At once, Jordan Knox could tell that it was a dream, and, at the exact same time, he still wasn't entirely sure. It was often this way at times, when he dreamed at all. His surroundings were not unique, but neither were they ordinary. Everything was infinitely forgettable. A quiet cafe, like a diner, with a smattering of individuals that neither looked in his direction nor spoke to anyone save only those they might have been sharing a table with. He was seated in a booth, with a plate of pancakes in front of him, with a side of sausage. It was steaming, piping hot, but he had no utensils with which to eat it. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to anyway. It was just something that added to the ambiance, perhaps.

The woman across the booth from him was beautiful, still, after all these years. The blond with the tiny, ringed rivulets of hair spiraling down framing her narrow face and tapered chin never got older, even though another woman did. She looked exactly, in every detail, like Sarah Jessica Parker. It was disturbing to him, at first, as well as thrilling to have this gorgeous, older lady basically acting as a coach for him. What made it even more bizarre was that he knew who she was. He had HBO as a kid, you see, and used to watch Sex and the City growing up in New Orleans. Sarah Jessica Parker's face was an obvious and unforgettable one.

But this wasn't Sarah. The only name he ever knew her by was Ave, and he knew she was a part of him. The essence, that spark of creativity, that allows his conscious mind to grasp the threads of magick and to bend them to his will.

"You're being an idiot, Jordan."

Unfortunately, she had quite the attitude and one hell of a personality of her own.

"Whatever do you mean, Ave?"

She only tutted her tongue in sharp disapproval as a reply. A woman in a blue dress and a white apron walked by holding a pot of coffee, but she made a single circuit through the room and then returned to her place at the counter without ever pouring anyone a cup, nor even a refill.

"Look, Ave," Jordan started again, leaning back into the booth's cushion, "We've been through this before. I like Rhy'Din. It's relaxing."

"It's distracting."

"It's safe."

"You're abandoning your duty. You're becoming a rogue, a renegade. The Council needs you, you selfish little twerp."

"I don't know if you've been keeping up on current events, Ave, but the Council got their collective asses kicked. Nadia told me about Concordia, as well as Horizon."

"And the uprising of the Hollow Ones."

"You just had to bring that up again, didn't you?"

"Jordan--"

"--Yeah, Ave, I know. I used to be a Hollow One. Now I'm a Cultist. I don't give a rat's ass about the gothy wannabes anymore, okay?"

"Except that they opened the front door so the Technocracy could annihilate Concordia and Horizon."

"Do you think the Council can recover, Ave?"

"Difficult to say. The Hermetics were making a valiant effort at securing a new Shard Realm to create Concordia's successor, but it seems that the Technocratic Union was a step ahead of them."

"The Shard Realm was compromised?"

"Worse. Doissetup."

Jordan's jaw slacked open as he gaped at the sexy blond. "You're... kidding...?"

"Typical. I tell you something, and you assume I'm making a joke. I might find it amusing if I had a sense of humor, Jordan. I do not, on both accounts."

"Goddamn, Ave, that's fucking major!"

"Yes, Jordan."

"Doissetup was the crowning achievement of the Order of Hermes. It held all of their most ancient lore, their most guarded secrets, their most powerful arch-mages."

"Yes, Jordan."

"And now it's gone?"

"Yes, Jordan."

"That's..."

"Terrible, I know. The Order of Hermes has been gutted. They're a shadow of their former might. Barely even a shadow. They now rival the Cult of Ecstacy in terms of military power."

"Then the Ascension War really is lost."

"Yes. And no. Humanity has made it's decision, Jordan. They've chosen slack-ass mediocrity. You don't have to."

"No, Ave. No. I can't. I can barely even go back to earth without getting made in twenty-four hours by the Progenitors. What if it were the Iterators that day, huh? What if they sent a HIT Mark instead of a Superior? What if it was the New World Order?"

"Then you would very likely be in the custody of the Men in Black being reeducated, like the sorry little Reality Deviant you are. I'm not going to lie, Jordan, you got lucky. On more than one charge."

"What... do you mean?" he asked, slowly.

"The girl."

"What about her?"

"She could have been hurt."

"Yeah, I know. I feel awful about that, too, but I couldn't help it. Good thing it was a Homo Superior and not the Men in Black then."

"One can only fathom what they would have done to her. The time is coming, Jordan, for you to make a decision."

"Another Seeking?"

"You wish. I meant about her."

Jordan blinked.

"Don't look at me like a dumb penguin, Jordan Knox," she thrust a finger out at him. "You know she's sweet on you."

"Yeah, and I am on her, too. She's a real good friend."

"She gave you something, did she not?"

"Yeah, a tape. Bunch of old music on there, great for dancing. Some real classics."

"Did you listen to the songs, or to the music?"

"I listened to-- Huh?"

She sighed. "You never listened to the songs all the way through, so you never noticed. It's a timeline, Jordan. Start to finish, the songs give a meaning."

"What meaning?"

