Ashes, Chapter 3

I finished chapter 3, but it's shorter than the first two. I guess the same thing holds up: if you're reading, it would really help if you could take the time to at least tell me what you thought, even if you don't analyze the crap out of it. ;).

Here goes.

SHARD #3

12/18/2013

All through the day, Casper had trouble focusing on his lessons. His thoughts kept wandering; to the jogging man he saw that morning, to the atmosphere of the city from his dreams. It was as though the full night of standard dreaming had messed with his head in some way. Even when he managed to pay attention for a short stretch of time, there was a churning in his gut that spoke of anxiety or nerves. It was annoying and frankly uncalled for, considering he was not actually worrying about anything. It wasn’t as if he was concerned about the fact that his friend had apparently not fallen asleep until very late at night, if at all. And she hadn’t even told him about anything that might’ve been happening that would entail her staying up late with friends or something.

Okay so maybe I’m a little uneasy. He grimaced, wishing the day would just hurry and pass already so he could talk to Callie and stop worrying. Trying to avert his mind from the topic, he remembered the first time she’d told him her actual name. She hadn’t wanted to, but his pestering had finally worn her resolve. It was her own fault really, for being so obviously secretive about it. Nothing like steadfast avoidance to pique curiosity. Thinking of the moment, he remembered the way her face had burned hot with embarrassment. He’d thought it was so strange a thing to be worried about, and told her as much. She’d looked torn between annoyance and gratefulness. Later he’d understood, imagining what it would be like to have a name people would tease you about, even though he’d never thought ‘California’ was all that bad a name. A little unusual, sure. Either way, Callie would never let him refer to her by her full name.

The momentary distraction sadly did nothing to actually alleviate the worry creeping in his stomach. Casper spent the rest of the day trying in vain to quell the uneasy feeling, barely noticing when his last class was over and it was time to go home.

***

When it was finally late enough for Cass to head to bed, he did so with relief. He’d been jittery during dinner, gaining him weird looks from his parents. Thankfully they were the type of people who’d rather wait for him to come forward with any problems on his own, only interfering when they judged it’d been going on long enough to start worrying. Even with his nerves fluttering, he was drowsy enough that he fell asleep almost immediately. He had the dim thought that he’d forgotten to set his alarm clock, before he closed his eyes…

And opened them in a now recognizable environment. It was remarkable how quickly one could get used to unusual circumstances. It’s probably because it’s a dream. I don’t know that blue grass and trees with purple leaves would be quite as easy to accept while awake. Either way, it was of little import.

Looking around, he determined that while it was probably the same place, what with the discoloration of everything, it wasn’t any of the areas he’d passed through while exploring the night before. He appeared to be in a kind of forest. A short way ahead, Casper could see a glade of some sort, where a small brook could be heard, gurgling. Coming closer, it became clear that the water was a soft, rosy pink. He was not surprised. So far, most of the colors he’d encountered in this strange world were soft, muted; calming shades of color. He doubted there was any purpose to it, but it was pretty nice all the same. It was while he was trying to gauge the distance to the glade that Cass noticed with a start exactly where his eyes seemed to be in relation to the ground. It was remarkably unusual for him to have actual dreams in which he was himself.  In actual fact, it probably hadn’t happened more than twice in the last ten years. Not that he was keeping count.

Setting off towards the break in the trees, Casper decided he would try and figure out if there were any landmarks in immediate reach that would tell of his whereabouts in a bit more detail. What he found was better than he could’ve hoped. Off in the distance, he could clearly make out the spires and rooftops of the city he’d found the other night. He was debating whether to bother heading out in that direction when he was overwhelmed by a furious itch that spread along his limbs. He collapsed, completely disoriented all of a sudden. When he regained his senses, he was a quite a bit shorter and a good deal furrier. It appeared he was going to be feline anyway, then.

Well, no use hissing about it, he thought with surprisingly good humor, and started moving forward. Heading towards the city seemed as good a plan as any, he reckoned.

***

A couple of miles and what would probably amount to several hours into his journey – but really, there was no use trying to gauge the time passed in a place with such an atmosphere – Cass appeared to have arrived at the edge of the forest, although the plains ahead of him were still covered with a smattering of trees. It struck him that he had yet to discover any source for the light which hung over the place, like a soft blanket, covering the world with its glow.  There was no sun to speak of, and no artificial light – there couldn’t be, the sky was as vast and fathomless as the atmosphere of the Earth – yet the trees around him bore shadows. Although the light didn’t appear to vary in intensity, the direction and length of the shadows seemed to indicate it originated from a place right above the city that rose up in the middle of the plains.

Looking off in the distance, Casper realized with a jolt there were figures moving on the plains, not far from where he was standing under the shelter of one of the trees. They looked human, one male, one female. In their own way, they were just as strangely colored as the scenery; the man had a shock of blue hair, slightly curly, which offset his tanned skin. The girl was all hues of gray, ashen in a way that looked unnatural but not, from this distance, unattractive. They did not notice the cat perched between the trees, making their way quickly to the edge of the forest, never coming close enough for Cass to make out any details. It wasn’t until they’d disappeared behind the tree line that he realized there had been something off about their shadows. Instead of being somewhat even in darkness, the way shadows are, the darkness cast by the two figures had had a penumbral quality, being light and slightly pellucid, and danced like light cast through water.