FSE

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Miss Harrison knocks on the door, but Tik Tik does not abide her. The kobold scurries over to her clothes, slipping them back on, starting with her leggings, then going to her footwraps.

As she slides into those, she pauses. What was that? A rustling on the bed? She scampers toward it, poking her nose over the edge to look at the bundle of sheets. A moment later, the sheets shift around.

She backs off, her eyes widening, her hands clasping at the edge. Her tail slaps against the ground, but she fights to keep it from doing so again. She gulps, waiting, watching, wondering, and trying to remember just what happened last night.

All she can remember is the dream--how unfinished it is, how pointless it feels, and yet, it feels like there is a point--that there is a purpose. She couldn't accept that the past adventures had been an exercise in futility--that she would have wasted her life doing nothing for a mere pittance. Why would she go through nonsense involving dreams and vampires only to end up with nothing?

The kobold leaps onto the bed, sitting on her knees. She grips the mount of sheets and rips them away from the sleeping form beneath, only to gasp at the sight she sees underneath.

Laying there, turning and groggy, is the naked form of a satyr. He rubs his stomach and blows a raspberry though his eyes remain closed. He nuzzles his head against the pillow and rolls onto his stomach, letting out a sheepish bleat.

He's kinda cute.

But he's also that guy she sucked off for a sandwich.

Way back... when?

Wait... is it now? Then, when? Tik Tik rubs her head and hops off the bed.

When he does, the satyr yawns, rolling off the bed himself, his hooves clopping on the floor.

"Where ya going, terror tongue?" He asks, chuckling in a husky voice.

Right, he's not just cute. He's sexy!

Tik Tik scurries under the bed, closing her eyes tight. As she thinks, she retreats into her mind palace, a connected network of tunnels and libraries similar to her tower, yet distinct. She runs through volumes and volumes of magical lore, looking for the spell that would be perfect for this situation.

When she reaches for the book, a hoofy hand grabs her wrist, and she spins around to see the goat man standing there, a smirk on his lips. "Now, Double-T, there's no need for that!"

Tik Tik thrusts her free hand forward, expelling energy into his stomach, and it pushes him back, and she slips her hand away, wrenching the book away from her shelf.

"Oh, I know what's going on here!" The kobold growls, "and whoever's on the other side will get it."

The goat rubs his stomach, chuckling, his eyes turning red. "Oh, is that so?" he asks, his voice getting deeper, rumbling throughout the room.

Tik Tik stumbles back, the flooring around her rumbling and loosening up. She hops and conjures up her floating platform just in time for the floor to give way to a void all around her, the pieces of the room splintered and floating all around in a strange pastiche of normalcy and nothingness.

The goat, the satyr, the demon chuckles, his leathery wings unfurling. "Seems our little game is at an end, wizard."

"What manner of demon are you?" the kobold asks, fingertips crackling with her magic.

"The manner that infests the dreams of others," he says, floating close to her now, unafraid of her half-naked fury. "You're quite the interesting mortal, and your dreams are exquisite."

Tik Tik turns her disc to follow the demon as he floats around her. "Yeah, and what's that?"

"Your dreams are so mundane, and they lack the excitement many people have. Where's the torrid love affairs? Where are the deep-seated desires? Where are the confusing pieces of excitement that make you wake up in a cold sweat, wondering if you can think such thoughts?

"Your mind is so boring for a woman of such exotic tastes!"

Tik Tik smirks at that, hands upon her hips. "Oh, that? That easy! You want to know the reason?"

He leans forward, resting his chin upon the back of his hands, bending his legs like an excited teen on a bed. "Oh, I do want to know. I try to throw nightmares at you to spice things up, but all you do is provide me with the most boring, nonsensical mess I've ever seen in a woman of your vast intellect."

Tik Tik puffs out her chest, placing a hand upon her heart. "I don't need to have exciting dreams. I live out my adventure all day, every day! I can just be me when I want and how I want. The greatest nightmare is living a mundane life where I can't be who I am."

"How poetic." He chuckles, shrugging. "Well, I suppose there's nothing else for me to do but to leave you alone."

"I don't trust you."

"As you shouldn't. Enjoy the waking world, Tik Tik, even if it isn't what you expect it to be."

Tik Tik quirks an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

--

Tap tap

Tap, tap, tap.

Tik Tik jumps up with a start, the back of her hand soaked as she slurps the drool from the corner of her mouth. She snorts and looks around, staring at the red-eyed rabbit before her.

"If you're very much done with your visit to the land of Nod, we have taxes to finish."

Tik Tik groans, slamming her head on the desk, rattling the scrolls and ink wells.

The nightmare never ends!