1921/Fifth-Dimensional Unification of Electromagnetics and Gravitation

Fifth-Dimensional Unification of Electromagnetics and Gravitation
Date of Scene:	09 September 2016
Location:	Dreams
Synopsis:	Ariel comes to visit Mamoru's dreams in kind of a panic-- and then Mamoru pulls Naru into his dreams because she's having nightmares-- and then Seishi joins them. And then Kunzite joins them. Naru's dreams are awful, and Ariel's are worse. They can EAT HER. Technically, so can Naru's...
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Naru Osaka, Ariel Theodore, Seishi Tamashige, Kunzite

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Today, during the day, Mamoru and Naru got absolutely covered in mud and experimented with magic and fought with philosophy.

Apparently, tonight, Mamoru's decided to see if Naru would like to continue the conversation in another arena -- taught by inheritors of a sacred duty to fight nightmares to lucid dream, and already able to bring people into his own dreams through physical proximity or psychometry, he's since learned (or remembered how) to use his powers in broader senses.

Naru is relatively easy for him to find if he's looking, these days, and her dreams easier still: her soul is a beacon sharper than ever before, and the pattern and signature of her mind and energy are well known to him after their session of rebuilding. Waking, the process is more difficult to describe. Asleep, it's much simpler:

Through corridors of his own dreams and out onto a forest path, holding a delicate translucent-edged ceramic white rose in one hand, Endymion comes to a door set in the air and politely knocks.

----

No matter what Naru's been dreaming, no matter how little aware she's been that she's dreaming, no matter what those dreams look like or where she is in them or how wide they are, a door is nearby her. It's always been there, as dream logic establishes by fiat, and it's never been a threat. There's no compulsion to open it, but the polite knock is a resounding thing, attention-grabbing and solid and real; there's a sense of expectant waiting and bright cheer associated with it.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It was a helluva day. It was the sort of day that wriggles tendrils of thoughts and ideas into one's head, settling there to lie in wait.

It is also the sort of day that tends to infiltrate one's dreams as much as it infiltrates one's waking moments. Quietly, seeding notions into the rich fertile mix of one's subconscious.

Whatever Naru has been doing in her dreams, that door is a beacon. It is there. It was the point of escape that she was aiming for, no matter that she didn't know that until she started. The fact that it comes with a polite knock is irrelevant as it is flung open and deposits a breathless Naru through it and firmly slammed behind her. The briefly opened door showed darkness, flashes of green and light and little else before she got it closed.

Naru leans on it a moment, ensuring that it stays shut with the force of her body as she catches her breath and then looks up to her visitor.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    When she sleeps, Ariel Theodore is not Ariel Theodore. A unicorn has but one name to go by, if ever any at all, and the human surname taken in favor of her human guise is dropped, and she simply is.
    Mamoru will understand; it would be impossible to invade a dream such as his and go unnoticed. But the prince of the earth had told her his door would be open to her whenever she needed it. This is why he would probably know in the instant she crossed the threshold: Ariel is here.
    Surprisingly, the little unicorn comes alone, without her behemoth starlight canine, and without her tiny suit of knightly armor. Her entry may be surprisingly timid. Just a poke of her head through the door, at first, a glance left, a glance right; once more finding herself in the familiar courtyard from before. She takes a beat, fidgeting and fussing with the hem of her tunic before bare feet shuffle onto the fine stone.
    Part of her is silently glad to not meet Endymion or Mamoru upon arrival. If only for the simple reason that she had hoped to be as unintrusive and not a bother- or as much as she could be, when simply stepping into the dream of another, even if prior invitation and offer had been standing. At the same time she had been wanting to see him- to at least see someone, even Kunzite if he were present.
    But her unannounced arrival is summarily followed with a flop, the little unicorn-girl simply allowing herself to crash to the ground and work on catching her breath as though she had been worn out before coming through the door.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Nightmares besetting his friends all around! At least he has got somewhere that can act as haven. Mamoru catches Naru, startled; his bespectacled eyes are almost comically wide as he looks down at her in his arms, having staggered back a step and a half at the impact. Without a word, he looks up past her, reaches, locks the door she came in through -- and it vanishes.

"Well!" he says, not detaching her, but not hanging on, "I guess my timing was pretty good. You're still dreaming, but now you're in my dream. I thought you might want to..."

Mamoru pauses and blinks, then looks back over his shoulder. The path is incredibly short; behind the tall boy, Naru'll be able to see it between the trees and bright greenery: a red-tiled roof and a whitewashed stone, wood, and plaster building, colorful mosaic floor beyond the arched doorway, bright splashes of sunlight everywhere on the other side -- unlike the dappled and moving green shade provided by the foliage above.

