A Trial Long Past

[Vega]

85th Trial of Ashan during Arc 718

Desnind was cold and dark and the wind was howling. Rain poured all around them, although Vega didn't notice, or think it strange, that where they stood, the rain didn't fall. It was cold, though, and she was shivering slightly. That, of course, was because she no longer had the covers over her and, in the waking world, she was cold. She stood, waiting for the others to arrive and she sighed slightly. "It's not a great turn out, Arlo. It's a little girl what's gone missin' an' there's not one bloody Sev'ryn 'ere. Not a whole one, any'ow." She added the last with a grin as she turned to look at him. A deep frown crossed her forehead as she did and strode over to him, her hand moving to his face. "Wot in the name of all the Immortals 'ave you been doin'? You.. " He could undoubtedly tell just by the way that her hands moved that, in this version of them, as Vega dreamed them, they weren't together. "You look like you got older? Who did this to you?" Her eyes were consistent colours even in her sleep and they swirled to a swift and solid red. "Was it Asari? That woman, I told 'er to go an' get dressed properly, an' look, look at you!" Her scowl at him was one he hadn't seen in a while as she looked like she wanted to box his ears.

"It isn't clever. Though you got taller too," shaking her head, Vega's hand moved down to his chest, unconsciously (even in her unconscious) and she gave him her best stern glare. "I wish you'd talk to me about stuff, Arlo. Gettin' older's a big decision, an' I don't entirely trust Asari. I think she's gonna fall an' then I won't be able to see an' you'll have to help me. But I'll leave you behind, an' that's not good." In Vega's mind she'd come back to a place where she was cold and there was the sound of rain. Which meant Desnind searching for the little girl.

"Oh, I bought you this," she said, handing him a sword. It was the one she had bought for him in Desnind, though not at this time. "I get this real strong feelin' of wantin' to know yer ok. So I'd like you to have it. When we leave here, you can remember me with it." Then, the third member of their group arrived and Vega turned and grinned. "Wotcha. Ok. So, there's a girl, seven arcs old she's missing in the woods." Gesturing to herself, she smiled to the other member of the search party. "I'm Vega," she said and motioned to her companion. "An' this is Arlo. I love him, but I don't wanna tell him, cos he's my friend." That Arlo was standing next to her was not important, she was sure that he couldn't hear her because in this dream that was how it worked.

"We gonna go then? We need to be careful, in case there's a spurmalurma or a skeeterwampulus, but the little girl's in a cave, an' she's sleepin' with a very big lizard. Her name's Jonas, an' I'm nervous about seein' him again, but I wanna jus' make it right." Shouldering her backpack, Vega started to stomp in a generally "over there" direction. "You two comin' then? No lollygaggin'."

Off Topic

Hey, both! So, please feel free to take the dream story in any direction you want / choose. I'm going to have Vega sort of falling in and out of lucidity throughout it. Looking forward to it!

[Pepper]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XOu8hfj.jpg[/img]

85 of Ashan, 718
Emea

Pepper found herself standing at the side of a street in a cold, dark, unfamiliar city. Even with the rain and the dark, there seemed to be too many trees, she'd certainly never been here before. At least she wasn't getting wet..

Miret appeared near her and immediately proceeded to sneeze rather violently. Pepper smiled at the little flame wreathed figure and said, “You certainly shouldn't be sneezing! Seeing as how you are mostly fire..” Miret made a face at her but refused to answer.

Pepper had known within a few trills that she was dreaming. After three years, attaining lucidity wasn't that much of a hit or miss affair. “This isn't my dream. Is it Miret?” Pepper was already looking around for the dreamer.

“You are getting better at noticing that,” Miret smiled, then added a wry “Finally!”

“Oyee you mean thing! I haven't had that many chances to practice!”

"Quit being grumpy." Miret swatted Pepper's ear lightly before pointing to the right. "There. One of those ought to be your dreamer."

Pepper, with Miret trailing behind, joined the two figures. One was a tall, red haired young woman, with the changing eyes of the Biqaj. The other was an equally tall, dark haired young man, who seemed to shimmer at certain angles, as if seen from behind a curtain of hot air.

