1942/Forgotten Dreams

Forgotten Dreams
Date of Scene:	17 September 2016
Location:	Dark Dream Forest
Synopsis:	A venture into Ariel's dream leaves more questions than answers.
Thanks to:	To the attendees!
Cast of Characters:	Ariel Theodore, Seishi Tamashige, Yuzuki Amemori, Mamoru Chiba, Kyouko Sakura, Kunzite
Tinyplot:	Darkly Dreaming

---

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's been a week. A week of bad dreams, poor sleep, and a lot of tea. Herbal; that is, just to ease the nerves.
    See even those born of the dream realm need their rest, need their slumber, and of course have dreams of their own, Ariel is no such exception to this, and that is why she had eventually given up on the idea that she could handle her Issue on her own, and went to some people she knew or believed could help her.
    Akashimaru and Hakuomaru have been informed. Tonight is the night to take a foray into the unicorn's darkened dreams, and after a quiet request of aid of the earthly prince and whomever he felt best suited for the task, a few text messages, meetups and very important talks formed a basic plan.
    Mamoru Chiba had told Ariel in the past that his dream would always be open to her, and as such, it seemed the best place to gather. And that's why she is there at the villa-like dream realm, already in her armor and waiting beside the closed door into her own dream, with Lucky at her side, glowing and resplendent like the star he is. She will leave it to Mamoru himself to pull others in, or for Akashimaru to tug Hakuomaru with her.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Once you've done it the first time," Seishi told Yuzuki before all of this, "it'll be a lot easier to do it again on your own. But for now, as you're going to sleep, keep in your mind that you're going to meet me. O-Yasu and I should be able to manage the rest."

It is probably more complicated than that when you get into the details. But in the end, that's how it happens. One moment, they've settled in for a rather odd sleepover at Mamoru Chiba's excessively large penthouse... and the next, in the way of dreams, they are simply there. Both on horseback, riding up a pathway to a place that Seishi has been a few times now.

In the dream, Seishi is dressed in Akashimaru's scarlet, though the horse is not a samurai's horse; its gear looks modern, like that of the Tokyo mounted police. She lets the reins hang loose - the horse isn't really a horse, and anyway it knows where it's going - and looks aside to Hakuomaru, checking to see how she's taking the experience. O-Yasu keeps pace to Yuzuki's other side, padding along at a lumbering trot.

"It's not usually so easy to find a specific dream," Akashimaru admits, "but being close by helps a lot. Chiba-san's dreams are a bit unusual, anyway, so it's a good safe place to start from."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki's listened to the plan and gone over a few things in her head. Mostly with herself, though she did think to ask Hakuomaru for some insight, which lead to a long rambling screed on a number of subjects, mostly designed to confuse her because he thought it was funny. What, they were going in with a guide, worrying too much will just break things.

The penthouse is easy to find at least, what with having been at the barbecue earlier and in general met a lot of new people-ish. Riding along on horseback, she's slumped forward, yawning while wearing her orange armor. "What kind of messed up dream means we have to ride horses? I've never ridden a horse you know, always thought I'd fall off." She's just talking to keep from focusing on the horse really.

Then again, her question is largely answered as things go on. "So we're piggybacking? Going from one to another for simplicity? Seems.... sure we'll go with that." Leaning back in the saddle, she looks around while asking, "So while it's quietish, what kind of thing should I expect?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
A path, in fact, to an oceanside Mediterranean villa with a rocky cliff down on one side and a forested mountain on the other. The floors are mosaic tile and the graceful arches decorated similarly, on whitewashed plaster-and-wood walls; the red roof is broad and low, and the rooms cool and airy even in the sunny heat of the day. Mamoru Chiba went to sleep in his school uniform after having given Kyouko an Elysian rose, and when he's waiting with two of his Shitennou for Akashimaru, Hakuomaru, O-yasu and Ariel, he's armored Endymion.

The prince looks grave, but it's an easy thing; the seriousness is the problem at hand, not his inherent nature. "Ho there," he calls out when he hears the horses, "we're ready when you are."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko had left a bento on the counter in her apartment with a note. "DO NOT WAKE ME UP. DOING IMPORTANT DREAM STUFF. ALSO DON'T TOUCH THE ROSE. ALSO YOU CAN HAVE ONE ICE CREAM SANDWICH BUT THE OTHER ONE IS MINE." A second post-it note was later attached to the first on top of the bento, which just said "SERIOUSLY, ITS MINE".

    She had been told appearance in the Dream was based on self image. She had only been mildly flustered to find she appeared in her Shitennou garb rather than her Puella costume. Some things, it seem, settle in quickly.

    That was a bit ago though. Now, Apatite is leaning back against one of the plaster walls under an arch, watching the ocean outside as she waits near Mamoru, arms crossed across her chest. She'd never been to the Mediterranean in real life. She found she rather liked it.

    When she hears Mamoru call out a greeting, she looks around.. straightening up, but otherwise not moving from her position.

Kunzite has posed:
That Kunzite would be present is no surprise for Ariel or Akashimaru. For Hakuomaru it might be more of a 'great, stuck with the dour one again.' His uniform and cape seem almost natural in the context of the villa as they don't in the modern world, and as they may well not once they leave Mamoru's dream; the sword at his side holds no power, but is as much part of his self-image as the white hair (longer in dreams than the barely shoulder-length in reality), the cold grey eyes, the lack of expression.

