deercountry | Promises Promises/Insomnia

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Promises Promises/Insomnia

Who: Luz and you!

What: Accepting loss and dealing with NEW problems (yay)?

When: The first week of September

Where: Check prompts for locations!

A- Cellar Door

Luz would have said she was being needless emo. After all, there was rainfall here and she was depressed, so she figured being here would match her mood. How more dramatic did you have to be? But Luz wasn't in laughing mood, and it was everything she felt like right now.

Margot wasn't coming. She knew that now, she accepted it, and accepting that meant everything else that came with it. Margot was back in her world, robbed of her ability to think and reason as a person, back to her basic instincts as a wolf. No more playing and late night talks. No more huddles with her adopted sister. No more gardening. She wouldn't even remember Luz when she was there. It would be like she was never with Luz at all.

But Luz would remember. She'd remember and know that Margot wasn't just some person who wandered and left the dream. She was the sister she never had, the girl who'd share a room with her and helped her paint it and watched Eda cook as they eagerly awaited being fed and what the next day would bring.

She'd remember, and now, in the rain, she could at least cry with her hood up, and she'd be as much a passerby as anyone. Just some shadow person passing, weeping about something or other.

Or so she thought anyway.
thinky-Copy

B- Cassandra (The Disaster House)

Luz has had some time to think, and it was finally time for her to head to the place that would be her home. It's be nice, honestly, to have a place where there were more people her age, she reasoned. Obviously living with Eda and Margot had been ideal, and after that it had been the Doctors and Vira Lorr. Now she was at a new place, and a new place required a completely new way of living and, most obvious of all, would be redecorating her new place, which was the attic upstairs.

If you were visiting or a resident yourself, you'd see Luz busy at work already trying to make this place her own. There were already several stuffed animals, although Trenchwood seemed to have it's own ideas of what was cute, so the various creatures might be a bit off putting. There were several easels in the corner, one notably a wolf friend she was missing as well as one with various witches: Azura, Miss Hardbroom and of course her beloved Eda. The curtains were pulled back and there was air rushing in, so Luz was having a bit of trouble keeping all the papers from flying away.

"Darn it! This is the fifth time!"

C- Disaster House- I don't need sleep, I need clean!
needs-sleep

Was Luz getting a little unhinged because of her recent depression? Was she just overcompensating somehow? It was hard to tell. What one could SEE, however, was that it was the dead of night and Luz was not at all sleeping, but was instead intent on cleaning the disaster house, half mumbling to herself as she did so.

"I could tackle the living quarters, got to arrange the skulls. I don't want to get to the garden because I'll be crying again, or the greenhouse because I could probably die, or get poisoned. No good. Not going into Fern's room yet, I'll definitely die. The kitchen, YEAH! That sounds perfect!"

She had to go to the bathroom first.

"ARGH! WHY IS THERE A HOLE HERE?! VARIAN! THEY'RE JUST BATHROOMS!"

hunched-over

D - Drifting into Dreamspace

So after finally "convinced" to try and get some sleep, Luz finally had settled down, her omen (that was new) giving her a reproachful stare.

"I promise, I'll try!" Luz insisted, though Tempest did not look convinced. Luz blew a raspberry at the wolf and added, "thanks, you're the best" and closed her eyes, attempting to drift off. She'd been trying to do this the past few days, and doubted anything was going to happen, but figured if she couldn't sleep, she'd maybe go to the tower and get some reading done.

However, she DID drift off, just not in the way she though. For a moment, she felt a wave of color pass over her, and she figured that she was finally nodding off, but instead of that she felt light. She exhaled and felt herself leave, and for a moment, she was assuming she was unconscious.

But it was a strange feeling. She opened her eyes, and realized she was very much not awake, not quite. She was instead floating, drifting quietly down the attic steps and then out the door. She should have been freaking out, but her body felt so tired, and whatever was happening now felt NOTHING like that.

A passing though occurred to her. Maybe I should try these lamp location thingies out.

But where would she wind up?

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"Aw, really?! That could look nice! If Alberto ever comes here I'm sure he'll be super flattered! I mean, if my skin could have those kind of cool colors, of course I'd want to paint my room like that! We COULD do both though: purply blue on the wall, and sky blue ono the ceiling. OR the reverse! That's the great thing about having your own room! You get to choose!"

