Sunlight beams through the room's small window, stirring the figure in the small bed. She turns over, then yawns and stretches before climbing out from under the pile of bedding. There's some scratching, and floofing out of the poofy striped tail. She pads over to the dresser, and fills the bowl with water from a pitcher. There's an ornate box next to the bowl, with a parchment map atop it and a long velvet pouch next to it. Hands and face are washed, the Rath'ani looks up into the small glass mirror hung over the dresser.
It's Silv's face that look back, as she pulls her lips around to examine her teeth. Which is really strange, since this is Aviri's dream, and he's appears to be the raccoon in question at the moment.
Aviri looks at the image a moment, frozen in time, before his eyes turn to look around the room more carefully, quickly finding the box and parchment. As he reaches for it, he looks again at the reflection, as if to ensure it's still Silv and not himself.
Ears are definitely too short and the bandit's mask is really not Aviri's style, either. So it must be Silv. Also, things like center of gravity and weight distribution are very different.
One hand on the box, Aviri says, "Silv? You ... in ... here?"
"What? No, of course not," the Rath'ani replies to the air. "Clearly you are in me.. and not in the usual fun way either," she notes. "I remember this.. ah.. how much have you seen so far?"
"I ... you ... we ... er." Aviri stops and tries again. "Filled bowl with water," he says. "Dreaming, right? Never drempt with a ghost before." He looks to the parchment again. "So ... er ... what now?"
"Now, as I recall, I got dressed," Silv says, and starts collecting articles of clothing from.. all over the place. The floor, a lamp, a chair. It's as if the woman exploded and scattered her clothes everywhere then reconstituted somehow. The underwear looks particularly complicated and frightening.. especially when it actually goes on. "Can't beat a good corset," Silv comments.
Aviri gasps. "Does it have to be so tight?" he asks.
"Hey, some species need a little extra help to get svelte," Silv claims. "Plus, it will turn a knife with all the extra reinforcement I've put in. There are lots of tricks to being a smuggler you know. Nobody wants to search certain areas of a person, so you can hide quite a bit in a corset." The bloomers at least aren't binding. And the rest of the clothing is more familiar.. tunic, trousers, boots, belt with a great big shiny buckle. And the hat. It has a big purple plume in it in the memory that clearly didn't survive the swamp. The map is folded up and tucked inside of the hat.
Aviri says, "I like the hat. Nice plumage. What's on the map?"
"Our course of course," Silv notes. "This is.. uh.. Tursdi I think? You missed the man from Northern Shore.. just as well, it might have traumatized you! And this is possibly the best hat in the world, so of course the plumage is nice."
"So, this is one of your memories..." Aviri says. "Glad to see it's not full of holes. When was this?"
"Uh.. hmm, good question," Silv responds, and rubs her chin. She puts the box and horn into a satchel, which goes over her shoulder. "It's after the man from Northern Shore gave me the job.. in more ways than one, heh.. which was.. uh.. I think it was near Ring Day? I needed to get the box to Blackshire by Ring Day I'm sure.."
"So, very near the time you crashed in our swamp," Aviri says. "You've got the box, and the horn ... should I just shut up and let you remember?"
"Well, if you make me think of things I will remember them better, I think," Silv notes. A long knife is pulled from under the pillow, and strapped to her wide belt. Then she's leaving the room, which appears to be on the second floor of a tavern.
Aviri nods, but stops himself because he's not used to wearing a hat, least of all one like Silv's. "So, where are we? Where're we going?"
The tavern has quite a breakfast crowd, and Silv pauses to get a bacon sandwich (which Aviri can unfortunately taste as well). Most of the patrons seem indistinct and hazy, except for a pair in one corner - two Khatta, both wearing cloaks with the hoods up despite being indoors. "Galway Cove, Tursdi," Silv says. "Our ship as at the boat docks.. those two men in the corner are going to try and kill us."
Aviri blinks. "Um ... wow, okay. You lead ... er ... an exciting life...."
"What, this?" Silv asks, heading out of the tavern into the sunlit square outside. It's still chilly out. "If you don't have someone trying to kill you, you haven't made a big enough impression on people."
"I like to think I make a dont-kill-me impression on people," Aviri says. "When I make one at all, that is. Are they just going to jump us from behind or something?"
"Not sure.. haven't gotten to the point where I know they're going to try something," Silv notes, as she walks along and waves to the other people they pass. The Vykarin Sea glitters to the north, and there are quite a few sailing ships in the small port. Looming over them is the envelope of an airship. It's net made of rope, showing several large spheres of lift gas, and one really big (if a bit flaccid) hot-air bag. "There she, my pride and joy.. the.. uh.." Even as they get closer, the name painted on the side of the ship looks blurry. Surrounded by sailing ships and even fishing boats, the airship's boat-gondola looks small. Or the other raccoons on the deck are particularly large.
