open 🍃 still I follow heartlines on your hand

[hearthwarming]

Who: Oriphi and anyone!
Which: Open log
Where: Around town and two (2) dreamscapes
What: Helping out with wimdy-related damages, and two traveling-themed dreamscapes. Do you want to D&D/Fantasy AU your character? Or meet Ori's friends? Here's your chance!

1 ✧ it fucken WIMDY

( A )
[ Destructive gusts of wind or no, Oriphi can usually be found helping out wherever she can around town - but this month especially so.

Some days she's around after a particularly strong bout of windiness, helping clear debris or patching up damage to buildings by using elemental magic to conjure and grow woody vines to reinforce structures. Sometimes, for a little extra flair, she makes flowers sprout all over the buildings. Though that seems like it might be pointless when the next gust will likely blow all the blooms away, it's worth it for any measure of joy it might bring to the those who dwell in the the previously-damaged home or shop or anything else. ]

Hmm... What do you think? [ This, she says to anyone who might be passing by as she finishes her work, or perhaps someone she's been helping repair this building with. ] Is it too much?

( B )
[ Other days, she's caught in the middle as the wind starts to pick up. Each time, she slams the end of her staff down, embedding it into the ground as vines come up to brace it into place. She does her best to plant her feet down and hold on, but— the livestock aren't so lucky. ]

Oh, no!

[ With one arm tightly wrapped around her staff, she reaches out with the other to send vines out in an attempt to prevent a sliding cow or sheep from going airborne. It seems to be working, but she might need additional help to hold on! ]

2 ✧ a hearth of moonlight and shadow ✧ interactive dream

[ It is well into the night, and a warm fire burns in the center of what looks like a campsite put up in the midst of the woods.

Spread out across the site are a few adventurers. A tall, lithe elven woman with copper-colored hair patrols the perimeter of the camp, embedding magical arrows into the ground in a seemingly logical pattern. In another corner, a white-haired elven man sits with an open spellbook and scrolls strewn about around him. Then, seated closer to the fire, there is (yet another) elven man with his hand gripped decisively around a bottle of wine, a tall, half-orc man sketching, a half-elven man with dark hair tuning a lute, and a masked figure. Save for the ambient sounds of jungle creatures coming alive in the night, the sound of various writing implements on parchment, and the tuning of a lute - the camp is silent.

Whose dream is this? Whose friends are these?

The answer is revealed when Oriphi emerges, seemingly out of nowhere. But the moment that she appears, it's as if the quiet vignette truly comes to life.

"Alright, this is boring. Anyone up for another team-building exercise?" declares the dark-haired elven man, setting his lute aside in resignation. Something about the dreamscape tells you that his name is Colin, and that he is a bard.

"Always," replies the bare-chested elf, Mellon, lifting his bottle of wine in agreement before he takes a hearty swig. Sian, the masked figure, simply shrugs and offers a noncommittal noise.

"Uuuuh, I'm really busy doing this drawing? It's coming out really well. Really cute, actually." And though Cibark's sketched drawing of a river scene is appealing, it's not what one would typically describe as "cute," and while his tone sounds serious, something says that he's being facetious.

Dae, the man with the glasses, slams his spellbook shut abruptly as he stands up with seemingly renewed purpose, startling Aerie and causing her to nearly snap an arrow in half. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose as the lenses catch the light of the fire, making them gleam in the dark.

"Mister Colin, what an excellent idea! The Alchemighty needs to have a strong foundation, so we've got to team-build as much as we can!"

One can practically hear the way that Colin rolls his eyes. "Aaand just like that, I suddenly don't want to." ]

I think it'll be fun!

[ Ori finally chimes in that moment, taking her seat beside the bard and shyly nudging him with her elbow and a smile on her face. The boredom on his face fades a bit, and he acquiesces, leaning back and folding his arms behind his head.

It's then that the adventurers turn their attention and gaze towards the dreamwalker present. ]

So, how about it? Two truths and a lie. You start!

3 ✧ there once was a ship that put to sea— ✧ interactive dream

[ This dream finds its inhabitants and visitors at sea, on the main deck of some kind of merchant or passenger ship. It seems to be a beautiful day out on the seas, the waters more or less mild and the skies clear and bright.

Only that the ship is actively under attack by a massive froghemoth. What is a froglike monstrosity doing out in the ocean? Can it even survive in saltwater? Don't worry about it - it's a dream. What matters is that in its many tentacles, it holds a few of Oriphi's adventuring friends.

And where is the tiefling, herself? Well, she's desperately clutching at the bulwark, looking absolutely miserable as she tries to keep her breakfast down.

See, she always gets so terribly seasick whenever they travel via ship, and she is in no condition to fight the froghemoth - at least, not without the aid of another, or at least a reminder that she's simply dreaming and could dream the seasickness away.

"Pull yourself together, Ori!" Aerie calls out from somewhere further away, nocking an arrow and letting it loose against the froghemoth. It zips through the air and finds purchase near one of the froghemoth's eyes - but it's the only one that hits before the ranger is promptly swept away by another tentacle. ]

I— I'm trying!

[ She manages to pull an arm away from the bulwark to take up her staff, summoning a bolt of fire and casting it at the monster - but she misses. ]

(( ooc: If you have any questions, especially about the dreamscape prompts, or want to plot out anything else, feel free to PM me or hit me up at camerata! ))

Comments

[hearthwarming]

My... family?

