Status Check and Dream Review! [OTA]

[unfavorableinstigation]

Video (Several hours after everyone's awake again.)
From: Cabin 4-B
To: Everywhere

---

[Despite having turned one of the cabin's ICP units on, Nita is still writing in her own Manual in plain view of the camera.]

Anxiety dreams - what were those creatures anyway? They looked like they were made of wings-

[While from this angle the writing isn't clear, and given it's in the Speech it's a gamble if your character can make sense of individual syllables at all, it's obvious Nita is grouping details into lists.

Nita looks up, brown hair fuzzed from sleep as if the past day had been normal, like she'd just slept through the night instead of a whole day.]

Hey, all. I wanted to check with you - does anyone else remember that falling dream? Not the ones with flying, though there were a lot of those - but where you're lying back on something, just watching the sky, and then there's-

[Nita breaks off, shaking her head.]

It's not clear now, but it was like everything shattering. Like a dark version of the Big Bang, if I had to use an analogy, with everyone going everywhere. Then there was screaming, and I woke up.

Did anyone else get that?

[Nita pauses, considering.]

Oh, and if anyone was in the game car when the breach happened, mind telling me what it looked like? Or if anything like this has happened before, with the Void. That'd be good to know, too.

[Nita scratches down a few more lines.]

So, just in case we haven't met yet, I'm Nita Callahan, I'm in Cabin 4-B, and I'd really appreciate some kind of context for this!

Comments

[wisdominshadows]

I did.

[She closes her eyes.]

Do you think it was significant?

[unfavorableinstigation]

I'd say probably.

[Nita rests her hands on her Manual, then sighs.]

The problem with visions like that is reading them. It's way too easy to misinterpret it, or you end up not figuring out what it means until too late.

And that's if it's not just symbolic of what happened just now, with the breach.

[And that's just for starters!]

[wisdominshadows]

I thought the same.

[From her tone, it's probably clear she's not thrilled to agree.

But then, Zelda has experience with significant dreams. And experience with them being bad news.]

Or you're influenced to do something which brings the dream about. In this case, I'm not sure that's what's going on....

[Or at least, it doesn't feel like any prophecy she's ever had.]

But perhaps someone should keep a record. Particularly if more come forward with the same dream.

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita's glad she's not alone in this category of people, much as it sucks to be in it.]

I don't think we've got much influence over any sort of trigger mechanism.

Not at this time, anyway.

[She nods.]

That's what I'm doing - I'm used to writing my dreams down, keeping a log.

Any you remember? We can talk about it in person if you'd rather it not be in the Network.

[Even though this isn't Nautilus, some people just prefer these kinds of conversations as face-to-face.]

[wisdominshadows]

[Zelda gives the slightest wince- but then, Nita knew her in Nautilus. Perhaps more importantly, she knew Link in Nautilus. She's had fair warning that some very strange things can go on in Hyrule.]

...There are dreams I can identify as my own, certainly. I'm not sure those would be relevant here.

[Another hesitation]

... But if you want to hear them anyway, name a place.

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita gestures around her and her roommates' cabin.]

Here's fine. Or- we can take to the Standard Coach.

[Look, there's a library, okay? She's always more comfortable in libraries.]

[wisdominshadows]

[Shaking her head]

No, I can meet you in your cabin.

[Video]->[Action]

[unfavorableinstigation]

I'll be here, then.

[And so she shall, whenever Zelda arrives. As long as it's not when Inigo arrives.]

[wisdominshadows]

[We'll assume they missed each other

Some time later, Nita will hear a knock on the door.]

Hello?

action; if that's okay!

[flatteries]

Inigo doesn't even bother with replying to the message. That's too public, after all, and Nita helpfully says where she is. So Inigo immediately makes his way over to cabin 4-B when he hears it. He peeks his head around the doorway just to make sure it's only Nita in there. And even when she's all he can spot, he's still miming out "Can we talk?" rather than saying it out loud. Like he's worried about someone overhearing.

.. If the miming is coming across clearly, anyway. It's not a talent he possesses.

Yes! =D [Action]

[unfavorableinstigation]

Inigo's not left outside in the hall for long; she waves him on in before he can get too far into embarrassing himself miming.

"Now, just as a disclaimer, a lot of the dreams sort of mixed into each other before I woke up properly... but I remember seeing you in them."

Which is why she also goes to close the door.

"I take it you do too?"

[flatteries]

It's a slight relief to have the door closed, although it sure doesn't take away all of Inigo's worries. No one will be listening in, but even just talking to her about what happened in those dreams - or what he remembers of it, either way - is pretty tough. He's definitely not used to this, and this time he no longer has even some dream version of alcohol to make his lips a little looser.

