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+--- Thread: Food for Thought (/showthread.php?tid=11335)
Food for Thought - Samael - May 18 2023
It had been a bit since he had met others at the river, and now Samael had been hunting. He had paralyzed one of the mice by shedding the powder on his wings onto the lesser. Of course, Samael had killed it before eating it. Cruelty did not come naturally to Samael, for all that he was entirely entirely a carnivore with some rather frightful attributes.
As soon as he'd had his fill, more than one might expect from a six inch tall fairy, he attempted to cast out his magic, searching for the beat of life. Specifically, familiar beats of life.
Samael found one, barely. He was fairly certain it belonged to one of the beings that he had met at the river, though he knew not which one, and so he went to investigate. In the end, he found himself seeing one of the especially intriguingly shaped beings.
"Greetings, Sakhira! I hope the day finds you well?" The fairy called out, voice warm with an peculiar tone to it. It was oddly like a purr combined with speech.
@Sakhira
RE: Food for Thought - Sakhira - May 18 2023
Sakhira had decided to stick around Polaris as it was a rather abundant source of minerals. She was planning to collect some of these things to use for her artwork later, and also because they were shiny and she thought it would make a rather nice addition to the other gemstones she had, although those actually contained life. Oh, who was this?
The sphynx descended from the sky, wings causing a bit of a stir as she landed. "Oh, hello Samael." this was the gembound she had met more recently. Had he decided to stick around as well? "Yes, it's been a fine day. What brings you here?" her voice had a smooth yet warm tone to it, comparable to the winds that scattered the sands of Hydra.
She held out a paw, and a gem formed from the pebbles on the ground. It was blue, and similar to a sapphire. Sakhira picked it up and offered it to Samael.
@Samael
RE: Food for Thought - Samael - May 19 2023
At the question, Samael pauses. He could simply answer bluntly, but such speech is not like him. "Hunger of the body, hunger of the mind, and hunger of the soul," The fairy decides is the most accurate description.
It fascinates him, the way that Sakhira shifts a simple pebble into a small glittering gemstone. He extends his small hands to accept the gift. "Beautiful," He praises. But such words are not enough. "It catches the light as life does even as it is barren of its own soul."
Such reminds him of his latest thought process, and he is somewhat less poetic now. "...I am considering hunting dangerous lessers for their stones, but doing so carefully. Have you heard of Golden Chargers? They are a snake whose bite can turn the living into stone, and even on greater gembounds it does not heal."
"I have my own toxins that keep me safe, ones that paralyze, but if I wish to create children, I believe I should give them the best that I can," His voice is soft and kind.
@Sakhira
RE: Food for Thought - Sakhira - May 19 2023
She nodded, though she only half understood his words. He spoke in such a way that captured a deeper meaning which could not be explained in simpler words. Sakhira wanted to learn to communicate similarly, though she would use it more for riddles than for normal speech. "The hunger of the soul is perhaps the hardest to fulfill." The sphynx had no idea what she meant by this, but also sorta thought maybe she did understand what she had said. It was complicated. Oftentimes her words are ahead of her mind.
Sakhira let go of the gem, allowing it to slip into his hands. "Many thanks." However, she does not understand this phrase at all unlike the first one. "What do you mean? Do gems have souls?" His speech was so beautiful. Would it be possible for her to learn?
She listens carefully as he speaks, clicking her beak in interest. "No, I have not. They sound quite dangerous." she did not know that lesser stones could also be revived like greater stones could. However it was quite different from what she did. Sakhira only gave life to those who had already died, and had stories to honor. She did not kill only to give life again. It was quite contradictory in her mind. But she wouldn't judge. After all, turning a lesser into a greater was certainly an upgrade.
"That is true, but you must be careful. If Golden Chargers are as dangerous as you speak of, you must take extra precautions." Sakhira thought for a moment. "However I understand it is worth the risk to create children. Stones, life, it is all so wonderous."
@Samael
RE: Food for Thought - Samael - May 19 2023
The small fairy nodded solemnly at the hybrid's statement. "Indeed it is. My soul pangs with emptiness, yet I do not know what may fill this void. I grasp at shadows, whispers, and I hope. Yet, hope is a beautiful way of life, and so I gladly continue, though I know not what path will fill my soul."
At the question, Samael makes the sound a curious feline might make. Then he speaks. "One can argue such. Without our gemstones, we do not live. Is it not the case then, that our gemstone houses our souls? Even after death, a gemstone remembers the form it has taken, does it not? A soul imprinted upon gemstones."
He smiles with sharp teeth and laughs wryly. "At least, that is how I perceive it. Therefore, the stones of those what were once living have souls, of a sort. Perhaps, though, I have thought too much of philosophy."
