cityship: (Default)
cityship ([personal profile] cityship) wrote in [community profile] trans_92010-02-06 12:58 am

Beyond the Walls of Sleep

Slowly but surely, the nightmares have been chipping away at the mental defenses of the crew.

Even those who attempt to stay awake to avoid the nightmares find themselves too on-edge to completely concentrate their defenses.

And the Nightmare King has not been idle during all this, no. He has been slowly feeding off the crew, gathering his strength so that he may yet break free from his prison.

And he now uses that new found power, reaching out to affect the minds of the crew even in the waking world. Even those avoiding sleep will find themselves drifting in and out of their nightmares, bringing everyone a taste of despair.

After all, no one can escape the grasp of the King of Nightmares.

No one.

[ooc: OH NOEZ. As you can guess, the Nightmare King is getting stronger. As such, the crew will start experiencing waking dreams. These are much more subtle than the normal nightmares, however, and are more so depressing and surreal than actually brain-breaking. Mostly they would be miserable versions of the character's normal life, or perhaps even their life on the ship.]
withanethel: (A little out of it)

[personal profile] withanethel 2010-02-08 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
She sighed. "I think so. Um, thanks for getting me out of that... Mr. Muraki?" That had been his name, right.

[identity profile] fiercerhyena.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Popped out covered in slime a few days ago," Grim Eyes confirmed, keeping a firm grip on her spear. Her mane had bristled at his tone, rising as she looked at him - or more accurately, stared him down. Her tone was friendly, her posture... not so much.

She would dearly love to get ahold of whoever had been putting this crazy attitude in the males' heads that they could even hold a candle to their superiors. Then she would dearly love to box their head around until their ears rang.
on_errantry: (Thinking)

[personal profile] on_errantry 2010-02-08 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
"It's an awfully large den for just one person," Rhiow said dryly, looking out over the landscape. "But I'm here because you aren't here. Or at least, here isn't real. You're dreaming awake."

She wasn't trying to be cryptic, really. But the People had no idioms for sleepwalking, and her vocabulary in the Speech tended toward hopelessly technical or surprisingly simplistic.

[identity profile] playsin-traffic.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
"Welcome to the meatship, then. Just remember..." He eyed her critically for a moment. He really shouldn't let her get to him, but she was challenging him and his inner wolf really wanted to have a go. For a moment, he indulges the beast. Suddenly, instead of a teenage boy, there is a ten-foot tall furry death machine standing in front of her. Half man. Half wolf. Half pig.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover," he growls.

[personal profile] not_the_philistine 2010-02-08 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
"It is not for one," he says, and his shoulders heave with his sigh. "There should be many living here. Gargoyles to protect the castle at night. Humans to guard them during the day."

He considers the others' words. If he is dreaming awake, it is the work of magic and not out of question. He does not disbelieve it, but . . .

"Waking or dreaming, it is not so."

His words hang heavy with regret.

He looks out over the battlements again to the still city, stagnant, windless air hanging heavy and hot over the vastness of the enclosure. Goliath considers it - "From a nightmare king, I expected more than limbo. If it were not for you, I could not tell the difference between this and any day of my waking -"

[identity profile] doctorbadtouch.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
Muraki opened his eyes, staring up at the woman in a moment of brief but total incomprehension. "Ahava."

That he hadn't prefaced the name with 'doctor' for the first time was highly unusual. He sat up, resting his head in his hands for a moment as he apparently tried to find his bearings.

Oh, he would definitely be providing some assistance against this 'Nightmare King'. The nightmare itself was hardly worth being angry over, but that it had included a witness...that just wouldn't do. She would need to be disposed of, and soon.

"I... I'm sorry."

[identity profile] vision-ya.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
The Vision did let go of her finally, looking hurt.

"[Of course it is real,]" he said. "[You were the one who told me that I had a soul. I know I have a different body now, but I am still the man you loved.]"

He touched a hand to the side of his head. The screaming...

