Stop and smell the grass

[innocent_insanity]

WHO: Kurloz Makara
TONE: somewhat macabre
RATING: PG-13
WHEN: 13 October, early evening
WHERE: Library
WHAT: Kurloz is taking advantage of Hogwarts' massive library and delving into the medical biology section. (btw he's not wearing his makeup, just his eyeliner)
STATUS: ONGOING

Kurloz had decided to spend the majority of his Saturday sketching. Not completely unusual, and some of the sketches had even been lighthearted ones of the outdoor scenery. He'd even bothered to collect one of the autumn leaves and draw it out in exquisite detail, but then he'd gotten lost in the veins of the plant. Veins had led to thoughts of blood, and blood had led to here, the library, in the shadowy section on biology. He hadn't bothered with the general Healing tomes - he'd gone straight for the titles regarding the transformation and distortion of anatomy through spellwork, staring fascinated at the images depicting various gruesome twisted creatures and failed experiments.

He sat at one of the desks, several of the books piled at his arm as he scanned through one in front of him, eyes fixated on the detailed water-coloured painting of two wizards that had been merged to share one spine, both of their faces in agony as the writer noted that the subjects had not lasted long under the pain.

Comments

[preanimator]

The Ravenclaw, unlike Kurloz, wasn't particularly good at hiding his less-then-conventional interests - a lot of other students (and probably some of the teachers) found him more than a little creepy. It was clear why, as he explained with a growing interest in his voice, "Well, obviously this wouldn't work, but it's an early first step. It would be interesting to find out what would be effective, wouldn't it? How to fuse two nervous systems? To discover what would happen, what traits would be shared, how much control each brain has, that sort of thing - that would be an interesting experiment!"

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz smiled at the boy's enthusiasm for the subject, nodding in response to the explanation.

think you'll be getting your experimentation on this kind of stuff underway after you graduate or some shit?

[preanimator]

"Hmm? Ah, no, that's not my particular area of interest, although I suppose I might as a side project. If I could get the subjects." Herbert wrinkled his nose briefly, as though this were an annoying formality he had to overcome. "No, I intend to continue my research into the reanimation of non-living tissue. Returning the dead to life."

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz looked intrigued at the mention of reanimating the dead and scribbles out quickly:

you can do that shit? have you gone and brought some dead pets to life yet or something???

[preanimator]

"Just insects," West said, with a dissatisfied expression. "I haven't got any pets, and no one will let me use theirs. Can you believe it's considered Dark magic? Which is utterly ridiculous, since it's basically the ultimate healing act, and how could that be Dark? People are so short sighted, just because Inferi exist, that doesn't mean what I'm doing would be anything like that!"

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz smiled at the clear annoyance and shrugged.

guess you just got to be all sorts of careful on what happens with bigger things. maybe you could try catching a toad or some shit from the forest?

[preanimator]

"I've considered that. I've also been watching the owlery for illness, and Holmes have me his dead goat. Unfortunately it wasn't fresh enough and I couldn't do anything with it." The small boy sighed and adjusted his glasses.

Glancing down at the book again, he asked, "So your interest is merely idle? You're not thinking of becoming a healer or anything like that?"

[innocent_insanity]

just idle interest yeah. don't think a brother's got the brains and shit to be a healer.

[preanimator]

"No, probably not," Herbert agreed, sounding disappointed. Most people found his ideas and attitudes creepy, if not downright repellent - it would have been nice to be able to invite this boy to the club, to have someone who might actually appreciate his genius. "Pity."

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz smiled apologetically at Herbert's disappointment.

sorry bro. you can come around whenever and bounce your ideas and shit off my motherfucking thinkpan though?

[preanimator]

"I doubt you'd understand any of them." It wasn't said nastily - Herbert assumed almost everyone he ran into was stupider than him, and unable to comprehend the complicated medical concepts and thoughts that occupied most of his waking hours. "Thank you, though."

[innocent_insanity]

[Shoulders shaking with silent laughter, he shakes his head but keeps smiling.]

you can try dumbing it down for this fucker? :o)

[preanimator]

[Herbert stiffens a little - he hates people laughing at him, and it happens far more than he'd like.]

I doubt you'd be interested. [mutters, lips pursing and brow furrowing as his shoulders hunch in. Herbert's not very good at hiding his feelings.]

[innocent_insanity]

[Kurloz tilts his head while staring up at him, not understanding why Herbert's getting huffy.]

a brother wouldn't ask if he weren't proper interested.

[preanimator]

Or maybe you just think it's funny, like the rest of them. [mutters]

[innocent_insanity]

is it meant to be funny?

[preanimator]

Of course not! [bursts out] It's incredibly important, and serious! But no one understands that ...

[innocent_insanity]

[Shrugs.]

then explain it to a brother so he can get his proper appreciation on.

[preanimator]

[Herbert doesn't say anything for a long moment, scowling at the floor, then he starts slowly-] It's a matter of ... vital energy. The energy that makes things alive. It has to be reactivated, but there's the age old problem of consciousness ...

[innocent_insanity]

[Watches with rapt attention, waiting for more.]

[preanimator]

[Swallows, not used to people paying attention to him. About the only person he ever spouts this stuff to is Shinra Kishitani, and certainly not 5th year Slytherins who would normally taunt him for either his blood status, or any of the other personality and stature issues that he usually got crap for.]

I think it's in all the cells, you see. Possibly it's a function of the DNA, which is an interesting aside because of mitochondria - ah, but that's a bit difficult to go into. Um. But, yes. The life force is in all the cells, and it's probably the neurons, the cells that make up the brain and the spinal cord and all our nerves, that house the consciousness. So, you see, there has to be a way to measure that energy, and see how long it remains in the body after death, and in what parts. And then reignite it.

[innocent_insanity]

[Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares but not in a 'what the hell are you talking about' way but more of a thoughtful, piercingly analytical way. He then writes:]

would how long a fucker's been dead be all and effecting the possibility of restoring that shit? or would the energy be gone after a short while you think?

[preanimator]

I don't know. That's why I have to find out how to measure it properly. A sort of ... soul meter, I suppose. I do know that the brqin survives the heart stopping and being deprived of oxygen for longer than people think, and the consciousness resides in the head, even after it's been completely chopped off, for at least a minute. [explains, hands gesturing briefly in the air, starting to become more animated as he talks about his very favorite subject]

[innocent_insanity]

[Keeps watching, smiling as Herbert gets more into his explanation. He's enjoying that almost as much as he's enjoying what's being told to him.]

[preanimator]

[It's one of the very few times Herbert can be actually likable, when he's talking about something he loves. He's actually sort of cute, then, too, when his face lights up with excitement and interest, instead of scowling or cold disapproval, though he'll never be handsome.]

Even the Muggles saw it - they described heads blinking and looking around, after the person had been guillotined. Wizards, of course, have far better resources to investigate. With spells, we can even preserve the life in heads, if you can get them right after they've been removed from the bodies! The old wizards used to do that, to keep the heads of their enemies and gain all the knowledge in them for their own. But no one does that any more, because it's considered Dark magic. It's so stupid, how anything associated with circumventing death is considered Dark.