tushanshu_logs | Event | Landfall

Event | Landfall | Dreaming

Characters: Any and every!
Date: August 10th - 31, 2013
Location: The realm of Dreaming as accessed via Sinbrilee
Situation: Dreaming is but one of the three realms and here characters are subject to their fanciful thoughts.
Warnings/Rating: Please place content warnings in subject headers!

Sinbrilee | Dreaming | Death

Life. Dreaming. Death. Three realms overlaid upon one another and yet each distinctly their own. They dwell in Life and do so live upon the back of the great turtle as those of Sinbrilee did upon the shell of his sister. However, there stand numerous arches of marble throughout the ruined city that are inlaid with runes beyond understanding. Those that live and breathe which step through those whose runes glow with faint, iridescent light tread instead into the realm of Dreaming.

Here, there exists no single defining characteristic beyond the visitor's imagination. The landscape sculpts to their individual thoughts, the events to their dreams. From a drab gray nothing to the most brilliant of displays, the senses perceive all that they wish to perceive for all that nothing here truly exists. This far from Tu Vishan, the ability to shape their surroundings is all they have, for Sinbrilee's Dreaming does not have the energy to sustain powers, only the bodies of those that dwell here.

Should two parties near, then the Mesh begins. Dreams, you see, not only can be shared, but they strive to be. These visions sculpted into reality reach out for one another and blend. They begin an exchange akin to a linking of the minds, within which one visitor can learn the other's deepest thoughts. Their limitation is but compatibility, for two minds that cannot flow upon the same current cannot hold the Mesh.

Happiness or loss, the landscape and events play out memories and fancies with a most convincing air. The mood rises and falls with the tide of the visitor's mind, detached as they are from the soothing influence of a great turtle's mind. Nothing here, however, is real; 'constructs' simply fade if taken through the archways and even the greatest scientific minds or tools will reveal nothing of its source. This is an ancient magic of an ancient realm, long practised in concealing itself from any prying.

Note: Due to the fluid and highly individual nature of Dreaming, no official subheaders will be provided in the comments of this post. Feel free to post and thread however you like, so long as the rules of Dreaming are adhered to.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Annabeth's face is trained on Vanessa's every movement, willing her to be safe and not fall. It's the need for that that makes for a more malleable dream, and the wall and ledges that Vanessa touches change shape to continue making it easier. Even if she lost her balance, there's little room for her to actually fall now.

She's still as Vanessa starts to cut the webbing, as much as she fights back another burst of tears; this wasn't it, this wasn't what happened. How can she do this for her friend now, but she couldn't think to cut it, couldn't do anything to stop her and Percy from falling the first time around.

Fortunately, it's just web, and from Arachne or otherwise, it's not all that difficult to saw through it, and Annabeth can feel the pressure of the pull dampening until it's completely gone.

The web cuts, and Annabeth is free from the hold of the web. Vanessa presses her forehead to the face of the cliff, breathing in. Even if the terrain has shifted in Annabeth's dream world, it's totally disturbing to think about what the hell she's just done.

And she'd do it again, she realizes.

"So. The giant spider hissing at us, she's not about to climb up the wall anytime soon, right? Because... I might pee myself."

It's a completely amazing and unknown feeling, given the normal trajectory of her dreams. There's a more open maneuverability on her end, even if she's afraid to test just how much.

She almost starts crying anew, just so completely overwhelmed by everything. "No," she replies finally, and she wills herself as much as she can to pull herself up, where somehow the ledge she's clinging to has grown large enough for her to kneel on once she gets there. "No, she fell. Once you fall..." her voice trails off, and there's temptation to look over the edge, but she resists. But the implication stays, once you fall, you can't get back up.

Finally she looks over at Vanessa for a good long few seconds, then back up at the top of the pit. Somehow, it looks a lot closer than it did before. And the tug, that dark pull from Tartarus itself seems to have lessened. She wonders if it's Vanessa's doing, somehow. "Can we get back up?" she mutters, her voice hoarse. Tired.

