Hart was wary. He had walked over to the little wood-and-stone house, but he hadn't walked into the little house beyond the door.
But though he was wary, he still smiled when Gloom spoke to him. It was the tunawa's brightening when he saw Hart, and how he spoke about Wren, that made him smile.
Gloom asked if Wren was here, like he had been waiting for him, and Hart said, "I'm sorry, Gloom. Wren isn't here."
Tamsen was by Hart's side, and Hart didn't want to muddy the waters with Gloom. It was one thing for Tamsen to look like little Wren, but it was another thing for her to do so in a dream with someone who knew Wren- and so Hart said, "Tamsen, it's time to stop looking like Wren, please." The little being bared her teeth at him and Hart said, "Tamsen, please."
He thought she would be stubborn about it, but she shifted into a version of herself- a little girl about six years old, with wild blonde hair and light blue eyes. This version of her had bat ears, and she'd shifted so that her face was more like a bat's than a little girl's.
It was a bit disquieting to look at her, the light blue human eyes in the non-human bat-like face, but most of Tamsen's forms were disquieting. "Thank you, Tamsen," Hart said to her, and she smiled at him even as her bared teeth became a bit sharper.
"Wren isn't here," Hart said to Gloom again, smiling at him. "I think he's with Ru." Both Hart and Wren liked to watch over Ruari's -Hart's little girl's- dreamscape. Ru sometimes had bad dreams- and there had been a time when Hart had worried something -or someone- might go after the little girl in her sleep.
"I'll let him know you were- waiting for him," Hart said, the last words a little bit stilted as he thought about what Gloom had said. Gloom had said he'd thought he'd meet Wren here? In the dreamscape of someone neither Hart nor Wren had met?
Hart was about to ask why Gloom had thought Wren would be here when the other man in the little house spoke. He said his name was Fargis, and Hart looked surprised at the nickname Woe had given him, Fleaface.
"Well- it's a pleasure to meet you, Fargis," Hart said. Gloom said he and Fargis were meeting Woe here in the little house, and again Hart thought about what Gloom had said.
"You were going to meet both Wren and Woe here?" he said, the wariness that had stopped him walking into the little house prickling on his back.
In that moment, a man appeared in the doorway behind Hart. When Hart saw him, he immediately stepped back from him- this brought him into the house, and he had to step back a little more when the man walked in. The man barely looked at him before looking to the others.
Hart didn't know who the man was, but he was not Woe.
Like Tamsen had been wearing little Wren's form, the man was wearing a form that was not his. The form was a version of Woe from around the time of the Forging. But, Hart had seen Woe one time after the Forging and the Woe he had seen after the Forging had been- different. Both Hart and Woe had lost magics in the Forging. For Hart, there had been little difference in his appearance- he'd had attunement-broken eyes before, like his eyes had been glass and had been broken and glued back together, with little lines in them.
For Woe, there had been other differences.
But it wasn't only the differences in appearance that told Hart this was not Woe. It was that the man was not Soulforged. The moment Hart had seen him, Hart had understood he was not the one who had spoken to him through Loewe. There was no link there.
The man had also looked at Hart strangely- barely looking at him, like he didn't know him.
It had been a long time since Hart had seen Woe last, and Woe Hart. But they had gone through the Forging together, and before that they had been through other things. Woe would've known him.
This man was not Woe.
Tamsen was looking at the man sharply, and as she looked at him the hair bristled on her head. Her bat ears were locked onto him and her mouth grimaced with its too-many, too-sharp teeth.
Hart didn't like the way Tamsen was looking at the man. He didn't like that Gloom thought the man was Woe. He thought Fargis thought the man was Woe, too, though it was more difficult to read Fargis. But the man was not Woe.
Hart's immediate thought, when he stepped back from the man walking into the little house, was to get Gloom and Fargis out of the house. He wanted to get them back from the man who was wearing Woe's form. He wasn't sure what it was about the man, maybe it was the look Tamsen was giving him, but there was a sense of- something wrong.
