[ eternal youth ] - open; dream

[daniel]

Dreams were weird, were they not? Danny never remembered his. They came and went and when he was awake come morning, he did the same. Continued on with his day. They all felt very vague and unimportant anyway, what was the point of focusing on something that didn’t hold enough importance to be remembered anyway? He thought once or twice that maybe one of them would have the secrets to finding his mother, which did still sound ridiculous even to him, admittedly. But he was still holding on, and growing more desperate the longer she was gone. Less in the way he was before, being a little bit younger and a little more scared, and more in the way you’d worry about the state of a missing person. He was growing more concerned she was dead. So he found himself digging through the subconscious imagery of his sleep cycle every once in a while, thinking maybe there was something he missed, or remembered deep down that could lead him somewhere. There was not, but there was something unusual all the same. Little consistencies here and there. Things he didn’t remember ever seeing, considering his age and the fact the Typhoon’s grounds were the only other place he’d lived, but they felt real. And vibrant too, like a memory of sorts rather than just another dream. It wouldn’t have bothered him if it hadn’t kept repeating itself. Things like, like a field or...or a building he didn’t know the name of. Sure wasn’t a ship. And more faces! Faces that didn’t belong to anyone here, and names he didn’t recall. At least, he didn’t think so, he hadn’t met everyone yet he didn’t think. There were terms he knew and yet didn’t understand, things he felt like he ought to ask about. And stars. Lots and lots of stars.

Waking up just before sunrise, Danny stumbled downstairs from the upper level of the tavern where he’d been taking up residence since his arrival, yawning with a high pitched whine at the end and shaking out his fur until the sound of his ears smacking against his skull was audible. He wanted to see the sky just as the sun began to show itself, the pinks and oranges were fascinating. So he did, trying his best not to wake anyone up, shivering against the crisper, colder air of the early morning. He found himself accidentally stepping in a small, isolated puddle of water in the sand, catching him off guard. He stared at it, then looked up at the sky directly above. The stars hadn’t gone away just yet, still sparkling overhead, and reflecting in the water. Something told him to dig through the dip in the sand, and he did, starry water moving around his paw. All there was of course was more sand, some shell bits, and a little polished rock from the sea’s waves. Danny rolled it around in his paws, deciding to keep it. It was a good rock, that was what he decided the drive was. Cool rock.

[glow=black,2,300]— ❤ —[/glow]

[Simon F.M.]

｢  H U R R Y  U P !  T H E  S U N  I S  G O I N G  D O W N !  ｣

ENGAGED
FELINE
OFFICER
TYPHOON
BIOGRAPHY

Diya knew of dreams, knew of the stars. She often dreamed of the stars, in fact. Of a group that lingers in her mind and her heart, though now is long gone. Very few remnants of it remained, none of which she would be able to visit. She often awoke early or stayed up late, marveling at the lights that shone high in the sky. Today was a day of waking early, form remaining feline as she slipped unnoticed, as far as she was aware, from her bed and home. A habit of hers, to rise early and go for a walk as the sun rises, returning as her family was waking. Her small paws left divets in the sand, water seeping into them as she moved. She paid it no mind, pale eyes instead settling on the young form.

"Hello, Danny was it?" she said softly as she neared, looking over his findings. Her eyes scanned over the small rock and pool of stars, a smile growing softly on her maw. "That's a very pretty rock you've found," paw lifting to rest on the rock-lined necklace that sat against her chest, a symbol of where she began. She let it drop, awaiting a reply from the boy. Larger than her, though only slightly. She'd tower over him if she wasn't in her feline form.

[daniel]

He almost had not heard Diya, swaying gently back and forth with his rock from fatigue, perhaps even gradually dozing off already while he sat there. It was rude to fall asleep when being spoken to, the idea alone waking him up more than his track down the beach had done. He looked up from the stone and pool of stars, nodding in confirmation. ”Yes, ma’am.”

He felt inclined to be as polite as possible, shuffling his dark paws shyly, which in itself was a pretty visible reason for the manners, which in itself felt foreign considering the place felt so laid back. Then again, he was both talking to a respected member of pirate society and the adoptive mother of the girl he’d been trying to impress.