She's too exhausted, but it lowers the walls of her dreaming. Annabeth's too closed off for a complete mind mesh, but Vanessa's done enough for her already that she's done fighting off any potential influence.

"Oh. Well, good." She flashes Annabeth a bright smile, warm and hopeful, even if she's cut off from her abilities here. Vanessa is still a goddess of hope, regardless of what the Death plane tried to tell her. "You're not going to fall, Annabeth." There's a beat, though, because this is more than just a dream to her friend.

She gets that now. This must have been whatever she'd seen with the Emperor, what her and Percy and the others have been dealing with. She spares one last glance down into the darkness.

"You're not going to fall again. Not this time." And then she nods. "Duh. All we have to do is climb, right? Can you climb? I don't know if I'm really strong enough to do the whole piggy back thing, dream or not."

One less fall is still a relief. And she's glad for the correction, because she didn't really want to do so herself. When Vanessa suggests climbing, Annabeth looks up the walls of the pit.

Suddenly the top doesn't seem so far away. Fifteen feet has been halved, and there are more nooks and crannies on the way up. She doesn't know if this is her own will, or Vanessa's, or maybe even Vanessa's influence over her, but it's a relief to see it so much smaller a climb. "I'll try," she says, quietly. It looks more possible this time. "You go first. Please."

It's not that she thinks she's going to fall. She'd just rather watch Vanessa do it first, watch to make sure it's definitely possible. And maybe having her waiting at the top first will help, too. In the meantime, she shakily climbs to her feet, resting her palms against the rocks for balance and breathing in carefully.

You go first.

Vanessa nods, looking up at the smaller distance from here to the top. That's useful. Really useful, because she was honestly not looking forward to climbing that whole way back up. There's a flash of a smile before she begins to climb. It's easy. Well, easier, even if her arms still shake a little bit.

When she makes it to the top, she hauls herself up and over the edge, taking a moment to catch her breath. And then she's rolling over to look back down at Annabeth. "See? Easy as pie."

She watches Vanessa go up, feeling a huge wave of relief when her friend reaches the top. The cliff shrunk a little further in the process, because it looks even less a trip now.

Tentatively, Annabeth begins climbing herself. It's slow, her limbs still shaky, but it's easier, doable, now that she's not being pulled down. Even if her ankle feels sore from the whole thing. She grabs the ledge on the top, pulls herself onto solid ground.

For a moment, she just sits there. Takes in the fact that she's not falling, that she's actually kneeling. She looks over at Vanessa, and before she even thinks about what she's doing, before she even realizes it, she leans forward to press her forehead into her friend's shoulder and closes her eyes. She probably should use the fact that she's out of the pit and safe to do more, to actually get out of this place, but she doesn't have the energy at the moment to do much more.

The moment Annabeth touches her, Vanessa doesn't even think about what she's doing. Her embrace is tight as she tugs the other girl toward her and away from the edge, clinging tightly. That was insane. And terrifying. And now that it's kind of over, there's a certain amount of panic slicing through the adrenaline and...

"Did I seriously tell a dream construct of some monster to shut up?" Her voice is shaky as she asks because, whoa. What kind of balls has she grown? And then she realizes that's kind of a selfish question.

"Are you okay, though? I mean, right now."

Vanessa's arms are around her and she doesn't even care, doesn't fight it off. Human contact is something she needs right now. Her own arms snake a little, coming to rest at Vanessa's waist. "Arachne," she mutters. "It was Arachne."

The question is a little dreaded, because she's... not really okay. She's better right now, she feels safe. She keeps her face hidden for now, just glad to be further from the pit. Which - seems to be shrinking and closing bit by bit. "I - yeah," she says, but it even sounds like a lie to her own ears. Her voice is hoarse, shaky. "I will be." A beat. "Thank you," she adds, quietly but no less grateful.

"Oh. Yeah. Totally makes sense." No, no it doesn't. Did she seriously just tell Arachne to shut up? Maybe the dreaming world made her more bold, but really it was just out of fear for her friend.

