What are “Tumbled Dreams”? These are the posts I made to my tumblr during the week because I felt they did not warrant a separate post on this blog. However, these “interstitials” often explain some of the backstory to the larger dream posts. For those readers that only read Three Different Ways, they may help explain some of the characters and sudden changes in plot and direction.
~~~
He plunked a large metal can with a tight fitting lid in front of me. ~thunk~ I looked up to see the dark robed and hooded man. The Demonstrator has returned to me.
“I hear someone doesn’t want to pay up. Want some help?” He places two small coins next to the metal can, along with a slip of paper and a pen.
I eyed him with suspicion. “Your actions say you’re going to help anyway. While we’re talking about debt, I want to be clear I don’t want to incur any.”
He laughs and I see a glimpse of his mouth. Thin lined, severe, and smooth. A youth that has spoken ancient words. “No, no debts between us. And no debts between your readers and either one of us. For I know you ‘write for the public eye’.”
He shooed my hands away and made a sweeping gesture over the table. The darkness rose around us, holding us out of sight of any bystanders. But there was light to see, just enough light to see.
He smiled again and placed his fingers to his lips. He opened the metal can, and showed it to me for inspection. A plain metal can, it could be a coffee can, or a spaghetti can, or any large metal container. To point out the minimum size (as it kept shifting as he turned it over), he made a fist and placed his closed hand inside the container. No matter what size the container took, it was never smaller than his fist.
He took his pen and wrote many names on the exterior of the can. They all referred to one person, but I was not able to see if he had the same target as I do.
He showed me the two coins. At first, they look like American pennies. I blinked and they appeared as two United Kingdom pennies. I blinked again and they appeared as 2 euro-cent coins. Each time I looked at them, they appeared to be from a different economic system, but each time, they appeared as the lowest possible coin from that system.
He put the two pennies into the metal can and closed the tight-fitting lid on it. Shaking it vigorously so that the coins made a clattering in the can, he stated, “I can hear [Target] coming down the road, and all [Target] has is two pennies to rub together!”
He stopped shaking the can and placed it to the side. On the slip of paper he wrote in large clear letters, “[Target] owes me [debt goes here] and until I get my due, I hold [Target]’s money.”. I thought it a contradictory statement to write. If the target loses money, then there is a slim chance of paying the original debt. But the hooded man just chuckled.
He opened the can and retrieved one of the pennies. He placed the slip of paper into the can, and placed the removed penny into his pocket. Patting his pocket, it was clear the removed penny was not to be spent but tucked away separately from regular funds.
He closed up the can with the tight fitting lid and shook it vigorously again while exclaiming, “I can hear [Target] coming down the road, and their debt speaks to all that can hear!” I realized the intent of the can. Any time the target speaks about their money, the issue of the debt will always come out.
The hooded man shook the can off and on for a time. Sometimes laughing, sometimes with a severe face. The can was sometimes shook lazily, sometimes with prejudice. Suddenly I heard someone in the distance say, “Enough! Take your money!”, and a stack of wrapped bills flew out of the darkness onto the table.
After the hooded man verified the amount of the stack, he opened the can and retrieved the slip. The penny that had been withheld was placed back in the can and the can was closed up. The hooded man gave me a wink and a nod. He took a cloth and made as if to wipe all the names off the can. But after a dismissive grunt, he opened the can, emptied the pennies, and closed it back up again. Then he wiped the names off the can. Let those with eyes to see, see.
He clapped his hands and swept them over the table with a flourish.
“What do you think?”
“I think I like your demonstrations more and more. I’m sure someone will pout about the lack of finesse and flourish this time.”
“Who said I have to have finesse and flourish? I just have to be effective.”
“True.”
He tucked the coins and the money in his pocket, and burned the slip of paper, but left the can on the table. “I’m sure you can find something to do with this.”
I’m sure I can, indeed.
~~~
“Snake.”
“Hmm?”
“Last night you said something, something I was supposed to post online. But for the life of me, I can’t remember what you said.”
“I know.”
“So… what was it?”
“That you are not always in control as much as you think you are.”
