You reach out a fraction of the energy that is you. The window resists. You push harder. The window creaks. Hesitates. As if it is considering. Then it is open.

The young man shivers. An icy breeze has been let in. Yet he does not move.

Do it again.

You shift your energy. Pull. This is harder than pushing. You pull anyway. Too hard. The window slams.

The young man starts and sits bolt upright. He is on edge. Jumpy. Afraid. There is fear on him. You see it now.

"Who's there?"

Fear is the wrong word. Terror would be more apt. His voice shakes. As do his hands.

"H- hello?"

He presses his back against the wall. His eyes are wide. His breath comes quick.

If you open the window again, he'll just get more scared. You need to prove to him it's me.

You look at the room. At the young man. He seems to avoid looking at the curtains. Even when he stares at the window. You do not know why.

I had a red cloak when he knew me. I think the curtains are about the same colour, actually, so maybe he's trying not to be reminded of it. Those memories aren't exactly pleasant so I can't blame him.

The curtains remind him of the knight. You twitch them. The young man flicks his eyes to the movement. Then squeezes them shut. His knees curl up to his chest. His face presses into them.

"This isn't real. It's a dream. It's not real."

It's real. It's real, Avery, listen to me. Please listen.

The knight pulls you closer to the young man. Close enough that you could touch him. You do not have a form with which to touch. Yet you want to reach out anyway. This is the knight influencing you.

This is real. I'm real. Remember. Remember who I am.

The young man opens his eyes. Looks at the curtains. Sees them.

"Derlord?"

His voice is quiet. Uncertain. Afraid. Hopeful.

Remember my name.

It is only hesitantly that the young man speaks again.

"Derek?"

Yes, that's it! It's me! I'm here!

"No."

The young man shakes his head. Stares at the curtains.

You flick them again. He stares. He does not believe.

"No. No, he died, he's dead, he couldn't have survived. There was no way."

I'm alive, I survived. Please, Avery, this is real, I am real.

"C'mon, Avery, you're just hurting yourself. Just let it go."

He starts to turn away. You have come this far. You cannot stop now. You pull the curtains. Hard. They close. He stares. He is staring. At the curtains. At you. At the knight behind you. He sees. He does not believe. Still he sees.

He is afraid. He is trembling. He is panting. His fists curl up.

"But what if he's not? What if he needs your help?"

He hesitates. He is uncertain. He does not know. But he is close. He is considering. This is enough for now.

"I- I have to try. I owe it to him to try."

He stands. Moves slowly around the room. Collects the phone from the cabinet. The bag from the foot of the bed. The charger from the wall beside the desk. Some clothes from the closet. Pauses beside the desk. Considers. Packs the pen and notepad. Leaves the laptop.

He is afraid of it. It will not hurt him. It is off and inanimate. Yet he fears it. It is irrational. Nonsensical. Insanity. Yet he fears it.

Fear isn't always rational, you know.

A chuckle. The first the knight has given.

No, I don't suppose you would. You're like him, in that regard. You don't understand love or fear, not really. You don't see the strength they both hold, the power that can be found in loving someone so much you would die for them. Or fear them, I guess. There's something about having infinite power that destroys that, I think. Something about control that replaces care. Avery understands. I understand. Maybe one day, you might too. Or maybe you'll be like him. Maybe you'll never understand.

He does not sound resentful. He does not sound much of anything at all. Sad maybe. You wonder what he is thinking. It is unfair that he can hear what passes for your thoughts yet you hear nothing he does not wish for you to hear.

No way around that, I'm afraid. You're just gonna have to put up with it.

You do not like the knight very much.

The young man puts on shoes. Does not tie the laces. Turns to the door to the hall. Starts reaching out to it. Pauses.

"I don't even know where I'm going, he could be anywhere! He could be nowhere! I should at least make a plan before leaving maybe."

I can show you where I am if you'll show him.

Your attention turns to the map on the wall. It is large. Covers most of the surface above the bed. Shows the area around where the young man is staying. Small towns dotted between bigger cities. The city the young man is currently visiting is marked with a star. The knight draws your gaze to a city nearby. A rural town separates the two.

Avery lives in that town. He just came here for New Years, not that he got to enjoy it. If he had decided to go in the other direction, he might have ended up staying down the street from me and I could have brought him straight to me. Maybe we could have figured something else out.

The knight pauses. Considers the room. Goes on.

If you can find a way to point my city out on the map then that works, otherwise turn on the tv and I'll show him there. I should be able to change the channel. I just hope I can do it without freaking him out…

You look for something in the room. Most of the useful things have been packed away. You look at the map. At the wall behind it. The paint is peeling. It is hidden. Thus it has been neglected. The paint is old. Sharp. It might pierce the soft back of the map if it peeled just right. You could guide it. You do not know if it will work.