weenwoon | Imeeji IC Inbox

[Indeed!]

He did tell me, and that was kind of him. And when sleep takes you, I will steer your dreams into something more pleasant.

[His breath is still coming nervous. He wants--he needs the comfort, but a part of him still panics at the thought of someone directing his dreams.]

...Promise? Hades, I'm--I'm scared to let... to let anyone into my mind...

[He takes a shaky breath, helpless tears welling up in his eyes.]

I don't want to be scared, I hate it, but, but it's there, it's not leaving, I don't feel safe anywhere--

[It is obvious by how he starts to move and then stops himself he would like to give him more physical comforts of embraces, but that would be a bad idea to say the least.]

I promise you, Hythlodaeus. Somewhere calm and quiet. I can also give you shared control of the dream, but I will reign it in would you fears begin to manifest in terrible ways.

Just take a deep breathe. You are in the company of someone who loves you very much. I will care for you as much as I am able. You never need be alone.

--It's possible to share it?

[That seems to be a revelation to him, and one that's... incredibly soothing, actually. What he needs is to have more control again, over himself, over his space, over his life--]

...could I... or could you--use it to make my body feel mine again?..

It is as long as I am there to facilitate it.

[He puts his chin in his hand.]

I could try. Or at the very least I could attempt to soothe your soul. But it would be a temporary measure.

[He closes his eyes, breathing out quietly.]

...One day at a time. One moment at a time. Temporary is better than nothing, Hades...

Yet I would not want the waking world to be even more painful. We will be careful with this. But truly I would do all in my abilities to ease you.

I would suspect you have trouble falling asleep on your own.

...Could I not sleep for longer than a night?

[The question is a whisper and even as he says it Hythlodaeus knows that the answer is no, that letting himself get lost in dreams is no real way out. But it is painful indeed to contemplate returning to reality if he is given a taste of peace, of comfort again.]

If you sleep longer than I then it is hardly healthy. I push the boundaries as is. But you need some respite.

Shall we then?

[Boy does he need respite. Hythlodaeus nods, sadly.]

Alright. Can you put me to sleep yourself? Cosmo gave me a potion last time.

How lucky you are that I always have one on me. Would you like it mixed with anything?

[That's... a little strange, but who is he to question it when it's going to help him sleep?]

It's... fine as long as it doesn't taste like much.

[He'll pull himself up to at least get him a proper glass.]

Then wait here a moment.

[Surely it doesn't take long for him to exit the room and find something appropriate in FiN. When he does he returns and places it on the ground next to him before lounging further than arm's distance away.]

I can not time it perfectly, but I will arrive as soon as I am able.

[Hythlodaeus nods before taking the potion carefully. There's a slight trembling to his hands, but that's probably only to be expected, given his fear of dreaming lately.]

...Alright. I'll wait for you, then.

[He's just going to make himself comfortable in one of the sleep pods... and drift off to sleep.

Surprisingly, when Hades arrives the nightmare isn't, in fact, connected to what happened in Absinthe's heart... but in another.

It's a dark, unfamiliar room. There's the stench of fresh blood - and maybe not just blood. There's the corpse of a man on the floor - no one Hades knows, and it's very obviously a corpse. Few people can stay alive after having their head smashed in - repeatedly, apparently, to the point that the skull is broken through and there's not just blood but other matter seeping out of it, too.

Levity is crouched in a far corner, face buried in his hands; a wooden bat lies at his feet. One of his arms and a leg are clearly broken, his clothes splashed with blood. It's not hard to guess who killed whom here.]

[He takes a glimpse but no more than that as the dream fades in wisps of purple and black smoke leaving the area almost in complete darkness before he's greeted with a field of flowers. It just about sunrise with the sun peaking over the horizon as the stars fade away to the purples, oranges, and blues of a new day.

It's warm, the smell of the outdoors is thick, and his clothes are mended, the blood removed as well as any other injuries he might have sustained. Hades takes a few steps past him, his back to him, as he watches the sun rise.]

[The transition is almost sudden, but by the same token it helps startle Hythlodaeus out of the nightmare... and he's quickly captivated by the new dream. It feels... right, maybe. Safe. Serene.

It feels like it has been centuries since he last felt like that.

Rather than moving to follow Hades, he sits down in the field, eyes locked to the skies. The edge between night and day... there is something incredibly soothing about it.]

[He looks up to the skies as well.]

The dawn of another beautiful day. They still come, one by one, even if we can't always appreciate it.

...It feels like it's been forever since I last saw a new day. Is that strange?

[He shakes his head still not facing him.]

Not at all. As beautiful as they tried to make that place, the dawn never looks as brilliant as this. Full of life, hope, an love.

...It is.

[He raises a hand to his chest, feeling surprisingly... present.]

...Do you think we will see it again? Not in dreams, but in reality. Will we ever go home?

I will not give you false hope. The chances are not in our favor.

But I have more faith that we will than I have in ... well, I can hardly remember. So again I dare chance to hope.

Does it truly touch you so deeply? To be honest I am a bit surprised that such a feeling would carry over here, to the production, where much can be stripped away.

...then perhaps it is part of who I've always been, not who I've grown to be over the course of my life.

[He stays quiet for a while, watching the sky.]

Lahabrea tells me that our people have ever been caring. Is it so strange, then, that I care for our home?

It's not that. Never have I doubted you cared or loved it so deeply. 'Tis more that the connection remains when all of your abilities and memories have been stripped away.

[He sits next to him.]

Would you like to rest in this dream?

It just... feels right.

[He nods slowly in response to the question.]

...I would. It's... peaceful, here.

[Gently, he runs his hand over the grass, catching stray blades of it between his fingers.]

[He summons for him a blanket laid beside him if he so desires.]

Then rest, my friend. I will watch over you for the remainder of the night.

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weenwoon - 2021-02-28 09:26 (UTC) - Expand