applesaucedream | This is My Island in the Sun [Open to All]

The Rift wouldn't say it's sorry for the fit it threw the other day, because the Rift never needs to apologize. It is (mostly) perfect, and all of its decisions are well reasoned and just. Obviously. But perhaps it has fallen into a bit of a post-tantrum sulk, because this dream is milder than one might expect. In fact, it's downright nice.

The dreamers will find themselves in an archipelago of small islands - most only a few acres in size - connected by narrow strips of sand or pebbles. The surrounding waters are calm. Little waves lap against the shorelines, and no rising tide will cut the islands off from one another. The islands themselves seem to have been lifted from every climate zone on Earth and several from beyond. Some are tropical, some colder and home to hardy conifers, some mossy and boulder-strewn, some covered in multicolored sand and odd, coral-like trees.

Most of the islands boast some kind of manmade or otherwise non-native structure, be it as small as a bench or as large as a pavilion, though there are no houses or shops to be seen. It's more like parkland, just civilized enough for a nice picnic. Some of the islands even have little grills, and a sufficiently motivated dreamer might be able to rustle up some hot dog or burger fixings if they poke around a bit.

And they'll have an extra pair of eyes to help with their searching, because their beloved dæmons have returned… again. Or perhaps they're being introduced for the first time. Regardless, it's the bi-annual dæmon dream party!

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"What the-" Nova's murmuring to herself just as Johnny hears someone calling his name from above. He turns sharply and lets out a terrified and fairly embarrassing squawk at the sight of the massive bird descending on them carrying a little girl in its talons. He takes a sharp step back, halfway tripping on a root, landing squarely on his ass at the base of an enormous tree.

"John-ny!" Nova protests, scrabbling about in his arms. "Calm down! It's just Melanie!"

Who the shit is-

"Oh," he says finally. "Oh, the... the girl in the closet. Uhh, hi?"

"It's just a talking bird, honestly," says Nova with a very audible eyeroll. "Don't be such a baby."

"Oh like you're completely put together," he hisses, drawing a huffy little 'hum' from the rabbit.

"It's okay!" Melanie calls down, Johnny's evident terror belatedly reminding her of what a sight they must be. "He'll get smaller in a minute!"

Niko carefully lowers her to the ground, then lands beside her with a clatter of wingbeats. Then, noting Johnny's little rabbit and endeavoring to be something less alarming, he takes the shape of a fluffy white lemur and clambers up onto Melanie's shoulder. "It's all right," he says, peering anxiously from Johnny to his rabbit. "We're safe. I'm Nikolaos."

"How did you get all the way up here?" Melanie asks, eyebrows raised. She'll be impressed if they climbed it. She's pretty sure she could have managed it if she had to, but flying had been much easier - and more fun.

The process of the creature changing shape is almost more alarming than its initial appearance. Johnny and Nova both react with a bit of a jump as it suddenly shrinks down into something small and fluffy and cute. He blinks at it for several silent moments before Nova has the presence of mind to say, "Nice to meet you. I'm Nova."

Johnny finally gets up, looking down at Melanie and Nikolaos for a blank moment before her question registers. "Um," he says. "I woke up here." Not very impressive. "Not really sure how to get down, to be honest."

"Oh." Melanie frowns as Niko offers Nova a long-fingered wave. That's no good, them just being stuck up here. A rabbit wouldn't be able to scale that cliff, and she the odds of a person managing it while holding a rabbit wouldn't be much better. "Maybe we could help," she says, looking thoughtfully at them. "Niko can be whatever shape he wants. There must be something big enough to carry all of us." It helps that Johnny isn't that big, as grown-ups go, and she weighs less than a normal child her size.

"Wow," says Johnny, lifting his eyebrows. "That - that'd be great!"

"Johnny," Nova sighs, nosing at his hand, and it takes him a moment to realize what her deal is.

"Oh, um - well..." He hesitates, not sure how to go about explaining this to a little kid. "It's kinda... weird to touch someone else's animal thing. Like it feels really weird. So I don't know if that's a great idea." He shrugs, feeling almost apologetic for some reason. "Much as I would appreciate it."

"It does?" Melanie repeats, looking puzzled. Orisa had curled around her in the last dream, and neither she nor Aziraphale had said a word about it. Maybe it is an odd thing to do under normal circumstances, but if it's some kind of emergency, it's okay.

She looks at Niko and runs a palm over his fur, then back to Johnny. "Would it be weird if he just touched your clothes?" she asks. If Niko grew big enough for her to sit on his back, then he could just seize Johnny by the back of his shirt and trousers and carry him that way. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it wouldn't last that long.

"Uh..." Johnny pauses to consider, trying to remember. "I don't... actually know," he admits. "It wouldn't be weird for me, it'd be weird for you. Like... they're part of us, so we can kinda feel what they feel. You know?" Does she? He feels amazingly awkward. At least this encounter is going somewhat better than the last one. She seems pretty well put together for however old she is.

This is My Island in the Sun [Open to All]

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niko and nova's infinite playlist

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