writing_shadows

David hadn’t seen any of it. And what did he know of fear- a prancing buffon?

But now, David would teach him a lesson. It had taken weeks of skulking and following, trying to find something suitable. He’d eventually worked out what he needed, obtained a substitute, and made the switch in an unguarded moment. He now lay, preparing to enter Quoth’s dreams, the stolen hat in his hands. He’d put the fear into Quoth, and show him what real Autumn Courtiers were like…

Time passed, and he felt himself slipping into Dream. He began to envision what it would be. Probably starting with a gigantic spiders web- that was always one of his favourites.

He arrived in the dreamscape and reached out to begin shaping it. Then stopped. It wasn’t working. Looking around, he was in a forest at night- one that was dark and foreboding, with everything taking on the worst aspects of the dark. He couldn’t see the sky overhead, and the shapes of the trees seemed to represent leering faces- though he was on some sort of path, that still didn’t reassure him. Concerned, he instinctively began to withdraw from the dream, only to find that that, too, didn’t seem to work.

“Leaving so soon?”, came a voice from behind him, one that he recognised as belonging to Quoth. But it wasn’t like the Quoth he knew and despised. Every word seemed to drip with malice, even the most innocuous word barbed to the core.

Turning, he saw Quoth standing behind him. He has his normal attire, complete with cane, but all subtlely different. The cane in particular, rather than its normal plain top, had a silver raven with ruby eyes that seemed to watch him as he stood there. And Quoth’s face somehow was shadowed, despite there being the wrong light for it.

“But I thought you came here to teach me a lesson- about fear, no doubt. Well, I’m always happy to learn…so teach me, if you can”

Mustering his will, forcing himself to calm down, David began to form his attacks. From the shadows of the forest, a legion of arachnids ran towards Quoth, climbing up him to crawl all over and within him. But they never made it. Sketching an arcane symbol in the air, Quoth was suddenly engulfed in black flame, burning all the arachnids to nothing before fading away again.

“Really? Spiders? You who would teach me of fear can think of nothing more than petty basic fears? And after all the effort I went to to leave my hat lying around for you to switch. Pathetic.”

Quoth began advancing towards David, as a rumble of thunder started nearby, and little sparks shot out from the cane whenever it touched the ground.

“You come here, to my dreams, to challenge me? I, who was once called..”, at this point, the thunder grew louder and obscured his words, “who people throughout the realm had nightmares of, fearing that I might notice them?”

David formed claws and mandibles and leapt at Quoth, but vines from the forest floor and hanging from the trees grabbed him mid-lap and held him suspended in midair.

“Let me share with you my fear, that should be all the more terrifying for you. Part of me enjoyed it. Even knowing that I could not win there, I still enjoyed what I did. I fear that once I gain power equivalent to what I once possessed, I might once again come to enjoy this, the terror of the helpless. And here, there is no script that says I must lose. Here I can win.”

He was now close enough that David could see Quoth’s eyes beneath the shadows on his face. But all that was there was darkness and malice. He kept telling himself this was only a dream, he could get through this, but was becoming increasingly afraid that he couldn’t.

“And you are helpless before me. Do not delude yourself that you have any control over this. You are at my mercy. And now I must decide whether I have any…”

Now terror really gripped David- he knew he couldn’t die here, but that was little consolation when he knew what horrors could be inflicted upon him in a dream such as this.

Quoth turned away, but the head of his cane seemed to turn to regard him.
“So, what’s it to be, little man? Perhaps you are willing to admit now that I have a place within the Court of Autumn? That perhaps I know a little of fear? Or do you still believe I am in need of tuition?”

David struggled somewhat again, then stammered, despite his best efforts, “N-n-no. I was wrong, please let me go!”. That last almost a shriek.

Smiling cruelly, Quoth turned back, “But I could have sworn you were just about to teach me a lesson. No doubt you’re lulling me into a false sense of security, waiting to strike? No?”

David could feel another dream attack building around him, if anything more powerful than the ones already used, and shouted, “No, please! I’m sorry, I was wrong, just let me go and I’ll never bother you again, I promise! Please!”

He was still begging and struggling, when suddenly he realised he was awake in his flat, covered in sweat.

He sat up shakily, and decided that first thing tomorrow, he was going to return Quoth’s hat…