dreamcrystals | [02] three lies, one truth

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[02] three lies, one truth

Sender: Susato Mikotoba
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive dream recording
Warning: Descriptions of death (specifically: falling/burning, stabbing, freezing, drowning) and the crippling fear that comes with that.

When Susato is first seen, she is nigh unrecognizable. There's only a glimpse of her. Her hair is frazzled, long well past her shoulders, and the white dress she wears, accented by pinks, does not match the grim darkness of the cage she is in. Seconds later, there's a loud metallic clang as the cage is shut.

There's movement like a shaky camera, and you... no, Susato is looking into the eyes of one man who looks almost surprised to see her. As if he hadn't been the one to put her there.

"Mr Vigil?"

The voice is small and cracks like glass over the flames below.

Before he can respond, there's the sound of a lever and a deafening scream as a feeling of terrifying weightlessness takes over your body.

You're falling, and you don't know when you'll stop.

* * * * *
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

When the dream spits you out, you can taste a mixture of blood and dirt as you blink your eyes open. They sting like you've been crying, and when you bring your filthy hands up to look at them, you can see the pink of your kimono sleeves. The loops in your air feel looser and messier than usual as you can feel the terrifying glare of a man before you, bleeding and in chains, and yet no less threatening.

All around you are corpses. You just barely manage to struggle to your feet when he moves to strike you down with alarming quickness, his blade and scythe at his call. Something hard and sharp pierces your stomach as his voice booms:

"You will not tarnish... my brother's memory...!"

You were so close. You can see some of the broken chains you worked so hard at; he was almost free.

But it's too late.

A laughter seems to be coming from the noble in the portrait behind the Reaper, and an eerie red glow bleeds out from the canvas as your consciousness fades.

* * * * *

The laughter transforms into something else, another voice. It is almost pleasant; and the scene is entirely different now. A gorgeous ballroom surrounds you with an air of celebration, you are humbled, taking the man before you in a dance. Here is the face that everyone says you can trust, and yet you can hear suspicious whispers coming from the walls.

Something is wrong.

You feel cold in a way that is inexplicable. Your very core is frozen, and it feels like you will never get warm. suddenly it's a struggle just to move with the music; but eventually you stop listening to that, too.

"Don't struggle." The king pulls you close in what is most certainly a threatening manner. Beneath your gloves, your fingers have already become ice. "Your death is inevitable now. Accept it with grace, and don't scream."

But even if you wanted to, you can't.

Pathetic gurgles escape your throat as ice travels up your chest and your neck. A piece of your white hair falls across your face, but when you go to brush it away, your hands won't move. Nothing will.

There is stillness. For a moment, you have hope, because you can still move your terrified, wide eyes, but soon that too is gone.

* * * * *
In that moment, you're not able to look at anything else.

Your neck is craned upwards and suddenly, the dream has shifted one final time. You're staring at the surface of the freezing cold water from below, unable to breathe, but the Gods above have mercy on you, and it doesn't last long. A glaring white starts to creep into the corners of your vision, filling everything in haze, and the dream ends as suddenly as it began.

* * * * *

[ Back in the comparative comforts of her home, Susato awakes with a start. She gasps for breath like she's just been held underwater, sitting up and gripping at her blankets. For all she knows, they are her lifeline. She is shaking, the faded memories of dreamscapes past rushing back to her, and she feels her arm knock something off the bed she's on.

......All she can do is breathe. ]

(( ooc: tl;dr, just a fun throwback to the fun deaths i've been able to put her through this past year. <3 please assume delayed responses where appropriate/etc. ))

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So my watch tells me.

[He's had more than a few sleepless nights, but it's never stopped him from going out. The dark doesn't make that much of a difference, and the quiet can be nice.]

I don't want to get in your space if you don't want me there, but I'm getting you something, whether it's tonight or tomorrow. You can decide what.

Edited 2023-01-10 06:15 (UTC)

[ She has to decide what and when? Aaaaagh. Honestly... That feels like too much. How is she supposed to even know what she wants right now...? What she 'needs'?

