Once we reached the cave, we all sat down in our respective spots and rested. It had been an exhausting and informative week for all of us. I looked over at Robert and Yin, deep in conversation; likely about how to capitalize on both his art and his newfound ability to make Message Stones. Joaquin and Morita-san were speaking softly, and I heard all three languages over there. It was likely that they were teaching each other their languages. Young love was so sweet. Oiwa and Shutan were both there, stepping in for translations when needed.

I yawned and leaned back against the cave wall, Drake curled up in my lap. He was pleasantly warm, and in short order, I fell asleep.

Only to be woken up by a frantic Katira.

“Master! Stu! Please wake up. Please, please, PLEASE wake up!”

Groggily, I opened my eyes. “Huh? Wha? Wassamatta?” I asked, looking around the cave with eyes that felt like a pound of sand had been poured into them. Reaching up, I scrubbed my eyes with my hands, finally noticing everyone gathered around me.

“Thank all that is holy,” Katira said, wrapping her arms around me, holding me tightly to her soft body.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone staring at me like they’d seen a ghost?” I asked, fear mounting deep within my belly.

Before Katira could open her mouth, Robert answered me. “Dude. You were thrashing in your sleep. Had it been anyone but a familiar near you, you’d have seriously hurt one of us or yourself. Probably both.”

“What?”

“Stu. Have you ever had that happen in your sleep before?” Katira asked quietly.

I thought for a moment. “When I was a kid, yeah. Not since I was maybe seven or so. I used to talk in my sleep a lot. Sometimes, I’d just do….weird… shit in my sleep. I don’t recall thrashing around or anything, though. How long was I asleep, anyway?” I asked.

“About twenty minutes,” came Katira’s reply.

“I think we should leave. I don’t want to tempt fate by sitting here until early morning. If it’s been as long as you say it has, then we might be better off leaving as soon as possible. Is that acceptable, Master?” she continued.

I nodded, my mind whirling like mad trying to make sense of everything. “It’ll take about a half-hour to pack everything. Another thirty to get back to the car. Ten to twenty to load it, and then we can go.” I looked at my phone. One thirty in the afternoon. We could set out by three; be home by ten. “Sounds good. Let’s do it,” I said.

“Pack up, but give everything to your familiars. Guys? Drop it all into your workshops. We need to go as quickly as possible. Leave out a blanket and your sleeping bag, Stu. Drake will need a nest and a covering in the back of the car,” Katira ordered.

“Katira? Wha..?”

“Trust me, Master. Ordinarily this would not be done. Since we are in a safe spot, and can re-seal the wards on the cave, it should be fine. Doing this tends to leave the hatchway in two different spots at the same time. When we get our things from the workshop, we must make sure the hatch remains open, otherwise you could find yourself back in this cave. Reality doesn’t like a physical paradox,” she said, marching over to our tent.

The packing and storing of items took about ten minutes. Ten frantic minutes in which we all hurriedly shoved everything we had brought into our workshops. Once we had finished, Katira brought us to the entrance of the cave, and began to weave magic into a ward. She seemed to be struggling, and I took her hands in mine, breaking her concentration.

“Why did you stop me? I almost had it!” she shot, annoyed.

“Because even I could tell that something was wrong. Your mind isn’t clear enough for this, and we all know it. You’re consumed with worry, and that’s normal. Walk me through it. I think I can manage,” I said softly.

“Don’t go getting all cocky because you were able to make it through your training, Stu. You’ve got a long way to go before you can weave a ward,” she said, her irritation coloring every syllable.

“Can’t hurt to try, right? At the very least, we will all learn something through your explanation,” I said quietly, trying to mask the mounting pain in my head.

Katira huffed, but relented. “You make a good point. Robert? You can drive his car if you have to, right?”

“Yeah. No problem. Hope I don’t have to, though.”

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“I feel the same way,” she said, her eyes boring into mine.

Shaking her head, she instructed me on the feel of magic, and how to tell when I had woven the threads properly. “I don’t have time to go through this in its entirety, but this should help you understand some of the fundamentals. Now. Go ahead and let’s see if you can do this. If not, the four of us familiars can weave the wards properly,” she said, crossing her arms defiantly.

I followed her instructions, feeling wispy touches across my skin as I focused on the magic all around us. It wasn’t strong, not like when I dispelled the ward upon arriving, but I could almost see the ‘threads’ of magic. I gathered them up, and visualized a wall of repulsion and one of camouflage, and pulled them together into a cohesive whole. I could feel my knees shaking, and realized that it was taking a fair bit out of me to do this. I wove the ‘screen’ into a tight veil across the mouth of the cave, and fed a fair amount of my essence into it, feeling a click as it popped into existence in front of us.

A collective gasp went up around me as it did, and I turned to see what was the matter. Unfortunately, I moved too quickly, and the world went white.

