Closed [The Dreaming Lady] Nightmares and Demons (Harrier)

[Cin-Cin]

TimeStamp: Summer Day 85, 513 The Dreaming Lady was a spa resort that Cin-Cin often occupied after long days at work, or stressful days. Here she could be alone and not worry about anything but herself. There were people to wait on her and comfort her. Take care of almost all her needs. Today was one of those days, and Cin resorted to the Dreaming Lady once again. True, it was getting still pretty hot outside in the Summer air, and maybe the steam from the spa was just making it worse. But Cin felt peace here, so much peace she forgot all her worries with the horses and with her boss. With the lack of food and the endangered Wind Eagles. It was all gone. And the Dreaming Lady is where it all disappeared. The routine at the Dreaming Lady was always the same, yet it never got boring. First she got a massage. As she walked in to the resort she was greeted by a perky Inartian woman who led her to her massage chamber. She was then greeted with another Inartian, a tall young girl her asked her to strip to her undergarments and then lay on the padded massage table. Cin gladly did so, she was used to this request from them. The table was like a bed, yet a bit more comfortable. Cin-Cin guessed it was probably made of feathers… She didn’t think her bed was made of feathers… Her massage began as the Masseuse place a small towel over her almost bare bottom and then took a pleasant smelling oil of some kind and rubbed it into her back. The oil was smooth and cool as the woman gently, but firmly spread it over her back, shoulders and neck. She used her fingers and palms of her hands to press it into Cins pale skin, kneading it into the creases in her shoulders and neck. It was delightful and Cin smiled in pleasure. As soon as that was finished the Masseuse oiled up her hands again and began the real part of her massage. This part was where the Inartian woman would rub out the knots in her tensed shoulders and neck. Release all the stress that had built up since the last time she had come to the Dreaming Lady. Cin-Cin sighed happily as the lady coaxed away all of her worries about the horses during the heat, about her anger with her demanding boss, Hansi Nadar, about the rumbling in her stomach that came with not having enough food for herself. Closing her eyes she just enjoyed what came with the massage; the almost painful, but comfortable pressure of the woman’s warm hands on her spine and collarbone, the humid air that was like a warm, damp blanket that enveloped her bare body, the soft padded bed beneath her that supported her small weight. It was an experience that Cin could almost fall asleep to, if it weren’t for her leg. Cin-Cin comes to the Dreaming Lady quite often. So much that the manager, Solos Garde, knows and remembers Cin’s special condition. Her leg, permanently scarred with the bite mark of a bear always had a tiny, but constant ache that could never be satisfied. This was one of the main reasons she came to the Dreaming Lady so much. Here they took care of her upper thigh, easing its pain, at least for a little while. But before it could be temporarily healed, all those knots of stress and balls of pain had to be relieved with a massage. Solos Garde knew this and always reminded her masseuses about this too. This part of her massage was always near the very end, so she could enjoy about a bell of peace before the pain started. But it always came and it was a bitter sweet start to her relief. The woman gently spread more cooling oil over her rough patch and began gently, but Cin immediately tensed up. The Masseuse ran her hands over each scar that decorated her leg, gently pressing and rubbing, it was painful, but it worked. Cin could feel the pain, although more than ever, slowly easing out her leg and the stress going with it. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t pleasant, but it soon was gone, leaving only a tense ache that dominated her thigh. Her massage was over.

[Cin-Cin]

