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 Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:16 am
December could still smell the awful scent of flesh burning and turning to ash in the dreams of the night his siblings were murdered. He stood there right outside the front door knowing that there was no saving them and wept silently for reasons he wasn't even sure of. With all the things they had done to him, the people they betrayed, the lives they had ruined, the General who had ordered their deaths was right. They were rotten, beyond forgiveness... But they were still his family, and this was still his home, so he mourned for them for a long while.
Perhaps it didn't help that while he was forced into the Negaverse by being given the choice to join or die along side them. He dreamed of that at times, his General's face morphed into a many eyed, dripping and ravenous creature with hands extended like claws ready to pierce his flesh with that cursed energy he offered. Had he not taken the hand, his companion, a vicious woman who looked just like December with with a jaw that oozed out blood and saliva, muttering over and over that he was useless and she'd still his soul the moment she got a chance.
Sleeping became terrifying. Every night he was plagued by his nightmares, waking up only to see that he was still in fact in the Barracks and his neighbor shouting at him to shut up with his incessant whining and sobs. There was nothing comforting about any of this, and even if his home had been a horrid place on it's own, at least it was safe there. For a long while he tried to avoid sleeping, running on drained energy alone until his body just couldn't take it anymore and he passed out on his cot.
The nightmares came again, of course, this time with him so close to the flames that he could feel them licking at his cheeks, almost burning his bare skin. That smell... It filled his lungs and he began to choke, grasping at his throat as he fell to his knees. His legs wouldn't move, and the flames crept closer and closer, reaching out like long tendrils, wrapping around his ankles and dragging him in. He screamed within that dream, fighting so hard as the flames pulled him into the blazing house and every inch of his body burned and fizzled away.
Yet he did not wake from this dream. When the pain stopped and his sobbing subsided enough to allow him to catch his breath, he opened his eyes to find a lush and warm jungle surrounding him on all sides. It was entirely different from the burning horror he had faced before, but he was still in panic mode, and scrambled backwards, pressing his back up against the thick trunk of some sort of tree.
There was something out there, rustling the leaves right beyond his reach and honestly... As scary as it was, he just accepted it. He'd rather be eaten alive than burned like that again.
"I-If you're going to eat me, I'm sorry if I taste burnt... There... There was so much fire everywhere!"
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:11 am
"You are far too raw for my tastes," Leopard's Eye wasn't sure if he was offended or pleased that this child's first response to him had been to fear that he would be dinner. The jungle cat circled around the boy once, sniffing noisily at December as if putting on a show of it. "Definitely not cooked enough," he added as an after thought. He nosed at the boy's arms, as if giving him a sufficient check over for any actual burns. If he burned, it was not in this place he thought to himself. No, those who entered his dreams did not burn. So either it had happened somewhere else...or something dark was stepping onto his domain. Something he'd definitely have to check. "There will be fire here, but it will not burn you," he assured, though still prickly about his unexpected visitor. He'd certainly been having a lot of those as of late. Hmmm. Maybe he'd have to ask Quail or Seal about that. Had they been seeing more faces than usual lately? Once assured that this boy wasn't a threat - or actually burned - he began to make his way back up the molten rocks of the volcano, up towards where the flows pooled and he had once declared he was the Eye of Sauron. Funny, why couldn't he place why he'd made that joke now? Had it been a joke? There was something just outside of his memory he couldn't place anymore.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:42 am
When the leopard came out from the underbrush and began to circle him, December froze up again, eyes squeezing shut all the more tighter. Sure, he said he was too raw, but if someone was hungry enough, what would keep them from killing him and then cooking him later. Wait, how could a leopard cook things...? It didn't make sense, but then again he supposed the leopard talking wasn't exactly normal either.
At the nudge, he opened his eyes, finally taking in what was around him, and relaxing just a bit. Yes, he was still scared but this big ol' cat didn't seem like he was about eat him. Lick him, maybe, not not eat.
