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[inklongdry]

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"Arthur Inkwell here.
I've no earthly idea how this thing is supposed to work, but leave me a message if you're so inclined. I'll retrieve it at some point or another!"

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[inklongdry]

By my family. They didn't wish for me to live my life solely in the halls of the library.

[ He reaches up with his free hand, fingers gliding along the spines of the books as they walk. ]

I longed for more and they were happy to encourage me to grasp it.

[dreamlord]

[Ah. Morpheus has only gotten a glimpse of Arthur's mother amid the dream he visited, but somehow this does not surprise him. She had been kind, supportive, and it's easy to see how his family as a whole might want him to experience the world, rather than just the pages of books.]

The best story is the one you can craft for yourself. I am glad you were able to pursue the opportunity to do so.

[The books shift and move beneath Arthur's touch as they walk.]

I am eons old, but it was not until recently I felt that I was able to do the same for myself.

[inklongdry]

[ It's very surreal, the way the books seem to have a life of their own, and yet fascinating all the same. ]

Is that so? What was stopping you before? ... Well, assuming it wasn't your imprisonment.

[dreamlord]

[Dreams, man.]

No. My imprisonment, and the actions I took afterward, actually led to me feeling more... fulfilled, I suppose. Though I had been so angry at the time.

[Even if he lost one century. Because he lost one century. Not much to Dream, but a very harsh blow to his responsibilities.]

It was not until I was forced to look for what was stolen from me that I truly began to feel as though I were- [He pauses. What is the right word? What had he told Death?] -on a quest. An adventure, of sorts.

[inklongdry]

[ Ah yes, he remembers now. Dream talking about his purpose, or lack thereof. He casts Dream a sidelong glance. ]

I was not aware that the lord of all dreams fancied himself an adventurer, as well.

[dreamlord]

I did not fancy myself much of anything. It was a necessity, at first, to find my missing objects of power and restore myself to my proper state.

[But, as he said, he had felt so hollow after he was done.]

But I did miss the journey after it was finished. You would not think the King of Dreams would be wanting for much...

[But you would be wrong!]

[inklongdry]

Well then, once we are free of the prison, mayhap it will be time for a new adventure.

[ Arthur has never been happier than he has been while adventuring. It's fulfilling in a way he didn't think possible. ]

[dreamlord]

Maybe.

[Lucifer is out there making sure Dream will go on quite the "adventure" soon, probably, but he can live on in ignorance regarding that for now.]

And maybe together, someday, if circumstances would allow for it.

[inklongdry]

I'd like that. There's much and more of my world I would like to see, and the experience would be made all the better with someone dear at my side.

[dreamlord]

[Oh... He squeezes his hand as they move leisurely down the aisle.]

The libraries first, of course.

[nerds]

[inklongdry]

[ He laughs. ]

Truly, you are a man after my own heart.

[ Nevermind that Dream is not technically a man, and more of an anthropomorphized aspect of the universe. It's fine. ]

[dreamlord]

[A smile.]

Then, after that, wherever else you would like to go.

[He would like to see what a world like Arthur’s has to offer. Every one is so different, unique.]

And someday, when we are free of this place, you will be able to visit me in the real Dreaming, too.

[inklongdry]

[ Oh, he's already thinking of all the places they could go, over all Eorzea and across the seas. Hingashi, Thavnair, and beyond. Arthur longs to see them all. ]

I would like that very much.

[ Any of it, all of it. ]

Though I imagine you're giving me quite an accurate representation of it now.

[dreamlord]

[Any and all of it. He would love to see it.]

Yes and no. It is a hollow representation because it is missing an essential few. Mostly, Lucienne, the chief librarian. Or Mervyn, found straightening up every corner of the Dreaming. It is strange, too, not to hear the beating wings of my raven, Matthew.

[inklongdry]

I see... 'tis missing a bit of life. Something not so easily captured, I must imagine.

[ He will try not to be jealous of the person who acts as the librarian of this place. Talk about a dream job. (Heh.) ]

You've a raven? A familiar of some sort?

[dreamlord]

Not captured as well as I would like, no.

[And it would make him miss this place too much, when there is not yet a way to really return.]

He is my messenger, able to travel between the waking world and the Dreaming without issue, when I am otherwise busy or unable to do the same. He was once a mortal man, after all; for him, it is a simple task.

[And, well, SINCE MATTHEW ISN'T HERE TO HEAR IT-]

He is also a friend.

[inklongdry]

[ Dream is being tsun and Arthur doesn't even know it. ]

How does a mortal man become such a creature?

[dreamlord]

[Maybe if he meets Matthew or any of his cohorts, really, he will get a sense for it someday.]

Their souls are simply chosen to live in the Dreaming after they die, and take the shape of a raven if they agree. Matthew was actually chosen by Lucienne to help me in my quest to retrieve my missing items of power. I did not actually want a new messenger at the time.

But my librarian does as she pleases, in her own way. [AND THUS HE GOT A RAVEN]

[inklongdry]

[ What a way to spend eternity, he thinks. ]

It seems like you came around to him eventually.

[dreamlord]

He has long proven his worth. And he has saved me, too.

[During his momentous rap battle with the devil.]

You will find that I am more sentimental than I appear at first glance. [this surprises no one] He was bound to have... grown on me.

[inklongdry]

[ Oh, there's another smile, something knowing at the edges. ]

I believe I am finding it more and more by the moment. Your sentimentality.

[dreamlord]

[Oh, somehow that makes him feel self-conscious, but not entirely in a bad way. Like Arthur is beginning to see right through him, though he has nothing really to hide -- and he'll be the first to admit that he can be sentimental.]

...A flattering trait, I hope.

[inklongdry]

I think so. I'd not be here, otherwise.

[dreamlord]

[He supposes not. But sentimentality can be a blessing and a curse; more than once has a sibling of his (see: Desire) taken advantage of it before.

Of course, not that he would ever expect such a thing from Arthur, nor for him to see it as a negative. He is far too generous of a man.]

…of course. [A beat.] When we are done here, I can show you the rest of the Dreaming, if you like.

[inklongdry]

[ No, Arthur isn't one to take advantage of anyone for any reason, but least of all because they're sentimental. It's a positive, in his book. He casts Dream a smile, sweet and soft. ]

I would like that very much.