She's quiet, taking in Annabeth's lie without calling her on it. Sometimes, you need those lies to help yourself out. "You will be," Vanessa repeats, and it sounds almost like a promise. A small smile flickers over her face, even if Annabeth can't see it. "Don't worry about it. That's what friends do."

"I outsmarted her," she mumbles. She's too tired to bother with deflecting or keeping quiet. There's a noticeable lack of what could be expected pride in the admission, though.

Annabeth takes it in, at face value. She wants to believe Vanessa when she says it, too, that she will be okay. It's been harder lately, but her friend just stopped her from reliving it again. She can bask in that for now. Especially since the pit to Tartarus completely closes behind them, probably from Vanessa's presence and calming influence. She knows now it wasn't - wasn't real. But she's still grateful for it, and her hug gets a little tighter over the notion. "Can we leave?"

It's better. The scene seems to be shifting, but she's still sitting on cobwebs and she needs to get out.

“I'm not really that surprised,” Vanessa says softly before she tugs Annabeth to her feet. “And yeah. Let's get the hell out of here already.” She steps out of the embrace, wrapping her fingers around Annabeth's elbow instead and gently leading her back out the way she came in from.

The heavy intensity is no longer pressing down at her, but as uncomfortable as she still feels, she knows it must be worse for her friend.

“We can talk about it, if you want.”

She doesn't really want to, but she lets Vanessa tug her up, uses the other girl as balance to steady herself once she's standing. She cringes over the use of 'hell' in 'let's get the hell out of here,' but she follows Vanessa's lead, trusting her to get them both out.

It's not fast enough, and Annabeth finds herself moving along faster; it's not the death realm, and it's still not real, but she's still paranoid over the pit reopening underneath her. The archway exit is close but still not close enough.

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about," she mutters, but not with any sort of dismissiveness. It's just that talking about it - probably won't help. She's not all that opposed to explaining, though, not after Vanessa helped her. "I need to get out of here first." That much she knows.

Terrible use of the word, Vanessa realizes only after it's out of her mouth, but it's probably not something Annabeth should hide from. She should have used heck.

"Whatever you want to, really." She follows after her friend as they make for the exit. There's curiosity, sure, but mostly she wants to see where Annabeth's head is at. How it's come to this and what is there to look forward to. Does she know what happens in the end, or is it just hanging over her head?

"We're almost there."

She falls quiet for the rest of the trip, practically dragging Vanessa through the archway when they reach it.

Once back in Sinbrilee proper, Annabeth feels something in her relax. Not a lot, but enough that she knows the hyper-realism of the dreams is over. She glances over at Vanessa, exhaustion in her face but gratitude's there, too. "Thank you," she says again, quietly, but no less meaningful. Here's the part she's a little awkward with, but she needs her friend to know how much she helped. One less fall, the better. "I think I'll be avoiding any suspicious looking archways from now on."

"It's kind of my thing, but you're welcome." She glances Annabeth over, as if to check for anything physically wrong at the very least. Everything else, that's not really something she can see. "I think that'd be an excellent idea for everyone from now on."

She's quiet for a moment, wondering what she should do. Whenever one of the girls was upset, Maggie would sit them down and brew them a cup of tea. Vanessa's not exactly Maggie, and she doesn't think that she's particularly soothing or motherly, but...

"Do you want tea?"

Annabeth hesitates for a moment, because it just seems like such a random offer. Something so completely and utterly opposite what she just experienced. But then she sighs. "I wouldn't say no to that. Or coffee. Or hot chocolate."

Maybe just having something warm to drink will help steady her nerves, too. "Do they do that here, or should we go back to Keeliai?"

It's completely random, but that's... The best she can come up with. It's not like Annabeth is just about to sob on her shoulder or anything. That's not who she is.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'd trust tea made by a ghost. Or hot chocolate. Or coffee." A beat. "I'm not exactly the best at it, but I learned from the best. My mentor, Maggie. If you want."

"No, that's fine," she says quickly, but earnestly. The more she thinks about it, the more she wants it, partially because it's just something so normal.

