Echo of MemoryIn a clearing of broken stone, brown grass and golden leaves, a train of gypsy wagons has pulled off the old brick highway, and circled up. Once brightly and garishly decorated during times of relative bounty, the wagons are now sun-faded, with peeling paint and missing ornaments, and more than a few nasty gouges and holes owing to attacks from monsters and brigands on the roads. Nonetheless, the individual wooden wagons are works of art in their own right each one is a mobile homestead, passed on through several generations, each successive one adding its own touches though such things as wood carvings, painted murals, or elaborately wrought hanging lanterns.

It is funny how most memories fade with age, but some are as crisp as the day they were made. This is one such memory for Alptraum; and one he has chosen to share with the Goddess Barada. Sharing, though, is on his terms as she quickly found out. Summoning her was 'simple enough' given his ability to contact and work with spirits; but in this strange dreamscape she found herself hanging from some branches as one of her sacred creatures, a chibix! Next to her hands another chibix, solid black save for a stripe of white from the top of its head down to the mid of its back.

"I promised to show you something of my childhood. I finally decided on one; this one. It was one of the major events in my life though at the time it didn't seem like it would be one. This are all echoes of what I remember. To them we'll appear as flying annoyances, if they spot us at all. Promise me you will not try to mess with my memory?" the chibix somehow manages to as Barada-Chibix. The 'tone' gives away it's Alptraum if the white stripe had not.

"I keep secrets," Barada chirps. "I don't alter them." She hops from foot to foot a bit. "What should I pay the most attention too?"

"I think that will become clear enough," Alptraum notes from his perch and nods towards the wagon. It is dusk; the sun has just gone down. Shadows are long and deep within the camp ... and one of them is moving. It's a lanky teenager; maybe sixteen, tall, matted white hair roughly tied back, and dressed in ragtag patchwork clothing. It's Alptraum, of course, a long time ago. He's moving as if he doesn't want to be seen with his destination to one of the wagons on the outskirts near the forest edge.

"Is that what it's like to be a teenager?" Barada asks. "All knees and elbows and awkwardness?"

"And hormones, and skin issues, and liking really bad jokes," Alptraum notes just as his younger self makes it to the wagon on the outside. He reaches around the side and knocks on the door. A minute passes before someone actually answers it. It's a girl, a rath'ani one at that; probably close to Alptraum's age. She's even thinner than he is, though, almost gaunt. She is dressed in ratty clothing and wearing a wide-brimmed old hat covered in pins and various kitch. She calls out in a tired-sounding voice, "Hello?" Unfortunately it is moments after she speaks she has to cover her mouth when she breaks out into a raspy, rattling, cough.

"Jaelle. She was the daughter of one of the crafts families that traveled with us now and then," Alptraum explains. "There are a lot of really nasty diseases in Sylvania, on top of the constant risk of starvation. She caught some sort of fungal lung issue; it was eating her alive. Several doctors and witches tried to treat her, but ... nothing seemed to work."

"Boo!" goes the younger Alptraum as he peeks around the side of the wagon, causing the girl to jump! "Dath take you, bat, ya tryin' to kill me? I close enough to dyin' already," the rath'ani complains as she takes off her hat and starts to beat the Eeee with it.

The goddess-chibix shuffles her claws a bit and watches to see what Alptraum does-did.

"Ow, ow, stoppit already," the young Alptraum says as he defends himself from the vicious hat-beating. "It be a special night an I wanna show ya sumthin'," he claims as he finally grabs the hat, takes it away, and promptly plots it onto his own head. He shifts it about then adds completely randomly, "Or, I kin take yer hat an become de most feared sky pirate in all de land. Arr!"

Jaelle grabs her hat back and plops it back on her head. "Yeah, yeah, yer so terrifying," she counters and rolls her eyes. "I really don' know why de elders all so nervous abou' vou. Vou are such a goon. Wha dis about some special night? I no in any shape t' be tryin' t' snog. Dis some stupid pick up trick yer friend try to teach vou?" she asks as she waggles a thin finger before the young Eeee's nose.

Young Alptraum holds up his hands, "No, no, nothin' like dat. Y' trust me, right? Willin' t' let me blinfdold yas?"

"Eh? I dunno 'bout dat," Jaelle says dubiously. "Y'migh' try t' do something untoward or ... just weird."

