Zafflebrod's College and Preparatory School for the Magically Inclined

[Lost_Deep]

That Night - A Dream

"I'm still not clear on the context, but for now I'm going to say 'morbid curiosity'." That was much better! Still disturbing, but better.

Odd sand theme so far. And the father is pretty common... no, no, shouldn't try dream analysis.

Sheesh, this might not be typical of Merissa's dreams at all! It might just be a weird one-off. Maybe Isaac coming back with news of her father has him on her mind. Maybe tomorrow night will have puppies, and the night after quantum mechanics. Variation in dreams is one of the best things about dreamwalking.

[Slii Arhem]

That Night - A Dream

"Good enough, and you probably have other places to be. That'll be all for tonight, come back again to see if you can find a better answer. Now shoe." She playfully tosses a sneaker at Tabitha, aiming for her metaphysical forehead. Dream-Merissa is a silly thing.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night - A Dream

The shoe hits Tabitha in the head. Tabitha sighs. "Okay, I'm going." She turns around to open a door, or step around the corner, using the metaphor as 'leaving' to put a little less strain on the dream.

"See you later."

And with that, Tabitha tries to enter Isaac's dream, preferably through a door or some other non-suspicious method.

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

The first thing Tabitha will see is the colors.
The Colors

Isaac dreams in the way he sees, and so Tab is likely blinded by the extra colors created by someone with two more kinds of color-receptive cones than a normal human. Since this is a dream and not reality, Tab will see this despite not having these in her physical form.
Eventually, depending on how long Tab can adjust, she'll find herself in a dense forest. Wide, strangely-angled trees line either side of her, breaking into a four-way fork about ten meters away. And far away (to the left) is the smell of frying eggs, and the sound of singing.
"One road to loneliness, it's always the same,
one road to happiness, it's calling your name.
Change changing places..."

Isaac can't sing so well, but in his dreams he can.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha keeps herself from falling down.

She spends at least five minutes alternating between keeping her eyes closed, looking like a deer in headlights, and trying to figure out where she is.

A friendly reminder that Tabitha herself looks odd. Curvier than in reality, and she has neither wings or glasses. Her shirt and jeans are form-fitting, and her shirt is a bright color. What color it is changes when people aren't looking at it. She has a comically large zipper going down the front of her torso, over her clothes, with the pull tab at the base of her neck.

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Once Tab is up and running it shouldn't be too hard to follow the smell and the sound, even though the first song ended and the voice had to start singing a new one.
"I've stood here before, it's like the pouring rain, with the world turning circles runnin' round my brain..."
The lines of trees are steady, always forking and always providing Tab with a clear way to go. She won't be able to cut through straight to the sound, since the trees are too close together (oddly indented trees) to pass, but if she keeps zig-zagging in the general direction she'll find its source.

In a wide circular clearing is Isaac, wearing a simple (in shape) but thick cotton shirt. Its color is hard to pinpoint. It's not quite a kaleidescope, but it doesn't seem to belong easily to any single thing for more than a few seconds. Below that is a simple set of regular blue jeans and brown hiking boots, and on his head is a stereotypical hunting hat, although whether it's something he stole from Catcher in the Rye or just something from an old memory remain to be seen. It's not his usual style at least.
Isaac looks a little bit bulkier than normal, but it's such a subtle thing that it's likely Tab won't notice. He's without his usual pointed teeth and reptilian eyes, but he does have his long, pointed ears. He stops his song and waves to Tab as she comes in.
"Afternoon. Wasn't expecting a visit. Come on over." he says cheerfully.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha doesn't look at the shirt. Oh why. At least her own shirts waits for you to not be looking to change.

"No? I said I'd visit your dream tonight, and this is your dream." Again, try to help the person into lucid dreaming of some sort. It's much easier to work with a dreaming person than it is to work with a dream.

