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 Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:46 am
Cat didn't need to sleep.
He was more then aware of this fact, though made a point of taking naps whenever and wherever the mood struck him. It was an indulgence more then anything, like a light snack, and dreaming was just an added bonus.
He was once fascinated by the idea that dreams meant something, and had spent a week back at the public library reading all he could find on the subject. His interest waned at the lack of new material, eventually forgotten, though not lost. It was a particular question on Groanspring that perked his curiosity once more; a public question asking permission to explore the dreams of his peers, from a student in the same year as himself no less! A little back and forth was enough to fully enthral him on the idea once more, and it was in no time at all that he secured the dream-diver's phone number.
He couldn't pronounce the name, but copied the spelling directly from her messages into his phone. Xiu-Ying.
Cat wasn't one to just hold onto a number aimlessly- goodness no -and at the very first opportunity that he found himself in a good mood for a nap, he whipped out his eyePhone and pattered out a quick text. No sooner had the message gone through, his eyes were already blinking out. He curled up and drifted easily to sleep on the first flat surface he found.
'Am going to sleep now, on the bench on the path to the ghost dorms.
Feel free to come and find me, and do whatever it is you do.
-Cat'
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:55 pm
After she had already broken her promise once to help someone, Xiu told herself that she would not be going into any more dreams--at least, not without the dreamer's permission. When she had first sent that question out on Groanspring, the Baku hadn't been expecting for anyone to agree. It was a rather intrusive request, after all.
Imagine her surprise when a few of her peers did agree! After a bit of conversing, she had even managed to exchange numbers with one of them--a boil named Cat. A ghost boil, to be exact, and this fact admittedly made her a little excited. She had gone through the dreams of nearly all the other races, but a ghost? Cat would be the first.
However, she acknowledged that ghosts usually didn't feel the need to sleep, so Xiu wasn't entirely sure when she would get the chance to do some exploring. She had been expecting for at least a few weeks to pass before the opportunity popped up, so when she got the text from the ghost boil in question, Xiu immediately jumped up from her seat in excitement. She abandoned her homework in favour of going outside and meeting up with her volunteer.
It didn't take long until she found him curled up on the bench. She this was Cat? She vaguely remembered seeing him in the hallways and classes, but had never spoken to him before their chatter on Groanspring. "T-thank you very much for helping me," She murmured, bowing her head even if he couldn't hear or see her. Settling down on the ground beside the bench, Xiu went through her usual motions until she finally found the path to the boil's dreams.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:52 pm
The pathway continued, even once inside the dream, turning from the usual ethereal entrance into a dreamscape into a winding cobblestone path. 'Winding' was quite a loose description, as the path twisted and turned so wildly in places that it looked more like someone had tried to draw a straight line during an earthquake.
Equally twisted trees shot up at odd angles on either side of the path, bordering a forest that stretched indefinitely in every other direction. Mushrooms and flowers that were disproportionately large sprouted amidst the trees, and would be expected to be colorful were they not...black and white? Indeed everything was presented solely in shades of grey.
Distantly, there was the sound of a cheery saloon piano tinkering away.
The path cut a not-so-direct route through the flora, where it lead was not quite visible yet, though in the direction of the music there was a faint glow.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:22 pm
For a while, Xiu hadn't even realized that she was already in the dream. Usually the path would have disappeared upon leading to a new setting, but in this case, it extended into the dream. It wasn't until she noticed--somewhat awkwardly as she tried her best to follow it--that the path was twisting in strange ways did she finally look up and realize she was here.
She surveyed her surroundings with interest, noting how everything lacked color. Everything but herself, apparently. As she was an outsider and not a part of the dream, it seemed as if she was not affected by the monochrome palette that was present in Cat's dream.
And speaking of Cat, where was he anyways?
He did say over Groanspring that he sometimes dreamed himself as an object. If that was the case, then he could have been anything, right? The strange, twisted trees, or maybe the oversized mushrooms or flowers. It was possible that he could have taken one of these forms.
A quick glance determined that this didn't seem to the be the case, and she was subsequently distracted by the piano tune that she could hear in the distance. If Cat wasn't here...then perhaps the path and the music would lead her to him? Without hesitation, Xiu jumped back onto the path and traveled farther in.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:40 pm
As Xiu passed, the trees and flowers left behind leant ever so slightly in, turning as though watching her as she hurried further along the path.
