Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Allow me to rectify that, also I hope you don't mind me killing off NPC nightmares, I plan to do that quite a bit >.> ))


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDon't you who the ******** I am?! IM THE ENEMY!!!
Slipping back into existence, those same dark green eyes from the last visit appeared on the edge of a shadowed and gloomy looking village. The shimmer of the solidifying body followed, and then again by the shimmering figure of the large monstrous Lind-worm of Arik with his' tongue tasting the air in all its' forked length. They were here to track down a shadow of the night, a nightmare creature that had been doing more evil than it should have been. Nightmares were natural to this world, after all evil was needed to give something to judge the good against and one could never exist without the other. But the balance was wavering the past few times Gretel had visited, She could feel it fluctuating in the very ground and plants that made up her realm of control.
"should this one deal us much trouble?" Gretel said to her companion as she started to walk through the main street of the crumbling village, it actually looked like it had been abandoned by it's inhabitants, whether this was due to nightmares it wasn't known.
"No, I sssence that it ssshall be nothing more than a ssssource of amusssement... You ssshould sssssavour thisss opportunity." Arik hissed playfully, tasting the air for any signs of the fear fueled beast. It was a sneaky thing though and more than likely didn't have a smell, sometimes a prominent stench was there, others it was no where to be seen...
Gretel's attention clicked to a near by window where she was sure movement had slipped past, though it was just a light breeze disturbing the old fashioned wooden shutters. The rattling of a few old crates down an alley was of more concern.
"There... You block any escapes." She whispered to Arik as he scalled the stone walls of an old shop next to the dingy lane, from up there he could quickly reach any possible runaways with ease. Gretel took a more direct approach... Pulling a few feathers from her mantle, she unveiled the dart like metal points that were blended into the quil, a superb weapon for her asigned domains. Grasping them between her fingers Gretel pricked three of them into her thighs, coating the metal in her blood, before hurling them into the shadows behind wooden boxies....

Nothing happened... the two of them waited for any reactions, but nothing happened.
"Hmm..." It wasn't unusual to get things wrong in Etheria, the full world had the capacity to shift at will, and generally the less importaint parts of it did by reforming to stronger thoughts of different people than those that had thought of it in the first place. thinking there was a nightmare in she shadows could just as easilly be a reforming wall... Then, from the shadows, three blood tipped dart like feathers flew back, hitting Grettel square in the chest.
"Ahh for ********>" she cursed as they rebounded off her armour which had dramatically hardened at the point of impact, causing one of the darts fo flatten at the point and drop the her feet.
The nightmare was a tedious one, it was one of those nightmares that lived on the edge of view, something you'd only ever catch in the corner of your eye for a second but never see dead on.vShe'd have to hunt by sound, vibrations might work better.
Gretel focused on the ground for any near by movelents and picked out some more feathers, coating their tips in some of the blood that was dribbling ever so slightly from her thigh. It was a tricky one, the nightmare seemed to be able to jump from one shadow to the next without emerging into full view. she could feel it's movements from one place to annother. Seems it's true power was that of invisibility.
"Oh you sly sly little fiend. I have you now!!" She screamed unleashing a shower of darts sideways through a caved in wall and riddling the supprisingly large creature with shining black feathers.
"YoU! yOu!! The WRath oF my MaSTeR sHalL Be hArshEr thAN the DEATH of A ThOuSanD suNs!! YoU Dare to POiSon A beInG oF tHe shAdOws?! YoU shAll FeEL tRue FeAr..." The now visible beast gargled from it's toothless jaws. It resembled a skinny gangly cat, but with 6 legs and fur so black it might as well be made of shadows its self. the only thing immediately visible was it's fiery red eyes which resembled those of a fish.
"Oh really? Well... I'd better make the most of this shouldn't I..." Gretel purred as she drew out a particularly long feather which, in reality, was more of a serrated dagger than a dart, with a handle formed out of unsharpened metal close to the feathered end. Gretel spun the dagger like spike in her fingers, slowly walking towards the creature that was slumped on the floor panting for any breaths it could steal from the air. Gretel began to laugh, an almost innocent and child like giggle, her vision fixated on the beast as her pulse raced and her body tingled with excitement... Things were going to get messy.

Outside from his position on top of the old buildings, Arik scanned the surroundings for any signs of other nightmares, sometimes the smaller ones worked together to gather a bigger meal... The shrieks of the incapacitated one inside made him hunger for a meal of his own, and raising his head towards the gathering twilight clouds above, her let out an ungodly roar that traveled across the open planes surrounding the village as if to dare any others to come quell his hunger.

☪

(Gotcha...and I can't reply until Tejava does...so...yeah...I'm really sorry.)

[[*prod*]]

[[I should note that I cannot yet post again. Come on, we're waiting on you! I WANNA BE ALL DESTRUCTIVE AND STUFF.]]

[[ Yes, Java went on a long vacation, so she really won't be able to post anywhere until after the first week of July. I just came back from my sister's wedding, so I'm going to be lurking for a few days, recuperating. Let's not do anything drastic here, but if you're waiting for anyone who isn't going to be abe to reply soon, then just move on without them. ]]

Tivoli had become extremely busy and focused on her work. Angel looked away and noticed that the bar felt....different somehow. People were leaving in large groups..but a few stayed. It was an odd sensation, and it certainly did not feel "normal". What was did that mean to Angel anymore?

A voice called out his name to his right. Glancing away from the center of the room, he noted that it was Ryan, a fellow knight. Finally, a face he and Tivoli knew. Dodging past Tivoli and 2 other workers (who were actually doing their job) he reached Ryan.