He does not, quite, mirror Apatite. But he's placed on Mamoru's other side from her, all the same. Watching for arrivals by land rather than by sea; surveying them, and inclining his head to Ariel and to Akashimaru. To Hakuomaru, he says, "I see you already knew her. Good."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    So the moment of truth is here, then.
    If there had ever been a moment in which Ariel seemed visibly nervous before, this trumps it. Despite her pensive almost skittish appearance, pacing back and forth in front of the shut door, her armor doesn't make so much as a rattle as she moves back and forth, tail flicking, ears pinned back, Lucky nosing at her side in an attempt to settle his ward. It all halts when people arrive though.
    Mamoru and Kunzite she recognizes. She had expected them to be here. Apatite, she does not; but if Prince Endymion sees fit to bring her along that is literally good enough for Ariel, who laces her fingers together and fumbles into a polite bow at the prince and his chosen knights. Akashimaru and Hakuomaru are welcome sights as well, the former's arrival managing to tug pale lips into a wan smile.
    A slow breath and Ariel's body language retains a hint of stiff, agitated, unease; especially when she glances to the shut door, but topaz eyes turn to the gathered, and she clears her throat.
    "Thank you all for being willing to help." She says, earnestly. "And for everything up to now really."
    Politeness is important after all, and she wants it known that helping her out with this is not something she's asking for lightly and will not go unappreciated. "My dream is on the other side. I think it's gotten a little worse in the past few days. And farther and it might turn into a real Nightmare and that might get bad for more than just me so..." So if everyone is ready when she is, she sets her hand on the door. And gives it a push.
    To step over the threshold is to take a sudden plunging sensation, like a brief tumble that ends with landing on feet in a patch of damp, but dead grass in the center of a small forest clearing. It's nearly pitch dark; the silhouettes of gnarled aged trees visible in the cold misty gloom, their thick trunks, manyfold branches and canopy of musty-smelling dead leaves blotting out any sign of starlight above. And there is no sign of Lucky present to light the way despite having followed through the doorway.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"You and I could go straight in," Akashimaru replies aside to Hakuomaru, as they're riding up, "but this way we can bring more backup." She inclines her head to Endymion when the prince greets them, again to Kunzite at his acknowledgement. And she smiles for Ariel, sympathetically.

Later, maybe, there'll be opportunity for proper introductions. Right now, Ariel's words bring Seishi's full attention to her, and the samurai girl's dark eyes are grave. When the doorway from dream to dream is opened, she steers her big dark horse to it, ducking down in the saddle to pass through.

It's a jolt in more ways than one to find herself landing on her feet on the other side - no horse here. Akashimaru frowns as she looks to Ariel. "Has anything different happened in the dream since you told us about it?" she asks. "Or has it still been the same thing, just... worse?"

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru follows along, her horse more like a finely tuned machine than actual animal as she starts to focus. What, she's a science nerd, machines are awesome. Glancing over at Akashimaru, out of her reverie, "Right, so this isn't something I'll do any time soon, just as a thought." That is, dragging others in with her. She'd feel bad if someone got stuck somehow. You know, or worse.

She follows Akashimaru's lead, finding herself without a horse as well. Leaningon her sword and scabbard as she looks around, she gives Ariel a cheerful wave, whether it be a genuine one or a coping mechanism to show some confidence that isn't fully felt. Though after a few moments she steps away from her sword and sets the scabbard over her shoulder, keeping an eye out. Whatever sensation she was going through is now past.

She calls out to Ariel, "Hey, it's the right thing." Trying to offer a reassuring smile. That's hidden behind her mempo, featureless this time, except an alternating pattern of triangles along the rim in orange and white, oops. Endy, Grumpy and Apatite are given curious looks, though Grumpy's words gets a confused look, then a nod, "I should hope so, yeah!" Maybe she doesn't recognize him right away!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
As is the apparent group tendency here and now, Endymion lands on his feet-- and straightens-- and looks distracted. Akashimaru is talking, Hakuomaru is talking; something very much does not feel right, like going through a tunnel and getting the gut-level impression that you've accidentally exited the other end in a different reality, a different universe. He can't read the ground. He can't read the others. Of course he can't; that makes perfect sense, they're not in his space...

...but it makes him nervous. It's not nearly as bad as teleporting. He knows he can wake up. He knows it's a dream, if he thinks about it, if he focuses on his guardians, if he reaches for the Earth. It's just that this isn't--

"This is your dream, right, Ariel?" his voice comes through the dimness, low. The lines of his uncertainty are showing. He reaches for Kunzite, for Apatite, knowing at least where they are; he whispers, "I can steady you if you need it but you are going to have to steady me."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    The corner of Apatite's mouth turns up slightly when Ariel bows to them, and she inclines her head in a respectful, if not as formal, greeting. She's here because Endymion is here. But if Endymion thinks Ariel is worth helping, then she probably is, and Apatite respects that.

    There's a big spooky door. It creaks open, and in they go. She doesn't stumble in the transition, but has to exert some focus in order to avoid doing so. Her brows tighten, eyes darting about the dim forest. She is not tied to dreams like many of the others here- the 'wrongness' not as acute, perhaps. But that doesn't mean she's blind to it, not when it's so effusive.

    She did not have her spear in the villa, but she has it now, it having appeared somewhere amidst the transmission. She carries it back across her shoulder, one arm looped casually across the haft. Though it might look like a relaxed posture, the fact that the spear is in evidence means she's ready for... well, she's not sure what. Anything. Hopefully.

    Her gaze shifts to Endymion. She can feel his uncertainty, somehow, more than just in his voice, though from there as well. She stokes the fire of her determination a little hotter, for his sake- it gives off precious little light in this place, but the warmth of it may help. It helps her, even if she has to summon it forcibly.

    She says nothing, but she lays a hand on Endymion's shoulder as he whispers (even if she has to reach up to do so). That's why we're here. She doesn't just mean in this dream.

