Dreaming of You |
Summary: | Ashton pulls Besa and Loukanos into one of his dreams where they learn more about how to help. |
Date: | IC Date (2018-07-02) |
Related: | Related Logs (Say None if there aren't any; don't leave blank. You have to use full URLs, like http://coralsprings.wikidot.com/logtitle) |
NPCs: | Players go below, other chars that deserve mention can be listed here |
Scene Runner: | Who ran this scene, NA if no-one or mutual |
As it happens that Loukanos and Besa happened to be asleep at the time. It is not like he had intended to pull them from their normal sleep. But the two find themselves wandering through a dense white fog. It is glowing from various directions, like lights pushing and dispursed through the fog. One of those lit areas leads to a point where the fog thins out. The soundless ground turns into a wooden floor. Strange glowing glyphs float around the room, circling around a large wooden table. Tied spread eagle on top of the table is Ashton. Faceless figures walk slowly around the table, seemingly unaware of either of the other boys' presence.
Besa's been in situations like this before. Not Ashton's dreams. Not even anyone else's dreams. But his own inner turmoil when he meditates can sometimes be…tretcherous. The ancient teen's dream wear is not modern. In fact, it looks a lot like his sacrificial clothing, including the necklace and gold bracer. His Khophesh was drawn as soon as he realized this wasn't a normal terror dream, but he's not gripping it white knuckled when he recognizes Loukanos. "My friend…why are you in my dream?" Like Dream Louk is going to be able to tell him that! They walk, and eventually come to the wooden floor and floating glyphs. He forms trying to read them as they go by. "This is…" he trails off, recognizing the figure as not him. Maybe this isn't a regular dream. "Ashton?"
Why is Louk in this dream? Why is he dreaming to begin with? Sleep generally is a sign that something is very wrong, physically or emotionally, or that something is very okay. No middle ground there. It is likely the former, considering the events of late, and the fact that he hasn't actually been seen around the school in quite some time. He has come into this dreamscape in the clothes he slept in…which means he's shirtless but wearing shorts. "I could ask you the same question," He responds absently. What happened to the meadows and groves that his mother showed him as a child? As Ashton comes into view, the godling's expression sours. "What is this?"
The majority of the glyphs are binding spells meant to hold Ashton within the circle, more than keeping anything out. There are spells floating around meant to keep outside forces from locating Ashton. One of the shadow figures walks over to Ashton's form and runs a hazing form that looks like a scaple. Sure enough Ashton's skin rips and starts to bleeding. His body tenses. He yells out, "Why are you doing this to me! Who are you?"
Gold painted eyes look to Louk before he nods, hopefully in some kind of understanding. "The glyphs are to hide him. To bind him …they are old…but not ancient. I-" He winces as Ashton is attacked, moving forward to try to stop it with a growl. His mean looking bone sword is raised, slicing the shadow. Instead o injuring it, the figure dissapears completely. The ancient boy stops, surprised by this and blinks, not expecting that. There's no time to contemplate this though, instead, "Louk,do you wish to heal him, or shall I?" Dark eyes are bouncing from the bound boy to the other figures and things int he room. Is this a rescue or recon? Dreams are weird.
If Besa's words register with Loukanos, he shows no sign of it. No, he pales at the sight in front of him, unresponsive to the other boy even as he tries to cut into one of the attackers. He steps forward hesitantly, brushing his fingers along Ashton's arm. He feels real, but how can that be? The direct question has him glancing over at Besa. A pause as he considers something Ashton once told him. Not trusting himself to speak without waterworks, he gestures for Besa to work his magic. Literally. Slipping into his native tongue, he mutters incantations that he has uttered a thousand times. Fruitlessly.
As Ashton's eyes open and look at Louk with surprise, "Louk? How did you find me?", Besa cuts himself and heals the almost autopsy cut along Ashton's chest. The cuts were done with a doctor's skill. The dark haired teen looks to Besa, then back to Louk, "Oh thank heavens… can you get me out of these ropes… I just want to go home… "
Besa winces as his own knife cuts into his arm, blood spilling not only on Ashton, but onto Besa's gold bracer as well. He presses his left forearm on Ash, looking over the boy as he's healed. "I….I do not think we are here, Ashton. But we will be. Can you tell us where you are? Give us any clues besides a cabin?" Maybe his own time in Hell, being tortured, is a benefit here. He's keeping it together in a way that Louk isn't. That instinct to protect the 'Us' is always present, especially in dreams. He'll kill Ar'giran just as he killed Alraxmargoth'ha.
