(open dreamshare log) (muffled twilight zone playing in the distance)

[hackitude]

WHO: EVERYBOOOODYYYY (yeaaah) (rock your booodyyy) (yeaaah)
WHERE: DREAMSPACE
WHEN: The night of November 1st (slightly forward-dated to give people more time to play out threads mmk)
WHAT: DREAM SHENANIGANS (event info here!)
WARNINGS: None up here, but players please tag the subject lines of your dreams if they have NSFW or triggering content in them.

It's Saturday evening. What are you dreaming about, imPorts?

Some of you might find strangers intruding on your regular dreams. Others might find themselves suddenly in the dream of someone they've never met before. Or perhaps someone they're close to...? Either way. Seems like you're in for a bumpy night.

Comments

[dionychus]

[The dinosaur stares at her suddenly before stepping closer, giving her a couple of good sniffs before moving onto something else. As it leaves, the boy looks up and finally sees her and almost looks down again before his head snaps up and he notices the ribbon.]

...Ah! Hey! [He runs over and, the closer he gets, the more noticeable his red-rimmed eyes are, as if he's been crying.] That's mine! Give it back!

[lyingheart]

[ Maybe it's a mutant dog... Annie jerks her head up, no longer watching the dinosaur when the boy approaches. He does look like he's crying, and for a moment, she's not sure what he's asking for. A twitch from the ribbon around her fingers is all the reminder she needs. Silent, she holds it out toward him, palm open, fingers held loose. ]

[dionychus]

[...It's weird, having an adult just give you what you want with little to no resistance, and he hesitates, but when it's clear she won't take it away, he reaches for the ribbon and grabs it. As soon as he does, the ribbon slithers out of his fingers and goes to the floor again.]

Ahh!! Come back... [Step on it again, before it gets away!]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie pivots, bringing her toes down on the ribbon again, brow furrowed. Why, she wonders, is this so difficult for the child to hold on to? ]

Who are you looking for?

[ She asks. Not what, because a ribbon is a ribbon. Who, as if the ribbon itself would resolve into a person and announce an answer if Diego did not. She crouches down again, fingertips brushing against the material of the ribbon, coaxing it back into her hand. ]

[dionychus]

[He suddenly goes silent, his face scrunching a bit in mild discomfort. Like he's getting a stomach ache.]

...No one. I was...just looking for that. [And he points at the ribbon.]

[lyingheart]

Why?

[ She's not keeping it from him, though she does gesture for him to come closer. ]

Let me see your wrist. Why is it trying to get away from you?

[dionychus]

Because! [Wow!!! None of your business, lady!!

He does show her his wrist though, just to show her that there's nothing on there.]

I don't know! I hid it before cuz they took away her other stuff for auction and then I couldn't find it.

[lyingheart]

[ Totally her business, wow, she's all... here and stuff! Annie actually holds the ribbon between both her hands, making a motion like she's going to tie the ribbon around his wrist. It's partly to see if the ribbon will untie itself or struggle to get away. It's such an inane curiosity in the end. ]

"Her?"

[dionychus]

[Keeps holding his wrist out. When she ties it on there, it doesn't untie itself, but it doesn't seem quite sure what to do, so it ends up spinning comically around his wrist.]

My, uh...mother...

[Coughs.]

[lyingheart]

[ The spinning is kind of hard to focus on. Annie ends up pressing her finger down on the bow to halt its rotating progress, if he'll let her. She quirks up her eyebrows. ]

Is this all you have left of her?

[ People hold on to mementos with a great deal of strength, in the rare case where they have them to keep. Used to refugees as she is, mementos weren't usually a luxury many had. ]

[dionychus]

It's...supposed to be...

[...Was he not able to find it again after he hid it? Actually, that's probably why he can't hold onto it here. It's the explanation that makes the most sense.]

[lyingheart]

What about your memories?

[ Those things that fade. Annie lifts her finger off the ribbon again, allowing it to resume it's rotations, if it must. ]

Or has her face already faded away? The sound of her voice?

