering the ones he could make, and condensing them into a focused area.
It was harder to dodge this time. Aster had to work hard at it, and even then he had some very close calls indeed. Rhys had seen the effectiveness of the tactic, and that only encouraged him further.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:03:34 GMT -6
By the third try, it was taking all of Aster’s effort just to stay upright.
The fifth time they did it, he fell. Rhys, spurred on by his own frantic momentum, wasted no time in covering Aster with vines. It was only when Aster stopped struggling and fell still that Rhys realized what he had done, and the vines retreated around him.
{Sorry!} he said, clearly unsettled by what he had done. {Are you okay?}
“I’m fine,” Aster said. “They don’t have thorns on them or anything. I’m not hurt.” But his pulse was up, and he was breathing a little fast--- the vines had been strong indeed, and he really hadn’t been able to break out of them. And the sensation of being restrained like that--- like---
{Aster?} said Rhys, placing a paw on Aster’s arm. Aster snapped back to himself and shook his head, dragging a weary hand over his face.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 11:03:50 GMT -6
Verdant Growth: End
“I’m fine,” he said.
{You don’t seem---}
“I’m fine.”
Rhys took a step back, blinking wide eyes, and Aster immediately regretted snapping at him. “No, I just… Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Let’s call it for today. We’ll pick this back up tomorrow.”
The next day, he found a bunch of remote controlled drones they could use instead. He considered asking Rabbit, but that half breed of hers had gotten pretty attached to her. If he saw Aster talking Rabbit into this, Aster was pretty sure he wasn’t going to take it well.
The drones worked well enough. They gave Rhys a little trouble at first, but he caught them much faster than he had caught Aster. After a few days’ practice, Aster felt confident that Rhys would be able to snare a moving target, if it ever came to that.
And that was good enough.
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Post by Noa on Nov 3, 2019 17:33:04 GMT -6
Aster had always planned on giving an Injection to Rhys at some point. He'd even picked out which one. He had just deliberated over the timing of it. But since he was teaching Rhys more these days, he supposed this may as well be the time for it. “Rhys,” Aster said, calling the Felusine to him. “I have something for you.”
{What is that?} Rhys wasted no time in coming, and wasted no time in noticing what Aster had in his hand either. It was a strange-looking object, so Aster wasn’t surprised that he’d noticed it so quickly. {Is it for me?}
“It’s an injection,” Aster said. “It gives you… new abilities. You can do a lot of things, but this will give you some skills you didn’t have before. It’s also a bit like an inoculation; you’ll be resistant against the element inside, once you take it.”
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