sleepyhollowed | IC Inbox for redshiftrp

[Kieran had come to appreciate his dreams in the nights following his initial affliction. Granted, the pleasant ones were outweighed by a plague of nightmares, but when he had the chance to appreciate something a little more peaceful, by God he took it.]

[So it's a little disorienting when he sees--sees--Reynir there, but he doesn't chalk it up to much other than the byproduct of a more detailed dream than usual.]

Hey, there.

[His voice is raspy from just waking up, and the satisfaction of a good stretch is just too perfect to ignore... but that's also when things start clicking.]

[He can feel his joints cracking, he can smell the flowers in the air, the breeze is tickling the hairs on his beard, and the blinking of his eyes is just a bit too close to real to ignore.]

[A few seconds pass by, and Kieran's brow furrows.]

Wait... what's... what's goin' on?

So, you remember how I'm a mage, right?

[ Reynir is beaming, delighted with himself, full of joy and victory that he'd actually pulled this off. Those teachers at the Academy who had said he wasn't even worth teaching anything more advanced than helping sheep be more fertile because he isn't immune can just suck it. He is awesome and talented and he did this, for his friend, who is so good and deserves better than the awful thing that's happened to him.

His excitement is almost palpable as he goes on: ]

This is the place that mages come when we go to sleep. Well... this is one part of it. I've never seen this area before, this must be somewhere you know, right? Or - it reminds you of a place where you feel safe? At home?

[ Oh, but right, he's supposed to actually be explaining, isn't he.

With a hint of chagrin - vastly overshadowed by his glee - Reynir rubs at the back of his neck and admits: ]

I - have a confession. When I visited you in the medbay, I stole a few hairs. For this. I made a rune that I thought would pull you into the dream because... I was pretty sure you'd be able to see here, and I thought - I hoped it would make you happy.

[ At that moment, Reynir's fylgja, in the shape of a fluffy white-and-tan Icelandic sheepdog comes bounding up, tail wagging fast and excitedly. It presses its cold nose against Kieran's hand, feeling and looking exactly like a real dog.

Until it says: ]

Welcome.

[ So... no question of the fact that this is definitely a dream. ]

[This is.]

[A lot.]

[Kieran pulls himself to his feet while Reynir explains, half-listening and half taking in his surroundings. He nods in accordance with Reynir's words, not exactly mad at the well-meaning deception. It's just a couple of hairs, after all. That's totally cool.]

[The cold, went nose of that dog is what finally grounds Kieran and tells him, with complete certainty, that this is all real.]

[The cheerful voice of said dog also tells him, with complete certainty, that this is also a dream.]

Uh... hello. Dog. G-Good boy!

[He's not sure what to say.]

[Kieran blinks again and turns to Reynir to ask him a question, but it's cut short by one final realization. Sure, he'd noticed it in passing, and it had vaguely registered in the first moments of their meeting, but something important finally hits.]

[He can see everything. Kieran turns around in place, absorbing every shape and color his eyes can catch.]

This is... this is all real...? My eyes are really workin'?

[ The dog is wagging its tail so hard that the back half of its body is wagging, too. When Kieran calls it a good boy, it gives an excited bark, and then flops down onto the grass, rolling around with its belly towards the sun, tongue lolling to the side, just totally happy.

Reynir looks happy, too, but there is a nervousness behind it. He's not completely convinced that what he did was the right thing, that Kieran will be made happy by this little excursion. It could just be a reminder of what he can't have while he's awake. It could be an invasion of his privacy, or patronizing, or any number of other things.

So he is careful in how he answers the question. ]

It's not the waking world. You're not seeing with your actual eyes, here. When you wake up... everything's going to be the same. But, yeah. It's real. I'm the real me, and this is a real place, and we can go exploring if you like. And. I'm not sure it would be good for you for me to do it very often, but. I could probably bring you back here again, when you... if you wanted.

[ The dreamspace is for mages, and Reynir doesn't know what it might do to Kieran to come here frequently. At best, it would probably leave him very poorly rested. At worst, there could be real physical and possibly spiritual or psychic dangers. But every now and then? Surely it can't hurt. It hadn't hurt Emil, coming to the dreamspace with Lalli, the few times Reynir had seen him there.

