It has been a rough night for Anisa. Midway into the night, Bessy's baby was afflicted with colic and broke into a crying fit that managed to keep the whole floor awake, and in between waking moments the Lapi girl remembers having the oddest dreams.

Morning finally came and the day begins anew. The breakfast crowd can be heard milling about downstairs and nobody has knocked on Anisa's door to awaken her – apparently one of the family members decided to let her sleep in, since her door was the closest to the mess and she was probably the one most affected by it all.

After slowly and groggily waking, the Lapi waitress tears herself from her bed and goes about her morning ritual of getting ready for work. After taking a shower, she heads back into her room to change into her work dress and comb her fur, a sense of dread and annoyance hanging over her since she already knows it's going to be a long day. She stares blankly into her dresser mirror as she gets ready, grateful that she got to sleep in, but reluctant to actually head downstairs and start.

The face staring back at Anisa in the mirror seems hardly her own. Despite sleeping in, she still looks like she barely got any sleep during the night. Parts of her fur are still curled wrong despite Anisa's best efforts to comb them down, thanks to a restless night of tossing and turning, and her eyes show just a hint of red around the edges.

The Lapi frowns at her reflection, shaking her head, her ears flopping against her face, in an attempt to wake herself more. After a few final violent brushings, she gives up and resigns herself to her fate, tying off her dress and apron, and standing to head to the lower floor. In the time it takes her to get there, she thinks hard on what it was she had dreamed about the prior night, trying to separate what was a dream from what was Petal's screaming, and just what exactly it was she dreamed about.

The images that come to mind aren't pleasant: knives and maimed people and always a little Eeee nearby, whispering things into her ear that made the Lapi's blood run cold. For some reason the baby's screams seemed to fit within the dream as well, but it's difficult to place exactly why or how.

Anisa's frown deepens – caught between a rock and a hard place it seems, in the form of being asleep and dreaming whatever it is she's dreaming, and having to get up and work as soon as she wakes. The rabbit shivers, closing her eyes in an attempt to make the dreams either come more into focus, or go away. Unfortunately, as soon as she opens her eyes, it seems she has reached the bottom of the stairs, and she gives a look at the patron to see who she has to deal with this morning.

Her first customer of the day appears to be … Bessy. The older Lapi waddles over to Anisa, looking haggard from lack of sleep. "Cristina … normally I wouldn't trouble you with this, but … would you mind watching Petal for a bit? I'm about to fall asleep on my feet, and Quinn's busy with customers. Your mother said that it would be all right." It seems that the only time she ever is polite is when she's asking Anisa for something, but she does look a bit exhausted.

Petal squirms in Bessy's arms, letting out a noisy squeal and tugging at a hang of her bright orange hair.

Behind the two, the morning breakfast crowd does seem a bit on the thin side. Quinn is behind the bar scribbling in his ledger, Tyson is polishing tables and hefting dishes away, and Ranit and Coal are serving plates of food and drink. The morning customers consist of a few Rhians, several Lapis, and a couple of nervous looking Skeeks eyeing a lone Naga sitting in a corner.

The white Lapi blinks incredulously at her sister in law. A whole night of screaming and ranting from that kid, keeping her awake with work to come the following morning, and now Bessy wants her to baby-sit? Not to mention the fact that she'll rarely let Anisa so much as touch the baby. A sudden involuntary yawn breaks her train of thought, and swallowing back her words of protest, the Lapi girl merely nods, "All right, I suppose I can look after her for a while." She holds out her arms to take the baby, wincing at the sight of her pulling Bessy's fur.

"Thank you." It sounds almost genuine. Bessy takes a moment to glance back at the Naga – who quietly sips at a pot of tea – and then gingerly hands the little baby over. Petal tugs at her mother's hair, not quite ready to let go, but relents as the strand gets stretched out beyond her means. As soon as she's settled in Anisa's arms the baby reaches out and grabs one of the straps to her apron, barely missing one of her dangling ears instead.

"It's a bit noisy here; why don't the two of you go in our room? I'll come and check on you after I catch a nap," Bessy stifles a yawn herself.

