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A Dream in the Twilight

Patron Reward for Carrow

Carrow was finding it very difficult to keep their breathing quiet. The air was oppressively thick and stuffy. Not so much that Carrow couldn't breathe, but certainly enough to make each breath more effort than they were used to. Not only that, there was a chill to the air, a chill that seemed to come from inside their bones rather than from around them.

The brown mouse's surroundings looked ostensibly familiar; the park, the city streets, and the buildings around were still there, but they looked washed out and dark, like old photographs. There was very little colour, save for the odd searingly bright orange highlight. Black cube-shaped chunks of space gently lifted up into the air and disappeared, like clouds of ash.

The dark shapes that were patrolling the park hadn't spotted Carrow - yet. Since falling through what they thought was a manhole but turned out to be a portal of some sort, Carrow had had at least 3 near-death experiences at the hands of those things. Nothing about this place was friendly - least of all its inhabitants. Carrow hadn't looked at them long enough to get a good bead on what they looked like; they were far too busy running or hiding for their life. They were better off knowing as little as possible about this place before they escaped and treated the whole thing as some weird dream.

Carrow was currently huddled inside a small gazebo. They could see the vague shapes of a couple chatting on one of the benches inside the shelter blissfully unaware of the mouse's plight. How could they not see them...? How did they not see their plight?

Carrow could hear the strange, wheezing noise of breath approaching them. Long, loping, dragging footsteps. Their heart was beating even faster. Their jaw was clenched as hard as a vise. They hugged their knees together and huddled under the bench, hiding behind the outlined pairs of legs - as if that would make a difference.

"Psst. Over here!"

Carrow squeaked and hugged themself tighter, looking frantically towards the sound of the voice. A glowing eye was staring at him from just outside the gazebo. It was a series of concentric circles, a light yellow that went from orange, to dark red, to black. Carrow couldn't get a bead on their shape, though they were certainly a lot smaller than the other creatures. The figure was veiled in shadow, aside from a large horned piece of stone that covered half of their head. They grinned a sharp, fang-filled grin.

"Get ready to run," the figure hissed. "You'll know when it happens."

Out of the top of the crown, a twisting pillar of orange light spewed forth, ebbing and bubbling in the air like an oil slick in water. It formed into a massive hand, which clenched into a fist.

The next thing Carrow knew, the whole roof of the gazebo was lifting up, the wood splintering and the metal bolts creaking. They wasted no time in running, alongside those shades from the other world - so much for their romantic date spot.

Carrow could see those larger shapes converging on that smaller figure, but did not look behind for long. They heard shouts of exertion behind them, angry, violent ones. They brought their head lower and kept sprinting even as their lungs began to burn.

Then they saw the lights.

Blue beads of light hanging from a small copse of trees in the middle of the park, like fruit. They cast a warm light - not quite of Carrow's home, but it certainly seemed like more of a sanctuary. It was as good a place to hide as any, so they rushed towards it. The sounds of violence were distant, but they could hear something behind them. Heavy limbs, a wheezing growl. They didn't look back even then. They squeezed their eyes tight and kept running, begging their legs and feet not to fail them.

Something raked and grasped at their tail, just brushing against it. Another hand grabbed their leg. They screamed, throwing themself right towards the tree.

They knew they were safe mid-leap.

A feeling like a warm hug descended over them, and the brief sear of pain on their ankle and tail evaporated. The beast shrieked behind them. After landing flat on their face, Carrow turned to get a better look.

The hulking figure looked down at them, their face featureless behind a dark stone mask. Their flesh was rippling and bubbling from that brief encounter with the glowing lights above. It turned to slowly slink away, leaving Carrow a chance to catch their breath in the calming blue glow of the lights above.

Carrow took a proper look at the orbs, watching the blue glows dance and sway gently on a breeze that the mouse could not feel.

Looking at them calmed them. The first thing they felt safe around so far. Carrow was not going to let this sanctuary go to waste any time soon. They slumped against the bark of one of the trees, creeping into the dark shade until the lights were taking up most of their focus.

The lights...