"And we have another visitor. Come on, it's safe," he says, and starts leading Naru, whether she lets go, partially lets go, or stays very attached. "Anyway I figured you might want to experiment someplace even safer, but I could just give you a tour if you want. Or you can hang out just inside out of sight, if you just want some recovery time after whatever you just ran from. There's a couch you can chill on in the anteroom."

He calls past Naru, "Hi Ariel! Be there in a sec!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Uh." Naru is caught, and wasn't expecting to have Mamoru there. Not actually him. She blinks a moment, processing this, relaxing as she hears the click of the lock and she nods her acknowledgement of it being his dream now.

"How.. how are you in my dream? Or me in yours?" Naru asks and then holds up a hand. "No.. right now.. don't care, cause you have excellent timing. Thank you."

Naru follows Mamoru's gaze back along the path, staying close but not actually attached. Independant git, this one. "Do you usually have visitors to your dreams?" She asks and then quirks her head at the familiar name. "Ariel? I just met someone named Ariel yesterday." She adds after another moment's thought. "I'd like to take a few and perhaps have my adrenaline come down from freak out levels, yeah."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    In an instant, Ariel sits up, bolt upright; floppy ears pricked up up and spreading; eyes wide for just a fraction at the call of her name. It's no surprise to her that Mamoru would be aware of her entry, but the call from the distance startled her nevertheless.
    Something has her jumpy. And it takes the unicorn a few heartbeats to let herself settle, while waiting for her gracious host of hosts. There is something of an embarrassed flush to her face when Mamoru arrives, a silvery glow on her cheeks as she at least maintains proper manners long enough to pick herself up and give a bow proper enough for polite decorum. "I know you said your door was open to me. I didn't want to interrupt, or be a bother, but it was sort of right there when I needed it, just now."
    And it looks like she needed it. The girl looks a bit haggard; tunic frayed and a slight shadowing under her eyes.
    It will probably be funny later when Naru is good and rested enough for Ariel to see.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And there's Mamoru, yes: he looks just like his afterschool (and post post-adventure shower) waking self today -- glasses, bare feet, yukata. Even if summer vacation is over, summer itself isn't entirely so, and he'll get away with the yukatas for as long as possible. After all, who wants pants if they're unnecessary? Probably no one (various definitions of 'necessary' notwithstanding). His feet pad across the sun-warmed mosaic tile on his way to Ariel, and his expression's the flavor of kind that children and cats always get. "It is," he says.

"Moreover," he adds as he arrives within exact conversational distance and bows in return, "it's not a bother at all. If you'd rather I left you alone, I'm certainly willing to do so for your comfort, but my other guest needs a little while to calm herself down. It's an unlucky coincidence that she was in a nightmare the first time I decided to find her dreams and invite her here -- or lucky, for her heart rate, but it makes adjusting to the idea of true dreams a little more difficult."

Endymion's found that comity, affable observance of protocol, and shop talk often go a long way in distraction from distress. "So you aren't at all interrupting. Are you hungry, or would you like some juice...? ...and a place to sit down, goodness."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    The summerwear gets something of a bleary stare; the girl still getting used to the culture and clothes of present day Japan. But in a moment of thought, it's not too dissimilar from a tunic or robe; aside from being much longer, and lighter. Ariel takes a beat to rub at her eyes and return to working on settling herself down. "Another guest?" It's mild curiosity there, but not pressed very hard. There are other things at hand afterwards.
    "M-maybe something soft." A place to sit sure would be nice. Better than the girl sprawling amid the colors of the floor mosaics and shedding glitter everywhere between small tiles. It would be impossible to clean if not for the fact that dreams really make almost anything a possibility.
    "I met a girl yesterday." She begins, "That was having problems with bad dreams. She goes to my school." Ariel thinks of others first, apparently, completely clueless that the very girl she's bringing up is on a couch not too far off. "So I thought I'd try and tell Seishi." Shop talk can go a long way to help bleed off stress, and that may be why she slipped right into a topic that clearly isn't what has her on edge. But she also knows Mamoru is just as good a person to go to about dream-related issues- or at least feels like he is.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Something soft! Mamoru can handle that. He sidesteps behind a pillar for a moment and there's rustling, and when he comes out, it's with three cushions under one arm and a very small folding table under the other. He crouches to set everything down, then pushes one of the cushions across the tile toward Ariel; she can use it any which way she's most comfortable, and it's relatively big. He drops another one across from them and then pulls the legs down from the little box-table and sets it in the center of all three. Then he deposits himself on the third -- it's all while he's listening to Ariel.

