[OPEN] Fabula Aeternam

He was sympathetic to Samuel’s situation with his family, but as the other man showed no interest in talking about it or wanting to dwell, Jigano politely let the topic drop. It was a bit soon to be prying into such personal matters without invitation, but since they were both trapped in the barrier together for the foreseeable future, and they were getting along quite well, there would likely be time for such things in the future.

Samuel’s grin was a breath of fresh air, much like his blossoming confidence, and Jigano couldn’t help but smile in response. He gave a gracious nod of his head and settled back to rest his hip against the table, watching his friend peruse the nearby shelves for a moment. He glanced down, curious about the other volumes on the table, and began to reach for one that must have fallen on the history. His stretching fingers had almost brushed it when the other man returned, his saturnine face aglow with cheer. The bard blinked, quietly delighted at the transformation, and drew his hand back to focus on Samuel’s find.

“It’s been a while since I was able to enjoy a good romance,” he admitted wistfully, leaning over to admire the ink as it was pointed out. “There’s so much I should be researching, learning about this place… but… perhaps a small break when I finish the history…” He caught his lip between his teeth for a moment, wavering, but Samuel’s obvious joy in the book made up his mind and he gave a decisive nod as his smile returned. ”Yes, I will. Thank you, Samuel, for the recommendation!” He turned to shift a few of the other books out of the way to make room for the new one on his growing pile, and again the nondescript, slim little volume caught his eyes.

”What is this, though?” he murmured softly, reaching for the book with the intent to move it aside. Fingers brushed the cover and a spark seemed to leap from the cloth-wrapped cardboard to his hand. The book snapped hungrily—

And with a startled look on his sharp features, the white-haired bard disappeared, sucked down into the pages of the volume, which settled back contentedly on the history, innocently motionless once more.

"There is no better place to escape to than the realm of fiction." Samuel chimed, unaware of how true his comment was about to be. He was happy to see Jigano appeared to approve of his recommendation and smiled wide when he was thanked, dipping his head just a little. "You're very welcome! It's nice to share precious things."

He finally paid proper attention to the small book when Jigano pointed it out, leaning forward to stare at it. "Hm. I don't know, I don't think I've seen that one be-" Sam was cut off by Jigano seemingly disappeared into thin air, the book falling back down. Alarmed, his first reaction was to look underneath the table; no Jigano there. He wasn't behind it or around the bookcases nearest to them either.

Panicking, Sam looked around to see if anyone else had seen it - there was no one else present. "Jigano...?" He asked, to no answer. Nervously he glanced about the table and his eyes settled on the small book; thinking it was stupid even to consider what he was, he reached forward and cracked it open just the slightest amount.

He had _heard_ of books which took you, quite literally, to different places, but he had always assumed it was children's stories and fantasy. Opening the book further, Sam suddenly had to reconsider that notion as he felt his entire world shift around him.

The forest around them was dark and green and a little… strange. The trees and bushes closest to them were in sharp relief and almost seemed to have… were those outlines around their edges? Almost as if they hovered on the cusp between flat and three dimensional. Further away the colors seemed to blur and blend together, giving the place an oddly unfinished look. It drew the eye to what was closest to hand though, and closest to Jigano’s hands were… hooves?

He jerked his head up, eyes going wide and startled as he pranced uncertainly on four iron-shod feet. Four feet, at least, were nothing new to him – but hooves most certainly were! He snorted and shook his head – and mane – in growing distress as he turned to try and get a look at himself, turning a tight circle as he caught sight of a large flank and flowing white tail. He was, in fact, a pale white horse from the tips of what had once been toes all the way to the madly twisting points of his large ears.

”Damnation! he swore sharply, relieved – if shocked in a different way – to hear the human words emerge in his own voice from his equine mouth. ”What the hell--!” He planted his feet and stopped, glaring around him in tense uncertainty, seeking whoever had done this to him and sparing a worried thought for Samuel—

No sooner had he thought of his new friend than the man appeared, albeit different than he had looked in the library. Oh, his face and build were still the same, but his clothes had been replaced with a huntsman’s leathers, a quiver of arrows on his hip and a bow slung across his back. On the oddly flat grass of the clearing just in front of him lay a single fiery feather, burning red and gold yet leaving the greenery beneath it unsinged.

