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Arriving at the Four Seasons, Doctor Jack makes his way to the front desk, in search of Mr. Bates. His hands bleed as he thinks about what he is about to do, but he remains determined. Jack needs to find a safe place to look into Donna's dreams. He hopes the Queen was right.
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Fortunetly for Jack, the manager of the Four Seasons arrives at reception just as the Wizened arrives, his nose wrinkling at the sight of the doctor's hands.
"Dr. Carlton, is there something we can do for you?" Bates asks. If he has any knowledge of the Queen's directions, he isn't giving anything away.
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The good doctor casually clasps his hands behind his back when he sees the manager's look of distaste.
"Yes, Mr. Bates, I am in need of a room for the night. I've been having some trouble sleeping... bad dreams. Alice White suggested that you might have a special room for my needs."
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Mr. Bates nods to Jack's issues and taps away on the computer behind reception. Finally, he comes around from the desk.
"Of course, Doctor Carlton. Please, follow me." Mr. Bates then heads off from reception and leads Jack through a series of doors and corridors until they come to a room that simply has 'STAFF ONLY' written upon the door. Using an actual key from around his wrist rather than a key-card, Mr. Bates opens the door but does not step through.
"When you are finished, please return to reception and I shall sign you out. Good luck, Doctor." Unless there is anything else, Mr. Bates will leave.
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"Thank you."
Doctor Jack holds his breath for a moment, before exhaling and stepping into the room. He looks around, checking every nook and cranny before taking off his shoes and getting comfortable.
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The moment Jack steps through the door, he can tell it to be a hollow that is bare on amenities, rather a space for someone to get away from the mortal world and rest. A single bed lay under a window that looks out onto the Hedge, a huge padlock locking it shut. Upon the bed is a thick blanket and a feather-filled pillow while next to it is a low wooden table. If there were other rooms, they lay beyond Jack's current view. A pitcher of crystal clear water and a couple of glasses rest on a wooden vanity table before a large mirror.
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Suppressing a shudder as he sees the Thorns just outside the window, Jack walks over to the vanity and pours himself a glass of water. After taking a sip, he sets the glass back down and looks at his reflection in the mirror.
You can do this.
Hanging his jacket on the door, Jack stretches out on the bed and attempts to clear his mind. Concentrating on his breathing, the good doctor attempts to follow the strands of Wyrd that now connect him to Donna's inner world.
Meditation
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The water quells the thirst in Jack's throat as well as any slight anxiety of the task ahead, with dream-travel being a tricky business to achieve, let alone when one is about to enter the dreams of a small child under potential Gentry influence. Laying on the soft matress however, and it takes the good Doctor little time in falling into a deep meditation where he swiftly finds himself deep within the skein of dreams and standing at the gate of his own mind.....
Please feel free to describe Jack's own personal dreamscape, the place he finds most tranquil and at peace. This will be his first entrance whenever he practices oneiromancy
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Jack looks around and finds himself in his mother's rooftop garden. It is early spring, and her flowers are just beginning to bloom. He imagines that he smells the faintest scent of her perfume, as if she had just left the moment before he arrived. Looking at the distant Chicago skyline, it takes him a moment to orient himself to the dreamworld. But, thinking of the little girl who needs his help, he concentrates on Donna as he seeks access to her dreams.
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Jack can instantly feel the pull of the Wyrd as the pledge he made with Donna tugs at his dream-self, and letting himself go, he floats away from the rooftop garden and gently away from Chicago skyline.
Soon enough however, he stands on a stone path. A forest spreads out before him, dark and uninviting, tall trees reaching up to pierce the night. Somewhere ahead, he can hear sobbing.
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