[Action]

[dissonates]

[There isn't a lot that makes Asch wake so suddenly in the middle of the night, feeling sweaty and shaken. He's been having some difficulty sleeping the last couple of nights, but this is the first time it's actually woken him up. It's disturbed him enough to kill his desire to sleep, so rather than bother trying, he rolls over beneath the covers and stares at the wall for a while, mulling over the dream. Just what does it all mean? He knows he's not the only one going through all this.

What bothers him most though... is why did it feel like some of the dreams he'd had weren't even his?]

Comments

[fabrecation]

[Right about the same time Asch wakes up, Luke did too, letting in a sharp gasp and pushing himself up in bed. He stares for a moment, breathing hard and sweating, before he realizes that it's just a dream. Just a dream... A horrible dream. He isn't surprised, considering the journals have been flaring with people having strange dreams and nightmares... but he wasn't quite expecting that one.

He know he's not the only one going through all this. So, after he wipes his face, runs his hand through his bangs and lets out a long sigh, he grabs one of his smaller journals, one that he uses to write down his dreams (which, for some reason, was missing when that weird Shift happened earlier in the week), and heads to his twin's room.

Luke's quiet as he walks; he tiptoes past his mother's room and carefully eases open Asch's door. No need to get her involved in all of this yet, not before he talks to Asch.]

Asch? [He calls out in a stage whisper.]

[dissonates]

[He's not surprised to hear the voice call him shortly after, considering the intensity of the dreams. They've always had a strong connection, after all- they could always find each other, and finishing each others' sentences wasn't a stretch either. Thoughts and feelings were all-too often communal.

With a slightly disturbed frown, he rolls back to face the door, squinting over at the door.]

I'm awake, Luke.

[fabrecation]

Oh, good...

[That response was mostly to just... give a reply of some kind. He shuts the door quietly behind him, then blinks and gives his eyes time to adjust to the darkness of the room. Thankfully, the moon from the window provides some light. Once the outline of the bed and Asch can be seen, Luke tiptoes until he sits on the edge of it, his hands entwined between his knees as he stares down at the dark floor. He's very tempted to follow old childhood habits and scoot back to curl up near his brother, but... well... he's too old for that. Still, it's an urge that he finds hard to fight back.]

You had a nightmare too, right?

[dissonates]

[Asch is quiet for a long moment, resting his head back against the pillow and gazing at the ceiling. He could deny it, perhaps, but there's little point of doing that when Luke already knows. Looks like he was having dreams of the same sort.]

...Yeah.

[fabrecation]

[They usually do talk about dreams together, trying to pick out which parts were the same and which weren't, even the bad ones. But this one... Luke's reluctant to talk about it. Even remembering it makes his hands shake.

But after a moment of silence, he shuts his eyes and lets in a deep breath.]

I was on this huge ship. Really huge, I'm pretty sure everyone in Luceti could fit inside it. I was with... Ion's sister, and this man I've seen around here. I had long hair for some reason... There were these monsters attacking the ship. They went into this... place inside the ship to gain control of it again, and they left me outside. And... And I was attacked by this...

[dissonates]

...Armored knight. [Asch finishes it as if it had been his own sentence; it had, in fact, been part of his own dream.] He wore a white robe, and a helmet that concealed his face. He was trying to kill you.

[fabrecation]

[He nods, even though Asch can't see it. Having Asch finish his sentence or have the same dream as him is no longer surprising.]

The next thing I knew, the sword was in my hand and - and I... I was just trying to get him away, I didn't... I f-felt something when I did that, and when I looked up, he...

He fell down. There was so much blood, on my hand and the sword and on the floor and I didn't - [Luke cuts himself off, his hands squeezed together while his head remains low. He'd killed that man. It felt as vivid as if it actually happened yesterday, even though it... couldn't have happened. And Asch knows that blood and anything that has to do with death makes Luke feel queasy. Seeing all of that, even in a dream...]

[dissonates]

...It's just a dream. [He mumbles it, hands clenching in the sheets, eyes narrowing as he continues to focus on the ceiling above him.] It's just a dream, and that means none of it is real.

[Acknowledging it as real would just... it wouldn't be right. It would mean that his dream is...]

[fabrecation]

... Right. It's not real.

[It can't be real. It just can't. But... It still felt different from his other dreams. Still, he knows from his mother that dreams can sometimes feel real. Maybe... It was just like that.

Luke purses his lips, then gives in to that urge he was fighting back, just a little. He shifts and lifts the covers enough to slide under them, though he still stays on his side, not touching or looking at Asch. The last thing he wants is to be called a child for acting like this.]