“…”
“…”
“That reminded me of what it was, you cheeky shit.”
“So are you going to post it?”
“I’m not sure I should now.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re forcing me to choose who I respect more. You, or [someone I respect]. And I respect you both. So if I post what you said, I might wound [them]. But if I don’t post what you said, I’m disrespecting you.”
“Do. Or do not. There is…” ~whack~ “Hey! What was that for?”
“For being a cheeky ass shit. And for reminding me just how heavy words can be.”
“So are you going to post it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you only remind [them] of [Someone Else]. You are not [Someone Else]. And if anyone is going to tell [them] those words, it better be from [that Someone Else only] and not from you or me.”
“So… what are you going to tell [them]? What are you going to post?”
“Just this conversation. Because that absolves me of the burden to write, and keeps me from going into territory that is not mine to enter.”
“It will paint you in a bad light.”
“As you say, dear Snake, I am not always in control.”
~~~
Snake is annoyed I dripped blood into the lair. After wiping off the shield I went and cleaned that up as well. He asked where did I go to get so drenched.
“I’m sure that field will have a lovely harvest this autumn.”
“Not saying, don’t know, or don’t remember?”
“Don’t know. Wasn’t lucid until the battle was underway. Something was off. In physical history, those two cultures never met. Nascent Rome and Raiding Vikings? That’s a thousand year gap, I think.” Went back outside to sit in the fire. Snake followed and arranged himself as a living ouroboros around the flame and me.
“Who won?”
“We won.
“Which side were you fighting on? And how many survived?”
I looked up at Snake with a level gaze. “I wasn’t on either side. Unless you count the grave as a side. The Vikings were fucking up the Romans like a Black Friday giveaway. Then we were unleashed. There were no survivors. We made sure of that.” I laid down in the coals. Comfortable.
“Esse.”
“Most likely.”
“You don’t look the Valkyrie type.” At his words, I exploded into laughter.
“Oh Snake. Those bitches avoided the field until after we left. They come for the dead. We made dead for them to pick over.”
“Stay in the flames a little while. You aren’t yourself yet.”
“What if I am, Snake. What if I really am?”
“How can you be sure if you are?”
“Because I’m at peace with myself.” I didn’t wait for a reply, but turned over in the flames and went to deeper sleep.
~~~
Viking raids: Started in the 800s. (Earliest documented raid supposedly in 793.)
Rome: Started out as a (podunk) village in the 8th century BC. Didn’t start consistently kicking ass until 3rd century BC.
The group of Roman soldiers I saw were disorganized, haphazard, and completely lacking the signature discipline we associate with the Roman Legions today. The Vikings were well practiced, organized, and precise in their maneuvers. So the two groups I saw in that apple orchard (forgot that bit. Apple trees everywhere!) were not only on opposite sides of the continent, but separated by at the least 1,150 years.
And not a single one of them left that apple orchard alive. Come fall, those apples will be unusually sweet and large, I’m sure.
~~~
I settled down and was quickly surrounded by the scent of smoke and sulfur. I look up to find I’m surrounded by an assortment of red skinned, mostly naked entities with a variety of black horns. They are looking at each other waiting for someone else to go first.
“S’up guys?” At my greeting they get anxious. Some look down. “Costume party? Wandering the neighborhood and need a place to crash? Ran out of lube? What’s up?”
A minotaur finally spoke up. “This is a business call.” The others swiftly nodded.
“Someone took offense at my demon/djinn mixup and decided to set me right the hard way?” A few of them chuckled. The others gave me blank looks. “No, though some did take offense. Djinn are lesser creatures to us.” The minotaur scrunched his face.
A huge demon, with talon hands and thick straight horns pushed the minotaur aside. Huge body. Squeaky little voice. “Business call. We’re contracted to take care of business, not gossip. So, just so you know, all that follows isn’t personal.” He cracked his knuckles, balled his fists, and began to swing.