"Okay...you feel it, right? The center of the room.." Angel pointed with his head in that general direction behind Ryan. " Surely you noticed the large group of people leaving as you came in...wanna check it out? I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Etherea." It was just a hunch, but it was worth investigating. And, being that he was working right now, he could not very well go into Etherea himself. Tivoli would slay him.

It was lucky that Ryan showed up, of all people. He, like Angel, possessed the ability to go into Etherea by means other than simply going to sleep. They were the only two knights that could do this. It was rather handy, and made for a good escape on breaks and what not.

The orb of nothing was barely growing, but it did expand. What confused the knight was how hard it was to use her powers. In every part of Etherea, she had absolute control over her void powers. Here, she barely could manage a fist-sized piece of nothing. Still, despite her inability to interact physically with anything in this place, her efforts were making an impression. She could see others taking note of the sensation in the room. People glancing at her work, validating her existence. That was reason enough for her to continue. Nothing could deny her power forever, and nobody would deny her presence. She would be acknowledged, seen, or at least respected!

Unfortunately, she did not realize the human form of her peers. The differences between Etherean and Waking states were distinctive enough to not make the connection- at least they were to her. Having been a part of the dream for so long that she honestly believed she was a dream herself, she never made much of a connection to the waking world, or those in it. It never dawned on her that this area was a phased version of the world for those conscious. As such, she didn't notice the feathery arrival of a fellow dreamwalker. Ryan had arrived in a corner of the room, and while in the peripheral vision of the knight, she didn't notice him. Her concentration was intense on that orb . . . until he slammed his hand down on the table. His audible thump was enough to garner her attention, and the knight relaxed her hand a bit. Turning her head to look at Ryan, the orb in the bar immediately began to shrink. Like an ice cube on a skillet, it was reverting quickly, ebbing into the nothing it was composed of.

The void knight moved over towards the table slammed, and out of curiosity, she passed her hand right through the seemingly solid surface. Like before, she could not touch it. In a physical response to her confusion, her head tilts slightly to the side. Her face, like the rest of her body, was hidden behind her armor. The mirrored faceplate had no breathing holes, no creases, no place for air to get in, or sound to get out. As such, when she speaks, it simply emanates from her. More curious was the voice she used. The void knight had spent years in the dream state. Long enough to forget so very much of who she was and is. All that remains is the loyal knight to Thought and Memory. Even her voice was gone. This being only speaks when a person is reflected in her faceplate- and that is poignantly acute when she speaks . . . with the voice of whomever she is speaking to.

Ryan's voice came from the indigo body, warped and hollow sounding. Both a fore-echo, and a post-echo distort the metallic version of his voice as she speaks, furthering the oddity of that voice."sil-Silver Knight. Why are you here? More importantly- how did you touch that which I cannot-not." The void knight stood passive, and were it not for her passing a gauntlet through the tabletop, it would seem she was merely standing by the table.

The Indigo Knight remained totally stoic at the arrival of the avian creature. For what it was worth, she liked the appearance of that bird. Black, similar in some ways to the void she is capable of creating. Still, the bird took an arrogant place on the Silver Knight's head and began berating her in the shrill voice only a crow could create. As it berates her, the silver embellishments on her armor shift slightly. Not enough to explain much- just enough movement to catch the eye, and only lasting the briefest of moments. Had she not been wearing her cape, and shown her back, what happened would be obvious. Then again, if she had done those things, it would not have happened. Physically, she merely leans her head slightly to the right. The mirrored surface now reflecting both Ryan and Corvus, when she spoke, it was even more unnerving- both with the words she chose, and the fact that she 'spoke' with a chorus of both voices speaking in unison. She spoke with the voice of whomever was in her faceplate's reflection and in this moment the voices of both beings melded in a chaotic duality. "In-In-Insulting me is not-not-not . . ."

"Wise." The second voice was silky, smooth, and perhaps might be reassuring if it wasn't so full of venom. At the completion of the sentence a pair of hands dropped from above and grasped Corvus from the sides in a silent grab. Looking up, Indigo watched as her familiar 'Aitourensa' hung upside down from the ceiling with his many legs. To stay near her, he manifested as a large silver decoration on her back. Nowhere near as large as his manifestation, but he was a dream creation. Logic didn't have to apply. Having shifted to reality, he simultaneously traveled through the shadows and blackness that her cape provided. Shadows are funny things- voids of light and doorways of intrigue. Now, the giant creature used his arms that were where pedipalps should be to hold Corvus fast. Despite his lack of a human face, one could feel his glee at having caught the bird and holding it. There was no telling what the arachnid might have done . . . except Indigo raised her hand in a gesture to stop it. Aitou paused, and then slowly let the bird go unharmed. Having never lifted the bird it rested still on Ryan's head. The spider remained in his inverted position as Indigo continued to talk in both voices- Aitou being just out of reflection as she looked to the Silver Knight again.

"You-You-Your 'reality' is not my concern. As I cannot die, death and the waking world do not matter to me. I have but one duty. I serve Lord Thought, and Lady Memory. Such is my only concern. Still, at your request I will end my . . . experiment-ent-ent." With cold stoicism she stood. Indigo truly believed what she said. Having been lost in the dream for years of the waking world's time, she had lost all idea of who she was. In dreams, when waking people died they woke. Indigo was lost between dreams and reality. She was a dreamer who forgot she was dreaming. Her body locked in a coma, the woman was unable to wake. Over time, she lost her name, her identity, and so very much more. To hide that, she hasn't revealed any details of herself, or even taken off any armor before others in recent memory. She lost the girl or woman that is dreaming and embraced the dream. Now, she is only the dream, and believes that with the unique benefit of being immortal . . . as long as she never wakes up.

-->Aitourensa reference image<--