| Logs |
2009-03-01
| Dreams |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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Dream A Little Dream
Jason wakes up abruptly -- someone's shaking him awake! "Jason, wake up! Jason! Dude, wake up -- Phyx is calling for you, and you don't want to make her wait when she's like this!"
Jason's eyes crack open. "I told you, those aren't my toboggans..." he starts to say, and then his eyes refocus, "Uh? Whu'?" He tries to remember where he is... one of Phyx's "pretties" is leaning over him, and she looks relieved to see him awake. The light is on, and it's far too piercingly bright -- until something soft hits him in the head, as she throws some clothes at him, "Here, you can dress on the way. Kira says you'll need energy if this goes like usual, so drink this now." She's pushing a small, stoppered jug into his hands as well, and yanking him to his feet. It's somewhat disorienting having everything happening all at once.
Jason slowly comes out of his fog... no, he's not coming over the Alps with his army, skiing on elephants. Phyx... Phyx? Oh, right. The Sphynx, capital S. He's currently her guest... she finds him stimulating, and he, of course, wanted to plumb the depths of her knowledge. She, of course, is being all enigmatic -- cats do that. But he's learned a surprising amount by readjusting his expectations. "What is it, a hunt? What time is it?" he queries. He gets the clothes on... sort of. He might have mistaken the liquid in the jug for clothing too, since he's wearing some of it now in his haste, but he finally manages to actually drink some.
The liquid is honeyed and thick, to cover the bitter, sort of herbal taste underneath. The girl grins over her shoulder at him as he spills some, but simply keeps dragging him along as swiftly as he'll go through the white marble hallways, "A bit after midnight. Michael says she woke up in a tizzy -- he thinks it's another of those nasty prophetic dreams. Put your toga on, please -- you should be at least somewhat dressed when you arrive!" It's about then that Jason realizes he's in the buff again. That seems to happen a surprising amount here...!
Jason would be embarrassed -- should be. Being naked around his loved ones is easy. Naked around strangers... well, if he were Adonis maybe it wouldn't be an issue. He's fitter than before, but weight loss doesn't change the overall overweight shape, it just means there's less of it. That said, being around Phyx and her 'pretties' for the last ten days like this has made him rather... blasé to it. One would think he misses sex, after Diana, but Phyx has been keeping him so active in other ways.
There was talk at some point of having him impregnate some of Phyx's young women -- breeding more 'intelligent pets' or something like. But that hasn't been mentioned since the first time. No, Phyx wants to hunt him in the jungle, or play strategy games. Or send him on vision quests. But there's never been talk of a Prophetic Dream, and he finds himself hurrying to keep up with the girl, pulling on clothes, and hopping around as if in some amusing comedy -- dressing on the run, no time to even talk.
The girl -- Jason's groggy memory vaguely recalls her introducing herself as... Sariel, was it? -stops in front of a big door to take a glance at Jason. She giggles, her hands moving swiftly to swipe his sleep-tousled hair a bit flatter, then to tug straight the short toga. She glances assessingly up, then down him once, then seems satisfied, nodding once as she turns, takes a deep breath -- then raps firmly on the door twice. There's a muffled roar, "Come in already! What is taking so long?!" which Jason recognizes as Phyx's exasperated voice. Sariel twitches nervously, but simply grabs Jason's hand, hastily shoving the door open with the other, and nearly trots down the long scarlet carpet with him to meet with the restlessly pacing Sphynx.
The room Jason is led into isn't one he's familiar with. Curiously, it seems to be... underground?! It looks like a cave, with the same odd, bitter herbal tang in the air. Other humans are bustling around to the swift bark of Kira's directions, and the light is both poor, and flickering oddly -- folks seem to be carrying... flashlights? And is that a real, flaming torch on the wall?
That's part of the reason right there, Jason thinks: Sariel and the others mostly treat him big-sisterly, what with the fixing his hair and straightening his clothes when they summon him all unexpectedly like this. "Sorry, sorry, Phyx. I had to attack Rome with my army, and it's really hard to fit elephants with skiis... " he starts to call out, much less nervous than Phyx's pets -- and then his eyes see the change. He thinks, [Cave? Okay, this is different. You know, she's never explained why she has her own jungle. Now it seems this place can change as she sees fit.]
