dreamcrystals | [02] three lies, one truth

Entry tags:

[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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[ Haha... Perhaps someday she would tell him just how much she wanted to hear those words before she'd made her final decision. For now, she might be reading it over a few times to herself.

... ]

Thank you.

[ How does she even go about this? If she tells him about it this way, she might as well call herself a novelist like Iris. ]

I'd prefer to do it in person, I think. It would be easier on my hand.

[But her handwriting is so neat and pretty 8(]

I understand.

Whenever you're ready, and any time you'd like. I'll be there and ready to listen.

[ It sure is, which speaks to the amount of effort she's exerting! She adds, meaning to tease, but it may not come across that way through her written word. ]

Even tonight?

[She'd want to talk... Tonight? If that's what she really needs, he's obviously not opposed, but...]

Of course! I mean, as long as you think Kazuma won't mind...

[He wants to help. But he's very cautious of how that might come off.]

[ Ah. There is a pause before Susato responds, glancing at the shadowed figure beside her in the meager light. ]

Shockingly, he is still asleep.

[ ......Yeah, he makes a good point. It would probably be better (marginally?) if Ryunosuke came over instead, but she can't bring himself to ask that of him. Perhaps his words on the page will have to be enough after all... ]

[That literally IS shocking. Mister 'stays up to write in his diary at 2AM but still manages to get up at 5AM for sword training every day'?? Asleep? Is he sick?

Luckily, Ryunosuke has a compromise.]

Hmm. If you'd rather not wake him... Why don't you meet me at the restaurant in ten minutes? I'll bring some tea.

[There. Not scandalous at all.]

[ Trust, she is surprised as he is. He is a light sleeper for sure, but his breathing appears to be normal, and the natural warmth that seems to surround him remains. She's actually smiling...

Maybe she was able to siphon off some of his nightmare energy so that he can have good dreams for a change. Either way, she's going to be leaving him a note for when he wakes up. ]

I'd like that.

[ They have tea though, of course, but Ryunosuke is free to bring whatever he likes. This is his second home. ]

[It's less about who has the tea, and more about doing something nice for her. He means it as a gesture of caring, taking charge of handling the beverages for their little chat so she doesn't have to, for once.

Plus, he's a bit shaken after watching all that. Making tea gives him something to do, which helps him gather himself and focus on something other than his lingering sense of alarm.

That's why he shows up with a pot already brewed. When Susato comes downstairs, he's already in the kitchen, picking out a pair of teacups for them to use. The pot of tea is waiting out on one of the guest tables, nestled within a bundled up tea towel. When he hears her arrive, he pokes his head out to greet her, hair is still noticeably rumpled from interrupted sleep.]

I, I brewed us some chamomile... I hope that's alright. I realize perhaps I should've asked what kind you would prefer...

[ When Susato appears, she is notably dressed down. At the very least, her hair is not done in their usual signature loops, though she did at least take the time to comb it out. The restaurant won't be open, and she doesn't expect to see anyone else, so despite how important it is for her to keep up appearances, she thinks it will suffice.

There's a ribbon in her mouth when she pushes the door open, hands immediately going back to her hair to wrap it all up, and...

Then she freezes.

Her expression melts into a smile soon after, and she finishes putting her hair in a high ponytail with a notable amount of skill as she closes the distance. ]

Chamomile is exactly what I would have suggested.

[ They could both use it. Isn't that so...? ]

I've let Kazuma know where we'll be and that he's welcome to join us as well, if he wakes.

[Hey, she deserves to let her hair down a little sometimes. And Ryunosuke's not exactly dressed in his usual rigid attire, either...]

Ah! Good thinking as always, Susato-san.

[And he's glad to hear his tea choice was spot on. Makes him feel a little proud of himself that she approves.

There's a bit more rustling from the kitchen.]

Do you want anything for your tea? I was going to add a bit of honey...

Edited 2023-02-04 22:38 (UTC)

[ Susato doesn't want to get in his way, so once sees that he is already hard at work, she'll give him the space and take a seat at the counter nearby where ingredients are usually laid out. At the moment, it is vacant, leaving her plenty of room to rest her arms and watch him.

She does so with a wry expression. ]

I am at your mercy, Mr Naruhodo. Just this once, please make it as sweet as you like.

[ She has some doubts about the "a bit" part. But whatever. Comfort food/tea. Just for tonight. ]

Oh... Well, I was mainly asking if you wanted me to add anything to the tray along with the sugar and such, but if you'd prefer I do it, I certainly don't mind...?

[Whatever she ultimately decides to, he'll be joining her at the counter shortly with everything they'll need. And while they settle in and prepare their cups... He keeps casting concerned glances at her when he thinks she isn't looking, his brow furrowed slightly with worry.]

. . .

