Dreamwalking [open to multiple]

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Topher is dreamwalking. It's a trick he picked up when he came through the rift in San Francisco, and he's gotten quite good at it since then. He's not quite able to pick a specific dreamer's mind yet, but he's learnt how to visit only those who've been significantly affected by the rift, either by coming through it, or being changed by it.

He jumps from one mind to another, looking for rifties he hasn't met, at least not in dreams. These days he barely sleeps at all without jumping from mind to mind, perhaps because he's lonely. Christmas hadn't exactly helped.

Some people will barely notice he's there, but there are those who do, who recognise him as an outside element rather than a figment of their own mind. Having a certain amount of control over his avatar while in dreams, he chooses to appear as a hooded ranger, straight out of a fantasy novel. Mostly because he thinks it looks badass, and stops him from being recognised easily.

[OOC: Anyone feel free to make a thread with their character asleep and dreaming, and suddenly having Topher appear in their head. Whether they'll be lucid or not, or what they're dreaming about, is up to you.]

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[wildmage_daine]

Fog rolls in, bringing with it the smells of burnt wood, blood, and roasted meat. Daine's pace slows to a creep as shapes begin to appear through the fog, indistinct at first, but slowly revealing themselves as she approaches.

The farm is a ruin. Fire has taken the roof and upper story, though the lower floor was warded and resisted the flames, at least. Windows are broken, the door smashed in, and a good portion of the house's contents are scattered across the ground outside.

It's not just objects on the ground. The yard is littered with bodies. Mostly animals--dogs, ponies, cats, even chickens--but with two notable exceptions.

Daine is no longer a wolf. She's a thirteen-year-old girl, stumbling towards the remains of her farm and family and calling for her ma.

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Topher is apprehensive from the first smell that something's not right, and worried what he's going to see. He's not going to turn back now though, but he feels invasive, moreso than usual, and dreading whatever's coming.

He shifts back to human form as well, and feels a jolt when he sees the girl's age. He assumes this is from her past, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's much older by now. He can't do anything but stand and watch quietly.

[wildmage_daine]

"Ma? Ma!" Daine falls to her knees beside her mother's body, but when she reaches for her, she finds it's not her ma at all, but Mammoth, their old boss dog. The only one who was still alive--if only just--by the time Daine and Cloud had arrived home.

We all fought, Mammoth tells her, trying to wag his tail. All of us. It made them angry.

Daine cradles the dog's head in her lap and smoothes his fur with shaking hands. "I should've been here," she tells him, trying to keep from sobbing. "I should've--someone should've..."

The knowledge that it was two whole days before any villagers bothered to show up at the farm to see if they were all right is already in her mind, and she looks around, fury beginning to weave its way through her grief. If Ma had lived, she would've been in the village by now with medicine, helping treat the wounded.

Daine spies the only other living human in her dream. He doesn't look like anyone from her village, but it doesn't matter. "Why didn't you do anything?" she screams at him.

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So not only is she a shapeshifter, but she can speak to animals. Good to know. Topher can hear Mammoth's voice as well, because Daine can hear it.

He starts a bit at being addressed. He had forgotten he was visible and sort of part of events. He's fairly sure he won't actually be able to reason with her, though.

Instead of answering, he focuses on changing the environemt. Just a random grassy field, on a summer's day. He calms down the setting, filling the air with a relaxing and pleasant vibe, trying to calm Daine down.

[wildmage_daine]

At first, the disappearance of the farm is more upsetting, and Daine whips her head around as the scenery changes and Mammoth disappears. But the calming vibes help, and she begins to forget what she'd been dreaming about previously or why she'd been so upset.

The downside (upside?) is that Topher is now the most interesting thing happening in the dream. For the first time since he showed up, Daine looks at him properly. She frowns a little when she realizes he's a perfect stranger, though she's more baffled than upset.

"Who are you?"

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"Just a friend," he answers, by not really answering the question at all. He's still hooded and cloaked, not all that recognisable even if she had known him. "How long ago was that?" he asks. She looks older now she's been removed from that scene. He assumes this is her more natural appearance.

[wildmage_daine]

A friend, is he? She frowns up at him, confused. His voice isn't familiar, and she can't see his face. Daine's not much for lucid dreaming, but when she does, it's usually because she's being visited by a god.

And there's only one two-legger god she knows of that visits dreams. "Are you the Dream King?" she asks hopefully, climbing to her feet. If he is, maybe he can tell the Badger or Numair where she is.

As for his question, she ignores it for the moment. Now that she's left the farm, she doesn't want to return there, and finding out who he is seems far more pressing than anything else.

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Fine, potential friend.

...Or Dream King, that works.

Topher hesitates. "Not one that you're familiar with, though in a manner of speaking, yes. I am Morpheus."

You know what, he realised Daine wasn't from his world and that she wouldn't see through his reference, and he just went with it, okay? He sometimes gets carried away. It happens. So sue him.

[wildmage_daine]

"Morpheus," Daine repeats, trying to mask her disappointment. It's not the answer she'd been hoping for. Still, she doesn't want to be rude to a god, even if he's not one of her gods. To that end, she adds, "Sorry I shouted at you before. It's nice to meet you."

If it all rings a bit hollow, that's because... well, it is. She's not sure why some foreign dream god is even bothering with her, but she's having a hard time thinking up a reasonably polite variation of, 'what do you want?'