Luz was actually beginning to get herself even more excited for what she could do with her attic space! Thank you Luca!

"What about posters?"

"Yeah! Oh, I hope he shows up in the Trench, that would be great!"

And he feels a lot more confident incorporating Alberto's scale colors into the color scheme now. As for posters...

"I didn't really think about that. I had a couple pictures in my pack that Alberto drew from back home that I was going to put on the wall, but other than that...maybe something with the moon and stars?"

"Describe him to me and I'll sketch him out. That way if he pops up, I'll make sure you know!"

This Alberto guy sounded pretty special to Luca, so she wanted to be sure that if he popped up, Luca would know about it.

"Sure, we can do that. If they don't have a poster for that, I could always try drawing you one, right?"

"That's a great idea! So he has green eyes, and really curly hair that goes up in front like this," he says, gesturing, "And he's way more tan than me, which...makes sense, because he's spent a lot more time on the surface."

Or maybe he's just naturally darker skinned, Luca doesn't really know.

"He's about this tall..." Luca says, gesturing, "And of course, he changes when he gets wet, same as me. In his other form he's kind of a purple blue, he has really prominent fin spines..." He pauses, thinking about it. "Actually, if you see anyone else like me, I definitely want to know."

Because honestly, even if it's a total stranger it would be nice to be around other sea folk.

Luz busily drank on the description, starting to try and draw up the boy. She was erasing and continuing to edit in details, and when she was finally done, Luz showed Luca her rough sketch.

"This about right? Obviously if I see anyone like you, I'll let you know. Still getting used to how we travel around here, since we have lamps and stuff. So that's Alberto? He's cute, in a funny kind of way."

"Oh, wow. You're really good at that!"

He'd thought Alberto's art was amazing, but this just takes it to a whole new level!

"Yeah, that looks just like him!" Then his mind catches up to what she said. Alberto is cute, isn't he? "Yeah..."

He blushes slightly, then quickly moves on. "But yeah, with your amazing art skills, you could draw anything I wanted! Maybe we could draw something directly on the walls!" Then he gets an idea. "How good are you at drawing perfect circles?"

"Thanks! I used do it for fun, but I have slowly gotten better!"

In her first few months? There'd been a lot more time, and while she'd been doing that Margot was in the garden. Luz sighed softly to herself, then grinned when she saw Luca's blush.

Yup, she guessed it.

"Oh well, yes, we can paint murals if you want! I'll sketch you up some ideas and you tell me what works, ok?"

Luz thought a moment. "Decent. You can always use a compass if you're not satisfied anyway."

"Yeah! I was thinking we could do something with a full moon and stars and stuff."

Then he looks around, realizing Luz is still in the middle of decorating her room. Maybe he should leave and let her actually get that done...though for some reason he feels like sticking around. It's a similar feeling to when he saw that fortune teller on the network. While Luca's completely unaware of the effects of his blood this month, he wouldn't really care about that, anyway. After all, he reasons, he should probably help out after pulling Luz into helping him with his own room.

"Maybe since you're helping me so much with my room, I could help you set up yours. Is there anything you need help with?"

[OOC: I was thinking for Luca's room of doing something like this.]

"They have to have something like that out in the market, and if they don't I can always find an equivalent! I don't know if it'll specifically be of our world though, since we obviously aren't there now. They should have something like that though."

Luz would make do with the affects of the moon in her own way. Truthfully, she was more than happy to help Luca with his room: much like Margot, personalizing their own space was a special thing for them and Luz had no problem helping them do that. Luca had just gotten here and was still getting used to their ways, and THEY were all getting used to this world's rules right alongside that.

"Hmm? Oh, my room needs some touches, but right now I kinda like the paneling and the way it feels, you know? It's like somewhere between indoors and outdoors in a way. I do need more stuffed animals though, if you happen to find some send them over! Other than that, I'm just going to be working on some posters myself."

((OOC: That is a GREAT look!))

"Maybe I'll go out to market to have a look around and see what they have. I'll definitely let you know if I see any stuffed animals there!"

And they are pretty cute. He wonders if he'll see one that looks like Camilla--oh! He hasn't told anyone about her yet!

"Oh, and did I tell you that apparently I can summon a crab now?"

