Message 01. Technicolor Animals 101

[unrecovered]

[The video flickers on to show both Wash and North in what looks like one of the hotel rooms. It’s far enough away that it’s obvious they’ve set it up on a flat surface somewhere. Wash is still wearing his helmet; old habits die very hard.]

Hey. Does anyone know anything about these Dream Eater things? We know they can fight and that you can make them from little rainbow pieces; aside from that, I’ve got nothing.

[There’s a squeak from offscreen, and Wash looks over-] Hey, get over here. [-and leans out of the frame.]

[North, meanwhile, has his helmet off, because all things considered, this area’s probably safe and he can let his guard down a bit. ]

Also, do they all carry loose change or something? It’s an odd way of making money.

[He glances over at Wash.]

Everything alright, Wash?

Yeah, fine, just- c’mere!

[There’s more squeaking offscreen, and finally Wash leans back into the frame, pulling his bat into his lap. The bat squeaks piteously, and it’s pretty obvious that one wing is bandaged.]

Is there a vet around here, or someone who knows how to take care of this? [He gestures at the bandage.] I can do this much, but that’s about it.

[Responses will come from both Wash (unrecovered) and North (brodakota).]

Comments

[unrecovered]

[Wash brings the kid back to his room, eyeing the lizard suspiciously. It makes sense for there to be friendly lizards when there's also friendly bats and cats; that doesn't mean he has to like it. He tenses slightly as the lizard gets near his bat - and when the hell did that happen? When did he start getting protective of a partner he kept insisting he didn't want?]

[Now wasn't exactly the time for that train of thought, but he did breathe a little easier when the lizard backed off.] Good.

[He'd already seen someone pull a shield from midair today - a key wasn't too different, even if it was slightly more ridiculous as a weapon. He'd also seen magic before, but that was ice from nowhere and this looked completely different.]

[Only a moment after the spell goes off - at least, Wash assumes that's what happened - the green glow fades and the bat is back in the air with all the energy it had before it was injured, hovering in front of the boy's face and happily squeaking its thanks before making a beeline for Wash, flying circles around him and squeaking nonstop.]

Jeez- wait- calm down-

[After a few missed swipes, he manages to catch the bat in midair. It calms down a bit when he's holding it, long enough for him to unwrap the bandage. The spell did its job - there's no evidence of the burn that had been there a minute ago.] Wow.

[The bat hops up to his shoulder and perches there, rubbing against his helmet affectionately. Wash, however, is still looking at the boy.] That's a pretty useful trick. Thanks.

[unrecovered]

[He might want to keep it that way. Wash was thinking of Sarge anyway, or maybe Tucker. Either way, it would not end well.]

Well, yeah. Just think of what he'd try to pull with one of those.

[The end result would be Wyoming's mustache on fire, and nobody would be happy...except maybe York, who would insist it was worth the laugh.]

[You know, maybe he doesn't want to think about that right now.]

Yeah. Anything with that much energy wouldn't go down so easily.

[The bat squeaks quietly at the touch; it'd be much more enthusiastic about the attention if it wasn't already feeling poorly.]

[dork_of_keys]

They didn't? That isn't fair. There's other potions, too. Stronger ones and ones that cure poison and stuff like that.

Nightmare eat good dreams and plant bad dreams. Spirits eat Nightmares. At least that's how it was explained to me. The Spirits also eat treats that you can get for them at shops or sometimes the Nightmares even drop those treats along with munny or potions.

[He looks at the figment Wash pulls out. Yeah, he was weirded out the first time too. But it does make sense when one little thing is taken into account.]

We are in the realm of dreams. That usually makes crazy stuff easier to do. And yeah, there's more than the four that have been around town so far.

[brodakota]

[It's probably a good thing they haven't met the Tyranto Rex yet either. Because Sarge would want that.]

I've already thought about it. Doesn't end well.

[But it sure is funny to think about. Theta in the meantime is studying the bat, trying to make sure it'll really be okay.]

And here I thought you didn't like him.

[unrecovered]

...potions that cure poison. You're telling me these things are poisonous.

...and cannibals. That's even better! They eat cookies and each other. Fantastic.

[You know, as completely insane as this all is, that actually makes a good amount of sense.] Okay, you've got a point. What other ones do I have to look forward to?

[unrecovered]

[That is a terrifying image. Thanks for that.]

