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Down the Rabbit Hole

Crispin was burning the midnight oil, so to speak - again. His desk was scattered with empty Starbucks cups, and bits of paper littered the floor around him. Some drafts of his work had been simply crumpled and tossed; others had met a more dramatic, rip-tear-and-fling end. "Oh.. come on, brain, make this work!" he groaned, cradling his chin in one hand, swaying slightly as he tried to focus on the papers in front of him. Crispin always had worked best with paper drafts first, then computer, but the way he was going with this research paper it seemed almost a crime to trees to keep working the traditional way.

"Ugh." He leaned back in his computer chair and groaned, then groped around for a cup that still had caffeine in it. "Empty, empty, empty... aw, man..." The idea of just giving up for the night and digging into one of the many books that filled his study's bookshelves was so very, very tempting... but he could hear the typing noises of his roommates through the thin walls. The old Victorian he shared with three other guys might have been fairly classy for college digs, and allow him room for a library (the other guys had used their spare rooms for gaming, mostly) but the walls were almost made of tissue paper.

And if he quit, the others would rag on him, and he'd get irritated, and they'd get irritated, and someone would probably end up drunk. Or several someones. "All hail the college paper binge nights, long may they make my head pound," Crispin muttered, pushing his chair back just enough so that he could lean his forehead on the cool surface of the desk. Papers rustled as he pushed them away, followed by the hollow rattle of more empty cups tumbling off the edges. His bathrobe was too hot over his pyjamas - he loosened it some, then let his mind wander, trying desperately to dig up some sort of productive thought.

Thus distracted as he was, Crispin did not recognize the odd man poking his head around the edge of one of his bookcases. The figure's skin was pure white - not just pale, but white as fine ivory - and his back bore purple dragonwings. His purple hair was piled atop his head in a precarious bun, held up partially by a headband that was itself topped with fabric bunny ears (of all things!), and he was carefully examining a stopwatch he held in one hand.

"Point... check... so that's him..." The words were barely a breath, so low were they spoken. "Well then." The man grinned, displaying oddly pointed teeth, then strode out from behind the bookcase as though he owned the place. "Hey!"

Crispin jumped a mile, sending papers and more empty cups flying. "Hey... HEY! Who are you?" he accused, leaping up so fast that his chair toppled noisily to the ground.

The pale figure eyed him, then grinned again. "The White Rabbit... and you're Alice, right?"

Crispin reddened slightly. "Who... no... what are you?" he asked, his eyes growing wide as he noticed the wings.

"Catch me if you can... Crispin." The man winked, then turned, and ran...

Ran behind the bookshelves, where there should have been a wall.

Instead, when Crispin rounded the corner, his eyes saw a maze of bookcases, and a long corridor...

"Come back here! Wait!" he cried, and began to run as best he could, considering the fuzzy slippers.

Interlude

Toki watched as the boy slept, tangled up in what blankets he had scrounged and in his own bathrobe, the slippers sliding off his feet as he twitched lightly under the influence of dreams.

The Aoide watched, and sighed. Here he was, in what amounted to a large upstairs closet that he had appropriated. No rooms of glory now, not yet. A closet. A closet, and a pile of blankets, and an exhausted man that was hardly grown to Toki's eyes. And out of this...

The thought had chased around Toki's mind every time he saw the host, after he had been called awake by the gathering of powers. Why should he not? He had always been bound to the Worldshield, though the long sleep, the path of silence, had twisted his mind from what it had once been. Toki was constantly aware of this new deficiency, just as he always knew the exact position of a certain gem in Harmodius' care.

Once, a messenger and aide... now, now, now what? A fop, a very foolish fop... but a faithful one, a faithful one at that.

A fool for a messenger and servant, a boy barely into manhood for a dragon king, a closet for a temple, and a pile of mussed blankets for an offering.

Toki bent his head, feeling the stupid, stupid ears flop over onto his forehead as he did so, the sting of tears in his eyes. So it was almost accomplished, supposedly. He was so, so tired.

