What dreams may come [Open, bendytimed to before GTFO plot]

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

In her sealed, silent, sensory-deprived meditation room, Roxie is sleeping. It's a special sleep: for all dreams are connected, she knows, and by spinning her mind out along the web of thought, she might step into others...

[Roxie is dream-hopping, getting a look at the subconsciousnesses of the other people on the ship. So, how it works - if you're interested, go ahead and post with a dream your character is having, and Roxie will slip into it, subtle at first but more obvious as she tries to satisfy her curiosity. Just her being around will make the dreamer more lucid and more likely to remember the whole thing when they wake up.

Also, feel free to ask any OOC questions in a thread here, or poke me on AIM at 'anagramarye'.]

Comments

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie wants to shoot back something defensive about how he's perfectly normal, everything's fine, so this girl can butt out and go skipping off to someone else's dream now, thanks, but then she points to something behind him. Practically out of reflex, he turns to follow the gesture, frown deepening.

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"And I serve a god of dreams," she says, and now she's standing in the direction he's facing, on the same catwalk just a few feet away from him. "My duty is to him."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie jerks a little at her sudden change of location - he's always surprised to encounter yet another person who can teleport, despite the several he's met over the past three years - and eyes her guardedly. So she serves a god, huh. His previous interdimensional experiences introduced him to a handful of those types, too - people who worked for a god, or were descended from gods, or claimed a god as their guardian. They all made him nervous, to one degree or another, and the girl is no exception, now.

"Wul. So what's he gonna do 'f he thinks my dreams are weird or whatever? What're you gonna do?" he asks, shifting back an uneasy step.

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'd try and help you figure out how to fix them," she says, expression edging sideways into something that's almost a smile. "But I wouldn't force you, if you weren't willing. Conformity isn't my god's modus operandi."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie's frown deepens and he averts his gaze, taking another step away and turning so he can lean back against the railing of the gantry. "You can't fix 'em," he says. It's hard to pinpoint his tone; it's equal parts sullen, embarrassed, defensive and defeated. "They're just memories. 's all in the past. Nothing to fix anymore."

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"Then I could help you control the dreams, at least," Roxie offers, and one might hear a tiny of embarrassment at her voice at the previous presumption. Not that she wants to admit she made it.

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie considers the offer for a moment or two, glancing at the girl sidelong. "What would that involve?"

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"A little practice and training. Nothing dangerous or strenuous, but I can't give any guarantees it will work."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

He gives this a little more thought. The dreams don't bother him as much as do his waking memories of the circumstances surrounding his blackouts, but he supposes it couldn't hurt to have one less reminder of them. His gaze becomes more suspicious. "You wouldn't have to go any further into my memories or whatever, would you?"

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

Roxie shakes her head. "Lucid dream training isn't as specific as that."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie chews his lip, stares out the distant bay doors of the hangar, drums his fingers against the railing of the catwalk, and finally shrugs one shoulder, the gesture mildly agitated. "...mn. All right, I guess. I'll give it a try."

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"The first thing you'll have to do is, when you're awake, every time your surroundings change—ask yourself if you're dreaming."

Well, that seems silly.

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

He looks a little puzzled by this, but after a brief pause he nods for her to continue. "Okay..."

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"That's what we'll start with," Roxie says simply. "When you're doing that all the time—all the time—come see me again."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Puzzlement gives way to full-on confusion. "Wait, what? I don't - I don't understand." He sounds a little embarrassed to admit it.

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"Make it into a habit," Roxie says. "When you know you're asking yourself whether you're dreaming or not regularly, we'll be able to move on to the next step."