aefenglom | un: alice

Entry tags:

un: alice

Name: Alice Elliot
Date: 8/5
Format: Video

[Alice looks into the camera, looking underslept. She never did go back to sleep after waking up several hours before sunrise.

More than that, however, she's determined to tug on this thread she's been given.]

I have a question for any of the Mirrorbound who are still left: did any of you have a strange dream last night?

I ask because I did. It felt as vividly real as the other times we've been pulled into dreamscapes, but this time I was alone. I was called to a large and pulsating flower in the forest by my own voice, which promised me whatever I wanted if I just stepped into it.

And then I woke up with this.

[She shows her right hand to the camera. It's marked with a flower (a striking a crimson against her pale skin, but that detail is obfuscated by the watch's sepiatone) that looks somewhat like a pitcher plant.]

I'd like to hear from anyone else this may have happened to, and compare notes.

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[Ferran may or may not have gotten a little weepy over his own dream, and he's not really interested in showing off how much he might still be affected by it. Thus: text.]

You too, huh? [He's not surprised someone else had a similar experience... although the flower is a newer element.]

It was exactly like you said, including the hand thing. I just have to wonder what it is that wants us to go there.

I'm not sure. But I cannot believe it's as straightforward as 'step inside and receive your heart's desire.'

Did your voice congratulate you for defeating the Cwyldheart in the sea? Mine did.

Yeah.

[It was awfully... personal. He doesn't like being seen through in that way.]

Whatever was in the flower was supposed to be my "reward." I don't think it's that easy, either.

[Alice, too, had felt pierced through by what the dream voice had to say. It's part of the reason she never went back to sleep.

Regardless, she gives him a smile.]

I would have been more surprised if you did.

[Based on the few interactions they've had, that would be out of character of him.]

Does your hand hurt at all?

Only when I woke up.

[Given that he recently went through a couple of rounds of Cwyld treatment, it was hardly anything to him, even if burning isn't a feeling he enjoys. But it was brief, which he's grateful for... as much as he can be grateful for much of what's happening here.]

Does yours?

[Alice shakes her head as she runs her thumb of her other hand over the mark.]

The same. And it glowed when I first noticed it as well.

I know for a fact that not every Mirrorbound had the dream or bears the mark. I have to assume it's because we were involved in the cleansing.

I guess that makes some sense.

[Although it's one more piece of information that might be relevant, it ultimately tells them... nothing. How is he supposed to figure things like this out when this entire world is filled with a concept that's nonsensical at its core?

He hates magic.]

Do you think the Coven might be able to tell anything about it?

It's worth a try.

[Although she suspects that this is going to fall under the rather large category of 'we don't know much about Mirrorbound, sorry.']

Would you like to meet there and see? We can ask them together.

Sure. I'll need maybe an hour before I'm free, [read: to collect himself] but I can be there.

An hour works for me just fine. I'll meet you in the courtyard.

[Ferran takes some time to consider how the dream had ended up being one of several, as expected, before finally getting himself into a presentable state and heading out the door. It's truly a sad day when he can't make himself be on time for something, and he's at least determined to be polite.

He arrives a few minutes before the promised hour, dressed no differently than usual, attempting to blend in with the locals in the most mundane way possible. His wings, similarly, are back in their usual form—meaning they're hidden under a cloak. He doesn't look quite as tired as Alice, but his lack of energy is obvious nonetheless.

When he spots Alice, he simply keeps his eyes on her until he's close enough for conversation.]

Hey.

[Alice also makes it a point to be punctual, arriving right on time. While she has less to unpack, perhaps, than he does, she still appreciated having some time to collect herself and continue communicating with people on the network about what's going on. The more she hears from people, the better and worse about things she feels.

As she approaches, she greets him with a smile.]

Hello, Ferran. I'm glad to see you're looking better.

[Compared to, you know. How he looked when she was released from the infirmary ahead of him.]

I hope I haven't kept you waiting long.

[Ferran doesn't return the smile, but he nods in response.]

You too... I hope you've been well since then.

[More than just physically, he means. She seems to be in better spirits than he is, generally, despite her apparent lack of sleep.]

Not at all. [Not that he would say any different if she'd left him waiting for an hour. Regardless, he's interested in getting to their task, if just to stop wondering what they can learn.] Should we head in?

[Despite everything, Alice has been in better spirits than Ferran for awhile now. She's not at all surprised that her smile isn't returned by this point.]

I have been, generally. Until last night.

[For obvious reasons, she thinks.]

Yes, let's see what we can find out.

Basic rule of thumb here, never trust voices that promise you whatever you want. Goes double if they're using your own voice, age old trick that. Points for effort to whoever is trying.