"Where you trying to snog her?" Barada asks. There's no facial expression on a Chibix, but there's a sense of brows lifting in curiosity.

"No, no, promise," Young Alptraum says as he pats his chest. The bat then pulls out a ratty strip of cloth and dangles it before the girl.

Jaelle eyes the strip, then the grinning bat. "Oh fine, if only t' get yas to quit bein' a goon for a bit," she relents, turns her back to the Eeee, then lifts and waves her left hand in a circle. "Go ahead."

And so Young Alptraum wraps the strip of cloth around her head to cover her eyes. "Good," he says in a whisper in her ear. "Now, don't squirm are ya might fall."

"Migh' fall? wha ya meeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jaelle starts to ask, but gets interrupted as Alptraum actually picks her up and then launches skyward with her! It's helpful she's already so thin or the Eeee might not have been able to lift her.

"Come on, we're following," Alptraum says, then leans to the side to push Barada out of her perch! He goes airborne a few seconds later.

Flapflapflap goes the little bug-bat, as Barada swoops around to follow after Chibi-Alptraum.

Things seem to blur (as well as darken) as night takes over the land. It's ... grim. Darkness under stormy skies and fog-covered ground. The Young Alptraum is struggling to keep a reasonable pace; most Eeee are just not built to carry weight for long distance. But ... somehow he is managing it. It looks like he's heading towards an ancient tree in the forest below; one that looms above all the others.

"Guh, yer all butt-heavy," Young-Alptraum complains as he lands on one of the huge outstretched branches. His footclaws lock into the bark to steady himself before he tries to set the clinging Rath'ani down on the branch.

Barada is silent while following. It's a lot of flapping to keep up. At least until the tree is spotted. "Is that a holy tree?" she asks.

"I gonna kill you, bat," she growls at him before breaking down into a fit of coughing. The branch is large enough that she can sit fine without fear of falling.

"No ya won'. Y'said y' would trust me," Young Alptraum says as he takes the blindfold off.

"Y' didn' say you where gonna go fl .... eek! How high up are we?!?" Jaelle squeaks and drops down, hugging the huge branch beneath her.

"No idea. I had just seen it before when flying. It was huge and thought it would be a great spot to look out from," Chibi-Alptraum admits.

Alptraum lands on one just higher, then swings down so he's hanging just above her.

"Why ya bring me out into de middle of nowhere on top of dis huge tree. I tol' you to no try any weird mov.." the sickly Rath'ani argues at Young Alptraum right up to the point he reaches over and closes her jaws with two fingers. The Eeee gently turns her head to the east and says, "Jus' watch, 'kay. I take yas home soon."

There isn't much to look at in the east, just a rolling dark sky and even more foreboding land below. At least at first, that is. In slow silence the cloudy sky to the east part, and spots of light begin to shine. More lights join it until it seems like there is a starry river rolling through the eastern sky in that tear in the clouds. "It called de 'procession'. Once ever' four years de clouds break just enough dat it kin be seen at night iffin yer above the fog and tree line. Tonight vas de nigh an t'ings no be so good for vou lately. Jus' ... though' y' might like t' see it," Young Alptraum explains. "Some claim de procession is de river of de dead, where we all go vhen ve die. I know ya haf been worryin' a lot about dat lately."

"Why didn't you tell her about the Sea of Souls?" Barada asks. "Is this before you knew who you were?"

"It be beautiful," Jaelle whispers, eyes wide. "I never thought it coul' be so pretty. Is dat really vha waits us when ve die?" She breaks into a coughing fit.

"Dunno," Young Alptraum says. "I jus' vanted you t' be able to see it once before ... vell, iffin ..."

"Iffin I don't find a cure fer vhat is eatin' me?" Jaelle finishes the question.

"Only lasts an hour so so," Young Alptraum explains to Jaelle, "But ve should head back soon. Y' shouldn' be out too long."

"Oh shut up. We stayin' till it closes or else," Jaelle counters and pokes Alptraum right in the nose.

"Else vhat?" Alptraum has to ask. "Else," repeats Jaelle. "Ooooh, else," echoes Alptraum.

"Nope. It is else," Chibi-Alptraum claims as if it must be something horrible indeed.