"She feels for you Jordan. The sorry little dear might even be falling in love with you."

"In love?"

"Yes, Jordan, and I pity her that. You need to talk to her. You need to distance yourself. I know as well as you the requirements you have to nourish me and yourself, but you know what attachment can bring."

"Vulnerability."

"Precisely. You're making her a target, Jordan. How long do you think it will be before the Void Engineers discover this place? Then the Technocratic Union will be adding Rhy'Din to its pogrom."

"Nah... I don't think so. At least, I doubt it. It's not really a part of earth, and not many of the sleepers know about it. They only care about what's in that plane of existence."

"Perhaps, but are you going to take that chance? What if you show up for a date one night, and see a HIT Mark and a team of Men in Black holding your girlfriend prisoner in her home?"

"You know what I'd do."

"You'd get your little stupid ass killed is what you'd do, Jordan, and then I'd be off and away to reincarnate again. Or, most likely, will just become part of the Avatar Winds." She shuddered visibly.

"I don't want to end it, Ave."

"I know, Jordan, but there are some things in life you must do, and some things in life you want to do. The two are usually, though not always, mutually exclusive. By cavorting with her this much, you're putting her at risk."

"I like 'er."

"She loves you, Jordan. Can you even comprehend that?"

"Yeah..."

"And?"

"...I don't know." He hung his head.

She throttled hers against the table top a few times, then growled, muttering under her breath for several seconds. "Jordan Knox, you are the most insufferable little nincompoop I've ever met."

"I know, Ave. I do try, you know."

"To be insufferable?"

He scowled at her, "No. I just... I... I'm not sure about that. Love, I mean. You know I--"

"Shut up now, Jordan. The decision is yours to make, or hers if she grows impatient with you. I'm just here to pick up the socks after everything is said and done."

And, just like that, he was thrown back into the waking world.

Jordan rolled his shoulders back into the soft mattress of the bed. Somewhere between dreams and awake, he could feel the sheets bunch up beneath him, and it was bunched up just enough to make him uncomfortable. He turned, unhindered by clothing from their lovemaking some hours ago, and yawned. But Erin wasn't there.

Jordan's eyes blinked open, and he indeed noticed that her spot on the bed, while warm, was empty. The sheets were still drawn up around him, even on his back where they wouldn't have been under normal sleep conditions, leading him to believe that she had tucked him down a little more recently as he slept.

He rolled onto his back, and turned his head to look out across the room. He couldn't see in the dark, not per se, but the moon was full (as it usually was in Rhy'Din. Like... all the time) and enough came streaming in through the filter of drawn-open windows to see her over by the writing desk.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, softly, lifting hand up above him to wedge his forearm under his head.

"Never sleep much." She smiled over her shoulder, as she put down whatever it was she was looking at. Erin had taken the time to dress, mostly. Panties and a cami. There was something about moving around the house that she couldn't really do unclothed.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" She pursed her lips a little and headed back over to the bed, perching on the edge. Her voice was quiet, almost a pillow voice and she smiled slightly.

"Nah," he breathed, rolling his eyes shut as he flexed muscles along the length of his spine in a motionless stretch, "bad dreams, or something, I guess. It's okay. Gonna be up much longer?"

"I don't have to be." And she didn't, probably. Probably she could at least pretend to be asleep for awhile. She pulled her feet up so that she was holding her ankles, sitting almost crosslegged. "Want me to hold you for awhile?" She released one hand from her ankle to push mused hair back out of her face. "To help you sleep." Sweetness that only Jordan could see just oozing from the little woman.

Sleepy eyes were only half-opened, but he was still able to manage a warm little smile for her. The arm behind his head pried itself free and he reached over to slide his fingers slowly across the top of her nearest foot. "I'd like that."

Withdrawing his hand, he turns onto his side facing the wall, away from her. It was a curious habit, Jordan's inability to sleep facing any direction other than on his side, directed at the wall. Softly, his murmuring voice rose up over his shoulder. "Something else you can do for me, too, if you're going to be up for a bit longer."

"Name it." She slid up next to him, looping an arm around where his waist met his hips. She liked the little dip there. Her head pressed into his shoulder and she let a leg fall over his.

Jordan's eyes closed. He felt the urge to talk to her now, but he didn't want to do it. He wouldn't give in to it. He could see it now; Erin's heart breaking when the crux event came, when her inevitable ultimatum was uttered. He couldn't do it, though. He just couldn't quit her right now.

He pushed back against her and nestling in as deep as he could into her arms. Safe and warm, cherished even, without HIT Marks, Superiors, Void Marines, or Men in Black bursting through the door.

"Keep me safe as I sleep," he said, softly.

Erin nodded against his back, pressing a kiss to where his hair met his neck. She gave him a gentle squeeze and everything in her wanted to say it. The three words she felt in that heat that took over her chest in moments like this-- but for once in her life she had some self control.

"Of course." She whispered it back, another kiss pressed to that place right behind his ear. "Always."