un: alice

[adventageous]

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.

Comments

audio; un: zack

[exsoldier]

[ 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... ]

audio

[adventageous]

[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?

[exsoldier]

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.

[adventageous]

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.

[exsoldier]

[ 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. ]

[adventageous]

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."]

[exsoldier]

[ 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?