Theodorus first became aware of the presence by the taste. Not that the taste was new to him, but it was stronger than he had known it to be, to the point that this was the first time he had found himself truly aware of it. Previously he had assumed it to be something in the background, something common and easily overlooked. So it had gone with trees, after all. He was, for all his years, still rather inexperienced, having never made a study of those things which made the world and which fed him. If they were not obvious, they were also not very satisfying, and so he did not much care. He'd had a vague notion, for a while, that he might have only been tasting stars.
It reminded him now of opium smoke, or maybe dried snakeskin, or a glassblower's workshop. Something hot and brittle, something sharp.
He probably ought to have risen, but he remained as he was, curling a little around a pillow on which he lay to better see what was happening. A darkness, and then a glow, until that darkness began to shape itself as a man. How strange, that it should choose that particular shape. Was it a man pretending to be a cloud, or a cloud pretending to be a man?
He winced when it opened its mouth to speak, rubbing at his ear with a knuckle rather than a fingernail to avoid clawing out his own eardrums. It would heal well enough if he did, but it would hurt in the meantime, and he was not in the mood to hurt. He didn't mean to yawn as the peculiar phantasm spoke; it simply happened, teeth flashing and jaw cracking, stretching out his arms to coax himself into a more active listening position.
This was a strange thing, but he had seen many strange things. Not as many as he someday would, but he lived in strange times, when strangeness found men without their needing to seek it out.
By the time he was sitting upright, legs still tangled with silk, there was no longer anything to listen to. Theo raked a hand through his wild mass of hair to get it out of his face, well enough to see, if only for a moment. It would not take long for them to come tumbling forward again. He had any number of questions, but he would settle for just the one, lest he seem overeager.
"The fuck are you?"
It reminded him now of opium smoke, or maybe dried snakeskin, or a glassblower's workshop. Something hot and brittle, something sharp.
He probably ought to have risen, but he remained as he was, curling a little around a pillow on which he lay to better see what was happening. A darkness, and then a glow, until that darkness began to shape itself as a man. How strange, that it should choose that particular shape. Was it a man pretending to be a cloud, or a cloud pretending to be a man?
He winced when it opened its mouth to speak, rubbing at his ear with a knuckle rather than a fingernail to avoid clawing out his own eardrums. It would heal well enough if he did, but it would hurt in the meantime, and he was not in the mood to hurt. He didn't mean to yawn as the peculiar phantasm spoke; it simply happened, teeth flashing and jaw cracking, stretching out his arms to coax himself into a more active listening position.
This was a strange thing, but he had seen many strange things. Not as many as he someday would, but he lived in strange times, when strangeness found men without their needing to seek it out.
By the time he was sitting upright, legs still tangled with silk, there was no longer anything to listen to. Theo raked a hand through his wild mass of hair to get it out of his face, well enough to see, if only for a moment. It would not take long for them to come tumbling forward again. He had any number of questions, but he would settle for just the one, lest he seem overeager.
"The fuck are you?"
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539 [Closed] - by tindome - 08-09-2015, 01:48 AM
539 [Closed] - by tindome - 08-09-2015, 01:50 AM
539 [Closed] - by Blade - 08-09-2015, 07:12 AM
539 [Closed] - by tindome - 08-11-2015, 05:14 AM
539 [Closed] - by Blade - 08-11-2015, 10:42 AM
539 [Closed] - by tindome - 08-22-2015, 06:53 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Blade - 11-21-2015, 03:38 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-28-2015, 11:33 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Blade - 11-29-2015, 12:49 AM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Tindome - 02-28-2016, 04:18 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Blade - 07-11-2016, 10:56 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-08-2017, 01:36 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Blade - 03-17-2017, 05:46 PM
RE: 539 [Closed] - by Tindome - 05-07-2017, 04:30 AM