The woman seemed to have been expecting Pepper, and straight away mentioned the missing 7 arc old girl. She's most likely the dreamer, Pepper silently sent to Miret, a hint of question accompanying her sending.

Vega introduced herself right afterwards, then introduced Arlo, as if the man wasn't standing right there! Pepper didn't really know what to make of Vega's summation of their relationship status either, but then dreamers tended to frequently talk somewhat strangely..

"Hi, I'm Pepper." She nodded at both of them, then snuck a look at Arlo as Vega continued to explain the situation with the missing girl. Something seemed familiar about him, though she was pretty sure they had never met before this.

She paid attention to Vega again at the mention of a cave and a big lizard.. That wasn't really something she was going to enjoy, but equally certainly, Vega was going ahead with her rescue, clearly expecting Pepper to join in.

"Lead on! Let's find the girl." Pepper's shoulders suddenly bore her trusty knapsack's weight.

Now you look prepared! Miret's sending held laughter.

Stop teasing me! You sure are in a good mood tonight.. Pepper looked back to see where Miret was. This was when she noticed the other fairy.

[Arlo Creede]

Sometimes Arlo felt as if Vega needed to dream alone, especially after she'd been battered, broken, died and come back. It wasn't just the body that needed to heal after all. It was the mind and the spirit. She wasn't dreamwalking exactly, and hadn't been since it had happened. He could slip into and out of her dreams at will, any time he wanted, any time she needed him to. But when he was there, there was always the temptation to try and guide her towards healing, to help her work things out even in Emea. But something made him think that a little bit of doing it for herself, was good for her. So that night, he'd fallen into her dream like he always did. But unlike the usual, he hung back at the blurry edges of her dream and observed.

Of course he was also there at her side. It was the version of him that she was dreaming of, and that version acted accordingly. An odd mix of the Arlo she'd first met in Desnind, and the one he was now. It was the hunt for the child in Desnind, in the dead of winter and too few volunteers. There's been Asari and her unpreparedness for the outing, and her high heels put on for hiking through the frozen wilderness. It was all very curious, observing how she dreamed him, and he would have simply kept looking, or chosen to slip away, had Lyova not spotted what he had managed to miss. "Arlo, look!" the little blue diri exclaimed excitedly as she darted in circles round the crown of his hat. "It's another dreamwalker!"

Indeed it was another like him and Arlo wondered how he'd missed it before. He knew one anywhere by now. He frowned curiously and tilted his head, sizing her up. A stranger, walking in Vega's dreams. What were her intentions, he wondered? Had she wandered in unknowing just as he had when he was learning? Or had she sought Vega out? There was only one way to find out, and Vega's dreamed up Arlo, in a flash, was replaced by the real thing. One dressed and armed for the occasion. The one who'd told her he'd taken a potion to get older and taller, who'd told her that Asari had toppled away on her impossibly high heeled shoes and the one who'd said he'd help if she fell or failed to see, was gone. But the sentiment remained along with the one she hadn't dreamed up.

And it seemed that the woman, the dreamwalker, was as curious about him, as him, her. She must also realize, either that or her little companion had revealed him. It didn't matter either way. From the outset she didn't appear to be looking for trouble. Only time would tell. Lyova didn't seem to be too worried, judging by the way she'd enthusiastically greeted the other diri. "Nice to meet you Pepper," he said, then grinning at Vega and squeezing her hand before letting go,he smiled and said, "Lead on then."

So on they went, so long as everyone was willing. Vega in the lead, or Arlo would happily put himself out in front. Lyova by then had settled onto the brim of his hat, upright, fluid fingers curled and already large eyes wide as she peered over the top ahead of them. A lot of the trail into the forest looked familiar, at least to Vega it would and Arlo too. The rain still poured down around them, but not on them. Even the wind that whipped the rain sideways at times only swirled around their protective cocoon like a whirlwind. He couldn't help grinning a little, recalling how Vega declared his feelings for him, even then but now, as if he couldn't hear her. Somehow he thought that if she hadn't been lucid dreaming before, some of htat was coming back to her.

