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

[salvagedlight]

I just got here myself, so I don't really know anything about this place, but I could try and heal your... bat, if you want.

[unrecovered]

You can heal it.

[There's a good amount of skepticism in those words, because 1) odd word choice and 2) he's a kid. There's a moment's pause, and then Wash shrugs, because why the hell not?]

Sure. Can you get over here in one piece?

[salvagedlight]

[Hey, he's fifteen! Not exactly a kid.]

Yeah, why couldn't I? [...No, he's not being silly.] You're in the hotel? I'll be there soon.

[unrecovered]

[He's fifteen. Totally a kid.]

If you say so. I'll come out front to meet you.

[wavesinherheart]

...Ven?

[salvagedlight]

...Aqua? [She's here? She's okay?]

[wavesinherheart]

Yeah. It's me.

[There's a slow nod to go with her words, almost as if she can't believe that she's actually having this conversation, if it can really be called one.]

[shadearchivist]

I suppose potions don't work on it; I can try healing it if you like.

[unrecovered]

Wait, what won't work?

[Because he could not have heard that correctly. Potions? Really? And this is the second time someone's mentioned healing. This is starting to sound more and more like one of Simmons' fantasy games.]

[DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER]

[shadearchivist]

Potions are capable of healing injuries to varying extents. They may or may not work on dream eaters; I haven't had the opportunity to check for myself. Healing should work regardless.

[brodakota]

So, it's like a video game potion? It's not going to turn the bat into a frog or anything?

[wavesinherheart]

I don't know about a vet, but healing would probably work?

[brodakota]

How do we go about doing that, exactly?

[Since healing for him means taking it easy for a while.]

[wavesinherheart]

You'd find someone who knows healing magic. Or talk to a moogle about a Potion, I suppose, but it would probably be better to try the first one.

[brodakota]

Healing magic? I don't think Wash and I really have any experience in that. Magic doesn't really exist where we're from, except in books and movies and stuff like that.

action

[brodakota]

Wash, what did you do to your bat?

[North is teasing, but there's still a bit of concern. The spirits can get hurt, and that's something he's going to have to watch out for with his. The pricklemane is flopped on North's bed for a moment, watching.]

[unrecovered]

I didn't do this. It was one of those lizards.

[There was a nasty burn under that bandage. Wash had done his best, but basic first aid could only do so much. The bat was silent in his lap, curled up and nursing its injured wing. He didn't like the bat and didn't want it as a partner, but this...he didn't want this either. He lifted his hand, scratching behind the bat's ears. Maybe that would make it feel better, at least until help arrived.]

[brodakota]

[North looked at the bat sympathetically. Poor thing.]

The ones on two legs you mean? Yeah, they looked like they could get mean really quick.

[unrecovered]

Yeah, they do, and if you don't finish them quickly, they turn bright red and go berserk. Because that's exactly what my life was missing: berserk fire-breathing attack lizards.

[The bat makes a small noise, and Wash switches to petting its fur, careful to stay away from the injured wing. It's getting harder and harder to convince himself that he doesn't care.]

[dork_of_keys]

[Well this is interesting. After getting the Moogle to walk him through the functions of the communicator again and having his Meow Wow laugh at him for his troubles, he thinks Sora sees this post.]

Some healing magic or a potion will help. Didn't the Moogle give you a potion to start with?

[And a pause. Yeah, there are other questions he could answer here, though he does wonder why the Moogles didn't provide this information.]

And to answer the other questions, the friendly Dream Eaters are called Spirits. The hostile ones are Nightmares. The Spirits will work with you and help you fight off the Nightmares. There's not much more to them than that. I don't know why the Nightmares carry munny, but they also have potions and dream fragments sometimes too.

[unrecovered]

If you mean the jar, then yes, it did. It just didn't bother telling me what it was. Not exactly helpful.

I figured out most of that from actually fighting the- Nightmares, I guess. There's got to be more to these things, right? I mean, what do they eat? Do they eat? Are there more than just the four kinds I've seen running around? And how can you make a living, breathing creature- [He reaches behind him into the bag the Moogle gave him, pulling out a figment he'd gotten from a Nightmare fight] -out of these?

[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.

[colorbymemory]

[Namine looks concerned about the bat.]

What happened?

[She will answer other questions later. Right now she's just worried.]

[unrecovered]

One of the lizards burned it.

[Okay, he has to ask.] Hey, are you holding up okay?

[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.