Rorri

　　The blind man`s forest bloomed more bright, crisp and colorful than it had ever been. Rorri could see each groove of each tree trunk, even from clear across the room, and he could smell each flower that decorated the branches just by looking at them. Rainbows of light glittered across the sprawling canopies above him, and as he stepped back, he saw the grass beneath his feet depress as if he`d actually stepped on grass. He saw his feet clearly, though they appeared to be bare despite wearing shoes. He was pure light, radiating from head to toe. Looking at his hands, the dents in his knuckles and around his fingernails were visible like the darkest part of a flame, and the veins and tendons that popped beneath his skin were like the blue near the wick.

　　(A wisp of self-awareness whispered - you look incredibly strange, staring at your hands like that - but Rorri was far too enraptured to care.)

　　No longer did the people around appear as chaotic clusters of sparkling lights. Each one had a sharp outline, such that Rorri could discern every detail of their bodies - their incredibly naked bodies. Upon realizing his inability to distinguish clothes, he kept his gaze to the floor and its chaotic sea of bare feet, not wanting to stare, though he recognized how silly it was. Some of the patrons shined as intensely as the trees, while others were nearly voids. The air carried faint bands of light, and though he couldn`t see any booths or art, the bands bounced around some spaces, repelled, he suspected, by objects. He couldn`t tell their depth or where they stopped and started. He just knew there was something there.

　　When the shock wore off, he remembered why he cast the spell, and he saw a conspicuous trail of light that began at the point where he was sitting a moment ago. It made a brief arc before it fell to the floor, shot in a straight line, then took a hard left. He quickly realized it must have been the path Poppy took after the child spooked him. Rorri darted off after it without a second thought.

　　The light had a bizarre way of provoking an assumption of incorporeality. He stumbled into several naked light-people, believing he`d be able to walk through them, before he caught on well enough to avoid them. By the same backwards logic, he found himself avoiding the trees and stepping over roots that weren`t actually there, and when he did stumble into one, he faced no resistance, and it vanished from the scene.

　　(The same wisp of awareness whispered, you`re causing a huge ruckus, but still, Rorri paid it no mind.)

　　Where the trail turned, Rorri found a wall. Poppy must have followed along its perimeter. He managed to avoid running into someone`s booth by following the erratic path the cat had woven around it, though he stumbled into something hard and heavy - a sculpture Poppy had walked right under - nearly toppling it. Everywhere he went, whispers and gasps followed, and some patrons outright yelled at him. He didn`t care. He needed to find Poppy. He needed to make sure he was safe. He would never forgive himself if something happened to his and Shacia`s cat.

　　"Rorri!"

　　Adar called to him from just ahead, right where Poppy`s path took another sharp turn.

　　"Adar, h-he went-"

　　"This your blind friend then?" came the voice of a person standing right beside Adar`s shimmering blue silhouette, a female-bodied elf, Rorri saw all too plainly, with a soft orange-tinted glow. At her waist, he saw the outline of a sword - the only object he`d seen with any clarity - though it was faint, emitting a greenish light that made him uneasy. The scar on his shoulder pulsed with dim, throbbing pain, though the wound had closed up months ago. A second guard, male-bodied and human, stood a few feet beyond her, an identical sword at his waist, staring straight ahead.

　　"Yes," Adar said. "I told you I wasn`t lying."

　　"Please, m-my cat-"

　　"Yes, ser, he told me."

　　"How the hell did you stumble all the way over here?" Adar said.

　　"I f-followed the wall," Rorri muttered. "You s-saw where he went, right?"

　　"He bolted down this hall, but she won`t let me in because it goes into the Palace."

　　Rorri bit his lip, his face pinched, trying not to cry. He hiccuped, pressing his blindfold into his eyes. The guard glimmered deep pink, then scratched her head.

　　"If it`s a service pet, I s`pose I ought to escort you back. You alright if I leave my post, Fisher?"

　　The male guard simply nodded. Rorri`s heart lifted.

　　"Thank you," Adar said. "Come on, hang onto my arm."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

　　Rorri hooked arms with his friend, even though he didn`t really need to. He saw Poppy`s trail clearly down the empty Palace hall. But, he remembered, he was supposed to be a blind man. He was a blind man.

