(Heart of the Dragon) Sweet Dreams

[Cayce]

The dreaming version of Monique stared at the two changelings for a long moment, the ominous thrumming of the piano filling the air all the while, but finally she nodded.

"Okay," she muttered, shuffling her homework papers so Mhairi could see them better. Then, after another long moment, she gingerly scooted a pencil to the edge of the table.

"Maybe you could help me write..." the dreamer suggested, looking up at Mhairi with hopeful eyes.

A resonant, steady melody rose into the air, ringing out from within the piano box with enough force to rattle the piano's lid and make the room vibrate with its intensity...

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi ties to ignore the piano, and it's player. They were part of the poison. Morgan would handle it. Her job was to distract Monique and help her.

Joining the Dreamer at the table she looks at the papers. "Thank you."

Mhairi smiles, trying to calm Monique, but her eyes are on the pencil. Focusing her will, careful not to disrupt the dream around them - she didn't think having the dream crumble around them...and smiled when she felt something form from nothing but her will and s bit of glamour.

"How-ah-how about we use this instead?" Mhairi says, pulling a pen from behind her and ignoring the ringing, vibrations from the piano.

  3 suxx Dream Pen

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-10 12:57:03		Mhairi Ankaa rolls 4 to Create Dream Pen (Wits 3 + Empathy 1 + 3 Wyrd - 3 Intensity)		9, 9, 9, 7		3 successes

[Cayce]

A brilliant smile lit up Monique's face as she saw the pen appear and she nodded gleefully, before brushing the pencil onto the floor where it exploded harmlessly upon the carpet.

Nevertheless, when Mhairi stepped closer, all she saw on the papers were nonsense scribbles, and strange diagrams that seemed to shift and change whenever she moved her gaze away from them. The homework, after all, wasn't the real problem. It was just a guise, a figment her dreaming mind had created to sum up what was truly wrong in her life. Yet it also couldn't be viewed alone. The piano filling the dream with menacing chords was just as much a part of the problem, and the dream poison clung to it like mold.

Origins ! What's up? Why the no posting?

[Morgan Bellanar]

While "Monique" was occupied with Mhairi, Morgan tried to do something about the piano themed poison polluting the dream. It'd have to be safer without that stuff around, right? If the Beast couldn't excist the Dream Poison, maybe she could relocate it "away" from them.

  6 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-11 07:08:32		Morgan Bellanar rolls 9 to Wits 3 + Empathy 2 + Wyrd 3 + 4 Favored Fate -3 (10 Again)		4, 2, 10, 6, 9, 9, 10, 10, 8, 1, 3, 5		6 successes

Her goal? To get to replace the piano player and get rid of the poison in the dream: "Mayhaps I might try my heh hand at this instrument? Ye should go have a break somewhere, heh. Go on, take ye break I'll play something soothing, heh."

And if the piano happened to look entirely different? Well, whatever!

ooc: sorry, I thought I did post but it looks not.

[Cayce]

The piano was an old, sinister thing, with a reddish wood stain that was cracking and peeling like a massive scab all across the piano, and small reddish-brown flakes drifted to the carpet as the ominous music shook it free. But then, suddenly, everything was plunged into silence.

The piano player was gone...

"What happened?" the dream-Monique squeaked, spinning about to look at the now derelict piano.

If you succeed on a roll, DESCRIBE what happens! Feel free to let your imagination run free! We are in the realm of dreeeaaammsss

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi smiled with how grateful Monique seemed to be at the sight of the pen. Mhairi was pleased that she got one of the issues dealt with. Then the music stopped. Morgan dealt with the pianist. But the lack of music...Mhairi tried to focus her will as she had before. Maybe cast music in the sky the notes glowing merrily to entertain Monique...but nothing.

The Dream to strong, the music to prominent for Mhairi to alter.

Mhairi frowns, then just because she couldn't sit back and do nothing, Mhairi opened her mouth and sang. The melody flows freely, she hits the high notes (maybe not all the high notes, this was Whitney Houston we were talking about), she knows how important this is. She can't fuck it up!

Once her song fills the area surrounding them with the Wisp moving in time with the tune, she reaches for Monique's hands, gently tugging them. A smile on her face. "Oooh! I wanna dance with somebody~!" Mhairi wanted the girl to dance, but she wouldn't make her. That wouldn't help the Dreamer turn away from the Nightmare, and the Poison.

Now...hopefully Morgan can do something about that Piano-Poison...

Rolls!

  Dream Music Fail

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-12 13:34:03		Mhairi Ankaa rolls 4 to Dream Music (Wits 3 + Empathy 1 + 3 Wyrd - 3 Intensity)		2, 7, 1, 6		failure

  2 suxx Singing!

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-12 13:43:21		Mhairi Ankaa rolls 3 to Singing (Pres 2 + Expression 1)		8, 3, 9		2 successes

  2 suxx Dancing!

