07-16-2014, 11:59 PM
Elza studied the top of the ninja's masked head. Even she could not see his handsome face through it. She had told him before that she did not care for his disguises. He was either forgetful or insolent - neither of which she would oblige.
At a thought, Takeo's black shroud was suddenly gone, along with the rest of his clothes. She saw him tense, but to his credit he made no other reaction. She motioned for him to rise and met his eyes long enough to let him read her thoughts. Try again.
Takeo stood, ignoring his own nakedness. Elza was beautiful, and somehow sinister-looking at the same time. He saw the command in her eye but let her enjoy her unwrapped package a few seconds more as he considered his clothing more carefully this time. Taking a cue from her choice, he imagined simple cotton pants, tight at the ankles and snug at the waist, but with give through the legs to let him move easily. It remained black - he'd given her enough. He materialized no more than that. Just the pants.
Apparently he had chosen to her liking - at least, she didn't take them off again. Instead, she turned to take in the rocky hillside sloping down away from them. Unlike the places of men, this scene rarely changed. The usual ubiquitous light gave great Fuji a glowing shroud, like an early spring fog. The plants and trees blurred now and then, but remained in place for the most part. People rarely dreamt of this place. They might see the occasional mountain climber appear, maybe stay long enough to check their footing, and vanish again. Once, he had seen a woman fall from a cliff face high above, shrieking and flailing the whole way down. Elza watched her as she might a leaf falling from a tree, and before Takeo could envision some way to save the woman, she was gone.
Nothing moved this night, and no one appeared. Takeo might have wondered if Elza had arranged that somehow, though he couldn't imagine even she could stop people from wandering into this world. Then again, he couldn't have imagined many of the things she had shown him.
"I have something to show you, boy,"
Elza said, in her quiet, strangely musical tone. It reminded him of a lullaby sometimes, as though she could send someone to this world just by speaking it so. He wondered if that was true, but nodded that he was ready regardless. He deliberately forced his pants to remain, and avoided conjuring any weapons - it would only anger her. He was ready to flash at any sign of danger. Elza had a history of showing him things he rarely wanted to see, though in all honesty he'd always learned a valuable lesson. Like how to battle the pressure of being submerged at the bottom of the ocean. Or how to fight the rakshasa - a grisly affair though it was. Or, more recently, the meaning of the Ouroboros. "Nothing like that,"
she said, possibly reading his mind, and motioned to a strange patch of space Takeo had completely overlooked.
It was a square in the very fabric of this place, like a window pane hanging only a few feet away. It shifted, somehow, and suddenly it was an eye-straining hole of darkest black. Still square, he could see nothing but emptiness within. The strange light of this place seemed to be leeched around its periphery. He took a step closer, leaning forward instinctively to peer inside. There was a distant light, like a tiny star a million light years away. Then more. It was as if he was looking out the porthole of a spaceship as they sailed through a night sky. Some of those stars flew by at great speed, others loomed huge before meandering past their little window. Now this was something she'd never shown him before. It almost made him sick to look at them.
Takeo took his eyes off that dizzying sight long enough to stare at Elza's porcelain profile, all the more beautiful and ominous after such a strain. Like a doll, Elza watched the window without expression. Her lips parted in what he could've sworn was a smile, if he weren't so certain she was incapable of forming one. But, rather than smiling, she spoke, "These are dreamers."
She pointed out into the sea of constellations. "Every sleeping man, woman and child on this world is at your fingertips".
She stepped up next to Takeo and pointed through the window. "Go to them, and you can enter their dreams. Speak, and they will hear you."
Her eyes seemed to burn suddenly. "Will it, and they can be yours…"
She stared, seemingly alone with her machinations, intent on one distant star in particular. The others began to fly forward, or perhaps Takeo and Elza were flying through this strange space, and the star she wanted raced forward to meet them.
At one point, Takeo needed to look away, if only to steady himself. He took in the tranquil aura of the mountain, the silence, and drew in a few deep, slow breaths. When he looked back, the star had arrived, and it filled their viewing area. Even as he looked, that window suddenly expanded, its edges racing off in all four directions, until it was as if someone had sliced the dreamworld in half, and they stood at its edge. And, beyond, the blackness of space had lightened, uncovering a large series of rooms, very open. High ceilings. All around were works of art. Drawings and sculptures of various designs. Black floors and white walls, and, suddenly, people.
