DRAUMRS - Dreamweavers Among Us

20 - Beaucage Camp

Will was suddenly aware, again, that he was lying on soft ground out in the open. Birds chirped and bull frogs thumped nearby. It was near dawn and the sky visible through the branches above him was milky grey with the first tint of blue starting to appear. The sun was still well below the horizon, but the clear sky was already reflecting a pale light to the trees and water around him. He blinked his eyes a couple times and realized he was back in the cathedral of trees at Green Lake. As quickly as the second dreamscape of the Hall of the Circles had formed, the setting had dissolved with everyone returning to wherever they slept. He had slept on in quiet dreamless sleep.

Water and Jack were already up and moving. They needed no reorientation time or space. Although sleeping in one location at Green Lake was a special occasion, they were so comfortable moving in and out of shared dreamscapes they could start a conversation on one plane and finish it on the other. Will would need some practice to catch up to them.

They had been here for three days. Daylight was spent on discussion and explanation from his grandfather and father. Nights, when not at the Halls, were spent moving among the favorite settings of his Clan, with many cousins waiting to welcome him back, for good this time. Now, it was time to move.

"Damn meetings make you hungry."

Will heard a nearby grumble. Water was busy getting provisions out of the bear-proof blue food barrel cousin All-In had packed in for them. The rest of the camping and kitchen provisions came out of a timber shack back of the clearing. Will found the contrast of 100-year-old tools mixed in with state-of-the-art nylon and aluminum camp chairs interesting; tradition was good only to the point that comfort needs took over.

Water already had the Coleman stove lit and was getting some bannock mix ready for the bush version of blueberry pancakes. He had a small pail of local blueberries ready to mix in the flour and water batter. The banged-up old kettle, half-full of steaming water was perched precariously on one of the burners.

"How long were we asleep this time?" Will asked, as he stretched stiff limbs and surveyed his clothes, which had reverted to the traveling apparel of the last couple days. They had washed the shoreline crap out of their clothes by beating them on the rocks at the rocky shore, but would get just as muddy slugging out as they did slugging in, so whatever cleanliness they had achieved was temporary.

Jack chuckled at Will's disgust with his own clothes. "Maybe five or six hours of dreaming, couple more of just rest in there somewhere. It's about 6:00 a.m., based on the sun just getting over the trees. We crashed out and joined the Green Clan party at around 10:00 p.m."

"Sorry, that we didn't get the overnight laundry to spruce up your duds." Jack was going to have fun with every aspect of initiating Will to full Draumr awareness. "There are actually little faeries that come out of the bush, strip you naked, shave your balls and wash your clothes. But, we forgot to leave the room service card on the door."

Will looked at him a little sideways and then caught Water's grin as he kept his focus on the mixture he was now spreading in a little skillet. Will shook his head and rolled his eyes. Just like nothing had happened; the world was going to Hell and Jack was determined to play it for laughs.

"OK, OK—I'll stop asking questions if it just means I'll always be the straight man or goat, whichever comes first."

Will was still grappling with the time distortion of the dreamscape. "Felt like we were away for a full day or more this time."

"Time can stretch for many days in a single dream, if the circumstances require it." Water was being serious and actually imparting some useful information.

"You only sleep one night, but the kicker is that you burn the energy of the dreamscape time line, so you wake up ready to eat anything that's not moving. Thirst can also be a problem; a long dream can dehydrate like a day or two without drinking."