Shadows didn't move like that in the real world. But she knew that already. Right? Of course. She had to maintain that, had to keep insisting to herself that there was a difference between here and reality. Because...the minute there wasn't was the moment her concept of reality would shatter.

As she watched that undulating form, the name of another author came to mind, and sent a chill down her spine. Was the shadow really terrifying? Or was she more frightened of what she -thought- it was? If this was her own nightmare, surely it would be based on the things she had read and experienced. Which meant...

H. P. Lovecraft was alive and well in her mind, and she might have to face one of the Elder Gods in her mind. It made her stomach churn and Morgan actually had to put a hand to her mouth to keep herself from being sick. She would have half-bent over as well, so strong was the reaction she was having, but a hand closed on her shoulder, keeping her upright instead.

She hadn't heard them approach, hadn't heard anything for several moments. The sick feeling was abating, fleeing in the wake of the touch from the...

...elf. Her mind supplied it easily, completely uncaring as to whether her guess was accurate or not. How could someone so beautiful and luminescent be anything shy of one of Tolkein's beautiful race? She beat back the shadow somehow, for there was no denying that she had beaten it back, though how was a mystery. It didn't make sense, and Morgan wasn't going to ask. It didn't -need- to make sense. This was a dream, and as long as it was a dream, anything could happen.

But she fixed her gaze on her rescuer. Not intending to ask how she'd beaten the shadow didn't mean not asking anything. "Who are you?" It made the most sense--it was the only question Morgan didn't think she had an answer to. Where were they? In a dream. Why were they there? For Morgan's own personal development. Wasn't that the point of dreams like this?

The feeling of vertigo and nausea slowly faded and Audra contemplated, slowly this time, sitting up again and taking a second inventory of the room. I'm sure I'll find something that'll explain where I am... She went to open her eyes when she suddenly went cold, a familiar tingle racing up her spine. Oh no...

Audra had felt the feeling as a child, the sense of complete and utter fear. She'd been lost in the woods on a school hiking trip and in the twilight of that day she was sure something had been after her. She felt the same thing now.

She squeezed her eyes tighter, if there was something in the room with her she hadn't heard it enter and that meant that her guest was likely not human. She wanted to hide, freeze up like deer did before a moving car and hope she would be spared; but deep in her gut she knew she had to run, get out of the room get somewhere...anywhere safe, and her gut rarely if ever lied.

If you make a dash for the door, maybe you can surprise it... Audra's eyes flew open and in an act of agility inspired by fear, bolted off the bed and ran towards the huge double doors. God please be unlocked!

Morgan, the woman turns to face you, her hair curling and swirling around her face gently, her eyes softening as she looks you over. Her voice is like the sound of pianos playing, easy on the ears, yet full of power, emotion. Versatile and beautiful, soothing and gentle.

"I am....sorry. You are not meant to be here..."

Her eyes betray no emotion, but her voice contains the slightest sadness and even a little surprise.

"My name is Kyoko, the Lady of the Mirrors. You would have been my charge....but not this night. Something unnatural has brought you here. Tell me, what happened? How did you come to be here?"

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Audra, your hands hit one of the plain wooden doors (the one to the right was closest) and your fingers, damp with the cold sweat that comes with all terrors such as this, desperately scrabble at the shiny brass doorknob before getting a good grip. The knob is unusually warm under your touch and it gives you an odd feeling of calm; it's enough to get you through the door, which was thankfully unlocked.

Beyond it is a long hallway, lined with identical, plain, standard wooden doors with brass knobs, much like the one you just exited. At the end of the hallway stands a huge, ornate wooden door.

Though your mind is slightly clearer, the terror still runs cold in your veins, urging you to shut the door behind you, to move, to run. Instinct screams for motion; to be still is to be in danger. It's dark here too, but something tells you better here than there, and better somewhere else than here. Your feet long to put distance between you and whatever it is behind you.

