Boreas smirked and turned around, but his mind was in turmoil. Had
Fauna a backlash from the hypnotism, or the powder? She wasn't
normally so down. But he sighed. Definitely his imagination.
"Alright then. Come on, let's go. I'm starving for a five-layer
lasagna."
Fauna nodded. "Okay. I could use a bite anyway." She did her best
to strike up a conversation, but it was clear to anyone that
something was on her mind.
Benjamin had separated himself from the others minutes ago, and had
proceeded to grow claws, scale the wall of the building, and leap
through a window. Afterwards, he'd stolen through the hallways
until he reached the library, opening the door with his tail. Once
inside, he nodded a greeting to the librarian and sidled around the
room, his ears having returned to their animal state. Eventually,
after making a near complete lap of the library, he ducked away to
go talk with one of the glowworms, beings he'd come to admire
quickly after finding them. Sitting down, he smiled and said hello,
grabbing the attention of the creatures.
Ah, so you, O Mysterious
and Curious Soul, have come to seek answers in the abyss?
There were few glowworms left, but they were curious about this
young one that kept coming to them. For many years they had shared
one mind, and until last year, that mind had been dormant. "What do
you want?" the voice rumbled/
Benjamin shifted on the ground, then said, "I'm curious about
something. Er, another something." His eyes were examining the
glowworms carefully, as they always did when he visited. "What is
the range of your knowledge? Can you see more than just inside the
library? Are you limited to this dimension?" As always, he'd asked
more than one question, but he still only expected one answer.
Benjamin scooted a little closer. "Has there ever been anything
beyond even your understanding? Has anything ever happened that was
so incomprehensible that it hurt somebody?" He was genuinely
curious about this; he'd always loved illusions, and the idea that
something like an illusion might be dangerous or powerful if used
correctly. He'd also been searching for something like magic after
learning others were the offspring of elementals.
The glowworms shifted slightly, causing a bit of rubble to rain
down. "There are many things in this world that not even the wisest
can understand. Those who look into the eyes of illusion always end
up hurt." Benjamin may no have known it, but they were speaking of
the incident from last year.
Benjamin tilted his head, causing his ears to lean even farther
that way. "But what if you don't look into it's eyes? What if you
find a way to control it without having to look into what's
dangerous?" He spoke slowly, considering his own words even as they
fell from his mouth. His right ear twitched, and he turned around
to look behind him as the door opened.
The glowworm's collective voice sighed. "There has not been found
yet a way to control its deadly powers. To have oneself completely
robbed of all will and mind is the result of said illusions, and
the effect has already been seen."
"Aren't there other types of illusions?" He turned back around to
look at the hive mind. "There has to be more than the whole
hypnosis. Right? I remember as a child I used to imagine being
stuck inside one of my favorite illusions." He held up his hands
and made a basic shape, then did a trick with his hands to make his
two pointer fingers stick through the shape like spears. "I would
always imagine running up one side, only to find the entire
illusion again."
The glowworms were silent for a moment. Then, they said, "It is
true that there are different kinds of illusions in this world. But
not all of them are as friendly as a child's daydream."
Benjamin let his hands fall into his lap. Then, after a moment of
thought, he drew a notebook from a small satchel on his side.
Opening it to a page, he set it down on the ground. The page was
drawn over in pencil, and showed a very complex illusion. "What
about something like this?"
The glowworms gave a loud roar that caused books to slide off
shelves and more rubble to fall. "NO! NOT THAT! NOT HER EYES! THEY
CALL, AND WE RESIST, DO NOT EVER MENTION HER EYES!" Suddenly,
Kyleen came running. "What are you doing?!" she yelled.
Benjamin snapped the notebook shut with one hand, not allowing
Kyleen to see it's contents. "Inquiring. Three upperclassmen boys
were out past curfew last night smoking. They are in wing 3, I'd
recommend acting like you were there. They know someone was there,
at least." After a few moments, the boy stood up and turned to face
the Student Body President. His eyes were sad, almost haunted. He
turned his eyes towards the ground and brushed past her.
Boreas blinked as Kyleen stormed right past him without even a
passing "Frosty Boy". "What's up with her?" Boreas asked Fauna.
"What, some poor soul insulted her study habits?"
Fauna shrugged. "No idea. It's probably someone who she found out
was making trouble. Kyleen takes her job as Student Body President
waaay too seriously. They don't even have anyone in charge of
detention, because she supervises it."
"That's pretty harsh," Boreas hummed. "Ah, whatever. If she wants
to kill herself by overworking, call me to the funeral. On the
other hand, lasagna." He walked towards the cafeteria, making sure
Fauna was in his sight.
Fauna ordered for the both of them from Mabel and brought their
food to a table. "Boreas...I think I need to tell you about the
nightmare I've been having lately."