Chapter 9

Quietness wasn’t something James thought he’d ever be displeased with, especially since he’d met Jennifer, but their long and silent trek through the snow had him concerned. While the realization that he’d almost failed his brother to save a stranger had initially stung, he found solace knowing that his brother would’ve done the same and that made him feel closer to him than ever. But now that the crisis of heart had subsided, and the guilt had waned to nothing more than a slight whining in the back of his neck, he had hoped he might be able to distract himself by chatting with Jennifer, something he never thought he’d have to ask for. Jennifer had been unable to look him in the eye for more than a couple of seconds and, even then, she followed the eye contact by burying her eyes into the ground for minutes after. Chirp continued his guidance and James decided to focus on him for a while and hope that Jennifer’d break out of this funk on her own.

Jennifer would not break out of the funk though, while she felt guilty for her cowardice and ashamed of her weakness, she couldn’t help obsessing over the lack of response from Slade. The things she’d said to him, the pleas she’d made, not only to him but to Meerous, Enoch and James were just as much for her as they were for them. She needed to believe that she had a choice, that abandoning her father, her home, wasn’t wrong, but was liberation. Ever since their run in with the Deathless Jennifer had been struggling with this notion of Death, this strange idea that she could stop existing one moment and all that would be left of her would be the memories of others and the actions she’d undertaken. She hated the idea, she hated that her legacy had to be in the hands of other people, that they had the power to decide what version of Jennifer would live on. She just imagined her neighbors, her peers, her father, all weaving tales about the terrible Jennifer, the monstrous Jennifer, the selfish Jennifer, and that being all that was left of her. It had never occurred to her what the Old man might’ve said, or the nurse, or even the awkward young man walking right next to her. She did know one thing; she couldn’t die now, not until she’d insured her legacy was intact.

The scenery hadn’t much changed even after walking for what felt like a hundred miles, and James began to wonder if their guide had somehow reverted to his birdly instincts and was now leading them on a desperate quest for seeds and pine cones. As if in answer to his thoughts, James watched as Chirp descended onto a single gravestone under a fairly large rotted oak tree. ‘So that’s what that’s like…’ he mused to himself.

The graves stone bore the name, “HOPE,” and a large shiver ran down Jennifer’s spine, this was the very definition of a bad sign. What was once a proud and quite honorable oak tree now snapped and popped in the breeze as the wind wrenched it of even more branches. The two stared at Chirp skeptically, Chirp returned their stares with preening.

“I really hope this isn’t the place…” James murmured, Jennifer glanced over at him with confusion.

“I mean it’s definitely ugly but at least it’s something.” She shrugged, concerned that James remained equally as tense.

“Jennifer that stone right there,” he spoke slowly as he pointed toward the gravestone, “is a marker used to mark the spots where people were buried, dead people…” Jennifer’s eyes widened and the significance of the word, ‘HOPE,’ hit her.

“Do you… do you think they’re all dead”? Jennifer whispered, fear gripping her neck and tightening by the second.

“What are y’all just standing there for”? Squawk’s voice beeped out of Chirps beak, “Get inside before you freeze to death!” She chirped sternly. Chirp seemed to not mind being used as a speaker, he just continued to bob his head and preen his feathers while his beak made sounds that he barely even comprehended.

“Squawk? How are you…” Jennifer stammered, her throat still closed up from the earlier shock.

“All birds are Squawk and Squawk is all birds, silly!” Chirp piped up at the word bird and darted his head around anxiously, still very much unaware that his mouth had been hijacked, “Now get inside!”

“How?” James shouted at the now very startled Chirp who flew a couple feet in the air and now eyed James suspiciously from the top of the Oak tree.

“You have to die of course!” Squawk’s voice maintained its chipper tone, but the words stunned the pair below.

“…Squawk, please tell me your kidding…?” Jennifer begged looking at the gravestone with a very real dread.

“Well, when I say die I really mean you have to lie down on the grave and act dead. It’s some symbol about how entering the sanctum means you’re dead as far as everyone else is concerned or something, I don’t know I wasn’t really listening.”

“We have to acknowledge our own mortality… They want us to accept that we’re dead no matter what so there’d be no gain in betraying their location. And, I’d imagine, part of that means never leaving… Dead men tell no tales…” James spoke the words solemnly as he stared at the gravestone, accepting his mortality had been a price he’d paid the second he’d left to find his brother, he’d gladly pay the price again, and besides, Squawk made it out, so James figured they’d have no problem doing the same.

Jennifer crossed her arms and sat down in front of the gravestone, her face made James nervous.