Jigano snorted and stamped a hoof, distressed at how easily his equine body responded to his emotional turmoil in a way far more horse than human. ”Samuel? What is going on?!” he demanded – well, neighed – pawing at the loam of the forest floor while his ears flattened back along his bridled head. Samuel was the native, the one who should know what was and wasn’t normal… right?

Sam had screwed his eyes tight shut at the sensation of being drawn into the book, and didn't dare open them for a while even when he felt air around him and heard sounds of a forest. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes and immediately saw a horse - he took a step back. He had always been scared of large animals. He was even more scared when the horse began to speak.

He looked down to the floor and noticed the feather before he replied, trying to put the pieces of everything together. Gently, he touched his leather clothing, thinking it was the kind of thing he'd never dare wear.

"...J-Jigano..?" He said out into the clearing, knowing he'd heard his friend's voice but not believing it came from the source he thought. Stepping to the side to look around some more (then putting a surprised hand to the quiver on his hip as he felt it against his leg) he came to the conclusion that had seemed ridiculous. He looked at the horse. "...Is that...you? I-I don't know what's happening. Is this a dream?"

Samuel didn’t appear to be adjusting any better than Jigano was, but at least he’d kept his proper shape. The white horse snorted again in annoyance as the other man looked around, but the bookmaker was quick enough on the uptake once it became clear that they were the only two creatures in the clearing. ”Somehow, yes, it’s me,” he grumbled, pawing the ground again in frustration. ”The last thing I remember is reaching for that little book and then… here! And in a horse’s body, no less!” It was downright insulting was what it was, lacking both the confidence of his human form and the dainty grace of his fox form. Horses were big and ungainly in comparison, not to mention significantly less dignified!

”I have a little experience sharing dreams, and this isn’t like that. At least… not like anything I’ve done before. The good ones, we all went to sleep normally and were guided by the Longdreamer. The bad ones… I found myself behind the eyes of another, but was unable to control his body or actions beyond small, simple things. I was mostly just a… a passenger in what was happening. A witness.” Old, painful memories and ones he didn’t wish to dwell on. He shifted uneasily on his hind feet, sidling a little in subconscious distress. ”This is… different. My shape, for one,” he tried to grimace but no longer had lips that worked quite that way, and ended up shaking his mane in annoyance instead. ”And we’re in control, at least so far. And neither of us were asleep a minute ago. So. There is you, and me, and that feather… which is suspicious all on its own.” He gave the brightly glowing object an intent once-over, stepping closer and lowering his nose to investigate with a careful sniff. ”What do you make of it? It doesn't smell like anything... well. Like anything at all.” Another point of strangeness to add to their growing list of clues.

"I...oh, yes, so you are." Was all Samuel could say, staring at Jigano's new form with a mix of curiosity and horror as he took in the horses mouth moving strangely around human words and the angry reaction of a man channelled through an animal's body. He kept staring as Jigano spoke more, couldn't help stepping to the side to get a better view of the rest of him.

"The...longdreamer...?" He mumbled, but that didn't seem to be the focus - he tried to remember the name as something to ask about later, hopefully once they had fixed whatever this predicament was.

Jigano brought attention to the feather on the ground, which Sam had ignored so far; it had seemed monumentally unimportant next to the fact that one of them had become a horse. He kneeled down, picked up the feather between his fingertips and held it up between himself and Jigano, turned it one way and the other.

"It would appear to just be a feather, albeit a very attractive one..." The way it appeared to burn was definitely magical; not the same as normal fire yet just as enticing. "...Do you think..." He began, still looking at the feather. "You are...my horse...?"

Samuel was staring at him, and Jigano couldn’t really blame the man. He wanted to stare, too, but he couldn’t get a good angle to do it at, and no one had left any convenient mirrors lying around the little woodland clearing. He wanted to verbally snap at his new friend, to lash out at someone, words dry and biting— but, no, Samuel was as lost and confused as he was, and whatever had happened they would likely need each other to figure out a way to get back to the settlement.

Assuming they were still on Caido, of course. And that there was a way back.

He was babbling in his distress, spilling more information than he had ever intended and not helping the situation. He shook himself all over and felt, for the first time, a foreign weight on his back. He hardly had to crane his head around to realize it was probably a saddle, and this time had to restrain a far more physical desire to bite something. Preferably the person or being that had done this to him. ”Longdreamer was an old friend of mine,” he dismissed, the story one for a different time and, perhaps, a lot more alcohol. ”But no use to us here.”