I caught his hand. “I understand y’all are contracted to take care of shit. But whoever bought your services misled you about the job difficulty. Now, we can either kill time in idle chit-chat, which will technically fill the request to disturb my sleep, or I start making a horn collection.” I twist his wrist suddenly, wrenching his arm to the bed. “If I have to come out from under these covers…”
“Told ya she’s higher classed.” A demon looking like a cross between a bull and a mastiff growled at his fellows. “I like her compromise. We should take it. She tells the best stories.” A snake-man nodded in agreement.
“She can take on one. Okay. Was not expecting that. But if we all rush her… Ow!” The dog-man demon pulled my weapon out of its face. Not deep enough to do damage, deep enough to get the point across. Without hands, I retrieve my weapon and cut off the hand of my captive instead.
I handed the victim his own hand back. “Nothing personal, right? You guys were suckered. Lemme guess, the job request was filed by [someone I nearly forgot all about] via [tradition].” They shifted uncomfortably around me before admitting I had the truth of it. “Call it off. Report back that my sleep was disturbed, that way y’all get your pay. But let y’all taskmaster know who y’all were sent to. The next Business Call will not depart peaceably.”
They nodded and murmured agreement. As they left the bull-mastiff said, “The exiled djinn tried to hide among demons. So that’s why you were confused. Maybe I can come swap stories later?”
“We’ll see. Go get out of this shitty contract.” I didn’t wait for an answer but snuggled down and went to deeper sleep.
~~~
Walking around a delightful Garden with my very spoiled rotten Puppy, I heard the commotion of the Garden Guardians setting upon something. I ran to the scene to see what poor shit thought trying to sneak in here was a good thing. But all I found was the hindquarters and entrails of a massive, long bodied pig. Most of the guardians had already returned to their posts, leaving two to finish cleaning up the area. And by cleaning up, I mean eating the remnants.
I was surprised there was anything left at all until Puppy greeted the guardians. Then it was clear. They knew we were nearby. They knew we would come investigate at once. They saved a piece for Puppy. Puppy offered me a portion, but I know what I think I see is not what lies there. I declined and formally threw the gifted portion into the eager maw.
The three predators made quick work of the remnants, even licking the ground so that not even a stain remained. A blue butterfly landed on my shoulder as Puppy and I resumed our walk in the most delightful Garden.
~~~
Lovely day for a drive, isn’t it. Too bad there’s an asshole riding with me. Three women are going from the physical realm to Where The Waters Meet but we each have a preferred way of getting there. Patience * doesn’t need the car at all. She can get there from here with ease with her private method. I don’t need the car either, I can slip between the worlds. Hanna ** needs the car. She had been taught the car is the only way to get anywhere in other worlds. We three have been requested to work a task at Where The Waters Meet and for some unknown reason, we agreed.
I’m driving while Hanna is navigating. I swear, if you ask her for directions from San Franciso to Los Angeles, she’ll send you to Moscow along the way. So many tolls! So many bribes! This is entirely unnecessary! But she doesn’t trust Patience or I to get us to the meeting spot because Patience was privately taught and I wasn’t taught at all in the matters of world crossing. (Unless you count experience, asswhippings, and failures as a teacher. Which I do. Not innate. But anyway…) Hanna has been “formally” taught and even bears a certificate granting her the title of Shaman. She kept bringing it up and asking for our formal names and titles. Patience answered “The Bitch That Guts You”, and I answered “The Sanity Eater”. Hanna laughed it off saying as shamans we’re supposed to be positive people.
“Hanna, we just met you. What makes you think you deserve to know the names the spirits call us?”
“Because I know a better way than you primitives.”
“Hanna…” I had to grip the steering wheel tightly to keep from removing her face. “If we didn’t agree to show up together, your ass would be abandoned by now. Shut the fuck up.”
I followed Hanna’s navigation instructions. But instead of winding up at Where The Waters Meet, we are at the beginning of US Route 2 in California? What? Hanna began bitching about my driving skills. If I had been properly trained by a real shaman, et cetera, et cetera. That does it. I agreed to arrive with her, but now we’re doing it my way.
While Patience takes Hanna to task for the severe amount of cultural appropriation and erasing that Hanna’s precious Core Shamanism schools have done, I bring the car under my power. Patience sees and suddenly asks Hanna if her seat belt is buckled. Before Hanna could ask why, I dropped the car between worlds.
