Rorri

　　The crisp early-spring air bit Rorri`s ears. He felt the sun keenly on his skin when he teetered out from under a shadow, but when the shadow`s cold came back to nip at him again, he stiffened and cursed. The warmth was his only comfort as he stumbled through the void, alone with his cat and his stick. He knew he wasn`t really alone - Adar was always just a few steps away - but it still felt like it.

　　Adar had found a clever way to tie his blindfold into his hair so that it stopped slipping down his face, so at least he didn`t have to worry about that. He followed Poppy`s tug, grateful that the cat usually led him to warmer spots, and he used the stick as well as he could, but he still hadn`t quite figured it out, so Adar warned him of incoming obstacles and occasionally took his arm to prevent a near-hit. Even still, Rorri stumbled, constantly anticipating collision. The anxiety alone stilted his steps, and he often faltered without reason. Adar encouraged him all the way, which only provoked more cursing and muttering.

　　He tried to ignore the comments of passersby&

　　What`s that Woodie doing?

　　Look at the kitty!

　　He`s going to hurt himself&

　　&but the voices were persistent, and though he never engaged, he still felt a pang every time. But Adar was right about one thing - people gave him a wide berth, and he didn`t once bump into another pedestrian.

　　They went on for what felt like hours. The void constantly warbled with kaleidoscopic patterns, no rhyme or reason behind them. As the day got busier and noisier, Poppy`s movements became more unpredictable, and Adar`s voice began washing away in the crowd. Rorri`s breathing sped up. He had no idea where he was or how far they`d traveled from home, or how long it would take to get back, and if he lost Adar, he`d surely be lost forever. He remembered his first day in Iridan, how he`d circled the city aimlessly for hours and hours and nobody stopped to help him, and that was when he could see. Now, how could he hope to find so much as a suitable alley to hole up in? He`d never know what might be lurking, waiting to take advantage of a blind man stumbling by. Iridan`s dust was choking him, making him dizzy. It was all becoming too much.

　　"Rorri."

　　Adar spoke close to Rorri`s ear. He jumped, but it prepared him for his friend`s hand to rest on his shoulder, rooting him to the world once more. He felt a gentle nudge on his ankle, followed by Poppy`s soft, worried meow.

　　"There`s a bench over here," Adar said. "Let`s sit for a minute and catch our breath. I`ve only got a few more things on the list, and then we can go home."

　　Rorri nodded, his eyes strained from trying not to cry. He missed the days when he hadn`t cried for years. It happened all too often, lately.

　　The high sun warmed the bench`s rough wooden seat. Rorri gave a drawn-out sigh as he sat, and Poppy quickly climbed into his lap, as if to shield him from the world on the other side of the void.

　　"S-sorry&" Rorri mumbled.

　　"Why?"

　　"Mau?"

　　"Because&" Rorri started, stopping to bite his lip. He buried his hand in the cat`s soft fur, letting Poppy`s purr soothe his fingertips.

　　"Look, I`d be lying if I said you weren`t a burden," Adar said. Rorri blinked, always astonished by his lack of tact.

　　"But," he continued, "so is a load of groceries. Grocery shopping is a chore. That doesn`t mean I resent the groceries for not being able to walk themselves into the house. That would be silly. I quite like having them around, actually, because I need to eat, and I`d even say I enjoy eating. Frankly, the most off-putting thing my groceries could do would be to apologize for being so burdensome. What would you say to the groceries in that situation, Rorri?"

　　"Erm&" Rorri gave an uncomfortable laugh. "How are you talking`, maybe?"

　　"Exactly."

　　Rorri glanced towards Adar`s voice. The kaleidoscope of senseless color parted, seemingly hedged out by his friend`s silhouette. He saw the distinct, empty shape of Adar, leaning back into the bench with one ankle crossed over his knee and his arms folded over his stomach, floating freely in the void. Rorri`s head tingled from the sun`s warmth. Just below him, Poppy`s purr created a soft white ripple.

　　"All I`m saying is that, as far as burdens go, you`re worth taking on."

