Ghost and the Writer

Mission complete

August made a single step and they came out right next to the kid.

Now Mandy could see that the kid had a nice symmetrical face and silky ashen hair, clothes hinted at them being a boy, but gestures were timid, soft, so Mandy couldn't tell for sure. They would be a cute child if not for their ominous-looking eyes - the retina was glowing orange and while the iris was deep black, there was a glowing orange ring surrounding its outer edge as well.

She could now also see the source of the flickering lights - small humanoids with moth-like wings and frilly, fluffy clothes. Two fuzzy antennae stuck out of their small heads and their proportions reminded her of ten-year-olds. Their lips moved and nature sounds came out, but Mandy couldn't tell at all what their words meant, no feeling got conveyed.

August replied something in the same odd way and the kid spoke something too. This time Mandy could feel that August had made a question of some sort, a lingering trace of curiosity was hidden in the sounds he made and in kid's reply, there was a small scenery of a hill seen from between trees and a two-floored house with a garden.

It was mysterious to hear a conversation happening like that. The amount of meaning hidden in a single smallest sound made Mandy feel confused and she could only catch the general vibe without being overwhelmed.

August reached out his hand towards the kid and the kid took it. They stepped into fae paths and around five of the frilly flying humanoids (songlies, if Mandy's memory wasn't off) followed into the path. Differently to Alice or the dragons, the kid didn't look dizzy at all, just curious. They asked something and August replied.

In their conversation, there was some curiosity, some caution, a glimpse of one of the songlies in their speech, glimpses of a dark shadow path, August mentioning the tentacle dog and a few other odd looking creatures, a tint of rejecting red seeping over the scene. The kid mentioning some odd looking things as well, among them, something that looked more like a stereotypical faerie. August responding. The bombardment of images and senses from their conversation made Mandy far dizzier than the path did.

They walked through the path for a while, then emerged at the same spot the kid's words had conveyed. Kid's following words were filled with gratitude and August mentioned something about a green book, then the kid nodded and left with the songlies flying after him.

August looked for a while, then stepped into a fae path again.

"What were you two talking about?" Mandy asked, knowing they had some time judging from the time it took to get here. "I mean when we stepped into the fae path?" She couldn't make much sense from all the scenes.

"He asked about fae paths," August replied.

So it was a he. Okay. One mystery solved. Since August didn't continue with an elaboration, Mandy asked. "He didn't look dizzy."

"Given what he is, it would be odd if he was," August said. "Boundary gatekeepers can move over dimensions in a similar way to this. Not that it would be safe for him to do it now, so it's better if he relies on songlies to lead him through fae paths if he must travel."

Ah, that made things make more sense. Mandy was curious about two things - "What were the creatures you mentioned?" was what she asked first.

"The main boundary dwellers he should avoid. He mentioned some he saw and I told him what those are. I can't spell their names in a human way, but if you 'saw' them when we spoke, they will appear at catalog listings for you. Travelers and Native Astrals sections in the library."

With this, Mandy could piece their conversation together, also, that August wanted her to look them all up, if she wished. There really was no time to linger on that now, they were in the middle of completing a job. "You mentioned a green book," she added.