MM-Dreamland [Invite]

[NPC]

~~~~~

Before and around them spread a beautiful night sky, stunning in its clarity, unusual in the many moons that dotted its skies and horizons. A haze covered the scene, confusing shapes, but it was clear that they were in a forest, with trees surrounding them. Vastly tall forms towered above them, on sides and ahead of them, their pointed shapes marking them as mountains, rocky and treacherous, and stunning to behold even in the light fog.

Ahead, there was a clearing, spacious and grassy, with colorful flowers hemming its edges. One of the large moons was descending behind a mountain on the other side of the vale, casting its shadow over everything in view. Yet there were two shapes moving in the dark, a pair of wanderers emerging from the forest to the right, murmuring between themselves. As they drew closer, their discourse could be heard plainly.

"What is this place? How did we come here?" a woman was asking, in a voice as soft as sighs. "I don't understand…."

"Does it matter, my dear Isabel? We are here, among beauty and awe. Almost as beautiful as you." He took her hands and pulled her gracefully into the vale, stopping only to pluck a giant, coral-colored flower from the fringe. A wind blew it into his face, and he chuckled, then tucked it behind her ear. "Now this, ah…." The wind was sweeping her hair back, and her thin, light dress, and the flower's petals too. "This is perfect."

"Hello," the woman said softly.

She was talking to Felicia and Sparrow, who had also made their way into the vale. The man turned around to see who Isabel was addressing, then, with some reluctance, greeted them as well. "Hello," he said with a faint smile. He drew Isabel down alongside him as he sat in the grass; she did the same, gazing at the descending moon. "Sit with us," the man said to the two women, kindly, but mostly out of courtesy. "This place is amazing, isn't it? It's like a dream."

~~~~~

[Felicia Soler]

Yonder stands blue mountain
Oh, yonder stands blue mountain
Oh, yonder stands my home
Oh, yonder stands my home

The meadows around the home where she'd been raised for nearly the first century of her life had always brought her a great deal of solace. Her mother used to tell her never to venture too far into the woods alone since there were wild animals and travelling bands of vandals who wouldn't think twice about kidnapping her. But Felicia did what she wanted anyways. She would catch fish out of the creek which ran behind their home. Once she learned how to use a bow and arrow, she was able to take down larger prey from a distance. She had to keep the fact that she hunted (and enjoyed it) to herself, as it was unbecoming behaviour for a woman of her age. That wasn't to say that her parents hadn't encouraged her to learn what she could so that she could fend for herself and feed herself if the need ever came.

And now she was back in a similar meadow. It was quiet, and night had fallen. There was a chill in the air which made her glad that she'd brought along a few blankets along with a satchel full of food for both her and the two infants she had strapped securely into a fur-lined child carrier on her back. It was made out of deer leather which she'd spent several weeks tanning and reinforcing so that it would be strong enough to support the combined weight of the two infants once they were strapped into it. The carrier was lined with several angora rabbit skins which she'd sewn together into a quilt. It would be more than sufficient to keep the twins warm while she walked.

Helena would probably be irritated that she'd wandered off with the babies without telling her, but Helena also knew that Felicia had a mind of her own, and if she wanted to go for a walk in the woods in the middle of the night, she was going to fucking do it. She didn't know why she felt like going for a walk so late in the evening, but it just felt right.

Judging by the position of the moons in the sky, it couldn't have been much pa—wait. Moons? The last time she'd checked, the planet she'd called home for over seven centuries had only one moon. Okay, well, that was odd. She glanced over her shoulder at the copse of trees behind her and shrugged. Eh, it was too late to turn back now.

Felicia walked towards a clearing in the trees, through which she was able to see the brilliant hues of wildflowers swaying in the gentle breeze. Beyond the small meadow was a mountain range. The Appalachians were nowhere near where she lived (that and the Appalachians were located on Earth which had a distinct lack of more than one moon).

"Hello."

She heard the woman's voice as it floated to her on the wind and followed it to its origin. The young woman was joined by a man of roughly the same age who invited her to sit with them. There was another woman present as well whom she thought she recognised, but she couldn't place from where. She thought it was from TV. The entire state of New York was home to several well-known actors and actresses with whom she'd had at least some interaction in passing.

"Hello." The man smiled at her disarmingly from his place on the ground. From his posture, she was able to tell that he was about as far removed from an aggressive, angry mood as she'd ever seen anyone. Understanding that he didn't pose much of a threat to her (if any), she sat down beside the woman who she thought was his lover and followed her gaze to the . . . one of the moons as it started to sink behind the trees. "This place is amazing, isn't it? It's like a dream."