"Good, GOOD. Soon I will have an army fit for a king, mwah ha ha!"

Luz was instantly reminded of King and HIS army of plushies, which made her wince slightly, but regressed to a sad smile. There were times she absolutely missed King and his antics. He was still her sweetie pie and she missed him a lot.

"Wait, no kidding? That must be your omen! I have one too, but she doesn't always like staying indoors. She's an outdoor...spirit."

Very, VERY different from the otter she'd had as a guide early on.

"So what does your crab look like?"

"Oh, like this!" And a swirl of smoke emerges from his chest, and a hermit crab appears.

"I'm not really sure why we apparently have the ability to summon animals now, but it's kind of neat! So what's your omen like?"

"Oh coo-AW, LOOK AT THE LIL' GUY, HE'S SO KY-UTE!"

Luz couldn't help but coo at the sight of the crab. Once again though, Luz controlled herself and gave the crab an affectionate pet. Apparently she had forgotten all about the viciousness of the crabs when she first arrived, likely because this was Luca's and she couldn't see them the same way.

"Oh, mine's a wolf," she said, picking the crab up and having it run across her hands. "Her name is Tempest. I've felt a kinship with wolves since living with one that walked and talked just like us in the last town I was living in. I thought she'd come here, but..."

She sighed, putting Luca's crab down. "I think she's back home now. I don't want to ever forget her and all our memories, so I unconsciously summoned a wolf as my omen."

"She's a girl, apparently. Her name's Camilla."

Camilla just watches Luz silently, letting Luz pet her. She never really seems to say anything, but Luca's noticed sometimes he just...knows what she's thinking.

As Camilla runs across Luz's hands, exploring the new environment, Luca says, "Wow, I saw a wolf here! He talked, too. I just assumed all wolves talked."

Because that was the first time Luca ever saw a wolf, seeing as they didn't tend to venture out into the sea. Luca's crab calmly scuttles back to him and he picks her up.

"Well, maybe she'll come back later. I mean, we don't really know how it works, who can really say if everyone who's going to show up has made it yet or not?"

"Oh, my mistake! I don't really know how you know a crab's sex, but that's no excuse for misgendering her! And you say her name's..."

Luz did trail off, because of all the names, it had to be THAT one. Her own mother's name. Luz closed her eyes a moment, then opened them, putting on a smile.

"It's a very nice name. I'm sure she loves it."

Now let's swallow that lump in her throat.

"Wait, another wolf, really? That's male? I've only met two female ones, the kids that are a little younger than us who can turn into wolves when they sleep! Maybe I should try finding that guy. But no, normally wolves don't talk, like Camilla here."

The smile was a little more strained. "I hope that's true, but I feel like if I get my hopes up, it'll just be worse when she doesn't show up. But I'll try to hold onto a little hope."

Because otherwise, Margot was going to BE just like regular wolves, and forget everything she experienced.

"Camilla," he says, thinking she just didn't catch the name and completely unaware of what that name would mean to her. Of course, he'd completely understand if he knew, since he's missing people from back home, himself. "I don't really know how to tell, either. I just know because I sometimes hear her thoughts in my head."

Which might sound a little crazy, but considering she's a magical crab he can summon, he figures it's reasonable enough. As for the wolf...he's honestly surprised that talking isn't normal for them. Mostly because he never heard of wolves before that, so Tsume shaped his expectation of what a wolf should be like.

"Yeah, although he could make himself look human, so if you saw him you probably wouldn't realize he was a wolf. He seemed a bit wary of humans, too." As for hoping Margot would show up... "Yeah, I guess...it's hard to know if it's better to hope or to move on. I know there's a lot of people from home I'm hoping will show up here, but...I guess I also know they might not. Still, I keep thinking of how they're going to react to things if they show up. And with some of the people I know, there's a good chance they wouldn't even leave the water if they did show up. But I don't want to go out and look, because then I might be desperate to find some sign of them when they're not here."

Besides, it's not like he doesn't go in the water. He could easily find them by chance when he's in the water anyway if it turns out they were here the whole time.

"Camilla," Luz repeated, a sad smile on her face. She should just talk about it, but she couldn't, not yet. She was just getting to know Luca, she didn't want his impression of her being that she was just this sad sack remembering past things he couldn't relate to. Of course, she also didn't know that he very much COULD, since he was without his family too, but with Luz she'd been without her parents and then her adopted family for much longer, so the reminder they were gone still very much stung.

