Dream Walking in Deserts
This fic was inspired by the movie Inception, and my own road trip from Austin, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. So get ready for a heaping dose of dreams and deserts.
There will be three chapters for this. The second chapter is nearly finished now, so you won't have to wait long. I really hope you all enjoy this.
X x x x x x x x x
Dream Walking
x x x x x x x x x x x
Where do you go when you sleep, little brother? You sleep so deeply, like the dead. I can never wake you. You say you go to the place where the land bucks and crumbles against the sky so blue it hurts your eyes. You say the lightning flashes like tongues of fire in the warm rain , filling bone dry gullies. I wish I could follow you there. It sounds magical.
“Take my hand.” Regulus, you're like Peter Pan, teaching Wendy how to fly. You pull me into bed and lay your head on my chest and tell me to go to sleep. You promise to take me anywhere. You promise to show me the world. You promise me that I'll love it.
“What is this place?” Sirius asked. The sun beat down on them, burning above the far off clouds, pulling sweat from their skin. The earth was a dull brown, dotted with scraggly desert plants, close to the ground with small leaves and spiny bark. The cactus, some flat and low, others tall and skinny, but all equally mean looking, were past blooming for the year, their coveted fruits still berry purple hidden in nests of thorns. Far off storm clouds rolled among the mountain peaks.
“The Davis Mountains.” Regulus replied. “In West Texas, America. There's a storm coming.” He looked at peace, his eyes the far off color of the sky.
“This is a dream?” Sirius knew it was. If he concentrated, he could feel the slightest hint of his brother's bedsheets on his bare arms, but it felt too real.
“This is my dream space, yes.” Regulus said and sat on a dusty boulder.
“It's beautiful.” They fell into silence. They hadn't spoken much in the last few months, avoiding each other at school. Sirius didn't want his friends to see his little brother, a perfect little pure blood, with his short hair and solemn eyes. Regulus didn't want his friends to see his older brother, a rebel and a blood traitor, long hair to his shoulders.
They avoided each other at home. No one talked to each other at home anymore. They used to be close. They used to curl up in bed together and whisper fairy tales to each other in the dark.
“We fell apart because of school, didn't we?” Sirius sighed, sitting next to Regulus. At 16, Sirius found himself falling into somber moods often. “Like our tensions at home got all mixed up in the Slytherin and Gryffindor thing...” He muttered. “We always fight. Grades, Quidditch, pranks. Everything is a competition between us.”
Sirius turned when he heard the rattle. A boulder,a few yards away, melted into a rattle snake. Huge, nearly 6 feet long, it was poised to strike. It wiped to life out of the rock, venom dripping its fangs. A growl erupted from behind them. A cougar, a mountain lion the size of a tiger, snarled past them at the snake.
“Sirius.” Regulus sighed. “Please be careful not to manipulate the dream.” He said. “The dream space is very open to suggestion.” He didn't seem nearly as worried about the aggressive wildlife as Sirius was.
“You're saying the snake and the mountain cat are my fault?” Sirius said, inching closer to his calmer little brother.
“Yes.” Regulus said. “The cougar and the rattlesnake are the closest this habitat has to lions and serpents. By talking about the conflict between our houses, you've triggered the dream space into personifying it.” He sighed and stared at the two animals as the cougar leaped at the snake, pushing both over the cliff. “ Please refrain from doing that,” Regulus continued. “ The more you manipulate this reality without my, the dreamer's, consent, the less lucid the dream becomes. I could loose control. Anything could happen then.” He explained.
Sirius watched the animals fall and bit his lip. “Yikes, Reggie.”
Regulus laughed then. Sirius's heart fluttered. It had been years since he heard Regulus laugh openly. Regulus held out his hand to him. “Well, come on Sirius. Just...keep your mouth shut, and I'll show you around. The Davis Mountains is one of my favorites. Maybe if you're good, we can go to the Grand Canyon next.”
The Regulus in the dream world feels like a different person than the Regulus in the real world. You're so much happier in the dreams, like you aren't angry at me, like I never hurt you, like nothing ever hurts you. You point out all the plants, all the animals, all the clouds in your dreams. You show me the places you've read about, places you've seen pictures of, places you want to go some day. It's like you trust me again.
I feel like an addict. I sleep better when I'm curled up with you, off on your adventures. You can do anything. You can turn pebbles into butterflies in your palm, and fall into the sky like it's an ocean. You can even smile again. For the first time since I turned 11, I never want this summer to end.
Sirius's eyes fluttered open. The grass beneath him was rough and thin, but bright red and blue flowers bloomed around him like little sunbursts. “America again?” He asks.
