[open] 🔶 more nightmares? that's just life

[noblegarnet]

Who: Ferran, his dreamscape & you!
Which: interactive dream
What: Ferran dreams of his last moments before arriving in Reverein.
Warnings: blood, unhealthy relationships?? (I'll match format!)

A penthouse balcony looks over a lit city late at night, the roar of the freezing wind almost drowning out the distant sound of traffic. But any observers would only have a brief moment to appreciate it before the sudden appearance of two figures in a flash of glittering light: a dark man in a cape, and a teenager in a torn costume with apparent shackles, bleeding heavily from injuries to his shoulder and side. The former, already holding the latter in a tight grip, places a clawed gauntlet over one of the wounds where a faint light begins to glow.

After a few moments, the young man's expression seems to relax from his grimacing, orange eyes staring dully at the night sky as the bleeding slows and eventually stops.

"Why," the man hisses at his ward, his expression tight and brow furrowed deeply behind his eye mask as he continues his healing. Ferran lets out a weak chuckle, apparently unmoved by the sharp tone and look.

"It's funny," he responds with hardly more than a whisper. "I should hate you. I even fantasized about... taking you with me, once."

There's a faint smile on his face, despite the lingering pain and the gravity of his words. The dark markings on his jaw spread further out onto his face, as if to mirror some underlying fracture as he speaks.

"I can't anymore. The thought of you being hurt... I can't stand it..."

He turns his gaze to Onyx, whose expression has changed in an almost unreadible way—but behind the intensity of the clear displeasure, there's shock in the slight widening of his golden eyes.

"I guess you're upset, though. Sorr—"

With a loud crack, Ferran suddenly slumps in his guardian's arms with his eyes open, and his fantastical costume disappears, returning him to his normal appearance in a pair of bloodstained pajamas anyone who met him when he first came to Reverein might recognize.

Still carrying the young man, Onyx gets to his feet, apparently unbothered by any dreamwalkers who may have appeared nearby. When his glowing gaze turns to them, it's barely an acknowledgement.

Comments

[shithogs]

[She doesn't recognize the older figure in the dream, but she sure as hell recognizes Ferran— and the pajamas he'd been wearing when they'd first met. Those had raised a hell of a lot of questions, ones he hadn't been interested in answering, but Kainé thinks at least a few of the pieces are about to fall into place.]

Hey—

[Her voice cuts through the air as she starts after Onyx, but the gaze that turns in her direction seems to look right through her.]

Hey, where the hell do you think you're taking him?!

[noblegarnet]

[Onyx simply regards her with an unchanging expression, still apparently displeased with the situation. Her question only seems to worsen his mood.]

Inside. Do you think leaving him out in the cold is conducive to his health?

[With that short statement, he pushes the glass door to the penthouse open and steps inside with his ward—a large space that would have been clearly expensive, even if it hadn't been at the top of such a tall building. The man apparently has no issue with the idea of Kainé following, as he does nothing to close the door behind him.]

[shithogs]

[Ask a stupid question, she guesses. She clenches her jaw as he turns his back to her again, but even knowing this is a dream, she cannot bring herself to stand still and remain outside while Ferran is carted off. She's quick to follow, leaving the door open in her own wake as well.

Having walked in on the aftermath of whatever had actually happened, none of this looks good.]

Are you the shit who did this to him?

[The environment is unlike anything she's ever seen back home, with the possibility of some ruins bearing a vague resemblance to the architecture, but she's not interested in taking in the sights or admiring the decor. Her gaze remains fixed on Ferran and Ferran alone.]

[noblegarnet]

[Even if Kainé has no interest in the surroundings, she'll probably still be able to appreciate that the temperature inside is comfortable as promised. The place is clearly lived in.]

He did this to himself.

[Even with the disdain in Onyx's voice, there's a hint of something more than dismissive annoyance in the eyes behind the mask. Hopeful thinking from Ferran, perhaps.]

Putting himself between me and the shot I was about to deflect... idiot boy.

[shithogs]

[Idiot boy is probably right, if he’d really gone and done that. Setting her jaw, Kainé folds her arms in front of her, raising a harsh brow in question.]

Why the hell would he do something like that?

[Who the fuck was this asshole that Ferran thought he was worth it?]

Who are you?

[piromare]

What's Lio supposed to do in this situation? Watching someone get... knocked out? Probably not killed? The blood is shocking. Heartwrenching, especially when he thinks about the one who sent him such a lovely present not too long ago. He grits his teeth, balling his hands into fists, staring at the man with the golden eyes and the cool expression.

