Of all places to meet... A coffee shop. It's a little later in the evening, getting on to night time, and Ariel is already waiting. She texted Seishi again after the meeting in Mamoru's dream, and, if possible, said to bring Yuzuki along as well.
There's no doubt she's here though, Lucky is impossible to miss, and with Ariel's impromptu fashioned sattle labelled 'SERVICE DOG' stapped on him, he's practically untouchable.
Ariel herself is seated already, hands folded together on her lap, a cooling mug of tea settled on the table before her.
"Sorry for tagging you out of the blue," Seishi is saying to Yuzuki as she waves the other girl into the coffee shop ahead of her. "Ariel was at the beach concert too - you probably saw her, so even if she hadn't asked I'd have figured it'd be good for you to meet her properly. Plus, we're all kind of connected, so this concerns you, too."
It isn't at all hard to spot Ariel and Lucky - the dog especially stands out. Catching sight of the both of them, Seishi raises a hand in greeting and starts over toward the table.
"Hey," she says when she's in convenient earshot. "How are you holding up?"
Yuzuki Amemori is walking along with Seishi, clearly having no problems with the night out, "It's fine it's fine it's fine, I needed a break anyway and some nice hot tea and a... something unhealthy will do wonders." She's dressed in a long skirt and t-shirt with her school bag acting as the repository of her phone and a few other things. She never was one for purses.
Spotting the giant dog, she recognizes it before the girl, but offers both a wave since she's pretty sure they're probably tied together. "Heeey" she offers, no worries at all. Glancing to Seishi, she asks, "Want something?"
"A little tired." It's an honest answer as Ariel glances up. Seishi is always a welcome sight. Ariel didn't get much of a REAL proper meeting with Yuzuki aside from some chatter in the park, and then a furious tour de force magical dream concert.
Ariel's ears still buzz a little at night.
Tinnitis aside, the silver-haired 'foreign' child fidgets with the hem of her skirt. "Hello Seishi, hello Yuzuki." She says. She is polite of course with the proper honorifics put to use, pale lips tugging into a wan smile. "Thanks for coming. --And it's good to see you again. This place is really weird to me... People drinking stuff to stay awake. I thought I'd try it."
However she has chosen an herbal tea, judging from the scent, and thus there should be no caffiene content.
Yuzuki's question has Seishi's attention for a moment, before she shakes her head, smiling ruefully. "Ah, I'm good," she says. "I don't need any more sugar today, and sugar-free's not worth it."
Her smile warms and softens with sympathy as she reorients toward Ariel again, sliding into a seat. She glances at the cup of tea, but if the thought crosses her mind that it probably isn't going to be much help, she doesn't voice it. "Still the same dream?" she asks instead, a little quieter and with genuine concern.
Yuzuki Amemori looks confused, then it clicks that the reply was towards sugary snacks. "I was getting tea too, le-" she trails off, looking at Ariel again, her mind finally catching up with some memories. Tapping her foot against the ground, she leans forward, adjusting her glasses to get a better look then says, "Is that why you two were laughing so hard that day then?"
She wanders off to get her drink and snack before settling down at the same table, listening quietly for now. She's new to all of this after all. It's a good learning experience though, right? Totally taking psychology later too.
A nod and Ariel's hands find way to her mug again. Though rather than sipping the steamy drink, her fingers run slow circles around the rim. "Yes." She replies. "It's getting a little more vivid, too." Added after a beat. "Feels like it anyway."
Puffing her cheeks out, she stares into her reflection in the piping hot liquid for a few beats before glancing up. "Huh? I'm sorry, most of that night was kind of buzzy for me, I don't remember a lot of laughing."
Never setting speakers to 11 again. Ever.
Concern shadows Seishi's expression at Ariel's reply, bringing a frown to her lips. "Sounds like we'll need to do something soon, before it escalates on its own while we're not ready," she says, and her fingertips begin tapping lightly on the tabletop as the wheels begin to turn.
Whatever she's thinking is interrupted a moment later, however. A 'huh?' is nearly audible on her face in time with the one that Ariel says aloud; she flicks a questioning, not entirely comprehending look toward Yuzuki. "--Was what why?" she asks.
Yuzuki Amemori shakes her head as she takes a cautious sip of her drink, then peeks inside of it and mutters, "Too much milk in it." before snapping her attention to Ariel, "Nonono, the one with the stars at the park. The concert was something else, I don't think we had much laughing there." Beat, "Not that you would have heard it, being that close to the sound system."
Looking to Seishi she says happily, "We met in the park. I could see star things and I may... not have handled it well. Sorry." Beat, "At all." Beat again, "Ahem. So- how can I help?"
"... Oh. ... OH." Ariel is a bit more cognizant now of the day in question. "Eheh heh... Well. You could see Hoshi's stars, so we figured you had a bit of magic about you. I didn't expect you to get caught up in things at the concert. --Or to be caught up in a dream like that and... And..."
Ariel makes a vague motion with both of her hands , before huffing and brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I haven't been sleeping well again. Sticking to little naps now and again has helped. It's like that Hunter all over again but..." Her nose scrunches, a funny fluttering thoughtful look crossing her face. "It's not really a creature, it's more of a place." She tries to explain a bit more to Seishi. But how can Yuzuki help? "Well. You could come with us, if we go?" Ariel pauses briefly. "When we go." She changes her mind.
