Johnny knows a thing or two about just how bad his own subconscious can be as compared to the rift, though really, the rift seems to love working in tandem with what he already has to offer, so what's the difference, even? He has a suspicion that's where Rush was headed with his first fragmented declaration, but he lets it slide.

"We'd know," he says. "I mean, for one thing, they're people that I've met or can meet in the waking world. But they're more... vivid, here. They can, you know. Do things that you wouldn't expect or predict. And do things to you. That's the wouldn't-want-to-meet-em brand."

He stumbles slightly on a root, pitching forward and catching himself on a tree, scraping his palm on the rough bark. "Fuck," he hisses, and Nova twitches in his hand like she felt the pain.