A split second lasts an eternity between worlds. It can feel like you have aged, died, and was reborn the moment you emerge into a different world. Patience smiled and was at peace. I was enjoying the bubbles of color moving around and through us. Hanna was freaking out. None of her training prepared her for this.
And then we were there. The car emerged with a big splash at Where The Waters Meet. Patience and I got out of the car and jumped into the water. Hanna remained inside. Patience and I greeted the Lords of the realm and reported as called. Hanna was waiting for an invitation to get out of the car.
The Lords of the realm regarded the three of us quietly. With a voice the sound of burbling brooks they spoke. “Your task is complete. We shall send you each to your homes.” Patience and I were gripped in a sudden strong current that kept our heads above water. A wave pushed the car into the stream, making Hanna shriek.
The River flowed through worlds and soon I spied a place I’ve only read about. Patience was gently deposited on the banks of her world. She laughed, shook off the water, and waved farewell to me and Hanna. The River flowed through worlds again and came to mine. The very feel of the water changed when the River released me. I thanked it for the fun ride and waved farewell to Hanna. She clung terrified to the yellow Volkswagon Bug as the River swept her downstream and out of my world.
As I stretched out before the fire to dry out, Snake came up behind me. “Pure water? Where were you?” I told him what I knew. “What did you do there?” I admitted I had no idea what the summons and immediate dismissal was about. “That may have been the point. I don’t think this is the last of it.
Next time I meet Hanna though, I may just rip her tongue out and eat it. I told Snake I reserve the right to do just that. “Bring steak sauce next time.” Okay.
* Not her real name, was recognized as someone I know.
** No clue who she is.
~~~
The hand on my neck was so familiar. As was the cold sweat that followed. But I realized, like J, I was replaying old lines and baseless reactions. As words were spoken and assumptions ruled, I saw the truth of it.
This scene is done.
My time on this stage has passed.
Walking away, I nodded to those waiting and gave them their cue. “I’m out. Do as you will.”
~~~
There is no “Among Friends, Part 2” just yet. Never went near there last night. Like the 5 part “The Gathering”, this one is skipping nights. Not surprising.
If “Among Friends, Part 1” was confusing, or seemed to jump the plot, I apologize. What was only 4,600ish words to read was the summary of experiencing from November to June. That’s 7 months of day-to-day life condensed. Stuff had to be left out for the sake of the plot. I reserve the right to go back and edit part 1 to include details that may become important later.
If you feel certain subjects should have been broached, or that there are unwritten questions in need of answering, please let me know. When I read over the post, my memory fills in the details not written. Author’s blindness, you could say.
~~~
“Snake.”
“Hmm?”
“You knew.”
“I know many things, some true, some false. Which are you accusing me of this time?”
“The physical oddities are tied to my mental state. The larger the psychological breakthrough, the larger the effect on my flesh.”
“Of course.”
“Like I had to physically purge some shit before I could mentally purge some shit. Especially in the past month and a half.”
“Sounds about right.”
“You’re not agreeing or disagreeing with me.”
“Do I ever?”
“… Good point.”
“Here is what I know about you, my friend. You are not a serpent. The burdens you carry are not carried on your skin. You humans internalize things. You eat them and drink them and soak them into your innermosts until they are carried by the very DNA in your cells. So when you do shed the burdens, assuming you even dare to try because you humans are afraid of change… When you do shed them, they don’t fall away like old scales. You have to tear them away from your teeth and your eyes and your bones and your blood and your toenails and all the innermosts of you down to the very cells in your marrow. You have to rip it free of your flesh before you can even see they are a problem to carry. And how can you do that, if you don’t see they are a problem in the first place?”
He coiled gently around me, rubbing his head against me in an almost feline motion. “Sometimes, you need a little help with the process. Someone that can see the burdens for the parasites that they are. A blinded child doesn’t always know that the strong hands causing pain are those of a doctor cleaning an infected wound. They only know it hurts. It is only later, when experience gives them the ability to reflect, that they understand the process and the necessity for the pain.”