Aviri looks at the ship. "Ah, yes, the Verbing Nounverber," he says quietly. "How'd you get to be a captain, anyway?"
"I own the ship," Silv notes. "Inherited it from my second husband.. Stan, I think. It's been awhile." Two raccoons wave from the deck, both younger than Silv. They're waving rather insistently.
"And the crew just ... came along?" Aviri asks. "Who're they?"
"Well, the big guy in the fez is my second cousin Timbo," Silv notes. "The one pointing frantically for me to turn around is Gladys.. no relation, I think. I forget where I picked her up.. oh, right, this is where I get attacked." Silv turns around, just as one of the cloaked figures behind them pulls out a crossbow-pistol.
Aviri gives a heroic effort to not scream or jump or anything to interfere with being attacked. Obivously Silv would be more comfortable in her own body than he.
"Ah.. what did I do?" Silv ponders as the weapon is leveled at her. "Was it a witty saying? No.. I'd remember that.. Was it.. oh, someone dropped a shekel!" She bends down to pick up the coin, the crossbow bolt catches her hat instead, knocking it off. "Hey!" someone shouts, as this wasn't exactly a stealthy attempt at assassination. Several sailors have seen it, and are rushing forward now.
"Wait ... what?" Aviri says. "That's what you notice?! A shekel?" The Lapi's mind seems to break. "Of all the .... I know you didn't die here, but ... a shekel?" He picks up the hat for her, then stops. "Right, I was letting you drive."
"Hey, I like shekels," Silv notes, and goes to retrieve her hat while running towards the airship. "Start pumping the bellows before they can reload!" she calls ahead, causing Timbo to vanish belowdecks.
"Ah.. this is where I lost the map, I remember now," Silv notes as she runs.
"Hey, couldn't we go back and get it?" Aviri asks. "I mean, seems kidna important...."
"Of course it's important! That's why I put it in my hat," Silv notes as she scrambles up the rope ladder onto the ship. "But I don't know it's lost yet. So I can't go get it. I did see it though, so.. uh.. I know the destination just not the exact route."
"Can't you just ... re-draw it, if you saw it?" Aviri asks. "Wait ... no, probably not. Maybe if I'd seen it... Nice ship. Still don't know it's name?"
"Of course I know it, I named it.. well, renamed it," Silv notes, adjusting her hat. "Stan's Legacy. That's what it is, I'm sure. It would explain why the figurehead is his actual head. I knew a taxidermist.." Then there is a flurry of activity as Silv takes over shoveling coal into the central furnace to speed up inflation of the main hot-air bag. "Cast off lines Gladys!"
The ship is soon airborne, and the sails extended to catch the wind off the sea. "Ah, this is where I belong: the sky!" Silv notes. "Where were you last night," Gladys asks, with a bit of annoyance.
Aviri remains quiet, but listens.
"I was meeting with an important client that paid my bar tab," Silv notes. "We've got a new, important mission! We're going to Blackshire in Sylvania to deliver a vital tool to turn the tide of the war in favor of the living."
"He must have been a really good shag to sell you a line like that," Gladys snorts. "Sylvania? That's crazy! We can't get high enough, and I hear the Necromancers have been shooting down airships."
Aviri gives a thoughtful frown. "Explains a bit," he says quietly.
"We're sneaky, and I've got something that will hide us from their sight," Silv claims, and takes the long pouch from the satchel and opens it to reveal the horn. "Shelwhal horn! Blessed by an Aeonian priest or something."
"And how much does this little trip pay?" Gladys asks, arms crossed.
Silv grins wide, and says, "1,000 shekels, on delivery." That shuts up Gladys, who just stares.
"Oh, that's right.. I bet the current Duke would still have to honor that," Silv notes to Aviri.
Aviri nods impressed, probably sharing a few expressions with Gladys. "I'm worried what Trilup and Linyala would do with that kind of money," he says.
"Oh.. aqua-kavi use money too?" Silv asks. "They don't even have clothes.."
"I think the do," Aviri says. "Use money, that is. Not the cloths thing. 'Cept Jack wears clouths. I mean, Oggdon runs a boat-rental place, so if they don't use money ... how would that even work?" He stops talking as he tries to imagine how that would work.
