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

[wildmage_daine]

Daine finds herself in a sunny courtyard, the lawn a smooth expanse of green grass. Beside her, an overlarge wolf shakes his head, looking dazed.

"Oh," says the wolf, blinking at her with tawny eyes. His fur is a mottled blend of cream, grey, and brown, but there's no trace of copper fire about him.

Daine frowns a little, puzzled. "You're not a proper wolf," she guesses, though she reaches out a hand towards him all the same.

"… No?" The wolf sounds confused, or perhaps a little disappointed. He pushes his muzzle beneath her hand without hesitation, and Daine feels a little thrill of pleasure. Whatever he is, it feels right, having him here. "I suppose not," the wolf allows with a little sigh, and Daine blinks again as she realizes that he's speaking aloud, like a two-legger, and not just in her mind.

"Do you have a name?" she asks. "I'm--"

"Veralidaine," the wolf finishes. "Yes, I know. My name is…" he pauses thoughtfully, head cocked a little to one side, "… Coromotto." It's hard to tell if it's a recollection or a decision, but the wolf seems happy with it, so Daine just shrugs.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," she says, burying her fingers in the thick fur around Coromotto's neck and grinning as the wolf's tail wags.

(i'm sorry I wrote a small book)

[mr_fring]

He feels different, somehow, a sensation difficult to parse. Where is he? The architecture is that of an older world, or perhaps only a preserved one - this is not America. It's not Mexico or Chile, either. It looks European. Perhaps English.

Gus stands slowly and takes in his surroundings. He's standing in a green courtyard, an enclosure flanked by several elegant structures, the nearest of which appears to be a chapel.

There is something on his shoulder.

"Goodness," it says.

Gus startles, but cannot quite see what it is. It feels reptilian. "Hello?" he says softly, unsure.

"Oh, hello," says the creature in a quiet voice, a female voice. She moves her strangely-jointed limbs and crawls delicately down his arm. He shifts so he can see her properly, guarded, and yet somehow not as alarmed as he feels he should be. She is familiar. Strange.

"Gustavo," she says, sounding surprise.

"What?" He blinks at her. She is a chameleon, he can't recall ever having seen one this close before, but the species is fairly recognizable. Her skin, bright, speckled green, is fading curiously to scarlet, matching his shirt.

"You're Gustavo," she informs him. "I know you." She cocks her head from side to side, protruding eyes questing this way and that. "My name is Cosmia," she says after a moment.

"Cosmia," he repeats.

"Let's go inside," she says.

He'd been thinking much the same thing. He steps inside the chapel, keeping his arm steady so she doesn't lose her grip. The chapel is empty, quiet. It does feel safer in here.

"Who are you?" he asks after a moment. "What are you?"

"I'm not sure," she admits. "But... I feel like I've always been here. With you."

He stares at her, then reaches out with his other hand to touch her head. Her skin is rigid and rough, but it feels comforting all the same.

"I feel it too," he says, bewildered.

(i'm sorry I wrote an even BIGGER small book)

[johnny_truant]

"Oh, for fuck's-"

Johnny cuts himself off, but only because he realizes he's in a library, and it's quiet, and he has no desire to draw any attenton to himself. Shelves tower over him. He's sitting on the floor for some reason, hands buried in plush carpeting. The library is grand, huge, with an old and academic atmosphere, not a building he's ever been in, one he doubts he'd be allowed into under normal circumstances.

But these aren't normal circumstances. He's dreaming again - it's starting to get familiar now. And he doesn't like it. Dreams aren't safe. Bad things happen in them, almost every time.

"Don't be scared, Johnny," says a small voice beside him, just as a soft nose touches his hand.

So much for keeping quiet. He lets out a loud and rather inappropriate string of syllables and staggers to his feet, whipping around to see...

...a rabbit.

Why is it always rabbits?

"The fuck?" he hisses. Is he going crazy again? "Did you just..."

"I talked!" she squeaks. She wiggles her nose nervously. She looks up at him, shuffling a little closer. "Johnny?" She's talking. The rabbit is talking. "Do you know me?"

"I don't know, are you related to the last rabbit that appeared in front of me?" says Johnny drolly, but at the same time...

