[11:05 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga could tell very soon this wasn't his dream. But it wasn't anyone else's dream that he could think of, either. He didn't remember this vibe...
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:30 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
The setting of the dream seemed reminiscent of the tunnels Yuga and Isi had found themselves in before everything went insane, except the tunnels were considerably larger, and interspersed with saplings and trees growing out of the walls and ground and random intervals. More noticable, however, was the smell, which was an out-of-place strong disinfectant smell laced with a barely-covered decay.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[11:37 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga's ears bent back. He eyed everything vigilantly, and his ears turned to listen for any noises in any direction. He couldn't think of who's dream this was in the moment. The hallways seemed different, and they made the fox nervous. He moved cautiously forward, trying to meet the person who's mind had created this scene.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:50 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi was running, she felt so certain she was being chased but couldn't seem to rememberwho was chasing her. Maybe she was running to someone? Whatever. If she stopped, that was bad. She wasn't really panicked, she knew she was fast enough.
She was certain she could be heard, her hooves echoed wherever the ground wasn't covered in leaves.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:16 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
This was clearly a nightmare, that much was clear to him. Yuga's ears ticked at the sound of hooves. That sounded familiar as well.
And then he remembered.
"Isi?" He called out, jogging lightly towards the sound.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:22 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi slowed, she could swear she just heard her name - it was difficult with the tunnels being so twisty, echoey, and large, but perhaps it meant she was being too loud.
Isi slowed down to a bit more of a trot so she could listen, and to quiet her hooves a little.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:24 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga tried to navigate towards the sound of hooves, but it was easier said than done.
"Isi!" He called again.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:34 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
They were certain they heard it that time. It was familiar, and it was a bit closer. She stopped moving, instead she crouched among the trees, heart pounding- whoever was calling her name wasn't the one chasing her, she was sure of that at least, somehow. Maybe if she hid she could avoid getting caught by either person unless she wanted to.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:55 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
The sound of hooves ceased, and Yuga was left without a sign wandering around. He continued the way he was going, and tried to listen and sniff the air. It was annoying to have nightmares of his own, but being stuck in someone else's was even more so... and unsettling.
"Isi?" He called out, looking around the forest-like hallways.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:58 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
"Yuga!" A voice hissed from a patch of undergrowth between some trees. They gestured for him to come over, they sounded urgent and scared. The only thing that could be seen of her was her strangely reflective eyes.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[8:19 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga perked up at the voice. He looked into the shrubbery, and spotted the pair of eyes. He looked around, and got down on his all fours, and crawled next to the faun.
"Hi. What are we hiding from?" He muttered quietly. His voice sounded a bit different. It was much easier to make out his words.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[8:47 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi looked at Yuga, and then out at the tunnel cautiously.
"I've never been able to stay still enough to make them out- I guess maybe now that I've made it into the tunnels they lost me for a bit" they replied, uncertainly. Isi certainly looked like they'd been running for a while, even now they were tensed and ready to spring.
They looked at Yuga. "What are you doing down here? You sound weird"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[9:51 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga looked into the tunnel as Isi did, and kept one ear turned towards it, and one towards Isi. He turned to look at them when they asked the question.
"Do I?" he asked. He surely spoke much more naturally, without fumbling with his words or pronouncing things weirdly. He sounded like he would sound to other Ninetales when he spoke Vulpese.
"I can go to peoples dreams sometimes. I can't control it. It just happens. Sorry." He shrugged apologetically.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[10:02 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
"well not weird I guess just, not like how you usually do" she replied.
Isi looked at Yuga wide eyed, and then looked back around at the tunnels and trees, seemingly with new realization.
"This- this is a dream?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[10:05 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga hummed in response to her first remark, and then nodded when she continued.
"Yes, your dream", he replied, and looked around as well, before looking back at Isi. It always felt like he was invading personal territory when he dreamwalked, so he tried not to snoop around too much.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[10:10 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
"I should've figured that..trees don't really grow underground like this, do they?"
This seemed to calm Isi a little bit, though she still didn't seem to want to leave the undergrowth.
They frowned. "Did I dream you here, then? I've definitely had this dream before, there's never been anyone with me except what's after me" They looked at Yuga again.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[10:15 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga shook his head.
"It's not because of you. I probably appeared here because... hmm." Yuga paused to ponder.
"...Oh! Right, did we fall asleep next to each other?" He frowned a little in thought.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[10:20 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi paused. "Does that matter?" She thought some more, before making a little :o face. "Does this have to do with your powers?"
Isi was still staying quiet, still keeping an ear out. Just because it was a dream doesn't mean she intended on meeting whatever it was she was scared of.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[10:31 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga nodded. "It's part of my powers,I think", he hummed. "The closer I sleep to someone the more likely this is to happen. Hm... I just wish one of us had stayed awake", he murmured. He was keeping his gaze on the ground, shifting dried leaves with his paws.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[10:39 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
"that...would've been good, yeah. Usually if I realize I'm dreaming I wake up, though" Isi replied, puzzled. She looked over at him, noticing his stance.
