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

[applesaucemod]

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!

Comments

[johnny_truant]

"They're ignoring us," says Nova flatly.

"Good for them," mutters Johnny. "Let it happen, this will all end better for all of us."

"We should find out what he knows," she argues. "No one's around. Dream's neutral space. Not like he can go anywhere."

"What the hell are you suggesting, exactly?" Johnny looks down at her dubiously, but she's already squirming out of his grip. "I'm not gonna fuckin interrogate him, I - Nova, don't-!"

She leaps down to the sand and starts bounding over to the Balladeer and his bird. Johnny utters a stream of curses under his breath and hurries after her, wanting to avoid that feeling of separation however he can - she knows that, and she's using it against him, the little jerk. Whenever he's sensible, she's not, and vice versa. Why can't they just align?

"Hey!" she snaps up at man and parrot. "Hey, hold up. Chill your shit out, we don't bite."

Johnny groans softly as he draws to a halt, bending down to pick Nova up. She evades him with a sharp look, and he stares at her in mounting confusion. Now who's being weird?

[singthesong]

The pair of them watch in alarm as the rabbit suddenly leaps from Johnny's arms and starts running in their direction, completely at odds with the unspoken agreement the Balladeer had thought they had. "That's how," the parrot mutters dryly in his ear. "It's an attack rabbit."

Still, they're bound and determined to hold their course, so they don't try to retreat from her. The Balladeer just stops short as she confronts them, staring down at her with an arched eyebrow. It seems strange for him to address her, rather than Johnny, so it's the bird who jumps in to answer.

"What do you want?" Her feathers are flat now, and she peers down her beak in a show of disdain. But as Johnny gets close, her claws dig tighter into his shoulder, and he knows that she can hear it too. It's always muffled in the world of dreams, like he's hearing through a layer of cotton, so it's easier to tune out. Still, it's there and he knows it's there and some part of him suspects that it might know he's here too. Those sounds have kept him awake at night more than once.

It's gotten better now, it really has. Greta was right to tell him not to think on it too closely. But how can he do that if the damn man won't leave him alone?

[johnny_truant]

"We wanna know," says Nova firmly as she darts away from Johnny's grasping hand again, "what you know about us. It's dangerous for you to know, you gotta have that figured out by now, right? We want to help you."

"Would you shut up?!" Johnny snaps in exasperation, finally seizing a hold of her and pulling her up off the ground. "God."

He takes a step back and finally looks at the Balladeer, belatedly embarrassed at having been caught essentially arguing with himself.

"Sorry," he grunts, and starts backing away. "You're probably right to avoid me, just - just keep this shit to yourself, like I told you, okay? And don't look too hard."

"And what if it's too late for that?" Nova's already wriggling again to get back out of his arms. To the Balladeer and his parrot she demands, "Have you been having dreams about it? About the house?"

"Fucking stop," hisses Johnny, and he crouches down, curling over her like if he hides her from view she'll go silent, cease to exist for everyone else. His voice is shaking. "Just stop it. Please."

[singthesong]

The Balladeer takes a measured step back as the two argue, Johnny trying unsuccessfully to catch his rabbit. On his shoulder, the bird - Beth - bristles. "Right..." he replies doubtfully, giving them a wide berth as he tries to go on his way. It's a little annoying to do exactly what he wants, but he's just being contrary now.

He looks perfectly calm, if skeptical. But Nova's question makes Beth flap her wings in agitation. "What do you care? You're only making it worse!" The Balladeer looks at her with wide eyes, but she continues, feathers ruffled. "Why are you so loud?"

"That's enough." The Balladeer's tone is tense, but he still favors Johnny with a quick polite smile before turning on his heel to go. Better just get away from here now - it's not as if either of them wants to talk, regardless of what their animals seem to think.

[johnny_truant]

"What does that mean?" counters Nova in frustration. "What do you mean loud?"

"I care because I don't want to see anyone get hurt because of me," snaps Johnny sharply, startling Nova out of her tirade. She looks up at him, but he avoids her gaze. They've been too much at odds this time, it's uncomfortable. He doesn't take any steps to follow the Balladeer even as he continues, shaking a little: "I don't want to be like this. I don't want anyone else to have to know about it. I almost lost a friend because of it and I - I don't want to hurt anyone."

He sounds so fucking desperate. Pathetic. He should just follow the Balladeer's example and run in the opposite direction. But he can't. Nova pulled him over there because she felt it, the itch to make this clear, because as much as this guy just pisses him off, rubs him the wrong way, he can't stand the idea that he thinks he's purposefully like this, or whatever he thinks. He can only guess.

"Just tell me how you knew," he says softly.

