The Temple of Dreams was surrounded by a twisting stone wall. Ivy and other climbing plants grew wild up the sides of the outside wall. The wall opening led to a second wall that parallelled the outer wall all the way to the back where the inside wall ended with a large archway, leading into the courtyard of the temple. Green gardens grew all around the inside of the outer walls in neatly kept strips of dirt. Everything else that Shaynen could see was made of clean scrubbed stone.

Inside the courtyard, people mulled around working in silence. Scrubbing the stones, tending the gardens, Shaynen could even see a little laundry corner.

“Where’s the trees?” Shaynen asked. His voice broke the silence like a rock on the surface of water.

“You don’t need to speak so loudly,” MAster Ayre whispered. Shaynen frowned. Before he could repeat his question, his attention was taken by the number of eyes staring at him. It humbled him into silence. His grip on Master Ayre’s hand tightened as more eyes turned to him.

“I think I should go,” Shaynen whispered.

“Why?” Master Ayre asked. Leading the boy up the wet steps toward the entrance of the temples.

“I don’t think I’ll be very good here,” Shaynen said. Resisting entering the temple but not hard enough to stop Master Ayre from gently pulling him in.

“It’s okay to be nervous,” MAster Ayre said gently. “Let’s just worry about getting you to the kitchens.” The promise of food reignited Shaynen’s confidence and he skipped alongside the master. They attracted looks all down the large frosted window halls. Everyone who passed stopped to stare at Shaynen, who couldn’t help the humming and hopping over the lines in the stone floor. His little noises were the only ones bouncing off the plain stone halls. Plain wooden doors would open to look at the noise made in the halls.

Shaynen’s hum slowly drifted off as the empty halls loomed over him. The only thing in the halls aside from the cloudy windows were the equally stone white benches set against the walls.. He was brought to a short set of steps that led into a warm stone kitchen with no windows. A small group of adults with white aprons working around a large pot on a wood stove looked up to the pair as they entered. Of all the faces, Shaynen’s gaze settled on a boy that looked slightly older than he was. The boy had short messy brown hair and his face was visibly asymmetrical

“Ah Barrett., good to see you.” Master Ayre addressed the boy. “This is Shaynen, he’s new. Why don’t you help him settle in?” Shaynen smiled and waved and felt his heart speed at the one-sided smile the older boy gave back.

“You stay with Barrett okay?” Master Ayre looked down at Shaynen sternly.

“I will,” Shaynen said with a broad smile.. He turned back to Barrett who was untying his apron and folding it neatly before placing it in a little neat basket filled with other folded aprons. Under the apron was the same white cloth everyone in the temple wore but it was wrapped around his hips and waist. Showing a black skin tight turtleneck tanktop that cutoff at the bottom of the ribcage.

“What do you want to do first?” He asked as Master Ayre left the kitchens.

“I’m starving,” Shaynen skipped in and slid up in front of Barrett. He was a few inches taller than Shaynen with dark brown eyes.

“Okay, there’s some lunch leftover. Would you like that?” Barrett asked. Shaynen nodded and felt his cheeks get warm when Barrett turned away to fetch a wooden bowl. Shaynen couldn’t help fidgeting around and wringing his hands together. He bit his lip as the biggest urge to touch the older boy’s face made his hands shake.

“It’s rice and broth today,” Barrett said and Shaynen’s odd warmth took a backseat for excitement at food that wasn’t entirely plant based.

“That sounds amazing!” Shaynen jumped up and down. Barrett gave a restrained laugh.

“You look like you’ve had it rough, I can practically see your bones.” He said. Bringing the bowl and a spoon to Shaynen.

“Yeah, I-” Shaynen took the bowl and his thought was lost as he started shoving the plain rice and bland broth into his face.

“Wow, you were starving.” Barrett said as Shaynen finished the bowl in seconds, licking the bowl clean. “Were you one of the people displaced by that wildfire?”

“What fire?” Shaynen asked as he put the bowl on his counter.

“Oh honey, we don’t just leave things in places.” One of the adults said gently. “Here, I’ll help you wash it and put it away.” Shaynen looked at the bowl curiously. He shrugged and took the bowl to the sink. The adult hovered over him and micromanaged his every move in washing, drying and putting away the bowl and spoon..