Anisa lets out a small "eep!" and quickly moves her ears behind herself and out of reach of the baby's grasp. "Okay," she sleepily replies to Bessy, giving a nod to go along. After situating the baby better in her arms, she gives the dining room a final look over, then does an about face towards the stairs, beginning to make her way up it. Looking down at Petal, Anisa can't help but fight a small smile, being reminded of carrying Ranit and Benjamin around when she and they were still little.

Petal smiles back up at the Lapi, drooling a little bit out of the corner of her mouth. Ranit and Benjamin had that habit too unfortunately, although she seems much lighter than her brothers were. Maybe it's because she's a girl.

It might also have to do with the fact that Anisa's not a six year old this time either, but even in light of that, Petal seems much smaller. Noticing the smile, the Lapi's usually hanging ears go upright in sudden surprise, her smile widening as she gives a small and rare giggle. "Well, it's good to see that someone around here is in a good mood now!" She tickles the baby's ear lightly, and opens the door to Bessy and Quinn's room.

There are actually two beds in the room, one is neatly made up and the other, more rumpled one is right next to the crib. The room smells strongly of baby powder and the other odors that babies tend to produce.

Once inside, Anisa lays her legs out on the bed that looks more made up than the other (silently hoping she messes it up to bug Quinn, since it's obvious from the room's appearance that he did little to help with the baby) and props her back against the wall, setting the small baby in her lap, and wiping the drool off of her arm. "So kid, how're you?"

Petal responds by continuing to smile brightly up at Anisa and trying to stuff her apron into her mouth.

There are a few cloth toys strewn about, some empty bottles, and spare diapers here and there. At least herbivore babies tend to be less smelly than carnivore ones, from what Anisa's been told.

"Hey there! You're gonna choke, Cottontail!" Anisa gently pulls the apron out of the baby's mouth, reaching down for one of the cloth toys to give her instead. "You sure do make a mess for one little ball of ears and fluff! But then again I guess the boys were worse." She playfully wiggles the toy into the baby's paws, giving her another tickle on the tummy. "Well my little room-mate, what should we do to pass the time?"

There's a light knock on the door, followed by Tyson's voice. "Hey Sis, you in there?"

Petal lets out a delighted squeal loud enough to make Anisa's ears ring.

Anisa winces at the squeal, but still smiles nonetheless. Bouncing the small coney in her lap, she looks up at the door. "Tyson? Come on in!" She looks to the baby, "looks like we have a visitor, Cottonball."

The older Lapi walks in, yawning to himself and looking almost as under-rested as Bessy. "Bossy said that the squeaker might be hungry and sent me up with a couple of bottles." He holds up two baby bottles, looking rather indignant about the whole affair. "Remind me to never have kids, wouldja Chris?"

Anisa says, "You? Have kids?" She holds out her paw with a bit of a playful smirk, "Don't worry, the last thing we need is a bunch of little Tysons running around."

As if to press this point further, Petal belts out with another delighted sounding squeal. Her volume could use some work.

Tyson winces and sets the bottles down on one of the tabletops. "Or a bunch of little Anisas." He winks one of his bleary looking eyes. "I notice you're not too keen on Mom's efforts to get you married off yourself."

The Lapi woman scoots herself to more of a sitting position, and gathers the baby into her lap facing the same way. She then takes one of the bottles, and after testing it to make sure it's not hot, holds it for the baby to drink from. "I'm in no hurry. Too many of my friends got married right off the mallet, when we were still more or less kids, for Dagh's sake!" She shakes her head. "Sorry, but the last thing I want is to be chained to some house all day, having to look after a bunch of little terrors," she winks at the baby, "present company excepted. I dunno, it might be nice some day, but there are still things I want to do, and you can't do them while married."

Tyson's gaze wanders to the rumpled bed and his eyes darken. "Or some things you shouldn't do while you're married." He winces and grits his teeth. "Ahem, anyway … I understand. I've enough trouble with Mom and Pop worrying themselves over me. I don't think I'm ready to handle having a wife and pups fretting over me either."

