applesaucedream | The Fortress of Many Turnings [open]

Current Music: March 22, 2013

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The Fortress of Many Turnings [open]

Welcome to Caerdroia. Though at first glance this world seems calm, even idyllic, closer inspection will reveal a startling lack of linearity. A doorway in one place can suddenly lead to another entirely, the locals going about their business seem totally unaware of your presence, and you may find reminders of home that are less than welcome -- and less than safe.

The countryside seems almost designed to set one at one's ease. Gentle, rolling hills overlook a town in the near distance, and herds of friendly cows cluster here and there (~~with unknown intent~~).

The Garden of Curiosities is a walled-off park. Inside, streams and paths wind through beautiful landscaping, and animals can be found on the loose everywhere. For the most part, these creatures are friendly (or at least indifferent) toward visitors, though their appearance might perturb. One might see an animal one has never encountered before, or one might find the garden inhabited by creatures from one's own world that are somehow changed, whether in size, color, or behavior. And, of course, one might find something rather more predatory has taken up residence….

The town hall never seems to be in the same place twice. Finding your way through the streets to any one particular building is an exercise in frustration, as the town seems to shift and change whenever part of it is out of your sight. The hall itself isn't much better once you get inside; stairwells have a habit of appearing on the ceiling, hallways turn into dead ends while your back is turned, and floors are liable to open up into fathomless pits.

The Labyrinth is where many journeys seem destined to end. The way out is, more often than not, the way in. Try to leave one part of Caerdroia, and the doorway might very well open into the labyrinth. And, like any good labyrinth, this one is home to a Minotaur. And, like any good Minotaur, this one would be more than happy to tear you to pieces.

[OOC: Once again, the shared dream is open to all characters, including those not currently in the game and those belonging to players who are not currently members. Once again, too, players are free to choose whether their characters see the dream for what it is, whether they are forced to abide by its rules, and whether they will remember this in the morning.]

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She's still not quite sure what's so bad about this place. It seemed pleasant enough to her even before she realized none of it was real. But then again, she didn't have to go through whatever happened to Andrew last time he was here.

"Then we're all right," she says, giving him an encouraging smile. "It can't be that bad if it's just a dream."

"Unless the Kro'ka came here along with the cows," says Andrew, but he's starting to relax a little. Why the rift has chosen his -- or, at least, the Doctor's -- memories to fuel this dream he doesn't know, but it seems very unlikely that any of this is real, or even as real as it ever was.

He shifts his hand to give Sunspot scritches as he looks on the landscape again with a somewhat less troubled air. "I was here with a couple friends last time," he notes. "It was a long time ago, though. I don't think I remember a lot of it."

Daine hums in acknowledgement as she gives one of the cows a rub under the chin - and then tries not to stagger when the cow leans her giant head against Daine's chest. She's not sure if it would be wise to ask about the Kro'ka. If this is Andrew's dream, talking about them might be enough to make them show up, and she'd rather pet cows than deal with whatever the Kro'ka turned out to be.

"Do you remember where you went?" she asks instead, guessing that they'd best steer clear of his memories.

Andrew flaps a hand at the town spread out below them. "Down there. It's all the same, really, even when it looks like it isn't. You, ah, should avoid the town hall. And the labyrinth; if any doors open on a dark corridor, don't go in." Not that she'd be able to help it if the same rules applied as in the 'real' Caerdroia, though.

"I'm going to stay out here with the cows," he decides. He'll quickly change his mind, no doubt, if someone needs his help or if something interesting promises to come along elsewhere.

"I won't go to the town hall," she says, wrinkling her nose. She's not sure she wants to stay with the cows, though, as she thinks she can feel quite a few of the People not too far off.

"Is there menagerie or something? There are more animals here besides the cows."

"Something," he agrees. "The, ah...something or other. Forget the name. No cages, just...animals, everywhere."

Was there something to watch out for there as well? Andrew can't remember seeing anything dangerous in the garden....

"No cages?" That's a mark in its favor, but she still wants to check the place out for herself. "I think I'll have to pay it a visit, then." Raising her eyebrows, she gives him a playful grin. "Sure you don't want to come along?" She's used to other two-leggers being squeamish about wild animals, so she wouldn't hold it against him if he wanted to stick with the cows.

"There's a sort of wall around the outside," says Andrew, not wanting her to get her hopes up too high. "I remember wondering how everything in there could live together and not get hurt..."

But why had he thought that? All he remembered, really, was something about a rabbit.

A giant wall is less desirable than having the animals not be captive at all - but it's still a step above cages. "I'll ask them," she assures him.

She'll have quite a lot to ask them, in fact. Even though this is just a dream, she wants to make sure they're happy. And if they're not, breaking them out of whatever pen they're in sounds like a good use of her time.

If it's a dream, though, they're either not real or they're only dreaming that they're here. Andrew's still puzzled by the fact that the cows are apparently real cows, not having thought the ones in the 'real' Caerdroia were, or taht dream cows were likely to be.

"I think there was something dangerous there," he says unhelpfully. "But there was something dangerous everywhere here."