Kunzite has posed:
"You've earned that willingness long since," Kunzite says quietly to Ariel in the moments before the door is touched. And after --

Falling is not his favorite sensation, but it ends too quickly for him to bring up any magic against it, which also means that it ends too quickly to do him harm. He folds into a crouch with the landing, one gloved hand extending a moment later to touch the dead grass; stays there for a moment, surveying the darkness from that perspective, while those more at home in dreams are talking. Until Endymion reaches toward him.

That he straightens to take Endymion's hand before a word is said is perhaps the first signal to the others that yes, he can see in the dark. Even this dark, apparently -- at least for now.

Akashimaru's asked the important question, and she's the one who likely knows best how to proceed. So all he says aloud is to Endymion, once he has contact with both of his guardians. "Always."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's a chill air, thick mist clinging low to the ground, fog hanging in the air giving a foreboding and unwelcoming feel to the dream forest by night. There is no sound here- no natural sound that is; the chirp of crickets, scurry of nocturnal rodents, not even the calls of great night birds can be heard. The forest is stone silent, a silence of death even; not a sign nor trace of any animal in the least.
    Ariel herself seems... Diminished here. Her armor had been shining and silvery within Mamoru's dream. Here it appears battered and flaked with rust. The girl herself looking much less vibrant and even a little sickly to all appearances.
    "It wasn't this dark before." Murmured to Seishi as Ariel scuffs one dreamsteel boot in the dead grass. "Now I can barely see anything." She answers honestly, voice a whisper so low, as though out of fear of some terrible night beast leaping from the shadows. Nothing comes to assail the group though.
    Ariel has to squint through the darkness, relying more on her sense of hearing than vision; and regardless of what she has or has not earned, there's still a soft "Thank you." to Kunzite as she blindly seeks out the prince in the dark. Thankfully the group has not been separated and there's only a few feet of distance before a small, shaking, hand sets on armored plate. She scrunches her nose, that tiny horn flickering with a soft seashell-shimmering light. To be asked to steady Endymion of all people strikes her with a little inspiration. Harkening back to the first time she had seen Seishi become Akashimaru before her eyes and something said back then, that tiny horn sputters... The light almost dies, but Ariel manages to gather the gossamer and ephemeral stuff dreams are made of and put them to use. From her pinky finger spread several glowing threads of light, the opposite end of each seeking to tie around the pinky of all others present.
    It's a thin connection, but surprisingly strong, and manages to never get in the way. Something to tie the others to her, keep the group connected no matter what distance may separate in the coming ordeals.
    She sighs. "That took a surprising lot out of me." Admitted softly. "It feels like I'm not really the one in control here anymore." Stated worryingly before she starts with a sharp bleat.
    It's the whispering, almost moaned call of her name from deeper in that made her jerk. At first it seemed to have come from every direction, but when it comes again, it might be easier to pin down; the fog parting on the ground to reveal a lonely animal path through the trees.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
There's a whisper of fabric as Akashimaru slips her tessen from her belt. It's glowing very faintly, a reddish light that collects along the edges of the metal. Not enough to illuminate anything, but at least it's a break in the oppressive darkness.

The dream-thread that ties itself around her finger should be a surprise, but it feels familiar and reassuring. "You're doing fine," she tells Ariel, voice steady. "Don't push yourself too hard. Whatever's trying to take over your dream--"

She breaks off mid-sentence when the whispering starts. Frowns when the fog parts and the trail is revealed. "Well," Seishi murmurs dryly to herself under her breath, "that doesn't look like a trap or anything..."

A moment's consideration, and then she's moving forward, Shinken held in front of her at the ready.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru turns her head to watch Ariel quietly, trying to put together what it all means mentally, just in case something comes up later. She's still new to this after all. Watching the light spread to each of them, she looks around curiously.

Pulling her sword free, she spins the scabbard a few times in her free hand before it just vanishes and she rests the huge blade across her shoulders. Taking the cue from Akashimaru at least. Her blade... doesn't glow though, it's not as dark as the surrounding area, but that just means it's invisible either way. She follows alongside Seishi, not wanting to take point here, even if she kind of feels like she should on some level. She'll cover Akashimaru's back instead. To Ariel, she says, "Just be careful, don't strain yourself too much."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Okay," Endymion says, and "thank you," he says, and the two by his sides can feel him relax fractionally, but he can't tell if he said that out loud or not.

Suddenly there's a little light, and then it ties to each of them and it's strength in and of itself, and it's light, and it's connection beyond what he's got a deathgrip on -- Kyouko and Kunzite -- and more importantly still, it's a spiritual tie, a fate tie, to the dreamer herself. That doesn't give him any control; far less than Ariel even feels she has... but it's grounding, it's solid, and his knowledge of where he is snaps into focus.

And then he can breathe.

He knows who he is, he knows where he is and who he's with, and he knows this is a dream, and it's not his dream.

Facts in order and light and binding in place, he can straighten up and he can track and he won't get lost. Not alone. Still and always, the laughing and bright silver entwined with his soul gives him still more strength of purpose. Endymion finally lets go of Kunzite and Apatite, and he laughs a little shakily. "Right, yes, let us fly in the face of Akbar's caution. Thank you, Ariel."

He's not dumb enough to try and follow Akashimaru ahead of Kunzite, nor to take the rear guard -- but into the wood he goes once it's a procession.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Ooh, pretty. Apatite peers at the little glow, watches as it becomes a string that ties around her pinkie finger. At first, she's a bit concerned- after all, if it should come to a fight, she'll want to be mobile and not get tied up in a string. But a few quick spins reveals how the string, being magic and made of light and such, doesn't actually get in the way of anything. So she relaxes.

    When she thinks no one's looking, she waves her arm up and down to make the glowing string form a sine wave. "Whooooosh." She whispers, then giggles to herself.

    Quickly looking around to make sure nobody noticed, and now with a much firmer grasp on where she is and more importantly where everyone else is, she falls into step behind Endymion as they head into the woods. Gameface, Kyouko.

