The Ones Who Dream

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Common Vani Nari

Once upon a forest's sand, there once was a former young man who stood in the eye of the forest's glow, so he could stop, think, and know. Know what, he couldn't say, but he continued to look at the rays of light that beamed in the sand. "I wonder." Said the former young man.

Gale didn't know what he wondered. But it didn't matter, for he was in a dream. At the time he was unaware. In this dream, wonder was all there was, for the forest was made of bamboo. Bamboo that stood higher than any tree could possibly stand. There was no breeze and the light was a soft glow of a sunset. The forest was well lit despite the canopy of leaves above. It was sunset. Or sunrise, depending on how you interpreted it. The light was tinted yellow with a hint of orange and it reflected beautifully of the sand. The sand itself was full of wonder for it was finer than anything Gale had seen. Though as of now, it was normal. It was all normal.

In this dream, Gale came here everyday. Despite that, however, he still learned from the awe and wonder of these woods. And as he stood in a circle of light, his eyes scanned the vastly wide spread bamboo that seemed to have been carefully placed in a specific spot. Everything looked unnatural in every way, yet it felt and seemed natural, and Gale liked it. He didn't know why. Maybe that's what he wondered.

The man was wearing nothing more than a brown pair of pants and he was clean shaven, something he hadn't been for a long time. His hair was shaggy still, though it looked well groomed despite the wavy and curly nature. His eyes matched the colour of the bamboo, and his eyes followed the bamboo. He eyed each tree before looking at the next one, just a few paces further away. Then the next. Then the next. Reasons for so also unknown.

The artist walked slowly over to the nearest tree, his footprints left in the sand behind him. His long fingers grazed the smooth outer layer of the bamboo. He then grabbed the small branch that sprouted a few leaves and picked it off, running his fingers across it like a feather.

He liked it here. He really did. But as time passed he felt like... someone was suppose to be here. Like he was expecting someone. Like most other things he wasn't sure who, or why, but it still made sense in his mind.

[Reven Heath]

Soft, brown eyelashes fluttered open to the yellow, orange glow of an unnatural world. Hazel eyes stared forward, taking in the sky as it bore down on her in a sheet of dark blue sprinkled with illuminating spheres of light. To her, it was as if someone had taken paint and thrown it across the sky. Even as she reached her hand out to grab at the light, it seemed as though she was leaning into the sky, about to fall into it and become part of the lights, as if they were trying to pull her in.

Reven sat up slowly, her hands sliding against the fine texture of the grain beneath her that she knew to be sand. Rubbing her fingers across it, the Kelvic began grasping at the sand, clutching it tightly just to feel the fine particles slip away from her flesh. It was a funny feeling, one she was not use to and she took great pleasure and time rolling in the sand just to feel it against her skin. A child like laugh sparked from her but she cared not of its innocence even though her behavior was much than that of a child. The laugh echoed out into the unnatural world so much that the Kelvic halted in her actions and laid against the sand to listen to the echo. It reverberated around her, never ending, and just before she was about to shout out her annoyance for the sound, it stopped.

Jerking up right, Reven looked around her once more. It was a beautiful place full of bamboo that towered high above the Kelvic. The colors from the sunrise danced lightly across the sky as if reflected there purposely to lure her into its wonder. Or was it a sunset? The way it shimmered against the deep blue of the sky, she could not decipher if it was sunrise or sunset but that was perfectly alright. She was comfortable inside the strange would, even though donning her frame was a thin, over sized tunic that could be mistaken for a dress.

Rising from her spot on the sand, Reven ventured forward, toward another place other than the one she was at. She didn't know where she was going but somehow, felt compelled to move to a specific location. It was as if she was manipulated there, as if it was perceived as free will but really, she was some kind of puppet moving along. A tick later and she began seeing foot prints in the sand. The glow from the sun shined upon the prints in such a way that it was like a glowing path to follow and as she did, her foot fell in the very same spots that she same the prints.

A moment later and she came upon a strange standing ideally by a tree, as if they had been waiting for her and she knew that they knew they were waiting. "Have you been here long?" Reven asked as though she was somehow late and didn't want to keep them waiting. "It's so easy to get lost..."