"I figured they traded stuff for candy or whatnot," Silv notes. "I got paid in candy once.. Eh, enough of that. Okay.. the map. I'd forgotten about that being lost. If those guys were after the box, then maybe they recovered the map and that's how they found us.."
"Hope it's candy," Aviri says. "So ... the guys who tried to kill you ... us? They 'found' you? Like, they'll attack again. Now that we're in the air?"
"Well, not until we get shot down over Sylvania," Silv says. "They're probably why Mister Northern Shore was so eager to pass the box along to someone else. But it's not like they'd still be after it now, right? They'd be bent old men, or zombies. Or passed the mission down to their kids.."
"I'm not worried about now," Aviri says, but stops cold. "Should I be? If they are ... might have the map. Is the map still important?"
"Well.. maybe stopping us was all they wanted to do," Silv suggests. "In which case they wouldn't need to find the box. Or, knowing the destination, they could just wait until it showed up."
"You shouldn't trust her, you know," a new voice says. There's a black-furred Lapi doe leaning against the railing.. wearing a wedding dress. Her eyes also glow red. Silv doesn't reply or react to her presence though.
"Good to know," Aviri says. "They're at least patient to wait .... your crew was entirely Rath'ani, right?"
"Yeah, just the three of us," Silv claims. "Small ship, high profits.."
Aviri looks at the glowing-red-eyed Lapi and nods. "Also good to know," he says. "Your second cousin and Gladys of unknown origin." He nods. "When we found the ship, there were, uh, books, in a cabin. Anything important there?"
"Gotta keep records," Silv claims. "Fuel, food, expenses.. it's a business like any other. And the log book of course.. I used to doodle in the margins a bit, I admit."
The black Lapi comes closer, and sniffs at Silv-Aviri. "She's dead. You shouldn't play with dead things, it's unhealthy. And I think you snuck her into the warren, didn't you?" The glowing eyes look a bit more annoyed now.
"Sounds fun," Aviri says. "Too bad none of them survived the swamp." He seems genuinely sad at the prospect. "So ... er ... what now?" He says, very much aware of the black lapi but very much attempting to ignore her.
"Oh.. now? Well.. nothing much happens for a few days, and then the screaming flaming skulls shoot us down.. then lots of nothing for a few decades until you and your girlfriends find me."
Aviri nods. "Right. The ... flaming skulls." He's obviously getting super uncomfortable.
"You probably don't want to be around for that," Silv says. "I know I don't. So.. uh.. you should probably wake up or something? I don't think I'm possessing you.."
"Oh, you may not be," Aviri says. "Probably wouldn't mind if you were...." He bites his teeth. He glances toward the black lapi. "I mean, I know you're dead an' all, but you seem pretty nice. Not like ... well, don't know many other ghosts, but certainly not like demons ... or anything."
"Just the one you got down in your Lapi hole," Silv says with a laugh. "Wouldn't want to meet that one on a dark night. Or a will lit day either!"
The black Lapi sniffs, and looks as if she's being insulted.
Aviri chuckles nervously. "Okay, gonna lay it out. It's here. She ... apparently. Black, Lapi ... thing. Glowing red eyes. Right here. Kinda ... trying not to panic."
"Well.. tell her not to eat us!" Silv suggests strongly. "I don't feel her.. this must be some dream trick."
"I'm not a ghost or a demon," the black doe says. "I'm Buffy Chalk. And I'm a.. guardian vampire. It's complicated. I protect the Chalk warrens and mines from.. supernatural intrusions."
"Think she can hear you," Aviri says. He takes a deep breath, then nods. "Right, okay, she's a 'guardian vampire'. Makes me feel so much better." He suddenly turns to the doe. "Why shouldn't I trust Silv?" He stops, then says to Silv "She said I shouldn't trust you."
"Why is it that intelligent, older women who know what they want are seen as untrustworthy?" Silv asks. "I'm not a bloodsucker though, at least."
"Being haunted isn't healthy," Buffy claims. "If you want to be free of this spirit, just come back to the warrens and go down deep, to the old mines. Ignore the warning signs. I can break the ghost's attachment to you, I'm sure."
"You see," Aviri says, "that sounds like a terrible idea. I'm sure you're nice an' all, too, but one supernatural thing's enough for me, right now. Thanks. I mean, am I currently in danger, in any way, with Silv?"
"Not currently, no," Buffy concedes. "But she's a shady character, to be sure. And you're a good boy, Aviri, who never gets into trouble or does anything.. interesting.. normally. Are you sure you can handle this?"
