Mage Shift, the crimson red dream mage, has accompanied Anisa on what he claims is her final stage of preparation before facing Barada at the top of her Temple in the center of her city. He's a bit cold in his demeanor, but such is to be expected of any true cold-blooded Naga.

The chibix has stayed faithfully with Anisa during her trip, but seems content to allow Shift to speak instead of spewing its usual banter. Occasionally it will pipe up about a building here and there, and it helped guide the Lapi and her companion to the clothing chamber, but seems to know to keep its mouth shut when others are speaking.

The sunlight has turned to dusky red, painting the city like a layer of blood and staining the rocks and Anisa's own fur. The air outside holds a note of anticipation for something. Even the secrets whispering on the breeze have quieted.

Mage Shift picks up a boot and snorts to himself, glancingdown at his leg-less trunk. "As usual, the Babelites are so focused on themselves that they forget to make accommodations for their Nagai brethren."

Anisa peruses the various clothing articles, feeling this and eyeing that, a bit overtaken by all the multitude there is to be found. "I wonder what she expects me to wear? Something nice, or humble … what?" She sighs, "Dagh-blast it, I'm about sick and tired of her games."

The red Naga drops the boot distastefully. "You must remember that Barada is the youngest of the seven, and is the most … hmmm … capricious." His pink tongue flicks out. "I believe that this would be another sort of test to see how you plan to look when you meet Barada? Shall you go in full armor or in a fancy dress or as something else?"

"I'm not exactly partial to either," replies the rabbit, "but the armor sounds more appealing, since it's better protection." She stops, and thinks. "But then again, if this is her realm, I guess it would do me little good, would it? Maybe she expects a dress." The Lapi sits on the floor with a sigh, cupping her chin in her paws. "By the First Ones, she's confusing. Capricious isn't the half of it."

Shift slithers past a pile of shoes, knocking a few over with his tail. "It would not be much of a test if it did not frustrate you, I would wager. It makes one curious as to why Barada does not choose her own people for them. If the rumors are true, none of those who have walked the paths of the seven are Babelite or even Eeee."

Anisa perks an ear up at this. "Doesn't choose her own people? You mean it's always an outsider to their faith?" The Lapi caresses at her neck, and is suddenly reminded of the necklace she received from the Khatta back in the waking world.

The serpent shrugs. "I do not know of the matter of faith. Supposedly Inala's champion passed her test, and now has the honor as serving as Inala's avatar on Sinai. Surely to take up such a position, one must have faith in Inala." He tilts his head as Anisa fidgets with her necklace.

"Avatar? I don't want to be anyone's stinking avatar! I just wanna wake up!" The Lapi glares at all the clothes in disgust, then sees the snake looking at her. "What's wrong?" Anisa asks, still fiddling with the necklace.

"Nothing." Shift shrugs nonchalantly. "I was simply curious if that was some sort of good luck charm. Odd that Barada would choose you for the test if you dislike her so. Perhaps she hopes to convert you."

Anisa shakes her head, "I hadn't even heard of her before I came here, much less like or dislike her. And fat chance of converting me." She fidgets with the necklace some more, then pauses, looking down at it. "Good luck charm … no, it's not that … but could it be something else?" She looks up to the snake.

"I am not much of a jeweler. Although in my experience one dreams of themselves as some sort of image. I have seen dreamers appear here as great and beautiful beings that are nothing as they are in reality, or old men coming here as younger." He scoots closer to Anisa and looks at thenecklace with one of his bead-like eyes. "I take it that the charm is not something you would normally consider as part of your self-image?"

"Well, not normally, no… " Anisa reaches behind her neck, and unclasps the necklace. "In the waking world, I work as a waitress. One day a white Khatta lady came into our diner to eat – which is weird in and of itself since we're vegetarian – and she left me this as a tip."

"It resembles Sifran crystal," the snake hisses. "But it is odd to see it in jewel form like this. From what I have been told, the crystal is nigh indestructible. It also tends to resist magic use. An odd little trinket though. Were I awake and were able to hold it with my own hands perhaps I could tell you more of it."

