Oaks
04-17-2024, 11:26 AM
OAKS
you look well suited
like you came to win
Oaks can only stare as the small animal in his path struggles and grows still for a moment. It would seem that the raccoon has fallen victim to his miserable magic just as many others have done. The sight is not unfamiliar, but it is certainly unwelcome; his heart grows heavy when he lowers his head to investigate.
But this case, it turns out, is nothing at all like the others.
The animal seems to catch its breath shortly before opening its eyes, but it startles a bit once it registers the site of the stallion standing near it. It scuttles with some effort up onto its haunches and Oaks tilts his head at the sight. He has seen raccoons before – he’s spent so much time sulking in the forests of Beqanna that he’s encountered nearly all of the more generic fauna – but hasn’t seen one hold its ground like this.
Likewise, he has never encountered a creature affected by rabies. He had not seen the raccoon’s prior looping walk, is unaware of the animal’s partial paralysis or its failing senses. What he does notice is the light frothing around its mouth and the faint sway in its body as it stands there gazing at him. He has seen animals in similar states as this before…usually not long before their expiration.
But this little raccoon seems suddenly well, as compared to its initial appearance.
Carefully, he takes another small step nearer, intrigued by its abrupt resilience.
He is tempted to speak to it but he knows better – he’d tried such ventures in the past, thinking surely Beqanna’s magic would have gifted all creatures their own voices, only to be greeted with silence and perceivable confusion.
But he does murmur a quiet observation – “what’s happened to you?” – as he further appraises the raccoon’s appearance. He wonders to himself how this animal has managed to resist his curse, how it is defying the death that had already been haunting it. The wounds on its face, still rather bright in color due to their freshness, and (not for the first time) Oaks wishes he possessed more useful gifts such as healing. At the very least, he could have knitted the poor creature’s wounds back together and sent it on its way to apparently continue living a healthy life.
Perhaps it is this wish, his desire to help rather than harm, which triggers the temporary gift the fairies had given him during his Mountain visit. He is unaware of this gift just as he is unaware of his other magic, but his unconscious desire to see the raccoon well again triggers the suppression to take effect.
Oaks, however, will never realize this connection.
But this case, it turns out, is nothing at all like the others.
The animal seems to catch its breath shortly before opening its eyes, but it startles a bit once it registers the site of the stallion standing near it. It scuttles with some effort up onto its haunches and Oaks tilts his head at the sight. He has seen raccoons before – he’s spent so much time sulking in the forests of Beqanna that he’s encountered nearly all of the more generic fauna – but hasn’t seen one hold its ground like this.
Likewise, he has never encountered a creature affected by rabies. He had not seen the raccoon’s prior looping walk, is unaware of the animal’s partial paralysis or its failing senses. What he does notice is the light frothing around its mouth and the faint sway in its body as it stands there gazing at him. He has seen animals in similar states as this before…usually not long before their expiration.
But this little raccoon seems suddenly well, as compared to its initial appearance.
Carefully, he takes another small step nearer, intrigued by its abrupt resilience.
He is tempted to speak to it but he knows better – he’d tried such ventures in the past, thinking surely Beqanna’s magic would have gifted all creatures their own voices, only to be greeted with silence and perceivable confusion.
But he does murmur a quiet observation – “what’s happened to you?” – as he further appraises the raccoon’s appearance. He wonders to himself how this animal has managed to resist his curse, how it is defying the death that had already been haunting it. The wounds on its face, still rather bright in color due to their freshness, and (not for the first time) Oaks wishes he possessed more useful gifts such as healing. At the very least, he could have knitted the poor creature’s wounds back together and sent it on its way to apparently continue living a healthy life.
Perhaps it is this wish, his desire to help rather than harm, which triggers the temporary gift the fairies had given him during his Mountain visit. He is unaware of this gift just as he is unaware of his other magic, but his unconscious desire to see the raccoon well again triggers the suppression to take effect.
Oaks, however, will never realize this connection.