The sphinx is bright and golden: from her thick, shining tail tuft to her alert, slitted cat's eyes. A cascade of rippling curls tumbles about her shoulders and even her onyx claws and ivory fangs are lustrous with health; her leonine body glows along the rippling muscles. She whirls towards Jason and Sariel with a snarl on her golden lips -- and abruptly Kira is there between them, still bipedal but shaggier and more pointed-eared than Jason remembers. One only slightly human hand is held out between the Supernatural and Jason, "Easy, Phyx, easy, please -- remember, he has no idea. Also, you promised -- and he's critical in the dream, remember?" She watches Phyx long enough to be sure the Sphynx's fangs are no longer bared, then quickly looks around, snapping, "Michael! Get over here, interpret for your Lady."
Sariel has already ducked behind Jason, and a lovely, golden-haired boy hands what he's doing to someone else and runs swiftly over. He takes Jason's hand, tugging the young man along with him, "Come on, got to get you cleaned up quickly!" Sariel follows nervously close as they lead Jason into another smaller cave-like room -- this one damp and heated like a sauna -- and pull a heavy curtain closed for a door. Phyx is snarling something querulous until the sound is blanked out by the curtain, and both pretties sigh and sag slightly in relief at that -- then hastily start stripping Jason out of the toga!
Jason is now far more awake, what with that rush of adrenaline... he's heard Phyx can be scary, but he hadn't seem proof of it before. Now he has. [Okay, right. Tone down the flippancy. She's not in the mood for impudence,] he notes to himself once the sound of his rapidly beating heart fades from his ears. He offers no resistance when Kira intervenes, and then is tugged away by Michael and Sariel. When they start stripping him again, he groans. "Oh, come on. Get dressed, don't get dressed... make up your minds," he mutters, far quieter than before -- but he doesn't struggle.
Sariel giggles nervously, but Michael simply says, "She had a prophetic Dream, Jason -- and you were in it!" He sounds almost... envious? -as he adds, "It's a great honor; she doesn't have them often, and when she does it's because something big is coming -- a really big, dangerous change. But they're like most prophecies -- they're hard to understand, and so she needs the people in the dream to help her interpret them." Sariel nods, adding quietly, "I heard the last one foretold the atom bombs going off in Japan to quickly kill the two most dangerous Supernaturals on the planet -- before they could move to different cities."
That gets Jason's attention. Hiroshima and Nagasaki as cover for something else behind the scenes? All of a sudden, that's got to make someone wonder. Are the supernaturals really completely unknown to humanity? Or does this just mean there's some mythological creatures that have brought themselves up to even greater power than even Phyx, with her own little kingdom in Vegas? "Ooo, kay. Right. Big. Roger that." He looks vaguely over his shoulder. "She doesn't seem happy. Might be she's seen enough that what she interprets doesn't look good."
Michael and Sariel both sigh, and Michael murmurs, "We're not sure -- they don't talk about it -- but we think there are at least two more Supernaturals that really worry our ladies, and at least, um..." He falls silently, suddenly assiduous in dunking Jason hastily into the small, slightly steaming pool in the center of the room.
Jason bubbles, now drenched. Yep, he's gonna be clean after this, although he might need some shampoo. Once thing he's always careful about, sleeping with two people in his bed, is washing his hair regularly. It develops an annoying amount of oil in the night, and that's no fun. When he comes back up he shakes his head. "Ugh. I wonder if one of them is in Asia..." he says more to himself. He remembers the vision quest -- the lights he saw from above, in the impossibly high tower, and the creature that wanted to suck him in, drain him, possess him.
Sariel giggles as Jason emerges through the bubbles frothing up in the little bath from the liquids she's pouring in. She helps Michael scrub the young man vigorously clean as Michael continues talking, his tone almost like a teacher's, "Trust the Lady Kira to move you around -- don't move from where you are put otherwise. Our Lady's not completely in her friendly mind right now, and you don't want to trigger any reflexes, you know? Sariel, did he drink all the herbs?"
