Rorri

　　"Do you think the bard did a spell or something?"

　　Rorri shrugged, fiddling with his blanket. "I have no idea. Did you feel anything?"

　　"No, not really," Adar said. "It was a nice song, but that`s all."

　　"Mau?"

　　Rorri scratched Poppy`s head.

　　"You, um& You said there was something going on with my eyes?"

　　"Mau?"

　　"Yes," Adar said. "But you said you didn`t want to know what they look like, so&"

　　Rorri`s face burned. It was true. He didn`t really want to know. He remembered how Shacia had flinched when he`d snapped his eyes open the night of the opera&

　　"It might be a clue to what just happened," he said, his hand resting on the soft curve of the cat`s back. "So& I guess you should tell me now."

　　A pensive silence passed. Poppy`s purr sent a tingling wave up Rorri`s arm, edging out the dark hum in his chest. He knew Adar was doing his best to make the information palatable, but&

　　"Well, they`re normally pretty much whited out, except for pinpoint pupils," Adar explained. "Like you incinerated your irises. They`re completely gone. You`re bloodshot around the edges, too, and your pupils don`t really expand-"

　　"Okay, I get it," Rorri said, grimacing at the frightening image. "So what happened at the tavern?"

　　"That`s just it - your pupils expanded a lot. Almost blacked your eyes out entirely. They weren`t round either, more like a starburst."

　　A sickening heat bubbled in Rorri`s stomach. How could he ever open his eyes in public again?

　　"Mau?"

　　"Seems like there might be some kind of eyeball magic involved," Adar mused. "Another reason to go see your, um& Shacia. She might know what happened."

　　"I don`t want her to have to look at me like this," Rorri said.

　　"We can put a blindfold on you," Adar suggested.

　　"That sounds ridiculous."

　　"Mysterious," Adar corrected. "I could make one out of your fancy silk shirt, since it`s all ripped up and bloody, anyway. It`ll probably be the most comfortable."

　　Rorri sat quietly, perturbed, but unable to argue against his friend`s logic.

　　It`ll really make his eyes pop&

　　"Can you still do magic?"

　　The question caught Rorri off guard. "I haven`t tried," he said, scooting into the covers like a turtle into his shell. "Can`t imagine how I would now. I was only ever good at doing visual magic."

　　"Mau?"

　　"I`ve seen you do magic in other ways," Adar said. "Like during the puppet show, when you made it smell like fish-"If you come across this story on Amazon, it`s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

　　"What`s the point?" Rorri interrupted. "With my luck, I`d just end up setting the door on fire again. It`s not safe. I can`t control it. I can`t be trusted. You saw what I did at the opera."

　　"Mau?"

　　Poppy pawed at Rorri`s face, leaving tiny scratches on his cheeks from where his nails barely poked out of his paws. Adar sighed.

　　"Yes, I saw what you did," he said. "It`s not like you killed anyone. Quite the opposite, actually. But I get it. I won`t bug you about it."

　　Something in Rorri`s chest wilted. He shrank the rest of the way into his bed, covering his head. The cat kneaded the fabric that barricaded his face.

　　"I still think we should go see her," Adar said.

　　"You`ll have to send a courier first," Rorri said, his voice dim and muffled. "Whatever that means. I`m not showing up out of the blue again."

　　"Okay."

　　"Mau?"

　　Poppy walked across Rorri`s side and spun a circle in the small of his back, turning three times before he settled in.

　　"I was thinking about training Poppy to walk on a leash," Adar said. "Maybe we could bring him to visit. I bet she`d like that."

　　Rorri`s lips twitched into a fleeting smile. "Dunno how you`d go about that," he said. "Cats won`t do anything they don`t want to do."

　　"That`s true. I`ll just have to figure out a way to make him want to." Adar yawned, sleepy blue waves rippling in the sound`s wake. "Anyway, I`m exhausted. Double for you, I imagine, after all that."

　　"Yeah&"

　　The floor creaked. "Sleep well, buddy," Adar said.

　　"Same to you."

　　Rorri`s door clicked shut, leaving him to grope for sleep. Tired as he was, his mind was still begging to solve the night`s mysteries, and all sorts of pictures and theories and memories swam about in the void. But, eventually, he faded into the familiar twilight.

　　Pak

　　The Mountain approaches, looming, mocking. It knows I am a stranger to its cliffs and jagged edges. Its wind whispers through its crevices and crevasses, taunting me, reminding me of my smallness, my worthlessness. I am unwelcome, a cockroach in its kitchen.

　　"Shut up!" I retort, clutching my crudely-sewn furs. The wind dies down as if taken aback, but it returns with vengeance, flinging dirt into my eyes. I shield them with my forearm and struggle onward.

　　The mouth of a cave yawns just ahead, a dark and infinite abyss. I hobble onto its tongue, and my legs give way. I fall forward. My elbows crack as I catch myself. I cough what feels like sand in my lungs.

　　The Obsidian awaits&

　　The voice laughs its menacing laugh, but the cold has numbed me. I don`t even care.

　　"Obviously," I mutter, wavering, weak. Cabbage flutters down and lands beside my head.

　　"Prrrooh?" he coos, sniffing my face. I cough again, but I can`t turn away in time, and I end up coughing on him. He hops back and shakes out his feathers.

　　"I`m sorry, buddy." I taste blood on the back of my tongue.

　　"Prroooh!" Cabbage cries.

　　"I know&"

　　I try to force myself upright, but my body refuses, muscles going slack. My skin crawls. My ears are hot. My limbs are ice cold. I can`t feel anything inside, not even my own heartbeat.

　　"I don`t think I`m going to make it&"

　　I collapse. My cheek meets the rocky ground, burying a sharp pebble into the scar around my eye. Cabbage hops forward. The tip of his tail twitches and flicks, leaving a trail in the air.

　　"Mrraooh!"

　　"Just&" I close my eyes. "Tell Kano&"

　　The darkness deepens. Cabbage`s movements grow blurrier. The faint flurry of snow fades away.

　　"I&"

　　I don`t know if I ever finish the thought. I don`t even know what the thought was supposed to be. I am gone. As slowly and painfully as I came, I am gone.