#dreamingoftranquility

[maducfantom]

[knocks on his office door] Um... hello? [nervous smile] I figured it was probably a good idea to officially let my path leader know I'll be leaving...

[the door swings open, and he squints at Eduard from behind his desk] What if I told you that you’re not allowed to leave.

[lightenthisworld]

Deceptive Lights

@dreamingoftranquility

He knows he's asleep. With his powers, it's hard not to tell, but a look of confusion at a newly formed figure amidst the white space appears, the same expression plastered onto their face. Wait a minute- it's his.

Curiously, he approaches it; well, rather, it moves forward. It? He, moves forward. Is this some sort of odd third person game? He flexes his fingers, bewildered at the whole situation before getting a hang of the mechanics. It takes him a minute, but before long, he's gotten all of the fine tuning figured out and makes his way in a circle around the room.

The white feels endless, but as he tries to go further, there's a wall blocking him on all four sides.

A large chunk of time passes in nothing but diagonals around the space and he can feel each time, the gap begins to close. There's no depth for his eyes to gauge, but he's a smart man. He counts his steps with each steady walk which proves his assumption right. His head is spinning once he's made a few more rounds and before he knows it, it's closing in on him, suffocating. The air thins as the walls press against him, continuing to push as he resists against it.

It's uncomfortable at first, but it doesn't take long for the urging to gradually strangle his body. The flat sides constrict him, restricting his movement and the gentle pats against the invisible offenders turn into frantic hits. Anything to get him out of this situation. His breath becomes laboured and panicked while his fists continue to beat and shove around the box, four sides pushing forwards despite how much room he's already lost between them. One final and desperate hit rips a corner open, the adjacent sides falling down in front of him.

He catches his breath for a moment, haunched over with his palms against his knees as the wave of relief and cool air hits him, shaking him up. The latter is literal, however, and when he feels the chilly wind brush against him, he looks up. The white has vanished, the corner behind him having long disappeared to reveal nothing but black. There's a grey path that snakes through, but he can't tell if it's going into the distance or just an optical illusion.

After what just happened, he doesn't trust it anymore.

His eyes dart about in an attempt to get a read on his surroundings but he receives nothing. No signals, no change, nothing. Finally, he decides to just go for it, one steady step at a time. His feet don't fall through, much to his relief, and he continues to move on towards that dim pathway. He reaches out just in case it does turn out to be another wall but his fingers catch nothing. The ground feels softer, just like a cushion of grass beneath him once he reaches the line.

Minutes go by and he's just walking, following the twists and turns, the gentle curves of the pathway that seems to go on forever.

Out of the darkness, orbs begin sprouting from what he can identify as the ground- but it's hard to tell with the pitch black wrapping around him. The soft yellow glow draws him closer whether it be out of comfort of the light or the gentle pull they give him. What exactly it is, he doesn't know, but there's something that makes his feet move towards them as if his body is longing for something that his mind isn't aware of.

Once he nears one, he crouches down, eyebrows furrowed together as a soft noise escapes his lips. His fingers hesitantly reach towards the puff of light and it dances around his hand like dandelion fluff. It exudes a muted sound while he continues to fiddle with it, what can only be described as muffled voices.

It seems innocent enough.

Plucking it from the stem, it disappears from his hand and the light trails up his arm, puffing his clothes up like a breeze. He doesn't feel as exhausted as he used to. It's pleasant. A smile paints across his face before he moves on, hands enveloping the flower-like lights that pulse as the one before it disappears in a stream beneath his hands.

The voices that he heard become louder, and less like muffled garb. They form voices and the soft puffs of dark and bright form images. They remind him of those memory crystals in that Disney movie that he watched with Mei a while back. One by one, they're picked from the ground, noises getting louder and more prominent, and images turning vivid and more... Quirky. Like dreams.

