Kindred Folk - Velvet Wings

[FennWenn]

Chunks of silk shriveled up and loosened, peeling away from the ceiling with papery crackles. “We need a change of scenery,” Banrion had told him, and it sparked within him some sense of repetition he couldn’t explain. Before he knew it, the cocoon-environment had crumbled to her will, bringing them into a forest of softly lit mushrooms and slushy snow. Fenn squeaked stumbled aside as a lanky white one popped up from the cracked silk of the ground right next to him. A squat blue pushed up to his right. Some grew as tall as trees; swirling purple sky was visible from under all the caps. Banrion stood with tall confidence against the flurry of growth around them.

It felt much cleaner than the cocoon had, once everything settled down. With a sigh of relief, the little sank into the right of the pillowy fungi. Good seating.

Banrion, on the other hand, had begun to pace. Slowly. With a sense of deliberation he was becoming sure was some common characteristic of hers. “As your Regent, friend, and higher authority, it is my duty to ensure that your transition is as painless as possible. I know your past-self was used to the idea of your body as stable and immutable. Before this, you likely had never experienced any natural major growth or changes to yourself. But I assure you, what you’ll find upon waking is normal. You will grow used to this form too. It will be somewhat different than your previous body, which imitated that of a human child most remarkably in many ways, but you will learn how it works.” The elder fae tapped her left chin, frowning. “Though, achieving transformation at the age of thirty? That does make you an early bloomer.”

<Should that mean anything to me?> he mumbled, absently inspecting the glittery spores leaking out of his mushroom. Ooo, shiny.

“Likely not. One doubts you even consciously realized you were supposed to go through one in the first place. Your knowledge of fae and being fae was rather limited. Perhaps I should have thought to warn you… but then, I expected it would be years before it occurred.”

Fenn shrugged, and his mushroom bobbled. <It’s okay. Whatever happened, happened. Guess I just wonder why I fucked up my memory along the way. And also, what I made myself forget.>

When she next turned around, there was a curious look in all four of Banrion’s eyes. It was something knowing. “Perhaps you have more insight to these things than you believe you do. Why not test the boundaries of your knowledge? Please, will you articulate what all you remember?” she asked, lips curled into slight smiles.

How does one articulate something as vast and frightening as what, in the entirety of their memory, exists? He balked a moment before plunging in. Best to begin with the basics. <Don’t know. Know that I am fae and icy; know my name, and lot of… abstract world things? Ask me what Corone’s capital is, and I know its Radasanth. Know that the big water place in Dheathain is the Bantu Basin, and there’s cool snakes there. Orcs live mainly in Berevar. Have the impression that- that a lock has tumblers, and pressing on them opens it, and that's how keys and picklocks work, but…> Fenn stopped. Suddenly, exactly what wasn’t there clicked. <But, I don’t remember being anywhere. There’s no memory of you. Of any people. Anyone who I used to know is gone.>

”I see. That is a disappointment. But, this does not have to break the friendship we have forged. Nor, perhaps, some of your past friendships.” The Regent sighed, facing him head-on. “Your past self trusted me. Confided in me, even, after a while. In turn, I confided back. I would like to continue this honesty. Does that please your present self, Fenn?”

She seemed so self-assured. So certain and collected. Well, aside from her shouty, anger-panic entrance. Note to self; never ignore her. But otherwise… Well, the boy nodded. <Think it does.>

“Good. By the by, I should let you know, that I do have rough mental copies of some memories of yours. Some that you allowed me to glimpse at. Several of them are… sensitive, and perhaps not something you should remember at all. I’ll give the more banal of them back to you at a later date. The others, we will discuss. For now, you are weak. You are vulnerable. You need a clear mind and time to recover from this ordeal. Yes?”

<Er, probably,> he stammered.

A cloud of luminous spores floated past. The faintest impression of a ring of mushrooms wavered in it. After a staring hesitation, Banrion dashed it, shaking her head. “Then we are at an agreement. Your visit to Sidhe should be postponed a few years, until you have yourself back in order and are ready to study under me as I planned. Do not worry about me; I possess patience so long as I understand why I am kept waiting. I would recommend you rummage about your belongings in the present moment.”

<Why do that?>

“See what your old self collected; sew your new self together from its patchwork. Don’t mourn what you cannot recall. Move forward.”

As she said this, dark cracks began to spread across the ground. Fenn uneasily lifted his feet up, only to realize with pale unease, that they had begun to crawl up the mushrooms. The sky too became blighted by the black webbing. Squeak.

The — his — Regent sagged sadly at the sight. “Ahhh. Do not be alarmed. Your slumber is merely being disturbed. Well, there are a few more things you need to know before you wake. I’ll tell you them quickly,” she promised, her two voices tripping over each other in their haste. “The wolf you’ll meet is yours. Her name is Daugi, and you have no reason to fear her. The stone wound around your neck is how I contact you. Keep it on your person. Avoid iron, for it burns us like nothing else. Avoid fighting; you are no good at it. And above all, be wary of red-haired women; one of them is not your friend. I shall see you in your next dream.”

<See you.>

The cracks shattered across his vision — across Banrion. What reality remained in the space between them winked away. Brief darkness followed.