She inspected the stranger she felt she knew so well. From behind, she could tell they were framed well while only sporting pants. Reven didn't know what he looked like but felt like she knew what his features were suppose to be.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Common Vani Nari

Gale's fingers carefully brushed the bamboo branch like it was a delicate flower, though ironically, the branch was as stiff as a brick. But that didn't stop him from treating it as though it were delicate.

But his mind was pulled away when another voice broke his silence and his smile stretched across his face. He swiftly turned around, and by doing so, turned the branch into a long, elegant feather,"Reven! It's so good to see you!" He said with glee,"I hope you're not feeling blue, for now's not the time to be so. I have something I want you to know." He spoke with confidence and sincerity, giving off the effect that he no doubt knew the woman well and was a fond friend.

Whether the woman recognized him or not, his appearance wasn't entirely distorted. His green eyes and gentle smile were the same and his long limbs proved to be the man that many knew as the artist if Zeltiva. He was no longer an artist, but the way his fingers moved still resembled of that of an artist, and it showed clearly when he twirled the feather between his finger tips. "Please, sit with me." He requested as he took a few paces towards her and took his own seat in the soft sand. The sand itself appeared to looked like water when one sat down, reflecting their faces and bodies perfectly. "If you want to stand, then feel free." He also offered, though wished she would take a seat beside him.

The blonde man twirled the feather some more, moving it quickly from finger to finger in a way that didn't seem possible, though he didn't notice. The feather slowly changed colours as it moved along, starting as pure white and then shifting to a sandy brown and proceeding to darken to tree bark like colours before finally stopping at black. Though, nothing about this seemed unusual, for his movements were the same and Gale didn't mind the feather. He actually enjoyed it change of it's colours, and when he switched the feather to his other hand, which was restored to his full five fingers, slowly shifted back to white in reversed order it did when it turned black. Once it was white again, and when Reven decided how to confront him, he held the delicate looking feather out to her, as if it was a sword he was bestowing upon her.

[Reven Heath]

Reven watched as the man spun around with a grin on his face as if she was the best thing he had seen all day. It made her giggle which, in turn, echoed out into the strange, beautiful world as if there were walls that could reflect the noise back. The Kelvic smiled, his words tickling her, holding to them a kind of child-like essence. They were soft and sweet and for a moment, Reven was worried his words were so sweet that he too must have been sweet and would melt if he wasn't careful. However, the Kelvic did not notice that his speech would rub off on her and soon, was responding back to him in the same fashion. "Why would I be so blue? You know me better than that, don't you? I've journeyed far and soon I must go but what is it you want me to know? I wouldn't mind a sit with you, the time we share is far and few. So speak, I say speak! Before the end of time, we meet!"

Reven fell against the sand next to him and stretched out her form so that she could relax against the fine grain. Her hazel eyes watched the feather, studying it as if it were missing something. The feather was odd, shifting colors, turning black then reversing the color spectrum till it was white. For a moment, she didn't understand why it seemed so out of place until the idea hit her and suddenly, she was reaching her hand up into the sky to grab at the stars that twinkled down. Grasping the small lights, Reven blew them from her palm, toward the feather and watched as the stars floated over the feather's surface. The stars remained fixed against it, shining with the same colors the feather provided.

The scene was transfixing, almost as if she had taken some drug and stumbled into a world of wonder. What was amazing was the fact that all of this was so natural and simple. It was normal. It was fun.

Her hands buried themselves into the sand once more, but this time they fell upon something solid. Wrapping her fingers around the object, Reven pulled the item from the sands only to discover is was a multicolored apple. She handed it to the man, knowing full well that it was exactly what he wanted. "I spotted here a treat. Is this something you'd care to eat?" Grinning, Reven teased him. "I surly thought this was your favorite snack, however, I can take it back... Don't mind the grain, you know it's sandy. But is that apple there candy?" Licking her lips, the colorful apple did look like candy and the sand sprinkled on it began to turn into what looked like crystals. Sugary, delicious crystals.