The feather appeared to be the only clue at hand, and Jigano approached it warily. At least he was used to relying on his sense of smell in fox form to help him sort out the world around him, and he had hoped that an equine nose might prove as useful. It didn’t, as it turned out, but what was surprising was the incredible courage – or foolhardiness – that Samuel showed in picking the feather up.

It was warm to the touch but didn’t burn, despite the living fire that seemed to brush its edges. Jigano snorted in surprise then tried to look closer – and found it impossible to bring both eyes to bear on the small object at the same time. He had to turn his head, examining it with one eye at a time, and gave a grunt of agreement with Samuel’s analysis. It was all said so calmly and matter-of-factly that the question almost slipped by with another noise of agreement, but in the midst of it Jigano jerked his head up and danced back, tail flagging and neck arching in affront.

”I beg your pardon, sir? And just what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?”

Sam flinched back, his fear of horses coming back in full force as Jigano moved suddenly; combined with his fear of social interactions gone wrong there was a sharp sting of anxiety going through him. Taking a step backwards and dropping the feather, he shook his head and looked anywhere but Jigano's judging horsey eyes.

"No, I--maybe n-not? I just thought..I just th-thought that maybe..." He tried to take a deep breath and collect himself, pulling on the bottom of his leather waistcoat. It felt too tight, too revealing; he usually liked to wear clothes that would leave more to the imagination.

"I thought. That perhaps, since I am wearing the clothes of a woodsman, that perhaps we have been given roles of some kind here. And there is this feather...perhaps I am hunting a bird? I merely thought you could be the horse of the woodsman. But that's not--I mean, we don't have to do that." Desperate to placate, he held out his palms in a apologetic motion.

Samuel had been short before, compared to the tall bard. Now he looked even smaller next to the mass and weight of a stallion’s sturdy body. Seeing him flinch and back away sent a thin needle of guilt through the lorekeeper-turned-reluctant-equine’s heart and he found himself stilling his agitated prancing as much to calm his companion as himself.

The stammering was frustrating now, but given how he’d inadvertently scared his new friend a little patience seemed in order, however unsettled Jigano remained on the inside. He forced himself to stand motionless, dropping his head a little so his eye was on level with Samuel’s, and focused on slowing his breathing and heartrate while the other man spoke.

And what he said made sense, even if it wasn’t the sort of sense that Jigano wanted to hear right then. He was a talking horse, and Samuel was a woodsman – a hunter, perhaps? – and the world around them was strange with its lack of depth and simple colors. There had been no scent from the feather – no smells at all, except for their own – and no sound of birds or squirrels or even insects. Not even the rustle of wind in the leaves, or the creak of shifting tree trunks.

Jigano snorted, but thoughtfully rather than angrily, and his ears slowly perked forwards again, swiveling towards Samuel as he gave a small bob of respect. ”That’s… a good notion,” he admitted reluctantly. ”The last thing I remember was touching the book… did you do so as well? And did you catch any words on the spine or cover?” He’d thought the cover had been simple plain canvas, and before he could flip it open to read inside he had been turned into a horse in the woods. A forest he slowly turned to pay more attention to now, tail switching thoughtfully as he let his ire be redirected to examining his surroundings more closely, noting the lack of detail even in the leaves closest to him – simple veins on the nearest but no spots of rot or age. Just simple one-tone green in perfect ovals on bushes and low-hanging branches, quickly becoming mere blurs and suggestions of shapes the farther his eye traveled from the clearing.

"If you're right, we're probably going to need that feather." He turned back to his friend with a sigh, steeling himself for the blow his pride was about to take. "And I suppose... until we figure out what's going on for certain... the fastest way to travel would be for you to... ride." And since there was only one horse at hand, it didn't take a genius to figure out who was going to get ridden.

Sam was relieved to see Jigano calm down, took a step forward once he was sure he wasn't about to be bitten. Inwardly he tried to convince himself his fear had been silly - of course his new friend wouldn't stamp him into the ground with his hooves. There was, however, the distinct possibility still that Jigano would not like him anymore, which was a more terrifying prospect.

