wrfmlogsarchive | Of Dreamcatchers, Heartless, and Jalen's Ass

Who: Amy and Song
What: Just a little chat that ranges over a myriad of subjects...
When: Sunday night, November 8th
Where: Safe and sound in Rainbow's End

Amy took a long look around the room, chewing lightly on her lip as she contemplated what else to change. The room she stood in was the sitting room, or at least, had been until roughly four months ago. In that time, the walls had been painted sky blue and patterned with wispy clouds, and every bit of available space was devoted to either stuffed animals or baby furniture. Amy grinned just a little, moving over to tuck a small teddy bear into the white crib.
"Just like sleeping in a cloud, hm Eli? Well, almost."
A soft pat on the toy's head, and she moved over to her rocking chair, easing herself down. No doubt Mabry wouldn't have a problem letting her have a room downstairs for the nursery, but for now, she wanted him close. They could move him later, when he was older...like a year. She reached over and grabbed a book off the nightstand, flipping through it.

Song had been spending too much time alone. She knew this. She had known this... but since the Halloween attack, she couldn't quite keep herself from falling back into old brooding habits.
That was why she forced herself to go to a friend, rather than waiting for someone to come to her. She'd had enough practice with this dark mood to easily hide it behind a smile as she peeked into the room.
"Talking to the alien lifeform in your belly again, Amykins?"

"Thanks for that, reminds me I still gotta whap Greta." She glanced up, dropping the book back on the table. Well...long time no see. So...
"Sit." She pointed to the armchair not far from her before beginning to rock herself slowly. "Haven't seen you around much lately. Contemplating ways to mass murder Heartless?"

"Something like that," she replied without missing a beat, obediently sinking into the armchair and curling up in it sideways, with both of her arms draped over one armrest. She looked like a large dog hidden in a human body.
"Or, you know, bind them all to my will and take over for Maleficent. Whichever works."

Amy raised her eyebrows at her for a second, then pouted. She missed being able to curl up. Hell, she missed being able to flop onto things. Couches, beds, people...
A Heartless flopping onto Maleficent suddenly danced across her imagination, and she snickered.
"I don't think she'd like that...ah, who cares. I'm still mad I missed the wedding! I wake up and Ryune's gone and Brandon's spazzing...at least Calum was taken care of though."
Thank god She thought. One less thing to be afraid of.
"So how was your Halloween? They ruined my pumpkin. Okay, I ruined my pumpkin, but it was still their fault."

At first, Song tilted her head in confusion at the pout. Then all at once seemed to realize what the problem was and, for the sake of politeness, did not grin.
Then it was her turn to display an odd mix of expressions as Amy's comments hit her with multiple keywords. Mention of the wedding made her think of Orpheus, mention of Calum made her think of Josiah, and finally the question about Halloween made her scowl as if she was tasting something bad.
"Feh. The Heartless nearly ruined me. I guess I taste good or something, because they were damn eager for another bite."

She winced at that - just because her experience that night hadn't been completely terrifying, didn't mean that everyone else had gotten off that easy.
"Yikes. I'm kinda sorry we weren't there...well, sorry that I didn't just make Jalen go to have some fun. 'Cause at least then..."
She shrugged. "We were carving pumpkins on the porch when they showed up. Well, granddad was showing Jalen how, anyway, and gran wouldn't let me do anything but rest, but I got off the couch to go tease Jalen and everything was fine, but Callie started barking, she'd been standing guard at the bottom of the steps all evening..." Amy trailed off and sighed. "Well, at least I know now that I'm not crazy. Definitely glad you got away from them. Though maybe this time around you'd give them heart burn?" Okay, bad joke.

Song was nodding along to Amy's story patiently until the joke caught her so off guard that she almost choked. Then she laughed. "Yeah, right. I may look all dark and tasty on the outside, but if they bit too deep, they'd get a mouthful of sap. Ugh." She was very done with that subject.
"So. Aside from a Heartless Halloween, how are you? I missed ya while you were gone."

"They'd need a mop eventually." A small grin followed, then she paused in her rocking. How was she...huh. The long version, the short version, or the amusing one?
"Well, I got fatter, and Eli's definitely a morning person, and I'm going insane waiting for him to pop out so I can cuddle him and use him against everyone." At this point, she smirked. "And let's see, what else...Oh! I was just kind of screwing around with making a dream catcher a few days ago, and I did the most awesome thing I wanted to show you. Or really, Eli did it. Or not."
Waving a hand around her head for a moment - hi, I'm a loon - she settled her feet flat on the floor and closed her eyes. She'd never really gotten the hang of just drawing the thing by imagination alone, so only a few seconds into it, her eyes were open again, focusing on the purplish-blue energy her fingers were beginning to weave. She hadn't gone very far before thin red lines began to mix with the others, quicky overtaking them. She paused, glancing at her friend.
"Check it out."

Once the subject of dream magic came up, Song pirked up and watched intently as Amy begin to weave. Her first instinct was to judge, try to measure how much power Amy was putting into the spell, how quickly she was casting and such, but she blocked those calculating urges out and simply observed, until the weaving unexpectedly changed.
"What are... Wait, you said Eli?" Now she looked very, very interested.

