Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 3.14

1,000 YEARS IN THE PAST
PROMETHEUS, PHAEDRA

Scion was getting sick of watching these plants.

"Sometimes," Lazarus had said, "observation is the best method of investigation."

All they'd observed was the occasional twitching of potted vegetation. It was hopeless.

"We are not getting anywhere," he growled.

Amarat was hunched over one of the plants, her face set into a curious frown. "Don't give up that easily," she said. "I'm sure there's something to this twitching." She looked up from the plant and into his emerald eyes. "Remember what Lazarus told us. We need to listen to the specimen. It's trying to tell us the answer."

It must be speaking in a foreign language, because Scion hadn't understood a single thing. "If we haven't found the answer after staring at them for this long, we will not ever find it," he argued. "Perhaps it is not for us to find."

Amarat shook her head stubbornly. "It's trying to tell us. We're just not listening hard enough." She leans over the plant once again, letting her whispers sink into its rubbery skin. "What are you trying to tell me, little plant?"

Scion could have roared with frustration. It's true what they said - Phaedreans were lazy. They didn't take action. Instead, they preferred to float around and daydream. Action was the key to accomplishment, not observation. Any Ariadni knew that.

Even in the daytime, Prometheus was bathed in near-darkness. A faint red glow misted its horizon. At this time, Ariadne would be blazing with light and heat. Scion longed to flee this cold, dark stone of a planet where nothing wanted to move.

At the very least, he could use this time to read the tomes he'd brought back from the library. Those, he knew, held answers. From the reading he'd already done, he'd learned that long ago, before anyone he'd known had ever existed, the King of Phaedra and the King of Ariadne had been brothers. These were the Brother Kings that Oedipus had instructed him to find out more about. The conflict started with them.

Emerald mist seeped from Scion's pores. The plants were as dull as ever, but Amarat would not leave them. Scion had not met emerquartz with a harder texture than this girl's mind. If she wanted to do something, she would do it. Even if it was pointless. Even if it was impossible.

Scion liked that about her. It was a frustrating trait, but it was admirable in a way. Academics was her battlefield. She would fight until she was the last one standing, and then some. She was loyal and persistent.

Scion didn't think he'd ever be fond of a Phaedrean, but this girl had proven him wrong. It was easy to talk to her. She wasn't pretentious, the way so many Phaedreans were. She was brash and bold as an Ariadni, but as clever and curious as the most Phaedrean of Phaedreans. If he placed a weapon in her hand, he was sure she would make a fine warrior. With a book in her hand, she was just as fierce.

"At least let us speak of other things, Amarat," Scion urged.

"Then we wouldn't be listening to the plants."

"They are mute."

Amarat shook her head. "Everything talks. We're the ones who aren't listening."

Scion pulled at his horns. She was so stubborn. He wasn't placing himself under Zenith's eager fists so he could stare at plants. He needed to bring Oedipus information. He needed to see in Oedipus's gaze what he had seen in no other. He needed what everyone else had, or how could he ever belong?

The plants twitched again. "We should put them in one pot so they can all twitch together," Scion snarled. "They can be one great dancing plant."

Something flashes in Amarat's eyes. "Scion, you're a genius!"

She slid the pots together so the plants were facing each other. They began to twitch again. Their long, finger-like leaves thrust forward with sporadic jerking movements. When placed at this angle, it was easy to see. Scion was amazed that he had not seen in before. They were jerking towards each other.

Amarat grinned. "Now watch." She tipped one plant over. It shot forward until its leaves entwined with the leaves of the plant closest to it. Their edges smoothed together until they were one.

Amarat was giddy with triumph. "That's the answer, Scion! They're not several separate plants - they're all part of the same plant. This plant has the ability to separate its body, possibly in order to seek resources that are not found in close proximity. But all the separate pieces are still part of the same plant, so they will not grow if potted separately. The plant needed to be whole again in order to turn its nutrients into growth. "

Scion could not speak for wonder. Seeing the plants fuse together to become a vibrating bush was like seeing a dream form from several wishes. They had the answer. Another piece of the universe had fallen into place.

His emerald eyes found Amarat's purple ones. There was joy in hers. Marvel . Victory. And pride. Definitely pride.

For once, thought Scion, they were the same.