“Thank you!” Ozzy responded “I didn’t have anything for a side, but did the best I could with what I had.” Taking a bite of his own dish to stop himself from rambling he hoped Vonder would help fill the void in the conversation. Instead Vonder took a bite as well, savoring the meat. Ozzy didn’t consider himself a cook or chef by any stretch of the imagination, but he did know how to cook chicken and other fowl to just the right side of safe, while also being as juicy as possible. Even without much to spice or season the meat it tasted rather good. If he did say so himself. Though the faces Vonder was making suggested he agreed.
“I must say…” He finally interjected after swallowing his long chewed bite, and washing it down with water “I have missed enjoying a meal I didn’t need to prepare myself”. He paused again to take another, smaller, bite and again savored the taste. Ozzy waited suspecting this was only for dramatic effect. This time he washed it down with Juice and had a few additional sips before continuing. “The middle one is rather nice” He said pointing “And the juice is wonderful. What is it?”
“Honestly… '' Ozzy began slowly “I have no idea hah” The a on idea morphing into the ahah of an exasperated chuckle as he was reminded of the absurdity of the place he found himself in and the absolute lack of familiarity with anything in any situation he’d run into so far. Never being one to allow himself to completely lose it Ozzy quickly recalibrated his outlook. If he was unsure of something or a situation he needed to ground himself in what he did know. “Though they remind me a bit of kiwi and pear mixed”. From there he could build a baseline on which he could rest a foundation of understanding. “Are you interested in some? I was hoping to see if you had bread or wheat I could trade for”
“Oh I’m sure we could come to an agreement on that!” Vonder responded after again washing down a bite with more juice. “It’s a marvelous flavor after all” He paused for a moment with another sip. “I’d also be interested in one of these birds.” He seemed to ponder something before continuing, “It seems you’re adapting rather well” He complimented Ozzy who nodded appreciatively while still finishing his own bite. Vonder recognized his inability to answer verbally and picked back up again. “My first few months were not something to be envied. I felt a bit of a savage for a time there. Thankfully the company of Mr. Sanford saw me through”
“Oh!” Ozzy said, having finished his bite “Where is your cat?”
Vonder chuckled nonchalantly “Eh, I’m sure you’ve had cats before, It’s either they demand your attention or your absence. He’s likely off sunning himself in my haven somewhere, or who knows what else” Vonder waved as if to shoo a fly implying there wasn’t much else to say about the aloof cat. Which Ozzy could understand. The cats he’d known before were always underfoot when you were busy, and nowhere to be found when you wanted to cuddle. He said as much before having another bit of the bird.
The conversation continued in a much lighter mood than their first visit. Casual chatter mixed with personal anecdotes helped relax them both. Ozzy partially forgot they were in what was effectively purgatory as they ate their meal and reminisced. The introduction and strange behavior of Cederick hadn’t helped along the first visit. The old saying about first impressions being everything had never sat well with him. Most reasonable individuals were willing to adjust their models of others based on new data. Especially when the initial set of information was so wildly skewed by some outside factor.
While Ozzy couldn’t say exactly what impression he’d left on Vonder, and hadn’t really solidified his own opinion of the man, it wasn't the best from the first meeting. However, he was learning the man was an even better conversationalist than he’d initially given him credit for. He would reciprocate stories Ozzy told with some of his own. He was quick to give a compliment, even quicker with a joke, and generally fun to chat with. He’d told some more stories about his initial arrival. Including what his own tile contained. Well not in so many words, but in a roundabout way he revealed the information. In a comedic retelling of a self deprecating story he ended with “... So I returned to my haven and found Mr. Sanford shitting in my original sandy tile.”
Ozzy’s head cocked at the statement. Curious as to whether it was an organic turn of the conversation, or an intentional manipulation on Vonders part, and of course wondering more about the why and how. Cederick had claimed his starting square nearly matched the tiles of the imp’s havens. A ruddy brittle stone. His own was what he envisioned a section of the living room floor he’d been sleeping above looked like. Both of the others seemed to have some singular material making up their square where his was something much more complex. The inconsistency made Ozzy ask “So, it was just sand?”
Vonder stopped for a moment and looked off to the side as if he’d just realized what he said. “Hmmm, “ He filled the air with a nothing answer, likely to buy himself a little more time. Looking Ozzy over and then turning back to the side again he turned back once more before continuing “Yes, I was walking on the beach the last thing I remember before showing up here. So, Sand.” The admission made a certain amount of sense to Ozzy. He’d been sleeping in the living room and showed up in his internal vision of his living room, at least a small square section of it. So it wasn’t so strange that someone walking on the beach would show up with sand. Yet that still screamed an inaccuracy. Where had Cederick been walking if you simply showed up in the last place you saw… Mars? Maybe some place in Australia, that’s the only other place Ozzy knew of with red rocks. Although who knows. He wasn’t a geologist to know where different types of rock showed up.