And still he was curious about the other dreamwalker. "Pepper, right?" he said. "You new around here?" It was a loaded question, elven though it might not seem to be. Funny how the rain was coming down, but suddenly it seemed to be doing it without sand. It was his handiwork though he didn't let on. They all knew where they were going, or thought they did anyway. but around them sections of rain began to take shape. Multiples of shapes in fact. A large shadowy creature swirled past. Was it the dreaded skeeterwampulus? Little stones in hordes, but with eyes and waving hands as if enjoying a good surf on a gust of wind. Winged rabbits, leaping deer and a large deer like creature bounded through with streaks of electric blue trailing off him. That one seemed to be leading the charge. "Maybe he knows where the girl is?" Arlo suggested. At the least, the creature looked a lot more helpful and friendly than did the skeeterwampulus, never mind that at the moment it seemed unlikely to get past whatever invisible barrier surrounded them.

[Vega]

85th Trial of Ashan during Arc 718

Arlo had drunk a potion to make himself older and Asari had fallen off her high heels out of Desnind? Vega looked at him and shook her head, smiling despite herself. "Best not be callin' her Gracie. That's yer name for me," she said, her tone softer than it had been and he squeezed her hand. Vega looked down at their hands together as he did and she frowned, just a little.Just for a trill there was a flicker of recognition, of something more which was gone in a moment. Pepper shouldered her pack and said that they should move and yet, as Vega was describing what happened, Pepper seemed to be looking at Arlo. Exclusively. That caused a frown to deepen on Vega's face as she considered it and then, she turned to Arlo to say something, but suddenly she caught sight of a different pair of eyes. "Hello Lyova, are you a'right?" Vega smiled at the small diri, who she liked a lot, and she looked back at Arlo, forgetting what she was going to say. Considering just how blunt Vega could be when she was awake, let alone asleep, that might be no bad thing.

Still, on they went. Vega pointed things out to Pepper, things that she thought the young woman wouldn't recognise. At the sight of the shadowy thing, she motioned and then explained. "That's a skeeterwampulus. It's a scary thing that Arlo took me to see, but then it was jus' some cats. It weren't though, not originally. It was 'cos he realised that I was afraid because I wasn't walkin' an' he was." When she'd worked out why that dream had ended the way it did, Arlo didn't know. She certainly hadn't told him. As the stones with little legs and arms skidded past them, Vega gestured towards them for Pepper, again, but this time with a broad smile and swirling shades of green in her ever-changing eyes. "Those are granitees. They're the creation of Geoupagus, the Immortal. It's a story that's ours. About us an' by us an' of us. I made a book... " Frowning slightly, she looked down at her hands and realised that the book in question was there. Without hesitation, she handed it to Arlo. "It's us. We're naughty granitees, in this book. But that's yours, I made it for you." Turning back to speak to her, Vega explained to Pepper, so that the young woman with them would understand. "He helped me learn to read, cos he knew I can do anythin' I put my mind to an' he didn't like me thinkin' I couldn't. So I wrote the story of us for him, to show that I know that, now, I jus' needed him to show me." She sighed slightly and looked down at her legs. "I nearly forgot again, though, didn't I?"

Vega hadn't walked lucidly, in dreams for a long time. It had been rare following the Death Forged Rose, impossible during it and it was less than twenty trials later that she had died. She'd been brought back, but her body remained broken for a long time. Not so now, yet there were still scars and she hadn't been lucid in dreams since. There were things she had to work out in her subconscious and somehow it asserted itself and held her where she needed to be. Dreaming, not lucid. Stuck. But more and more, that was changing.

"Henry?"

It was the glowing deer that did it. She turned to Pepper and spoke, excitedly. "That's Henry. He's a Brux, we met 'im in Ne'haer, we'll go there after here. He loved blueberries an' when we met this... oh, it were right horrible. Black tentacles an' ... that." The creature in question, outside of their apparent sphere of protection seemed to be walking along quite contentedly, all things considered. "We fought it an' I got beaten pretty bad. Arlo stayed up all night with me. The girl's over this way," she said, the dream continuing to move with them, but stalling every now and then.

