Lucidity

Chapter Twenty-Five: Morality

Warning: Suicidal ideas implied, mentions of homophobia

Unlike the initial dreamscapes, this one was just a green room. Caitlyn would have liked to have done something nicer with the place, but her priority was getting Oburon to show up and that was going to take a lot of energy.

It had been a while since they'd shared a dream, both of them agreeing that they needed refreshing sleep with all that was going on. Now Caitlyn regretted that decision immensely, since it had permitted Oburon to get away with whatever he was doing.

Eventually, the tall lanky male appeared. He forced a smile and waved, with his middle finger curled down as was custom where he came from. Caitlyn wouldn't let herself soften.

"When was the last time you were in control of the body?"

Oburon grew sheepish. "Oh, not so long ago."

Caitlyn put her hands on her hips, "Oh really? Because unless you've been getting up and having strolls at night in the body, the last time you were out was the day after we started sharing a body."

"See, I was right. That was only a few days ago," joked Oburon, tensing up. She could tell he knew where this was going.

"People have been asking where you are. I try to contact you and pull you out, but you're so far away, I can barely reach you anymore. It took all my willpower to contact you now," exasperated Caitlyn, "Why aren't you coming out?"

"You knew what was going on. I thought I'd let you handle it."

"Then come out tomorrow morning. The plan's close to finished, apart from a few things like how we're going to get people to accept it if I come back as, uh, you. We need to fill you in," said Caitlyn.

Oburon shook his head. "The plan and all this is your domain. It's better to leave it to you."

Caitlyn stared at him, her heart breaking. "You'll die. You're already fading away. If you never take control of your body, you'll lose it forever "

Oburon remained silent.

"Take control, Oburon, I swear! I can't lose you," she pleaded, falling on her knees.

The dreamscape dissolved around her.

< | ■ | >

For the first time in her life, Caitlyn missed Junior. He would have been the perfect aid for this mission. But since he wasn't here, she'd just have to do it alone.

Fortunately, travelling with Surtrenans had its perks. With what she hoped was surgical precision, Caitlyn extracted Hjalmar's collapsible sword from his bag. The entire time, her eyes remained fixated on the sleeping soldier, ready to dash off at the smallest sign of consciousness. Hjalmar had a strong moral code. Even though he'd come to kind of forgive Caitlyn for being the daughter of Rectionem Scientiae's owner, he would definitely object to what she was about to do. Hence why she'd rather nobody knew.

She'd barely walked five metres when Yaz suddenly appeared next to her. Caitlyn started. "How are you that quiet?"

"It's sand. There aren't any creaky floorboards," Yaz reminded her, "Where are you going?"

"It doesn't matter," said Caitlyn, turning away. This would be easier alone. She was an adult, surely nobody would force their presence on her.

"Uh, you're wandering off in the middle of the night. Last time you did that, you got kidnapped by a sand creature," Yaz reminded her, placing a hand on her hip.