applesaucedream | Far Side of the Aurora Borealis

Far Side of the Aurora Borealis

Congratulations, dreamers of Manhattan - you get to go to Oxford! It's probably not the Oxford with which any of the dreamers are familiar, though. This one is a bit… different.

The dreamers will find themselves in Jordan College, the oldest and grandest of all the colleges in this version of Oxford, a rambling structure that includes dining halls, libraries, classrooms, chapels, courtyards, a botanical garden, and an extensive network of cellars and tunnels beneath the ground. There are plenty of places to explore!

Sharp-eyed dreamers might notice some subtle architectural quirks. Doors look larger than they'd need to be for solely human use, and every staircase has a little ramp built in - not large enough for a wheelchair, but large enough for, say, a small, scampering animal.

And speaking of - the dreamers are a bit different here, too. Upon arrival, they will realize that they now possess dæmons: physical manifestations of their souls. Be gentle with them; they're undoubtedly confused by being suddenly made manifest. They come with all the side effects and complications inherent with dæmons. They can't travel more than a few yards from their person without it being painful for both parties… and it probably won't take the dreamers long to realize they shouldn't be touching one another's dæmons, what with the shared sensations and all. Still, it's a rare opportunity for the dreamers to chat with their own souls - and the souls of others.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Mod note: you know the drill. All players and characters are welcome, regardless of whether they're current members or not. Characters will remember or forget any and all dream events at players' discretion.]

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Edgar finds himself sitting on a small bench in a conservatory full of lush, green plants. A large, fuchsia blossom about at eye level on the bush opposite him catches his eye. Without looking away from the bloom, he instinctively reaches down beside the bench to lay a hand on Almondine's neck. Just as he subconsciously becomes aware of the fact that his hand should have already reached Almondine, his fingers come into contact with something warm and soft. At the same moment, a pulse of sensation - pleasant but unsettling in its unexpectedness - races through him.

Swiftly pulling his hand away, he leans over to look down at Almondine, only to find a cat there instead. He blinks at the cat (and it blinks back), and the thought races through his mind that his dog has been turned into a cat. /Almondine?/ he signs.

A nudge against his opposite side draws his attention, and he turns to find Almondine on the bench beside him, watching him with a questioning tilt to her head. Edgar sighs, relieved that Almondine is, in fact, still a dog. The absurdity of having to worry that his dog could be turned into a cat is not lost on him, and he smiles as he turns back to the cat that is not his dog.

/Hello,/ he signs to the cat. He holds out a hand, tentatively this time, for it to sniff.

The cat gives the hand a confused and slightly insulted glance before returning to staring at Edgar. "Hello, Edgar," it says in a distinctly female voice.

Edgar blinks. /You can talk,/ he signs, expression blank. His dog is not a cat, but cats can talk. Of course they can. /I - what's your name?/

The cat tilts her head as if pondering, or weighing his worthiness to be told her name, before replying. "Merewenna." She lightly springs onto the arm of the bench and settles there before gently laying a paw on Edgar's arm. The same sensation he felt before spreads through Edgar and he stares at her in wonder. "And you are Edgar." That head tilt again. "I think we belong to one another."

Edgar can't explain why, but he knows she's right, and he nods.

Jennifer's discovered the conservatory, and though Astyanax hasn't made any complaints, yet, she figures it ought to be more comfortable for him in this warm, humid environment than outside. And it's true that the lizard (or lizard-shaped being - they're both a little fuzzy on the details) seems a bit less inclined to huddle near her neck, now. He's clinging to the curve of her shoulder, instead, head poked out curiously.

She rounds a bend in the path, and there's someone with two animal companions. Except… no. The dog is clearly just a dog, but the cat is more than a cat in the same way that Astyanax is more than a lizard. It takes her a moment to realize she recognizes the boy and the dog, and she lifts a hand in greeting. "Hello." Damn. What was his name? She doesn't remember; it's been too long.

Still a little rattled from discovering Merewenna - and how right it feels to have her near - it takes an extra second or two for Edgar to register Jennifer's arrival. When he does, he gives her a smile and a wave.

/Hello,/ he signs. /It's been a while./

He eyes the lizard on Jennifer's shoulder with curiosity as he motions for Almondine to get down so Jennifer can sit on the bench, should she like to. Almondine gives him a look from the corner of her eye as she obeys and moves to his other side, where she gently sniffs at Merewenna.

"It has," she agrees. How she can understand his sign language is another mystery, but it's not one that she finds particularly pressing. She joins him on the bench and offers her fingers to Almondine to sniff (though she knows better than to do the same with the cat - even normal cats can be a bit touchy about such things).

She can feel Astyanax crawl to her other shoulder, the better to peer at Edgar. "This is Astyanax," she says, "and I'm Jennifer." She wouldn't blame him for forgetting her name as well, so she might as well reintroduce herself.

/Hello,/ he signs again. /Edgar, Almondine, and Merewenna,/ he adds, pointing to each in turn. After hesitating for a moment, he waggles a finger back and forth between Merewenna and Astyanax. /This is new./

Well, at least she's not the only one with a new companion. "Does yours talk, too?" she asks. She leans forward a little to get a better look at Merewenna, and Astyanax leans out from her shoulder as well.

