NC-ANNE-IC171002

The sun seared her skin, the scalding sand burned her feet, and she was dehydrating by the second and Ida Callahan loved every second of it. Not in any sexual way, she would have told a possible passerby. Not by a long shot. No, pain was, to her, the easiest way to feel alive. But not in like, an Emo way, she would have had to hastily clarify to the hypothetical listener. Ida was quite happy.

Ida was, however, also quite cursed. She'd upset some bog witch when she was 19 and "pain would be her every sensation", and her body would keep healing so she'd be in pain forever. The witch hadn't been very competent, though, so now she just had synesthesia and an intense relationship with spicy food.

The sun did not sear her skin, it painted them ochre. The sand did not burn her feet, it smelled like freshly cut grass. She was dehydrated though so she took a drink from her flask as she took a seat in the shadow of a big rock, the blisters on her feet already disappearing. Ida took another look at her map.

Not much further, she mused, till she got to the mesa she'd been able see from the town of Portalesa. It wasn't sacred, she'd heard, but possibly maybe haunted and stealing and/or eating dreams. She looked at the file again as she chewed on a sticky, molten candy bar. The region was well documented. Lots of greater and lesser deities. Lots of sacred land. Lots of native legends. A whole truckload of spirits. Nothing she was willing to mess with. But this particular mesa was supposed to be just a big rock.

In thought, she barely noticed the scorpion chugging its way up her leg. "Must be a newcomer then," she mused to herself as she swatted the arachnid away and it grumpily stung her. She briefly heard a soft ringing when she started to hallucinate. So she laid back and let whatever was going to happen, happen. She passed out in a blaze of greens and the smell of nutmeg.

She stood on a field. The grass was damp and icy cold, the sky cloudy and thick with anticipation. She stepped forward as if through tar, did not seem to move until suddenly Ida stood in front of a mountain. There was a cave, terrible and perfect. She was in the cave and felt at home and terrified. Sounds came from behind her, a thousand mouths and a thousand claws scraping at the inside of her skull and making her teeth itch. She couldn't turn around.

She sat at a table. A woman sat across her with no face. She felt heavy and terrified but couldn't move. She twitched a finger and looked the lack of face in the face.

"Hedthhh," she managed.

The woman cocked her head. Then she suddenly had a mouth and ate Ida whole.

Ida sat on a beach, a summer dress caked with wet sand. The sea was cold and uninviting but she slowly drifted towards it. There was ice in the water and Ida did not want to go but she had to. The sea was needles and teeth.

Ida woke up. It was night, now. She gathered her things quietly and, just to be safe, put on some walking shoes, making sure to check them for stingers. "Fuck me," she whispered under her breath, and began the climb up the mesa. At the top was a marker. A few stones stacked on each other. She sat cross-legged in front of them and took a stab in the dark.

"Hälsningar."

The rocks moved. The faceless woman crawled out from the space between things and perched on top of them.

"Before you say anything, that's all the Swedish I know. Can you speak English?"

It hissed. "I can speak your words, Köttling," and then extended a bony, clawed finger and plunged it into Ida's chest. She sighed, tasted bitter coffee. "At least buy me dinner first."

The faceless thing recoiled and then shoved her entire hand into the trespasser's chest, who didn't even have the decency to look bothered -  largely because she was hearing a lot of purple. Then, Ida leaned forward and said "my turn."

Before the thing could react she'd grabbed it by the wrists and rolled back, dragging the creature on top of her. She grimaced. Not because of any physical discomfort, but because it was draining... Something. Breath. Dreams. She looked it straight in the 'face' and forced herself to smile. The thing smiled back from its sudden mouth with rows and rows of teeth.

"These aren't... Your people. I don't know... Who took you... But we're... Going to fix... You."

Then she pulled the thing in close, her breath being sucked out into the gaping maw.

"Mardröm," she whispered, and punched her hand clean through the creature's sternum. It screamed but she didn't let it free. She was completely breathless now, staying conscious through sheer stubborn pride. The Nightmare twisted in her grip as she slowly pulled free the dreams and breaths of Portalesa, and they escaped into the night air, where lesser spirits would guide them home.

The Mare stopped and slumped back.

"You have won. How have you won. What will you do."

It droned flatly. No emotion, no real desire for answers. Ida Callahan took a minute to catch her breath.

"Not... That hard to fight a nightmare... Whew... When you're never scared and you can't die." She looked at it sideways and noted that, now that it wasn't trying to paralyse her with fear, it had a face. 'It' was just a young, if grubby, woman. Skinny, wearing a white dress that had seen better centuries.

"I'm gonna take you home, girl. And we're gonna figure out some nutritional alternatives for you. This day and age, you're an invasive species."

She paused. The Nightmare was clearly sentient.

"Unless... You're interested in what I have to say next. We have *great* dental."