Solo The Practice of Hypnotism

[Rosela]

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Timestamp: 50th of Autumn, 513AV

It was a good bit of time before Rosela could bring herself to pick up Hypnotism again. She hadn't expected such severe consequences of pushing herself so hard, but told herself she at least knew what to expect now. She'd finished another hard day at work, and was sitting in the back putting together a jacket mindlessly. The needle twisted through the heavy wool slowly, working its way back and forth in a steady back stitch. Rosela looked down at it unseeingly, wondering whether it was even worth it to go back to Hypnotism.

Waking up with blood in her eyelashes had been terrifying, and it had only been the mention of it in The Art of Hypnotism as a potential overgiving consequence that stopped her from rushing immediately to a healer. She had spent a few days of being shaken up before she felt she could even look at the book again. Logically, she knew she was prepared for any future overgiving. She had a mirror that she could carry with her, to check whether her eyes were getting red, and most of the vial of rose water was still at home for when she needed it. If she gave up now, there would have been no point to starting it at all.

Knotting off her thread at the end of the seam, she popped her needle into the pincushion and folded the jacket. It made her uncomfortable to resume the magic that had affected her so strongly, but it would be worth it. That was what she kept telling herself, anyway.

She hadn't spent as long after work in the shop, so it was still fairly light out when she exited, locking the door behind her. The Menagerie would be open for much longer, and she wouldn't need to be interrupted when she was done. She already had a story for when, or possible only if, she encountered the young Akalak who'd seen her the time prior: She'd had an allergic reaction to the bird area and had panicked when he'd pointed out her red eyes. The idea of going back to the birds was unpleasant anyway; she'd very nearly been pooed on last time and had no intention of risking it again.

Pushing through the front doors, she was greeted by the young Akalak once again, who seemed to recognize her after a moment.

"Hi, welcome to - Oh! Hello again, Miss. Are you feeling...better?"

"Ahem, yes, thank you. I had an allergic reaction to the birds last time, I'm afraid." She sighed sadly, shrugging helplessly. "But, I didn't get to see the rest of the animals, so I decided to take another trip."

"Well, we're very glad to have you back. The bird dome is only one of our many exhibits. In fact, I could be your tour guide for the evening?"

He looked so hopeful that Rosela hesitated for a moment. She did enjoy attentions, but she had come here for a purpose. "Oh, I don't want to take up your time..." Instead of outright rejecting him, she made the split-second decision to use her Hypnotism. The darkness was easier to call now, and she saw in her mind's eye the red fog swirling towards the hopeful young man. She didn't know any specific reason he wouldn't be able to help her, so settled for a slow insinuation that he simply couldn't. 'I can't, I can't, it's sad, but I can't right now...' He looked confused, and Rosela quickly backed off, letting the red fog recede. "I'm sure you have a lot of work to do, helping poor girls like me find the birds, right?"

He hesitated for a moment then nodded as though having solved a puzzle. "Yea, I suppose... We do offer guided tours though?"

[b]"Thanks, but I think I'm okay." She waggled her fingers at him as she moved towards the doors at left. "Thanks for the offer though? I might take you up on it next time." There was only so much to see, and assuming all went well this time, she had no intention of coming again.

The notion seemed to brighten his day however, and he lifted his own hand in farewell. "Yeah, you just let me know..."

Waving again, Rosela disappeared through the doors.

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[Rosela]

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The first exhibit, some manner of large lizards, was packed with small children, and Rosela considered turning around then and there. She couldn't work her way though the place with a herd of children continually on her heels. However, the pair of adult Kontis started urging the children through the doors, apparently ending their tour. One smiled cheerfully over at Rosela, which was returned with her disgust with children disguised as much as possible.

Once she was alone, she browsed the exhibits with ease, though none of them were of much interest. She'd tackled the duller animals on her last trip, and she was anxious to work her way up the food chain. In a fit of paranoia, she quickly checked her mirror to examine her eyes. They were as clear as when she'd left the shop, so it seemed the redness did not kick in right away. At the least, she'd be able to tell during this trip when the outward signs of overgiving started. She didn't care if she got headaches, but red eyes would be a dead giveaway for someone who might already have an idea of what she was doing. Another goal of her little visit was to try and work out her hand motions. It was yet another 'tell' she'd picked up, something that would give her away if she wasn't careful.