“For all I know, it is a dream.” She wasn't about to disclose any personal information to the pair of them. Felicia was able to read people fairly well; she had to be adept at reading people if she wanted to survive for another several hundred years. “What is this place?”

Довести до белого каления.

ф ф Word count: 781
ф ф Mood: Trying to write this before drugs kick in.
ф ф Outfit: Eh, we'll go with this
ф ф Lyrics / Quote: Blue Mountain, Espers
ф ф Illustrations: None.
ф ф Comment / Informational links: None.

[Sparrow Akiyama]

The scene was absolutely unreal. Sparrow had never seen anything like it. Gorgeous and thrilling, it looked like something out of a painting. She slipped behind trees because it was fun to pretend she was hunting, but then found a clearing where a man and woman sat, and were being joined by a second woman. Sparrow headed over to them.

"Hi," she said with a bright smile. She sat down on the other side of the couple and looked up at the sky with them, and nodded at the talk of dreams. "It must be a dream," she mused, plucking a strand of grass from beside her. "But it feels real. See the textures around you. It's so… it feels more realistic than any dream I've ever had." She smiled at the other three. "I'm Sparrow. What are your names?"

[NPC]

The four of them seemed to agree that it was all very much a dream. Why they should all be present in it was an excellent question, but Isabel was not too worried about that. It could be that she was the one dreaming, and the others simply parts of her dream, and only parts of her imagination. Well, her lover was not her imagination, but she dreamed of him often; his presence here was little surprise.

As for himself, the young man was starting to fail at hiding his irritation. He had no clue how he had arrived in this place, but he had wanted to spend the time alone with Isabel, yet here were two strangers encroaching on their private time. This place had much to offer, this place of fantasies… in more than one sense of the word. But he said nothing on the matter, only put his arm around Isabel to nudge her closer, and she snuggled against him. "I can tell you that this place should not be possible, in a scientific sense," he pointed out, gesturing with his free hand at the many moons. "But I haven't a clue where it is."

"It's a dreamland," Isabel insisted. That was all she needed it to be, really. Why try to make sense of it? Why not just let it be beautiful? Why not just relax and let its aura fold all around you?

Isabel smiled drowsily and let her head loll on her beloved's shoulder. It was funny that she should be the calm one now, and he the one asking questions. She laughed softly, a cheerful, lively, musical sound. The young man turned his head to look at her.

She reached her hand out and curled her fingers as though trying to catch hold of the moonlight. "This is a fairy ray," she said happily, looking at how the light danced upon her fingers. Her voice had a texture of sleep to it. "Don't you think so?"

[Sparrow Akiyama]

While Sparrow had seen and experienced some weird stuff, and was tolerant of a ton of things, there was a threshold for that tolerance. When the unknown lady started talking about fairy rays, Sparrow decided she must have found some really good ‘shrooms. “Yeah, sure,” she said hesitantly. “Totally a fairy ray. Definitely. Um, I have a question. Did any of you, um, you know, consume any kind of… hallucinogens or anything like that? Because this is trippy and it’s starting to freak me out.”

[NPC]

The young lady frowned. “Hallucinogens? Oh, no, I am sure we are dreaming. I have very colorful dreams.” She stretched and yawned. “Is it possible to fall asleep within a dream?”

“Anything is possible when you are with me,” the young man said. “But let us leave the….”

“Mmm.” Isabel reached over and wrapped her arms around her beau’s neck, then nestled her head on his shoulder. “I’m sleepy, my love.”

“Isabel, perhaps we should-“

But she had already closed her eyes, and her breathing had evened out. The young man sighed and brushed a hand through her hair, then leaned against her. They slept comfortably together, their chests rising and falling as they breathed together peacefully.

Until they weren’t anymore.

[Sparrow Akiyama]

Stretching, Sparrow let out a soft yawn. “I guess you’re right,” she said to Isabel, who was already wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. “It’s a pretty nice scene. Perfect place for a nap.”

She wondered what the place would look like when she woke up. Maybe a sun or three… this place had many moons. Maybe the grass would be bright, and the flowers too. “Good night,” she said to the couple and Felicia, and was already drifting off when she thought that something was wrong. The couple wasn’t breathing anymore. “Uh… uhhh….” She could barely do anything about it; her eyes were closing too, and she too fell into slumber, and breathed a few breaths, and never parted her lips again.

~~~fin Sparrow and NPCs~~~