”I think I want, um...maybe to collect them? Vayne made it look fun...” With shells, that was. Not rocks. She kinda looked like some of those shells, like the one he found when they met, but did he look like a rock? The stone was immediately inspected and compared to his fur, it was dark, but not enough. Maybe he could find a black rock around here somewhere.

Danny blinked and rubbed his brown eyes with the back of one of those paws, understanding even in his tired state that the sand he’d collected in his fur did not mix with eyes that well. His head tilted at the rocks around the officer’s neck, like the little gears in his skull were turning. Then he sat up straight. ”That was in my dream! Th-the, the...the thing-” He couldn’t remember the word in his combination of excitement and anxiety, pointing to the necklace around Diya’s neck and tapping his own chest, hoping if he couldn’t articulate properly, he could at least try another way to get his thought out. ”What is it?”

[glow=black,2,300]— ❤ —[/glow]

[Grimm]

[align=center][div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; width: 310px; text-align: justify; line-height:120%"]Indeed, dreams are of a rather particular nature and elusive in regards to proper definition. Misunderstood and retooled, given meaning only to be striped of it, an assortment crafted from different means. Few, and far rather between, the ones that lasted upon his own rousing, often burned against the back of his eyes those of a more dark nature. Nightmares. Their cause and purpose was equally unknown, his strange, a mixture that drew from memory and imagination. Accustomed had he grown, knew fear as it clogged his throat and allowed tears to fall silent when he woke, understood in his own way.

Restless had he been that night, no dreams, of either nature, keeping him from restful sleep. This, too, he was used to, used those nights on more productive tasks. None caught his attention, however, and so whittled away the hours in silent contemplation. Discarded this with movement, concealed poorly, a child more prone to overthinking their skill. Only in part this time, few the quiet creaks of old boards, claws light in their tap against. His gaze slowly moved, looked to one of the numerous windows about the sleeping area. Often shuttered the work was, at times, lax and varying portions of the windows were left exposed. Meagre that left open though it was enough to gauge that the morning was still distant, unbroken the darkness.

For a moment Harland pondered simply staying where he was, warm beneath his blankets, but the desire to follow was difficult to nullify. Won over by curiosity he was, nonetheless, reluctant to follow, longing in a glance he cast back before descending. Brief his assessment of the lower floor, empty and silent, the hour too early even for those that handled early preparations. Given no reason to stay within the building for any further time behind left the tavern, door falling shut with a quiet click. Deep his first breath, cold without the sun.

Momentary his pause before he began to walk, directionless and without a destination in mind. Often such was his preference, the intrigue of the unknown tantalising, too many the possibilities. Of course rare his expectations were met, never tempered even with such, disappointment far from his mind. Different this sleepless wandering, quiet the weakened voices, a conversation that proved unhurried. Similar his approach, path diverging, cobble falling away to be reached by sand.

Familiar, and rather well liked, both come across, mild his note of the frantic manner Danny spoke in for a moment. The sudden fall, his soft question stolen away, stranger than his sudden outburst, closer drawn the bombay for he wished to know what may cause such sudden shift in the normally mellow youth. Lacking his question as basis his eyes were instead followed, the cause seemingly the necklace Diya wore, an adornment he carried as well. Unconscious the rise, paw grazing shaped shard. All that remained the moon cradling a star, his beads repurposed, her own in place.

"They're from our home, from before." A guess thrown out, basic his explanation. How might he put into words all the seemingly simple trinkets encompassed, the connection it once established between so many, gone now with theirs hanging from the branches of an oak tree. To Diya did Harland turn, similar his own wait for an answer, hope in golden depths she may know the correct words to convey what he could not.

[michael t.]

ALL I FOUND THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SPACES
STANDING IN THE NOTHING, AND TIME RECLAIMS YOU

Michael had... mixed feelings about dreams, if he was being honest. In some cases, he loved dreams. They could be an interesting escape while one was asleep, and they could present opportunities you'd never have while awake. While the thief had never managed to master the art of lucid dreaming, he had a great deal of respect for those who had. The prospect of being able to control his own dreams and have whatever he want happen... it sounded exciting, and interesting. Although, it could also end up making the waking world quite the disappointment. Either way, he far preferred the dreams that he couldn't control over the nightmares. He hadn't had one in about a week and a half, but the time directly after his husband's death had been constantly plagued by nightmares. He hadn't been able to get even a couple of hours of sleep without waking up shaking, his breathing heavy and painful as he tried to soothe his panicking mind. He hadn't slept much during those days, preferring to just avoid sleeping entirely rather than deal with the horrible nightmares of his husband's voice, and his blood spilling out onto the sand.

