2145/I Had A Bad Dream

I Had A Bad Dream
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Plot Room 4
Synopsis:	Molly phones Rashmi at two in the morning after a frightening dream, and Rashmi does her best to calm Molly's fears. The call ends with Rashmi falling asleep, and Molly booting up a video game so avoid doing exactly that. (Content Warning for imagery of implied death and serious injury)
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, Rashmi Terios

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Molly Skyline has posed:
Tokyo; Friday night, right before the weekend. ...Well, maybe more like Saturday morning at this point, it's two AM afterall. The city never sleeps, but the people who live in it certainly do, particularly teenagers -- and especially teenagers who happen to be Mahou, when it's not their night to be out on patrol. Not that one doesn't at least try to sleep lightly; you never know when there might be another world-ending threat that needs all hands on deck at... whenever it happens to be needed.

Sometimes a deep sleep is unavoidable, however. And sometimes you wake up from that deep sleep in sheets soaked with sweat.

In the Radiant Heart Dormitories, in one particular room, one student who happens to be a mahour teenager might be waking up to an alert from her device, signalling an incoming call from a certain best friend. Now, at... two in the morning.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The problem with telling Nicomachea that some people are on the 'Let alerts through, day or night or sleep' list is, Nicomachea listens. Thus *she* is immediately jolted out of sleep by << Call Incoming: Starcrash >> interrupting a confused dream of Chrono breaking his toe kicking a steel helmet.

Taking a moment to rub the sleepies out of one eye, she telepathically accepts the call, her mental voice is as muzzy as her regular one would be.

<< Nnnrrrmmmwhat's up, Molly-chan...? >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly takes a moment to respond; it's like she's in the middle of something that takes her away from being able to answer, eve nthough she... Oh well, actually she doesn't sleep with Starcrash literally on her person, he's a fairly significantly sized earing and Molly doesn't want to injur her earlobe if she starts tossing and turning.

<< Sorry, >> she answers, after about twenty-ish seconds. << Sorry, Rashmi-chan, I know it's like... middle of the night. >>

Well, actually it's not, it's super early morning. Close enough.

<< I just... >> The fidgeting over words, wether or not this is a silly complaint is almost palpable, but she's come this far.

<< I had a bad dream. >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Nnno, s'okay, >> Rashmi manages to mumble. << Tolja, call me anytime you need. >>

Levering herself up to a sitting position, Rashmi smothers herself with her blankets as best she's able. << What d'you remember? >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Again, Molly takes a minute to answer; Rashmi can almost hear the gears turning, as she's struggling not so much with what she remembers, but how to describe it. How indeed? She uhms and uhhs a couple of times, and after a moment, << God I'm thirsty, >> she mutters across the line. Apparently, she isn't using telepathic communication herself -- Starcrash must still be acting finicky about it -- as Rashmi can hear things like footsteps and a door opening.

<< So like," she starts, dropping her voice closer to a whisper, while Rashmi can her her interacting with a refridgerator, << It's... I don't know what's important, or not? But it's almost like, a bunch of things that don't all fit together, somehow? Like... I... >>

She returns to her room, or so one might surmise from the sound of a door closing again. << I crashed a car, >> she answers at last. << Like for real crashed a car, I was definitely racing and defintely going real fast, just... I as in it but I wasn't. And then it was like, I was in this place that looked like an operating room, except like... have you seen Event Horizon? No you havne't, you wouldn't watch that, but like... it was like it was out of that, all dark and scary and I was on this table in the middle, and there was stuff like X-Rays of me all around and there were people mumbling and stuff... >>

Molly trails off, though she's obviously struggling with more. << I dunno if this stuff is like, 'in order' if you see what I mean, >> she adds, while she's still working out the gist of the rest.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
True to form, Rashmi is very, very silent as Molly explains what she can possibly explain. Dreams are dreams, and sometimes they mean nothing. but when you're magical, and you've known a seer *and* a Time Lord, you don't discount something just because it's a dream.

