Shovel in hand, clutching it with white knuckles, crouched low to the ground, Cormac knew full well this was mostly for his own mental wellbeing and feeling like he was actually doing something worthwhile. Was he going to be useful here? Almost certainly not. But better to die on one’s feet.

Technically he was more on one foot and one knee, but that second foot had at least half of the foot on the ground. Toes at absolute minimum.

Which meant it still counts.

Ixia’s hand was on his shoulder, lightly squeezing as she kept her eyes forward to what had recently been revealed as eyes. Two yellow spotlights the size of dinner plates out there in the darkness coming in through the blinds. As they focused in through the blinds Ixia pushed down on his shoulder, and taking the hint, they both hit the ground just behind the bed. Ixia did so with infinitely more grace, as Cormac was feeling the effects of running primarily on adrenaline as all of his movements carried a certain amount of stiffness and jitters with them.

The dryad moved a bit and whispered into Cormac’s ear. “Shake me hard if something bad happens, I need a moment.”

Before Cormac could respond, Ixia’s eyes shut tight and a look of intense focus overtook her. Her grip on his shoulder tightened and he looked around while biting at his lip, doing his best to keep a watch. He poked his head above the bed, inch by inch, and found that the eyes had shined their lights away from the window. They were still out there but for now they appeared to be searching elsewhere. He glanced back down to Ixia, confirming that everything was still as well as it could be, and then back out to the source of the lights. Just as they shone back through the blinds and he ducked his head down, he noticed something.

They cast no shadow.

He had only a moment to think on that, and be sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, before he felt Ixia squeezing his shoulder tighter as her eyes shot open and she inhaled sharply. She looked around in a slight daze for a second before leaning in to whisper once more.

“There is a chance it might be non-hostile.” She said in the lowest of tones.

Cormac pursed his lips, glancing at the streams of light pouring in that cast no shadow. “How good of a chance?”

“Not as good as I would prefer.” Even in a low whisper her desperate lamentation was clear.

Cormac chewed on his lip a bit, tapping at his thigh from the prone position out of nerves. His eyes went wide as he pieced together a few things: his phone was not in his pocket when he did the usual tactile confirmation, he was far too tired last night to remember to take off his clothes much less take his phone out of his pocket, and it was most likely still in the truck plugged into the stereo.

Which gave him a bad idea.

“If I can distract it for a second, can you make it to the window to see if it’s not hostile?” Cormac whispered to her.

Despite only the smallest bit of light in the room from the idle lights of a few stray electronics and supernatural shadowless light from a big scary monster, Cormac was perfectly able to see the level of shock in her lilac eyes going wide and mouth hanging open in shock. “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger!”

He met her incredulous whispers with a smile held together only by nerves and desperation. “Trust me?” He silently mouthed.

She wordlessly nodded as her mouth closed into a resolute grimace.

Cormac slowly reached up onto the nightstand to pull the room’s phone down to him as he set down his shovel. The thing was offensively beige and most likely older than he was. Squinting a bit, he read the instructions for dialing out and gave a silent prayer to any gods that may be listening and also apparently existed to grant his cellphone service in the middle of nowhere. This small little rest area most likely had a cell tower somewhere nearby right?

He picked up the receiver, quickly dialing out to his own number as he and Ixia both held their breath. It rang once, twice.

And faintly in the distance, Cormac heard his ringtone that was far more amusing at the time that he set it than now when lives were on the line.

Nevertheless, the lights of the mystery entity’s eyes quickly shined away from the window and to the source of the noise. Ixia didn’t hesitate for a second to move like liquid in a low scramble over the floor to the window as fast as she could, peering through it as Cormac’s phone kept ringing with the added amplification of being plugged into the truck’s stereo. 

“We are in good company.” Ixia said as she stood, walked to the door and opened it.

Cormac’s heart was still racing when the call finally went to voicemail, at the sound of the beep he hung up and propped himself up on the bed. He grabbed his shovel just in case as he stood up on shaky legs as Ixia held the door open. She called out into the night. “Enter and speak.”

Cormac’s legs turned to jelly as a snake with scales as dark as a starless night and blue spirals all over with a body almost as wide as the door slithered in. The beast reared up as tall as the ceiling and stared down at Cormac with unblinking yellow eyes shining bright. His had never left his shovel as he stood frozen in the golden yellow light.

It opened its mouth and a melodic voice poured out in a medium tone. “It can see me, right?”

“*He* can, yes.” Ixia corrected the serpent as she shut the door with a click. “He is my guardian.”

The snake was unblinking as it tilted its head, looking over Cormac. The human stared back at it, finally blinking about a half minute after remembering that no one was winning a staring contest with a snake. “Soooo...I heard from a reliable source you are not an enemy to us?” The human asked.

It coiled into a large pile, lowering its head to eye level, all in one swift motion before speaking once more. “Slither shifting through the night, on the prowl for nightmares. This is a good spot, imaginations run wild out here. Nice and quiet, I can still see the stars. Not hidden like in a city no matter how tasty. And there upon the ground I did tread before slipping into the land of dreams did I slither upon the path of someone who had been dreaming for a *very* long time.”

The snake focused its attention to Ixia, who despite looking more relaxed had a flash of sorrow go through her eyes before she spoke. “Have we met before?”

“No.” It said before flicking its tongue. “I must admit, I had claimed this territory because your nightmares were so deliciously dreadful. And for so very long.”

Cormac frowned, taking a step toward the snake. “Wait, what did you do to her?”

