Kassandra was beginning to understand the ways of the world, however slowly; or, rather, she was beginning to see the world through a filter of newborn amazement and think she was understanding it. Like a young child with an under-devloped sense of object permanence, all Kassandra’s experiences thus far seemed both outlandish and completely sensible, as she possessed very little to compare them to and no reason to challenge their concreteness, no previous data to contradict the answers what were being given. She had no real adults, no living guidelines in her life to set her on the right course, to gently correct her; indeed, the only outside influence with any sort of bankable experiences to adjust her way of thinking was Oculos, who was an unreliable narrator most of the time. His intentions were split partway between keeping them alive, and the other half was always looking to make a joke, for which keeping Kassandra as the loving butt-end of it was required.
One of the things Kassandra was quickly coming to accept as true was all forests were magic, in one way or another. Even the ones in Furae, perhaps, had the magic of disappearing, as was the trend they so followed year in and year out. Here was Septimus claiming he came from an enchanted forest whilst standing in another— and, after all, did two plus two not always equal four?
Wilder. Despite every evidence to the contrary, Kassandra understood Septimus’ sentiment, at least to a point. The ravenous jungle around them did not seem, to her, a wild thing— living, yes, but almost… too staged, too perfect, like a brightly colored fruit tempts one to eat it. There was no chaos here, too much rhyme and too much reason. A beautifully baited maze. A shiver ran down her spine. “This whole place… does feel a bit like a trap, don’t you think?” in her voice was a nervous quiver. “Like a perfect final place for the doomed.”
Oculos jabbed her sharply in the chest with his long nose. (‘Hey, none of that now. No visions, no tantrums, no harbingers of death.’)
“Yes,” Kassandra said, a breath on the wind, and she struggled to stop her gentle shaking but her eyes were still wide with fear.
To distract herself, she tried to think more on what Septimus was saying of his homeland, but the idea of a completely wild place, with no guiding hand… a place of unrestrained growth and, almost an overabundance of life? That was the image Kassandra was getting. “Like a place where life and death fought, and life won; like a cancer, it can only grow, and nothing can leave.”
(‘Enough! Enough!’) Oculos was barking loudly now, sharp and agitated. (‘Come back to us, Kass! Back to me and your stupid, handsome new friend.’)
Kassandra blinked the stars from her eyes and shook her head, violently. “Oh. Oh, sorry, Oculos. I’m trying, I really am. I—,” she grit her teeth, willing herself to stay present. “Dreams. Yes. The dreams. I get— I’ve always had them, you see. Terrible dreams, sometimes waking ones, of things; some come to pass, some already in the past, though I never know.” It was a touchy subject for her, and if Septimus hadn’t just soliloquized on about his magical wooded homeland, Kassandra would not have been quite so keen on spilling the beans about her curse; but, at least, with each word she sounded more concrete, coming more and more back to the present and out of the grasp of whichever prophetic tragedy was trying to worm its way into her brain. “When I was younger, I used to try and… and fight them, like they were real; they certainly felt so. Eventually I learned I just have to watch them until they pass.”
Her eyes flashed to Septimus to await the typical, kind of freaked out response most strangers gave whenever Kass even bordered on the subject of her dreams. She was dreading the worst and imagined he would just up and leave them standing on the edge of this worrying water feature. “It is... a pleasure to meet you as well,” she offered, a weak apology for just how strange things were going.
“Is there a way to test it, perhaps?” Kassandra ventured after listening to his sage advice. Septimus had a way of talking about the natural world which made it both seem significantly less mysterious, and also a bit boring; but in an environment where most things were new and terrifying, Kassandra would take boring any day. “Shall we drop a branch or leaf in? If it’s highly acidic it should have some effect, maybe?”
One of the things Kassandra was quickly coming to accept as true was all forests were magic, in one way or another. Even the ones in Furae, perhaps, had the magic of disappearing, as was the trend they so followed year in and year out. Here was Septimus claiming he came from an enchanted forest whilst standing in another— and, after all, did two plus two not always equal four?
Wilder. Despite every evidence to the contrary, Kassandra understood Septimus’ sentiment, at least to a point. The ravenous jungle around them did not seem, to her, a wild thing— living, yes, but almost… too staged, too perfect, like a brightly colored fruit tempts one to eat it. There was no chaos here, too much rhyme and too much reason. A beautifully baited maze. A shiver ran down her spine. “This whole place… does feel a bit like a trap, don’t you think?” in her voice was a nervous quiver. “Like a perfect final place for the doomed.”
Oculos jabbed her sharply in the chest with his long nose. (‘Hey, none of that now. No visions, no tantrums, no harbingers of death.’)
“Yes,” Kassandra said, a breath on the wind, and she struggled to stop her gentle shaking but her eyes were still wide with fear.
To distract herself, she tried to think more on what Septimus was saying of his homeland, but the idea of a completely wild place, with no guiding hand… a place of unrestrained growth and, almost an overabundance of life? That was the image Kassandra was getting. “Like a place where life and death fought, and life won; like a cancer, it can only grow, and nothing can leave.”
(‘Enough! Enough!’) Oculos was barking loudly now, sharp and agitated. (‘Come back to us, Kass! Back to me and your stupid, handsome new friend.’)
Kassandra blinked the stars from her eyes and shook her head, violently. “Oh. Oh, sorry, Oculos. I’m trying, I really am. I—,” she grit her teeth, willing herself to stay present. “Dreams. Yes. The dreams. I get— I’ve always had them, you see. Terrible dreams, sometimes waking ones, of things; some come to pass, some already in the past, though I never know.” It was a touchy subject for her, and if Septimus hadn’t just soliloquized on about his magical wooded homeland, Kassandra would not have been quite so keen on spilling the beans about her curse; but, at least, with each word she sounded more concrete, coming more and more back to the present and out of the grasp of whichever prophetic tragedy was trying to worm its way into her brain. “When I was younger, I used to try and… and fight them, like they were real; they certainly felt so. Eventually I learned I just have to watch them until they pass.”
Her eyes flashed to Septimus to await the typical, kind of freaked out response most strangers gave whenever Kass even bordered on the subject of her dreams. She was dreading the worst and imagined he would just up and leave them standing on the edge of this worrying water feature. “It is... a pleasure to meet you as well,” she offered, a weak apology for just how strange things were going.
“Is there a way to test it, perhaps?” Kassandra ventured after listening to his sage advice. Septimus had a way of talking about the natural world which made it both seem significantly less mysterious, and also a bit boring; but in an environment where most things were new and terrifying, Kassandra would take boring any day. “Shall we drop a branch or leaf in? If it’s highly acidic it should have some effect, maybe?”
kassandra oculos 780 | @Septimus | oculos thinks you're handsome (sorry 4 the wait)