"What'd you do to him?"

He's practically bristling with energy, ready to fight if he has to. Especially if it means getting Ferran out of danger.

[noblegarnet]

Onyx's expression hardens, and though his posture remains straight and proud, his armored hands tighten their grip on the young man still staring blankly upwards.

"If you're referring to the blood," he answers snidely, "it's no fault of mine that he leapt in the way of my blade."

And really, it was unlikely the man could have anticipated such a thing. Ferran himself was surprised by his actions, in some ways.

"As far as what I've done, I've made sure his wounds aren't the end of him."

[piromare]

Can he believe Onyx? After all, Lio has no leverage here, other than to attempt to fight and win. His body is aching, ready to take out his frustrations on this man with the sharp tone. His actions and his words say something else but all Lio can do is focus on Ferran and how he wants to get him out of here as quickly as possible.

"... then what are you going to do now?"

One hand squeezes a little tighter, florescent flames starting to gather as he takes quick stock of his situation. If this man cares about Ferran and doesn't want to expose him to any further danger, then... that probably limits what he'll do now. Right?

Either way. He's ready to do whatever it takes.

[noblegarnet]

The man's expression settles into something more distant, but still hard, as if seriously considering the question further into the future. What will he do now that his weapon may be broken? Perhaps it's a more hopeful thought in Ferran's mind that leads Onyx to say:

"There's little to do but let him rest."

With that apparently decided, he turns his eyes to the power that's gathering in Lio's hand.

"Put those away. You'll do nothing to help him with flames."

[piromare]

"Says you."

Still... if he doesn't stand down now, then he won't be able to think clearly. Even now he's understanding what kind of situation he's in--- there's nothing he can actually do. Where he is has either already happened or may never happen; dreams are like that, aren't they? Lio chose to be here. It doesn't mean he won't try to fight in order to learn more about this young man who he wants to desperately help.

"Sure just rest is going to do him good? I'm... how can I trust you?"

He wants to ask if he'd be lied to, but he catches himself. Better to say it differently than be accusatory.

[oathkeeper]

[The first thing Sora notices is the sting of wind hitting his cheeks. The bright lights of some foreign place reflecting in the cement and brief flicker of traffic. For a moment Sora almost thinks he's dreaming his own dream- one of high towers and bright city lights and his own reflection mirroring back at him through rain puddles. But the voices he hears jars him sharply out of those thoughts. He sees a man and ...]

Ferran?!

[He snaps to attention, letting the haze of the dream finally sink in. He looks to the pair and reaches out. Almost ready to call a weapon or some flash of magic in urgency.]

Stop! Where do you think you're going?!

[noblegarnet]

[If the man were the sort inclined to rolling his eyes, he'd undoubtedly be doing so now—but he merely stares at the strange young man, unimpressed with the outcry.]

Inside our home.

[As if to prove the ineffectiveness of Sora's order, he turns to do so, pushing open the glass door that leads into the large apartment. He pays no attention to the bloodstains left on the balcony's tiles, nor the few his armored boots leave behind.]

[oathkeeper]

Wait!

[Sora is quick on his feet to follow.]

What happened to him?! Who are you!

[There's blood spatter and noise. Sora feels a spark of dread in his stomach. Realizing he doesn't know enough about Ferran to know what is happen here in this dream at all. But he feels the urge to find out or at least find out if Ferran is really okay. Who is this man and is he helping Ferran?]

[noblegarnet]

[Rather than answer with a name, Onyx simply replies with the information Sora is likely to find relevant. There's little reason for pointless chatter now.]

My ward found himself under the foolish impression that I needed protection. You can see the result.

[The apartment is certainly warmer, at least—if not for the blood, it might even seem like the setting for a more pleasant dream. It's clearly lived in, even if the decor leans towards a clean modern look. The man seems to be heading towards one of the dark couches in the spacious living area. There's really not much to do except clean up, at this point...]

[oathkeeper]

Your ward? So you do know him!

[What does having a ward mean again? That he is Ferran's bodyguard or babysitter right...? Either way, Sora is following with that same look of concern in his eyes. Taking a moment to really take in the dream. This place is so modern looking it reminds him of that dreamy city in his own memories again.]

If he was trying to protect you that must mean you mean a lot to him. What made him jump the gun?

[And is he going to be okay?]

