[PRP] dream a dream (Jordan & Jeremiah)

[prolixity]

It was not raining, and after nearly a month of rain, that was weird. Jordan wasn't carrying his umbrella, neither the broken one nor its cheap replacement, and he wasn't carrying his backpack. He wasn't carrying anything. He had a vague feeling that he was supposed to be somewhere, sometime soon, but he didn't know where or when. When he checked his watch, it didn't seem to be working correctly. The second hand jerked steadily, as though trying to tick, but it remained stuck at 28 seconds. It would probably need fixing.

In spite of the feeling that he was supposed to be somewhere, he couldn't summon up any real sense of urgency about his errand, whatever it was. He walked slowly down the street, looking into broken windows in storefronts that seemed abandoned, trying to read the scribbles of graffiti on the walls as he passed a narrow alley. Where was he? He didn't know that either, and while it maybe wasn't at all odd that he didn't know the entire city, he thought that he should at least be able to recall how he'd gotten here. Shouldn't he?

xazuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah rolled his shoulders, within Ashdown, and breathed in. When he breathed out, he was in other ashdown. It was certainly an easier to thing to do now, this ability he had discovered after becoming a noble.

Raking a hand through his hair, looking to the sky out of reflex for rain that was no longer falling, he glanced back down to realize there was-

Someone he did not recognize.

"Hello?" he called out, British accent still one of the most noticeable things about him. It was hard to forget one of two possible people in the town with a very marked pronunciation. Jeremiah was a step or two behind Jordan in a moment.

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

A voice, one that was a little familiar. Jordan turned, his expression open, relaxed, curious. It only took him a moment to recall the older man's name, and he nodded to him. "Hello, Detective Mercer," he said. "I think I've gotten lost. What street is this?" In spite of not knowing where he was, he still couldn't summon a sense of urgency or distress about it, feeling only a mild and hazy curiosity about what was around him. It was serendipitous that he'd met someone he'd spoken to before, he thought. Asking directions from complete strangers was always awkward.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Hullo," Jeremiah tilted his head in greeting, just the slightest twitch of his lips upward. It probably did not help Jordan's thoughts that this was a dream when Jeremiah's eyes appeared to be glowing.

"It's Cabot Street," he replied, "and if you keep walking you'll see the theatre." It's marquee here was one of the few things that was constantly lit up now.

Cabot street was one of the main roads within Ashdown that was usually bustling. Here it was not. "I can't say I'm surprised to see you here."

Hadn't he seen this young man at the ball?

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

Cabot Street? Jordan looked around again, his eyebrows going up. Huh. It did look like Cabot Street, if the street had been abandoned and broken-down. That realization, combined with the glow of Jeremiah's eyes, made something click in Jordan's mind. "Oh," he said, "thank you," and then, "I think I might be dreaming." That would very neatly explain his watch, the strange haziness of his thoughts, his surroundings. "Huh. I don't usually have lucid dreams."

He nodded to Jeremiah's statement. "Is this what you meant about dreaming about Ashdown not being quite right? That would make sense," he mused to himself. Jeremiah had spoken about dreams of Ashdown, of the other side; perhaps that was why the detective was in his dream. "I replaced that umbrella," he added, remembering suddenly. He'd have to remember to tell Jeremiah that if or when they met again while awake.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's head tilted, studying Jordan for a moment before he stepped forward and tried to place a hand on his shoulder. It settled onto nothing, instead passing through him and his form reshaping after it passed through.

"Definitely dreaming but you're actually here. It isn't lucid dreaming so much as astral projection." Clearly the fetch had met the young man. "I'm glad you got that umbrella replaced and this is exactly what I meant about dreaming about Ashdown not being quite right." Jeremiah took a step back, studying him. "You're in other ashdown now."

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

Jordan looked down at his shoulder, rotated it experimentally. It felt the same as it had before Jeremiah's hand passed right through it. That was kind of fascinating. "So I'm here but I can't touch anything?" he asked. "And nothing can touch me. I guess that's a good thing." He might not be able to affect the world while he was dreaming, or projecting, or whatever he was doing, but that also meant that he wouldn't be in actual danger while he was sleeping back in Ashdown.

"This'll be the second time, then," he murmured, half to himself. "I guess I can expect it to happen again, if it's happening now." He turned his gaze to Jeremiah, studying him interestedly. "Are you dreaming too? Or are you there? Here? We're actually talking, it's not just a dream? Sorry for all the questions," he added, though he didn't look really sorry about it. He wanted to know, both for the intellectual value of the knowledge and the practical aspect. "It's interesting, is all."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Correct but you're still capable of affecting what's around you if you know what you're doing." Jeremiah rolled his shoulders, eyes glowing brighter briefly as he continued to speak. "Don't worry about it. It's better you ask these questions as get answers than flounder around with some kind of guidance.

"I'm actually here right now but you're dreaming. Something came up a little while back with me that had me chronically experiencing dreaming and finding myself here, so I've learned a thing or two about it." His lips twitched upwards briefly into a rueful smile and then he shook his head. "It tends to happen less once you get accustomed to this place but there are things that can cause it to happen more often than not. I'd also assume some people simply could project themselves here but I've not found anyone yet."