She won't even get started on the 'if you don't want me there' business. ]

I don't know

[ What a cop out. She's terrible, and honestly she should just leave it at that, but after a moment, more strokes appear. ]

Can I meet you somewhere?

Take your time.

[He's in no rush! She's clearly okay enough to write, so that removes most of the urgency he might have felt otherwise. But when she asks for a meeting, he doesn't hesitate to reply.]

Of course. I can head to your place and we can go from there, if that would be easier.

[By "your place," though, he's thinking of the residence with the attached greenhouse, so she might have to correct him...]

[ ......Susato is slowly realizing how long it's been, and it does dawn on her that this misunderstanding might be an issue. She frowns, thinking of the greenhouse, to which she still makes regular visits--out of loyalty to her father, and to 76 and the Dawn flowers, if nothing else.

They really have to do something about that. She frowns. ]

I actually don't live there anymore.

[ It's a long story, she thinks, at least when you're writing about it. ]

I think I would enjoy the fresh air anyway. [ She could come to him...? ]

Oh, really? Fair enough.

[Circumstances changing... maybe she lives with her boyfriend now. Makes sense.]

Well, we can still meet there, right? Then we can go for a walk or stay there, whatever you want.

[ There's no reason they can't meet there. Still, it takes a moment for Susato to respond. Maybe it's best if she just wait until morning, yet she feels like the change in scenery will help her now. ]

Okay

[ Whatever she wants. Guess it's her turn to figure that out. ]

Give me one hour.

[With how long it took him to pull himself together... yeah, he gets it.]

Take your time. I'll be there.

[And earlier, for sure; he sees no need to bring anything, when he can do what he does, so it doesn't take long before he's ready to head out. He's dressed warmly, the middle of the night still chilly to him despite the weather's recent turn. He'll just take to admiring the exterior of the greenhouse while he waits.]

[ Ferran did not see her in person to compare, but Susato is looking far more put-together by the time she arrives. Her winter shawl is draped over her shoulders, but she finds herself pulling at it every once and a while during the walk over. It truly is unseasonably warm, though the chill in the night air is still enough that she doesn't question it too much.

Her hair is done up in a high ponytail rather than her signature loops. There's a lidded cup in her hand when she spots Ferran.

...Footsteps caused by her boots make her presence known, but she'll wait for Ferran to turn around before she offers it to him. ]

I made some tea.

[He lets out a sigh and shrugs a little helplessly at the sight of the cup and her comment, as if to say seriously? ~~kazuma shrug.jpg~~]

That's supposed to be my line...

[He takes the offered cup, but another appears in his free hand with a red spark—a warm mug of green tea that he offers in turn.]

I appreciate it, really, but you don't have to think about doing things for someone else all the time.

[ Wow, the sass......

By now, she is accustomed to the sight of his magic, though she still manages to flinch at the familiar red spark. She gives a somewhat-offended 'hmpth,' as she takes the mug, though there's a smile that starts to twitch at her lips that betrays her true feelings. ]

If you must know, I made the tea for myself and simply wished to share. [ It's rude if she only brings one for herself!!! ]

[ ......then again... ]

But I finished mine before I got here, so...

[ Y'know. Maybe it's fortunate that they were on the same wavelength in this case. At least for her. ]

[He lets out a huff of a laugh, head tilted slightly with a helpless smile. He knows she's not going to change.]

Well, thanks. And you're welcome.

[He takes off the lid so he can take a proper sip of the tea he's been offered, but doesn't spend any real time on savoring it before he's onto the next step:]

Do you want to sit down or head in, or do you want to take a walk somewhere else?

[ Whether it was intentional or not, the tea Ferran drinks from the cup Susato has offered is very much to his own taste, rather than Susato's. At the very least, the laughter is nice to hear in light of everything, and she forces a small laugh in return, right into the mug as she takes her first sip.

Still hot. ]

I think I'd enjoy the fresh air tonight. Wouldn't you?

Of course.

