Sleepless Arrival (Open)

[Vektor]

Vektor smiled broadly, although inside he was crying, to the sound of Annas maniacal laughter. His hopes of fighting Anna had fallen severely, and the next would couple of days would be rough as Anna would surely wreak her vengeance upon him tenfold. He sank a deep lump as he got up, he tried not to stutter as he said: ”i wouldn't miss it for the world”. ”wouldn't miss the chance to ruin another innocent persons life”, Annas voice broke through his mental barriers, she was hammering away on his mind and he was quickly losing control. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he had a complete breakdown, and wanted to spare Nuri having to see him in such a miserable position. He started to walk towards the celldoor, Anna immediately started to “comfort” him: ”you know, vek this is probably for the better anyways, we both know this friendship would only end in pain”.

He opened the door, his face held in a grim but neutral mask as he said: ”in that case, I should probably find a place to wait out the night or perhaps get some sleep in that case. he tries to fake a yawn but fails miserably, then continues: ”do you need any help finding your way back to your cell?. Anna continued with her motherly voice: ”ah come on hon, mobbing about it doesn't help. make sure the nice girl gets back to her room, then move on with your life and don't bother her again”.

Vektor couldn't tell if he agreed with her or not.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri can see the signs of wear on Vektor. She has no doubt that he is stressed from something he has no words for. Or at least, something he isn't able to discuss. It peaks her interest, and Nuri decides to do a little digging to help decide on a course of action.

"I will find my way." She says it as though it is no concern because it isn't. Even in the event that she gets lost, it would only be an opportunity to further explore. Yet she makes no gesture to leave. Instead she pivots on the floor so she can watch Vektor. She has been taking him in during their time together so that she can recall his features when they are parted.

"Sleep they say is a wonderous thing. I do wonder sometimes if it is true." Her voice betrays how foreign a concept it is for her. She talks of it as though it is a mythical beast. "The biology of sleep is indeed most interesting. It has cycles much like the silvery moon under which most would find their slumber. But there is magic in sleep that surfaces dreams to rise like the mists that covered the slopping hills beyond my old cell's window just before daybreak. What are the precursors of the place where you find your rest? I have been told it is like walking into a great, black, empty box that encases ones mind soft and warm. Is such a picture true?" As she speaks her words grow softer and as melodic as a spoken lullaby. She is still in body, nearly unnaturally so. "Do you like sleep Vektor? Does it weave you dreams to warm your heart like coals of a dying fire? Or do such flames serve to call your demons slowly homeward?"

[Vektor]

Vektors smile seemed a little less artificial, and it even grew a little broader. He sat down on the floor, unknowingly blocking the door. He felt very much at home in this cell and it showed. He was scratching himself in the back of his head, he was listening intensely to Nuris dream speech but most went in through one ear and out through the other. He finally answered: ”well i've never been that much into philosophy and poetry”, ”as in not at all” Anna added with a mild laughter, Vektor agreed completely.

”but from what I could gather from your beautiful speech, you want to hear about my dreams” Vektor continued in his heavily trained “nod-and-smile-voice”, which he automatically started using, simply due to him sitting in cell 101.8 and talking to somebody else than Anna. He realized this, and tried to change his tone, but he was too far into continuing his stream of words, to be able to change his tone: ”my dreams have always been a place of peace and solitude for me, there I don't have to think about other people. It's just me and” at that point he was interrupted by a short ”Hmph hm” in a ladylike fashion, then he continued: ”well it's just me, and that's why I like it. There I can ignore this horrid body of mine, and the horrors I’ve performed throughout my life”. He didn't fully understand why she would take an interest in his miserable life, but he hadn't earned the right to ask her, especially considering all the horrible things he had dragged her through already. He could not help but admire her bravery, even though he honestly hoped that she would just yelling at him instead.

He took a deep breath, hoping that he wasn't pushing their friendship: ”i would like to ask you a question, if it isn't a bother or a personnal subject.”

[Mad Girl]

Nuri listens to Vektor speak with eager ears. Still, she notes his pause when brushing upon the subject of who was in the cell. It is interesting for her, and silently she modifies her understanding of Vektor's madness. She has over the course of the evening decided he is a puzzle she wishes to understand more of. It is the first step to her creating a friendship. She understands his feeling of home here in the Asylum perhaps better than anyone else ever could, and in that she sees him as a kindred spirit. It is something much needed in this strange place and Nuri is grateful to have him.

"I am most interested in this dream you speak of." she admits this with a noted sweetness to her voice. "You speak of it as though it is yours and yours alone in a way most precious. I have never seen a dream which the dreamer keeps as though a heartfelt trinket". Absent mindedly her fingers drift to the long chain around her neck. She pulls the pendant from between her breasts and under her clothing so that she can run her fingers over it. It is an elaborate pocket watch in silver. On the cover a heart is engraved, and the indentation in the metal is where Nuri runs the tip of her petite finger. "Surely it must be something most magical." Her face seems a bit glazed over for just a few moments as she continues. "Many of my friends from Windsor Asylum for Girls had dreams which were far harsher. Their minds held no calm, soothing places but rather realities constructed and maintained by their madness. We never got to see the world outside of the asylum, but the worlds within their dreams were as real for them, and I, as this room in which we sit. And in that we have seen worlds far stranger, and sometimes more lovely, than any place of waking. I wonder what will lie within yours."