"Um, so your suite, I guess? I can call Mrs. O'Leary, it'll be faster. Unless you have the supplies in some interdimensional tool belt."

"Nope, sorry. Leo kind of holds tightly to that belt. I couldn't pry it off of him if I tried." A small smile flickers over her face. "Mrs. O'Leary works."

Even if the hellhound kind of freaks her out.

"Well, you might be able to overpower him, but yeah, it's basically glued tight."

And with a nod, Annabeth calls for Mrs. O'Leary (with whatever method it takes, just roll with it); it's only a few minutes before the dog bounds into sight, skidding to a halt a few feet from Annabeth, tongue wagging and tail waving. The hellhound headbutts her, and if she were any less prepared, the force of it might have knocked her over. "We need a ride back to Keeliai, think you can handle that?"

Mrs. O'Leary barks an affirmation, and Annabeth actually breaks into a very small smile. Too anxious to get away from Sinbrilee right now, she immediately starts scrambling up, hauling herself onto the dog's back with relative practiced ease. Then she remembers Vanessa and leans over the side, holding out her hand. "Do you need a hand up? There's a couple spots on her leg that make good foot holds."

"I wouldn't call it overpowering, if that's what I was going to go for."

Just, um. Saying. Feminine wiles and all that.

Vanessa's seen Mrs. O'Leary maybe a couple of times before, and has only taken a ride once before. Which might explain the slightly dubious expression on her face. Sure, climb down a dream-constructed cliff into hell and throw rocks at a monster. But riding a friendly hellhound? Insane.

With a grin, Vanessa takes Annabeth's hand. "Yeah, that'd be great." Using her hand as leverage, she climbs up onto Mrs. O'Leary's back. "You guys should think of installing a step stool somewhere."

It takes her a second, but she snorts. The sound is weird to her ears after all that just happened, but not unwelcome. "Honestly, the results might be hilarious enough to be its own reward."

Another time, Annabeth might have teased Vanessa for the dubious look, but she just doesn't have the energy to right now. The more she thinks about a hot drink, the more she just really wants it.

"It's a good workout," she says casually, of climbing up the dog. Really, Mrs. O'Leary could easily flop over and let people get on her back that way, but Annabeth never really seems to think of that until it's no longer relevant. Once Vanessa's in place, Annabeth urges the hellhound into a trot, but it quickly turns into a run, and it's only a few minutes at most before they're crossing the bridge from Sinbrilee back onto Asti. "How do you feel about shadow traveling? Have you done that before?"

"If it ever happens, you want me to make a report for you?" That snort is nice. It means that Annabeth's at least not too wrapped up in her troubled thoughts, that what brought that particular dream on hasn't taken hold of her completely.

"Shadow traveling?" There's a cold trickle that crawls down her spine at the idea. It's how the Followers move, how they blend in. And for a second, she thinks of the shadows that haunted her in her room since she was a kid. She thinks of Stanton. She thinks of Adamantis, watching her when she's the most vulnerable. And she thinks of Catty, too, the way she can shift her body into the darkness, a reminder that she's fallen. "I've never done that before."

It's not the same, she tells herself. Because this place isn't the same, and the rules aren't the same anymore either.

"Provided it's nothing terribly tmi?" It's mostly in jest, kind of. She's about ninety percent sure it wouldn't even get near tmi territory with Leo. Because Leo.

She can tell Vanessa's a bit uncomfortable with the idea of shadow traveling, at least via name, but honestly, Annabeth can't even blame her. "It's exactly what it sounds like. I won't lie, it's pretty - weird and kind of really uncomfortable. And not uncommon to throw up after the first time. I'm still not really used to it myself. It'd save us a lot of time, but we don't have to; Mrs. O'Leary can still get us to your suite remarkably fast just by running."

And okay, maybe she's talking so much because being quiet lets her thoughts filter through at a quicker rate, and she's not ready for that to happen again yet.

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i really need to stop pressing enter before i'm done

LMAO oh tomato

\8D/

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