[ eternal youth ] - open; dream

[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