"So he is like those girls! They look like regular humans too, but when they fall asleep they turn into animals! Granted, I haven't seen them do that yet, but that's only because it's not been night? I might have to try and look them up when I have the chance."

She nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll gladly go with you to look if you want, but just remember: as long as you're in this house, you have a family there, ok? Varian is the best dorky brother you'll ever have, and Fern is the brother that will teach you survival instinct and cool stuff like that on land! Reaper...well, I have to get to know him more, but I'm sure he's nice too. Point is, you always have people here who'll help you out with anything. That goes double for me!"

"Maybe! He didn't say anything about falling asleep, but I didn't really see him become a wolf, either."

He saw him become human, but for all he knows, those girls can change back at any time. As for the family...he nods. It's nice to know he has family here, just like the Marcovaldos gave him and Alberto family when they ran away to the surface. Alberto, of course, needed it even more than Luca, since Luca had a family. He just...ran away when he found out they wanted to send him away to the Deep because they thought his fascination with the surface was getting too dangerous.

"That's okay. I'm not going to look. It's probably better to focus on what I have now than to keep looking for people that aren't even here. If they do show up, I'm sure I'll run into them when I go into the ocean looking for sea cucumbers or something."

"It might be different. The girls are from the same...universe? Canon? The same place, anyway. He might have to follow different wolf rules. He might even be a werewolf! They're a thing too, you know."

Luz did not know this part of Luca's story, and if she had it would at least be something the two of them could talk about, seriously. Luz had left quite a few people behind, and vice versa, and she felt every single one of them. It was because of those feelings that she was here in the first place and not back home.

"That's true! Hey, if you ever want some company if you want to go down there and be in your usual form though, I'll be happy to do that too! Maybe by then I'll have figured out a way that I can be underwater without needing air!"

"Yeah, maybe. Who knows? Even if he's not just like them, though, I hope he meets them. It'll probably be more comfortable for him in this place if he can have some wolf friends."

Just like Luca would kind of like it if he could have sea monster friends here, but he's not going to dwell on that. Besides, he'd already prepared himself for going somewhere where he wouldn't have anyone like him for a while, this is just...a little bit more long term. And he has no way of getting back.

"That would be great! I mean, I have no idea how you'll manage to be down there without air...although I know humans have made suits for that, so maybe they have some here."

Edited 2021-09-06 21:34 (UTC)

"That's true! Granted, I'm not sure if there's some kind of hierarchy of wolves and all of that, but you never know with this kind of thing. If I see Mebh, I think I'll ask her!"

Hopefully she didn't completely become woke like a certain someone. In any case, she narrowed her focus on Luca, who she was sure was trying to adjust being in this new world as much as anyone. She felt all the more determined to make sure that he wouldn't fall into miserable times like she had at Deerington.

Within reason, anyway.

"I haven't asked about their wet suits. I know something like that exists in my world, I'm not sure about this one. The more freedom of movement I have, the easier it'll be to swim with you though, right?"

"Well...yeah, but in case there's no way to magically grow gills, it's a good option."

And without fins she'd always be slower than him regardless. But then, he's seen all sorts of strange things here, and all of them had been squids at some point, so who knows what might turn out to be an option?

"Man, it would be really helpful if I learned to do something like that, huh? Maybe we can comprise and just occasionally go to the docks and swim around in the water together. But in the meantime I'm TOTALLY going to try and figure out a spell that will help we swim around as easily as you do!"

That would probably take her awhile, of course. She may have had experience turning into a bird, but that was because of Eda's special hat, and it was an air animal. Luz had not so much as transmogrified a limb, let alone her whole body. That was going to take awhile.

"Yeah, that would be great! I hope you do find a spell that helps with that."

Because while swimming with her as a human would be fun, it would be even nicer if she was able to fully join in.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to work on your room while I go back to getting mine figured out."

"Me too! I'll be looking for it was much as I can, ok? That's a promise!"

Luz was already planning longer beach trips for the two of them so they could explore some of the new ocean they were surrounded by.

"Yeah, you keep looking through it and if you have any trouble, just let me know, ok?"

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