So tired...

Very Strange Enchanted Boy

Toki's Treasures

"Where... gah... where are we... going?" Crispin panted. Toki was bounding ahead of him as they ran through the town streets, the Aoide moving in great strides assisted by the movement of his wings. Crispin's leg muscles burned; he wasn't used to so much running, and he wasn't going to be able to keep it up much longer. "Toki!"

He stopped on a street corner, gasping and panting, flopping against the nearest lamppost to catch his breath. "I'm not... whatever you are!"

Toki, who was already halfway down the next block, finally stopped and turned around, scurrying back to Crispin with a worried expression. "I am an Aoide, that is what I am. A servant of the gods and the dragon kings." His wings fanned slightly, whisking air past Crispin in an attempt to cool him down.

"Yeah, well, I'm human," Crispin muttered, pushing off the lamppost and straightening up, one hand going up to check the jewel. Toki had made a beautiful purple silk bag, not very large, that hung easily off of a long cord around his neck. A quick touch was enough to reassure him that the gem hadn't been jostled out of the bag with all the running.

Toki peered back and forth, shifting from foot to foot. "You are coming? We need to hurry, as fast as we can..."

"Why? Where are we going?" Crispin shook his head, wishing he had some water; his mouth was awfully dry. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain, okay?"

For a moment, Crispin thought he heard a soft chuckling noise and blinked, but Toki simply shook his head. "I have saved treasure for our Lord... to rebuild his temple, and fill his hoard again."

"Where is it?"

"Hidden." The Aoide looked shifty, and inched closer to Crispin to whisper in his ear. "Buried in a secret place, where none shall find it."

"Well, then we don't have to RUN, do we? It's not going to walk off, and my legs might FALL off if we do this much more, okay?" Crispin glared stubbornly at the Aoide. No way was he going to keep running like crazy after something that wasn't even going to move or close or anything.

Toki sighed. "Fine, fine. But... try not to be too horrifically slow?" He darted down the street, then waited impatiently for Crispin to catch up before darting a bit further and repeating the cycle.

Crispin rolled his eyes, but kept up the same deliberate pace. Bad idea to encourage the crazy.

Finally, after they had left the outskirts of town well behind, Toki lead Crispin to a small hillock with three tall, old pines growing atop them. The trunks were scarred with knife markings and amateur carvings, names and their eternal (or not) loves etched into the bark. "Here, here is the place... watch, carefully. I will dig while you stand guard." The Aoide looked around with great paranoia before crouching on the ground between the three trees and beginning to dig with his hands.

Crispin blinked, and contented himself to scooting out of range of the flying earth.

"Watch!" Toki hissed, throwing a dirt clod his way.

"What happened to 'Master Crispin'?" Crispin muttered, but did so - it was easier than dodging dirt. He didn't have many clothes here, and this set was going to be dirty enough with the sweat from running without adding mud splatters to the mix.

Carefully, Crispin paced and circled around the three trees, but nobody came nearby. The hillock was far enough away from the road that while it was obvious people came here SOMETIMES - the carvings were proof of that - it didn't seem to be a popular spot.

The sun teetered lower and lower to the horizon, and eventually Crispin found himself leaning against a tree, yawning. "Hurry UP, Toki," he mumbled, fiddling with the gem idly as he waited.

Again, the odd chuckling sound.

"... Toki?"

The noise of digging did not stop; the Aoide hadn't heard him... so how could HE have heard Toki laugh?

Unless it wasn't Toki...

Harmodius' words flashed through his mind. Keep it with you always...carry it, however you choose. Listen for his voice...

Crispin fumbled the gem out of the bag and peered at it in the sunlight.

Hello, boy.

The jewel fell to the ground as Crispin jumped, then quickly scrabbled to retrieve it with shaking hands. "He... hello....?" he managed.

So nervous... fear not... The words were distinct in his mind, like an electric current running up the nerves from his hand, where the gem touched the skin, to his brain.

"I... I won't..."

