Rutile ponders that a minute, tapping a toe on the wooden floor. The echo is that of pebbles clinking against each other, a curious noise from someone who appears mostly human. “I had an interesting conversation the other day,” they begin, “with someone about death and dreaming in their world. The implication was that where they are from, there is little difference between the two: the land of dreams is also the land one returns to upon death.”

Obviously, facts cannot be extrapolated from one realm to another. Rutile understands this well. However...

“While it certainly doesn’t work the same way here,” they go on, “it seems possible to me that the connection between the two planes might be what’s truly interesting. Where do the Dreaming’s capabilities intersect with Death’s? Where do they not? You would get around experimenting with Death, or dealing with the complexities of Dreaming, while studying them both.”

They shrug. It is tempting to offer to assist Valdis with this process for the sake of science - they are set to leave for the barrier in a matter of days - but they are still limiting the number of people who know of the quest. Bad enough they’d felt the need to tell Padparadscha. They hardly wanted someone even more prone to following along.

“Perhaps it is an ill founded idea,” they finish, “but it is an idea just the same.”