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Chapter Eight — Poor Saps
Chapter Eight — Poor Saps Crossover: Azarinth Healer by Rheagar
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“This is a fascinating world,” Meadow said.Dreamer nodded.They had exchanged names already. Not just ‘Meadow’ and ‘Dreamer’ but their actual names.Meadow’s name was almost a song. It sang of growth and expansion, of becoming one with the nature around itself so as to nurture it, to make it greater than the sum of its parts and to see it becoming powerful in its own rights. It was a gentle, but firm song, a lullaby sung to a precious child by the coarse voice of a labourer father.Dreamer’s name was more like incoherent, terrified screeching.It was the sound gods made when they woke up from a nightmare, then realized that it was made real. Dreams, the very concept of a reality that only existed in the fleeting moments when the minds of greater beings were unfocused belonged to her. The nightmares born of these were her playthings. And her name continued, because she was a selfish person, always grasping, always taking and eating and holding close to her the things she loved.“So anyway,” Dreamer said. “Flowers and stuff.”The Meadow made a sound that Dreamer thought sounded like laughter, leaves rustling above. “Yes. Flowers and such. I’m sorry, my newness here has encouraged me to snoop around. There are so many people here doing so many things. And what fascinating magics they use.”“Yeah,” Dreamer agreeds. “It’s a nice place. Abigail lives here, and so do I.”“Did you know that the people in that large building in the shadows of that hill are plotting to murder you?” Meadow asked.Dreamer rolled her eyes. The Inquisition again. “Yeah. They do that. It’s annoying and stupid because they can’t kill me: I don’t feel like dying.”“Indeed,” the Meadow said. “You summoned me to help with flowers, is that right?”Dreamer nodded. “Yeah. There’s a box thing out front, with space for flowers in it, but I can’t make those well so I summoned someone that could, and now you’re here.” She was quite proud of herself and her concise and accurate explanation.“That seems like a simple enough issue to remedy. I imagine you don’t wish for flowers that are... too complex?”Dreamer shrugged. “Can you make some that are pretty?”Another laugh, or maybe it was just the wind again. “Yes, I think I can manage pretty well enough.”Dreamer had some eyetacles here and there around the cafe, so she got to see some flowers poke out of the ground and grow big and tall. There were all sorts, with blue, and yellow, and orange and red flowers. Some with many petals, others with just a few. “Those are very nice looking,” Dreamer judged.“Thank you,” the Meadow said. “I’ve seen my share of flowers, so I tried to encourage the growth of some of the more interesting sorts.”Dreamer turned towards the backyard door a moment before it opened and Abigail stuck her head out. “Dreamer?” she asked, then she blinked up at the tree. “Is that a tree?”“Yes, it’s a tree,” Dreamer said.“Hello,” the Meadow said.Abigail stared. “Did the tree just talk?”“I did,” The Meadow replied with another branch-shivering laugh. “My name is the Meadow.”This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.“Uh, hi,” Abigail said. “I wanted to ask Dreamer... you know what, nevermind, it’s not important. How are you doing? And, ah, why are you here? If you don’t mind me asking.”“Dreamer was looking for gardening advice,” Meadow said. “She rooted around and found me, I suppose.”Abigail chuckled. “Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, as long as she brings you back home. But, ah, I guess it’s not often that talking trees get to branch out.”The Meadow shivered and shook. “Indeed. I’m quite happy that Dreamer called for me. I assure you, she wasn’t barking up the wrong tree when looking for advice.”“Yeah,” Dreamer said. “We have nice flowers now.”Abigail nodded, still smiling and looking quite happy. “That’s wonderful, thank you Meadow. I’m sorry that Dreamer couldn’t leaf you alone, but I’ll try to make sure she makes it up to you.”