Sixth.

[azumods]

NIGHTMARE. Riley has been largely absent for the past day; he's needed the time, he's said, to try to sort out what should be done about Darkrai and Cresselia. Whether they can be contacted from a safe distance; whether there's something he can do to ensure that there's no risk to the rest of you. You fall asleep on Friday night. You don't remember deciding to fall asleep on Friday night; perhaps you were in the middle of doing something. Perhaps you were keeping watch over the rest of the group, perhaps you were talking to someone, perhaps you were unable to drift off and sitting up poring over notes or books by flashlight. Perhaps you were already well asleep by the time it happens. Either way, Friday night begins to slip into what's technically Saturday, and that's when you drop off. And you are, quite literally, falling. The sensation is a strong one, somehing that disorients you almost immediately, the sort of thing that happens in dreams only to be accompanied by a hypnic jerk that wakes you up safely in your bed, only that moment of awakening never comes. The landing isn't a hard one, however, wherever you've ended up; it's one you're aware of, but not one that hurts you in any way, there's no physical pain. There's only you, and the ground, and the absolute darkness surrounding you. You should get up. Get your bearings. The darkness won't last long, but what it reveals to you when it breaks might not be as welcome as you might think it is...

Comments

[azumods]

You wanted something first.

[Well, okay.

That said, the "voice" is very clearly telepathic; it's unpleasant and deep, seeming to echo despite the obvious lack of audible sound.]

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

...Yeah. We did want to speak to you, so...

[He can't say no to that.]

So you were...testing us, or something?

[azumods]

I needed to see things. People lie. Nightmares do not.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

[Sena fidgets uncomfortably at that. It might have been the truth, but...]

So...by seeing what scared us, you wanted to see what we were like...?

[It's...it's not an unsound method. But it just...It unsettles him. It's not the way any normal person would think (okay, maybe Hiruma, but only so he could fill out his little black book).]

Um. Everyone...We're worried about home. That's what you saw, right...?

[azumods]

Your nightmares are for others. Not for yourselves. They're good in that way.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

I-I-I g-guess so?

[Was that supposed to be a compliment? He thinks it was? Either way, he's never been good at taking compliments so he just nervously scratches the back of his head.]

So...that's why you decided to show yourself after that? You decided it was okay for us to talk to you?

[azumods]

Yes.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

O...oh.

[That was a straightforward answer. He's not entirely sure what to say after being directly told that they were judged worthy.]

...Thank you.