"You alright?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[10:47 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"Hm?" Yuga lifted his head.
"Oh, yeah. It just feels a bit weird to see someone else's dream, so I'm, trying to be considerate and not look too much." He shrugged with a small smile.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[10:51 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi tilted her head. "You can look, its- not like it reveals much anyway, I was just running" Isi replied.
Just then, the sound of irregular, heavy footfalls became audible in the distance, approaching. Isi tensed again.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[10:57 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga nodded, but hastily turned to stare at the hallway when the sounds were heard. He lowered his head, and his ears shifted back.
"Is it... still okay to look?" he asked quietly.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:16 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi nodded slowly, ears flattening. "You can, but- we should go, we should run" Isi started to creep away, trying to get enough out of the undergrowth to sprint. She waited for Yuga to follow with her, looking like she was almost pleading with him to follow.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[11:18 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga looked back at Isi, and then towards the tunnels. He turned to sneak after Isi.
"What is it?" he asked quietly. "Remember it's not real."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:21 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi gave a shaky sigh. "I don't know."
They looked at him, looking like they were trying to calm down. "Its not. its not, but I still feel like I'll- I wish we could wake up" Isi stated.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[11:33 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga stood up and went closer to Isi. He places his hand-paw onto her arm.
"It's your dream. You are the boss here. You can change it if you want to."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:44 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi looked at him. She'd heard of people changing dreams, but had never been aware of herself dreaming long enough to do it.
"How do I change it? Do I just think it?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[12:04 PM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga nodded.
"Just think about it really hard. Visualize what you want to do or change. This wall? It's not a wall, it's not real. You could push right through it if you wanted. Imagine it; it's soft, it yields under your hand, you can get away from here just by going through", Yuga instructed, pressing his paw on the hallway wall, and letting it sink right through. Though this wasn't his dream, and he couldn't change the environment, he was able to manipulate how he himself interacted with everything.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[12:26 PM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi did as Yuga asked. She tried it, and on the third try she got it. Seeing her hand actually phase through the wall seemed to embolden her, as she closed her eyes, the section of wall beside them fell away quietly, like it was never there. Revealed was a night sky and a forest with much, much larger trees stretching up, and due to their height and how few branches they had, they revealed a brilliant array of stars.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[5:53 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga smiled proudly, and his tail wagged, when Isi claimed control over their dream. He looked up at the sky with wide eyes, and smiled like he hadn't in a long time.
"You did it, well done. This is beautiful."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[5:56 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi smiled up at the sky. They looked at Yuga, smiling harder when they saw that he was.
"That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be" isi turned back to the wall, or tried to, but found that she was facing nothing. They were just in the middle of a forest now, no tunnels in sight.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[5:58 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"I'm glad it came so easily to you. Sometimes your brain is mean to you and it just doesn't want to listen", Yuga said and chuckled. "Is this forest somewhere real?" he asked, looking around.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[6:05 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi laughed. "You're pretty good at helping my brain listen, I guess."
She paused to look around the forest. There wasn't a sound except the wind through the trees.
"Maybe? But it's not anywhere I remember, when I broke the wall I just wanted to be free and get out so maybe that's just what this is to me."
Isi looked at Yuga. "Do you have dream of your own?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[6:28 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga nodded as he listened to Isi. He looked at the trees in awe. They were huge.
He turned his head when Isi asked the question.
"Like, a reoccurring dream? Or something I dream about happening in real life?"
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[6:40 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
"huh. I did phrase that question badly" she shrugged, smiling. "have you dreamt anything recently while you slept?"
They looked upwards again. "And do you have any dreams about real life?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[6:51 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"Ah. Well." Yuga's face fell, and he smiled awkwardly after a moment.
"I mostly have stress dreams. I have a reoccurring nightmare where I walk across ruins and fields that are burning in blue flames, and in front of me looms a dark shape that looks like the throne that the Empress sits on..." Yuga told, and laughed stiffly after a beat. His ears were pinned back.
"What I dream about in real life?" he hummed. "...I wish I could go back home and live like normal again. I wish I never turned into this. I wish I was normal and didn't have to survive off of scraps and hide from everyone..." he sighed, looking into the myriad of stars."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:12 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi's face grew concerned as she listened. Empress? Burning fields? Hell of a stress dream. "That sounds terrifying" she told him truthfully.
As they listened to his life dream she nodded. They could partially relate to that.
"I wish surviving wasn't so hard too. Being stuck as something people don't want to understand sucks." She replied, rocking a little back and forth on either hoof. She looked at the world around them. "What is your home like?"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[8:33 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga only nodded. He agreed that it was terrifying, but he didn't feel like elaborating the mythologies, fears, and symbolisms of it all.
"Yeah..." he looked at Isi, and wondered what kind of life they lived.