Loukanos can only meet those eyes for so long. He closes his own and shakes his head, looking away when the darker-haired boy does. Once the attention is on Besa and not himself, he tries to control himself…breathe…calm down. It isn't effective. As the probing for details continues, something in Louk visibly snaps. His brows knit in frustration, and his body glows. With a frustrated half-scream, bolts of flame-like eldritch energy, dark in color, shoot from him and hit the glyphs around them.
The Glyphs disappears when Loukanos's fury strikes them. The ropes holding Ashton disappears. There was a slightly drugged look in Ashton's eyes before that clears away. He blinks for a second. As he sits up, rubbing his wrists. "What happened?" Once he can think, he nearly tackles Loukanos, wrapping his arms around him, hugging him and prssing himself into the godling. "Louk… " He shakes his head, "I.. I don't know where I am… All I know is that there are men with guns here… There have been a couple of others here… two of them seem familiar…. but I'm not sure how." He then looks at Besa, "If you're not here, then where are we?"
Besa pulls his wrist back to his own chest when Ashton moves. He looks around, trying to see what he can while the two have a moment. Even though he knows he must be here for a reason, he feels rather third wheelish. Stepping a little away he tries to concentrate on Ar'giran . Is the demon here? Turning his head to look back to Ashton he simply says, "I fell asleep. I had assumed this was a nightmare, but it is not as they usually are."
Loukanos' posture is stiff when Ashton crashes into him, but he starts to tremble as the other boy wraps his arms around him. He knows this won't last. It's a dream. Like all of his other dreams. Just…more real. So much for a moment. He very slowly raises his arms to rest on Ashton's shoulders. The glow has subsided. "We will get you home."
Ashton's arms never leave Loukanos, but he does let goes a little so that he is no longer holding quite to tightly. "I think I heard one of them say something about them moving me sometime soon… and something about getting her place ready for me…." He sighs, "And there is this presence that I have felt, more than I have seen… it scares me, but it is not always present… but it's strange it terrorfies me, but I do not think it wants to hurt me."
Instinctively, Besa lifts his hand to rub his chest. It's a ghost pain, but it still hurts. "I believe it is Ar'giran." He glances to see if Ashton recognizes the name. "He would not wish to hurt you." No hurt so much as convert. The ancient boy swallows nervously, "I….I will change the thing I am searching for. If we can not locate you, we will locate him." He doesn't know why the 'her' is though. He can't remember if he saw a woman when he wa s in Ash's body before.
Loukanos isn't opposed to Ashton holding unto him at all, but he glances at Besa at the name. "Ar'giran?" His brows soften into a more thoughtful look…a face that's much more common than his look of rage only moments ago. The wheels are turning in his head. "Would he not have measures to prevent scryers like the people who took Ashton?"
As his mind clears more, Ashton slides more to one side of Louk, still holding on like the godling whas his lifeline, to look at Besa easier. "I think they know about you… At least I think they were talking about you… They reported to one of the others… I think it's their boss or something, but they were observing the "mummy" at the school to make sure that he wasn't a problem… I'm gussing that were talking about you, unless there is another Egyptian person at teh schoole."
A worried, near pain look crosses Besa's face, "Demon's are notoriously full of themselves. And who in their right mind would try to scry one?" From what Besa knows, that's one of the ways they let people contact them to make deals! But the Ashton drops the word bomb he's being watched…again. As Louk looks more calm, Besa looks more angered. His hand clinches around the khopesh handle, chuckles going white. "Perhaps we can…reverse the string on me." He means Scrying as watching. He's….running out of ideas.
"Watching him?" Loukanos looks at Ashton, then to Besa. "Hm. That makes things difficult. You…maybe you shouldn't be the one to seek out this demon. They might notice…" And Louk isn't oblivious to how unnerved Besa is, right now. "If he is foolish enough to let his guard down, then I could locate him." Divination is kinda his strong suit. That and healing. "They cannot know we're coming. They could…" Hurt Ashton.
Ashton puts his head on Loukanos's shoulder. "I wish this was real… It seems like it is more than a dream… " He frowns, trying to remember something. "There is something else that I heard, but I can't remember what… " About that moment, a disembodied voice rumbles like thunder through the sky. "Alright brat… it's time to eat… come on.. wake up…" The world shakes for a second, then Loukanos and Besa suddenly wake up from their slumber. Louk can still feel the fleeting sensation of Ashton holding on to him, as Besa can still feel where a fresh cut should be, and Ashton wakes up, still blindfolded to food being shoved into his mouth.
