A numb pain flowed from her arm. It made her uncomfortable. She looked where the branch jut out from betwixt the two bones in her forearm.
She was in a pit, a lush bright brown hole of moss and grass and dirt;
dirt from where the roots of a tree had torn the top layers of soil from the earth.
It was long covered over now,
Long enough that there was now moss and patches of grass and small plants
and long enough that there was this fucking adolescent tree.
This tree whose branch had intruded in on her arm.
She failed to take hold of her senses, Her mind’d left her in an uncanny state.
In the distance, it seemed, a hazy figure, blue like the sky, moved with purpose;
Then it stopped.
Ah, the King is awake.
The voice touched her ears, but seemed to skip the formality of exercising her nervous system.
a strange feeling
This person was not her sister.
She didn’t much like the voice thath’d interjected itself into her mind.
The person looked around, a blue glowing blur,
twelve percent of your blood is shared with Mother Earth.
It was definitely a man, but his voice wasn’t particularly deep.
It’s pitch was higher even than Natasha’s, although, her tone was low due to the immense height of her trachea. She is very tall.
Janna blinked, slowly. Her eyelids were sore. She tried to focus. nothing worked.
You have fluid in your eyes, focusing will not help you.
Janna became irritated with the glowing man in front of her.
You’ll be fine in this line, he said. In certain distant timelines you lose more… you lose too much. A drop of cobalt fell from his face.
He stood over her, outlined in azure. Through her wavering eyes, she could see wisps, branching lines of light coming from him.
She didn’t like any of it
so she told him, You can leave now.
He said, I came to ask for your help.
You thought now would be the best time?
Take advantage of me because I’m dying?
You can take that straight to the abyss.
Umm, no… I mean, as far as I can tell, you aren’t going to die. and even if you were, I don’t know if I could really help you.
Janna tried to focus on the figure, but her vision waved.
She was pissed off. What an annoying man, like a man to be this indecisive. He isn’t talking so fancy anymore. God damn, a fucking actor.
She said, I don’t know what you want, so either spit it out so that I can disagree with it, or leave me alone.
I am the Servant of Tendrils, I can see into future timelines… although too far ahead there are too many tendrils to know anything.
From what I can tell we can benefit the next few years if we work together.
You have influence, and an open mind.
Janna sneered, Not that open.
She looked at her arm. It’d become crimson. Where the hell is Chloe?
Why don’t you help me first.
I’ll talk to your dumbass after
when I’m not attached to goddamn plant.
Tendrils frowned, I thought that you would agree, but… maybe my reading was wrong.
At this Janna cursed the sky.
The idiot is talking fancy shit again.
Then she cursed the being in front of her.
For being a fraud.
Yeah, maybe you are wrong.
So why don’t you help me—by leaving me alone.
Tendrils’ teeth glowed, irritated.
I didn’t come here to help you! I need your help! Don’t you understand what I am?
Janna’s head slumped to face him.
A fucking glowstick?
I can tell exactly what you are! She judged, I can tell you’re an actor, a fraud, you’re presenting me with a false version of yourself,
A false reality!
I don’t want it!
Leave me alone, you said I’ll survive? Well that’s fucking great. That’s all I want from you. Fuck off!
No! He shouted, flaring to the colour of lightning.
No. he calmed.
no.
I’m a Servant of the conscious world,
I see the future…in a sense. But I can’t affect anything in the way people like you can.
I can communicate, I can,
with people whose minds aren’t as firmly attached to the physical world, even if it is only while they are in states like this,
I can communicate with those like you.
Then she opened her eyes again.
She said,
and then she didn’t.
She said,
Well, I’d be far more willing to work with you if you were more honest like that all the time.
And shed a tear;pearl (of wisdom)
You will help me then?
Janna closed her eyes, and then her world focused.
“She has gone catatonic. Oh good, the bleeding has slowed! Although, it is probably from being catatonic.”
Janna opened her eyes. Her younger sister was kneeling over her. Behind, her older sister loomed. Janna saw that she was also bleeding in the forearm.
“Oh, look Natasha, she’s awake! Actually, ah, maybe that’s not so good. Hey, you can take a little pain, I guess?”
Janna felt a pinch as Chloe’s arms moved over her wound. She said nothing.
“Actually, it’s better to be awake when you’re hurt like this. I think. Hey Natasha, do you have a, ah, do you have a knife? Of course you do, we just used it, haah… Can you hold the top, I don’t want it to move until I’m done.”
Janna closed her eyes, but the Servant of Tendrils didn’t return. She wondered if he knew her answer?
“She is dead now,” Natasha said.
“Hey, wake up!”
Janna gave a shallow nod.
“I wish you would open your eyes. Look Natasha, just hold that and I’ll cut it, and then I can pull it—Ah!”
It was dark for a long time, and then she saw blue.
“Oh no.”
“Do you think she will be all right?”
“I think so. I’m not really, ah, I don’t actually… I’m not a doctor so…”
She heard another voice, “Can we move her yet?”
“You know,” Janna blinked back into focus, “for a Servant, Tendrils sure is a dumbass.”
Chloe gave her a perplexed look, “Not Death?”
Janna laughed weakly,
I think I prefer Tendrils to Death
This work was written while healthy, and edited whilst somewhat sleep deprived, and mildly famished. Or, to put it simply, in a state of Wavering.
Daniel Triumph.
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P.S. This is the third draft of “The Wavering World.” I’m much more satisfied with it than I was with the second draft.
P.P.S. I think this is my first piece with swearing! How edgy~
