Well I could sleep forever
Oct. 23rd, 2012 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Who: Song, Seph, and an unconscious Aria
What: Trying to wake up the unconscious Aria... the only way Song knows how.
Where: Rainbow's End
When: this is probably backdated to a day or two after Seph's brought Aria back
It felt good to be called on for this particular talent of hers. Song was well aware that her constant reliance on dream magic was probably not healthy, but the awareness didn't stop her from feeling like it was the one thing she was good for.
With Medrau presumably sulking in a back corner of her mind, there just wasn't that much to do. Yes, she was mother to a very active eleven-month-old, but Song had been surprised to find that this wasn't as tough for her as it was for many. This was at least partially due to the fact that a baby's crying didn't annoy her. It was one area where her sense of patience served her almost infallibly. She was also equipped with years of practice in hauling pets around the house. The drain on her attention was not so different. It was a pleasure, for Song was the sort who needed to be needed.
But motherhood was not keeping her busy enough. She had also finished learning all the standard spells on her personal list, and had only her own experiments to work on. It was a simple enough thing to leave Larkin under an aunt's watch while she got in snatches of practice here and there.
And still she didn't feel busy enough. After the war of hearts, she just wasn't built for living a stable life.
This was why she jumped on any chance to dream dive.
A careful mask of concern was all that disguised her eagerness when she knocked on the door to Aria's old room.
What: Trying to wake up the unconscious Aria... the only way Song knows how.
Where: Rainbow's End
When: this is probably backdated to a day or two after Seph's brought Aria back
It felt good to be called on for this particular talent of hers. Song was well aware that her constant reliance on dream magic was probably not healthy, but the awareness didn't stop her from feeling like it was the one thing she was good for.
With Medrau presumably sulking in a back corner of her mind, there just wasn't that much to do. Yes, she was mother to a very active eleven-month-old, but Song had been surprised to find that this wasn't as tough for her as it was for many. This was at least partially due to the fact that a baby's crying didn't annoy her. It was one area where her sense of patience served her almost infallibly. She was also equipped with years of practice in hauling pets around the house. The drain on her attention was not so different. It was a pleasure, for Song was the sort who needed to be needed.
But motherhood was not keeping her busy enough. She had also finished learning all the standard spells on her personal list, and had only her own experiments to work on. It was a simple enough thing to leave Larkin under an aunt's watch while she got in snatches of practice here and there.
And still she didn't feel busy enough. After the war of hearts, she just wasn't built for living a stable life.
This was why she jumped on any chance to dream dive.
A careful mask of concern was all that disguised her eagerness when she knocked on the door to Aria's old room.
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Date: 2012-10-23 09:36 pm (UTC)"Is there anything we need to discuss before we get started?" Right to the point. He's in no mood for pleasantries.
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Date: 2012-10-23 11:26 pm (UTC)"There was no sign of injury?"
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Date: 2012-10-23 11:48 pm (UTC)"No sign of injury and it's been long enough that illness is unlikely." She was probably unconscious for at least several days before he found her. She would be quite obviously sick or even dead by now if magic wasn't involved somehow.
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Date: 2012-10-24 12:16 am (UTC)She sunk down onto the floor, her legs folded beneath her and her back against the bed. "Shall we check it out?" He looked impatient, and she couldn't blame him.
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Date: 2012-10-24 12:32 am (UTC)He had to wonder what they would find. Aria mentioned some of her reoccurring dreams to him a few times. Could her dreams have been changed because of the curse?
Well, they were going to find out in a moment. If things were normal there was probably a ninety percent chance they'd end up in the middle of the woods. [[ooc: Spoiler. Yup, woods.]]
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Date: 2012-10-24 01:31 am (UTC)Song hadn't known what to expect of Aria's headspace, but a forest wasn't it. She'd been vaguely anticipating scenes of gummi space or a ship, given Aria's affinity for travel.
She didn't let herself be fazed much by the surprise, of course, but looked to Seph to see if he recognized the place.
At least they're not in the cave with psychedelic walls and random pinball machine
Date: 2012-10-24 01:59 am (UTC)It looked sort of gray and dark. There was not as much color as there should have been. But there was a brighter area barely visible to his left and, faintly, the sound of someone walking through the dry leaves blanketing the ground.
Heading towards the sound(and the light) seemed a good place to start so he did.
