Dream the Fourth : GHB8 [Orb]

[yumemi_no_ou]

[[The image from the orb is rather white and blurry, with only the vague outlines of shapes visible. Someone's thrown a sheet over it, it would seem.]]

I can't find Aralu or Hawk anywhere. Hawk's mom's gone too.

[[a slight pause. He really really doesn't like having to do this...]]

...and I can't work the stove in this stupid place.

[[Or do much of anything else with his back like it is.]]

Comments

[yumemi_no_ou]

"They don't have real dreams," Shin added. "I think I've spotted maybe one that looked like it might have been a real one, and I couldn't even reach it." Which was ridiculous. He was the king of the Dreaming, he could go farther and reach more people than anyone else could. There shouldn't be any dream he couldn't reach...

[shadow_sage]

"No dreams? That can't be normal. I'm positive that humans dream for at least a a few hours every night, normally." She prodded at her food again.

"How often do you encounter dreams difficult to enter? And is there some way to pinpoint who is dreaming in the waking world? Out here? Or is the...landscape...too different from the real world?"

[yumemi_no_ou]

"There's a difference between regular dreams and real dreams. The have the regular ones, but those have about as much substance as day dreams. They're like cotton candy. There's nothing real to it, if that makes any sense," Shin attempted to explain. "Like the dreams a dog has. They're still dreams, but trying to go into one of those would be like a person going into a dog house. They dissolve when I get near."

"And it's pretty rare. I mean, Kajiro's is pretty hard to get into but he's the god of the Shadows so that's not any sort of surprise," he shrugged. "And it's impossible to find out who someone is if you can't get into their dream. It'd kinda like..." he trailed off, frowning as he tried to put it into words. "Heck, I don't know if I can explain it... kinda like a blind person trying to find a house that he only knows is white house, I guess. It's a different set of senses that don't really translate. If you spot the person in the Waking world, it's not too hard to put two and two together, but you have to find them to find them, you know?"

[shadow_sage]

She nodded as she listened, and sighed. "Are you confidant it wasn't simply a hero?" She isn't looking at him directly, but her interest was sharp. Anyone local who stood out like that was someone she very much wanted to find.

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Not unless it's someone who doesn't use this thing," he bounced the shrunken form of the orb in the air a few times with his finger.

[shadow_sage]

"Well. Possible, so I'll keep an eye out for anyone. But let's assume it's a local. Who do you think might be capable of keeping you out of their dreams? There is talk of a Witch, in the forest. Dragons." Liara is, perhaps understandably, not at all uneasy with thinking of non-humans as people, and the locals seem to give the dragon sisters intelligence.

"How far away can you reach, dreaming? The bottom of the ocean, where the mermaids are supposed to live, or to the 'Kingdom across the sea'?" This last takes an exaggerated tone, indicating her opinion of such a...creative...name for such a place that was supposed to be at least a trade partner if not an actual ally.

[yumemi_no_ou]

"The Dreaming's not restricted the same way as the physical. If you know where you're going, you can get there. It only takes time if you're searching for something. The only trick is making sure you know how to get back and aren't gone too long."

He shifted in his chair, trying to align his back a little straighter. "And it'd depend on the witch and I have no idea about a dragon. If they exist back home, I never saw one."

[shadow_sage]

"Which means it could be anywhere. Damn it." She shook her head and sighed. "I suppose it diesn't matter, since you couldn't know who it was, anyway. If you do learn anything, please let me know." After a moment, she began to eat, albeit slowly.

"I hope this is to your liking. I wasn't really sure what kind of cuisine you might prefer from what is available locally."

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Yeah, it's fine," Shin assured with a small smile. "I've had to adjust anyway, since most everything's the meat and potatoes and beer kinda food." He took another small bite, chewing carefully and swallowing before continuing. "Long as the company's good, food's secondary. Or at least that's what Aunt Elaine always said. But she's not the best cook, so..." he smiled.

[shadow_sage]

"I've spent so much time eating rations of one kind or another that I simply enjoy something that isn't rehydrated." She grinned. "When you're on a world that's little more than a name on a few star charts, digging into the heart of a ruin buried by millennia of neglect, rations are pretty much the only practical choice. That never endeared them to me."

After another bite, she looked up at Shin, studying him for a moment. "If I gave you a list of people, could you look for their dreams? Locals, I mean. Like the king, and the young mage who supposedly brought us here? If we can eliminate people you can find, it may become easier to deduce which one you cannot." Because yeah, it was highly unlikely she planned on giving that up.

[yumemi_no_ou]

"I can give it a try. Haven't found any local Dreams yet, though. It's just the... well, normal's not the right word for it, neither is real but it sure feels like it somedays..." He shook his head slightly. "The people like us who are here that aren't paper thin."