As she's finishing, he's pulling a can of coffee and an opaque glass of liquid out from under the tiny table; the second, he puts in front of Ariel, and the first he pops open and takes a swig from. "Generally a good idea to tell Seishi, yeah," he agrees. "I mean, she knows what to do with them, even if they're not the kind she hunts." His can gets put down and he leans forward a little, elbows on his knees and fingers laced beneath his chin. "My other guest is a friend -- Usa's best friend since she was tiny, actually -- who's been in the magic community for a while, but who's only recently started developing her own. She's under a lot of stress right now. She goes to your school, too."

He's not going to press on the distress front. If Ariel wants to talk about it, she can. If she doesn't, it's not his place to make her.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Alas, that poor mosiac. When Mamoru returns with the cushions, Ariel at least waits for him to finish set up and sit down, himself, before she lets herself sprawl. If she were in that armor of hers there would probably be a bit of clinking as she prettymuch lands on her butt on the pillow pile. She's listening too, though, those loppy ears half-perked, displaying attentiveness as she gingerly takes the glass offered her in both hands, testing the drink with the tip of her tongue, like a doe at lakeside. "Mn."
    She looked about ready to speak again, before her nose scrunches, a funny look of confusion and bewilderment, and potential realization forming all at once on her face. "Usa? Usagi?"
    She knows of Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity oh definitely, but that's not why she seems to linger on that point. "The girl I met said she was Usagi's friend for a long time. Her name was ah... Naru?" It's a long shot of a connection to make, but Mamoru's description kind of fits. Someone who suffers bad dreams, is under stress, and a friend of Usagi's? Logical.
    But whether she's right or not- the girl turtles. Her neck tucks into hunched shoulders, pale lips thinning into a thin line. A slight swish of that tail over the mosaic paints the tiles in a light dust of sparkles as she clearly has something on her mind, "There was another reason. I wanted to hide a little."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I heard my name." Naru comments as she steps out of the quieter area into the courtyard, glancing from Mamoru to Ariel and there's that same warm smile towards the smaller girl. "Hi Ariel. I didn't expect to see you again quite this soon."

The fact that Ariel is not exactly a girl is apparently not an issue for Naru, nor is the fact that they are meeting in someone else's dream. Probably she is just not thinking about /that/ right now.

Naru settles herself on the extra cushion and then the smile settles to something more concerned, "Apparently this is an excellent spot to hide, I'm discovering. Seems to be a theme at the moment."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"That's right--" starts Mamoru, blinking in surprise at Naru's name; he's about to say something else when the redhead herself appears. Another can of coffee gets pulled from beneath the little table and placed in front of Naru; the older boy looks wryly amused. "Well I'm a little surprised -- and now a little concerned -- that it's two at once. But yeah, hiding here is fine," he tells them both.

Then he sits forward again, propping his chin on one fist. "Ariel and I have a friend who'll be able to help you with your nightmares," he says to Naru, "but I didn't even know you were having one. I just wanted to give you a tour, maybe someplace else to practice. You should be able to get here by thinking about it as you fall asleep." Then he glances across to the turtling Ariel, a worried frown creasing his brow at her body language. "What is wrong? I mean-- you should be safe enough here, even if there was something chasing you, and you can stay as long as you like. Are you here physically, or asleep in the waking world?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    That's right and-- there she is. Ariel goes stock still, like a deer caught in headlights at the sound of Naru's voice. Floppy ears prick upright, swivelling toward the source before she turns to spot just who she had named not moments ago. It's Naru. Who now knows the terrible secret that's not actually so terrible. And when the girl doesn't even seem to show any sign of interest in the fact that Ariel is a unicorn, she settles- even tilts her head to an angle in an almost bird-like fashion to regard Naru a bit more curiously.
    First and foremost she gives a slight nod, once she's regained her composure. Thankfully she didn't bleat, that would have been embarrassing. But she heaves a tiny sigh.
    "Yes- I mean I know a bit, but she would be better at actually fighting off a nightmare."
    This is simply based on the fact that Ariel chooses to not fight. At all.
    What is wrong though? There's a beat spent fidgeting. She toys with the hem of her tunic in a momentary hem-haw of trying to figure out how to word her issue. In the end she chooses to do so plainly and simply.
    "I'm sleeping right now. And I haven't been sleeping very well... I may have been born in a dream, but I need rest too. Lucky is watching me right now." And that explains why he isn't present. "But every time I do, I keep having a bad dream that comes back." She lets that answer hang for a beat, hugging one of the cushions to her chest, face sinking behind it to hide up to her nose. "I guess that makes two of us here that haven't been sleeping well."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I always have nightmares." Naru comments with a casualness that probably speaks to having no clue what that properly means. She reaches for the can of coffee with a nod of thanks and tucks her legs under her, crossed legged on her cushion.

"I admit, it never occured to me that I could practice in my dreams?" Naru still isn't certain of that, by the questioning tone of her voice. "Or in .. your dreams?" She offers, opening the coffee absently.