Right as December was about to reach out and pet the Leopard, he moved away, heading back up the volcano, leaving December sitting there, disappointed. Well, there was no reason why he shouldn't start following him, so he did, brushing off the dirt from his pants.
"Fire that won't burn... Thank you... I'd rather not be set on fire today..." Or ever, but that was neither here nor there. "What is this place? And... Who are you, if it's okay to ask? I'm December. Yeah... That's my name. Like the month." Normally he's be bouncing all over, excited to meet someone new, even more so a talking big cat, but right now, he was a bundle of nerves, his last dream still feeling all too real and scary for him.
The leopard was right though, nothing burned him as he followed in his footsteps up the mountain further. Good... Good. Did that mean none of this was real?
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:06 am
"I am the Guardian of Dreams of Fire," Leopard's Eye danced around giving an actual name, "And this is my domain." Fire danced around his paws as he walked, licking against spotted fur before flickering away from him. This was another visitor into his domain in what felt like less than the span of the boy's name. Why were so many falling into Elysion now after so many years? "Do you want to leave?" he sounded almost too eager on the idea of throwing the boy out - December still seemed nervous to him, despite his eager social draw. Not that ones who dreamed of fire usually dreamed of pleasant things.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 6:47 am
'Dreams...?" From what December could remember of his dream was lots and lots of fire... So that would make sense that a Guardian of Dreams of Fire would find him. Did that mean the Leopard saved him from those flames? Even if he didn't, the young man decided to cling to that idea, after all it helped him to relax a bit more and actually take in the beauty of the place that surrounded him. Now that he wasn't concerned about actually being set on fire, he found himself enjoying the warmth around him, engulfing him like a warm blanket fresh out the dryer rather than a searing hot flame that wanted to burn him alive.
It was pleasant, for sure.
"No... I don't wanna leave yet. Um... Your domain is really nice... So much better than that dream from before. Fire, my house burning down, bodies... Smoke... Bleh, but you know about that right, since you're the Guardian of Dreams? Why did you pull me out of the dream then?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:34 pm
He continued to watch the young man as he busied himself up in some thought or other that Leopard's Eye couldn't place, his tail flicking lazily back and forth as he chose one of the heated rocks to lay upon. It was usually the same one, really. If one could have a favorite rock, it would be wise to choose the warmest one. When December opted instead to stay, he was...mildly disappointed to be playing host for a time longer, but when he knew the alternative, how could he fault the young man for choosing something fairer and kinder than the smell of cooking flesh and a struggle for air? "I am a Guardian, not a Lord. I do not control where you travel to and from. You pulled yourself from it and now you are here."
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 4:10 pm
Once the Leopard sat down, December followed suit, finding a rock that was warm and cozy nearby and curling up on it, laying on his back to look up at the sky. Warm was too bland of a word to describe the comfort he found in this place, and in the company of a friendly (maybe?) face.
"So... I saved myself from that dream by finding my way here. So does that mean when I leave here, I'll wake up? If you won't send me away right now, then... I'm glad. I don't think anyone or anything is really waiting for me to wake up..." Such a sad thought seemed much more easily said in this place. Maybe because he knew this was a dream, thus no one would remember what he said.
Then again, if this place was more than that, and he came back here again, it would be horrible to let his burdens out to a stranger he didn't even know.
"You're a guardian... What exactly do you protect?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:33 pm
His tail flicked a few times as the young man settled into his spot, attention sharp and focused. There would be no relaxing with company. Even agreeable company. Not until he had a better idea of what they wanted, perhaps. Maybe not even then. "I'll wake you when it is time to be awoken or if you cause trouble," Leopard stated impassively. Less like a favor and more like that was simply the protocol of it all. There were no personal feelings to be had about what the waking world held for this child - boy - man, whatever December considered himself, truly. "There is always something waiting. Unless you are saying there is nothing you want to wake to and see again?" There was no reason to stay in Elysion for long, after all. He thumped his tail once at December's question. "This place. From invaders. It has happened before." but never again. This was his home and anybody, senshi or soldier, was going to be hard pressed to take an unwanted step in it.
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