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Date: 2012-10-24 02:10 am (UTC)That was the theory, at least.
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Date: 2012-10-24 02:20 am (UTC)Aria was walking towards the light. She seemed in a daze and was unlikely to be lucid at the moment.
Seph didn't wait and went right to her without giving Song any chance to react. "Aria!"
Aria didn't seem to hear him but, she did look up at him when he grabbed her and turned her to him. She blinks bleary eyed for a moment and then... she screamed.
...It should be noted that Seph ended up dressed like Sephiroth again. Seems a trend when he's involved in a dream dive.
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Date: 2012-10-24 02:30 am (UTC)"Aria, it's alright! He's here to help." Questioning Seph about her theories wouldn't work very well until Aria was calmed down, and that accomplishment alone wasn't guaranteed. It would depend on how great a hold the curse had on her - if a curse it was.
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Date: 2012-10-24 02:50 am (UTC)"Aria..." Seph didn't know what to say. This was not what he'd been expecting. At least she didn't seem to be trying to flee.
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Date: 2012-10-24 02:56 am (UTC)"Aria, he's not Sephiroth. Just Seph. Do you understand?"
One of her guesses was memory loss. It hadn't exactly been an uncommon plot device over the last few years. It would only take a few basic questions to prove that theory or put it to rest... assuming Aria could answer at all.
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Date: 2012-10-24 03:19 am (UTC)Seph waits a few seconds to see if it'll come to her before he says anything. "Aria. Do you know where you are?"
She looks around at the trees but, doesn't come up with an answer. She's still trying to think of what she needs to do.
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Date: 2012-10-24 03:37 am (UTC)If Song could get her to backtrack through her memories, maybe she could tell them what exactly had happened.
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Date: 2012-10-24 04:03 am (UTC)"Connection?" Seph has a horrible feeling he knows what she was looking for. "What else?"
"Hnnnn... I can't... I can't get to the tree." Wow, random tangent. But sort of relevant.
Seph finds himself looking towards the light. Aria had been going that way when they found her...
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Date: 2012-10-24 12:02 pm (UTC)Despite the classic warnings about going 'toward the light', rules tended to be a little different here, Song had found. After all, it was Light. Darkness and Nothingness were the things you wanted to worry about.
That didn't stop her from being cautious, but caution could only get you so far.
"Maybe we can get there together."
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Date: 2012-10-24 01:38 pm (UTC)"A thing?" Making her think seems to be helping somehow so, he's not just going to let her stop trying to.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is... should be able to see it soon." It looks like there's a break in the trees ahead. There's a cliff near the edge of the woods... overlooking more woods. When they reach it they'll be able to see the tree.
The trees is huge. Towering over the rest of the forest. It's leaves are brighter than anything else here. And more colorful. All brilliant golds and light greens with just a bit of orange and red thrown in.
But the thing is not the tree. The thing is a distortion circling around it. It prevents Aria from reaching the tree by throwing fears at her or making her black out and wake up miles away.
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Date: 2012-10-24 03:28 pm (UTC)"Let's go poke it."
Song squared her shoulders, or at least that's what it looked like, until the movement carried out from her shoulderblades into a pair of gray-feathered wings. These she flexed and folded experimentally.
"Do you have your own way down the cliff?"
I really do leap around in the trees in my dreams sometimes >.>;;
Date: 2012-10-24 03:57 pm (UTC)She tugs Seph along to the edge with her. Not letting go. She really doesn't want to lose track of him. Especially since one of the fears that distortion thing spits out is Sephiroth.
"I can manage that." Seph really doesn't want to lose track of her either.
"There's a small clearing over there." Aria points at a barely visible break in the trees about two third of the way to the tree. It's about as close as she can get before the distortion starts messing with her. "Wanna meet there or stay together?" Directed at Song. No way she's letting Seph out of her sight.
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Date: 2012-10-24 04:26 pm (UTC)"I'll keep you in sight. I'm tempted to see if I can fly all the way to the tree, but... that probably wouldn't be smart, would it?" She grins sheepishly.
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Date: 2012-10-24 04:55 pm (UTC)Once closer, while you're still above the trees, you might be able to see a smaller separate distortion swirling around the outside of the big one.
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Date: 2012-10-24 05:08 pm (UTC)It really is tempting to just... fly a little farther. Skim the surface of that distortion maybe...
