Post by Daxen on Nov 15, 2009 14:55:56 GMT -8
Word had traveled around the universities of Ortho of a peculiar young man with a mind open for knowledge. Unfortunately, they also heard his mind just might be too open. Nevertheless, application requests poured in to the Malite household, and it took the stubborn willpower of Daxen's mother and father to keep the government disinterested in their only son. Eventually Daxen did decide on a university, and by the first day was immersed in professors asking what classes he planned to take. Politics? Engineering? Chemistry?
Surprising them all, he simply stated one day, "Umm...I think I'm going to try ecology. It sounds interesting..." Everyone was puzzled; Ortho was an aquatic planet, with few islands and thus did not contain a large variety in ecosystems. Still, he seemed to be adamant about his decision, and his curriculum was made.
Though Daxen unsurprisingly did well in grades, his lack of attentiveness was discouraging to his teachers. He was always the last to turn in a test, and he frequently had to turn in late work. Not to mention he would often space out in class. Thankfully he had at least one friend who kept him awake and focused, a second-year pharmaceutical student named Kane. Kane was known throughout campus for his patience, which was a necessity if one wanted to befriend the absentminded Daxen.
Eventually every student taking a Biology-oriented class had to take an outdoor exam. Basically, survive two weeks on your own, or a month with a partner. Knowing that he wouldn't survive the first day alone, Daxen shyly asked Kane to be his partner, which he accepted. The island the duo was placed on was small, but it had enough resources to sustain a young prodigy and an easygoing med student for at least a month or two (should anything happen). It was here that Daxen went through his most trying ordeals.
In between counting animal populations and studying local herbs, the two had to use their knowledge to provide for themselves: Hunting, building shelter, firemaking, cooking, all had to be learned in this time period; no teacher was around to supervise in case they started to starve.
By day 6, tensions were already on the rise.
"DAXEN! The hell are ya' doing, that fire's about to light you up! I don't want fried wimp for dinner thank you very much!"
Daxen yelped as he felt a spark land on an exposed area of his body and he snapped back to attention and managed in time to control the campfire. He mumbled, "S-Sorry...you know I'm bad at this stuff..."
Kane sighed and dropped the catch of the night on Daxen's lap, "Well at least you ain't bad at cooking. See what you can do with that, I'm going to go make some gauze." He knew it was only a matter of time before Daxen got himself hurt, and Kane berated himself for not making any first aid sooner. 'Course, he had to make sure that he accidentally poison the fellow. Most plants looked alike on Ortho, and it was easy to confuse a medicinal herb with a poisonous one.
Fifteen minutes later they were enjoying a properly-cooked and healthy meal when Daxen asked timidly, "Umm...Kane?"
"Yeah?"
"What...What do you imagine yourself doing in the future?"
"Well that's an odd question. I'unno, I guess travel around in space as a doctor. Really, I'm hoping I'll stumble upon some unknown disease for me to find a cure to. Then I'll be regarded as 'Kane, the Cure-All!'" He got up and, with a big grin, spread his arms apart as he said his future title. He smirked down at his younger colleague, "What about you Dax? Got anything in mind?"
Daxen stared at the fire absently, and Kane sighed. He delivered a swift but gentled kick to Daxen's side, "Oy, were you even listening?" Daxen recoiled at the blow and retorted, "I listened, I was just thinking is all! It's just...I don't know what I want to do. I know that I don't have much a future as a scientist here on Ortho; we already know all the species that live in our oceans, and I don't really like water anyway."
"Maybe I'll visit one of the other planets and do some great study linking every planet together, see how they affect each other. With space travel, invasive species can arrive and change a planet's environment drastically. I've been studying different languages, so it's not like my travel radius is that small. I just want to make a difference, like you Kane! I want to be remembered for something great, not stuck on some spaceship wandering about. I guess you find me kinda childish right now though huh?" He looked over to his companion and found him asleep. Daxen sighed, "Now who's not listening. Oh well, g'night Kane."