There's a sympathetic look to Ariel and Naru nods. "Not sleeping sucks, and when it's the same bad dream that keeps coming back, I can see why you want to hide."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Well," says Mamoru carefully, slowly straightening up and dropping his hands into his lap, "there are bad dreams, and really bad dreams -- nightmares -- and then there are nightmares that actually do you psychological harm, and occasionally physical; sometimes those are external and have agency of their own, and can, yes, drain you, and sometimes they can even follow you into the waking world." A beat, and he's sort of looking at Naru in a half-cringe. "Sorry..."

His hands open, turn over palms up, and he looks down at them for a moment. A sidelong glance at Ariel. "Is one of those after you?"

Then he looks to Naru once more, and again reaches for his can of coffee. "Don't know. I mean, about your dreams. If you can lucid dream on your own, definitely. If not, it's certainly possible to learn, and then you can. You can absolutely practice here, though. And then you can try pulling what you make out with you--"

A sip of his coffee, and the can's put down again, and then in the process of leaning, Endymion puts a red rose in Naru's hair. "You'll have that when you wake up."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Where Mamoru half-cringes, Ariel cringes completely at the thought of always having nightmares. Topaz eyes glabebto Naru with what just might be a surprisingly haunted look for a child her age, and Ariel withholds comment for the span of a few breaths.
    "If they get really bad, it's worse than just not sleeping." She confirms the earth prince's words. She confirms just what could possibly come as a consequence of terrible nightmares and the black things that lurk in the dark places of slumber. "If you get the hang of it though you can practice almost anywhere. My mother taught me how to dream weave and it's sort of the same as lucid dreaming.
    But is one of those after her? A slight shift of her weight onto one hip and her chin is now resting on the pillow in her arms. "It's. Different than normal. It's there, and it's bad and every time I sleep it's like I hear a voice calling me, familiar but not. And it feels like one of those." She says, but halts just long enough to avert her gaze. "And at the same time it feels like something is holding it back."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hunh." Naru listens to all the horrible ways that nightmares can actually do legit harm and aren't entirely just bad dreams. "Well. That's interesting. Especially given my history. Mmmm." She considers this a few more moments, calm about the prospect and the half-cringe is met with a little smile. "I haven't yet met anything waiting for me when I woke up, so I'm going to assume nothing is waiting for me at my bedside. I really was joking when I told Zoi he couldnt handle the things under my bed."

Naru reaches up to lightly touch the rose tucked in her hair and there's a quiet smile.

"Is the voice trying to make you do things?" Naru asks thoughtfully of Ariel and then there's a sheepish expression. "Do you do hugs? You look like you could use a hug."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I encourage hugs," the prince says gravely, but does not himself participate in this activity. Instead, he picks up his coffee can again and finishes it off, then places the can back under the table. He glances at Ariel, then takes off his glasses and starts polishing them on his yukata. "How do you mean holding it back? And if it's something that needs to be fought -- Seishi will know -- do come get me, I'll help her fight it for you."

All of a sudden he sits up straight and gets an irritated look on his face, and he starts to disappear as he stands up. "I'll be back soon. Someone's waking me up. It better be good."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Hugs?
    That gets Ariel glancing up with a slow blink. As though the notion were foreign to her, the child actually states somewhat owlishly at Naru. The last time she had been hugged was in the dark caves of the frozen north. When she had first learned what mortality was; Tuxedo Mask took off his mask and Mamoru Chiba has put his arms around the tiny girl in a brief moment and offer of comfort. She purses her lips.
    "Only if you can touch me." She decides somewhat cryptically after a moment. "... At least that's what mother said I should say to anyone who asks to touch me. ... But I think I could use one." At least she's honest. But she returns to the prior topic of conversation:
    "If something gets strong enough to claw into the waking world and wait for you by your bed um. Well that's kind of really bad. But I've only heard stories of how bad they can get. I asked you about your dreams because I thought maybe of trying to help you, or maybe ask Akashimaru. Kind of nosy of me, I know."
    She sighs. She can't evade the topic of her own issue forever though. "It doesn't tell me to do things. It just calls my name. And every time I'm in the dream it comes from, Lucky can't follow me. And it feels like I should know it but it's too dark to recognize anything around me."
    She does halt though when Mamoru has to wake. She'll hold onto that thought until he returns or unless Naru prods.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I.. is there a reason why I wouldnt be able to touch you?" Naru asks, quirking her head and then opening her arms out in offer to have Ariel come and settle with her. "I could touch Mamoru when he caught me, but I suppose this is his dream. I'm really not sure how dreams work, exactly."

"Perhaps a little nosey, but a good and caring sort of nosy." Naru assures gently. "Appreciated too, and terribly sweet to be worried about a schoolmate you don't know."