Actually now that he thought about it the grand canyon had red rocks too. He also wasn’t a spiritualist, a theologian, or whatever type of expert one might need to be to know how you’d show up in the afterlife. Maybe it would need to be a celestial-zoo-ologist as he still suspected the havens were alive. Whatever it all turned out to be he’d need to ask more questions of more people to narrow things down. The likelihood was he wouldn’t have an answer any time soon. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to ask the question though. “Why do you think that is?”
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Vonder took on a look of concentration as he weighed the best response. The options included but weren’t limited to different ways to phrase what he actually thought. There were a few options that were similar yet misleading. His natural tendency was to hold back his full experience and understanding as a layer of protection. Though his newer instincts also played a part. Reminding him that as much as he was weighing what he wanted to say, he was weighing Ozzy himself. The young man was clearly someone who prized learning and growing above all else. Evidenced by his inability to hold back questions or comments on things as he was working through in his head. There was a way he could reveal almost nothing and still provide a good answer for Ozzy. Making his decision Vonder responded
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“I have my own suspicions of course, but like the question of where we are, there is no definitive answer” He paused as Ozzy frowned. “I take it you know what Cederick’s initial tile looked like?” When Ozzy nodded he continued “Well Cederick claims the last thing he was doing was falling asleep in school. He described it to me in detail. There was nothing like the rocks that made up his tile as anywhere near the school.”
Ozzy gave himself time to process the response by picking at his dish again. Clearly Vonder didn’t believe that the squares only took on the visage of our last memory. Yet, as he did often, he wasn’t directly answering the question. Although he’d said he didn’t have an absolute answer to give. Ozzy guessed that Vonder had many more examples to go off of and a much more specific belief that he was leaving out. While he did feel Vonder was intentionally holding back, he got the vibe it was more of a recommendation to try and figure it out himself. Rather than holding back some important information. He did suspect whatever it turned out to be wouldn’t exactly help him directly anyway.
If Vonder was feeling cryptic about the topic it suggested choosing another. “That’s very interesting, I guess I’ll have to look more into it” Ozzy said to dismiss the lack of an answer. “So you’ve talked to Cederick a lot?” he wondered aloud.
“Well.. he does come visit from time to time” Vonder replied before continuing. “I was actually alone for a while after we lost our mentor and then Benjamin stopped allowing me to visit. So I welcomed Cedericks visits once he started coming by.”
Ozzy was surprised at his candor so probed a bit more. Vonder had met with Cederick on almost a daily basis when they first met. Though of course it hadn’t lasted. Eventually he’d asked if Cederick had met other people, and if he’d be willing to introduce him, with which is when they learned that they both knew Benjamin. Well after an uncomfortable experience when Cederick had tried to get the two to meet. Now that the subject of the two of them together had been brought up, Ozzy asked a few followup questions.
Most of them Vonder answered partially or side stepped them in ways that were polite but clear he wasn’t interested in talking too much about them. Although one he hit on and sank his teeth into. “Did your mentor teach you how to manipulate light, or did you need to figure that out on your own?”. Vonder had smiled and was clearly excited to brag as he went into detail about discovering the methods to interact with and replicating different fundamental forces. “It’s all about vibrations” He’d leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. Though his explanations and demonstrations all involved either light or shadow. Which was informative, but left Ozzy wondering if he was intentionally trying to leave out information, or just didn’t know.
The questions culminated in Vonder demonstrating his telekinesis. Though this time he didn’t bother with mucking about with cups. “Light shows are all well and good, but sometimes you gotta give ‘em a little shock and awe” He exclaimed while standing up from the table. Once he’d backed away a few feet a nimbus of energy surrounded his whole body and he lifted off of the ground while holding up his hands in a wizardly pose as if he was lifting himself up by some magic emanating from his hands. Ozzy found his jaw dropping but likely not for the reason that Vonder might think.
Regardless of the reason for his expression Vonder appreciated it and laughed to himself as he floated a good two meters above the ground. Even going so far as to morph it into a mild villain’s sinister laugh. “Pretty awesome right” He shouted, finally moving his arms from the ridiculous pose and gesturing around himself. He kept floating about apparently not expecting a response and eventually sat himself back on the ground right in front of his seat and returned it and himself to the table. Ozzy was still flabbergasted as all his assumptions seemed to be completely off. Meanwhile Vonder looked as pleased as punch with himself while he poured himself another glass of juice.
“But, like pulling yourself up by the bootstraps is supposed to be impossible…” Ozzy trailed off as he looked down to his domain and thought about the limited version of flight he’d created for himself, pushing against the ground and then himself. He’d not tested any other method, simply made the assumption it had to be that way. Even as he had scolded himself that he should broaden his horizons beyond two dimensions and think in three he was holding himself back thinking about how things worked back on earth.
“You aren’t in kansas anymore Ozzy” Vonder quipped “You’ve got ruby slippers on, you gotta tap those boys and see where they take you”