The demon Az was approaching her with long-legged strides, looking annoyed. His tail whipped around behind him, somehow seeming to convey an irritable mood.

“Do not touch it,” he repeated as he stopped within a few feet of her. She took a slow, deep breath as she realized again just how much larger he was than her. His proximity confirmed her guess—she was only about as tall as his chest. He was dressed exactly as he had been when she’d last seen him, but somehow looked a little disheveled. She couldn’t quite place why, but it didn't seem particularly important. She looked back at the glittering water.

“Well, why not?” Evelyn asked crossly, putting her hands on her hips. She was sorely tempted to stick just a fingertip in to be ornery, but something about his tone held her back.

Az gave her an unreadable look, then stooped down and picked up a rock by his feet. He flung it into the falling water.

It shattered, sprinkling dusty pieces down on Evelyn.

“Oh,” she said, unable to think of anything else to say in response as she brushed off the fragments. Her heart was racing.

That was really close!

Az didn’t speak again as he looked off at the rest of the water. Evelyn continued to pick tiny bits of rock from the ruffles in her cutsew's hem, pretending to be perfectly calm. She hadn't expected him to appear, let alone speak to her, in her dream, especially warning her of something so unexpected. It felt uncannily as though he actually were there with her.

We only spoke like what, half an hour at most? It's odd that I would feel I have that strong of a grasp on his whole... presence to dream him up like this. I definitely wasn't paying enough attention to his clothing to be noticing new details, like how his shirt is actually pinstriped rather than solid. 

Maybe I do have imagination after all.

She assumed Az was still taking in their surroundings, but realized his gaze had settled down on her again. She still couldn't read his expression but decided it was probably 'mild annoyance.'

She shifted in annoyance herself, finally picking a conversation topic when he didn't react further. “So, uh, is everything here deadly?”

“No, nothing is deadly,” Az replied, looking away from her. He seemed to be surveying the horizon, and Evelyn wondered if his height allowed him to see anything interesting that hers did not.

“So what exactly happened to that rock, then?” she retorted, failing to resist the urge to put her hands on her hips once more.

“Rocks are not alive, so they cannot die,” Az said, but paused, drawing one of his long fingered hands up to his chin. “D would argue that point, however…”

“So if I put my finger in this fake water, it would explode, but I wouldn’t die?” Evelyn asked, turning back towards it. It truly looked like regular water to her. The musical tinkling of it felt almost like a siren call.

Az didn’t answer her question. His tail seemed to be moving a bit slower, almost cautiously, and he was eyeing her warily, as if he was expecting her to throw herself into the water simply to be defiant. “Please step back, Eve. I am told the sensation of regrowing a limb is highly unpleasant, and I would prefer that you do not experience it.”

Growing a limb back? Yikes!

She took a small step back and rolled her eyes, trying to seem nonchalant and not deeply concerned over her hand's near-explosion. “Whatever. But I told you, my name isn’t Eve. It’s—”

Evelyn felt like her heart had leapt to her throat to choke her. In an impossibly fast moment, Az had taken one long stride to stand directly in front of her, and his long, pointed finger was held only a few inches away from her face.

When she realized he wasn’t going to touch her, her heart began beating again. “What the hell, A—”

He jerked his finger again, closer, which made her panic that he was going to place it on her lips. She didn't have time to examine why the mere thought of that made her heart speed up even faster. She swallowed, hard, and looked up—and up some more, again—to try to read his face.

It was still difficult for her to even guess what he was thinking. Most of his face seemed still, but the intense expression in his white eyes caught her gaze and held it. He spoke with a calmness that did not match his movements. “Do not speak names here.”

But you just called me Eve twice! That’s a name, isn’t it? Why is 'Az' different?

Evelyn twisted her lips again, briefly considering biting his finger, but he withdrew it when she didn’t say anything. She looked around at the strange scenery, deciding arguing would be pointless and wondering if there was anything he would answer directly. “Where is ‘here’?”

“Nowhere,” Az replied vaguely. He was looking past her again—a fairly easy task, since he seemed to be nearly two feet taller. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

Right, I forgot that this is a dream. He probably can't answer anything, because he's just a figment of my imagination.

Still, standing there silently until she woke up again didn't seem like much fun. She tried again. “I mean, I know it's a dream, but—huh? what is it?”

Az's head had lifted sharply, and he had frozen in place. His movement, coupled with his long horns, reminded her of a documentary tv show she'd watched where a gazelle was being hunted by a lion.

It’s like he’s expecting that we’re being watched. But why would I dream up that kind of anxiety for him? He didn't seem to be concerned about much when we met.

Still, interrupting him didn't feel right. She waited. Az remained still for a long moment before his shoulders seemed to relax slightly, and he looked down at her again. “I would advise staying as silent as possible.”

“Geez, you really appeared in my dream just to tell me to shut up? Rude,” she muttered, twisting her mouth into a pout again.

“Pardon?” Az asked, crossing his arms. His long fingers, resting on his elbows, seemed more pointed than she recalled—closer to claws, suddenly. “I do not believe I understand what you mean.”

His tail snapped as he looked down—rather far down—on her. His horns were backlit by the aurora, reminding her that it wasn't a normal person beside her.

M-maybe I'm being a little too casual... but wait, this is just my dream! There's no reason to be afraid of him.

Evelyn tried to suppress a shiver by wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s all a dream, right? I’m just lucid dreaming, and that's why there's fish in the sky and my arm would grow back if it exploded?”

Az nodded. He was back to slowly scanning the horizon, and as he lowered his arm to his side, she could tell that she hadn't imagined it—his fingers had changed shape. The tips were now pointed into hard, sharp-looking claws. “Yes.”

“So, if it’s my dream, why are you here?” she asked, pursing her lips into a sideways frown again. “You don't really seem like something I'd dream up.”

A brief expression of confusion crossed his face, then his head jerked upwards again, as if responding to a call she couldn't hear. Evelyn tried to look where he was, but couldn’t see anything but stars beyond the water and the rocks it splashed on.

“What is—” she began, and was silenced again by his hand near her mouth—closer than ever.

Az looked down at her and spoke urgently. “Eve, wake up. Now.”