It had to have been that accursed dream he had, early last season when he'd happened upon the tunawa and its squirrel friend in that tree in a graveyard. Woe had appeared at first as a child then. Yet, for all that time Woe had normal dreams and was able to control what form he appeared in. Yet, as Zi'da drew to a close, he inhabited his dreamscape in a form totally alien to his own. Not just a child, but a girl child, a six-year-old girl child, to be exact.
And this girl child gave rise to a strange fascination with tea brewing. It always started with a tea party, setting the table. The first step was to arrange the guests. She was having mushroom caps as guests, in lieu of actual people to invite. Woe rarely had many friends at that age, and so it stood to reason that neither did his female child self. Except for the mushroom dolls that she set up in their respective chairs.
The strange thing, Woe was able to manipulate his dreamscape just enough to produce what the child wanted, yet when he tried turning that control to his own form, nothing happened. He was unable to assume his actual body. And so the tea party commenced.
"Hmm hmm hmm..." Woe hummed, as she set the little teacups on their saucers, in front of each of the mushroom effigies. There was something different about this particular tea party, however. There were two empty places at the table. Naturally one of them was Woe's, but then there was a second. He was only marginally aware of having sent for someone to occupy his dream, an invitation to this party.
The tea-kettle began to whistle, and Woe skipped over to take it off the fire. Once the kettle was set aside, she dashed the flames and embers, to try and douse it. There was a comfortable warmth coming out of the hearth of the humble house in Lowtown. It was similar to the four hundred square hovel he'd occupied in earlier years in Andaris.
There were a few cobwebs in place, and Woe tsked to herself, "The Governess will not enjoy having this place in such disarray..." Woe found herself saying, "She'll be dreadfully angry, and we don't want that, do we?" She asked of the mushroom people. They merely sat there, stuffed full of dried fungus, and looking at her with their button eyes. "Yes I know she won't hold it against me, but father would hate for her to catch word of the mess hereabouts, and he certainly will!"
So saying, she took up a ratty old broom and began attacking the cobwebs gathering at the corners of the room.
Once that was done, and the kettle had calmed down, she set the broom aside, and began pouring out the tea for her friends. At the last moment, she filled the last guest's teacup at her place. It was for the Governess, who'd yet to arrive.
Woe didn't fill her own cup yet, as that would've been exceptionally rude to do when the guest of honor hadn't even arrived!