"[I spend all night in bed with you, even though I do not sleep, so that I can be there to comfort you if you have nightmares. No one else knows that, do they?]"

[identity profile] fiercerhyena.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Several instincts grabbed Grim Eyes' body at once, pulling her in different direction. One said large predator, one said wolf, one said male, all of them conflicting.

The large predator instinct - that triggered the flight response. Grim Eyes should have been running immediately, if she was any kind of hunter worth her salt. Fighting huge beasts that shouldn't rightly exist was a warrior's job, not a hunter's.

Her nose said wolf, though, and wolves weren't generally dangerous unless you got separated and caught on your own by a whole pack. They were hunters in their own right, and they were to be respected.

But the third instinct was the unmistakable scent of testosterone. That was the instinct that screamed at her to grab this impertinent male by the scruff and toss him into a wall until he got the picture.

But ten-foot-tall wolf won out over male, and Grim Eyes' mane slicked back so flat it might as well not have been there, her ears flattening as she did something she never thought she would ever do when confronted with a challenge - not a challenge with a male anyway - she lowered her spear and backed up a step.

[identity profile] doctorbadtouch.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
He nodded. "Doctor, if you want to get technical, but it's not necessary. And neither is the thanks. I'm glad to have been of some help finally." He hesitated a moment. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to talk about it? Nightmares can be...stressful." From his tone, one might assume he knew from experience.

[identity profile] feelnothinatall.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
"There's nothing to apologise for," Ahava answered briskly. "Whatever is going on must have affected you badly to make you pass out, however. I'd like it if you would come with me to medical so I can at least check that you're doing okay now."

She didn't give him a chance to protest, taking his arm and helping him to his feet, sliding one of his long arms around her shoulders for balance when he wavered ever so slightly. "It isn't that far from here."

Thankfully. He was heavier than she'd thought.

[identity profile] playsin-traffic.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
Plays eyes her for a moment, a growl threatening to erupt from his throat. The rage told him to toss her against the wall, to pin her with his teeth at her throat until she whimpers in submission and never, ever dares challenge him again. He flexes his fingers, claws twitching as he fights to keep himself under control. His hackles rise and then he slowly lowers them, body shrinking as he returns to being a pink human teenager. Not much taller then average, really.

He bows slowly in respect, "Plays-in-Traffic, Cliath Philodox of the Bone Gnawer Tribe."
withanethel: (Uhm...)

[personal profile] withanethel 2010-02-08 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
It sounded like he knew a bit about it. She wondered what kind of doctor he was. "No, I don't really want to." She wanted to be able to talk about it so badly it was almost tearing a hole through her chest just to get out. But she let herself lie her way out of it. It would just be complicated. "I'll be more careful so it doesn't happen again."
on_errantry: (Thinking)

[personal profile] on_errantry 2010-02-08 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
"I think that's the point," Rhiow said. "To keep you here, in a state of stagnation. One you think is normal - if more drained of life than usual - so that you don't realize the need to wake up from it."

She looked down at the stone of the battlements, focusing on the grain of it so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye when she admitted, "Without Life to preserve, my own Oath is feeling a little superfluous as well."

There was a ringing silence in her ears as she said it, and a low growl at the edge of her awareness that was the Whisperer warning her of the dangers of that line of thought. Rhiow shook her head hard, her ears flapping.
hexyeah: (worried)

[personal profile] hexyeah 2010-02-08 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
Wanda wanted to believe so badly that it was really him but she knew he wasn't.

Wasn't he?

"It... can't be..." Was all she managed to say.

[personal profile] not_the_philistine 2010-02-08 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
He lets his breath out in a deep, rumbling sigh of assent.

"It is a baseless tactic," he says, though he knows as he says it, it is as much to reassure himself as this . . . talking cat. Well, he would be lying if he said he hadn't spoken to stranger. "Our crew surrounds us with life worth protecting." He lowers his eyes from the horizon. "But a lonely life it is, without loved ones and family to protect among them."

Too lonely for him to stand once before. Must he fulfill some cosmic quota by doing it now?