“I appreciate it. I don’t intend to set down roots here. Nonetheless, it’s nice to make new... buddies.”Abigail laughed and clapped her hands together. “Oh, that was awful,” she said.“What was awful?” Dreamer asked.Abigail shook her head, still laughing. “It went over your head, it’s okay sweetie.”Dreamer deployed more tentacles, she’d catch the next thing that went over her head.“Your laughter has a very pleasant timber to it,” Meadow said.Abigail snorted. “Stop, please, They’re just getting worse.”“I would go against the grain to continue, so I will refrain for now.”“Urgh,” Abigail said, but she was smiling even if it sounded bad, so Dreamer didn’t know what to do. “Stop pollen my leg.”The tree shook. “And you claimed that I was terrible? That was practically tree-sonous.”Abigail moved over to stand behind Dreamer. She carefully pushed Dreamer’s tentacles aside and hugged her from behind, arms around Dreamer’s neck so that her head was pressed up against her still-shaking tummy. “Thanks, that was a lot of fun. Dreamer’s been good about summoning interesting people lately... in-tree-resting? No, that’s just too awful.”“You’re very welcome,” the Meadow said. “But, seeing as my work here is quite done, I wood like to return to my home. I have companions that may be missing me.”“Missing the tree in the forest?” Abigail asked.The Meadow shook with laughter again. “Indeed. Well done. If you ever need more assistance with gardening, then do call me over. Though, perhaps asking first wouldn’t be harmful.”“I’ll try to teach Dreamer to knock,” Abigail said. She squeezed Dreamer a bit tighter, then brought a hand up and started to play with her hair. Dreamer’s eyes drooped as Abigail’s fingers dug into her scalp and scritch-scratched her.Abigail and Meadow said their goodbyes, and then Dreamer blinked awake some more and undid her summoning, which sent Meadow back.A few birds that had perched on the tree were confused when it suddenly disappeared, and there was a bit of a hole in their lawn.“Well, that was nice,” Abigail said. “So, Dreamer, before all of that... I was looking at your bedroom and wondering what colour to paint it.“Oh!” Dreamer said. “I want it in nice looking colours!”And so Dreamer chased after Abigail, her flower-seeking mission a success.
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Chapter Nine — Quiet Opening
Chapter Nine — Quiet Opening It was the morning of the grand opening, and Abigail was very nervous.Dreamer didn’t get it, not really, but she’d long decided that it was okay not to get everything that Abigail felt, as long as she got that Abigail felt like liking Dreamer. Emotions were complicated and a bit silly, and it was always tricky to catch them. Worse, when she did catch emotions, they were hard to wrangle into her mouth to eat, and they didn’t always taste good besides.She’d had one mouthful of sad and had decided that feelings weren’t good eating.“Why are you walking in circles this time?” Dreamer asked. “Is Daphne going to show up with flowers again?” Dreamer hoped not. The last time that happened she’d been left with Charlotte for ‘babysitting’ which was weird because while there was admittedly some sitting, Dreamer didn’t see any babies.Abigail chuckled and slowed to a stop. “Sorry. I’m just... I don’t know, a bit anxious? It’s the big opening, you know?”Dreamer nodded. It was. She had tentacles out front holding up a big sign-it was a long piece of cloth with the words GRAND OPENING! painted across it-and sometimes she had to twitch her tentacles to make it look as though the sign was waving in the wind.Abigail had spent a long part of the night awake baking cookies and small cakes and other pastries, and she’d made something called coffee which smelled interesting and that Dreamer wasn’t allowed to drink because “no, just no,” according to Daphne.