Ben considers that; he wonders if it really is as simple as that. After all, trees aren't silent. They have branches that creak and groan, leaves that rustle. He is quiet for a moment, looking up into the tree they are sitting beneath, waiting, listening. It's peaceful, focusing on the soft sounds of the tree's surfaces moving in the light currents of air, but if there's a message in it, he doesn't know the language it is in.
So he looks back to Cole, shrugging.
"I can't understand it. What is it saying?"
He is curious, after all, what a tree might think. Are the trees amused, or maybe disdainful, of all this fuss over their sap? Are they happy for the company? Confused? Talking of other matters with one another, completely unconcerned with the humans congregating?
"I do feel like that."
Ben would not have been able to put it in words quite that well, if Cole had just outright asked him. There really are some advantages, to being friends with someone who can just know when you're feeling relaxed and bright and buzzy.
"I think those sap drinks might have a little bit extra in them."
It's not exactly like being drunk - Ben had tried that a couple of times and only felt morose and nauseous, for the most part. Which means it is possibly some other kind of intoxication. Normally, the idea would bother Ben a great deal. He's (understandably) wary of substances, after watching what addiction had done to Klaus. On top of that, he'd always put a great deal of stock into the lessons his father had instilled in him, about the importance of control, of maintaining focus at all times, or else the evil in him would spill out and destroy everything he held dear.
But he's been questioning that, lately. Questioning whether he really needs to police himself so rigorously, over every little detail, every possible indulgence. Maybe, in an odd and roundabout way, this will be a good test. If he can do this - get a bit high or tipsy or whatever it is - and the world doesn't end, that will tell him something.
He realizes he's been drifting in his thoughts for a little while, not saying anything. With anyone else, that would probably be rude and call for an apology. With Cole, he just gives a small smile, another shrug, and then decides that laying down sounds amazing right now. He flops over easily onto his back, tucking a hand behind his head and looking up into the tree. He can still see Cole, in the corner of his vision. He'd been right - lying down feels awesome.
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So he looks back to Cole, shrugging.
"I can't understand it. What is it saying?"
He is curious, after all, what a tree might think. Are the trees amused, or maybe disdainful, of all this fuss over their sap? Are they happy for the company? Confused? Talking of other matters with one another, completely unconcerned with the humans congregating?
"I do feel like that."
Ben would not have been able to put it in words quite that well, if Cole had just outright asked him. There really are some advantages, to being friends with someone who can just know when you're feeling relaxed and bright and buzzy.
"I think those sap drinks might have a little bit extra in them."
It's not exactly like being drunk - Ben had tried that a couple of times and only felt morose and nauseous, for the most part. Which means it is possibly some other kind of intoxication. Normally, the idea would bother Ben a great deal. He's (understandably) wary of substances, after watching what addiction had done to Klaus. On top of that, he'd always put a great deal of stock into the lessons his father had instilled in him, about the importance of control, of maintaining focus at all times, or else the evil in him would spill out and destroy everything he held dear.
But he's been questioning that, lately. Questioning whether he really needs to police himself so rigorously, over every little detail, every possible indulgence. Maybe, in an odd and roundabout way, this will be a good test. If he can do this - get a bit high or tipsy or whatever it is - and the world doesn't end, that will tell him something.
He realizes he's been drifting in his thoughts for a little while, not saying anything. With anyone else, that would probably be rude and call for an apology. With Cole, he just gives a small smile, another shrug, and then decides that laying down sounds amazing right now. He flops over easily onto his back, tucking a hand behind his head and looking up into the tree. He can still see Cole, in the corner of his vision. He'd been right - lying down feels awesome.