Sweeter than the First Time [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Hello, dreamers of Manhattan. The Rift knows that things have been kind of rough, lately. The last dream didn't go as well as it had hoped. Consider this an apology of sorts, and a hearkening back to the good times you've shared.

It's a grand old (and potentially familiar) cabin house that the dreamers will find themselves wandering. The furniture is plentiful and comfortable, the floors are strewn with cushions and blankets, and there are cheerful fires burning in the grates. It seems a little odd that the house still manages to be on the chilly side despite looking so warm, yet it is.

Oh, well. You'll just have to find another dreamer or two and spoon up and fall asleep like little baby cats get cozy. It shouldn't be difficult; most of the dreamers (excepting those with strong telepathic defenses or deeply ingrained cuddle-averse personalities) will find themselves feeling friendlier than usual, along with an almost overwhelming desire to snuggle up to someone. How convenient that the house seems designed for that very purpose!

And if some of the cushions are Hello Kitty themed, well, that's just coincidence.


[OOC: Standard dream party rules apply. Characters will be affected by the dream-whammy to whatever degree makes the most sense for them, and will remember or forget the events of the dream at the player's discretion. Backtag into infinity.]

Comments

[johnny_truant]

He's immensely relieved to see her - there's a little twinge of nervousness, too - she and Gabe are so close, of course, but. That's to worry about later. He doesn't get to see her enough to avoid her for that.

"Hi," he says warmly, coming over to her, not quite bold enough to sit down beside her. "I, um, I'm okay. Status quo, anyway. How are you?" He feels awkward, fidgety, shyer than usual. "Is it okay I join you?"

[theoldgirl]

His particular odd sort of hesitation is unsurprising, if still utterly incomprehensible to her. But she doesn't need to understand it to want to soothe it, so she nods encouragingly, pulling the edges of the quilt into her lap to make room next to her. "Of course, sit down."

His answer to her question was a decent start, maybe he'll even say the truth once they have talked a little. "I am managing, as usual. I have a few new inhabitants to take care of. Have you made any new acquaintances?" Talking about unspecific positive things, that's how you make humans comfortable with words, right.

[johnny_truant]

He sits down as invited, pulling his legs up onto the sofa and resettling some of the quilt over him. He's close, but he refrains from leaning on her or anything like that just yet.

"Yeah, a few," he says. "I'm turning into a social butterfly compared to what I used to be like." He smiles at her, then more faintly at the quilt, running his finger idly over the delicately stitched pattern.

"I've missed you," he says, not trying to sound forlorn, just... honest. He hates having a friend he can't see while he's awake. He lets out a sigh and then he does lean over, tentatively resting against her, shoulder to shoulder.

[theoldgirl]

The quilt is nice, isn't it. A soft yet distinct regular pattern to sense with one's fingertips. So is being leaned on, a little more so than usual perhaps, but she'll let it slide. Positive feelings have become too rare to turn them down when they're offered to her. So she shifts a little against Johnny, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"I am glad to see you, too," she says with a warm smile. "Is there something you would like to tell me about?" Because that's what she tends to be to some of the strays, an impartial, patient listener who sees what comfort they require without them having to ask.

[johnny_truant]

He smiles and allows himself to relax a bit more with her arm around him. Her question throws him off a little - does she know something happened, has Gabe already found and talked to her? - but he stays where he is, trying not to seem edgy.

"I mean," he says, not sure how to start. "I guess. It's kind of about Gabe? I don't know if I should - talk about him, because you two are...?" Does that rule of etiquette apply to non-human entities? Better to ask than assume, he supposes. Or to start asking and then trail off awkwardly, as is his m.o.

[theoldgirl]

Well, that's not the sort of thing she was expecting to hear about. Seems she might have to be a little less impartial than is customary, and her look of friendly curiosity is replaced by a furrowed brow. She considers his implication - because they are close, she can infer that much - and tries not to be preemptively apprehensive of whatever it is Gabriel has done.

"Our relationship might allow me insights that could be helpful to you," she offers at length, a little more guarded now. There's a possibility she really doesn't want to know what this is about, but Johnny's distress doesn't seem urgent or immediately painful, so it probably isn't as bad as it potentially could be. As neutrally as possibly, she asks, "What has he done?"

[johnny_truant]

"Nothing," says Johnny quickly, immediately regretting having said anything. He curls in on himself a little, shrinking even beside her very diminutive form. "I mean he didn't do anything. It wasn't anything bad. He just said something I wasn't expecting and I don't really know how to... deal with it."

He looks away, feeling immensely uncomfortable. He doesn't want to say it out loud. He's not sure what she'll even think. And he doesn't know if she could possibly understand it from his perspective.

"He just," he says, gives up, and then starts again hesitantly. "We were really drunk, and he told me that he..." He swallows and presses one hand against his mouth, as if trying to muffle himself as much as possible. "That he loved me," he finally mumbles.

It sounds really fucking stupid when he says it like that.

[theoldgirl]

Despite Johnny's obvious discomfort, she is relieved to hear that it wasn't anything really worrisome. As he tries to find the words to explain, it sounds rather more like a human problem she may not be able to offer much help with, but she can certainly do her best.

And indeed, his quiet confession is... odd, to say the least. It's not something she would likely think to say to any human, but Gabriel has more experience interacting with them on their level and offering them words that would make them happy. All the more curious, then, that Johnny doesn't seem happy at all. "Is that not what you would like to hear?" she asks gently, trying not to let the depths of her confusion show.

[johnny_truant]

Well that's the million dollar question isn't it. He sighs loudly and drops his head into his hands. "I don't knowww," he groans, muffled through his fingers. "I wasn't expecting it, I don't know what... what that means." There's a lot more he could say, but he can't say it to her. Gabe needs to hear it. At some point. At some point he'll be less of a wuss and actually talk about this. Right now he just really wants to pretend it's not happening.

"Is it okay if we don't talk about that?" he says, peeking back up at her. "I'm just like, I don't know what to even say, I need to talk to him first before I..." He shakes his head and sits back up, slouching down against the couch back. "I would rather enjoy this dream, as much as I can." So rare he gets a nice one, and that he gets to spend time with the TARDIS.