“Jennifer…” He ventured

“I’m not going to pretend to be dead, I’m not gonna play their stupid game.” Her voice had an air of resolution to it that James figured would take hours to undo. But, whether luckily or unluckily for him, the heavy snowy haze in the distance began to shift and morph as shadowy figures stirred within in. The glimmer of light on ice gave Jennifer all the clues she needed to guess that the Deathless had found them again, but something was different about this group…

The red light of the setting sun reflected off the falling icicles as the snow, kicked up by the raging wind, threw the icicles into a frenzy creating an illusion of a frozen bloody storm slowly crawling toward them. Within the frenzy Jennifer saw a few human Deathless with arms, legs, eyes, and whole chunks of flesh replaced with ice, but walking alongside them were great bull like creatures, trees that moved like men, men with scaly tails that slithered across the snow, massive hogs that snorted and snapped at the falling icicles, creatures that seemed to switch between solid and gaseous forms on a whim, and the thing connecting all of them, was the icy replacements made to different parts of their bodies. Jennifer could barely make out more than their outlines, but the images were growing clearer as the herd of Deathless advanced upon their position.

“JENNIFER!” James shouted as he pulled her focus away from the terrifying specters in the distance and back into the present, “I need you to lie down and play dead now!” Jennifer shook her head no and then looked back toward the Deathless nervously. “Dang it Jennifer, they’re going to actually kill you! If you go down here you may at least have a chance!” Jennifer knew he was right but she just couldn’t… What if she never came back out, what if things were worse inside, what if she went in and died, who would remember her… what would those that did say…? Before she could decide she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and she collapsed onto the ground where James, without missing a beat, threw himself over her and positioned them like corpses in a coffin. The ground beneath them opened and swallowed them whole.

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A rich music flowed smoothly though the room, the mix of soft piano and rhythmic saxophone matched perfectly with the slight drum beat and cymbal tapping that tied the melody together. The saxophone would occasionally burst into a passionate solo that left the rest of the room silent, stopping all conversations as those within instinctively allowed the music to coarse through them.

Finely decorated round tables spread over a lavishly ornate red carpet, each table sculpted from finely cut glass and adorned with the reddest roses. Drinks of all different colors and consistencies sparkled in thin crystal glasses, some changing color with the beat of the music. Strategically placed candles lit the room, one on each table with street lamps placed along the edges of the room and two lining the edge of a bar made entirely of shining glass that sparkled in the candle light. Behind the bar were bottles of all different shapes and sizes, each one boasting an image, some of beasts, some of elements, some of concepts.

With the quality of the music one would expect to see a band playing somewhere, but across from the bar on a stage lit with blue flames dancing with the music, was a single man sitting behind an ebony piano of immaculate craftsmanship. The man had dark skin and bright blue eyes that shone with the candle light, his teeth sparkled as he smiled, letting the music flow out of him. Alongside him a saxophone, a drum, some trumpets and a harmonica played right along with him, each time a person focused on one of the instruments the man could be seen playing that instrument, and, the second they looked away to another instrument the man would vanish and reappear at the new instrument, giving the impression of a ghostly group serenading the room with songs long since forgotten by the world above.

Behind the bar stood a man in a dark orange suit and a fiery red bowtie that matched nicely with his fiery red hair slicked back with a single strand popping out of the front. He smiled at the man up on stage who was far too occupied with his craft to take notice. The man in the orange suit had a wicked smile and a pointed nose that gave his appearance a sharp, yet approachable quality, the kind of appearance that one is happy to chat with, but wouldn’t dare invite to play cards. At each table sat men and women adorned with fine dining attire, glass jewelry and golden watches, necklaces and rings. They chatted with one another in low voices, while others danced slowly in the center of the room. The bar encroached slightly into the seating area on one end while the stage encroached slightly on the other, the tables aligned the outer rim of the circle in clusters of two or three, and farther in a circle of lampposts marked the beginning of the dance floor.

On the outer edges of the room, off the two remaining sides of the inner circle, sat dark satin booths with low lighting and hushed conversation. Seated at those tables were downtrodden individuals with bottles of the interesting looking beverages instead of glasses, each one seemed unable to appreciate the ambiance of the room, as if it had worn thin. Behind the bar stood an extremely out of place wooden door that looked to all who saw it like it hadn’t been opened in centuries.

Flirting with the bartender, a lady clad in a flowery dress with bright red hair and freckles across her nose, reached across the bar and produced a bouquet of flowers from behind his ear, he laughed and handed her a drink. The red-haired woman spun away from the bar and swayed in rhythm with the beat, sliding over to a table where a woman of great height and stature sat, surrounded by men each attempting to gain her attention with smiles and witty banter. The tall woman smiled as the red-haired woman rested her arm on her shoulder and offered her a quick peck on the cheek as the flowers on the table burst into a full bouquet. The flowers brightened the smile of the taller woman who laughed and picked one out of the bunch and pulled her hair out of the way so she could place it behind her ear. Her hair nearly reached the ground and it shone brightly, like gold in the morning sun. She wore a long satin gown that flowed gently down to her feet, a design stitched in golden threads decorating the bottom, a design of a rising sun surrounded by two rising circles of light as smaller stars floated from the bottom and drifted up her dress, sparkling as they went. She wore a pitch-black cape across her right shoulder, but, if one looked close enough, they could see small glimmers of light across the breadth of the cape.