I'm afraid you likely have the right of it. Although it's hard to deny that in the moment, it was very compelling.

Either way, I wish I understood more about this other than to be wary of it.

Flower might be a clue who's behind it all. Know anyone into flowers?

That's a great suggestion.

I don't know anyone directly, but I could start asking around the Coven or any of the local flower shops and see if any of them recognize it. It's not like any flower I've seen before.

Type of plant could have some meaning too. Looks like a pitcher plant? Carnivorous, could be ominous. On the other hand, the Chinese think its a great plant. Sign of financial success and all that.

Given that the dream voice asked me to step inside of a large plant like this, I would say that the plant being carnivorous is more likely ominous than not.

I don't believe I recognize your username--to whom do I owe my thanks?

[ Crowley has no idea what he's being thanked for, given the obvious nature of his observations, but accepting credit for things is always nice. That, and he's pretty sure any ambiguity about who was behind this username has long since lapsed. ]

Crowley. Never been personally eaten by a plant before but I'm pretty sure pitcher plants dissolve things. Not a pleasant way to go, but probably quite slow. Decent pair of boots and a knife, you might get out of it.

[He gave her information she didn't have before! That's worth a thanks, Alice thinks.]

Should we encounter the plant in real life, those may be good protective measures to take. The dream seemed to make entering the flower optional, but dreams and real life don't often coincide.

Oh yeah, never trust dreams or visions. Always a little bit of ambiguity in that stuff, space to allow for cosmic shuffling to make it seem like everything is going to plan.

I agree. I promise I'll be careful.

[Alice has been burned by that before, although it was less ambiguity and more inevitability that did her in.]

[ Great! Good!

Not that he was that concerned, but definitely good advice in theory.

Something else, though. ]

Should probably let us know if you keep having the dreams too. Or, you know, you spot this big possibly-carnivorous-plant. Just in case it does all mean something.

[ Also, because Crowley is relentlessly nosy and he has no intention of going anywhere dangerous but does want to know what is happening. ]

[Momo looks like he handled the dream a little better, since he doesn't appear to have had a dire lack of sleep, but then, he's been here for longer than a lot of those left at this point. That, and he's trying to keep the mood a little less weighty, though he does hold up his hand to show the marking on his own.]

Yeah, I had the same one. Sounds pretty much identical for everyone who's had it bar the different voice, from what you and the other post on here have said, though we might need a few more people to be entirely sure of that.

[Making a judgement call off three people isn't exactly ideal, but they might have to depending on how many people had the dream and are willing to admit it.]

Edited (forgot to specify response type) 2021-08-05 21:29 (UTC)

I see. Then it's clear that our dreams must be linked somehow. Perhaps to whatever that large flower thing was...

[Three is enough to establish a pattern, at the very least. It's good enough for Alice for now.

She find herself smiling with no small amount of relief. It's nice to know that Momo's still here, given how many people have disappeared lately.]

It's nice to hear from you, despite the odd circumstances.

I wonder if it's from the same thing that caused the other linked Mirrorbound dreams we've had in the past. [Momo rests his chin on one hand, looking thoughtful. That's one thing they've never really had any answers to since they arrived - what caused those realistic group dreams before each new group of Mirrorbound - so if someone is sharing a dream with a more select few of them now, whoever was behind that would be his first assumption.

Still, he offers a grin, not getting too lost in his own head.]

It's been a little while. A lot of people seem to have left recently, but I wonder if it's because we're finally coming to an end to things.

[And perhaps this world doesn't need to hold onto as many of them anymore, with the Cwyldhearts slowly being put out.]

That theory makes sense, although this is the first time I've been in a dream alone and woken up with a mark like this. Even when I dreamt of this place before my arrival in it, I met fellow Mirrorbound as I wandered within the dream.

[She hasn't thought about that particular dreamscape in some time, wherein hers and everyone else's inner fears were brought to life and laid out for all to see. It feels like a lifetime ago. And in some ways, it really was.]

It does feel as though things are coming to some sort of climax, with our dwindling numbers and how things have been changing lately. I only hope that things end well for the people here as much as for us Mirrorbound.

Yeah, it was the same for me. The only other odd one out I can think of is that one time we all had a collective dream where we could enter each other's mirrors, and that took us into the memories of whoever owned that mirror. But that was over a year ago now.

[It's strange to say that, because in some ways it doesn't feel like that long, but it wasn't all that long after he arrived. He has to remind himself sometimes that he's clocked more than a year and a half in this world now, and that even Yuki's been here a year.]

I hope so too. There were Mirrorbound who were here for a long while before I arrived, so we've been getting pulled here for a few years now. We had to reach an end to it all eventually.

It was presumably the reason we were brought here in the first place, if the Coven's theories hold any water.