"...My home is in Empire of the Nine Sisters. I lived in a small house on the mountains, in a small town. I lived there with my mother. It was... nice for the most part. Beautiful and magnificent mountains, fresh air, much easier to breathe than in the city, fun little forest were we used to play as kids. There was... a ton of social issues, however. It's part of the reason I had to leave", he sighed.
"Where do you live?" he asked.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[8:43 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi listened intently to his story, and whether either of them saw it or not, in the background far off from the forest, mountains could now be seen lining the horizon.
"That sounds so lovely, I'm sorry you had to leave" she told him.
She moved to sit at the base of one of the larger trees, back leaning against it. In doing so, she realizes that she didn't have a wound in her dream like she did in real life.
"I don't really live anywhere, I live everywhere. I really just keep running, sometimes I'll find some deer and stick with them for a while, helps with getting food. I ended up in the city because I got curious, I knew things about the city that I never remembered learning and decided to test my luck." She pondered a little. "Maybe if I hadn't gone into the city I wouldn't have ended up here."
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:44 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga nodded.
"I miss my friends and mom every day", he mumbled.
Yuga watched and listened as Isi moved to sit against the tree and told about her living situation.
"I see", he mused, and came to sit next to Isi.
"Maybe so... Were you in the city for long?"
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:57 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi looked back up at Yuga. "Well when we get out of here, maybe you could go see them again. Maybe things changed"
She listened to his question and shrugged. "Not really. I was in a homeless shelter for a bit when I got the letter. I was trying to figure out who I was, and the city had resources. I got really used to wearing baggy clothing and walking weird so I could be more human. Most of the people in the shelter didn't care though, they were usually pretty nice about everything"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[8:02 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga shook his head.
"I can never go back."
"Really?" Yuga looked at isi surprised. Then, his ears lowered, and he seemed almost bitter, jealous.
"People were always scared of me. Or... they would try to trick me."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[8:18 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi's ears lowered, they looked puzzled, maybe a little taken aback. "Why not? You know them, and you miss them."
As Yuga spoke again, she looked a little angry. "Why do people do that. It..sometimes I got that too, it's why I stayed away from cities until now, but-" they glanced at the ground, fingers messing with the grass at the base of the tree. "you can't hide it. I can't even guess what that was like" she finished quietly.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[8:30 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"I'd be arrested at the border", he mumbled.
Yuga nodded, and sighed.
"I look scary", he shrugged.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[8:43 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi stayed silent for a moment. She seemed to realize Yuga's tone. "I'm Sorry. I won't ask anymore" she replied.
When Yuga told her he looked scary, she looked at him with a bit of surprise. "I don't think you look scary" she answered, like it was obvious. "I mean, when you want to be, sure, but- you're a lot less scary than some people I see anyway, especially here"
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[9:59 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"It's okay", Yuga sighed.
His brows raised and his ears turned forward in surprise. He stared at Isi for a moment, blinked, and stammered in bafflement:
"R-really? But, I, I'm hideous, I look like a monster. You're just saying that to be nice..."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[11:06 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi looked at Yuga incredulously. "Yuga, I've met monsters. I met several the second I stepped onto this island. You aren't one of them, and you don't look like one either"
They replied with certainty.
"If you were a monster, I wouldn't dare sleep near you either, especially not if I were injured, and especially not to be nice."
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[12:12 PM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
(lmk when you want them to wake up since it's morning now) @Twig | Taisto + Yuga sorry for the double ping!)
[7:31 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
(hello yes they can wake up sorry I... i've been sleeping 😅 )
Yuga stared at Isi wide-eyed, and his ears slowly lowered. Isi could hear a little sob, but funny enough, it came from right next to her ear instead of where Yuga seemed to be sitting.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:38 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
As Isi heard the sob, she looked around for it in concern to find the source, but couldn't. The dream seemed to begin to fade out as she grew more aware of reality, that they weren't really there.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:40 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
"Thank you", the dream Yuga said, as Isi started to wake up.
"You never had to take care of me or look after me, but you've been so nice... thank you so much."
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:47 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi couldn't respond before she opened her eyes, though she did open her mouth to say something that never came out. Now she was back in Petrai's room, next to Yuga. Now she knew where the sob came from. She didn't know how to respond, she didn't want to move and ruin this in favour of reality.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[7:52 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga's eyes were closed still, but he had returned back into his own mind. Tears were still oozing out, and he sniffled. His eyelids quivered faintly, and after a moment, they fluttered open.
@sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁
[7:54 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:
Isi just curled into the blankets a little more, though the movement was hint enough that she was awake as much as the dream ending was.
@Twig | Taisto + Yuga
[8:59 AM]Twig | Taisto + Yuga:
Yuga took a moment to adjust to reality. He rubbed his eyes, drying them from tears, and settled down for a moment longer. It was quiet. It was soothing.
...
Why was it so quiet?