"I wouldn't say it's an evil whistle. She just uses it to cast spells that make animals friendly towards you. I'd say that's on the up and up."

It feels a little weird defending her. He remembers that damsel in distress look.

"And Parker gave it to her. On account of the betrothal and all that."

"Given that at least some animals are people I do not think that's on the up and up!"

"She's also a sorcerer?

Alright! Alright. Any of you have magic powers hitherto unrevealed? Just to get an accurate count."

"And has her whistle that she uses to befriend animals got a giant murderous winged type of animal carved into it?"

"--wait, what?"

"Oh, right, Inaaya can talk to cats."

"... and they talk back."

"I-- am trying to remember who I've revealed how many of my magic powers to. The talking to cats is not a magic power they just have a language and it can be learned."

"Cats... are people and have a language that can be learned.

You know, I feel so much more justified not mentioning the whistles until now."

"She also gets psychic readings off of books and visits a mysterious realm in her dreams. ...Does anyone want to come forth about any places they visit in their dreams, while we're being forthright about this."

"In my defense I tried to tell people about the psychic powers and what it got me was a job reading tarot cards, a reputation for being able to harness the powers of the mystical East, and a bunch of colleagues who were all running scams, so I stopped. Also the psychic powers don't just work on books, I can do that with any object."

...If he interrupts to ask Inaaya to cover the painting of the countryside that's more evidence something's wrong with him. But he can't help staring at it-- it's like picking at a wound.

It's got gentle hills and sheep and a terrible indifferent and empty sky. Once you notice that the sky is a type of void-- just uncaring negative space-- you can't go back.

"I have both the, uh, pagan-standing-stone-bat dreams and also hopefully more normal dreams that involve visiting places? Palaces and impossibly tall mountains and such like."

We all have the palace and impossibly tall mountain dreams, Terrence wants to roll his eyes and say aloud!

Then he remembers Inaaya and Sal saying that most people actually don't have those, so he shoves that thought back into his mouth.

No Terrence you are going to share with the class, Sal's face says. This is dream sharing time.

(Is that look directed at Oscar too? Is it accusatory? Is it knowing? Is it tinged with mockery? If he doesn't admit to what's happening in his head at night will she say it for him?)

"--right, the other magic power I have is that those aren't normal dreams, you're going to a real place that actually exists, a statistically bizarre number of people in this room have them-- notably me and pre-King-in-Yellow-Terrence-- but most people have wildly incoherent dreams that are not consistent from night to night and do not involve vast and heartbreakingly beautiful architecture."

"I still have them," says Terrence stubbornly.

"...huh."

Today is just going to be full of weird revelations, apparently. At least this one is nice and doesn't involve risk to life and limb.

"No you don't, Terrence, you're just pretty sure you're going to have them again at some point, and you might be right about that but regardless I'm not taking it as evidence until it happens."

"I do, I dream about mountains and places still. - you don't know my dreams, you can't just assume you do because you don't like The King in Yellow."

Is Sal looking at him.

Could be. He's steadily looking at something. He's not making eye contact. He's never made eye contact with Oscar. Why is that. 

It's because he thinks there's something wrong, something untrustworthy and tainted, about Oscar.

"Can we just. Not do the King in Yellow talk. Just for an hour while we have to deal with magic revelations and the fact we're going to have to deal with Farmer Jennings and the monoliths."

Terrence you told me you hadn't dreamed about your city since reading it, I'm assuming lots of things because you can't actually go through life acting like uncertainty has to mean total cartesian doubt but I'm not assuming that, she almost says, and then does not actually say because Jing Yi is not wrong.

"I've had dreams about beautiful architecture all my life. They vary a lot more now. Reflect more of how things actually get built. I'm agnostic about if it means anything.

...If we're going to discuss magic we need to discuss some things about The King in Yellow. Actually."