Far Side of the Aurora Borealis

[applesaucemod]

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.]

Comments

[peeta_mellark]

Peeta takes a deep breath. "Well, you're here now," he says firmly. "We'll enjoy it while it lasts." However much it hurts to think of losing Nilakshi when he wakes up, he doesn't want to spend what time they may have together moping about that prospect. He suspects Daine would agree, so he tries to lighten the mood.

"I understand how Coromotto matches you, but how does an elephant match me?" he asks Daine, a crooked smile on his face. Nilakshi nudges him playfully with her trunk and pushes her back, not at all surprised when she doesn't even sway. "I didn't even know elephants existed until a few minutes ago. What do you know about them? Have you known elephants before? In Tortall?"

[wildmage_daine]

"Not in Tortall," Daine says with a little shake of her head. "The weather's all wrong for them. But I did meet some in Carthak. They're very clever - wise, even. They live about as long as two-leggers do." She idly strokes her wolf's head as she mentally reviews all she knows about elephants, discarding dry facts like diet and habitat. "They travel in herds, big families led by the eldest female, and they look after one another."

"They're very gentle," Coromotto offers. "Mostly, anyway - unless you go after someone they care about, like one of their young."

Daine nods. "Then they can be quite fierce. And if one of them is lost, they… they mourn. In a way that even two-leggers would recognize." She shrugs, looking a little sheepish. "I don't know if that helps."

[peeta_mellark]

Nilakshi's trunk is loosely curled around Peeta's arm, and when Daine mentions the fierceness of elephants, he sees the strength he feels there in a new light.

Some people don't know themselves well, and can therefore be surprised by their own actions or thoughts or feelings. Peeta isn't one of those people, and he recognizes in Daine's descriptions of elephants an echo of himself.

He thinks of Katniss, of fighting Cato to save her life, of holding her in his arms as she slept, of following her to whatever end awaited them. He thinks of painting Rue's portrait on the Training Room floor in big, furious splashes of color, and the ache that even now tightens his chest. He nods.

"It does. Thank you."

[sadie_doyle]

A peal of boozy laughter echoes across the quad. The Doyles, unsurprisingly, took a break from rolling the barrel long enough to fill their glasses while they sought out a good spot for a liquor picnic. Now, both humans and dæmons are alternating between haphazard shoves of the barrel and sips of gin as they materialize from a nearby corridor.

"What about - oh, it seems this courtyard's taken," Sadie says, though she doesn't look or sound overly disappointed by that fact. She eyes Peeta and Daine and their respective creatures, and then declares, "Your souls are adorable! Aren't they adorable, Frank?"

"Look!" says Augustine. "One of them's an effa- a leff-" he breaks off for a moment, giggling uncontrollably, then composes himself just long enough to carefully annunciate, "an heffalump!" And then both he and Sadie dissolve into giggles once again.

[frank_doyle]

"Look at their little souls!!" agrees Frank delightedly. "That one's not little at all!"

"No, she's quite impressive," giggles Gertrude. "How long do you suppose it will take for something that size to get ginsoaked?"

"Longer than we can spare!!" says Frank warningly. "And I don't think we have enough gin. Sorry, children! No gin for the heffalump!"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine gapes at the intoxicated newcomers, not sure what to make of either of them. She's never seen people dressed so fancily acting so ridiculous. Well, not this kind of ridiculous, anyway. There was plenty of silliness at Court, but most of it was of a different sort.

She'd probably be inclined to brush off anything they said as drunken raving, but then they refer to Coromotto and Nilakshi as souls.

"Souls?" Daine and Coromotto repeat in perfect unison, exchanging a surprised glance. Then, in a lower grumble, Coromotto adds, "I'm not little."