She passed an empty exhibit and realized she was close to where she'd ended up at the end of her previous trip: the big cats. The exhibits were more clearly lit, as it was lighter outside, but she passed many felines roaming about in their cages. Pausing, she leaned over to read the sign for 'Dojo' the apparent Myrian Tiger that had come in last season. Rosela had heard through the gossip channels that he'd come in skinny and malnourished, but the great creature rubbing itself on the long grass in the exhibit now was nothing like she'd expected. He was massive, large enough to even ride, and each paw seemed as big as her head. The tips of several claws were visible through the fur as he rolled around.

Abruptly, as though he could sense her there, he rolled onto his side and looked out the front window right at her. Unimpressed, he yawned and looked away. Pursing her lips, Rosela stood up straight and marched to the part of the window closest to him, staring imperiously inside. He would be her first subject. One fingernail tapped delicately on the glass, gaining her a single fluffy ear swiveled in her direction. A few harder taps and the huge head turned to look as well. In a deep part of her brain, her inner Eypharian trembled to be regarded by such a predator. Creatures such as her did not survive such an encounter.

She was more than a mean beast however, much more than some grouse or quail minding its own business in the underbrush. She was on the outside of the glass, looking at the captured predator, stripped of its power. One pair of arms crossed in front of her chest, and the other four clasped behind her as she leaned forward. Her hands were either clasped or balled into fists, to prevent herself from giving into the temptation to work her thumbs.

Meeting the tiger's gaze head on, she allowed the darkness to descend, and the red fog to rise between them. She imagined the tiger inhaling it, breathing the perfume deep into its chest and swirling through its veins to permeate the very mind. 'I need to stand,' she beckoned, forgetting for a moment that she needed to give a reason. 'There is something over near those reeds, something that needs investigating, it may be food...' Food seemed to be an easy motivator for animals, as one of the natural instincts to survive. It was a wonder, with their meals prepackaged and fed to them, that they had any motivation to find their own food.

'There is a challenger over there, not food, okay, it is food if I win, but something over there wants to challenge me, challenge my authority, fight me...' Opting to try something different, she saw an immediate reaction as she suddenly had the tiger's full attention. Nostrils flared and whiskers stood on end as he regarded her with, if not anxiety, then fury. 'This creature will challenge my dominion, throw me out of my home, eat my food, this creature is a danger to me, I need to face this challenge immediately, I need to go over-'

Rosela didn't even need to finish her persuasion; she let out a startled cry as the tiger leapt at the glass with lightning speed. There was the dim echo of an angry roar, and he skidded to a halt at the edge of the glass, teeth bared. Hand over her heart as it pounded loudly in her chest, a nervous laugh escaped. It had worked even better than the temptation of food. Was it because he was male? Or because he was a predator? She had the urge to read up on the Myrian Tigers, but shelved the idea for another day. Just knowing she'd achieved her goal was enough. A quick check of the mirror showed her eyes to still be clear and she sighed in happiness as she gave the now-pacing tiger a mocking smile. She'd won, that was all that mattered.

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[Rosela]

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Feeling very connected with the big cats, she continued along in that section, looking into various exhibits, wondering which she'd take on next. It seemed difficult to step down from the magnificent tiger, but she couldn't spend all day leading the poor creature around by the nose; it was undignified. It was only a dumb animal, but it was still pretty enough to be respectable.

There was plenty of variety, but she just couldn't decide. On a whim, partially to just make a decision and be on with her trial, she stopped in front of a leopard exhibit. It was packed with trees, with flourishes of dense grass throughout. The leopard itself was in the corner, apparently eating. Rosela's nose wrinkled, but she leaned one hip against the exhibit's sign and waited.

The leopard was a beautiful animal as well, though not as intimidating as the Myrian Tiger had been. Circular spots against a golden cloak looked too beautiful to be able to blend in with the surroundings, but she'd have to trust the exhibitors in their signage. She didn't know how long she'd have to wait for the creature to finish its meal, but resolved to stay for just another chime. In the meantime, she looked around the enclosure, eyes lingering on the extensive scratches on the trees.