Slowly she sat up and the Masseuse helped her off the high table. Cin, though, waved her off after she had safely set foot on the floor and limped over to the nearest spa. The steaming hot water instantly began to sooth her leg and she sighed in relief. She sat with he back to the wall, her legs spewed out before her in the clear water. She was wearing nothing but a simple pair of undergarments, but she didn’t mind, there was nothing to be embarrassed about here, she was so regular she knew everyone and they knew her. She called the masseuse over, soon after she had relaxed into the water. “If you would be so kind, can you please fetch my pack?” She asked the woman. She nodded her head and quickly scampered off, returning shortly with Cin-Cin’s backpack. Luckily Cin puts her arms on the edge of the pool, so they were not wet as she opened and grabbed her pipe, already prefilled with a bit of tobacco. “Please, if you will, light this with a torch somewhere and bring it back? Thank you so much.” She said and the woman once again scampered off, returning shortly with a lit pipe which she handed back to Cin promptly. Yes, Cin-Cin smoked. It was something she did mostly when she was extremely stressed. It calmed her down. But here at the Dreaming Lady she forgot who she was and what she did, here she did whatever suited her fancy, and she regularly smoked when she came to the Lady. It only furthered to calm and please her more. She stayed in the heated bath for about a half a bell, smoking her pipe, puff, by puff, blow by blow and nursing her aching leg. It was extremely relaxing, the steam opening her pores and clearing her sinuses, the warm water penetrating and easing the ache of not only her leg but her sore muscles from the massage as well. She spread out her arms on the edge of the pool, to keep her from falling in, and laid her head on the wall behind her, she closed her eyes. After a few minutes of rest the same masseuse gently got her attention by her by tapping her rested shoulder. “Would you like to go to the healer now, Miss Cin?” She asked politely. Cin-Cin sighed, but nodded at the girl, who then slowly helped her out of the pool. She was still nursing her injured leg. But the water had soothed the ache quite well and she once again waved off the help and slowly walked to the healer’s room, a warm towel wrapped around her torso and pipe still alight in her mouth. The healer wouldn’t mind the smoke.

[Cin-Cin]

As she walked into the healer’s room, she was greeted by her favorite healer, Orian Malda. She was an Inartian, and an elder one at that. She was slow, but very good at what she did. Orian greeted her with a smile and Cin hoped up onto one of the beds where she lay, with her head and shoulders propped up against the wall, with a soft pillow between the two. Cin-Cin wasn’t all sure what Malda did to her leg that made it not ache for the rest of the day, but she was sure she always did the same thing. Cin, though, would have to thank the manager again for sending her Malda, she did such a great job. Cin closed her eyes, continuing to puff on her pipe, although she could feel that the tobacco was running out… only a few more chimes left in her pipe. That was okay though, Orian wouldn’t take that long. She began by rinsing her hands in a cold water, which she then used to cleanse Cin-Cin’s leg with a damp rag. It was a shock, the water was very cold, and very different from the steaming hot water she had just been soaking in. So Cin flinched just a tiny bit, until she relaxed again under the woman’s soft hands. After that Malda started to spread a cool cream over Cin-Cin’s thigh. The cream, which Cin figured Orian made while Cin was getting a massage or soaking in the spa, was a stinging kind of cool. Like a tea with too much mint. Orian then massaged the cream into Cin’s leg, putting pressure on the healed wound and Cin flinched again. She reapplied the cream until the amount that was in the clay bowl was gone and Cin could swear that the pain was gone. Cin suspected that the cream was really only a kind of numbing agent. But it worked, for at least 12 hours so she didn’t complain. The important thing was that the pain was gone while she had her visions in the next room. Her next step into the full Dreaming Lady experience was her favorite. She was lead, by her previous masseuse, into an oval shaped room, carved into the mountain. She was then gently place onto a soft feather pallet where her guide then left her. She closed her eyes. Here they came. This room was completely dark, so Cin immediately closed her eyes, not even trying to have them adjust to the pitch darkness. She sat cross legged on the pallet, wanting to stretch and bend her leg a little before she lay down on the bed. She did a little meditation first, deep breaths to soak in as much fumes as fast as possible. She was anxious to get to the dreams. They were always so strange and awesome. It wasn’t long though before she lay down on the bed, feeling that the dreams were close to come. She let her eyes rest themselves, as if she was falling asleep. And then they began.

[Harrier]

In darkness, there is beauty...

Cin-Cin would open her eyes not to the Lady, but to a world of shadows. They stretched far beyond the breadth of her vision, reaching over the horizon and on into eternity where a tiny twinkle of light hung like flotsam on water. Yet, it was not the only light to blink in the ebony expanse. When she looked up, there were a multitude of Stars, a blanket of them that blinked and swayed in the forever of space. A twisting expanse of galaxies, stars, and worlds that never ended.

One twinkling light happened to lie very close. So close, one believed they could reach out and touch it! It beckoned to the on-looker like the call of a lover after too long apart. Its proximity could easily be within reach and should she lean-close, she would see a Star shining true. A little blazing sun, ionic arches rising from its rippling red and orange surface, jettisons of multi-colored gasses, pinpricks of darkness that spun like storms across the searing 'scape that it was. It was captivating and would draw Cin closer and closer, beckoning her within its pulsating glow, calling her to reach forth and take the little star from the blackness it was surrounded by.

