Boots Were Made for Dreaming

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (4)+12+6: 22

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (19)+10: 29

Dolan, in spite of his words that he might be a bit belated to his meeting with Telamon in the realm of dreams is actually the first to arrive in the garden that lies just outside Telamon's home. It's a familiar beauty even in the winter time. Telamon arrives somewhat later, and quite alone. The garden is quiet. No buzz of pixies, no one playing in the snow. The dream is quite obviously a dream tonight, though more so for Telamon than for Dolan.

Dolan in the dream realm is just a little difference. Instead of the massive scarring and artifice replacing his eye on the right side of his face, much of that side is less distinct, the scars more muted, although the slashes themselves are even more pronounced. The eye itself is simply missing, a little hazy. He is dressed as if for battle, familiar armor in place, but a longsword at his left hip instead of the greatsword over his back.

He looks around the garden, his familiar cheeky grin coming to life. "It worked. That was pretty easy. Hope I've got the right garden. Sure looks right. Hope Tel shows up soon."

Telamon walks out of the back door of his house, and looks around at the snow-covered backyard, his expression somewhat... pensive. "Well," he says to himself, "spring is coming, eventually." He straightens his shoulders, as he sees Dolan there in the garden. "I've been thinking of putting up a greenhouse," he says with a smile. "A place I can grow some herbs year-round, keep the pixies amused as well." He tilts his head -- in the dream, he's dressed in long, flowing black robes, sparkling with stars. "I don't want to get too exotic, though -- or too big. Just a place I can work, even when the snow's falling."

"Good idea. Brightest of days, Tel." Dolan turns to face Telamon fully as the man comes out of the back door, the cheeky grin expanding. "How much space do you have in that little yard? I don't think you've really got the space for crops, or more than a garden. You're splitting it in half, I guess?" He strides forward, offering his usual armclasp of equals.

There's a bitter cold breeze blowing, cutting through clothing and it begins to snow a bit. Heavy thick flakes falling from a white sky.

Telamon clasps Dolan's arm. "Honestly, not a whole lot. I'm going to discuss it with Lana again, but it's not like I'm going to be planting crops." He snorts. "I may have to do some landscaping. Fortunately, I cheat a lot." He tilts his head. "This is... different. I've had people wander through my dreams -- and been the wanderer as well -- but it feels different. More... tangible? Real?"

Unconsciously, Dolan flips up the hood of his cloak against the falling snow, but doesn't do much more than that. Yet. "Yeah. It's as real as your control is good, Tel. Try imagining yourself a cloak, because it's snowing." The grin redoubles, and he looks around him. "Didn't know it could be cold in dreams, but it can be anything else, so I suppose it makes good sense. Where'd you get the fur cloak?"

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (6)+12+6: 24

The half-elf glances up suddenly, and looks irritated. "I swear," Telamon grumbles, "It's like herding fey..." He makes an elaborate gesture, as if trying to brush the snow from the skies... and nothing happens. He says something in oruch which sounds incredibly rude, before continuing, "Alright, so we've determined we can 'meet' in dreams. Can you try to stop the snow from falling? Or maybe we can both apply our wills to it?"

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (1)+10: 11 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (2)+12+6: 20
GAME: Dolan rolls will: (16)+10: 26

For a moment there are walls around the garden, stone walls, but it's just a flash and the snow ceases as both men focus on dispelling the weather. It's not all that easy however. There's more than just a flicker of stone. A whole wall forms at the edge of the garden. A wall familiar to Telamon. He's had this dream before. Cor'lana appears before Telamon, smiling reaching out for him.

The walls that form around the garden, for just a moment, are covered in crimson blood, but it's just a flash, and Dolan sucks in a deep, steadying breath, and looks around. "Whew. That was close." And then he turns to watch a wall manifest - wait, there's no way that's right. Something seems off about that, and so Dolan stares at it _hard_. "You're not Lana. Fuck off, whatever you are." The words are almost a snarl, gritted out, but the wall itself remains very firmly in place, even as the image of Cor'lana fades.

Telamon doesn't even flinch as Dolan banishes the image of Cor'lana. "Thank you," he remarks. "It's..." He pauses, studying the other man thoughtfully. "You know, after the wedding, look me up. Lana and I might have something you'd be interested in. You and Andelena both." He shrugs lightly, looking at the stone walls, his expression resolute. "Go away," he mutters to himself, trying to focus. "Begone. Out with you."

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (2)+12+6: 20
GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (9)+12+6: 27

The wall lingers for a long moment, as if uncertain that Telamon really wants it to go. When it leaves it fades slowly until its gone. Leaving both men in the garden amid the snow.

This time, it is Dolan's turn to watch as the wall slowly fades away, and nods, the cheeky grin returning, at least mostly. "Good. Looks like we make a pretty good team." There's still a hint of _unnerved_ in his tone, but he sucks in another breath, and forces it away. "You know how to get out if you have to, right? Just tell yourself to wake up and imagine yourself vanishing? What else have you done?"

Telamon watches the wall fade, before turning to Dolan. "I think you're better at it than me. More... focused." He smiles at the cheeky grin, though. "Yeah. Though I told you last time, I managed to... uh... break the rules a little bit. Lana and I were trying to leave, and I decided to do it with a flourish -- father -always- warns me about showing off -- and I cast my teleportation spell in the dream." He pauses, and looks embarrassed. "And we woke up outside the city."