Anisa arches a brow at her brother's comment, looking at the rumpled bed curiously. She turns her gaze back to Tyson, and nods. "Twenty seven and still a bachelor, what'll we ever do with you?" She grins, then looks to the baby as it fades. "Tyson … about the other night… "

The older Lapi rubs his fading shiner, pushing the door closed with his foot. "What about it… ?"

"I'm not going to ask you what you've been doing," sighs Anisa, "I just want to know if you're okay. I saw the blood, and I know you've been going out at night. It worries me." She pauses to stroke Petal's ears softly. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

The baby yawns and then goes back to gnawing on the bottle with her toothless gums.

Tyson sighs. "I'm a big boy, Chris. I can take care of myself." He rubs his temples. "I just don't want to be stuck here busting tables all my life. I've found something I'm good at, you know? It's just… it's just all turned into one big mess, but it'll eventually go away." He looks at the baby with a gaze of … well, it looks almost like pity.

Her brother's look gives Anisa a feeling of unnerve, and she returns it with a frown, averting her own gaze back to the baby and bottle. "Big messes have a way of getting even bigger. Just be careful." She sighs, and checks the bottle. "Besides, you have a lot of little Tysons in your future some day."

"Not for me, Chris. I've got enough people planning my future and worrying about me." He shakes his head, causing his floppy ears to brush back and forth across his neck. "Family just seems like one big mess, and I don't want to end up like some beaten down machine like Royce."

"Royce just needs to get away from this place. When we were traveling together, he shined," says Anisa. "And I plan to do just that some day: get him out of here. If Gibson were here, he'd help me, and he could make Daddy see that Royce'd be suited better elsewhere. But for now, it's not so bad… and it's better than coming home bloody every night." The last part she partially whispers.

Unfortunately, Tyson's ears as just as sharp as Anisa's. He frowns and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bulging coinpurse that he tosses next to his sister. It jingles brightly as it bounces on the mattress, a noise that only metal coins can produce.

Anisa looks down to the bag, her brow furrowing as she picks it up with a paw. "Where did you get this? From whatever it is you do every night?" She casts an obviously worried glance at Tyson. "Is this what you bleed for?"

"I don't bleed every night. Sometimes I win – more often than not, I win." Tyson crosses his arms. "I'm good, Cristina. Once I earn enough, I'm going to try and pay my way into training for the Temple Guard. And if they won't have me, I'll go to Chronotopia and train there."

Petal grasps for the bag, but it's just out of her reach.

A look of realization dawns on the little sister's face. "So you're fighting, is that it?" She grimaces, pushing the bag further away from the baby, and giving her another bottle instead. "Who do you fight, and where? Tyson, that's a dangerous thing to get into, and I know from experience!"

Tyson's hand flies to his lips, shushing his younger sister. "Not so loud. Now do you understand why I didn't want you to talk to Mom and Pop about it? They'd lock me up at night if they knew. I've heard them complain about your fighting; imagine what they'd think of me?" He rubs his eye. "Now that Faraon's Dome is closed, there's been all sorts of small groups that host fights at night. They thought that a fighting Lapi was funny, but then I cold-cocked the Skreek they threw at me, and they started treating me seriously." He punches his fist against his palm to emphasize his point.

Anisa shakes her head with a frown of near anger. "Tyson, that's just stupid! Do you know how dangerous that is, especially if there are people who used to be part of Faraon's group? Sooner or later you're gonna end up with someone you can't beat, or worse- you'll get killed! And do you think they'll care? No!" She hugs the baby closer to herself. "I fought when I was younger because I didn't know any better, but you should!"

Tyson scoops up his coinpurse. "This isn't Faraon's Dome!" His hands fly over his mouth and he rapidly lowers his tone. "We use gloves and padding, and no weapons." He shakes his head. "C'mon, Chris! Just because I'm not good at something like knitting or cooking instead of fighting doesn't mean I'm going to give this up."

"You mean it's not street fighting?" The white Lapi gives her brother a suspicious glance. "Just boxing?"

"It's both." Tyson shrugs. "They keep the skanks out by charging a registration fee. That's why I had to borrow money from Quinn." His teeth practically grind at the last bit, and he glares angrily down at the rumpled bed again.