Nuri's words showed something very important- for someone who had no understanding of sleep she held dreams in high regard. She tilts her head, looking to Vektor, and playing with the chain of her necklace by wrapping it around her fingers. "You may ask me anything you wish, nothing is a bother or too personal, of that I promise you most sincerely."

[Vektor]

”Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me!” a tear formed in Vektors Eye as he said this with a small voice. Only Annas piercing gaze and constant reminder that his tears would only scare the poor girl out of her marvelous dreamworld, kept him from breaking into tears again. It had been a long time since he had meet kindness, and although he would never admit it (neither would Anna Allow him to), he had been aching to see a friendly face.

He quickly gathered his wits, he should answers his new friends question so he wouldn't offend her. ”my mind is in no way a quite place, neither is my dreams. However i've realized that the evils of my own mind, fades in comparison to the evil of other men´s heart. As such I find comfort in knowing that I can't hurt others, as i'm trying to escape the punishment I find fitting.” he gasped loudly, and looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck. In his rush to answers Nuris questions, he had forgot to add his usual filter to his speech, he was sure he had both offended, scared and lost the friendship of Nuri, right in that moment. Anna was harsh and unrelenting, ”f***ing hell kid!look at her! Shes on the verge of crying. Is that how you repay her kindness? By tearing down her young and unspoiled innocence? Apologize this very instance young man!” Wthout thinking Vektor fell down on his knee, crying his heart out and apologizing loudly.

Then suddenly his voice grew harsh and his stream of tears started to slow, ”no! I will not become a slave, not even for you.” but the tears would not stop, but neither would he give up! He would make Linda proud, he would fight the demons of his mind, no matter. He took a deep breath, he took two but no more did it help. Anna stared gleefully at him, he was sure he could hear her whisper ”give into me”. He pulled out a large handle-less kitchen knife, from a hidden compartment in his boot. He cried out as he jammed it into his leg. Blood splattered out all over the room, hitting the framed picture and soiling Nuris dress. But his tears where brought to an end.

Vektor lay on the floor, breathing in short gasps, he had only lost a minute amount of blood this he knew, but on the other hand he didn't posses that much blood to give out in the first place. He could feel himself slipping from consciousness, at least there was no way he could die from this. He looked up at Nuri with hopeful Eyes, forcing himself to formulate a sentence in his weakened state ”Nuri, can I ask you a favor? Will you help me fight the horrors of my mind? he took a slow breath, doing his best to hold onto his consciousness, as he waited for Nuris response.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri listens and watches with a unique sort of detachment. She is observing and collecting data. How broken this boy was. It was interesting for her. He seemed something innocent, and yet punished himself so. It reminded Nuri of a few girls back home. Some felt they were never too thin. Others sought approval they could never gain. And just once a girl came and went too quickly when she grew too old for her father's favorite affections and she decided to embrace death instead.

Personal demons knew countless forms, and given enough time to nest would always seek blood. Nuri knew this better than most. How many girls had she helped? How many had she tipped beyond the razors edge? She didn't care to count either way. She made no ones choices for them, only painted their dreams so that they could see as she did. With one eye they could make dark journeys together. And so too now she would with Vektor.

Nuri gets to her feet and walks to the bleeding boy. She pays the blood no mind, it has never bothered her. Quietly she rips the long part of her dress and takes it aside. Then she puts her hand on Vektor's blade and looks to him. "I fight no dragons, Vektor. I only place them where you can meet them face to face. You will always have everything you need." She yanks out the blade and tosses it aside, wrapping his leg in the length of cloth. Kneeling beside him she strokes his forehead with bloody fingers, moving any stray hairs from his eyes. And in the darkness her eye becomes clear... Glowing eerily like a single sickly green firefly. "If you wish to conquer your demons you must first show them to me." Her voice is sweet and soft, comforting and dreamy. "Walk with me in your dreaming. Sleep now. I will show you how."

Nuri's dark eye is light now, a solitary flame in the dimness of Vektor's cell. She calls him to sleep within it, as though she knows the way and it is his turn to follow. Like a siren of sleep, her eye promises of a place that is warm, soft, and blissfully dark.

[Vektor]

Vektor could feel himself getting more and more dizzy, he wanted to give into the blessed sleep. However Anna wouldn't let him ”c'mon kid. pick yourself up. you're embarrassing yourself. You can't possibly be taken down that easily. You've gotten through what was worse! but he paid her no mind. His only thought was to do as he was told, he would fall asleep, open his mind wide to her.