Jennifer had never dreamed such a place existed, she was undeniably captivated, totally in awe, and certainly a little underdressed. Unlike Jennifer’s awe filled gaze, James had opted to respond to the whole scene with disgust. Neither knew what exactly they were supposed to be doing here, they had trusted Squawk without really listening to her explanation, though they both knew that Squawk probably couldn’t have provided a good one even if she’d wanted to, something about bird brains… Either way the pair stuck out like a sore thumb in the company of some of the finest dressed beings in the cosmos.

“Oi! Human folk!” The bartender shouted over the beautiful sound of a piano solo. The two glanced at each other, shrugged and made their way over to the bar, “Been awhile since we ad humans ere, ow’d ya find this place anyways”? The sharply dressed redhead inquired flashing them a full toothed grin in a voice that never quite hit, “h”s.

“You could say,” Jennifer spoke quickly, quite proud of herself, “A little birdy told us.” She smiled at James who had buried his head in his hands, the most disappointed he’d ever been. The bartender laughed,

“Ya mean Squawk don’t ya love?” The bartender leaned over his shoulder to face the other side of the room, “Oi Eldritch!” A tall regal looking fellow with silver hair, a dark suit and a proud pointed nose looked up from a conversation he was having with a snow haired woman in a puffy white dress laden with frills. “These two over ere say they know Squawk! Better get over ere and talk to em before the ole bird finally kicks it!” The regal looking man grit his teeth, clearly not the first time he’d been mocked by the quick talking redhead, but he rose and approached the bar anyway.

“Please excuse the rodent’s horrible manners,” Eldritch spoke with an ease of authority that spoke volumes on his opinion of himself, his tall figure made slightly artificial by the angle of his nose, as if he made a conscious attempt to consistently show the whole world his nostrils, “He’s not yet fully acclimated to the high society you see around you.” The bartender scoffed and turned to mix a drink. “You’ve met my ancestor then? How is she”? He asked with genuine concern. James found the imposing rich stature of the man before him to be slightly laughable, but considering his unfamiliar surroundings he felt it best to keep his mouth shut for now. Jennifer decided to jump in instead,

“Squawk’s doing great! She’s hanging around with Slade-“ Slade’s name caused Eldritch to twitch uncomfortably and those within earshot all responded similarly, Jennifer found this curious, “But you called her ancestor, does that make you a bird? You certainly don’t look like a bird…” The bartender, blatantly eavesdropping, smiled at the comment and looked smugly at Eldritch who seemed to be doing his best to maintain his composure.

“I am the Form of Eagles, a proud and noble bird that used to rule the skies. I may appear human but that’s only because all of us here have agreed to take on human forms so that we might create a more cohesive and… functioning society.” Eldritch explained, showing that a knack for playing host simply wasn’t in the cards for him. But what he said stuck out to Jennifer quite profoundly,

“Is everyone here a Form?” She burst out excitedly. The bartender laughed and slid back over,

“It’s as ya say love, each an every bloke and broad ere is a Form of the ‘ighest order, all of us ‘uddled down ere in perfect ‘armony.” He barely got out the last phrase before he slipped into a snarky laugh, Eldritch seemed less than amused.

“I don’t think we caught your name,” James asked politely to the bar keep who had begun to settle down and was now eyeing the two with a shrewd glance that told James the man may see more than he lets on.

“The two of ya can call me Freddy, otherwise known as the Form of foxes, it’s a pleasure to meet ya, do the two of ya ave names”? Freddy asked with a wink in Jennifer’s direction, the guy did have a certain charm to him that Jennifer found appealing…

“My name is James and she’s Jennifer, what exactly is this-” James motioned to the low-lit party taking place around them, “whole set up”? Eldritch looked annoyed at the question, Freddy chuckled,

“You’re in the hidey hole friend, only safe place left from Death and his army of nasty beasties. What ya see before ya is the last of the ‘igh and mighty Forms, ‘iding away waiting for the end of the world in style.” Eldritch had clearly had enough of this so he stepped between the pair and Freddy and attempted to salvage what little pride he now had left,

“What the vermin over there is so poorly explaining is that we are preserving what’s left of this once great world, if we were to die then what would be left to fill the world with if it were to somehow be saved”? He explained, his voice betraying the fact that even he clearly didn’t believe what he was saying.

