Action: but you never tire of dreams

[ofthebeast]

Characters: Any willing dreamers
Open? Yes
Where: In your minds
When: After the party
What: Part two of the dream plot!
Warnings:


The party went on, with the beast's head on display. A proud, twisted thing. Behind false ruby eyes, it waited. And as the music became slower and the wine less plentiful, it waited still.

Those who had gazed upon it at the ball. Those who had seen it once living in the forest. All heroes who dared to look upon its face and dream still that they would be able to live another day...

There are all sorts of ways of living. In waking. In sleep. Perhaps, now, they would find one in between.

(ooc: Feel free to keep tagging into the party post! Once your characters go home and go to sleep of their own accord, that is when the dreaming will begin. Remember, it is up to you to set up what kind of world your character is trapped in and how best to help them. Plotting post is here, make use of it!

The beast's power will wane once the bulk of the dreamers have escaped his curse. If your character was not at the party but you still want to involve them in the dream plot, that is fine! They can either help get people out or have seen the beast wandering in the woods before it was killed and have caught its attention that way.

Comments

[consultmybooks]

Something Sour
It's an ordinary enough cemetery. Night has fallen heavy and dark, the scattering of stars above doing little to chase away the mists that creep among the tombstones and crypts. Beyond the iron bars that surround the place, it's just possible to glimpse a town, or possible a village, or possibly just a cluster of buildings in flame.

The graveyard isn't entirely deserted. A few yards away are a cluster of people. They seem to be attending a funeral, their black clothes a cluster of deeper black against the night. All seated in rows, the mourners listen to a priest standing beside the empty, freshly dug grave. But his words seem muffled, indistinct, even nonscensical. None of the funeral attendants seem bothered by this, though.

And you probably aren't too far away to hear the pounding, as of fists on wood, and the shouting. Even this far away, it's probably easy to tell that the panicked voice and the desperate strikes are coming from the coffin.

((ooc: So, Giles is having a nightmare about his rather long standing "in between" status as far as living or dying stands. There are a couple of ways to wake him up from this - either you can convince him that, despite having died, he still has useful knowledge to contribute and can help people, even in small ways, or you can put him out of his misery and give him a real death.))

Something Sweet:
Here is a strange little village, a mishmash of a place. The architecture is primary inspired by England, but mixes of other places can be seen, including some not entirely familiar to Earth. Here is a town square, with people going about their business. There is a fountain in the center of the square, the water glittering in it arc in the mild spring sunlight. Off in the distance, up a tall hill beyond the town, sits a crumbling, worn stone castle that nevertheless carries an indefinable air of grandeur.

It is here in the village, sitting on the edge of the fountain, that Giles can be found. He has a guitar in hand, tuning the instrument and looking...well, peaceful. Occasionally, people who are more distinct than the rest call out greetings to him that he pauses to return. It's an unhurried, safe sort of day.

But occasionally, the scene flickers. In place of the peaceful little village is a large, circular room made all of metal. There's a door of heavy, immovable steel that can't be opened from this side, and a wall of one way glass. Giles stands in the middle of the room. Beside him are two others, a younger boy and a younger girl. They're both unconscious, and the girl is bleeding from a wound to her head.

((ooc: And this is Giles' good dream. Here, he has a family and all his friends and everyone is safe and there are no monsters. However, because that goes so deeply against what Giles knows the world to be, he's already fighting back a bit. The best way to wake him up from this one is to remind him, and keep reminding him, that this isn't how things are, and that things can't ever be this way. Reinforce his naturally grounded nature and reassure him of what's real, even if it's a depressing reality.))

Something Sour - Feel free to ignore if Too Weird

[canistricari]

Somewhere in the world, something shifts. There is a shape, but it is not a shape. It is more like the idea of a shape, bright color, millions of eyes and billions of teeth sharp enough to cut the fabric of the world.

It sees, and it laughs.

[shiromadoushi]

Cemeteries aren't anything unfamiliar for Bakura, doubly so when he's dreaming, so that he found himself in another one seems natural to him. There's trailing bandage so loosely wound around his still bleeding arm, the tattered edges fluttering in a breeze that doesn't exist as his bare feet pad through the cool grass.

There was the funeral. But where was he? There was only one coffin... Was it his this time? Morbidly curious, he drifted forward, moving through the crowd of mourners as if he were a ghost himself.

He slowed to a stop as he reached the coffin, hearing the sound from inside. "Someone in there...?"

[consultmybooks]

And the crowd of mourners ignored him just as though he were a ghost himself. They all stared straight ahead, expressions of identical stoic grief on all their faces, as the priest droned on and on and whoever was inside the coffin continued to attempt to beat their way free. But they seemed to be getting tired, the blows a little less solid, the muffled voice even fainter.

The priest, concluding his nonsense speech with some ceremony, stepped down from his podium and gestured. A couple of people stood up and made to approach the coffin, still ignoring Bakura.

[shiromadoushi]

Time to work fast...