"Though it makes little difference," he says, at length, "perhaps it would be best if I were to wake up now." A pause. "You seem to know more about these things than I."
on_errantry: (Default)

[personal profile] on_errantry 2010-02-08 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
One of Rhiow's ears tilted backward in slight embarrassment that he would be the one to point out what she should have already known. As long as there was life somewhere, there would be a need for wizards to preserve it. You must get tired of this going on in my head all the time, she said silently to the Whisperer, but the former pressure of her regard was absent.

"You have to recognize that where you are isn't real. You're near the living quarters, on Stacy. This is a product of your mind and the Nightmare King's magic. Know it, and it'll be real. These things are all about perception and tricking your mind, anyway."

[identity profile] fiercerhyena.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
Grim Eyes felt like an idiot. She should have trusted her nose when it first told her he wasn't human, and assessed him accordingly. Not that she couldn't have taken him... if his other form had been just the slightest bit smaller, and if it hadn't been sprung on her so abruptly.

Still, she had to acknowledge that as far as strength and intimidation went, he had won this round. It stuck in her liver to admit that, but there it was. "...Grim Eyes, Hunt Leader of Boneclaw Mother's tribe." Her ears were still flattened out of respect, but she gave a small abortive bow just in case he didn't read hyena body language too well.

[identity profile] doctorbadtouch.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
"That's really not necessary Doctor..." But of course his protest fell on deaf ears. Well, he had been meaning to see what Medical looked like anyway. He might as well use this to his advantage.

He wavered a bit - a special effort just for her - and sighed. "Then again, it doesn't look like I have a choice."

[identity profile] vision-ya.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
"[Why can't it be?]" Vision asked, pulling his hand away from his head and reaching for her again. "[I love you. What I thought I felt for Cassie...that was not real. Nothing about who I thought I was was real. I know who I am now, and it is not some sixteen-year-old boy.]"
hexyeah: (hurt look)

[personal profile] hexyeah 2010-02-08 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
He almost had her, right up until he mentioned Cassie.

"No, no. Vision, the second Vision, I know you're in there." Why was she saying this? What if that really was her Vision she was talking to? What if she was sending him back into oblivion trying to get Jonas to regain control?

[identity profile] vision-ya.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
The Vision gave her a heart-broken look, which was suddenly marred by a furrowed brow. He brought both hands up to his head, like he was trying to keep it from splitting open. The screaming had gotten loud enough that he could actually make out the words -- or rather, the same word, over and over and over.

No no no no no no...
hexyeah: (worried)

[personal profile] hexyeah 2010-02-08 07:07 am (UTC)(link)
"My God! Vision?" Wanda put her arm around him. "Vision, are you hurt? Say something." She didn't care which Vision she heard from.

[identity profile] vision-ya.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 07:18 am (UTC)(link)
No no no no no no no--

"[NO!]"

He simultaneously shrank out of her grip and pushed her away, crumpling to the floor as the appearance of the original melted back to that of the second.

"[I'M NOT HIM!]" he shouted, too panicked to think about contractions. He scrabbled backward along the wall and floor, trying to put some space between him and Wanda. He had been gone, his memories as meaningful to whatever it was that had replaced him as the original Vision's were to him. But somewhere, deep inside, he had known. He had known it was wrong and he had been screaming.

"[I AM NOT HIM!]" he shouted again, if only to hear the words through his own hears in his own voice again.

[identity profile] trenchcoatange1.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
A few feet behind her captor, standing just slightly off to one side, stands a man in a trench coat that Beckett has not yet met--at least, not formally. His expression is blank as he stares directly into the detective's eyes. He couldn't be an accomplice, could he?

"Stand up," the man ordered.
hexyeah: (one tear)

[personal profile] hexyeah 2010-02-08 07:25 am (UTC)(link)
Wanda had to catch herself to keep from falling. She didn't say anything, simply pulled her cloak around her.

She didn't know what had just happened but there was a part of her screaming as well.

What if that really had been him?

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