“That’s absurd!” Jennifer exclaimed, James sighed knowing the lecture that would follow, “Y’all can’t just spend the rest of your lives hiding away like this! What kind of life is that? There’s nothing out there that the lot of you couldn’t handle so this is just… Cowardly!” Freddy’s eyes suddenly grew wide and he slammed his hand down on the bar causing everyone to glance over curiously, the music even quieted down allowing the whole room to hear Freddy’s revelation,

“A human girl… You wouldn’t happen to be from the Timeless city would ya”? Freddy demanded, his face full of excitement and some other indefinable quality. Jennifer nodded, unsure of where this was going… “My word…. They said long ago that a human girl would travel from the timeless city, traverse great distances and uncover the mystery of this ere hideout! They said the girl’d be the fairest maiden with the strongest heart and a gift for inspiring the ‘earts of others! You love, are the one who’s coming was foretold in ages past, the savior of these poor lost Forms! We’ve waited so long and now ya’re finally ere! Please tell us what to do that we might follow yere brave leadership!” Jennifer’s eyes sparkled, she’d always known she was special, different, but here, now, she’d finally found out why. This was a whole lot of responsibility, but she knew that she could handle it, she was, after all, the chosen savior, the most important person in the-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the whole room erupting in laughter, Freddy nearly keeled over on the floor he was laughing so hard. Jennifer’s face burned red as the joke set in. The whole room looked at her and laughed, each one of them reveling in her humiliation, a feeling she found all too familiar.

“Ya humans are all the same! Tell em there special and they just eat it up!” Freddy sputtered through his laughter, “Listen ere little girl,” Freddy began finally calming down and allowing his face to grow more somber, “ya don’t know these Forms, ya don’t know what they been through, what they lost, so it’d be a smart move not talkin bout things ya ain’t exactly privy to knowing, don’t ya think”? Jennifer had never been so humiliated in her life, she wanted to scream, but she held herself back, she looked over to James who seemed to sense the impending danger of her mood. He walked over to her and suggested that they sit down at one of the booths off to the side, just to… get their bearings. Jennifer complied begrudgingly, glaring hatefully at Freddy who had resumed chuckling at his own joke.

The satin booths were quite comfortable, and Jennifer enjoyed the feeling of sitting down on something that wasn’t a rock or a snowdrift. She couldn’t believe what that stupid Fox had said to her, and, even worse, that he’d had a point. She didn’t know these Forms, she didn’t know the faintest thing about them, with Meerous she’d at least had a chance to hear her story first, and Enoch was clearly in pain, and Squawk had made Slade’s situation pretty clear, but here… Well here she knew nothing. She’d always hated people’s tendency to claim they knew what was best for the people around them, the irony of this completely lost on her, but she gave it like she got it. Back home people had always figured they knew exactly how a growing girl should act, something Jennifer found rich considering none of them had the faintest idea what it was like to be a growing girl. Their usual conclusions boiled down to one of two things, either she should do her best to not rub her growingness in anyone’s face and minimize her inconveniencing of the people around her or she needed to work twice as hard to make up for the inconveniencing she’d already done; neither conclusion interested Jennifer in the slightest.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But the Fox didn’t need to humiliate her like that! She fumed a bit more as James sat across from her silently waiting for an opportunity to jump in and defuse the situation; Jennifer knew this and it made her even angrier.

“Maybe I spoke a little too hastily…” Jennifer mumbled, causing a wave of shock across James’ face.

“That’s… very mature of you…” James stammered, not quite believing what he’d just heard. Jennifer stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms and spun away,

“I’m allowed little bursts of maturity every now and then!” She muttered, a tad bit embarrassed. James agreed hastily, but in the back of his mind he felt something a lot like pride, but not the usual kind almost like… pride in somebody else.

“I’m going to get to know these people,” Jennifer proclaimed as she stood to her feet and marched over to the table where the girl in the puffy white dress sat. The girl looked surprised to see Jennifer plop herself down across from her, her face all business,

“So what’s your story? What are you the Form of”? Jennifer demanded, her manners entirely out the window due in large part to the whole room laughing at her just a few moments ago.

“First, Hi,” The woman said, a chipper smile on her face, “and second, my name is Claudia and I am the Form of clouds, and you are-“

“Jennifer, clouds eh? So, you’re the one responsible for the blizzard going on out there”? The woman looked slightly ashamed, but quickly retrieved her smile,

“The snow is not my doing, and neither is the wind, my clouds are being held hostage by Death, they don’t have a choice but to bring the snow…” Jennifer nodded, only vaguely aware that James had slid onto the chair next to her.

“How can Death hold them hostage? Can’t you just make more”? Jennifer’s interrogation continued. Claudia’s dress began to morph into a dark grey color, her eyes went from snow white to a stormy grey and her hair changed along with it.