Eventually a small house came into view through the trees, the path coming to a stop directly at it's doorstep. It was stone like the path, and seemed to be some sort of restaurant.
The cheery glow, though rendered in shades of grey, shone from the windows of the building out onto the forest outside. The shadows it cast were perhaps a little too big, and stuck out in ways that were entirely incorrect, but it was no business of theirs what was right and what was not. There was a wooden sign jutting out just above the door, swinging lightly in a faint breeze; the words too faded to be able to make out properly.
The piano continued playing happily, up and down it ran in scales of notes, the tune clearly designed for dancing. The sound came from inside, getting louder the closer she approached.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:13 pm
Having the dream's flora lean in towards her was a little unnerving, but at least it didn't seem threatening. It was a strange little dream so far, but not entirely unwelcome considering some of the other adventures she had found herself in. It was a little lonely though--neither random characters nor the dreamer himself seemed to be around.
It was quite obvious by this point that the music was coming from within the house. "It's a nice melody," Xiu mused aloud, quickening her pace slightly, "This setting feels rather welcoming, at least." Did it make a difference that she had asked Cat for permission prior to coming in here? She would have to ask him if all his dreams were usually like this when he woke up.
Finally reaching the house, she eyed it with some interest. A...restaurant then, was it? She had raised a hand to knock, but if it were a restaurant...well, it would be strange to knock if they were open, right? Besides, unless Cat was in there, no one would be able to acknowledge her presence anyways.
With this in mind, the Baku simply reached out and tried to pull to door open.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:34 pm
The door opened easily, admittedly with a little creak on it's hinges, but willingly none the less.
Inside the music was much louder, with many more instruments now playing along, interspersed with conversation and laughter that hadn't been audible outside. For such a small building, it's interior was quite large, with a long bar, many tables set for dinner, chairs, what appeared to be a stage and even stairs in the furthest corner that seemed to lead up to another level.
Despite all the noise, however, the building was completely empty. The instruments gladly played themselves, drinks were being poured, conversation continued cheerily, food was apparently being eaten...but not a figure in sight.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:51 pm
...Strange.
That was the first thought to came to mind when the Baku stepped in. If she were to close her eyes, then it sounded as if she were in a restaurant full of people. Xiu could hear people chattering amongst themselves, the loud music, and the sound of cutlery hitting plates. She could almost feel the life (or undead) bustling around her.
But no, there was absolutely no one here and...it was a little eerie, actually. Who was playing those instruments? Who was eating that food? It was a little unnerving that all of this was happening by itself. To calm herself down, she assured herself that ghost-characters were simply behind all of this, and they were currently all invisible.
For...some reason.
Well, it made her feel better at least. Taking a few more steps in, she scanned the interior of the restaurant with a small frown. "Cat?" She had never gone so long without seeing the dreamer. She learned new things from every experience.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:10 am
"A cat?" Came an alarmed voice, almost immediately after she had spoken. It was high pitched, moreso then usual, but had she ever heard him speak, she would know it was Cat's voice.
"What's that?" Came another.
"Who's the dear~?" Another, "Not in here!" And another, voices calling to chime in from every corner of the room. Every single one was his voice, higher or lower in pitch for each new speaker, some more nasal, others smooth and silky, but very clearly all the same person. He did have a distinctly odd voice; accented and airy, with precise pronunciation on every word. It was hard to mistake.
"No cats here! No cats here!" A chorus of voices shouted from-
Well, it came from the direction of the dinner tables, but whether it was the diners or something else entirely wasn't exactly obvious.
Were they singing along to the music that the instruments continued to play...?
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:53 am
Xiu immediately jumped in shock at the sudden voices. This was followed by another, and then more, but...just where was that voice coming from? Just like with everything else, while she could clearly hear the voices that piped up one after another, she couldn't see who was speaking.
In this case, however, she didn't have to see them to know to whom she was talking to. While each voice had their own little quirks and differences, the underlying base was the same. Not only that, but taking into account the rule of her dream diving? There was only one person who would be able to hear her. Assuming these voices hadn't gotten lucky, then they most certainly were responding to her.
"If you're not Cat, then who are you?" Xiu called out, deciding to play along. She had managed to pinpoint the voices as coming from the general direction of the tables, and so she decided to weave through them in search of the source. "Where are you?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:54 am
"She must be blind!"