After jarring awake, Besa laid there breathing heavy with his arms around a worried Cocoa. Soon enough he forced himself up and padded down the hallway to Louk's room. He knocks, Cocoa worriedly pressed into his sleepy pants, a worried quiet voice calls out gently, "Loukanos….are you awake?" Either Louk had the same dream, or will at least be empathetic if Besa tells him about it.
There is some shuffling behind the door, the lights flick on, and Loukanos opens the door and then steps to the side for Besa to come in. "Yeah, come in," Probably the most striking thing about Louk's room is the sheer amount of greenery inside. His roommate is gone for the summer, so it's expanded to all parts of the room. As he moves back, he shoos them off with his hands and the vines retract from the floors and walls. "Sorry, I haven't had anyone in here in a while." In fact, he hasn't been seen around the school in at least a few weeks. He's dressed in the exact same clothes he wore in the dream. "Are you okay?"
Besa's barefoot, hair mused up but perfect looking. He blinks a few times, dark eyes wide at the amount of plants, "I was not sure you would be here." He just kinda poofed and hasn't been around. Careful to not step on any retreating vines, "I…am." His hand isntainctivly rubs his left forearm, "I had a nightmare….but I am not sure it was just a nightmare…" Cocao's ears perk and then go back in cation at the plants, but she ventures inside the room as well, pressing into Besa's leg.
"It was not," Loukanos says simply. Perhaps too simple for what has just happened. "I have been in the school…just asleep." For weeks. He moves to a clay pot holding white spider mums, stroking a finger along one of its petals. "It doesn't look like you've suffered in my absence," If he weren't cooing, it might seem like he's speaking to Besa. But no. It looks like he's talking to his plants. As he sighs, he turns to his visitor and nods with resolve. "We have to track down this demon."
Besa is quiet, his hand lowering to touch Cocoa (maybe for reassurance). His lips are wetted, but then it seems Louk is talking to the plants, not him. The ancient sacrifice's anxiety attacks have been coming more often with the appearance of Ar'giran. "I know. I…this could be a double active for him, to gain Ashton and to draw me out." He can't imagine the demon is pleased with the person who killed Alraxmargoth'ha. "I know my Khophesh will harm it. But Ar'giran also knows this."
Another nod, Loukanos assumed as much. "You still wish to fight, right? I would not fault you if you needed to sit this one out," He pauses, then adds, "I don't think Ashton would be upset with you either." Perhaps he senses a bit of that anxiety. Just as soon as that assurance is given, the godling gets to business. "In the dream, you mentioned that the demon would be less likely to protect himself from the eyes of scrying?"
Besa smiles, it's weak, but there. 'Yes. I will not allow Alraxmargoth'ha's brood to harm anyone else." Black eyes look down to Cocoa, who's looking up at Best like she's begging him to go back to bed (Or more likely lay down so she can snuggle him). His thin fingers are still, just brushing the tope of her head, "I…I know. But I can not leave him with them." Them, it's not just the demon he's worried about. Humans are the worst. A soft nod, 'I would assume that it wouldn't care. Most humans would not know what they would be getting. And if this is a trap for me….it would want me to com to it. Ar'giran will have the upper hand, no matter what. I…I think the best we can do is to distract it with me, so a team can rescue Ashton and deal with the cultists." It's always. Cult, right?
Loukanos' eyes narrow though not in malice…in thought. He tilts his head, thinking, but moves to his closet to open it. He needs a shirt. Pulling out a baby blue tee shirt, he pulls the top over his head. "Are you sure that is wise?" He asks finally. "To give into his trap. I…I do not know if I would be better equipped to deal with him," He certainly thinks so. He always does. "But if they're watching you like Ashton said, then you seeking out this demon may alert them. Ashton could be hurt."