Naru mmms softly, thoughtfully. "Can Lucky usually follow you? Can you make it lighter? Or could someone go with you with a lantern?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Despite the cryptic answer from before, as soon as arms open up, Naru is met with the almost feather light weight of the 'foreign exchange student' she had just met the day before, crawling into them.
    "I'm a unicorn." She answers simply. "We don't really like being touched by people who aren't good. ... But I don't think that's an issue in your case." Beyond this, though, she offers a wan little smile. "You looked tired." Her logic is simple and almost, childishly, thoughtless of anything she could have possibly had to gain from the simple act of showing some care for, at the time, a stranger.
    "Lucky follows me everywhere. Normally." Ariel states matter of factly. "He's actually not a dog, he's a star that fell out of the sky. So he's always protected me since I was little... er. Like a really big night light."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I try to be good." Naru confirms as she settles her arms around the little unicorn, in a vaguely protective snuggling gesture. "Sometimes its hard to know what the right choice is, but I try."

"I was tired. I am usually tired." Naru agrees as she settles with Ariel. "Still, it was kind, and thoughtful and I thought of it and you often over the day."

"Ahh." Naru accepts a fallen star steed as easily as she seems to accept that one of her schoolmates is a unicorn. There is seriously nothing left in Tokyo to weird her out. "So if Lucky can't follow you it's probably something that doesnt wish to have light upon it, and is actively pushing that light away."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Ariel nods. "I think just trying is good enough." She says, tail swishing aside and settling in. "Mom always said I should try to help people. My other mother always kind of laughed at her for saying that. But I think she really agreed with her."
    That's it. The reason is as simple as that. She puffs her cheeks out. "Maybe. I don't know, I panicked and ran here as soon as I remembered the door was open."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm glad. I try and help people too. I enjoy helping people." Naru smiles and then laughs softly. "Was it teasing sort of laughing? Because I sometimes laugh at say.. Mamoru, or Kunzite.. or Usagi.. but its done with love, and I agree with them, I'm just giving them a hard time."

"Sounds like that was a good plan." Naru nods in confirmation. "Now that I might be able to do that myself, I might run other places too, to get away. Can you bring others with you if you go back?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Floppy ears perk, and Ariel tilts her head up at the laughter with another owlish little blink. Her nose scrunches, and lips pucker just a little before she shakes her head. "It wasn't teasing." She says after a few quiet beats of thought.
    But then she looks back to the door from whence she came. She had made certain to shut it behind her but it still gives her a little shudder at the thought of what could be behind it. "I think so. And I can't keep running away from it. It's my dream. I don't want it to turn into a Nightmare because it was left be." She says softly with a sigh, eyes slipping closed. "It's why I wanted to talk to Seishi, so we could figure out what to do about your dreams and mine."
    That's when she goes really quiet. Probably because Naru now has a dozing little unicorn in her arms, in the middle of Mamoru Chiba's Dream.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a rustling of a breeze through the leaves of the rocky forest just beyond the other side of the wall, and clouds scud across the sky. Mamoru's back; they can both tell before he steps back outside, because this place is his. "Sorry!" he calls cheerfully. "Somebody got hurt doing something stupid in the middle of the night, so I got to be really grumpy." He snappoints at Naru with a grin, "No, I'm not telling you who. You can probably tell by who won't look at me tomorrow."

He comes over and drags his cushion closer to the pillar he'd set everything up by, then drops himself onto it, leans back, and stretches his legs out. "Right, so. I'm glad hug is happening, and I can't remember where we left off. Where I left off, rather."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'll see if I can guess tomorrow." Naru smiles over to Mamoru as he returns. Her voice is quiet in deference to the dozing Ariel, and there is absolutely a hug in progress.

"OMG protective instincts like woah." Naru comments quietly and then nods. "We were talking about how bad dreams can get, and Ariel was talking about how there's something in her bad dreams that doesn't let her bring Lucky with her, and it scared her enough to run here."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Doesn't let her bring-- ooh," says Mamoru, grimacing. "Something scary that can keep her guardian out... hell. I wonder if we can actually get in touch with Akashimaru here. Seishi knows how to get hold of me here, she has a rose too, but I'm not sure how to contact her. Umm..."

