Private Tales Dream Police

[Jolly]

Elbion nights had a certain charm about them. Being a primarily merchant city, when at last the bustling streets lessened and shop owners began packing up their eves for the night, when the wee little ones were tucked into bed with their elder counterparts preparing to follow, Jolly saw it best to walk the length of the city. A life at court had struck this city and its council as odd to the young fae, just as its population left it ripe for her grand purpose.

And so she walked the city, arms swinging and with both a jingle and pep in each step. The path she made was an odd one, the merchants closing late would notice. Each step seemed to be part of a dance while as the direction of it seemed to surprise even Jolly from time to time, as if she were more a passenger to the walk than the owner of the legs. Perhaps that would explain the odd shifts in balance, or the occasional hunch like she were being guided by something spouting from her back.

Nevertheless, there was little merchants saw in the mint-haired creature that struck them as suspect. And how were they to know, truly, the difference between a strange mortal and a fair folk seeking out their next toy? Which was perhaps exactly what Jolly was in the process of that night. As much fun as a break from court was, a jester without an audience was hardly a jester at all. Just as a Mare without victims was hardly worthy their wings.

Douglas Haley ​

 

[Douglas Haley]

________________

Douglas rubbed his eyes with and idle exhaustion that could be seen in the quality of his scripts. His expression fell slightly as he looked them back over, each talking about some eccentric theorem on magical knowledge, yet all of it simply review. Every few moments there was a break in the ink, a place his mind had wandered back to the deaths he had witnessed in the last few months, other still about nigh killing Agron years prior with magic he could not control. All of it upset him, made his stomach churn with the idle thought of their gore. With his work beginning to suffer from his lack of focus, he quietly allowed himself to call it a night; all his study could wait until he was more clear minded in the morning.

With a sigh, he slowly lifted himself from the table, extinguishing the flame of his candle with a meer glance before moving to his bed. It was soft, embarrassing in a way that only the lavish of Elbion could afford, and in only moments he found himself falling into slumber. Though it was not entirely pleasant, as numerous times the memories of the dead flashed, faded, and left him jerking upwards before his mind would settle once more, and he found himself again sleeping off the day’s troubles.

Only nightmares seemed to await him as a cold breeze fell through the open window, forcing him to roll and tighten the blanket’s hold over him. It would be a long night indeed.

Jolly​