[IC] Lost in Dreams (Chandra)

[ericthered]

OCC: Sorry, no using serendipity to trigger your second jump. You've got to resolve your fix before you can jump. At least and particularly on the first. Genre convention.

Chandra drifts off to sleep. She tries to control her dreams, but instead dreams of a world where everything is made of fire. Inculding familiar people. Haley is made of fire. Illios is made of fire. Tereza is made of fire. Her adopted family are sculpted out of the deadly flames. She wakes up in a cold sweat (and what she finds depends on what tereza does...)

[Poonbahbah]

Tereza tries to convince Illios to stick around for Chandra to go back to sleep so they can try again. If he's completely unagreeable then she'll see about taking him home for the night and trying again tomorrow.

[ericthered]

Illios is quite wary. "Do you know what happened to you two? something odd was going on."

Tereza can argue him into coming back and trying again, but its his professional opinion that its a bad idea. "I think I've almost been stranded here twice. The only people in a different world I've been able to pick up on is your family. Which means if you wake up, I've got no route home. At all."

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Chandra drifts off to sleep. She tries to control her dreams, but instead dreams of a world where everything is made of fire. Inculding familiar people. Haley is made of fire. Illios is made of fire. Tereza is made of fire. Her adopted family are sculpted out of the deadly flames.

With everything around her on fire ... with everyone around her IN fire ... Chandra's powerful will melts like steel exposed to jet fuel. She shrinks in on herself, tightening into a ball in the nearest corner, eight years old all over again and helpless in the face of the inferno that stalks her.

She squeezes her eyes shut, just waiting for it to be over. She'd welcome anyone who could chase the flames away, whether it's Haley, Tereza, that strange Arab, or even a team of I-Cops come to take her to Coventry.

Just someone ... please ...

[Poonbahbah]

"If I were to wake up and leave you stranded it will only be for while I'm awake. Once I'm asleep you could join me again and we'd get you back. I'd like to get her the same help you gave me. If we can't get her tomorrow I'll give up on trying to get her to you and just try to instruct her myself. Okay?"

[ericthered]

Illios Scowls: "That's unproven, but likely. If you're sure, we can try again. But only if. I've got duties back home. Who is this girl to you anyways?"

[Poonbahbah]

"She's just someone I met recently. If what she says is true she is very much like me. She's on her first world besides the one she started on. She is very much worried about being caught by infinity and has as much control of her dreams as I did by the looks of it. So I want to help her. Hopefully she'll be able to help you too. It wouldn't be bad to have another worldwalker as a friend. Assuming we can get her to you anyway. Hope we can. I wouldn't like having no say in where I go or when."

So Tereza will spend the next day at Sultan catching up with people there hoping she'll be able to get Chandra when next she sleeps.

[Rocket Man]

When Chandra wakes, it takes her several minutes to stop shaking. The dreams haven't been that bad in a long time.

What now? she thinks. I cut so many ties, thinking she might actually get me out of here. Are we back to Plan A? Or is she returning? Do I want her to return? The thoughts chase each other around her head like mad terriers, and with about as much resolution.

When Gopal comes in for her "sleep shift," a short while later, she finds Chandra still in her robe, looking numb and unrested, and nursing a cup of coffee. A habitual tea-drinker, they both know there's only one situation when she would turn to the bean.

"Fire dream," Chandra tells her double. "A bad one."

EDIT: If Tereza shows up before Gopal, her response and appearance will be similar.

[ericthered]

Gopal shudders. "Don't tell me any more. I'm trying to put it behind me. I can actually function around a controlled fire now, but the dreams. <second shudder>"

"Where's our resident inconvenience?"


--------------------------------------------------

Illios: "She's Kin to you in some way then. Or at least from the same walk of life. I wonder what the connection between you two is."

"Infinity? remind me who that is again."

"How long do you plan to stay with us this time?"

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Gopal shudders. "Don't tell me any more. I'm trying to put it behind me. I can actually function around a controlled fire now, but the dreams. <second shudder>"

"Where's our resident inconvenience?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Chandra responds truthfully. "She was going to spend some time with an instructor of hers, but she didn't say when she would be back. Best to keep being careful about the schedule until we're sure."

She gives a wan smile through the exhaustion.

"Not that you and I were about to go window shopping together, but you understand."

She carefully rises and stretches ... if Gopal is here, she's lost more time than she thought."Is there anything for today I should be aware of? In case I don't manage to vanish as suddenly as I came." The last is said lightly as she gets ready to hit the showers .... no need to let her know yet how close she came to actually jumping out of here.

EDIT: She is going to try to avoid So as she goes through her day. If she encounters Hailey, she'll find an excuse to chat briefly ... the Merlin girl always seems to do better with a fuller explanation than with brief notes and careful hints.