What about you?

[dissonates]

[Asch glances sidelong at Luke, glowering as he watches his brother slide under the covers with him. He's irritated, but at the same time, the company is a small comfort after the strange series of dreams they've experienced this week. Instead he does his best to ignore their closeness, thinking back to the memory of those images in his mind. He has an easier time of dealing with it than Luke, at least- blood has never made him squeamish or distressed. It's just... the intensity of it. He hadn't expected that kind of...

...ugh.]

I was outside at night, in a uniform- like the one your guard was wearing, but black and red. There were others with me. We entered a building still in the dark... it looked like some kind of church, or a dorm of one, anyway. There was incense burning somewhere. I was a lot younger, but...

[fabrecation]

... You were giving them orders. Like they were your soldiers.

[Just like Asch, Luke finishes the sentence as if it was his own. After all, that was a part of his dream, too.]

[dissonates]

...Yeah. And the mission was to kill everyone inside.

[Which he did. They all did. Quite efficiently, in fact- even though after it was over he felt disgusting, dirty, like he'd never be clean again, and the blood was soaked through his clothes and in his hair and...

They weren't even armed.]

"Mission accomplished, sir," they said. They called me Asch the Bloody.

[Like it was his name.]

[fabrecation]

[It was such a vivid dream, too... All that blood, so much more that was spilled in his own dream. Luke's hands hands grip into the sheets and covers, his body tensing over the memory of it. The dream technically didn't even belong to him, but...]

It wasn't real. It can't be real. You're not like... that.

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

[If Asch (or even Luke) cares to come out of the room anytime soon, mom has quietly sat herself in the living room and is drinking a cup of cold water. She woke up as well, though her reactions are a bit more controlled thankfully. The lights around her aren't on, but the small gleams of night light coming through the window show her figure well enough. She heard Luke opening Asch's door already, but she'll let the boys have time to themselves to talk out things.]

[dissonates]

[Asch heads out of his room a while after Luke finally dozes off; his twin had stirred when he moved on the bed, but a bit of maneuvering to get Star in a more amicable position gave him enough of a sleepy distraction to allow Asch to slip free. Once he's outside the room with the door shut securely behind him, he notices the silhouette in the other room.

It's tempting to just go ahead and try to escape entirely, but she'd probably just worry about him. After a moment's hesitation he steps closer, quietly clearing his throat.]

Mother?

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

[She's a little surprised when she hears his voice, but her expression quickly turns back to a calm smile.]

Hey. Do you want something to drink?

[dissonates]

[He shakes his head quietly, standing awkwardly as he tries to decide what to do with himself now. Finally he heads to a chair not far from her and sits down, propping his elbow on the arm with his chin on his hand, mulling over just what's been going on. What he has to ask is probably kind of... sensitive, so it's a good thing Luke isn't here.]

...We're not adopted, are we?

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

[She blinks. That...really wasn't a question she was anticipating. Not that they are adopted, but what did he dream of to make him say that? Curious, but she won't hold back.]

No, you aren't. Neither is Luke. [She goes to the faucet, pours him a cup of tap water and holds it out to him.] You don't look good. Drink.

[dissonates]

[He glances over, then takes the glass, gulping down a good half of it before continuing.]

I had a dream earlier- about a red-haired woman I called "Mother". She was sick a lot, and couldn't get out of bed, but she loved me like a son. [He pauses.] It wasn't you.

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

[She listens intently to it, but makes no real looks of surprise or confusion. After a moment of thought she speaks.]

Do you know if you loved her? Did you feel anything?

[dissonates]

I felt the same way about her during the dream as I do for you now. I... would have done anything to make her happy.

[Being the momma's boy that he is. It feels weird, though, feeling that way for someone else. He can't seem to make sense of it.]

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

If what you feel for her is what you feel for me, then why are you wondering if you're adopted? [She softly chides, taking a drink of her own glass of water.] Was it a good dream in the end?

[dissonates]

I wondered if you knew who she was. [After her response to his first question, he assumes it's better to avoid answering the last one.]

[byakkoyagirl.livejournal.com]

[She hums, noticing the avoidance of her question. But, one step at a time.] No, I don't really know anyone that matches the description you gave. You probably know more than I would, if she's appearing in your dreams.

[dissonates]

...You'd think. [Unfortunately he doesn't have any more hints than that- just the large bed, that petite, beautiful red-haired woman who smiled at him when he called out to her. It's strange that he would dream of someone else, when he's never wanted for more from his family... or at least, his mother. A father around would have been nice, but Asch hadn't dreamed of him.]