Jason nods sagely. "No, got it, I can see this is serious... you know, one of these days, I would like to talk to Kira. I'm awful curious how the two of them hooked up. The odd couple..." He trails off and looks at Mike -- who's a nice boy. "Uh, more or less. Sariel's washing some of it off, but that's what happens when you get woken from a sound sleep. What are the herbs for?"
Michael snorts amusedly, saying only, "Ask Kira if you want the truth. Our Lady likes teasing with the most outrageous stories if you ask her!" Sariel giggles again, nodding, and Michael continues, "No worries, we've got extra here -- better for you to be overdosed and nauseous afterwards, than to be under-dosed when you get yanked into the Dreamtime." Sariel nods again at Michael's words, already retrieving another small earthenware jug. She breaks the wax seal with her fingernails and works out the cork as Michael talks, then offers it to Jason, "Probably only two or three gulps should do it?"
Jason blinks. The Dreamtime. Was that the place she sent him, when he wanted to know what his purpose was? He vaguely remembers herbs then, too. Or was that incense? "No, obviously. I get that about her," he agrees and takes the jug -- swallowing, grimacing, and swallowing again. Bitter and sweet... not in the best way, but one makes do. "Any other warnings?"
Michael hmms thoughtfully as he continues hastily cleaning Jason. Sariel puts the jug down on the rocky edge of the pool, returning to help -- and as she does so, the heavy curtain in the doorway twitches aside, then closes again behind a tall, slender, graceful individual dressed in the austere black suit of Kira's pets. By the calm, higher toned voice, it's a woman, "She's losing it. Get him out there." Both pretties pale a bit, and Jason is abruptly dunked underwater to get all the remaining soap off him. After that he's unceremoniously dragged out of the pool and briskly wiped down with a towel, while another is used to roughly rub dry his hair as much as possible. The entire procedure is watched with calm, almost unblinking silence by the new woman.
Once Sariel's no longer apparently trying to rub every hair off Jason's head, the woman starts speaking, "Jason, the Lady Kira suggests you stay as relaxed as possible. Make sure you're comfortably seated in the chair and inhale as much of the steam as you can. Remember the Lady Phyx doesn't know her own strength at times like this, and above all: do not tease her. Her instincts are very close to the surface right now. Do you hear and understand?"
Jason could have guessed this would be one of Kira's. With the exception of himself, all of the folks Phyx surrounds herself with are excellent physical specimens -- and while the stately woman is quite symmetrical, it is marred by a diagonal scar across her face. It bisects one eye, which is blue where the other is brown. She doesn't seem bothered by her visage though, and honestly, neither is Jason. It's an ugly scar, but it gives her face character. He absently thinks of a favorite graphic novel he read at school, back when all this sort of thing was still fantasy. He draws on the woman's natural calmness, as the others dry him, which helps -- then nods firmly. "They've made this clear. Atom bombs dropping are not the things you joke about," he assures the woman.
The woman continues to watch Jason and the two pretties with that silent regard as Jason speaks. Once he's done she murmurs quietly, "Good. Jason, if you have time for breeding after this, feel free to ask for Nilgai." Both pretties look a bit startledly at the woman, then impressed as they glance back at Jason. The woman herself simply slips silently and gracefully back through the curtain -- and while the curtain is open, a low, snarling voice can be heard. That galvanizes both pretties into action -- they each grab an arm and nearly carry Jason into the next room! Jason blinks. Okay, that's not fair. He was just getting good and relaxed, and all of a sudden the calm woman starts bringing up sex. Of course she brings it up clinically, which only confuses his body further -- and then he's lurched into motion again, naked as his two gorgeous attendants... this really is one too many shocks to his system. He hopes the herbs kick in soon -- but he keeps silent this time.
The room is definitely a dim, rocky cave. There are braziers with herbs (by the scent) burning in them, and as he inhales Jason feels a small wave of dizziness, and his stomach seems to tighten up. He's hastened to a sort of small, three-legged chair with a high back and arms on it, and pressed gently into it by the two pretties. There are deep cracks in the rocky floor under the chair, and the occasional wisp of lazily curling steam rises from them. There's also a voice snarling in the background, and the surroundings seem to be a bit... sort of blurry? So many people rushing around so busily... what's everyone so worked up about?
