Kindred Folk -- Idle Dreamings

[FennWenn]

Like honey is the sleep of the untouched
We are not untouched

HALF A WEEK AFTER SIDHE

Stars swirled around Fenn. Not merely a sky above, but a sky below him as well. No ground was to be found. There was an enjoyable aspect to the weightlessness. One could spin around forever, and ever, and ever. The little fae floated, mildly confused, and stared around at the twinkles scattered like dewdrops through the void of purple-blue, green, and black. A sleepy part of him wanted to reach out and touch the shinies. Another (stronger) part rubbed his eyes, and realized very suddenly that this couldn't be real. This was a dream. And if he had become this clear-headed in a dream, this abruptly, someone was visiting. Fenn twisted around through the emptiness to meet his uninvited guest.

As he half-expected, it was her.

The scaled woman with two azure serpents for heads floated a few feet away, red robes trailing gracefully into the void. Her feathery black-silver mane floated around her in a similarly peaceful fashion. Both smiling heads bore masks that absorbed and reflected the glittering starlight.

“Good evening, Pigwidgeon,” Chancellor Banrion greeted him in her throaty purr. There was a faint echo to her words, for she spoke with two voices of the same mind.

He nodded in return. Perhaps it was just him, but Banrion seemed younger in this dream than she had in person. Her figure and her mane were fuller, of that he was certain, and her scales seemed more taut. Fenn frowned and brushed a loose flick of hair back from his eyes. Well, it was a dream after all. He could probably alter his appearance too, if he wanted.

<Hi. So, this is a thing we do now, right? Are you going to start checking in me every night or..?>

She shrugged. “Not every night. But, I shall visit often.”

<What do you plan to do with me? When you’re visiting my dreams, I mean. Why bother?> he asked, perplexed, as he gathered his knees up toward his chest.

Four bright crimson eyes flashed in a way that the boy could only think to describe as wicked. Thankfully, the wicked intent did not seem to be directed at him — Banrion’s gaze went off into the distance, as if she were thinking of something else. “Communication, my Pigwidgeon. This is the best method to quickly deliver you my requests. It is a fairly secure method too. In any case, I contacted you during this sleep for a very important reason. There is vital information I would like you to gather for me in the immediate future. How much do you know about the governments of the lower lands?” She cut Fenn off before he could ask what the lower lands were. “The mortal realm. Althanas. Alerar, Corone, so on and so forth, the ruling lands of Althanas. Salvar especially interests me.”

Well, Fenn hadn’t exactly looked at any books on government, not at any point in time, since the subject had always struck him as a bit boring. <I don’t have much to tell you…> he said bashfully, biting at a hangnail. Besides, there had been too much avid adventuring lately to bother with unrelated studies.

The Chancellor shook her heads, her mane swishing around her as if underwater. “No matter. Find out as much as you can, and we will work our way up from there.”

For a moment, Fenn simply drifted through space and pondered her request. Normally, when people asked something of him, it was to steal something. Research was a new request entirely. It came with its own questions. His ears flicked back, a spark of uncertainty stirring him to motion.

<So, why do you need to know about Althanas?>

“Implementing a large-scale plan is as infuriating as herding geese. Allies become enemies, enemies become allies. Variables change each minute, forces one cannot possibly foresee leap out of shadow at the most unfortunate times, and more complicated plans have more opportunities to go desperately wrong. As such, I want to know a bit about how these geese think before I try to shoo them in the right direction,” Banrion told him with two dismissive sighs. “Do you understand?”

<Maybe I would if I actually knew what geese you were talking about,> he huffed, sour-faced, <or what you’re planning. You didn’t even answer my question!>

The Chancellor turned her gaze to the stars. “Pigwidgeon, I shall unveil my intentions when the proper opportunity arises. I know this does not please you. But please, have a little faith in me. Right now, the more you know, the more complicated this is for me.”

<Fine,> he pouted. <But soon as you can, tell me. If I’m gonna do stuff for you, I want to know the why.>

She chuckled. It frustrated Fenn, sending a grey flush fluttering to his cheeks; he wondered if she was taking his request seriously. “Of course, my pigwidgeon. Merry meet, merry part, and may we merry meet again.”

The elder fae tapped a green stone bracelet on her wrists. She winked out of sight in a flicker of light green -- out of the dream entirely. Clarity started to slip away in her absence. That was something new- wait. What… what had just happened? Fenn blinked and stared out into space. Something had happened. He had the feeling he’d remember it when he… when… Oh! Shiny! Were those sky-twinkles tangible? Unthinkingly, the boy reached out to grab for them. As he did, the stars flickered, nebulas winking out like candles in a stiff breeze.