[singthesong]

Despite himself, the Balladeer does stop to listen, and after a moment turns to face Johnny again. He's only put a few more feet of distance between them, not at all a safe amount, but he's still not quite used to just walking away from things like this. The discomfort is obvious in both of them; the Balladeer's shoulders are tight, and the bird hunkers down and glares at Johnny and the rabbit as she whispers into her human's ear. He's not sure why exactly he wants her advice, but he angles his head anyway to listen.

The part about the dreams is niggling at him. How did he know about that?

"...I heard it," he says finally, warily. He can believe that Johnny perhaps didn't mean for any of this to happen, but that doesn't change the end result. "I can hear it now. I hear people's lives, that's what I do." It would be a complete lie by this point to claim that he hadn't intentionally dug into Johnny's song; he'd done that nearly from the beginning. But it isn't something he can just stop doing.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny lifts his head slightly, startled by this explanation, though it does actually help a fucking lot. That means it wasn't his fault, that means he didn't know coming in, he only knew because Johnny walked by him.

So this is his fault. Again.

"I'm sorry," he says finally, his shoulders sagging a little. He takes a faltering step back. He wants to just leave, leave him alone forever, hope that it just wears off or he forgets or something. Something keeps him pinned for the moment, something he has to make expressly clear.

"I would never hurt Greta," he says, omitting the perhaps implicit not on purpose. "You know that, right? I don't want anyone to know about it. I can't control what happens in my head."

If only he fucking could.

[singthesong]

The Balladeer shifts, crossing his arms uneasily at the apology. This was easier to handle when he could paint Johnny as the villain of the piece. He understands that, he can work with that. "You didn't mean to," he says, not quite an acceptance, but far less hostile than he's been. He thinks he didn't mean it. He's reasonably sure. It's hard to hear even the most basic tones of Johnny underneath all the rest of it.

What did the rabbit call it? The house? Beth clacks her beak warningly in his ear, and he dismisses the thought.

"I haven't told her." At the least he accepts that, Johnny not wanting to hurt Greta. Even if this were some elaborate trick, he'd have no reason to harm her. "I didn't tell anyone." That had been his original plan. Most of his plans involve telling everyone everything. But it hadn't taken him long to revise that, once the dreams started.

[johnny_truant]

"Well," says Johnny, "good."

Now what? They're just staring at each other in mutual discomfort, Johnny's said all he can probably get away with saying for this encounter. He starts to inch back slowly.

"If it starts to get real bad," he says, "there's... I know people who might be able to help you."

Not gonna offer that up freely, not unless it's an actual emergency.

"I'm sorry," he says again, feeling increasingly pathetic. He should just turn. Turn and go. Can't quite do it, not just yet.

[singthesong]

This is the Balladeer's first real experience with mutual discomfort. So far, he isn't a fan.

"Okay," he says, nodding slowly. He hopes it doesn't come to that - it's going to take a lot more than these nightmares to get him to bring this to someone else for help. Who does Johnny even know that can help with this? Why aren't they helping him? "Okay, it's - okay."

It is and it isn't. He's having trouble continuing to blame Johnny in the face of all this. "I am fine," he insists, taking a hesitant step backwards. "It's been getting better." And he's sure this contact won't make things any worse.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny returns that with a nod. It's either a lie or denial. This doesn't go away so easy. It doesn't get better.

At least this guy has a chance. It's in Johnny's blood now. He can't escape it no matter how hard he tries.

He decides to cut the man loose and turns tail and walks away quickly, holding Nova close. She's mercifully silent, satisfied by the way that went, or as much as she can be. They're both a little conflicted, both feeling uneasy, like there's something bubbling right beneath the surface, and the Balladeer felt it just as much as they do.

It's nothing unusual, surely. Just the way he's always been. Just a temporary feeling.

Surely.

[singthesong]

The Balladeer quickly turns to go as well, once released.

"You didn't have to talk to him that long," Beth grumbles in his ear. Her grip is still tight, only barely loosening as the sound of Johnny (the sound of the house) dies behind them. "He isn't one of ours. We're not responsible for him, we don't need to listen."

"No. I guess not. But I think he needed it." He shifts uneasily, crossing and uncrossing his arms and vaguely wishing for the familiar weight of his guitar. That story shouldn't be told - or if it must, it's certainly not for him. Give him his common killers any day. Ordinarily he wouldn't admit to being bothered by such a short simple conversation, but it's only Beth, so he confesses: "I think I might have a rough few nights."

The parrot chirps disconsolately, pressing her little feathered head into his cheek. "Just don't think about it. That's been working okay." It had better continue working, anyway. Where he's sleeping now, people might notice.