“There's something romantic about the South West.” Regulus said next to him Sirius's rough fingers found him, curling around his soft hands. “Though this is central Texas. See? Indian Blankets and Blue Bonnets. Aren't they pretty?” His voice was dreamy and smooth, happy.
They laid in the sun together and Regulus made pictures in the clouds. He manipulated the dream space subtly, playing out old fairy tales in the cumulus above them. Sirius had learned not to speak. His words could shift the dream as well, away from Regulus. It weakened the control. Regulus told him that without control, he had nightmares. Sirius doesn't want to see what could scare his stoic little brother. Regulus isn't even afraid of their mother anymore. If Mother doesn't scare him, Sirius doesn't want to see what does.
“Vacation is nearly over.” Regulus said, the clouds blooming into flowers above them. Sirius sighed. He missed Remus. He missed James drooling over Lily. He even found himself missing Peter. But he couldn't see himself sneaking into the Slytherin common room to curl up with his little brother, even for their dreaming. It's a sad thought. Regulus can take him dreaming even if they aren't in the same bed, but it isn't the same. “I'll miss you too.” Regulus whispered, knowing his brother's thoughts.
In the real world, we still don't talk. It's hard at school. I want to go dream walking with you more, but you don't even look at me in the halls. How can I ask you if you won't talk to me?
I've told James about it. You should have seen his eyes Reg. He wants to try it too, over Christmas break. I'm selfish.
When you were young you would follow James around like a dog, begging for a bone. James taught you how to fly on a broom, how to climb trees. I love James. He's my best friend. But I don't want to share you with him again.
“This is amazing!” James explains, spinning around. They were in a cave. The dim light bounced off the dripping stones. James's voice carried through the cavern. Tiny soda straws, bubbly popcorn and huge think towers of rock glinted in the dark. “And you've never been here in person?” He asked.
“Just seen pictures of it.” Regulus said calmly. Sirius was sitting on a rock nearby, watching his brother beam under James's attention. “Our uncle gave us a book of glossy muggle photos of the National Parks of America last Christmas. It's a secret of course. And disgraceful to have in the house.” Sirius snorted at that. “But I liked the pictures of Carlsbad Caverns.”
Sirius watched them carefully. James had been so eager to try dream walking that he had put aside all his grudges against Regulus, from his Slytherin-ness to his way-too-good-for -a-third-year-at-Quidditch-ness. Regulus was acting like there had never been a grudge to begin with. He stared at James like he used to, when they were young, when James was still his hero. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring James here. Dream walking with Regulus had been their brother bonding thing. Once again James had found his way into the circle and, though it had been with Sirius's permission both times, it still felt like an invasion.
“It's bloody brilliant, Reg.” James nodded, rocking back and forth. “Let's explore!” He laughed and took off at a jog down the slippery stones.
Regulus turned, his face catching the light that emanated from the ground. He held out his hand to Sirius and smiled. “Come on, Sirius.” He said. “I can't leave you here and let James wander off. If I don't keep an eye on you both we could have mole people attacking for all I know.”
Sirius sighed and took Regulus's hand. The cave was amazing. The ceiling stretched up into the darkness, the cavern went on forever. The stone dripped into fairy tale castles and hobbit holes, little lakes with stone lily pads glittered under high off limestone chandeliers. The brothers kept their hands clasped together, with James Potter leading the expedition fearlessly.
He glanced over at Regulus. His eyes were a little glazed, staring around at everything happily. “Reggie?” Sirius whispered. “How did you learn to do this?”
Regulus looked at him and shrugged “I've always been able to have lucid dreams, where I know I'm dreaming and I can control it. Severus taught me the occlumency. And I just sort of...mixed them together. Lucid dreaming with passengers.”
“Snivilus?” James laughed from the rock above them. “I guess he's good for something after all.” James messed up his hair again and readjusted his glasses.
“Hard to believe we're in your bedroom at your parents place right now.” He said to Sirius. “This has to be the coolest magic ever. Thanks for letting me tag along.”
Sirius couldn't stay mad at James. If he had to loose Regulus to keep his best friend, he would keep James. The thought made him sad, but it was true.
I'm leaving, Regulus. I can't stand it here anymore. I'm dying, drowning. If father hits me one more time, I'm going to break. I can't even tell you in person. We only talk in the dreams now. I go to your room wordlessly, lay beside you and curl up on your chest, like you're the older brother. You look at me and shake your head, lay on your pillow and close your eyes. When we wake up, I'm gone, back to my room like it never happened.
How can I tell you I'm leaving?