((Audra roll Perception(Doors): 8 2 6 3
Reroll Tens: None
Successes: 2

Result: Audra locates the doors and determines that there are two, spaced a couple of feet apart, against the wall opposite to her bed. She deduces that they are both standard-sized wooden doors with metal knobs on the left side. Based on the way the hinges are set, they appear to swing inward.

Audra roll Dexterity: 6 7
Reroll Tens: None
Successes: 2

Result: Despite her almost paralyzing terror, Audra manages to get up off the bed and run to the door without stumbling or freezing up. (Further Results As Listed Above)

Audra roll Wits: 2 4 6
Reroll Tens: None
Successes: 1

Result: Despite fear clouding her mind, Audra still remembers to twist the knobs open before proceeding out. (Further Results As Listed Above) ))

The way she spoke backed up Morgan's guess about the woman's nature. Making assumptions based on her own understanding of reality was how Morgan was getting by. But...she'd also managed to convince herself, for the moment at least, that this was nothing more than a dream. The rules of reality were a little bit more flexible, a little bit more fluid...as long as she could keep believing it was a dream. Because if it wasn't a dream...

A little bit of doubt crept into her mind. The terror was real, but...so was the churning feeling in her stomach. Supposedly, one couldn't feel pain in dreams, but...what about being ill? If she threw up here, would she throw up in her bed at home? No, wait, she'd fallen asleep on the couch, hadn't she? Except she'd fallen asleep on the couch after that person had...

Except...

Maybe this went back as far as the cafe she'd gone to with that strange man. That made sense. Men didn't just strike up random conversations with women in a rainstorm...not in reality. Unless...they had ulterior motives. Was that what this was? He'd slipped something into her drink and she'd passed out at the cafe, and the rest was her mind filling in the blanks with guesses, her subconscious' attempt at keeping her calm.

That would explain why, perhaps, she'd thought some strange woman had come to her apartment to drug her. That made more sense--drug induced dreaming while she was passed out somewhere. It made more sense to think of it this way, and she relaxed a little bit more. Definitely a dream.

But the woman's words weren't what she wanted to hear...not in the slightest. Not meant to be here? What sort of cop-out was this? This was her dream, her journey of personal growth and development, and she was being told it was unnatural that she was here? Well. Of -course- it was unnatural, but...

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, and let it out as a tired and frustrated sigh. "I was drugged, and now I'm stuck in this dream. Might as well make the most of it, though, it's not often I have realistic dreams like this." She laughed softly, offering the woman a bit of a smile. "I didn't even know I -could- dream lucid..."

Audra literally hit the door as she franticaly fumbled for the doorknob. When she was finally did find the round metal handle she felt relief wash over her. I can get out... Saying a very quick prayer she attmpted to turn the knob, with turned easily in her hand, the door opening into another pit of darkness...no matter, it wasn't here and that was all that was important.

She rushed through the opening, winding up in a hallway of doors. "This is just like Alice in Wonderland..." she whispered before fear hit her again like a rock to the stomach. Lurching, Audra grabbed the exterior doorknob and slamed the door shut. She pressed herself against the opposite wall, staring at the door for a moment. She'd stoped whatever was in there...for now, but she hadn't heard a lock catch. Time to go... Eyes still locked on the door, she slowly eased herself off the wall and began walking down the hall.

With each step, she felt the primal fear pumping through her veins diminish slightly, and Audra was able to get a sense of where she was. The doors on either side of the hall were the same as the one she'd just shut, no sense exploring those... she thought. A shudder running through her as she imagined what could be lurking within the varying rooms. The door at the end of the hall though piqued her interest. It was wood like the rest, but much larger; and as she walked closer to it she could see intricate designs carved into the wood. "I suppose that's a decent place to start..." She said to herself as she continued walking towards the door.

The woman considered Morgan for a moment, her blue eyes passing over her before the slightest of smiles appeared at the corner of her lips.

"A dream. Is that what you think this is?"

Without pausing to give her any time to answer, she turned back to the door, turning the knob and opening it. She stood aside and gestured for her to enter the hallway.

"Please, walk with me. I think there are some things we need to speak on, before you enter the rest of the world."

