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[It's a shame he'll not get to appreciate the sight fully, even in its spoopy state. Dream pulls into Arthur's imaginings to change their surroundings, and for a moment they warp and transform without any issue at all, like a watercolor painting shifting colors and brushstrokes into a completely different scene.
It's about midway through this process that Dream feels something stir. Something not quite right. A strange, distant hunger that turns into a sensation not-so-distant, and then suddenly it is at the forefront, and that presence—even in a dream, it's still here?—scrambles to the forefront of his mind, filling it completely with thoughts he cannot be certain are his own. No, they mustn’t be. He’s never felt—
Hungry. Hungry!
Not desperately, not like this. He is Endless, he does not-]
Stop.
[He mutters, suddenly, hand pressing to his forehead. The shifting environment shudders all around them, caught partway through a change.]
It's about midway through this process that Dream feels something stir. Something not quite right. A strange, distant hunger that turns into a sensation not-so-distant, and then suddenly it is at the forefront, and that presence—even in a dream, it's still here?—scrambles to the forefront of his mind, filling it completely with thoughts he cannot be certain are his own. No, they mustn’t be. He’s never felt—
Hungry. Hungry!
Not desperately, not like this. He is Endless, he does not-]
Stop.
[He mutters, suddenly, hand pressing to his forehead. The shifting environment shudders all around them, caught partway through a change.]
[ Something suddenly feels wrong and Arthur's eyes fly open - not the ones in the waking world, not yet. Sleep still has an iron grip on him, but dream-Arthur starts, looking around wildly as the world is caught somewhere between his mother's gardens and the great library of his youth. ]
Dream? What's going on?
Dream? What's going on?
[Dream hisses through his teeth, and for a second he is a large black cat, and then he is not, and everything around them is flickering in a similar way, vacillating between what existed moments before and what exists in the half-library of now. Like fractal pieces, falling apart.]
The baku— It’s—
[Hungry! Hungry!
He cannot finish his sentence. Pieces of the dream stream away like ribbons of sand, siphoning away solidity, and color, and the very spirit of what their surroundings may represent, and begin to snake in his direction. They swirl towards Dream, bleeding into him, as all he can do is clutch at his face and—
Feel that wrongly impossible sensation of being sated.]
The baku— It’s—
[Hungry! Hungry!
He cannot finish his sentence. Pieces of the dream stream away like ribbons of sand, siphoning away solidity, and color, and the very spirit of what their surroundings may represent, and begin to snake in his direction. They swirl towards Dream, bleeding into him, as all he can do is clutch at his face and—
Feel that wrongly impossible sensation of being sated.]
[ Every instinct in Arthur is screaming that something is wrong, wrong, wrong, and yet there's nothing he can do. He can't comprehend what's happening, asleep as he is, and can but watch, ears pinned back in fear, as pieces of their surroundings sliver off and slide away into the man before him - and it feels like something of Arthur goes with it. Some small but terribly important thread unravelling.
Something on the fringes of Arthur's consciousness flutters to life, and a voice practically pleads in his ear, Wake up.
It is with a sudden gasp that Arthur does just that, bolting upright in bed and flinging the covers away. He's disoriented for a long, long moment, trying to put together the pieces of what he'd dreamt while reality slowly comes back into focus. Yet even when all else settles, a part of him still feels adrift, like he's lost something precious. It isn't a large feeling, but it's... unsettling nonetheless.
It's a while longer before he reaches for his phone on the bedside table and punches in a hasty message. ]
what happened?
Something on the fringes of Arthur's consciousness flutters to life, and a voice practically pleads in his ear, Wake up.
It is with a sudden gasp that Arthur does just that, bolting upright in bed and flinging the covers away. He's disoriented for a long, long moment, trying to put together the pieces of what he'd dreamt while reality slowly comes back into focus. Yet even when all else settles, a part of him still feels adrift, like he's lost something precious. It isn't a large feeling, but it's... unsettling nonetheless.
It's a while longer before he reaches for his phone on the bedside table and punches in a hasty message. ]
what happened?
[ Honestly, in the time it takes Dream to initially reply, Arthur begins to worry that something bad might have happened to him thanks to... whatever had just transpired. That he gets a text message at last is something of a relief, even if the contents of said message are concerning on its own.