"So it couldn't have been the thing that brought me here, could it?" Anisa examines the crystal, rolling it around in her paw. "I mean, if mages can't mess with them."

Shift nods. "I would wager that your presumption is correct. Perhaps when you awaken you should seek out the one who gave it to you? Perhaps she's an agent of the Babelites."

Anisa frowns, and clasps the necklace back around her neck. "If I wake up… " Standing back up, the Lapi walks back over to the clothing, and gives it some more regard, soon followed by a mischievous smirk on her face. "You say Barada's capricious, eh? Well, two can play at that game."

"Barada is the youngest of the seven. Her priestesses are notorious spies." The Naga shows a hint of nervousness at this remark. "What that has to do with bathing and taking a blade and having magical visions and playing dress-up, though, is beyond me. I almost regret allowing the gatekeeper to take away my fangs."

Taking her oversized ears and using them to cover her eyes, Anisa blindly and randomly pulls one of each of the various article types from the shelves: one pair of footwear, one from the pants and skirts level, one from the shirts, and so on.

"If she can be confusing," says Anisa, "so can I!"

"Inala would not like your color coordination abilities, I would wager," Shift hisses, smirking slightly.

Anisa ends up with a large pair of boots, a fluffy pair of Gallisian pantaloons, a chainmail shirt, and a frilly hat that looks like it was built to resemble a Kujaku's crest.

The Lapi removes her ears back to their normal position, and looks at what she's pulled. "I'm not especially worried. Bats are supposed to be colorblind anyway."

Anisa hmmmms, shaking her head. "Then again, no reason to look like an idiot. Although I will keep this." The rabbit picks up the chainmail shirt, and holds it up to herself to see if it will fit.

It looks like everything Anisa has chosen would fit perfectly, as though every article in the room was crafted just for her.

The Naga looks at a beaded belt for a moment. "I wish there were something in here to defend oneself from dreams with."

Slinging the chain mail shirt over her shoulder, Anisa searches the pants level for a pair of plain trousers. "Well, since we are in a dream, I don't know how well it would do."

Shift nods and pulls down a shirt for himself, tugging at the sleeves to test their strength. "I wonder how capricious Barada is. Maybe what looks like a flimsy shirt is the best armor and what looks to be strong armor is nothing at all." The shirt makes a slight tearing noise, but considering that it's just a frilly thing and wasn't made for durability, it isn't really any surprise.

Anisa pulls out the trousers, and reflexively puts them against herself, although she already knows they'll fit. "That might be an indication, but I'm not sure. I wish I knew why we had to do this at all, what purpose she has behind all this." She slings the trousers likewise over her shoulder, and looks for a place to change.

Several of the clothing racks look like they could provide ample enough coverage judging by how low many of the robes hang.

"Perhaps Barada is hoping you will give something away by what you choose to wear? I know that if someone approached me decked out in full armor it would let me know that they were intending a fight," the Naga hisses. "Or maybe she simply is trying to mislead you. It is hard to tell with the embodiment of secrets and spies." He holds his head up. "I shall go as I am. I believe that I do not count in this little game regardless, but I am curious to see how it plays out and which side comes out as the victor."

The white Lapi goes behind one of the racks, and begins to change from her dress into the new attire. "I suppose she has some symbolic meaning behind this," she says to Shift from behind the cover, "like more keeping secrets, of your identity or something." She stops halfway through changing, suddenly realizing something. "Or perhaps she's trying to see how well I can conceal things." She pokes her head out from behind the rack, and looks at Shift. "You said she may want me as her avatar, right?"

"It is an appropriate assumption, as Inala's champion became her Avatar." The snake politely turns to look in the opposite direction. "I take it that you have some plan of misdirection in mind?"

"I do now." Anisa removes the chainmail shirt and trousers and tosses them to the side, then changes back into her waitress dress. "I don't have any more secrets to hide, and since if I die here I just wake up back home anyway, there's no need for armor." The Lapi walks over to the Naga, still fastening a strap to her dress. "So looks like I'm with you. This is a dress; that's formal enough for me."

"Then I believe that you are ready to face Barada. Is there anything more that I might be able to tell you before you enter her gates?" The Naga tightens his own belt, attempting to look regal.