She spared a last searching glance back toward the window before locking eyes with Morgan, waiting.

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You notice as you walk that you can hear your footsteps, whereas before, even with the blood pumping in your ears, all was silent. Surely you would have made some sort of ruckus with all that running? But no, there had been no sound, and only the presence of sound here brought your attention to it. While your mind swam with the implications that might have, you arrived at the large wooden door at the end of the hallway.

Now that you were closer, you could see it was detailed with so many carvings. Swirling engravings of wind made the border and flame patterns were burned into it as well, interlocking with the wind patterns. From top to bottom inside this elemental frame were several different carvings and designs. Strange creatures that you had never seen, centuars, fairies, mermaids, people with animalistic features, and so many other mythical beings took up the top half of the door.

The bottom half depicted strange shapes, like the wood had been warped, like things had been burned into it; twisting shadowy limbs that bent at strange angles, faceless people, beings of fire. Staring at these engravings, you felt that stone of fear in your belly kick up, reminding you of your perilous position.

The handle, you notice, is a strange blend of metal, a black with green and blue veins of something that shimmers slightly. It is curved elegantly into a trigger pull handle, shaped like a human leaning back, as if falling through the air, to form the curve of the handle.

As Audra walked, the sound of her footsteps echoed in the hallway. At first, the noise scared her, confusing the noises of her own movements for that of someone else. When she stoped to think about it, the sound was a very recent thing. There wasn't any sound in the other room...like in nightmares... She paused to think about it; remembering hearing from a fire fighter customer that in times of great stress, the mind would push everything unimportant away to focus on surviving. "Maybe I should be thankful I don't remember any sound..." she mumbled, thinking back to tales of certain monsters and the unspeakable horror hearing them caused.

She reached the door, and let her eyes carefully look over the designs carved into the wood. It wasn't just a random pattern, as she had thought when farther away, but a series of individual carvings of mythological creatures, bordered in a elemental pattern. The door comforted her somewhat, the creatures pictured were known to be at best helpful and at worst apathetic to human affairs. As her eyes moved down the door the comfort faded; warped and burned the creatures she saw were less than friendly. She looked over her shoulder back down the dark hallway, the door hadn't locked..."Now isn't the time..."

Audra found the doorknob, or rather what she assumed was the doorknob. A shimmering humanoid statue leaning away from the door. it looks like it's falling...how appropriate. She hesitated a moment before putting her hand on the handle and pulled on the trigger mechanism.

(roll please: Strength target: door ((It seems like it would be heavy and/or enchanted)) perception target: also door)

Morgan frowned deeply. Of course this was a dream. What else would it be? None of this was possible in reality. Shadows didn't move like that, she'd never been to this place...none of this was real, she kept stubbornly reassuring herself. Because...if it wasn't... A shudder passed over her body as even the hint of a doubt crept into her awareness. Surely it hadn't been harboured there in her subconscious for long? Surely...she was only being silly...

"Of...course it's a dream...this can't be real. Things like this...don't happen in reality." There was a finality to her tone, but there was a hidden bit of desperation in her voice as well. It -couldn't- be real. Because if it was...

Well, maybe at least she'd be able to locate her fairy godmother and give her a sound telling off for abandoning her. If -this- was possible, she might as well live on Arakkis!

She glanced at the window as well when the woman did, then moved to obediently follow her into the hallway. Better out there than in here, apparently...

The woman kept a brisk pace, as if she was in a hurry to get somewhere. However, her voice was firm and clear, indicating that her attention was still on the girl following closely at her side.

"Well...you are half right," she began. The two of them had arrived at the end of the hall. Before them was the beautiful, intricate wooden door. The engravings were detailed and carved with obvious care. So many different creatures made appearances all across the top half of the rich mahogany wood, some of which Morgan might recognize from her reading. The bottom half held darker figures, warped and burned into the wood, rather than carved like the others. Like intruders onto the great work of art, they seemed to seep into the door, like that shadow, only through fire instead of darkness.

"I'm sorry, but I'm meant to be meeting someone. Please, come with me, and I will explain your situation to both of you."