"You shouldn't keep secrets from me," Barada warns, and beak-butts Chibi-Alptraum.

"What? It's an old Gypsy threat! Else. Something horrible that cannot be spoken!" Chibi-Alptraum claims.

"That.. makes no sense," Chibi-Barada claims. "If nobody knows what it is, how is it a threat?"

"Would you risk finding out?" Chibi-Alptraum asks. "I'm wise to not poke the else."

An hour passes as Young Alptraum and the Rath'ani sit and watch the ski in the distance. The one night every four years that the land of Sylvania doesn't look so horrible. But, nothing lasts forever and the view even less so. The dark clouds close back in and the starlight disappears. Shadows return to the last. "Time t' go home," Alptraum tells Jaelle as he rises and pats her shoulder.

"Not exactly. I just felt like I needed to that night," Chibi-Alptraum notes and even somehow manages to shrug. "Gut feeling that it was necessary. Come on, they're going back."

Chibi-Barada drops from the branch and flies up to follow, once the pair on the lower branch leave.

And Chibi-Alptraum is right, Young Alptraum has already picked up Jaelle and taken off. The flight back is a blur; possibly because the time in between was nothing of note. As Chibi-Alptraum perches in a tree, his younger self has landed and set Jaelle back on her feet. "And dere ya go, no worse for wear!" Alptraum proclaims.

"Yeah, so ya didn' try .. " Jaelle starts to say, but is cut off by the wagon door being thrown wide and an older and much more burly Rath'ani male comes thundering out. "Vou! How dare vou touch my child, vou freak!" he growls as he punches the Younger Alptraum hard, spinning him completely around and dropping him to the ground in a heap. The Rath'ani then starts to kick the downed Eeee over and over, then stomps on one of Alptraum's wing-fingers and the bone crack is audible. "How dare you try t' touch my daughter in unclean ways!"

"Ouuuuch," Chibi-Barada chirps. "Are all gypsy dads like that? What is his problem with you?"

Jaelle is coughing violently but she puts herself between her father and the younger Alptraum. "Stop," she wheezes, "He didn' touch me. He just wanted t' show me de sky. De clear sky. Dat all! He vanted t' make me feel better.

The father turns on her now, all rage and anger ... for the few seconds before he's looking in Jaelle's eyes. "I ... he vha? Dis wasn' some sorta snoggin' t'ing?" the older Rath'ani asks. "No!" Jaelle wheezes. "He took me to a good spot t' see the sky, den brought me home when de clouds closed." She turns to try and help Alptraum get back to his feet, but in the chaos and shouting, he's already managed to. He's limping across the camp back towards home, his broken wing hanging down and dragging behind him. She takes a step to follow and he lifts his right hand. "Go home an spend time wit yer family. Dey jus worried about you," the battered bat says.

"Most families didn't like me, Barada. I was weird, creepy, and a vampire," Chibi-Alptraum says. "They tolerated me. But, they didn't want me talking to their children too much. Or worse, feeding on them. Never did that. Wouldn't do that. I'm not some sort of animal."

"But this is Sylvania. Isn't 1 out of every 5 Eeee there a vampire or vampire-related?" Barada asks.

"Doesn't mean you're popular, though," Alptraum points out, "We just aren't killed on sight."

"It truly is a land of superstition.." Barada says. "Well, I can't say Babel is any better regarding vampires. Probably a lot worse, actually."

Things seem to blur around the two chibixes and things shift around them. The next blink places Barada hanging from the rafters of Alptraum's wagon. It is morning and the younger Eeee is already awake. It may have been a few days since he doesn't look quite as battered as he did the night before. Plus, his wing vane is in a split. He's busying himself by sitting on a trunk and sticking up some clothing. There's a knock on the door.

"It's about a week later from what you saw last light," Chibi-Alptraum notes from where he hangs from the rafters.

"Yes? We had to repair our own clothing," Chibi-Alptraum notes. "This surprises you?"

"Door's open," Alptraum calls out. The door then opens and a young and familiar foxlad walks through, it's Hexen. He's doesn't look like he's up to something devious, though, he looks upset. "Hey Traum," he says as he sits down on the bed near the trunk. "How de wing?"

"Hurts, but getting better. I should be flying again in anudder veek or so," Alptraum notes without looking up. "Vou up early."