Which is pretty much why he'd want one.

[He freezes at that observation. Dammit, he'd forgotten how quickly people who knew him could see through him...namely because nobody who knew him that well was still around. He sighs and keeps petting the bat.]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Now I'm not sure I know.

[colorbymemory]

[Awwww, she likes that bat. He helped keep her safe.]

I'd offer to heal it, but I haven't learned any magic.

[She pauses for a moment before answering the question.]

Okay. I think I need to find a way to earn munny, soon, though.

[brodakota]

Well, considering the way you always talked about your cats, I'm not surprised.

[Yeah, he's seen those pictures in your locker.]

But I think we're supposed to have a relationship with these things.

[And he looks at the Prickleman on his bed.]

hope you don't mind the threadjack

[brodakota]

So, they don't just drop munny.

Why are they carrying those things around?

[dork_of_keys]

Some of them are.

Um... that's one way to put. And that's how it was explained to me. Master Yen Sid could have meant nightmares as another word for bad dreams, but I guess there really isn't anything to say Spirits Dream Eaters won't eat Nightmare Dream Eaters or the other way around.

[Sora thinks on that a moment. There a lot of Dream Eaters.] There's bird Dream Eaters and fish. There's also cats, bears, dragons, frogs, penguins and beetles. Oh, and dinosaurs!

[dork_of_keys]

No, they don't. And sometimes they'll drop more of one thing than of another. It's kind of random, like sometimes it'll be more munny than anything else and sometimes more items.

... I have no idea. It could be that they like shiny things. The dream bits and munny are kind of shiny. So are the containers the potions come in. [At least, he thinks it's possible.]

[brodakota]

I guess that could make sense. But where are they carrying them? I mean, if they just picked them up, wouldn't we be able to see them.

[North, you're probably over thinking this.]

[dork_of_keys]

Good question.

[Yes, he is over thinking it.]

[unrecovered]

Yeah.

[Man, that seems like a lifetime ago now. And everyone's seen those pictures in his locker. He got grief from York for weeks.]

Well, the Moogle did say they were supposed to help.

[And the bat had been supporting him in combat when he took this hit. Maybe...well, maybe he just needs to accept it. He's had worse partners; at least this one likes him, and quite a bit at that.]

...you think we should name them?

[unrecovered]

Good to know.

Great. [It's always the cute ones that are secretly terrifying, isn't it. Dream Eaters are weird.]

[There's a very long silence at that one.] ...Dinosaurs. We get to look forward to fighting dinosaurs.

[unrecovered]

Yeah, well, neither have I. Kind of puts us in the same boat, doesn't it.

[He hesitates for a moment. It's one thing to have a partner; it's another thing entirely to feel responsible for a teenage girl. He has no idea when he started doing the latter, but he's not about to fight it; it's better than seeing her be Nightmare food.]

If you need anything, let me know. I'll see what I can do.

[colorbymemory]

I guess it does.

[She offers a small smile, which turns thoughtful at his offer. She'd already accepted Ienzo's offer of help, but Wash seems genuinely concerned despite having just met her...]

Thank you. I will--promise.

[brodakota]

I don't know, that just seems kind of permanent.

[Certainly he's thought about it, but he can't seem to settle on a name.]

[brodakota]

I'm guessing you don't really have the answers.

[He's teasing. He doesn't expect Sora to answer his questions.]

[dork_of_keys]

They pretty useful.

I'm sorry if that's kind of confusing. I don't really know any more about it myself. [Yes, they are weird. The Spirits are helpful, though.]

You can have dinosaurs fighting on your side, too. The T. Rex ones behave like puppies.

[dork_of_keys]

Not as many as I'd like.

[unrecovered]

"Kind of confusing" doesn't even begin to cover it.

[That is a very, very long stare. T. Rexes. There is not enough nope in the world for this.] T. Rexes. We're going to have to fight fucking T. Rexes.

[dork_of_keys]

I didn't think it would.

Yeah. They're kind of rare though and they don't use their fire very often. And the skeleton ones are even rarer.

[brodakota]

Well, it's probably more than me, if that's a consolation.

I'm still trying to figure this crazy place out.

[unrecovered]

North. There are fire-breathing skeletal T. Rexes here. Obviously we've died and gone to hell. What else is there to figure out?

[There is such a thing as too much information, it turns out.]