Snake was busy reading when I stormed into the lair. I pushed the papers off the table to make sure I was the center of his attention. He looked up at me calmly, but his jaw was set. I did not wait for him to speak.
“Are you my warden?”
He blinked slowly, processing the question. He tilted his head and responded, “Where did you get that idea from? Who has been telling you riddles, this time?”.
I sat on the granite topped table in front of him. “Okay. I’ll be plain. Are you my jailer?”
“… No.” He transformed from his Berber human to unadorned naga. It was clear he was anticipating more than my words to be violent.
I did not rise to the physical challenge. I knew I had to remain calm and non-combative if I was going to get anything resembling truth. “Don’t bullshit me. A funny thing happens when I ignore words and look at actions.” I clutched the edge of the table.
He looked at my strained knuckles, looked at my face, and spoke slowly. “I’m not your jailer.”
I couldn’t hold in the emotion any further. Instead of flailing around uselessly, I vented it into a verbalization of my string of consciousness. The words spilled out from me in a mad river of sound. “It’s like there’s a mad scramble to keep me from regaining all my wits. Like there’s a conspiracy around me to keep me unstable, keep me from seeing all the pieces on the board at once.”
He pulled his coils into a vertical spiral and settled into a ‘seated’ position. “Weaver…”, he said softly.
I heard him, but I couldn’t hold my paranoia back. The multitude of little things that happened the day before were turning wildly in my head, making connections that I tried to deny with fervor. “Why did Jill say she had to monitor me? Who is she reporting to about me? There is one that I hope she is reporting to, however, the City has taught me that politics is a bitch more than ever.”
He reached out with all four arms. “Weaver…”
I lost my balance on the table and slipped off. I stood easily, but now that nothing was there for me to hold on to, my arms moved in grand gestures to the increasing loudness of my words. “I belong to no god, and yet I wind up in the strangest of places concerning them. And the class of gods is also interesting when I sit down and ignore names and look at actions. Far-traveled or not, I sure do cross a helluva lot of boundaries, ya know.”
He tried to grab my hands, but his four hands could not match the speed of my two. “Weaver!”
The fear was driving me to pace, but he was blocking me from moving away from the table. “And then when I look at the non-deities, I see an interesting cluster of information regarding them. There is a familiarity there that should not be there if this was my first rodeo. But it’s there. It’s clear they know me as something other than Keri, but no one is telling me a damn thing and I am being intentionally fed a bunch of bullshit, and shiny distractions, and I am fucking tired of this motherfucking game!” He finally succeeds in grabbing my hands and my arms. The firm grip brings my chief concern back to the fore. “ARE YOU MY JAILER, SNAKE? WHY ARE YOU TIED TO ME?”
My voice echoed off the stone walls of the lair. My ears rung. A ripple of concern crossed his face before he donned the emotionless mask I am all too damn familiar with. The mask of a person trying to coax a petulant child into submission. A forked tongue held the time as he carefully judged his response. “I’m your guardian. I’m supposed to keep you safe.” His non-answer now spoken, he released me.
I felt trapped in yet another confidence game. “Bullshit. You suck at it. Horribly. You let me wander the worlds without parental supervision. You can’t even keep Esse from hammering my soul on his anvil.”
More forked tongue flicks. More time marked by the action. “You…” He looked away, searching for the right words to say. I didn’t know if the right words for me to understand, or the right words to sucker me further. “You are more than ‘Keri’. But you knew that. This life… has crippled you.”
“Keep talking.”
He reached for my hands again but I leaned away. He folded his lower two at his waist and gestured with his upper two. “You wouldn’t accept the rest. You won’t. You can’t. You are not capable of trusting me that deeply. Not this time. Not after all you have lived through, this time.” His face showed pain. It is an emotion I am not used to seeing on him. I felt my ‘training’ try to kick in. No. I will not serve and comfort.
“Okay. Change of subject. The Little Ones.” I knew if I kept changing the topic, I would not settle into old routines.
“What of them?” He blinked suddenly. I realized then his eyes had remained brightly emerald from the beginning. I suddenly feared if he had been mesmerizing me and I hadn’t noticed it. No. Dammit. Even my paranoia has to have a limit. If he was going to do that, he would have knocked my ass out by now.
“I’m the Unmaker. THE Unmaker! I am their nightmare.”, I say calmly.
Snake furrowed his brow as he tried to conjure my train of thought. It was certainly something that caught him off guard. He blinked furiously at me, allowing me space to check myself and verify I had not been mesmerized after all. His answer was a non-answer, a gesture of his unclasped hands, encouraging me to explain myself.
