the_isle | The Show Must Go On

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The Show Must Go On - Arrival

Open/locked?: Open
Who: Morgana McCawber & You?
What: The self-called Queen of Rock has arrived, and she's got a few things to say... or sing.
Warnings: N/A, will update if needed.

Sweet dreams are made of these, who was she to disagree? Here Morgana had been hoping to wake up in her coffin after that odd sequence of shared memories, embarrassing falls, annoying heroes, and an epic jam session. Yet here she was, among trash and gloom, and she didn't take to a genius to figure out where she was. Thanks to Mal's descriptions, Morgana was already ahead of most people who arrived here... but that didn't make her any happier.

But, hey, at least she wasn't chained up anymore - nor was she alone. She stuck a hand in her hair, jostling out her familiars - two bats and a spider. "Eek, Squeak, recon mode. See what you can find, but don't go too far." The bats chittered in agreement before fluttering off. "Archie, you stay with me, and keep all eight eyes open." After a loving pat to his head, Archie crawled onto her shoulder, and the two walked on to discover what new adventure they'd been forced into.

Another blessing was that she'd still kept her guitar. She swung it over to her front, and began to strum a few bars... music was her outlet for anything and everything, so she might as well use it to start venting.

No spotlight? No grand entrance? Not even a working phone? This was NOT how you treated a rock star! (And the fact that she wasn't famous enough to be considered one was irrelevant, dang it.)

"Empty spaces, what are we living for?
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on
Does anybody know what we are looking for?
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line
Does anybody want to take it anymore?"

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He was silent another few seconds, considering something, and looked back to his tree again, watching it. Hesitantly, "Some. Of both. The ents... I thought that they were with me, at first. But I've grown less certain that they were. I always felt them with me, but I don't think I have, in those places."

He looked back to her, frowning a little. "The other ones, that I was certain of sensing correctly... were not ones I'd known before. And one in particular who was not who he appeared to be... was someone I had seen while asleep, before. I could feel him easily then." For all that his eyes should've been harder to read, they sort of weren't. Even in the dim overcast from their poor weather, those looked to be hints of tears. He turned his gaze back to the ground in front of them, holding his breath for just a beat, trying to dismiss any displays of... well, anything, it seemed. Quieter, "He was absolutely, radiantly joyful. ...But there, at one of the places I went... there was nothing. He seemed to present, but he wasn't there."

A sigh, trying to lean on his frustration at it all, "The silence has been deafening."

Yikes. This was going into some really emotional territory, and Morgana was very certain she wasn't capable of handling it. They were still complete strangers to one another... but at the same time, she couldn't really just up and leave him to his woes. She just didn't know what to say to comfort him, when she was just barely grasping into what he'd experienced in the first place.

She rubbed her arms, trying to think of something, anything to say at all. "Never been a fan of silence myself." She finally decided. "And even for someone like myself everything that happened and everything that's going on now gives me the creeps."

He was setting it aside again pretty well; a deep breath and a focus on something else could do wonders when someone was determined. He looked back to her again, finally giving her appearance some form of actual attention, considering it.

"...What else has happened, for you? And now?"

Wild hair, black and white and red. There was a sort of consistency to it... art? It was an art thing, wasn't it? Interesting....

She certainly wasn't going to dump her entire life story on this guy, but she supposed it was only fair to describe her own portion of the dream she had.

"I managed to visit three important locations in my dream. The first was where I grew up, the second was the city I'm currently staying at, and the third... is the stage. No matter where I go, I'm always looking for a place to play."

He nodded, looking back down as they walked. "Mine was only my forest. Everywhere else belonged to someone else." A pause. "And the forest might have been someone else's dream too, at some point. It didn't feel right either."

So he didn't have a single ounce of comfort even in dreams. She couldn't help but pity him - she didn't ask to be played around either, but at least she'd found some fun in singing with others. "Let's hope the next time we get some shut-eye, nothing happens at all."

Granted, she doubted she'd get a decent night's sleep without a coffin, but he didn't need to know that.

The little sound of breath was soft, not quite a snort. "I don't intend to sleep again. But I hope it goes well for everyone else."