So weak... we will speak later... The voice trailed off, and though Crispin stared at the jewel for a good ten minutes, nothing happened.

He did, however, jump a mile when Toki suddenly tapped him on the back, and nearly dropped the gem again. Quickly putting it back in the bag, he turned to the Aoide. "What're you doing? You scared me!"

"Sorry, so sorry, Master Crispin! But... it is done, it has been found. Come and see, come!" Toki darted a few feet away, then ran back, like an eager puppy.

"Alright, alright..." Crispin stood up and brushed dried needles off of his pants before following Toki into the murky light of the tiny clearing - and stared.

There, in the center of the clearing, was a chest. Not a large one, something easily carried by one person - but an honest to goodness wooden, metal-bound treasure chest. Though it was dampened by dirt and dim light, he could tell that there were carvings on the curved lid.

"Toki..."

The Aoide walked over to the box and placed one hand protectively on it. "An eternity ago, I buried this... after everything went wrong," he said, quietly. Crispin blinked at the tone; it was much calmer and less manic than anything else he'd ever heard out of the servant. "It couldn't last forever... but the wait was so, so long, but we are all gathered here again now. Toki, this treasure, and Lord Shaiming..."

"Lord Shaiming?" Crispin looked down at the treasure chest, and felt a pang of sympathy for the Aoide. It must have been a very, very long time... far beyond his mortal reckoning. What could time like that do to a person's mind?

"My master, the one you bear... the one I serve, always." Toki bowed towars Crispin. "I am sworn to him until the end of my days."

"I... I see..." Crispin felt sobered, as though he could feel the weight of all those years pressing down on him. "Well... it's getting dark. We should get this back home, I guess."

Toki brightened. "Yes! I will carry it home, and we will feast! Hurry, hurry!" The Aoide hoisted the chest with surprising ease considering his slight frame. "Hurry!"

And, with that, the Aoide darted down the hill, half-flying, half-running.

Crispin sighed and, despite the protests from his aching legs, ran to catch up.

Crafting the Sky

Crispin had been exiled to the closet again, although part of it had been by choice - the constant banging and sounds of construction and crafting from within the large chambers was getting on his nerves, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. Toki was with the workers, guiding them with an odd intensity, and Crispin didn't know this town at all. It would be too easy to get lost.

Someday he wanted to wander around and get to know things, talk to some of the people he'd seen through the windows of this house - he'd seen people with all kinds of unusual features about them, and all manner of strange and magical beasts, some of which resembled creatures of myths and some he'd never heard of before. An entire world of magic was waiting outside...

He grinned in the half-light provided by Toki's single battered lamp. He had some magic in here, didn't he? Quietly, Crispin leaned against the wall, wincing as a particularly loud bang sounded from the other room, and carefully removed the dragon gem from its bag.

"... Shaiming?" he said, quietly. Now that he knew the dragon's name, he should use it.

There was a quiet stirring within the gem... not exactly physical, but not exactly not either.

So you have learned more.

Crispin nodded slowly as the words became clear to him. "I have... Toki told me. He found a great treasure and we are making the rooms beautiful for you," he said, eagerly, cupping the gem close in both hands.

... I see... thank you. There was an expectant pause. I am weak still, the dragon said, finally.

"We will bring you back to health, sir," Crispin said, earnestly.

Again, the pause, the odd hesitation. ... thank you.

And then, nothing. Crispin frowned slightly, wondering if he had given offense, but the jewel made no reply and the feeling of odd contact had gone. Maybe the dragon spirit was just too weak still to speak. He hoped that was it.

Sighing, Crispin tucked the jewel back into the bag, then stood - just in time for the closet door to bang open. "Gah!"

Toki bowed, quickly. "Sorry, Master Crispin, but they are done!"

Crispin blinked. "So fast? It's only been three days!"

The Aoide giggled. "Ah, but here we work with magic..."

"Magic..." Crispin felt a twist of envy; maybe he SHOULD have stayed within the room and watched. Magical craftsmen? That was SO cool. "It must have been. Are they gone?"