“My clouds are not disposable, and I’d rather have them in the sky causing snow then not in the sky at all!” Jennifer was about to match her volume when James stepped in,

“My friend meant no offense, she’s just a little rattled from the trip down here.” James explained carefully, well aware that having the very clouds above them as an enemy could prove detrimental. It struck James right about that moment how often he’d had to play damage control with Jennifer, and how grating it was on his already thin nerves. Claudia turned to face James, her dress and hair returning to a slightly whiter color,

“And who might you be”? She said, attempting to restore her chipper tone.

“My name is James, and your name is Claudia right? It is a pleasure to meet you.” He shot a look at Jennifer that she returned with a look of stubborn rebellion. “Again sorry for my companion, she seems to have forgotten her manners,” He snapped the comment her way and she huffed and turned away; that moment of maturity all but gone.

“It’s alright… I imagine my children have caused you a great deal of trouble as of late… But I really am in a bind here, Death could remove all of them from the sky at any moment and I… I don’t know if I could bear that…” She said, tears welling in her eyes. Jennifer groaned and James jabbed her in the ribs eliciting a surprised yelp.

“I’m so sorry,” He spoke with a surprising amount of compassion, “I know this situation is hard, Death has taken so much from all of us.” Claudia nodded, happy to have a sympathetic ear. James glanced over to see if Jennifer had ended this tantrum but she had turned to glare at Freddy instead, who was nonchalantly washing cups and whistling along with the music. Something brushed against James’ arm and he was surprised to see that Claudia was resting her hand on it and looking up at him with a look he was entirely unfamiliar with,

“Would you care to dance with me”? She asked anxiously, “Eldritch was supposed to be my dance partner, but he’s far too busy being angry with Freddy…” Her eyes looked hopeful and James figured it’d be rude to refuse, and he couldn’t see the harm in it,

“I’d be happy to,” He said rising from his seat and offering her a hand, his movements were awkward, but he did everything in his power to retain his confidence, not sure why he was suddenly so self-aware. She took his hand and the two made their way to the center; breaking out of her glaring contest with Freddy Jennifer realized James was no longer next to her. Something about seeing him walking with such familiarity alongside Claudia sparked a feeling within her that she didn’t even know she had. She stood up suddenly and marched over to Freddy, needing to release this anger on somebody.

“You’re an ass, you know that right”? She spat at the barkeep who feigned surprise at her sudden approach, “Yeah I shouldn’t have yelled at y’all like that, but your response was way out of line! I just wanted to help and, while I may have gone about it the wrong way, can you at least have appreciated that I meant well?! What the hell did I ever do to you”? She ended with her face mere inches from Freddy’s. Freddy’s grin never wavered and he spun around and returned to face her with a drink in his hand,

“I ain’t gonna apologize there love, but I will tell ya this, ya ain’t the first one to come in ere demanding that everyone sack up and take back that there world up there.” Jennifer eyed him suspiciously, wondering what the trick was, “Yep, I remember it like it was yesterday, some big britches bloke struts in ere calling everyone out as cowards, even goes and shouts at the boss man imself, but no one listened to em,” Freddy shrugged, aware that a few of the Forms were listening, there faces low and guilty, “and when no one’d follow em, he did what he felt was right, he up and left on his own, walked right outta ere and faced the Deathless alone, confident he could ‘andle em. He was a Form so ya know he ad a whole army of things at his disposal, but it weren’t enough, the Deathless just kept coming back, tear em to shreds and a few hours later they were right back up, ready to rip ya to pieces.” Jennifer was fixated on the story, terrified of her guess as to the end, “The Deathless overwhelmed him, killed all his little elpers and nearly killed him. The bloke got away, but at a price,” Freddy stepped back and lifted his leg up onto the bar revealing a wooden peg where a leg should’ve been, “See, Forms have a nifty trick for rejuvenating ourselves after injuries like this, unless of course they come from ‘umans. While the Deathless don’t look much like it now, they are humans. Now every Fox on this damned planet will ave to run around on three legs. So, even if any of these ere Forms wanted to elp ya, they won’t, cause the price is just a wee bit too high. They don’t want to see the world fixed and then ave to live like crippled freaks from now until eternity, and that’s if Death even decides to let em live at all.” What disturbed Jennifer the most was the smile that stayed slapped onto his face the whole time, as if happiness and joy were merely costumes he wore because they were better than the alternative.

“I-I didn’t…” Jennifer whispered, for the first time in her life feeling like the very people that had caused her so much pain. Freddy lowered his peg onto the ground and raised a hand,

“Save the pity, I don’t want it. Ya still have a spark of life left in ya, don’t go wasting it fighting for folks who lost the will ta fight a long time ago.” Jennifer nodded, afraid to speak, “look ya and yere pal over there can stay as long as ya like. Ya seem like a nice enough sort, I’d suggest ya plan to stay, no one lasts out there long, especially not ‘umans. Now,” He said, his demeanor morphing back to the cheeky bartender, “drink yer poison, that stuff ain’t cheap” he laughed.