    It's not hard to restore that seriousness, considering where they are- in a brief moment of 'neat' she was able to tune it out, but as the woods close around them it returns in full force. Within a few steps, her eyes are darting and her fingers are tight about the haft of her spear. Most importantly, perhaps, her ears are pricked. Of course, this is a dream- it doesn't need to follow the same rules as reality with regard to sight and sound.

    But she always trusts her instincts.

Kunzite has posed:
Of course it looks like a trap. Everything here looks like a trap. The entire place is a trap, or else Ariel either wouldn't be worried or would be able to deal with it on her own.

Once Endymion releases them, Kunzite shifts a little ahead of Ariel, clearing her shimmering light out of his own vision -- keeping it for the two who could use it most. Her magic he takes almost in stride, testing it once by closing a hand into a fist and drawing it forward, but otherwise trusting it; she has, after all, saved his life at least once before, and saved rather more important things before that. And besides --

-- there is something far more natural about the way he moves, here, than there was on the rooftop a day or so ago. Pitch darkness, uncertain dangers, uncanny threats. This is not safe. But it's far more familiar than socializing.

And as long as he doesn't look directly at Akashimaru's blade, he can keep a kind of watch ahead and to the sides, to a certain distance. He can't see past the mist, can't see anything that might shiver into existence around the trees, can't detect a sudden change coming -- that's for those who live in dreams. But he can make it less likely for Akashimaru to miss something, in the dark.

He can't, of course, see behind them. But he trusts Apatite to react fast enough, whether or not she can see.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    "Who is Akbar?"
    Ariel's question comes in a soft, thin voice, doing her best in the face of an atmosphere that has haunted her for days now. Especially now that she doesn't have to face it alone.
    And so the party ventures forward, a unicorn, a prince, two brave knights and two valiant samurai. It's almost something out of a story or old tale, as Akashimaru takes to the fore. Ariel watches the red-clad girl strike forth without delay, and quietly remembers something her mother had told her of those old days and the intense, but honorable and fearless warriors of the East.
    "They say, in the code of Bushido all decisions must be made in the span of seven breaths."
    She shakes the memory from her head like an echo and takes close to Kunzite's side, one of several places that naturally feels safest.
    The other places being, by anyone else's, of the present, right now.
    "I'll try." She murmurs to the urges to keep from exhausting herself. With the connection formed no level of darkness, natural or not, should separate them all anyway; this little thread of 'fate' inspired by the red-clad samurai.
    This still doesn't stop her from shivering when Apatite makes that playful whisper, huffing a beat afterwards when realizing the fifth heavenly king(?) was simply being playful.
    Ariel is on an edge here, evident in hesitant steps and continuous glances and peeks over her shoulder, floppy ears perked high and alert.
    As the path heads deeper into the gloom, things seem to take on a musty and stale feeling. The air, still chill and cold now also feeling distinctly dead. ... Save for... Something. Something in the distance. Two distinct points in opposition to one another; the path itself leading directly to one- a sense of palpable foreboding danger giving the air an almost frigid charge; as though something were pointedly waiting in the black beyond, a single blue point gleaming visible and vivid down the path.
    The other... Is a small speck of light; into the trees, one that brings with it an actual tiny point of warmth in the terrible dreamscape, genuine and without guile. Like a small point of lucidity among the darkened madness.
    "I don't remember these..." Ariel whispers.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Akashimaru's forward progress stops when those two different points of light comes into view. Her arm, the hand holding the metal bar of the closed war fan, stretches out at her side as though a signal to the others behind her. The sleeve of her red kimono hangs heavily in the lifeless air.

"Ariel," she says, quite and steady. "When you told us about your dream before, you said it felt like something was holding back something bad from reaching you. Right?"

She's not looking back over her shoulder as she speaks. Her face, her eyes stay directed ahead of her, settling on the speck of light that's visible through the trees.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru quietly makes her way forward, only letting go of her sword with both hands to adjust her mask and check a strap or two on her armor. She does look behind, since Akashimaru is looking forward. She's going to keep people safe even if she has to test her armor once again. When there's nothing there, she looks to Seishi to ask in an undertone, "Are you thinking it's a maze to keep it trapped maybe?" Or to act as bait, or a trap for them. Either way she's pretty sure something bad is happening.

Removing the blade from her shoulders, she plants it point down and rests her hands on the grip, waiting for input, some kind of direction as she's new here to all of this. "I could do the rear guard thing here so that we can explore one path at a time. Minimal splitting up right?" Then she scowls and adds, "Or I can lead the way, I'm not trying to get out of picking a path." She sounds earnest about that at least. She's just trying to be practical!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a surge of deep affection for Kyouko from the prince as he catches her playing and pretends he doesn't see-- but they move along, they keep on, and then there is the split: the two directions.

"...loathe as I am to suggest splitting up," Endymion says slowly, coming to a halt with his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Akashimaru is right, something good was holding something bad back. If that small light is the something good, then I've no doubt it will need defending, or strength lent it, as surely as its opposite will need a resolution." A beat, and he looks to Ariel. "We're here to fight for you, but some of us are better at fighting than others."

Slightly more reluctantly, then, "I am not one of the better fighters on the offense. My purpose is defense, my strength is support. We can stay together and I can focus on defending you and lending strength to everyone else, or I can help you shore up that light, which may give the rest of our party more practical aid while avoiding splitting the attention of my guardians."

He glances at Kunzite and Apatite, shifting a little and maybe looking kind of sheepish. "Or they can smack me upside the head for suggesting such a thing."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    They come to a fork in the road, so to speak, and Apatite glances first one way, then the other. She listens to what the others have to say, her lips quirked to one side as she examines both lights.

