NO: Hi again. Umm, I really want to know why there isn't a separate place for these fanfics, but, eh, I guess I'll have to deal with it!
Chapter 2: Trout's Dream
Trout awoke. He had a scary dream. It had been unlike anything he'd ever dreamt, or ever wanted to again. Calwyn will explain it, I'll just walk up to her hut and she'll tell me what it means, or what it might mean…
He pulled on his clothes, grabbed his lens, someone knocked on his door.
"Trout!" Tonno called. "You still sleeping? C'mon, Darrow and Calwyn are gone, they took Flight with them!"
"Coming Tonno!" He yelled. Opening the door, Halasaa, Tonno and Keela all stood waiting. "What?"
"We have to go after them." Tonno growled; Keela clung to his arm. They had become closer, though, he could never forget the windworker who he'd first thought of as a sister, then a woman two years after he'd met her. He shook the rise of tears, what would everyone else think if he cried?
My sister had no alarm. She and Darrow decided they wanted to travel. Halasaa, quiet as ever, said aloud ("aloud" being in mind-speak). In private, his sister and him practiced singing.
"Why will we need to chase them? I think we should let them do what they want." Keela voiced. Everyone stared in surprise. "Stop staring, I am perfectly capable of being sensitive."
"I think it would be okay if they got away for a while, Calwyn hasn't been the same since…" Trout stopped talking.
None of us has, None of us will be the same. The ever-flowing river has pushed Mica in a different direction that us. Do not be sad for Mica, she floats free.
Tonno, being out-voted, resigned, taking Keela back to their cabin. Halasaa was leaving, Trout decided to ask Halasaa about his dream.
Trout sat on a bank; he was next to an ever-flowing river. The hills were green and the river turquoise-blue. The sky was azure-blue and cotton-like clouds floated on the winds.
Halasaa appeared nest to him. Unlike real-life, Halasaa spoke. It was scratchy, as if he'd never spoken… which he never had, Trout reminded himself.
"I see what you mean, brother, this is like the Knot of the Waters. Only, unlike it. This is more dream-like."
"Dream-like?" Trout asked, he'd never thought of two different worlds that overlapped.
"Yes, this is most unusual. My sister and I shall explore it when she gets back. Thank you, Trout, for bringing me here." Halasaa disappeared just as rapidly as he had appeared.
Then, the nightmare began, again.
Trout fell in an endless darkness. Scenes from the past flashed in his vision. He saw Calwyn trying to heal the lands. He saw Mica die again. He saw the Voiced Ones come in a silver ship on the night of a blood moon. He saw Darrow catch the sickness, he saw Samis 'die' in Spareth.
He finally landed… with a thud. Around him were dead figures. He saw an aged woman in Antaris robes, Marna. He saw the woman they'd rescued from the Wall, but she had already been dead. He saw the image of a dead Samis, though it flickered, as if he was on the border of death and life.
Finally, the wave of dead broke and one that Trout had loved passionately came into view. Mica.
The sun broke over the horizon. Calwyn dressed in light pants and a shirt, she then left the spare cabin. It didn't take her long to reach where Darrow was steering the skiff. He was steering slightly south and west.
"Morning," she whispered. He turned and smiled. He smiled more often in her presence.
"Morning, Calwyn." He locked the wheel with a small block of wood that he sang into place. He turned to Calwyn. Slipping his hand behind her back, he kissed her on lips. A wave of emotions surged against the Singer of all Songs. She clutched Darrow closer.
Finally, many minutes later, they let each other go about the duties, Calwyn delighted in calling the winds to speed the skiff. They would reach Geel in just a few days rather than the weeks normally required.