Her hand went for the handle, a lovely trigger pull handle shaped like a human leaning back, as is suspended in the air. The handle itself was made of a strange metal, black with blue and green veins in it. As her skin touched it, there was a spark and the entire door shimmered. As the door swung open towards them, she smiled at the young woman on the other side.

She was dressed in the same sleepwear as Morgan, but she was just a little shorter, with short, dark hair that hangs just above her shoulders. Her eyes are dark, almost black, and contrast with her pale skin. An anxious sort of fear lingers in her eyes, which might explain why she looks so pale.

Kyoko, still smiling, holds her hands out for the woman in a welcoming gesture.

"There you are, dear."

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Just as you reach for the door, it swings open into another room and two people are standing on the other side.

One looks confused in a white t-shirt and pale blue sleeping pants, both embroidered with something. She is a mostly plain looking woman, with shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. She can't be much taller than you.

And looking at her, you notice that you too are wearing the same outfit. You don't know how you didn't notice the difference before, but you are certain these are not the clothes you fell asleep in. They are embroidered with "Gateway" in gold stitching. Your feet are bare, slightly cold against the floor where you stand.

The other is taller than both of you and obviously built for grace. Her frame is slender and her motions are fluid and smooth. Her hair is what catches your eye first; it moves and sways as if under water. It's a shimmering white-blue and it glows. The area surrounding you and the others is bathed in a pale glow that seems to originate from her. Her eyes are the same sort of silver-blue color. She has proud features, a sharp, angular face, yet her expression is soft. She is clothed in pale green, gold, and the same blue as the sleeping pants you and the other young woman are wearing.

She is speaking to you and her voice soothes your anxiety. You are aware of the danger that might stand behind the door you came through, but you can't help but feel relaxed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please, join us in here a moment. I imagine you have many questions, which I would be happy to answer. For both of you."

Her eyes fall on Morgan again and she smiles reassuringly.

Audra jumped as the door seemed to move on it's own. "Oh what did I do now?" She whispered to herself. The door swung away from her, revealing two women. She looked her new companions over, the first was a young woman like herself. The poor thing obviously looked confused...maybe she'd randomly woken up here as well? ...are we wearing matching clothes? The thought caused Audra to look down at her attire for the first time since she had arrived here. well that is just strange...these aren't what I fell asleep in I'm sure of it.

The other woman though, she was intriguing. The woman was taller than Audra, and of lithe build; but it was her hair that was most interesting. She looks like she's underwater....undine? sea maiden?Audra mused, trying to place the woman. As she attempted to determine the woman's origins she spoke, asking Audra to join them across the threshold. Well, this is the way I was going anyway...and it's much better than going back the way I came... Audra slowly nodded and walked through the door standing next to the other confused young woman.

"Before we start with the explanations...can you please close this door? There is something less than pleasant down the hall."

Morgan wasn't really listening to Kyoko from the instant she set her eyes on the door. It didn't sound like anything more than a bit of a brush-off anyway, and the carved figures and their burned counterparts were far, far, far more interesting than any speech about how this might be something more than 'just' a dream. Of course it was more than a dream. But being 'more' than a dream meant being a dream in the first place.

Morgan was assuming things again, filling in the blanks with her own opinions and guesses, irreverent of what Kyoko might -actually- have been about to tell her. She thought she knew, and as far as she was concerned, that was the same as knowing.

The door swung open to reveal another girl, but Morgan was still keeping her eyes on the woodwork, certain that this image would come to mean something far more than it looked like it did at first glance. Things going on around her could wait, she could ask for them to be repeated, but she wanted a =good= look at this door, first.

((Roll Perception Target: Door please.))

Ushering the girl in, she nodded to her question, a soft smile on her lips.

"Of course. I sensed the Fragment was near. It seems they are restless this night; you are not the first to be attacked."

Her blue eyes flitted to Morgan, who seemed utterly engrossed in the door that she was now closing. Looking back, her hand left the door for just an instant as it clicked shut. Once certain it was closed, she reached for the handle once more, pressing warm flesh to the equally warm trigger. A spark danced around her hand, clasping the handle, before she pulled it open once more.