With reluctance, she banks away and glides down into the clearing. She doesn't feel ready to dismiss her wings, though, so instead they fall bonelessly into a feathered cloak, Goblin King style.
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Date: 2012-10-24 06:08 pm (UTC)"So... this is about where I manage to get before things start trying to chase me away." Yup, right to the point. She's really tired of this.... when she's lucid anyway. She can't remember much when she's not. "I guess um, since I was messing with Maleficent's stuff well... Curse probably." It's an obvious conclusion. The type of curse might be obvious too but, that smaller thing... Was it an alteration? Perhaps to keep the usual cure from working properly.
"I suspected as much but, I don't expect the solution to be as easy as it might have been in the past." Seph managed to spot that smaller distortion through the trees. Barely. If he hadn't looked up at just the right moment along the way he wouldn't have seen it.
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Date: 2012-10-24 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 12:17 am (UTC)"No. It seemed too easy. I suspect there may be some sort of trap that would have caused that to make it worse." It seems to him that the smaller thing might be it. But, how do they get rid of it?
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Date: 2012-10-25 02:37 am (UTC)Making it up as I go is fun.
Date: 2012-10-25 03:13 am (UTC)The wind picks up all of a sudden. It had always been calm before. Coincidence?
"I think we should all have a better look." He doesn't like the idea of splitting up now. A moment to consider whether he should and he's sprouting his own wing. Looks almost painful the way he does it... Not asking first just getting a good grip on Aria and making his way to hover above the trees.
"Eep!" She's not really scared. Just surprised. Falling isn't really a problem here after all.
And Seph's purpose was to get a better look at the distortion.
It seems the same as before but, is that smaller one moving around more violently all of a sudden?
mrrrgh, sorry for being so neglectful!
Date: 2012-10-29 05:07 pm (UTC)"What I'm wondering, though, is if it only effects Aria, or if it would act the same against any of us."
It's okay
Date: 2012-10-29 06:27 pm (UTC)"Wouldn't it have reacted sooner if it was just 'cause you're here?" What changed just now that could have made it react?
"I believe we should test whether it will respond to someone else." Seph didn't really feel like he was actually holding Aria up so, he worked around to just holding onto her hand. And as expected she just sort of floated there. Oddly enough the distortion seemed to relax just as he did that. He was starting to get an idea but, testing that would likely be dangerous. Best wait to see if it would do anything if Song got close. "Perhaps just graze the edge of it?" Yes he was asking Song to do it. Bringing Aria close would defeat the purpose and he wasn't going to leave her side.
[[ooc: It'll maybe ripple a bit but, otherwise it won't do anything aside from maybe give off the feeling that it is actually the kiss to cure curse. The smaller bit on the other hand... >.>;;]]
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Date: 2012-10-29 11:30 pm (UTC)She glided over the surface of the distortion, holding out a hand to trail her fingers through it as if touching water. The rippling effect may have influenced that comparison, of course.
She took it as a good sign that she didn't fly away screaming or find herself teleported elsewhere, and sailed back to report.
"Feels like a classic Disney curse to me. I don't know how else to describe it. It's got that fairytale sense to it, you know?" She wasn't making much sense to herself, frankly, so she hoped one of them would be able to interpret based on their own instincts about it all.
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Date: 2012-10-30 12:05 am (UTC)Okay, enough being childish. Standard Disney curse feeling... Has she been here so long for no reason?
Seph on the other hand was watching that smaller bit with some interest. It had calmed down when he'd put a bit of distance between himself and Aria. That gave him an idea. It was crazy but, caution was getting them nowhere. If just pulling her closer agitated it, what would intending to kiss her do?
"I have an idea. I suggest getting ready to move." He'd give Song a chance to respond or object before trying it.
Aria had an idea of what he was thinking but, was prepared to take the risk if she was right.
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Date: 2012-10-30 12:28 am (UTC)Was it really going to be this simple?
Caution? What's that?
Date: 2012-10-30 12:53 am (UTC)The large distortion wavered and broke. And the small one exploded into horrors and darkness. It was almost as if the curse had been containing it. Ghouls, dark formless shadows, even somewhat ghostly versions of Sephiroth all poured out and went for Aria.
Seph was off like a shot, dragging Aria with him.