“How about we get you cleaned up and in some new clothes?” Barrett asked.

"Do I have to make them myself?" Shaynen asked, a little eager to show off his textile skills to the boy.

"I don't think so, pretty sure we have some in your size somewhere." Barrett said. He led Shaynen out of the kitchens and into the uniform halls.

"How do you know where everything is here?" Shaynen asked. Passing yet another hall that looked the exact same as all the other halls he'd passed.

"You learn the layout the longer you're here." Barrett shrugged. He paused at a door and reached for the knob unsurely. A light blush covered his nose before he turned away from the door. Shaynen smiled and kept up beside him

“How long have you been here?” Shaynen held his hands behind his back while he skipped alongside the boy.

“Oh, forever.” Barrett laughed. “I lost my parents when I was really small and was brought here. Been here ever since.”

“Oh, that’s so sad.” Shaynen said

“Yeah, I was too young to remember them, so I don’t mind.” Barrett whispered numbers under his breath as the two past the doors. “What about yours? If it wasn’t the wildfire, what was it?” Shaynen went quiet.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said sternly.

“Sorry,” Barrett said quickly. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Do you like it here?” Shaynen asked, changing the subject quickly.

“Yeah,” Barrett said just as quickly. “Yeah, I like it here.”

“Do you have a spirit animal yet?” Shaynen kept the conversation going. But the question made Barrett laugh.

“No, we get those when we become adults.” Barrett said. He paused and looked around. He leaned in close and Shaynen was all too happy to lean in closer. “But I’ve been having dreams about a chestnut colored horse trying to lead me somewhere. So I think there might be one watching over me already.”

“Why not? I have one.” Shaynen grinned cheekily. Barrett’s head twisted hard enough Shaynen heard its joint pop.

“You do? How! What is it?” He asked.

“It’s a dragon,” Shaynen skipped. Barrett started laughing and Shaynen turned irritated.

“Sorry, I’m sorry!” Barrett held up his hands. “I’m sure it is.” Shaynen glared as he wasn’t convinced that Barrett really believed him.

“It is, they took me to their temple.” Shaynen argued.

“I’m not arguing.” Barrett held up his hands with a restrained chuckle. “Why don’t we just focus on finding you some clothes?” Barrett pushed open a door and revealed a large room filled with sewing machines. Large wardrobes lined the walls without a single window. Hanging by a clothes line crisscrossing around the room wound a white curtain.

“See that white cloth hanging in the room?” Barrett pointed as he led Shaynen into the room. “We all wear a piece of it. During Orientation all the newest members receive their piece to wear however they like. It’s symbolic of all of us being cut from the same cloth.”

“Wow.” Shaynen said as he ducked under the cloth. Barrett vanished to the wardrobes while Shaynen made his way around the winding cloth. Its source was tied to the biggest loom Shaynen had ever seen. Hundreds of thin strings of cotton all knotted taunt, trailing into hundreds of palm-sized balls.

“While you’re here you’ll have your own ball to wind.” Barrett said, appearing from behind him. “You’ll have to do all of it on your own. A way to feed the loom and prepare for those that come after you.”

“Oh cool,” Shaynen ran his fingers along the threads of the loom. Following the trail from beginning to end.

“Here, these shou;ld fit.” Barrett handed Shaynen a bundle, His cheeks grew hot.

“You want me to change? Right here?” He asked.

“Oh! No. I should- I mean you should.. I mean.” Barrett’s cheeks got red. “Bath! You need a bath! This way.” Barrett stiffly turned and walked out of the room. Shaynen followed and looked over the bundle. They were a smaller pair of the same clothes everyone in the temple wore. It struck Shaynen odd at first, until he reasoned that all the clothes worn in the treetop village were similar so this approach was probably just a time saver. Barrett kept a faster pace eventually leading to a set of double doors.