He reaches over, touching Kieran's forearm, a tentative gesture. ]

Is it... do you like it? Did I make a mistake, bringing you?

[When the dog throws himself to the ground and exposes his belly, Kieran takes that as his cue to bend down and start rubbing it. His scratches are vigorous enough to involve his arms all the way up to their shoulders. When he stands again to listen to Reynir, there's a wide grin spreading across his face that only falters when he hears that everything will go back to 'normal' once they return to the waking world.]

[The falter only lasts for a moment or two, however, because regardless of what the future holds, that doesn't change the fact that he can see now and that there's a wide open space for him to explore. It's real enough, and he can't ask for more.]

[He doesn't shake off that gentle touch, choosing instead to answer it with a smile.]

It ain't a mistake at all, Reynir. Thank you. It means everythin'.

Edited 2019-11-27 04:32 (UTC)

[ That has the young man beaming, bouncing on his feet, almost as happy as the dog that is having its belly rubbed so competently by Kieran. ]

Oh, good! That's a relief.

[ All nervousness gone, now, Reynir claps his gloved hands together and eagerly says: ]

That means you can see Iceland, if you want! I mean, not real Iceland, obviously, but I can take you to my area in the dreamspace and it looks a lot like home for me! And is this what it's like where you're from? It's so... strange. And lovely.

[ He looks out over the landscape, at those horses, subtly different to the kind he's used to seeing, and those wide plains and the big sky.

A moment later he adds: ]

You'll need to stay close to me, if we go anywhere. I'm not really sure how easily you'd be able to get around without me. But as long as we stick together we should be fine!

Yeah! Let's start walkin'! I'll follow you.

[There's no other description for the look on Kieran's face other than unadulterated excitement. There's a chance to explore an area that's familiar but just strange enough for him to discover something new. And the promise that he'll get to see an entirely different country on top of it all fills him to the brim with delight.]

If you want, I can tell you all about the horses and the plants around us. I-I ain't much of a tour guide, but I know at least that much.

Are you kidding? I would love that!

[ Reynir's enthusiasm bubbles over at once, his words coming quick and delighted: ]

The whole reason I left home - I mean, one of the big reasons, anyway - is that I wanted to see another country, just once. Someplace with different animals and plants and landscapes and people and ways. I've wanted to travel since... well, as long as I can remember!

[ It's difficult to know at this point how much of that urge to see the world is natural and inborn to Reynir and how much had grown within him because he'd always thought it was something he would never ever be allowed to do. Reynir forgives his parents now for lying to him all his life, telling him it was illegal for non-immune people to leave the country. But it really had changed the way he looks at the world, probably permanently. ]

What is this place? It's - America?

[ He remembers the name, has met a few people who are from variations of that country. But seeing it is so much more real, and vivid. Even if it is in a dream. ]

It's so - flat. And dry! And the dirt's so red. Is it meant to be that color?

Edited 2019-12-04 16:36 (UTC)

It’s part of it, yeah.

[Kieran walks along with a practiced ease, his feet completely used to the unique way grass and dirt give way underneath his boots. To him, the open sky and sweeping, flat land—with the occasional hill breaking it up, are the very embodiment of freedom. He’s enjoying every moment of their conversation and, of course, the setting in which it’s taking place.]

I’ve been all over America, but, uh, where I spent the most of my time was down south. But the country is so big that yer just as likely to come across desert as you are snow as you are swamps. No place is exactly the same as the other.

[He gestures at the horses.]

Like, uh, take these fellers fer example. They’re gonna wanna live somewhere that’s open, but that’s still got some trees or hills around. So yer gonna find ‘em on a prairie.

You really don’t have anythin’ like that in Iceland?

[ Reynir listens with interests. Apparently, America was a much much bigger place than he'd realized. Or perhaps it merely has more variation than Iceland, because it wasn't an island? He doesn't really know how these things work. But he wasn't exaggerating about being excited learning about another place, and so he listens to Kieran with rapt interest.

When he asks about horses and prairies, Reynir gives a complicated little half-shrug. In some ways, it will be easier to just show Kieran, rather than tell him what Iceland looks like. But he also answers: ]

We have horses, they're just - smaller than this and sort of. Sturdier? There are open spaces, and trees and hills, just... different to this. It's hard to describe... here.

