the first nightmare

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Well, this was new.]

[She had been running through the cold and snow-filled world that inhabited the realm of her dreams, and suddenly she was on a beach. A beach she had never seen before. Was this still part of her dream?]

[Sabitsuki stares at her surroundings with dark red eyes, clutching her bloodied steel pipe tighter in her hand. Were they here? She remembered them well- they would come chasing out of the shadows, laughing at her like hyenas on the hunt with their deep bloody holes for mouths. But oddly enough, the air was still. Only the gentle sounds of waves lapping on the shore met her ears.]

...What is this?

[Her voice is quiet and subdued, almost a mumble. No, this place wasn't one that she recognized. In other parts of her dreams, there always was a tight feeling in her chest at the sights she saw, but this...she didn't feel anything at the sight of this. How strange.]

[With her other hand, she goes ahead and pinches her cheek. But the place doesn't disappear.]

[Again, she tries to wake herself out of the dream. And yet again, it doesn't work. Her red eyes widen in surprise.]

[Whatever this is, this is not a dream.]

Comments

[mindpaths.insanejournal.com]

[ There's a rustle, out of the corner of one's eye they may detect movement. Dull red eyes are peering around the corner of a nearby tree. Something about you doesn't feel right. Not right at all. But then, it was all wrong. Everything that had happened this week was wrong. Madotsuki didn't like it. Didn't like the unknown. Preferred the control and isolation of her own mind.

Everything was chaotic here. Beyond manipulation or organization. She did not know where the Doors went. And that wasn't alright at all. ]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Sabitsuki stiffens at the movement, and turns her head towards the direction of where she saw it, raising her steel pipe slightly. An enemy? She was prepared. She always was prepared to face whatever came at her in her dreams, whether it was friend or foe.]

...Who are you.

[It isn't a question- she phrases it like a command, her voice monotone. If the person answered, then it answered. And if it didn't, then maybe it was one of them, and she would have to run as fast as she could in the other direction.]

[She would not let herself be caught in their prison again.]

[mindpaths.insanejournal.com]

[ She freezes, back tensing as Sabitsuki spots her. The long and silent pause continues for what seems like forever. Then she takes a small step out of the shadows. ]

you tell first.

[ For contrast to the woman's knife, the girl had a sharp looking kitchen knife gripped in her hand, equally prepared to attack. ]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[The girl spoke. She had spoken. Sabitsuki's eyes narrowed. This certainly wasn't a dream, then. She eyes the knife in Madotsuki's hands before staring back at her with a mistrustful gaze.]

Sabitsuki. Now you.

[mindpaths.insanejournal.com]

[ Taking a small breath, she shut her eyes and said mildly, ]

madotsuki.

[ Interesting girl, wasn't she? With a name meaning 'Window'. ]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

Hmmm.

[Her name is like hers, though Sabitsuki's own name means "covered with rust".]

...Where am I?

[mindpaths.insanejournal.com]

[ A pause. ]

don't know.

not home.

[imaginarywife.insanejournal.com]

[Don't mind the woman with the cat ears just down on the shore collecting shells. She's not fully sure what she'll do with them, but it seems like a good idea to her. Her ears twitch a bit now and then at ambient sounds. They're very clearly real.]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Cat ears? Actually, that's a pretty normal sight for Sabitsuki- she even muses a bit whether she should use her cat effect or not, just to match.]

[But she had no idea if the effect would produce a reaction from this person, so she simply walks up next to her, staring at the shells in her hands.]

...Shells?

[imaginarywife.insanejournal.com]

[She looks over and smiles, holding them out.]

Would you like some?

[One of her ears twitches again. She seems like a friendly enough woman.]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Sabitsuki stares at the woman, the sound of someone else's voice being strange and new to her. She's been away from civilization for a while.]

...

[But after a pause, she reaches towards them, slowly, and picks one up. She turns it in her hand, looking it over, before mumbling:]

It's pretty.

[imaginarywife.insanejournal.com]

I thought I might do a bit of decorating with some of them. But you can have as many as you'd like. There's plenty more around.

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

Decorating?

[She blinks at the shell in her hand, lowering the pipe she's holding with her other one.]

...What are you planning on decorating?

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

You seem surprised.

[A young Japanese man with impeccable fashion sense stands behind her. If he was there from the start or merely wandered on as she spoke, it's unclear.]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

...

[She doesn't answer yet, but instead turns around, narrowing her red eyes. Who was he? He was speaking...people never spoke in her dreams.]

Of course I am.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

[Tendou chuckles and looks toward the sea.]

It's only to be expected.

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

Expected that I would be surprised?

[She raises an eyebrow at him, her voice monotone.]

...Did you do this?

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

No. This was done to me also.

I don't know even if I'm the same world or time.

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[She looks at the sand below her feet, thinking.]

...I was dreaming. But now I am not. Were you dreaming too?

[soulpaths.insanejournal.com]

[There's another girl walking along the beach too after having washed up there. At the moment, she's unsure of where exactly she is, but she keeps her cool by telling herself that maybe it's just an unexplored part of her dreams; after all, they were always changing, ever-expanding.

But then when she spies Sabitsuki up ahead, her eyes widen a little in surprise. She doesn't recognize this person, so she's unsure if it's a foe or one of the other harmless, colorful dream figments that lived in here. She quickly ducks behind some tall rocks or something, hoping the other hadn't spotted her just yet.]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Sabitsuki trained herself to keep an eye out for sudden movement in her dreams thanks to the Kaibutsu, so she turns, narrowing her red eyes at the rock that the girl is now hiding behind.]

...I saw you.

[soulpaths.insanejournal.com]

[...It spoke. The other girl actually spoke. That almost never happens in her dreams.

So Urotsuki is even more hesitant to creep back out, but after a moment she does, poking her head out from behind the rock to stare a little before she speaks herself.]

Who are you?

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

Who are you?

[Yeah, the speaking thing was strange. The only sound she had heard was maniacal laughter from certain creatures in her dreams. Not spoken words.]

[soulpaths.insanejournal.com]

[Talking or not, she still thinks this is part of her dream at the moment. So she shakes her head.]

You first. [After all, she did ask before you did.]

[bloodpaths.insanejournal.com]

...Sabitsuki.

[She grips her steel pipe tighter, cocking her head slightly at the new girl.]

Now you.