Without even a thought, Bakura put his hand out behind him, casting a barrier to hold back those approaching before attempting to lift the coffin lid, a white aura building around him as he used his magic to improve his strength.

You can do this, Bakura Ryou! Whomever is in there needs you to do this, so push! PUSH!

[consultmybooks]

The barrier does buy him a bit of time. The people walk right into it and then stumble back, shaking their heads and clearly dazed.

But then a red headed girl stands up. She focuses her eyes on the space where the barrier is impeding them and starts gesturing in the air, murmuring in a garbled version of Latin.

Fortunately, the coffin lid proves to be cheap plywood. It swings up with a bit of help from his magic, and Giles is revealed inside, shaken and scared and disoriented. After several deep breaths, he stares wildly up at Bakura.

"You..."

Something Sweet

[for_that_i_run]

Eagle stopped walking so he could listen to the gentle strumming of the gentleman by the fountain. It was a peaceful happy setting with everyone greeting each other and going about their daily business.
That is until the scene flickered and the cold metallic room appeared in its place. The exact opposite of what the other dream had been this place was cold, oppressive, and there were people injured? Blood?

With a shock Eagle found himself back by the fountain once more listening to the gentle strumming of the man sitting there just as nothing had happened.

"What was...?"

An illusion maybe? Something he hadn't really seen? Eagle turned his attention back to the fellow with the guitar.

"Excuse me sir, but what is this place?"

[consultmybooks]

"Hm?"

Giles paused, letting the music die, before looking up at Eagle with polite puzzlement.

"What do you mean? You, um, you don't know?"

It's not as though it's a question he's unfamiliar with. He used to get it a lot, back in the village this particular dreamscape is based on. And so, without waiting for Eagle's reply, Giles tries to come up with an answer.

"It's..."

The scene flickers again, back to the metal room, an eyeblink and then they're back by the fountain. Giles briefly looks a bit disquieted, before he visibly shakes it off.

"Um, s-small town. In, um, Romania. I'm rubbish with names. Traveled too much."

[for_that_i_run]

That never stopped being jarring. A moment spent in one place followed by a heartbeat in another.

"Some times this looks like a normal village but some times it looks like a room. Haven't you noticed?"

[consultmybooks]

"A room? We're, um, we're outside. I haven't noticed any rooms out here."

But he's staring at the space where the boy had been an instant before. After a couple of seconds of that, however, Giles shakes himself off and looks back up at Eagle.

"Sorry. Um, just...got a bit distracted, I suppose. Are, um, a-are you new in town? I'm afraid I'm not very much fo a guide, myself, but if you need to get somewhere, I-I might be able to help."

Something Sour

[wanderwonder]

Why is she here?

Against the darkness of the mourners, Olinda stands out like a sore thumb in her cotton sleeping gown. Cemetery -- property she made no effort to visit in Tyrol, and not a place she wished to be here, now, either...

She strains to understand the priest, but no matter how close she gets, his words remain a mystery. Up close, though, she can hear the muffled pounding. Eyes widened in panic, she falls to it and smacks the wood with her palm to announce her attention.

"Hello? Hello! Are you unhurt?" Darn it, where are the latches? She lifts her head to the priest, the mourners. "This person is still alive!"

[consultmybooks]

There are two latches, both fixed in place by padlocks without keyholes.

Blank, slightly resentful stares greet her. It's clear that the attendees don't know who she is, what she's doing, or what her problem is. The priest says something, sounding as though he's talking around a mouthful of cotton, and shoos her away. A small blonde woman gets to her feet, looking the angriest of all.

But the pounding stops, as though the one trapped inside is aware that someone is here, someone who doesn't mean to see this carried through. If Olindra looks again, she'll see that the lid is now affixed by nothing more than a silver hook fit through an eyelet.

It looks easy enough to undo...

[wanderwonder]

She returns the blonde's look with a glare of her own, but the sudden stillness of the coffin commands her attention once more.

It... changed.

A temporary wave of wariness runs through her, but she ignores it. As soon as the hook is removed, she pushes the lid open.

[consultmybooks]

And Giles sits bolt upright like a toy on a spring, clutching his chest, eyes tight shut, breathing in great, shuddering gasps of air. The blonde pauses, fist still raised in preparation to strike Olindra, but this time frowning in dawning horror as the world...changes.

Giles finally looks up, and his face shifts into something monstrous, like a primordial human that had somehow survived the wrath of god. He growls, a truly bestial sound and makes to struggle to his feet.

"Back up."

The barest glance of his yellow eyes says that he's directing the words at Olindra, rather than Buffy.

Something Sour because I'm horrible :D!

[folklorist]

Helios is honestly not unfamiliar with graveyards. He's met many a ghost family and vampire family there before. This was different though. The background of a place in flames the people standing before a freshly dug grave dressed in black. Helios is startled to see himself dressed in similar clothing but he's a little way off from the gathering. He's honestly startled by the echoing pound of someone or something coming from one of the coffins. His face pales as he rushes over, pushing people aside as he does so. Why isn't anyone helping? Why doesn't anyone hear anything?!