You could not see the sinisterness of it, though, the signs that countered the song of allurement, urging one NOT to touch this pretty little thing. The blazing star was that attractive, a lure of safety in the darkness that overwhelmed. Cin could not see the shape that this little bobbing light was attached to, the monsterous mouth of stabbing, cage-like teeth. She could not see the multitude of eyes peering at her from above those jaws while the little bobbing light beckoned her closer.

There was only the pretty little light in the beautiful darkness, calling and calling and calling her closer and closer. That sea of shadow that felt heavy on the bones and body alike, that seemed almost to slow her down even as she was urged nearer and nearer that pretty little light, like trying to swim through sludge. All the signs of fear were missing as the fish was drawn to the lure of the fisherman.

[Cin-Cin]

Her heavy eyes awoke to a complete blackness. And for a tick she thought maybe she had not lapsed into the dream world quite yet. Until a tiny light appeared before her. As her small eyes adjusted to the scene she noticed that the one twinkle was not alone. Yet instead there were thousands upon millions of tiny little glitters poked onto air around her. It was as if she was outside looking at the star where the Gods resided. Yet she did not feel the warm wind or smell the fresh air. And the lights seemed too close to be way up in the sky. Especially the first one she spotted just moments before. She could till feel the cot below her and she struggled to grasp the floor with her bare feet and not fall. The light seemed only feet away from her face, maybe it wasn't an illusion and maybe she could reach out and grab a star, or a God, of her own. As she balanced herself she looked back up at the light and saw that it was indeed very, very close. So close in fact that she could see the burning ball of red and orange fire that fueled its light. It looked like a burning ball of colored glass as behind the red and orange she noticed blue and green, a bit of purple. Ignoring the fact that the tiny ball was on fire, she reached out her hand to grab it, it's alluring pull too strong to resist. She slowly closed her small hand around the even smaller star, felt its warm on her skin and a small wince of pain as her skin came in contact with the burning heat. But she did not pull away, instead she watched as the small light went out underneath her hand and as it seemed that the other lights glowed brighter and maybe even came a little closer to the girl. She pulled her prize toward her, only to find that it had more resistance than she thought. It was a if the ball was connected to a rope and that connected to a wall or something sturdy. Her brow ruffled in confusion as she tried to pull free her new possession. But it only tightened the rope until not slack was left. Frustrated she took a couple of steps closer where the rope gave her more room and she opened her hand again to gaze at the small wonder before her, forgetting about the 'rope' and anything it may be attached to.

[Harrier]

The light bobbed and flickered in Cin's hand as she held it, enchanting and entrancing, beckoning her closer. The trap had been set and the chasm of bladed teeth opened unseen by this tiny morsel as she came nearer. But the light was so calm, so unassuming, a tiny and blazing sun of hope and promise of safety...

Until the light caught against one of the multitude of eyes that stared at this speck of flesh soon to be dinner. The dream-wrought monster opened its giant maw wider still, yawning until its jaws hung wide before Cin, a demonic sign of doom for the pretty little red-head caught by its lure. The creature struck, lightning-quick, providing no hope for escape, to close its giant teeth around the red-head, lure and all. There was such a perverse sense of doom with it, the only thing one could do was scream...

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No sooner did the monster strike, seeking to swallow Cin up then the nightmare changed again, quick as an arrow from a bow.

Gone was the light-lure and sparkly darkness with looming fiend. Gone was the sense of peace. Instead, flowers filled the air with a sweet perfume. Cin-Cin would find herself no longer in darkness, but in a field of the sweetest roses. Their bloody petals swayed to music so faint if you blinked you'd miss it on the wind. Their thorns were like arms, waving in time to the cadence that sung so lightly in the air, like revelers at the Inclement. Maybe this was the Inclement, just painted different to celebrate Spring.

If she looked hard enough, she might find similarities too. Around the valley, stone rose to arch overhead, like the walls of the dance-club. There was even a broken line of trees that looked a bit like the bar, as well as a rocky outcropping that had the vague semblance of musicians. Were they moving? Or was it just the wind?

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