video;

[mirrordarkly]

[[so after a week of aimless wandering and several failed attempts to return to the Dreaming or remove the tattoo on his wrist, the Corinthian finally decides it's time to say hello. Twin black lenses peer thoughtfully down at the communicator, their owner nestled in the shade of some nondescript building.]

It is a curious thing, to be out of place. They have done their best to make us fit, but ill-fitting it must remain for those who had purpose before. Ties are not as easily cut as some lesser materials, and I find these unwanted attempts to bind... [he hums] ...mm, an irritant. I doubt that I'm the only one.

[a pause. The Corinthian glances briefly down at the tattoo on his wrist, glowing in the shadow. He frowns, then returns his attention.]

...I am also aware that there are none here I know, and I am cut off from contacting them. So instead I would have your names and a word on your world, if you would give them. Or not - as you will. But it seems the only thing to do with a communicator is to attempt to communicate; there is no point to hiding in a false world. I will even begin, to make it more comfortable. [he adds, humored:] That is a rare offer from me.

[the nightmare touches a hand to his chest genially.]

I am known as the Corinthian, nightmare of the Major Arcana in service to the Lord Shaper, Lord Dream of the Endless.

And it is good to meet you.

Comments

video

[rathercommon]

[ Cheerfully, this cat responds: ]

Hullo, then, Corinthian. My name is Kitty Jones, and a word on my world is rubbish, but getting better. Or, well, four words.

Anyway. If I can ask - did you work for someone named Dream, or was he somehow affiliated with dreams?

video

[mirrordarkly]

They are good words, Kitty Jones. [which seems a redundant name for a cat, but his face holds no judgement. No surprise, either, although interest shows in lifted brows.] Do you find them a comfort, worlds away?

As for my master, he is the dream, and the dreaming. My Lord has taken many forms and names, but that remains - all things which live and dream have come to know him, and visit his realm in their sleeping hours.

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[rathercommon]

[ Her ears flick - the Kitty-cat equivalent of a shrug. ]

My people mean a lot to me, even worlds away. So yeah, I like to think that things are all right for them.

But - right, is he a spirit of some sort, then?

video

[mirrordarkly]

Mm. Something to hold to, in a world of shifting times and faces.

But no, he is Endless. The concept is difficult for mortals at times. To think them gods would be closest, but the Endless do not rely on belief for their existence in the same manner.

video

[rathercommon]

[ Curiously: ]

I suppose I didn't know that gods relied on belief. So he's, what, the embodiment of dreaming? What other sorts of his type are there? Death, it sounds like.

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[mirrordarkly]

Gods are born of their believers - without them, what life is there to hold to?

Lady Death is his sister, yes. There exists also Lord-Lady Desire, Lord Destiny, Lady Delirium, Lady Despair, and one other. ...But him I do not know.

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[rathercommon]

[ A little wryly: ]

I suppose his name starts with a 'D,' though.

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[mirrordarkly]

Very possibly.

And you, Miss Pussycat - where are you from?

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[rathercommon]

Ms Jones, actually, if you don't mind.

[ She says that firmly, but warmly, too - there's no offense in her voice, just a firm self-assurance. ]

And I'm from London. Born there, raised there, never went anywhere else until I came to parallel-universe-America. Parallel-universe-Florida, at that, which they tell me is the strangest bit of America.

[mirrordarkly]

Ms. Jones. As you will.

Some would call that fitting for a talking cat. [not that the Corinthian would bat an eyelash. Or an eyetooth, for that matter.] I'll admit, I've been curious to explore. There's much to see.

[rathercommon]

Oh! Well, I could take you exploring. A bit. If you'd like.

[mirrordarkly]

Cats do know all the best of the secret places.

[rathercommon]

[ Cheerfully - ]

It's true. We do. I should warn you before we meet up, though - I'm only a part-time cat.

[mirrordarkly]

And the rest of the time?

[rathercommon]

Sparrow, wolf, girl, dragonfly, unicorn, old lady. One of the above. Or none of 'em. Depends on my mood.

[mirrordarkly]

A changeling then. Are you fae?

[rathercommon]

Fay? [ Her whiskers twitch with interest - she's never heard that term before. ] No. Human originally, but with a slight infusion of essence from the spirit world.

[mirrordarkly]

Interesting. How did that come about?

[rathercommon]

A bit of an unauthorized trip to the spirit world. It's hard on a human consciousness to do that.

[mirrordarkly]

Yes. I would think so.

Why were you in the spirit world?

[rathercommon]

Searching for reinforcements.

[ Her whiskers droop just a bit. This isn't a happy memory. ]

My world was...Well, it wasn't being attacked by rampaging spirits. Some ambitious idiots set spirits loose on my world, and the poor things were so filled with anger and a desire for vengeance that there was no reasoning with them. So I went to find spirits who would help us in the human world, using a ritual of the great magician Ptolemy. And so I crossed over, and I found allies. Or, well, an ally.

But that was enough.

[mirrordarkly]

Ambition and idiocy are too often intertwined. At least those that manage to hide from the retribution of others tend to stumble into it themselves.

[you should have eaten their eyes tbh.]

And daring of you, to risk more than your mortal life doing such. What would you have done, if you had sought out an ally and found none?

[rathercommon]

Well...

[ That's...a good question. And one she hasn't ever actually really considered. At the time, she was so fixed on this one desperate hope that she'd not even considered a plan B. And afterwards, it had worked, so what was the point in looking back? ]

If I hadn't found an ally, I'd probably have been stranded forever in the spirit world. But supposing I managed to make it back, I suppose I'd have fought for as long as I could. Bought a bit of time for people to escape. [ A beat, and then firmly - ] But this worked, so there's no real use dwelling in what-ifs. It was bad, but not so bad as it might have been. If I get the chance to go back and change it, I'll come up with a better plan. Otherwise, it's all just tormenting myself.

[mirrordarkly]

[he seems satisfied with her answer, and he is. That she was willing to put herself in that scenario at all was more than most were willing. To leave a comfort zone; that's the only place the true self can be faced.]

If you get the chance? [he tilts his head.]

Are there those who don't return?

[rathercommon]

Oh. Well. If patterns hold, no - we'll all go back someday. But I'm talking about seriously, really, if I go back. [ A paw waves, encompassing the space-time continuum. ] If I can find a way to return to an earlier point in time.