Anisa resettles the baby. "Then you should still be careful, especially if there's money involved. Is it legitimate, or are there bookies and gamblers involved?" She follows Tyson's gaze. "And what else does Quinn have to do with this? I can tell there's more than you're telling me."

Tyson just shakes his head. "You don't want to know that part, Anisa. You really don't … it made me want to get the fires away from this place as fast as I can get the money together." He presses his hand against the door. "I need to get back to the tables. Benji'll be up to check on you during his break."

The frown returns upon Anisa's lips, but she simply nods. "I do want to know, but I won't press it. I'll see you later then; you'd better get back downstairs."

Tyson shakes his head and with a sigh, he quietly exits. Almost an instant later there is a second knock at the door; maybe Benjamin is early, or Tyson had a change of heart?

"What's that boy gonna do to us, Cottonball?" Anisa quickly asks the baby before regarding the door. "Come in," she calls, "come join the party!"

The door opens, and a bright red Naga slithers in, looking amused as he regards the room. "A rather droll party you are having, Madame." His tongue flicks out as he glances down at the baby in Anisa's arms. "I assume that you are Miss Anisa Snowshoe?"

Anisa lets out a surprised shriek, shrinking back instinctively and hugging the baby protectively before she comes to her senses. "Y-yes that's me… " She smoothes herfrazzled ears back in embarrassment, then eyes the Naga, still hugging Petal close. "Who are you, and what are you doing up here? This isn't a customer area, you know… "

"I am Mage Shift of the Red Coil Dream Mages, in His Excellency's service." The Naga slithers into the chamber with a fluid grace. "The guardian was kind enough to give me your identity at the cost of my fangs – not that they would be of much use to me here."

The details of Anisa's dreams start to come more into focus. Something about taking a bath and then going into a temple to meditate. Things seemed to get hazy after that.

The Lapi regards the Naga in confusion, then pauses as she regards her memories of the dreams, trying to make more of them, although now she remembers some. "Dream mage? Excellency? Who do you mean?" It seems right on the tip of her mind.

"You have no idea, do you, mammal? No idea whose coils you have become trapped in … no idea how close you are to being swallowed at this very moment." Shift's tongue flits out and he extends a scaled hand out towards the Lapi. "The magicks here are too powerful for me to dispel the dream, but I can draw you out of it. Take my hand now, then I shall explain everything when your mind is clearer."

Petal starts to cry. It's a choked, howling cry that sounds shrill and angry.

Anisa shies away from the snake at first, her brow furrowing on deeper confusion. She looks down at Petal, and tries to shush her while rocking her. Nevertheless, her curiosity gets the better of her, and she looks back up to the Naga, slowly taking his scaled hand in her paw.

Abruptly the world around Anisa shatters. The furniture collapses as though all of it had been fashioned from playing cards hit by an errant breeze, the pieces scattering into dust. A warm room with familiar wallpaper churns and reforms into a cold stone temple. The bed becomes a slab of stone with a few token cushions piled upon it, and the baby in the Lapi's arm turns into a sheathed dagger, the one Anisa herself chose in the weapon room.

The memories flow back: the village of the limbless, the crimson path, the city, the gates, the guardian, and even the bare patch of skin on her arm. The only thing that remains is the red Naga, coiled in front of a greenish fire set into the center of the chamber.

Shift releases Anisa's hand. "I cannot awake you fully, as I have no idea where your physical body is, but I can manage removing you from a dream within a dream. I hope that your transition was not too disorienting, Madame." He wipes his scaled paw against the hem of his robe.

Anisa quickly springs to her feet and stumbles backwards, the sudden change in scenery startling the Lapi momentarily out of her wits. She falls backwards hard onto her tail, wincing in pain. "W-w-where … where am … Oh… " She cuts herself short as she recognizes the room, clutching her head as though she had a terrible headache. "Disorienting isn't the half of it." Painfully, she gets back to her feet, looking about the room and then at the Naga. "I was never really awake? That … all of that was a dream?"

The Naga flits out his tongue. "It appeared to be. Did you find the answer you were looking for? That is what most pilgrims who come here seek."

"Answer? I don't even know what question I was asking," replies the Lapi, replacing the dagger to her sash. "Was I ever awake at all since I've been here? It's all so perplexing."

