Counting Stars

[wooliefrand]

WHO: Sheeps
WHERE: All over
WHEN: Night Post Game 77 / Morning Day 78

[DID YOU GUYS HAVE A FUN GAME? ARE YOU FUCKED UP? WELL GET IT TOGETHER

or not, maybe you just need to sleep. have some sweet dreams. This can be a dream mingle or a reality mingle, I'm not the boss of yall]

Comments

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ oh boy. he might miss having Scarab with him for this one.

You wake up.

Except - you don't wake up in the pasture, you wake up in turbohell. You're on some kind of pockmarked surface so far below the ground that you can't even see the cave ceiling, but you know it must be there. The ground you're on pulsates with a distant heartbeat; giant pockets of pus dot the landscape and are filld with regenerating monsters. The very air scorches your lungs here, making every breath an active struggle. You can hear (and see) the distant roar of the rivers that cut across the landscape: one made of fire, another made out of pain.

Monsters fly overhead; any of them seeing you would surely be a problem. Then again so is the air itself. And the ground scorching your feet. And the general feeling of being dissolved by acid the whole time, and -

You have been here the whole time. All your waking memories? No, those are the dreams. You dream a happy little dream of a lil pasture every night, and then you wake up to spend another hundred years here. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ man wouldn't it rule if Scarab weren't just a figment of his imagination??

Okay. Okay first things first—gotta figure out the scorching ground problem. Tests to see if the ground is hot enough to ignite his shirt so he can decide whether or not to make the world's worst slippers ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ it sizzles unpleasantly, but his shirt doesn't light up. he can in fact use it as a makeshift barrier. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ DOES THAT, using a sharp rock to help rip the shirt roughly in half. Stands on one half while he balances awkwardly to tie the other half around his foot and then repeating the process for the other

That done, is there anywhere that looks like it might offer any cover? ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ There's a forest in the distance? It'll be a long walk, but the branches look at least a few degrees cooler. And maybe the ground will be too. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Cool. All he has to do is not get noticed on the way over there! Doing his best to stick close enough to cover to at least have something between him and any monsters whenever he has to stop moving ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ that is definitely an easy thing to do

anyway as soon as he start walking ... the ground near him shifts a bit? it looks like a crater with some kind of a giant sac in it. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ flinches away from it on principle. Instinct tells him giant sacs are never a good thing, so he tries to hurry away, glancing back warily in case some horrible thing is about to emerge ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ as he turns back, something horrible DOES emerge. Is ... that a chimera? yeah that's totally a chimera crawling its way out of the crater. it lets out a howl as it catches sight of Ananke and begins to give chase. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ oh shit TIME TO FUCKING BOLT!! Trying to keep an eye out for any sharp rocks or, ideally, an actual discarded weapon to defend himself with ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ The chimera ROARS as it starts to lope towards him with an uncomfortable amount of speed. It's gonna be on him in like fifteen seconds.

Are there rocks? Yup. Is there a discarded weapon here? ... also yes! Look, there's a sword sticking out of the ground not too far ahead of him. Kind of corroded, but good enough to fight with. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

Lucky—!

[ GRABS SWORD honestly braced for it to burn too, but maybe he'll be double lucky!! Either way he whirls and tries to pick out the an open vulnerable spot to swing for—ideally the gut or a leg, but he's not picky ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ double lucky?? the sword doesn't burn him! it's cold instead, a bit uncomfortably so, but not enough that he can't use it.

Anyway, the chimera stumbles and howls as Ananke catches it in the leg, then repays him by trying to slash at his face with a paw. ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Yelps and throws himself back, holding tight to yank the sword with him. It save his eyes at least, but there's painful gouges on the side of his face that got hit

Swings the sword up defensively before he's even finished moving, trying to aim for the same arm the chimera attacked him with ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ Another howl, another swipe --

This time a shadow interposes himself between Ananke and the monster. He's got a blade made of black iron that radiates a strange violet unlight. ]

You can't fight monsters in here! They'll just keep coming back! Run!

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ does in fact scramble back like he is just going to bolt, but— ]

What about you?!

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ Kevin mutters something in Greek and gestures; the ground surges up weirdly, not quite responding correctly, but just enough to knock the chimera back a pace. And then he turns. ]

I'm running too!

[ and he is, so you better book it ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

Good!

[ TIME TO BOLT ]

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ WE BOLTING

the chimera is tangled enough that they get enough of an opening to get over the next ridge, at least. Kevin sags down against the scorching ground for a moment to catch his breath. ]

-- What are you doing here?

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ hunkers down beside him, anxiously glancing at the edge of the ridge ]

I don't... I thought—h-haven't I always been here?

[ looks back at him with an intense, searching gaze ]

You're not a dream?

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ he looks rough. haggard and thin, with black clothing hanging off him in shreds. There's a gash across his face that oozes blood, and his fingertips have gone black, dissolving slowly into the acidic air they're breathing. however long Ananke has been here, he's been here ten times as long.

He shakes his head. ]

No. I'm real. Just like the rest of this.

[ gods. He sucks in a shivering breath. ]

You must have woken up here too. Years ago, by the look of you.

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ His breath catches in a stuttering gasp at the thought of being here that long. Presses a hand tightly over his eyes and immediately starts taking deliberate even breaths to calm himself, his other hand still tight on the sword ]

I don't remember it. I only remember here.

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

[ Sorry, Ananke. Kevin shifts closer, trying to offer what little comfort he can. ]

... I remember a little. You ... you were in my favorite dream. The one where I'm on Lily.

Re: night 77, dream time

[spinebuddyandme]

[ He leans into him a little, uncertain but desperate for any comfort at all—and abruptly freezes. ]




... Kevin?

Re: night 77, dream time

[abandon_hope]

Hey, Ananke.

[ He gives Ananke a weak smile. ]

... I'm sorry. Now that you're here, you're never leaving.