He sits up, and his face screws up in thought. He glances at the sparkly little unicorn girl, contemplating her. "I really don't know." He leans over and tentatively reaches to put fingertips on the shoulder of the girl Naru's holding. "Ariel...?" A beat. "Ariel, do you know how to call Seishi? If not, we should wake up and reconvene."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's a good moment before Ariel responds. It is good sleep. Un-troubled, restful, although brief. She does not snore, she simply breathes. But the hand on her shoulder makes her stir. A tiny little fitful squirm, and then lashes flutter. Topaz eyes flicker open, and she sits up a bit. The result has her only half in Naru's arms while she tries to rub the fuzz and sleep from her eyes, but then she's leaning back in.
    "Oh you're back." Murmured, ears flicking slightly. "Unh." Her ears flick as they take in the question, but it's still a few more beats before she's cognitively 'awake' enough to really absorb it. "Oh. I already did." She replies.
    "I sent her a text before I went to sleep.
    It probably had a few un-smiley face chibis included.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Do I know Seishi?" Naru asks of Mamoru as he reaches over to wake Ariel up. "I mean, I dont think I've met her unless it was at ECFH."

Naru cradles Ariel gently as she wakes up, shifting just a little to let her legs wake up, but not in a rush to give up her snuggling of the little unicorn. Cause hugbait.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Hi," Mamoru says to Ariel at the 'oh you're here', the corners of his eyes crinkling up in a smile. Then he sits back when she confirms contact's been made, looking pleased. "Oh good. She'll be able to find you."

He wobbles his feet in front of him, watching them and thinking, then glances up at Naru and shakes his head. "I don't think so, no. She goes to Rei's school and I don't see her much-- I actually first met her in a dream before I was one person? And gave her a rose to meet me with... it was weird and complicated. And then she and a friend of ours from study group helped me break out of the nightmare memory loop I was stuck in every night." He gives her a quick lopsided grin. "I told you I don't meet people the normal way."

Then there's a distinct pause, and he squints at Naru. "Wait. What's the ECFH?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
It's one of those things, about dreams. Talking about something might not always bring it into being, as though summoned by the thought itself... but sometimes it does.

Every now and then, of course, a text message helps things along.

There is a sound of hoofbeats coming up the path, the ambling ONE-twothree-four ONE twothree-four beat of a walking horse. The horse itself comes into view not much later, a dark bay wearing the kind of saddle and bridle used by Tokyo's mounted police, reins hanging slack along its neck. The horse, and the rider in her scarlet samurai garb, are both quite familiar to Mamoru and Ariel. To Naru, not so much.

In the saddle, Seishi/Akashimaru regards the view up ahead of her with a certain expression of doubt. This does not seem to be quite what she'd been expecting to find, perhaps.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Blink. Blink.
    Another little shift and Ariel is rousing a bit more. Her brow furrows at the acronym that she is WHOLLY unfamiliar with and can thusly not answer Mamoru. Naru is on her own there. Another little yawn flashes a tiny fang, before she stifles it into her hand, the unicorn also shifts her weight slightly, when Naru does so, beneath her. At least she wasn't in her armor.
    Cramps from that would have been miserable.
    It's the familiar sound of hoofbeats that make her ears stand right up again, and when the horse- and rider come into view, the unicorn is once again seated upright.
    They say speak of the devil and he appears, but in this case the figure in red is no devil, but a welcome sight. "Find me like that?" She asks Mamoru, in regards to that clearly incredible timing. If anything she looks a LOT more relieved now.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Alexis' school now too, and he complains that he doesn't know anyone there." Naru comments to Mamoru and then there's a rueful little smile. "I don't exactly meet people in normal ways a lot of the time. Made more complicated by the fact that most of them are trying to dance around if I am in the know or not."

The sound of hoofbeats gets Naru out of answering what ECFH is and she turns towards the sound, tightening her arms a little around Ariel protectively. What, exactly, Naru thinks she's going to do if its not someone friendly is a mystery for the ages.

Save that Ariel is sitting up, and looking relieved. Clearly this must be the aforementioned Seishi.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Akashimaru!" Mamoru crows, hauling himself to his feet and swiftly brushing off his yukata. "I know Ariel texted you, but we've also got someone else with persistent nightmares -- this is my friend Naru," he gestures broadly in the direction of the redhead holding Ariel on her lap, "and we don't know if the ones she's having are mundane or not. Considering she has a history of getting snacked on by assorted monsters, it's not out of the realm of possibility. So uh--"

Here, the bespectacled prince sheepishly lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Two problems, happy birthday."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The horse comes to a halt at the end of the path; Seishi lets her hands rest against the pommel of the saddle and regards the three with slightly raised eyebrows. "My brithday's not for two months," she quips mildly to Mamoru, and smiles a little. "It's all right. Comes with the territory, doesn't it?"

Naru gets a second, interested look, but the samurai girl doesn't say anything else until after she's swung her leg over the horse's back and dropped down to the ground, and taken a few moments to run the stirrups up snug against the saddle flaps. Once she's tucked the reins under one of the stirrups, only then does she turn away from the horse and come wandering the rest of the way to join them.