“I’ll be outside when you’re ready.” Barrett cracked the door open for Shaynen. Holding the bundle of clothes to his chest, Shaynen slid through the crack in the door to an empty room. The room was made of the same stone as the rest of the temple, however there was a large stone tub on the far wall with a pump faucet looming over it. A single empty table was the only other item in the room aside from Shaynen himself. His ears started to burn from the lack of sound. There wasn’t a single ambient sound. The whole room was blindingly white and hardly had any detail or shadow in it. Even the room’s temperature was somehow completely neutral.

Shaynen hesitantly walked into the room. Clutching the clothes to his chest. Just the sound of his pulse in his ears made his heart race. He peeked into the tub, partially expecting some kind of monster or horrible sight to be lurking in wait, but there was only an equally white plug that covered a drain. Shaynen was hesitant to strip down, he placed the bundle of clothes on the little side table and peeled his filthy clothes off of his skin. He had to rip them off in some places.

The little silver pendant fell out of his pocket and made a ringing noise across the floor. He dove after it, and kicked it all the way across the room where it bounced off the wall and back into his hands. He breathed a sigh of relief as he held it tightly. The waking nightmare of it falling down a drain and into oblivion flashed before his eyes. Making his skin cold. Shaynen placed the pendant delicately on top of the bundle of clothes, hovering his hands over it to make sure that it wouldn’t suddenly move. Once convinced his pendant wasn’t going anywhere, he turned to the tub and crawled over the edge.

Shaynen drew a long sigh as he stared at the handle, knowing only cold water was going to come from that tap. He stared at the tap, the dread of the cold water keeping him from pumping the handle, he shifted and resolved just to wash his hands and face in the water. He grabbed the pump and brought all of his weight down, hanging on it. The pump clicked but no water flowed from it. Shaynen stood up and hung on the pump again, hanging on the handle and swinging on it. Occasionally swinging under the tap before jumping up and dropping again. He jumped up and dropped and cold water came pouring out of the spout over him.

Shaynen was stunned and dropped the handle. Slipping and falling to the ground, the cold water rushed over him and drenched him for what felt like forever. It stopped and Shaynen quickly crawled out from under the faucet. Shivering in the cold with his hair covering his face. The trails of dirt settled down on the bottom of the tub, Water traveled from one side of the tub to the other, trapped in the tub by the plug. Shaynen shivered and shook out his hair, the water dripping from it was nearly black with dirt. A sight which convinced him that he needed to rinse it all out, even with the cold water.

He stared at the water that had settled, Shaynen scowled realizing that there was no way the depth was enough to wash anything in. He flipped his hair back. Cascading a line of dirt in an arc that touched the ceiling. Shaynen went back to the pump, this time avoiding the tap entirely. Using what little weight he had to pump the water out of the facet again. The water came quicker the second time, layering the dirty water with fresh clean water that washed up over Shaynen’s feet and broke new goosebumps over his legs. When the water was passing back and forth over his ankles, Shaynen dropped the pump and the tap slowed until the water stopped. Shaynen was getting used to the cold, though that tolerance vanished when he sat down in the water.

Trying to keep his teeth from chattering, Shaynen scooped handfuls of water to scrub at his skin. Washing away the years of caked on dirt. Scrubbing out the dirt from his hair and turning it three shades lighter. He laid down in the water and rolled around to rinse anything he missed. Once satisfied, he pulled the plug and watched the water drain. Leaving most of the dirt coating the bottom of the tub. He slid over the lip of the tub but paused looking at the dirt left behind. Clearly remembering that he had to wash his own bowl made him wonder if he needed to clean up this mess as well.

Shaynen leaned his knee on the edge of the tub and looked around the room. It was devoid of any cleaning objects or even anything to wash the dirt down the drain with. Shaynen swung back into the tub and to the faucet. He tried to figure out how he was going to wash the dirt away. His first idea was to put the plug back in and cover the bottom of the tub with water. Then dragging his feet along the bottom to stir up the dirt, he pulled the plug and some of the dirt when down the drain

He chased the dirt around the tub, filling his hands with water and spilling it to wash the dirt down the drain. His teeth were chattering by the time he deemed the tub clean, his hands were shaking from the constant cold water and the rest of him was nearly dry. Shaynen pulled the new clothes on, though it took a minute to figure out how to tie all the pieces together. Placing the silver pendant carefully into his new pants pocket, he took a last look around the room and with a nod, he left the room