Does he know her?

"I think my name's Novatiana," she says.

Johnny starts to back away. She is familiar somehow, like he's known this rabbit forever, even with the talking and everything. But that doesn't mean he wants to be near her. In fact he feels like he wants to get away. "Nice to meet you, I guess," he says, shuffling back. "I'm, uh, gonna have a look around if that's okay."

"Yeah," she says slowly. She seems jittery, more fidgety than the average rabbit level of fidgetiness. She takes a little hop towards him but then stops as he continues to back off. Like she can feel it too. The aversion. Or at least his intent.

"Johnny?" she says, sounding a little shrill.

He can feel a little bit of an ache in his chest, like something slowing him down, or pulling him back, but he ignores it. It feels too much like what Zagreus did to him before, and even as this invisible draw hurts him, he wants to feel it snap.

He turns sharply, and that's when it hits him - the pain, harder, sharper, unlike anything he's ever felt in his life. He drops back down to his knees, shaking and sobbing, already in tears, how did that happen?! And all he wants is the stupid rabbit, wants her back. He feels like she's being ripped violently away.

And then it subsides.

"Johnny, don't!" Novatiana has scampered toward him, desperate and frantic, her voice trembling. "Come back! It hurts when you... when we..."

He doesn't let her finish. He scoops her up in his arms and holds her close, pressing her to his chest. She's warm and her heart beats rapidly, almost in unison with his. It feels so good - so new. Like he's holding a part of himself. He's never felt this before.

"I'm sorry," he says, feeling terribly ashamed.

"I know," she says.

He curls over, holding her, momentarily unaware of his surroundings.

[jennifer_strange]

Well, this isn't too bad. It's all a bit posh, but it's a familiar, old sort of posh. Is she back in the Ununited Kingdoms? Could she be so lucky?

She moseys down the corridor in which she's found herself, taking in the old stonework… and then she feels an odd ache in her chest, and a small voice cries, "Wait!"

Jennifer turns sharply, one hand drifting to her chest. The corridor is empty. But that can't be right. It doesn't feel empty, and there was that voice. "Hello?"

"Jennifer?" It's a male voice, and she'd guess it was Aglet if its accent didn't match her own. Her eyes search the hall, and then there's a flash of sunset orange high along one of the stone columns. A moment later, a tiny form detaches itself from the stone and glides down toward her, thin tail windmilling in the air. She lifts her hands to catch it, an automatic, instinctive gesture, and a small lizard lands on her outstretched palms. The ache in her chest vanishes instantly, and she and the lizard let out twin sighs of relief as she draws him closer.

"I'm sorry," she says uncertainly, because has the feeling that she should have waited for him, a vague, persistent guilt. Never mind that she didn't know he existed until just now. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," he replies. The two odd little wings that he'd extended are folded back close to his sides, and he looks like an ordinary lizard, grey and mottled, like lichen on wood. "Yes, I'm all right, now." He tilts his head to fix one beady eye on her, and asks, "You?"

"I think so." Jennifer examines the little lizard, fascinated. "You knew my name."

"Of course," says the lizard, crawling up her sleeve to her shoulder. "I think I've always known you," he confides.

Jennifer nods. That makes sense - more than it probably should. "I don't know your name," she admits, face flushing in embarrassment. She should know it.

"Astyanax," says the lizard.

Yes. Jennifer nods again. That's right. "Any idea where we are?"

"Not a clue," says Astyanax, though he doesn't sound particularly troubled by that fact. "Shall we find out?"

Jennifer smiles. Time to go exploring. "Let's."

[erratic_hematic]

Spike finds himself in a richly decorated hallway, all stonework and high ceilings. It's not familiar, but if he had to take a guess, he'd say this definitely isn't anywhere in New York. He's staring up into the carvings above the strangely large doorway when there's a bark behind him, shortly followed by a female voice calling his name. Not Spike, but William.

He turns, confused because he doesn't recognize the voice, but he's sure that he should recognize it. Which is about when the friendly-looking black and white dog jumps up to rest it's forepaws against him. "William," it says, in an accent that reminds him of his mothers, "would you like to go outside? It's a lovely day."

