applesaucedream | First Night [Open to Multiple]

Current Music: May 23rd, 2013

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First Night [Open to Multiple]

Jodie Holmes, age six, sits in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. One wall is lined with a mirror that is not really a mirror. There are cameras mounted in the corners, their power lights like unblinking red eyes in the dimness (not darkness; they left the light in the hall on for her). She surveys the sparsely furnished room with her back against the headboard and her chin atop her teddy bear. There is a flashlight on her bedside table, and she knows Cole is just outside. They should be safe here, and she tries to be brave - brave for Aiden, whose fear shivers the tether that binds them.

"Don't be scared, Aiden," she says, hugging her teddy closer. "We're gonna go to sleep, and nothing bad is gonna happen." The phrase has a practiced cadence to it, like a prayer, or a magic spell. But God hasn't stopped the monsters, and she doesn't know if she believes in the good kind of magic anymore.

She pushes her legs beneath the covers, but she doesn't lie down. Something is coming. She can feel it.

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They're dreaming? Jodie blinks as the shift occurs, then cautiously lifts her head. The rooftop is gone, and instead, they're… where are they? She gapes, twisting in Andrew's arms to look around at the milling families, the bright carousel, as Aiden drifts straight up into the air to get a better idea of their surroundings. He is the first one to spot the unmistakeable castle rearing above the entire park, and the tether hums with excitement.

They've never been here before. They never thought they could come here; Jodie's father never would have allowed it. But here they are. Jodie turns to Andrew, a faint, incredulous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Are we in Disney World?" she asks shyly, as if afraid to believe it.

"We are," Andrew confirms, delighted at her reaction. Score one for the meta-crisis! "Much better, don't you think? If we're going to dream, we should do it in style."

Silently he hopes he can remember enough of the park to keep it stable if she wants to ride the rides or see the other lands. The trick is probably to not think about it too hard and to let it be a bit of a mishmash so long as his brain doesn't leave gaping holes in the setting. Already the other people are dressed in clothing from mismatched decades, faceless until one concentrates on them and sees a random face from his past.

"We've never been here before," she says. Her own clothes have, without any sort of deliberation on her part, shifted into something more appropriate for the setting: jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

Her smile fades a little as she remembers why they've never been here. Her parents weren't at liberty to take her on vacations, but even if they had been, they wouldn't have brought her someplace like this, with all these people. Glancing up at the empty air, she pleads, "Be good, okay?" Now that they're here, she's worried Aiden will ruin it all.

Andrew glances up along with her, seeing nothing but aware she's certainly not talking to him. By now she's inadvertently dropped enough clues -- albeit most of them consisting of her screaming a single name under duress -- that he can hazard a guess. "Are you talking to Aiden?" he asks gently, though he has no idea who this Aiden character is.

Jodie hesitates for a moment. Maybe she should've been more careful, but Andrew seems nice, and he already knows some of what Aiden can do. She nods, puffing out a little sigh.

Alright. Definitely a second presence, or at least a little girl who believes there is one. This being a dream, an imaginary friend could easily become 'real.' Or Aiden could be a waking world person who's just invisible right now.

"He's the one who helped us earlier, isn't he?" he asks.

Another shy nod. "He knows how to fight the monsters, now." Too bad he hadn't learned it earlier; if he had, she wouldn't have had to be in the lab in the first place. But maybe this means she can go home soon, now that he knows.

Monsters. Andrew makes a thoughtful little clucking sound, not wanting to probe too deeply about monsters lest she come back with a wave of fear strong enough to dispel his cheerful change of scenery. He saw the monsters already, at any rate -- or saw the lack of visible monsters. "Well, tell him I said thank you -- or can I tell him myself?"

"He can hear you," Jodie says, lifting her shoulders in a tiny, bird-like shrug. Aiden's never far away.

There's nothing here for Aiden to write on, but that doesn't mean there's nothing for him to work with. He plucks a few leaves off of a nearby tree and carries them over to Andrew and Jodie. For a few lingering moments, the leaves hover in the air a foot or so from Andrew's nose - long enough for it to be clear that it isn't just the wind's doing. Then he lifts them in a spiraling eddy until they're lost against the bright blue of the sky.

Jodie blinks as the leaves disappear, then sighs and drops her chin. "That's him," she explains.

Andrew watches, grin growing. "Hullo, Aiden," he says to the leaves in front of them, figuring Aiden must be about there in order to be holding them. "Thank you. From both of us, I'm sure."