“Something the phantasm said in the nightmare. He said I smell like the Unmaker. You know how the Little Ones can smell their way through any deception or illusion. The doll was not to help me, it’s an insurance policy to protect them from me. Only Esse found a different use for it.”
Snake took a deep breath and nodded in recognition. “Not the Unmaker… An Unmaker. There’s more than one. And you happened across them in your relative youth. They took a chance, and you justified the risk. Or have you forgotten they now call you the Remaker and Friend of the Little Ones.”
He took a breath to begin my education of Little One lore, but I interrupted him, changing the subject again. “What are you guarding, Guardian?”
He had his wits about him now. “You. Until you’ve recovered yourself and are not in danger.”
“Not in danger, or not a danger?”
He turned away in sudden thought. He moved only his eyes to look up at me, which I noticed were suddenly glittering like faceted garnets. “What did [the Red Woman] say to you? I know you didn’t write it all publicly.”
The eyes caught my focus. I could feel the heaviness of his request coaxing my tongue. I pulled my sight away and looked over his shoulder. The blue and pink painting of the miniature lotus blooms hung silently in place. “Never you mind.”
He smiled and dropped his gaze. He gave a short chuckle, which I interpreted as an unspoken acknowledgement I won’t be so easy to force into compliance. When he looked back up, his eyes were his usual sparkling emerald. “The next two years are going to be the most intense two years of your life. There are those that want you destroyed, that want Keri removed from the field of play permanently. You are not ready for them. They have the advantage and they know it. I am not your jailer, but I am your warden. There is a difference and you fucking know it.” I smiled to hear Snake use expletives. That’s not like him. He sounds so cute. I almost smiled. “I would also be your friend, as you have been to me, and not just in these short years. I can not tell you everything, because it would crush you. Your humanity limits you. I can tell you, that I would limit myself again if that’s what it takes to catch up with you next time. Because you are worth being here for.”
Dammit. He’s telling me the things I want to hear. And because of that, I can’t believe him. I didn’t have a rebuttal for him. I didn’t want to talk about… that. Tomorrow has enough bullshit of its own waiting for me. I need to deal with today.
He reached forward, leaning slightly, and took my hands gently. “If you are still wondering, after all you have consciously been through, why you are in this maelstrom, allow me to remind you of another name… [No more joking about this name.]. One you have demonstrated so beautifully in all your words and actions. You must wrench the answers you want from the fabric of the realities. They can not be handed to you. When you achieve them, you will understand why, but until you do, you will be thrown about the field of play.” He pulled on my hands. I allowed my arms to rise but I remained leaning against the table.
“I’m tired, Snake.” I knew I would get no more answers tonight.
He pulled me away from the table, but I refused to be embraced. “I know.”
“I hurt.”
He unclasped his other two hands. “I know.” His voice held the soft promise of comfort. Let me hold you, his gentle smile said.
I gauged his grip on my arms. He was holding to console, not to constrict. “You, and all the others, have less than two years to convince me otherwise. You know the main obstacle, and the chains that hold me in place. Help me. You say I’m worth the trouble? Prove it. Otherwise, my skull will burn until even the memory of my name is gone.” I moved as if to accept the offered embrace, but once he released his grip, I ducked under his arms and grabbed the satchel. Without comment, I walked towards the door. Would he force me to stay, or would he allow me to leave?
I heard him shift position behind me, but noted he did not attempt to follow. He waited until I was at the door to ask, “Where are you going?”.
I paused to answer, but I did not turn around. “Out. I need to clear my head and disperse this rage. Safely. Without breaking shit or prematurely digging my grave… again. I have enough tracking devices on me such that if you want me it will be trivial to find me no matter what realm I go to. I promise I won’t arm my main weapon tonight.”
I wandered the realms until I came across a black and white cow in fields beside a temperate forest. I meant to give her a wide berth because I saw she is horned. I don’t know much cattle lore, but I do know that if an animal has horns, they are often eager to use them. She saw me and moved to intercept my path. She bellowed softly as she approached. It was clear she wanted my attention. I stood still and allowed her to nuzzle her head against me. Impressive horns with some marks of battle, but she was very friendly in disposition. She backed off from me so when she swung her head, her horns would not stab me. She would look away, then look at me, then look away in the same direction, then look back at me. She wanted me to follow her. So I did. As my eyes adjusted to the bright light of the field, I saw what I thought was a black and white hide, was a mottled brown hide. The sheen of her fur was such it reflected light almost like glass. As we walked, I absentmindedly stroked her side. She was calming to be beside.