Besa admits, "No. I am not sure. But I am not unsure of it either." That's not helpful. "If this is Ar'giran's plan though, letting him assume we are playing it out as he hopes may work to our advantage. They are vain creatures, if they feel they are winning or have an advantage, they will take the time to gloat." Oh…demon gloating is the worst. Lips press together and his free hand raises to rub at his chest, his heart is restored, but that doesn't stop the tightness. "Even if Ar'giran captured me or killed me. It is better for it to be me and not Ashton." Besa's dealt with this before. And if he dies, well…in theory he'll unwrap again. And while he doesn't want o say this, it needs to be said, "Loukanos, Ashton is being hurt. We must do something." Hating that he had to say this be steps closer to the blue-shirted boy, his arms stretch out in an offered hug.
"You know more about this creature than I do. If you think that the risk is worth taking, I will trust you," Loukanos wrinkles his nose. "That cannot happen. I know you may think it the selfless thing to do, but think of how everyone would feel if you were captured or killed. How Ashton would feel. What he would do to get you back. This needs to end with Ashton." Strangely, Besa's words do not shake him as much as one might have expected. He's hell-bent on saving him. As Besa hugs him, the godling smiles sadly and wraps his arms around the smaller boy. "I don't know how integral he is to their plans. They could…they could kill him, Besa, if they know we're after them."
Besa sighs, he's been told this many times, "It is not being selfless…" But the practicality of why isn't something he's going to argue currently (He's done that too many times already and no one seems to understand his logic). "It is not soemthing I wish for, Loukanos, but it is something I know I can endure until I am rescued." He hugs Louk back, skinny arms stronger than they appear, "I know, Louk." Must be serious if he's using a nickname, "But they are going to hurt him more. Use him. Alraxmargoth'ha's brood will be gathering. They would wish their numbers to grow, not deplete. Ar'giran wishes him converted, not dead." And that's Besa's biggest fear, the fear he's had from the moemment they realized what Ashton was. That he would end up like Alraxmargoth'ha and Best would have to face him with his Khophesh. He closes his eyes briefly, hugging Louk tighter a moememtn before releasing him and looking up at the taller boy. "I do not understand though. Why did you bring me along in the dream?"
Once Besa releases him, Loukanos steps into his closet to slip on a pair of espadrilles. Standing on one foot, he glances over at Besa. "It worries me that that is an option you are considering now of all times," He says nothing else on the matter. Clearly, it isn't something he wishes to argue about either. "So he won't kill him?" His lips spread into a thin line as he considers. "Okay…that's good to hear. So you plan on scrying for him yourself? They're watching you, so they'll know we are on to him…" The godling still looks skeptical. "You're sure?" He blinks, shaking his head. "It was not my dream. I had assumed it was Ashton's? Neither of us could incorporate the details we saw."
Besa's still confused, head tilting, "Now of all times?" Shouldn't this be the time this type of this is considered? That perfect hair sways as Best shakes his head, "No. I do not believe so. There is too much glory in bring a 'lost brother' home now that they have lost Alraxmargoth'ha." He promises, "I will only do so if we both decide it is what is best, Loukanos. We will do this together, yes?" Huh. Besa's head stilts now in the other direction in thought. "I did not know he could do such things. That is good though, if it were a power from his blood, the wards would have stopped it."
"Yeah," Loukanos brushes his hair from out of his eyes. "You just returned. And we have not even made a plan of action." He frowns pensively. This is happening apparently. "I know self-sacrifice, Besa. It is the mantra of our team, after all. I've seen it in you…and others. I can respect it but only as a last resort. I am worried that when devising a way to save Ashton, your first instinct is to sacrifice yourself…before we have even considered other options." There's a smile. "Perhaps you are just a better Guardian than I." Anyway. Moving on. "I don't know this creature like you do. I have my doubts, but I trust you to make the right choice."
Besa actually chuckles, "No Loukanos. Do not fear that I wish that. I do not." He smiles up at his friend, hopefully measuring. "What I wish is for us to rescue Ashton and to burry my khophesh into Ar'giran's chest." His hand reaches out to pat Louk's arm, "You are a good Guardian." Cocoa moves over to press into Besa's leg again, although she also looks at Louk worriedly. "I would like to speak to others. Who do you wish to help with this?"
"The more hands on deck, the better. They are not alone, and they have a demon on their side. We need firepower. As much of it as we can get. Especially if they know that we are coming." Loukanos looks at Cocoa meaningfully, smiling and excluding an aura of calm around him that masks whatever fear or anxiety might be rooted deep inside of him. Kneeling, he pets her softly. "Why don't you go back to bed, Besa? We can discuss more of this in the morning." By the looks of it, Louk will not be returning to his long slumber.
(feel free to tag the log with character names of those involved!)