Just thinking of those dreams again caused a shiver to run up the dealer's spine, a frown briefly pulling at his muzzle. However, he was quick to shake that off, not wanting to focus on himself for once. Instead, he focused his attention on Danny, and what the boy was saying. He had a dream involving Diya's necklace? That was... odd. Coming to sit next to the officer in question, Michael's head tilted to one side before he spoke, "Your dream...? You saw Diya's necklace in your dream? Well... maybe you just saw it around her neck, and your mind decided to bring it up in your dreams. Did you see anything else...?" He was genuinely curious, knowing that dreams could be quite powerful depending on the circumstances. The bobcat had never really had any prophetic dreams of his own, but Roan had some experience with them. The soothsayer had dealt with constant strange and upsetting dreams before he had realized the truth of his past lives, although the siamese generally avoided talking about it. Michael couldn't particularly blame him, though. Why would one want to focus on their past life, when they could instead focus on the present?

Pondering this, Michael looked up when Harland came over, flashing a brief smile in the other's direction. When Har mentioned their home from before, though, the thief found himself pausing. Their home, from before...? Elysium? The feline hadn't thought of the other group in quite a while, ever since the Coalition had... well, eliminated them. He didn't even have any idea if anyone from the group was alive, besides those that had already left before everything had gone down. After a moment, the dealer questioned, "Your old home? You mean Elysium, right? You ever been to Elysium, kid?" His last question was directed back at Danny, mismatched blue gaze turning towards the canine. Maybe that was where he and his mother came from? Although, Michael was fairly sure if that was the case, then Danny would be dealing with a bit more trauma. If that had been the case, Danny and his mom would've no doubt been driven from the territory along with everyone else when the Coalition attacked.

— Reggan

[daniel]

”Before...” The word echoed almost distantly as Danny seemed to return to his usual more mellow state once his question was answered, as if the lack of explanation prior was more than enough to override his lack of energy required for such an excitable state. Another yawn escaped him, as if the universe itself was making the point clearer. His eyes turned to Harland, tail wagging weakly at the presence of a familiar face, also well liked. He wondered what it was about Harland’s worn beads that created a much more muted reaction. Maybe it really was as Michael said, and he just had been around Harland enough for it not to make a significant mark in his subconscious.

Speaking of Michael...”There’s more, usually.” Brown eyes dashed back and forth, frowning at the trouble of recollection. They may even have been fading away from memory as he spoke. Not that great for answering questions. ”It’s not here it’s like...I dunno how to say it. Fields are nice, there’s one of those.” Flowers, too, flowers he couldn’t find here. He tried. ”Big building or something...” Danny’s words devolved into quiet mumbling, caught between fatigue and shyness, anxious at the questioning taking place. He didn’t know, was there a right answer for any of these?

He took the moment of Michael directing his attention to Harland to have a quiet breather, lightly splashing the water below. The sun was starting to take over the sky, and the stars nearly vanished. His soft ears lowered, like he was disappointed. The stars were pretty, after all, even if his initial goal was to watch the sunrise. Which he had, so, good for him.

”You ever been to Elysium, kid?”

Oh, he was being asked things again. ”Elysi....what?” Confused, and a little bit disoriented, Danny looked between Michael and Harland, if only because he’d been mentioned, having lived there once, from the sound of it. Him and Diya, if he was right about how Harland said “our” home. But he had never lived anywhere with a name besides here, and the mere concept of another place felt overwhelming. ”I don’t...I don’t think so.” The wolf’s voice cracked, swallowing thickly. Somewhere in his train of thought he was almost convinced he had done something wrong. Or at the very least, he didn’t have any explanation for anything, still. He twitched, albeit subtly, from the stress overloading his little circuits. Peachy.

[glow=black,2,300]— ❤ —[/glow]