Daydreamer

Part 8: Rose Walker

 After finishing her breakfast, Katarina moved to place her dishes into the sink, washing them as she continued to listen to the information on this vortex she was now tasked in watching along with the raven. Rose Walker was a young girl in search of her brother, Jed Walker who was forced to stay with their father while Rose went with her mother. Both their parents have since passed and since Jed was placed in a foster home, Rose made it her main mission to find her little brother. Katarina could feel a tightness in her chest at the mention of the siblings but she chose to ignore it, her eyes widening when Matthew explained the true affects the vortex could have in the Dreaming. Though she only appeared in the realm for the first time a short while ago, it appears her powers awakened significantly and she was creating all sorts of commotion, some of which led Dream straight to one of the Arcana he was looking for as well as to her brother.

"So...this Lyta Hall is now pregnant?" Katarina asked and the raven nodded, "Interesting. Okay, a baby born from a dream. I'm surprised I didn't feel her damage last night when I was there."

"You did just as you were about to leave according to the boss," Matthew said, "The haziness you felt was Rose walking through the dreams of her friends."

"I see. Should I even ask why Lucienne and Lord Morpheus are fighting?"

"How do you know about that?"

"I just know," Katarina smiled, placing the last of the dishes onto the drying rack and wiping her hands on the little towel she had hanging, "Lucienne is usually not so cold but that's for another time. Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to find the remaining missing Arcana. Come on," Katarina grabbed a coat and her keys, waving her hand over Matthew's head, making him tilt it in question, "A cloaking spell while we get into my car, I don't want people to see me with a raven following behind," Matthew seemed to digest her words for a moment before shrugging, his wings flapping as he followed the young witch. Katarina locked her apartment behind her, waving a spell over the lock before walking out the main door of the apartment building. She turned towards the right, curving around the building and clicked a button on her keys, the lights of red SUV blinking.

"Whoa, you can drive? You have a car?"

"Of course," Katarina giggled as she opened the door and she scooped the raven up and into the passenger seat before getting behind the wheel, "I'm sure you could fly but I have to drive so you have to come with me."

"Hey, I won't complain but do you even know where to go?"

"Mhm," Katarina hummed and she held up the paper with Rose's name, "Courtesy of our dear, sweet Lucienne. Lord Morpheus was being kind when he said I could help but I knew he didn't mean it so Loosh gave me a tip. This is a piece of a page from Rose's book of dreams. I can track her with it."

"You can?" Katarina nodded, her fingers brushing over the paper and she closed her eyes as searched for Rose. She hummed a chant under her breath and she could see an image slowly begin to form behind her eyelids, her eyebrows furrowing. Rose was currently in a car but Katarina couldn't pinpoint any key landmarks, only the sound of a man next to her.

"She's on her way to Jed..." She whispered, trying to focus on Rose but there still wasn't anything really telling her where she was, making her groan a little in frustration, "Okay, alternative," She mumbled, tilting her head and she rolled her shoulders a bit before honing in on Rose. Her lips moved to utter another spell, her hands moving to draw symbols into the air and she placed a mark on the vortex, "Now, where she goes, we go. She's got a bit of a head start but I'm sure we'll be able to catch up," Katarina smiled, looking back towards Matthew and her smile immediately faltered when she realized the raven was gone. Morpheus probably called him away, she thought to herself and she let out a sigh, not looking forward to the drive on her own. Though she took the time to learn and get her license, driving wasn't something she typically enjoyed, the young witch much preferring the feeling of a nice walk. It explained why she chose the location she did and her place of work, both places within walking distance with everything else she needed in between.