Like a Moth

[Narrator]

In her dreams, Jennifer was in the ring of campfires again. The throne and the odd stain in front of it were still there. There was a woman sitting on the throne this time though. Her long dark hair was draped across the back of the throne. Her clothing, a dress, was of a simple, straightforward design with no pattern to the fabric. The garment reached down to her ankles and her feet were bare. "You're back," she said with a semi-pleasant smile.

[Jennifer Newgate]

"And you're creepy..." Jennifer notes as she nervously glances around the room. "Who are you?"

[Narrator]

"A friend, a possible ally even," she said, resting her chin on one hand. "I suppose I should take offense at being referred to as 'creepy', but there's not a lot of point to that."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"This isn't a dream, is it. Are you the one who brought Miranda back?"

[Narrator]

"Not strictly a dream, no, though it shares some similarities to one. And yes, I am. Couldn't very well have her dying. I would think you'd be grateful."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"Hard to thank someone when they disappear."

[Narrator]

"I'm just one person. And I do have other things that need doing. I'm sure you know the feeling." She waved a hand and the room dissolved, leaving the two of them floating over London in the dark. She could see the lights of campfires in some of the outskirts where some of the survivor communities had been forming. The burned face of Big Ben loomed nearby as did the remnants of the Shard. "Beautiful, isn't it? After a fashion."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"Sure, if you ignore all the dead people and the ones that had to flee because their houses got Jumanji'd."

[Narrator]

"Its past is a sad one, to be sure. But what if we could make something of it?" She waved her hand again and the landscape changed. It was still predominantly jungle, but in small places, the trees had been cleared away and what looked like active, if anachronistic, clusters of buildings had filled the small clearings. Everything looked neat and integrated into the landscape.

[Jennifer Newgate]

"You got a small army of people to stop assholes from burning this down too? I mean yeah, this would be great, but you saw what happened to Big Ben."

[Narrator]

"Good people are like hen's teeth these days, but a fair few are gathering around you right now. With your help, we could make it safe for people to do this. Provide order and structure. We could make things *better*."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"And you have some kind of grand plan to make this happen?" she says, trying not to get her hopes up and trying to cover it up with sarcasm.

[Narrator]

"Doesn't everyone?" She smiled, "But yes, I have a plan. It requires carefully considered moves and responses. Do you think you can handle that?"

[Jennifer Newgate]

"That really depends on what those are, doesn't it."

[Narrator]

"I'm not asking for blind faith, Miss Newgate. I saved your friend because her presence draws people to London. The vaunted 'Seer'," she snorted. "If she were to suddenly go missing, the story would die and our kind would stop coming to London. The more of us there are, the faster we will be able to fix things."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"How utilitarian. If that's the only reason you saved her then why are you even doing this?"

[Narrator]

"Doing what? Making our corner of the world a better place? I would think that would be obvious. Things went to shite, but we can fix them. You and your friends are best suited to making that change and guiding it. That may involve breaking a few eggs, like those elves that tried to kill your friend, but I hope you believe me when I say that some eggs are just too valuable to break, like you and your friends."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"I don't give a fuck about the elves but I don't like how you make us sound like pieces in your plan. If we're going to fix this shithole then we're going to do it together as a group."

[Narrator]

"Fair enough," she raised her hands. "I've been by myself a while. It colors my speech and my way of thinking. My apologies."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"So your plan has a step one?"

[Narrator]

"At least a couple," she said, waving her hand again. An image of Theresa appeared, though she looked darker and angrier than she usually was these days. Beside her floated what looked like large fragments of crystal. Wanderer stood and walked over to them. "You'll forgive me if I become a little 'utilitarian', won't you?"

"Your friend, the one with the connection to the Earth Mother. As long as that connection still rules her, we cannot guarantee that anything we do will not be overtaken by the jungle. Obviously it would be preferable to heal her as she could be a great ally in reshaping the area. If she can't be healed though, we will need to shut off her connection to the Earth Mother so that she can't do this again. There are rituals to do that sort of thing, but I would consider them a last resort as they can sometimes be... distasteful and dangerous."

She gestured to the crystals. "At the University, there are crystals that were originally used to stabilize the walls between dimensions. When things fell apart, those crystals shattered. If we could bring some of them here, we could properly align them and use them to stabilize the fluctuations in this area. That would give us some breathing room so we could deal with more mundane threats."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"That sounds reasonable. We've been meaning to head to the school anyway."

[Narrator]

"I'll leave those things up to you and your friends. I've got other things that are bettered suited to my particular talents that I can accomplish elsewhere in the jungle."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"Such as? I mean, you seem to know a lot about us but I know almost nothing about you."

[Narrator]

"Much like your blindfolded friend, I have eggs to break. Haven't you wondered why she's had to deal with fewer warlords in the last few months? I've been scrambling Birmingham to keep them out of here so we could work. I also need to go to Wales. There's something on Snowdon we'll need before we're done."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"You're certainly very good at being cryptic."

[Narrator]

"Like we said... I have the plan. Do you want a 10-page glossy report complete with cover and proper footnotes?"

[Jennifer Newgate]

"A name would be nice, for starters."

[Narrator]

"I haven't gone by anything other than Wanderer in years. My former name wouldn't mean much to you I'm afraid."

[Jennifer Newgate]

"Fine, Wanderer it is then."

[Narrator]

The fire-lit room returned. "It's going to be hard work, but I think we can make it happen."