The smell of seaweed was strong and heavy in the air. The waves were dark brown with sand, crashing over the seaweed spotted beach, sea gulls high above.
Regulus sat above the tide, building sand castles like he used to when they were children. Handful by handful he would layer slabs of the wet sand into dribble towers, simple, childish and yet compelling. Sirius closed his eyes.
“Where are we this time?” Sirius asked, his feet buried in the dirty sand. “This is a pretty pathetic little beach.”
“Port Aransas.,Texas. I like it. It looks much more natural than those pretty white beaches that all the spring break tourists go to. It feels real.” Regulus explained, placing a broken shell on top of his tallest dribble tower like a crown. “Why? Are you getting tired of the South West?”
Sirius shook his head and stared out at sea. “I dont think I could ever get tired of these dreams.” He sighed and laid on his back, up at the gray blue sky. “I wish we could stay here forever.” He muttered. “The waking world sucks.”
James had gone back to his parents house, writing him letter every day: telling him to run away, not to let his father hit him again, that things would be ok, that they already had the guest bedroom set up for him.
Regulus chuckled, rubbing his thumb over a soft spot in the sand, drawing a crab out of hiding. “In the waking world we have responsibilities.” He said.
Regulus shrugged and looked down at his feet nervously, his cheeks tinted red. “Sirius....do you think....James will want to dream walk with me again?” He asked.
Sirius closed his eyes. “I don't know Reg.” He said softly. I'm leaving tonight, he wanted to say. James told his parents about the bruises. They said I could live with them.
He looked over at Regulus, building his sand castles on a beach he'd only seen pictures of somewhere.
I'm a terrible person, Reggie. And a coward. I can't tell you I'm leaving, but this is the last night I'll spend in this house. James will be here soon on the Night Bus to take me away.
Regulus willed another wave to fill his small moat in the sand as he started another castle. Little sand fairies, born from his brother's imagination perched on the sandy spindles and watched as their city grew.
What ever happens in your dreams can't touch me anymore. I'll try to find you at school. I'll try to explain what happened. I don't want to give up the dreams, but I know I have to.
“Everything's falling apart.” Sirius whispered, too low to be heard.
I'm so selfish.
A wave crashed against the sand castles, knocking down the smaller ones. Regulus turned to stare at him, accusing.
Sorry.
Merry Christmas.
Chapter 3 is up [here]
Chapter 2 is up: [Here]
There will be three chapters for this. The second chapter is nearly finished now, so you won't have to wait long. I really hope you all enjoy this.
X x x x x x x x x
Dream Walking
x x x x x x x x x x x
Where do you go when you sleep, little brother? You sleep so deeply, like the dead. I can never wake you. You say you go to the place where the land bucks and crumbles against the sky so blue it hurts your eyes. You say the lightning flashes like tongues of fire in the warm rain , filling bone dry gullies. I wish I could follow you there. It sounds magical.
“Take my hand.” Regulus, you're like Peter Pan, teaching Wendy how to fly. You pull me into bed and lay your head on my chest and tell me to go to sleep. You promise to take me anywhere. You promise to show me the world. You promise me that I'll love it.
“What is this place?” Sirius asked. The sun beat down on them, burning above the far off clouds, pulling sweat from their skin. The earth was a dull brown, dotted with scraggly desert plants, close to the ground with small leaves and spiny bark. The cactus, some flat and low, others tall and skinny, but all equally mean looking, were past blooming for the year, their coveted fruits still berry purple hidden in nests of thorns. Far off storm clouds rolled among the mountain peaks.
“The Davis Mountains.” Regulus replied. “In West Texas, America. There's a storm coming.” He looked at peace, his eyes the far off color of the sky.
“This is a dream?” Sirius knew it was. If he concentrated, he could feel the slightest hint of his brother's bedsheets on his bare arms, but it felt too real.
“This is my dream space, yes.” Regulus said and sat on a dusty boulder.
“It's beautiful.” They fell into silence. They hadn't spoken much in the last few months, avoiding each other at school. Sirius didn't want his friends to see his little brother, a perfect little pure blood, with his short hair and solemn eyes. Regulus didn't want his friends to see his older brother, a rebel and a blood traitor, long hair to his shoulders.
They avoided each other at home. No one talked to each other at home anymore. They used to be close. They used to curl up in bed together and whisper fairy tales to each other in the dark.
“We fell apart because of school, didn't we?” Sirius sighed, sitting next to Regulus. At 16, Sirius found himself falling into somber moods often. “Like our tensions at home got all mixed up in the Slytherin and Gryffindor thing...” He muttered. “We always fight. Grades, Quidditch, pranks. Everything is a competition between us.”