The trail of visions become sparse and a square of yellow glow can be seen not too far away. After the countless puffs that he absorbed, he feels better, in tip-top shape at this point. These things have done nothing but good for him, so why. Or follow where they go? His shoes tap against the padded ground until they reach the very edge of the box and he looks over the edge almost happily.

But what he sees turns his stomach into a knot.

There are people in there, all with their eyes closed and sleeping soundly. Some have those flowers that he had plucked, sprouting above them in a beautiful bouquet while others... Don't. They're withered with empty stems, and the area in which they sleep are dark, not like the light cast upon those whose orbs, whose dreams, haven't been taken from them.

He stands up straight and his breath wavers in panic, frantically turning his hands up and over to see if he can rip that glow away from him. There's nothing, just healthier looking skin that are now stable rather than shaky from exhaustion. He quickly pulls up his sleeve as if he can catch one on its way to sinking in but to no avail. That is, before he catches the lightest glimmer on his left wrist.

His fingers lace around it before it dims and settles on his skin and tugs at it in an attempt to pull it out. He's in disbelief, both horror and hope filling him up as it looks like it's ready to leave him.

Not without a fight.

It resists his touch as he pulls at it, the other tufts latching onto it as tightly as he is onto it. The back and forth game continues until one last, desperate pull finally sets it free. It and the others.

They're angry at his resistance, and if he isn't going to accept them, then they won't accept him. The dreams clatter to the ground in front of him, and just as quickly as they came, they disappear from his sight, leaving him with the dark tendrils waiting for the right time to

drag

him

under.

Eduard Von Bock- Dream Exam FAILED

[baimaomei-blog]

@dreamingoftranquility

[a little flustered at first, trying to not drop what’s behind his back] [laughs] Of course I did! I couldn’t keep you off my mind all week. [pulls out the bouget he was holding behind him] For you, my princess.

[ leans back and giggles ] Really? Well good to know I’m always in your thoughts, I hope I’m a good thought! [ gasps at the bouquet, her eyes widening and her smile growing wider ] 

Flowers? How sweet! [ curtsies with a laugh, her cheeks red ] Well, thank you my prince.

[baimaomei-blog]

dreamingoftranquility

[small frown] [nods]

Of course… You don’t have to ask.

…What is it?

Ah well... [ plays with her fingers, looking away for a moment before looking back up and breathing in deeply ]

I trust you so I thought I would approach you about this. You know I love you a lot, right? 

[stone-cold-brightness]

dreamingoftranquility replied to your post:Would anyone be okay with passing out for a bit? …I could use a good nap.

Great, a volunteer. I didn't want to do it to someone who wasn't aware. As practice, anyway.

[baimaomei-blog]

dreamingoftranquility

Mei–? [was looking for people to help despite his exhaustion] [comes into the room quietly, power radiating off him] Mei, are you alright? 

[ freezes at the sound of his voice, sitting up and hissing ] What do you want? Haven’t made fun of me enough yet?

[baimaomei-blog]

[casually slips into bed with her] [hugs her around the waist] Mind if I join?

[ turns to face him and kisses his nose ] Of course, I’m the one who invited you. [ hugs him back and cuddles into his chest ] 

[ladyoftruth-blog]

[sipping her coffee, typing away with the news in the back ground]

...

[suddenly turns to increase the volume]

"...olice are baffled by mass amounts of people falling sleep today and waking up with out their possessions. What started as a few random instances of reported theft has turned into a spree with, most recently, the Lacys Home Furnishings staff all falling asleep. All security footage of these instances mysteriously has vanished. There is some concern of a biological attack but victims are reporting looking into someones eyes-" [stands stiffly and bolts from her room until she's knocking at another door]

Eduard? Eduard are you being in?

[waits...knock louder]

Eduard?

[debates..then picks his lock and enters] 

Eduard!

[goes to his bed and shakes the man]

I am so sorry! I am knowing you get so little sleep but...jeez you are really gone, da? [shakes harder]