The room it opened onto, however, was not the cold, dark hallway that Audra had just left. Rather, it was a brightly lit banquet hall, warm and inviting, yet empty. She stood, for a moment, eyes closed, with the door half open. Then something shimmered, cracked, and the people began to appear, like ghosts, materializing into the room. Sound grew from a hum to a murmur, until the room was full of quiet voices, speaking in soft tones to each other. She opened the door wide and put a hand on each woman's back, leading them into the room with a guiding firmness that left little room for resistance. The door clicked shut behind them as she guided them to a couple of nearby chairs.

The room was brightly lit with candles in brackets all down the walls, and a great, glittering chandelier hanging in the center of the room. It must have been adorned with diamonds, or bits of crystal, or perhaps fragments of the stars themselves, to shimmer so. The table beneath it was as long as the room and only a great tree could produce such a perfectly unbroken piece. The color was rich mahogany, like the great door behind them. Candlesticks dotted it and plates covered almost every inch. Silverware and cups glinted silver in the light, and several people were already seated, some eating, others speaking to what appeared to be waiters.

"Please, sit. Anything you wish to eat or drink can be relayed to the attendants. They will serve your needs. When you are satisfied, then you need only speak my name, and I will return to answer your questions. There is so much to say and explain, it would be much easier for me to address your most immediate concerns and inquiries than to try and explain it all."

Inclining her head to the two young women, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

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As you gaze at the door, your eyes take in several details.

Firstly, you notice that it is not a rectangular door, like the ones you have seen thus far. Instead, it peaks, like chapel doors. The entirety of the door is framed with engraved wind patterns, which make swirls and curves all along the edge. Burned over them, interlocking, are flame patterns, licking the wood. As you peer closer, you also notice the faintest glimmer, like a thread of gold intertwined with the wood, reflecting the light that is coming from your companion.

Inside the frame are so many carvings that your eye strains to look at them all, all at once. Starting at the top, you take notice first of two faeries, male and female, holding up criss-crossing branches, which are in bloom. You do not recognize the flowers, however, and let her eyes travel down. Beneath the crowning faeries is a woman, who you realize with a start look strikingly like your companion. But upon closer inspection, you realize that her hair flows around her long enough to brush her knees, far longer than Kyoko's...you think. It's hard to gauge with the constant swirling. Branches also sprout from her head, long and elegant, like antlers, and bloom with tiny flowers. She seems clothed in a simple gown. Mesmerized as you are with her, your eyes travel across the door, taking in the carvings on either side of her. One is a faun from the waist down, and from the waist up, a young man is holding the woman's hand, his head inclined. One her right side, a seemingly plain human shapes fire in her palms, her back turned to the antlered woman, gazing over her shoulder at her instead with a mischievous smile. Other beings and creatures are in the background, people with animalistic features, even mermaids, peering up from a small pond that is carved to look as if it drips down side of the door.

Beneath this set of carvings is another, with many figures, none seemingly more important than others. Centuars, people with hair that swirls about them like Kyoko's, people with strange, elongated limbs. A cat, tall as a human, stands on its hind legs and wears a tophat and a fancy coat with tails. A man with a goat's head stares ahead, a slight squint to his eyes, as if glaring. A muscular man with a blacksmith's hammer is featured in the bottom set of carvings. Elves dance among other fae-folk, a cluster of what appear to be trees at first glance reach upwards with human arms and bodies, branches sprouting from their skin, human faces uplifted and smiling. What appear to be balls of fire or light streak along the bottom of the first half of the door.

And the bottom half. The bottom half sends a chill into your veins, making you shudder involuntarily. It looks as if someone burned these images into the wood, or smeared black oil to make crude shapes on the wood. Even the wood itself seems to warp in places, forming indistinct shapes of nightmarish beings. Figures that bend and twist at impossible, crooked angles. Faceless creatures, beings of teeth and skin that stretches over sharp bones. And those shadows. They are nothing more than warps in the wood, but you feel that familiar terror creep into your heart. Feeling compelled to look at something else, anything else, you let your eyes find the unique handle.

