Action + dreams, backdated to last week

[kaidont]

Real world

[Usually, Kaido's not one for these festivals (he's one of those "it's childish" guys), but something's changed after last year. So while he's not going to be running around in costume himself, he's gotten himself a mask, and you might find him shopping around for sweets to give out.

Despite the festive occasion, he's not looking very cheerful. But on the other hand, it's a calmer, more collected kind of dark mood, not his usual cranky self]

[Or, if you're in the dream world...]

Kaido's dream


[This place looks like Union! But there's something a little off.

Wherever you go, you feel like you're being watched. You won't be able to see anyone actually doing it, but something is definitely out there. Something you can't see, can't hear, and if your nose is as good as Kaido's, can't smell. All you can feel is their eyes and breath on the back of your neck, and if you get too caught in the atmosphere, you might even feel the ghostly scratch of fangs on your neck or claws on your arms--but as soon as you focus on the sensation, it's gone, and you're unharmed. The air is also heavy, thicker, somewhat like water.

Every here and there, though, there are patches that seem to be brighter. A bench surrounded by clean air and the scent of antiseptic, that seems to glitter if you look at it from the corner of your eye. A bed of fragrant flowers that reach up past your head and shade the area like a parasol. A streetlight unlike any other, somehow fitted with cogs and various gadgets that give you the time, the weather, the atmospheric pressure, emitting sparks every now and then and casting a light that clears the fog. And smaller objects, too. A cup of tea. A paintbrush. If you're one of his friends, you might find small items that feel eerily familiar.

But while those areas and items are surrounded by clearer air, and will shake off the dread if you reach them, the closer you get, the stronger the feeling of being watched and hunted will grow. It's barely noticeable on smaller objects, but if you try to reach the bench, streetlight or flowerbed, the pressure will become almost unbearable until you actually enter their field of influence.

You might be able to find Kaido if you look for him. But be wary; he, too, feels, like he's being watched]

[But if you follow the stray petals you might encounter here and there, you could stumble out of his and into...]

Floette's dream


[And you are very small. All around you are flowers, most of them bigger than you are. Some will reach up to your knees, some of them are the size of Union's towers. Most of them are somewhere in your height range. All of them are in vibrant colours, all the rainbow and then some, and give off a comforting, fragrant scent.

It's a playful but relaxing place, and if you pay attention you might hear Floette's laugh coming from somewhere]


[[Sorry about lateness, october has been absolute hell]]

Comments

Hi, stranger! Mind a late tag? Kaido's dream

[niepokonany]

[This isn't his own dream, he's pretty sure. Probably? He doesn't seem to notice when it's his own, right? Anyway, he got here through the weird neutral forest zone, so...]

[Feliks moves through the city in fits and starts, stopping when the sensation of being watched gets too oppressive for him.]

Who's there?! This totally isn't funny, go away!

Not at all!

[kaidont]

[No sound comes to answer you, but that was definitely the feeling of something brushing against the back of your neck]

[niepokonany]

[Well, that's unsettling! Feliks turns around in a hurry, lighting a fire in his palm to try and see by.]

[kaidont]

[Nothing behind you. Your fire will only cast a red glow on the surroundings, its light not reaching very far around you, only a couple of metres.

However, if you pay close attention, there's some kind of mark on the pavement right in front of you, like claws that somehow shredded through the stone]

[niepokonany]

[...Oh, gods.]

[That's... not a good sight to see, probably?]

[Still, Feliks steels his nerve and moves forward, keeping an eye on the ground for any similar marks. Tracks, maybe?]

[kaidont]

[Not quite tracks, but... there's some more claw marks on the corner of a nearby building.

Turn?]

[niepokonany]

[This is a totally bad idea, but it's not like Feliks is going to stand around and wait for something to come get him, right?]

[He turns the corner, flames still flickering in hand.]

[kaidont]

[And that's when you get treated to blood. On the ground, on the walls, none of it pooled but a lot of splashes.

There is no body to be found, just the trail that continues, with little flicks of blood here and there.

In the distance, however, you might be able to make out a faint glow]

[niepokonany]

Oh, Savior!

...Um. I-Is someone there?

[He steels his nerves again, following the trail towards that little glow.]

[kaidont]

[Still no answer. The sensation of being almost touched comes again, though, and then disappears.

The closer you come to the light, the warmer and more inviting it looks. But the closer you get, the more you'll feel like you're being watched, too]

[niepokonany]

[Yeah, his Fairy-type senses are screaming trap! at that. He stays put, his back to a wall, watching and waiting to see if anything happens.]

[kaidont]

[Nothing. No movement, no voices. The atmosphere is as heavy and menacing as ever, or even more.

On the other hand, you might also sense that whatever is at the source of this light is also a fairy type. And if you come close enough, you'll see the telltale sparkles surrounding it]

[niepokonany]

[Honestly, he's known too many fairy-types for that to be a comfort. It still feels like it could be a trap. But at least it won't be one he's very weak to? And he's pretty strong, he could probably be okay...]

[He edges closer, still wary, trying to sneak.]

[kaidont]

[You may have a point there. This particular fairy type, however, doesn't look very threatening considering it's...

... a bench?

A bench that's definitely glittering, and emitting waves of comfort and protection to anyone who's sensitive to that kind of thing.

And the smell of antiseptic.

It might still be a trap though. Who knows]

[niepokonany]

[Feliks sure doesn't!]

[So he looks for a stick to poke the bench with at a distance. Or like, a rock or something...]

[kaidont]

[It doesn't move. But when you stick your hand close, the feeling of foreboding becomes overwhelming... until your hand gets close enough and suddenly it's like it touched something warm and calm]

[niepokonany]

[...Maybe it wants to scare him away from it, then?]

[Feliks squinches his face up for a few moments, gathering his nerve one more time, and sits down. He peeks his eyes open to look at the bench, feeling unsure that it's not going to eat him now.]

[kaidont]

[The moment you move close enough, the terrible feeling disappears. It's like you're sitting in a bubble of safety and warmth.

And sparkles]

[niepokonany]

[Well, that's a relief after the being-stalked feeling. Maybe he'll just chill here for a bit!]

1/2

[kaidont]

[It's definitely a nice place to chill. There's something about this place that feels safe, not just in a peaceful way but also in a fierce way. Even if it makes no sense.

Somehow, you know nothing can come harm you as long as you stay within the bubble of sparkles surrounding it. The feeling of being watched by something malicious is gone, too]

[kaidont]

[... unfortunately (?) your presence in this particular spot has alerted someone, and you're now being watched again. By something much more human, at least]

... who're you?

[The guy who's looking at you from just outside the bench's field of influence is kinda tall, with eyes that glow in the dark like a Liepard's, and from the way his scowl is bordering on the snarl, you can definitely see fangs.

He's not outright aggressive (yet), but he's definitely distrustful]

[niepokonany]

[Feliks sits up straighter, cautious and defensive.]

What? No way, I'm not the one staring at people from the shadows like some kind of creep, who are you?!

1/2

[kaidont]

[From the glances he keeps giving, there's something that's unsettling him about the fact that you're sitting on this bench in particular. It's a mixture of angry, nervous, envious, and almost... scared?]

Oh yeah? This is my turf.

[kaidont]

... or it should be, anyway. That creep's still on the loose.

[Be grateful you look way too fairy-ish to be a potential candidate, Feliks]

[niepokonany]

Annnnnnd what creep would that be?

[This does not sound like something Feliks wants any part of.]