[ And Reynir beckons Kieran over towards him. They can come back here, after all, tonight or on some future night - traveling between the different areas is easy enough, with Reynir there...

...though it might be a bit of a shock for Kieran when the grassy area they are walking in suddenly stops, like the edge of a picture, an unnatural disjuncture between one place and another, and gives way to a vast expanse of flat water, under a huge cloud-filled starry sky. The dog trots past them, over that rift in space and onto the water, its paws sending out little circles of ripples. Reynir follows, completely blithe, walking on the surface of the water.

He makes it a pace or two before he remembers how terrified Carlisle had been of this place, and sure, some of that was down to that man's specific fear of open spaces - one Kieran doesn't seem to share - but Reynir turns to check on him all the same, offering: ]

I - can hold your hand, if you want, while we cross. If you're scared.

[ For Reynir, who doesn't have a macho bone in his body, it seems a simple enough thing to offer, not at all meant to be pitying or condescending. ]

[As with most things he comes across, Kieran's initial reaction is to timidly stand back and observe. Watching both the dog and Reynir walk on water that's just suddenly appeared out of nowhere is enough to absorb in itself, let alone any social faux pas that may come with offering a hand.]

[So, Kieran hesitates for a few moments when Reynir says something, blinking as he continues to process all of these abrupt, whimsical changes. That's all it takes before he reaches out with his arm to take his red-headed buddy's offer. He'd been holding hands and arms plenty back in the waking world out of necessity. Here, though, it's a choice. Kieran could've said no if he wanted to, and just having the power to make that choice is more than enough to offset his prior misgivings.]

S-Sure! Let's go.

[ Reynir takes Kieran’s hand, but he doesn’t lead him, the way people have been leading him around in the waking world. With the two of them touching, Reynir knows that Kieran won’t have to follow as exactly in his rippling footsteps in order to avoid falling in. As long as they stay in contact, he should be able to stay on the surface of the water just as easily. He doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know why half the things in the dreamspace work the way they do. He just knows this place, intuitively. He understands it, it’s magic, how to move in it.

So the two of them walk side by side over the water, Reynir seeming completely at his ease, the dog trotting along ahead of them. He does think to mention: ]

There’s usually barriers between different places, here. Mages like Onni or Lalli put them up around their areas, and I think some just happen naturally, but because of my magic, I can just walk through them. And if you’re close to me so can you!

[ The excitement in his voice is contagious, and it’s not long they’re moving over that strange, eerie in-between place before they move through another invisible barrier and are on solid land, once more. Volcanic land, cover in rolling green hills, the sky a bright blue filled with clouds. There are sheep dotting the hills around them, just as round and white and fluffy as the clouds in the sky. Reynir lets Kieran’s hand go and says, gesturing: ]

See? This is my home.

[A natural worrier, Kieran's first thought regarding the barriers is whether or not it's a good idea for them to pass through them, but Reynir's innate optimism puts him at ease fairly quickly. His grip on his red-headed friend's hand smoothly transitions from uneasy to confident as he follows along.]

[Kieran's neck cranes in awe as he takes in the brilliant green of lush hills and the familiar puffs of sheep breaking the smooth landscape with random patterns and clusters as flocks travel together. Immediately, he feels at peace.]

Reynir, this is amazin'.

It ain't anythin' like what I was expectin' fer a place called Iceland.

[ Reynir can hear that peace in Kieran's voice, see it in his body language. Who couldn't feel safe and comfortable, here? This place is partly constructed from Reynir's impressions of his home, how he felt about it. And it had been a safe place for him to grow up, tranquil and beautiful and nurturing. So it is that way, in this dream.

He laughs at Kieran's joke about Iceland, shaking his head: ]

Well, it is pretty cold, but there is a lot more than just ice! Here, let me show you!

[ And then the two of them are off, exploring the hills and rocks and little secret places, the landscape of Reynir's dream sanctuary. There is a lot to see, here, and he wants to make sure Kieran makes the most of it, during this brief time that he can. Even if the waking world poses a million challenges that will still need to be faced, Kieran won't be facing them alone. And he won't have to feel like he will never see clouds again, or sheep, or green or hills or any of that. Because Reynir can do this small, huge thing for him. ]

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