30th of Saun 722
The taste of Soul's Light meal was still on his tongue. The flavor of Onyx Oblectation and some fish sampler with lemon zest. It'd been nice. But as he enjoyed the memory of last night's dinner, reunited as he was with Blodwen, seeing each other plain for the first time, he found the memory twisting as he descended into sleep. He forgot some of what he knew, and was reverting, going back to an earlier version of his self. Then he opened his eyes to the light of dawn.
Woe woke up in the dilapidated bed, under the warm covers of his blanket 'Mother's Embrace', his head resting on a pillow. But something wasn't quite right. He was wearing rags, they were itchy, and a little short in the limbs. His toes twisted and
writhed
in the drafty air
. He'd grown so much, so his mother had said. She had said so last night, while they had dinner. She promised he'd find brand new, fine clothes
in his Wardrobe
They'd shared Soul's Light dinner together, setting a place for all the dead ones.
There had been a place for Blodwen, Iago, and Toutouye. It was only a little lonely without them, but Woe and mother were enough, so she said. Woe had to agree. It was far better
and more natural
for it to be just them. Them and their friend the crow, watching in the distance. Woe turned his head, to look out the misty window. There was Crow, standing on the iron grate fence.But right now he was
cold
, and that was the first annoyance that came to mind. He was also hungry
, and the floor was cold and covered by dozens of rats, all of whom made him feel squeamish
. He didn't want them to nip at his toes, but really what he wanted right now was to put on some warm and size-appropriate clothes. Clothes that fit a growing ten-year-old.So he got off the bed. The rats scattered, fluttering in all directions away from him. He was glad they didn't
nip
at him. He couldn't stand to be around them without his shoes
. Shoes were undoubtedly important, but he was eager to explore the Wardrobe and find what Mother had left for him there.He crept upon the doors that led into the wardrobe, and then walked through. The doors creaked noisily on their hinges as they were swung wide, and as he stepped through, they slowly slid shut behind him. But he could see a little in this gloom, enough to make his way through the thick fabrics and forest of coat racks. He could feel the splintery floorboards scratching his heels and balls of his feet as he proceeded.
As he slipped through the Wardrobe, he
knew
who he was. There was a sense of mild panic at the moment. How long would he be detained, how long had he slept? Was the Office running smoothly without him? How were his family? Lucidity hit him rather hard now, as it descended upon him. But Woe was nothing if not solid of mind, and let the feelings and sensations and worries wash over him. He decided to humor this strange dream he'd fallen into.It was quite unlike the Oubliette at the outer limits of his dreamscape. The Cells of Occult, and the Fields of Undiscovery. This was something that necessitated his taking on a child-like form. Something closer to his core, his most formative
mental structures
. So he played along with it, curious in part, and wondering where the dream would lead him. He accepted where he was, and why it was happening.He looked around, at the dimly lit wardrobe. There was a forest of coat and clothes racks, all holding
outfits
of various kinds. He was, at present, looking for something a little more comfortable than he had on. So, as he ventured further into the maze of fabrics, furs, and leathers, he began to search what would fit him, and what would suit him generally. There were a lot of furs, leathers, wools, and cottons. He had a wealth of choices, all of them well within his current size range. Although who could say how long it'd stay that way?He opted for
some simple gray tunic, and trousers
. Woolen gloves
, and a fur scarf and hood
. He put all of these on after removing the rags, which almost fell away as he did so. Within moments, he was dressed, but his feet were very cold. That would be next. But first, he'd gotten quite lost while in the Wardrobe.He couldn't find where he'd gotten in from. But it was gloomy, dark, and dusty. His feet fell the crusty remnants of the rat's stoor beneath his heel. All while the floor threatened to stick him with vicious splinters.
A swift look around told him very little, but he could find his way. If he tried to follow his own tracks He could see traces of where he'd stepped, he could See the
raisins
left over from the rat's filth trailing in from his room.So, he made made his way, by the trails of filth and disturbed dust. He could have sworn he walked a much shorter distance into the maze, than he ever had back to the entrance. The Wardrobe Mother gave him was very spacious and full of so many clothes, of all sizes. Perhaps one day he'd fit into one of the other outfits. He had to admit, he was looking forward to growing up. Then he could do things that he
wanted to do.
Then Mother would stop suggesting that the Crow would peck his eyes out, if his glance went askew. She always chided him for his lazy glance, as he bent his senses to this
toy
or that. But he was safe under Mother's webbed canopy. Nothing nasty could reach him there, not even the lowliest fly would survive her childrens loving care
.Yet, these thoughts weren't for now. For now, the ground was very cold, and splintery. He didn't want to catch any cuts on the soles of his feet, so he began keeping his eyes out for things to put on his feet, even as he followed the trail of rat stool and dust leading out of the closet. He followed along, careful not to step again in those little bits of filth. At times tip-toing, at others, walking against the grain to avoid splinters, he was very careful as he went along.
Soon enough, the light of dawn broke into early morning, and shone a ray of light through the maze, several meters ahead. Woe then stopped following his own tracks, going toward
the dusty ray of light.
It reminded him, and made him think of Mother, as she wrapped him in a blanket and took him away from Andaris, those many arcs ago.No, that wasn't right. Where did that memory come from? Woe had gone to see Lottie Bird and she told him
lies
about Labrae, the Scarecrow. That she would take good little boys and girls and bring them under Sintra's protective web to be loved, cherished, and protected
.However, as he began speeding his pace toward that light, he felt something cold glint against the skin of his outer wrist. He turned, and saw a dull,
iron skinning knife.
This was his knife, that he'd learned to scrap the flesh from tanned hides, as a younger child, before he'd been rescued from a life of toil in the bad man
's tannery. His hand reached for it, the mismatched gray and brown gloved hands wrapped around the handle, remembering the feel of that knife, the weight of it in his young hands. Now he was stronger, growing every day. Things that used to be heavy as a younger child were now not as weighty
.Even so, he tucked it into a leather sheath that was on his belt, and sneaked back toward the ray of light, leading him out of the Wardrobe's chambered maze of cloth and textiles. The rack arms seemed to reach for him as he reemerged from the Wardrobe, pushing the doors wide and letting in the rest of the light, as it fell full on his face. He saw the silhouette of Crow outside.
He emerged from the Wardrobe, entering into the Room again. The doors shut behind him, and he was again
together
with the rats
and their filth
. His eyes turned on them, and he went about the business of getting some shoes. He only hoped this errand didn't take quite so long or bring him quite so far as he had gone to get those clothes.