Sighing, she peered back at the food area to find the leopard licking the stone slab clean, her whiskers surprisingly clean of her meal. She was just getting impatient as the feline looked up, golden eyes passing over here disinterestedly as she began to move towards the most scratched up tree in the enclosure. Without thinking, Rosela's hands came together and began rubbing her thumbs as she drew in the fog, leaning her head down to catch the cat's eye. It did not more than glance at her before climbing effortlessly into the tree, and draping itself over a branch.

Face now close to the glass, she could feel her influence growing thin as it reached out to the cat, the fog becoming little more than smoke as it spread out in the space between them. She realized the leopard was physically further from her than her other subjects had been, deep in the enclosure and up in the tree. She tried all the same however, and blinked rapidly as she attempted to push her fog further. 'I should come down out of the tree, it's not safe here, there's something up here, something's going to come up behind me...' To her credit, both of the leopard's ears swiveled around, possibly looking for the 'something' she insinuated was there, and she found herself in the same situation she'd discovered with the snake the day before. She needed an action that did not hinge on something they would be able to disprove with other senses. The lesson was obvious if she thought about hypnotizing actual people, but using it on animals had allowed her to confuse it with outright mind control. Someday, she thought wistfully, but not now.

Changing tactics, and bundling her hands together as she felt herself start fidgeting again, she leaned close to the glass and pushed out her influence once again. 'The thing by the glass has something, something...pleasant, something good will happen near her, the other people always bring food and other good things, she has something good as well...' She had more luck with this tactic as the leopard shifted its head so that it was looking at her with both eyes. It did not move though, so Rosela licked her lips and continued.

'There will be good things over there, something that makes me feel good, I'll be happy, it'll be fun, it'll be entertaining, it'll distract me from the dullness of this cage...' Rosela lost her focus in her victory as the leopard huffed once and stood to jump nimbly out of the tree. Its ears and eyes were forward as it padded closer to her, shoulder blades rolling with the smooth movement. It wasn't until the leopard stopped and looked lazily left that Rosela realized she had lost the connection. Kicking herself, she attempted to pull herself into the hypnotism again, but the leopard had lost interest in her. 'I should look back over, I should go back to where I was going...' It looked back at her once before looking left again, then lazily moving towards the small pond on that end of the enclosure.

Forcing herself to see the lesson instead of getting mad at herself, Rosela straightened irritably and watched the leopard drink. It was her own fault she'd lost the connection, and the lure clearly hadn't been strong enough to get the animal over to her without her continual suggestion. Working her jaw, she snapped open the pocket mirror to check her eyes. Still no redness - she was fine to keep going.

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[Rosela]

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Much of the cat section was difficult to find a subject in, as many were either eating or sleeping. Remembering her day with Kadda, Rosela wondered if they actually did much else. For a creature without the knowledge to improve itself or its situation, she supposed there wasn't much else they could do. Eat, sleep, play in the grass. She wondered if the Menagerie had animal handlers specifically to play with the animals. Did they get lonely without someone to play with? She didn't know, and didn't have a strong enough inclination to find out.

Before she knew it, she was out of the cat section. She hadn't considered what to do next, so paused and looked around. There were signs towards the bird dome, the reptile section, no doubt where she'd seen the constrictor, and towards the ape section. It was one of the increasingly fewer sections she hadn't visited yet, and she remembered with a start the section on animals with mirror-recognition in her Hypnotism book. Apes had been one of the animals considered somewhat advanced, and she'd told herself to leave them for her next visit. The time was apparently at hand to try the next best thing to a man: the ape.

She expected the section to be loud when she entered, but she was surprised to hear much of the noise be the chatter of people. Leaning around the bend, she saw a group of young Akalaks making faces and gestures as a monkey exhibit, apparently yielding hilarious results. Sighing, she looked around at the exhibits on her end of the corridor, where she might work her influence without interruption. She had no guarantee she wouldn't be interrupted though, so the thought of beginning another 'session' only be get cut off was less than desirable.