　　For one immeasurable moment, as the last trace of Adar`s voice entered Rorri`s ears, the void swallowed him - truly swallowed him - robbing him of every sensation, as if he`d simply ceased to exist. But just as quickly as it swallowed him, it spit him out again. The market noise swelled, so much louder than before, and the sun`s tingle became unpleasant, like the pressure of an unwelcome massage. A light breeze swept his hair to the side. He could taste Iridan`s dust on the back of his tongue, and the stink of sweat and urine mingling with bakers` goods clouded the air in front of his face. With every sensation that brushed his skin, a thin tree sprouted up from where the ground should be. With every odor that begged his nose`s attention, a new flower bloomed somewhere in the scene. Every ripple of Poppy`s purr brushed the forest with an ambient glow, and the sounds came popping out of the void as chaotic clusters of light.

　　It was so much brighter than it had been in the tavern. Innumerable miniature suns of every color whizzed about, nearly obscuring the backdrop of trees and empty sky. Slowly, his eyes - or whatever it was - adjusted, as with any mundane light. He tried to follow the movements. They were largely going left and right, bobbing and weaving, but mostly contained within a channel. Some loitered around the edges, like rocks on a river bank, and nothing seemed to be ascending, apart from a small scatter of lights taking off from the ground like& Birds? Rorri squinted behind his blindfold - though he wasn`t sure if squinting actually helped - and focused on the ascending lights. They were birds. Their wing-shaped edges gave them away. He looked down to find the crisp, bright outline of his cat filling up his lap. His own hand left a warm trail of golden light on Poppy`s back as he pet him.

　　"Will you be alright here if I run off to get the rest of our groceries?" Adar asked. He emanated the same blue glow that Rorri had seen in the tavern, not quite filling out his whole silhouette, but far brighter than it was before. He shakily nodded his head and dropped his gaze back to Poppy.

　　"I`ll just be a few minutes. Don`t go anywhere."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

　　With that, Adar`s blue aura disappeared into the throng of lights. Rorri watched them, awestruck. He tried to focus on the trees, to discern how they might fit within the market scene, but just like at the tavern, they seemed completely out of place, as if someone had pasted a drawing of the forest over top of everything else. The closest tree had sprouted up just beside him. He casually scooted his hand to his side to touch it, but where he thought he`d feel its bark, or even just a vague ghostly semblance of its bark, he felt nothing at all. The tree shimmered out of existence, like any illusion being dispelled.

　　"Ai, Woodie!"

　　Rorri whipped around to face the source of the call. A cluster of orange-green lights bounded towards him. These lights buzzed quicker, the colors alternating in a patternless dance within the confines of whoever carried them. They slowed to a stop just a few feet away, carrying one small and remarkably bright white light near where Rorri approximated their hands to be.

　　"Where`s you bin, man?" the voice said in broken Elvish, raspy and warm and familiar. "And why`s you got dat on your face? I taut you were picked ap by de Ro`!"

　　The man`s lights bounced up and down where he stood. Rorri scratched his head.

　　"S-sorry," he said with a sheepish smile, "I, um, I know I know you, but I can`t quite place your voice - I was in an accident, and I can`t see anymore, so-"

　　"Ahhhhh, shit man!" he said, his orange-green flickering deep pink with sympathy. "Is Nico, you`re remember now?"

　　Of course Rorri remembered Nico. He was one of the friendlier, if not a tad unreliable, Weathermen, one of the first he`d ever met, the type who dealt part-time to supplement his honest job. He was an immigrant, though Rorri didn`t know where he`d come from, and despite his atrocious grammar, Rorri found his accent much easier to understand than most other humans in Iridan - probably the harsh emphasis he placed on his consonants, so words didn`t get lost in a slurry. They weren`t the closest of friends, but Rorri was fond of Nico`s eager, dog-like personality. He was the sort of person who would lend you anything you needed, even if he knew he`d likely never get it back. Rorri owed him dozens of cigarettes.

　　"Good to s-see you again," Rorri said. The bench dipped as Nico sat beside him. Poppy stirred, his head drifting towards the man, the outline of his nose twitching.

　　"Can I pet?" Nico said.

　　"Mau."

　　Rorri could tell he was a bit heavy-handed by the way Poppy initially recoiled, but he tolerated it nonetheless. The bench vibrated from Nico`s bouncing foot. If Rorri knew him like he did, he`d guess he was probably high, and the chaotic, electric movement of his aura seemed to confirm it.