“Devoured her nightmares.” The snake said as though it were obvious.

The human’s grip tightened on his shovel, though he had no idea what he could hope to do with that anger.

Ixia held up a hand. “I have him to thank for a slumber that could have been far worse, Cormac.”

Cormac was confused, and didn’t bother to hide it as he raised a hand like he meant to ask a question.

“Yes, that’s what I said. I devoured her nightmares.” The snake stated, his eyes once again focusing on Cormac and his growing confusion.

Ixia shook her head, walking over to stand next to Cormac. “He eats nightmares, leaving either dreams or a dreamless sleep in their place.”

Cormac’s mouth had been hanging open in clear confusion until he finally got it. “Ohhhhhhhh. Oh. Well, uh, sorry for the confusion then. That sounded far more sinister the way you were saying it…”

He looked away from the snake’s intense gaze, loosening his grip on his shovel and scratching at the back of his head. 

If the snake was offended, he didn’t show it and continued his earlier explanation as he looked back to the dryad. “I stumble slithered onto a path tread by someone I knew whose nightmares were so guiltily awful. Lady of the forest fed me for a long time. The least Old Night could do is warn you that others will come seeking slinking after you in time. Tasted their nightmares as they imagined the consequences of failure. Failure to see you wither into the ground and rot. Failure to see you take back and climb your mountain. Failure all their own hidden deep in their hearts.”

Ixia listened, nodding along, concern growing. “Thank you, for the warning. Old Night was it?”

Old Night flicked his tongue out, giving the smallest of nods. “A name for trust, and a name of thanks.”

“You may call me Ixia.” She said with a smile, before looking to Cormac and giving a slight nod.

Cormac had been doing his best to follow along, but a lack of sleep and far too many things that were spoken of that he felt like he *should* know were overwhelming. “Oh, right. I’m Cormac.”

“A name I’ve heard with many meanings. Always assumed to be a certain truth. Rarely is. Which do you choose?” It narrowed its piercing yellow eyes at Cormac, the light being more than a little intense.

Cormac shrugged with a confused frown. “I’m uh, I’m just me?”

“So you are, Cormac. Take a truth and your charge into the city. Too few stars. Only the most persistent will follow.”

Cormac blinked a few times. “I don’t suppose there’s any way that can wait until morning so I don’t pass out while driving?”

Ixia pat his shoulder. “You saw earlier that if I’m not attuned to the plants, it takes some concentration to sense through them. I won’t be much in the way of company but I can keep my focus further out so we have more of a warning.”

“Just as long as I can get a few more hours of sleep.” Cormac said with a yawn. 

Old Night flicked out his tongue at Cormac. “I won’t follow into the city. I will stay here and keep watch. Eat your nightmares if I please.”

“There’s probably going to be plenty of those...absolutely going to be plenty of those.” It was a testament to his exhaustion that Cormac was able to give a thousand yard stare that went right through the giant nightmare eating magic snake.

“Several Tricksters have dreamt of your return for some time. For good and for ill they will seek you.” The snake said to Ixia, eliciting a worried look.

She waved it off, giving a weary nod. “Of course they would be.”

“See? That’s the kind of thing that’s going to add to the nightmare pile!” Cormac said, pointing a finger at them both. “Which, yes good for tonight but later? I’m not looking forward to those nightmares…” He said with a shiver.

“I promise to do what I can for you.” Ixia gave her most reassuring smile, which Cormac had to admit was effective and made him blush the tiniest bit. “We’re in this together remember?”

Old Night gave the smallest, most melodic hiss. “Wait until safe in a city to do that. Be vigilant or sleeping tonight.”

Cormac held up a finger in defense as Ixia raised an green eyebrow, only for the human to wave it off and set his shovel back down on the nightstand. “If we’re done with the torment of me, I should really get to sleeping. A lot of nightmares to pack into-” He looked at his wrist, sighing when his watch read 3:53am. “Three fucking hours. Goodnight Ixia, again. Goodnight, Old Night.”

And with that he collapsed onto the bed, still in his clothes. And hiking boots. All of that would require immediate effort and he was tired, and there was a naked tree woman and a giant nightmare snake in the room.

Ixia gently brushed her hand over his shoulder before retaking her spot at the window to focus her senses onto the sparse plants in and around the motel. As before, she was really only working with stubborn dandelions and weeds poking through the pavement for a ways out until she found untouched desert to provide more options for her.

Old night sat for a moment before uncoiling himself and slipping from even supernatural sight as he found a bountiful feast in Cormac’s near immediate vivid nightmares. His twitching in his sleep ceased as Old Night devoured a nightmare about Cormac being eaten alive by ash hounds as Ixia was forced to watch.

Just before morning, at the last of Cormac’s dreams, Old Night appeared to him. He slithered through the air in impossible ways through the dreamscape, and spoke a final time. “Take care of both of you. Until we meet again, Guardian.”

Cormac’s eyes flew open as he blinked away the sleep and stared at the ceiling to wallow in grogginess and regrets of a poor night’s rest. He turned onto his side to see Ixia still sitting in her chair, head propped up on the windowsill as her eyes remained closed. The warm morning light filtering in caught her just right, and Cormac caught himself staring in the rare peaceful moment. He forced himself to roll out of bed and make his way over to her, reluctantly reaching a hand out to shake her out of her focus. A shame as she looked so peaceful.

Ixia’s eyes shot open as she looked around, startled before seeing Cormac. “Feeling rested?”

“Eh. Close enough.” He said with a shrug and a smile.