(Astral Dive II) Saurian Dream

[Puck]

Puck watches the exchange of blows. Childlike glee plastered across his face as the fact that the dinosaurs were in fact the lesson became obvious. As the others approach it was Crystals statements that almost stung.

"They were pulled together by Fate and Time, fought and died in a metaphor for Life and Death."

His attention flicks between the two other mages.

"Have you considered that maybe the lesson wasn't physical? Maybe the lesson was the self destructive nature of unthinking aggression? Or, at least to me, that it's okay to just watch something and be in awe for a while. I mean, we just watched something otherwise impossible to see live and all you guys have is I was right to be nervous and dead dinosaurs whatever?"

Come on. At least try some unfounded conjecture. Where's the fun of watching the unwatchable if you just shrug it off five seconds later?

"Thoughts?"

No bait here. Nope.

[Phoenyx]

There was a small shrug at Crystal's question. "If I had to guess, back the way we came, if this was what were were supposed to see."

"It was a joke?" Apparently, whatever passed for the Arrow's sense of humour didn't line up with Puck's. The brazen complaints draw a raised eyebrow. Like in the Concillium, he was taking one part of a statement and making wild conclusions. It was starting to shape an opinion of the Acanthus, almost as if he was determined to accuse on the slightest difference of opinion from his own. "Not nervous, cautious. It is my duty to protect you both, remember. I did say it was impressive," Her tone one of slight confusion. "You make it sound like I did not find the event a spectacle. It was certainly exciting. You said we were supposed to watch the fight, and it appears you were right, but I cannot see the Seers that made this place saving it as an arcane VCR. There must have been a reason, one you just said was a lesson - and since I did not pick it up from the event itself, I would still like to learn it."

She looks on the giant corpses, moving slowly towards them. "Fate, Time, Life and Death," she repeated slowly. She looks back up to the triggered spell with her supernal sight, seeing if anything has changed. Before making the next move it would be good to know if the spell had completed it's purpose.

[Crystal]

Annoyingly enough, Puck was right to some extend. Yeah, maybe the whole spectacle should have moved Crystal more. Maybe he should open himself up a bit more to the Supernal wonders he was able to witness. Then again, he never was one of those kids that was fascinated by dinosaurs - that certainly didn't change when you threw the Abbys into the mix.

"Granted, this turned out to be okay - but for alle we knew we were this close to being sandwiched by those 'Thunder Lizards'. I'm choosing caution over excitement on that one." What's what drugs were for, after all. "Plus, Phoenyx is right: seems kind of self indulgent to program a lesson about appreciating Magical shenanigans. If you were to ask me I'd go with the unthinking aggression one." Which was kind of like his idea of the futility of trying, only less bleak. "But since I was partial to go here to begin with, I'm more than looking forward to getting out of here."

He kind of conceded that Puck was right. If this wasn't considered an olive branch, Crystal would be out of ideas - and fucks to give.
He waited for the other two to finish whatever pondering they were doing to finally start getting out of this humid hell.

Active Spells: 2/4 [2] Third Eye; [4R] Misperception

Willpower: 2/6

Mana: 5/10

Armor: 3 (Misperception)

[Puck]

Welp.

Puck sucked at listening. To be fair? He thought he was being ignored anyway. At least Crystal was engaging now.

"Let's call it my bad and move on." He didn't think it was, but he also didn't want to argue about it.

"So was that breeze our programmed cue to head back?" Curious eyes looked over to the stump. "Because I want to check something first."

And with that he walks on up past the dino corpses and back to the stump the spell had sprung from.

"It might be that the dinosaurs were just the lesson, but I think it's convenient the lesson happened to scare the entire group away from this one spot. So Imma take a look before we head back."

And with that he began looking over the stump more closely to make sure it was what it appeared and not secretly a storage space for something they might otherwise be leaving behind. After that he'll give the dino's a quick once over to make sure the remaining viscera was of the wholly mundane variety. Well, as mundane as dead dinosaurs in a dream world can be.

"Self indulgent doesn't preclude it from being true when we know nothing about who's thoughts formed this place. if this is a realm of dreams the lesson is as much about the dreamer as the dream itself."

As olive branches go it wasn't bad. Or necessary. Short of in house heresy there wasn't much that would make a lasting negative impression of someone in Puck's eyes. Everyone was moody at one point or another, and the Enchanter wasn't one to fault others for flaws he knew he shared from time to time. Don't be a blasphemous dick and lie to cover it. It's a pretty basic standard for most people. Everything else? Time heals most wounds.