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"Quite understandable, given the circumstances. Memories can be terrible things," Topher answers, playing the part now.

He doesn't have a follow-up question, he's busy being enigmatic and mysterious and impressive here, can't you tell? It's very distracting. She'd better ask the questions.

[wildmage_daine]

At least he doesn't seem to be upset with her, so that's good. She's still rather confused, though, and his air of mystery isn't exactly helping on that front. It seems fair strange to invade someone's dreams and then refuse to get to the point (though she does assume he must have one).

Daine fidgets for a moment, then tentatively asks, "Can I help you?"

She regrets asking almost immediately, remembering what happened last time she was chosen as a goddess's vessel. The Graveyard Hag had told her mortal vessels were hard to come by--which would explain why some god she's never heard of before is in her head. Odd's bobs, this is the last thing she needs! Holding up her hands, she tries to sound polite as she adds, "I'd rather not be given any gifts or--or cause any ruction, mind." Once was more than enough.

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RIGHT, right, he had questions, didn't he.

"I only want information," he assures her. "I can walk the mortal plane of this world, but it is dangerous to gain too much attention. Therefore I seek people out in this realm, so I can better protect those who have fallen from their worlds to end up here. How long since you came through the rift?"

Yeah, he's having fun.

[wildmage_daine]

It's a relief to hear that he just wants to talk, though she's surprised to hear that he can visit the mortal plane. Gainel can't, which is partly why he visits mortal dreams in the first place--and also why he's not particularly known for protecting folk. She's not sure she wants a strange god's protection.

Strange as Morpheus might be, she can't think of any reason to lie to him. "A couple weeks."

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"Have you sought the protection of anyone while you're here?" he asks.

After he claimed to be Morpheus, his ranger outfit has grown darker, ending up black and blue as the night, his hooded cloak longer and more flowing. If she looked hard, she could see the universe inside his cloak. After all, why do it if you're not gonna do it properly? His face remains hidden, however, and his voice unfamiliar and different from his own.

[wildmage_daine]

She's suitably impressed, Topher--or she would be, if she didn't expect as much from a god.

"'Sought'?" Daine repeats thoughtfully. "No. They just found me."

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Just don't expect him to be at all impressive in real life. Except impressively nerdy and incomprehensible.

"The rebels or Romac?" he asks. If she was found by them, Topher would have an easier time finding her if he needs to.

[wildmage_daine]

If he does seek her out in reality for some reason, he'll probably find her a good deal less cooperative with him than she would be with Morpheus, though she's beginning to frown a little at the presumed god, now. He has an awful lot of questions. In her experience, it's getting information from gods that can be a challenge; giving them information is rarely necessary, what with them being gods and all.

"Not Romac," she says emphatically, her expression undoubtedly showing just how unappealing--and a bit frightening--she finds that prospect to be.

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Demi-God, then? 'God' doesn't mean the same thing from person to person, much less universe to universe.

"You shouldn't be quite as hostile to the idea. They're not bad people, though they have their flaws, as do the rebels. Don't be so hasty to dismiss them, but likewise don't trust either without question. Both groups have their agendas, and both do what they think is best to protect this world."

[wildmage_daine]

The rebels might not be perfect, but at least she's seen enough of their facilities to know they couldn't hold her against her will, even if they wanted to. Romac's a different story. She's flown around their headquarters: a giant, solid box that only lets two-leggers out at the bottom and air out at the top. And that's just the outside.

"Romac might try to cage me," Daine says flatly, folding her arms. "The rebels can't."

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"Don't be so sure," Topher answers. He doesn't know just how involved Daine is with them, but he very much doubts even they with their propaganda of equality and revolution, they've let her see the majority of their base. "Both groups have their secrets, and both are willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they want. They both have honourable goals, but are willing to go make quite a few sacrifices for what they believe is the greater good." He resists the temptation to start comparing to Harry Potter.

[wildmage_daine]

Just as well; she wouldn't get the reference.

Daine scowls, growing agitated enough that she's no longer thinking about how wise it would be to get snippy with a god. She doesn't like being stuck in a realm so unlike her own, and being told she can't trust anyone here isn't exactly helping. For a moment, the air becomes hard to breathe, as it was when she was locked in that windowless little room in the Carthaki palace--and then she remembers what she did to the Carthaki palace. "If anyone tries to cage me," she pronounces, her voice flat and cold, "they'll be sorry."

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Whoa hey, not expecting that. Not that the surroundings particularly affect Topher, but he notices. And Daine's manner is rather unexpected, too.

"They won't unless you're a danger. Are you?" he asks. She could certainly manage to be intimidating if she really wanted to, despite her unimpressive appearance. Then again, she's a shapeshifter who can talk to animals. It's a formidable power.

[wildmage_daine]

"I could be," she admits with an uneasy shrug. "I can leave. I could leave the island whenever I wanted, unless someone tried to cage me." Not that she particularly wants to. She's not a fan of the city, but the rift is here.

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"No, you probably can't," he answers seriously. "Even I can't. Other gods more powerful than me have tried, too." Never mind that sometimes people succeed. For him, the idea hasn't been worth it. He's doing good, not to mention interesting work here.

[wildmage_daine]

"I could take bird shape and fly out," Daine argues. "No one would know it was me." There are a lot of shapes she could take to get off the island, if she was so inclined, but bird is the most obvious.