Jason is clearly curious, but he learned his lesson. Quiet -- watch, listen. Inhale smoke. Of course, he can still think. All of this frustrates him more than a little: the way supernaturals tend towards alpha type personalities, so imperious. Maybe it is important. But he hates the way Phyx's pets flinch. It gets his hackles up, that they can be so afraid at the drop of a hat of the one that's supposed to love and protect them. Ugh. No, Calm. Relax.
There's a curiously thick burst of steam then, warming Jason even within the slightly cool cave, and as it languidly clears he can see with piercing sharpness directly in front of himself, like a form of tunnel vision where everything around it is blurred, indistinct, and unimportant. He sees the stone sphynx of Egypt staring right at him, reclining in alert power directly in front of him on a rocky outcropping a short distance away -- or wait, is that Phyx? If so, when did she get a headdress? Why is she so anxious looking? One of her pretties is arranging the folds, as she nods to something Kira is saying to her. She hastily ducks her head to swipe her tongue in a rough caress across the pretty's face, nudging the shyly beaming young man away, then growls conversationally to Kira. Their mingled voices seem to echo and bounce, the growling becoming a curiously purring roar of harmonious noise.
Another face is suddenly in front of his -- that's Kira's mark, yes -- and the calm looking human snaps his fingers in front of Jason's face, then nods, seemingly satisfied. Before Jason can react, the face is gone... and his tongue feels almost swollen in his mouth. Not painful, just too large and heavy to use. In fact, his whole body feels oddly swollen in the same way... Jason is lost in his thoughts. He remembers vaguely from a trip to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art -- something about how Greek and Egyptian mythologies crossed over, how there were often synonymous things in both... that Isis in one was Aphrodite in the other.
The Sphynx was one of those things -- but they were very different: in Greek mythology Phyx was one of the great monsters, the one that tested... uh, Oedipus? Was that it? Symbol of the female power the Greeks feared. In Egypt the Sphynx was not feared but revered: symbol of royal power. It is this that Phyx clearly embodies now: royalty, power. He remembers seeing a sphynx made to resemble Hatshepsut, the greatest of all women that ever took up the mantle of leadership... someone's snapping in front of his face. He barely blinks. It's not interesting to him. The whole world around him seems vague and indistinct, like he's smothered in a blanket, going back to sleep. Only his mind is still active, but in that way it is when you're in bed and trying to sleep, and it wanders all over the place... Jason takes note of Phyx's affection... it would calm him in regards to his earlier concern, but he's already so calm that if he were the slightest bit more alert, he'd be wondering why he can't feel the rest of his body.
The room slowly darkens, everything starting to fade into the darkness. There's a moment where Jason sees Kira's pet talking to both Supernaturals, then a moment where it's just Kira and Phyx... then there's just Phyx's golden glowing eyes watching him... floating in the warm, velvety darkness like the moon... a late Harvest moon, except there's only one moon, not two... oh, wait, that can't be Phyx's eyes then because there really is only one. A snippet of poetry floats through his head: "the moon was a ghostly galleon... the road was a ribbon of moonlight..." Eventually even that fades, and he's alone, comfortable and relaxed in the warm, flower-scented darkness.
Jason does vaguely realize the world around him is changing, but he notes it in the same way you notice a bit of grit on your fingernails. No, he's thinking about the way a supernatural's symbol looks. It's hard to define: he once saw a special on PBS that was trying to explain string theory, and it was visually interpreted as this multicolored ultra-thin ribbon, always in motion in a hundred directions at once... somehow slow and fast at the same time. Visually, one might be impossible to distinguish from another. But he can look at it and know if it's Phyx's, or Kira's -- or even the one Diana placed on him and on Mike. That, of course, has a more emotional texture to it. Just seeing it makes him feel warm. He wonders how Di is doing with Mike, and the replacement boy Phyx gave to her...
As if the thought could summon companions, Jason hears a deep, heavy booming off in the darkness -- a booming he can feel coming up from the ground through his bare feet. It's a slow, measured sound/vibration, like someone very, very heavy walking closer. While his face doesn't actually change expression, there's this visual of his brow knitting at these heavy footfalls. Or maybe they're not footfalls. He's just analyzing it that way. Hmm. Giants. Are there giants? Ogres? How the hell do they fit into the world?
