applesaucedream | Falling [Open to Multiple]

The last time Daine so thoroughly exhausted herself was during the siege at Pirate's Swoop, so it's no great surprise that in her dream, that's where she wakes. She sits up on the cot they've set up for her in the stables, where the ponies could keep an eye on her. Her head swims, and she grips the edge of the cot until the sensation passes.

A familiar gray nose enters her field of vision, and Daine smiles as Cloud, her pony, sniffs her over. "I'm fine," she reassures the mare, reaching up to give her neck a pat.

You're no such thing, Cloud replies tartly. You've drained yourself again. I won't always be there to lend you strength when you need it.

"Good thing you're here now, then." Daine steadies herself against the pony as she rises to her feet, ignoring Cloud's irritated snort. "Where's Numair?"

It's trouble enough to keep an eye on you, let alone the stork-man.

Daine sighs. "Fine. I'll find him myself."

She makes it to the stable doors before the scene begins to disintegrate around her. Daine whirls about to look for Cloud, but the stable is gone, replaced by nothingness. Within moments, nothing remains but the planks below her feet - and then they, too, crumble away. Daine drops into the Dreaming with a cry of dismay, not knowing where she'll land.

[OOC: Daine's taking a two-day nap after the events in this thread, giving her enough time to drop into the minds of a good number of people. Go nuts!]

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"You what?" Daine stands, glaring at him. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" And he'd brought Almondine - as if a fourteen-year-old dog would have stood a chance against what amounted to a rabid bear. What was he thinking?!

Edgar feels his own anger rise at Daine's response.

/You were in danger!/ he signs, his hands flying in his irritation. /And it was my fault! Of course I was going to go help! Almondine could hear you, she could smell you - it was because of her the main search party knew where to go!/

He drags a hand through his hair and plops down on a nearby stump.

"I was handling it!" she snarls back. She might not have had a long-term plan, but at least she was keeping him distracted while staying out of harm's way. "And much good your search party did us," she adds, voice shaking. "Romac found us, first."

But maybe that's just as well, if Edgar and Almondine would have been leading the rebel group. She doesn't want to think about what would have happened if they'd appeared before Gabriel knocked Yuri out - or before Gabriel showed up at all.

Edgar's own irritation fades and he rises to place a hand on Daine's shoulder.

What happened? he asks. He's sure she won't tell him, but a little afraid she will.

Some of the fight drains out of her when his hand touches her shoulder. "We escaped," she says flatly. Honestly, there's not much more to tell than that. "It was... draining. That's why I've been asleep so long."

Edgar ponders her words for a moment, what is said and what isn't. He's still not entirely convinced that what she was doing was smart - or safe - but he understands now why she didn't tell him. And why she was so angry.

I'm sorry, he says finally. I didn't realize you were keeping someone else's secret.

She sighs again, more wearily this time - then reaches up to cover his hand with hers. "It's all right," she says - lies, more like, but she can't get into just what isn't all right about it without delving into Yuri's business. "We got out safely, anyway. Could've been worse."

Edgar wants to ask more, but decides against it. If Daine wouldn't tell him before, she certainly won't tell him now, dream or no.

Instead, he glances around. So we're dreaming. What should we do now?/ he asks, a hint of mischief under the curiosity in his voice.

"I think it's mostly up to you," she says, shrugging. "Pretty sure this is your dream, not mine." Belatedly realizing that Edgar might be new to the whole Dreaming thing, she adds, "The rift does this, sometimes - puts folk together in dreams. Sometimes it's just you and someone else, and sometimes it dumps you in with a whole mess of people."

Of course it does. Edgar thinks, somewhat bitterly. The rift can apparently do anything - but send them home.

Home is his first thought when he thinks about where to go, but he quickly turns away from the idea. It wouldn't be home, not really, and he'd rather not cling to a pale shadow of the real thing.

Instead, he thinks about New York. If this is a dream - his dream - they could go anywhere.

The next thing Edgar knows, he's staring out at the sea from the top of the Statue of Liberty.

She hears his bitterness and sympathizes, but there's nothing she can really do about it. The rift could certainly do worse, so getting too huffy about the Dreaming feels like tempting fate.

The change of scenery is a welcome distraction, and she blinks in surprise at the new view. "Oh! Where--" she starts to ask before she realizes exactly where they are. She's never been to the Statue of Liberty due to never having been off the island, but she's seen it before - there are pictures of it everywhere. A breeze off the sea ruffles her hair, and she grins. "Good choice."

/I've always wanted to come here,/ Edgar signs, somewhat amused by the way "his" voice reverberates in the empty space. He gives Daine a wry grin. /Might as well take advantage, right?/

Daine's been more focused on leaving this realm than exploring it, but she's beginning to wonder if getting to know the island better would be worth her time, after all. No one seems any closer to understanding the rift now than they were when she arrived a month ago, and there's been no sign of her friends from home. Gods only know how long she could be stuck here.

"I'd say we should visit for real, but I've been told it's hard to leave the island - that the rift'll stop you if you try." She'd considered trying anyway, but the way the rift reacted when she accidentally peered at it via the Doctor's kitten has given her pause. Getting walloped right out of a bird shape in mid-air could very well kill her.

Falling [Open to Multiple]

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