[Video] - Middle of the night...

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sorry, everyone for this early wake up call, but Sheena's just had another nightmare, and is reacting without thinking.

And hitting the "video" button without realizing, revealing her shaken and disheveled state. ]

Okay. Just what the hell is going on with these dreams?!

Comments

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[ilda]

[ Ilda's half-awake when she responds, almost as groggy, but just less shaken. ]

Oh hey, Big Sister.

[ Her head falls forward for a moment, then snaps back up suddenly. She stares at the yimo with wide eyes, Sheena's message and the midnight situation finally dawning on her. Yup, she's awake now. ]

Sheena! Oh no, did you have one of those visions again? I mean, I did, not right now, but— do you want me to come over?

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[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena doesn't respond right away, waiting to see if Ilda falls back to sleep. When she doesn't Sheena nods and sighing, tries to flatten her sleep-wrecked hair. ]

Yeah. This time, it was pretty bad. And I thought I was done with nightmares. I should really apologize to everyone...

[ She's about to refuse Ilda's offer, but thinks better of it. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she nods again. ]

Yeah, but we need to be quiet. I don't hear anything, but I'm not sure I haven't woken my roommates.

[ Yeah, Ilda can ask her why she's not in her apartment yet as Sheena tells her her room assignment. ]

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[ilda]

[ Ilda sighs softly. Sheena did say they have to be quiet, and she doesn't want her voice to be the one to wake up her big sister's roommates. ] Looks like the nightmares aren't done with us. I had another one, too... and they're getting really bad. And creepy.

... huh? Weren't you assigned to a new room?

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[ninjainviolet]

[ For all Sheena knows, they are awake because of their own dreams. No need to make things worse. ]

Yeah, they are. And I'm sorry, Ilda.

[ She sighs ruefully. ]

Actually, I found an apartment...but how about we meet in the common area? We can talk freely there?

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[ilda]

Sure! My turn to be your listening ear, now!

... could you give me a few minutes, though?

[ To wash her face and brush her teeth again and dress into something more presentable. Just in case she runs into any more cute guys driven awake by the visions. You know. ]

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[ninjainviolet]

Guess it is.

Sure. No problem.

[ And Sheena will just put on a long robe to cover her pajamas and make it to the common room. Cute guys are the farthest thing on her mind right now. ]

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[ilda]

[ Ilda arrives in the common room around five minutes later. She still looks sleepy, but even so she's in a dress. ]

Big sister! [ You get a hug as soon as she sees you, Sheena. With no preamble whatsoever. ]

voice

[corundrum]

You had another one?

[The voice is calm and at ease, but interested, and politely inviting for more information. Padparadscha hasn't had another since the second, so if things are deviating now, they'd like to know.]

voice

[ninjainviolet]

Yeah. This is the third one. And it wasn't exactly pretty.

[ She sighs and blows out a soft breath. ]

How many have you had?

[corundrum]

Only two. But perhaps that stands to change now. [They suppose they'll see in the coming nights. It may not be a coherent message like some guessed, but the fact that the visions are now diverging may mean something.]

Whose experiences have you been following?

[ninjainviolet]

Two? How'd you get so lucky? [ There's wry humor there. She can't help it. It's one way she and her friends deal with certain topics. ]

Mine have been of a woman named Al'amar. How about you?

[corundrum]

Perhaps I haven't been sleeping enough. [Padparadscha has a somewhat consistent tone of amusement to their voice, so they're hardly going to judge anyone else for handling things that way.]

Someone named Faias. A male, I think. [Padparadscha isn't exactly experienced in identifying that sort of thing.]

[ninjainviolet]

Because of the dreams?

[ Logical conclusion to the ninja. Some people react differently to nightmares. After all, it took three to get to her. Besides, she doesn't know what Padparadscha had dreamed about in those two visions. ]

You're not sure? Were the dreams of only sounds? Darkness? Nothing else?

[ That's kind of creepy right there--and she's a ninja. ]

Private Text;

[redlightgreenlight]

Yes.

[The visions had grown in intensity and the latest one had been so disturbing she hadn't been able to return to sleep. All those eyes staring out of the dark pits...What nightmare had Nerrin walked into?]