"No, I'm not," Aviri says, for the moment completely ignoring Silv. "But Silv's ... Just don't think it'd be fair to her to throw her away, even if I thought your idea was good. At least Silv won't turn me into a vampire or ... other ... things!"
"I don't turn people into things.. who told you that?" Buffy asks, leaning in almost nose-to-nose now. "The incident with Miranda was an accident.. it's been all cleared up. Same for Clover.. has Parsley been saying things about me?"
"What?" Aviri asks. "I didn't even ... Silv was the first time I ever heard of anything in those tunnels. You've done this before?!"
"I get lonely down there, being fed the occasional rabbit.." Buffy says. "And by rabbit I mean the little animal ones that the Chalks raise. Anyway.. that isn't relevant. I've got.. company now. And I do not normally talk to people who haven't sought me out first - but you brought a ghost into my territory, and hid her somehow. So I'm making sure you aren't being possessed or anything."
Aviri is silent a bit. "So ... am I being possessed? Is there danger in that? What do you mean by 'company'?"
"I'm watching over the ghosts of some children the last necromancer to come through here was going to use for fuel or something," Buffy says, and waves her hand. "Ask Natasha if you want the details, as this isn't the best time for me to go into things. I don't think you're being possessed.. just haunted. So this sort of thing.." here she waves her hand to encompass the ship and Silv's body.. "may happen more often. Probably because she likes you or something."
"I thought you didn't like ghosts," Aviri asks Buffy.
"I don't like invading ghosts," Buffy says. "Rescued ghosts are different. I wasn't going to let them be.. erased. They were only children."
"Well, Silv's only a poor ship's captain who got ... killed ... before her time," Aviri says. "Can't you give her a chance? She's nice."
"I am giving her a chance," Buffy claims. "And she's probably a pirate. Just.. keep her out of the warren, is all I ask."
"I will," Aviri says. "... Sure you can't just ... get along, though?"
"It doesn't always work that way, Aviri," Buffy says. "I have duties. And so does a ghost. We're both creatures of purpose. And we're stuck until that purpose runs its course."
"And ... your purpose is to guard us Chalks?" Aviri asks.
"For the most part.. yes," Buffy says. "In the warren. Go outside and there isn't much I can do beyond.. what I'm doing right now."
Aviri gives a little smile. "Thank you," he says. "You gonna ... keep an eye on me out here?"
"What? No, not at all," Buffy says. "Like I said, I couldn't do anything so.. you'll have to deal with it on your own. Unless you're in the warrens - I've told you how to find me." She does give Aviri-Silv a kiss on the cheek though.
"But ... you're here now," Aviri says, unsure how to feel about the kiss.
"You're dreaming, Aviri," Buffy notes. "That's a special case, and I can slip in because I have practice with these things. Unless you're asking me to join your dreams when they're linking up to the ghost?"
Aviri tries to cast a glance to Silv, but remembers he can't without a mirror. "Might be nice," he says. "If it's not too much trouble."
"So you don't trust the ghost, then?" Buffy asks with a grin. "Very well, if you're close enough for me to notice it happening, I'll try to check on you during one of these spirit-dreams."
Aviri looks at the ground. "Thanks."
There's something that feels like someone tousling Aviri's ears.. and then he realizes a Rughrat has wandered over to his sleeping spot and is nuzzling at his ears, causing him to wake up.
Aviri jolts, pulling his ears away from the ground quickly, looking around himself before remembering where he was and, probably more importantly, why he was there.
There are more Rughrats about.. someone's flock. Of course they'd be out.. it's only late morning from the overcast glow. His nap couldn't have been more than an hour or two.
Aviri groans and says to the rughrats, "You're as bad as Trilyala." He leans against a tree, resting his head on the bark. "Silv, you there?" he asks the air.
It takes a moment before the voice responds. "You're awake. An aqua-kavi named Jack is here with the girls. He hasn't said anything about the box though."
"Here with the box?" Aviri says. "I slept, like, two hours." He puts a hand to his head. "Is it really too much to ... fine." He stands up, eyes closed as if debating whether to try a standing-up nap before stumbling foward. "Where to?"
"They're still back at the Adventure Cabin," Silv notes.
"They're back there?" Aviri stops mid-stride, wobbling a bit. "I should really just ... then whose rats are these?"
In the distance, Aviri can spot the multicolored patchwork coat of Kalvin, his sometimes roommate in the warren. And Parsley is with him, probably bringing him lunch to make sure he actually eats something.
Aviri bites his lip at the site of Parsley and suddenly his wavering stops. "On second thought," he says, starting to walk toward her. "Did you try to be in my dream? Or was that something that just happened?"
