Event Log: April, Dream a Little Dream

[faileas]

Event Log: April, Dream a Little Dream (Of Me)

I. The Looking-Glass House These strange shared dreams are part and parcel of being Mirrorbound, nothing too unusual for those who entered this world through similar dreams and then a mirror. No doubt you've all experienced your share by now. Normally those dreams have something to say about the world, something to show Mirrorbound about their new temporary home, but this time... This time, it has something to show the Mirrorbound about each other, perhaps. The Looking-Glass House, from the outside, seems no different from how it looks in the waking world. Each cobblestone still glows as you step upon it, drawing your attention toward the entryway of the two-story cottage that sits at the edge of the Coven's courtyard. You can still wander the Coven grounds if you'd like, but nothing is different from how it will be when you wake, save the lack of bustling Witches and Monsters going about their business. Areas that are normally inaccessible are still inaccessible. Whatever secrets this dream may hold, they all lie within the hall of mirrors. Perhaps you haven't had reason to step into this building in some time, or maybe you're here often, checking for new arrivals. Maybe you only recently arrived here and the sight of these mirror-lined hallways is fresh in your mind. Something has changed, however... Many of the hundreds of mirrors on the walls remain the same: dull, dusty, undecorated, some cracked or broken. As lifeless as a mirror can get. Yours, if you seek it out, looks the same as it did to you on your arrival - the frame covered in reminders of your home, your life, the surface of it clear and shiny-new. But this time, in this dream, yours is not the only one you can see signs of life in. Other mirrors also have the clear, silvery glass within their frames that yours does, indicating a connection to someone currently in Aefenglom. Maybe you can pick out the mirrors of people you know by the few carvings in the frames you can pick out; the closer you are to someone, the more of their mirror's decoration you're able to see, though the frames of strangers' mirrors remain unadorned to your gaze. You might feel yourself compelled to lay your hand on one of these silvery-bright mirrors, and when you do, the glass ripples like movement on a still pond. Like water, it allows you entry to another time, another place, another world - or at least, the memory of such. Who knows what you'll witness there, something beautiful or something terrible, but you only have to slip back through the mirror into the Looking Glass House to end it.

Welcome to April's event log, Dream a Little Dream! This event is a little more 'make your own fun' than others (since we are not currently in a place to be able to run a plot-heavy event this month), so feel free to play with the dream mechanics generally as you will. The main things to keep in mind are: memories are from the character's point of view however you choose to interpret that; memories cannot be altered or show a character something they could not have witnessed; please be considerate when using other people's characters in a memory, and visitors cannot directly interact with people/NPCs within a memory. Interacting with creatures/environment of a memory is fine. Otherwise, have fun! As always, feel free to use this log or make your own, and direct event-related questions here.

Comments

[zewu_jun]

[They are certainly eye-catching at least. Intimidating and a bit monstrous in their own right, but Lan Xichen accepts them as Grace's companions. If she chose to travel with them, there must have been a good reason.]

You were helping him? That is quite noble.

[And surprising based on the way her party seems to interact with each other. He smiles, standing next to Grace.]

Did you discover yourself as well?

[seductless]

[ One side of her mouth tips up slightly, genuine even if the expression is just a bit wry. ]

Noble may not be the word. He offered me a chance to see, to experience more of the planes than I ever could have expected. To do more than I could have ever done on my own. And I...

[ Grace exhales as the group of them fade from view, moving on to whatever adventure awaits them. To the end. ]

I cared for them. All of them. [ One more than the others, perhaps. ]

[zewu_jun]

[It couldn't be good, whatever had happened to the people in her memory. If she just missed them then there would be some sadness, yes, but the emotions Grace has as she watches the group move on is more than sentimental affection. He recognizes the look because he's seen something much like it before.]

I'm sorry. I shouldn't intrude on such things.

[But he still stays beside her, offering what comfort he can through quiet support. It may be wrong to have spied on her past, but it also feels wrong to leave her with it.]

[seductless]

[ The apology seems to startle her out of whatever mindset she's sunken into, pulls a quiet laugh instead. ]

No, it's alright. I have very few secrets, on the whole.

[ Some things she'd like to talk about less than others, but Grace has made it a point to be as upfront as she can about most things. Recompense for the deception she's supposed to be, perhaps. But she does shift, seemingly more present now rather than lost in more than just the memory playing out. ]

I made a promise, is all. I suppose it bothers me a bit that I won't get to fulfill it.

[zewu_jun]

[If Lan Xichen knows about anything, it is the feeling of breaking one's promise. Whether it was intentional or simply out of their control, leaving something unfulfilled always lingers long after the matter is done. He turns to face Grace directly, raising his arms for a formal bow.]

I know I am an outsider, but you have done a lot for me since I have come to the city. If there is anything I can do to help ease your mind, whatever it is, please don't hesitate to speak freely to me and ask for whatever you need.

[seductless]

[ She blinks once and then smiles, wide and honest. Without thinking, she presses a hand against her chest and bows back. It just seems like the thing to do. ]

You do help. I think...I would not have been able to settle here so easily without a friend.