"Just what I might deal with when I actually meet her, so I can have some chance as to what to expect." The Lapi paws at the dagger in her dress sash. "And why she wants a Lapi as her Avatar, but you already said you didn't know that."

The snake dips his head in thought. "I would simply be on guard for any skeletons in your closet leaping out at you, so to speak. If you have some dark secret, she probably knows it."

Anisa shrugs, rolling her eyes. "I stole I cookie from the kitchen when I was little and blamed it on my baby brother once, that's about the depth of it." The Lapi starts off towards the exit, then stops. "Actually… there is one thing I was thinking… if things get hairy and I need to get out… " She swallows. "If I choose to take my own life here… will I wake up in the real world? The gatekeeper said if you die here, you wake up."

"I do not know. I have made a point of avoiding getting killed here." Shift tries to sound nonchalant as he slithers out of the chamber. "I know that in the Temple of Barada, they carried out corpses of those who died while under the effects of the dreamweed, but the bodies I saw were atrophied and dehydrated."

"So I could die if I stay here too long," says the Lapi. "Lovely." She sighs, and heads out the chamber as well, turning to face the inner palace. "So, are we off?"

"Apparently so." The Naga clears his throat and smoothes his robes down. "I hope you will not be offended if I choose to follow behind you, Madame?"

Anisa smirks, tossing her ears behind her back. "I thought Naga weren't afraid of anything?" She grins, and shrugs, "Suit yourself. Let's go." With that, the rabbit starts her way off towards the palace gates.

"You are the champion. I would prefer to stand back and observe. For all I know, one of Barada's priestesses has a knife to my neck as we speak." The Dream Mage slithers after the Lapi.

Ahead, the gates leading up the long pathway to the top of the pyramid in the center of the city have opened. The sun seems to be hovering at its peak, framing a wispy shape standing at a table.

The breeze carries the only noise in the city … the sound of not one, but two babies crying from the top of the steep pyramid.

The white rabbit's fur stands out on end at the site, and she fights the nervousness welling up in her stomach. At the sound of the babies' cries, Anisa's ears perk up to listen, and her black eyes go wide. "That's not … not one of the sacrifices, is it?"

"It would be uncharacteristic of Barada to sacrifice babies," Shift hisses coldly. "A baby has no secrets, after all. Usually child sacrifices go to Inala, as she prefers the young and still perfect flesh."

Anisa shivers, continuing to advance forward through the gates, where she pauses to look up at the wispy form. "That must be her."

Indeed, the figure standing at the top of the pyramid looks to be an Eeee, and a female one at that. The tinkling of jewelry adds to the unsettling sound carried by the breeze.

"I … I guess I go up?" Anisa looks over her shoulder at the Naga for reassurance.

"Indeed." The snake nods, then slides through the narrow gate and follows Anisa up the steps. "I would prefer having wings right now. It would make the climb much easier."

Taking a deep breath, the white Lapi begins up the stairs, silently praying to the First Ones as she does so. The rabbit looks up at the Eeee figure at the top, keeping her eyes set.

The climb is long and tiring. Midway up, Shift drops all his airs and opts to crawl with the aid of his hands after almost tumbling down the steps twice. Bu the time the top is almost within reach, Anisa's legs feel as though they're on fire.

Anisa, panting, fights to keep herself on her two feet, attempting to maintain some dignity in the face of the one who brought her here. "Barada," she calls out, "I'm here!"

The Eeee has her back turned to the duo. Her stance is one of boredom. Still, even from the back she's fascinating to look at. Although not to the point of gaudiness, she is decked out in jewelry and gems, and her ears are pierced several times, as are her wings. Chains and hoops adorn her neck and arms, and each of her fingers sports a ring at each joint. Even her clothing is awash in tiny scintillating little stones. "Indeed you are, little sister, indeed you are." She looks coyly over her shoulder at the Lapi. She looks to be sixteen at the oldest, but her eyes gleam wisely, like those of an old man or a scholar. An odd golden symbol is delicately painted into the fur of her forehead.