　　"I saw it run through," their escort said. "Thought it was just a mouser."

　　"With a leash?"

　　"Been a long night." The guard hung back, letting the men move ahead of her. "Dunno how you`ll find it, but do your thing. I`ll follow. Can`t let you into any restricted areas, but those doors should be closed, anyway."

　　As her metal boots echoed down the halls, thicker bands of light spewed from her feet, like waves of colorful sound. Rorri realized what the bands in the ballroom were - a sea of sound generated by the hundreds of peoples` movement. The sound waves stopped and shifted around corners, and after a few steps Rorri noticed that, if he watched closely enough, he could discern where the real walls were, despite the sprawling forest appearing as open as it always did. The waves just wouldn`t go through objects. With all of this, and with Poppy`s trail, Rorri felt like he could easily navigate the empty halls. But as frustrating as it was, he pretended like he saw and knew nothing, relegated to following Adar`s lead.

　　They called Poppy`s name, tsktsktsked and pstpstpsted, and Adar even produced a bag of treats to shake in the hopes of luring the cat to them, but all to no avail.

　　"This isn`t working," Adar said.

　　"Are there lots of t-turns he could have taken?"

　　"It`s a bit of a maze, yeah."

　　"Well, let`s t-try something. You know how close me and P-P-Poppy are," Rorri said. "When we come to an intersection, ask m-me which direction to go, and I`ll say the f-first one to come to mind, and maybe we can find him that way?"

　　"Well ain`t that sweet," their escort said.

　　"I`ll try anything," Adar said, his voice still heavy and dark with stress. "Alright, then& left or right?"

　　"Right," Rorri said, whispering a silent thank-you to the gods of silly tricks. They meandered for some time, occasionally stopping to ask a patrolling guard if they`d seen a cat go by dragging a leash. One guard said yes, and was certain the cat went that way`, though Rorri saw clearly that they were wrong. Thankfully, the path just went in a circle, and he guided them the right way with his feigned intuition. But Adar was rapidly deflating. His aura had dimmed from a cool steel blue to a deep, depressed indigo. If only he see what Rorri was seeing...

　　They turned a corner, and Rorri saw the path abruptly end, with Poppy`s bright, angelic silhouette crouching on the floor.

　　"There!" he whispered. "I, uh, I can s-sense him!"

　　"What - oh!"

　　But as the metal footsteps ricocheted down the hallway, and the thick band of sound-light passed over him, Poppy flashed yellow and scampered silently away.

　　"Dammit!" Rorri cried, pulling desperately towards the cat, but Adar`s strong arm held him back.

　　"How&?"

　　"Your b-boots probably scared him&"

　　"Come on, we know he`s close, at least," Adar said, though Rorri could sense his friend`s suspicion in his now reddish-orange-colored tenor.

　　Y`look fishy as fuck, mate&

　　"Can you t-take your boots off?" Rorri said with an edge to his voice. The sound became louder and more agitating with every step the guard took.

　　"Sorry, ser, that`s not going to happen."

　　Rorri squeezed his fists.

　　"He went to the right, down here," Adar said. "Maybe you could just stop walking for a minute when we go around the corner, just in case he`s close by?"

　　"I can`t let you out of my sight," the guard said.

　　"Then he`s just going to keep r-running from us&"

　　"I could probably catch him," Adar said. "I`m quick, and he has a leash, which makes him easier to grab. Will you be okay if I have to run off after him?"

　　Rorri gave a hesitant nod.

　　"I can walk you if I need to, ser," their escort said.

　　"You don`t have to w-walk me," Rorri grumbled. He knew she meant well, but it felt so demeaning. He could go on his own if he really wanted. He just had to keep playing the part.

　　"I don`t see him," Adar said after they`d gone around the corner.

　　"He h-has to be close," Rorri said, clenching his jaw. Go left, he thought as strongly as he could, as if Adar could hear his thoughts.

　　"We really should have put a little bell on his collar or something&"

　　"We can do that when we get him b-back-"

　　"Wait - there he is!"

　　Just as Adar led them around the corner to the left, he ripped his arm away and broke into a sprint, nearly knocking Rorri down. Rorri watched Poppy`s silhouette bolt down the hall, tailed by Adar. He really was fast.

　　"Poppy! Get back here!"