Egfor opened his eyes, sitting up in bed suddenly, He twists to look back, startled to stare back down at his own sleeping body. He looked down at himself, his being made out of what looks like ethereal light. He looks around for some sort of explanation. He pauses, spying that strange old man standing at the foot of the bed, "Good evening forgoil- Hrm, no, that is no way to address my kin."
Egfor slowly rose to his feet, "You can call me Stag, most of my friends do so." The elderly man nods, "Stag it is. Come now, grandson. We must talk."
Egfor nods, moving to follow after the man. Suddenly, the old man turns around and hits Egfor over the head with his staff. Egfor yelps and clutches his head, "The heck was that for?!"
His grandfather scowls, "You are living in the past and the future. Your feet are not planted." The house around them dissipates and they walk alongside a moonlit river at night. Egfor sighs, "Not sure what you mean by that."
The old man starts speaking, "You are too stuck on the past and too focused on the future. You are worrying constantly right now about dying and leaving your loved ones behind. Stop it. If it happens, it happens. It will happen, that is inevitable. If you keep looking too far ahead, you are neglecting where your feet are and will trip. Focus on each moment as it happens, take each day one at a time."
He pauses, watching Egfor, stopping to face him, "Same goes with the past, young Stag. I can see you've went through a lot. With your father and that man named Wolf and the war... You fought against your own kind. That is not an easy thing to do. You carry so much trauma. So much. It pains me to see this stain your spirit, grandson. I wish I was alive to help you proper. You need to find a living person to help you, to talk to." He pauses, glancing behind Egfor. The bed reappeared behind them, his body and Idhrandir slept peacefully. Egfor turns to regard the sleeping couple.
The old man rests a hand on Egfor's shoulder, "He means a lot to you."
Egfor nods at that, slowly, "I love him more than I have ever loved anyone else. It is... so deep, so passionate. I crave him with every fiber of my being. It's so... I feel like some beast has been awakened within me."
The old man nods slowly and smiles, "Good, good. Talk to him about your past and trauma when you are ready. It is the most rawly intimate thing you can do. When your inner Shadow is addressed and confronted, can we begin the real work."
Egfor hesitates and nods, not sure what he was getting himself into, "Alright. I will."
The old man abruptly grabs Egfor's arm and drags him back towards the bed, "Now go! Sleep! I will see you next when you are ready."
Egfor blinks awake slowly, glancing down and lifting his hand. He curls and uncurls his fingers, making sure he was back in his body. He sighs softly, glancing down at Idhrandir who was fast asleep on his chest. A fond smile fell across his lips, falling back into the land of dreams soon after.