[ She glances down at the gauntlet resting gently on her shoulder; indeed, the metal is cold, yet the gesture itself brings warmth. Then, slowly, Oriphi's companions seem to fade more and more into the background, an inescapable distance forming between where the dreamwalkers and the dream figments stand. ]

I... They are. They're my family, too...

[ Too?

The dreamscape around them turns blank as the adventurers disappear into the distance, until scenery fills in around them again: this time, a forest. The very same that Somnus saw the very first time he'd walked into one of Ori's dreams. And in the middle of a clearing stands another tiefling with red skin, white hair, and silver eyes, dressed in black. She is taller and carries herself more confidently than Oriphi tends to. Also the very same tiefling that Somnus saw in that dream, but grown to adulthood.

"You're not forgetting about me again, are you, sister?" ]

[luciing]

[ Somnus' helm tips forward, as if regarding the knew tiefling cautiously, and waits for Oriphi's answer. For now, he says nothing, instead waiting patiently as the dream continues. ]

[hearthwarming]

No... Of course not, Val.

[ Ori casts a sidelong glance at her armored companion, then reaches out to tug on a gauntlet as she starts to walk over to where her sister is, as if asking him to come along and see.

Soon enough, Ori's friends begin to rejoin the scene one by one, all gathering around Valphi, some of them even throwing an arm around her (much to her chagrin).

"Any friend of Ori's is a friend of the Alchemighty's - and that especially includes siblings," one of her friends exclaims with enthusiasm.

"Even ones that have tried to kill us in the past, but ehh," chimes in another. ]

Can I introduce you to my family, Somnus?

[luciing]

[ She leads by his gauntlet, and he follows. There is some contention between her and her sister, if not from dialog alone, but how Oriphi appears more reserved around her. Yet as the crew from before reappears around them, the ease with which they address each other and their familial comfort is apparent; indeed, it is something of which to be envious.

Somnus turns his head to look at each one as if he means to memorize their faces. ]

Tell me of them, young tiefling.

[hearthwarming]

[ The adventurers, as well as Ori's sister stand at attention, waiting to be introduced. Somnus has seen most of them in various states of disarray as they fought the froghemoth, but Valphi was noticeably absent - and so she steps forward, first. ]

This is my sister, Valphi. We, um... We were mercenaries together, when we were young. But I left and we sort of... fell out of touch. But now we're back together!

[ The other tiefling shrugs, at first, though in just another moment her expression softens into something resembling relief.

Ori then takes a moment to point out each of her friends: Cibark, the tall half-orc in armor, Colin, the dark-haired half-elf bard, Sian, the mysterious masked individual, Mellon, the elven monk, Aerie, the elven ranger, and Dae, an elven wizard.

In turn, each of them offer a short greeting or acknowledgment towards Somnus. When all is said and done, though... There is something about them that just doesn't feel real, and Ori is beginning to realizes this. They aren't here... This is a dream. And as such... ]

...I don't know when I'll get to see them again, but I think... I know they'll be okay. What about you, Somnus?

[ Does he have family, too? ]

[luciing]

[ As she introduces them one by one, they each give their greeting as if they were at the end of a performance. This, he finds rather typical of dreams, for the fascimiles created rarely act without there being an action taken by their Dreamer, first. They are reactionary in nature, operating on another's psyche, merely constructs... and as she appears to realize the facade, he notices her expression changing.

It is suspect that she asks after him, but perhaps it is a way to distract from her own. ]

Like you, [ He steps forward, lifting a hand to the layer of platearmor that covers his torso. Steel-covered fingers flex inward into a loose fist, moving to the upper left side of his chest to, presumably, where his heart would be if he still had one. His hollow voice does not diminish the meaningfulness of his words. ] They are here.

[ There is security in the gesture, for he needn't dream of them to know their presence. But this is not about him.

His hand lowers. It is time for the illusion to come to an end. ]

Will you be well?

[hearthwarming]

In your heart, huh...?

[ It is, indeed, time for the illusion to end. But Somnus has reminded Oriphi of something very important during their time together in this dream - that no matter how much she longs for her friends from home, they dwell in the waking world, and the her who dreams in this realm must remain separated from them. But that doesn't mean they're apart. They are in her heart, and as long as they continue to be in her heart, she'll be able to see them from time to time in her dreams. And maybe, just maybe... That's enough.

She has family here too, now.

At his question, she closes her eyes and sighs, but offers a small smile nonetheless as she turns towards Somnus and tries to wrap her arms around his large, armored figure. ]

Yes, I think I'll be okay. Thanks for looking out for me.

[luciing]

[ She embraces a form that provides no natural warmth in return, but as her arms (attempt to) envelop him, his weight subtly shifts. His hand lifts, then rests upon her shoulder: a single pat, a touch impossibly light for all the weight of his armor, but present.

The forest of the dream rustles, and for a moment the imagery of grand trees and light sifting through their boughs wavers with shadows, shifting as if another force contends with them. A peculiar scent carries through the air, that of wheat after a night's storm. Just perhaps, there is something nostalgic about this scene that has evoked a memory of his own.

Which means it is time to go. ]

I bid you farewell.

[ If Oriphi doesn't dismiss them from the dream, he will awaken himself. ]