"Hello," Astyanax offers, mostly to the cat, if Jennifer's not mistaken.

/Talk?/ Edgar says, just as Merewenna replies.

"Yes, I can talk. Hello, it's nice to meet you." She nods her head slightly in greeting.

"Likewise," say Jennifer and Astyanax in perfect unison.

"It's weird," Jennifer continues, idly running a fingertip down Astyanax's spine. "Does yours feel like it belongs to you?" It feels strange to be discussing another obviously sentient being as if she owns it, like a pet, but that isn't really what she means.

Edgar nods vigorously as Merewenna circles on the bench arm, rubbing against his shoulder. "We belong to one another," she says.

That's a better way of putting it, and Jennifer echoes his nod.

"I'm not even sure what Astyanax is," she admits, holding her hand up to her shoulder so he can crawl onto it. "I've never seen a lizard like him before. He's got these little wing things." By way of demonstration, Astyanax spreads the little flaps of skin and bone, revealing a brighter red-orange tone than the rest of his skin. "Like a dragon," Jennifer adds absently. Then, her eyes widen. "Oh. He's like a dragon!"

Edgar admires Astyanax's wings as Almondine and Merewenna lean forward, each sniffing the air in the lizard's general direction.

/He does look a little like a dragon,/ Edgar agrees, thinking back to the colored illustrations of the creatures he has seen in books. /Or like a little dragon. The stories usually say they're very big./

"Oh, they are," Jennifer assures him as she looks at Astyanax in a whole new light. It is strangely fitting to think that her lizard, despite his initial outward appearance, has a bit of dragon in him. "Maltcassion was enormous."

Edgar blinks at Jennifer in surprise and wonder. /You have real dragons?/

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Their cats look almost identical, but Tris thinks she sees gentleness hidden in his wildcat where her own Hecaterus, apparently, hides fangs and claws. How strange. It also keeps much closer to him than Hecaterus has chosen to range. Apparently that's unusual, Divergent even. They shouldn't be able to stray so far apart but without meaning to, Tris forgets to stay close to him.

"She looks like Hecaterus," Tris says, voice soft and wondering.

Edgar turns at the sound of a voice to find a girl staring at Merewenna. /Is Hecaterus your cat?/ Edgar asks the girl, stroking a hand down Merewenna's back. He's more used to the sensation the touch creates within him, similar to when he pets Almondine but much stronger and deeper.

"I'm not her cat," Hecaterus declares before Tris can talk. Already, she's discovering that he's a little blunt, quick to be glib, much the way she herself can be. "Anymore than she's just a cat."

"Sorry, he and I just met," Tris explains, bending down to scoop him up like a pet.

Edgar blinks in surprise. /Oh, hello./ He didn't notice the other animal at first, but it does look an awful lot like Merewenna - except for the fact that it's staring him down with an imperious gaze. Merewenna shifts beside him, her tail rhythmically hitting against Edgar's arm as it twitches, and he gets the feeling that she's a little irritated.

/I'm Edgar,/ he offers the girl and not-cat. He looks at Merewenna, who pauses before giving her own name to the pair.

"Tris," she replies, because it's simply what you do. Hecaterus tears his gaze away from the other cat and buries his face into her chest. The way he rumbles isn't quite a purr, but it's reassuring. He's part of her, but not identical. It seems to be her daemon's job to flow around her and fill the hollow places. He is strong where she isn't, steady when she sways.

"What is this place?"

/The conservatory?/ Edgar asks uncertainly. /I haven't left it yet, so I'm not sure how big it is, or if there's anything else here./

Merewenna jumps up to sit on the back of the bench, nestling against Edgar's neck and laying her front legs on one of his shoulders. Almondine drops her head in his lap and Edgar runs a hand over the back of her neck.

"Have you seen anything else?" Merewenna asks.

"I haven't been looking. I just got here."

She should be looking. Covering the exits. Think, she tells her self. Think like a Dauntless.

/Me, too./ He stands, stretching a little.

Merewenna does the same before hopping from the bench down to the pathway. "Let's go explore," she says, blinking up at Edgar.

Almondine stands, her tail fanning the air happily, and looks to Edgar. he wouldn't mind a little bit of exploration himself, so he nods before turning to Tris and Hecaterus. /Want to walk around with us?/

"Yeah, okay." It must be nice, in his case, to have someone who can vocalize for him or with him. She hasn't really known a lot of people like this. Probably because they were among the factionless.

Hecaterus seems calmed and reassured, so she'll trust the odd spirit.

They haven't walked far before Edgar can spot one of the conservatory walls. He decides to try to angle that way to see if there are any doors in the vicinity.

He glances as Tris from the corner of his eye. She doesn't look familiar, and he wonders if she's come through the Rift, too.

/Did you come through the Rift?/ he asks?

"No...I didn't see a rift." Maybe he means something metaphorical but there seems to be an emphasis, the suggestion that it's a proper name for something.

"I was trying to pass through a fence."

Edgar nods in understanding. He had his suspicions before, but the combination of him not knowing where he is and Tris not knowing about the Rift makes shared dreaming the most likely explanation for their current situation.

Which means anything could be behind the doors they are approaching. Edgar gives Tris and Hecaterus a smile and gestures.

/So, should we try door number one or door number two?/

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