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SILVER: Tales from the Fringes of Reality. Episode 20 – Late Nights.

ALEXANDRIA: You couldn’t sleep either then? Don’t look so sheepish, darling, it’s alright. It’s not as though we have a solid bedtime or anything like that; and even if we did, you’re an adult and can make your own choices. (tapping) ‘What are you doing awake?’ Same as you, I’d imagine; mostly worrying, while also trying to ignore the fact that I’m worrying. If I’m right, though…

ALASDAIR: Stars above, mum, how do you do that?

ALEXANDRIA: A mother, like a magician, never reveals her secrets. It does seem like a night for the sleepless, though. Or at least those of us who have trouble sleeping; is Guillermo about?

ALASDAIR: He was sleeping when I passed his room. I think the jumps have been making him tired; I suppose sleeping is better than him not sleeping though.

ALEXANDRIA: What about Opal?

ALASDAIR: She’s gone to visit Sapphire. Don’t think she’s been sleeping well either but she tends to sleep better with Saph.

ALEXANDRIA: As much as I love your ren, they don’t comfort me to sleep after all these eons together. They help, of course they do, but lives like ours aren’t always easily soothed.

Look at me, being all melancholy when I should be making you some tea. Come on, we may as well sit in each other’s company– if that’s alright with you, of course, Whim. Alasdair and I have our traditions but you are not beholden to them if you would prefer to spend the time by yourself. (pause) Excellent, we’ll have some tea together then.

It’s been a while since you’ve been up so late, Alasdair. Is everything alright?

ALASDAIR: I can’t stop thinking about how Minerva managed to nest those realities together. What if we’re wrong? What if she did find a way to create a physical form for herself and repair herself? 

ALEXANDRIA: Then Mari will actually have something to tear apart with her bare hands.

ALASDAIR: Mum–

ALEXANDRIA: No, Alasdair, listen for a minute. I know you’re scared, we all are. The thought of Minerva amassing enough power to repair herself… We shouldn’t rule it out, I know; Minerva has managed feats that none of us ever would’ve imagined she would or could do. But we would know if she had, I firmly believe that. Minerva has the tendency to go big; taking Silver, placing the Spellerman’s Eggs in reality, nesting the realities, all things that are big and obvious, especially given how hard we’re looking for Silver. She would’ve shown her hand by now, would’ve tipped us off to the fact that she’s real and a bigger threat than before.

ALASDAIR: She’s intelligent, though; Opal and I created her to be intelligent, to learn and grow and change just as much as Silver did. Stars only know what she’s capable of learning, of achieving–

(sound of a mug being placed down)

You can see why I’ve been awake, mind running rampant with these terrible ideas of what we might have caused. Of who we might have lost by our hands. If we had just known what we were doing–

ALEXANDRIA: But you didn’t, lovely. None of us did.

ALASDAIR: Maybe we should have.

ALEXANDRIA: …Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that we didn’t. Nor does it change the fact that we’re doing everything we can to get him home. 

ALASDAIR: And if we can’t?

ALEXANDRIA: We can.

ALASDAIR: …I know we can. I know it, I’m just- just scared. I’m scared that we won’t get her back, that my brother will have lost his entire family that he worked so hard to get.

But he wouldn’t have lost his whole family, would he?

ALEXANDRIA: He’ll always have us, darling. Always and forever, as long as we exist.

ALASDAIR: I just want to find them, mum. I just want to find them and bring them home.

ALEXANDRIA: I know, darling, I know. And we will, just not right now, at stars only know what time, when we should be sleeping. Not that any of us are going to sleep now, though, I know that well enough. But we will bring them home.

ALASDAIR: I can’t believe they landed in the same reality I had so recently. It feels like a sign, though I’m not certain of what. I know where Silver lands is random, where any of us land when we jump from the in between is random, and yet it feels like they’re following our trail somehow. It’s like… It’s like they can feel us, can feel us calling to them, searching for them, begging for them to come home, and they keep finding their way just out of reach. I was just there, just a moment too soon or too late to catch them when they fell. Each time they find those seams of magic, those soft spots in reality, I feel like I can hear their voice calling for me, calling to all of us. Whether it’s real or just a reflection of the recordings, I can’t say, but that’s what it feels like.

ALEXANDRIA: I hear it too. I think we all do. Minerva may have found a way to tamper with the heartline, but it’s still pulling her here to us. Pulling her towards Whim and the Fringes. Have you and Mari made any headway with that little project?

ALASDAIR: Unfortunately not. Try as we might to reverse the shatter spell, it feels like Minerva found a way to bake it into his very being. Maybe it’s not a shatter spell at all, we’re still not sure, but we’re looking. Does it still hurt, Whim? (tapping) ‘It’s like broken glass in my sternum’ oh, buddy… Can I try something a little different?

(soft whoosh)

How about now? (tapping) ‘Still broken but more rounded than sharp’ well, that’s something at least. I was hoping to turn it to water or plasma, something a bit more malleable but not sharp is an improvement I hope. 

ALEXANDRIA: I wonder how Silver is fairing out there. He never comments on the pain, but then again I’d imagine he’s rather focused on other things, like sentient moss with simple dreams. (pause) Did you hear that?