  4 suxx perception to investigate the scene

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2021-05-26 21:09:49		Puck rolls 8 to Perception (Wits+Comp) (10 Again)		10, 5, 10, 2, 6, 7, 2, 5, 10, 10, 6, 1		4 successes

[Yumyumcrow]

Puck breaks away from the group to reconnoitre the immediate area one last time.

He finds no dangers now that the two dinosaur's are dead.

The stump turns out to simply be a stump: simply a landmark and an anchor point for a spell. The area has been torn up by the two beast's great conflict and the scattering of sheared vegetation and markings in the earth might suggest a pattern. He could probably spend hours searching for, and deciphering, any subliminal messages left in the dream environment. The question would be: does he have the time?

Looking to get this story squared away in a week or so for when Campy's last scene closes.

[Phoenyx]

Phoenyx shrugs. "It would be good to see what other areas in here contained."

She follows a few feet behind Puck. "I have no idea. If there are more things to see here, it couls be important."

The area still feels cloyingly humid, and the Arrow wipes a few drops of sweat from her brow. "I would have thought that people willing to create such a structure the Astal would make things more... challenging? Or clear? After Campenella's warning and our initial encounter with the dinosaurs here I figured it would be more direct a lesson. BUt as you say, I did not create this place, so whoever did must have wished to make something more abstract."

Phoenyx didn't usually think aloud, but it seemed to help the boys to keep conversation flowing. She was more focused on making sure there were no more surprises.

"Spot anything interesting?" She asked Puck. "Does it look like the spell has completed to either of you?" The Talon looks back to Crystal.

[Puck]

The more Puck looked the more he realized the dinosaurs were it. An impressive it, one that clearly had lessons and a serious cool factor to them, but ultimately it.

"Yeah, we're clear to go. I don't see anything else and the spell seems to have completed now that the conflict between the dinosaurs has completed."

Part of him hoped to find some ancient scrolls or artifacts hidden away in the astral realms, but it seemed the sight of the prehistoric was all the Libertine would find today. Which was still pretty cool if he had to say so himself.

"Isn't that fundamentally atlantean though? Seer or Diamond, y'all love wrapping your lessons up in flowery prose and abstractions that can leave people thinking for forever."

Veils. Atheneaums. Whatever the Seers had. The lore house was always the aberration in Awakened society for having the audacity to share things both plainly and openly.

Puck began heading back into the forest.

"We came from this way right?"

If there's nothing else I'm good to go to a closing narration and call it a day. We can always open a social/sanctum scene if we want to discuss things further.

Thanks for running a prp for us Crow!

[Crystal]

"Nothing noteworthy here." Frankly, he hasn't been looking that much after the dinosaurs had killed each other. He felt like he learned something all right. Doesn't matter whether you think you have the edge one way or another - if you go head first into a stupid confrontation you'll get yourself killed.
Plus, he had the chance to get to know Sacramento's First Talon in a different light. Phoenyx seemed capable and dependable, if not the most vibrant person to be around.

He regarded the Obrimos with an open look.
"Didn't Campanella say that each dream had one lesson to teach? I think there's nothing else to see around here, the spell apparently did what it had to do." So what if he hadn't exactly looked to back up his claim? This was simple deduction and he was ready to leave this place. He left Puck's claim about Atlantean lessons uncommented - a lesson learned in the last formal Consilium and reinforced here. "Yeah, I think this way will get us back."

He waited for Phoenyx and went with her to treck back - just because the lesson was finished didn't mean they couldn't run into anything dangerous. "Thanks for keeping them on a leash back there." Who knew? Maybe the Arrow's intervention was the only thing keeping the dinosaurs from going after the Awakened - maybe it was a lesson to use the gifts bestowed upon them by the Supernal after all? Even if it wasn't all that flowery, Crystal had a lot to think about after today.

Yes, thank you for the amazing prp!

[Yumyumcrow]

The way back leads through the forest. Through the forest and out of the dream into the cold expanse of the Astral.

Yes, cold: After the heat and heady humidity of the prehistoric jungle, the weightless airy void of the Astral Sea was jarring and uncomfortable - at least for a short while.

Consciousness returned soon after as the dreamers pushed off for the shores of their individual imaginations.

Campanella was waiting for them.

And there we shall call it. Thank you for participating