They provided Carrow with a gentle reminder of how tired they were. How tired they had been, well before entering this world. The lights told them that everything was going to be all right. That they were safe now. They danced and swayed gently. Carrow followed them without a care in the world, happy to have found something that would keep them a little safe.

Their eyelids felt heavy. Heavier than usual. Looking up at those lights did take some exertion, and as the adrenaline rush was fading, it was replaced with a desire to simply lie down and do nothing at all.

The lights made that easy to do.

Their blue glow shimmered and pulsed, and coaxed their eyes to flutter, and close entirely.

They slept, deeper than they had slept in a very long time.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you..."

The sound of that voice woke Carrow from their slumber, and they were instantly wide awake. They could feel a presence hovering just in front of them, and could almost see the creature's grin.

With that return of consciousness came a surge of frustration.

"Could you please not speak so loud?" they groaned, their eyes remaining closed as they willed themself to stay asleep. "I was... sleeping..."

"Well, you picked the right place to do it.. This is probably the only safe place for your kind in the Twilight Realm."

"I was sleeping for the first time in weeks..."

"Alright, then. You're welcome for saving your life... I'll just be here when you wake up."

Carrow could hear the soft whisper of the creature floating through the air, up above them.

From there, they tried to get back to sleep. But every little rustle of the tree branches and the general ambience started to grate on them until it became too deafeningly loud to bear.

With a shout of frustration, Carrow opened their eyes.

"No... no good. I can't sleep."

"Sorry to hear that." the voice came from above, and Carrow looked up. The creature's frame was small and squat - smaller than Carrow's in fact, and that was saying something. Their skin was a dark sheen, with patches of a pale mint green around their mouth and their stomach. Their mouth had little jagged fangs poking past the lips, and equally jagged, long ears. They grinned down at Carrow, their big smile touching the one visible eye.

"It's okay, you've got plenty of time to rest. This little sanctuary's probably not going to go away any time soon."

"Where am I...?" Carrow asked. "Do you know?"

"You're in the Twilight Realm," the imp said, slowly falling off the branch and floating down closer to eye level. "It... wasn't always like this. But you shouldn't let that worry you, okay?"

"Fine."

"I'm Midna, by the way." the glowing hand emerged from the top of her head and twisted around - up close, it resembled glowing braided locks of hair. The hand was mercifully a lot smaller. Carrow took it and shook it tentatively. It had a strange, smooth, springy consistency, like a sponge cake.

"Carrow..." the mouse said, cautiously. "Do you know how I can get out of here?"

"If you stay here long enough, those tears above you will lift you back into your world. At least, I think that's what happens..." Midna floated on her back, scratching her chin pensively. "When I leave people here and return, they eventually vanish. I don't think they'd have wandered off and died."

The sardonic grin on her face didn't really assuage Carrow's fears very much. They stood up and dusted themself off.

"So I have to do something with one of those lights maybe?" Looking at them, they didn't have the same relaxing pulse they had last time. That only frustrated them more. Were they goin

"Something like that," Midna said with a sympathetic shrug.

"Do I have to climb the tree to get one of them or something?" Carrow sighed. "I hate climbing trees."

"Don't worry about it too much," Midna said. It was hard to get a read on her, what with how she wore that inscrutable, impish smile. "Listen... I've got places to be, things to do. I won't bore you with the details. What I can do is help you get a little bit more shut-eye, if you'd like the help."

"You can help me?" Carrow asked.

"Mmmhm." Midna floated above them, back up to the lights. "You'll have a much clearer mind if you get some rest, and I don't think I need to tell you that you look like you need it. So!"

"So...?" Carrow asked, squinting up at her. In the canopy of the trees, they could just about make out her eye and her smile, and her glowing hair.

"Just watch." the glowing hand emerged once more and gently, gingerly grabbed a long piece of vine dangling from inside that tree. The tears of light swung and gently collided with each other like wind-chimes.

"I have to be careful with these things, they don't burn me the same way they burn... those things, but I can't touch them!"

"Uh-huh..." Carrow stayed standing, watching.

