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 Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:00 pm
Her mind reached out to the jars one by one, testing the waters - so to speak. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear any activity coming from any-
Wait. She pointed at one jar, which looked exactly the same as all the others. To her, however, there was a big difference. That one. It's reactivating. The impulses are spreading - it's slow, but they're lighting each one after the- and there! She pointed at a second jar, practically beaming as she felt it's neural impulses fire. Her eyes crescented in exultation. They're coming back, Malodore. She felt a third brain one spark with life, and pointed at it wordlessly.
Unfortunately.. the rest seemed to remain as lifeless as ever. At least, for now. The three successful reanimations were enough to keep her glowing in excitement. She bent down and looked at one of the successful jars - it looked no different from the rest, but she could hear those impulses firing at one another full speed ahead. It wasn't thought - and they most assuredly weren't expecting these things to 'think' - but it was life. And it was exciting.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:26 pm
"Half of them - that's not bad, considering." Malodore disconnected the failures Riley had indicated from the circuit. "What does it sound like to you?" it added, voice filled with curiosity. "Or feel like, I suppose? Do they feel like they might be tasty, eventually?"
It regarded the active jars with pride.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:40 pm
Oh, it isn't much, I can feel the electrical impulses as they travel through the cortexes. It's most audible near where the motor skills are located, which is to be expected for something that has been created instead of born. She quirked a brow, unhappy with her explanation, and turned to Malodore. Though she strictly didn't need to touch it for a connection, she slid her fingers through it's hand for her own satisfaction. Here, I'll show you. This isn't what a real brain feels like, mind you - this is a fraction of the activity a brain of a person has. But still, life is life.
Even as she said her last words, she'd opened up her own mind to Malodore, and projected what she was hearing from the jars. If one could taste electricity, this was what it would taste like. The workings of all five senses seemed to be used at once when perceiving the phenomenon she was sending. The foggy outline of a blob of brain matter was periodically lit up as a dusting of sparks traveled within it. It looked, and sounded, like a lightning storm was occurring within the small capsulation of the brain - only, it was clear that what they perceived as 'light' was not any visual perception at all. This was only Riley's extrasensory perception of the activity within the brain, projected over into Malodore.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:49 pm
Malodore's eyes widened behind the lenses as the projection hit its mind. "Most... most intriguing," it said, quietly. "Grazie. Merely knowing you provides fascinating new data sets... in more ways than the literal, of course," it added, opening its beak in a smile.
It patted one of the active jars. "I will refresh the solution tomorrow, I think..." How odd. It hadn't really thought it would be doing that, at least not for her. Not when she'd left like that...
As the distant echo of the brains firing fizzed over its thoughts, the plague doctor tilted its head to one side. "I... ah. I was wondering. Why... why did you..."
...
... It couldn't think of the words, so it sort of gathered up its scattered thoughts and pushed them back at her, a trifle inexpertly. It contained a rush of images and emotions tangled together. The sounds of Riley's outburst, heard from the hallway. The sharp, over-sweet tang of an Icky Stix on the tongue. The feel of the windowsill as Malodore's claws gouged it. The sight of Riley's shadow vanishing into the woods.
The echo of numbness, and blame, and uncertainty, and worry.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:36 am
Riley reluctantly pulled her mind away from Malodores, immediately missing the connection once it was gone. It's hesitant words, however, distracted her out of her mourning, and she was paying close attention to try and decipher what it was trying to tell her when the exchange came. She took a brief inhale, and it remained there, her breath held as it shared the memories, and the emotions that came with them. Her hand, still clenched within it's claws, tightened automatically.
Watching the scene from it's point of view hurt more than she could say. When it's claws gouged the windowsill, her fingers tensed in automated response. The only good thing she could glean from the scene, was that Malodore hadn't seen what she looked like. Yet, none of that mattered once it let her feel what it felt at that moment. Her eyes finally closed, right before they filmed over. There was nothing that could have stopped her from crying at that moment, so the trails of wetness scattered down her cheek.
I thought you were better off without me. She finally responded, when she found the courage to speak. I still think you're better off without me. But I won't leave you again. I can't. Her free hand came up, and angrily brushed away the wetness from her cheek, but her eyes stayed closed - just in case.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:45 am
"Why would you think that?" Malodore said, quietly. "I know I... we... lost our tempers... quite dramatically. And I know I can sometimes be an insufferable creature." A prickle of guilt at not tempering its bluntness with kindness crept through it, and Riley would easily be able to pick that up, as open towards her as it always was.
"When I saw you go, saw the destruction, I thought..." Again it trailed off, again with the tangle of memory, thought, and emotion. This time, though, the mental images were quite a bit fainter, and the emotions were stronger. Concern, more powerful now, buttressed by a fresh outpouring of the emotion instead of just memory-echoes. A faint shiver of fear, that it was lacking somehow. And at the base of it, curiosity about where she went, where she would have gone.
... wrapped around it all, of course, was that hopefully-familiar soft affection.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:32 am
The mere idea that Malodore held any guilt for what had happened that night made her shake her head automatically. She didn't want to explain where she'd been headed, because she felt like she'd hurt it enough. She couldn't leave the silent question unanswered, either - it deserved to know the truth. Or, as much of the truth as she could safely explain.
Her free hand reached up, and clenched the front of Malodore's robes, but her eyes still remained closed. None of this is your fault, Malodore. I just.. I need.. I didn't want..
And now she found herself at a loss for words. To open her mind up for a full explanation, however.. she shuddered to think of how repulsed it would be at the true nature of her kind.