"The foreman remains waiting for your approval," Toki said, ushering Crispin out of the closet and down the hall to the starry door. Sure enough, a well-built man in basic work clothes stood in front of the door, arms folded over his chest. He nodded politely to Crispin as the boy approached, then stepped aside.

Toki opened the door with a flourish. "Ta-da!"

Crispin stared.

The large space had been split up into rooms; in front of him, the moon-shaped window and a gathering of stars streamed light into the largest part of the chambers. The walls were all... black? No, not black, but what seemed a shifting mixture of colors, like looking nito the night sky. Tiny star-shaped mirrors were set into all the walls, and the ceiling too, by the dozens - all reflecting bright silver spots everywhere around the room.

"It's like... like the whole sky," Crispin marveled. This was WAY better than his ex's glow in the dark stars.

Toki grinned. "Look, look!"

Crispin allowed himself to be guided around. Strong, well-crafted furniture sat here and there - in particular, a gathering of chairs around a larger, throne-like seat near the great moon-window, and bookshelves that lined the walls. Lights in the shape of stars hung from the ceiling here and there, providing enough light to see by while still preserving the illusion of a vast cosmos.

There were other rooms, too - a bedroom, to Crispin's great delight, and a bathroom with a huge in-ground tub that looked more like a small pond than a bathtub. Another doorway had been made to the main hall for Toki's rooms, so that he could go in and out without disturbing Crispin at all.

"It's... it's wonderful," Crispin enthused to the waiting foreman. "Toki, pay him what we owe him, and some extra besides... it's beautiful! I'm sure Lord Shaiming will love it!"

Toki nodded, and darted into his own chamber, coming out moments later with a sack that jingled and clinked. The foreman raised his eyebrows, then opened the bag and whistled.

Crispin left the man and the Aoide to finish their affairs, and wandered into the bedroom. The bed there was large, but unusual - more like a sort of great, pillowed nest than a proper bed, sheltered by a great glass skylight in the ceiling above. The bed was large enough for three people to roll around in, and Crispin promptly jumped in and flopped right in the middle, spreading out all his arms and legs, peering up at the real stars through the skylight just above the bed with a silly grin on his face.

It was all out of a fairy tale.

"Pinch me, I'm dreaming," he mumbled, happily, then - not daring to do the deed himself lest it prove true - reached into the gem bag and pulled out the jewel. "Look, Lord Shaiming... isn't it beautiful?"

Crispin was sure he felt approval and pleasure radiating off of the jewel before sleep claimed him.

The Thing, and the Whole of the Thing

Toki crept in through the starry door to their chambers nervously, with Crispin following. "No, don't go into your room. Come here," Crispin said, firmly, leading the Aoide to the group of chairs under the moon window. He hesitated, then sat in the seat beside the more elaborate raised 'throne'.

"That chair isn't for me, is it."

Toki knelt before him, the cloth rabbit ears flopping over his face. "... No, Master Crispin."

"You'd better tell me who it is for, then." Crispin looked more firm and commanding than he ever had, and Toki gulped.

And told him. Told him about the Edelsteine, the Fading, how even the great Dragon Kings had fallen before the inexorability of apathy. Told him of the rebirth; of gems set into the flesh of mortals and blossoming out into gods again, roots set deep into the souls of their hosts and consuming them, or joining with them, as they grew. Told him of Harmodius, the Twin Crown of Creation and Destruction both, and how the age of the gods was rising again...

Crispin took it all in, slowly, mutely. Finally, when Toki had fallen silent and knelt before him again, trembling slightly, he spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me this before, Toki?"

"Because... I was afraid," Toki said, with a frankess that surprised Crispin. "My lord Shaiming... he is my only reason for existing. Were it not for the hope that he would one day return, I would have killed myself long since... please, Master Crispin, I did not want to frighten you away... but it has been so hard... and you are the only hope for him!" Crispin realized that Toki was weeping, his shoulders shaking not from fear but from the sobs that racked his body. "The chosen host, but... he would never take you himself, without your agreement. He is too honorable for that, even now...!"

