It's Saturday night and you're hallucinating in your sleep!

[applesaucemod]

It's that time again! The rift has caught the good little dreamers of New York (and beyond) in its currents and washed them ashore on a desert island in a dream wonderland. This time, however, quite a noticeable change has come over each of the attendees of this nocturnal party.

All the people who arrive in this shared mindspace will find that they have been transformed into some sort of animal they find familiar or that resembles them. They will find that they can still communicate with one another and that they still have all their mental faculties, but might be a little…well…influenced by the forms they have taken on.

They will also find that they have been deposited in the middle of the largest, most elaborate playground they have ever seen. Climbing equipment and slides of the sort meant for human children are in evidence, but so are cat trees, meadows, tunnels, pools and ponds, aerial obstacle courses, and anything else the mind can imagine, for as far as the eye can see.



[OOC: The usual dream party rules apply: players apply the party's theme (in this case, transformation) to their characters according to their own discretion, and both members and non-members are more than welcome to use this post to try out characters not yet in the game. Usual dreaming rules also apply, in that players can choose whether or not their characters will remember this in the morning. Have at!]

Comments

[fucking_ebay]

Truth be told, the majority of humans don't see beyond that top layer either, which is exactly why his system of self-isolation works so perfectly.

Daine picked a good practice area. It's easy to hook his little claws into the carpeting, and running into it hurt less than a real tree would have. He waits, expecting her to come pick him up.

"Catch me," he demands, and flips off the cat tree to do exactly what she's suggested.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine's not sure what's more surprising: the readiness with which he follows her suggestion, or his request that she catch him. She doubts that there's really a safe way for her to just nab him right out of the air, so she puts her flattened hands together in an impromptu platform and does her best to put herself in his flightpath. Given how erratic said flightpath is, it's not an easy task - but even if he misses her hands and ends up on her arms or shirt, it shouldn't be that hard a landing for him.

[fucking_ebay]

Peter does his best to 'look' with his ears and to actually aim for Daine's hands, but it seems like even the slightest current of air throws him off course. It's distracting trying to do everything at once, too, so it should come as no surprise to either of them that he misses. It's a near miss, though, as he lands partway up her forearm in a jumble of claws and leathery wings.

[wildmage_daine]

"Well done," Daine says, impressed. It was a nearer miss than she would have predicted. She's careful not to move the arm he's perched on, but she makes sure her free hand is ready to catch him if he loses his grip while he unjumbles himself. "You're getting pretty good at this for someone who's never been a bat before."

[fucking_ebay]

"I've got all sorts of natural talents," agrees Peter cheerfully. "I might show you a few more of them sometime."

Unjumbling takes a good bit of effort, as he's managed to half-somersault and then get stuck like that. Peter kicks and rolls and struggles to get on his front...and slides right off Daine's arm.

[wildmage_daine]

"Such as?" Daine prompts, hovering between curiosity and suspicion. But then she's distracted by the topple he takes off of her arm. Fortunately, she'd already prepared for it, so he lands on her palm instead of tumbling all the way to the ground. "Whoops - all right, there?" Now that her arm is free, she cups her hands together so he won't immediately roll off into the empty air.

[fucking_ebay]

"Takes more than that," he replies. flailing a bit as he tries to sort himself out and get on his front again. He turns to grin up at her, but then suddenly has A Thought.

"...Just how old are you?"

[wildmage_daine]

"Sixteen," she replies, baffled by the apparent non-sequitur. "What's that got to do with anything?"

[fucking_ebay]

"Magic tricks," says Peter firmly. "I would show you magic tricks. I've got tons of natural talent at that."

[wildmage_daine]

... Uh huh. Was that really where he'd been planning on steering the conversation? Not that it matters; she's very interested in where it's wound up. "Proper magic, or sleight-of-hand?"

[fucking_ebay]

Yeahno.

"Illusions," he clarifies. "Grade A bullshit -- really good bullshit, none better."

[wildmage_daine]

"Huh." Numair had been good at sleight-of-hand, in addition to being a powerful mage. "I wouldn't mind seeing that."

[fucking_ebay]

Somehow, he'd had the nagging feeling she would mind seeing that. It's like how Daine seems oddly familiar, like they've met before once upon a dream. "Keeps me in midori," he quips. "Or cheap knockoffs, anyway."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine considers asking what 'midori' is, then decides against it. "Where do you perform?" she asks instead. If he's a rifty, she's guessing he's not packing any of the theaters. "The park?"

[fucking_ebay]

"Usually," he nods. "When I feel like it." When he's out of cash, more like. There's already a good chance of him being out only five days after allowance was given out.

[wildmage_daine]

"I'll keep an eye out," she says. She'll ask the People to keep an eye out, more likely, but there's no need to make Peter feel uneasy about the animals in the park.

Back to business. She takes a few more steps back and then nods toward the cat tree. "Want to try that again?"

[fucking_ebay]

He chuckles. "I'm usually a bit better-looking. You won't know it's me." So there, Daine, you're not supposed to know how he looks...or who he looks like.

Turning to gauge the distance, he gives a little nod. "Bring cash when you come watch!" he orders her shamelessly before launching himself off her hand.

[wildmage_daine]

"I'm guessing there aren't that many magic shows in the park," she points out. "And I'll know your voice, at least."

She snorts at the order, but doesn't argue. Instead, she watches him fly, trying to gauge if he's improving. He does seem a bit steadier in the air this time.

[fucking_ebay]

He wouldn't chase her away or anything...probably. He might be a little cautious about her (or any of the other people involved with the rebels) watching if Lucy's about doing her pickpocketing, though.

While he still can't seem to manage a straight line, Peter's flight at least looks a bit more deliberate now. He even hits the platform he was aiming for, though 'hits' is unfortunately the appropriate word.

[wildmage_daine]

That's good. The People might not take kindly to him trying to chase Daine anywhere.

She winces at the hard landing and takes a step toward the cat tree. "Are you okay?"

[fucking_ebay]

He does tend to harass people who watch without paying, but he might make an exception.

Peter hisses and would wince if he could. "Fuck, ow. Ow. Did something to my hand." By which he means he jammed a finger.

[wildmage_daine]

Who said she wouldn't pay? Granted, she might not pay much... her allowance is no larger than his, after all. But she wouldn't take in the show and then give him nothing; that's just rude.

Her brow furrows, and she trots up to the cat tree so she can peer down at him. "Which one, and how much does it hurt?" Nothing looks obviously broken, but that doesn't mean he hasn't hurt himself badly enough to make flying difficult.

[fucking_ebay]

Peter stretches out a wing to show her his horribly mangled hand slightly inflamed finger. "Feels like it got shut in a door," he informs her. A while ago he might have been pleased at the excuse to stop practicing, but now he's disappointed it might stop him from flying.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine tuts in sympathy. It might not be too severe an injury, but it wouldn't take much to make flying difficult, especially since he's just a beginner. "I could take a look at it, if you don't mind," she offers, conveniently forgetting that she got a bit giddy last time she looked at him too closely. "With my magic, I mean. I wouldn't be in your head or anything; I'd just be looking at your wing."

[fucking_ebay]

He hesitates still, stuck between choosing to trust her and choosing to possibly give up flying. After a moment he nods. "Just the wing," he reminds her.