Halfway

[applesaucemod]

Tonight each dreamer of Manhattan will find out they're half the person they used to be.

No, really. Or at least, they're half the human[oid] they used to be. One way or another, each dreamer has been transformed into a hybrid creature from mythology. Fortunately, they find themselves at stunning fjord where those of the more aquatic persuasion can relax in the calm waters (unless, of course, the rift decides to beach them for fun) while others remain on dry ground (then again, who says a centaur can't swim?). There are trees in which bird-people can roost and warm rocks on which the cold-blooded can sun themselves, and the water of the fjord is cool, clear, and inviting. There's nothing man-made to be seen, no hint of civilization other than the dreamers themselves…and in this state, are they really so civilized?


[OOC: The usual dream party rules apply: all players and characters welcome, regardless of whether or not the character (or any character of yours) is in the game. Despite the wording, characters who did not start out looking human are welcome. Characters may remember or forget everything that happens in the Dreaming at players' discretion.]

Comments

[apidae]

"Eeep!"

This little shriek echoes across the grassy bank of the fjord, startling some birds out of a nearby tree. Bee is a centaur now, not just a centaur but a zebra-bodied centaur, and that's fine, dreams are a perfect place for this kind of thing, and if she had to pick a favorite animal that wasn't bees, zebras would surely be near the top of the list. She's standing fairly solidly, feeling much taller and more top-heavy than usual, but she'll adapt to that in time. No, what's caused her distress enough to accidentally mark her presence here is her nakedness. She crosses her arms tightly over her breasts at once, looking around frantically (a bit dizzying, up so high) to see if anyone's caught a glimpse. Oh dear oh dear. She has to find something to wear, or at least something she can fashion into a sort of garment. Keeping one arm firmly in place, she reaches out with the other to steady herself on a tree as she tests out her new legs, warming her sleeping brain up to this new kind of movement. Usually when she dreams she has a terrible time trying to walk, her legs never seem to work right - but these dreams are so different, she feels so much more alert in them, and it's not too difficult to work out the new setup. Quickly wrapping both arms back around herself, she trundles off towards a nearby wooded area, her jaw set in determination. She's going to find some big leaves or something, so she can enjoy this dream properly.

[brink]

Topher's decided to explore the dry areas a bit, and octopus seemed a bit inconvenient for that. So he basically said fuck it, and made himself half-dragon.

It's rather badass, actually. Much like a centaur, but reptilian and winged, the scales fading into regular skin at his waist, where the neck of the dragon would be. His upper half is almost completely human, just with the exception of a few horns sticking backwards out of his hair. Why not go all out, right?

He jumps a little at the shriek, and hurries over to make sure no one's in danger. He soon reaches the startled-looking centaur, but there doesn't seem to be anything threatening around. He's not sure he can pinpoint the problem, and as he approaches she seems to get over it, but he still decides to make sure. "Hey, you okay?"

[apidae]

Bee jumps back, startled by the new voice, still keeping herself covered as the zebra legs scramble a bit to compensate for a thoroughly human reaction.

"Oh!" she cries, startled to see the ominous looking - person, he's a person made into a new thing, just like here, and then shrinks back from shyness. "I - I'm fine, I just - don't have my clothes."

A bit silly to say, since her regular outfit wouldn't really work on this new body anyway, but it gets the point across. She tries to ignore the desire to bolt and hide. So long as he doesn't stare, it'll be all right.

[brink]

When the girl jumps, Topher holds up his hands to show he means no harm.

Even when she says it, it takes him a brief moment to catch the problem. "Oh!" he exclaims, and immediately looks away. "Sorry," he adds. "Um."

And then he materialises a plain, baggy t-shirt in his hand, and (without looking) holds it out towards her. "Here." She might prefer something else, but it was the first thing that came to mind, and it's probably too warm for much else.

[apidae]

"O-oh!" Bee blinks, surprised by the sudden garment, then breaks into a grin as she reaches out to take it. "Thanks!"

She pulls it over her head, relieved and instantly more at ease, and fluffs her hair out. "You can look now."

Now that that's been dealt with, she takes a minute to look at him. Hard to picture what he looks like without the dragon body, and his patterns are fuzzy just like they always are in dreams, but he seems nice.

"I'm Bee," she says, sticking out a hand. "I don't usually have this part." She pats her own flank with the other hand. "How'd you do that? With the shirt?"

[brink]

Topher looks back at her when she announces it's safe, and smiles at her being obviously more at ease now.

"Topher," he answers, taking her hand. "It's uh, just something I can do in dreams. Change stuff. I was actually half-octopus when I got here," he answers with a grin. "But this is cooler. Although yeah, I- I also look human usually."

[apidae]

"Neat!" She nods her approval at his new dragon body, though she would have been curious to see an octopus-person too. "Well, I sure appreciate it."

She digs one of her front hooves into the grass a bit, curling it up and setting it down again, a motion she's seen horses do when they might be about to trot. She has no idea what she's doing but it's fun.

"This one is a lot of fun," she says. "This dream, I mean. I hope more of them are like this." She passes a glance around at the beautiful scenery, then says, "Oh, I'm new, by the way. This is only my second shared thingy. How long have you been through?"

[brink]

If Topher were imitating dragon behavior, he'd probably be spitting fire just for fun. But he'll probably leave that for if he actually wants to intimidate someone, and he's fairly certain Bee isn't someone he wants to scare like that.

"About nine months," he answers with a half-shrug. "The dreams vary a lot in how pleasant they are. This one does seem pretty benign, thankfully."

