--- (dream)

[absinthe_eyed]

[A dream pops into being-not dramatically, but quietly. Hesitantly, almost. The surroundings are vague and indistinct; they’re irrelevant. The ground is solid enough to walk on, but it feels unstable as if it might tilt away at any moment. Justin is present, staring at the featureless walls, barely there himself. He appears to flicker like an

Comments

[dreamsofnoah]

[She'd been watching, watching, so used to watching dreams. It was even better when she didn't have to be the one to drag them up from a person's subconscious. Dreams said so much about the person having them.

She waited until it was over, knowing he wouldn't hear her giggles as golden eyes took everything in.] Such a child, Justin. Suicide? Crime? Relentless fire? [a scream of laughter]

So you still remember~ our game. [said in a whisper, hushed, finger held up to her lips] We had fun that time, didn't we, Justin?

[absinthe_eyed]

[Unfortunately for Road, Richard is about as solid as an image on a projector screen. He vanishes--instantly, almost like a light being turned off--as her hand passes through his face. Justin makes a half-hearted attempt at getting away from Road.]

I don't know. You know more about dreams than I do.

[dreamsofnoah]

Pfft, your dreams aren't anywhere as good as mine.

[She pats him on the head though.]

Using someone else to chase me off?

[absinthe_eyed]

They're less colorful.

[Justin doesn't approve. Something resembling anger--just a tiny, needling little emotion, but something that could grow into something ugly--darkens the dreamscape. He makes a conscious effort to keep Road from goading him into doing something regrettable.]

I can't chase you off myself. It was worth a try.

[dreamsofnoah]

They're less real.

[She notices the shift in the dreamscape of course, but doesn't comment on it, her grin widening.]

If you can't chase me off, what makes you think that anything you dream up can?

[absinthe_eyed]

I don't have the control that you do.

[He's going to try, however. She all but issued a challenge, and Justin doesn't like to leave challenges be.]

Wait.

[It takes some concentration, but the dream changes. The broken balcony on the bluff swirls into existence, details sharp and distinct. Justin is on the intact side of the balcony closest to the building, holding on to the railing as the creaking structure battles gravity. The place where Road was is nothing but splintered wood--swinging beams over jagged rocks. If Justin had any control over Road, she would be dangling from the ruined balcony, moments away from joining Richard's body below. As it is, he has no control over her and only minimal control over his dream.]

[dreamsofnoah]

I know~.

[She's teasing rather than challenging, but is rather amused that he actually managed to exert even a small amount of control over his dream.

Any other person might have gone right over the edge, but unfortunately for Justin, Road is Dreams. She's sitting in the air just by him, swinging her legs (yes, again).]

So that's what happened to him.

[absinthe_eyed]

How many dreams have you been in?

[He's dismayed by Road's lack of falling; that would have been satisfying, even if it wouldn't have done any real harm to her. The balcony jerks, slipping towards the ocean.]

Mm. The cop almost fell, too.

[dreamsofnoah]

A few~.

[She hasn't actually been keeping count. And she'd hate to give him that kind of satisfaction.]

You should have pushed her over~. That might have helped.

[absinthe_eyed]

[He nods. It's not as if he really expected an answer from Road.]

Maybe. She wouldn't have been able to testify against me.

[At the time, however, he had been arrogant enough to think that he could continue fooling her. She had acted so sympathetic, embracing the notion that Richard was the murderer at every turn. Justin fingers a gun that hadn't been in his hand a moment ago, thinking.]

Can anything kill you, Road?

[dreamsofnoah]

See? It would have been much better.

[She doesn't even bother looking at the gun, and her mouth forms a smile at the question, something quite confident and self-assured and not quite like her usual grins. Something not quite human.]

Nope~.

[absinthe_eyed]

Not necessarily. Richard's parents had a good lawyer.

[He hates that smile. It generally means that something he won't like is about to happen.]

That's what I thought.

[If being cut in half won't do it, it stands to reason that killing Road would be difficult. Justin doubts his ability to do it, anyway; Road might be a murderer and a nightmare, but she's important to him for reasons he can't quite discern.]

...Do you know how my dreams usually end, Road?

[dreamsofnoah]

And they wanted revenge for their poor innocent son?

[Just satisfaction at technically being immortal in this case.]

You die? Alone in prison?

[absinthe_eyed]

Exactly. Poor, martyred Richard.

[Justin is very good at hating and not hating people at the same time. Hence his continued relationship with Road.]

No. I usually jump and wake up before I hit.

[dreamsofnoah]

Oh...

[Looking rather disappointed.]

That's boring.

[But then she brightens up.]

So you'll wake up if I throw you over?

[absinthe_eyed]

It is.

[He doesn't approve of Road's idea.]

Maybe. Would you wake up if I pulled you over with me?