Perchance to Dream

[Jirai]

A wager had been made. It wasn't about the winning or the losing though, and so Niall took no precautions, made no changes to her normal patterns. She would see if they stood on their own. If they did not, then she would remedy the matter, one way or another. The scarred girl was supremely confident.

The young woman did not sleep often. When she did, her sleep tended to be unbroken. Sometimes, though, Niall dreamed. Rarely were her dreams pleasant.

The river roared past, churning and thrashing dozens of paces beneath the girl's boots. Those boots - and the girl herself, clad in worn trousers and a leather vest that left tattooed arms bare - were perched precariously on a narrow ledge, inching along step by perilous step. The footing was treacherous, slick with water or ice and it seemed as though the ground lurched sometimes when she stepped, once-solid rock feathering with uneven cracks that threatened to topple the young woman into the river below.

How long had she been edging along the ledge? It seemed like forever. Muscles were beginning to shake with strain, sweat beaded her brow, but her goal was finally in sight. A wider area lay ahead, safer footing, a path that lead away from the river. It was close, almost close enough - and the instant that thought crossed her mind the ground beneath her feet began to crumble.

[Galacia Tarin]

The wager, for the DreamWitch, as they had come to call her, was more about the outcome. She lost nothing, in either case. If she won, she might be able to assist a young friend with his troubles. She really had no doubt that she would win. The girl was certainly different, and would likely be a challenge should it come to such a thing. In this, however, Galacia was confident.

It was an interesting place. It was always curious to see where she might find herself in unscheduled dreams such as this.

She found herself, of course, on the wider part of the path. she watched Niall closely for a few moments. She moved with skill and grace. It was dangerous and the girl struggled, but she did not fear. She was determined and worked through each little bobble and slip, and simply kept moving. It spoke much.

Then the ground beneath Niall began to fall away, and Galacia instinctively moved closer to the edge, extending a taloned hand.

"Jump, quickly, now!"

The woman Niall would see would not be the woman she knew, but a smaller thing, with bouncing red curls and wide green eyes. Still the talons were present, as was, suddenly, the scent of smoke and roses.

Time moved differently in the dreaming for her than it did for others. In what must have seemed a single breath for Niall, Galacia observed many signs and symbols in the dream, and they made her smile, ever so slightly.

[Jirai]

The instant Niall felt the ground become unstable she tensed and sprung, throwing herself bodily towards safety, even as someone who had not been there - or, at least, had not been noticed - an instant ago spoke. Without thinking, Niall stretched a hand out, and Galacia would see the scars vanish from the girl's face, leaving the tattooed teenager looking much younger as her hand closed around the other's talons.

It was enough to make a difference, and Niall hit the ground rather than the edge, rolling smoothly to a crouch despite the hard landing. About this time, the young woman realized that the other there with her was not the person she had thought to see. Her reaction was instantaneous - she tugged a crude (but sharp) knife out of her belt, bringing it between the two of them. She stopped short of attacking outright though, the talons finally breaking through the girl's single-minded concentration. So she paused there, her posture defensive, scars back on her face. And she waited.

[Galacia Tarin]

It was fascinating to her to see Niall in, what seemed to be, her natural element. She had only ever encountered the girl in the tavern. A place where most were on their best behavior. At least those not like everyone else. The girl moved with a grace and elegance that was not simply that of the desires of the dreaming. She was bold, and fast, and not stupid. She could have tried to stab Galacia, allowed a moment of confusion to cloud her mind and cause her to make a bad decision. She did not. There was more to this girl than she showed to most.

"Settle, Niall. You know who I am. Galacia Tarin Talus Vraal, if it soothes your mind. This is who I once was. The weak, human, thing that would not have survived much longer. There is purpose to this, as you will see, if you chose to walk with me for a while."

She toyed at a single black chord at her throat. From that cord hung a triangular black stone. With a smile, she would move down the ledge toward the path that led away from the river.

[Jirai]

The girl was, at best, ill at ease in the tavern. Or really, around other people in general. At the heart of it was a lack of understanding, constantly being out of place. Here, in this place, part dream and part memory, that was no longer the case.

She knew the other now, though that had not been true in the first moment, and that was interesting, wasn't it? Still, the loss of the bet and its ramifications would be a thing to consider once she had awakened. Not now. Now, the young woman straightened, knife returned to her belt, and nodded slightly.

"...If you say so." And the tattooed girl would move along with the Dreamwitch.