Ezra Daemonica's Story

Drunk for weeks? That was all he needed to hear, honestly. With a fiendish chuckle, Landon wobbled over to the young man, grabbing him in an unsteady hug that had them both spinning briefly. "Good lad!" Lan roared in jubilation, his skinny arm around the boy's shoulders and pointing off to the distance west of the dreamer bubbles. "How about we get started then, eh? Onward to Craven's Hollow!" With a final crow and hearty slap on the kid's arm, Landon led the way on meandering feet through the tall grass and hilly forest.

It was a heavy hike back to civilization, the terrain changing in front of them from placid hills to craggy rocks and steep inclines. Whereas yesterday Landon had to climb down the sandy dunes to get to where he'd slept, now he was going downward again towards the town he left. Still, they weren't but half a mile away when the buildings came into sight. By that point, Landon's flask was empty and abandoned somewhere on the trail, and he was sobering up just enough to walk in a beeline to the nearest bar.

Craven's Hollow, although a small town, was at the center of a cross roads between the 6 cardinal directions, so it was bustling with activity. If not for the grip Landon had on the hand of his new best friend, the kid could have seriously been lost among the freakish denizens of the Dreaming. Representing every archetype that could be thought of, the citizens of this town were every shape and size imaginable. Most were humanoid but alien in their transformations and distortions of the human figure. Some were ethereally beautiful, offering the passing pair smiles as they disappeared in the crowds. Others were too hideous to look at straight, causing the instinctual fear inside to flare up with a 'fight or flight' muscle memory. All of them would have been better admired and loathed from afar but the particular pathway that Landon weaved, took them scrunched up close to other bodies, slithering through split-second openings as people went about their own business and walked their own paths.

Because of the clash of different cultures and classes, Craven's Hollow was known for its criminal element, being a cheap place to buy goods, both legal and illegal in the Dreaming. It was also known for its bar, Temperance, a four story establishment where anything and everything could happen. The different levels represented both payment grades and decadent opportunities, the higher you went, the more you were willing to shell out for the most deplorable entertainments. And booze. The booze got better the more stairs that were ascended.

"Let's have a drink before we head out," Lan panted as they broke through an opening in the crowd, right before the doors of the establishment. Adjusting his ratty coat and not letting go of the kid's wrist, Landon led him inside. Ground floor of Temperance was about what anyone would expect from a bar and there was something both medieval and modern about the atmosphere. Glowing neon lights whined in irritation against the back wall of the bar, casting all the bottles and glasses, and those sitting right at the bar, in a icy cold, blue light. It was daylight hours, so most everyone was out working for a living, except a couple of chaps sitting on stools, enjoying a lunch break. One of them, a fellow with whiskers or spines sticking out of the sides of his wide face, gave the new arrivals a grin and a wave, his exposed arms covered in bumpy red skin with black stripes.

Taking a stool, Landon gave the place a quick, alert glance around, before slapping the counter to hail the bartender. "Oi! Drinks over here! My mates paying!" Land gave the kid another grateful squeeze on the shoulder.

The bartender was a woman and at first, from behind, she looked human, bent over, restocking cleaned extra glasses beneath the bar for the evening shift. When she stood and turned, she was still plainly pretty and human looking, except for the thick, softly curling horns protruding from four different places on her head. The top two horns swept back over the back of her head, but the two right at the base of her skull, curled up in slightly different directions as they curled up by her ears. The front most horns dangled with jewelry while her ears remained unpierced. Black eyeliner encircled her dark brown eyes, while glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.

When she saw Landon and recognized him, the apathetic frown already on her face, deepened to actually displeasure. "No, Lan," she said in a slightly irritated monotone. "No freebies, no IOUs. I'm not in the mood to negotiate. And you can't pickpocket in here. You almost got me fired last time, you big jerk."

"Oi! It's not like that, Ezzie--"

"EzRA! No nicknames."