He twitched slightly, then winced in pain, he was trying to place himself comfortably, yet all he achieved was misery. He hadn't realised that Nuri had already taken care of her wound, and he thought he was still bleeding violently. He grabbed his legs pressing hard against the wound, to “stop the bleeding”, he cried out in pain. He was sure he could hear Anna facepalm, as the sudden realization struck him ”good job kid, you've time and time again earned your Darwin award, but this one really takes the cake, way to go trusting other people”. Even through his blurry state, he could hear somebody shout in the distance, and hear the large door to bloc 8 open. He couldn't think straight, Anna wasn't much of a help either, and he couldn't stop staring into Nuris faintly glowing eye. He felt drowsy, Anna was growing quieter, he could finally give into temptation. He mumbled Gently: ”your wish is my command” then fell asleep.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri was patient and still. As soon as Vektor began to calm she knew it would be quickly over. Her eye would be the lantern leading the way to the inky black of sleep. As soon as Vektor is sleeping she wastes no time. She hears the clank of a gate and the sound of approaching footsteps and she does not wish to be found here. It wouldn't make a very good first impression if on her first night Nuri was found in the cell of another inmate. Least of all one unconscious and bleeding. She looks to the unmoving hand of her watch, set to 4 o'clock, then winds it with a few twists. It would be her guide, to know how long she is gone for.

Nuri looked to Vektor, holding the image of his face in her mind. Her body begins to flicker and fade like a phantom. By the time the guard arrives she is gone. Should the guard wake him she would lie waiting for him to return to slumber. If left to sleep however her plan would come to fruit more quickly.

In the Dreamscape she sits, waiting, calling the threads of his unconscious to her weaving hands. The perfect pitch black would slowly find a world within it, lit by its own existance and nothing more. Like a globe Nuri will turn it this way and that, her dark eye glowing brightly as she begins to mold the dream's structure. She must plan the structure just so if she is to be safe inside it.

"Where is your demon, Vektor? Won't you show it to me?" She thinks it more than speaks it, but here they are both the same. Her request would sweep through his mind like a sweet whispering wind, caressing every corner and calling Vektor's personal demon into the sphere of dreaming. This globe is a dream, yet bare but forming, and Vektor would only know it as he would any other dream. He would simply dream it, unaware of the strings or the weaver.

[Vektor]

Vektor was in an old abandoned warehouse, on the outskirts of Gotham. The the air in the warehouse smelled of alcohol, marijuana, and garbage. In one of the corners lay a a half rotten sofa, a pile of lothing along with several cardboard boxes. Close by stood an old refrigerator, several clinically clean knifes, and other kitchen apparatuses, somebody had even build a small fireplace.

The warehouse was empty, except for himself and a girl in a simple white dress. The girl had long blonde, almost white hair, a slim face with no wrinkles or scars, she had sensual red lips and hypnotizing green eyes. Upon closer inspection one would realize that the girl was surrounded by a glowing halo, that almost folded like wings on her back. She smiled brightly and called out to him with a voice more beautiful than that of any mortal: “oh Vektor, my dear what are you preparing for dinner?”. Vektor raised himself in his full height, he had grown muscles and flesh on his body, some of his scars had healed, and he even seemed to have bathed recently. He was clad in a black open hoodie, with a skull pattern and the numbers “101.8” written on the back with white paint. He glanced at a cooking pot which was sitting in the embers of the fireplace, revealing its red-orange content. ”well. Originally it was an improvised chili sin carne, but then I started getting creative”. he said with a voice echoing with strength and hapiness. The girl in white chuckled slightly as she answered: ”oh my, well do you think you could let it rest for a while, we rarely have the chance to spend time together anymore”. Vektor smile got broader, and answered with a cocky attitude: ”everything for you, my dear Anna”, as she pulled him close to her.

”well then, why don't we find a clean spot, sit down and have a chat?” Vektor did as ordered, still holding on to Annas left hand as she led him over to the couch. he was utterly enjoying his freetime with Anna

[Mad Girl]

As the dream unfolds Nuri watches like a ghost watching television in a pitch black house. The Dreamscape is silent and black around her in Vektors slumber. The Dream however has form now. And this is most interesting for the sleepless voyer.

"Such a sweet little scene" she muses to herself. She tugs the threads ever so slightly, causing the details in the dream to become more vivid. For Vektor it would be as though he is slipping into the dream more completely. His senses would ignite with the carefully constructed details- the popping of the fires coals and the softness of Anna's hand. Everything would feel completely real. This is, for now, the whole of his reality.

She will let Anna speak with Vektor.for a short while, however she chooses. The figment is left to play naturally so that it can better be defined. But the peace will not last for long.

"Is this a little lamb as pure as snow? Or a wolf with wooly disguise?" Nuri tugs the threads askew, letting the ambiance of the dream shift ever so slightly. The shadows seem darker, the air tense with a feeling of danger. Something would go wrong, of that Vektor would be certain. However, what that something was would be left to his subconscious fears to decide. As the fear rises in his belly the dream will be molded to reveal them, bit by bit.