[001]: Could it be a dream? The road to nowhere leads to me.

[pointofspecificity]

[There’s a point when using dream-share technology for any length of time where it becomes almost impossible to dream without it. It’s an inevitable consequence that every long-term dreamer discovers sooner or later, though whether it’s merely a starting point of the damage it can cause is another matter entirely. It’s been so long now since Arthur last dreamed of anything the natural way that he’s come to accept the fact that he probably never will again. And, considering the content of some of the dreams that once plagued him, he finds he doesn’t really mind as much as he perhaps should; it’s a small price to pay to continue working with something he loves.

That is, of course, until he returns home after months away doing a job he thought impossible and curls up on the sofa to relax, the exhaustion of it all finally catching up as he falls asleep.

He’s dreaming. But this is…different. It’s not how he remembers normal dreams to feel, he’s far too aware of the surroundings even if they are initially hazy. And, as far as he can tell, he isn’t connected to the PASIV. No, that he would remember, though he reaches for the red loaded die in his pocket and rolls it across the ground to make sure. But as he follows it with his eyes, it disappears. He frowns, unimpressed, and looks up from where he’s crouching to realise he’s in the middle of a road. It’s perfectly flat, appears endless, and the black tarmac burns beneath his touch. The sun is blinding, he realises, as he pushes himself to his feet and lifts a hand to shield his eyes, and he’s in the middle of nowhere with nothing but desert on either side.

Arthur does the only thing he can do and starts walking down the centre, staring forward into the overwhelming mass of blue sky that looks as if it’s meeting with the road far into the distance. He doesn’t know where the road is going to take him, or if he’ll ever get there, but he hopes he comes across company along the way. It’s always about the journey, after all, and Arthur can be a patient man, especially if it’s going to lead him to somewhere, something, or someone worthwhile.]

Comments

[smileforaliving.livejournal.com]

Depending on who you ask, Neal would be considered worthwhile, though Arthur may not hold that opinion right off the bat. No one would hold it against him.

He's been walking on the same road for what feels like ages but he doesn't let that dissuade him from knowing it's actually only been about ten minutes. Dreamtime always worked differently for him, stretching and skewing his sense of time so that the only way he can actually keep track is by counting off the minutes in his head.

So that's what he's doing as he heads down the road in the opposite direction as Arthur. He had decided that heading in the same direction as the blinding sunlight was simply not a good choice, so he starting the othe3r way instead.

He's rolled up his sleeves, abandoned his suit coat and is humming as he walks, looking a little bored as he does so. As utterly charming as walking down a blazing desert road may seem, he's grown bored with it and is delighted when he spies someone moving in the distance.

He waits until Aurthur is in earshot, the waves at him. "Hey," he says cheerfully, closing the distance between them with eager steps. "I was starting to wonder if I was actually going to see anyone here."

[pointofspecificity]

Being stranded in the middle of no where should be concerning, but if anything Arthur's currently consumed by fascination; he's grown accustomed to the dream world, to exploring and pushing boundaries. But this? This is proving to be something different entirely.

He doesn't notice the other man approaching from the opposite direction at first, which is further proof that something's amiss. But he does falter at the voice, the pace of his steps slowing until he stops before the man.

He gives the stranger a once over, suddenly wishing quietly that he'd thought to bring a gun along for the journey; the man seems all right, he thinks, but you never can be too careful.

"Hi," he offers warily, allowing an awkward moment of silence to pass as he tries to see if he's carrying any weapons; he relaxes somewhat when he finds nothing. "We are in the middle of nowhere," he points out, though credit to him for not sounding as abrupt as he usually might. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were a mirage." He pauses as a thought occurs to him. "Do you know where you're going?"

[smileforaliving.livejournal.com]

Neal is not as accustomed as some but he thinks that is perfectly understandable. Besides that, he's good at looking like he is accustomed which gets you pretty far, even in dreams.

He noes the way Arthur is looking at him and arches his brows. "I'm not armed," he informs with a shrug. He doesn't carry a weapon in the waking world, he highly doubts he's going to start doing so in his dreams.

Well, at least most of the time.

"Not a mirage," he assures with a laugh. "Though I would make a pretty good one. A dream though, in case no one's told you."

Shaking his head, he sighs. "I have no idea. I just know I ended up here and had a choice. Start walking one way or the other. I chose the way that would keep the sun out of my face." He peers at Arthur, studying him for a moment. "What about you?"

[guiltapalooza]

Willow's not one for a lot of walking; she's somewhere along the road, standing at the edge and frowning. She's gotten the hang of this dream thing and controlling it pretty fast, but that doesn't mean she's perfect at it, and at the moment, she's very much caught up in her own subconscious.

There's a deer on the other side of the road from her, a young fawn. There's something to it, a certain air of innocence and purity... It stands immobile, picking at the small patch of grass beneath its feet. Willow stares at it with her frown, concentrating hard. Her hand is hidden in her full skirt, a knife in it, unseen.

"Why isn't this working?" she mutters, frustrated.

[vacationisalie.livejournal.com]

Worthwhile company? Maybe. It simply seems as though, whilst Arthur's walking, Roxas simply appears beside him, content with simply following down the same road.

And perhaps he is. It isn't his dream, after all, so the air and space is clean and fresh by comparison. There's a spark of curiosity and intrigue there as well, one that eventually has him looking over at the man and asking in a quiet, low voice:

"Where are we going?"