The booth Jennifer sat at, alone, was crammed into the corner of the room Jennifer now realized was square shaped. She drank her odd colorful drink and was surprised how much better she felt with each swig. The liquid burned her throat on the way down, but she felt lighter, her head swimming and the room rocking slightly, like the Sea from Meerous’ back. She missed Meerous, she felt like Meerous was the only one that ever got her, well Meerous and the old man, those two knew how to live…

The beautiful red-head in the flowery dress swept over to the booth with a vase full of flowers which she placed onto the table and then glided into the booth next to Jennifer. The woman was gorgeous, in a way that made Jennifer suddenly quite self-aware and yet completely at ease simultaneously. Bright green eyes glanced curiously into her own and the freckles across her nose made Jennifer smile, she had freckles too, but this woman wore hers with pride. Her smile came across perfect, the kind of smile that causes a person to wonder what it takes to achieve that perfection, and why anyone would want or need to…

“I’ve never seen such a pretty young woman looking so unbelievably sad,” the pretty woman cooed, “did that mean ole fox get to you?” Her voice had a melody to it that matched perfectly with the music in the background. “Don’t listen to him, he’s a lovely guy when you get to know him, but he’s quite hard on new folks, I think he sees far too much of himself in them and, though he’d never admit it, you and him are quite alike. Both headstrong with a wicked drive that you couldn’t stop with a ten foot thick wall of solid steel,” She winked at a woman sitting at a table a couple rows down from them, “but sometimes when such similar personalities clash it can create some… unpleasant results.” The woman’s eyes suddenly opened wide and she slapped herself lightly on the forehead, “I haven’t introduced myself yet! My name’s Lyla, and you’re Jennifer!” Jennifer smiled in return, which was odd as moments ago she’d been bogged down with anger and remorse. Something about this shift in mood seemed wrong, but her head felt strange and she couldn’t seem to find the will to look into it.

“Yeah that’s me, how did you know that”? Jennifer wondered aloud, completely happy to speak any thought that popped into her head.

“Oh I have spies everywhere,” Lyla giggled as she stroked the head of a lily protruding out of the vase.

“What are those things? The things in the vase”? Jennifer asked as her eyes lazily investigated the strange colorful new things before her, “They’re very pretty…” She commented, ending with a slight hiccup. She was distressed to see Lyla suddenly melancholy, staring at the colorful vase things with eyes full of regret, a common theme in this bar it would appear. “Oh no I’m sorry,” Jennifer sputtered, “I didn’t mean to upset you…” Lyla looked up, surprised,

“Oh it’s not you dear,” She assured her, “It’s just the idea that there are humans out there who’ve never seen a flower just makes me a bit sad…” With a complete change in demeanor Lyla shot a look of contempt toward Claudia who was quite enjoying her dance with James, despite the fact James had stepped on her feet at least seven times. Jennifer caught the moment and, in her current state, figured it best to comment,

“You hate the cloud lady too huh”? Jennifer laughed bitterly, Lyla turned back to her with an embarrassed smile.

“I don’t hate her, per say…” She explained noncommittally, “Oh what the hell,” She whispered excitedly as she scrunched in close to Jennifer, her eyes darting back and forth for potential eavesdroppers, “Can you keep a secret”? Jennifer nodded, suddenly quite excited as well. “I have never hated anyone more than that cloudy whore,” Lyla giggled, a comment that should’ve thrown Jennifer off balance, but her mind couldn’t seem to comprehend what she had just heard, “Her and her asshole clouds are the only things keeping my Flowers from repopulating the planet and damn it if she knows it!” Jennifer didn’t really understand how clouds and flowers had anything to do with one another, but she figured she’d lean on Lyla’s knowledge of the subject,

“So what are we gonna do about it”? Jennifer asked, with an unnatural and overwhelming urge to be supportive of her new friend. A sly smile crept across Lyla’s face,

“I’m glad you asked Jennifer, see there’s a fairly strict rule here against Forms ummm… relieving other Forms of their… ability to… be alive…” Jennifer nodded along, her head not quite all there at the moment and figuring a punch line to this joke was on its way, “so I can’t kill the cloud bitch without getting exiled myself, but you on the other hand, well they might forgive you.” Lyla smiled and Jennifer felt all warm inside. “I wish I was asking this of you, but I can’t really depend on that now can I? Who knows, you may have an aversion to such things, so that’s why I placed something in that drink you’re enjoying so much, just a little something to make you comply a bit more. Oh I really am sorry, I actually quite like you, but this is for the greater good you see”? Lyla’s face showed little remorse, but Jennifer did feel bad she was making her feel any, “So here’s what I need from you, take this little liquid,” she slipped Jennifer a tiny bottle of red liquid, “and place it in Claudia’s drink at that table there,” she motioned over to the table Jennifer and James had sat at earlier, Jennifer smiled and groggily rose from the booth and staggered over to the table. Lyla drifted back over to the bar, not even looking at Jennifer, but her flowers watched everything.

