[Dream, Week 27, Day 6]
There is snow on the floor.
Part of the roof and adjoining walls has caved in a long time ago, leaving the room open to the outside elements, but there are tarps and old blankets hung from the ceiling to create a fragile shelter. Through the gaps, you can see the city: more ruined buildings, streets choked with rubbish, a smoggy sky changing from brown to black with the onset of night. This is home, and you feel safe and comfortable there.
You aren't alone. Sitting next to you is a young man with fiery red hair and stormy gray eyes - your friend Crow - tending to a jury-rigged stove in the middle of the room. Scattered around him are a number of children of various ages, lulled to sleep by his storytelling. Nearby, Yuusei is stretched out on the floor tinkering with an old radio he's in the process of resurrecting, the entire focus of his existence narrowed down to a pile of wires and transistors. On the far side of the room sits Kiryu - slim and silvery and deadly as the edge of a knife - sprawled languidly in the room's only comfortable chair. He is gazing at the ceiling, thinking deep thoughts. You sit on one of the few empty patches of floor, sorting through your cards.
Then someone flings the door open, and you look up. A slim, bespectacled man scrambles inside, shivering from the cold. Yusei stands and throws a warm blanket around him.
"I'm glad I found you guys," he says. "You need to get down to Martha's. It looks like there's trouble going down."
Kiryu rouses himself from his daze. "What kind of trouble?"
"Some new inmates came over from the mainland a couple of days ago. I was at the plant and heard them talking about how they're sick of working for nothing, and that Martha's got no right to raise a bunch of kids that nobody wants, and they're just going to go over there and take what they want. They know she has food and blankets there..."
You go rigid, feeling your pulse begin to race. You look expectantly towards Kiryu. His gaze strays over each of you in turn.
"When was the last time you boys saw Martha, anyway?" he asks.
"Not since Christmas," Crow pipes up.
"Well, then," says Kiryu, swinging his feet to the floor, "let's go pay her a visit."
Crow grins as he bounds to his feet. "Sounds like fun to me! Nerve, can you look after the kids for me while we're gone?"
Nerve nods. "Just hurry."
You hurry. The four of you throw on your cloaks, thick and black as the night outside, and sprint into the darkness. You move like a shadow over the snow. The night air is cold, but running keeps you warm, and you enjoy the feel of the wind on your face and the ground flowing away beneath you. Your friends run with you in near-silence, flickering in and out of sight as they dart through the shadows, leaving only their footprints behind, black against white.
You pass beyond the ruined city to a little out of the way place where a few trees still cling to life, and a single house stands in a circle of its own light. There is a little plot of garden in back. In the summer, it would be full of vegetables and flowers. Now it is full of people, ugly men in filthy clothes, shouting threats and insults at the woman who guards the door with her arms folded over her chest and her face fixed in her sternest glare. Anger fills you, colder than the snow.
"Looking for something?" Kiryu calls out.
A few of the men turn to see who has spoken. You ease out of the shadows and into the circle of light, giving them a good look at you.
"Stay out of this, kids," one of the men growls. "This has nothing to do with you."
"That's what you think," Crow retorts. "We don't like people who mess with Martha, do we?"
"Not a bit," you agree. "In fact, we don't tolerate it at all."
"This is your warning," says Yuusei quietly. "Leave quietly now, and no one will get hurt."
"We're not going anywhere!" the man retorts. "Who do you think you kids are, trying to push us around?"
"We're Team Satisfaction," answers Kiryu, smiling. "And you don't look like a very satisfying challenge to me, but you might do for a moment of entertainment. So, how would you like to settle this? Would you like a duel, or should we do this the old fashioned way?"
In response, one of the men lunges for him, swinging his fist. Kiryu steps lightly out of the way.
"The old fashioned way it is," he says.
Your team splits up, slicing into the crowd and scattering it into pieces. You can see your friends fighting around you, taking on men bigger and heavier than they are - but far less experienced. Yuusei fights like a martial artist: nothing showy, just deadly calm and smooth, economical motions, each designed to cause maximum damage with minimal effort. Crow flits around the edge of the field, teasing and taunting, luring people towards him so he can pick them off one at a time. And Kiryu... there is a gleam of madness in his eyes. Now it is only a seed, but someday it will grow to become a vine that chokes the life out of him. For now, though, it gives him a strength and ferocity that is nearly superhuman, and the men back away from him in fear when they see him coming.
