[ voice ]

[ilda]

[ Minutes ago, there had been a scream as Ilda jolted awake. And in the dark of the night she'd panicked, the sight of the not-quite-familiar room making her think that she was still in the jungle, with the inky mass of... something trailing menacingly right behind her.

She'd stumbled out of bed and out of the room, her new roommates momentarily forgotten.

When she'd finally sent out a message, she was up on the roof, hugging her knees, tears streaming down her face. ]

H-Help.

Comments

[Voice]

[makebelieveavenger]

Are you hurt? Where are you?

action

[corundrum]

[Gems don't require sleep in the same sense humans do - it's simply easier to cease activity for the night, since sunlight is what they feed from and burning it unnecessarily makes for exhausting work. Padparadscha's own brush with the visions already has them alert and somewhat unsettled, despite still appearing asleep, and then they hear a scream as someone else in their room jerks upright.

They don't follow until a few moments after Ilda has stumbled out, to give them enough space to find a place of solace. Nonetheless, they follow, the hard gemstone of their feet clinking softly against the roof as they come to investigate the condition of their new roommate.]

What did you see, little one? [The question is straightforward enough, and a large part of the usual amusement in Padparadscha's tone is absent.]

[Voice]

[ilda]

[ Ilda stares at the yimo for a long while, as if only realizing that she's not in the jungle, that she didn't actually see poor Meoni get devoured. She takes a deep breath to steady herself -- as much as she's able under the circumstances, anyway -- and finally responds, although her voice is still thick with emotion. ]

I-I'm sorry. I'm... not actually hurt.

I think someone else was, though.

[ A sniffle. Then, quietly, but clearly with fear: ] It felt so real.

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[ilda]

[ Ilda visibly stiffens at the sound of Padparadscha's footsteps on the roof; although they were soft, the vision had heightened the blonde girl's senses. She turns around to look, her face filled with fear for a moment, then clearly relaxes as she recognizes them. Her roommate, not a creepy shadow...

She shudders at the thought, then answers, very quietly: ] Something dark. Evil.

It ate Meoni.

[corundrum]

[That name is unfortunately familiar to Padparadscha as well, and they nod slightly, looking out into the night. So whatever this bizarre vision is that they're getting impressions of, it's not just them.

Though it only makes them wonder more what it means and where it came from.]

Was that who you were in the vision? [Padparadscha saw Meoni, but they were someone else. Maybe the same person as Ilda, or maybe another.]

[ilda]

A vision? [ She stares up at Padparadscha, realizing that they'd seen something, too.

Then she shakes her head, answering their question. ] N-No. I was... someone else. I think he was close to Meoni, because he was crying.

[ She purses her lips together as she tries to recall his name, as well as the other things she'd seen. She's usually good with names and faces and details, but the vision had been so terrifying, so real, that it had left her shaken. ]

[corundrum]

[So it's like that, then. Padparadscha tilts their head for a moment, as if considering the possibilities before them, and only speaks after a few moments of thought have passed.]

Was his name Faias? [It was the name of the man Padparadscha had embodied in the vision, and he had reacted the same way. Their recollection of the vision is fairly clear - it had been unusual, but when someone's been alive as long as Padparadscha has, it takes more than just a strange thing to rattle them.]

[ilda]

Faias! [ She looks back up at them, the expression on her face a mix of confusion and realization. ] Yes. That's... that's his name. How did you know that?

voice;

[minorgod]

Ilda! You all right?

voice

[rutility]

[This sounds like the girl who caused the tremors downtown several days ago. Rutile is not confident about their chances of calming her, but that won't stop them from trying. Their words are steady and calm.]

Are you in immediate danger?

[corundrum]

Because I saw through that person's eyes as well, just now. [Padparadscha is much calmer about it than Ilda, but they still seem deep in thought. Have others seen the same sorts of visions? Were they exactly the same, or did people see different things?] His friend was consumed by the strange darkness, and when he leaked from his eyes, I woke up. I heard you wake up at a similar time.

[Padparadscha's species doesn't have the concept of "crying" - to them, it's a long-lost and bizarre defect of humans.]

voice;

[ilda]

H-Hey. Yato.