“It’s going to be okay,” Dreamer said. “No one’s going to hurt you or the shop.”Abigail laughed and she pulled Dreamer into a quick hug. “Thanks, but that’s not all I’m worried about.”Dreamer hummed and enjoyed the hug while it lasted. “Then what are you worried about? I’ll take care of it.”Abigail pat her head. “It’s okay, Dreamer. I think... maybe being nervous about something isn’t so bad, not if you’re not too worried about it. It’s an excited worry, I guess.”The clock hanging on one of the walls-it looked like a cat’s head with little cat feet that pointed to the numbers around it-meowed, announcing that the hour had changed.“Okay!” Abigail said. She clapped her hands, then grabbed an apron from a nearby chair back and tugged it on. It was a nice apron, made by Charlotte. It had the name for the shop embroidered over Abigail’s chest, and a bunch of cloth tentacles sewn up coming up from the bottom. Dreamer found it very nice. Abigail grabbed a second apron and Dreamer put her arms out to the sides so that Abigail could slip it on her.She didn’t need help putting an apron on, of course, she was very capable of dressing herself, but when Abigail tied the knot behind her it was like getting an extra bonus hug, so she liked it.“Okay!” Abigail said. “I’ll be behind the counter, at the till. Dreamer, take these, and give them to anyone that’s passing.” She climbed up to the higher part of the cafe, reached over the counter, and grabbed a bag, then she took out a stack of pamphlets and gave them to Dreamer. “I had these printed at school. It cost a pretty penny, but I think it’s worth it!”This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.The pamphlets had the name of the cafe on the top, and some cute drawings of cupcakes and cookies and coffee and tea. “I give these to people?” Dreamer asked.“Anyone that’s passing by... if they want one, don’t force them on people.”Dreamer nodded. “I can do that.”“And if you’re near the door, open it for people who are coming in, alright?”“Yeah,” Dreamer said.“Good, good,” Abigail said. She took in a deep breath, then let it all out at once, but she was smiling. “I’m sure this’ll work out just fine. Anyway, Daphne should be showing up in the afternoon, and Charlotte too.”Dreamer nodded again. More friends was nice.Abigail went around to the back of the counter, and stood behind the till, a determined smile in place. “Let’s do it,” she said.Dreamer grabbed her stack of pamphlets and walked out of the front of the cafe. There were other shops and stuff along the street. A shoe place, a small restaurant, a couple of places that sold more boring stuff, like tools and things. It meant that there was always a good amount of traffic, though it wasn’t the busiest place in the city.She set herself next to the front of the cafe. It was still very early in the morning, the shops across the street were still setting themselves up for their first customers, and the Inquisition spies hiding on a roof across the street hadn’t been replaced by the next shift yet.The sun was still low enough on the horizon that the road was still a bit shady, but that would change soon enough.Dreamer waited until someone was close, a business-looking man in a suit and with a briefcase by his side. “Hey, you, take this,” Dreamer said.“I don’t want it,” the man said without even looking.Dreamer pouted, but there were other mortals going by. She saw another business guy walking by with a teacup in one hand and a newspaper tucked under his other arm. “Mister, come to this tea shop, it’s more better,” Dreamer said.The man paused, looked at the shop, then scoffed. “I think not. Besides, I have my own tea.”Dreamer huffed. Then, because she felt like it, she summoned a teeny tiny springtacle under his teacup and let it snap out. His tea cup broke at the handle and the cup portion took off into orbit.“Our tea is all in this planet’s atmosphere,” Dreamer said. She put on one of those smiles that made mortals feel more comfortable.The mister didn’t even look at her, he said some bad words then walked off in a confused huff.This whole thing was harder than Dreamer thought it would be.She’d need to find a solution to this, or they’d have no clients and then Abigail would be sad.