[peeta_mellark]

Upon the arrival of the strangers, Peeta is quickly (though only temporarily) and unpleasantly reminded of the antics of the citizens of the Capitol at all the parties he and Katniss attended. Almost as soon as the memory rises it fades again, replaced by a fleeting image of Haymitch. Peeta shakes his slightly head to clear his mind and turns his attention back to the strangers. These people - for all their ridiculous behavior - seem genuinely good-natured, and he's about to greet them and ask their names when their words stop him.

Souls? The word isn't familiar, but suddenly everything clicks into place and Peeta turns to stare a Nilakshi. "Oh."

[sadie_doyle]

Augustine dances up to Coromotto, having noted his rather peeved expression. "Oh, don't be grumpy," the fox urges, dropping into a play-bow, tail wagging. "You're bigger than me, in a strictly physical sense!"

Sadie adds, "Well, of course they're your souls. What else would they be, darling?"

[frank_doyle]

"I suppose they could just be ANIMALS," points out Frank, "but then the whole talking thing would be rather surprising, wouldn't it?"

"Not to mention everything ELSE," adds Gertrude.

"Oh right," says Frank, affecting a serious expression. "No one's tried to touch each other's souls, have they? Because you ought to know - it's the kind of thing only the most CONSENTING of ADULTS should try."

[wildmage_daine]

Coromotto flicks his ears back and raises his chin, refusing to be charmed by the ridiculous little fox's antics. For her part, Daine isn't entirely sure where to direct her general sense of indignation now that these two strangers have given her so many targets. It's fair obvious that Coromotto and Nilakshi aren't animals, but even if they were, there'd be nothing 'just' about it, nor would it prevent them from talking (to her, at least). She hasn't touched Nilakshi - wouldn't even dream of it without asking first, at the very least. And she and Peeta aren't children.

"There's nothing 'just' about animals," she says with a little frown, cheeks flushing.

[peeta_mellark]

Drawn out of his revelation by the man's words, Peeta pries his astonished gaze from Nilakshi - his soul - to glance at Daine and Coromotto. It hadn't even occurred to him to touch Coromotto, but even with the man's warning, he finds himself curious. What exactly happens when you touch someone else's soul? He determines not to try it, unless he finds someone willing.

"Who are you?" Nilakshi asks.

[sadie_doyle]

Sadie gives Daine a considering look, her expression suddenly a good deal more shrewd than it was a moment ago. Then, she offers a gracious smile. "Of course not, darling." As Augustine returns to her side, she continues, "I'm Sadie Doyle, this is my husband, Frank, and these two are Augustine and Gertrude."

[frank_doyle]

"Charmed, I'm sure," says Frank distractedly, and he's about to roll onward when something about the girl catches his eye, and he hesitates for a moment. "I say!" he says. "Would you look at that, Sadie! A demigoddess! Do we know her?"

[wildmage_daine]

Coromotto's ears flatten against his skull as Daine takes a startled step backwards. "I - I'm not…" she gives her head a little shake. Her Da's never acknowledged her. How could these people possibly know… but they don't know, not really. Not from the sounds of it, anyway. Coromotto presses himself against her leg, hackles raised, as Daine glances uneasily between the two Doyles. Can they see her magic, like Numair? Is that what this is about?

Sensing how taken aback Daine is, Coromotto takes a step forward. "We don't know what you mean," he says.

[peeta_mellark]

Neither does Peeta. He frowns in confusion, looking between the Doyles and Daine. Nilakshi rumbles softly and he leans against her leg a little.

"What's a demigoddess?" he asks. Then the way Daine and Coromotto are acting hits him. "Do you mean Daine?"

[sadie_doyle]

"Naturally," Augustine says. His tone is cheerful enough, but he keeps a wary eye on the wolf.

"Do forgive my husband's bluntness," Sadie says smoothly. "A demigoddess is someone with human and divine parentage." To Daine, she adds, "If you don't mine my asking, was it your mother or father on the immortal side of the equation?"