    Then she turns about and jerks her thumb towards the 'safe' feeling light. "That one's a trap." She says this with an almost casual surety, shifting her spear to her other shoulder. "Place has been mostly taken over by somethin' bad, right? If I wanted to protect myself and keep any intruders away from whatever 'good' force is left in here, this's what I'd do. Big dark maze. One light says 'over here guys, it's safe!' That one leads to the trap."

    She turns the other way and looks towards the ominous light that leaks such a forboding feeling. "My money's on that one being the actual 'safe' spot, or the good force that needs our help." A brief lift of her shoulders.

    "'Course, I could be wrong. And I ain't sayin' we go one way or the other. Even if that light," A jerk of a thumb towards the 'safe' light, "is a trap, if we're suspicious and know we might be walkin' into a trap, we can use that to our advantage."

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite glances back on the side away from Ariel, so that he can in fact, as invited, swat his prince in the head. Lightly. Lese-majeste should always be committed lightly.

"We need information more than anything else." And thus Kunzite proves that he can still speak. "If something is offering shelter, it may have reasons, and may be able to communicate them. If it's an anglerfish, then the last thing we should do is have less then our full strength available to resist it. Still." He gestures to Ariel without looking her way, then to the pair ahead of them. "The ladies have the most experience, and the best grounds on which to make a decision."

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Even the sound of her own name now seems to make Ariel jump. But topaz eyes squint towards Akashimaru. "Yes." She replies, pausing for a thoughtful breath. "I think that's what it felt like anyway."
    As the party pauses to assess and come up with a course of action; choose a direction, she remains mostly silent, more on alert for anything else and shying slightly from the icy blue point on the path. There is dicussion, talk of potential traps and treachery. Ariel listens in silence.
    A decision is made. The group will stay together; this much is a good thing. Whether or not the knights choose to smack their prince up the head is on them as direction shifts. Perhaps it's good to be wary of the little light in the distance at first. But there is nothing blocking passage through the trees except the trees themselves, and they certainly do little more than stand in the way. They're easily traversed even if heading off the dark path, and the closer the party gets towards the light... There is warmth. Actual warmth as rays of dim sunlight start to pierce the dense foliage and gloom. Something snaps.
    Ariel stepped on a twig.
    But when she glances down, her eyes widen. The girl lowers to a crouch, fingertips brushing over a dried, fallen leaf in the dirt.
    "... I know this leaf." She whispers and looks up. "And I know this tree..." Looking to the one it has long fallen from. She stands and as the journey continues, points through another thicket, "And the pond on the other side of those trees... I chased fish there when I was little..."
    It's lighter as offroad footpath weaves towards the edge of the treeline now. And eventually out of the forest to a small patch of sandy coastline and the lapping waters of a dark ocean; stars glimmering in a dusky sky.
    Of course a unicorn would know her own forest. Each and every inch of it. Even if separated from it for a long time, on return... They would always know.
    "... This was my home."
    The party is not alone though. There is a figure seated on one of the larger rocks closer to the water. Not so far off that her features can't be made out though; it is a young woman, wilted flowers and dulled seashells pleated into dark hair, dusky skin wreathed in dark gauzy linens. There's an oddly familiar shimmer to her skin even from the distance, and at the sight of her Ariel bleats.
    And breaks off, running towards her.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Maybe that light is as friendly as it looks from this distance. Maybe it is, as Apatite warns, an anglerfish's lure. Either way, it's a relief to Seishi that nobody seems to be set on splitting up. They'll go this way first, forging off the pathway and through the trees, and they'll see what's waiting for them there.

As she did before, she moves forward with purpose, weapon in hand. She stays on guard as she moves, waiting for the trap to spring.

When Ariel bleats and bolts past her toward the woman on the rock, Akashimaru swears viciously under her breath. "Don't run ahead!"

Without pause for consideration, she launches into a sprint, catching up as best she can before Ariel gets too far ahead for any of them to be able to help her if the trap Kyouko is expecting should spring.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru walks along through the path, muttering once more about Hakuomaru's choice of sword and idly wondering if she can find a way to reforge it into something smaller. Or just get better with hitting things with heavy flintlocks because there is a bit of fun in using that sword.

Clearing the path, she looks around, missing what Ariel said at first because she's focused on the figure in the distance. She was about to ask who it was, when Ariel begins sprinting, getting a surprised sound from her. It's when Akashimaru chases after her that she scowls and says, "Ariel, wait!" and then as a just in case thing, calls out, "Sorry!" before raising her foot into the air and slamming it down, creating a barrier of earth in front of Ariel, giving her just enough time to try and stop, hopefully giving her just enough time not to hurt herself. She then begins running after both of them!

Over her shoulder, she calls out, "Someone's ahead, we don't know who though, but I uh... think she knows her!" With the tone that hints, 'be careful' hopefully.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    They walk down the path, and Apatite keeps her eyes open. Well, she would have anyway- for all her talk of being better able to deal with a trap if you're suspecting one, the truth is this entire place, this dream, feels like a trap to her. She doesn't know what it's supposed to feel like, but it probably isn't this.

    Still, the group decided to head towards the 'safe'-feeling light. She wasn't upset they had ignored her advice- after all, sometimes springing a trap is the best way to deal with it. As long as you're ready for it.

    But when they enter the clearing and spot that seated figure, and Ariel suddenly takes off towards her, Kyouko curses under her breath. "Dammit." It's not that she doesn't trust Ariel- it's just that she doesn't trust anything. Well, at least anything she hasn't made triple-sure of. This could easily be part of a trap.

    She doesn't dash forward as the other two do though, unless Endymion should. She stays by his side. But that's not to say she'll abandon the others. Her gaze is sharp, and if things turn south, having backup close (but not too close) may be an advantage. After all, if there is a trap, having it only catch half the group gives the other half a chance to respond.