He frankly has no idea how to reply. His usual curiosity and endless wellspring of words have left him. Eventually he settles on a rather paltry, ]
it's fine
[ Only it's not, really, and they probably both know that. ]
i'm admittedly quite shaken
are there
ill effects
of having one's dream eaten?
He frankly has no idea how to reply. His usual curiosity and endless wellspring of words have left him. Eventually he settles on a rather paltry, ]
it's fine
[ Only it's not, really, and they probably both know that. ]
i'm admittedly quite shaken
are there
ill effects
of having one's dream eaten?
["Fine." No, it cannot be, and they both know it. Dream knows that it must have affected the other man to some degree, for a baku is only helpful when it devours nightmares; stuffing itself on pleasant dreams only deprive the dreamer of precious things. Wants, drive, a feeling of fulfillment.
He should have been more careful. He's a fool for trying.]
How do you feel?
[-is his only response to that for now.]
He should have been more careful. He's a fool for trying.]
How do you feel?
[-is his only response to that for now.]
bit of a loaded question, that
[ Arthur heaves a shaky sigh, staring down at the phone in his hands for a long while as he tries yet again to sort out how he's feeling. It proves a bit easer, somewhat removed from his rude awakening, though the results are no less unnerving. ]
It is difficult to explain, but I feel as if I've lost something. Perhaps not something large or terribly important, but I notice the absence of it.
[ Arthur heaves a shaky sigh, staring down at the phone in his hands for a long while as he tries yet again to sort out how he's feeling. It proves a bit easer, somewhat removed from his rude awakening, though the results are no less unnerving. ]
It is difficult to explain, but I feel as if I've lost something. Perhaps not something large or terribly important, but I notice the absence of it.
[Which confirms it.
Another long pause.]
When a baku feeds too much, and unnecessarily, it might leave the dreamer wanting. A feeling of hollow purposelessness, in however that manifests in the individual.
The dream was severed before it could fully gorge itself. What has gone missing should return itself to you, slowly.
Another long pause.]
When a baku feeds too much, and unnecessarily, it might leave the dreamer wanting. A feeling of hollow purposelessness, in however that manifests in the individual.
The dream was severed before it could fully gorge itself. What has gone missing should return itself to you, slowly.
[ Well, if there's a silver lining to be had, he'll take it. ]
I see. I take some solace in knowing it isn't permanent.
Still, if it's all the same to you, I think we ought to call this the end of that little experiment, for now.
I see. I take some solace in knowing it isn't permanent.
Still, if it's all the same to you, I think we ought to call this the end of that little experiment, for now.
I know you didn't mean for this to happen. As you say, I will be fine. I just need some time.
Then I shall speak to you again sometime soon.
]Greetings, Emmet. As luck would have it, I've something for you as well. Where would you like to meet?
I can be waiting for you in the lobby of the motel.
Perfect. I shall meet you there in short order.
[ And sure enough, he wanders out into the lobby a bit later, an orange-wrapped package tucked under one arm. ]
[ And sure enough, he wanders out into the lobby a bit later, an orange-wrapped package tucked under one arm. ]
[ Emmet is hanging out in the lobby, holding a small wrapped gift with a berry on top. Joltik is sitting on his shoulder, wearing a sweater that Da Vinci made for him. ]
Hi Arthur.
Hi Arthur.
Greetings Emmet, Conductor.
[ A nod. Clover flits over to Joltik happily, a strawberry in her hands that she offers to him. ]
Ah, I see we're wasting no time.
[ A nod. Clover flits over to Joltik happily, a strawberry in her hands that she offers to him. ]
Ah, I see we're wasting no time.
[ Joltik happily takes it with a chirp! And then gestures over to the berry on top of the wrapped gift. that's for you! ]
They have gotten into the spirit.
They have gotten into the spirit.
They truly have. Speaking of...
[ He offers the present out to Emmet. It's a coloring book (non-adult version thank god). ]
Happy Starlight, friend.
[ He offers the present out to Emmet. It's a coloring book (non-adult version thank god). ]
Happy Starlight, friend.
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