"I miss Henry, the Brux. He was well lovely, he was," she said and then glanced around. "But we went there after here, an' even that was before Immortals' Tongue, weren't it?" That she said to Arlo and she gave a sudden cheeky grin. "An' I was Mixie Frumplebush. Ma an' Pa Frumplebush would think you were right lovely. But that's not us now. Now is much better. qau'ma." She looked at him in a way she hadn't, here for a long time. An almost shy expression, a crooked smile and bright green eyes, flecked through with orange and, increasingly, gold. "So, then, Pepper," Vega turned to look at her and as the dream, or her part of it, halted, she gave a friendly enough, though somewhat wary, smile. "What're you doin' in my dream then?" Her eyes shone with interest, not aggression.

[Pepper]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XOu8hfj.jpg[/img]

85 of Ashan, 718
Emea

Pepper sometimes found herself in dreams not her own, without quite understanding the how of it. This had looked more of the same. Vega's (if she indeed was the dreamer) dream including Arlo, and it was clear the two knew each other well in the waking world, whatever their actual relationship status. She didn't understand much of what Vega was talking about, what in the world was a spurmalurma for example? She was content enough to follow along though. Her being present ought to keep most of the nasties away from the dream if nothing else.

Then she saw the fairy. Miret was with her, and the two couldn't have been more different, if Miret looked like flames incarnate, the other was water given fairy form. Lyova (Miret had supplied the name) soon settled on the brim of Arlo's hat. He's Jesine marked as well! He was the first such she'd met, indeed she hadn't met any dreamwalkers at all to this point.

Pepper's eyes brimmed with wonder and excitement. She so wanted to talk more about this with Arlo, but Miret reminded her in time of the dangers of acting strange. If Vega should startle and wake, she'd never be able to find them again.

With difficulty, Pepper turned away and started paying some attention to Vega, and the dreamscape again. Her thoughts though, kept racing, forgetting to include even Miret in her excitement. He definitely knows what is going on much better than I do. Will he help me learn more? Is he going to think I'm too young for it? Are they in the city somewhere tonight? How can I meet them out of Emea..

When Arlo asked her if she was new here, she truly wished she could talk to him like she could to Merit. You are getting too worked up. Breathe.. Miret's voice broke her thought patterns long enough for her to begin gaining some perspective. I know you must be excited to meet another of us, but you aren't really acting like yourself. Miret's voice was very calm, with just a hint of admonishment.

“Yes, I'm new.” She replied, giving him a quick glance. “Don't know the area well, haven't explored much.” She tried to convey as much as she felt she safely could.

As creatures started appearing out of the rain, Pepper wondered if this was Vega's work or Arlo's. Could she do this as well some day? She even succeeded at paying almost her full attention to Vega, as she pointed out the skeeterwumpus, and something about cats? Previous dream experience? The stones with the arms and legs were certainly strange. There was a story behind every creature and a sense of a long shared history with Arlo. Pepper didn't bother trying to remember the details, if they ever met in real life (and she damn well was going to figure out how to get their real world locations out of one of them) they'd have enough time to learn the outlines of each others histories.

Pepper was very glad of their strange bubble of protection as she caught sight of the... creature, as Vega called it. If even half of this was real, the two had been through some hair raising stuff together. The way Vega talked and included Arlo, and Arlo's whole demeanour, and the protective vibes he was giving off (though he certainly was the reserved type) screamed that they had something truly special here. Honestly, she felt the tiniest bit envious, would she find something like this in her life? Yet that bit of envy was swiftly replaced by the sense of joy she felt. It was strange how good it felt to see people happy.. Well that wasn't exactly the word.. but a sense of rightness was perhaps it.

Pepper was just following along when Vega turned towards her. The slight wariness in Vega's smile was her first hint as to how the dream, no, Vega herself, had changed. "What're you doin' in my dream then?" Vega asked.

There was a short pause. “Oh praise Jesine! You are lucid!” Pepper blurted out. “Where are you both in the waking world? Can we please meet up? Oh please say we can.. This is the first time I've met another that Jesine's marked,” Pepper stabbed a vague finger towards Arlo. A trill's pause for breath, she went on, “and you,” she met Vega's eyes squarely, “must be a dreamwalker too! I'm so glad I moved to the city!”