[ Susato is quiet for a while longer, nearly allowing that to be her answer; but before she can get too comfortable, she'll join him to help after all. It just feels right to do so. On the way back to the counter, while Ryunosuke carries the tray, she grabs a few berry-sized moon fruits, growing on vines that are strung all over the Harvest—named thusly because they glow and are yellow, and some are round like the moon. Others have their roundness deformed and are reminiscent of the moon's various phases.

Ryunosuke has likely already seen them, but yes—they are edible.

She'll even pop one in her mouth to demonstrate and whet her appetite for the tea. Only then, when she looks over, does she catch Ryunosuke staring back at her. ]

[ Ah... She knows that face. She frowns, the guilt settling in her stomach like a heavy meal. ]

...Thank you for coming.

[ It was very nearly an apology... but her gratitude is more important, she decides. ]

[He blushes a little, belatedly realizing that he was staring. Get it together, Naruhodo! She'll talk when she's good and ready. He smiles, trying to graciously accept her gratitude.]

Of course. Whenever you need me, Susato-san. I meant it.

[The smile fades slightly, some of the worry coming back.]

You're sure you're alright, though? That was... Well. It seemed like quite the nightmare.

[ Susato busies herself with stirring the tea once everything is added. She can feel the steam as puts the cup to her face, and she blows lightly to cool it while she considers exactly how she should navigate this conversation... ]

I am better now.

[ The words are spoken like a promise, though as an answer, she realizes it is not very specific. So after a pause, she continues: ]

Have you ever dreamwalked, Naruhodo-san?

[As usual, Ryunosuke is barely blowing on his before taking a sizeable gulps from his cup. Drink tea while it's hot!!!

He sets it down briefly though, in order to reply. He starts to shake his head 'no' at first, but doubles back and does a little nod, correcting himself.]

Just once. It was a few weeks ago... I found myself in a dream belonging to Lord van Zieks, of all the people.

[ A look of surprise crosses Susato's face for a moment. A memory comes back to her then, because she also walked into that same dream... But it isn't the one they're here to talk about.

"Of all the people," indeed. ]

I see.

[ Well, that at least spares her some explanation... ]

What you saw... at least in part... was another dream of his, from last year. It was one of the few times I was able to dreamwalk on purpose.

Oh...

[Ryunosuke takes a moment to mull that over. Barok's part in Susato's dream tonight is the aspect he's been most hesitant to examine, truthfully. That the man he stood up for in court, and REPEATEDLY insisted would never take a life... Had actually gone and hurt Susato? It makes his stomach twist to contemplate.

It being a dream... It doesn't exactly make it better, but it does re-contextualize things a bit.]

...When I first encountered him in this recent dream, he... Didn't seem to fully be himself, at first. Were circumstances similar back then?

Edited 2023-02-12 19:00 (UTC)

[ However hesitant he may have been, it is perceptive of him not to accept it at face value. A smile tugs at Susato's lips, and she looks almost proud for a moment, though the moment does not last. ]

Yes... There were creatures that appeared. "Bleeding hearts," we called them. Once they took hold of you, it could amplify your feelings or change them completely.

An old friend of mine back then made it our mission to eliminate them, but...

One took hold of Lord van Zieks, and his heart was twisted so severely that he fell into a deep sleep. His home became encased in ice with him still inside, and the only way to get to him was through his dream. [ His nightmare. ]

['Bleeding hearts'... A deeply unpleasant if evocative name, that's for sure. And a troubling reminder that this world is full of dangers that Ryunosuke has scarcely begun to comprehend.]

I see... So you tried to help by dreamwalking to him? And that's when...

[He trails off. He doesn't want to say it. They both know what he means.]

[ They both know what he means. Surely she does not need to clarify. Susato fidgets for a moment though, almost like she feels compelled to, despite the unpleasantness, but she instead just distracts herself by sipping her tea. ]

Yes. In that dream, he had become the terrifying Reaper that the people of Britain made him to be.

His feelings... His devotion to his brother had become corrupted. I think...

...it is still something he struggles with. Even now.

[ Does she mean his feelings towards his brother? Or killing her? Or both? Even after she saw him as an adorable cat, it is clearly baggage he will carry with him for a long time to come. ]

[Ryunosuke isn't unsympathetic to what Barok was going through at the time, but... Right now, he's determined that the prosecutor's personal issues are not and should not be the focus of this conversation. He doesn't want to get distracted from the actual point of worry here... The person he came down here tonight to support.]

...But what about you? I mean... Even if the effect wasn't actually permanent... You still had that experience.

I did.

[ That much, she can admit. She breathes out deeply as she does, though she has always known that on some level, it was real. ]

He was even more terrifying than he was in court. The chains that bound him—I was so close to cutting him free. Free from that nightmare.

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