"Nice to meet you, Naru-san," she says politely. "Though from what Chiba-san says, I couldn't blame you if you said you'd have preferred it wasn't needed." She smiles again, more wryly this time, before she looks to Ariel and her expression shades into one of concern: "Sorry if you were waiting long. Are you all right?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    "You met me in kind of a normal way." Ariel points out.
    As normal as being socially accosted by a tiny foreign girl riding on the back of a huge DOG can be. Okay so it's not entirely normal, but that is beside the fact, because it happened without anything too insane happening at the time. It was a normal schoolday.
    But there's Akashimaru and... Mamoru wishes her a happy birthday. For a moment, Ariel flusters, caught flat footed and suddenly thinking it's the reincarnated Samurai's birthday for a moment- only to have Seishi shoot that down.
    She stores 'two months from now' in her memory though, but once Seishi is dismounted, the unicorn gives Naru one little thankful squeeze back, before clambering off lap.
    It is now Seishi that gets leaped by the tiny unicorn, arms hugging their way around one of Seishi's and holding on a bit tightly, with a bleat. This is apparently a greeting, but at the same time, she doesn't quite seem to want to let go any time soon.
    Manners though.
    It lasts a few beats longer before she does release, scuffing the colorful floor mosaic with her toes a bit. "It's fine. Mamoru and NAru kept me company. --And we met yesterday. She was the reason I wanted to talk to you, but there's kind of something else."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Pleasure to meet you, Seishi-san." Naru replies as she is relieved of an Ariel in her lap and she can get to her feet, bouncing a little on them to wake up her toes.

"Ahhh. Well. Yes." Naru hrms softly as her dreams are mentioned. "I do have a bit of a reputation about the monster thing, it's true. I.. didn't actually realize it was something potentially to be concerned over until today." She gestures a little to Ariel. "I'm more interested in figuring out what's startled Ariel, to be honest."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's smile gets crooked, and he spreads his hands wide. "I'll keep your birthday in mind, see if I don't," he says, then teases, "and maybe I'll get you a huge problem for it."

He's silent, out of the way; they're not his dreams or his issues, so all he's going to do is listen -- and then agree with Naru. "And if it's something you could use help with -- even untrained help -- I'd like to. With Kunzite maybe instead of Kunzite acting in my stead..."

This last is a little quieter, and sort of rueful.

Kunzite has posed:
"A desire shared by all parties." The voice is deeper, and familiar, and its owner does not step into the courtyard; he's just there, in Mamoru's shadow, as if it were perfectly ordinary for bone-white and pale grey to go completely unseen. He inclines his head to each of the girls in turn -- Ariel first, then Seishi, then Naru.

Whether he was present to hear about Seishi's birthday, not to mention anything else, he isn't saying.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Being leaphugged by a little unicorn girl catches Seishi by surprise, but that doesn't prevent her from catching Ariel in an answering hug, arms curling reflexively around her in a flutter of crimson sleeves. Her eyebrows are really up now, and after a moment she carefully lifts one hand to brush soothingly over Ariel's hair. "Hey."

It takes a little bit before she looks up again, around the time Mamoru is teasing her about birthday presents. "Oh," Seishi deadpans, still holding onto Ariel and petting her hair, "there's no need to go to any trouble. A card would be fi--"

'Fine,' she was going to say, but then Kunzite. For the barest fraction of a second Akashimaru tenses warily, just a little, the scant amount of time it takes for recognition of the voice and the figure to properly fire. Oh. Kunzite. Yes. Her head inclines in a polite answering nod, but it's Naru she actually answers, turning her eyes that direction a moment after she begins speaking: "It can be. Reason for concern, that is. Depends on the nightmares, and how often you're having them. But one thing at a time."

Her head inclines again, looking down to Ariel. "Did something happen?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Hugging happens again. For a moment, Ariel gets lost in those red sleeves, and there is a slight almost silvery bell-chiming noise when she's patted on the head. But back on track. She's still holding on, but Kunzite's arrival turns her head and attention that way when he suddenly APPEARS. "-Oh. Hello." No she's certainly not surprised to see Mamoru's trusted general in his dream, not after the last time anyway. Now, she's finally, actually, smiling again. It's good to be surrounded by people she can not only trust, but actually quietly considers as friends.
    Two months from now, Seishi will have to deal with a unicorn fussing over what normal human girl gifts to get for her, but right now, Ariel puffs her cheeks out. "I met Naru yesterday. She's been having bad dreams for a long time, and it made me kind of worried." Still thinking about others before herself. "So I wanted to talk to you about them. But uh. I've been having a bad dream that keeps coming back. For a few nights now. I thought I could handle itm but next thing I knew I panicked and ran here tonight."

Naru Osaka has posed:
The fact that a classmate is a unicorn didn't make Naru startle, but Kunzite appearing does and she blinks at him. Which is, all in all, fairly absurd. He's probably the most likely to be here, if she thought about it at all.

