Between the Roots and Branches [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Don't worry, dreamers of Manhattan. There will be no humiliating episodes of sudden-onset-clumsiness tonight - at least, nothing more severe than what you might experience naturally. Your physical and mental faculties will be left perfectly intact. What a treat! And what luck, because if you do lose your footing, it's a long way down to the forest floor.

But hey, who wants to be on the boring old ground when there are so many wonderful treehouses to explore? There are dozens of them spread throughout the surrounding forest, connected by a series of bridges and catwalks (some, admittedly, a bit more stable than others). It's easy to forget - or fail to notice - that there really is no easy or conventional way down to the ground when you're surrounded by such splendor.

The houses' styles range from charming and rustic to modern and sleek, with many falling somewhere in between. There are viewing platforms for bird-watching or simply taking in the scenery (trees, mostly, though if you venture high enough, you'll be treated the sight of the forest canopy stretched across a valley far below). But the insides of the treehouses are comfortably furnished to varying degrees as well, so there's no need to immerse yourself in nature if you'd really rather not. Some are complete houses in their own right, with all the amenities of a Manhattan apartment and then some.

Go for a climb, or kick back and relax. The only enemies you'll find here are other dreamers... and, potentially, gravity.

Comments

[etherthief]

"Yeah, it'll do that." Iman smiles, thinking she ought to pull her hands back, but Greta seems to still need the contact. She strokes one of her thumbs over Greta's hand instead.

"I'm okay." She dips her head slightly, sobered by the all-too-quick reminder that everything is, in fact, shit. "I'm pretty good at keeping my head down when I need to. Old tricks and stuff." Finally she manages to let Greta go, and busies herself needlessly fixing her hijab. "No progress yet but I don't give up."

She darts another glance at Greta. "It's nice to see you," she says, a little sheepish.

[andhiswife]

"It has only been a few days," Greta says. It's the most encouraging thing she can think of, since she has no idea what Iman's plans could be. "I'm sure you'll work something out." Soon, hopefully. There's no charm in having to avoid her dearest friend, and she doesn't want this to be the new normal. (Though what's the alternative? She can't imagine Iman returning to work or resuming her visits, as if nothing unpleasant ever happened between her and ROMAC.)

Iman's surprisingly sheepish comment draws Greta out of her dour contemplations. It even prompts a smile - a little sad, but no less fond for that. "I've missed you," she admits, reaching up to make a little adjustment to Iman's hijab, smoothing out a wrinkle borne of her earlier fidgeting. "Of course," she adds, drawing her hand back, "they have been keeping me busy." Enough so that she's a little surprised to have landed this much uninterrupted sleep, now that she's thinking about it. Her smile turns wry. "I have twins."

[etherthief]

Iman twitches very slightly when Greta reaches toward her, and looks down as she smooths out the scarf with mingled fondness and bemusement. That's nothing compared to the surprise at the rest of it, however.

"Say what?" She looks at Greta with open confusion. "Twins as of when?"

[andhiswife]

"They're not mine, really," she's quick to correct. One magically-accelerated pregnancy was quite enough. "ROMAC asked me to help look after then a couple days ago. They're very young, only a few weeks at most. Motherless things, according to the woman who brought them to me."

Greta looks down at her lap, absently smoothing a palm over her skirt. "I'm not sure I believe them," she confesses, keeping her voice low. "But I can't say for certain that they're wrong, either." She makes a face, as if she's tasted something unpleasant but is too polite to be obvious about it. "The Rift is... not above separating mothers from their little ones."

[etherthief]

Iman winces at that. No matter which way you spin it, it's awful. "I'm sorry," she says. "That... can't be easy." Well, she wouldn't know really. But she doesn't imagine it would be.

She frowns, her expression momentarily distant. "I can't think of a way them doing this would be anything to do with me," she says. "I mean, I hope not. It's not outside the realm of possibility that they'd - know about our... association."

She shudders to think. But this would be a particularly weird way of responding, if it's at all connected. She supposes that's comforting.

[andhiswife]

"No," Greta quietly agrees. Caring for twins wouldn't be easy even without the painful reminder of what she's lost. "But they are very sweet," she adds with stubborn optimism. Whatever ROMAC's motivations for asking her to look after them, it's certainly not the children's fault. So long as they're in her care, they'll get the best care she can offer them, untainted by bitterness or regret or the general suspicion she now holds toward her supposed benefactors.

That's a concerning theory, and Greta looks up at Iman with a pensive frown. "Like they're keeping me busy on purpose? So I can't help you?" Well, they must know she and Iman are friends; it was never a secret, and if they knew about everyone's curses, they must be keeping a close eye on everyone. Maybe it's just as well she's always scrambling after her new charges, then. She might have been inclined to check up on Iman, otherwise. She might have been followed. Ugh, what a mess.

[etherthief]

"Well, I don't know exactly," says Iman, brow furrowed. "It might not be so direct as that, but it does seem oddly well-timed, doesn't it?" She shrugs it off, looking back at Greta with a more casual smile. "Anyway. No point getting too paranoid. As long as you're doing all right..." She trails off, needing the reassurance first, keeping an eye out for any telltale signs of deflection. Greta always puts on a brave face, always acts like everything is all right, but Iman is starting to learn when it's an act. It doesn't mean she'd necessarily push harder, but it's something she wants to be aware of either way.