Your first thought upon looking at the handle is "Falling Asleep". Indeed, the woman's eyes are closed and her expression, though tiny, seems relaxed. She is leaning back, as if falling through air, her curved arms and legs making the handle. She is clothed in a simple dress that billows around her ankles against unseen air currents, further emphasizing the image of falling. The metal she is wrought with is odd, unlike anything you've seen before. It is obsidian black, but green and blue veins glitter throughout, catching the faint light. You cannot investigate any further, however, because Kyoko's hand covers it, pulling it open. You are just looking away when you think you see something, but when you look again, there is nothing.


((Morgan roll Perception(Door): 4 8 5 9
Reroll Tens: None
Successes: 4

Result: Morgan gets a good look at the door. She notices many details, as listed above.

Morgan roll Perception: 4 6 10 1
Reroll Tens: 1 cancels out the 10
Successes: 1

Result: Morgan notices something is happening to the door handle out of the corner of her eye, but when she looks, nothing seems amiss.

Audra roll Perception: 4 2 8 7
Reroll Tens: None
Successes: 2

Result: Audra sees a spark emit from the woman's touch as she grasps the handle a second time. She thought she saw more, but can't be sure.))

Morgan was so engrossed in the door, studying it, trying to identify or at least memorise the strange carved figures on the door that when Kyoko's hand touched her back she started in surprise. She smiled sheepishly, finally turning her attention to the woman, but only after she'd made a thorough and careful study of the door. Things like that were rich in symbolism, and in many great and epic tales, the secret or painfully obvious solution was made clear back at the very beginning in a wallhanging, tapestry, or other record of history and legend. Such as this door.

She had only barely managed to keep her hands back, to keep herself from tracing over the figures with her fingers. It...didn't look like there were humans at all on the door, unless one counted the woman working with fire. A mage of some sort, surely; and the people like Kyoko...but they weren't human, couldn't be human, not even Kyoko herself. It was a desperate strain to keep up with the detail, but at the same time....it fit.

Such details could only be created by the vast knowledge of mythology she held in her own subconscious mind, as this was her dream. It...was her dream, wasn't it? Of course it was her own dream. Why else, when Kyoko steered them into the most beautiful fantasy banquet hall to exist did she say that anything that they asked for could be had? This was her own dream, guided and ruled by her own mind, and now, with the nightmare gone, it was easier to convince herself of that.

All of the carvings, then, were things that she had seen, creatures that she knew of. Like the tapestries and paintings in Tolkein's Rivendell, she had no doubts but what the door would hold some secret about the nature of the dream to come. And those nightmarish figures, too dark and distorted to identify, were then identified by their inability to be identified. Fear. Doubt. Those were their names.

She settled at the table then, determined to enjoy the best of what her dream had to offer. But as she considered the fine plate and what manner of delicacies she might be able to ask for--perhaps lembas bread or something from Alice in Wonderland--but...the only thing that came to mind was something she'd actually had repeatedly, but wanted once again. A simple ethnic Vietnamese meal, she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was called as a proper name, but with a bit of explaining, she managed to convey it to one of the attendants. Soon, she was settled in a seat with a small plate of vermicelli and shrimp rolls and shrimp paste on sugar cane; a bowl full of vermicelli with many, many fresh vegetables, shrimp paste, spring rolls, and plenty of peanuts; and a smallish fish that had been all but coated in chilli and other spices before being baked.

She tucked into her meal eagerly, wondering if the other girl who had been in pajamas was there to talk to, or if she was simply a figment created by Morgan's imagination for the sake of not being alone in her experience.

