(Untitled)

[spice_oflife]

A young woman, currently comfortably clad in street wear is standing here, cheerily waving.

"Hi, everyone! So, I'm Paprika, and I'm interested in dreams! Have you had any interesting ones lately? Chased by sharks? Shown up for a big test without any clothes? C'mon, tell me about it!"

Comments

[lambwolfandman]

"I'm Alistair," a young man introduces himself with a generous bow, his smile only flickering as he thinks.

"I always have one where someone tells me my magic is gone. Or just when I need it, I can't use my magic," Alistair recounts with a frown. He hates those dreams. They're more annoying than anything. Making him wake up in a panic.

He brightens up and smiles cheerfully again. "But the last dream I can remember was about helping people shop... And at some point the people turned into trolls and didn't seem to notice... And I'm pretty sure we were being followed by someone... It was fairly mundane."

[spice_oflife]

"Magic, huh?" Suddenly, there's a small explosion of confetti in the air; Paprika's dressed in a top hat and cape, holding a white dove in her hand. "Are you a magician by trade?"

She laughs. "And it's mundane for people to turn into trolls? I'd say most people would think that's a pretty scary situation."

[lambwolfandman]

He jumps but then laughs at the mini-explosion and watches the dove keenly (and may end up cooing at it eventually). "I was taught that 'magician' was the name given to a man who uses illusions to feign magical ability. But I am a mage, yes!"

"Well, with dreams far scarier things can happen, can't they? I mean, it's not normal in reality for people to turn into trolls, but in a dream it's a bit different. Like getting chased around a city and then facing a tsunami, that's a scary situation. Hopeless situations are scary. But when the trolls are asking you which loaf of bread looks best..." He shrugs. "Not as worrying."

[spice_oflife]

She claps her hands together in excitement, sending the dove fluttering over towards Alastair and seeking to land on his shoulder. "Well, you'll have to show me your spells sometime, yes?"

"That's true," she muses. "The other day I had a dream that I was a baton-twirler at a parade -- I was terrified of dropping my baton! But then a winged lion came over and told me that I shouldn't worry, since I'd practiced the entire week to get it right."

"So," she says, holding up a single finger, as if to make a point. "What's so scary about not being able to do magic? Afraid you can't get another gig?"

[dark_eyed_fae]

There's a lanky college student wandering over. Of course, to the right eyes, said college student might look quite interesting indeed - rather as if someone had taken an ordinary one and wrapped him in a killer whale's skin.

He leans against the back of the chair comfortably, though there's something searching about his gaze. "Oh, I've had a few interesting dreams. Those both sound like the kind of nightmares I'd have, honestly." He grins a little. "Call me Davey."

((OOC: I figure Paprika's dream-ish enough she can probably see what Davey actually looks like. He's a changeling, and, uh, they dreamwalk, so yeah, I thought I'd toss him over here.))

gotcha!

[spice_oflife]

"Hello, Davey!" Paprika says cheerfully. How odd; usually people appeared in these dreams as they did in real life. Unless, of course, Davey actually did look like a man in an orca's skin.

"I think they're all interesting -- even the ones about work. Although when I get one of those, I admit I feel a little cheated. I spent all day there already; I should get overtime, don't you think?"

[dark_eyed_fae]

Davey laughed. "I know what you mean. Doesn't seem fair, honestly, spending all night at class or at work, too."

He has to admit, he's slightly mystified by the fact that she seems to be a perfectly normal human. He supposes it's possible she really is just interested in dreams, but in a place like the nexus that almost seems anticlimactic.

[spice_oflife]

"Right? You should have a talk with my boss. Maybe he'd listen to the both of us."

All of a sudden, she's holding a large magnifying glass, peering through it at him; as it obstructs her face, a familiar houndstooth jacket and hat appear, worn on top of her existing clothes. "So tell me, Davey, do you like animals?"

[tastes_of_honey]

In a dream that was getting really unpleasant really quickly, I found myself with a TV remote in my hand, and if I could just press the off button I knew the dream would end. My finger kept fumbling it as the guy came closer and closer. I finally pressed it down... and woke up.

If only it were always that easy.

[spice_oflife]

"Hmm..." Paprika strokes her chin, thoughtfully. "Well, the obvious thing to point out there is that your dream was all about control -- control of your dreams, control of your hand, the control that man had over your environment and your fear. Is your job an unpleasant one?"

[tastes_of_honey]

Sometimes. I'm a bodyguard. ::Who also does assassinations and espionage when the job demands them.:: I actually prefer the action parts to the waiting to see if someone tries to attack. Sometimes it's dangerous and things go out of control.