"Yep!" After a second, Amy reached forward, touching the red strands with a careful hand. "It's gotta be him, though I was expecting green or blue more than red. But it's...really damn cool. The first time it happened...I didn't mean to do it, I think I just wasn't trying hard enough to separate us."

Hesitantly, watching Amy's reaction as carefully as she watched the weaving, Song reached out and traced the line with her index finger, not quite touching. But her fingertip glowed with her own signiture lavender color, and the thread of magic flickered and swirled minutely as it came in contact with the red strands. There was a sense of... introduction about it. To Song it felt like the time her cat had given birth, and the still blind kittens had sniffed and ever so delicately pawed at her hand.

When Song reached out to touch the threads, her first thought was No, mine!, but she squished it pretty damn quick. He was fine, Song wouldn't hurt him. She still found herself squirming slightly though, and rubbed her belly to reassure herself.
"So, getting anything interesting? Maybe he feels different to you. He's just sun and grass and sky to me."

Song noticed the protective jealousy, even if it was suppressed quickly, and kept her encounter brief, disengaging carefully before falling back into her odd position in the chair.
"Well, I think kittens, but I'm just an animal person. Also you kind of looked like a mamma cat for a second there. I thought I might get scratched." She gave a small, teasing grin.

Amy let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, then stuck out her tongue in response. Mama cat was probably a pretty good comparison.
"Yeah, well...Oughta be interesting to see Jalen's reaction to things once Eli's actually here." She reached up and gently tapped on the weaving, watching it dissapate into mist.
"We've been talking about some other stuff, him and I, and he's gonna write some stories for Eli about his brothers. Just things from their childhoods. He thinks he should know about them. I'm fine with it, it's just a little weird, it was almost a thousand years ago." At that, she rolled her eyes. "And considering what we're dealing with now, the whole thing should be considered perfectly normal."

Song nodded at the idea of Jalen writing such stories, her eyes closing momentarily as if in thought. Then she chuckled. "These kids will certainly never lack for interesting stories... I think I'm jealous. If we take care of the nasty stuff going on, and they get a good, peaceful childhood here, just imagine... growing up in Radiant Garden, in Rainbow's End, with the Refugees as extended family... Things go well, they won't know just how lucky they are."

"I'd love to just say, 'Oh, of course everything'll be fine, we know what we're doing', but obviously we didn't know what the hell we were doing the first time. Or we did, and there's just something else out there screwing with us. I almost wish I'd have a dream to tell us what's really going on."
She sulked for a second, then gave the chair a light push, setting it into motion. "But I'm definitely gonna fight to give Eli a good life. He and Ashlyn, running around here laughing...I want to hear that. I don't want him growing up scared of things popping out of the shadows. ...Damn I miss being able to fight."

Her head tilted to the side again, and in such a manner that it seemed she wasn't even thinking about the gesture. A second later, her teeth closed lightly over her bottom lip - an even more reflexive habit of hers.
"Mm. I've been thinking about the Heartless..." There was a dark undertone to what otherwise sounded like a casual, musing comment. "And I keep remembering what Orpheus said, at the wedding. And last time he sent me a message over livejournal, too. First that the worlds were 'poisoned', and then that this universe was flawed. I wish he could have been a little more specific... but you know, it seems like a 'flaw', the Heartless coming back so suddenly."

Amy watched her, hand absently tapping against her stomach. The comment she'd made about wanting to smack Orpheus for being an unsharing know-it-all flashed through her mind for a second, then was forgotten as she suddenly thought of something else.
"Makes me think of the matrix, actually. Or digital Twilight Town. But life's already too damn weird without looking in that direction. Gives me a headache, actually." Almost as if just mentioning the word had started one, she frowned. "I just wish there was somebody we could ask who could tell us. I wish Aerith could talk to Radiant Garden, I wish...Oh hell. Wishing won't get us anywhere now, will it?"

"Heh." The laugh held little humor, but there was a spark in Song's grey-blue eyes. "I dunno about that. After all, 'when you wish upon a star...'" She shrugged, which looked somewhat odd in her position, shoulders rising like a dog's hackles as her head ducked slightly with the flow of the gesture. She often caught herself in these animalistic movements, and found it strangely amusing that her Nobody had entirely lost all such habits. Only with the return of her heart had she regained them.
But that was neither here nor there.
"It could be worse, I guess. It could have been an enemy we know nothing about. At least we're still in familiar territory."

"Except for the zombies," Amy felt compelled to point out. "And the evil mage illness of DOOM. Did I tell you Aerith thinks it's possible Eli might develop a mild form of that from time to time? I really hope not." She closed her eyes for a second, thinking. Familiar ground, definitely. In a way, she was actually glad they were back, if only because she knew where she stood now.
In between a rock and a hard place, she thought, and giggled, opening her eyes.
"Um, sorry. Just thinking."

