In the woods with no one around...

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[The forest is dense enough to inhibit light, leaving a dappled pattern of shadow on the ground as the thin sun filters through the leaves. There are no obvious landmarks, but Mercury walks purposefully, as if she knows the way.

For all her bravado, the distant sound of a waterfall grows no closer; and when she comes to a small pile of rocks, she stops short.

She was here just a moment ago.

Cautiously now, Mercury keeps a wary eye on her surroundings and stays alert to every noise and rustle. To be sure of herself, she slips off one glove and lays it beside the rocks.

Straightening, the senshi moves forward again. But although she seems to make progress, ultimately she finds herself back at the pile yet again - and the glove remains exactly where she left it. She is lost.

Or trapped.]

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[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[Cloud doesn't consider himself the most observant but he still notices the change in her. For a minute, he's simply silent, looking at her and then, voice low as always, he asks:]

What was that string, Ami?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

That string was someone deciding to help us. [It's not nearly adequate enough of an explanation.]

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[since they seem to be in no immediate danger, Cloud will simply stay where he is - waiting for the rest of the explanation. It's not demanding; she can 'distract' him any time she wants with a dozen other things but it's strange to see her so closed in and he can't decide if she wants to tell him something or not.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[When she wakes up, she'll decide this dream self was deluded, for the simple reason that she's drifted so far from Kunzite's ideals that she can hardly imagine he'd still pick her up (but she'll be so relieved that he did, that she hasn't been abandoned).

Right now, it's simply the fulfillment of their promise.]

The leader of the shitennou, Kunzite. He has power in this forest. Probably, that thread came from him. [Who else could it be?]

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[o-kay... She's mentioned the shitennou before. He'll give a grunt and a single nod to show he heard. It does make him wonder about this Kunzite though. Because it was either the forest or the man that's made Ami go quiet like this. Either way he doesn't pry. Instead he looks around them and asks the obvious question.]

Where are we?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

We've returned to the human world. The Dark Kingdom is within a separate subspace dimension. [She gestures to indicate their surroundings.]

This is the science building of the university. It may seem strange, but it's one of the places, along with a nearby bridge, where the borders between those two dimensions is at its easiest to cross.

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[he'll nod, that single chin dip but his eyes go back to her after another scan of the room. He's still waiting.]

Now what?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[This is what she likes about Cloud: He's quick to understand the situation as she explains it.]

Now we return. This is only the dream world.

Cloud. Because of you, I started to move again.

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[he looks at her. And blinks. Of course, it's just a dream. It makes sense. Except he hadn't thought it until she'd said it. His brows do come down though at her second statement and he'll gift her with an amazingly articulate:]

What?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She slips into an explanatory, almost didactic tone.]

This is a part of the dream world; whether the human world within it, or the Dark Kingdom. Sooner or later, we'll wake up from this.

Does that make it futile?

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[he was actually talking more about the 'her starting to move' bit with his question but he'll just accept her other answer instead with a soft sound low in his throat. At her question though, his eyebrows come up. Luckily she caught him today. Not tomorrow. Because today he can seriously think over her question and then shake his head. Cloud's not the best at explaining things sometimes but he'll try.]

If we're both real and we just cross in our dreams than - no. If one of us is just part of the dream than it's something the dreamer needs to hear but can't work out themselves. So the answer's still no. Tonight was important. Dream or not. I'm glad I got to be a part of it with you.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She's not going to revisit that statement. In fact, the misunderstanding was at least half intentional on her part.]

Dreams are sometimes just dreams. [She doesn't really believe that, not somewhere deeper inside her; she gives them more significance than most people might, in fact.]

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

Sometimes. I don't think this is one of those.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Does he really want this story? 'Kunzite is the one who brought me to the Dark Kingdom. When I betrayed him, he would have killed me here. That timeline changed.']

You shouldn't give them too much importance. Besides, we're already away from the forest.

[And then, after a pause that suggests this sort of thing is harder for her to say than telling him the full story would be:]

Thank you for helping in that.

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[his eyes lift and he watches her for a moment. He understands by now what her verbal 'thank you' means. After a minute, he simply nods, a single duck of his chin. Anything else would probably embarrass them both. Instead, he raises his face. If it's a dream that means it's time to go. Morning and deliveries can't be far away. It's the first time he's consciously been aware enough in a dream to decide to wake up. His body starts to blur at the edges, trailing white light tinged with blue - and the winding whisper of black soot.]

I'll see you around than, I guess.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Until later.

[It's a nice change from goodbye.]