The thought of not having a clear future disturbed Daxen throughout the exam, though thankfully he found comfort in his best friend. The good feeling didn't last though, as unexpected rough weather soon left them with little food remaining, with still a week to go. One rainy night Daxen simply curled into a ball and started crying.
"Kane...I don't want to do this anymore...I don't even know what I'm going to do after I leave the university, why am I even doing this? We...are we going...are we going to di--"
He was cut off when he felt Kane wrap his arms around him in a big embrace. Kane whispered in Daxen's ear softly, "Shh...don't finish that. If you don't say it, it won't happen. We'll get through this, Dax. This is nature. This is what we're studying. If every species gave up during hardships, there would be no life in this universe. I promise, we're going to make it." The two best friends stared into each other's eyes for a while before Kane blew out the quickly dimming fire. Daxen slept relaxed and sound the rest of the night.
A few days later the boys were met with the sight of an approaching boat carrying their professors and emergency personnel. They had wanted to arrive earlier, but the weather had held them back, and they were all anxious as to what they would arrive to. Daxen, surprisingly having more energy than Kane, helped him get up and said weakly, "K-Kane...look...they're here...we've passed...we've finally passed..."
Kane looked up with hungry eyes and smiled, "See? I told ya...we....were going......to make--" He lurched and threw up. The crew hurried over to them, a third to calm down the panicking Daxen and the others tending to the fallen Kane. By evening Daxen's best friend was dead, the cause of death being accidental digestion of a poisonous plant.
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Daxen graduated the university with flying colors, and while he has finished mourning his friend's death, people noticed he was a little more introverted than he used to be. He eventually left Ortho to pursue any career he could, though his jobs usually ended due to some accident caused by Daxen's weaknesses. He could recite word-for-word any history book, knew more about ecology than even his professors, and spoke seven foreign languages, and can even cook a decent meal (assuming he doesn't lose focus near a stove) for an entire ship's crew.
It was after Earthfall that Daxen noticed strange occurrences with his shadow, and the resulting paranoia would cause more strife for poor Daxen, and his future looked as dark as the now-morphing shadow. It was one unlucky day when the boy caught eye of the Laika, being restocked with food. Following his nose instead of his brain, Daxen wandered on, and he has remained a passenger to this day.
Surprising them all, he simply stated one day, "Umm...I think I'm going to try ecology. It sounds interesting..." Everyone was puzzled; Ortho was an aquatic planet, with few islands and thus did not contain a large variety in ecosystems. Still, he seemed to be adamant about his decision, and his curriculum was made.
Though Daxen unsurprisingly did well in grades, his lack of attentiveness was discouraging to his teachers. He was always the last to turn in a test, and he frequently had to turn in late work. Not to mention he would often space out in class. Thankfully he had at least one friend who kept him awake and focused, a second-year pharmaceutical student named Kane. Kane was known throughout campus for his patience, which was a necessity if one wanted to befriend the absentminded Daxen.
Eventually every student taking a Biology-oriented class had to take an outdoor exam. Basically, survive two weeks on your own, or a month with a partner. Knowing that he wouldn't survive the first day alone, Daxen shyly asked Kane to be his partner, which he accepted. The island the duo was placed on was small, but it had enough resources to sustain a young prodigy and an easygoing med student for at least a month or two (should anything happen). It was here that Daxen went through his most trying ordeals.
In between counting animal populations and studying local herbs, the two had to use their knowledge to provide for themselves: Hunting, building shelter, firemaking, cooking, all had to be learned in this time period; no teacher was around to supervise in case they started to starve.
By day 6, tensions were already on the rise.
"DAXEN! The hell are ya' doing, that fire's about to light you up! I don't want fried wimp for dinner thank you very much!"
Daxen yelped as he felt a spark land on an exposed area of his body and he snapped back to attention and managed in time to control the campfire. He mumbled, "S-Sorry...you know I'm bad at this stuff..."