[frank_doyle]

Frank feels a little bit of a pout coming on at Sadie's subtle reprimand, but Gertrude shoves her snout in his hand and he feels better almost immediately. He glances down at Augustine, who is still watching the wolf, and then at Sadie, who is still watching the young people. He reaches out slooowly and gives Augustine a light tap on the tail, barely anything at all, really, then quickly withdraws his hand, grinning to himself.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine presses her lips together, blushing unhappily. It's no great secret that she never knew her Da growing up, but the fact that he's a god is something she tries to keep to herself. Now, she's torn between trying to keep it as private as she can, given the circumstances, and wanting to know how on earth the Doyles know. It's one thing to see her wild magic, quite another to know the source of it. Even Numair hadn't figured out that just by looking at her.

A low growl rumbles in her wolf's chest - too low for Daine to hear, but she can feel it through the leg he's leaning against. "Ma was human," he says, raising his lip enough for a gleam of sharp teeth to be clearly visible. "Da was never there."

[peeta_mellark]

Peeta still doesn't understand what they're talking about, but he does understand that it's upsetting Daine. Taking a step closer, he lays a supportive hand on her shoulder. Beside him, Nilakshi shifts forward, stretching out her trunk to sniff curiously at the air around Augustine.

"Have you always had animal souls?" Peeta asks with interest. The quartet seems completely unsurprised and unperturbed by current circumstances, and they know more about what's going on than either Peeta or Daine. Maybe this is Frank's dream, or Sadie's. "It's new for us."

[sadie_doyle]

Oh, the poor dear! Realizing she's overstepped, Sadie has the good grace to back down despite her continued curiosity (it's not every day one meets a demigoddess, after all).

She's just about to apologize when Frank touches Augustine's tail, and then she has to stifle a little gasp of surprise. She turns to arch an eyebrow at Frank, her expression trying to be disapproving and not quite getting there. And Gertrude isn't even within her reach - drat them both. She'll have to get her own back later.

Turning back to the children, she waves a hand in airy dismissal. "No, this is new for us, as well. It's been quite the experience!" But speaking of experiences - their liquor picnic is being delayed, and she knows Frank well enough to make a very educated guess about his willingness to continue this conversation. "But if you'll excuse us, we're on something of a quest at the moment."

[frank_doyle]

"Quest is exactly the word!" agrees Frank. "Look at the time! This buzz won't keep forever. Nice to meet you, children, and your lovely souls too. Sadie?"

Delighted to have recaptured her attention, he gives Gertrude a conspiratorial nudge and resumse rolling the barrel on its path through the elaborate dreamscape.

[wildmage_daine]

Peeta's efforts don't go unnoticed, and Daine shoots him a quick, grateful look. Even considering his efforts, though, she's surprised by how quickly the conversation's turned from uncomfortable prying about her parents to the Doyles making their escape. Still, she's not exactly eager to keep talking to people who are going to refer to her as a 'demigoddess,' so she makes no attempt to call them back. Instead, she and Coromotto watch them uneasily, her fingers tangled in the thick fur of his shoulder.

[peeta_mellark]

Peeta lets his hand drop back to his side as the raucous quartet disappear from view. "Well, that was strange," he mutters, before survey Daine with a critical eye. "Are you okay?"

[wildmage_daine]

"Yes," she says absently, still frowning at the archway through which the Doyles have vanished. Coromotto gives himself a little shake, and Daine blinks before turning her attention to Peeta. "Yes," she says again, with more conviction. "That was just… strange, is all."

[peeta_mellark]

"It definitely was." Peeta's curious, but given the way Daine reacted to the Doyles' accusations, he decides not to ask about her parentage. He doesn't want to pry, and it's clearly not something she wants to discuss. Instead, he finds himself back at their original topic of discussion.

"At least we know what's going on now." He gives Daine a crooked smile as he runs a hand down Nilakshi's trunk. "They're our souls."

While his mind still struggles to fully grasp the foreign concept, his heart understands it completely, the single word somehow encapsulating everything he and Daine - and Coromotto and Nilakshi - had been struggling to explain before.