Would it be so bad to stay in this dream?
Ashanti found a trio of candles, setting them up on the low table in the middle of the room. The question pressed against her thoughts as she found a match to light the candles. Warm light flickered into life after a few moments and she stared into the flames.
Here, she was not bound by her apprenticeship. Here, she did not have to play spy for her people. Here, she was given meaning and purpose. Fingers touched the red tattoo beneath her throat, tracing the lines of ink. 'Asuna' was a clansman of great stature and promise; she brought enemies to their knees and gave them swift judgement. Ashanti was... not that.
The flames flickered silently in front of her gaze.
If she could not wake from this dream, there were far worse places to be in. Ashanti would not stop looking for a way out. It was just comforting to know she'd at least be safe and purposeful in this dream
The flames flickered again, the smoke curling around her fingers and the brush on the table. The fire wanted her to... write it down...?
"... A good idea, but where..." Ashanti fished through 'Asuna's' belongings, finding one leather bound journal and some ink. The journal was blank even though it looked well used and worn. She flipped it to the first page and began to write.
- 'You are not who you believe you are. Trust not Dorothy nor Alice. Find out who they are, and find out what they want.
'Most of all, you must wake up.
'For the night is dark, and full of terrors.'
One last thing to do as the inked dried on the page. Ashanti held her sword - that she could summon out of air, apparently - to the candle flames until the very tip glowed red.
She pressed the hot metal to the inside of her wrist, hissing at the pain. She did this three more times until she had something akin to a flower burned into her flesh.
A reminder of missing time, for when she was no longer herself.
[ WC: 406 ]