Dolan throws back his head with laughter. "I hope you were wearing pajamas, at least," he cracks, the mobile half of his face lit up by laughter. "No, you can make real manifest with these dreams, Tel. I won't tell you how I learned that." The laughter fades, implying that Dolan had very much learned that the hard way, and he rubs at the side of his neck. "We should see if we can manifest something _good_, though. These things aren't all bad. It's just a matter of what you ask for, and whether you're strong enough to make it happen. You can do more with the totems, it sounds like, but I didn't bring mine tonight. I figured this would be pretty simple, and - I can't afford any more trouble, Tel. Not if I want to fight again."

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (5)+10: 15

Telamon shakes his head. "I didn't bring mine either. And... I asked Tanith about bringing things out, but her answer seemed to be a little obtuse." He mulls it over. "No, we're not going to start any dumb shit. But we shouldn't try for imagining something out of a storybook, or legend. Maybe start small?" His lips quirk. "A pair of boots, maybe?"

"Sounds good. I'll imagine plain ones and you imagine fancy ones, and let's see which one we get." Dolan's still rubbing absently at the side of his neck as he talks, in the way of one banishing a sensation remembered, and when he brings his hand away, it comes away bloodied. Sure enough, he's bleeding from what appear to be two points on the side of his neck, a nasty demonstration of the power of manifestation gone wrong. "Damn! Hold on, I'll try to make it stop."

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (3)+12+6: 21
GAME: Dolan rolls will: (12)+10: 22

"Not alone," Telamon steps forward, and places his hand on top of Dolan's, as the two focus. "I didn't come all this way just to watch you try to go it alone." He grins, as the bleeding stops and the wound fades. "Alright. Now, where were we? Boots. Yeah, I think I have -just- the ticket. Saw a pair of these in Selentia, a few years ago." Stepping back, he holds his hands out, his brow furrowed as he imagines…

A pair of fancy boots appears in Telamon's hand. Easy enough really. So easy that everything else seems like it had been much too difficult.

A rather embarrassed laugh escapes Dolan, as the bleeding stops with Telamon's help. "Thanks. You're right, damn it. We are more powerful here as a group than any one of us on our own." The knowledge perks him up, and he stares at the boots in Telamon's hand. "Sweet and holy gods above and below, those are ugly. You know? I said I'd do plain ones, but maybe I should imagine something that's nice enough to wear to Auranar and Verna's wedding instead. He, too, focuses, after a last glance at the boots, and focuses his mind, sharpening them on a pair of low, fine-grain leather boots with gold-thread stitching up the sides and along the trim. Something that is comfortable to wear and yet looks smashing.

Telamon arches an eyebrow. "You didn't think I -bought- these, did you? First off, yeah, they're kind of... gaudy. Second, they don't match a thing in my closet. Three, they were far too expensive." He looks over what Dolan's called up, and nods approvingly. "See, that's the same thinking I had about my actual boots, the black ones with the silver buckles." He pauses. "Oh, that reminds me. Did you -tell- Andelena you were going to the wedding? Because she came by and was asking me for advice on what to wear, and from what she said it sounded like she didn't know about you being there."

Dolan's wicked grin nearly splits his face in half as he examines the boots he'd summoned, examining them in every detail. "Well done. No, I haven't told her a thing, she's never asked. Maybe Zeke told her? Anyway, she doesn't lie much better than I do, and I can't lie to save my hide." There is an easy acceptance of this in his tone. "It's a good thing the Knight teaches that the truth is always the best policy. We don't know for certain, but I'm sure planning like I'm going. Think I should tell her, or surprise her too? Doesn't really take two to keep a secret, but I'm not going to outright lie to her if she asks, yeah?"

Tel nods. "I... well, nowadays I -can't- lie to Lana. But even before I didn't like hiding anything from her, save the simplest things like Yule presents. We face everything together. I'd suggest you do the same, at least with Andelena." At Dolan's commentary, he chuckles. "Well, I know who to hit up for the card games now if I'm short on cash. Just kidding -- jokes aside, though, sometimes your best bet might be to simply not say anything at all. Easier than trying to cobble together a story." He inspects the boots he's holding, and chuckles. "Goodness, these really are as gaudy as I remember. Father actually looked relieved when I stopped inspecting them." His eyes flick back to Dolan again. "Alright, so now I guess we... try to wake up?"

"That's the plan," Dolan agrees, examining the really quite gaudy boots in Telamon's hand one last time. "We figure that the two of us and the Knight can get us through anything." A warm affection suffuses his tone, and he leaves it there. "Let's try to wake up with the boots. It might not happen, but it's sure worth a try." He looks off into the distance, his boots still in hand. "Let's envision ourselves waking up with the boots in hand and see if it happens, yeah?"

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (18)+10: 28
GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (7)+12+6: 25

Telamon smiles at Dolan. "Sounds like a plan." With that, he stares at the boots, and imagines himself back in his own bed, and...

...he wakes with a start, Lana curled up at his side -- and no boots in his hands.

Tel barely manages to keep from snarling, before he exhales, putting his arm around Lana and trying to get back to sleep. "Stupid fucking boots," he mutters to himself. "I'm -glad- I didn't buy you in Selentia..."

Still chuckling, Dolan pictures himself back in bed, sleeping peacefully and quietly, with a pair of fine-grain boots in the bed.

He snaps awake abruptly, and for just a second, he could swear he feels the leather in his hand. He blinks once, though, and suddenly he's looking at an empty hand, and all he feels is the bindings cinching his left shoulder to his side.. "Bet it's possible," he mutters, rubbing at his neck with his free hand. "Hope Tel didn't bring that disaster back with him." What disaster?

He turns his head, and closes his eye again, trying himself to get back to sleep.

-End