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Art students with a focus on his special eyes and colors, Tab. You walked into this one. Literally, from some perspectives.
Isaac's eyes seem to go cloudy for a moment, but then refocus.
"Oh? I guess you did. Well, what can I do for you, then? I don't really know what you came in here to do, so I'm not really sure what's going on or what will be going on."

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

"All I really want to do is see what your dreams are like, and probably play along a little. Albeit, I could likely just stare at literally nothing for an hour with this color scheme. Is the sky up there somewhere? I can't tell."

Tabitha sits down on something, and looks around more. This is dreadfully confusing.

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac smiles. "Oh, of course there is." he says, pointing up. There is totally a sky! It's a morning sky, right at daybreak!
Daybreak and sunset of course, are when the sky is at its most colorful. This probably means that the sky is the most dizzying thing possible to look at right now.
"Sorry about the visuals; this is just how I see things. Now do you get why sometimes my art projects make even less sense than usual? Yeah, it's because you're blind to half of the paints I'm using.
And I don't think you want to do that. To look at nothing I'd need to be dreaming about a terrible abyss of a void, and I don't really want to do that. It sounds terribly boring and actually kinda depressing." muses the dreaming teen.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Really, I'm surprised you managed to adapt to this at all. I'm not sure if I could. My vision 'gift' at least was easily stopped by magic glasses, you're stuck with yours until we get a butterfly wizard or something else that can actually understand the situation."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac looks around the place, smiling to himself as he gazes around.
"This is kind of what being artistic is about, Tab. It's being able to see something and wanting to bring it into the physical plane for others. Or for yourself. And that's not what it is for everyone, but it's a little bit of what it is for me. Now I see things everywhere that so few people can, and most people can't without giant buggy eyes. So after a few days of headaches, I got used to it, because I think it looks pleasant for me. I know it hurts now, trust me I know. But believe me that it can look pretty damn awesome once you're used to it.

You know, I like my eye thing, and my nigh-immortal regen thing. I got to go to school with all of you. Merissa's doing great with those arms and build, and we three met up and became friends. Isn't it so stupid how much good stuff came from that lousy day?" he asks with a laugh.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha smiles, opens her eyes and looks around again.

"I think I saw a batman cartoon about that once. No wait... that was about one bad day driving people insane and making them into super heroes or villains. Nevermind."

Tabitha, looking around, provides the next topic of conversation. "What do you normally dream about?"

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac shrugs. He doesn't have a clue what she's talking about.
"Normally? Uh, peaceful stuff like this, getting things done. Accomplishing goals and being the best person ever, just like any normal teen." he says with a grin. It's probably really hard to tell if he's being sarcastic.
"I used to have nightmares a lot about losing control of my magic, but I don't think I'll have any more of those." he says, grin ecstatic as he does so.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha leans back, her hands behind her head. "This is a nice change from what I'm used to. My dreams are never peaceful."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac smiles and sits back down by his little fire and frying pan (that were totally there the whole time I swear). Somehow the eggs haven't burned.
"Well, stay for as long as you like. I don't know how long I'll be here. Dream time is screwy, but I'm sure you know that." he says, turning back to the eggs, which start frying themselves again.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

"That I do. If I vanish suddenly, it's likely because I woke up."

And... for a little bit Tabitha just enjoys the colors. It's different, for sure. Sometimes she has to close her eyes for a bit to give them a break, but just going over colors and figuring out what ones are really new and what ones are mixes is oddly soothing.

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac goes back to his dreaming. It might take a while for Tabitha to notice, but his lucidity slips away as he goes back to cooking. And that's all he does. Cooks some eggs, cooks some bacon. At some point he'll actually eat them. But for a while he's just sitting on his little seat in the clearing, cooking and singing whatever is still echoing through his head from the days prior.
Where the streets have no name, where the streets have no name...

[Lost_Deep]

That Night-A Dream

Hm...

"Isaac? Are there any landmarks around here? Or is it just this place?"