[The ability of the Coven to correctly predict and explain things is tenuous at best, but there's been no other plausible explanation for the Mirrorbound beyond the frustratingly nihilistic "just because."]

If it is coming to an end, I suppose I should feel happy. And I do. But part of me is also... sad. And afraid.

That's what I figured, yeah. They weren't making much headway against the Cwyld before we showed up, as far as everything I've seen.

[Most of the records about it don't have much in the way of successful hits back against the Cwyld short of burning a lot of things. He can see why some people, and particularly Alice, might be worried about going back, though, and he gives a reassuring sort of smile.]

We can't know what it coming to an end means until we get there. For now, it's best to just take things a day at a time.

[He's a little worried himself, in large part because of the chance of the prevalent Mirrorbound theory that they're not actually their "real" selves coming true. If there's a chance for them to leave here once their work is complete, he would think that's when their nature will come out.]

[ Wait, seriously? The same dream? Zack shouldn't be surprised when the Mirrorbound have shared plenty of dreams before, in strange and vivid ways, but he'd been very much alone in the one he experienced last night. Finding out that others went through the same thing is therefore still a shock, yet somehow also a relief.

He's not sure if this marking on his palm is a good thing, but if he's not the only one who's got it, they can at least try and solve this together.

As he starts up the video feed, he shows Alice his own matching mark. ]

Yeah, I had the exact same dream. How many people have you heard from now?

[ Was it all of them, or just a select few? His voice had mentioned his efforts beneath the sea... ]

[Alice is similarly relieved that it's not just her, although the shared experience has brought forth a whole other slew of questions and concerns.]

You're the fourth. And I know one person, at least, who this didn't happen to.

[That would be Jaskier.]

So it's not quite the same as the other dreams we Mirrorbound have shared. Or rather, in this case, didn't share. You were alone in yours as well, I'm guessing?

I know two others who didn't have it, so yeah, this is different.

[ Meaning Aerith and Cloud. It's easy enough to check in with them, given that they're now all under the same roof.

He nods at Alice's question. ] Yeah, it was all pretty much exactly as you described. So only the people who went down to the Cwyldheart at the bottom of the ocean got this, huh?

[ There's no denying that there was something ominous about the dream. So it goes any time that you're promised something that seems too good to be true. Zack lets out a sigh. ]

The question is, what do we do about it? I don't wanna wander into a trap, but I'm not sure we should just ignore it either.

I see. So, in our very small sample it's nearly even.

[Three without, four with. Given how few Mirrorbound are left, that may be close to a fully representative sample.]

Right now, my goal is to find out more information. A gentleman by the name of Crowley confirmed that the plant is likely carnivorous, which makes me even more wary of what may lie ahead.

[After a moment, she sighs softly and continues.]

I admit, part of me wants to go out to the woods right now and seek it out. I can't help but feel... like it might be out there waiting for us.

[ A carnivorous plant? So it wants to eat them? Zack frowns, glancing down at the mark etched into his palm once more. Given that they've been physically marked like this, it's hard to imagine they can just ignore what they saw.

Either way, that draw that Alice admits to is something that Zack's ben feeling too, and he quickly nods. ]

That's probably exactly what it wants, but... if we don't go alone, that'll already be deviating from the dream. Maybe it'll make a difference.

[ Either way, it would feel strange to just carry on like the dream never happened. ]

You make a good point.

[Alice hadn't considered that detail, but he's right. Already, just by communicating and working together they've gone against what the dream has asked of them. Even with the draw that they feel, perhaps that might be enough?]

When I do go out to look for it, I will be sure to let you know. We work so well together that it would be a shame to leave you behind.

[She knows herself well enough to know that it's "when," not "if."]

[ This doesn't feel like something they can ignore for long, even if they do acknowledge that it's a trap. If this flower is some kind of death sentence, at least they'll be able to look out for each other, if one of them needs to pull the other back from the brink.

Zack nods, relieved that they're not even acting like they might let this all pass by with no response. It's not in his nature, and he doesn't think it's in Alice's either. ]

Aww, I thought you'd never ask. [ He winks at her, but then his expression evens out. ] And if anyone else who got the same dream wants to come too, I'm down for that. There's probably strength in numbers, right?

No dreams last night here, serah. And if I might trouble you for a description--what's the "this" you've shown everyone else? I can't see it.

Of course.

It's a mark of a flower that looks like a pitcher plant, etched into my hand as if it were a tattoo. It hurt when it first appeared, but doesn't bother me any now.

The likeness of the flower that called to you in your dream, I take it?

Aye, I had that dream too. Same words as well.

[An exhale.]

This place may show extraordinary things but I do not trust what this dream speaks on. They cannot truly grant this wish they speak of.

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