Dreamweaver

Chapter 5

He rolled off of you and folded you in to the little spoon position, wrapping his arms around you. You didn't fool yourself into thinking he'd fall asleep, now that his calculating mind was going to work. After a while, he spoke up, "There's 2 things I can't figure out." You let him go on, not ready to end this. "First... why take the risk of a real encounter over staying in my dreams?"

You were confused. "What... dreams? I've never used that power on you. We've never had skin-to-skin contact.. until tonight..."

You felt him stiffen and sit up after a moment. You turned your head to watch him intently. He stared off, thinking. "The dreams were ... so ... vivid I just assumed..."

You thought you saw the faintest flush on his ivory face as he looked away. You pushed yourself onto your elbows saying, "I wanted to... but I thought it would be... inappropriate..." a statement that felt ridiculous given the last 90 minutes. Facing away from you, he crossed his legs and rested his elbows on his knees, thinking silently. Meanwhile your mind was racked with thoughts about his alleged dreams involving you, and what you'd missed.

You stared at his back and couldn't help but inquire, "You had dreams-" but he interrupted you.

"The second thing I can't figure out..." he turned to look intensely at you, "is why I'm still alive." You felt a shiver as you sat up, mentally grasping for Tether- only to find that it was gone. Completely dissipated. You'd lost control and with it, your concentration required to keep Tether. The color drained from your face as your mouth gaped. His eyes narrowed, and then widened as he'd caught on. "You lost it didn't you? ...Huh," he said, looking inquisitive and a tad annoyed.

Your mind raced. You were helpless and surely about to die. You hugged you knees into your naked body and tried to summon some kind of resolve. He cursed under his breath and stood up, walking over to the pile of clothes you'd both abandoned. He shuffled back into his pants and casually tossed your clothes at you. You dressed quickly as he walked over to stare out the window, arms folded.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. "I won't kill you..." and you allowed yourself to breathe a little easier, but you knew he wasn't done. He continued, "...but you have to leave the Troupe." You felt a stab to your heart as the thought of leaving your surrogate family hit you. He was choosing his words carefully. "I can't have you by my side. My position requires me to be alone." You felt tears well up in your eyes. This wasn't part of the plan. You had nothing else. 

"Don't send me away.. please Danchou...I...want to stay..." you unsuccessfully stifled a sniffle. He glanced over at you and turned away again.

"Don't call me that anymore. You've broken my trust." He was trying to be gentle but his words were stern. You buried your face in your knees and tried to dry your tears, putting pressure on your stinging eyes. He didn't say anything else for a while, his expression somewhat conflicted. God if only you could read his busy mind.

He crossed the room to his desk, picking up a few items and returning back to the bed. He sat directly across from you, legs crossed. Between you, he placed his poisoned Ben's Knife and his Spell Book. He took your hands from your knees and inspected them, finding your wounded fingers on your right hand. The blood was dry but the cuts were still fairly raw. Without explanation, he squeezed your fingers, hard. You flinched as fresh blood beaded up into droplets on your skin. He put your fingers to his lips and licked the blood. You were so surprised- what was he thinking? Your shock was overtaken by Tether's activation, and this time he was looking into your eyes as they flashed yellow. It was a relief to feel that rush of safety and regain control again. He removed your fingers from his mouth and returned them to your lap.

"I'll give you 3 options." He motioned to the knife, saying "Kill me. I don't desire death but I've accepted it. I assume your plan was to kill me. You know that I regularly read my own fortunes. They are cryptic but have been telling me I would "lose myself to a comrade" lately. So although I couldn't predict the exact nature of this event, I have already prepared mentally." Your expression was calm and calculated, anticipating his next offer, which was obvious seeing that be brought his book. He continued, "Or, let me steal your control ability. You can keep your Incubus power and stay in the Troupe. It's more than enough to make you a worthwhile member." So far you didn't like these options. Folding his hands, he said "And the final option is what I mentioned before. We will never see each other again, and I will have to tell the other members to kill you on sight." You'd gotten yourself into this mess and felt too foolish to meet his eyes for too long.