Leaning on a column, she instinctively checked her mirror again, seeing herself in slightly better light. Her eyes, while not red, did look puffy, as though she had just woken up, or hadn't slept well the night before. If she thought about it, she could feel the beginnings of a migraine above her left eye, but resolved to ignore it for the time being. She could ignore it for now; the main concern was for her physical appearance. She made a mental note to start carrying concealer around with her.

There was a break in the laughter around the bend, only to abruptly crescendo into riotous laughter once more. Sighing, she looked into the exhibit in front of her, containing a family of ground monkeys with black and white rings around their tails, lemurs, apparently. They sat in a line, grooming each other. They paid her no mind at all, working at each other's backs with mindless abandon. It seemed sweet somehow, caring for each other without thought or question, and Rosela wondered if sentient families had the ability to be like that. She remembered Kavala's talk on children, and a mother's emotional attachment, and wondered if it was like the monkeys.

"Hey there beautiful."

Rosela gave a small gasp and jumped away from the column. The Akalaks had come up the hallway and one of them, the biggest, she noticed, was now leaning on the other side of the column she's leaned against. Part of her glowed under their attentions, cocky and immature as they were, but another part wanted them to leave. It was neither the time nor the place to play sweetheart for a bunch of kids.

"Um, hi." She kept her response short, but polite. The ones not on the column shifted and gave each other little grins. The one on the column put his hands in his pockets and flashed back what was clearly intended to be a heartthrob smile.

"You come here often?"

Akajia help her. Realizing they would likely not pick up her hints, a smile twitched at her own lips and she crossed a pair of her arms, attempting to remain conscious of her hand movements. The fog came easily, and she mentally filled the space between herself and the leader with it. "I've only been here a couple times. Just to unwind after a long day of work." 'She looks tired, she had a long day...' Rosela knew perfectly well she looked tired, and it would likely get worse before this conversation was even over.

"Work? Where do you work at? I'll be sure to stop by sometime." Again with the heartthrob smile.

"Red Diamond Fashions. A clothing store." No sense in missing out on free advertising.

"Oh, my mom shops there!" One of the peripheral boy piped up, and the rest of the group gave him angry looks that only bordered on discreet.

"That's a, uh, nice place. I think I've seen it in town." The biggest one returned his gaze to her. He wasn't a bad looking young man, and if he were ten years older, Rosela may have welcomed his company a little more.

"Yes... Well, I just come here to get a little quiet time after we close the shop. It's peaceful here." 'By peaceful, she probably means alone... We should leave...' Attempting to switch gears, she projected a wave of 'leave her alone' towards the leader, who's eyebrows drew slightly closer together.

"I...yea...peaceful." He blinked at her, as though confused and perhaps slightly pitying. Inwardly, Rosela balked at his pity, but forced herself to think of its uses.

'Look at her, she's tired, she probably just wants to be left alone...' He didn't seem to be getting the hint however, and even his friends were starting to glance at him in confusion. The silence lengthened. "So..." Rosela prompted, unsure if any stronger hypnotism was wise. She still wasn't confident in her abilities to do it without detection.

"Uh, yea." The leader started, looking sheepishly up at her as though she'd caught him stealing. "We'll just leave you be then... You know, the tiger place is pretty peaceful...?" He looked hopeful, but Rosela only offered him a wry twist of her lips.

"I know, I was just there."

"Oh, cool. So yea... Enjoy the, uh, monkeys."

"Will do." Her smile as he started to back away was genuine, though his friends followed in confusion. She turned back to the lemurs as they moved further away, and she didn't move from next to the column until she heard the door shut.

She quickly checked her mirror again and found her eyes starting to clearly redden, though not to the extent they had the day before. At least now she didn't look like she'd been sobbing hysterically; it was just possible that she was very, very tired. The vial of rose water was mentally added to her list of items to bring with her when she went about using her hypnotism. On the tails of that was a cute handbag design that she resolved to make when she got into the shop the next day.

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[Rosela]

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Now that she was showing physical signs of overgiving, Rosela resolved to finish up her work here. Moving down the corridor, she walked slowly, giving her mind time to heal and come back down. According to her hypnotism book, if she rested well in between acts of hypnosis, the overgiving should be minor. She stopped at the last exhibit in the ape section, or apes and monkeys, according to the sign.