I’m sorry, I... it’s nothing. I mean, it’s not nothing. But I’m not hurt. It’s just... something I saw.

[ She hesitates, but it has to be said, and it still frightens her. ] Someone died. I don’t know if it’s another sickness caused by those creatures from the stars, but...

voice

[ilda]

[ By the time Ilda responds to Rutile, she’s sufficiently calmed down, having already talked to Padparadscha and a few other friends. She’s still not sure what’s going on, but at least she’s no longer distressed — things tend to happen when she’s overly emotional. ]

I’m so sorry! I just had a terrible dream and I thought it was real because it felt so real, and I panicked because I thought someone I knew really died...

I’m okay now, though. Sort of. Just hanging out here on the roof. One of my new roommates came to talk to me. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had the dream.

[ilda]

Yes, he... leaked from his eyes.

[ Despite the gravity of their situation, Ilda manages a small smile. Leaked from his eyes! That’s a fun way of saying it. ]

So we had the same dream? That’s... so weird.

[ She pauses, a previous conversation coming to mind. ] You know, when I first met Alice, she was wondering why we’re being called Dreamfolk. You don’t think...?

video;

[lasergrenades]

[Having been woken by a strange dream of her own, Pepper had been extremely unsettled and unable to go back to sleep. This isn't the first time the Dreaming has sent visions before, nor is it the worst - but other Dreamfolk may not have been so lucky.]

Ilda, where are you? Are you okay? I can come over, it'll only take a few minutes.

[spoilsfun]

Ilda? What's wrong?

[Conan had just awoken from his own dream a few minutes before. It was disquieting, but to him it was more the fact that it clearly wasn't one of his own nightmares. ]

voice

[rutility]

[ Padparadscha has a way of calming even the most dire situations. Their talent for it is irreplaceable. Rutile's tone relaxes when they find Ilda is in no danger from others. ]

Good that they reached you so fast. It's been an active night; there have been many conversations outside my door about the dreams, many of them shared.

Do you plan on coming down any time soon? I'd like to take some notes on what you've seen.

video;

[spiralpatterns]

Hey, do you need a hand?

[A concerned voice that's trying really hard not to sound too concerned.]

Or a hot drink or whatever?

video

[powertotearer]

What happened? Are you okay?

Re: [Voice]

[makebelieveavenger]

...Did you have a nightmare?

[corundrum]

It seems so. [Gems can dream, at least, though it's not exactly something that tends to come up much unless they're extremely bizarre dreams anyway. And considering their "minds", as they are, aren't anything like a human's, it's still a different experience to this sort of vivid vision.

Padparadscha's mood lightens somewhat at the suggestion, a faint, low laugh coming from deep in their throat.] I think it's because we come from the Dreaming, as they say here, but who says the Dreaming isn't somehow responsible for this too?

text;

[ilda]

[ She's switched to text, since several messages have been coming in. She realizes belatedly that shouldn't have sent out that mass voice message, but she panicked, okay? ]

conan hi
sorry had a really bad dream
freaked out
i'm okay now though but i dunno about the people in the dream

video;

[ilda]

[ Ilda's been replying via text to some of the later messages, but when Pepper's message comes in, she instantly picks it up. She still doesn't look very well — the vision had really terrified her — but she's much calmer now, at least. ]

Pepper! I'm okay now... I think. I'm on the roof. You don't need to come, but...

Did you have a dream, too?

voice

[ilda]

So it's not just us? [ If she thought having the exact same dream with Padparadscha was weird, that certainly made things a whole lot weirder. ]

I... I'll be down in a while. Can you give me a few minutes?

[ilda]

[ Ilda still has trouble wrapping her head around the 'come from the Dreaming' idea, even though there could really be no other explanation for the bizarre world she's found herself in, and the equally bizarre collection of people and creatures that have been taken from other worlds into this one. So she's decided to just not really think about it. ]

To be honest, I thought all the stuff about the Dreaming is just like one of those stories people tell children so they eat their greens or sleep early or not kill other people.

[ Then, belatedly: ] Um, thank you, by the way. For coming up to check on me. I'd say I hope I didn't wake you, but obviously I did.