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

[singthesong]

"Sometimes." He smiles, a little drawn. His songs aren't always the friendliest sort. But he's too warm and happy right now to worry about that, and the concern easily slips away. He'll just think of something new! It's easy enough; he composes on his feet all the time. Death waits for no man.

Idly, he hums a few notes. That's on her frequency, though far from the point of him picking up any lyrics. It seems rude to sing the song of a new acquaintance when he only generally does that to criminals.

So instead, he starts quietly singing something else entirely, still lightly stroking Bee's hair. It's still a bit of a novel concept, people wanting to hear his music.

[apidae]

Bee keeps her eyes shut, listening attentively to the song. Is it one he wrote or someone else's? He wasn't really clear on that point, but that's okay. It's nice. He has a nice voice. It kind of reminds her of growing up a little bit, when her momma used to sing to her.

She peeks up at him after a moment, smiling, feeling strangely subdued. Can you doze off in a dream, when you're already asleep?

She waits until he's done, and then starts to say, "Where do you-" She breaks off with a yawn. Well you can certainly get sleepy in a dream, at least. "Sorry. Where do you live, when we're awake? I wanna meet you again." Tentatively. It's always a little nerve-wracking, meeting someone in the neutral ground of the dreaming, and then not knowing what to expect from their patterns. She still remembers the almost catastrophic time she met the Doctor after their shared dream had been so pleasant.

[singthesong]

The Balladeer's lips quirk at the yawn, and he pats her head in a friendly manner. Obviously this is a totally normal thing for two people who just met to be doing.

"Just in the ROMAC tower. I've been there four days now." He's still very new; for all he knows, the ROMAC tower and the other ROMAC building are basically all the places he could be living. "Been spending most of the time busking in the park, while the weather's still good." It's been long enough now without getting whisked away that he's starting to think towards the future, or at least as far ahead as winter.

[apidae]

"You're so new!" she exclaims, lifting her head somewhat. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Is this your first big dream? It's a lot nicer than most of them." Thank goodness for that. "I've been here for... coming up on two months now, I think. I guess that's not very long." She settles back down into his lap. Her complete nonchalance about being so affectionate with a relative stranger might seem like a part of the dream, but it is more or less part of her nature. The nicest thing about this dream is everyone else seems to be feeling that too. For once she doesn't have to check herself.

"I'm with the Rebels," she says. "So I guess we technically aren't supposed to be friends. But I've met people from ROMAC before, and they're all really nice. I don't think it matters." The people who work for each faction probably care a lot about the political back and forth, but Bee knows next to nothing about any of it. It's just that she met Daine first - just as she imagines he met someone from the other side. It is a shame, though, that he might not be safe to come to the rooftop of the Rebel apartment building, so she could show off her bees.

She smiles, dipping her head to the side in a moment of consideration. "We could meet in the park," she says almost conspiratorially. "It is pretty big, and I don't really know a lot of it, but I bet I can find you if I look hard enough!" And if she enlists Daine's help. Though she's pretty sure she shouldn't just tell people her friend can tell all the animals of Manhattan to look for them.

[singthesong]

"I suppose it is," the Balladeer muses, unconcerned. It seems perfectly nice to him. "I've only done the dream thing once so far, and there were just two of us."

"Are there rebels?" At this, he shifts to look down at her with a bit of surprise. That's clearly the first he's heard of it. "What are they rebelling against?" The obvious answer, of course, is ROMAC, but the Balladeer mostly knows them as the people who gave him an apartment and a little bit of money. Not exactly an offense worth rebelling against, all things considered. Maybe they've got something else going on alongside all that.

That said, he's inclined to agree that it doesn't matter. Who, showing up here from another dimension, can really be bothered with politics? There's so much to do! "Okay," he decides, since evidently her coming straight to ROMAC headquarters would be a bad plan. "We can meet by the big fountain in the center. Anyone can point you there." There's always a decent crowd too, if the two of them meeting up is really such a furtive activity.

[apidae]

"ROMAC, I guess," she says with a little shrug. "I'm not totally sure why. I think they aren't entirely trustworthy, but to be honest with you I don't think the Rebels are either."

His suggestion is met with a broad grin and a nod. "Bethesda Terrace!" she says. "I know that place. That's where the rift's center is, at least that's what I've heard. I'll try to remember to go there tomorrow morning. Sometimes I have trouble remembering things." Dreams are so odd. Always a little bit of a jumble when she wakes up. She taps a finger against her head, making a face like she's concentrating extra hard.

"Hopefully I'll wake up remembering," she says, smiling up at him.

[singthesong]

"I remember most things," the Balladeer confides, running his fingers carefully through her curls. "Comes with the territory. I'll be there."

Of course, most of what he remembers is history, but he recalls the last shared dream he had well enough; it should hold. "If you forget, we'll just figure something else out. Meet up in a different dream or something." It'll all work out in the end. He thinks most things probably do, if you just let them. Like this ROMAC versus rebels thing? As long as they don't start an all-out war, he's not going to worry about it. They can squabble all they want - in half a century, it won't even matter anymore.

[apidae]

"Okay," she says cheerfully. Or, she thinks, she can always ask Daine to help. "It's a deal, then." She's looking forward to it. She can't wait to hear more of his music - and, a bit more nervously, to see his patterns. She wonders if she should warn him, but... then he might not want to meet her in person, and that would be so sad. She can deal with it when it happens, surely. It'll be all right.

She realizes her fingers have begun to fidget nervously with the blanket, and she steadies them carefully. Time to be still. The music helped so much with that.

"Can you sing some more?" she asks a bit shyly.

[singthesong]

If he notices the little signs of nerves, the Balladeer shows no sign of it. "Great!" he says cheerfully. This should be fun! He's always happy to meet new people, even if they're just someone he randomly encountered in a collective dream.

At the question, he smiles. "Of course."

And lets have some more music, shall we?