"Interesting." Shift's coils slide into a more comfortable position. "You don't appear to be a dream mage – and pardon me if I sound insulting by mentioning this, but youdo not look to be the quality of folk taking pilgrimages toBarada's temple in Babel either. I wonder if you're one of those dream travelers I hear about from time to time."

Anisa shakes her head, "No, I'm not a mage … and I doubt I'd want the qualities of anyone who'd go on a pilgrimage to see Barada." She crosses her arms, and looks at the Naga. "Dream traveler? I have no idea. Now I want you to tell me something … what the heck is going on here? And why were you looking for me?"

The snake rises up on his coils, making himself look taller for a moment. "This is a focal point in the dream realm, apparently some sort of testing ground to see if folk are worthy of Barada. I have been told that there is one who has recently passed Inala's test, and now Inala has become a true goddess, performing miracles all over Sinai. Apparently Barada is considering you for some role as well, although I do not know the details, as I have yet to face Barada myself, nor do I have any desire to, truly." He shrinks down. "And I wasn't looking for you so much as I happened to stumble upon you staring blankly at the flames in this chamber. The guardian told me your name and I decided to try and rouse you from your trance instead of risking more of my limbs to that woman."

"She wants to … use me?" The Lapi blinks. "I don't know whether to be flattered or horrified." She shakes a few of the remaining cobwebs out, making sure that she really is where she appears to be. "Okay then, here's one you can answer: what are you doing here? And what exactly is this dream realm place? It was like something… someone tried to tell me earlier, but couldn't."

Shift smirks. "I came here because I'd heard the stories of goddesses and wished to see for myself. The path to Inala is now barred now that she has grown, but the path to Secrets seemed safer than the other five remaining. I did not wish to traverse Disease or Death or Revenge, after all." He glances back at the flames. "I came here because I do not believe in gods or goddesses, and I wished to learn how the mages of Babel are able to perform their magic without even whispering a cantrip. Such magic is both powerful and dangerous, and one would hope that Babel would be kind enough to share such information with their Nagai allies, who have suffered so much because of the war."

Anisa cocks her head sideways. "So you want to learn their magic, and you think I play a part in all of this?" She walks over to the entrance of the chamber, looking out. "Secrets can be dangerous too, you know, and now that I know I'm here for a reason, I'll be even more wary of them." She rubs the bare patch on her arm to further emphasize the point.

"But Barada is a young and playful goddess from what the stories say. She is the youngest of the seven … and in youth there is exuberance and thoughtlessness. If I stay here long enough, she may stumble and let a secret slip." The Naga rubs a finger across an eyeridge. "She may steal a secret or two from me in the process, but it is a small cost if I can learn her power."

The rabbit shrugs. "I still wouldn't underestimate her. From what I've learned of these goddesses so far, they're a tricky bunch … and cruel, too." She turns back to the snake. "Since we both seem to be headed in the same direction, we might as well team up. It'll be safer that way."

Shift tilts his head. "Perhaps. Although you should not rely upon my abilities here should you get into trouble. Magic here is rather odd."

"I'll rely on my own abilities," replies Anisa, patting her dagger, "and I'll rely on the fact that you seem to know more about this place than I do, and that you're not some Eeee with a bunch of missing pieces. If we're in Barada's realm, there's only so much we can do, and magic doesn't seem to be part of that." She looks around the chamber. "Have you seen a small chibix around anywhere? He was kind of my guide … although I guess if he's Barada's, he's probably more dangerous than he's worth."

The Naga's tongue flicks out again. "It is sitting outside. I was tempted to eat it, but I have heard stories about eating food in the realm of the Kindly Ones." The snake turns to slither out of the chamber. "You realize that the dagger you are carrying is sacrificial, do you not? The thin blade was designed to pierce into the skull of a victim much easier, so that the blade could drink of the secrets stored inside."

Anisa shudders at the Naga's mention of eating the chibix, then looks down at her dagger with a frown, quickly taking her hands off of it and wiping them on her pants. Oh … I didn't know … Lovely." Giving the dagger another look of distaste, she follows the snake outside.