Welcome to Gaia! ::

The days were getting longer, the sun staying out to greet the world with a warm smile in a stretch of more than ten hours each day. It gave Granny's shop an extra warmth and vibrancy as she went about her shop, cleaning up after finishing a series of catchers and also making some notes to herself for later. Her mind was drifting to another time and place as she worked, the door left open for anyone passing by to step inside. Today, the shop smelled of vanilla and spice from some homemade concoction she had on a hotplate, bringing back memories as the shop faded into the backdrop.

How long had she been doing this now? How many years - how many decades? And there was never a shortage of Dreamers. She expected more yet to come, but how soon was anyone's guess.

The sound of a voice pulled Granny back from her thoughts, disrupting the revelation she had begun to understand so that she could be pulled back into the present. To a place where she was needed. Smiling faintly, the odl woman set her work aside and nodded, her smile warming at the sight of a young she had met not long ago. He, like many others, had found themselves caught up in the web of dreams and nightmares.

“Hello, Darien. How are you?” Her voice was warm and soothing, like honey on a sore throat. There was much about Granny that seemed that way; warm and stable. But that wasn't always the case, though Darien had yet to see it.

Granny's focus was on Darien as he spoke, noticing how uncomfortable he seemed as he admitted that his dreams were still causing him problems. The fact that Reves were dangerous beings was not something many considered. Of course, Nightmares were beings who thrived on dark emotions and situations, but that didn't mean they were evil. Some were more peaceful and benevolent than Reve spirits she had come across. The danger with the positive-based spirits was that you were drained anyway and usually felt emotionally well over it even when your body needed sleep. Seeing the young man as he was, Granny could see such a fate for him if he wasn't able to find help.

Of course, that's what she was there for.

“I may be able to, yes. Would you like to take a seat? This may take a while” Granny waited for the young man to make his decision before continuing with any detail. “There are reasons your dreams are so intense and draining, Darien.”

Though he was legally an adult, Darien's expression had the innocent plea of a child – or the desperation of a grown man who didn't want to dwell on the darker possibilities of his ailment. She gave him a warm and reasurring smile, holding her hand out to him.

“You are correct, Darien. Something else -is- at play.” For a moment, her smile brightened, a sadness creating shadows in her eyes. The mixed impressions seemed disjointed as she continued. “They're called Oneiroi. Dream spirits, if you will. They feed off of a person's dreams or nightmares, attracted to the strong emotions found within.

“Would you let me see your dream catcher, please?”

“That's right. They've been around for as long as mankind has dreamed, and will probably live for just as long if not more.” Granny's smile turned sympathetic as she watched Darien handle the catcher as if it were made of glass. The coloring might make it seem that way, but she sensed a sense of awe about the young man as he handled her gift to him. Just as careful, she lifted a hand and took the catcher from him with an encouraging, her eyes brightening as she caught a sense of the spirit that had been caught.

“You're going to have quite the adventure with this companion of yours, I think,” she mused, carefully touching one of the pale feathers that glistened like an early spring morning. Laying the catcher out on the desk, she pulled out her sewing scissors and lay them aside before opening a drawer and pulling out a few beads that matched the catcher's colors.

“They need our dreams to survive and grow strong. In time, the fatigue you feel now will be gone and your energy replaced; they need you and your dreams to live. So in a way, you are surviving two, or perhaps a person and a half.”

“A person, to be precise.” Granny's correction was gentle but firm. She knew Dreamers came to her with next to no knowledge about their situation. In fact, it was most often that they knew nothing at all. But it was important for Darien to understand that what he shared his dream with was more than a 'thing.' Thinking about it caused the woman's lips to roll into a line of distaste as she continued her work, laying out several beads and adjusting them before crouching down with a grimace to retrieve something from the bottom drawer of the desk.

“What you must do, Darien, is dream. Dream your dreams and live your life. Your Oneiroi companion will learn of life in the waking world from you and those around you. Her voice was clear, as was the thin thread of pain that wove through her words. Accompanying her explanation was the occasion rustle and soft c***k of metal touching glass. Then, after perhaps another minute, Granny straightened and lay a small promise ring on the table. Her demeanor had returned to its typical warm and welcoming aura, and her smile was evident once more.

“Many Dreamers have wondered the same thing,” she told him with a shake of her head. “I am not sure any one person will ever have the answer, but I do know one thing. Your Oneiroi chose you because of your dream and the emotion within it. Whatever other reason there is beyond that is entirely their own.”

“It's a dramatic change from what most are used to,” Granny agreed as Darien began to piece together his understanding of the situation. She was weaving the catcher anew, adjusting beads along the fresh cord as the familiar web pattern began to take form and grow. “Most never know Oneiroi even exist.” Her head bobbed in the habitual nod at his questions. Granny liked questions; it meant people wanted to learn about those who existed in their dreams and, one day, maybe even their waking lives.

“You are correct. You live your life, Darien, as you must. There's no special trick or magical charm that is going to make the process easier to go through or understand. It is something you will learn and bot of you will adjust to in time.”

"It will become clearer in time." Her assurance was confident as granny watched Darien's expression shift along with his thoughts.

"You most certainly may come see me whenever you wish, even if it's not just for questions." As she continued the weave, Granny reached out and wound the cord through the band of the ring, eventually knotting the cord and cutting away the excess. With a gentle tug to tighten the weave and ensure the knot would stay, she handed the catcher back to the young man.

"There is much that you won't understand until it happens, but when it does, I think you will find you are able to understand more than you give yourself credit for."