you made hell feel like home; any

[rapt]

there is a dream in the space between the hammer and the nail ------ the dream of about-to-be-hit, which is a bad dream ------------ but the nail will take the hit if it gets to sleep inside the wood forever She smiles too, gives her name - Kagerus, a word that sits strange in his mind, though his own name has its own strangeness. (Perhaps a bit of prophecy, too, as he was, well, rapt as the tendrils of the monster’s fear snaked into his blood, as wires crossed wrong and something in him craved the fear and pain.) It’s a polite exchange, and he shifts his weight, wondering what else to say, but then she speaks again. I came here to dream, she says, and that is more interesting, more curious. “Is this where you always come to dream?” he asks. Maybe the spot has some specific powers, the way the mountain did, or had (not that it mattered to him, he lacked any powers, anything special). He’s felt no different, but perhaps he isn’t worthy. Her eyes look distant. As if she sees places beyond him. Other worlds than these. “What do you dream about?” he asks. Perhaps he is prying. But her distant look, the twitch of her skin, there is something about her. “I live here,” he answers, then amends, “in the forest, I mean. This specific place, well, I’m just passing through.” The real reason: I am looking for monsters is unsaid. He knows enough decorum not to spill his secrets at a stranger’s feet. rapt caius x else