There was a longer pause as Pepper realised she'd been speaking non stop for a while, gesturing all over the place. And she still hadn't answered the original question. Flushing from embarrassment, she ducked her head, “Oh. I just ended up here.” A quick glance at Arlo, then Vega (gosh they were so much taller than her), and she continued with her explanation. “I don't really know how or why.” Indicating Miret she explained further, “We've mostly been stumbling along and we've just moved to the city. Rharne, that is.” She patted her hair a bit nervously, then got all excited again, “Oh please I've got sooo many questions about things.. I truly don't mean a bit of harm.. Not that I could do anything, you both could handle someone like me with one hand tied behind your back.” Pepper didn't realise that every bit of her last sentence was perfectly audible to both Vega and Arlo.

As the tension drained out of her, she plopped down on the ground with something of the graceless 11 arc old she'd been. Propping her head on her knees she said in a louder voice, “Ok. I'm done speaking now,” and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to crane up and look at the couple (and of course she still felt awkward and embarrassed).

[Arlo Creede]

"You, and only you," Arlo had said when Vega protested, and he'd smiled as he squeezed her hand. Gracie. He remembered well. And then? Something flashed across her face, in her eyes that made him wonder, was she becoming more lucid in her dreams again? It was gone as quickly as it had come and he couldn't be sure. But he wouldn't mention it. Not here. There were rules in Emea. Rules that governed the conduct of Dreamwalkers and they weren't just rules for the sake of having them. There were reasons and there'd been a time, back when he was fresh at it and less experienced, that he'd stumbled and run afoul of those rules. There'd been no real harm done, but only because by luck and quick thinking, he'd managed to turn back the potential damage. If Vega was becoming more lucid again, then far better for her to come to it on her own.

As for Lyova? "It's an adventure! Which is always alright be me," the little diri explained and briefly, forgetting herself, fell back into her ordinary, teardrop shape. That was the great thing about being water like, fluid as can be and able to shape herself mostly as she pleased. Something about a tiny humanoid shape appealed, so it was one that she took quite often. "It's nice to meet you, Miret," she said almost in a formal way, speaking to the diri that took the shape and equally fluid-ness of flames. There was a sisterhood between their kind after all.

At any rate, Pepper had joined them and she was clearly a dreamwalker herself and she'd perhaps stumbled into Vega's dream in much the same way that he had at the very beginning. Without exactly meaning to. Still, they walked and the menagerie that he'd whipped into being swirled around them. And Vega remembered each and every one of them. It was a good sign, Arlo thought and he smiled when she handed him teh book. "I remember. And I remember telling you you're a very good storyteller." And now was much better, no denying. Better and better all the time.

As for Pepper? Arlo couldn't help but notice her staring. She was young, she was a bundle of endless enthusiasm, and by Cassion she was a talker. He grinned and tried to keep up. Otherwise whatever was outside the dry spot they walked in was no threat to any of them. So young, so enthusiastic, so new to dreamwalking, it was a combination that came with a great deal of risk, and a lot of room for making mistakes. The hope was that the mistakes would be small ones to learn from, but leave no real damage behind. The alternative could mean causing lasting damage, not so much to herself but an innocent dreamer. More experience and wisdom ought fix it in time.

For instance, when she blurted out that Vega was lucid, to Vega? Arlo winced a little, Lyova through their connection gasped just for his benefit, but he mentally hushed her. Now wasn't the time to say it. The younger dreamwalker might benefit from a little guidance, advice, something, but in the presence of someone who may, or may not realize they were dreaming, that time wasn't now. Besides, he was certin there was no harm intended and Arlo only glanced at Vega to make sure she was faring well.

Ordinarily? He might not be so willing to share with another in Emea just where he was in the waking world. But in this case, maybe better that he did. "Rharne. We're visiting Rharne for a handful of trials." And it was probably a good thing she informed them that there'd be a trill or two of silence, Arlo was beginning to think he might not get a word in. He grinned and shrugged, mindful that she'd stumbled across the same rule twice already, so when he looked Vega's way, he squeezed her hand. "I think we could arrange to meet up somewhere awake. You think?" he asked.

