05-10-2020, 08:08 PM
She spun between the stars, weightless and drifting. A pause now and then circled the gleaming treasure of a dreamer, and while she was not conscious of it, her journey was a well-repeated one; lives strung like pearls on a string, counted patiently as she sought to check on those held dearest to her Other. Most slept peacefully, dreams sweet and uneventful -- and of little interest, though sometimes she watched anyway. On this night that even included, she was surprised to discover, the one who never found contentment, though she had only ever once slipped the dark veil into that space. So often, he dreamed of loss.
Afterwards she dispersed to less purposeful diversions, the dreams and their owners unknown to her. It was like flicking through the pages of a book, never quite settling on a story, that endless way she roamed. Until one dark star feathered against her, strange in its resonance. Ever the curious child she swarmed on the oddness of it.
Usually it was Mara’s pets she found gnawing content at the hearts of a nightmare; Nim followed the trails they left often enough to recognise signs of their passage. Darkness oozed like the putrification of a rotting corpse here, but it was disease of the mind not the claws of a predator. She lingered upon it, curious to recognise a duality in the skin beneath: a swarm of darkness and light fighting for the same space. Two halves of a whole, in some ways, but not a comfortable coupling. The conflict made her shiver as she peered deeper into the soul of such a strange dreamer. Did her own look like this when her Other rested truly, and Nimeda’s consciousness dispersed like a dandelion blown to the wind?
Dark things stalked inside, filling her up with static that jerked her free. Enough to make her think twice about the dangers contained within. None were ever truly beyond help, but some required more than she could give. Such lessons stuck, even with her, for necessity could not allow them the chance to be learned twice.
Only then she saw what he was hunting.
And she found herself born again on legs pumping into a frantic run, the leer of the theme park lights dissecting across her skin. Her heart beat a little wild, not quite her own fear so much as the oppressiveness of this place. Her feet were bare, their soles needling pain on the litter strewn ground. Nim’s hands pressed against her ears, disturbed by the sounds. “Where are you?” she called out, then clapped a hand tight over her mouth, uncertain that had been wise, even as the sound of her own voice was swallowed in the discordant chaos.
Afterwards she dispersed to less purposeful diversions, the dreams and their owners unknown to her. It was like flicking through the pages of a book, never quite settling on a story, that endless way she roamed. Until one dark star feathered against her, strange in its resonance. Ever the curious child she swarmed on the oddness of it.
Usually it was Mara’s pets she found gnawing content at the hearts of a nightmare; Nim followed the trails they left often enough to recognise signs of their passage. Darkness oozed like the putrification of a rotting corpse here, but it was disease of the mind not the claws of a predator. She lingered upon it, curious to recognise a duality in the skin beneath: a swarm of darkness and light fighting for the same space. Two halves of a whole, in some ways, but not a comfortable coupling. The conflict made her shiver as she peered deeper into the soul of such a strange dreamer. Did her own look like this when her Other rested truly, and Nimeda’s consciousness dispersed like a dandelion blown to the wind?
Dark things stalked inside, filling her up with static that jerked her free. Enough to make her think twice about the dangers contained within. None were ever truly beyond help, but some required more than she could give. Such lessons stuck, even with her, for necessity could not allow them the chance to be learned twice.
Only then she saw what he was hunting.
And she found herself born again on legs pumping into a frantic run, the leer of the theme park lights dissecting across her skin. Her heart beat a little wild, not quite her own fear so much as the oppressiveness of this place. Her feet were bare, their soles needling pain on the litter strewn ground. Nim’s hands pressed against her ears, disturbed by the sounds. “Where are you?” she called out, then clapped a hand tight over her mouth, uncertain that had been wise, even as the sound of her own voice was swallowed in the discordant chaos.