<< ...I do see what you mean, >> she says, finally. << I just wish I had any idea what *it* meant. Is it all a vision of the future? Is none of it? Even if a *little* isn't real, I... Feel like you ought to be a little bit more careful in fights. If the car crash is an omen, it sounds like it's an warning against being too reckless? >>

Raking a hand through long and sleep-tangled hair, Rashmi sighs into the darkness. << But if nothing is sure, then I *can't be sure. I get why you're worried, Molly-chan... I am too. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< There's more, >> Molly replies, though it takes her a moment again to order her thoughts. << The x-rays... there were... parts missing. Bones that should be there but weren't, except that in other x-rays they were still there. Like, Rashmi-chan, it was *terrifying*, I had to get up and change before I called you because I was so drenched in sweat, like... I'm gonna try to go back to sleep on the sofa, I don't wanna go back to my bed. >>

Molly sucks in a breath, and lets it out slowly. << The last thing I saw, or... felt or whatever, I'm not sure, but you know like, those puppets, what're they-- marionettes! Those. It was like I was one of those, somehow, there were just... all these strings or chains or something, all around my arms and legs, all just... making me dance or... something. I'm not quite sure what. >>

Molly sucks in her breath once again, and lets it out slowly. << I'm not worried Rashmi-chan, I'm scared. I don't know if my dreams mean anything at all but, but I don't want them to mean anything, even if I was having dreams about bunnies and butterflies, I don't want to have dreams that mean anything, I just want to have dreams where I can wake up and go wow that was dumb or whatever and then go to school and forget I ever had it. >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< ...I'm getting scared too, Molly-chan, >> Rashmi answers, the sincerity *evident* in her mental voice. << I just... you'd think there'd be *some* kind of dream mahou with all this nonsense! Someone we could *go* to for answers. Or even an idea what to *do!* Rrrrrrgh... >>

Her hands curls up into a fist, clenching a handful of hair and tugging. << ...I'll tell Chrono about this, Molly-chan. And see if anyone has any idea how to explain it. Until then... be careful, okay? We'll watch out for you. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< What if I'm supposed to be the Dream Mahou everyone's supposed to go to for the dream answers?! >> Molly's deep seated worries seep through into her voice, as she sounds stressed like a piece of metal being bent past where it's supposed to go. << I hope not, I really, really don't want that to be me. And it shouldn't be, right? I'm just... I'm just Molly Skyline, Artillery Mage, who scorches the Earth until her battery runs out and then goes in search of fried chicken or something. There's no reason for me to be a dream mahou or... whatever. Right? >>

Molly sighs, and then it's at least vaguely evident that she's holding a hand over Starcrash to muffle the sounds of her chugging a glass of milk. Well mostly muffling it.

<< Sorry, >> she mumbles. << I'm really glad I can call you, Rashmi-chan. Thank you for telling Chrono, I hope he has some ideas, but just... please don't tell anyone else, okay? I don't... I just... I don't need everyone else to know. And, I'll be careful in fights, I'll try to stay at artillery range and not be like, tryikng to go toe to toe with anything. >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Molly-chan, if you are then we'll figure it out so you can do it better, >> Rashmi says gently. << You don't have to figure this out on your own, remember... And if not, then that's a whole nother bucket of shrimp. Anyway I don't *think* you are, Chrono never said anything about dream magic. ...Well he might have, but he was doing that thing where you can't tell if he's serious or joking so probably joking. *Anyway.* >>

<< I'm glad you can call me too, Molly-chan... I don't know how much *help* I was, but if I was any help at all I'm glad. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< Yeah, I... >> Molly sighs audibly, and there's some sounds of her moving around again. << I'm really glad I can call -- I said that already, didn't I? i'm all messed up and stressed out now, sorry if I'm repeating myself. >> She pauses for a moment. << Yeah, actually, you're a huge help, Rashmi-chan. Just... Just you listening, makes everything feel better. The only thing that's changed in the last, like, five minutes is that now someone else knows, and I know that someone cares about what happens to me and will be there if I need her. So... Thanks you. I'm really grateful for that. There's nothing better than a friend who'll back you up when life's rought. >>

Molly settles herself back down somewhere, probably on a couch, and breaths out audibly. << Okay. I bet you wanna go back to sleep so you can be not a zombie at school tom-- It's Saturday morning, isn't it? Don't go to school tomorrow, or today for that matter. I'll let you go back to sleep, I'm... I'm just gonna play video games until I fall asleep again. I don't wanna sleep right now. >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< You're sure? Because I can stay... up... >> Even as she tries to pretend otherwise, her yawn is so big it even intrudes on her thoughts. << ...Yeah okay that's not happening. Sorry, Molly-chan... But yeah I should probably sleep. Don't stay up too late, okay? And after school we can go back to Game Crown and just have some fun for a bit, how's that sound? >>

<< ...But yeah I should... sleep... talk to you tomorrow, okay...? Glad I could... help... >>

<< MASTER ASLEEP, >> Nicomachea chimes in. << COMMUNICATION SESSION WILL SELF-TERMINATE IN THREE MINUTES. REST WELL, SUBJECT 'Molly.' >>