Sirius turned when he heard the rattle. A boulder,a few yards away, melted into a rattle snake. Huge, nearly 6 feet long, it was poised to strike. It wiped to life out of the rock, venom dripping its fangs. A growl erupted from behind them. A cougar, a mountain lion the size of a tiger, snarled past them at the snake.
“Sirius.” Regulus sighed. “Please be careful not to manipulate the dream.” He said. “The dream space is very open to suggestion.” He didn't seem nearly as worried about the aggressive wildlife as Sirius was.
“You're saying the snake and the mountain cat are my fault?” Sirius said, inching closer to his calmer little brother.
“Yes.” Regulus said. “The cougar and the rattlesnake are the closest this habitat has to lions and serpents. By talking about the conflict between our houses, you've triggered the dream space into personifying it.” He sighed and stared at the two animals as the cougar leaped at the snake, pushing both over the cliff. “ Please refrain from doing that,” Regulus continued. “ The more you manipulate this reality without my, the dreamer's, consent, the less lucid the dream becomes. I could loose control. Anything could happen then.” He explained.
Sirius watched the animals fall and bit his lip. “Yikes, Reggie.”
Regulus laughed then. Sirius's heart fluttered. It had been years since he heard Regulus laugh openly. Regulus held out his hand to him. “Well, come on Sirius. Just...keep your mouth shut, and I'll show you around. The Davis Mountains is one of my favorites. Maybe if you're good, we can go to the Grand Canyon next.”
The Regulus in the dream world feels like a different person than the Regulus in the real world. You're so much happier in the dreams, like you aren't angry at me, like I never hurt you, like nothing ever hurts you. You point out all the plants, all the animals, all the clouds in your dreams. You show me the places you've read about, places you've seen pictures of, places you want to go some day. It's like you trust me again.
I feel like an addict. I sleep better when I'm curled up with you, off on your adventures. You can do anything. You can turn pebbles into butterflies in your palm, and fall into the sky like it's an ocean. You can even smile again. For the first time since I turned 11, I never want this summer to end.
Sirius's eyes fluttered open. The grass beneath him was rough and thin, but bright red and blue flowers bloomed around him like little sunbursts. “America again?” He asks.
“There's something romantic about the South West.” Regulus said next to him Sirius's rough fingers found him, curling around his soft hands. “Though this is central Texas. See? Indian Blankets and Blue Bonnets. Aren't they pretty?” His voice was dreamy and smooth, happy.
They laid in the sun together and Regulus made pictures in the clouds. He manipulated the dream space subtly, playing out old fairy tales in the cumulus above them. Sirius had learned not to speak. His words could shift the dream as well, away from Regulus. It weakened the control. Regulus told him that without control, he had nightmares. Sirius doesn't want to see what could scare his stoic little brother. Regulus isn't even afraid of their mother anymore. If Mother doesn't scare him, Sirius doesn't want to see what does.
“Vacation is nearly over.” Regulus said, the clouds blooming into flowers above them. Sirius sighed. He missed Remus. He missed James drooling over Lily. He even found himself missing Peter. But he couldn't see himself sneaking into the Slytherin common room to curl up with his little brother, even for their dreaming. It's a sad thought. Regulus can take him dreaming even if they aren't in the same bed, but it isn't the same. “I'll miss you too.” Regulus whispered, knowing his brother's thoughts.
In the real world, we still don't talk. It's hard at school. I want to go dream walking with you more, but you don't even look at me in the halls. How can I ask you if you won't talk to me?
I've told James about it. You should have seen his eyes Reg. He wants to try it too, over Christmas break. I'm selfish.
When you were young you would follow James around like a dog, begging for a bone. James taught you how to fly on a broom, how to climb trees. I love James. He's my best friend. But I don't want to share you with him again.
“This is amazing!” James explains, spinning around. They were in a cave. The dim light bounced off the dripping stones. James's voice carried through the cavern. Tiny soda straws, bubbly popcorn and huge think towers of rock glinted in the dark. “And you've never been here in person?” He asked.
“Just seen pictures of it.” Regulus said calmly. Sirius was sitting on a rock nearby, watching his brother beam under James's attention. “Our uncle gave us a book of glossy muggle photos of the National Parks of America last Christmas. It's a secret of course. And disgraceful to have in the house.” Sirius snorted at that. “But I liked the pictures of Carlsbad Caverns.”
