10-23-2020, 07:33 AM
Yes, there had been overlap. Jude had known of Near Farr, the true son, the heir, and he knew they were never to meet. Part of the reason Jude got to into places like the library was specifically because they were off-limits. The risk of encountering Near in the library was near zero, the Audubon be damned. Jude did not take such a rule personally. He understood that the things he did, the things he represented, were not for everyone. That was still true, even though now he understood what it meant that these things applied to everyone.
Become more snug in his seat by the moment, Jude eyed what was left in the bottle. His head swam pleasantly, warm nausea turning his stomach. The room took on a fifth dimension, layered over the fourth, time, and he was not afraid. Should he be? Things had a color to them he could not describe. "Cheap party trick," he said of water to wine. "And everyone's a critic." Everyone with a wine cellar relished the opportunity to be unimpressed.
He looked down, and watched Near's shadow as it moved. It seemed to be -- rippling. Jude blinked several times. He heard the wind coming from some place far away, and he watched as Near's shadow shivered once more. "Circus animals are less dangerous." An odd warble came into Jude's voice. All jokes, these stories, until they weren't.
Become more snug in his seat by the moment, Jude eyed what was left in the bottle. His head swam pleasantly, warm nausea turning his stomach. The room took on a fifth dimension, layered over the fourth, time, and he was not afraid. Should he be? Things had a color to them he could not describe. "Cheap party trick," he said of water to wine. "And everyone's a critic." Everyone with a wine cellar relished the opportunity to be unimpressed.
He looked down, and watched Near's shadow as it moved. It seemed to be -- rippling. Jude blinked several times. He heard the wind coming from some place far away, and he watched as Near's shadow shivered once more. "Circus animals are less dangerous." An odd warble came into Jude's voice. All jokes, these stories, until they weren't.