Well, they were real to Daine when she expected them to be so; her mind is familiar enough with how People ought to feel to replicate it - at least when she's paying attention. When her focus drifts, though, the cows tend to fall silent in her mind, their behavior defaulting to whatever the rift would have them doing, anyway.

"Well, it's a dream, right?" So how dangerous can it be? "We can always run - or fight, if need be." She doesn't think she'll need to fight, though; despite Andrew's misgivings, she has yet to encounter anything troubling or scary, and is eager to explore if it means meeting some new animals (even dream ones). Stretching up onto her tiptoes, she gives Andrew a reassuring pat on the head. "Come on, I'll protect you."

Quick, someone show her A Nightmare on Elm Street. Or actually, no. No, don't anyone do that.

"I'm not scared," protests Andrew, though really, why else would he want to hang out with a bunch of cows? "I'll have you know I've faced down more monsters than you've had hot dinners. It's just...nice out here. There are cows. Don't you like cows? You'll hurt Sunspot's feelings."

Really, though, it won't take much to convince him to come along. Moving to go would probably do it.

Yeah, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Better to stick with talking animals and Disney films.

"I like cows well enough," she allows with a shrug, "but if I spent all my time with them, I'd hurt the feelings of all the animals I'm not visiting in the menagerie." Biting back a smile, she adds, "And if you're going to insist on staying out here, then you can keep Sunspot entertained in my absence." Here, have another apple from Daine's magic pockets.

And with that, she turns on the balls of her feet and starts down the hill, reasonably certain that he'll end up joining her.

Has she dealt with young children before? She seems to have got the tactics down. Andrew huffs at her retreating back in indignation.

"She doesn't know what she's getting herself into," he tells Sunspot, giving her the apple despite the several other interested cows around them. With a put-upon sigh, he gives the cow a pat and starts off after Daine. "She'll need looking after," he tells himself.

It's amazing, the things you pick up when you suddenly find yourself entertaining three young children at Pirate's Swoop.

Daine pauses at the bottom of the hill under the pretense of taking in the village, though she has an ear out for Andrew's approach. When he catches up to her, she turns to grin up at him. "Change your mind?"

"Now you're stuck looking after me," he informs her, returning her grin. "Big mistake." ~~Not that James seems to mind the task.~~

Glancing up and squinting against the sunshine, he lifts a hand to point. "It was off that way, I think. Can you hear it?"

Canting her head, she says, "I think I can manage. Just don't go wandering off."

She turns in the direction he's pointing, shuts her eyes, and listens, more with her mind than with her ears. She can hear them, but...

"That's strange," she mutters, brow furrowed. Exactly how far off they are is hard to pin down, and the more she tries to focus on the distance, the more she feels as if she's being caught up in some sort of current, like a whirlpool, pushing her forward and then tugging her back. When she realizes she's starting to sway a little on her feet, she breaks off the connection with a huff of annoyance and rubs her forehead.

"It's the right direction, but I can't tell how far it is," she admits.

Clearly Daine has never had companions to look after. And clearly she doesn't know Andrew if she thinks that he, of all people, is capable of bucking the Wandering Off trend.

"Probably because it's not a real distance," he informs her. "We're right on top of it, but it's probably a long way off as well. Come on, we'll just have to walk until it resolves itself."

That might be why she specifically asked him not to wander off instead of taking it for granted that he wouldn't.

Daine furrows her brow at his explanation, but it makes about as much sense as the feeling she just experienced, so she's willing to take his word for it. Besides, she doubts asking for an explanation would actually result in anything she could understand, anyway. "This place is weird," she says instead.

Andrew grins, back in his element as the one who has a somewhat better grasp on what's going on. "Yes," he agrees cheerfully, holding out his hand and wiggling his fingers in invitation.

Oh, Andrew and his hand-holding. At least it'll make it harder for them to lose each other - and if this dream is going to play havoc distances, it might be a good idea to make losing one another as difficult as possible. Returning his grin, she takes his hand and starts off.

"I hope it doesn't take too long." Because animals.

"Ooh, don't hope. Watched kettle, and all that." Do they have that saying in Daine's world? They should, if they don't already. "They're probably not going to be earth animals," he adds as an afterthought, unsure if that makes a difference.

"Really?" She glances up at him, grin widening. True, there are still plenty of earth animals she's yet to meet, but she can hardly say no to the chance to meet animals from different planets. "I wonder if I'll still be able to talk to them," she muses, more to herself than Andrew. Does wild magic exist on other worlds?

"What, did you think Earth was the only place that got cool fauna?" Andrew chuckles and bumps Daine's shoulder with his own, except for how he ends up bumping her shoulder with his arm because she is too short. "I'm curious to find that out, myself."

Hey, she's been to the TARDIS's zoo, remember? And she sort of got a glimpse of Gallifrey that one time. She knows what's what.

"Of course not," she says with as much dignity as she can muster. Because yes, a few months ago, she wouldn't have given any thought to animals on other planets. Her own realm's native creatures - and the newly arrived immortals - had been more than enough to keep her occupied.

"Some of the immortals are a bit tricky to talk to," she admits, not quite sure if that means she'll have an easier time with alien creatures, or a harder time. "Like the griffins. Numair had to shield me before I could sort out what they were saying."

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