[For Lystra]"Islands and cities I have looked Here I saw "

[aperion_oneiros]

The day after Easter, Cobb is back to work, setting up the PASIV device on a table in a corner of the main room, putting in a flask of Somnacin, priming it, and preparing for a run with a potential new student. On another table is a model of a somewhat rambling castle, made from artist's foam board, burlap, slips of wood and a dozen other things he

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[ofsandandstone]

Lystra appears in the doorway, looking excited and a bit shy at the same time. "Cobb?"

[aperion_oneiros]

He looks up from priming the pumps in the PASIV. "Hey, hello there, Lystra," he says, smiling. "I'm almost ready here, just gotta finish preparing the, ah, potion I use."

[ofsandandstone]

Lystra's eyes widen a little and she looks curious. "You make potions?"

[aperion_oneiros]

"I'm not an expert at it, but the cupboard in the kitchen has been kind enough to give it to me when I need it and I ask for it politely," he says, drawing a reclining chair. "Here, make yourself comfortable," he says, patting the cushions on it.

[ofsandandstone]

Lystra walks in and sits, peering over at what Cobb's doing, looking curious and the slightest bit nervous. "What is it?"

[aperion_oneiros]

"We call it a PASIV device: this little tube," -- he holds up one of the cannulas -- "delivers the potion, what we call Somnacin, into your skin through a tiny hollow needle. It'll hurt a little when I put it in, but you get used to it. Plus, you'll fall asleep pretty quickly, once your skin absorbs the Somnacin."

[ofsandandstone]

Lystra looks nervous. "A needle?"

[aperion_oneiros]

"It's not as bad as it sounds, trust me," he says, reassuringly. "I do this all the time," he adds, pushing up a sleeve and showing the healing recent track marks there.

[ofsandandstone]

Lystra's eyes are still wide, but while she gets nervous easily, she's brave, too.

"What do I have to do?"

[aperion_oneiros]

"Well, first, just sit yourself down here," he says, patting the seat of one of the two reclining chairs flanking the small table on which the PASIV stands. "I'll tape the tube into your arm, and once I do that, you just lay back and relax. The potion will help you fall asleep quickly, and next thing you know, you'll be dreaming of a castle I designed. Once I get myself ready, I'll be right there with you."

[ofsandandstone]

Lystra sits, then, still looking nervous, but there's a brave sort of determination in her face, too.

[aperion_oneiros]

Typist willing, he leans in and gently swabs the inside of Lystra's arm, using the tip of his thumb to raise the vein in the hollow of her elbow, then he'll take up the catheter, gently inserting the canula into her vein.

"Okay, you're ready to go: You just lie back, relax and close your eyes; I'll see you in a bit," he says, sitting down in the other chair across the small table from hers and prepping his own arm.

[ofsandandstone]

It does sting a little, but she finds that Cobb was right: it really isn't that bad.

She does exactly as he tells her, and gradually drifts off to sleep...

[aperion_oneiros]

Once she settles down, he quickly preps himself and sits back on the other reclining chair, reaching over to press the red 'on' button to activate the device. Within seconds, he'll drift off, the Somnacin taking hold...

..."Hope the decor is to your liking: it's a design I've been working on for some weeks now, trying to get it just right," she'll hear him speaking.

And when she looks around, she'll find herself standing in a dusty courtyard of a vast and somewhat sprawling castle with a heavy, somewhat ponderous look to the walls and towers about them, one large tower in particular rearing up to the clouds like a finger pointing at the heavens.

[ofsandandstone]

Judging by the look of absolute wonder in her eyes, she does like it.

"Are we really asleep?" she asks, her voice a bit hushed.

[aperion_oneiros]

He'll step into her range of sight, clad in a vaguely medieval copper-colored silk doublet over a loose, linen shirt. "It is: don't hesitate to look around; it's still unfolding, but it's a bit of a work in progress. Want to see it?" He'll offer his arm, politely.