I tried to go home. She explained, managing to be honest about that much. I thought, perhaps..it was for the best. And here she did manage to open her mind to it, because it was filled to the brim with nothing but absolute emotional fear. Her thoughts could not be contained, their throbbing sense of worry overpowering any other stray thought that she may have wanted to keep secret. Everything was focused on one major fact. She had to protect Malodore. She had never wanted to hurt it, or bring it distress the way she did. She only wanted keep it safe. She couldn't put it in danger, she would rather die than do that. She had to protect it. She had to, because she loved it more dearly than anything she had ever known in her entire life and she couldn't let it-
She pulled away, though it was difficult - once an outpouring like that would start, it most certainly did not want to stop until it had released itself fully. She found the will to force herself to do it, however, and finally opened her eyes.
They.. she took a ragged breath, and tried again. They don't want me back, anyway. So it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I keep you happy, and safe. She nodded, just once, as if to stamp her statement. It was a solemn promise.
Her hand unclenched from its robes, and pressed against it, flattening the creases she'd made out.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:37 pm
Malodore closed its eyes as Riley's own emotions poured through it, swaying slightly on its feet (though not dangerously so). After she pulled away, it took it a few moments to get its bearings again. "E 'molto intenso, quando lo fate," it murmured.
But... it understood, or so it thought. Clumsily, it tried to express as much mentally, since just saying it in words seemed kind of stupid at this point.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:05 pm
As it's sense of understanding reached her, it calmed her greatly. She sagged, just a bit, and relaxed. Then, a weak chuckle was emitted. I'm sorry. If it's too much, I won't open up like that again. It's always difficult for me to tell if I'm, ah, too open with you. Her eyes crinkled just slightly in a fond expression, and she took care to send a comforting wave to caress it's thoughts and make up for all the turmoil she'd just dumped on it.
An odd, sort of awkward sense filled her. If she didn't know any better, she would say she suddenly felt.. shy. That was, of course, absurd to even consider. Still, her eyes focused on watching as the claws of her free hand poked at one another, and her heart thudded quick and painfully in her chest. She'd never interchanged with anyone so freely, and so emotionally before, and she was starting to feel very.. exposed.
Her voice sounded as if it was wavering constantly. So. Ah. I hope. That helps you.. to not.. ah.. I've never had so much trouble verbalizing my thoughts in my entire life. She finally burst out in a little puff of frustration. She had no real way of expressing herself verbally anymore, and in a spiral of realization, she realized that she didn't want to. She closed her eyes once more, but instead of opening her mind she offered a very fervent and heavy version of her kiss. It said what her words could not.
When she pulled away, after some time, she took a deep breath, and found herself feeling much better. She opened her eyes, and looked up, finding some peace of mind in the sight of it. Her eyes crescented and brightened. Just looking at Malodore suddenly made her feel -much- better.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:05 pm
Malodore, for its part, chuckled... a little dizzily. It still wasn't entirely sure how to respond to Riley's 'kisses', since it couldn't give her a peck back except in the completely literal sense... which might damage her skin, and would only be a token gesture in any case. So.
Instead, it settled for putting one hand atop one of the 'active' brain culture jars. "I hope these three will be the start of something delicious," it said, opening its beak in a smile.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:57 pm
Riley turned to the jars, her bright expression growing even fonder. It was an ambitious project. I'm so pleased you succeeded. Though, I never doubted you would. I'm sure they will be delicious - honestly I can already wager that they will completely outweigh the flavor of my current diet. I've kept out of the forests for some time now, you can imagine why. She rolled her eyes. So it's been frozen brains for quite some time now. The fruits of your experiment will be well received.
She tapped the glass of one of the brains - and her eyes widened just slightly as it somehow managed a 'response' - an impulse fired as she tapped it, as if it could register the vibration of the sound in the water. That was so cool. One did not get to see living, out-of-body brains like this very often, after all.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:08 pm
"I wish I could grow them en masse. Perhaps when I have a proper laboratory, funding, an army of Igors..." Malodore's tone was amused. "What improves flavor? Education? We could split them up into groups and educate some on mathematics, some on linguistics, some on other arts..."
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:12 pm
She shook her head, and if she could grin she would. Contrary to popular belief, the intelligence of a brain doesn't affect the flavor for us. The ordinary things do - texture, freshness, size, extra flavoring, maturity, etcetera. While I might get an extra something special in a brain of extraordinary intelligence- Her voice had clearly turned teasing as she said this, which was punctuated by her hand lifting up to rub along the brim of Malodore's hat- What someone is thinking about when their brain is removed doesn't actually affect how it tastes. In fact, I think it's simply the harnessing of it's nutrients that 'tastes' good to us, at all. It just feels good to eat what your body needs. You know?
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:29 pm
"Hey, now," Malodore mock-complained as she pushed its hat slightly askew. "I am not on the menu, I assure you. But, alas, I feel the ability to think in these..." It gestured at the jars. ".. will be quite limited. There's only so much one can do with Jollymeals."
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:36 pm
I know, I know. I would never eat you, Malodore. I like you just the way you are. She adjusted it's cravat playfully. But I bet you taste wonderful. She giggled low, and returned her attention to the jars. But, yes. Rest assured, as long as they don't die before they're done ripening to maturity, they'll be very good. She almost suggested soaking them in sugar water, but held back. You took something very crude, and managed something quite miraculous, in my opinion. Don't doubt this for a moment.
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