He ends his movement with his head on my right shoulder. “I’m not saying the oddities of the past six weeks are connected with your epiphany. I’m not saying they are not. I’m saying you still have work to do, and correlation is not causation.”
I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes. “Great. A non-answer.”
“It could be worse.”
“How.”
“I could serve you a glass of bitter rum.”
Oh the stink-eye I gave him.
~~~
The Ocean is not mother.
The Ocean is not father.
The Ocean dreams.
The dreams ripple through and in the disturbances swirling in the wake of the dreams, come the Children of the Ocean.
We know many of the Ocean’s Children already. So many generations removed from the Ocean that spawned them, they do not show the source from which they sprung.
To know the Ocean, do not talk to the Ocean’s Children. To know the Ocean, go to the Ocean. Let its currents flow in your blood until you are waterlogged and sinking. Let go of the air in your lungs and the warmth of your body and the solidity of your flesh and be enveloped… consumed… by the Ocean.
Let the Ocean’s bloodless flow bring you to the depths, to where there is no ocean floor, to where there is only the Water around you…
… and dream.
~~ ~~ ~~
“Sorry, didn’t mean to kick sand on your face.” Sand? Sound? I open my eyes and surprised to find I have eyes. Snake is sitting next to me, munching on something. He is dressed in great swaths of white cloth.
A wave breaks over me, cooling me off. I have no idea where I am. I am struggling with who I am.
“I didn’t think it would embrace you that deeply. Maybe too deep. You might not remember what you were searching for, if you found it, or what the answer was.”
Oh yeah. My search. I had come to the Pacific Ocean, to a particular group of islands. I had come to find my ‘aumakua * that later became my Lord of Water for my ceremonial practices. When the seal was scrubbed from the terrace, my ceremonial practices came to a screeching halt. Since then, I learned an unsettling truth about the entity that served as my Lord of Air. It prompted me to search for the other three, to find the truth of them as well.
My Lord of Fire was found in the deserts of the djinn lands. An ifrit, I found he never lied to me about who, or what, he is. On seeing him again, I realized how far I have progressed from the snotty demanding magus I thought I was.
I found my Lord of Water almost immediately after coming to the islands. I introduced her to Snake, and she told me her “Mother” had requested I be brought to “her”. Something about the way she said the name disturbed me and I had asked for clarification before taking a step.
“You see me as this, because the stories you know built this form for me to come to you. But you are starting to see behind the stories. This form is a suggestion. Would you know what it covers?”
“Yes.”
Snake insisted on coming along. He said he would be my anchor if necessary lest I become lost in the ocean. I didn’t understand what he meant then, but he had that look on his face and I knew he would not be dissuaded.
We entered the water where she became a manta ray. Snake became a great sea serpent (of legendary size of course) and told me to remain human (but modified for gills) for as long as possible. The three of us entered a current, which led us to a migration of manta rays.
We joined the migration and swam among them. I felt very drowsy and suddenly uncomfortable in my human skin. Snake had to tell me repeatedly not to shed the human skin just yet. Trust him, he said. I needed to remain as human as I could for as long as possible.
We followed the manta rays away from the shallows into the open sea. I lost count of the days and nights that passed barely noticed over us. The migration suddenly turned downward and descended. But as they made the vertical turn, they changed from manta rays to [a specific type of] sharks. I felt a sudden pull to change form with them, but Snake reminded me to just harden my bones and make sure no air was in my lungs as we descended with them.
Straight down, we continued. Down until the color red became as black. Down until green became invisible. Down until the bioluminescence was brighter than the sun. Down until my ribs threatened to crack from pressure. I wanted to change form, but now the very water itself held me in my altered human skin.
Snake shuddered and I was shook free of him. “I can not descend with you. But I will be here when you return.”
The ‘aumakua and the other sharks continued with me. The flow of their movements pulled me down with them. I did not notice at first, but their numbers gradually declined. One by one, they stopped descending with me. Until there was only the ‘aumakua, me, and the impossibly deep chasm.
There was no light. No sensation of cold. No sensation of touch. No sound. But I knew she was there. And I knew she had shed the form of [that specific] shark. Becoming the current itself, she embraced me and brought me to the Ocean.