Audra sighed with relief as the door closed, shutting out the imposing hallway and the entity within. "Fragment?" She mumbled to herself after the woman, Kyoko mentioned the term. So whatever was in the hall wasn't simply her own fears...she then turned her head to look at her companion; the young woman was utterly engrossed in the door, as if she were searching for something. I wonder what she's looking for... Audra lost the thought halfway through as she watched Kyoko reach for the doorknob. From the woman's hand a spark seemed to arc to the doorknob before the hand made contact. It didn't look like the spark that Audra experienced from time to time in the cold bay area winters, when she would reach for the light switch and static would discharge. The light was brighter, but Audra couldn't with any certainty explain.

When the door opened again, it revealed a large dining hall reminiscent of the halls of Norse lore. So the door must be a portal of some sort...explains the spark I suppose Audra peeked around the half-open door, admiring the span of a dining table and the chandelier, sparkling with an otherworldly gleam. "Wow."

What happened next surprised Audra even more, she heard a faint crackling similar to kindling catching, and the atmosphere in the hall seemed to change as one by one people began to appear. very wow... Where had she ended up? How far down the proverbial rabbit hole had she fallen? Kyoko's hand on her back brought Audra out of the spiral of questions as she and the other girl were led into the hall. They were led to the table and told to eat, and all their questions would be answered; Audra figured she hadn't eaten in several hours at least...and she could use the time to organize the questions that threatened to bubble over in her mind.

Audra waited a moment for the other girl to take her seat, before finding a chair opposite her and sitting down. An attendant came to her chair, Audra knew exactly what she wanted...times like these called for special things. "A large slice of chocolate cake and a glass of milk please." Soon she had a massive slice of chocolate cake, fudge frosting sitting between the cake layers, with chocolate ganash coating the outside. a large glass of milk accompanying it. Audra eagerly took a fork to the hunk of cake, letting the piece melt in her mouth. That's some good cake! As she took a sip of milk, she looked over the glass at her companion. Who was she? Where did she come from? Had she met with the thing in the hallway too? Setting the glass down Audra figured it would be best to wait until they had both finished eating before engaging in conversation...it was always hard to talk with a mouth full of cake.

Morgan began with the vermicelli rolls she'd been given, dipping them into the peanut sauce they'd been served with and closing her eyes at the taste. It was, in its elegant simplicity, heavenly. She sighed in happiness, but after finishing the first one, turned her attention to her companion. She'd been too busy studying the door to realise that the people within hadn't been there at first, so some of the shock and awe of the scene was lost on her. She was eating heartily, though, as she hadn't had much to eat since she'd had lunch at work--she'd been planning on eating dinner when she got home, and had found herself subsequently...diverted.

She picked up the second vermicelli roll and pointed it at the other young woman, still in the process of swallowing her last mouthful when she began to gesture. She started speaking the moment it went down. "So....who are you? Why are you in my dream?" It was a very direct question, but there wasn't any malice or rudeness behind it.

Audra dug into the cake happily, cake made everything better and helped put things in perspective. If you can have cake things are not nearly are dire as you assume them to be. She mused to herself, chuckling softly at her good luck. Seeing movement out of her peripheral vision Audra looked up to see her companion gesturing, looking as if she wanted to speak but her mouth was full. As soon as the young woman finished she asked Audra what she was doing in her dream. The question caught Audra a little off guard and she paused a moment before answering. "Well...my name is Audra Martin, I work in a book store....and I was under the impression this wasn't a dream. Though, I suppose stranger things have happened...if this is somehow a world of your making I would have to assume that my life before coming here was a dream as well...anyway I suppose I should ask you your name and how you came to be here as well."

Morgan had to laugh at Audra's Wonderland-esque explanation of why it couldn't be a dream. Of course it wouldn't come across as a dream to -Audra-, given that Audra was a -part- of the dream. Yes, she was well entrenched in her idea that this was a dream, and convincing her otherwise could be a bit tricky. But that wasn't particularly on her mind at the moment. Instead, she smiled pleasantly for Audra and extended her free hand as she introduced herself.

"Morgan Foyatte, telemarketer extraordinaire and writer wannabe." She chuckled again, knowing that while on the one hand it came across as playful...at the same time it was sadly, sadly accurate. "So...what do you suppose this place is? Obviously it's part based on archetypes and Jungian psychology, but...what sort of mission do you suppose we're here for?"