    This is all, of course as noted, supposing Endymion does not go running right in too. Which he might.

Kunzite has posed:
There's a flicker of Kunzite's glance back to Apatite, just long enough to see which way she's going. Staying with Endymion. Good. Pairing someone as ruthless on the offense as Kyouko with him should be nearly complete in itself, at least in the short term --

-- which means that of the two of them, he's the one who drops into a run. Because one method of protecting Endymion, right now, is protecting Ariel. ANd isn't that the point of their being there?

Hakuomaru has that idea, too, and her barrier in this place is likely to be more trustworthy than his. There's a fleeting, feral smile from him as the wall that's clearly hers comes up. And he watches -- glancing upward, to be sure of anything that might swoop down past the wall, on the unicorn or on the other pair. The woman might be whoever Ariel thinks she is. Or she might be bait. They'll find out. But better the unicorn not, however much she might wish it, find out alone.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's too late, Ariel is not only ahead, but she's putting on speed. That level of sprinting is almost inhuman, and she's on a course straight for the woman, in spite of warnings and perfectly valid urges of wariness and caution. Thankfully she's halted; her wild sprint arrested by the sandy earthen ground rising in front of her, making her have to skid to a screeching halt, leaving two long drag marks in the sand as a result, before she turns, glancing over shoulder with a huge pout.
    "It's alright. There are worse things to find in this dream than an old sea witch."
    That is the woman's voice. Though she doesn't look old in the least, lips tugged into a wry grin, she shifts slightly on her rock, legs crossing into a more comfortable position. "I have to thank you all for watching her for as long as you have. Being stuck here, I've been a bit remiss in the care of my own daughter."
    On closer inspection makes the slightly shimmering scale-like quality of her skin visible as she shifts onto one hip, indigo eyes sliding from face to face. "You're all understandably wary." She says, "So I won't bother asking you to trust me."
    Well that's out of the way at least.
    Her gaze lingers on Akashimaru for a moment, before looking to Kunzite and that killer grin. "Mn, if there are questions now is the best time to ask them. I've been using the last of my strength for a long time to keep this place free of the twisting darkness. But I think even I can't fend the nightmare that followed you all through the forest off for long, now."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Geez," Akashimaru breathes out as she catches up with Ariel, thanks to Hakuomaru's quick thinking with that earthen barrier. "Don't just--"

The woman on the rock is speaking. Seishi shuts up in a hurry, and when she talks about not asking them to trust her, for a moment the samurai girl glances back to the others.

Then her attention is on the self-described sea witch. She listens, but she keeps her tessen to hand.

Later, she'll wonder if she should've done something differently, or if there was anything different she could've done. Right now is the time for questions, and from the sound of things there won't be a lot of time to ask them. No bothering with formal introductions, then. "The nightmare," she says; "the darkness. Do you know what they are, where they came from?"

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru watches the barrier crumble back into a pile of dust and rocks as she turns away from the witch to watch behind them on the path, listening quietly at her warning. One might notice that one hand has her sword, resting against her shoulder and the other is resting on the handle of a flintlock, with her stance allowing her to react quickly either direction. She'll listen and learn for now.

She waves to the others as they catch up, but doesn't say anything right away, though she does look apologetic. Akashimaru's questioning gets her attention for the moment though, her head turning so she can listen.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
For once, Endymion does not run ahead -- he sees the others run, feels Apatite stay where he is even before he sees it, sees that unspoken glance back of Kunzite's to the Shortest Shitennou before running to catch up, and makes an executive decision to walk.

"It's not," he says, "that they didn't take your advice." Kyouko didn't say anything out loud. She definitely didn't. "It's that they did. But now: if she's someone Ariel recognizes and she's been keeping back the dark, it's possible they're distracting her."

His ears are on the gathering ahead, but his eyes are on the forest around them -- the forest Ariel knows, the place where she grew up, but dead or dying. Something pulls at him in a deep and subtle way, icy-- there's something he can almost see--

His attention wrenches back to the present, to this dream, as they approach; the woman's words hit like a ton of bricks. Not only is it pushing at her, it followed them. "Kuso," he mutters. He stops a little ways behind the others, and he half-turns, both presenting a more narrow profile to what may be behind them and looking back that way, most of him facing Kyouko.

Endymion waits until the questions of the dream samurai are spoken before offering his own. A question for Ariel's mother and Ariel alike, from a place that he remembers: "You have more knowledge of this than anyone here. Could you help us fight if you had your strength back?"

If Demeter had been able to remain, a world might not have been lost. This is a world too.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Apatite's eyes narrow as Kunzite takes off after the rest of the group.. but she catches his look, and returns a brief nod. No, she hadn't been planning on going anywhere, anyway. It's not like the woman (Ariel's mother?) is particularly quiet when she speaks though, so she's able to hear what's being said.

    Inbetween, she offers a bit of a lopsided smile to Endymion. "I know." That's all she says, because it's all she needs to say. When the woman up ahead mentions things following them through the woods, she's already turned her head back to look the way that they've come.

    Endymion is half-facing her, but she's completely facing the woods. She trusts the others to have her back, should danger arise from that direction. It seems much more likely to come from this one. She plans the butt of her spear in the dirt, her eyes narrowing just slightly.

    She is the line in the sand.

Kunzite has posed:
Daughter. Well, then. If the woman isn't who Ariel thinks she is, the discrepancies should be clear soon enough; Ariel may not recognize them, but the unicorn's never shy of showing any confusion.

And Endymion -- that tone of mutter means he picked up on something.

