As Torus fell into a deep state of meditation, he focused inward on himself. As his metaphorical vision honed internally, he at first moved toward his brain, something that was a force of habit by this point considering he often did this while meditating.
Mentally, he corrected his course, instead dragging his consciousness even deeper within himself, into what could be considered the core of who he was.
This location was none other than his mind scape, the area where his soul was. As this area came into focus, Torus was surprised to find that the area appeared similar to a forest filled with lush greenery, the trees spiraling high into the sky and blotting out the sun, the loud sounds of animals ringing out from within it.
And as he began to head into this forest, Torus would find groups of animals within. However, what was most shocking to him was exactly what these animals were - they were all the animals he had taken traits from.
As he went deeper into the forest, Torus began to encounter new animals and even beasts. What was strange is that these animals weren't ones that he had taken traits from.
What they all did have in common though, was that they were all animals or beasts that he had either interacted with or studied thoroughly. Realizing this, Torus began to examine these creatures a little closer, trying to figure out exactly why they were within his mind scape.
As he examined these animals further however, Torus had a look of enlightenment overcome him. Looking at them, Torus couldn't help but to mutter to himself, "Ah, I see. These aren't real creatures, but rather my understanding of them.
That's why there are subtle differences within them even if they are of the same species; for example, some of the porcupines have more quills, while others have sharper quills. So, the more understanding I get of a species, the more of them will show up here and the more and larger the differences they have will appear," Torus thought to himself, a look of understanding washing over him.
After this discovery, Torus' attention once more shifted back to his goal, his figure now beginning to walk through the forest with more purposeful steps.
As he walked, Torus would scan his surroundings, looking for any signs of this so-called fire the book talked about.
After around half-an-hour of walking however, Torus began to lose hope that he had inherited the trait, frustration overcoming him.
In a brief showing of anger, Torus let out a slight huff before muttering to himself in a barely audible voice, "I've practically searched this forest inside and out with no signs of the flame, it seems like I wasn't lucky enough to be born with the trait." Torus said, his frustration dying out into a bitter murmur toward the end.
However, it was at this point that something strange happened. As if they could understand his increasing frustration, a group of small figures slowly converged out of the forest surrounding him, their small figures coming to a stop directly in front of him.
These small figures were none other than porcupines, their small figures painting a rather friendly sight even with the clear spiky protrusions on their back.
In particular, one of the porcupines came to a stop a step ahead of the other ones, staring directly up into Torus' eyes as the young man watched their approaching figures in bemusement. As he looked down at this porcupine, Torus couldn't help but to feel that this one seemed to be the leader of their little group, and after examining it he could understand why.
Whereas the normal porcupines within the region held the traits of some of the evolutions and understandings he had gained, this one seemed to be a culmination of all of them.
What this meant was, it was essentially what a porcupine would evolve into given enough time and with the right pressure being placed on it from the environment.
And what was very strange about this animal in particular, was that its evolution seemed to take some traits from his original intentions when learning about them, as while he couldn't see a gland, he could see a small coating of some form of neurotoxin on the quills of the porcupine.
While he felt his interest piqued at the sight, Torus shook his head of the thoughts, not wishing to get too distracted from his original intent of being here. However, just as he was about to disregard the pair of porcupines and continue his search elsewhere, the porcupine at the lead finally did something other than just standing there.
While still looking up at Torus' much larger figure, the porcupine seemed to let out some form of a low grunt, the sound similar to that of a buzzing mosquito if a bit louder, "Mnmnn," the small porcupine said, clearly trying to convey something to him.
However, rather than the noise of the porcupine, what had really drawn Torus' attention was what the porcupine did afterward. After giving Torus one last glance as if to confirm he was still paying attention to it, the small creature turned on its heel, beginning to walk in a certain direction within the forest.
Raising a brow at the sight, Torus thought to himself, 'Does this little guy want me to follow it?' he thought, staring at the porcupine's retreating figure.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Torus simply shrugged his shoulders before moving forward, following after the porcupine, noticing the group to now be following after him.
After all, he had no clue where to look for this supposed flame, and seeing as he really had nothing better to do, he might as well see what exactly this group wanted.
After heading into the forest, the group walked for about 15-minutes before they finally came to a stop. Their destination appeared to be that of a small cave, appearing to be something dug out by some sort of animal.
It was at this point that the figure of the porcupine in the lead seemed to come to a stop, its figure turning around to regard Torus with a curious look, as if confirming he had indeed followed it.
After confirming that he was there, the little creature seemed to nod its head for a moment, turning back around and heading toward the cave. Now curious at exactly where this porcupine was trying to take him, Torus followed after the little guy a lot quicker this time.
Stepping within the cave, Torus began to look around, finding the sight within to be rather strange. For one, the cave appeared far warmer than one might expect, and for another there appeared to be multiple different marks on the cave walls, as if they had all been left behind by beasts.
What was so curious about them however, was that there were so many in variety, that Torus was sure that not all of the creatures that had left them existed within his mind scape.
As he looked at these carvings however, another thing became apparent to him soon after - the marks that appeared to be the deepest within the cave were clearly left behind by the creatures he had researched or created new evolutions for.
What this meant was that this space was directly connected to his understanding of creatures in some way. However, it also seemed to have some outside influence considering that a lot of the marks left behind were from creatures he had never encountered before.
Before he could become consumed in his thoughts, trying to figure out the secrets hidden by this cave, Torus was dragged out of them by a soft sound.
Seemingly noticing his distracted state, the porcupine that had been leading him up to this point came up to him, "Mew," the porcupine let out, clearly trying to draw his attention. This seemed to do the trick, as Torus' glazed over look seemed to return to the present, his gaze shifting down toward the creature.
As such, the little guy turned back around, continuing its arduous journey. Now however, it would occasionally turn back around, seemingly confirming that Torus was still following along.
Looking at this sight, an amused smirk appeared on Torus' face. However, Torus didn't get lost in his thoughts after that point, not forgetting to make a mental note to come back and explore this place more thoroughly at a later time.
After all, it wasn't everyday that one finds such an interesting place hidden within their mind scape.
It was only a little while after this point that the figure of the little guy that had been leading him up 'till this point finally came to a stop, clearly having led him into what appeared to be the center of the cave.
From here, Torus could see multiple sprawling diverging pathways, all seeming to lead to new areas yet to be explored. As his eyes continued scanning the surroundings, they soon came to rest in the center of the cave, where Torus could see a small reddish-orange flame.
Looking at this sight, Torus' eyes brightened, a look of excitement overtaking him. With a brightened gaze, Torus exclaimed to himself, "Finally! After looking all over, I finally found the trait," Torus said, the exhaustion of searching for literal hours finally catching up to him.
As he stared at this little flame, Torus felt immensely happy that he had managed to inherit something from his family, something to prove to himself that he belonged with them.
With a satisfied smile on his face, Torus closed his eyes, slowly bringing himself out of his mindscape and back into the real world.
Not before one last thought flitted through his head however, 'I'll have to come back and explore this place more thoroughly at some point, especially that mysterious cave." He thought, mind succumbing to darkness as his 'eyes' closed for a moment, only for them to reopen and for him to return to the present.