Omens & Choices

[Clockwork Crow]

Clockwork and Ragdoll sat together beneath an old oak tree, some distance away from the rest of the vacationers, two very different expressions on each of their faces. Ragdoll had said she had something important to talk about, but hadn't said what, leaving her adopted sister in the dark for the time being. She sat there, jaw clenched and brow furrowed, as she searched for the words to say, Clockwork's expression growing both more confused and concerned by the second.
"Uh, Rags, are you gonna say anything? We've been over her for ten-fifteen minutes, and all you've done is scowl at that seed," the silvery wolf-dog said slowly, as she idly traced patterns in the dirt with a claw.
That was enough to bring Ragdoll back down to earth, her hackles raised in surprise. But she managed to quickly calm down, concealing just how on edge she was. "Right," she began, her tail wrapping around her paws. "I went for another walk last night- or this morning, I guess, depending on how you look at it..."
Clockwork nodded slowly. "Yeah, you do that no matter where we are. Kinda seems like you never sleep," she replied with a rather nervous chuckle.
"Yeah, well, I ran into something- someone- last night. They, uh, they told me some pretty scary things..." the ginger-furred dog replied, her hair hiding her face like a veil. "They said something like- like 'You have choices in front of- in front of you. Beware the yawning grave-' something like that," she stammered, glancing down at her paws.
"...are you sure this wasn't a dream, Rags?"
She looked up, surprised, "A- a dream? N-no- no, it couldn't have been..."
Clockwork frowned, quickly reassuring her companion, "Okay. Okay, I believe you. But let's say we treat it like a dream. Like a story your mind made up. Would that make it easier for you to tell me about it?"
Ragdoll's expression went from surprise and desperation to a grateful smile, nodding. "Yeah. That might make it easier."
"Well then, Rags, aren't you gonna tell me a story?"
She snorted, settling down beneath the tree, "Yeah, I'm gonna tell you a story about something kind of scary. Kind of strange. But it's important for you to know. So come close, and listen well..."