[Vega]

85th Trial of Ashan during Arc 718

"I like it when you call me that," she said to Arlo with a soft smile and a few trills of recognition. "I like it a lot." She did, there was no doubting it but for a moment she almost understood why, but then it was gone. They walked together and Vega couldn't shake the feeling that Pepper had some sort of ... thing going on for Arlo. That was fine and she didn't mind in the slightest, she told herself but her eyes told the actual truth as they moved in an explosion of colours. Because actually, Pepper looked to be close to his age, didn't she? Yet Vega couldn't shake the idea that more time than that had passed. Every now and then, as those thoughts hit her, the dream stalled, shuddering for a trill, but then her dreaming state reasserted itself and on they continued.

Then, she had another moment and a stronger one. Of being lucid just for a few trill and she recognised that she was dreaming. She asked Pepper, because in those few trill she knew why Arlo was there, but in the pause after she spoke, she was more or less asleep again, her lucidity very much an in-one-trill, out-the-next thing. Pepper spoke, and Vega frowned, confusion on her face as Pepper spoke about her being 'lucid' and where they were in the waking world. "Well, I try to make sense.." she mumbled, but then the young woman spoke to her directly again and said she must be a dreamwalker. Must she? What did that mean?

Pepper kept talking, but Vega couldn't hear her any more. A deep frown crossed her face as Pepper shot out question and statement, one after the other. She was a dreamwalker? She'd been teetering on the edge of realising it on her own, of course, and so the young woman wasn't simply ejected from her own dream. However, as Pepper closed her eyes, the thoughts Vega had been having suddenly coalesced into solidity and the dream around them shuddered and shattered, like a stained glass window falling into pieces as a stone was thrown through it. As it shattered, her consciousness replaced the landscape they were on with flash after flash of images, dreamscapes, each one there and gone in an instant. Fire blazed all around them, a warehouse Arlo knew as well as she did, stars glittered above them from the bench on the deck and a cup sailed through the air, shattering against the barrier around them which Arlo had put there. Each image lasted for less than an instant and then it fell into shards, just like it's predecessor. An island in the middle of the ocean with a sign next to a tree on a hill, the snowy tundra of Viden, a building in the same place where she'd laughed properly for the first time in a lifetime as they exited, each place was there and then, as she fell into full lucidity, they stopped. Replacing where they were with a familiar camp and a bounding puppy running up to them, Vega glanced at Arlo with a smile. "You can stop protectin' us. I'm all here."

The puppy ran up to Pepper and Vega looked at the young girl and sighed slightly, her hand in Arlo's returning the gesture. That had been a strange and largely unpleasant experience, but she wasn't going to fuss about it here. She sat down on the grass, next to the young woman and she curled her legs up underneath her as she did. "I'm a dreamwalker, yeah. Not Jesine marked like you pair." Plucking at the grass, she absentmindedly scratched the puppy's stonach, who wriggled and yipped in delight. "An' yeah, we can meet up, no worries. We're in Rharne, like he says." She glanced at Arlo and then, Vega spoke again. "An' there's not really a lot I can teach you. Arlo's much more experienced than I am, but I guess if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that .." She considered it and then tried to explain. "Dreamwalkin' isn't about you. It's about the dreamer. They should be yer focus first an' middle. If you focus on yerself, on you bein' the dreamwalker, yer gonna end up givin' someone a storming headache, at the very least. It's a responsibility, so it is."

Vega kept hold of Arlo's hand and smiled at Pepper. "Yer new, an' yer gonna make mistakes, but when you do? Put them righ' if you can." Vega was starting to think that she was Jesine's go-to-girl for new dreamwalkers in her vicinity and she sent a silent prayer to the Mortalborn that she was giving the right advice. "An' don't let yerself jump to conclusions. In dreams, nothin's what it seems, even to us, or you guys. By the time you started talkin' I wasn't lucid any more. I was fallin' in an out." She was going to have the headache to end them all when she woke. "That happens, to people who've been escorted like me, an' people who've been marked like you. An' even people who aren't walkers at all have flashes of realisin' they're dreamin' and then they're gone again. I was mostly back asleep an' that's dangerous, though there's no harm done as it turns out. But Arlo here, he can help you. Maybe lets meet up in Rharne itself? Is there a good Inn or cafe you know of?" As she asked Pepper that, she was leaning against Arlo, just slightly, before she fell silent. She was frustrated, because she had been so close, she recognised now, to getting herself to where she so wanted to be. But there wasn't anything to be done about that, so instead she waited to hear what Pepper thought of what she'd said.

