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

[shadedsunlight]

Yes, I'm sure. [She doesn't even bother to say 'don't worry' because she knows he will.]

You can show me in time. [Maybe one day, when they're really in his world, they can see it together. Giles can come too.] And no, I'm fine, thank you. Feel free to take your time, it's quite nice out here and I'm sure a lot of people want to see you and congratulate you.

[folklorist]

[ A small sigh from Helios. He will frown a little as he stands fully and walks around to the other side of the table. ] If you're certain...

[ He's still going to bring you back something to drink at least. It was rather warm out after all. ] I-I'll, um, be back shortly. Y-You can look too if you want.

[shadedsunlight]

[Ginia smiles and waves him on, hoping he'll spend his time enjoying himself and not worrying too much about her (she knows better than to expect him to not worry about her at all).

It's sad telling him she'd never hurt him intentionally, yet isn't breaking him out of his dream an intentional act of pain? Even with the best of intentions, she's still deliberately striking at his happiness.]

What would you do, Giles? [She quietly asks out loud, wishing he was here for a second opinion, though he has a hunch he'd do the same. Dreams are wonderful things, but in the end, they're only that. There's a greater world to continue living in. It was as Helios said himself moments ago; no time to rest just yet.

Yet Luceti was almost a dream of its own. It's own isolated pocket of reality, where everything that happened in Luceti had no bearing on anything outside. She learned that going back home, living on another year.

Ginia slump forward and rest her head on her arms. Dammit.]

[folklorist]

[ Sometimes living in the world is so much harder than in ones dreams. It's so easy to want to stay because it's so perfect and everything he's hoped for and imagined. Everyone here loves him and supports him. Elise is alive and he's in love with her and everything is just how it should have been. How it was supposed to be. But out there beyond this veil is nothing but pain and broken memories. Is it really so bad that he wants to stay? Selfish maybe and he knows it but he can't seem to care at the moment.

It'll be a good while before Helios returns and in his hands are a plate of food and some more champagne. His smile drops as he sees her in that position and he'll hurry back over. Plate and glass clink against the stone table. ] Ginia?

[shadedsunlight]

[It's an oddly comfortable position, though Ginia quickly sits up when she realizes Helios is back. She laughs softly at the food and drinks he brought over - oh, Helios, never change - and smiles.]

I'm fine, I'm fine. Sorry, just resting my head a little. Traveling, alcohol, doesn't mix. [She tries to laugh it off, but it's probably pretty obvious by now things aren't okay. Ginia's no closer to figuring out how to handle things beyond the blunt force of truth, but Helios deserves better than that.]

You should sit down.

[folklorist]

[ He doesn't look convinced at Ginia's response because, no, something is wrong. Something is very wrong and on a base level he knows. His mind is trying to tell him because it knows too but he won't let it sink in or seep through. This dream, this protection, it was built out of steel to keep the pain away. But even steel warps under pressure and heat and no defense is perfect.

He sits without a seconds questioning. ] Something is wrong. Wh-what is it? You, you can tell me. I-I'll always help you, you know. S-So there's no need to worry about f-feeling like you're bothering me.

[ A pause as he looks her over. ] Maybe you go inside to rest for a little bit?

[shadedsunlight]

No, I'm fine here. [Here is very good because she knows if she delays things any longer, she'll never talk to him. It may not be her dream, but she wants to stay in it almost as badly as he does. She could take care of the library alongside Giles, play duets with Frederic, learn how to garden with Grune, have the life she's always wanted. There is nothing wrong here, everything is beautiful with no pain or suffering. It could be a good life here.

But it wouldn't the right life. It wouldn't be real. They would live on in dreams, but what about reality? What would happen to their bodies as they continued to sleep?]

Helios... I don't know what will happen after this, but you are and always will be someone I admire, respect, and love. You are family, you are my brother. And I'm sorry I have to do this to you. [Her words come out in a rush and she forces herself to meet his eyes and not look away as she reaches up and tugs the neckline of her dress down to properly show the lack of gold around her neck.]

[folklorist]

[ He's about to interject when he watches her do that, almost making to look away at the sudden exposure over her showing him her neckline. No. This couldn't be right. She didn't have a necklace? But...Ginia always had one the one he made for her for Christmas. This wasn't real.