Like Hakuomaru, then, Kunzite asks no questions. He only keeps by Ariel, as she moves, as she likely works around the barrier; and he glances back the way Endymion and Apatite are, and like them he keeps watch. And lets those most adept in dreams be free from that worry, to find what solutions they will.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    "I do. And I don't." The woman answers. Both are answers without guile as well. There is a mild pause as she regards Akashimaru, fingers tapping her chin in thought. "I seem to recall stories of a samurai in red, but I never paid much mind to Ariel's bedtime stories." Mused thoughtfully. But she sighs.
    "It was once a defender. Sworn to protect this place, vowed to protect the dreams of the innocent. Now it's twisted into a shadow and mockery of its former seld. But what caused that, I can't say for certain."
    Though Seishi doesn't finish her sentence, Ariel knows full well she's probably going to be scolded, and there's a sheepish, apologetic look. But she's more daring in the next moment, after the barrier crumbles. She approaches. And though she puts her arms around her supposed mother, the woman seems to pay the girl no mind for a long moment. To the prince, she pauses, indigo eyes regarding Endymion for a long moment before she answers very coolly. "You shouldn't ask me to do that. It would be would be quite painful for me, and that's not something I admit easily." A sigh and she shakes her head, "I'd really rather not."
    If there was any doubt to who she really was though, it's dispelled a moment later. The touch is idle, but genuinely affectionate, even if it is just slightly resting her hand atop Ariel's head.
    Still. She said it had followed them. Her expression hardens and Ariel cringes.
    With a CLANK, something steps from the tree line. A figure in black armor, heavy plating and dark steel, shambling from the forest, head and face obscured by a tall plumed helmet, a great black shield in one hand and sword in the other. This dark beast as black as the night trudges to the edge of the light. And roars. A sound of mixed rage. And pain. It stands opposite Apatite, unslinging a massive lance of its own from its back, looking ready to charge-- in fact it does, heading for the earthly prince's fifth knight, intending to test spear with lance in a surprising burst of speed and charge.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
     Apatite's eyes were already narrowed, but they narrow further at the appearance of a hulking, black-armored figure from the trees. She is not surprised, though she hadn't known what form this adversary would take. She stays where she is. Line in the sand. A quick glance behind her makes sure that Endymion is still there, that the others have seen the threat.

    But that's all she has time for, as the creature charges at her, roaring and wielding a massive lance. Making a 'ch' sound, almost as of annoyance, Apatite slides one foot back, whirling her spear around to a ready position. It looks thin, fragile compared to the huge lance of the enemy. But appearances are often deceiving.

    She waits until the last possible moment.. then snaps her spear up to catch the lance. Rather than block the blow, though, as the weapons intersect Apatite's spear shatters into chain-linked fragments which wrap around the creature's weapon, almost like a spiral net.

    Of course, the impact of the blow then hits her, and Apatite is tossed aside, her light frame no match in counterweight for such a creature, but she yanks with the wrapped spear as she hurtles away, attempting to disarm the opponent event as she is flung into the tree line and smacks a trunk with a solid 'thunk', falling into the underbrush at its base a moment later.

    She's obviously moving, trying to regain her feet, but that was obviously a hefty blow.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru hears the CLANK and immediate turns to face the creature, not sure what to expect to come barreling out of the forest. A dark knight was kind of low on her list really though. She starts to charge forward, when the creature goes after Apatite first and thanks to the whole momentum thing, she was unable to get a barrier up in time. Besides, heavy as that thing is, it may not have helped without more preparation. As Apatite goes flying she steps up to the creature and points to it before calling out, "Someone lies to hide themselves, come on!" before lashing out in a seemingly wild swing, only to change her grip and smoothly draw her flame flintlock to fire a burst of flame at the knight, hopefully at a place it left exposed to guard against her swing.

Whether she's successful or not, the heavy wooden gun is spun and reset on her belt in a display of dexterity before bringing her sword up in a defensive stance once more. Should it try to get past her, she's going to sidestep to keep herself right there.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
At the dream-mother's reaction to his question, Endymion stiffens and his expression goes politely distant. "My apologies, Lady. I misread your situation; I intended only to help you, not cause further distress--"

He's about to say more, and then there's a CLANK, and he wheels around to face the treeline-- his eyes widen. "You've got to be kidding me," he mutters, and he's not a bloodthirsty boy, but my god does he ever hope that this guy's arms and legs come off because there is A Line he's suddenly burning to use even if Nephrite's not around. But then the thing is charging Kyouko, and Endymion starts to draw his sword--

--what is he thinking? Lance versus sword, lance wins. Instead, even as Kyouko's moving like lightning in front of him and working to disarm, Endymion's hand swings up and begins to glow a bright white-gold. "TUXEDO," he yells, then takes a deeper breath and the glow growing in his palm takes a level in blinding.

"LA SMOKING--" he continues, and the glow spreads wider, and it's unmistakably the light of Elysion's heart.

"--BOMBER!" the Crown Prince of Earth bellows, and the beam of crushingly intense force and heat slams forward from the palm of his hand at the Black Knight.

Kunzite has posed:
Of course. Of course fighting would hurt her. They know a little about defenders twisted to darkness --

Kunzite turns, and his hands lift, but -- if he shielded Apatite, he wouldn't have time to solidify it against a physical attack. Can't shield Hakuomaru; she fights and melee range. So instead, he waits a few moments, concentrating, drawing his power together...

and the instant the beam of Endymion's light ebbs, shadows cloud around him, enough at least to deflect any counterattack.

Ariel or the sea-witch is likely to be the real target. But if it comes to that, he's by them himself.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Akashimaru swears again, a quiet snarl of frustration low in her throat as she whips around to see the armored figure bearing down on Apatite. Looks like Q-and-A time is over. "Stay back here!" she calls over her shoulder towards Ariel and the dark-haired woman, and then she's launching into motion.