[Pepper]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XOu8hfj.jpg[/img]

85 of Ashan, 718
Emea

Pepper had felt such relief when she realised Vega knew this was her dream, that she never even considered this may be a momentary knowing. Miret had underscored the dangers of messing with the dreams of any dreamer so much that she'd just decided to treat all dreams as sacrosanct by default. She was going to severely restrict herself from anything except watching and thinking. Her running commentary and thoughts would be directed solely to Miret. In fact that is probably why Jesine assigned her marked a fairy, so they'd have someone to talk to in dreams without endangering the dreamer.

When she shared this theory with Miret, the fairy had laughed. She had consoled Pepper that if she found another dreamwalker or Nyvora Marked in a dream, she could talk to them as well. But only them.

Once her endless seeming stream of questions and statements had petered out, Pepper realised she was receiving a strong feeling of resigned shock from Miret. I must have done something wrong.. Maybe? Probably... She had practically buckled to the ground, her mouth still running on its own and she heard herself proclaim she'd stop talking now. Pepper closed her eyes with a mental wince.. and waited. She still wasn't sure what had gone wrong, Lyova proved Arlo was safe to talk in front of, and Vega had asked her what she was doing in her dream herself.. She was a dreamwalker too... So what was the trouble? She nudged Miret mentally but the fairy refused to answer at all, her only response a vaguely grim emotional sending. At least Arlo told me they are in Rharne...

She felt someone sit down next to her, and opened her eyes tentatively. It was Vega, and they were no longer cold. This had the look of a camp at evening, and there was a puppy near her too..

Vega began gently enough, confirming Arlo as Jesine marked, and herself as a dreamwalker and agreeing they could meet up somewhere in Rharne.

It went swiftly downhill from there. By the time Vega stopped, she felt about a foot high.

It was curious how one could simultaneously smart inside while a part of you eagerly took mental notes. Yet another part of you felt guilty for ignorantly endangering people while another felt relief at finally having someone to learn from, even if it was only for a short while. Pepper simultaneously and in quick succession felt all of this and more.

Pepper didn't immediately speak when Vega stopped talking. Vega had been very kind, considering that Pepper had endangered her. She still didn't really understand how it was dangerous.. The worst that could happen was the dreamer would come awake with a start? But she could tell Vega was entirely serious, and Arlo hadn't contradicted her either. So she knew it was dangerous but didn't really understand truly, not deep in her gut like she understood fire was dangerous.

Pepper certainly knew more about dreamwalking after this one session than she knew since the Vhalar past. That's when the getting sucked into other dreams had started becoming more frequent. Also, the offer to meet in Rharne was all that she could have wished for a few bits earlier.

Yet a tiny part in her kept feeling bad. She even thought she felt upset with Miret for no reason she could articulate. Tentatively she reached out to Miret. I did mess up right?, the question tangled up with all the confused threads of emotions she'd been feeling.

You did. But you didn't harm anyone. Miret's voice was gentle in Pepper's head. It's ok.. No one's disappointed in you. That's how everyone learns. Miret knew her charge well by now and cut right to the heart of what was bothering Pepper. And besides, you like these two right? Wouldn't it be good to finally share everything with someone else? Miret was aware how careful Pepper had been to never casually let another know about her mark and her dreamwalking abilities.

Pepper nodded to Miret, strangely grateful, she hadn't realised she had been worried about disappointing her new friends.

With a smile she turned to Vega and Arlo “Thank you, for offering to teach me. I hadn't realised one could go back to dreaming after being lucid..” She tentatively met Vega's eyes, “I'm not making excuses, I'm apologising.” Another half a trill's pause during which Miret poked her sharply in the side. “What!” she looked at the diri, the figured it out. “Oh!” blushing very slightly again, she looked at Vega again and essayed a tiny smile. “I'm sorry for putting you in danger. I'll be more careful next time.”