[apidae]

"Wow," she says, marveling at the time span. "That's a long time! Maybe... the longest I've met?" She's not sure. Can't always remember all those little things. She waves it off. "Do you like it here? I mean. Out there. The real world."

[brink]

"I arrived before the rift population boom," he answers with a nod. That's probably why most people came after him. And it was the reason he was moved to New York, because suddenly that rift was spitting out people left, right and center. Of course, there's a lot of people from before, but by now they're either fully integrated in hiding in society, or they take a more active part in Rift stuff.

He shrugs. If he's completely honest, he'd say no. Certainly not in the circumstances he's in. But that's not something he discusses with someone he just met. "It's not that different from where I came from," he answers.

[apidae]

"Me neither." She shrugs. "But I certainly never had any dreams like these." She starts to move, practicing her walk, ambling back toward the water's edge. "Have you always been able to manipulate dreams like that?" she wonders.

[brink]

Topher follows along, already having gotten quite used to the extra limbs. It's still fewer limbs than the octopus - but only barely, if you count the wings and the tail.

"Not before the rift, no. No telepathic dreaming back in my world either," he answers. "But it's pretty cool, and useful too." To illustrate, he materialises a glass of apple juice and takes a sip.

[apidae]

She giggles appreciatively. "Very impressive," she says with a nod. "I wonder why the Rift does that - gives some of us powers. It didn't give me much, as far as I can tell. I don't get dirty." It sounds very silly, when she says it bluntly like that. "I guess that's a power. Not to get dirty. Not very useful though. Just means I don't have to spend a lot of money on clothes."

[brink]

"The Rift works in mysterious ways," he answers. And some not so mysterious, things he can actually measure with equipment, but the science behind the whole power is still a mystery to everyone.

"That sounds great though," he adds enthusiastically. "I mean, you couldn't save the world with it, probably, but it must be convenient. Is it only external stuff, like spilling stuff on yourself? Or is it stuff coming from you too, like, do you get sweaty?" Oops, inappropriately curious science geek warning. At least there are so many worse bodily fluids he could've inquired about.

[apidae]

Fortunately for Topher, Bee doesn't particularly care about being asked if she sweats. "I don't think I do!" she says, matching his enthusiasm. "It's very strange. I still get hungry and have to go to the bathroom and stuff. It's like a very specific... exception to the rules of entropy." She grins, a little sheepish. "That's as far as I've figured it out anyway."

[brink]

"Huh," he answers, considering it. "Well, powers have a tendency to be very specific and often quite random and strange. We've yet to figure out any proper patterns or rules for it. Although there's often a downside to it, have you found one?"

[apidae]

"Not yet," she says, "though I've considered some. Like I wonder if I could get a tattoo - not that I've been wanting to, but if I did, I don't know if it would stick. Or if I were to cut my hair, would it grow back?" She shrugs. "I'm pretty familiar with downsides, though," she admits.

[brink]

Topher's about to theorise more about what could happen, or mention that he's actually got a tattoo himself (not that he could show it off in this shape, as it's on his leg), but the last thing she says catches his interest. "In what way?" he asks curiously.

[apidae]

"Well..." She sighs heavily. It's not like her to talk openly about her power, but she's already told so many people. Powers are so common here, and sometimes it's hard to avoid it coming up. Back home people's patterns were fairly routine, predictable, occasionally something odd or distressing would crop up, but here, it's like navigating a minefield. Everyone's come from such diverse and often profoundly troubling circumstances. She wonders what Topher's patterns would be like if she could see them properly. He seems a little bit like someone who's been keeping to himself, though perhaps that's just an arbritrary hunch.

"There's just some things I can do... things I've always been able to do... that can be difficult to manage."

[brink]

Topher has to restrain himself from prying - reigning in his curiosity is not the easiest thing. But he knows most people don't like to discuss their powers with just anyone.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he answers instead. Though his is a bit different, of course, but since he doesn't really know what she's referring to, it's impossible to tell.

[apidae]

Bee is grateful for his restrained curiosity, though now she feels a bit awkward, having left them with nothing to talk about. She doggedly changes tacks. "What else can you do?" she asks, gesturing to the dreamspace. "Can you change the dream itself, or just you, or..." She trails off, inviting him to fill in.

[brink]

That wasn't actually what he was thinking of, since he's only had that a while. It was more his general intelligence and, well, frankly world-changing consequences it's had. But he's made it a habit not to talk about that, so he's not going to correct her.

"Um, well," he answers, rubbing the back of his neck. "In a large, shared dream like this, I can only change things on a small level. Like myself, or changing small things -- or help you change yourself, probably. But if I'm just in someone's dream, or my own, I have pretty much full control."

[apidae]

"Oh." She nods thoughtfully. It's a little scary, the idea that he could enter her private dreams and change everything around - but what she can do is a little scary too. "You wouldn't do it without asking permission, would you?" she feels the need to ask.

[brink]

"Course not. I only use my powers for good!" he answers, intentionally making it sound as cheesy as possible, then gives a little laugh. "I dunno, I mostly do it to help people with nightmares. Or to have fun with friends."

There are of course exceptions, and a few times it's been a little on the sketchy side, especially when he's failed to see it from the other person's perspective. But, well, he's not infallible, is he? Well, not in that regard, anyway.

[apidae]

She smiles indulgently, wishing she could get a better sense for him - he's very guarded, playing everything close.

"Good," she says, and then stretches back, looking out over the landscape. "I sort of feel like galloping. I've never galloped before. What do you think?" May as well explore the dream, especially since it seems so much less dangerous than the last one.