(Untitled)

[liveontoday]

At first, she had been confused, even a bit frightened. The last thing she truly remembered was falling finally into that deep sleep against Kai's shoulder. She had finally given up, had stopped fighting the sensation and had relaxed against him with the memories of blue water and her family burning within

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[auncyenhalig]

Her dreams of the outside world had never been so vivid before that night. Aerith still isn't sure what to make of it. Is it because she stepped outside the city that day? Even if she didn't see much, perhaps the act itself had opened her up the world. Maybe the world would not let her go and live simply in the city again. The thought scares her, thrills her. Her entire life is in the city, but she has always known she has no future there.

So she explores these visions of a world without steel or mako. The beach is a place she explores with searching eyes and fingers curling through the sand, lifting it into both hands and feeling its coolness as the grains slowly trickle back out into the evening breeze. Her boots are already removed, forgotten.

... She wants to swim. The thought has her looking around discreetly before she sees the colorful little shack -- something she hadn't spotted before. For the moment, she drops the sand and puts her idea of a dip aside to approach the sillhouette against the lights.

"Hello!"

[liveontoday]

There's a start of surprise from that sillhouette at the sound of another voice. She had peeked into other dreams but never truly entered them and for the last few days had been too busy building on this plain little place to do even that. How long had it been since she spoke with another person?

After a moment, she can see Aerith more clearly against the sun setting far out over the ocean and a smile she had almost forgotten how to use tugs at lips. How the other had managed to land in her dream, Saya couldn't say. But that was no reason to ignore her.

"Hello." She spots Aerith's bare feet only because her own are bare as well and she seems destined to check if others are as well. "Enjoying the beach?"

[auncyenhalig]

"It's beautiful." Aerith says it warmly and sincerely, her voice rather emotional for a simple beach excursion. "Tell me, do you come here often?

[liveontoday]

"Oh, well..."

How did she explain it? For a moment, Saya is silent. She decides after a brief bit of consideration that even if the other woman seems to think she's not altogether right in the head, it's better to be honest.

"This is my dream. I guess you could say I live here."

[auncyenhalig]

Aerith has realized she was dreaming before, so it doesn't sound so strange to her ... but she had thought this was a dream of a memory, that's all. The way the woman says she lives here makes something sound strange.

"But you don't live in the dream, right? Eventually you've got to wake up," she says, leaning forward and clasping her hands behind her back as she looks up at Saya.

[liveontoday]

It's a faint smile that rises upon Saya's lips.

"Most people do, yes. And I will too eventually, but not for a long time."

Her smile brightens there, even if it is a touch sad. She had fought to stay awake as best as she could but it wasn't to be.

"So until then, this is my home."

[auncyenhalig]

Aerith's mouth falls into a slight expression of surprise. So this woman couldn't wake up ... had she been in an accident, was she sick?

However, she's still smiling, showing an amazing amount of grace ... Aerith smiles back. She feels some admiration for this woman already.

"Then, I hope you don't mind me being in your home." The flower girl could be plenty nosy, but she had a healthy respect for the idea of shelter, sanctuary. She didn't like people barging into her church and thought the same courtesy would probably hold for a dream when it became a home. "I should introduce myself. My name is Aerith Gainsborough."