"Just keep your eye on the tears," Midna said. "Follow my voice, follow the lights. Okay?"

"Okay...?" Carrow didn't feel like they had much choice in the matter. Not much else to do. So they listened and followed with curious interest.

"Just keep your eyes on them. When they swing to the left... you breathe in... and when they swing to the light, breathe out. Simple."

"Simple..." Carrow nodded, still following them. The way they swayed called to mind the last time they'd lulled him to sleep. The cluster of lights chimed very gently when they collided with each other. It was very soft. Carrow felt like they should get closer.

"You're standing on your tiptoes, Carrow," Midna said. Her voice was a little softer, a little more even. "You can relax, it's okay, they aren't going anywhere.

"They're just here, dangling above you. To the left... and the right... the left... and the right."

She continued the gentle swaying rhythm, and the gentle repetitive drone mixed with the chiming thrum of the lights.

Carrow swore they could hear her voice starting to echo.

"To the left... and the right... and the left... and the right..." "and the right..."

"To the left... and the right..." "and the left..."

"And the left, and the right, and the left..." ` "and the right..."

It was bouncing all around them. Her body was gleaming and shimmering in the blue glow. Golden locks of hair were twisting out from the top of her crown, almost like a flickering torchlight, a warm backdrop to the sapphire spheres. Adding that to the metronomic echoes was having a pleasantly overwhelming effect. Carrow's shoulders were drooping, their legs were bending, and their jaw had fallen open.

The words faded into the background, echoing through the trees, hanging in the air like mist. Midna continued to speak.

"You're doing great. You're really starting to slump. Lean back, there's a tree trunk just behind you. Slide down it."

Carrow leaned back, their knees buckling inward slightly, and pressed their back to the bark. They looked up, craning their head to keep their eyes on the colourful lights. Their head was too heavy, though... Their snout was downturned, but their eyes kept focused upwards.

"Go on, you can sit down."

Carrow's feet slowly slid out from under them as they stared, their jaw hanging lose and their eyelids fluttering.

"Your head is heavy, your eyes are heavy, but you should still keep your eyes on the lights anyway. Keep your eyes on me. Because the longer you hold out, the better it'll feel when you fall asleep properly. Can you do that for me?"

"Uhuh...."

As they finally reached the bottom and sat on the floor, Carrow had to lift their heavy head up again - otherwise they'd lose sight of the lights.

"Hang on, let me make things easier for you. You're doing a great job, you deserve a break..."

Carrow heard that tell tale whoosh of movement. Midna floated just in front of them, her big warm eye gazing back at them. Their vision was swimming so much that it looked as though the imp's eye was rippling as well. It was...

"Pretty..." Carrow mumbled.

"Right? So pretty that you don't have any words left. It's okay. Don't say anything. Just stare. Just relax. Just enjoy... I think you're about ready to let them fall closed, don't you?"

Carrow didn't want to close their eyes. They murmured a protest. The warm spiralling eye was so pleasant...

"You see how comfy your body is now? The relief that washed over you when you sat down? When you close your eyes, you're going to feel ten times that pleasure. Trust me on this. It's going to drop you right into the deepest, darkest, dreamiest sleep you could ask for."

She nodded up and down. Carrow followed. Their left eyelid brushed closed for a moment, and it made them groan. It felt exquisite.

"And when you do... this will have just been a bad dream. You'll be back in your own world. Nothing bad will have happened. You'll be safe and sound once again... where you belong. Okay?"

"Oh..k..." the second syllable didn't leave Carrow's throat. Their vision swam, and Midna turned into a dark smear, a blob that was whispering sweetly to him, with a glowing orange eye like a night-light.

"Sleep. Sleep, Carrow. You need to sleep..."

Carrow knew they could trust her. They knew how good it would feel. Their eyes slipped closed, but the warmth still penetrated through them, the swirling oranges and reds and yellows...

They swirled in their mind long after Midna's voice faded into a distant echo... and then nothing at all.

Then there was just sleep. Blissful, deep sleep, a sleep that would make Carrow's entire week, and would make them wonder if they could have that same dream again.

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