It was a dream, Hart told himself, and the man's form might mean little- the man might be dreaming himself into a version of Woe without thinking about it. Dreamers borrowed other people's forms all the time. There might not be something wrong.
But then, who was the man? Why had Gloom and Fargis been waiting for him here, and why had Gloom said he'd been waiting for Wren, too? Why had Woe -the true Woe- spoken to Hart moments before the false Woe -whoever he might be- appeared?
In the moment that Fargis introduced Hart to the false Woe, the dream shifted a little. Hart heard a low groaning sound from the wood and the stone of the little house they were in- or was the groaning sound from outside the little house? The light outside the little house shifted a bit, too, like there was something blocking the light.
Within a moment or two of the light shifting, another man appeared in the little house's door. Hart looked at him warily. The man in the doorway was like Fargis and the false Woe- he was someone Hart hadn't met before. Was this man with the false Woe?
The man, looking to be about twenty years old, walked into the doorway of the little house and glanced around. His look was one of wariness -this made Hart think that maybe the young man sensed there was something wrong here, too- and he seemed to be looking for something or someone.
"We have dinner guests, it seems," the false Woe said, baring his teeth at the young man. So the man wasn't with him, then? The young man looked at him like Hart had looked at him- like he was someone to back away from. "And they bring a monster with them," the false Woe said, still baring his sharp teeth.
The young man turned to look toward a sort of shadow that appeared in the doorway. The shadow had horns like a deer, though most of the shadow wasn't in the form of a deer. Though the false Woe had said it was a monster, Hart felt a little bit of relief when he looked at it. The young man spoke to the shadow, saying something that Hart -who hadn't seen Common Sign in a while- didn't manage to read. It took him a moment to bring to mind how to read the young man's hands, but he was able to read his signs- mostly.
Four individuals, no raised weapons, the young man said, or something like it. I don’t know which one you seek.
The young man had been looking for weapons, then? Hart immediately brought Tamsen slightly behind him as she bristled at the false Woe. With Tamsen behind him, he looked worriedly at Gloom and Fargis.
The false Woe, the young man, and the shadow he had spoken to had all appeared within a matter of moments of one another. It was not a lot of time to think through the sense that something was wrong, to try to sort out what was wrong here and what wasn't. But the sense Hart had was that he should get them -Gloom, Fargis, the others- back out of the little house, and back away from the false Woe.
It wasn't fair to the man who might simply be dreaming that he was a version of Woe. But it was better to be wary in the dreaming world than it was to be fair.
To the young man and to the shadow in the door
-Was the shadow Woe? Why did Hart think that?-
Hart spoke with his mouth and with his hands, though it had been a while since he had spoken Common Sign. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though it's getting a bit crowded in this little house," he said. "I'm Hart. This is Tamsen. Don't be bothered by how Tamsen looks- she'll be polite." Tamsen made a horrible face when he said it, her bat-like face twisting in displeasure at the thought of being polite, but she didn't look away from the false Woe.
Having spoken to the two in the doorway, Hart looked to the false Woe and smiled at him, though his smile was a little wary.
"You're not Woe," he said, and though he spoke surely -not giving room for the man to lie and say he was Woe- he spoke lightly and in the same tone he had spoken to all the others. He still wasn't sure if the man was a dreamer, a dreamwalker, or someone -or something- other.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Hart said to the false Woe. "I think you were the one who brought Gloom and Fargis here? And maybe you brought me here, too?" Hart had thought he had followed a theme here tonight, but now he wasn't so sure. Gloom had said he'd hoped to meet Wren; was Wren the one the false Woe had hoped to bring here, not Hart?
Whatever was going on, Hart was relieved that Wren was not here.
Despite not wanting to be in the little house, and despite the wariness prickling his skin, Hart walked over to stand by Gloom. Tamsen went with him, and Hart glanced at Fargis, hoping the man with the sharp eyes was able to sense -like Hart and the young man had sensed- that something was wrong, here.
"Like I said, it's getting a bit crowded in this little house," Hart said when he was standing by Gloom. "Maybe it would be better if we all went outside. It would be better to have a picnic beneath the big trees, I think, than a dinner inside. There's more room outside, and the weather is good."