A slight pause. "I would be more confused how I ended up in a dream in the first place, if it wasn't said to be someone else's doing. ....Do you dream?" He looked back to her again, wanting to hear whatever answer she might give to that.

Even for someone who grew up in a realm of monsters and magic, this guy was saying a lot of weird things. By that line of questioning, it sounded like... he didn't sleep or dream, period. What had she gotten mixed up with this time? At least she could honestly say it wasn't her fault.

Ah well. No reason to lie about something so simple. "I prefer not to, but I don't exactly have a choice about it. Kind of in the very nature of dreams themselves to be chaotic and follow their own rules."

"I see...." Another little pause. "They aren't always unpleasant for you, I hope?" If she didn't have a choice....

At that, Morgana put on a wry smile, fingernails to her lips. "I certainly wouldn't mind if I replayed some of them..." Particularly that one with Darkwing and her in the chapel. Mweeheehee.

That got a little smile. "I am glad to hear so. Perhaps you will find one of those again?"

"... Maybe not here. I don't really trust anything about this place just yet." She certainly did not need THAT dream shared again!

"Here? No... Elsewhere. When you leave. Some other dream, one of yours. If we can spot that gold again...."

"If, if, if." A lot of ifs, with no guarantee in sight. How depressing. "We've been walking for a while now, and I haven't seen any sign of it..."

"Thorns surrounding, which don't listen to me either... a path to a bit of shoreline.... This place does not look to change much, if at all. Everywhere else so far has." He shook his head. "I have only not yet tried swimming out. I would like some way to bring the ent with me first." A little gesture back, indicating the tree that was following them. "It would feel... wrong, to leave it behind. Even if I am not certain about its presence."

Morgana nodded in understanding about the tree - no familiar left behind! "If you want to go diving for trouble, be my guest. I don't see why the water would be safer than anything else here..." Which meant she doubted it was safe at all. Everything here was so gloomy and dank and threatening. Which was a fine atmosphere to have when she had a choice in it, not when it was thrust upon her.

"I was told that there were creatures in the water. Ones that some may find hostile." Somehow, it just wasn't that difficult to tell that he was rolling his eyes as he said that. "...And there is much I cannot seem to do here, including heal. So until that changes...." He was just going to be a bit less reckless than he otherwise would, that was all.

"Of course there are." She's picturing sharks, octopi, electric eels... things she finds adorable but others find terrifying. But she also knew those creatures would be friends of hers anytime soon.

"Yes, until we learn otherwise, we have to play it nice, safe, and totally boring."

"Mmm." A little pause. "What is a... a 'crook of dials'? ...The description I was given was not only not very detailed, but it sounded a bit... exaggerated. And as though it had nothing to do with crooks of any sort, or dials, but some sort of creature in the waters...."

Three guesses what word he was previously unfamiliar with. Go ahead; he has all day.

She almost snorted at his description, but have had enough decency to hold it back. "Crocodiles." She repeated, before going on. "Dangerous reptiles with lots of teeth." She even mimed their jaws with her claw-like hands, opening and shutting. "And they can look like harmless logs if you're not paying attention. The only 'crook' part of them is that they'd steal your life."

He glanced a bit sideways at her at that... was that a smile? He was trying not to, but... "Most creatures aren't very fond of attempting to eat ents," he said, "but I'll keep that in mind. ...Perhaps I could help ward them off, if it came to it...?"

"They might never have met an ent before today," she warned, even wagging a finger playfully. "They might try to take a curious chomp before you're ready."

"They would realize their mistake." Failing more at not smiling? Him? Yeah. "...If they can get through my armor." But it did fade a little again at that thought, and he looked down to himself for a second, more seriously considering said dark armor plating. "But point taken...."

A little pause. "Is it strange to say I think I now want to see one?"

This time she did let a chuckle out, although she understood his way of thinking.

"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." Funny how no one ever remembered the second part of that saying.

A little pause again... he'd never heard that expression before, but he was doing well to school his expression and not betray such. Having decided that it could probably be taken to mean what it seemed to mean, he gave her a somewhat sideways glance, hint of a smile still remaining. "So you're saying you would be amenable to a visit to this shore, to watch for one with me?"

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