Suddenly, Toki darted forward, capturing Crispin's hands in his own. "Please! Oh, please, master Crispin..." the Aoide pleaded. "Do not be afraid... my Lord is kind, the most honorable king you would ever hope to meet. He will treat you kindly, share you into his magic even as Lord Harmodius said..." Toki faltered, finally, and merely trembled before him. "Please..."

Gently, Crispin freed his hands from Toki's grasp, and reached up to touch the gem bag that hung around his neck. He could sense the dragon within, but the King said nothing.

"And if I refuse?" Crispin said, gently.

Toki cringed as if he had been physically slapped. "You... you can refuse... but the Dragon Kings are most beloved of Lord Harmodius. I... I am not sure if he will allow...." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Crispin frowned. "I see..." He sighed, deeply. This was something he hadn't expected.... the fantasy dream had twisted. Not quite a nightmare yet, but no longer unicorns and pink flowers either.

Then again, he had always hated unicorns and pink flowers.

"I need some time alone, Toki... I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Toki nodded mutely as Crispin stood up, glancing at the throne one more time before padding slowly to his bedroom and closing the door.

Once he was gone, Toki all but collapsed on the floor, weeping. "Oh... my lord, please, please... tell me I was not wrong in this, all this. Tell me..."

Morning After

Crispin woke up feeling like something had crawled into his mouth and died in it during the night. "Ugh..." He yawned, stretched, and automatically reached to check the gem in its bag around his neck.

When it wasn't there, there was a momentary surge of panic.

My goodness, you're forgetful, Shaiming said, with amusement, and it all came flooding back. Crispin groaned and flopped back into bed, only to sit up with a hiss as the pillows pressed against his newly sensitive upper back.

"Ow! Hey, I thought you said this wouldn't hurt!"

Unfortunately, I cannot control your body... yet. Still, you should get up. You will need food; you have been sleeping for two days and nights.

Crispin blinked. "Two days?! Why?" That explained why everything was achy and why there was such a foul feeling in his mouth, but...

The process of merging with a jewel is not simple. What is it... hmm... computers? Fascinating. Crispin felt a momentary wash of disorientation. Ah, yes. A jewel is not a 'plug and play'.

"How did you know about that? Hey!" Crispin grabbed for a pillow as the dizziness came again. "Are you messing around in there?"

I wish to know you, so I have been partaking of your memory while the fusion completed. Was that wrong?

Crispin made a face. "I... guess I can't do anything about it... whatever... just don't embarass me, okay?"

I will not. Come, rise.

"Okay, okay... geez..." Crispin yawned and got up slowly. What passed for sunlight nowadays was indeed coming through the skylight and the star-shaped windows to the side, and he opened the door to the hall carefully. After sleepily using the facilities ("And no snappy comments about... that kind of thing, okay?" I would not dream of it.) he wandered down the hall, still yawning. "Toki? Hey, Toki?"

"Master Crispin?" Toki peered out from where he had been sitting in the main room. "Oh, you are awake! I was worried, but you slept so soundly that I did not wish to disturb you..."

But, as Crispin got close, Toki's eyes widened, and the Aoide suddenly slipped to kneel before him, then bowing, pressing his forehead against the floor and making the bunny ears flop outlandishly. "Your majesty!"

"Huh?" Crispin blinked.

"Oh, thank you... thank you, Lord Crispin!" Toki sat up with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Crispin noted the upgrade from 'master' to 'lord' with bemusement. "For what...?"

"For joining with my Lord Shaiming... oh, thank you..." The Aoide bowed again.

"How could you tell? The gem's on my back," Crispin said, confused.

Toki grinned. "Come, come with me... my lord has left his mark on you." Crispin yelped as the Aoide grabbed his hand and all but dragged him down the hall to the bathroom, shoving him in front of the large mirror there. "There, look! Behold, the sign of blessing!"