"Blind as a bat!"
"A cat??"
"Worse then that!" As the voices sung out, they called from different places then the first time, in slightly different tones. Purposely or otherwise, they demonstrated just how many of the voices belonged to Cat. That was, all of them.
"Nothing is worse then that, you see," This voice was darker then the others, and came from the direction of the bar. In the shadows against the far wall sat a figure who hadn't been there before. He clutched a glass in his hand, as an unlabelled bottle poured itself into it for him. "Because The Cat, that is me." He turned his dark face to Xiu, flashing a white smile at her through the shadows.
This was half of a lie, which the other voices in the room immediately corrected "And me!"
"Me too!"
"All of us!"
"Me, me!" The indignation had now caused the people, objects, to begin jumping and wriggling about. Everything from the tables and chairs, to knives and forks, the instruments in the 'band', the bottles behind the bar and even the microphone up on the stage.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:33 pm
Eyes widening, Xiu jerked her head in whichever direction the different voices sounded from. Not that this seemed to help--wherever she looked, there was no one one in sight. Not until, one of them admitted to being Cat, that was. Her gaze automatically swerved towards the bar upon hearing him speak, and she spotted him--a dark figure with a bright smile--almost immediately.
"Oh, I was wondering where you wer--!" She had begun to take a few steps towards him, but immediately balked when everything suddenly began to animate. Backing away, the Baku slowly held her hands up in front of her, looking a little nervous.
"A-alright, I...I understand. P-please settle down, Cat. Um...all of you." So far, this dream was not a terrifying one--she supposed that it wouldn't classify as a nightmare--but it was certainly...strange. Very strange indeed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:05 am
Far from settling down, the now animated objects began to crowd in, jostling and pushing closer and closer to Xiu, hoarding around behind her as though purposely trying to direct her towards the bar. Heedless, of course, of the fact that she had already been trying to head in that direction before they got worked up.
They were not singing anymore, instead starting up with indiscernible excited chatter as they cluttered and blocked the exit.
"Come on, now," The figure at the bar knocked his glass on the table a few times, and instantly the gathering hushed up. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't sound mad. No eyes were visible on his dark face, not even the usual glowing orbs on his waking self, nor did he even turn around, but the group quickly receded like scolded children back to their proper locations, and slowly the music that had stopped in the confusion started back up.
"Sorry 'bout that little missy. Come over and have your pretty self a seat, why don'cha~?" His voice held a distinctly more mature tone compared to the others in the room, though it was still definitely Cat's.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:55 am
The objects' attempt to get Xiu moving really did work. Like a dog herding a flock of sheep--though in this case, perhaps it was a flock of sheep herding the dog--the Baku hurried in the direction of the bar to avoid all the items that were closing in behind her. It came as a great relief when the figure managed to silence them, and she turned to watched as everything moved back into place. It was almost it like it never happened.
She jumped when the figure spoke again, and it took her a moment to realize that he was talking to her. Though she wasn't even sure that he could see her--did he have eyes, she wondered?--Xiu smiled and gave a polite bow of her head. "N-no, please, don't apologize," She waved a hand dismissively before moving closer and sliding onto one of the seats.
Pausing to glance back at all the objects again, the ghoul furrowed her brows thoughtfully. "Though...if I may ask," She ventured carefully, gesturing to the the objects in general, "What was...all that?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 6:26 am
The figure swirled his drink languidly, his smile utterly unmoving on his face. In the waking world, Cat smiled often, but his mouth did move quite a bit as well; his smile grew or shrank, appeared or faded, followed his mood like one expected a mouth to. This figure, however, possessed an unmoving mask-like face with which he stared blindly into his glass.
"Oh, they get excited when they have company. You know how it is." His voice was as smooth as ever, even through his dark, stone-still face. There was a slight pause, he stopped moving completely for a beat, then began swirling his drink in the opposite direction. "We're all him, of course. Some of 'em don't know it. But we're all one in the same, in here."
He turned his face to her sightlessly, nothing but flat black shadow where Cat's bright orb-like eyes usually were.
"Except for you." There was another pause, much longer then the last, as he stared straight through her. Slowly, like stone grating on stone, he turned his face back to it's original position. He didn't seem mad at her, after all he had invited her in. But he didn't seem to have any other opinion, either.
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