At the table she's leaning on lie two baby Lapi. One looks like Petal, but the one next to it is unfamiliar, with chocolate brown fur and a white patch over one eye. Both children hush their cries once Anisa approaches.

The Rabbit comes to a halt just a few paces away from the goddess, letting go of the hem of her dress. Panting, she waits a bit to catch her breath. The Lapi begins to say something, but halts at the site of the two children. "Petal? What are you doing here?"

The lady Eeee turns around to face Anisa fully, smiling brightly. "Why, she's your judge of course. It wouldn't be considered fair if I judged myself, now would it?"

Mage Shift slithers in behind the Lapi, settling in quietly behind her.

"I thought that was the point… " Anisa hides a swallow as the Eeee faces her. "Who's the other one?"

The Eee shrugs, smiling. "Oh, he doesn't have a name yet. Bessy wanted to wait until she knew if it was going to be a boy or a girl."

Anisa blinks, "Bessy's … unborn son?" The Lapi girl's jawdrops, then she shakes her head to get her bearings back. "So you have my niece and future nephew as my judges." She sits down on one of the steps, smoothing her dress around her. "Now what are you going to have them judge me on? Whether I can keep secrets or not?"

Again, the Eeee just shrugs. "Why, on your worthiness, of course. You have such power, Christina, the power to grant me true life, and in return your secrets will be kept. All I need from you is an offering of trust."

"Trust is hard to come by when you're forced to go somewhere you didn't ask to go, and do things without being told why." Anisa eyes the goddess suspiciously. "And if you get true life, what happens to me? I cease to exist?"

The Eeee maiden sticks out her tongue and rolls her wizened eyes. "What sort of reward would death be? No … you'll go on living your happy little life in your quaint little tavern, safe in your secrets. I'll even bestow a gift upon you … the ability to know the deepest secrets of anyone who you are near. Nobody need hide anything from you."

"I already get enough secrets from these," Anisa holds up one of her oversized ears, "and that's more than I already care to hear. Knowing people's secrets would drive me nuts." The Lapi crosses her arms defiantly. "Besides, I don't have many secrets to keep, so I'm not worried."

The Eeee paces delicately. "You have enough, and you should consider more carefully. It is unwise to displease a goddess. Even in my current condition, I could destroy you with the few gems that I hold."

Anisa pulls out the dagger from her dress sash, and places it in her lap. "But then you'd lose your dreamer. And how would I go on being me if you had control of me – another one of those dreams like you had me trapped in earlier?"

"You assume that you cannot be replaced, little sister. There are others walking the paths, and it will be only a matter of time before someone else walks down mine if you abandon it, so I still get what I want." The lady bat flutters her eyes. "And I have no need to possess your body. As I have said, once you complete the final test, you can go back to your little life and live it with my blessing. Inala has chosen an Avatar, but it is always the way of Pleasure to take up a lover. The way of Secrets is not to trust anyone, and therefore once my path is finished I do not intend to take anyone as my second."

"Then why'd you pick me at all? I'm not even one of your worshippers," replies Anisa. "I've never been a secretive person; you can't be when you're in a family of Lapi, and I've never been an assassin, or intend to be. I don't have any of your virtues, so why me?"

The Eeee shrugs, clucking her tongue. "Actually, that meddler Morpheus does the choosing. And he's done a remarkable job by bringing my sister Gorphat a little fox playmate and presenting Inala with the most willing Avatar she could ask for. Even Rephath has a champion from the highest order of the Temple now. Perhaps the mages of Babel have finally broken him and he's bringing in those who are most likely to pass our tests. It's very sweet of him." She giggles to herself like a giddy schoolgirl.

Mage Shift swallows nervously.

Anisa arches a brow. "So you know about Morpheus? He's the source of all your power, isn't he?" She shifts the dagger in her paw, brain and heart racing. "What happens to you if I become your avatar, and him for that matter?"

The Lapi quickly looks back to the Naga for some sort of suggestion.

"You will not become my avatar, little sister." The Eeee smiles warmly. "Unless it's what you truly wish. As for Morpheus, his fate will be none of your concern. He's only a magical construct, a puppet that thinks it's alive. Worry not for him."