The moon had sunk below the horizon hours ago, the only light coming from the billions of stars high above- more than Ragdoll had ever seen. But she wasn't out to stargaze, she'd done enough of that the past few nights. Ever since the Fae Door had been opened, she hadn't been able to sleep for the life of her. The one-eyed dog had always been a bit of an insomniac, there was no helping it, but this was different. It was a restlessness deep in her bones, she couldn't bear to stay still, staring up at the ceiling. So she walked. She walked, and she encountered strange things, things that she couldn't quite explain: lights that led deep into the forest, that got farther away the further you walked; wolves with hooves and hollow backs; a cat with scales and the eyes of a frog... she supposed all of that was the Fae, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy nonetheless. Tonight, she'd decided to follow the lights. See where they led. She'd asked Griseldis about them the day before- she said they were dangerous. Not to follow them. Not to acknowledge the fact that they existed. But clearly, Ragdoll hadn't listened.
A couple of times, they'd almost led her off of cliffs, into deep ravines she couldn't see the bottoms of, nearly into bogs or quicksand- but somehow she'd kept her wits about her. Eventually, they led her into a field encircled by the forest, with the only landmark being a small tree- hawthorn, she realized as she looked at the clusters of bright red berries. She hadn't realized it before, but she was walking towards the tree against her will- she hadn't been intending to do so- who knew what kind of hazards the tall grass hid!? But she didn't have a choice in the matter at the moment. So she just watched her step the best she could, avoiding anything that might bite or trip her. Overall, the fear-inducing trek was uneventful, and she'd gotten to the tree, gnarled roots strangely smooth beneath her paws. When she looked up, she nearly jumped out of her pelt- there was a wolf there- sort of. He was by far the strangest wolf she'd ever seen, and she'd seen a lot of strange wolves. His fur seemed to be transparent, and made of shadows, his skeleton was visible underneath, and his eyes glowed like the last dying embers of a fire as smoke rose from their form. A troop of strange shadowy creatures like the spirits from the rainforest scampered around him, up the tree, hanging from the branches, clinging to his ethereal pelt, giving no heed to the fact that it broke away from him in wisps, like plumes of smoke.
"I've been waiting for you, Roux," he said, his voice far from what she'd expected- he sounded... normal. Nonetheless, she was frightened, and more than a little disconcerted by the fact that he was aware of her old name. And that he'd been waiting for her.
"That's not my name anymore," she replied, her voice much softer and shakier than she would've liked.
"It's your true name, is it not? The one you go by is merely an alias, practically a lie. We do not delve in lies around here, little pup, you'd do well to remember that," the spectral wolf looked away from her, glancing up at the stars. "Time is short," he murmured, "And the night is not eternal. All things must die, all things must rot. They must decay in order to give way to a new dawn." He returned his piercing gaze to Ragdoll, who had gone from confused to lost as he spoke. "You have questions. Ask the right ones, and I shall answer."
She tilted her head, "What are the right questions?"
"Wrong question."
"Are you going to respond with that no matter what sort of question I ask?"
"Not if you can figure out the right questions," he answered with a smirk, baring a few needle-like teeth.
She paused, mulling over various questions running amuck through her head, before finally settling on a few. Ragdoll returned her focus to the strange, needle-toothed wolf in front of her, "How many questions can I ask at once?"
"I'd suggest one."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I didn't. You brought yourself here when you made the decision to follow the Fox-Fires."
"The what's?"
"The Fox-Fires. Will-O'-The-Wisps, Fairy-Lights, Jack-O-Lanterns, Sharp Fires, Fool's Fire, Ghost Lights, Pixie-Lights, Spunkies... there are so many different names for them, all referring to those little lights that get farther away as you grow nearer," he explained, an amused smile playing across his muzzle.
Ragdoll blinked a couple of times, taken aback by the many, many names he'd just listed off, before shaking her head and asking, "Why did the- the whatchamacallems lead me here?"
"Because there are things you need to know. Things to keep you safe, or perhaps not. It depends on your decisions. You were one of the few I saw that were questioning things enough to even listen to me. The fact that you survived the Will-O'-The-Wisps tells me that you have the intelligence to understand it. Now, I have a small query for you before you continue your interrogation," he replied with a wry smile. "May I ask it?"
"May I ask two more questions before you do?"
He laughed, "You just asked one of them, so I suppose you may!"
"What name can I call you?"
He paused, rather taken aback- Fae didn't just give away their names, that was dangerous. He could, however, give her an alias. "I suppose having some word to use in reference to me would be preferable... Very well. You may call me Shadow. Now," said Shadow, clearly amused by this dog's behavior, "May I make my own inquiries?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Go ahead."
His demeanor changed drastically from playful to heart attack-serious in mere seconds, the shadows that came off of him growing in size as he began to speak, "Are you willing to keep and accept the knowledge I hope to give you, even with the danger it may bring? Ignorance is not bliss, but intelligence, awareness, those can become deadly for their holder. Even knowing that, will you continue asking your questions, listening to my answers and lessons in turn?"
The air seemed to grow heavy, Ragdoll's vision failing to show her anything but blurs of the trees surrounding the field- like they weren't quite there anymore. Her fur stood on end, her single eye focusing on Shadow once more, returning his intimidating gaze with her own, determined despite the fear she felt in her bones. "Yes," she answered in a whisper, her voice nearly shaking.
Shadow's expression gentled, his voice soft as he replied, "Good. Now listen close, my little Roux- the place you are is very dangerous. The forest hides secrets, and the Fae your companions are so inexplicably drawn to are far from safe. The ones you have seen so far, while typically benevolent, could easily change, like the eye of a storm. While you must be cautious when interacting with them, there are others that are far more dangerous. The Fae are not all sugarplums and pixie wings, little doe. They are thorns and volcanic glass, shadow and bone and rot . Knowing this, I ask you to please continue with your questions."
"...why didn't I have any control over myself when I got to the edge of the field?" she asked, after a nervous pause.
"Your name," he answered simply. "I have you name. I've had it for a very long time, and that makes you incredibly vulnerable, helpless. That's just one of the Rules."
"...does anyone else have my name?"
"No."
"What are the other... the other rules?"
Shadow grinned, "Now, my dear, you are asking the right questions. The rules are simple. And they are Not. But I will give you these rules regardless of how memories rot." A thorn-like claw began scrawling figures in the dirt, and then, they began to move on their own. "Do not say 'Thank You'. Do not say 'Goodbye'. Do not give your True Name away. Don't accept anything unless it is Freely Given. If They do not say it was Freely Given, then it is Not. If the price of something would give Them a Part of You, then the price is too high. Individual Fae have Their Own set of Rules and things They consider rude or polite that are unique to Them, that They will not tell you unless you ask. It is usually better not to ask, as it may be against the Rules. Time is not linear Here or anywhere Else. The sooner you accept that, the better off you will be. These are not All of the Rules, but they are enough to start with, enough to keep you safe for now. These rules will not Always keep you safe, as They might change them."
Ragdoll looked rather lost, trying to keep up with what he said. "I take it you couldn't have let me know ahead of time that I was going to have to take notes," she muttered, causing Shadow to burst out laughing.
"Sarcasm is good! It will amuse most, and it is quite the anomaly, being both the truth and a lie at once. You're going to do fine," he looked almost... proud. But in an instant, the look was gone.
She sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. "Okay. But why did you need to call someone here?"
"Because you need to make a choice."
"What kind of choice?"
There was a scrabbling from the tree, the wispy little creatures that seemed so familiar to Ragdoll coming down from the tree, each carrying a different object: a seed, a sprout, a fresh leaf, a dead leaf, and a dead branch. Shadow looked at her expectantly.
"I-I don't understand, what kind of choice is this? They're just different parts of a plant!"
Shadow shook his head, "No, they are more. This choice is yours, and yours alone. Now choose, Roux."
She gawked at him, because he had used her name against her once again, compelling her to do whatever he asked. But she was forced instead to look at her choices:
A seed: it was small and round, and didn't look like it would amount to much. She wasn't sure what kind of seed it even was. But when she looked at it closer she noticed something within it glowed, causing her to flinch away with surprise.
A sprout: just a seedling, tiny and fragile, easy to kill or break. Its roots were barely developed, leaves even less so, and it just seemed so... small. Helpless. Ragdoll knew that feeling well.
A fresh leaf: there wasn't much to this object, just a plain green leaf, elm she would guess. She wasn't sure what use it had aside from compost, but that would be a while yet.
A dead leaf: this one already had mold and fungi growing along its edges, the skeletal venous system exposed in some places. Rot, decay... something old and ended, and beginning something new.
A dead branch: at first, this just seemed like a regular stick- but then she realized that it wasn't even wood. It was a rock. Petrified wood. Something temporary, caught in the middle of decay, made into something immortal and unchanging. But it was still dead. No new life would be coming from that stone.
At last, Ragdoll made her decision: she placed her paw over the seed, "This is my choice."
Shadow gave her a gentle smile, "Potential. You chose that even over growth? I didn't take you for an optimist."
"...neither did I."
He chuckled, waving a paw over the remaining items, causing them to vanish. "You made an excellent decision, little pup. But I'm afraid our time for tonight has ran out. Briefly parted, soon united, Roux."
And with that, Ragdoll was alone, sitting at the edge of the forest overlooking the town.