Come As You Are // Open Post

[therealbrianna]

P.Y.T. [ Pretty Young Thing ]

(Taken during THAT mission that we do not speak of.)

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Waking the Dead 2.0 || August 6, 2063 || Saturday

[redemancy]

[Admittedly, she's been Dreamwalking a lot more than she usually does precisely because it involves some form of walking. It sucks being in a wheelchair, and the latest assessment from Ziz and the Bodhisattvas had not been in her favor.

This is why she's currently wandering through the Dreaming, letting herself flit in and out of the dreams of other people, soaking in the sights and the sensations. She's hoping, of course, that she doesn't spot anything incriminating, or anything that she'll have to investigate back in the Waking World. That usually spelled trouble for somebody.

[therealbrianna]

[ Brianna's sleep is peaceful; no ominous dreams indicating some sort of clue, no talking to dead people and no stumbling in on another person's dream. Though it's been admittedly fun doing that, she retreats to her dreams from time to time.

After all, gardening is said to be therapeutic.

While she normally wouldn't bother dirtying her hands and breaking her back over shovelling, weeding and the like, she resorts to this sort of thing. She tends to some plants sometimes. Minimal, of course. A snip here, some water there. Brianna seems content with admiring the garden she's dreamt up. It's a safe space for her, somewhere she retreats to when things get hectic. Here, she controls what blooms in her garden and what wilts.

Now though, she's just walking around leisurely, the sound of her heels audible on thr brickstone flooring of a pathway between two short hedges. ]

[redemancy]

[The beauty of the garden is what catches her attention, because it shines from a distance, and it feels... familiar? That's the main reason why Aria decides to step in.

One look, though, and she immediately knows who this place belongs to. So when she hears the sound of heels, she zones in on it.

Stepping out from behind one of the trees just ahead of your path now.]

Fancy seeing you here, Bri.

[therealbrianna]

[ A quick flush of surprise washes over her face, like a dog that suddenly sniffed out someone stepping in its owner's house. Once it settles in that it's Aria, her face quickly melts into a smile and a giggle. ]

Did the scenery attract you to walk here?

[redemancy]

Yes. Do you maintain this place all the time, or did you just start?

[Looking around with open admiration on her face. She loves gardens.]

[therealbrianna]

Well... [ She says that sheepishly while she looks over to her garden.

Deep inhale. ]

This is kind of my dream headquarters, if you will. [ A small laugh. ]

I started off small, of course. Like a small backyard kind of thing. Then it just... grew.

[ Just as I did., she thinks to herself while observing Aria taking in the scenery. ]

[redemancy]

So you work on it daily, or...?

[Because it's. Really big. o_o]

[therealbrianna]

Hmm... [ She thinks on it for a while. ]

Well, not really. Sometimes I dream about erm... relevant personal things, both to me and to other people. [ She looks at Aria sympathetically, because she knows that Aria probably has dreams like that sometimes. ]

Sometimes, I dream of other places. More often than not though, I turn to my garden. Call it a safe haven if you will.

[ As she says the latter part, she scoops up a loose flower from the bush and admires it. ]

[redemancy]

['Relevant personal things', plus that look... yeah, she gets your drift there. However:]

Other places?

[Looking sufficiently curious now, even if she can guess. It's hard to ignore the fact that you've chosen a garden as your safe place, Bri.]

[therealbrianna]

[ She lets out a small laugh-like huff, while staring softly at the floor.

No use lying to Aria since Brianna feels comfortable around her. ]

Some dreams aren't as pleasant as I want them to be. Some remnants from before...sneak in sometimes.

[ She perks up after that though, dismissing that thought. ]

Other times, I dream of beaches, mountains and other types of scenery.

[redemancy]

That does sound nice.

[Hmm. She won't go into that first statement of yours just yet.]

Care to bring me to a great place to sit in here? So that we can catch up properly.

[And so that she can get to the bottom of things for you. You're not exactly friends yet (or are you?), but you are Liandrin Delacroix's current student, and Hikaru's newest daughter. She wants to look out for you.]

[therealbrianna]

[ And she takes Aria to a spot in her garden. It's a bit in the center, but it's surrounded by high shrubs and big, big flowers. There is a garden swing set with a canopy that can comfortably seat two. ]

Is this an okay spot for you?

[ She's quite proud of this particular spot. A bit of imagination, a bit of taste in furniture. ]

[redemancy]

Oh, definitely. It's beautiful!

[Because it is. You know for a fact that Aria never, ever says what she doesn't mean.

Settling down one side of that swing now.]

Shall I take care of the booze and the cigarettes for us?

[therealbrianna]

[ She settles in beside Aria. ]

That'd be great, yeah.

[ An ashtray pops up in front of them. ]

[redemancy]

[And she's on it. Now the two of you can work through a very large bottle of some of the finest strawberry wine in the Fifth World together, with Black Stone Vanilla cigarettes.]

Cheers?

[She lifts her glass in your direction, after she's poured for you both and handed yours over to you.]

[therealbrianna]

[ She giggles. ]

Fancy. Cheers! [ She's taking that and raising the glass. ]

[redemancy]

[She takes a hearty sip after the two of them have their little toast, and leans back with a small, admiring smile directed towards their surroundings.]

I have to admit, Brianna, I am kind of surprised that your safe place is a garden.

[therealbrianna]

[ Herp, she knows exactly what Aria is referring to. First, she takes a sip as well, then she smiles and looks down. ]

I really do love gardens. You know me, I like anything pretty.

[ She'll get into more details later on, but she genuinely wants to hear what Aria thinks. ]

[redemancy]

I know you do, but given your history...

[She doesn't continue that thought, and gives you a look that might just tell you that she wants to know, she's concerned and there to listen to whatever you need to talk about, but she isn't going to press too hard if you don't want her to either.]

[therealbrianna]

[ She smiles, but it's a sad one. ]

It's just that in here, I actually have control over things. Anything that takes place happens only because I let it. Anything that grows only will because I wanted it to.

[redemancy]

I see.

[Taking a sip from her mine, and leveling the girl with a sympathetic look.]

So you don't feel like you have a lot of control outside of this place?

[therealbrianna]

Oh, in the real world I do. [ A small laugh. ] Not all the time, of course. Things can go wrong but...

[ But no matter how fucked up the world has gotten, nothing compares to that. Time to be honest, Bri. ]

I think maybe this is my mind making up for the absence of control when I was there.

[ There's a brief flash of anger in her eyes. ]

[redemancy]

[And this one's immediately scooting over so that she's close enough to reach out and cover your hand with hers.]

Talk to me?

[Saying that gently. Files can only say so much, and sometimes it helps to talk about it.]

[therealbrianna]

[ She smiles at Aria. It's nice that Aria's here. It's surprisingly easy for Brianna to open up to Aria given her gentle nature and years of experience she has above Bri. ]

Kaiser Delacroix told me during my promotion that I should really get into the details of what happened. At first I probably tried to convince myself and others that I was okay when... [ She gestures to the garden. ] ...well, when I'm clearly not. I've been putting it off.

[redemancy]

And that's understandable, really. Such things are hard to go back to, and staring painful experiences in the face are frightening. Still...

[Tilting her head down to keep her gaze steady on Brianna's face.]

Lia's right. If you keep it locked up inside, it might hurt you even more someday. It may even end up determining everything you say and do outside of the Dreamscape, without you even knowing it.