Tenth Night - Part 1
The next night, Omi was in the garden, sitting again on the high wall he'd found. He'd been conflicted since the previous night, wanting the apparent affection that Dracula was willing to give him, but wanting at least some measure of freedom.
He was also slightly hungry, as he'd never gone without a meal for a night before.
The vampire appeared solidifying from mist.
Omi started slightly, not expecting him to show up so suddenly.
"How are you feeling?"
"A little hungry," he admitted.
"It will sharpen your focus." Dracula slowly nodded as he sat down next to Omi.
Omi slid over to give Dracula more room on the ledge. "It will?"
"Emotional urges, instinct drives can be focused and sharpen into an arrow if you will."
"I... think I get it."
"Let us start with something you already have an affinity for - the plants."
Omi nodded. "Okay..."
The vampire drew his hand out and pointed to the strange gargoyle-like figurines on the dried, old fountain. "Focus that sharp blade you call hunger, lash it out onto it."
"Lash out? I don't get it."
"How does the hunger feel to you?"
"I get that part, but what am I supposed to lash out with?" Omi was slightly frustrated.
"Look around, the thorns of a rose, the trees that sway over it, even the seeds that lie dormant."
The boy frowned, but tried to focus, and to attack the statue... with anything.
There are seeds in the ground, stirring at his command
He closed his eyes, struggling to actually focus his hunger, instead of getting distracted by it, and launched his... whatever... at the statue.
With a crack large, thorny roots shot out and started to tangle around the fountain, there is a crack and then the trickle of water.
Omi blinked. "D-did I do that?"
"Yes. Awareness of your action will also be important."
"Awareness?"
"You can control plants, but are you aware of the power you place in it, or the extent of your reach?"
He shook his head. "I can barely keep myself from losing control and lashing out unintentionally."
"It is picking up on your suppressed emotions." Dracula explained in a gentle tone.
Hunger, confusion, and the gentle tone pulled Omi closer to his vampiric side. "Suppressed emotions?"
"Yes. Feelings long buried, an old scar that hasn't healed, quiet thoughts of resentment, anxiety. Many things that tug at the back of the subconscious. They can subtly influence the workings of magic."