When Jennifer reached the table she quickly located Claudia’s drink and poured in the liquid which instantly disappeared the moment it collided with the beverage. Once her job had been successfully completed she stumbled back over to her booth and had a bit more of the happy drink. She watched, feeling quite detached from the whole thing, as a heavily breathing Claudia stepped away from the dance floor and made her way over to her drink with James following close behind. The two sat down at the table, obviously happy to be off their feet for a bit, when Claudia offered James a sip of her drink. Something loud and annoying screamed in Jennifer’s head, something about James’ life being in danger, and how that’s a bad thing. Jennifer ignored the feeling and went to take another sip of happy drink, but her hand refused to move. The screaming grew louder as she felt her whole body tensing up, as if her mind desperately wanted her to do something she just couldn’t quite figure out. She watched, the screaming reaching a crescendo, as James lifted the drink to his lips and took a swig.

Something in Jennifer snapped. She leapt from the booth and smacked the drink from James’ hands, much to his surprise,

“Jennifer what are you-“ He barely got out the last word before heaving over onto the floor, his mouth foaming and his eyes rolling back in there sockets. Jennifer shouted for help, but the other Forms just gathered round in confusion, none of them quite sure if this is just something humans do. Lyla watched on with a newly piqued interest.

“Who poisoned him”? Freddy called out from behind the bar, Jennifer stared at him, glad someone seemed to be taking a real interest.

“I don’t know… I don’t remember much… why does it matter now he’s dying!” Freddy’s jovial persona faded and he spoke with deathly confidence,

“Find out who poisoned em and we can make em undo it, so which one a ya assholes did it eh? Somebody better fess up before he comes out and-“ The wooden door in the back slammed open interrupting Freddy’s train of thought. The sound of the door opening made everyone in the room quiver, like dogs caught taking a leak on the carpet, all of them quickly looking away from the situation playing out on the floor and pretending like they suddenly had lots of important business to attend to. Out of the door emerged a shorter man with broad shoulders, light brown skin and thinning black hair with slight grey sprinkled throughout. His hands were quite large and covered in scars and he walked with a confidence only a handful of men could claim. He wore a very ordinary white shirt tucked into jeans that went up above his waist and were tightly held in place by a wide brown leather belt. The jeans fell roughly over thick work boots stained with mud and obviously well worn.

“Lyla!” He shouted, causing Lyla’s whole body to quake as she walked nervously over to the man,

“Yes dad”? She asked innocently, her eyes wide and sparkling without a trace of guilt.

“Undo the poison.” It was not a request.

“But dad I didn’t-“ Lyla argued

“NOW!” The man commanded. Lyla huffed in frustration and snapped her fingers, causing James to gasp and splutter, followed by some painful gagging sounds ending with a graceful vomiting all over the beautiful red rug. Jennifer ran over and knelt beside James, holding him up and asking repeatedly if he was okay, he nodded meekly.

“The girl did it! I don’t know how she got the poison!” Lyla pleaded.

“My office, now.” The man said, turning back toward the door he’d emerged from. Lyla looked as if she might continue to argue, but instead she sunk her shoulders in defeat and dragged her feet over to the door.

As the door closed behind them the entire room let out a unison sigh of relief,

“I warned er, she’s pretty and all, but not much in the brains department.” Freddy commented in Jennifer’s direction, making a less than successful attempt at lightening the mood. Jennifer couldn’t believe that she’d almost murdered someone and, what’s worse, that someone else had control over her. She shook in a combination of fear and blinding anger, but she was surprised to feel James’ hand on her arm.

“It wasn’t your fault,” James gasped, “don’t worry about me, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Jennifer wanted to shout back, retort that everything she did was her fault, drug or no drug, but she couldn’t shout, not at James, not at her friend. She made an attempt to smile and then slowly lifted his hand off her and rose to her feet suddenly, her fists clenched. As if reading her mind, Freddy pointed with his thumb over to a corner by the left of the bar,

“Room in there’s full of breakable stuff, go nuts.” He informed her with an apathetic shrug. Surprised, but happily so, Jennifer followed his thumb to a fairly furtive door that lead to a storehouse of sorts, full of empty bottles and wooden boxes. Searching the room, Jennifer found what she was looking for; she lifted the crowbar above her head and, with a thundering wail, went to town on the room, picturing the boxes with the face she hated the most.