[He'll gesture with his head towards town; this isn't the kind of place that's busy at night, even with the new electricity, so they'll have the roads to themselves. She doesn't have to decide on a destination if she doesn't want to.]

Hard to believe we've been here more than a year, huh?

[ It's like seeing what the inside of a school looks like at night, dark and abandoned. It's new and exciting, a thrill that only being in a place you shouldn't be can evoke, but they aren't breaking any laws here. It is refreshing nonetheless, so she keeps walking, sipping from the mug as she goes.

It's been longer than a year. ]

It's been a whirlwind. I suppose we are lucky that more of our nightmares haven't been recorded for all of Reverein to see.

Yeah. It's much easier to let them go and forget them when you don't have a dozen people messaging you before dawn, right?

[There's a little sarcasm there, but it's a genuine sentiment overall. Nightmares don't always have to be remembered, or make a mark. Sometimes they can and should just fade the same as other dreams.]

... I'm sorry you had go to through that, though. Especially in Hans's dream.

[Not that any of it was any more or less significant, but he feels almost a responsibility to talk about that one in particular. Ferran was the one who practically introduced them, he also walked into that particular dream, and... well, maybe he'll get to the other thing, after they talk some more. Did Hans ever apologize for it, either before or just after Susato's broadcast? Ferran really has no idea.]

[ Other thing...?

Though when he goes out of his way to mention Hans, something of a distant memory comes back to her. His name had come up... Not in the dream, but in the conversation they had afterwards, maybe a week later. ]

...He apologised. [ Don't know why she felt the need to say that. Perhaps she could sense Ferran wondering. Either way, their conversation tonight did not last long. ]

[He raises his eyebrows as he takes another sip of tea.]

Did he? That's good to hear. [He lets out a slow breath through his nose, something either tired or exasperated.] I'm never really sure about him on that kind of thing, you know, but... I know he wouldn't want that to happen to you.

[He's confident about that much, but his expression turns a little more somber. Most of those reflections seemed so... cold. Ferran's own little glimpses of death were largely accompanied by the sensation of burning, but Susato's were no less unpleasant.]

Dreamwalking doesn't sound all that dangerous when you're outside, but when you're in... there's really no telling what can happen.

[ Susato simply listens to him as they walk, somewhat aimlessly. Hans had told her the same thing outright, honestly, and she wants to believe him... So maybe hearing it from someone else actually helps, even if it doesn't feel like it does. ]

Yes... I'm starting to realise that myself.

[ Forgetting was a naïve mistake. ]

It was rather pleasant at the start. I didn't even know it was a dream.

[Hopefully she'll trust his word on the matter, however much she might distrust Hans's. He'd get it, either way.]

Yeah. ... me neither.

[He has no qualms about sharing the fact that he experienced the same dream, even if it was a markedly different outcome. It just felt like he was supposed to be there, but that's the magic of the subconscious, sometimes. It's very rare that Ferran ever voluntarily dreamwalks...]

I guess it's hard to be cautious when you don't even know you're dreaming, huh.

[ Susato already knew Ferran was part of the dream, though she only learned it after the fact. Maybe she should have said so...

Maybe she still will. ]

Sometimes I'm able to figure it out. Perhaps if I had, things would have ended differently. [ She said as much to Hans, too. ]

[Would it have ended differently? He wonders. Ferran himself wasn't the one to break out of the mindset of the dream first, in his case—Hans was the one drawn out of his fantasies of kingship.

Sometimes what ifs don't help, but sometimes they do.]

... What do you think would have happened?

[ All she can do is shrug... She doesn't have an answer for that. Hans didn't ask, but he didn't seem to think she should blame herself, either. Kind words, among others, that have been difficult to digest, coming from him. ]

I don't know. Perhaps I could have woken us both. [ Earlier, that is. ]

[Ferran takes a moment to just watch her, walking along quietly on the dark path. When he finally replies, his voice is a little lower in volume—still conversational, but clearly wanting to keep it between them.]

Hopefully you won't have to worry about that again, but... maybe you'll be able to smack him out of it, if something like that happens. [...] You didn't know what he was like at the time, right?

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