But though he was wary, he still smiled when Gloom spoke to him. It was the tunawa's brightening when he saw Hart, and how he spoke about Wren, that made him smile.
Gloom asked if Wren was here, like he had been waiting for him, and Hart said, "I'm sorry, Gloom. Wren isn't here."
Tamsen was by Hart's side, and Hart didn't want to muddy the waters with Gloom. It was one thing for Tamsen to look like little Wren, but it was another thing for her to do so in a dream with someone who knew Wren- and so Hart said, "Tamsen, it's time to stop looking like Wren, please." The little being bared her teeth at him and Hart said, "Tamsen, please."
He thought she would be stubborn about it, but she shifted into a version of herself- a little girl about six years old, with wild blonde hair and light blue eyes. This version of her had bat ears, and she'd shifted so that her face was more like a bat's than a little girl's.
It was a bit disquieting to look at her, the light blue human eyes in the non-human bat-like face, but most of Tamsen's forms were disquieting. "Thank you, Tamsen," Hart said to her, and she smiled at him even as her bared teeth became a bit sharper.
"Wren isn't here," Hart said to Gloom again, smiling at him. "I think he's with Ru." Both Hart and Wren liked to watch over Ruari's -Hart's little girl's- dreamscape. Ru sometimes had bad dreams- and there had been a time when Hart had worried something -or someone- might go after the little girl in her sleep.
"I'll let him know you were- waiting for him," Hart said, the last words a little bit stilted as he thought about what Gloom had said. Gloom had said he'd thought he'd meet Wren here? In the dreamscape of someone neither Hart nor Wren had met?
Hart was about to ask why Gloom had thought Wren would be here when the other man in the little house spoke. He said his name was Fargis, and Hart looked surprised at the nickname Woe had given him, Fleaface.
"Well- it's a pleasure to meet you, Fargis," Hart said. Gloom said he and Fargis were meeting Woe here in the little house, and again Hart thought about what Gloom had said.
"You were going to meet both Wren and Woe here?" he said, the wariness that had stopped him walking into the little house prickling on his back.
In that moment, a man appeared in the doorway behind Hart. When Hart saw him, he immediately stepped back from him- this brought him into the house, and he had to step back a little more when the man walked in. The man barely looked at him before looking to the others.
Hart didn't know who the man was, but he was not Woe.
Like Tamsen had been wearing little Wren's form, the man was wearing a form that was not his. The form was a version of Woe from around the time of the Forging. But, Hart had seen Woe one time after the Forging and the Woe he had seen after the Forging had been- different. Both Hart and Woe had lost magics in the Forging. For Hart, there had been little difference in his appearance- he'd had attunement-broken eyes before, like his eyes had been glass and had been broken and glued back together, with little lines in them.
For Woe, there had been other differences.
But it wasn't only the differences in appearance that told Hart this was not Woe. It was that the man was not Soulforged. The moment Hart had seen him, Hart had understood he was not the one who had spoken to him through Loewe. There was no link there.
The man had also looked at Hart strangely- barely looking at him, like he didn't know him.
It had been a long time since Hart had seen Woe last, and Woe Hart. But they had gone through the Forging together, and before that they had been through other things. Woe would've known him.
This man was not Woe.
Tamsen was looking at the man sharply, and as she looked at him the hair bristled on her head. Her bat ears were locked onto him and her mouth grimaced with its too-many, too-sharp teeth.
Hart didn't like the way Tamsen was looking at the man. He didn't like that Gloom thought the man was Woe. He thought Fargis thought the man was Woe, too, though it was more difficult to read Fargis. But the man was not Woe.
Hart's immediate thought, when he stepped back from the man walking into the little house, was to get Gloom and Fargis out of the house. He wanted to get them back from the man who was wearing Woe's form. He wasn't sure what it was about the man, maybe it was the look Tamsen was giving him, but there was a sense of- something wrong.
It was a dream, Hart told himself, and the man's form might mean little- the man might be dreaming himself into a version of Woe without thinking about it. Dreamers borrowed other people's forms all the time. There might not be something wrong.