The Tree was like a beacon in the sudden darkness, it's brightness not diminished in the slightest.
Boring is what it is. 8D
Date: 2012-10-30 01:51 am (UTC)Well then.
Song positioned herself between the pair and their nightmare pursuers, and utilized the dream to the best of her abilities. It was always a gamble, changing or creating something in another person's dreamscape, but her wings had worked just fine, so why not a force field of her own? She didn't try to surround herself or the others - that would be too much to focus on, at the rate they were moving. Instead, she dreamed a shell-like half-dome, intending to deflect and slow any monstrosity that came too close.
8D
Date: 2012-10-30 02:14 am (UTC)Song's shield helped to a degree but, there were so many that a good number got by.
His goal was obvious. Get Aria to the Tree. But everything seemed intent on stopping that. Branches reached out from the forest to try to trip them up, the wind seemed to be trying to send them to the ground and rain started pouring from the sky.
Aria hadn't had much luck with changing the dream before but, it seemed a good idea to try now. As Seph dodged obstacles and occasionally slashed at enemies(when had he gotten his sword?) she tried to manifest something to slow their pursuers... Results of that don't seem to be happening right this second.
Some of the horrors are perhaps giving off a feeling that they are temporary.
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Date: 2012-10-30 02:31 am (UTC)It was still a staff in her dreams, although she used the more lethal glaive now in waking. She doubted it would make much difference here. The horrors were probably not killable by normal means, and a blunt staff would work just fine for batting things away.
She had given up (or more likely forgotten) an pretense of flapping her wings at this point. They remained visible, but mantled, and much of her flight was spent facing backwards to counter the nightmares as they came. Rather than choosing a path by sight, she followed the feel of Seph ahead of her. She was trying not to wonder how long they could keep this up before something dragged them down.
Almost through with the dream, I think
Date: 2012-10-30 03:10 am (UTC)Aria finally managed to create a change. Bubbles flowed out of the air around her and clung to any horror they touched, slowing them yet, allowing Song to pass unhindered.
Though even with this small success one thing was clear. She did not currently have the ability to evade these monsters on her own. If Seph had kissed her when no one was here, in the dream, to help they would have gotten her almost immediately after being unleashed. He did not want to think about the likely result of that.
It seemed like they'd been flying forever. Just a little bit more and this would be at an end, right? Seph's vision blurred for a moment. It felt like something was trying to force him to wake but, he couldn't let that happen. Not now when Aria still needed him here.
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Date: 2012-10-30 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-30 05:03 pm (UTC)It looked like they were going to make. Then Seph felt as if he'd slammed into a hidden wall. The last thing he saw as he was forced to wake was Aria flying on(though she was going down) and a few nightmares disintegrating as they reached a point just under the branches of the Tree.
Unless Song could get through it looked like Aria would be on her own from here.
((ooc: Up to you. It shouldn't be very interesting from here though.))
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Date: 2012-10-30 06:42 pm (UTC)On the floor in Aria's room, Song sat up ramrod straight and looked wide-eyed at Seph. Then she turned on her knees to see Aria.
"Should we go back in?"
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Date: 2012-10-30 06:59 pm (UTC)"I don't know." He reached over to stroke her cheek. Maybe he needed to kiss her here too? Well, it couldn't hurt he supposed. Yet he was a bit hesitant. He'll get to that in a few seconds.
Within the dream Aria made her way towards the trunk of the Tree. There were no further obstacles but, she felt tired. It seemed at this point it was down to whether she had the will to go on.
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Date: 2012-10-30 07:05 pm (UTC)"A kiss helped inside the dream," she went ahead and spelled it out, just in case Seph was going to keep being stubborn. "You could try calling her name, too."
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Date: 2012-10-30 07:22 pm (UTC)Within the dream, a mere handful of yards away from the Tree, Aria seemed almost about to fall over. Then she seemed to get an energy boost that took her right up to the trunk. She rests a hand on the bark... and opens her eyes.
Seph has his own eyes closed and doesn't notice yet as otherwise she doesn't move.
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Date: 2012-10-31 02:40 am (UTC)... a bowl of popcorn would be nice here.
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Date: 2012-10-31 03:17 am (UTC)"Seph..." Maybe she was going to say something else but, she's interrupted by an almost crushing hug.
Seph is too relieved for words.