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-12 13:54:01		Mhairi Ankaa rolls 4 to Dance (Dex 3 + Expression 1)		5, 8, 9, 2		2 successes

[Cayce]

At first the young girl just stared at Mhairi, shocked by the sudden, inexplicable, and entirely non-sequitur departure from nightmare into musical, but the strength of the performance eventually eclipsed all of that. She grasped Mhairi's hands, and began to dance, and before Mhairi's eyes Monique changed, growing from a young girl into the woman she'd met in the Blue Note, dress and all.

Monique laughed, eagerly twirling with Mhairi through the room, their feet flying over the carpet. Both of the Lost could feel the intensity beginning to lighten, the absence of the malevolent pianist allowing room for something else to bloom. With joyful music and laughter now filling the air, the dream was beginning to transform.

That is, until another change appeared in the dream...

A door carved it's way into the far wall, an elegant, presumptuous thing, with a glittering crystal knob, and gilt edging. Morgan could see it clear as day over the top of the Piano, and Mhairi could even see it as she and Monique spun in their happy turns.

The light of the room caught in that crystal doorknob and flashed as it turned, a chime echoing as if to alert the room that someone new was entering. And, indeed, they were.

"Maximilian?" Monique, asked, her voice perturbed as she halted the dance to stare at the man who had just come into the dream. A man that she, apparently, knew as her employer, Maximilian, yet who the Lost knew as someone very different...

Maximilian Fairweather

[Morgan Bellanar]

The "light" above the piano seemed to flicker out, hiding the disgusting furniture from sight. When it came back, the piano's condition was vastly improved. As for the question Monique had asked, Morgan just smiled and waved both hands to the "no worries" gesture: "Oh, heh heh, gave the player a break. Tis only fair to, heh, give if ye art getting aid yes? Nary a chance for discontent if tis nay inequity, heh."

Morgan then laced her "fingers" together, pushing outwards with them until they popped. She took a seat at the new piano and began to play a improvised peace that was hopefully more soothing than the last.

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-11-13 16:24:13		Morgan Bellanar rolls 5 to Playing that piano rag (10 Again)		9, 7, 4, 4, 7		1 success

The firey raccoon managed to play the correct Whitney Houston song.

And then someone entered whom Morgan really hoped would not. Well fuck was what she thought upon seeing Fairweather. As for her words:
"Well fuck," yeah that was diplomatic, "This shalt be...awkward? Heh heh, hope for awkward."

After a pause she turned to Mhairi, motioning her over to the piano, "Uh...should we be concerned, heh, he hath such an intense gaze upon a little girl?" She got up and moved over to Mhairi, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Mayhaps we might, heh, be lucky to heh hath this go peacefully?"

What she really wanted to say was an expletive filled query of whether Mhairi had a good idea of how to handle this. And hoped Mhairi would not avoid contact so Morgan could gave her the benefits of Favored Fate against whatever came next.

Mhairi's next, non-initiative, roll is made with four extra dice.

[Cayce]

The thing was, it wasn't Fairweather that the changelings saw. It was the man who'd tried to take the Crown of the Leaden Mirror from the Queen that currently wore it. The man that Monique had called Maximilian was known by another name among the Freehold: Rick Pereg...

OOC

So, I thought the picture would be a dramatic reveal, but apparently it got overlooked, so to clarify, the person that Monique thinks is Fairweather looks like Rick.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi flashed a smile at Morgan when her Paladin got the piano working for them. The Wisp's attention returned to the Dreamer, and her smile grew as the girl was replaced by the women. Assuming that meant that Monique was finally feeling safe. Mhairi's mind was already turning to possible ways to find the weapon. Maybe a gal-pal gossip session. Yeah a piano bar, a few dream made cocktails...

A door. An Intruder. Rick. But. No.

Nononononononono. Mhairi shook her head in denial. Why would Rick be masquerading as Fairweather? What reason would he have? None that Mhairi could think of....Fairweather hiding as Rick on the other hand...

Morgan seemed to be oblivious. Or...maybe it was her own disbelief. The Steepscrambler had known Rick far longer then she had...and the Elemental was known to wander in and out of the Hedge at a whim. Maybe one of those times his luck just ran out...but surly the Dragon wasn't enough of a chameleon to disguise himself as one of the Freehold veterans.

...maybe that's why so many had left recently. They knew to much, and had to be 'taken care of'. Mhairi thinks then to Ava laying silent and still in the hospital. She thinks of Ramona, and Terri and Daniel and - They'd almost let him have the Leaden Crown!

Mhairi's eyes narrow, as Morgan tried to call her over to the piano. Mhairi shook her head. She wasn't going to leave Monique's side, making her Paladin come to her. Mhairi nods at the word 'lucky' assuming that it had something to do with the glamour upon Morgan's hand.

The hand leaves. And Mhairi realizes that this is her time to truly prove herself. Prove herself worthy of the Crown she'd pledged for. The Crown she's kept from his claws.

Mhairi didn't remember where she'd heard it from, maybe it was from TV or a book. But if you wanted control of a situation, you weren't the one to speak first.

So Mhairi let Morgan and Monique at her back as she waiting to see what drivel the Dragon would spew.

ooc question

Cayce would Mhairi's kith blessing work with the Favored Fate Morgan cast on her? Or would that only be in effect if Mhairi invoked the clause?