"What? I was in your dream?" Silv asks. "I didn't know you had those sorts of thoughts about me, Aviri. I guess I should be flattered.."
"Not ... that kind of dream," Aviri says. "You had to be, though. I mean, there was stuff in there I couldn't have known. Like, your crew's names, or the name of your ship."
"Being dead is a bit like dreaming all the time I suppose," Silv offers. "I could never remember my own dreams."
"By the way," Aviri says, "if you still don't remember, you called your ship Stan's Legacy. Named after your second husband who I gather you had taxadermied on it's bow?" Aviri shudders.
"Oh.. he was my second? I think he was also my fourth for a bit.." Silv says. "No.. wait.. he was the guy I had on the side when I was married to the other Stan. Stanley and Stanford. I forget the order though.."
Aviri glances to where Silv's voice is, but says nothing more as he approaches Parsley and Kalvin.
The antlered Lapi shepherd is looking dubiously at a pie he was handed. "Just see if Axel will eat it," Parsley tells him. "You can have some too." She looks up and spots Aviri, and smiles and waves to him in case he didn't see her, despite him clearly walking towards the pair.
Aviri gives a little wave in return, checking around him to see if Silv is visible or not.
In the daylight, there's no sign of the ghost. She doesn't seem to be able to show up in two places at once, beyond her voice.
"Right," Aviri says absently, to himself or, more probably, no-one. "Parsley ... I need to talk to you. I ... think."
"You can always talk to me, Aviri," Parsley says. "Have you eaten yet today? I've got muffins!"
Aviri pauses for an abnormal amount of time, as if confused. "Nnnno," he says slowly. "I need to talk about Buffy."
"Buffy's just a legend," Parsley claims, her smile looking a bit more forced now.
Aviri nods slightly. "She claimed you had stories, stories I've not heard and would be extremely useful in my life, now."
"Take care, Kalvin," Parsley tells the shepherd. "I'll check back with you later." She then puts a hand on Aviri's shoulder and nudges him to walk with her towards the bridge near Dontgointhe Castle. "She claimed.. are you saying that you met Buffy?" she asks Aviri.
Aviri says, "She more met me. Or ... wait ... no, yeah, I met her. She ... seemed to know about me already, which makes sense considering ...." He seems to lose his train of thought a moment. "So," he says suddenly, "first I'd heard of it, and when I'm suspicious she asks me if you've been telling me stories. So ... then I see you and ...." he trails off again as if the conclusion is obvious.
"I don't go telling stories about Buffy," Parsley claims. "I've met her too, and.. she's not bad, or dangerous, really. Not to us, the Chalks. You don't have to worry about her. But I would like to know what you were doing when you met her?"
"So, she wouldn't turn me into a vampire or eat me or anything if I ... met her," Aviri says, quickly adding, "Not that I would!"
"Noooo," Parsley says. "I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen. You really aren't the type she'd be interested in."
Aviri says, "Not really inspiring confidence, here." He takes a deep breath. "Okay ... okay, what stories did Buffy not want me to hear?"
"Something about Miranda and Clover," Aviri adds quietly.
"Oh.. well you may not have had much to do with my twin sister, Clover, but she was the one who rediscovered Buffy recently," Parsley notes. "And brought Miranda to her, because she played a violin.. ah.. see, Buffy can sort of.. drink your memories.. in your blood. She's been stuck down in the dark for decades, and that was her only way to see what things were like up here. And to learn how to read music. There was an incident, because Clover was jealous.. Anyway, Miranda almost became a vampire, but Buffy was able to fix it all."
Aviri nods. "Okay. Thanks. So ... yeah, thanks." He blinks, tilting his head as if trying to remember something. "What ... time is it?" he asks.
"Not quite mid-morning," Parsley says. "Are you sure you don't want a muffin?"
"You have to go to the castle," Silv whispers into Aviri's ear. "The girls want to meet with you there."
"Dontgointhe Castle?" Aviri asks suddenly. He looks at Parsley sheepishly. "Er ... sorry, I'm half-falling asleep here. Not much sleep. And sure, I'll take a muffin. Thanks." He smiles winningly, hoping she'll take the outburst to be just on-par Aviri weirdness.
A fresh muffin is pressed into Aviri's hands. "Yes, Clover is recovering at the castle still," Parsley says. "If you want to rest, I'm sure Igor will show you to a bedroom. He's very polite."
"Thanks," Aviri says. "As for when she met me ... it was in a dream." He shrugs. "Thanks again." He walks, or wanders, away, chewing on the muffing thoughtfully.