"No." Outside? It takes him a moment to remember that he even could go outside. He backs away, not liking that this felt right, and then not liking that backing away feels even worse. "No. No more talking animals. I'm done with talking animals for at least a year. A lifetime. Nice to meet ya. Come back never." He takes the remaining steps to open up the door from the hallway and slips through, shutting it before the dog can follow him. She shouts for him through the door, but he doesn't respond.

This room is huge, some sort of dining hall, but something is keeping him from exploring it just yet. He leans his back against the door, not exactly sure what to do.

[rae_of_sun]

About halfway down the dining hall, Sunshine is standing with her elbows resting on the back of a wooden chair, her eyes trained on the enormous bee that's buzzing around in the same shaft of sunlight she's standing in. It really is the biggest damn bee she's ever seen - almost the size of her thumb - but she's not afraid of it. Well, she's never really had a problem with bees. They're good pollinators, and honey is delicious.

The sound of the door distracts her, and she glances over to see Spike leaning against it and looking perturbed. She wonders, idly, if there are more giant bees on the other side (and thinks: leave it to a vampire lite to be afraid of bees). "Hey," she says, pushing herself away from the chair and wandering toward him. The bee bumbles along after her, but she finds herself not minding its company. So long as it doesn't get stuck in her hair or something, it can buzz around all it likes.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel appears in a library when he's pulled into the dream, books in front of him and a large window behind with mid-day light steaming in. There's also someone else. He turns and sees...a griffin. It's body is as tall as he is, but great golden wings extend beyond that to rival Gabriel's own. He pauses for a moment, because it's more than just a creature. It's as if the rift has taken a piece of his Grace and given it a body.

"Hello, Gabriel." Its voice rumbles out like a purr, and his name is pronounced in Enochian rather than the English translation.

Gabriel smiles despite himself and lifts up a hand to rest on the creature's deadly looking beak. "Hey there."

[edgar_sawtelle]

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_strange]

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.

[erratic_hematic]

Oh, great. Now Sunshine's here to see him being weirded out by a dog.

"Hey." He answers, ignoring the feeling that he should open the door. Instead, he pushes himself away from the door to walk towards her. There's a whine from behind the door, and he barely has time to notice the giant bee hovering after Sunshine before he collapses to the floor in pain.

[peeta_mellark]

Peeta squints in the sunlight and shields his eyes to see better. With shaded view, he can see that he's in a grassy courtyard, flanked by buildings whose windows gleam brightly in the sun. Across the way, he spots two figures, one of which he immediately recognizes, the other of which resembles a dog.

"Daine!" he calls, waving at her as he starts off in her direction. After only a dozen or so steps, though, he stops, having sensed something large moving behind him.

When he turns around and sees what is following him, he is possessed by two strong and opposite reactions.

The animal is like nothing he's ever seen before. It is a little taller than him, but much larger, with dark gray skin and a long - is that a nose? His first thought is muttattion, and with that terror in mind his body braces to run. But there's something about the way it watches him, something in its dark eyes - they appear black at first, but are actually a deep brown flecked with gold - that instantly makes him want to stay. His initial instinct to balk rapidly fading, he tentatively reaches out a hand and lays it on the animal's nose.

A tingle rushes from his hand and through his body, and he lets out a faint, "Oh," just as the animal does the same.

[edgar_sawtelle]

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.

[rae_of_sun]

Well, that's unexpected and alarming. Whatever reservations she might have about Spike, she doesn't enjoy seeing him in pain. Sunshine rushes forward, though not quickly enough to stop him from dropping to the floor, and crouches beside him. "What's wrong?" she asks, cautiously putting a hand on his shoulder. Is it the sunlight? But there's only a vague stirring of her affinity when she touches him - whatever's happening, it's not something her magic can fix. "Spike?"

The bee lands on the closest chair. She doesn't know how she knows this, because it's happening behind her, but she just knows. A quiet, unfamiliar voice says, "Oh, damn. He doesn't look good."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine looks over at Peeta's call, then blinks when she sees his companion. Pushing herself to her feet, she crosses the lawn, Coromotto trotting along by her side.