Takeo turned to Elza, but she was gone.
Edited by Takeo, Jul 17 2014, 12:05 AM.
At a thought, Takeo's black shroud was suddenly gone, along with the rest of his clothes. She saw him tense, but to his credit he made no other reaction. She motioned for him to rise and met his eyes long enough to let him read her thoughts. Try again.
Takeo stood, ignoring his own nakedness. Elza was beautiful, and somehow sinister-looking at the same time. He saw the command in her eye but let her enjoy her unwrapped package a few seconds more as he considered his clothing more carefully this time. Taking a cue from her choice, he imagined simple cotton pants, tight at the ankles and snug at the waist, but with give through the legs to let him move easily. It remained black - he'd given her enough. He materialized no more than that. Just the pants.
Apparently he had chosen to her liking - at least, she didn't take them off again. Instead, she turned to take in the rocky hillside sloping down away from them. Unlike the places of men, this scene rarely changed. The usual ubiquitous light gave great Fuji a glowing shroud, like an early spring fog. The plants and trees blurred now and then, but remained in place for the most part. People rarely dreamt of this place. They might see the occasional mountain climber appear, maybe stay long enough to check their footing, and vanish again. Once, he had seen a woman fall from a cliff face high above, shrieking and flailing the whole way down. Elza watched her as she might a leaf falling from a tree, and before Takeo could envision some way to save the woman, she was gone.
Nothing moved this night, and no one appeared. Takeo might have wondered if Elza had arranged that somehow, though he couldn't imagine even she could stop people from wandering into this world. Then again, he couldn't have imagined many of the things she had shown him.
"I have something to show you, boy,"
Elza said, in her quiet, strangely musical tone. It reminded him of a lullaby sometimes, as though she could send someone to this world just by speaking it so. He wondered if that was true, but nodded that he was ready regardless. He deliberately forced his pants to remain, and avoided conjuring any weapons - it would only anger her. He was ready to flash at any sign of danger. Elza had a history of showing him things he rarely wanted to see, though in all honesty he'd always learned a valuable lesson. Like how to battle the pressure of being submerged at the bottom of the ocean. Or how to fight the rakshasa - a grisly affair though it was. Or, more recently, the meaning of the Ouroboros. "Nothing like that,"
she said, possibly reading his mind, and motioned to a strange patch of space Takeo had completely overlooked.
It was a square in the very fabric of this place, like a window pane hanging only a few feet away. It shifted, somehow, and suddenly it was an eye-straining hole of darkest black. Still square, he could see nothing but emptiness within. The strange light of this place seemed to be leeched around its periphery. He took a step closer, leaning forward instinctively to peer inside. There was a distant light, like a tiny star a million light years away. Then more. It was as if he was looking out the porthole of a spaceship as they sailed through a night sky. Some of those stars flew by at great speed, others loomed huge before meandering past their little window. Now this was something she'd never shown him before. It almost made him sick to look at them.
Takeo took his eyes off that dizzying sight long enough to stare at Elza's porcelain profile, all the more beautiful and ominous after such a strain. Like a doll, Elza watched the window without expression. Her lips parted in what he could've sworn was a smile, if he weren't so certain she was incapable of forming one. But, rather than smiling, she spoke, "These are dreamers."
She pointed out into the sea of constellations. "Every sleeping man, woman and child on this world is at your fingertips".
She stepped up next to Takeo and pointed through the window. "Go to them, and you can enter their dreams. Speak, and they will hear you."
Her eyes seemed to burn suddenly. "Will it, and they can be yours…"
She stared, seemingly alone with her machinations, intent on one distant star in particular. The others began to fly forward, or perhaps Takeo and Elza were flying through this strange space, and the star she wanted raced forward to meet them.
At one point, Takeo needed to look away, if only to steady himself. He took in the tranquil aura of the mountain, the silence, and drew in a few deep, slow breaths. When he looked back, the star had arrived, and it filled their viewing area. Even as he looked, that window suddenly expanded, its edges racing off in all four directions, until it was as if someone had sliced the dreamworld in half, and they stood at its edge. And, beyond, the blackness of space had lightened, uncovering a large series of rooms, very open. High ceilings. All around were works of art. Drawings and sculptures of various designs. Black floors and white walls, and, suddenly, people.
Takeo turned to Elza, but she was gone.
Edited by Takeo, Jul 17 2014, 12:05 AM.