Cackle stared at Phoebe from behind his grin. He wore the form of a young man with dark hair, olive skin, and a gentle-looking face. He wore a simple brown shift identical to Phoebe's except in color. He looked at her face, enjoying the sight. She's so mad right now! He thought. Her face is just perfect!
Across from him, Phoebe looked him up and down with exasperation. "Really? That's what you decided I named you?"
Cackle stuck his tongue out at her, his hand still extended. Phoebe bit her lip and shook his hand. Cackle winced at the strength of her grip. I forgot just how fragile human bones are.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow at the expression of pain, but said nothing. Cackle nonetheless smelled the smug vindication that she felt and heard her think "Oh, so it can be hurt."
Cackle pricked at that, the hair on his scalp standing on end. "Hey, I'm a he right now, not an it!"
Phoebe started, jerking her hand back. "Stop reading my thoughts!"
Cackle grunted. "Not my fault they're so loud."
Phoebe glowered again and sighed. She wrapped her arms around herself an looked about the dimly moonlit cave. "So now what?"
Cackle grinned again. "Now you get some sleep. It's late, and you're very tired."
Phoebe blinked, looking startled. "He's right. Why didn't I notice before?"
"Probably because of the shock."
Phone flinched again. "Why can you hear my thoughts?"
Cackle shrugged. "You're nearby."
Phoebe pinched the bridge of her nose, and Cackles smelled a wave of weary resignation roll off of her.
"Fine. Where should we sleep?"
"Well, there's a cute little village not far from here that has a roadside inn."
"How far is 'not far'?"
Cackle's grin widened a bit. "An hour's travel or so."
Phoebe groaned inwardly and Cackle heard it. "Oh, it won't be so bad," he said. "I'll take care of the lodging."
Phoebe huffed. "Fine. Let's get this hike over with."
Cackle stepped in front of her as she made to move towards the cave entrance. "Just a moment. I know you don't really know this, but those clothes aren't exactly suited to arduous travel. You're going to have to wear something else, unless you don't mind trekking through wild country with rents in your shift."
Phoebe looked down at her pale shift, edged in silver by the moonlight. Cackle heard her thoughts falter as her mind leapt to the memories it was used to referencing about it, but fell through emptiness due to their absence. He also smelled the overpoweringly bitter scent of the secrets she kept, even from herself. Cackle's grin faded somewhat. Not all the secrets that she holds are this bitter, but they certainly tend towards it. Poor kid.
Cackle clapped his hands together, abruptly interrupting her faltering train of thought and lessening the scent of her secrets. "So! Just close your eyes and picture what you'd like to travel in. Where you have trouble picturing it, I'll fill the gaps, okay? So rest assured, it will be fine."
Phoebe took a deep breath and nodded, closing her eyes. A smell of tentative gratitude wafted from her and towards Cackle.
I better not do this half-hearted, he thought. She needs some pleasant new memories. He brought up his human hands and stretched them towards her, reaching outwards with his Mind. He Saw an impression gracing her mind of soft leather shoes, a warm cloak, and a deep hood. The rest of her clothes were pale and misted over, indistinct in color and shape.
Goodness. She threw out so much. Looks like I have my work cut out for me, helping her. He wove his flesh from his hands and stretched it, warping it into clothing before cutting it off. He piled a set of folded clothes at her feet, the materials as close to the real thing as he could comfortably manage, though without even a thread of stitching.
"Go ahead and open your eyes."
Phoebe did so and looked down. In the pale moonlight, she saw a nearly folded cloak with a deep hood, soft and supple boots, a set of cotton leggings and a tunic, and some thick gloves. The tunic and leggings were dyed an earth-tone green, though Cackle surmised that she likely struggled to discern the color in the dimness. He turned about, keeping his eyes pointed away.
As she got dressed, Cackle closed his human eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose, searching out the secrets she kept, even from herself. The nature of secrets was intrinsically tied to memory, so a lot of Phoebe's were truncated or warped, but images and sounds mixed in with the scents. Her name, said by countless voices, was paired with a crest. An eye on a yellow and red checked field, flanked by tentacles. A crest he knew well, to his own chagrin. Phoebe's family name was muted and muffled in her secrets, but Cackle would have recognized that crest anywhere.
The memories imbibed in Phoebe's secrets faded away as Cackle immersed himself in a reminiscence of his own memories. He remembered adopting a clan of humans as a young Madness, acting as their patriarch and protector. He remembered giving his word to be there for the clan in times of direst need. To Cackle, that oath still stood, though in the interim he'd been cast out from among human society like all the other Madnesses.
He took another deep breath of Phoebe's secrets, this time gleaning flashes of blades, and a cry to flee directed at Phoebe herself, though the voice was warped and unidentifiable.
Cackle opened his human eyes and gazed contemplatively at the wall. So, he thought. A banished scion from my own clan stumbles on my doorstep, parted from her memories and in grave danger, doubtless because of her identity. We'll have to tread carefully. I wonder what the world's become since I decided to hide in this cave, however long ago. I guess it's nice to think that my clan still remembers that they can count on my help when they're truly desperate.
He snorted to himself. Well, remembers might be a strong word, considering Phoebe's current situation. Still, It's nice to feel needed again.
Phoebe spoke. "Well, how do I look?"
Cackle turned back around and looked Phoebe up and down. Her amnesia clearly didn't extend to information nonspecific skills, seeing as her boots were properly latched. Aside from the shift she held in her hand, she looked every bit the travel-ready adventurer.
"You wear it well."
Phoebe shrugged. "Guess I'm used to wearing stuff like this?"
Cackle grinned. "Or something. Shall we set off?"
Phoebe nodded, and they stepped out of the cave.