You fight too. For a moment, at least, there is nothing in your mind but the need to catch these people who wanted to hurt someone you love and batter them into submission, and it's a wonderful feeling. Your heart races, sending adrenaline coursing through you, and your lips peel back in a feral smile. You feel yourself distilled to a being of pure speed and power, as if everyone around you is moving in slow motion. You laugh as you battle, savoring the sensation of testing your strength against others and overpowering them.
All too soon, the men succumb and run off into the night. You stand in the middle of the snow-covered garden, waiting for your breathing and heart rate to return to normal, letting the chill air cool your overheated skin.
"Is that all of them?" asks Kiryu.
Crow nods. "We're clear. Hey, Martha, long time no see! Sorry we didn't get here sooner, but, you know, the weather tonight isn't so great."
She laughs. "You boys. I'm always glad to see you, no matter when you show up. I hope you plan to stay a little while? I could make tea."
"We really shouldn't," says Yuusei, but Martha shakes her head, overriding him.
"I insist," she says. "It's the least I can do, to thank you for running those louts off."
Martha leaves the doorway to come greet you, and you look down at her - this woman who is the closest thing you've ever known to a mother. She smiles up at you.
"I can never get over how tall you've grown," she murmurs. A glint of mischief comes into her eyes as she adds, "Maybe you had better bend down so I can see you better."
You hesitate, embarrassed, knowing what she wants to see. Crow laughs.
"Go on, do it!" he says. "She won't let us in until you do."
He's right, and you know it. Collecting yourself, you execute a graceful movement that leaves you down on one knee in the snow and mud. You bow your head in a gesture of humility. As long as you're doing this, you want to do it with style.
"It is an honor to be of service to you, my lady," you say, and place a kiss on the back of her work-roughened hand.
"That's my boy," she says proudly, and runs her free hand through your hair. The others laugh, but you bear the treatment with dignity.
"All right," she continues, "that's enough playing around. Let's get you all inside where it's warm."
She turns towards the door, and you rise and follow her into the light.
Part of the roof and adjoining walls has caved in a long time ago, leaving the room open to the outside elements, but there are tarps and old blankets hung from the ceiling to create a fragile shelter. Through the gaps, you can see the city: more ruined buildings, streets choked with rubbish, a smoggy sky changing from brown to black with the onset of night. This is home, and you feel safe and comfortable there.
You aren't alone. Sitting next to you is a young man with fiery red hair and stormy gray eyes - your friend Crow - tending to a jury-rigged stove in the middle of the room. Scattered around him are a number of children of various ages, lulled to sleep by his storytelling. Nearby, Yuusei is stretched out on the floor tinkering with an old radio he's in the process of resurrecting, the entire focus of his existence narrowed down to a pile of wires and transistors. On the far side of the room sits Kiryu - slim and silvery and deadly as the edge of a knife - sprawled languidly in the room's only comfortable chair. He is gazing at the ceiling, thinking deep thoughts. You sit on one of the few empty patches of floor, sorting through your cards.
Then someone flings the door open, and you look up. A slim, bespectacled man scrambles inside, shivering from the cold. Yusei stands and throws a warm blanket around him.
"I'm glad I found you guys," he says. "You need to get down to Martha's. It looks like there's trouble going down."
Kiryu rouses himself from his daze. "What kind of trouble?"
"Some new inmates came over from the mainland a couple of days ago. I was at the plant and heard them talking about how they're sick of working for nothing, and that Martha's got no right to raise a bunch of kids that nobody wants, and they're just going to go over there and take what they want. They know she has food and blankets there..."
You go rigid, feeling your pulse begin to race. You look expectantly towards Kiryu. His gaze strays over each of you in turn.
"When was the last time you boys saw Martha, anyway?" he asks.
"Not since Christmas," Crow pipes up.
"Well, then," says Kiryu, swinging his feet to the floor, "let's go pay her a visit."
Crow grins as he bounds to his feet. "Sounds like fun to me! Nerve, can you look after the kids for me while we're gone?"
Nerve nods. "Just hurry."
