Midnight Wonders

3.3.1. Greetings Along the Path

"Lucan," said Kay. "Wake up."

Luc opened his eyes. It was bright out, and the bed was soft and warm. Everything was a blur of white and colorful spots. He blinked groggily.

Kay was standing at his bedside, leaning over him. "Are you up?"

It was odd, being woken by a person and not an alarm. Odder still to wake up and have a person right there. "Yes," Luc managed, even as he shut his eyes again. How long had he slept? There was no way to know.

He opened his eyes again. Kay was still there. Luc pushed the blankets aside and sat up. He looked at the desk where he'd left his tie and glasses. They weren't there. He looked below the bed, where he'd left his shoes. They weren't there.

"Oh," said Kay. "You went into the other room. You really are a sleepwalker, aren't you?"

"Ah," said Luc. "Right. Sorry." He looked at Kay. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," Kay said. "There is no time."

That was oddly frightening. Luc wondered how long he'd been in Under-The-Green-Hill, how long Cora had been there. Had she been waiting for him? How long had she been waiting? "Did you just come back?" he said.

"No, that was a while ago," Kay said. "I slept, too."

"Oh," he said. "How do you know when to sleep if you have no concept of time?"

"I sleep when I am tired," said Kay, "and when I am free."

That seemed both inconvenient and not quite healthy, but Kay must have been doing this his whole life, and Luc was in no position to argue. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes," said Kay. "If you're ready. I got you new clothes." He left the room, presumably to fetch the mentioned clothes. Luc went into the bathroom to wash and ready himself, then went back into the room he had meant to sleep in to fetch the things he had left in there. Kay entered as he was putting on his shoes. "Don't. I have better ones for you." He held out a pair of boots. "Since we'll be traveling."

"How did you know my shoe size?" said Luc, taking them. They fit when he put them on.

"I guessed," said Kay. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in other clothes, so I just got you a cloak instead. You can cover yourself instead."

"Oh," said Luc, who hadn't considered that. "Thank you."

Kay picked up Luc's glasses on the bedside table. "What are these for?"

"Glasses," he said, wrapping the cloak around his shoulder. There was a little pin at the neck. "They help me see clearer."

Kay lifted the glasses to his own eyes and jolted when he peered through the lenses. Luc almost laughed. "It's not clearer at all!"

"You must have good eyes, then." He held out his hand for the glasses, and Kay gave them to him.

Kay looked at the tie next, picking it up. "This..."

"It's a tie," said Luc. "It goes around your neck."

"I know," said Kay. He paused, running his hand down the length of it. "Are you going to wear it?"

Luc looked down at himself. The cloak covered his collar. "There's no point."

Kay wrapped it around his hand. "May I?"

"Wear it?" said Luc. "If you want to. Won't it look odd?"

"I don't mind looking odd," said Kay. His tunic only had a short standing collar, but he looped the tie around his neck anyway, frowning in concentration at the ends in his hands, trying to measure their lengths. He started to tie a knot, then paused and undid his progress. "I don't remember how to tie it."