Open Post: Curiosity

[sporesprouter]

Tress is, as she often is, in her workshop. However, what she is doing in her workshop is not even close to her usual activities.

Instead of her usual array of spores and sprouter's gear, she has found some more standard tools which are sitting on the table next to a rubber mat that is holding... a toaster. She secreted one from a kitchen that isn't particularly used. To the side are a couple books from the library as well as her open notebook.

She turns the toaster upside down and starts undoing some screws on the bottom of the case.

After all, the best way to figure something out is often to gain practical knowledge.

Comments

[summerdude]

"Can I... do you mind if I see one in action?" Magnus asks. "How big are your spores, anyway? Are they, like, spore-sized? I mean, my understanding of spores spore-sized. Or bigger?"

[sporesprouter]

"They're about the size of sand. Varies a little bit depending on the kind of spore, but sand is a pretty good comparison." She steps back from the table and walks over to her spore chest. "Did you want to see sunlight spores? Or a different one?"

[summerdude]

"I'd love to see a sunlight one," Magnus says. "What are the others? Sorry if you've already told me. I've been learning a lot since I met you and there's so much going on." He makes a self-deprecating face. "I remember the whole moon thing. And that things get weird when they get wet."

[sporesprouter]

"I mostly have the ones that are useful on a ship." She starts checking off her inventory on her fingers. "Verdant spores grow vines. Roseite spores make crystals. Sunlight we've been over, but it's heat and light. Zephyr spores make a burst of air. I also found a small amount of crimson spores, which grow into really sharp spines. And midnight spores, but those are... a lot, so not the best idea for demonstration purposes."

[summerdude]

"Do they swallow light?" Magnus guesses. "Or like, cause nightmares? Or something?" He has no idea how anything except, perhaps, sunlight or air could be useful on a ship, but then again, he only knows ships that travel on water.

[sporesprouter]

The crimson and midnight were the two she has that are a bit less directly relevant to sailing. "They make... well. Creatures? Kind of. They're not exactly fully alive, but they're controllable to an extent."

[summerdude]

"Oh wow," Magnus says. "Your planet sounds so... interesting."

[sporesprouter]

"You're not the only one who thinks so. There's a dragon who lives in the Crimson Sea who came to study the spores."

[summerdude]

"Is the Crimson Sea a wet one or a spore-y one?" Magnus wonders.

[sporesprouter]

"We don't have any wet seas. They're all spores."

[summerdude]

"So a dragon came from a spore sea to study other spores?" Magnus asks. "I'm sorry. I get that I'm just asking you a ton of questions about your world, but it's so different from what I'm used to that I'm just trying to get a handle on understanding it." He gives her a crooked grin.

[sporesprouter]

"Oh, no. The dragon came from another world to study the spores."

[summerdude]

"Wait," Magnus says. "But... okay. Uh, is the Crimson Sea another world, then?"

[sporesprouter]

"I think I probably didn't start that off too well. Let me try again. There's a dragon who came from another world to build a lair in the Crimson Sea, which is one of our seas, to study our spores. Did that help?"

[summerdude]

"A lot," Magnus says. His smile is self-deprecating. "Your world sounds really awesome. I think it would be fun to see it."

(Mostly it actually just sounds confusing, but he figures a field trip outside of the Nine Worlds could be fun.)

[sporesprouter]

"It's wonderful. If you ever get to visit, you're welcome to sail on my ship for a while."

[summerdude]

"Oh! Thank you," Magnus says. "So, these sunlight spores...?"

[sporesprouter]

"Oh, of course." She steps away from her worktable and over to a chest in the corner of the room, which she opens. She pulls out an aluminum box before closing the chest again. She walks over to the table again and sets the box down before shifting the toaster work carefully to the end of the table to give herself some room. "Just give me a moment and I'll show you."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, no rush," Magnus says, extremely eagerly. He watches Tress attentively.

[sporesprouter]

She nods. Once she clears out enough space, she grabs a couple more supplies. Setting down a metal plate, she then opens the box of spores. Inside sits what almost does look like sand, if sand were a sparkling golden yellow. She carefully spoons out a small pinch of the spores into the center of the plate and returns the box to the chest.

She then retrieves a bottle of water and a dropper. "All right. Here we go."

She loads the dropper and gets only close enough to extend her arm to dribble some water on the pile of spores which promptly bursts into a small but bright flash, almost like a more contained firework.

[summerdude]

Magnus jumps in surprise. "Wow," he says, taking in the sight and blinking to clear his vision. "So, absolutely not like what I can do. Are these spores used for anything besides ovens?"

[sporesprouter]

She nods. "They're also used to make flares."

[summerdude]

"I can see why," Magnus says. The afterimages are starting to clear from his vision, and he grins at her. "Wanna see something cool?"

[sporesprouter]

"Of course!" She takes a seat.

[summerdude]

Magnus glances at Tress for a second, and then closes his eyes and summons summer.

To an outsider, it will appear as if the light in the room grows brighter and the room itself grows a few degrees warmer. If someone were looking closely, they might notice that the light -- which has all the qualities of sunlight -- is coming from Magnus himself. The heat, which arrives separate from the light, is also coming from Magnus. Any plants in the vicinity might tilt to face Magnus, possibly even growing a few inches in the process.

Then, with a heavy exhale, he lets it all go. The room returns to normal. He opens his eyes and grins at Tress.