"I don't know how to do laundry," Chibi-Barada admits. "There are no secrets to it. A black fox.. a hound of ill omen!"

"Yeah. Voke up t' some noise, gots some bad news," Hexen notes as he swings his legs.

Hexen looks hard at Alptraum. "Yeah. How vou know?" he asks. The fox might sound surprised if he wasn't so upset.

"Yeah, she died last night, in her sleep. Peace, quiet, wit her parents," Hexen says as his leg-swinging resumes. "Y' two were sort of friends, t'ought vou shoul' know."

"Only knew 'er a little. S'not fair, vou know. She didn' deserve t' die," Alptraum says, "But den no many people do. Ve had t' bury four last year after de zombies attacked on de road. Dey didn' deserve it either."

"'Kay, didn't expect anyone else," Alptraum says as he goes to open the door this time. To his, and Hexen's surprise, Jaelle's father is standing outside. The older Rat'ani doesn't look like he has slept in days. "Alptraum," he says, "Kin ve talk a moment?"

"Depends. Going to break my other wing dis time?" Alptraum says a bit flatly. "I am sorry dat Jaelle died. She vas a good person. Hexen said it vas peaceful."

"I ... sorry," the Rath'ani says as he actually looks down. "Vou didn' deserve dat. I jus' though dat ... Vou made 'er happy dat night. Dis past week she had been happier den she had been in years. Y' made her feel like everything vas okay. T'ank vou for dat. She vanted you t' have dis." The older coon reaches behind and pulls Jaelle's old, battered, hat and holds it out. "She said in case ya vanted t' still be a pirate or somethun, vou vould need dis."

"It's hardly a surprise to you, given you're supposed to know things," Chibi-Alptraum notes.

"Secret things," Chibi-Barada says. "Not every thing. Once it becomes not a secret.. I don't know if I know it anymore."

This seems to come as a surprise to the Younger Alptraum. "I invited?" he asks, surprised.

"'Course. 'er closest friends needs to be there to say a proper goodbye," the Rath'ani says as he steps back now. "I'll see vou t'night den. And ... t'ank you." Not seeming able to say much more, the father of Jaelle turns and walks away from the wagon. Alptraum closes the door.

"So, you did your job," Chibi-Barada says. "Or just acted out your nature, without knowing it. Finding out you were the Barsunala must have made a lot of stuff suddenly make sense."

"Vell, dat vas awkvard. Last veek he broke yer ving, dis veek he invites vou to his daughter's funeral," Hexen says as Alptraum actually puts the hat on and tilts it. "And ... vou look really silly in dat hat," Hexen adds.

"Yeah, I suppose I did. But this time the troupe noticed it. Or at least noticed that I tried to help, cared, and hurt no one," Chibi-Alptraum notes and shrugs a bit. "They treated me better after all of this. I kept that hat, too. For years. Lost it in the Gigi Isles when Amena cultists drugged me and sold me to some slavers. They took everything I had."

"Reaaaaally?" Barada chirps. "That could be useful, if they still have the hat.."

"Who knows? Who wants a ratty old hat like that? It's not worth much other than for sentimental reasons," Chibi-Alptraum admits.

"But sentiment can be powerful," Barada says. "One day, you might want to find that hat again. Call on me when you do."

"It has probably been burned by now," Chibi-Alptraum says and shrugs. "I'll spare showing you the funeral. The dead are burned in Sylvania."

"At the end, embers are collected and set to the winds in in little floating lanterns," Chibi-Alptraum adds. "To send their soul to the river in the sky, or so it goes. It's beautiful, really. A trail of lights climbing into the sky."

"Now that sounds useful," Barada claims, clicking her beak. "Letting go. We hoard everything in Babel though, even our dead. I suppose that's why Diphath is going for the whole zombie thing this time."

"Yeah, it's sort for that, a way to let go and say goodbye," Alptraum concedes as everything around them grows still and fades to gray. "And Diphath, well ... yes. It's a vault of soldiers for her. Can't seem to get away from her, really. Amena is just another name for her. Steals my hat, now wants to steal my people."

"The living or the dead?" Barada asks. "But for you, I think both count as your people, don't they?"

"When the day comes, we'll see who stands alone, and who has friends watching their back," Barada says. "I'd bet on the one who knows how to make friends though, myself.."