[sleightofhans]

[Well, this sure explains a lot.

Granted, Hans still doesn't entirely understand what's going on, but given how Ferran reacted to his own death and subsequent lack of care towards Hans' misdeeds, it's been clear that something is going on with him. And now, he finds this older man that Ferran hated and wanted to kill at some point, but now, doesn't even want to hurt him. Quite a big change, if you ask him.

It's almost impressive. Hans takes a step forward, although he doesn't draw any weapon just yet. Seems like a bad idea anyway.]

What happened here? [Hans decides to take a worried tone, even though this is technically Ferran's dream and knows what he's really like.]

[noblegarnet]

[Hans's relatively calm tone sets the mood for their interaction, and rather than respond in an aggravated way to the apparent intruder, Onyx simply answers with a low voice that's nonetheless unhappy:]

He decided to throw himself between me and one of his friends... as though that would be worthwhile.

[The man walks towards the glass door to the apartment's living area, his armored boots clacking with every purposeful step. Ferran remains unmoving in his guardian's arms.]

All it's done is degrade his spirit further.

[sleightofhans]

[...Protecting this apparent murderer from his own friends. Truly, what is Ferran's motivation for doing such a thing? He wonders if this man would know and even if he did, this is still technically a dream. Everything he sees he probably has to take with some speculation.

Nonetheless, he follows the other man, feeling somewhat confident that he won't be attacked at this point.]

When you're speaking about that, I imagine you aren't talking in just a metamorphic sense. [It's just a guess, but he did see something--] Those cracks on his face...

[noblegarnet]

[It's true that despite the clear fact that Hans should not be in Onyx's home, this dream manifestation of the man has no apparent desire to remove him. Instead, he confirms the prince's suspicions:]

A physical symptom of the corruption... and a clear sign he's getting worse more quickly than I anticipated.

[After all, Onyx wouldn't have put so much time and effort into making a weapon that would break immediately. He would have planned for Ferran to last until the task was done, surely.]

[sleightofhans]

[A physical symptom of corruption. In other words, something magic related, because when has it not been magic related? He's grown used to it by now at least.]

And since you're familiar with his degradation, I'm assuming you're the man responsible for his corruption. Afflicted some magic on him. [He seems less than impressed, but Hans doesn't pretend to be overly upset. He's trying to get information, for one, and this guy is important to Ferran despite being terrible in some manner.

Well, if he truly caused Ferran's current state, then that speaks for itself.]

[fatedmahou]

[Arriving on the balcony, Mirai hadn't known what to look out for. It didn't take long for the two of them to pop into view. She recognized this man from before. Though she was not one to succumb to anger very often, she felt her blood boil, knowing enough that this man was a bad influence on Ferran. The shackles and wounds were enough to warrant her attention instead of Onyx though.

She wanted to call out to him... Let Ferran know she was here, but nothing came out. Those pajamas were familiar. So it turned out that they've both seen what had happened before arriving at Reverein. The moment he slumped unconsciously in Onyx arms, she lurched forward finally.]

Wait! What did you do to him?! Is there any way to stop his wounds?

[Shaking lightly, she ignored her thoughts on the man for the time being.]

Please... Please let me help him somehow.

[noblegarnet]

[The yellow eye that the man turns to Mirai seems to have some hint of... recognition, almost, but his response to her pleas is simple.]

I've already stopped the bleeding.

[He doesn't sound pleased, exactly, but he has no apparent desire to confront Mirai with anything other than words, and turns his back to the lights of the city. The smears of blood are bright marks against the white tile and his silver gauntlets.]

Whatever power you harbor... There's nothing you can do to change the state of his soul.

[fatedmahou]

But... his face its... [Sir?? What about the cracking???] What do you mean by that? What's wrong with the state of his soul?

[noblegarnet]

[The man finishes her trailed off statement:]

—hardly different from before.

[Even in dreams, Ferran is almost never without those cracks, but he doesn't bring them up as long as no one else does. He only has a vague understanding of what they are, himself, so what's the point?]

These marks aren't a physical ailment. They're the result of the corruption that's taken root in his soul... [He turns his attention back to Ferran, brow furrowed under his eye mask.] ... and this foolish effort has caused to spread further than I anticipated.

[fatedmahou]

[Sir... She really doesn't like you... But she's behaving herself. Instead of pushing the cracks, she focused on what he said after that instead.]

C-corruption?! What corruption ails his soul then? What is the cause of it? Is there any way to fix it?