Katira caught me as I began to fall, propping me up against her body. “Good job, Master. You did it. Unfortunately, it looks like you’re in no state to drive. Not for a while, at least. Robert? Get his keys from his pocket, would you? We should make haste,” she said.

Robert dug into my pocket, retrieving my keys, and Katira carried my nearly-unconscious body out of the woods. Once we arrived at the car, she stood me up, making sure I was coherent enough to get in.

Robert dispelled the ward around the car simply by touching it, and began clearing everything off it. I leaned on the side and caught a look at myself in the glass. I was pale, my eyes looked sunken, and I was still shaking. At least I was coherent. Sort of.

“Master, I think you and I should ride in the back with Drake. That way, if you begin to thrash around, I can restrain you, and keep you from hurting anyone. Are you okay with that?” she asked softly.

I nodded dumbly, Drake pawing at my leg in worry. “Don’t worry, little buddy. We’ll get in and get moving soon. You can take a nap with me and my beautiful dragon waifu. Right, dragon waifu?” I said, slurring. I only barely managed to keep the rest of my thoughts tucked in behind my tongue.

Katira nodded in worry. “It seems you overdid it, Stu. You’re gonna sleep the whole way home, I guarantee,” she said, rubbing my arm gently.

Once Robert had cleared the car and unlocked the doors, Katira opened the back hatch. She lay the sleeping bag down, and I clambered in. I pulled my wallet and my phone from my pockets, and handed them to Robert. “Just open the maps, and click on home. And follow the pretty blue line. Yay!” I said, drunkenly. I lay down, and Katira climbed in behind me, with Drake sitting by her side. Katira gently rolled me over to face her, and held me close.

“Once we are all in, get moving, Robert. He’s fine for now, but I’d like to be home before anything else happens. Stop when and where you need, okay?” she announced.

Robert nodded and buckled himself in. Once the others had situated themselves, with Yin in the passenger seat, he set off, back to my house.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next four hours, my head safely ensconced in Katira’s warm embrace. Robert stopped once for food, and once for gas while I drifted on what felt like a cloud.

As I returned to a more permanent state of consciousness, roused by the scent of fried chicken, I grabbed my head in an attempt to dull the throbbing pain.

“Ugh. Gods, my head is pounding. Do I smell fried chicken?” I asked quietly.

Katira nodded, still gently stroking my scalp. “You do. There is plenty left, even for your voracious appetite. How bad is the headache, Master?”

I winced, the volume and the sunlight being too much. “About like a migraine,” I said quietly.

Katira nodded, retrieving the box of Chester’s Fried Chicken from between the two lovebirds and handed me a piece. I gingerly ate it, knowing I needed food in me. As my strength returned, Katira fed me piece after piece. Eventually, with my stomach sated, I snuggled back into Katira’s arms and let sleep overtake me again.

************

Sunlight peeked through the canopy of leaves above me. All around, I heard the song that the wind was gently breathing through the leaves. I realized that I was reclining against a sun-warmed boulder on the forest floor.

Slowly, I stood. Looking around, I failed to recognize any features, any marker that could possibly place me somewhere that I knew. Fear failed to grip me, however, as I began to simply walk in a random direction.

The forest, unchanging, yet chaotic in its own way, continued for what seemed like hours. I clambered over fallen logs, detoured around thickets of briar and bramble, and stood atop rocky outcroppings, gazing over the lush, green life all around me all the while. It felt peaceful and comforting in its stark, unforgiving way. I knew that all life here held itself on the cusp of danger, the whims of fate, and therein lay its majesty.

After what seemed like a couple more hours, I spied a clearing ahead of me. Stepping out of the forest, I was greeted by a broad meadow of wildflowers and grasses. Inhaling the heady scent of the foliage, I smiled. The warm sunlight felt glorious, and I turned my smiling face, eyes closed, towards the heavens to drink in the glorious warmth.

I took a few deep breaths, and soon detected another scent; one that was acrid and tickled the back of my throat. Opening my eyes, I saw a plume of smoke wafting upward, and began jogging towards it.

Nearing it, I saw a small, rough-hewn cabin nestled in a cleared space, with a lush, high-fenced vegetable garden to one side, and a pair of goats milling about. The porch was dotted here and there with small, earthen pots, each with a bunch of beautiful blue flowers.

I stepped up to the door, and knocked politely. Hearing footsteps within, I stepped back a couple of paces, and clasped my hands in front of me.

The door opened, revealing a middle-aged woman, heavyset, with streaks of gray in her long, brown hair. She was dressed in a pair of breeches with black suspenders and a cream colored linen shirt.

“Ah. You’ve arrived. Come in. I have tea and sugar inside,” she said, her voice soft and kind, opening the door wide before turning around and walking away.