The Way of the World [Diana] [Vieri]
Posted Jun 21, 2018 17:54:12 GMT -7
Post by Saad al-Enezi on Jun 21, 2018 17:54:12 GMT -7
He finished his first serving in record time, and didn't hesitate even a second before reaching for another bowl. One part of his mind told him he should slow down his eating; he'd been vomiting profusely for the past week anyway, and overloading his painfully empty stomach with heaps of hearty, stick-to-your-bones curry was probably a recipe for disaster. The other part of his brain told him that he was hungry as all hell and that the food was delicious and filling and, at least he hoped, free. He let the man's question hang in the air for a few moments while he chewed, trying to find the best words to describe what he was experiencing.
"It is like both, I think," he said, not entirely sure if that was true or not. "It feels like my mind is drawing a map of the area around me, but the map my mind makes is all lines and curves and the space between things is emphasized more than the things themselves. My mind map can show me where people stand, but it cannot draw for me the people's faces. This is the most common. But other times, less frequent, I feel like I can see two worlds existing on top of each other with my eyes." For the sake of emphasis, he waved his hand in front of his face. As he was speaking, Saad realized that whatever this thing that was happening to him was, it happened without his consent or control. That fact had gone unnoticed on him until he met these two strange beings, and it became clear that they- or at least Diana- could use whatever magic they possessed at will.
He used his earth eyes to look around the restaurant and wondered what would happen if he actively tried to have this thing happen to him again, here, in front of all these people. Could he control it? Would the pain that had been diminished by his meal come roaring back, stronger than ever, and threaten to rip his brains from the inside out? As scared as he was to try it out, something about the presence of his two new companions filled him with a sort of confident curiosity he hadn't felt in quite some time. It reminded him of when he was younger, just starting off as a thief, and the terror-filled excitement that would grip him as he set out for his first few jobs.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, tapped his left foot lightly against the floor, and pushed out with his mind.
An energy buzzed inside of him and also emanated from his body, not visible to the naked eye but something he could tangibly feel, and stretched across the room. Immediately many different signals began to flow back to him, painting in his mind a picture of his surroundings that felt deeper, more abstract, and yet somehow more grounded than what his eyes could see. He could feel the unevenness of the dirt floor below them; he could sense the curves of the boards that made up the walls of the building, and could feel the breath of the space in between them; he could perceive without counting how many patrons sat with them, could feel how they leaned back in their chairs or drummed their fingers against tables or bounced their knees. He could feel the space that opened up behind the bar, where the kitchen was, and felt what that space could be- pushed together so it was barely wide enough for an insect to pass through, or pulled apart large enough for an elephant to enter.
For a few seconds he focused on what his mind was seeing, and didn't realize as the rest of the world, the real world, faded from his consciousness. He could hear the woman- Diana, yes, Diana- talking to the male companion. What were they saying? Some part of his brain registered the word "Vieri," and he realized that name matched the tall man he had met in the marketplace earlier, the one who had ordered him food, but the part of himself that recognized those things felt very far away. His brain was focused on the walls and the ceiling and the beams and the space, alive and vibrant and so malleable. A small part of his consciousness realized that he was slipping away again.
And when that small part of him realized that the space between the rafters in the ceiling was crackling, buzzing, teaming with energy, ready to rip apart, he hoped that he would have enough control to stop it before the whole thing came tumbling down on them all.
"It is like both, I think," he said, not entirely sure if that was true or not. "It feels like my mind is drawing a map of the area around me, but the map my mind makes is all lines and curves and the space between things is emphasized more than the things themselves. My mind map can show me where people stand, but it cannot draw for me the people's faces. This is the most common. But other times, less frequent, I feel like I can see two worlds existing on top of each other with my eyes." For the sake of emphasis, he waved his hand in front of his face. As he was speaking, Saad realized that whatever this thing that was happening to him was, it happened without his consent or control. That fact had gone unnoticed on him until he met these two strange beings, and it became clear that they- or at least Diana- could use whatever magic they possessed at will.
He used his earth eyes to look around the restaurant and wondered what would happen if he actively tried to have this thing happen to him again, here, in front of all these people. Could he control it? Would the pain that had been diminished by his meal come roaring back, stronger than ever, and threaten to rip his brains from the inside out? As scared as he was to try it out, something about the presence of his two new companions filled him with a sort of confident curiosity he hadn't felt in quite some time. It reminded him of when he was younger, just starting off as a thief, and the terror-filled excitement that would grip him as he set out for his first few jobs.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, tapped his left foot lightly against the floor, and pushed out with his mind.
An energy buzzed inside of him and also emanated from his body, not visible to the naked eye but something he could tangibly feel, and stretched across the room. Immediately many different signals began to flow back to him, painting in his mind a picture of his surroundings that felt deeper, more abstract, and yet somehow more grounded than what his eyes could see. He could feel the unevenness of the dirt floor below them; he could sense the curves of the boards that made up the walls of the building, and could feel the breath of the space in between them; he could perceive without counting how many patrons sat with them, could feel how they leaned back in their chairs or drummed their fingers against tables or bounced their knees. He could feel the space that opened up behind the bar, where the kitchen was, and felt what that space could be- pushed together so it was barely wide enough for an insect to pass through, or pulled apart large enough for an elephant to enter.
For a few seconds he focused on what his mind was seeing, and didn't realize as the rest of the world, the real world, faded from his consciousness. He could hear the woman- Diana, yes, Diana- talking to the male companion. What were they saying? Some part of his brain registered the word "Vieri," and he realized that name matched the tall man he had met in the marketplace earlier, the one who had ordered him food, but the part of himself that recognized those things felt very far away. His brain was focused on the walls and the ceiling and the beams and the space, alive and vibrant and so malleable. A small part of his consciousness realized that he was slipping away again.
And when that small part of him realized that the space between the rafters in the ceiling was crackling, buzzing, teaming with energy, ready to rip apart, he hoped that he would have enough control to stop it before the whole thing came tumbling down on them all.