Those words in his head hit him like a ton of bricks and they hurt. Hurt on a level far deeper than just simple heartache or disbelief. He moves away then disbelief and shock on his face. ] N-No that's not...that's not possible. [ It was some sort of trick, wasn't it? Yes that was it. It had to be because desperation to keep away from the truth was so much easier than to accept that this wasn't real. Elise wasn't real, she was dead and not a single one of these people would ever attend a party that never existed. His tone of voice is filled with nothing but sorrow as he utters that single word. ] No.

[shadedsunlight]

I'm sorry, Helios. I don't know what's going on, I don't know why I'm here, but this, [She gestures around at the beautiful world around them, her face falling in sadness as she continues to crush his dream.] none of this is real. It's a dream. You told me yourself she's gone.

[folklorist]

[ He doesn't know what to say because his mind is just as empty as his heart right now. None of this was real. Elise was gone? Of course she was he was the one responsible...

And at that thought there is a scream. It resounds through the empty garden which is now darkening from overcast and ominous clouds. Helios just snaps his eyes shut in tandem with the scream of whom it belongs to is Elise no doubt. He opens his eyes after the clouds pass and the sun has a chance to peek through once again. His hands are slightly shaking in his lap as he looks lost and confused. ] I. I don't want to leave.

[ It's so selfish to say, so incredibly selfish and stupid. But he likes it here. It doesn't hurt and the pain of reality is never kind or unrelenting. He knows he has to wake up some time though because the real world wouldn't wait for him and he had people to protect and keep out of danger. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Ginia quickly moves to hug him, holding her tight against him even as her own eyes squeeze shut. She doesn't want to see this, doesn't want to see the world fall apart, watch all the beauty crumble away into darkness.]

I know. I know, and god, Helios, I wish you could stay. I wish we all could, in your world, live happily, not worry about everything that's out there. I wish you two could be together, I wish you never had to hurt again. There is so much I would give you if I could.

But this is a dream, Helios. We have to wake up because... because there's still so much to do. [There are still goals to complete, adventures to have, a life to live. As painful as it can be, the real world is out there, slowly passing by as they sit here, dreaming it away.]

I think... I think she would want you to live on too.

[folklorist]

[ He flinches almost backs away as she hugs him. There's that familiar dull throbbing in his chest that he lives with everyday of his life. A pain that never manages to go away because of the damage to his soul. And there are tears in his eyes as Ginia speaks those kind words that no one has ever said to him, no one ever would, until now. And that makes it hurt so much more. There's a shaky intake of breath as he tries to fight back those tears but he's just not strong enough to over power the purity and openness that the dreamscape provides. Pure happiness changing into sorrow.

His only reply is barely above a shaky whisper as he bites his lip and silently lets those tears fall freely from his eyes. ] It's so hard th-though.

[ God it's never been easy, no, but it was never as bad when Elise was in his life. And ever since she wasn't it was never the same. There were days were he wondered how he'd get through it, how he would ever manage or survive without her. Utterly bleak and dark and clouded by his own over thinking and harsh thoughts about himself. But he didn't have that here. Everything was so perfect and yet. And yet. It wasn't real, he could waste away in this place happy and content with his falsified life. Or he could share his happiness and make others happy instead. He had to live on because that's what Elise would have wanted. There's a small constricted sob from him as he tries to muffle it against Ginia's shoulder. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Normally Ginia would let him have his space, but right now she holds on to him in a gentle, loving embrace. He is her brother and she needs him to know she cares, that she's here, that she regrets everything she's doing right now but it's also out of love and concern for him.]

I know. I know how hard it can be, I know how sometimes giving up seems so tempting because it means you don't have to hurt anymore, but you have to fight. You have to try because things might just get better.

[She whispers the words to him, their close proximity making it easy for him to hear. Ginia knows she doesn't understand everything he's feeling, that their situations are different, but she knows the pain, of how good it would be to stay in a dream. Live in a world where everything is nice a happy, work in the academy, be with Giles, see all their friends again, it would be so beautiful and good and she wants that too.

It's only a dream, but dreams can come true. They can work for it, find a way to go back to Helios' world, live together. Elise may not be there, it may not be perfect, but they can try.

Her hand comes up to gently stroke the back of Helios' head.]

There's no shame in crying, Helios. It's okay.