Reflections on Extended Family

Reflections of a Deranged Cultist is an epistolary serial. It will probably make more sense if you start at the beginning. Well... probably.

Genealogy hasn’t been as enlightening as I’d hoped. My parents and grandparents were happy to talk about family history, but most of what they had to say, I already knew. They did remind me about one of my great-grandfathers, though: Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was an interesting character, even by our standards. He first showed up around 1903, a lean young man with a slightly distracted look about him. Nobody knows quite where he came from; from some of the things he said, it’s possible that he hasn’t actually been born yet. He knew enough to find us, and to make contact without setting off the Watchers (or our other guardians). He was never a formal member, but he was considered an honored guest; he attended our rituals for over a decade, all told. During that time, he courted and married Gee-gee Mags, who was then a well-bred young woman of twenty-three.

My grandparents’ memories of him are vague. Apparently he traveled a lot, and they were still quite young when he left for good. Gee-Gee Mags is the obvious person to ask, but ever since she went to the ocean, she hasn’t been comfortable in the air. Still, I’ll send her a message and see what she knows. Even if this doesn’t tell me anything about the dreams, I’m starting to get interested.

Everybody wanted to know about Claire, of course. What was she like? Were we serious? Was I taking too much of a risk? When would they get to meet her? So I showed them pictures, and let Grandpa D taste my memories. He pronounced his approval, and that seemed to settle most of the questions. I wish I could have stayed longer - I don’t often get to see everybody together like that - but I needed to get home before Claire realized that I wasn’t actually at the library.

Hell, maybe I should take her to meet them. A few at a time, though - they can be sort of overwhelming if you meet too many at once. I’d feel really stupid if introducing my girlfriend to my family managed to blow my cover after all these months. Still... yeah, it’s about time.

Darkest Gods, I guess that means we’re serious.