Sirius watched them carefully. James had been so eager to try dream walking that he had put aside all his grudges against Regulus, from his Slytherin-ness to his way-too-good-for -a-third-year-at-Quidditch-ness. Regulus was acting like there had never been a grudge to begin with. He stared at James like he used to, when they were young, when James was still his hero. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring James here. Dream walking with Regulus had been their brother bonding thing. Once again James had found his way into the circle and, though it had been with Sirius's permission both times, it still felt like an invasion.
“It's bloody brilliant, Reg.” James nodded, rocking back and forth. “Let's explore!” He laughed and took off at a jog down the slippery stones.
Regulus turned, his face catching the light that emanated from the ground. He held out his hand to Sirius and smiled. “Come on, Sirius.” He said. “I can't leave you here and let James wander off. If I don't keep an eye on you both we could have mole people attacking for all I know.”
Sirius sighed and took Regulus's hand. The cave was amazing. The ceiling stretched up into the darkness, the cavern went on forever. The stone dripped into fairy tale castles and hobbit holes, little lakes with stone lily pads glittered under high off limestone chandeliers. The brothers kept their hands clasped together, with James Potter leading the expedition fearlessly.
He glanced over at Regulus. His eyes were a little glazed, staring around at everything happily. “Reggie?” Sirius whispered. “How did you learn to do this?”
Regulus looked at him and shrugged “I've always been able to have lucid dreams, where I know I'm dreaming and I can control it. Severus taught me the occlumency. And I just sort of...mixed them together. Lucid dreaming with passengers.”
“Snivilus?” James laughed from the rock above them. “I guess he's good for something after all.” James messed up his hair again and readjusted his glasses.
“Hard to believe we're in your bedroom at your parents place right now.” He said to Sirius. “This has to be the coolest magic ever. Thanks for letting me tag along.”
Sirius couldn't stay mad at James. If he had to loose Regulus to keep his best friend, he would keep James. The thought made him sad, but it was true.
I'm leaving, Regulus. I can't stand it here anymore. I'm dying, drowning. If father hits me one more time, I'm going to break. I can't even tell you in person. We only talk in the dreams now. I go to your room wordlessly, lay beside you and curl up on your chest, like you're the older brother. You look at me and shake your head, lay on your pillow and close your eyes. When we wake up, I'm gone, back to my room like it never happened.
How can I tell you I'm leaving?
The smell of seaweed was strong and heavy in the air. The waves were dark brown with sand, crashing over the seaweed spotted beach, sea gulls high above.
Regulus sat above the tide, building sand castles like he used to when they were children. Handful by handful he would layer slabs of the wet sand into dribble towers, simple, childish and yet compelling. Sirius closed his eyes.
“Where are we this time?” Sirius asked, his feet buried in the dirty sand. “This is a pretty pathetic little beach.”
“Port Aransas.,Texas. I like it. It looks much more natural than those pretty white beaches that all the spring break tourists go to. It feels real.” Regulus explained, placing a broken shell on top of his tallest dribble tower like a crown. “Why? Are you getting tired of the South West?”
Sirius shook his head and stared out at sea. “I dont think I could ever get tired of these dreams.” He sighed and laid on his back, up at the gray blue sky. “I wish we could stay here forever.” He muttered. “The waking world sucks.”
James had gone back to his parents house, writing him letter every day: telling him to run away, not to let his father hit him again, that things would be ok, that they already had the guest bedroom set up for him.
Regulus chuckled, rubbing his thumb over a soft spot in the sand, drawing a crab out of hiding. “In the waking world we have responsibilities.” He said.
Regulus shrugged and looked down at his feet nervously, his cheeks tinted red. “Sirius....do you think....James will want to dream walk with me again?” He asked.
Sirius closed his eyes. “I don't know Reg.” He said softly. I'm leaving tonight, he wanted to say. James told his parents about the bruises. They said I could live with them.
He looked over at Regulus, building his sand castles on a beach he'd only seen pictures of somewhere.
I'm a terrible person, Reggie. And a coward. I can't tell you I'm leaving, but this is the last night I'll spend in this house. James will be here soon on the Night Bus to take me away.
Regulus willed another wave to fill his small moat in the sand as he started another castle. Little sand fairies, born from his brother's imagination perched on the sandy spindles and watched as their city grew.
What ever happens in your dreams can't touch me anymore. I'll try to find you at school. I'll try to explain what happened. I don't want to give up the dreams, but I know I have to.
“Everything's falling apart.” Sirius whispered, too low to be heard.
I'm so selfish.
A wave crashed against the sand castles, knocking down the smaller ones. Regulus turned to stare at him, accusing.
Sorry.
Merry Christmas.
Chapter 3 is up [here]
Chapter 2 is up: [Here]