"I am rarely much help, but if I can be, I would like to be." Naru adds at the general offers to set things in the dream world right. She reaches into a pocket, one that really only was there when she went to reach for it, and pats the notebook in it, as if confirming that it's actually there.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Sometimes, Mamoru steamrolls over social awkwardness on purpose. Sometimes, he doesn't even notice it's there because he's too busy abruptly leaning on his shadow with a quiet 'whumph'. "Hi," he whispers to Kunzite so he doesn't talk over anyone.

Obviously Mamoru requires a wall behind him wherever he goes.

A quick half-grin at Naru, and then Mamoru lifts a hand like 'hold up'. "She said that when it's there, Lucky can't follow her -- I guess that's why he's not here now?" He looks to Ariel for confirmation. "Because you came straight here from there?"

Kunzite has posed:
It is not inconceivable that Mamoru's shadow may have been tailor-made for leaning on. Certainly he isn't complaining about it right now, whumpf and all. It's likewise no surprise that he falls largely into listening to the others; there's a glance from gray eyes when Ariel explains about Naru's bad dreams. No, it's not a glance at the unicorn. Seishi's correct, though -- one thing at a time, and a dream that's haunting someone who moves through dreams is something of a problem.

"You were considerable help the other night," Kunzite points out to Naru in lower tones, and then quiets again. Listening.

Not mentioning that when it comes to dreams, artists sometimes have a little of an advantage. Not over Akashimaru, no. Nor over Mamoru whom she taught, or Ariel who has her own strengths. But over, say, him? Definitely.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Akashimaru listens to Ariel's explanation, and her dark eyes have turned grave. "That's definitely not good," she says - mild, but serious.

Those eyes track to Naru, to Mamoru, to Kunzite at his low comment and then back to Ariel again, steady and attentive. "Do you mind telling me what the dream is like?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    "Yes..." That is to Mamoru. That is why Lucky isn't around right now.
    There's a moment of hesitation though. lips thinning into a grim little line. So what is that dream like? Just being asked that question makes her rub at her eyes blearily with the back of one wrist.
    "It starts dark. I 'wake up' in a place that feels familiar, but I can't really make anything out because of how dark it is without Lucky." She begins. "And there's something calling my name. It comes from a different direction in the darkness every time, and the voice is familiar too, but different. And every time it gets closer in the darkness, it suddenly backs away, like it's being held back."
    All in all it's an eerie kind of dream that easily sounds like the kind of thing that would frighten a young child, human or unicorn. "I tried different things for a few nights but... Mostly spent them trying to hide. I ran here when I remembered Mamoru said the door was open for me, and when I did, it showed up when I really needed it." Noted with a glance toward the earth prince and his faithful general.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru gives Kunzite a touch of a skeptical look at calling it 'considerable help', but she nods to him before she settles quiet. There's plenty of quiet going on, and listening, and keeping still to let Ariel explain her dream and the problems therein.

Naru seems quite content to let her own dream issues slide for the moment, in favour of Ariel's words. She looks from person to person, quietly keeping track of what's said, listening without adding much in the way of her own comments.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Endymion's frowning, over there, even as he leans against Kunzite. He looks like he wants to cross his arms, and after a second, he does. A glance at Naru, and then another at Akashimaru, and then he regards Ariel. Another glance at Seishi, and it's almost apologetic-- almost-- and then he asks Ariel uneasily, "Held back like someone was preventing something bad from getting to you, or held back like something bad is keeping someone nice from reaching you?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    There is something of a slight frown, brow knotting in thought. Ariel is clearly thinking about it for a moment, putting the memories together before putting anything tow words. But then she nods. "Yes. Like the former, I mean." She states, scuffing toes on the tile mosaics again. But then...
    She yawns.
    It's big, a little loud, and flashes an out of place little fang. And when it's done Ariel is blushing silver pretty fierce. "I'm sorry, it's bee a few really bad nights."
    Bad enough that as soon as anyone looks away from her to talk, she's closed her eyes and has completely zoned back out, standing up, against Seishi right there.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi keeps quiet, listening with the same intent focus as before as Ariel describes her nightmare. She nods, once, just a little downward tuck of her head to indicate that she's listening - a flick of her eyes toward Endymion when he speaks up, but then all her attention is back on Ariel as she waits for the answer.

"I see," she says quietly. "If that's the case, in the end we may need to go find whatever it is and confront it. But for now..."

There is a little unicorn girl leaned up against her, napping on her feet. Seishi stops for a moment, smiles with rueful affection, and shakes her head a little. "...for now," her voice is suddenly pitched quieter, and very gently she shifts her weight until she can ease Ariel off her feet and pick her up, "someone needs her rest."