ALASDAIR: I did but they’ve never… not at night. We’ve spent so many nights awake and she’s never been picked up before.

(running)

(Tapping)

SILVER: (crash) Oh, come on, I just want to actually sleep for once. Is that too much to ask? 

JASPERCIVAL: Are you lost, friend? That looked like a mighty fine tumble you’ve taken.

SILVER: I’m fine, thank you, I just need–

JASPERCIVAL: You’re bleeding. Sit still for a moment, I’ll be right back. 

(footsteps)

You’re lucky the city never sleeps, had you been left on your own you might’ve bled out.

SILVER: It’s just a scratch– holy shit that’s a lot of blood. Wait, did you say city?

JASPERCIVAL: I did indeed. Umber Wake specifically since you seem to be a bit farther out than you thought. I’m Jaspercival, though most stick to Jaz or Percy for me. Care to tell me your name?

SILVER: I’m Silver. Thank you for helping me, I’ve typically fallen into the woods so I wasn’t expecting– Well, I suppose none of this will make sense to you.

JASPERCIVAL: It might not, but I’m happy to listen. That’s the thing about the city: it listens, even if it doesn’t understand. This is especially true when it’s late out, stars high in the sky and building lights shining bright enough to rival them; the city will listen, and so will I.

SILVER: I’ve… I’ve fallen from where I belong. I was taken from my home and now am at the whims of whatever forces pull me down to the ground. All I want to do is get back to my family but I just… I just can’t.

JASPERCIVAL: Are you from the Echo?

SILVER: The Echo?

JASPERCIVAL: It’s a legend, older than me or anyone. If you fly out past the moon and the stars, the void is more infinite than you’d ever dream. Sometimes that infinity takes you to somewhere else entirely, places that look different and unfamiliar but act like an echo of society. I don’t know if it really exists, but falling from somewhere else entirely sounds like you’ve been through the Echo.

SILVER: My family calls it the in between. I wasn’t aware others knew about it.

JASPERCIVAL: Like I said, it’s an old legend. The story is that the city came to be when a man came in from nowhere, created the buildings and people and everything else, and then flew straight into space never to be seen again. Whether or not you believe it is entirely up to the person, but I’ve always liked the story. The fact that somewhere out there, there is a person or maybe even multiple people watching over us and taking care of us is… Nice, sometimes. 

SILVER: They care for you more than you know, I promise you that.

JASPERCIVAL: You think so?

SILVER: Yeah. I’m positive.

JASPERCIVAL: There you go, all patched up. So what will you do now? You’re welcome to stay, but you seem like the wandering type.

SILVER: My mother was a wanderer. I take after her in that regard, or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Are there any woods nearby?

JASPERCIVAL: (hums thoughtfully) It’s probably a twenty hit or so walk, just head straight that way. And stay safe out there, alright?

SILVER: I will. Thank you, Percy. 

ALEXANDRIA: Alasdair, did you find Umber Wake?

ALASDAIR: I’ve found a handful but none have people matching their signature. Are we too late? (tapping) ‘The file’s gone dead’ Damn it all!

ALEXANDRIA: It seems she was up late as well. I wonder… Coincidence is a funny thing, don’t you think? Perhaps it wasn’t as coincidental as we thought.

ALASDAIR: What are you saying, mum?

ALEXANDRIA: We only seem to find Silver when multiple of us are awake and emotions are running high. What if the drops aren’t due to Minerva but due to us? We think about Silver, picture her in our minds and hearts and then she appears in reality. Those other nights we spent awake, we weren’t talking about her, we were talking about anything and everything else to try and ease ourselves to sleep. Perhaps our focus is what’s pulling her to reality. Or, if not all of our focus, then perhaps Whim’s specifically.

ALASDAIR: The heartline. We can’t pull him home but Whim is still thinking about him, still calling to him. Silver said that they were being dropped by whatever forces pull them to the ground; it could be Whim. (tapping) ‘Am I hurting them?’ I- I don’t think that’s a fair question. It’s not like you’re choosing to throw them into reality, Minerva is just– 

She doesn’t have a physical form. I’m certain.

ALEXANDRIA: Oh? What has called for the change of heart from earlier, darling?

ALASDAIR: Minerva can pull Silver back out of reality, maybe even get them close to her, but she can’t grab them. She can’t hold onto them and keep them locked away; she doesn’t have arms, doesn’t have any means to hold them. She can find him and pull him, either flinging him to another reality or pulling him to the in between where she’s hiding, but she can’t pick him up. She’s incapable of doing so.

ALEXANDRIA: This could work to our advantage. If we can just find her fast enough, we can grab her and bring her home. What a marvelous revelation, darling, I can’t wait to tell the others! But we will have to wait, as I think it’s time for all of us to get some sleep.

ALASDAIR: Shouldn’t we test–

ALEXANDRIA: Tomorrow, lovely. Tomorrow. When we are all together and can better support each other and also aren’t running ourselves into the ground. We’ve made good progress here, we’ve earned a rest.

Come on, I’ll tuck you in.

ALASDAIR: I’m not a child, mum.

ALEXANDRIA: You’re not, but I’m still your mother. Let me take care of you.

ALASDAIR: …Alright.