A family of great black apes were there, all the way from the jungles of Zeltiva, the sign said. It said they were cousins of the Jamoura, but not as intelligent. The apes in the exhibit now had been there since birth, and all that had known the jungle wilds had died out.

Instead of launching immediately into her hypnotism, Rosela leaned on the wall next to the exhibit and watched them. They seemed to be mostly stationary, a few clustered around a boulder, picking at each other's fur. The grass in Rosela's corner was packed down, and appeared to be well-worn. As though thinking the same thing, an ape stood ponderously up and began walking towards her, supporting his weight forward on his knuckles. Unsure of what to do, Rosela stood still, watching him approach. She couldn't have asked for a better setup for hypnotism, but sighed and resolved to just watch and wait.

As expected, he heaved himself down into the small cove of the corner, settling in and watching the others out in the grass. It was disconcerting to be so close to such a large animal, but Rosela did not move. His face was deeply wrinkled, with small close-set eyes that blinked slowly as they impassively watched the others. He had no interest in the Eypharian girl on the other side of the glass, so close to his shoulder.

His eyes, small and dark though they were, seemed somehow more intelligent than the bright gazes of the felines. He looked...sad, as though he knew he was being watched and had grown so accustomed that he no longer cared. For the first time, Rosela wondered what it would be like to be in a zoo herself. Families would come to 'oo' and 'ah' at her arms, as they already did in the street, but then they'd leave to go back to their own lives and she would remain in the cage. She'd have no choice but to remain, as they probably built it to withstand any attempt at escape.

She realized suddenly that the ape had turned to look at her, with his small, sad eyes peering uncaringly through the glass. She wondered what he saw. Some creature that had a better life than he did, or did he think he only saw into another cage? Was he intelligent enough to realize that the faces that came to look in where all different? Did he think about where they went?

The fog came almost without her willing it, gathering in the close space between them. 'Things will be better tomorrow,' She didn't know why she conveyed that particular thought. 'Things will be better, more interesting, and better food, and brighter sun, and warmer weather...' The hope she conveyed was vague, and unattached to any particular event happening. She searched his face as she did it, wondering if she'd see any change, any glimmer of hope or interest in anything beyond what he saw at that moment.

'Things will be better tomorrow, they will...'

She saw something there, as he blinked and slowly looked away. The connection was gone, but she'd seen a change in expression. She didn't know if it was anger at the strange thoughts in his head, or anger at the girl on the other side of the glass, or even if she had managed to convey some manner of hope, but she'd gotten some kind of reaction, so she told herself to take her small victory and go.

On the way out, she saw signs for an exhibit of the fearsome Zith and Symenestra, and it was enough to give her pause. She'd met a partial Symenestra, in the Ethaefel Eida. They were fully conscious beings, were they not? Eida hadn't seemed wild and unfeeling in the moments before she'd transformed. How did such creatures stand up to the burden of display? Biting her lip, Rosela turned and walked quickly out of the building, knowing for certain she didn't want to return in the near future. As frightening as it would be to work hypnotism on real people out in the world, it would be better than coming back and seeing the ape's sad eyes on another creature.

Her eyes were fully red by the time she checked her mirror outside, having successfully avoided the Akalak at the front desk. It was expected this time, however, so she only swiftly walked home, washed off her makeup, put in her rose water drops, and went to bed early.

There were blood tears on her pillow the next morning, but this time, they were the only night they appeared.

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[Taylani]

XP Award!

Rosela:

XP Award:

• +1 planning
• +5 hypnotism
• +2 observation

Lore:

• Hypnotism: Need to give reasons with suggestions.
• Hypnosis: The reason should be something that they can not disprove with other senses.

Notes:

Comments :

Interesting thread. It brought to mind a question about hypnosis and those who are extremely disciplined. Example for adult Akalaks, who’s days are filled with extreme discipline and control..would they be more difficult to hypnotize then say a slave who is used to being given commands? Interesting thoughts. Thanks for the read. As always feel free to pm me any concerns about the grade, and edit/delete your grade request.

TAYLANI