RE: Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen
07-13-2017, 01:58 PM
Beautiful white sand stretches out behind Alice, and a large body of water stretches out in front of her. She sits there, blinking. Her eyes scanned, without moving. Beside her, a small table, with a book and a glass of... tea? With ice cubes in it? Normally Alice wasn't in the habit of drinking cold tea, but the sun was beating down pretty hard, and so she was tempted to reach for it. . .
But first, she looked around some more. Strange trees. Cloth strung up between them. Pretty color fabric. Strange ball on the beach... A big umbrella is set up next to the hanging fabric, casting a delightful looking shadow over it.
There's that comedian again. Alice allows her a soft laugh. That guy gets no respect. Ahhh. She notes the bar. Maybe more sleep-drinking! The music is alright. It's very... interesting? They're singing about someone named Rhonda. . .
( Chess... I understand the game. Dominoes, as well. A variety of entertainment. Sadly, I've never had anyone to play with. As for my 'position'. . . I would hardly call myself a mentor. I am doing everything in my power not to fall into such a role. It is. . . Dangerous. For Alice, and especially myself. )
Alice stared at the people that walked past. They seemed familiar, but strange, shadowy ghosts... Memories? She can't help but wonder if they were people she once met before. Maybe they were the townspeople. That would be weird, considering she hasn't seen that many of them. . .
Her head snapped around and-
Qhen sat down in the strange chair on the other side of the little table. They put a large multicolored drink down, in an equally large and beautiful glass cup. They settled back, crossed one leg over the other, and folded their arms behind their head... all while wearing an ankle length red robe.
Qhen looked at Alice. They picked up their glass, and took a sip from a straw- but not one made of metal. It looked like the same material that the ball was made out of. They put their drink back down, and went back to reclining, putting some incredibly dark glasses over their eyes.
Alice looked down at themselves. A moment later, she was curled up with her knees up against her chest.
Qhen sat calmly and shrugged.
Alice looked around. She thought hard for a moment.
She concentrated, and a moment later she was laying back, a little more relaxed now that she had a long sundress on. The tea was delicious. She wondered if there was a construct in her head that was responsible for that tea. She would like to thank them.
With that, Qhen gets up and leaves Alice to her thoughts. She pulls her knees up to her chest again, and stares off into the distance. She wondered if Qhen couldn't see all the shadows walking around, considering they walked through on on their way. She also realized they WEREN'T just walking around... some of them looked like they were... playing? There were a bunch laying around on the sand, and there were even hazy shapes floating in the water.
But first, she looked around some more. Strange trees. Cloth strung up between them. Pretty color fabric. Strange ball on the beach... A big umbrella is set up next to the hanging fabric, casting a delightful looking shadow over it.
There's that comedian again. Alice allows her a soft laugh. That guy gets no respect. Ahhh. She notes the bar. Maybe more sleep-drinking! The music is alright. It's very... interesting? They're singing about someone named Rhonda. . .
( Chess... I understand the game. Dominoes, as well. A variety of entertainment. Sadly, I've never had anyone to play with. As for my 'position'. . . I would hardly call myself a mentor. I am doing everything in my power not to fall into such a role. It is. . . Dangerous. For Alice, and especially myself. )
Alice stared at the people that walked past. They seemed familiar, but strange, shadowy ghosts... Memories? She can't help but wonder if they were people she once met before. Maybe they were the townspeople. That would be weird, considering she hasn't seen that many of them. . .
? Wrote:"Hey! Zoning out on such a nice day?"
Her head snapped around and-
Alice Wrote:"...Qhen? What are you doing here?"
Qhen sat down in the strange chair on the other side of the little table. They put a large multicolored drink down, in an equally large and beautiful glass cup. They settled back, crossed one leg over the other, and folded their arms behind their head... all while wearing an ankle length red robe.
Alice Wrote:"Better question- What are you wearing?"
Qhen looked at Alice. They picked up their glass, and took a sip from a straw- but not one made of metal. It looked like the same material that the ball was made out of. They put their drink back down, and went back to reclining, putting some incredibly dark glasses over their eyes.
Qhen Wrote:"I think I could ask you the same thing."
Alice looked down at themselves. A moment later, she was curled up with her knees up against her chest.
Alice Wrote:"What AM I wearing?! And where are we... and why are you here?!"
Qhen sat calmly and shrugged.
Qhen Wrote:"I dunno. Where are we? You tell me, Alice."
Alice looked around. She thought hard for a moment.
Alice Wrote:"... Sand... Water. It goes on forever... I guess- a dream? My dream? I recognize that guy over there from the last time I was asleep... When we fought. So- yeah. A dream. Or we're dead."
Qhen Wrote:"What is the difference?"
Alice Wrote:". . . If this was a dream, I would like to think I would be wearing more clothing. None of this makes sense. Then again- if this is a dream, and I'm conscious of it. . ."
She concentrated, and a moment later she was laying back, a little more relaxed now that she had a long sundress on. The tea was delicious. She wondered if there was a construct in her head that was responsible for that tea. She would like to thank them.
Alice Wrote:"I don't know what the difference between death and dreaming is, for us. There might not be much of one. I also don't know why you're here. Can you do me a favor and forget- everything, starting from us showing up here, to just a couple minutes ago?"
Qhen Wrote:"Does that mean I can still talk about how you were giggling about how many teeth I had when you were all loopy from the sound weapons of the choirbugs?"
Alice Wrote:". . . You must be really Qhen, because if this was a dream, you would be easier to be around."
Qhen Wrote:"I'll take that as a comment. So. Is this it? Hang out here until we wake up?"
Alice Wrote:". . . I think so."
Qhen Wrote:"Well, that sounds boring. I'm going to go take a walk. See how far your dream goes. Maybe I'll go swimming."
With that, Qhen gets up and leaves Alice to her thoughts. She pulls her knees up to her chest again, and stares off into the distance. She wondered if Qhen couldn't see all the shadows walking around, considering they walked through on on their way. She also realized they WEREN'T just walking around... some of them looked like they were... playing? There were a bunch laying around on the sand, and there were even hazy shapes floating in the water.
Alice Wrote:". . . You're there, right? Voices? Empty? One of you is there. If not both. Where am I? What's with all this sand and water? What's with the book, the tea, the shadows not quite recognized, not quite forgotten? Are you trying to show me something?"
Alice Wrote:"and what am i wearing and why is qhen here? if that was your doing, we are going to need to have a talk about that"