　　"I hasn`t seen Bilge neider, he`s okay?" Nico said. Rorri frowned and shook his head.

　　"He went missing a little w-while ago," he said.

　　"Shiiiit, man&"

　　He pulsed deep pink again.

　　"It`s been a rough f-few months," Rorri said. "But, um, how have you been?"

　　"Good, I got`s a baby soon&"

　　"Oh, congratulations!"

　　"Tanks, man," Nico said. "But ai, don`t worry bout me. You got`s real shit luck, huh? And Bilge`s gone& Some fuck`d ap shit, man."

　　Rorri nodded. "You could say that, yeah."

　　"Hey, I feel`s bad, so&"

　　Rorri watched the orange-green glow of his hand draw near the bright white spot on his leg.

　　"Here`s present for you," he said quietly, close to Rorri`s ear. "Careful, I put`s in your pocket. It has still torns."

　　The bright white spot split and floated towards him, carried by the Weatherman`s stealthy hand. Rorri barely felt it as he slipped it into the side pocket of his many-pocketed pants. His heart fluttered. He knew exactly what it was.

　　"Hey, I got`s go," Nico said, sniffing. "Tell your mister I said hi!"

　　"...Mister? You mean Adar? We`re not like that-"

　　"Is okay, man, it don`t bodder me. See you!"

　　Nico clapped Rorri`s shoulder and bounded away, parting dozens of lights in his path. Rorri swayed, rooting himself in Poppy`s soft fur, and watched the lights swim up and down the market road. With his bizarre new sight, he could tell when people stopped to stare at him. If he faced them, they`d flash yellow and wander away. Despite all of this, he found himself unusually calm. He had a curious subconscious habit of clearing his mind when he knew he had drugs on his person. If he thought too much about it, he might behave suspiciously, so his thoughts naturally vacated the scene.

　　Before long, Adar returned. Rorri recognized his bluish glow approaching before he`d said a word.

　　"It`s happening again," he said. Adar stopped.

　　"How did you know-?"

　　"We need to go." He gently set Poppy on the ground and stood, taking his stick shakily in his other hand.

　　"Wait. Can you lift your blindfold some? I just want to see&"

　　Rorri did as Adar asked. He looked into where his friend`s eyes would be and felt the same shock he`d get any time he made eye contact with anyone, though it was never quite as bad with Adar.

　　"Weird&"

　　"Let`s go, please," Rorri said nervously, knowing people were watching. "You can t-tell me about it when we get home."

　　The illusory forest darkened. The ground skittered, its roots squirming like snakes in the grass. Rorri shut his eyes, but it did nothing to dispel the vision. At once, all the lights dimmed and flickered a sinister red, as if the entirety of the market had stopped to stare at him&

　　"Mau?"

　　Rorri flinched as Poppy`s claw poked his shin.

　　"Easy," Adar said. "Deep breaths. Hang onto my arm, we`re not too far."

　　Rorri did as Adar suggested, finding some measure of calm in his soothing blue aura and strong, steady arms, and the forest eased back to its bizarre configuration of light. It faded completely some minutes after they started walking, devoured by the void. Rorri couldn`t tell whether it relieved or distressed him.

　　*******

　　Rorri didn`t tell Adar about the Snow that Nico gave him. He probably should have refused it, he thought. It`s not like he needed it now, especially after the agony of withdrawal from months ago, but Nico had given him no room to protest the gift. It was a gesture of goodwill from a past life - he had no idea what Rorri had been through and no reason to think that he would protest it. He was simply a generous man, and Rorri wouldn`t have wanted to be rude by refusing it.

　　But why didn`t he tell Adar?

　　It wasn`t as if he`d be buying any more, he reasoned, and he wouldn`t be taking it any time soon, either. What would he do on it, anyway? It just wasn`t the same as it used to be. So, it couldn`t hurt to keep it around, just in case he needed it to stay awake for some reason, or maybe give to someone else as recompense for something. And maybe it would prove a valuable clue to what was going on with his eyes, with the way it glowed so brightly even through his old Weatherman`s clothes. And if he told Adar he had it, he might just throw it away. It was far too valuable to just throw away.

　　So, he stashed it under his bed while Adar was putting the groceries up, and he didn`t say a word about it.