She led me to a hole in the field. Surrounding it were marks in the ground where two large things had fought each other. The hole had been recently made. Loose dirt was around it. She looked over it and mooed with such gentility I could barely hear her. I heard an even softer squeak in answer. I looked in the hole, and found a hamster in adventurer clothes, lying bruised and battered. An arm hung limply. One side of its face was swollen. Dirt was ground into the clothes. and the tunic was ripped. It had barely survived an attack but without help would not last the day. I picked him up, blew the dirt off him, and held him gently. It squeaked in fear, but I only held it close to my chest.
The cow watched me quietly. She waited until I had the little adventurer secure in hand. I looked at her. She only nodded and mooed quietly again. She turned towards a different section of forest and led me away. What was only a few hours of walking to me, would have been days to the injured adventurer. She led me to a large woody bush that extended for acres into the forest. It reminded me of the pyracantha I have at home. Long and sturdy thorns were everywhere. She lowered her head to one section and looked back at me. I followed her attention and saw a tiny village hidden and protected by the bush. The villagers were greeting the cow when I came into view. They sounded the tiniest little alarm and fled deeper into the bush and into escape tunnels.
I looked at the cow. She only nodded. I had to lay myself prone on the ground to reach into the village, and even then, I could only place my hand just within the thorned boundary. I gently laid the injured adventurer on the ground of his village. He squeaked a tired but thankful tone.
After I withdrew my hand (and successfully avoiding getting pricked by the shiny red tipped thorns), the cow mooed loudly. The hamster villagers came out at the sound of their bovine friend and saw their fellow lying on the ground in their midst. They were happy to see him and surprised to see me standing next to the cow. Some began to treat him for his injuries where he stood. Others came to the edge of the thorned bush and made noises that I interpreted as thanks for rescuing him and apologies for being afraid of me.
I just smiled and wished them all well with a silent bow. The cow nodded. The cow led me back to the part of the forest where she met me. She gently headbutted me, backed away so I was clear of the horns, and returned to the fields she was grazing.
After rescuing the adventurer hamster, I went back to the lair. I knew I couldn’t really run anywhere effective. Wandering without purpose was more likely to get me stirred into more trouble. Might as well go where I have comfort. The grounds around the fire were a mess. Kicked ash and cold cinders were out of the bounds. Forest debris was windblown into the clearing. I made a crude but satisfactory rake and began cleaning up. I did stop to make sure no Shamblings were in the way, as they do inhabit the nearby forest. I raked the debris into the fire, where the flames made quick work of the dry tinder and left the stones at the border, reinforcing it. I was still too worried to sit still when done. Seeing the lines left by the rake inspired me, so I made patterns in the dirt and ash. I looked up to see Berber Snake in the doorway watching me.
He regarded the lines with a tired face. “Are you trying to seal me in?”
“No?” It was a good question now that he said something. If I was, it wasn’t intentional. It certainly wouldn’t be effective. “Why would you think that?”
He gestured as the seemingly random patterns. “You made designs all the way up to the door, and I don’t want to disturb them coming in or out. It’s nice to see you at peace.”
“Oh. Now that you mention it, yes, maybe I am.” I posed with the rake with over exaggerated confidence. I looked over at him and smiled with genuine mirth. “Listen. I’m tired. I need some sleep. No adventures, please?”
He stepped inside the doorway slightly, allowing me room to enter without having to squeeze past him. “Come inside. I have a teapot waiting, and I made a pillow for you.”
“Fuck. When did you go domestic on me?” I didn’t move from the clearing. Not yet. I was still conflicted.
“Well, I had to do something with the remains of my pillow. It seems I’ve grown stronger this last molt, and I… um…” Does he look embarrassed? He does! He doesn’t get embarrassed! Does he?
“Python action?” I made a squeezing motion with my hands.
“Yes.”
I leaned against the rake again, and regarded him with disbelief. “How did you pop a pillow made from cloth and feathers?”
“With 200 pounds per square inch applied around the width of the pillow in a sudden burst action while leaving the ends uncapped.”
“Snake.” I started to chuckle. “Did you have a tantrum?”
“I sneezed.” His face resumed the emotionless mask of highbrow airs. Emerald eyes rimmed by damp red told me otherwise.
I rolled my eyes in response. “Bullshit.” If this is a lie, it’s a good lie. I stepped carefully over and along my designs and stood in the doorway to the lair. He took the rake from me, and found a place to hang it.
As I entered the lair, I looked back at my handiwork and noticed the moon in the east, just above the horizon. The sun had not risen yet. The moon should have been a thin crescent. But I saw the complete circle of it, as if it was a total solar eclipse, but without the sun to blind me from the glare. This struck me as extremely important, but for what reason, I do not know.
I entered the lair, where tea and shortbread cookies were waiting for me. If this is my jail, then it is a comfortable one. I fell asleep in Snake’s coils, one arm tucked around the pillow he made, the other arm tucked around his head.
I slept very well.