Samael nods in agreement. "Of course, I will take every precaution."
"Life is an awe-some journey. Since I have embarked on the path of life, I have been amazed by it at every turn. I will never grow tired of this wondrous world in which we live," He pauses for a moment, his awestruck expression fading into something else.
"Do you think me selfish...?" He wonders. "I think often that my desire to create children in my image is born of selfish wishes. ...That is actually why I wish to hunt such dangerous creatures instead of my usual prey. I wish my children to be more than me, to give them a gift preemptively. They may not take the trait, perhaps. Yet, I am trying to do my best to offer back to these children."
@Sakhira
RE: Food for Thought - Sakhira - May 19 2023
It may have just been a way of speech, but Sakhira also found that the words brought her to pity the gembound. She was glad at least, that she had found a motivation that pushed her to continue. Perhaps once he had children he would feel the same? After all, it seemed their goals were not so different. "It takes time to find a path. Feel no urgency in finding the one true to you."
Sakhira nodded slowly as she took in his words. Truth was, she had never really considered what would happen if a gembound were to lose their gemstone while still living. And now she knew they died. "That is true." However she also knew not all gems had life within them, but those that did surely had souls. Or at lives at least. Past lives. She knew this from the memories she had experienced. "Magic then, must be an extension of our souls." This seemed to be a logical reach considering the previous statements, and she thought it made sense. After all, it was the gemstone that allowed for magic.
"Indeed." Her gaze wandered as she looked over their surroundings, the gemstones of Polaris thrumming with light. "It is the small things, I think, that make life a true wonder." If only she would be able to experience it all someday, soaring with the winds of Monoceros, climbing up the tallest peak of Ursa, swimming with the fish in the depths of Fornax. All the way to watching the bumblebugs flit around blades of grass at the beginning of a new day. Sakhira was older now, naivety fading away and giving birth to wisdom, and the realization that she really wouldn't ever get around to doing everything. The most she could do was try.
The sphynx fell silent as she pondered the question. She had never really questioned the motives of every action much. Especially not ones like this. Life was always good wasn't it? "No." Sakhira finally responded, "To give life... it is always a selfless act. It is done out of the want for your children to have a chance to experience it all. And a gift... that is only to ensure they survive. To preserve their life."
Her eyes stared at the small gembound, watching for a reaction. An expression. "Perhaps that is the path for your soul. To care for others."
@Samael
RE: Food for Thought - Samael - May 19 2023
"Time is fleeting yet always there," Samael commented in response, as he thought over Sakhira's reassurance. "A moment is forever gone, and yet there is an infinite amount of moments stretching forward... Time is an experience, and I cherish that experience even if I do not yet know my path."
He ponders the statement regarding magic. "Magic as the extension of our souls makes sense. Yet, not all of us use our magic even though we all possess it. Is that a rejection of our souls, then?"
At the thoughtful pause and the response that followed, Samael gave it consideration. "I do not know whether giving life is always selfless," He finally admitted, though not unkindly. "I think I may indeed be selfish. Yet, your words remind me of a truth. One may be selfishly selfless, though it seems a contradiction. I want the best for my children. My actions will help them, but it also comforts me that they have the best. In this I show both qualities."
@Sakhira
RE: Food for Thought - Sakhira - May 24 2023
When would her own time be up? Sakhira wondered. It seemed that the end to life came by influence of other factors. You could not die by simply being upon your own and going about your ways. Most deaths came from being hunted- killed, or some other catastrophic events really. Magical backfiring. Environmental disaster. So technically, if one were to stay safe, it was quite impossible to die. But what did it mean to die? "Indeed, to enjoy life in the present... it is the best way to live. Though what does it mean to die?"
Sakhira had never met anyone who did not use their magic. This was not something that she had ever considered. Why would anyone choose not to? It was a gift, one that was useful in so many ways. "Perhaps it is a rejection of a part of us, but not our souls. We are made of many parts, but not all must be nurtured."
She carefully turned over his words in her head, adding a thoughtful nod. "That is very wise. But I suppose to be selfishly selfless is a positive rather than negative trait." Her tail flicked to the side, "And to acknowledge that it is so- it shows the lack of malicious intent."
In a way, she had brought about life of her own. Though not directly by her own magic. How was that child doing? Her mind did flit across the subject on occasion, but it was not completely in her paws any longer. After all, it was Shango's child in magic, if not in gemstone. "To care about your children is something to be admired." It was not that she didn't care about the gemstone she had given him, but she had deemed him worthy of it, and did not feel as strong of a pull to be as deeply involved in its life. Though now that she thought about it, it would be a good idea to visit sometime.
@Samael