You hurry. The four of you throw on your cloaks, thick and black as the night outside, and sprint into the darkness. You move like a shadow over the snow. The night air is cold, but running keeps you warm, and you enjoy the feel of the wind on your face and the ground flowing away beneath you. Your friends run with you in near-silence, flickering in and out of sight as they dart through the shadows, leaving only their footprints behind, black against white.
You pass beyond the ruined city to a little out of the way place where a few trees still cling to life, and a single house stands in a circle of its own light. There is a little plot of garden in back. In the summer, it would be full of vegetables and flowers. Now it is full of people, ugly men in filthy clothes, shouting threats and insults at the woman who guards the door with her arms folded over her chest and her face fixed in her sternest glare. Anger fills you, colder than the snow.
"Looking for something?" Kiryu calls out.
A few of the men turn to see who has spoken. You ease out of the shadows and into the circle of light, giving them a good look at you.
"Stay out of this, kids," one of the men growls. "This has nothing to do with you."
"That's what you think," Crow retorts. "We don't like people who mess with Martha, do we?"
"Not a bit," you agree. "In fact, we don't tolerate it at all."
"This is your warning," says Yuusei quietly. "Leave quietly now, and no one will get hurt."
"We're not going anywhere!" the man retorts. "Who do you think you kids are, trying to push us around?"
"We're Team Satisfaction," answers Kiryu, smiling. "And you don't look like a very satisfying challenge to me, but you might do for a moment of entertainment. So, how would you like to settle this? Would you like a duel, or should we do this the old fashioned way?"
In response, one of the men lunges for him, swinging his fist. Kiryu steps lightly out of the way.
"The old fashioned way it is," he says.
Your team splits up, slicing into the crowd and scattering it into pieces. You can see your friends fighting around you, taking on men bigger and heavier than they are - but far less experienced. Yuusei fights like a martial artist: nothing showy, just deadly calm and smooth, economical motions, each designed to cause maximum damage with minimal effort. Crow flits around the edge of the field, teasing and taunting, luring people towards him so he can pick them off one at a time. And Kiryu... there is a gleam of madness in his eyes. Now it is only a seed, but someday it will grow to become a vine that chokes the life out of him. For now, though, it gives him a strength and ferocity that is nearly superhuman, and the men back away from him in fear when they see him coming.
You fight too. For a moment, at least, there is nothing in your mind but the need to catch these people who wanted to hurt someone you love and batter them into submission, and it's a wonderful feeling. Your heart races, sending adrenaline coursing through you, and your lips peel back in a feral smile. You feel yourself distilled to a being of pure speed and power, as if everyone around you is moving in slow motion. You laugh as you battle, savoring the sensation of testing your strength against others and overpowering them.
All too soon, the men succumb and run off into the night. You stand in the middle of the snow-covered garden, waiting for your breathing and heart rate to return to normal, letting the chill air cool your overheated skin.
"Is that all of them?" asks Kiryu.
Crow nods. "We're clear. Hey, Martha, long time no see! Sorry we didn't get here sooner, but, you know, the weather tonight isn't so great."
She laughs. "You boys. I'm always glad to see you, no matter when you show up. I hope you plan to stay a little while? I could make tea."
"We really shouldn't," says Yuusei, but Martha shakes her head, overriding him.
"I insist," she says. "It's the least I can do, to thank you for running those louts off."
Martha leaves the doorway to come greet you, and you look down at her - this woman who is the closest thing you've ever known to a mother. She smiles up at you.
"I can never get over how tall you've grown," she murmurs. A glint of mischief comes into her eyes as she adds, "Maybe you had better bend down so I can see you better."
You hesitate, embarrassed, knowing what she wants to see. Crow laughs.
"Go on, do it!" he says. "She won't let us in until you do."
He's right, and you know it. Collecting yourself, you execute a graceful movement that leaves you down on one knee in the snow and mud. You bow your head in a gesture of humility. As long as you're doing this, you want to do it with style.
"It is an honor to be of service to you, my lady," you say, and place a kiss on the back of her work-roughened hand.
"That's my boy," she says proudly, and runs her free hand through your hair. The others laugh, but you bear the treatment with dignity.
"All right," she continues, "that's enough playing around. Let's get you all inside where it's warm."
She turns towards the door, and you rise and follow her into the light.