"We don't have to tell him what we're doing with them." Then, an afterthought. "As long as he doesn't want them back."
Besides, the hope is that as they tweak and adjust, they'll be killing fewer and fewer houseplants. He's not entirely sold on switching cacti, if only because there should be some consistency in their test subjects. Maybe that gives him more of a reason to ask Jaskier to make them some--that way, they can ensure all of the plants are compositionally identical.
Probably should have thought of that sooner, though instead of being frustrated by the oversight, Viktor gets a little thrill from Jayce giving him the idea. This is what he's always cherished--someone who matches him intellectually, who can create that feedback loop of hypotheses and breakthroughs.
"Yes, maybe. We can try. I never thought I'd say that our runes are more straightforward." So often it simply felt that they were just throwing things at the wall to see what stuck, with the records of the arcane lost to time or scrubbed away purposefully. This system is more defined, comparatively, but it has its own quirks and complications. "The Arcana system--every symbol has so many different interpretations. The one we're looking for might not be so obvious, or we're assigning symbols based on their primary meaning, when we should be looking at secondary, tertiary--"
He pauses, briefly, when Jayce reaches out to push a stubborn curl away from his forehead. Viktor should be upset, for having his train of thought interrupted, but instead finds the warmth of the gesture comforting. He gives Jayce a sad little smile.
"You never would have dared to do that, back home."
no subject
Besides, the hope is that as they tweak and adjust, they'll be killing fewer and fewer houseplants. He's not entirely sold on switching cacti, if only because there should be some consistency in their test subjects. Maybe that gives him more of a reason to ask Jaskier to make them some--that way, they can ensure all of the plants are compositionally identical.
Probably should have thought of that sooner, though instead of being frustrated by the oversight, Viktor gets a little thrill from Jayce giving him the idea. This is what he's always cherished--someone who matches him intellectually, who can create that feedback loop of hypotheses and breakthroughs.
"Yes, maybe. We can try. I never thought I'd say that our runes are more straightforward." So often it simply felt that they were just throwing things at the wall to see what stuck, with the records of the arcane lost to time or scrubbed away purposefully. This system is more defined, comparatively, but it has its own quirks and complications. "The Arcana system--every symbol has so many different interpretations. The one we're looking for might not be so obvious, or we're assigning symbols based on their primary meaning, when we should be looking at secondary, tertiary--"
He pauses, briefly, when Jayce reaches out to push a stubborn curl away from his forehead. Viktor should be upset, for having his train of thought interrupted, but instead finds the warmth of the gesture comforting. He gives Jayce a sad little smile.
"You never would have dared to do that, back home."