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

[has_a_horn]

The Griffin hums in affirmation, then tilts their neck to get a better look at Nova. It's a bit far to the floor, so Venia sits back on their haunches, then lies down until it can get eye to eye with the little creature. A purr rumbles out from the feathered throat and Venia carefully nudges the rabbit with it's beak. "Aren't you cute."

Gabriel, meanwhile, is not as easily distracted. "Does Zagreus know that you're staying with me?"

[johnny_truant]

Nova squeaks softly and hides her head under her paws, though she does not shy away from the nudge. "You're..." she tries to respond, but there aren't too many adjectives that seem to do Venia justice.

Their interaction is strange to witness - Johnny feels himself blushing a little, in second-hand embarrassment, perhaps? Or because it's too familiar?

But Gabriel's not going to let him get away with evading the issue.

"I..." Johnny shifts uncomfortably. "He might. I may have... mentioned that I had someone looking out for me, and then he got back in my head for a bit, so... I mean, he probably knows about you, anyway." And that I kissed you. Johnny's not super ready to talk about the whole dress-wearing fairytale nightmare, but it feels now disturbingly on-point, like Zagreus was intentionally making a big joke out of the whole thing.

He meets Gabriel's eyes again, chewing his lip nervously. "Do you think he's gonna come after you?"

[has_a_horn]

"I'm not too scared of that. I can handle him. I'm worried he's using it as another reason to come after you" He sighs and leans back in his chair, dropping a hand to rest against one of Venia's wings for his own comfort. It's kind of nice, having a bit of his grace outside of him like this, to be able to talk with it.

"We could find him," Venia offers. "If I killed the beast would it kill him?" On the other hand, maybe a bit of his Grace being able to talk is not the best of ideas. Thoughts of homicide probably aren't the most comforting thing Johnny could hear at the moment.

"Probably best not to find out," Gabriel responds. Venia huffs a hot breath out in response, ruffling Nova's fur.

[johnny_truant]

"No," murmurs Johnny in vague agreement. He shivers slightly, remembering Nova's panic and pain when the chimaera had cornered her - and when Zagreus had--

He doesn't want to think about it. He pushes it away.

"Why would you be a reason for him to come after me?" he asks instead. "Do you guys... have a history or something?"

[has_a_horn]

"Not me. Someone I care about." He doesn't really want to get into explaining the TARDIS, or their relationship. And even if he wanted to, it probably wouldn't be the best of ideas to give information about the TARDIS to Johnny when Zagreus has a habit of jumping into his mind.

"When I first met him I think he wanted to be friends. But I disagreed with his idea of fun. Obviously. Maybe he wants to hurt me for that, too." That'd more than plausible, Gabriel thinks, given how petty Zagreus seems to be.

Sensing Nova's anxiety, Venia scoots forward until the rabbit is safely bracketed by two furry paws and purrs, a deep comforting rumble. Meanwhile, Gabriel stretches out one leg and lets the one situated between Johnny's knees fall to the side, resting against him. "Are you sure he doesn't have some other reason for picking on you?"

[johnny_truant]

"Oh." Johnny frowns, wanting to ask for more details, at the same time sensing Gabriel's reluctance to go into it. He wrinkles his nose at the thought of Zagreus trying to be friends with anyone.

Any further commentary dies in his throat when Venia curls around Novatiana. He feels her mood shift abruptly, from nervous to - a really different kind of nervous. He feels it as though it came from his own head and heart. She's wheeled sharply from agitation at the bad memory to... what? Embarrassment? Excitement?

Is... is she attracted to Gabriel's giant genderless griffin?

Gabriel's knee comes to rest against his, and Johnny looks down at it blankly for a moment. Is this a come on? No, probably not, Gabriel's just relaxing, and Johnny's pretty sure even he wouldn't flirt at a time like this.

But even so, his body stiffens imperceptibly at the contact, he suddenly feels flushed and tense. Oh god, oh no. Shit. Shit.

"I, um..." Johnny struggles to focus on the question. Forces himself to look back up at Gabriel. "Yeah. I mean, no. I guess it might just be..." He can't maintain eye contact, now for discomfort rather than embarrassment. He curls over slightly, hugging himself without fully realizing it. "I think he likes me because I'm already so fucked up."