"I did not look at the cover." He admitted, wishing he had now so he could provide answers. "But...I looked for you and could not see you in the Atheneum anymore, so I...well, I thought it was foolish to look inside the book. But I did, and then...I was here." Looking around he noticed the same things as Jigano; the simple nature of the world around them and the lack of sensory information.

The suggestion of riding was the logical conclusion of it all, but Sam still responded with a flustered, nervous grin. Riding horses at all was not his strength, and the added awkwardness of the whole thing made it almost unbearable.

"Right, okay. Um." He stepped closer, walked to Jigano's side. With some trepidation he placed his hands on the horses back then tried to lift himself up, his legs scrabbling for something to hold onto as he used all of the meagre upper body strength he had. Finally he was clasping Jigano's middle, his knees digging into the horses hips. "I don't--I've never done this before." He tried to say as an explanation.

With some very careful and slow manoeuvring, he got himself into sitting position and grasped Jigano's mane with his hands. "Alright. I assume you can um. S-steer."

”I’ve heard of ‘getting lost in a book’ before, but this is ridiculous,” the bard grumbled, his inkling of suspicion confirmed by Samuel. ”Swallowed by a book…” He shook his head in consternation and no little bemusement, his anxiety at the situation fading a little now that they had a hypothesis to work with. At least he thought he knew what had happened, and that made all the difference in regaining some of his equilibrium. He was no longer running blind, though they had yet to find a way back again. Just wishing wasn’t working, so that probably meant…

”If we’ve fallen into the story, I suppose we’ll have to see where it takes us?” he tested the conclusion tentatively, seeking Samuel’s opinion – and trying to distract himself from the very unsettling sensation of the other man trying to scramble onto his back. It took immense willpower not to sidle away from the pressure against his side, or shift his weight to adjust as the bookmaker’s slight mass hung from the saddle. He might have been able to kneel down to make it easier on the other man, but in truth he wasn’t sure if he could get back up again if he tried – not without unseating the inexperienced would-be horseman who finally clambered up more-or-less astride.

Jigano felt his skin twitching, trying not to shake at the unfamiliar weight. At least Samuel was skinny, he thought wryly to himself. "Go on and put your feet in the stirrups,” he suggested, worried as much about his new friend falling and hurting himself as at the prospect of having to go through the mounting process again. ”Next time we’ll find a log or something for you to stand on…” He wasn’t as tall or massive as a draft horse, but he was a few hands taller than a pony, and Samuel’s legs weren’t nearly long enough to make stepping into the saddle an easy option.

It was at that moment that the horse realized the feather was still where his friend had dropped it. With a sigh – a much larger sound than he was used to making – he took a careful step over to it and dropped his nose to lip the burning feather into his mouth. He debated turning his head to try and pass it back to his rider, but the thought of Samuel leaning forward and then slipping over his shoulder and down to the grass again stopped the gesture before it had even begun. With a soft snort of amusement – careful to keep the feather clamped between his mobile lips – Jigano took a few steps towards a path in the perfectly-coifed bushes.

He walked slowly, but they’d barely gone two dozen paces before the forest seemed to bleed away around them, the colors shifting and the lines twisting into new shapes as they passed from cool green shade to the bright bustle of a storybook-perfect castle courtyard. An older man, grey haired and gone to fat, was standing beside a fine black horse. His clothes were rich velvet and silk, and a golden crown perched atop his brow as servants hurried around him, preparing for a ride – a hunt or a picnic, it was hard to say as Jigano’s iron-shod hooves clattered over the cobbles and he lifted each hoof with dainty distaste at the rough feel of them beneath his feet.

He seemed the most important man in the area, however, and the one most likely to know what was going on. Jigano picked his way over, but before he could try to say anything around the feather the king turned and met Samuel with a hearty smile. ”Ah, my loyal huntsman! And what have you brought for me today?”

Sam was still having trouble believing the situation they were in, trying to think of other possible reasons for it while Jigano spoke. Drugs? He had never touched anything stronger than beer before, and only that occasionally. Sudden, joint insanity? He supposed that wasn't impossible, but it seemed unlikely. So did Jigano's statement about being swallowed into the book, but he couldn't think of any real other possibilities. With a sigh, he gave up and just moved to hoping it would be over soon.

He inched himself forward and nervously swung his feet down into the stirrups, swaying back and forth once he made it. Before he'd climbed on he hadn't realised just how high up it was on Jigano's back. That and his fear of horses was adding up to a nauseous feeling in his stomach and he hoped he wouldn't make a mess of Jigano's mane.