[andhiswife]

Greta hums in acknowledgment. It is odd timing, but then again, it's even odder to think of ROMAC holding two infants in reserve just in case she needs distracting. As if she's such a force to be reckoned with, when she's been in over her head since her arrival.

She does a slight double-take under Iman's scrutiny. "Oh, yes," she answers, perhaps a little too quickly. It's not a lie; she is all right, but if she wasn't, there'd be nothing Iman could do without endangering herself. And after the way she lingered in Greta's apartment, of all places... it's rather alarming to think that she would, if she thought Greta needed her.

Well, alarming and flattering.

"Truly," she says with a small but genuine smile. "The babies are keeping me on my toes, but I'm fine."

[etherthief]

"Good," says Iman with a pleased smile and nod. "I'm glad."

Oddly timed but not overtly threatening. And Greta's happy. That's the best case scenario.

Iman stretches out a bit, looking around the little enclosure. "This is kind of a neat setting," she says. "I mean, once you get over the high drop. There's a bunch of different houses all over the place."

She doesn't want to make Greta leave the relative safety of this space, but she hasn't forgotten about searching for Rush either - there's still a chance she can find him here and she has to try.

"Would you... be okay to explore a little?" she asks cautiously.

[andhiswife]

"Erm..." Greta starts before lapsing into a silent contemplation of the door - and the slice of forest she can see through it. Iman never did shut it all the way.

Could she explore a little? She'd be perfectly happy to just stay in here. It's comfortable, quiet, and restful - and she could use some rest. One the other hand, she neither wants to make Iman just sit here when there are interesting things to explore, nor part company with her friend so soon. Unless she gets lucky in another dream, there's no telling when she'll next be able to spend time with Iman without looking over her shoulder.

Surely she'll be all right if she isn't alone. And if she doesn't look down.

"I think I could manage," she says. Her tone isn't exactly suffering from an overabundance of confidence, but she supposes if she can't handle being back on the platform, they'll both find out before they get a chance to make it too far.

[etherthief]

"We'll get you somewhere comfortable if it doesn't work out," says Iman encouragingly. She stands and reaches out to help Greta up. "There's just someone I'm hoping to find here."

And some others she'd rather not find, come to think of it. Well, that will be dealt with as it happens.

[andhiswife]

"Oh." So there's a sort of quest, then. That makes things more interesting than just wandering about for the sake of it would be, and Greta suspects she might do better if she has something specific to look out for. It'll keep her eyes from being drawn downward. "Who are we looking for?" she asks as she takes Iman's hand and gets to her feet.

[etherthief]

Iman grimaces at the entirely obvious question. She doesn't want to tell Greta any more than she's already told, but this will also go much faster if they're both looking. And she has no desire to keep Greta in the dark.

"Rush," she says. She doesn't have to say why. "You remember him, I trust."

[andhiswife]

"Of course." There's a faint trace of wry amusement in her tone, both because there was little chance of forgetting the man and because, less charitably, she doesn't expect him to be such pleasant company as to be worth seeking out.

Then again, doesn't Rush work for ROMAC as well? Maybe this is the safest way Iman could get in touch with him. Greta rather doubts they can be tracked by ROMAC here, and even if Rush were to side with his employers against Iman, it's not as if he can capture her.

Seeing the sense of it, if not the true purpose, Greta nods. "Well, he can't be that hard to find. Last time we were both in a dream-Wood, he crashed right into me." Here's hoping that doesn't happen again. She suspects it would be even less enjoyable the second time around.

[etherthief]

"Let's hope," Iman says softly. She's not sure what state he'll be in, if anything happening to him in reality would transfer to his physical or mental state here, and if it has, how well they'll be able to keep the situation from Greta. And of course there is the very real possibility that they wouldn't let him enter a REM state. With as much data as they've clearly gathered on the Rift it's entirely possible they'd be able to predict these communal dreams and keep him out on purpose.

Still, she has to try.

She keeps a hold of Greta's hand as she leads them out of the pod and onto the next bridge, leading to a broad viewing platform. "You okay?" she asks, glancing back.

[andhiswife]

Right. She has a task, now - go out, help Iman, find Rush - and that means no more freezing up like a startled rabbit whenever she's reminded that heights exist. Honestly, there's no excuse. It's not as if they bother her when she looks out the window to her apartment. And this isn't her Wood - there are no giants here.

Still, the steady pressure of Iman's hand around hers is a greater comfort than she's willing to admit. Maybe she never would have fallen if she hadn't been alone, if someone had been there to not let her.

When they leave the odd little hut, she makes a point of looking out and up - there are other bridges visible through the trees, other platforms, and she even spies a few people, but none of them are Rush. This isn't so bad; she has no problem trailing after Iman across the wide porch as she scans the surrounding area.

Once they reach the bridge, though, she has to look down - it's too narrow for her to not look where she's putting her feet. Her grip on Iman's hand tightens a little as she keeps her gaze stubbornly fixed on the bridge and not on the drop to either side of it. After a moment, she nods. "Yes. I think so."