[ The way these things have faded for her, with her father, until what she remembers is his words, the cadence to how he spoke, but no clear idea of his voice, his face. Scent remains... stronger than the rest. Dirt and sweat and early morning mountain air. ]

[dionychus]

...What?

[Why would she...ask him that?]

N...no! How could I...I wouldn't forget her that soon! She was just...

[He points in a vague direction of where the door is, indicating whatever's outside. This is still fresh. He just came back from the burial and he just came back here to get the ribbon he hid and then he couldn't-

(then why did he say he could never find it? are you ever supposed to find it? this happens every time-)]

She...hasn't been gone for long.

[lyingheart]

[ Annie stands, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. She can't say. She wouldn't have the words for someone else's grief anyway. ]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[ Because what else is there to say? ]

[dionychus]

...

[He wants to say that everyone says that, but...they don't. Not really. They had a coroner take a look at the body and then they had a burial just to get rid of it. Nobody but him honestly cared or genuinely grieved, so when a stranger says something even as impersonal at that, it still makes him pause.

Why is she even here? This is new...along with Scary Monster, she's the only other person that he doesn't remember being here before? Why...wait.

Oh okay. Diego thinks he gets why she's here now.]

...Are you the new person they hired?

[lyingheart]

[ She pauses, looking back in his direction. ]

Would you like me to be?

[ As if that's the normal question anyone asks. Annie waits for an answer, patient and quiet. ]

[dionychus]

[Stares blankly.]

...Is that a no? [Cuz that's a weird way of saying no...]

If you're not, it's okay...

[lyingheart]

If I'm honest, I don't know. I can't read what's on the letter I received.

[ She reaches around into her breast pocket, pulling out a folded over letter. She unfolds it carefully, handing it over to Diego. She has no idea if he can read it, but she knows it isn't written in her language. ]

Does it make any sense to you?

[dionychus]

[He looks up at her before taking the letter, probably finding it weird that somebody sent her a letter that she can't even read. Let's see...]

"Dear Miss L..Leonhart," [Okay, that wasn't so bad...

...Except he's not finishing reading out loud whatever's written. He just scrunches up his face, as if he's not sure if he should read this to her or not.]

[lyingheart]

[ Wow, a whole line. Annie lifts her eyebrows, questioning what it is that Diego isn't saying. ]

What does it say?

[dionychus]

[The thing is, the letter is pretty short, but he doesn't...really know what to make of it.

The body of the letter is simply, "Please help Diego." But, he doesn't understand the context, or some part of him doesn't want to understand it. ...Maybe she was hired?]

It, um...says "Please help Diego." It doesn't say who it's from, so...I guess you're working here now? [Although, that's kind of a weird way to phrase a letter of employment.]

[lyingheart]

... That does seem to be the case. Did you know what you needed help with?

[ she's at a loss, personally speaking. annie keeps herself collected and calm, but the idea of taking care of anyone is... something she's poorly suited for. taking care of tasks, any sort of minor mission, that had parameters she understood and could take into account. objectives she could perform.

maybe that's what it meant. though he's young - young enough that even annie, in her world where twelve means adulthood, sees him as a child - and the young shouldn't be left to fend entirely for themselves. ]

... To start, we should see about organising things in this room.

[dionychus]

Y-You don't have to uh... [He turns to look behind him at the pile of stuff and just now notices that it's like a foot taller than he is.]

...Nevermind. [Just kind of sighs in defeat.] Okay, let's get started. [He'll just, uhh, take a couple of things...not even sure where they're supposed to go, but oh well. It can't be too hard, right?]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie isn't sure. She's actually looking for shelf space, cupboard space, anywhere that might sensibly hold what she first picks up. Where did the little lizard dog thing go? Hopefully it's not running off with anything important. Or worse, eating anything important. If it's dog enough like, it will be. ]

Where do you normally keep your socks?

[dionychus]

[He's about to say something, but there goes the "lizard dog", past the two of them, holding a single tiny sock in its mouth.]

...Hey! [It doesn't throw the sock into the pile either, but jumps onto one of the beds instead and runs on top of it in a circle, as if it's playing.]