So he nods, and then sits himself down with a sigh on one of the beds.

"I do. If I'm entirely honest, that is mostly why I came here to you. Not necessarily because of the questions you were asking over.." He waves a hand at the ICP. ".. these newfangled things."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita can't help but grin, briefly just as wryly amused by him as she'd been when they first met.

"Not that I'd blame you for that, either."

As quick as it's started, the grin fades and Nita sighs.

"I remember holes. And- something about a party too big for the train?"

And alcohol, though she'll spare him that embarrassment.

[flatteries]

He nods. Those are both things he remembers too, although he remembers more than that, even. Which is exactly the reason he came here, yet for some reason he looks oddly nervous before speaking up. It takes a while for him to even verbally answer, like he isn't fully sure of what to say.

Maybe he should just leave. Maybe she doesn't remember that she cried. Maybe she doesn't even remember he cried!

.. but maybe she does.

Inigo drags his hands down his face, letting out a frustrated sound before realising a moment later that must've looked weird.

"S.. Sorry. I just.." Another sigh. "Do you remember.. us hugging?" Is he deliberately avoiding using the c-r-y-i-n-g word? Yes. Yes, he is.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita's nod is answer enough for now.

"Yeah, and... And that we both needed it, when they happened."

She pauses.

"They don't happen often for you, do they? Hugs, I mean."

[flatteries]

".. Not really."

Admitting that gets him to blush slightly. Honestly, there's no point trying to lie about it or cover anything up anymore after everything they saw and experienced both in his dream and her own. But it's still slightly embarrassing to say out loud like this.

"My parents died when I was young. And ever since then.. well, let's just say circumstances have been rough. There wasn't much time or occasion for that sort of thing."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita makes herself make eye contact, this time.

"... I know what that's like. When Mom died, it hit us all hard."

Losing both of them - she doesn't like thinking about it.

"And then I was away from home for a long time, even though I could go back... but we can change things here, while we're here, at least."

She lets a small smile tug at her lips.

"Guess that means we're stuck playing catch-up."

[knifewithnoname]

I did be having that one too. It did be being stupid. [They all were stupid, every dream. It's hard picking them apart from one another but that one had been clear. Falling every way at once, screaming. Right before she had woken up.]

I did no be being in the games car. This did no never be happening before but we did once be ending up out of the void in space and the gravity magic did be stopping. That did be being stupid too.

[unfavorableinstigation]

... Stupid how, exactly?

[Since for Nita, implying something stupid usually also carries the implication that it's not worth caring about. The dreams may be a pain, disturbing, and more than occasionally vague, but that's not what she defines as stupid.

Granted, that's her perspective; Buttercup may just have her own definition.]

Wait, what? So we are still in space, in a way?

[Hyperspace, maybe, not that Nita knows if Buttercup knows that word.]

That does suck, yeah. How long were you all stuck there?

[knifewithnoname]

Just stupid.

[She shrugged. And then frowned.] No. We do be being in the void. We did be... I think we did be crashing? It did be being shakey and then we did be being in space and the void engines had failed but I do no really be knowing what they do be being so you should be asking mister Stark or maybe Peter but he will be using too many words.

[She shrugged again. She can't remember really. Probably no longer than a day. She can't remember sleeping.]

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita sucks on her teeth; she does not like the sound of that.]

Did it ever sound like you'd hit something?

[She pauses, thinking, then shakes her head.]

They might know how a void engine could work, but I don't think they're secretly working for whoever designed these engines.

[She'd still be interested in the theory, of course, but theory isn't the same thing as answers.]

[knifewithnoname]

[Another shrug. She wouldn't know what that would sound like. Loud she guessed. Maybe? She can't remember much, it had been very sudden.]

Who do they be being?

[Because Nita seemed to know something, and she wanted to know it too.]

[unfavorableinstigation]

That's the question.

[And Nita sighs.]

If what they said on the leaflet's any indication, no one knows or has any record of them. But if it's beyond even spaceflight, it's bound to be specialized technology, the sort of thing people keep secret.

[knifewithnoname]

"You do be thinking so?" She tilted her head, "But all worlds do be being different. In my world we do no be having trains or cars but in Peter's world they do be going into space. So maybe this do be being from... Another place."

That's what she had believed. But now Nita was saying. This could be a secret Void train. Interesting.

It might explain why they had been kidnapped.

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita nods; that lines up with what she's experienced before, both in Nautilus and even before then back home.]

I mean, if there are worlds who know about this whole thing as.. I don't know, an industry, some volunteer organization, then they sure are news to me!

[Nita sounds more than a little annoyed, mostly because the idea sounds very familiar to her; being out of the loop is only nice until you know there's a loop to be in!]