Too far back; she's still covering ground as Apatite takes the hit--

    (--it'd take a gold-medal shot to get an arrow through that armor, here in this dark place, on a moving target--)

--gaining speed as Hakuomaru engages; the Shinken's still in her hand as she sprints and it's glowing steadily brighter, tracing arcs of ruddy light alongside her like it's reflecting a sunrise--

    (--if Apatite can't keep that lance trapped it's suicide. Even if she can, there's still the shield, but what else can she do?)

"Come, the light that shatters the darkness..." The words come out breathlessly; as the last dazzling gold of Endymion's blast fades in the air, Akashimaru charges the last few yards. The Shinken ignites in blazing red light, enveloping her like a corona as she gathers herself and springs.

"NIGHTMARE BREAKER!"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It is undoubtedly not an easy feat to bat aside one of Endymion's knights, but this tihng, whatever it may be has apparently done so. The black armored beast is strong. But it is just one, and if the group rallies well enough then they'll stand the best chance to face it.
    The charge isn't truly halted, but the dark armored figure slows, turning that helmet to an almost bird-like angle; cocking its head to get a better sight of the gathered with one eye through the visor of its helm. Blue. A vivid blue as endless and deep as the sea; but wide and wild with pain and insanity. It snorts, steam gusting visibly from the helmet.
    Kunzite... Seems to have the correct assumption.
    As soon as that lone eye falls upon Ariel and the witch, it goes wild, stomping and screeching, champing and stamping, only to lose any control it may have had and lose itself to aggression. The initial stroke and subsequent flames of Hakuomaru's flintlock wash over it, though it brings that heavy shield up, it's a little late, leaving dark armor scorched and heated, plumes of darkness wafting off the plating like steam. It seems to have weakened that armor some as Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber slams it dead on in the chest. There's a CRUNCH of armor and... It takes the blow standing. Knocked backwards from the impact, deep furrows in the sand showing several feet of distance in a backward skid, it trudges forward again steps wobbly before it regains footing.
    It has a terrifying endurance, even with the huge dent in that breastplating.
    Akashimaru darts in. Shinken is wielded. The combined force of the trio has stopped the charge, and when that lance is brought to bear again the force is blunted by Kunzite's shadows, sparing the prince of the earth retaliation, when shinken strikes home.
    It bleeds.
    Akashimaru makes it bleed.
    Warm liquid silver seeping from between dark armor.
    "STOP!"
    It's Ariel that calls out, voice shrill, and... If the Nightmare was moving to continue even after such punishment, it halts. Going as still as a statue, armor falling apart in places, bloody in other. If there is pain, it shows no sign. And for a beat or so it remains in place, breathing heavily, that wild eye focused on 'prey'. Before it lowers its lance and turns, snarling as it starts back for the dark forest from whence it came.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It all stops at Ariel's command, and Endymion's still shaken, recovering from the combination of the very near lance to his gut and the sight of an eye that he might have seen in a mirror--

--but it all stops, and the armored beast leaves, and he runs to Kyouko--

--and she's getting up, herself. That doesn't stop him from moving to steady her, to lend her some of his strength and healing, silent and firm and grateful. And then he looks up, first to Kunzite: 'she hasn't told us something she knows'; then to Ariel's mother. There's something burning behind his eyes, but he's silent. The next move is Seishi's.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Hakuomaru was just about to wind up for a big swing when Ariel shouted out and the creature stopped it's attack. Standing there awkwardly, she doesn't take her eyes off of it until it's gone, only moving her stance after a few seconds. She rests the blade against her shoulder and says, "What's going on here then?" While moving to put herself between the treeline and everyone else. Close enough to both that she can react as needed, should she have questions or should the thing come back.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Ariel's cry stops Akashimaru as cold as if she'd suddenly run up against the end of a tether, an invisible cord that catches her in the act of following through. The tessen in her hand is still blazing crimson, but she's frozen in place, seeing the trickle of silver from the broken armor before the dark figure flees.

At the side of the path, in the dark space between two trees, O-Yasu crouches down against the ground as the Nightmare (is it a Nightmare?) passes. It's hard to read expressions on the face of something that looks like a glorified tapir, but the baku's ember eyes are wide and bright in the thick shadows that surround him.

It's only when Hakuomaru speaks that Akashimaru lets out an uneven breath and lowers her weapon. "I don't know," she says quietly.

Turning back, she glances around to the others before she looks toward Ariel. There's concern and questions in her dark eyes as she starts back. "Are you all right?"

Unspoken but almost audible under the question is another: 'why did you want us to stop?'

Kunzite has posed:
The impact of the lance against his shields is enough that Kunzite takes half a step back where he stands -- but the shields hold, if not enough to stop the blow, then enough to send it skidding aside. Good enough. Close enough.

All of it was close enough.

The shadows flow reluctantly aside as Endymion starts for Kyouko; Kunzite does not let the prince, or the black knight, out of his sight. And, this time, follows Akashimaru's question with one of his own.

"Who is that?"

It's perhaps a bias instilled by his own experiences that prompts that to be an is rather than a was.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Indigo eyes meet with Endymion's. The 'witch' says nothing, though her hand still remains protectively on Ariel; who has fallen to reticent, almost horrified silence, ears pinned back again long after the dark beast returns to the darkness it came from.
    Eventually, the self-proclaimed witch speaks. But not until after a long moment has passed of simply listening to the sea and running fingers gingerly through silvery hair.
    "That. Was once something beautiful."
    That is her initial answer, before her lips form a grim line. "She might not speak of them, but Ariel saw a large deal of terrible sights, on her initial trip to your world. And she's seen even more while there. But I think that might have been the worst possible thing for her."
    That doesn't answer much at all. But then again Ariel doesn't look like she even wants to talk about anything, considering how she hides her face.