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac is pulled back to his guest, his face contorting as his consciousness fights to regain lucidity at the reminder of Tab's presence.
"Oh, this place? Uh, well, we've got the square here, then down the street that way (he points) there's a plaza with really tiny plants, and there's more and more really tall trees as you go up north. Anything like that, you mean?" he asks the guest.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Hmm. That's the first time that Tabitha's seen someone lose dream lucidity. "Would you mind showing me around? I'm a little curious."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac jumps up from the seat, walking over and putting a hand on Tab's shoulder.
"Sure, might take a bit, as big as the place is, but I can show you 'round. What would you like to start at? Tiny bush gardens? Some of the running water? The tall trees? I'm not a huge fan of the tall trees, myself. Make me feel small." he says, brightly until that last part.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha smiles sympathetically. "I can understand feeling small. Let's start with the trees, and end where you feel happiest."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac shrugs, seeming a little annoyed, but still perks up and leads her around, occasionally calling out words,
"Singapore, Hodgepodge, Second, Spring, Park," as they pass forks and wind around the odd ways of the parted trees. The trees in question change in shape and colors often, but usually keep some of their angles and almost always have a few large indents in them.
A good way in though, Isaac stops.
"Oh yeah. Tab, what's with the zipper? Does your dream-self ride around in a Tabitha suit or is it just symbolic or something?"
He might seem a bit more energetic than usual, but then again, he was pretty chipper that afternoon...

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

Tabitha fingers the oversized pull tab self-conciously. "A little of both. I've been lucid dreaming, and dreamwalking, long enough that I can change how I look. I just can't get the zipper to go away. I'll be honest with you, this isn't what I look like at the beginning of a dream. But what I start off as is neither what I really look like or what I want to look like. So I shape something for myself to look like that isn't decided by whatever messed-up part of my subconsciousness makes the initial decision."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac gives her a sympathetic look of his own.
"Aw, you know I wouldn't judge you whatever you popped in here looking like, Tab. If you don't mind me prying, is it really that bad looking?Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with whatever gives you these powers in the first place? I hope you don't mind if I get curious. You're in here solving mysteries yourself, after all." he says.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

"Yeah, it's that bad. And maybe?" she sighs. "Listen, for as long as I can remember I've been a lucid dreamer. But I've never had control, only nightmares. And it's always the same nightmare. I don't want to talk about it, but... truthfully, I started dreamwalking to get out of my own head. I'm not aware of any situation or issues that cause them, they're just always there."

"And no, I'm not going to tell you what they are."

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

If Tab will let him, Isaac suddenly takes a step forward and hugs Tabitha.
"Oh gods Tab, I'm sorry. No wonder you asked us for this. You can come any time, that's a promise. Do you...do you think some day you could bring us back with you? I know it sounds terribly cheesy, but do you think that some day maybe we could beat whatever's bugging you instead of running? Tab, you can't just avoid something like that your whole life. It sounds absolutely awful." he says, worry filling his tone.

[Lost_Deep]

That Night- A Dream

"I don't think we could beat it, no. I've never been able to do a thing but run, in my own head or into someone else's. And trust me, I've tried." Tab gives a small hug back. "But come on! We've got better things to think about now. You've got more to see in your head than I ever have!"

[Deathkeeper]

That Night- A Dream

Isaac smiles and turns back to the path before them, eventually leading through more of the winding (but still seemingly straight) paths to where the trees are not just wide and imposing, but massively tall. They're at least twenty stories easily, and although their branches are not very wide, the canopy still darkens the place greatly. Isaac hasn't even reached a dead end. They could go further...
"Well, this is them. Really Tall Freaking Tree Street. Huge, aren't they? I still don't like 'em. Feel so tiny, sittin' under them. Did I tell you that I was a talking ant for about half a month, Tab? It's true, you know. It sucked. It really, really sucked." says Isaac, scowling as he reaches up to adjust his hat.