It has to be dealt with.
The confusion on Seishi's face clears away quickly at the explanation, and she nods slowly, letting Ariel finish speaking before anything else. She's right, of course; it has to be dealt with.
"Ariel's been having a repeating nightmare," she explains to Yuzuki, quietly. "A dark place where Lucky can't go with her, and a voice calling her name, but always from farther than she can see as though something's holding it back... is that right, Ariel?" A glance to the unicorn girl for confirmation.
"A nightmare that keeps coming back like that..." she adds, after a moment's pause. "It probably means something's wrong. It's looking like we'll need to go into the dream ourselves and check it out, try to figure out what it really is and what needs to be done about it."
Yuzuki Amemori nods and smiles at Ariel remembering the day as well. "I didn't expect it either funny that. I was leaning more towards seeing the strange and bizarre, maybe befriending a guy named after a bird and meeting a riot or something." She doesn't bother explaining that though.
When Seishi explains the purpose of the meeting, she gets very serious very quickly, listening and considering what information is available. Then she furrows her eyebrows and asks, "Have you made sure it's actually a nightmare and not some of the other oddness going around? I don't know if you can influence someone that way, but remove the simplest answers first right?"
Yawn. It's a quiet one, but flashes a tiny fang, before Ariel stifles it into her palm. "It's a nightmare." She says, sounding pretty sure of herself while rubbing at an eye. "Some dreams come back, but when it's like this...?" She murmurs, shoulders sagging.
"I was born in a dream. If something is bad enough to make me want to wake up. That's the only thing it could be." She replies to Yuzuki.
"I'm not my mom. I don't fight bad dreams like she does, or like you two do. So I guess I don't really know what to do when I have one of my own." She admits, thumbs drumming on the rim of her mug. "Uh."
There seems to be an issue though. And with another fidget Ariel turtles her neck into her shoulders, lips pursing as topaz eyes sssssslllliiiiiide back to Seishi. "That's why I was wondering. If maybe it wasn't any trouble- and I don't mean to impose- if maybe I could stay somewhere ah. A little closer to you, Seishi? If just for a few days. The park is nice and all, but a little lonely at night."
"It might not be the same kind of Nightmare as on the beach," Seishi says soberly, "but anything that goes mucking up someone's dreams like that is something we can't leave alone."
Whatever else she might be thinking of, Seishi stops, abruptly going very still at the question Ariel asks her. It takes her a second to recover. "Wait. Wait a second. You've been living in the park all this time?" As the initial shock of it subsides, she's starting to look faintly appalled. "That's no good. You should've told me sooner - you and Lucky should definitely come stay with me. We'll have to figure out something to tell my dad--" the prospect is enough to make her wince a little, but she shakes it off firmly in the next moment. "--but I'll convince him."
Yuzuki Amemori drums her fingers against the cup while she listens to Ariel. She only comments with an, "Ah" as Ariel explains that her having nightmares is probably a bad thing. With a sip and some contemplation, she asks, "Seishi-san, what can we do? I can guess what Hakuomaru would suggest, which I've found remarkably easy to do usually, but this seems like a point for subtlety."
This line of thought is cut off by the admission that Ariel's sleeping in the park. "Wait wait, you've been sleeping out there?" probably about the same time as Seishi's question even. She looks to Seishi and says, "If you can't, I'm sure I-" a beat, "We can sort something out, even if it's the excuse of a sleepover with exchange students or somesuch."
There's a good pause for a moment. Topaz eyes flutter in a quick blink as Ariel sits up a bit more awake, now that the topic has sliiiightly shifted to her living situation. Her head tilts to am inquisitive, almost bird-like angle to better peer at Seishi and Yuzuki.
"... What? Is there something wrong with sleeping in the park?"
It's a genuinely innocent question. As far as she knows and understands, it is to be close to nature. This is what unicorns do.
Right?
Right???
"I was usually pretty comfortable at the bottom of the pond?" Added as though that makes the situation any better. BUT this is not about defending her choice of location. She apparently just genuinely did not think it was something that needed bringing up. Nevertheless, she dips her head in an appreciative bow. "Thank you, though. I don't want to be a burden, so I'm fine even if it's only for a few days." Any more than that is up to how long the Tamashige household will have her.
'At the bottom of the pond' manages to throw Seishi all over again, but this time she just kind of rolls with it after a glance towards Yuzuki and a little shrug. "It's still not good for you and Lucky to be all by yourselves out there. A lot of things have happened in the park." A beat, and then she smiles, just a little. "Anyway, you won't be a burden, so don't worry about that."
With this settled, she looks to Yuzuki again. "We'll go into her dream," she says. "A sleepover would be good for that, actually. It's something that you and I can do; O-Yasu and Haku will be able to help guide you. There are a couple of other people who might be able to help us out as well... I know Chiba-san said he wanted to, if he could, and it'd be good to have the backup.
"Once we see what it really is, we'll be able to figure out what to do about it."