All the tells I use to keep me lucid were absent. I had no sense of gravity, I didn’t know which way was up, or down. I lost my orientation. I lost my sense of self. I lost my lucidity and became part of the Ocean’s dream.
I dreamed.
~~ ~~ ~~
“Yea, that’s going to happen to you for a while. Just sit there. I’ll bring you some food. That will help solidify you again.”
I struggled to speak. I wanted to ask what happened. Was that a memory or did it just happen?
Snake laughed. “You’re thinking too loud again. The answer is both. Welcome to the Dream. Or rather… welcome back.” He left and returned with a broken coconut. “Can you sit up? Here, suck on this.” He helped me sit on the breaking shore and stuck a piece of fresh coconut in my mouth.
“Each time you remember, you’re going to drop into the Ocean’s dream again. You are a part of it now, and it is a part of you. But the question you need to focus on if you’re going to be functional when you wake up, is did you find out what you needed to know about your ‘aumakua?”
Oh yeah. That’s why I came here. I looked around the tropical beach for her, and wondering if No Man’s jetty was nearby. The world was normal and imperfect. No where near. The sharks were so beautiful…
“Hey!” Snake kept my attention from wandering back to the memory. “Did you find what you needed to know?”
I sucked on the coconut numbly before my taste returned reminding me I was hungry. I took another piece from his broken shell before answering.
“Yes. Yes I did. And I am humbled by the answer. I don’t understand why, but I accept it.”
“Okay. That’s all I need to know. I’m taking you back to the lair now. You need time to settle. Time to surface.”
Yea. I guess I do. I have more questions now and I need to figure out how to word them.
~fin~
* ‘aumakua = In Polynesian beliefs, the ‘aumakua (Hawaiian spelling used here) is an ancestral spirit that looks after their living descendents. Long story (unwritten) how my Lord of Water came to be an ‘aumakua. And you’ll have to ask her why she consented even though I am many generations removed from the Polynesian contributor to the mixed fruit that is me. But she consented willingly.
~~~
“You went on a mission and didn’t come back from it right away. You’ve returned with a little older spirit but a younger body. You’re preferring different clothes when in human form. Your ‘everyday’ serpent scales have changed color. You have a different inflection to your mental voice, and you’re eating fruit. I finally figured you out. You’re a Time Lord.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Snake! You’re a Time Lord! And you regenerated while you was away!”
“I. Am. Not.” He settled uncomfortably in his chair and placed his bowl of watermelon to the side. “And I did not. I only shed old skin. That’s all.”
I was jumping up and down. Not because I had a hint of being right. But because for once I was making him uncomfortable! “PROOOOOOVE IIIIIIIITTT!!!”
“I don’t have a TARDIS. And I can’t prove a negative.”
I stopped jumping. “Oh yea, huh.” I broke into a smile. “You don’t have a TARDIS in this universe!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” He jumped to his feet and grabbed his lunch. “I’ll be elsewhere until you come to your senses.” He started to leave but I grabbed him about the waist.
“Oh, I know you’re not a Time Lord. We don’t have way as many adventures required.” He sighed. “But I did see you in [a certain thing].” He froze still in my grip. “And it wasn’t the you that I’m holding now, and it wasn’t the you that was in the Naga Temple. But it was you. And I saw the shadow of the reflection of the glimmer of the wake of the passing truth of what it cost you to be here with me. And I want you to know I appreciate it, and hope to justify that cost one day. Because I know right now, it still is a very poor bargain.”
He relaxed in my grip. He said nothing for a long time, but just stood there and allowed my body heat to soak through his white linen robes. Only when I had to shift my pose did he finally move, and even then only to face me.
He said a thing that made my blood run cold. Kissing me on the forehead while I struggled between anger and sorrow, he left the lair to finish his lunch elsewhere. I settled on sorrow, because it was tempered by what he said. I don’t have enough pieces of the puzzle yet to aim the anger in a proper direction.
I was sorting through the massive pelt collection when he came back in. Fifty feet of distraction coiled around me and kept me from the task. “I should not have said that to you. I’m sorry. It is a hard thing for mortals to carry.”