As her companion laughed, Audra had to wonder what she had said was so funny. I suppose admitting this could be a dream was a bit silly... she thought as the woman stretched her hand across the table. Audra took the woman's hand, shaking it as she introduced herself. "a writer? what an exciting profession." she replied; Audra had great respect for authors, it took quite a bit of imagination to create the worlds and people within books.

Morgan then asked her what she thought of their location. Audra took another small bite of cake, mulling over the question before speaking. "Well...I suppose it's a meeting place of some sort. I mean, with the rooms full of beds and the hallway, and this huge dining hall...it all seems like it's meant to house a lot of people." She took another sip of milk. "But, I don't know about you, but I had an encounter with....something when I first got here, I suspect that...thing has something to do with why we are here."

Exciting? Writing? Morgan scoffed at that, going back to her vermicelli roll. Heaven in convenient eating size, and certainly -it- didn't have any expectations of her or her profession. She looked around, nodding along with Audra's assessment of the place. "We're in the Last Homely House of California, I think..."

She shrugged idly and started on the shrimp paste and sugar cane, sighing audibly in happiness at the food. What a nice dream this was that it was so vivid, so realistic... Hell, she could lose weight at this rate if she could dream about eating food like this.

"But what sort of quest are we on do you suppose? Obviously it's something to do with the nightmares that attacked us..." She confirmed in a roundabout way that she, too, had had an encounter. Of course Audra would have had one as well--they needed something to tie them together, some sense of continuity in this dream, after all.

"Oh I very much doubt we're still in California" Audra cheerfully remarked, taking another bite of cake. "In fact I kind of doubt we're even in what could be considered our dimension anymore...I suspect this place is on the other side of the veil from our world...though where specifically I have no idea." Audra set the fork down, putting a finger to her chin in thought; "Though it bothers me that I didn't know there was a hole in the veil so close to home...it's somewhat embarrassing if that's what happened..."

Audra paused to take a sip of milk and look over Morgan. The more the woman spoke the more Audra suspected that the poor thing didn't understand in the least where they were. poor thing, she must be so confused right now... "Quest? well I don't know if we were brought here for a quest...I got the feeling we sort of just...wound up here...but I suppose a quest would be fun...it would certainly be a good basis for a book don't you think?" Audra chuckled, smiling at Morgan a moment before picking up the fork again, putting another piece of chocolate cake into her mouth.

Had Audra really just tried to trump Tolkein with Baum? And not even the book but something that had been included in the movie no less. That was...cheap. But if Audra really was a foil presented to her by her subconscious mind...perhaps it represented something far deeper in her mind than she realised. Still the idea that Audra was just another person and this wasn't as much of a dream as it looked like hadn't quite occurred to Morgan. There was a reference in Audra's words regardless of whether it had been intended or not, but with Morgan's own ease of working literary references even into her own thoughts, she assumed it had been intentional. And to think that Audra had referenced the Wizard of Oz after Morgan had just referenced Tolkein's magnum opus that was his collected world of Middle Earth...

As angry as she was, there had to be a deeper meaning of some sort. If this was her own dream, there had to be a purpose for such a thing. Was it really that somewhere, deep within her, there was an idea buried that the old epics of the past were getting dated? The thought of that made her hackles rise, but why else would it... She frowned deeply, her thoughts swirling faster and faster in a Jungian mess trying to sort through archetypes and ideas and the subconscious.

She looked up suddenly at Audra, surprised enough to drop her little bit of nibble. "....Inspiration for a book... That's...what I thought when I first woke up. But...." She sighed, shaking her head. She didn't want to cry, not over something as simple as writer's block, but at the same time... Was it really something that simple? Or was there some deeper power, some leech, some anti-muse sucking out her creativity and throttling her with her own dreams?

Tears welled in her eyes but she determinedly ignored them. Just a bit of spice in the chilli dip. Nothing. Not crying.

"It would be nice, wouldn't it? If I could actually finish something I start..."