The tether thrums with a cautious sort of pleasure. Aiden's been acknowledged before, but it's rare for anyone but Jodie to address him directly - and being thanked by a near-stranger is unprecedented.

Jodie turns her attention to their surroundings again, then pats Andrew's shoulder. "Can I get down?" She's not about to go running off, much as she'd like to explore. She still feels like she isn't supposed to be here - that something could go wrong at any moment. But she doesn't need to be carried anymore (or not for the moment), and she's too big for Andrew to keep hauling around.

Is she? Now that he's aware of the dreamworld, Jodie isn't a burden to carry at all. Still, he's hardly going to hold her against her will. He bends and lets her slide down to stand on her own two feet, hands staying on her sides just a moment to be sure she won't fall over. "There we are. Now, don't you think it's time for an ice cream?"

It's good to be on her feet again. She feels steadier, this way, and less like their surroundings are going to melt away into something different, something worse. She's not so sure that won't happen, though, and she slips her hand into Andrew's, so she won't lose him.

"Okay." It seems like ages since she's had ice cream, though it can't have been that long.

Ice cream he can conjure up easily, though he chooses to scout out a (recently materialized) concessions cart rather than make the food simply appear in their hands. He grins, having meant to offer his hand before Jodie went ahead and took it anyway. "What kind do you like best?" he asks as they approach the cart, a too-extensive menu dominating the front. So he might have taken a few liberties and added a few extra varieties, not like that'll hurt anything.

Fortunately, Jodie already has a flavor in mind, so the list isn't too overwhelming. She just checks to make sure her choice is on there before asking, "Bubblegum?"

Aiden, for his part, contents himself with hovering nearby, examining Andrew more closely. He was too focused on the monsters before to pay much attention to the man. But now he watches him, watches the way he treats Jodie. He doesn't look at her the way her father did - as if she's a monster, or a punishment. He's being nice.

Andrew, Aiden decides, is okay.

If it hadn't been on there, Andrew would have found a way. He passes Jodie's ice cream to her before ordering a chocolate-dipped frozen banana for himself. Belatedly remembering the third member of their little party, he pauses while unwrapping his treat and glances around. "Do you eat ice cream, Aiden?" he asks the air. Hopefully it isn't a sore subject.

"Thank you," Jodie says shyly as she takes her ice cream. The monsters are already a distant memory, though she can't quite shake the feeling that this is all too good to be true.

That doesn't mean she isn't going to enjoy her ice cream while she can, though. When Andrew asks Aiden his question, Jodie can only shake her head in response, her mouth full. "He doesn't have to eat," she explains once she's swallowed. "He's not a person." After a beat, she amends, "Not like us."

He is laying it on a bit thick, but Jodie seems like a kid who could use a happy dream. Whether he'll be able to hold it off if her subconscious brings back the monsters remains to be seen, but Andrew hopes he's jarred her far enough out of the mindset to prevent that becoming an issue.

'Not a person'? Andrew wonders how Aiden feels about that description. "Has he ever tried?" he asks innocently. Partly he wants to suss out more information on this mysterious Aiden...and partly he just wants everyone to have ice cream.

Jodie frowns at her ice cream. At first, it's just one of puzzlement - what difference would trying make? Even Aiden feels confused by the suggestion. He knows he's different. He can see things, and move things, but all he could do with an ice cream cone is knock it to the ground.

Then an image surfaces in Jodie's mind, like a bubble rising up through water: Cole, standing straight and limp-armed, his eyes a milky white. Her frown deepens as she lifts her chin to look up at Andrew.

"He shouldn't try," she says with sudden intensity. "It's wrong."

Andrew blinks down at her, still worrying the banana's chocolate shell with his lips. He's found some sort of sore spot, though why it should be wrong for Aiden to eat dessert he doesn't certainly doesn't know. "Because of what he is?" he asks, still groping about in the dark for answers.

Jodie's only a little less confused than Andrew. Aiden's never… he's never done anything like… she frowns, shaking her head. "He doesn't have a body," she says firmly, because she's certain of that much. She doesn't want to think about how he'd get one.

Aiden drifts closer to her, upset because she's upset. The ambient temperature starts to drop, and Jodie shivers, her breath ghosting in front of her. "Stop it, Aiden," she says wearily.

"No mouth, no ice cream," agrees Andrew lightly, ignoring the chill in the air as best he can. He'd still like to get a more detailed answer out of her, but he's still cautious about anything that might upset her and bring back the monsters. "That's alright, plenty of people don't have solid bodies. I just wanted to be sure he wasn't left out if he didn't have to be."

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First Night [Open to Multiple]

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