"H-Hello?! D-Don't worry. P-Please! Y-You all c-can't possibly not hear it!" Helios will bend down now not even caring that his pants are getting dirty. All the while no one else budges from their spots and Helios' eyes glow a bright green as he begins to cast a spell to splinter the top of the coffin apart.

You are awful. Awful, awful, awful.

[consultmybooks]

At his magic, the wood begins to rot and dry and break and splinter. It's the sound that jolts the mourners from their respectful daze and the priest from his cotton-mouthed sermon. He frowns at Helios and makes to shoo him away, saying something to him that's meant to be reproachful but comes out as nonsense.

In the very front row, two girls get to their feet. Helios might just recognize, from the long ago days of Luceti, Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenburg. They're both glaring at him with hurt, indignant expressions on their face, and they both start striding towards him with purpose. But it's at that moment that the unfortunate victim inside the coffin finishes clawing it apart, tearing the wood aside and surfacing with a shuddering gasp for air. Giles takes in the night with wild, terrified eyes.

Lets face it they always get into awful things when it comes to events

[folklorist]

Helios looks up from his position to blink as he sees Buffy and Willow. Why didn't they say or help? It was Giles good god this was Giles' funeral. Now he knew why he was there dressed for the occasion and everything.

"Giles!" Oh god this was not what he expected to happen. He looks back at the other mortified and then scrambles to help the other out into the cool night air. He also looks back over at Buffy and Willow who are still advancing with indignant expressions.

E-yup. It's a requirement.

[consultmybooks]

Giles' skin is cold under Helios', just as cold and devoid of any of the signs of life one might expect. No beating heart, no pulse. But, still, he holds tightly onto Helios and lets himself be helped out of the ruins of his cheap plywood prison.

"Helios..."

He sounds like a man who was nearly buried alive, without the benefit of being comatose or unconscious for it.

But then Giles growls, a primal, angry sound, and looks up at the girls. There's an organic sound of stretching skin and muscle, warping bone, and suddenly Helios is holding onto a vampire. But only for a second - then Giles will shove him away and make a lunge for the girls.

[through_fire_be_reborn]

There's a light sound on the lid of the coffin, as if something had landed on it, before suddenly the dragon mask emerges through it as if it were water, peering down at the coffin's occupant with a painted grin.

Hello, did you want something?

[consultmybooks]

The air in the coffin is almost extinguished. Almost. But there's still enough for Giles to gasp as the dragon's face appears on the lid.

He remembers burning, and ashes, all things that represent irreversible final death to a vampire. But the memory, if anything, seems to calm him somewhat. He raises a hand and traces the outline of the dragon on the cheap wood, thinking, feeling his mind whirring back to life.

"I'd like to be let out of here."

[through_fire_be_reborn]

There is a soft, airy laugh.

'Do you know what my fire will bring....?'

There's no sing song this time, only a purr of something deeply amused.

Already there's a touch of heat as the outside of the coffin begins to smolder.

[consultmybooks]

Giles closes his eyes as he feels the heat of fire from the outside, as his prison begins to smolder away. He's trying not to feel afraid, or trying not to show it. Because he does know, or he thinks he does, and...well, so be it.

"I know."

Bittersweet, more like it.

[shadedsunlight]

Alice hugs her arms around her chest as she walks around the peaceful village, watching people pass by on their lives. She doesn't recognize the square, though she can see hints of Luceti in some of the buildings. There's the bakery at the corner, one of the community houses, probably seven though they were all identical, squished between two other buildings she can't recognize. It's all so strange and unfamiliar and it makes her uneasy and tense. Her hands drop down, reaching for a weapon or something to grab onto, but there's nothing. So her arms come back to wrap around herself.

She finds herself in the town square - there's always a fountain in the center, isn't there - and blinks as she recognizes the man seated by the water.

"...Giles? That you?" she ventures habitually, only stopping when she realizes there's nothing around her neck. ...Strange.

Or maybe just bitter

[consultmybooks]

"Hm?" Giles looks up at her, pausing in his playing, and frowns in faint concern. Here is Ginia, his wife and the woman he loves more than anyone else, and yet...there's something wrong.

"Ginia? Yes, of course it's me. What's the matter?" He sets the guitar aside. "What's happened?" Then, realizing that she's here alone, and looking all the more worried because of it. "Where's Tara?"

He doesn't seem to have noticed the lack of a necklace, yet, if only because her lack of recognition and the absence of the child she'd left him there with is currently a priority in his mind.

Probably just bitter.

[shadedsunlight]

"I'm not Ginia."

It's probably a set of words Giles wouldn't want to hear, right up there with "Helios accidentally blew himself up while testing out a spell" and "Tara fell into the lake and drowned." Because while Giles was never particularly good at distinguishing between Ginia and Alice, Alice instantly realizes she's probably the last person he wants to see. Things have changed again and like most places, she doesn't belong here.

"I'm Alice. Who's Tara?"