"Ezra, come on, I'm legit this time, I swear it," Landon said, hand to his chest as if half-pleading with her and half wounded by her accusations. By her penetrating stare, it was hard to know if she was moved by his theatrics. It was time to introduce the kid. "I have a patron with me today. My best friend whom I just met." Even with his arm around the boy's shoulders, patting the lad's chest as he mentally searched for a name, he finally looked to the kid for some assistance. After an awkward moment, he got that little help, "Matt," Landon said, emphasizing the word a little too much, obviously having heard it for the first time ever. "He's agreed to join me for a little schnozzle."

Ezra's dark eyes quickly moved between the two of them before she finally snapped, "What are you doing? That's not your friend. You don't have any friends. People dislike you as a matter of principle."

"Whatever," Landon sneered, adjusting his jacket in annoyance. "He's got money he's willing to give to me. That's all that matters, aye? You want me to buy something or not?"

Ezra rolled her eyes and suddenly her small finger was out, pointing in Lan's face, "No stealing."

"I'm nawt!"

"I mean it. I'll take you to the kitchen and cut your hand off just to save my own skin from my boss." She gave the boy an unconcerned look.

The man must have been running low on his favored moron juice as he got far too excited at Matthew's offer. He knew he could sway the man but he was really this desperate for a bit of alcohol? The stranger in his elation grabbed Matthew, the man's scent burning the very hair from his nostrils, he just had to pinch his nose between his fingers. He felt the man sway, disrupting his balance. At the first opportunity, he pushed him away with a smile upon his face. Both grateful to be distanced from the man and to have succeeded in putting distance between them. He tried to mirror the man's excitement but in a superb display of overacting ended up awkwardly throwing his fist into the air, while wearing an twisted, uncertain smirk.

"Sure thing! To craven's Hollow then!"

As they made the way to what Matt had hoped was proper civilization the young man soon found that the trip was far more...... physical than he had expected. This Craven's Hollow seemed many miles away, far more than what the privileged youth was ever used to. Matters only became more complicated as the ground shifted beneath his feet, before his very eyes, flat hills turned into rough surfaces, straight paths blocked by inclines and hills. He sighed as he walked, the volume increasing the more they ached, the high pitched whines he never meant to manifest them as indicating the intensity of his work free lifestyle.

AS his lungs came close to bursting, and his legs near collapse he cast a glance at the back of his um friend? No he was more of a guide Matt thought, and hopefully a temporary one. But still he wondered if he should try to make conversation? After all he was the only one around, and if he was going to be there for a while he might as well try to talk to someone. And though the boy had opened his mouth intending to speak he found no words came to mind? Just what the hell could Matt say? What did the two possibly have to talk about? Would this drunkard even be receptive to conversation? Then again if alcohol was on the line Matt had a feeling he could get the man to do just about anything. Maybe it was best just to say nothing? These two thoughts warred in his head constantly, and just as he had come to reconcile them they were at their destination. Craven's Hollow.

As they entered the town Matt barely noticed that he was being pulled forward. Instead his eyes were fixed on the strange creatures that populated this place. A myriad of emotions formed upon his face only to be replaced with another every few seconds. There were repulsive creatures, hideous beast men, woman that oozed slime, he was even sure that he spotted a man covered in eyes sporting multiple limbs. These creatures repulsed him but there were beautiful things here too. Some of the people here seemed from an actual dream, a good dream of course. People with unnatural beauty, shining woman like goddess or men with soulful eyes. He liked those ones the most. These were the kind of beings that inhabited the dreaming and of them all he got stuck with the bum?

At this point it was of little surprise that he was being led towards a bar. He watched as a horned girl walked up ready to serve only to be instantly displeased with the man. Apparently his name was Lan? Who knew?

He watched rolling his eyes more than once at the man desperately trying to convince the Erza girl that they were actually friends. Erza was of course amused, and unconvinced threatening to cut off the man's hand. From the look on her face Matt wasn't sure if she was joking or not but he was sure that he didn't really want to find out.

Not missing a beat Matt pulled out a crisp, hundred dollar bill, slapping it on the table with flair, and a smile. "Don't worry ma'am. I've got it covered." Turning to Lan he gave him an uncertain look."That's just for starters but lets make this quick yeah? I don't think times on our side here."