"Peeta," she says, grinning, "you have an elephant!" Well. Not a proper one - it's like Coromotto, just something that looks like an elephant, but with no spark of wild magic.

[jennifer_strange]

"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.

[theoldgirl]

The TARDIS' foray into the telepathic current is slow and careful; she still hasn't entirely recovered from her struggle with the rift and can't afford to take any chances, but she'd sensed a conglomeration of minds and became curious, eager for a distraction. So she doesn't manifest immediately, instead feeling out the dream, then deciding that it seems stable and the minds within it mostly content.

When she settles into the dream, she appears in a small courtyard encircled by several large doorways leading into the maze of buildings beyond. The sun is shining warm and pleasant on her skin and a breeze is tugging at her hair, only then it's not the breeze but a noisy puff of air. She turns around to look into the face of a tall, bulky unicorn, fur shimmering golden, with a mane and tail so blonde they're almost white. Immediately she recognizes it as a version of herself, having crossed her own timeline more often than is proper or safe, but something isn't right about that impression. When she reaches out telepathically, it's like touching a mirror; there isn't anything there but herself at this moment, only a reflection. How very strange.

The TARDIS and the Unicorn look at each other wordlessly for some time, both assessing the situation. Then the Unicorn waves its tail idly and declares, "We ought to explore," in the complex tongue of the Time Lords, carrying connotations of the relative future in the unknown. The TARDIS finds herself a little surprised to hear Gallifreyan spoken aloud, but she supposes it makes sense - it's the language of her programming and her nurturing, though not exactly the one she used to communicate with her own kind. Not that terribly much about this makes sense to begin with.

"Perhaps there is someone here who knows the meaning of this," she replies in agreement, since telepathy is apparently not an option with this odd manifestation of herself. The Unicorn nods its head and follows as the TARDIS enters a door at random.

[edgar_sawtelle]

/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./

[jennifer_strange]

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.

[peeta_mellark]

"Is that what this is?" Peeta asks weakly. He pulls back his hand, but his palm still tingles slightly.

"Yes, that's what I am," the elephant says in a female voice. Her nose curls and uncurls and Peeta stares at her, speechless.

[theoldgirl]

The TARDIS and her unicorn self are following a lavish hallway with high arched windows and a soft carpet that swallows their foot- and hoof steps, leading into the library just a few feet behind Johnny. As soon as they walk through the doorway into the expansive room, the TARDIS spots the boy on the floor, recognizes his mind, and freezes in her tracks. She's acutely aware of the effect she had on him when he came across her in the woods, the pain and horror she unwillingly inflicted, how she wasn't able to stop or help him at all. Now she is probably already much too close and she holds her breath, expecting him to curl up in agony any second.

But he doesn't, and after a long moment the Unicorn, apparently somewhat less inhibited by concern for others and a sense of consequences, walks forward with its head hung low and friendly, snorting gently to draw the boy's attention. The TARDIS remains by the doorway, still afraid that something will trigger his violent reaction to her.

[wildmage_daine]

"They're wondrous creatures," Daine says with an easy grin. "Very clever - and matriarchal, naturally."

If it was a proper elephant, Daine probably would have given it a pat by now, but she holds off. Coromotto has no such reservations, though. He steps up to the elephant, tail wagging slowly, and sniffs politely at her trunk. "Hullo," he says. "I'm Coromotto."

[edgar_sawtelle]

/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.

[peeta_mellark]

Trunk curled, the elephant sniffs Coromotto right back. "I'm Nilakshi," she replies. Having gotten her whiff of the wolf, she reaches up to snuffles Peeta's shoulder.

"I have an elephant," he says. "Why do I have an elephant? Where did you come from?"

"I don't know. I feel like I've always been here, even though I know I haven't been."

[jennifer_strange]

"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.

[erratic_hematic]

Oh god, is the bee talking? The bee is talking. Spike cringes through the pain and lifts up a hand to clutch onto Sunshine's arm, needing to confirm for himself that she's really here and that this is actually happening. This hurts. It hurts a lot, and he has no idea why it's happening.

From the other side of the door, there's the sound of a pained yelp, followed by a female voice yelling "Open this door!" After that, there's only frantic scratching and whimpering.