Song had been searching for a light response, but her expression darkened suddenly, far more than it had at any point in their conversation so far. "I don't care... about the Heartless. They're deadly, but we've handled them before. It's... I don't want...." She seemed to be having trouble with this, and there was a look of distress in her eyes. It was rare for Song to look helpless.
"There shouldn't be anymore Nobodies," she finally said, the words coming out rushed. "Never again. I promised, when it started, that I would save them, and I did. We did. But I don't know if we could do it again..."

"Oh...oh Song..." Amy stopped rocking and scooted forward a little, reaching out to try and grab her friend's hand. "I don't-" I don't know what to say. 'It'll be okay' isn't gonna work. Shit.
"Well, if we have to do it again, then we'll just damn well have to try. That's really all any of this is, I think. Just trying and- getting lucky. But, it's not all on you, you know. We're all here."

"I know." Song shook her head, and pulled slightly away from Amy's soothing hand.
"But it doesn't change the fact... it was supposed to be over." She was looking away, glaring at an empty point in space. "And last time, it took the near-destruction of the universe and an incomplete Dreaming to fix them. Hell... if you want to be technical, Xemnas was the one who saved them all. Even me." Ignoring, for the moment, the fact that he'd also been the one to turn her back into a Nobody.
"Do you really think something like that will happen again?"

She felt a little sting as Song pulled away, but said nothing, simply settled back in her chair. Not everyone was as touchy-feely as she could be, but she still had her moments of being hurt by it.
"I don't know. I don't want it to. But honestly, last time, there wasn't this thing going on with the worlds, so it makes me think this time might be worse...but it took so long for-" Amy stopped, tilted her head a little. "Y'know, maybe the worlds where the barriers came up, maybe it's self defense. Yeah, it's bad everywhere, but maybe it's bad enough in those places that it's time for a last ditch effort-"
Shaking her head, she adjusted her glasses a little. "I don't think I've been getting enough sleep lately. No, scratch that, I know I haven't."

"Maybe..." It was a good thought, about the barriers, but Song was distracted now, and sinking deeply into the brooding she'd been trying to avoid. She'd shifted positions, sitting up and drawing her knees to her chest. She was thinking... If Orpheus were there, he would either be calm and collected, and he would be her strength. Or he would be hurt, as he had been before, and she would have to be strong for him. Either way, she would be empowered by his presence, rather than feeling alone and weak.
She didn't voice this, however, because that longing was not alone.
If Josiah were there, he would give her that weary smile, like a healing scar, and she would know, as she always did when she saw that smile, that no matter how bad things got, it would be alright in the end, as long as they were still alive...
"...Sorry. I guess I shouldn't keep you up any longer. Jalen might do horrible things to me." " Her words were dull, lacking the usual note of quiet humor.

"Naw, he'd just subject you to a lecture on...I dunno. How he hates soda bubbles going up his nose." Nonsensical, yes, but her own hurt was fading, and Song's was beginning to bleed through. Laughter was good, she just wasn't sure if she could manage to get her to do it. "Plus, you know, I was also thinking that you should learn a long range weapon. Maybe tomorrow you and I could practice with my sling shot. We could use gumdrops for ammo, and Jalen's ass could be the target. Fun for all, right?"

Amy's first attempt was a dead failure. However, by the time gumdrops and Jalen's ass were mentioned in the same sentence, the corner of Song's mouth had stretched in what might have been a smile. "Maybe... Not a bad idea..." she agreed slowly.
"His ass is skinny enough to be a decent match for a little Shadow."

"Hey, his ass is better than that!" She smiled herself, feeling a little relieved. "He won't be all that happy with us taking shots at him, but he'll take it as his due for being too damn overprotective. Okay, he has loads of reasons to, but if I start cowering and being all 'Oh, save me my prince!' I'll throw up."

Song just smiled tiredly as she rose from the armchair, unconsciously mirroring that look of Josiah's that she so missed.
"I don't think you or I have ever been the 'oh save me!' type. We're more the type who run headfirst into danger and hope our respective Prince Charmings can keep up."

"Lucky we're still breathing, yeah?" Amy forced herself up and moved over to hug Song, whether she wanted one or not. She only clung for a few seconds, then stepped back, looking her over.
"Remember, no swing sets in anything you show my kid, right? For now, anyway. You can explain all the weird stuff to him when he's twenty."

Song didn't return the hug, but she didn't pull away.
"Twenty? I was investigating that stuff for myself when I was thirteen. Ah, the wonders of the internet..."
Feeling a little guilty all of a sudden, because her own behavior had belatedly reminded her of Lilith, she moved forward to hug Amy this time, tightly. "But no swingsets if you say so. I promise. Now go to sleep."

Biting her lip a little, she returned the hug and nodded. "Right to sleep, but you'd better get some too. Don't make me send Gran in to tuck you in." It wasn't an idle threat.

"Huh. No worries there. I've got some dreaming to do." She was backing towards the door now.
"And on that note, dream well. Because if you don't the Angel of Dreams will haunt your sleeping mind with swingsets..."
With that she slipped out the door, but not before Amy could catch a glimspe of a small, mischievous smile.