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Chapter Ten — Forbidden Things and Why You Should do Them
Chapter Ten — Forbidden Things and Why You Should do Them Dreamer was disappointed in the people of this planet. Not her friends and Abigail, of course, those were nice people, just the other people.Abigail went through a lot of trouble to make her cafe, and only six people went in all morning. Six people! Only three of them bought anything.Dreamer was angry and she didn’t know what to do about it. Fortunately, Daphne and Charlotte showed up around noon, before Dreamer started plucking people off the street and tossing them into the cafe, or enacted her plan to steal all the coffee and tea across the entire city so that only the cafe had any.“Daphne. Charlotte,” Dreamer said.Daphne grinned and leaned down to pat Dreamer on the head, as was appropriate. Charlotte gave Dreamer a big hug though. “Hey Dreamer,” Charlotte said. “It’s been a while.”Dreamer thought about it. Technically it had only been a week, but for Charlotte who was still mortal and didn’t live a long time, that might feel like a very very long time. Dreamer didn’t even want to imagine how much it would suck for Abigail not to see her for a week. “Yes,” Dreamer said.Charlotte giggled. “So serious,” she said before pinching Dreamer’s cheek.A tentacle wrapped around Charlotte’s hand and removed it from cheek-pinching range.Cheek pinches were forbidden, but Charlotte did them anyway.Dreamer didn’t get angry at Charlotte though. All of her friends were known for being good at doing forbidden stuff.“Did we get a lot of motion so far?” Daphne asked.“You mean people coming in?” Dreamer replied. She shook her head. “No. Only six people, and only half of them bought stuff.”“Oh, that’s unfortunate, but I’m sure things will pick up. We just need to find people that want a nice cup of tea or some cake and get them in here,” Daphne said. “Maybe we should spread some pamphlets around?”Daphne and Charlotte slipped into the cafe while talking about one of Charlotte’s cousins who did printing stuff and who might be able to help.Dreamer wasn’t really paying attention.She had a brilliant idea.Abigail made a good choice when picking Daphne as a mate, because Daphne had good ideas, and those good ideas would pass on to their spawn once they were ready to lay them.Dreamer shook her head. It wasn’t time for that kind of thinking. She had to think on what Daphne had told her. It was all so obvious. Daphne knew that Dreamer could summon people. Why not just summon people that needed what they were offering?It was so simple!Dreamer created a copy of herself, gave it a pretty dress, then extruded it in the alley next to the cafe where no one would ever notice the incomprehensible goop that came from making copies in a hurry.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.The not-Dreamer copy was a bit frumpled, her pretty dress wet with goop and one of her arms was just a tentacle, but she looked close enough to a human and the tentacle arm would help her hold up the sign for the cafe.“Here,” Dreamer said as she gave herself her stack of pamphlets.“Ahhhhhh!” the Dreamer copy screeched in pain so vivid, so colourful, that the people in the street started to weep, not because the scream hurt-though it was very loud-but because of a simple, primal reaction. Such pain deserved tears.“Shut up,” Dreamer said to herself. “Your job is to give people pamphlets, not to scream.”She regretted making a cheap clone. “Ahh?” Came a smaller, less offensive scream.“Yes,” Dreamer said. “I’ll be back in a little bit.” She stepped back and into the cafe where Abigail and the others looked like they were in a panic. “What?” she asked.“We heard screaming,” Abigail said.“Oh, that was me,” Dreamer said. “But it’s okay, I told myself to shut up.”Abigail rushed over to Dreamer and swept her into a hug. “Are you okay?”“Yes,” Dreamer said. She squeezed Abigail back, because that was how hugs worked and it was nice, then she reluctantly let go. “I need to go upstairs so that I can do some magic. I’ll be back very soon.”Dreamer waved to her other friends before exiting out the back and climbing up to their new home.It was nice, especially after that Stray Cat girl had come around and fixed things up. The floors looked new, the walls were freshly painted, the furniture was all very nice. Dreamer would have to do something about the cat theme stuff eventually, but it didn’t seem like that big of a deal for now.One of their extra rooms was converted into an office after Dreamer took a long time explaining to Abigail that she didn’t need her own room and that as the resident expert on sleeping and napping and other such dream-related things, she was best suited to cuddling Abigail in her own bed.The office had all sorts of things, Abigail’s schoolbooks, some reagents that had expired that Dreamer could snack on, and a desk with some papers and things to write with.Dreamer knew that for this bit of magic, it would be best if she really took her time and studied everything carefully, which meant, of course, writing it all down as she went. Notes were good for that kind of thing, and Abigail always used them when she had to remember things.Dreamer found a box of waxy crayons she hadn’t eaten yet, some paper, and then she sat on the floor to do some serious plotting.It was going to be great.
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