The Naga's tongue flicks in and out furiously. He shrugs, and then points to the Eeee, making stabbing motions with his hand, stopping when the jingling laughter of the Eeee erupts. "Oh, my little spy. You're more my brother now than even you think. I know all of your secrets as well … how you're a spy for the Nagai out to seek the truth of our power. How you valiantly fought against the forces of Rephidim during the war. I even know about your part in the death of the governor and how it eventually led to your little bit of power amongst your people. Poor poor frightened little snake."

Despite the fact that his eyes are lidless, Shift's eyes seem to grow wider. "How… ? No … no … I have no idea what you are talking about, Madame."

Anisa smoothes out her ears, looking the goddess in the eye. "Then what are you? This is all a dream realm, isn't it?" Anisa sweeps her hands outwards. "And everyone here is a sleeper … except for you." She shrugs, "You can't even contact the outside world without an avatar!" She looks quickly to Shift, fidgeting with the dagger, then back. "If you know all our secrets … then name one of mine."

"Quinn, your brother, is having an affair with another woman. Tyson saw them together at one of the fights. It's why he's so nervous about talking about it, and why Quinn was so willing to loan Tyson the money for his entrance fee to keep him quiet." The Eeee's wings flutter. "Oh, the tragedy that will befall the household if they ever found out. Why … I bet that it might even cause poor Bessy to miscarry the baby, and with Quinn in shame, who will carry on in your father's footsteps in running the little Tavern?"

Anisa's heart skips a beat, and for long moments she's silent. "That … That's not true. You can't prove that!" The Lapi gets to her feet. "You're full of lies!"

"It wasn't Tyson that sneaked out the window, Cristina. It was Quinn. He was the one you saw walking away that night." The Eeee rubs a hand through her hair. "I have enough touch with the waking world to send my people to Rephidim and tell every man, woman, and child there the news. All you need do to stop me from it is to offer me my sacrifice."

Barada points to the cowering Naga. "Him. Kill him … and you go free, your secrets kept for your own. If you refuse, you shall regret it until the day that you die … or kill yourself."

The little boy Lapi sprawled out on the altar begins to cry again.

"Miss Anisa, please … don't listen to her. She was correct in telling you that I have power, and the war is far over now. I can make it worth your while to spare me." The Naga's regal stance has shattered, and his coils start to curl tighter and tighter upon themselves in worry.

Tears start to well at the Lapi's eyes, and she squeezes harder on the hilt. "That was just part of your dreams you had me trapped in; it wasn't real!" She looks back to the Naga angrily.

"No, my poor misguided little sister. You formed the vision yourself, so you could see that I tell you the truth." Barada coos softly. "Secrets are only tools, mirrors to the truth. If you turn away now, you'll know the truth for yourself. I'll make your whole household know. Is it all worth the life of a spy? Look at the coward. It's a miracle he's not soiled himself yet."

The Naga twitches, trying to recover his dignity, but fear has turned his muscles to jelly.

Barada taps a sunken section of the middle of the table where the two babies lie. "His heart, here. The secrets in his blood will free me, and you can wake up and pretend that this never happened."

Anisa's tears turn into tears of anger, her brow furrowed in glaring fury at the bat. She watches the motioning of the goddess, and wipes her face. "You want … a sacrifice?" TheLapi gets to her feet, and steps back a few paces near the snake. "Then I'll give you one." With that, the rabbit raises the dagger far above her head …

… and plunges it into her own chest.

Mage Shift's screams of fear ring in Anisa's ears … coupled by a shrill shriek from Barada.

"NO! You're not supposed to! You weren't supposed to… "

The knife felt very much like a knife being stabbed into the Lapi's chest. The blood looked and smelled very real … and one heartbeat later it was all over.

Colors swirl in front of Anisa's eyes. A dull thrum is all she can hear for a time. Maybe this is what it feels like to be dead? The colors swirl and form an image of a black Khatta who kneels at Anisa's feet and then kisses her hand before fading away once again. Behind him, a mountain crumbles and a path dissolves into nothing. For a time, there is nothing at all.

And then the thrum starts to take a regular tone … a heartbeat. Anisa's heartbeat.