As Jigano leaned forward to pick up the feather he made a weak noise of protest but managed to keep from falling off. After a few wobbly moments once they began moving he settled into a rhythm, able to keep upright and even pretend like he was in control by holding the reins and trying to look authoritative.

The change in scenary from forest to castle was unnatural, surprising, but Sam was glad to be somewhere that closer resembled civilisation. Maybe, he thought, he could talk to someone who could explain it all here. That was his hope when the man approached, but it was quickly apparent that no, this King was just another prop in the story.

"O-Oh. Um." Sam tried to swallow what felt like a stone in this throat and speak confidently. "I have...a feather, from a rare b-bird. But that's all. It has been a....poor....day? A poor day. In the woods. Tell me what you want from me, please." Perhaps that last part was less polite than intended, but Sam was growing desperate for some direction.

Samuel was… well. He was not falling - if only barely – and that was really all Jigano could ask at the moment. Maybe talking horses were normal in this not-quite-right world? Maybe all animals talked? But he wasn’t hearing anything from the other horses in the courtyard beyond “neigh” and “whinny” and the unease he’d managed to push back for a few minutes rose up again in the back of his thoughts.

The king made the first move, but with the feather silencing him for the moment it was up to Samuel to respond. That he did so in a way that was mostly in-character was impressive enough for Jigano’s ears to perk and flick backwards, wishing he could encourage his new friend without risking the poor bookmaker sliding off his back.

That was still strange and awkward and he really didn’t want to dwell on it longer than he had to.

”A feather?” the king said, still jovially pleasant but with a hard glitter in his small brown eyes that Jigano noted – and didn’t care for in the least. ”And only a feather? I hope it’s as rare as you say, my loyal huntsman!” As if on command – though, really, any bard worth his salt recognized good dramatic timing when it hit him upside the head – the horse spat out the flaming feather to the cobbles at the kings feet.

All eyes around them went to the strange, magical plume and silence spread in a ripple as others turned to look at what had frozen the king and his entourage. At last an older man, finely dressed with chains of high office at his neck and dark hair carefully manicured into an oiled braid and small goatee, bent down carefully to retrieve it – and wipe the horse spit from it with a white cloth before handing it to the king. Those brown eyes gleamed with avarice now as he examined it, holding it up to the light with no little awe. ”By God, the feather of a firebird!” Never taking his gaze from the plume he continued, breathless. ”Not for generations has one been seen in the kingdom! Why, I would be the envy of all my neighbors if I had it in my menagerie. Huntsman!” The meandering of his thoughts ended in a short, sharp bark of command that had Jigano laying his ears flat in distaste at such disrespect for his companion.

”As my finest hunter and most loyal servant, I command you to bring me the firebird by three days’ time! Whatever you need for this task is yours; you need only ask my vizier for it.” With the decree spoken and witnessed, the king turned, cradling the feather close. Whatever plans he’d made for his ride were forgotten in his preoccupation with his new treasure as he hobbled back into the palace, leaving Samuel and Jigano to face the tall, thin, stern-faced man who had picked the feather up earlier. A dark brow arched in a silent Well? as he waited on ‘the huntsman’s’ list of needs.

Sam was relieved to hear he wouldn't be sent immediately to an executioner's block, but there was something in the Kings eyes that hinted at a threat underneath. He took a breath to steady himself, trying to maintain the persona of a confident woodsman, the kind of man who hunted mythical creatures and wore full leather in midday.

Luckily for him, the King seemed to be impressed with his find. Sam smiled and nodded as if he knew what a firebird was. The shout of his title took the smile off of his face though, Sam flinching and chewing on his lip as he heard the task he had been given. He knew from the second it was said he had no chance of accomplishing it, no matter what tools he had.

"O-oh, thank you..." He quietly said mostly to himself as the King disappeared. Sam wanted badly to lean down and discuss the quest with Jigano, but the man before them seemed impatient and likely would not wait for a madman who spoke to his horse.

What did he need, though? He wasn't even sure what the options were. He tried to think for a moment and ignore the man's questioning brow.

"W-well...I'd like a place to stay for the night, and a stable? For my..horse? I-I can sort him for the night myself. And perhaps some food for us both? And then...for the hunt tomorrow...what would...you recommend I bring?"