Prolixity

why yes, appeal to the intellectual aspect of this and jer will talk ur ear off

 

[prolixity]

Jordan made a small, thoughtful noise. "How can I affect things here if I can't touch them? Some kind of telekinesis? Or just, well, magic?"

He listened with focused interest, taking in what Jeremiah had to tell him. "What causes it to happen more often?" he asked. "Do you mean projecting deliberately while asleep, or in a waking state, like a trance or something? Is it dangerous to be away from your body too long?" He tilted his head a little to the side, thinking over what little he knew of the other world. "I know it's possible to come here intentionally while awake. Is it possible to do that accidentally as well?"

azuredreams

u let the curiosity out

 

[azuredreams]

"It's more that I can't touch you? You could use magic on me or something else here ..." Jeremiah gave Jordan a wry smile. "The first time I dreamed of other ashdown I wasn't paying attention and managed to burn a hand print into my desk at the department. It was there actually on my desk when I went into work the next day."

Which had been the first of many clues that the two places were truly connected.

"Well, in my case, it was not by choice. I was having seizures and fainting spells for a time and one of the side effects was that I was finding myself here more and more." His shoulders rolled, posture relaxing as he spoke about this. It was a surprisingly easy subject when he was asked the right questions.

"I believe you could probably do something like that?" A trance or trying to project while dreaming if one could manage it. "I do know that extended time in here, without going back, can be detrimental even if it's just astral projection. I found it incredibly draining to be doing it on a constant basis. As if I was not actually getting sleep."

The last question actually had his lips twitching into a small smile. "In most case, for you especially as you've just found yourself here, you're more likely to find yourself here accidentally than on purpose. Not that you can't do so but for most the entrances find you, not the other way around, but there's several of us that have adapted and discovered ways to find the places where the veil is thin and we can cross over." A finger tapped his eyes as if to imply that was part of how he did so.

Quote:

what have we done prox?!?!?! (did u want info jordan, here u go.)

 

[prolixity]

"So can anyone use magic?" Jordan blinked, thinking that over. "Just here? But if the effects carry over into the other world ... huh. That's fascinating. Is it, like, a world inside a world, or is it more like a reflection? Do you know?" A quick, slightly sheepish smile. "I hope these aren't dumb questions."

"Things that could reasonably be expected to send you, hm, out of yourself, I guess." Jordan nodded slowly. "That makes sense." It wasn't quite a question, though his inflection turned up slightly at the end of the sentence, not entirely sure of himself. He wore a small frown of concentration, taking in what he was being taught and filing it all away. "And it makes sense that if you're conscious here instead of actually sleeping and dreaming, you wouldn't be getting the rest and recovery from sleep." He nodded, half to himself.

He rubbed at his chin contemplatively. "What do you do when you're here? I mean, if that's something you can talk about, anyway. I know there's things that live here, but you're from the world I'm from. I think, anyway," he finished, sounding suddenly uncertain again.

azuredreams

teach him, senseiiii

 

[azuredreams]

"Anyone can, yes, however affects only carry over in specific circumstances. Specifically when something is done in other ashdown and it has to be on a large scale. Moving a couch here, for example, would move it in Ashdown." Or burning his desk, as he mentioned. "Little things? They wouldn't have an impact on the other side."

Jeremiah gave him a small smile, head inclined towards him. "They're not dumb at all and I believe I can answer most. It's not a world inside a world but more like ... a world outside a world. There's a veil that keeps the two apart and it's that which we have to cross over, I believe, to make it over." He listened as the young man worked through his thoughts, eyes glowing brightly and flicking away to make sure they were very much alright where they were.

"You were at the ball, were you not?" Jeremiah inquired, before he continued on. "There are those of us who have more ties to this side than the other, who are more touched by the magic of this place. I am one of those people, so when I come over I usually have some business to attend to or I am helping others." A pause, a wry grin given to Jordan. "Such as yourself."

word count: 955

5rolixity

 

[prolixity]

Jordan nodded thoughtfully, taking this all in. "So once you've been across the veil, it becomes easier to cross it again, I guess?" He noticed Jeremiah checking their surroundings, and glanced around as well, remembering suddenly that there were other things that lived here and realizing that maybe it could be hazardous to encounter some of them. He didn't see anything right now, but that didn't mean that he never would.

"I was at the ball," he agreed. "I hope I'm not keeping you from other business you need to attend to. I really appreciate the information, though."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"In the beginning it has a tendency to pull you over but as you cross over and spend more time here, you'll find yourself finding your way here more on purpose and less it deciding you need to be here." There was a roll of his eyes. "Case and point would be in March when a large group was pulled in without warning, during the fog."

Jeremiah shifted once more, watched as Jordan looked around. "There's nothing here for the moment, that I can sense. Nothing that's a danger, at least, as I'd be able to tell." He shook his head. "You're not keeping me from any other business at the moment."

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"The ball was the first time I encountered anything of this kind," Jordan admitted. "So it hasn't been long that I've even known about it. What happened in March? Was the fog some kind of effect from here?"

He nodded. "How often do you encounter dangerous things? Is there anything in particular that I should be trying to avoid?" A small sigh of relief. "Glad I'm not keeping you from anything. I'd hate to be a bother."

azuredreams