Crispin stared. Around the front of his neck was a band of soft purple with a ridge of pale blue above it, a pattern of scaling along the length. A touch confirmed that they weren't real scales, but rather just color on the skin, like a tattoo. "That's... uh... that's weird."

"And turn, so..." Toki popped up beside him with a hand mirror, expertly moving Crispin until things were just right. "There, look so."

With the two mirrors, Crispin was able to see the gem set into his back, and there was the rest of what he now realized was the dragon that had clutched the gem before. The head lay over the top of the jewel, the tail twined lightly down his spine. "I never thought I'd have a tattoo... thing.. ever," Crispin admitted, though he also had to admit it looked kind of cool.

It is a natural effect. Do not worry.

"I wasn't."

"My lord?" Toki looked confused. "You weren't what?"

"I... oh, sorry, Toki. I was talking to Shaiming."

"You were... oh, bless you, Lord Crispin, bless you!" Toki's eyes filled again, and he wiped self-conciously at his face. "Oh, I will go get you some breakfast immediately. Just sit and rest!"

With that, the teary Aoide darted out of the room, leaving Crispin to blink in front of the mirror. "Was he... always like that?"

Time has taken a toll. I do not know about the cloth ears... Shaiming sounded just as confused. He means well.

"I know he does. Mmm..." Crispin winced at the sight of the skin around the gem; it was red and swollen, and looked painful. "I think for once in my life I might go shirtless, just for today."

Who was that girl... Laura? She would like that.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Crispin blushed beet-red.

Fallen World, Fallen Hopes

The movement was slow, halting, and Toki watched it with wide eyes - ready to help if needed, but afraid that the contact might wake Crispin from his sleep. "Are you well, my lord?" came the Aoide's quavering voice.

Lips parted, and there were a few breaths before a voice stirred. "I am. I am strong enough for this." Barely. It had been some time since Shaiming had controlled a body, and only now had he dared it, while Crispin slumbered and his mind was easily pushed aside to make way for the god. There was a fleeting thought that such an action, unasked for, might be dishonorable, but Shaiming had gotten to know his host well enough that he knew the boy would not be angry.

His steps were slow and shuffling, just enough to make it to the open window, where he rested, peering out through Crispin's eyes. For a moment everything was blurred and soft, and he couldn't figure out why until Toki scurried up with the boy's glasses. "Thank you," Shaiming murmured.

With the glasses on, the world outside the window became clear, and the dragon mutely observed the changes. He had caught glimpses of this from Crispin's mind, but the boy... no, he wasn't worried. Not as he should have been. He didn't know that this world's natural state was nothing like what currently shrouded it.

Shaiming stared out at the skies, darkened beyond mere night, the stars scattered more thinly than they had ever been. Ash and fumes rose up from the lava below, and its red glow gave an eerie look to the crumbling remains of the garden.

"It was beautiful," Toki whispered, his voice cracked, curled in on itself.

"I understand. Do not trouble yourself," Shaiming replied, not wishing to send his servant spiraling into pain again. The more the Aoide was forced to see the outside world, the more his ability to cope seemed to fail. That was the last thing Crispin needed, his only visible companion cracking completely. "It is His taint."

"It is," the Aoide confirmed, with a squeak.

Shaiming looked over the world and felt his heart sink. Could he have prevented this? He should have been called sooner... but that was not of his doing. Toki's doing, perhaps, but he too moved by greater will. Who had brought him back at this time, when all the world around was laid waste and all he could see was what he had failed to protect?

"I must grow again. I must regain my power, Toki... I must throw my shields around as much as I can, and protect it from what my Lord Harmodius has become. It is my duty..." I have failed, I have failed it...

I am so tired...

The body slumped, and Toki moved quickly to catch it under the arms, supporting the sagging form. "My lord!"

"Shh. Toki. He stirs... back to bed now, swiftly and calmly as you can."

"Have you seen what you wished?"

"No... but I was not expecting to. Thank you for your aid."

And with that, Shaiming let his consciousness slip back behind the surface, blessedly once removed from the world blackened and changed, but with a great deal more to think on.