Far off in the distance there's a hint of a golden glow threaded occasionally with crackles like lightning. Even further past that he can see what looks like the slightest hint of a faint red glow. A warmly purring voice murmurs softly, "The Eastern Dragon turns to regard the West -- why? Look south, Seer."
Seer. It's been a long time since he was called that. That was the Minotaur's name for him. Croaker. Is that what he is? Is that why he's here? He turns only his head, never leaving his chair, looking where the warm voice commands. It's about then he realizes he's not sitting in a chair. He's... likely not in the little cave any more either, oddly enough. Now he's really thinking about it, he's not sure he even has a body! He can feel something through the air, pressing against "him," but what shape that actually is, is unclear. However, off to the South he sees... nothing. There's only darkness, emptiness. The voice sighs softly in regret, "Ah, well; it is gone, then. I had hoped a millennia might have allowed it to heal. Look North, my eyes."
Jason internally muses at the absence of something. He wonders if Phyx somehow can see what he sees, the way she phrases her request. Or maybe he's gone somewhere else but his body is still where he left it, dictating what the mind sees. He looks north as he ponders reference to dragons. Western dragons were as feared as the Greek Sphynx... but eastern dragons were viewed far more beneficently. If dangerous at all, they were like the Wakinyan, the Thunderbird: dangerous like a hurricane is dangerous, but not malevolent. Always testing humanity. He thinks. He never studied Eastern myth that much.
To the North is a muted, swirlingly peaceful bluish glow. Curiously, it looks much stronger than the other two Jason has seen -- almost as if it were refracting upwards from something, or through something... like through the icecap, maybe? Interesting. Even as he thinks that, his gaze is shifting reflexively off to what he's assuming is "East." The voice behind him purrs, "To the North again, please -- I'm not do-" and then, shockingly, there's a sudden bright flare of red light, like a small explosion, before him where the reddish glow had been before. Simultaneously there's a sharp, startled hiss from behind him -- and then the reddish glow starts to... with an awful foreboding in his stomach, Jason realizes: whatever it is, it's dying.
The slow, measured tread approaching him abruptly stops, and a few seconds later -- delayed like a tsunami from the ocean floor shuddering -- Jason can feel the air about him rippling and bouncing as it buffets him, as if something terribly huge had suddenly taken flight relatively nearby. A long, rolling, anguished cry echoes around him, then fades away. Jason is stunned, and he cannot help but think of what Michael said: about the atom bombs not sent to kill the Japanese, but to kill powerful supernatural creatures. Did something similar just happen now? Did some overwhelming force just kill a supernatural? As whatever it is takes flight, he feels more alone. Left unguided, he looks back to where the golden glow was, as if it could tell him something of what just happened... what with Phyx's commentary between east and west.
The heavy, beating of wings in the air dies off into the distance, and for a moment there's nothing but awed, worried silence. The nearby golden glow hasn't changed at all, at least to Jason's disembodied gaze; nor has the more distant bluish glow near what would be the polar ice cap. Jason is, for the first time, worried. Something bad happened, and no one can explain it to him. He has only his eyes and his mind. So he gazes deep into the East... if he can only see, then he will try to see as well as he can.
The East is now dark, with the occasional rare, dying flicker of light quickly extinguished. Eventually that too dies away, and the blackness is absolute in that direction. Even in the no-time of dream, it feels as if time passes... all is silent and still, but for the occasional crackle of lightning from West's golden glow. Jason's shoulders would fall, if he had shoulders. Nothing -- as dead as the south. And with no further hints, he looks instead to the north, almost suspicious, trying to understand the strange brightness there. The soft, purring voice is back -- a worried hiss this time, "What? What was it? What are those glows? They die, they die -- from four there are now only two, and one is not well. Should we care? Are they important?" Silence for a few heartbeats, then musing: "The Dragon Lady seems to think so. If one is so close... we must find out more. If she comes here..." there's a soft ripple of sensation, as if someone shuddered near Jason.
