7 Leaving the Nest

The morning sun shone in through the branches, casting its glow across the land. Feeling the warmth Jasper wiggled as he slowly woke up. With a stretch, he yawned. Opening his eyes pupils constricted in the light of the sun.

After just laying there for a moment to let his body warm up he finally decided to move. Stretching again he then froze as his nose noticed a familiar scent. Stiffly he turned his head and looked blankly at the very purple, very enticing fruit sitting just to the left of him.

"No! Not again! I don't wanna!" He screamed towards the heavens, as he body slowly made it way over to the fruit. Taking a deep breath he glared at the evil temptress. Recalling the breathing exercise form yesterday, he forced himself to stop and concentrate.

Just like before, with each breath fog began to leak from between his scales. As the fog gathered he slowly floated from the ground. Glaring at the fruit with a vengeance he readied himself, and then like he had planned before, he flew towards the fruit with as much speed as possible.

Yet as one might expect, as soon as he hit the fruit, it shot off in the opposite direction. With a loud slam, it collided with the wall. Then with a tremendous amount of force, it ricocheted back in Jasper's direction. Shocked that the fruit didn't splatter upon contact, he was caught off guard and gasped on reflex.

"Ah-" In an amusing fashion, the speeding fruit slammed into his open mouth, lodging into his throat and knocking him backward. Even though he didn't have to slam his head on the ground this time, this method wasn't much better.

With stars in his eyes, he laid on his back completely defeated. So far the score was fruit three, Jasper zero. And at this rate, it was unlikely to turn in Jasper's favor anytime soon.

With jerky movements he righted himself. Shaking his head to dispel the stars, he sighed, "There's got to be an easier way to do this."

Calming his thoughts he regulated his breathing again. As he guided the air through his body, the large fruit began to react. With a soft warm glow, the fruit started to dissolve. Mixing with the air current and melding quickly into his body with each cycle.

Turing his attention towards his body, he watched how the fruit merged with him, seemingly enhancing his muscles and bones as it did. It was an amazing process. A soft glow covered his body that pulsed with each beat of his heart. A wave of warmth embraced his body as he was filled with energy.

Once the fruit was fully digested, Jasper raised his head triumphantly. It may not have been the ideal process, but at least he got the job done.

Surrounding himself in the fog again, he looked up to the sky. Today was the day and now was the time. Excitement bubbled within him as he willed the fog to rise slowly lifting himself towards the rim of the pit.

It was a long process, and to his dismay, he soon discovered that as he got higher and higher it was getting harder and harder to keep going. As he got closer to the top of the pit, a searing pain began to spread through his body. His lungs seemed to be screaming in protest with each breath he took.

With the last bit if his energy he managed to reach the top of the pit. Gasping for breath he collapsed to the ground just at the edge. The fog that was surrounding him dissipated as his body spasmed in pain. Fear and confusion filled his mind as the pain overwhelmed him.

Nothing like this happened yesterday when he was flying around inside the pit. He didn't know what was causing it. Was it the air outside the pit? But that didn't really make sense... Did he overdo it floating up such a distance? That seemed more likely, though he hoped that wasn't the truth. After all, if it was it would put a serious damper on his 'fly to the moon' plan.

Taking deep breaths he mentally pleaded for the pain to fade. Thankfully the universe seemed to be listening, as slowly but surely the pain eased away. His tail continued to twitch as he raised his head and looked around at his new surroundings.

To his disappointment, much like the inside of the pit, everything around him was blackened and scorched. Thought the bleak environment was cut in two by the largest tree he'd ever seen in either of his lives. With wide eyes, he stared at the ancient looking tree.

Much like the land around it, it was also scared and burned in places. But unlike its barren surroundings, the tree was already on the up and up. Its branches were covered in freshly sprouted bright green leaves, and hundreds of those cursed purple fruits. Luckily the tree was tall enough that the fruits were out of his sniffing range. Otherwise, he would probably be slithering towards the tree completely brainwashed.

Subconsciously he scooted away from the tree. A cold chill going down his spine as he imagined what would happen if all though fruits just fell around him. Shaking his head he rid himself of that thought as quickly as possible. Choosing to ignore the many nightmare fruits hanging above him, he decided to explore the knotted roots around him.

Sluggishly he slithered his way through the sea of roots, bound and determined to explore. It was like trecking through a winding maze, and it wasn't long before he realized that he was now hopelessly lost.

Up in the branches of the tree, hidden behind a layer of spirit power, Humil watched Jasper's actions. From laughing at the little guy playing ping pong with the fruit to waiting with baited breath as he lifted himself the pit. Every one of Jasper's antics where caught. Including his unhidden loathing from the Sanctioned Flare Fruits.

Amused but also a bit miffed at Jasper's distaste for the fruits, Humil did the only thing a super powerful demon Emperor should. With a wave of his hand, he sent three fruits falling from the sky towards Jasper. Just to see how the little snake would solve this one.