Kane sighed and dropped the catch of the night on Daxen's lap, "Well at least you ain't bad at cooking. See what you can do with that, I'm going to go make some gauze." He knew it was only a matter of time before Daxen got himself hurt, and Kane berated himself for not making any first aid sooner. 'Course, he had to make sure that he accidentally poison the fellow. Most plants looked alike on Ortho, and it was easy to confuse a medicinal herb with a poisonous one.
Fifteen minutes later they were enjoying a properly-cooked and healthy meal when Daxen asked timidly, "Umm...Kane?"
"Yeah?"
"What...What do you imagine yourself doing in the future?"
"Well that's an odd question. I'unno, I guess travel around in space as a doctor. Really, I'm hoping I'll stumble upon some unknown disease for me to find a cure to. Then I'll be regarded as 'Kane, the Cure-All!'" He got up and, with a big grin, spread his arms apart as he said his future title. He smirked down at his younger colleague, "What about you Dax? Got anything in mind?"
Daxen stared at the fire absently, and Kane sighed. He delivered a swift but gentled kick to Daxen's side, "Oy, were you even listening?" Daxen recoiled at the blow and retorted, "I listened, I was just thinking is all! It's just...I don't know what I want to do. I know that I don't have much a future as a scientist here on Ortho; we already know all the species that live in our oceans, and I don't really like water anyway."
"Maybe I'll visit one of the other planets and do some great study linking every planet together, see how they affect each other. With space travel, invasive species can arrive and change a planet's environment drastically. I've been studying different languages, so it's not like my travel radius is that small. I just want to make a difference, like you Kane! I want to be remembered for something great, not stuck on some spaceship wandering about. I guess you find me kinda childish right now though huh?" He looked over to his companion and found him asleep. Daxen sighed, "Now who's not listening. Oh well, g'night Kane."
The thought of not having a clear future disturbed Daxen throughout the exam, though thankfully he found comfort in his best friend. The good feeling didn't last though, as unexpected rough weather soon left them with little food remaining, with still a week to go. One rainy night Daxen simply curled into a ball and started crying.
"Kane...I don't want to do this anymore...I don't even know what I'm going to do after I leave the university, why am I even doing this? We...are we going...are we going to di--"
He was cut off when he felt Kane wrap his arms around him in a big embrace. Kane whispered in Daxen's ear softly, "Shh...don't finish that. If you don't say it, it won't happen. We'll get through this, Dax. This is nature. This is what we're studying. If every species gave up during hardships, there would be no life in this universe. I promise, we're going to make it." The two best friends stared into each other's eyes for a while before Kane blew out the quickly dimming fire. Daxen slept relaxed and sound the rest of the night.
A few days later the boys were met with the sight of an approaching boat carrying their professors and emergency personnel. They had wanted to arrive earlier, but the weather had held them back, and they were all anxious as to what they would arrive to. Daxen, surprisingly having more energy than Kane, helped him get up and said weakly, "K-Kane...look...they're here...we've passed...we've finally passed..."
Kane looked up with hungry eyes and smiled, "See? I told ya...we....were going......to make--" He lurched and threw up. The crew hurried over to them, a third to calm down the panicking Daxen and the others tending to the fallen Kane. By evening Daxen's best friend was dead, the cause of death being accidental digestion of a poisonous plant.
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Daxen graduated the university with flying colors, and while he has finished mourning his friend's death, people noticed he was a little more introverted than he used to be. He eventually left Ortho to pursue any career he could, though his jobs usually ended due to some accident caused by Daxen's weaknesses. He could recite word-for-word any history book, knew more about ecology than even his professors, and spoke seven foreign languages, and can even cook a decent meal (assuming he doesn't lose focus near a stove) for an entire ship's crew.
It was after Earthfall that Daxen noticed strange occurrences with his shadow, and the resulting paranoia would cause more strife for poor Daxen, and his future looked as dark as the now-morphing shadow. It was one unlucky day when the boy caught eye of the Laika, being restocked with food. Following his nose instead of his brain, Daxen wandered on, and he has remained a passenger to this day.