She thought about where they could meet up in Rharne and get some uninterrupted time. She could invite them to her uncle's place... But then she'd have to answer questions about who and why.. Maybe it was time she let at least her family know about the mark... Oh she had lost the thread again. Giving a small shake of her head she spoke to the couple, “Well... I've heard good things about Tio's Tea House.. It's in the Glass quarter, and there are very pretty gardens and fish.. And it's not very crowded either most of the time.. Does that sound fine?” And then wondered why she had to mention fish of all things.. Please don't let them think I'm too dumb to teach...

[Arlo Creede]

Arlo would have thought that Pepper's mistake had been the catalyst. But already Arlo had seen evidence that Vega was starting to come back to herself as a lucid dreamer, if only in small snippets. It was coming and going, might have taken longer to happen naturally if the younger dreamwalker hadn't provided the spark that seemed to bring it back in a rush. He watched her, concerned at first and hoping to protect her from it, when Vega turned to him and said it wasn't needed anymore. And along with that came familiar surroundings, her doing, along with the young pup that his stepfather had given her. To say he was relieved was an understatement, and he squeezed her hand and smiled.

Yes, she must be a dreamwalker, and was. But with the potential disaster averted, it would be better to explain to Pepper what he might have chosen a different time and place for, or cause her more confusion. Being new to dreamwalking was confusing enough without being left pondering where things had gone wrong. Lyova had been a great deal of help to him from the start. But then there were other times when she'd allowed him to fall in order to help him learn, how to get up again. The trick was knowing how much was enough, and how much, too much.

"She's right," he told Pepper as he sat down on the log beside Vega. And all the creatures that he'd brought into being around them, he dismissed with a thought, and replaced them with a simple, peaceful woodland. "It's about the dreamer, and you're new to this. You'll make mistakes. I've made my own share of them. The trick is to learn from the experience. I once let on to a dreamer that they were dreaming too, just like you did. You can't assume, even if they appear to be lucid, that they really are. Dreams are funny things. But if a dreamer asks why you're in their dream," he suggested, "it might be better to answer the question with another, such as, would you like me to leave or stay?"

He'd made other mistakes that had needed fixing, he told her, and maybe if they met in the waking world he'd tell her about those. Some were much trickier to undo after all and he'd had one of those to be sure. "The thing to remember is that of course you can interact with a dreamer, and you can influence the dream, help shape it and so on. The trick is knowing how much, and not to do more harm than good." It was in fact complicated, and yet simple at the same time Arlo realized. For the most part, experience did the trick though he and Vega might be able to save her from the trickier mistakes of learning, or at least the ones with the most potential for trouble. Her diri would help her as well, and protect her as well, just as Lyova had done for him. So Tio's it was then, Arlo agreed. He knew where it was, though he hadn't been there before.

[Rynata]

Name: Arlo

Knowledge:
Caregiving: Sometimes, people need to help themselves
Discipline: Not helping someone you love can be hard
Dreamwalking: Recognising another Jesine marked in your dream
Dreamwalking: Understanding when someone is fading in and out of lucidity
Dreamwalking: Watching, not jumping in
Dreamwalking: Providing cues for the dreamer to help them remember

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: N/A
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

- - -

Name: Vega

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: N/A
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

- - -

Name: Pepper

Knowledge:
Psychology : Teasing is part of friendship
Dreamwalking : Being Lucid
Dreamwalking : Identifying another's dreamscape
Detection : Noticing body languages and interpersonal cues
Discipline : Holding back from questions when not sure of dreamer's mental state
Dreamwalking : A lucid state can be momentary
Psychology : Answering a question with another question is a good option sometimes
Dreamwalking : Dreams can be shaped to an extent

Non-Skill Knowledge:
Vega
- Children are her soft spot
- loves Arlo
- is a talker
- tells things straight up
- is a dreamwalker

Arlo
- Is Jesine Marked
- Has a fairy called Lyova
- is reticent
- loves vega
- is much more skilled at dreamwalking etc than Pepper
- can manipulate dreams
- helped Vega learn to read?

Vega + Arlo
- were friends earlier
- travel together
- have a long share history
- are in Rharne area around 85 of Ashan 718

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: N/A
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

- - -

Comments: Nice short collaboration, guys. It was fun reading through the dynamic of the Arlo/Vega pair and the excitable Pepper. Makes me want to do some dream threads.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Also, please indicate on your request thread that this has been reviewed. Thanks!

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