Reflections are a funny thing. Nearly everyone in the world at one time or another, regardless of gender, age, culture or education, stares at themselves in the mirror and wonders if there’s a whole other world hidden on the other side. What is it about this idea that people are so drawn to? Well I can assure you that I don’t know, but allow me to venture a guess; people see themselves in everything, the clouds, the flowers, the animals, the stars, they personify everything with their own consciousness. So, is it any wonder then that people can see themselves in their own reflection, empathize with a trick of light? Maybe we do it because we’re lonely and want a sympathetic gaze, maybe it’s because deep down we want someone to blame and, while we know it should be us to bear the fault, we find it easier to put it on a reflection. Isn’t that odd? We are so willing to personify ourselves in everything around us, but we attribute our own failings and, for many, our own successes to the face in our mirror. Why? Well the person in the mirror can’t change, they can’t grow, they can’t do anything. The person in the mirror is helpless, the kind of helpless we wish we could claim. Reflections make the perfect scapegoats, because they, unlike us, are powerless to change their situation. What if they had a world? What if they could change and we reflect? What if you approached a mirror only to find that it had approached you, a new and changed face, the face you’d always wished you could be? Check your reflection and tell me which of the two of you is more likely to change.

Broken glass, splintered wood, and one rusty old crowbar, strewn about over the floor, surrounded a panting and sweating Jennifer. Her arms burned and her throat spasmed with each breath, her body finally tired enough to deny her will to smash more innocent boxes. Someone knocked at the door. James poked his head in and his eyebrows shot up as he soaked in the room,

“Can I come in”? He ventured anxiously. Jennifer nodded begrudgingly and sat herself down on one of the few boxes still somewhat intact. “I didn’t realize you hated bottles and boxes so much…” James joked, relying on his already limited humorous side. Jennifer looked like she was about to speak when James waived his hand and stopped her, “Please let me go first and then I’ll listen for as long as you want.” His eyes were pleading, and Jennifer glanced up at him skeptically, but she tilted her head slightly letting him know to go on. “What happened wasn’t your fault and I know that you think it was, but you should know that it’s not. These Forms Jennifer are not… Well they’re not perfect, they’re not all victims of betrayal like Meerous or terrified children like Enoch or guilt-ridden heroes like Slade, most of them are only out for themselves.” Jennifer raised her head to protest but James waived her off again, “and I know that you’re convinced that people should just take care of themselves, that they need to stand up for themselves and not care what anyone else thinks about them, I get it. I’ve heard enough of your speeches now to the point where I could probably give one for you, but those Forms in there…” He pointed back to the other room with exasperation, “Many of them are truly out for themselves, without integrity, without empathy, and they will do anything to get there way. You know the conversion right”? Jennifer failed again to raise an eyebrow. “That whole process, where a Form merges with a human, gains freewill, becomes like the Forms in there, well that process kills the human being.” Both eyebrows went up. “And those humans never got a choice either, the Forms, when they’re powerful enough, can simply force themselves onto a human and the human can’t do anything about it. Once the Form’s in charge the human vanishes, forever.” The last words made James pause for a moment, some realization passed over his face and he quickly blinked it away, “Look, Lyla used you because she wanted Claudia gone. She wanted her Flowers to grow again without the blizzard freezing them to death. The rest of the Forms in there aren’t any different, Freddy would love it if all his foxes could eat all of Harriet’s rabbits, Eldritch wants the clouds gone too so he can go back out and fly again, Alania would be overjoyed to get rid of all the land!” The confusion on Jennifer’s face became quickly apparent. “Oh, she’s the Form of all water, lovely lady, but the point is,” James said, regaining his momentum and squatting down in front of Jennifer, “That you don’t have to be like them, we don’t have to be like them, we can be better, show them what it’s like to have integrity.” The last words seemed to be hitting James for the first time, but Jennifer heard them a slightly different way.

“You’re wrong about one thing.” Jennifer stated, standing to her feet, James raised an eyebrow, “You said that it wasn’t my fault what Lyla did to me, but it was. I trusted her, trusted everyone in the room and that put your life in danger. I won’t be so naïve again.” Jennifer’s words were not a wish but a declaration, “That’s my integrity, if I did it then it’s my fault, but I don’t have to fall for the same trick twice.” James smiled, not quite the message he’d wished to impart, but he hoped she’d figure it out at some point, and for the moment he was just happy to see her somewhat okay again. What James hadn’t realized is Jennifer wasn’t merely referring to her run in with Lyla, the fear she’d shown when the Deathless attacked still swirled viciously in her head. Jennifer knew that she couldn’t count on anyone to save her if the situation were to arise again, but, next time it did, she’d be ready.