Interesting. Not even Phyx understands the significance of the glowing. Are they supernaturals or something else? Primal forces -- one for each of the cardinal directions? But Phyx is there, directing him... so he obediently stares at the closest glow, in hope that she will understand it better. There's a long, silent time staring into the small golden glow within the ubiquitous darkness. Jason can see it doesn't appear to move at all, like one would expect with a living thing. Very few living things he's familiar with have the occasional crackle and flare of lightning through them either... although it's a curiously... unhealthy or damaged seeming sort of lightning. Oddly lurid or something... and... did he just hear something, far off in the distance?
Jason just stares and stares, trying to put himself in the frame of mind he was in during his vision quest... trying to look beyond the obvious. Directions. Cardinal directions. Some native tribes associated colors with the directions, as well as Eastern philosophies, he thinks. But he doesn't have a book in front of him; can't tell which mythology this adheres to. But he does remember black was often one of the colors... so maybe the South isn't dead? But if something glows black... then you really couldn't tell if it was there or not, could you? But then there's the odd sound, and he tries to look past the glow towards it.
There's a faint, discontented rumble from the purring voice -- clearly she's quite concerned also, and wishes she could see more as well. Curiously, the faint noise occurs again -- and this time Jason can tell it's coming from behind him, more to the South. Jason quickly turns, following the sound... he's going to see this thing, darnit! The purring voice rowls, "Hey!" -- then abruptly falls silent as she too realizes the sound is from that direction. It's a nattering, annoying, irritated kind of sound, like someone chattering angrily just under their breath to themselves... and it seems to be getting slowly louder. Right now it's just a murmuring whisper where you can't quite make out the words no matter how hard you strain.
Jason is stymied. He can't see, no matter how hard he tries. Passivity is getting them nowhere, so he tries to speak. "Should I get its attention?" He thinks the question, at least -- what comes out is a sort of querying mumble, as if he doesn't have a proper mouth in this realm. The purring voice whispers a quick, "Shush! Listen, my ears." Jason mmms. Well, it's just as well he asked first; don't want to annoy the Sphynx. So he tries to still himself, and listen instead of see, focusing his attention there.
The sounds are getting louder and slightly clearer -- the voice is definitely that of someone who is thoroughly annoyed -- and perhaps a touch worried as well? Snippets of words are finally coming through: "... bloody...! ...moron volunteers... it! going... crash and burn...!" It's helpful, but he needs more. Maybe... instead of just trying to be calm and listen... he pushes his calm out towards the voice, wondering if he can carefully make a connection, and thereby get more than these vague snippets -- maybe not words, but at least something.
After a few seconds that seems to have a definite effect -- in that the voice abruptly cuts off in mid complaint with a small, "-whoa, what's-" and then... absolute silence. The purring voice gives a small, soft hiss of annoyance, then murmurs a few minutes later, "That's it then." As she speaks, Jason feels his stomach give a sudden, very unpleasant lurch -- and abruptly his eyes fly open and he's in a brilliantly lit room, with a dark shape looming over him and murmuring in surprisingly comforting tones, "It's all right, just let it all out -- we're ready for you."
Jason groans, leaning over in his seat, his head spinning. He feels in that in-between place, where he's about to vomit but not quite. Can't quite get there. Oh ghod. Uh. Uh -- and then he's sure it's going to happen, his eyes bulging... and then nothing. Breathing hard, face burning. Then his breathing slows. "Uh. Ghod. All that... and nothing... if only I'd been able to hear... it would be worth feeling this ba-" He vomits then, but it only lasts a few seconds before he's gone back to his weak breathing. Yuck. Jason's head is spinning. This is worse than the time he smoked a whole joint by himself.
People are there with warm, damp clothes, wiping his forehead and his mouth, supporting him and offering him something to rinse his mouth out with. He can feel himself being picked gently up by many hands, then laid down on a thick rug on the floor. His swirling dizziness is starting to clear, and he realizes what he'd thought was a brilliantly lit room is actually just the cave he started the dreamsearch in -- his eyes are starting to adjust. Above him are the faces of many humans, all carefully tending to him and murmuring quietly back and forth to each other as his vital signs are checked. Even further above them, looking down at him, appear the heads of Kira and Phyx. The werewolf is speaking, her voice fading in and out to Jason, "...find any...?" The Sphynx's voice is worried but clear, "Yes. I did." She hesitates, looking down at Jason, then growls quietly, "Something is coming."