[ How strange, to find something new here as well. Grace has been a healer, a mentor, a colleague, but so rarely has she felt a meeting of equals quite like this. How unlikely to have just stumbled into it. ]

I hope you know the same is true for you.

[zewu_jun]

[Having the gesture returned by someone that easily in Aefenglom has become something that Lan Xichen just doesn't expect. And he doesn't realize how little he expects it until Grace is already bowing back to him. For some reason, that makes him pause, swallowing a sudden thick feeling in his throat.]

I value you as an important friend, Grace-jie. I worry I ask too much of you.

[seductless]

[ Grace laughs, because she can't not. ] What could you possibly ask that would be too much?

[ What have either of them asked of each other but a helping hand or a friendly ear? She would give either without thought, and the fact that he doesn't seem to be aware of it tempers her down into a smaller smile.

Time to make the matter clear, then. ] No. And if you were anywhere approaching it, I would tell you so.

[zewu_jun]

Does it sound silly?

[He smiles with honest curiosity, wondering what it is he managed to say to amuse her. Is he not asking a lot after all?]

I thought I must be a burden for you since so much has happened already. You look after me so often. But I am grateful.

[And as long as Grace is comfortable with it, he's happy to have the company.]

Seeing you always makes me feel at ease.

[seductless]

I would call it simply helping a friend.

[ If this is what he considers to be a burden, Grace has to wonder about many things. She shakes her head, rather than ask or linger on it. ]

I don't mind, honestly. And I'm glad. I enjoy your company.

[zewu_jun]

[He worries perhaps too much about those things. Now that he's not running a sect, he doesn't really have that many people to worry about and overcompensates by noticing every small effort around him. But being told she enjoys his company gets a smile of relief.]

Then I shall continue to come to you as long as you will have me. Do you wish to remain here? This memory seems sad somehow.

[seductless]

Sad? No. Bittersweet, perhaps.

[ It's a reminder of what she no longer has, yes, but it's nothing that Grace can bring herself to regret. She'd helped someone to find exactly what they were looking for, even if it hadn't ended quite the way she'd hoped. There can be nothing bad in that. ]

But I realize Sigil can be a bit much. I have no need to stay, if you'd like to leave. [ She has hundreds of years worth of memories of the city, it's nothing likely to be lost any time soon. ]

[zewu_jun]

[For Lan Xichen, the city is definitely dizzying. But when he looks around, he realizes that this place is an important part of Grace's past and one that means a lot to her. He hesitates, not really wanting to run away from the memory if he can learn from it.]

No, I can- I would like to see more of it, if you will allow me. It is just surprising. I hardly know which way to look.

[He would get lost in a second without her. Lan Xichen is just lucky the locals can't actually hurt him if he gets lost accidentally.]

[seductless]

[ It pulls a quiet laugh from her but Grace begins moving again, stepping across the curving streets without hesitation. ]

That's not uncommon, amongst newcomers. I don't think there's anything quite like the City of Doors anywhere else in the multiverse.

[ There's a fondness to her tone as she says it. Whatever else Sigil has been, it's still home in many ways. ]

This is a place entirely of magic. The light, the air, the ground beneath, everything. But magic can be...unpredictable, in many ways. And a city so steeped in it can't help but be the same.

[zewu_jun]

City of Doors. Yes, I can see why it would have such a name.

[He follows her, making sure to stay close because he would definitely get lost without a guide. He doesn't really know what a multiverse might mean, but whatever it is, this place cannot have a match in it. He believes that without question.]

When you say unpredictable, should I be wary of anything in particular? The people here don't seem to notice us.

[seductless]

There should be no danger, if it's only a memory.

[ Grace won't say she's entirely aware of how all this works, but it is a reminder to herself that they're not in the city proper. An illusion of a sort, even if it's a very thorough one.

She still smiles over her should at him. ]

But the other reason for the name -- any doorway here, any arch, anything that forms a door frame can be a portal to anywhere else in the multiverse if you happen to have the correct key on you. And those keys could be anything, any item you might just happen to have. It is very possible to get utterly lost.

[zewu_jun]

[He looks around them as if by doing that he can somehow confirm what Grace says and see a multitude of worlds behind those doors.]

Anywhere? I'm afraid I do not know what a multiverse is, but a city where every doors leads to a different place sounds like quite a magical feet. It would take a long time to create doorways to so many places all in one city. And then to maintain them.

[That is a level of power he can't fathom.]

Have you gone through many of these doors? How do you obtain keys to them?

[seductless]

A few of them, for various reasons. But as for most...I suppose you'd just have to stumble across a key. Or else put significant effort into finding it.

[ Her smile widens just a little at his earnest examination. It's been a very long time since she's been able to introduce someone entirely new to the idea of Sigil. ]

No one entirely knows how the city came about, or what powers it. I suspect most don't want to inquire too closely. Belief is a powerful force, here.

[zewu_jun]

Are there keys to be found like that?

[ Do they just make them and scatter them around? Wouldn't they want to keep them with people that needed to use the doors? ]

You are saying this entire city is magical.

[ A city created by some higher beings, maybe. That would make sense. ]

That explains a bit more about you.