[has_a_horn]

When Johnny curls in on himself, Gabriel pulls himself back up from his relaxed posture, not really having expected a response like this. "Whoa, hey." Just how fucked up does Johnny think he is, Gabriel wonders, and how much of that is likely to be the truth? Even if that is Zagreus' interest in Johnny, it would have to be a very interesting sort of fucked up. He can't see Zagreus singling someone out just because they have self-esteem issues and a bad history.

He sets his hand at Johnny's shoulder and rubs his thumb there for a moment. Venia conducts a similar gesture, lowering their head to brush their beak against Nova's soft fur. "What do you mean?"

[johnny_truant]

Johnny hovers there for a moment, looking at his feet, letting himself focus on the pressure of Gabe's hand. He feels his throat tighten at the gesture, so needlessly affectionate, fuck, what did he do to deserve this?

"I'm broken," he murmurs, his voice quavering a little, telling, ready to betray him. "I knew I shouldn't have touched it, I knew it was going to destroy me but I couldn't help it, I took it home, I let it sit there and it fucking devoured me, and I... I..."

He's already been betrayed; there are tears on his face now and he hates them, he hates it so much, looking so fucking weak.

"I can't explain," he says, faint and tired. "There was a book about a house, and it got into me and it ate me from the inside and now I'm hollow and he likes it because he feels at home. In me. In my head."

Nonsense. He gives up. Nova's tense with this outpouring of emotion, turning in quick, agitated circles, pressing against Venia's beak.

[has_a_horn]

Magic mind-altering books. That'd do it for Zagreus. Gabriel sighs, sad to see Johnny so upset. His explanation isn't exactly clear, but it's clear enough for him to know that it must have been a traumatic experience.

He scoots forward a bit, his hand moving from Johnny's shoulder to his hair, brushing it back before returning to his shoulder.

"You're not hollow. I could see, if you were, but Nova there is proof enough that you've got something good inside of you. Or something small and furry, at least." He tips his head to look Johnny in the face while Venia lets out another purr that turns into a hum, trying to calm down the little creature.

The corner of his mouth lifts into a semblance of a smile. "Broken things can be repaired. You can do that. And I can help, if you need it."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny is desperate to avoid eye contact, certain that he will really break down if he looks at Gabriel now. He doesn't deserve this kindness, and he knows if he voices that sentiment Gabriel will only deny it further, and that makes him feel all the more miserable, a fucking ouroboros of negative emotion.

Gabriel's final statement does resonate with him, though. He knows it's true. He almost did manage to repair himself a little, before he came here, before Zagreus knocked him back down. And for whatever goddamn reason, there are people who want to help him, have helped him. Powerful fuckin people. Nice people.

He's honestly not sure what to do with that.

Nova hesitates, then reaches up to give Venia a friendly little nudge before shifting away and back over to Johnny. She perches on Johnny's foot and looks up at Gabriel.

"He's having trouble talking right now," she says, "but he wants to thank you, for everything."

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel looks down at the rabbit in surprise, then nods to it. "Yeah, of course."

Instead of trying to get more out of Johnny now about what had happened with Zagreus, he pushes his chair back and stands, then offers his hand. Maybe allowing Johnny some time to process will do him good. "Want to take a walk? This place is almost like Oxford. I'm wondering if the outside matches." He shrugs, "Or anywhere else you want to go. I'm not picky. Just don't say Vegas."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny manages a laugh at Vegas - not a very good laugh, sort of dry and abrupt, but it's something. He shakes his head as if physically dislodging all that would weigh him down, takes Gabe's hand and pulls himself up.

"Okay," he says. "Anywhere, huh?" He's not particularly keen on staying here. All this stuffiness doesn't really agree with him. And he's sort of curious to see what Gabe can do. He doesn't make a habit of thinking of places he'd like to go, since it's never been an option, and now he's hard-pressed to come up with anything. When he does get an idea, he wonders if it's too personal, and he gives Gabe a hesitant sideways glance. "What about... Jaipur?"

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel snaps his fingers and in the next instant, the location has changed. They're sitting in the back of a dimly lit bar. It seems to be underground, evidenced by the small high-set window in the room opposite and the lighting set up along the ceiling.

This room is just big enough for a pool table (on top of which Venia is lying down) and a booth where Gabriel has materialized the rest of the group. The other room has an aged disco ball hanging from the ceiling, and a bar tended by a middle-aged man that seems to be drifting off, despite the out of date music playing over the jukebox.