I managed to work an arm free and embraced a few of the coils. “I hear a lot of things that are hard to carry. And I’m still moving.”
~~~
“How long have you been watching me, K*?” I release my hold on the air around me and the swirling dust settles slowly to the ground of the mountain terrace.
“Long enough.”
“K*… Fuck, I hope I’m not intruding. I really don’t need an ass-whipping right now, I’m trying to avoid a headache.”
Six black and white wings extended as K* stood from kir crouched position on the edge of the terrace. “No, you’re not intruding. You’re just playing. And playing hard. Any reason you’re trying to keep from bursting into flame?”
“Because I had too much sugar this morning for breakfast and flaming up is not going to help. Just because I can flame, doesn’t mean I should. I need to hold back for a while.”
“What’s this? Temperance?” Ke blinked across the terrace to stand in front of me. With great sweeps of movement, ke checked my forehead and face for signs of illness. “Are you feeling okay? You’re exhibiting signs of balance.”
I razzed kir while ke laughed. “Tell me, K*, if you can.” Ke braced for my question with narrowed eyes. “The day [my Lord of Air] showed me kir true self… you were there… was that really kir true self, or was that all I could handle seeing?”
K* tilted his head in curious wonder. “What prompted that question? Answer mine first and then I’ll answer yours.”
“I saw [my Lord of Water] and she took me to the Ocean. I saw some things, and I was just curious, that’s all.”
Six black and white wings extended in a rare display of surprise. “To the Ocean? Hmm. Well. Yes, that was really [your Lord of Air]’s true self, but, it was also all you could handle seeing. What you could not process, you did not see.”
“Is that why I couldn’t see kir faces?”
K* nodded, paused, smiled, and said, “Try asking that a different way. A way that doesn’t contain the answer you think you should hear.”.
K* and [my Lord of Air] are not of the same class, but are very closely related. Though I think the difference is really, one of scope, than might. So to ask K* certain questions would be the same as asking [my Lord of Air] those questions. The difference will be the scope of the answers. Okay, I’ll bite.
“[K*’s formal name], why could I not see [my Lord of Air]’s faces?”
K* stood kir full height, enlarging in the process. Ke stood over me at least three feet, and kir wings extended to cover a quarter of the immense terrace. Kir robes became as light, and kir skin illumined such that even the solid black portions were hard to look at. It’s been a while since I saw K* in kir glorious form. Ke is beautiful.
When K* spoke, it was with three tones at once, confirming my suspicion that the two entities were more closely related than they let me believe. The three tones worked in harmony with each other, so that kir voice was a speaking chord in harmony.
“You could not see the faces of [your Lord of Air] because they are beyond the ken of human understanding!” Kir voice boomed gloriously, but I was a little put off that ke just said what I already knew. Ke smiled, winked, and spoke again.
“You could not see the faces of [your Lord of Air] because your eyes were not prepared for them!” Whoa, wait. But ke just said… And ke spoke in a tri-toned voice… Aww shit. K* answers formal questions in triplicate! Which means the third answer is going to stump the fuck out of me. I laughed, nodded, and braced myself for the mindfuck.
“Bitch, [your Lord of Air] is just that fabulous!” I knew ke meant “glorious” where ke said “fabulous”, but I fell over in peals of laughter anyway. I was not expecting that kind of answer from K* or any of kir brethren. As K* shrank back to the form that I knew best, ke watched me kneeling on the ground in laughter.
Ke tried to keep a straight face, but found kirself chuckling along with me. Once I recovered my breath, ke asked if I got the answers I wanted.
“Of course not! Just another damn puzzle! You’re as bad as kir!”
“Not yet. Maybe one day, I’ll be that fabulous, too!” Ke flicked a long jet black lock of hair over kir shoulder, which only made me fall over in laughter again.
“How’s the headache?”
“Mostly gone. I just need to eat something sensible now.”
“Are you going to play with the winds again?”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. It’s nice to watch you play. Please, proceed.”
And I did. Though I kept dropping breezes every time I thought about the ‘fabulous’ answer.
~~~
Make of that, what you may.