Video | Action - Red Fish, Iskaulit

[wakemelater]

Who: Nico and OTA
Broadcast: Video
Action: Red Fish, Iskaulit
When: Now

[ Red Fish ]

[Nico is not a fan of being stuck places. Especially unfamiliar places. Most especially unfamiliar places in space. (Not that he's ever been to space.) Shadow travel won’t get him home. He doesn’t even know where home is.

He's already been whisked away from one weird ship onto another. He finds the armory easy enough, but is disappointed to see there are only guns. No swords? Thanks to his augment, he knows how to handle them, however, and he'd rather not be in a stange place with no protection. He grabs one looks it over critically before heading off to see the rest of the ship.]

[ Iskaulit ]

[And later he'll be wandering the Iskaulit, doing much the same. Mapping it out, noting any important details, and most of all, observing the people he comes across - either openly or standing in darkened corners, cloaked in shadow. (Totally not creepy.)]

[ Video ]

[Much later, squirreled away in his bunk, he turns the communication device over and over in his hand, frowning all the while. Demigods didn’t usually carry things like this around – they attracted monsters. But there weren’t any monsters here, were there? Not like back on his world.

But despite what people may think of a kid born in the ‘30s, he wasn’t completely technologically challenged. He’s already figured out how to turn it on.

Have a nice clean shot of the wall, and a voice somewhat distorted because the communicator is facing the wrong way.]

I’m guessing not everyone here is content with being kidnapped and hurled through space. So who wants to clue me in one what we’re up against and how we’re going to kick it’s butt?

[He was just starting to figure things out back home. He didn’t need more crap thrown in his face, thanks.]

Comments

[dreamvour]

[sometimes she wonders if maybe she should come up with another name for herself so she doesn't have to explain this all the time. Something cooler, maybe]

It's a very literal title. I'm a spirit - or a lesser god, or a yokai, it depends on who you talk to about me, but I literally eat the nightmares of people who ask me to.

[wakemelater]

[It's a good title. Self-explanatory. But it never hurt to clarify. Usually.

Coming from a place chock full of gods and monsters and spirits, he accepts this with a nod.]

Sounds useful. You must be popular. [He could name quite a few people who would agree to having their nightmares eaten.]

[dreamvour]

[now she's the one tilting her head curiously]

I try to be useful. I'm allowed to be open about it here.

[wakemelater]

You couldn't before?

[Not many of the gods or monsters he knew were secretive about what they could do.]

[dreamvour]

[she shakes her head]

Not in that sense, no. It's - complicated. But we try not to interfere in the human world. It makes finding a meal and helping people a little more difficult.

[wakemelater]

[He nods. It makes sense.]

We have a kind of veil that keeps mortals from seeing anything supernatural. A few can see through it, but most see something ordinary or familiar.

[dreamvour]

[congratulations you've actually legitimately caught her by surprise]

You're the first person I've met to mention anything like that. We have something like that, too.

[wakemelater]

[He's good at surprising people. Usually it's by popping out of a shadow in front of them. But this also works.]

Really. Can you describe it?

[So far, he hasn't seen a single familiar soul. But it wasn't impossible that someone else from his world was brought here.]

[dreamvour]

[she frowns a little thoughtfully]

It's - a lot, but I can try to simplify it. [she taps her chin] It's based on a beliefs; humans don't really believe we exist, even though they keep our stories and legends alive, and so they inadvertently keep themselves safe from us. The gods put that magic in place years ago because things became . . . out of hand, with our worlds being so close. They were worried we would destroy each other.

There are humans who slip through, for whatever reason, and they can see us, but they're incredibly rare, the real ones.

What we actually call the Veil, though - that's the entrance to our world. Which is - a bunch of different entrances, but in general - the way to get there.

[wakemelater]

[Some discrepancies, though it sounds similar to his world. Even the part about the gods and belief. But there's enough of a difference to confirm it's not.]

We call it the Mist. The goddess Hecate controls it. My sister also learned to manipulate it. It's just kind of ... all over.

[dreamvour]

Ah . . . that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. The Greek goddess, yes? [she nods] I can't manipulate it, but I'm allowed to pass through it, because of what I do in the human world. The same goes for others like me.

[wakemelater]

Yes. She's my step-mother's attendant. [That makes perfect sense.] Are there many others like you?

[dreamvour]

May I ask who your step-mother is? [she nods] There's a number of us. We're given special permission to pass between worlds because we're sort of like protectors. Or exorcists. It depends on who you ask.

[wakemelater]

[He hesitates. If she recognized Hecate, then she would probably know about other gods. Not everyone reacted well to his parentage. The answer comes slowly.] Persephone. My father is Hades.

[That also makes sense. He crosses his arms.] What are you protecting from?

[dreamvour]

Oh. [that's it, that's the reaction] He doesn't leave the Underworld very often, I hear, so I've never had the chance to meet him. My boss knows him, though.

[a hum] Whatever needs protecting. Usually, it's protecting humans against our kind. Sometimes it's the other way around. Mostly I end up finding spirits and giving them a new place to haunt until they can move onto the afterlife on their own.

[wakemelater]

[That's the best reaction he could have hoped for.] I guess he is kind of a homebody.

[He nods.] That must keep you busy.

[dreamvour]

That's what I'm told. [she shrugs] But I don't get to meet many of your gods, because I work in the East. Only the ones I share my realm with, really.

Sometimes. Enough that sometimes it's difficult to keep up appearances.

[wakemelater]

[He nods to that. He was aware there were many religions with their own gods, all coexisting, but not interfering.] We tend to stick to our own pantheons.

Appearances?

[dreamvour]

Mmm, as do we, for the most part. Unless something is going on, or in my case, a realm ends up being shared by multiple beings. Even then, though, seeing someone else is rare.

[she nods] I live a human life during the day. It's easier to gather information that way.

[wakemelater]

[He nods again. He's got a good idea how her world works. It's not so dissimilar from his own.]

And at night you're a... [What was it?] ...dream eater? How does that work?

[dreamvour]

[it's so nice to find someone who understands]

Not just at night, but yes. And it's basically . . . whenever someone sleeps, if they've given me their permission, I go into my realm and find their nightmare. And to me, it's something tangible - so I literally eat it. [a shrug] It's all very literal.

[wakemelater]

I've walked through dreams. I didn't know something like that was possible. [But he's seen his share of impossible things. He takes it in stride.] What happens to the dreams after you eat them?

[dreamvour]

You're a dreamwalker? [she looks at him with a little more interest - which is pretty impressive considering she's been interested this whole time, really] They only disappear for the night; but I come back every night to eat them, so technically, they go away for as long as someone lets me. And they become energy for me.

[wakemelater]

I ... Yeah. I guess so. [Sleep and death were brothers, twins. Literally. Moving through dreams came as naturally as stepping through shadows.] So it benefits you both.

[dreamvour]

Can you do it freely, or is it something you can only do when you're asleep? And does it have to be a dream, or can you enter the realm itself? [she doesn't sound excited, okay, she's just curious]

That's right. And no harm comes to them, though they don't have any other dreams the rest of the night. And I see the dream I'm eating, which tends to bother some people, understandably. But I've sworn never to speak about them.