"Told you it was a dive." Gabe says, sipping from the drink that has appeared with the new environment. "I could show you the city, if you like. Much more impressive."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny blinks around himself in a moment of surprise, then laughs brightly, clapping his hands together. "Fuck, that's awesome," he says, and slides out of the booth. Nova scoots out from underneath the table, and he bends to pick her up again.

"This is a shithole!" she comments.

"I love it," agrees Johnny. "I do want to see the city, though. How far does this extend?"

[has_a_horn]

He shrugs. "As far as you want it to. I went just about everywhere in this city." He sets his drink down, stands and stretches his arms up while Venia hops down off of the pool table. "The palace quarter is closer to the center of the city. If you want to see the pretty stuff, I'll make a shortcut."

He smiles at Johnny's shift in mood, and Venia comes up and headbutts him affectionately, like a cat might. He reaches his hand up, and scratches where feathers meet fur.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny nods distractedly, already heading outside. After what he's been through in his last several dreams, all of this is a thoroughly welcome diversion.

Stepping out into narrow streets, loud crowds and bright sunlight is a bit of a shock. He stops short, holding Nova close to him, waiting for Gabriel to follow.

"Holy shit," he murmurs.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel emerges from the building, Venia striding at his shoulder. The crows around them doesn't seem all that bothered by the appearance of a mythical creature. If anything, they're indifferent to it, and they easily pass through the crowd as they make their way down the narrow street.

"It everything you thought it'd be?"

[johnny_truant]

"I mean... I don't even know what I thought it would be," says Johnny absently. "But it's amazing."

He stares around, overwhelmed by the heat, the scent of everything - it all feels so real. He glances back at Gabriel, smiling dumbly, not even aware of how much more relaxed he's become. "How are you doing this?"

[has_a_horn]

"How do you create whatever you see in dreams?" Gabriel smiles back, glad that Johnny has come around so easily. "I'm advanced-class for dream manipulations and general illusion fun-times."

He takes a look around at the scene, and a flock of bright birds takes the opportunity to fly overhead. "I stayed here for a while. That makes it even easier."

[johnny_truant]

"It's just so much," says Johnny. Nova makes an excited little noise as she watches the birds. "I mean my dreams don't have this much detail even when I know I'm dreaming."

Johnny turns to look at him again, this time critically. "What else can you do?"

[has_a_horn]

"Lots." Venia answers simply, and Gabriel chuckles.

He expands on Venia's answer, wondering just what Johnny wants to know about. "In what category? Magical? Musical? Philosophical? Sexual? I'm good at a lot of things." He grabs an orange off of one of the street carts and tosses it to Johnny. "Here, try that."

[johnny_truant]

"Uh." Johnny fumbles with Nova and barely manages to actually catch the orange. Nova sighs and squirms out of his arms and up to his shoulder, where she perches like a bird. Johnny peels the orange slowly, visibly stalling before he answers the question.

"Magical, I guess," he says. He peers at Gabe, wondering if it's rude to ask whether or not he's entirely human. He sort of assumed, based on appearances, but... something's a little off about him, something Johnny can't really put his finger on. He doesn't know how powerful humans can reasonably get before they stop being human.

He stalls from asking that by slipping an orange section into his mouth. It's fucking delicious, of course.

[has_a_horn]

"Well, I already told you some of that. You saw the teleportation. Transmogrification. Illusions." He gestures around them. "Dream manipulations on whatever scale you want. Other stuff." He shrugs. If Johnny wants to know about something in particular, he can ask about it.

"Why?" He smirks. "Have something specific in mind?"

[johnny_truant]

"I, um... I don't know," Johnny admits. He didn't really have anything specific, it just seemed the question to ask. "I guess it just seems like a lot."

He hesitates. Maybe it's the cavalier attitude he displayed at the notion of Zagreus coming after him. Maybe it's the griffin. Maybe it's everything Johnny's seen him do, or just a feeling. But he swallows his trepidation and asks bluntly, "Are you human?"

[has_a_horn]

"Nope." Gabriel answers simply then amends, "Wellll sort of?" He does have a human body, so he figures that it's not unreasonable to claim himself as somewhat human. Venia doesn't seem to agree. The griffin snorts incredulously and Gabe throws an unamused glare in their direction.

"Demi-God is more accurate. A plain ol' god, maybe, depending on the mythology you're working with."