Morning sunlight trickles into Anisa's room. She's sore and achy … and hot. It hurts to move, it hurts to breathe, but in the pain is the reassurance that there's life. Anisa is alive.

She's in her bed, covered in a blanket that feels as though it's made of steel wool and as heavy as an anchor. A tall form sits next to her in a chair, scratching in a book with what must be the noisiest pen in the world.

Anisa reaches up to smooth her ears groggily, and winces as she attempts to sit up. "Where … where am I? Who are you?"

"CHRIS! YOU SHOULDN'T MOVE!" The voice is agonizingly loud, and sounds an awful lot like Quinn. A hand that feels like it's made of stone pushes her back into the bed. "You're in your room in bed. I'm your annoying older brother that Mom drafted to keep an eye on you while you got better. You've had pneumonia."

"Oof!" retorts the Lapi sister as she is shoved back into the bed, followed by several coughs and a sore pain in her chest. "Pneu-pneumonia?" Anisa looks around the room, and indeed, she does feel like she's been sick. "How? And for how long?" she wheezes.

"You had a cough for a few weeks, but then you just got worse. You started sleeping in late for work and you've been bedridden for a couple of weeks now. Your fever broke a couple of nights ago though, and the doc said that aslong as someone sat on you to make sure you didn't pop out of bed, you'd be all right." Quinn settles back into his seat after covering his sister back up in the blanket. "We were all worried, but it's good to have you back, sis."

Anisa blinks through blurry eyes. "A couple of weeks?" She settles back down into the covers, thinking over the dream. Her heart suddenly jumps up in her throat, and she frantically feels at her chest and arm, looking for any lasting signs, and causing a minor commotion.

There's some menthol jelly that could probably use some washing off on Anisa's chest, but both her chest and her arm are whole and intact.

"You were a buggy little chatterbox in your sleep. Last night you let out this scream of bloody murder and scared the whole house." Quinn chuckles and counts some numbers off on his fingers. "That's why Pap told me to come and sit on you, so someone could shout at the rest of the house that you were really okay in case you did that again."

Anisa gives a sigh of relief, and settles back into the covers. She then feels at her neck for any sign of the necklace.

"Last night? Was it that long ago?" The rabbit girl sighs. "You wouldn't believe the dream I had. It was … different." She gives a deep breath, and smiles up at her brother.

"You must be delusional, Chris." Quinn grins. "I don't think I've seen you smile at me like that in years."

"Yeah, must be that." Anisa closes her eyes, then feels something on her chest. Opening her eyes again, she spies the necklace, and starts to remove it hastily. "You guys left this on me?"

Quinn smirks. "Half the time your hands were clutched around it or you'd try and beat off anyone who tried to take it off of you. We figured it'd be healthier for all of us just to leave it on."

"Here," Anisa holds the necklace out to Quinn, "Take it and put it in one of my drawers for now. It's probably best if I don't have it on while asleep."

The older Lapi looks oddly at his sister but nods, wipes some of the menthol jelly smeared across the surface of the crystal off with a handkerchief, and puts it in her trinket cabinet. "So can I get you anything? Some soup? Some water?"

"Just some water," the white rabbit replies, as she relaxes back into bed. "And maybe a carrot or two. I'm not very hungry."

"No solids for you." Quinn wags a finger at Anisa. "Mom's made some broth for you, and I've had the pleasure of making you drink it every hour or so." He smiles. "I think she's going to rush in here and smother you when I tell her you're awake."

Anisa chuckles hoarsely, "She'll be just as surprised as I am. Okay, broth it is then. Oh, and Quinn… ?"

The older Lapi pauses in the door. "Mmm?"

Anisa starts to say something, then stops. "Never mind. Thanks for helping me out."

Quinn shrugs. "Hey, we're family. Speaking of which, when you're not so sick and germy I'll introduce you to Atri, your new nephew. Now, you get some rest." He winks and slips out the door.

Anisa blinks, frozen to the spot momentarily, then a slow smile forms on her face. Hunkering back inside the covers, she curls up, for the first time in relaxation. "That's nice, but we've already met… "