"A painting hangs on an ivy wall,
Nestled in the emerald moss.
The eyes declare a truce of trust,
Then it draws me far away,
To where in the desert twilight
Sand melts in pools of the sky."
--Loreena McKennit
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Erin awoke feeling strangely disconnected from the world. Actually, she really felt as though she were floating on a cloud, her pain-filled body resting on the softest possible surface...
The vixen opened her eyes, noting that her mind was strangely free of cluttered thoughts.
Sweet scents assailed her nostrils, perhaps a little too sweet, too strong, at any rate. She was in a room that smelled like all the flowers in the world.
The "cloud" that she'd fancied she was sleeping on was a bed, a feather bed. This was a marvel worth noticing. Erin had read of such things, but to actually be lying in one... How strange! How new!
She savored the moment among the softness and warmth, scanning the room around her visually.
It was a fairly large room, as far as her experience went, at least at large as the living room back home. (She had oddly distinct memories of places and things and things she'd read about, but for some reason the events that led to her being here managed to escape her recollection.)
The room was covered with dark wood paneling and thick burgundy-colored carpet. There were two large, high-backed, padded chairs on either side of the door, which was carved with floral designs. A large dresser stood against another wall.
Her black cloak, which appeared to have been washed, along with the tattered remains of her clothes, was draped over on of the chairs. Her sword was leaned respectfully against the arm of the chair.
There were no windows, So Erin had no idea what time of day it was, but a low, almost dreamy light was provided by two globe-shaped lamps high up on the walls.
The room was not quite square shaped, rather, it was like a square with a rectangular piece cut out of the corner. Erin relized that this was because there was another smaller room adjoining this one. Forgetting her aches, she hopped out of the bed to investigate this room as well.
At first, Erin didn't know what she was looking at. It was a smaller room, but still fairly big, to her knowledge of things, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with white and rose-colored tiles arranged in an unidentifiable pattern. A large, intricately patterened rug covered most of the floor. To her left was a padded chair, smaller than the two in the other room, and to her right was a bureau-type cabinet, on top of which were stacked soft-looking towels and cloths. All this was fairly normal, so far.
Going on, however, Erin discovered two things which truly astounded her. The first was a small, square box or pan filled with sand. Thinking for a second revealed the obvious conclusion that this was where one "did one's business".
It seemed strange, though, to Erin, the thought of going inside, but in the city, she supposed (she remembered now that she was somewhere in a city), it was necessary for sanitation. You couldn't just go wherever. Erin sighed a little. Books didn't tell you about this sort of thing, though she couldn't think why. It was just as natural as eating or sleeping.
The pan had a little lever on the side, and Erin pressed this out of curisosity. To her amazement, the sand instantly fell away down a chute in the floor, leaving the pan empty. Now, above the pan was a small metal square in the wall, also with a lever. Erin deduced that if you pushed that lever... Whoosh! Just enough sand poured out to fill the pan. How ingenious! How new!
Now, on to the main attraction- a pool of water, covered inside and out with the little ceramic tiles, rimmed with a low little wall, (behind which were two potted plants, of the kinds she had often seen back home, something that made her smile a little) to avoid spilling water all over, she supposed. Erin puzzled over this for some moments before she figured it out.
It was a bathing pool.
Strange as it seemed, Erin remembered reading that, in the city, creatures frequently bathed in tubs of water. Erin was a bit skeptical on this subject. Sure, it was fine for creatures like capybaras and otters who were swimming creatures, but certainly not foxes, right?
Erin cautiously dabbed her paw in the water. It was warm!
This seemed a little odd, for the water had obviously been there for some time, and if it had been heated when it was put into the tub, it surely would have cooled by now, wouldn't it? Then, Erin touched the rim around the tub. It was warm, too. The tiles in the bottom of the bath were even more so.
So that was it! The tiles below the bath were actually heated! Now then, what of that metal pipe which portruded from the wall over the pool?
Well, there was a little wheel-shaped knob above it... Ah! This was how the bath was filled! water was somehow piped in through the wall. Erin had read of such things before. How amazing! How new!
For a little delighted moment, Erin was almost tempted to jump into the water, but vulpine sense stopped her. You don't bathe in water. Nothing soap and wet water can do that a well placed tongue can't.
Instead, Erin sniffed at some colored and interesting-smelling bottles which sat on a shelf in a little alcove above and behind the pool, then turned and trotted back out of the bath-room.
Erin investigated the large door which led out of the bedroom. It had a fine brass door handle, which was surprisingly easy to push down. The door swung outward into a long, semi-dark hallway.
The hallway was a little more modestly decorated than her room, with a plain maize-colored carpet running the whole length, and lit at intervals with the same kind of lamps that were in her room. The walls were of stone covered in plaster.
Erin turned to her right and began walking silently down the hallway, soon arriving at a spiral staircase. She descended cautiously, sniffing and listening for any signs of other creatures. When she was nearing the bottom, she finally heard the voices of other creatures drifting up from below. There was no wind in a place like this to carry their scents, and they were still some distance off, but she could tell from their voices and accents that one was some kind of herbivore, and the other was a canine. Erin crept stealthily forward, sliding smoothly down the stairs. At last, the creatures and the room below her came into view.
The room was large and fairly plainly furnished, with gray-blue carpet and plaster walls. It was also lit with the globe-lamps.
Along one wall was a large window which looked out on some kind of courtyard. But it was the creatures which caught Erin's interest.
The herbivore she had detected was, in fact a hare, and an unusually large hare. He was obviously young, had light, reddish-brown fur and wore a dark blue tunic. He was pacing agitatedly.
The canine was a large gray wolf, obviously much older than his companion, who was wearing a green robe trimmed in gold and reclining knowingly on his side as the other paced.
Erin crouched warily behind a potted plant, observing.
"I honestly don't know why I even bother anymore, Lupinithus." The hare was saying. "It's just-"
"Wait," said the wolf suddenly, sniffing. "Do you smell something?"
"No," Said the hare waving a paw dismissally. "But I was saying-"
The wolf got to his feet and began walking directly towards Erin. The vixen didn't know why, but something in the countenance of that creature made her shiver.
Deciding it was best to make herself known, she stepped out from behind the plant. "It's just me." She said, as though that would explain everything.
Lupinithus' expression didn't change, but the hare stared in apparent shock.
"Wha-what-" Stammered the confused leporid.
There was something strange about both these creatures. "I'm sorry if I've interrupted anything..." She started backing away.
"Who are you?" Demanded the hare, suddenly seeming to regain his composure and take charge. "What do you want? And...Uh, why aren't you wearing any clothes?" He asked this last question in a lower voice, almost embarrasedly.
Erin hadn't even thought of that. Apparently city creatures thought it improper to go without clothing, for heaven-only-knows what reason. "Oh," she said sheepishly, "I just forgot, I guess."
"Who are you?" Asked the wolf in a low expressionless voice. "What do you want?"
That question again...
Erin suddenly realized that she didn't know. Who was she? She had all these memories of places and things that she knew, but she didn't know her own name.
Or why she was here, how she'd gotten here, or even where here was! She felt that old panic overtake her again.
"I..don't..know.." Erin felt her legs grow weak. She looked to the young hare again. Wait- something in his eyes... She tried to remember...
But it was no use. Before she could piece it together, she slipped back into unconsciousness.