It's difficult to relate.

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[ninjainviolet]

That's putting it mildly.

[ Sheena doubts she'll be able to go back to sleep. She can still feel the pain of Al'amar being taken by a Venus People Trap plant. ]

If you don't mind me asking: how bad was yours?

Private Text;

[redlightgreenlight]

More disturbing than bad...I'm going to do some research in the Library. See if I can find anything on it.

Private Text;

[ninjainviolet]

So, nothing painful? Nothing that feels "real"--like it's your own memory?

[ She can still feel that pain, and probably will for a while. ]

The Library? Okay. I might go there later, but if you don't see me, my dreams are about someone named Al'amar, and this one involved a plant that bled when cut.

[ Bad and disturbing. Isn't Sheena lucky? ]

Private Text;

[redlightgreenlight]

It's not the first time I've lived someone else's memories.

[And some had definitely been worse than what she had experienced. The pain and trauma quickly faded when she realized it wasn't her own and didn't have the person nearby to keep it going. Valdis was a bit more concerned about the Death Plane and its involvement.]

A plant that bled?

Private Text;

[ninjainviolet]

It isn't? It's a first for me, and I really don't like it. I thought seeing someone's personal memories was bad enough, but this goes beyond that.

[ Sheena, however, can't be like that. As someone in another place long ago said, she wears her emotions where all can see. So, if someone is suffering, she feels it. And in this case, she's feeling it precisely--and remembering. ]

Yeah, it was all vines, and Al'amar cut it, thinking it would be a normal plant. It was hot, so she was probably looking for water, but instead...it bled. Like a person.

Then it grabbed her and started dragging her towards it.

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[spiralpatterns]

[Man, this keeps happening. Zephyr looks half-awake in his answer.]

You might have to be a little more specific, there's a lot going on there. You got another one too, huh?

[Pause, yawning.]

Need company or something?

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[ninjainviolet]

[ Welcome to the half-awake club. ]

Do I really need to be more specific? [ She's not sure if he's asking what she had dreamed. ] "Too"? So, I take it I'm not the only one tonight?

A friend's already coming over. [ She looks at him quizzically. ] Have we met?

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[spiralpatterns]

[Through another yawn.]

Why are we having these dreams, why are some of them the same, why do they keep coming back...

Nah, you're not the only one. Me, too.

[He seems remarkably blasé about this.]

[Her question makes him sharpen up a little. Now that she mentions it there is some vague familiarity about her, even if he can't quite put a name to her. Which probably means...]

Dunno, but you might have met my partner Allen. Liafyse sound familiar?

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[ninjainviolet]

[ Oh. ]

When you mean "the same", do you mean why are more than one person having the same dream? I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be the first time the Dreaming has shared dreams with people.

[ Sheena, on the other hand, is frustrated and irritated--and it shows.

Her question had stemmed from him--a perfect stranger to her--asking if she wanted company.

She shakes her head. ]

I'm sorry, but neither of those names ring a bell. [ So, she opts for the obvious. ] Do you look at Xa-Xa? Or know someone named Zelos?

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[spiralpatterns]

Yeah, that's what I meant. Why are some of us having the same dream and some of us not.

[Her answer is both helpful and not at all.]

...good to know, I guess.

[Zephyr thinks about that, frowning faintly.]

I don't pay attention to Xa Xa. Zelos...

[Memory stirs. Or a memory of a memory; Allen and Sara and Lippy, talking, Allen all expansive gestures and Sara giggling as she described events past.]

[Zephyr's eyes look very distant.]

Red hair, pretty face, flirts a lot? Kind of obnoxious if you're a guy?

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[ninjainviolet]

Just lucky, I guess?

[ Totally wry answer, there, Zephyr. Sorry. ]

Sorry. I really don't know much about the Dreaming. Only that I was stuck in it for a while before being brought here. But there are natives who study it; maybe they can help.

[ When he describes Zelos, she gives him a flat look. ]

He can also be kind of obnoxious if you're a girl, too. But yes, that's him. We're from the same world and have known each other a long time. Maybe he mentioned me and that's how you know me.

[ Because how many purple-haired ninjas are there in Aifaran? ]