But then, who was the man? Why had Gloom and Fargis been waiting for him here, and why had Gloom said he'd been waiting for Wren, too? Why had Woe -the true Woe- spoken to Hart moments before the false Woe -whoever he might be- appeared?
In the moment that Fargis introduced Hart to the false Woe, the dream shifted a little. Hart heard a low groaning sound from the wood and the stone of the little house they were in- or was the groaning sound from outside the little house? The light outside the little house shifted a bit, too, like there was something blocking the light.
Within a moment or two of the light shifting, another man appeared in the little house's door. Hart looked at him warily. The man in the doorway was like Fargis and the false Woe- he was someone Hart hadn't met before. Was this man with the false Woe?
The man, looking to be about twenty years old, walked into the doorway of the little house and glanced around. His look was one of wariness -this made Hart think that maybe the young man sensed there was something wrong here, too- and he seemed to be looking for something or someone.
"We have dinner guests, it seems," the false Woe said, baring his teeth at the young man. So the man wasn't with him, then? The young man looked at him like Hart had looked at him- like he was someone to back away from. "And they bring a monster with them," the false Woe said, still baring his sharp teeth.
The young man turned to look toward a sort of shadow that appeared in the doorway. The shadow had horns like a deer, though most of the shadow wasn't in the form of a deer. Though the false Woe had said it was a monster, Hart felt a little bit of relief when he looked at it. The young man spoke to the shadow, saying something that Hart -who hadn't seen Common Sign in a while- didn't manage to read. It took him a moment to bring to mind how to read the young man's hands, but he was able to read his signs- mostly.
Four individuals, no raised weapons, the young man said, or something like it. I don’t know which one you seek.
The young man had been looking for weapons, then? Hart immediately brought Tamsen slightly behind him as she bristled at the false Woe. With Tamsen behind him, he looked worriedly at Gloom and Fargis.
The false Woe, the young man, and the shadow he had spoken to had all appeared within a matter of moments of one another. It was not a lot of time to think through the sense that something was wrong, to try to sort out what was wrong here and what wasn't. But the sense Hart had was that he should get them -Gloom, Fargis, the others- back out of the little house, and back away from the false Woe.
It wasn't fair to the man who might simply be dreaming that he was a version of Woe. But it was better to be wary in the dreaming world than it was to be fair.
To the young man and to the shadow in the door
-Was the shadow Woe? Why did Hart think that?-
Hart spoke with his mouth and with his hands, though it had been a while since he had spoken Common Sign. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though it's getting a bit crowded in this little house," he said. "I'm Hart. This is Tamsen. Don't be bothered by how Tamsen looks- she'll be polite." Tamsen made a horrible face when he said it, her bat-like face twisting in displeasure at the thought of being polite, but she didn't look away from the false Woe.
Having spoken to the two in the doorway, Hart looked to the false Woe and smiled at him, though his smile was a little wary.
"You're not Woe," he said, and though he spoke surely -not giving room for the man to lie and say he was Woe- he spoke lightly and in the same tone he had spoken to all the others. He still wasn't sure if the man was a dreamer, a dreamwalker, or someone -or something- other.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Hart said to the false Woe. "I think you were the one who brought Gloom and Fargis here? And maybe you brought me here, too?" Hart had thought he had followed a theme here tonight, but now he wasn't so sure. Gloom had said he'd hoped to meet Wren; was Wren the one the false Woe had hoped to bring here, not Hart?
Whatever was going on, Hart was relieved that Wren was not here.
Despite not wanting to be in the little house, and despite the wariness prickling his skin, Hart walked over to stand by Gloom. Tamsen went with him, and Hart glanced at Fargis, hoping the man with the sharp eyes was able to sense -like Hart and the young man had sensed- that something was wrong, here.
"Like I said, it's getting a bit crowded in this little house," Hart said when he was standing by Gloom. "Maybe it would be better if we all went outside. It would be better to have a picnic beneath the big trees, I think, than a dinner inside. There's more room outside, and the weather is good."
