[ShadowStitches]

Morice (In human form)


Whisper

Murmur

It was raining, pouring really. No one in their right mind would wander the streets with this kind of weather. Then again Morice was not exactly in his right mind. The young,ragged and sickly looking man did not even seem to notice the trail of water running through his thin hair and down his neck. The hood on his beaten down jacket did not actually help to keep out the rain.
Morice had other worries though.

/where is it?/ the voice echoing in his head had angry and frustrated tone to it.
/it has to be close by. it has to//dont you think if it was we would have found it by now?/
the second voice sounded no less angry. The boy flinched slightly but kept shuffling past
coffee shops and other small hangouts. Their light was glowing cozily, almost teasingly. /stop dreaming/Murmur hissed, now clearly directed at her 'Host'. Morice growled. "If you told me what you are looking for, maybe we would be faster" his voice was scratchy and cracking. But It was less straining to actually talk out loud then directing questions or statements via thought at the two hitchhikers in his brain. at least in his state…
This of course did not really make him seem less crazed. /we already told you, there is no need for you to know/. a small angry spark ignited in his brain. "I know this city, I know where…things are"
he said, a little louder. /watch your tongue boy/. A short pain between his eyes caused him to stumble slightly. "okay. okay." He pinched he bridge of his nose  and blinked furiously, before forcing
himself to start walking again. The tiredness was almost overwhelming though. He had no idea how long it had been since he actually slept, and did not just…doze,or second sleep really.
/I think its time for a coffee break/ Whisper sang with a mocking, sweet tone, causing him to grind his teeth, but he shambled towards one of the less expensive looking cafes compliantly. God. He hated coffee.

(I dont really know if they should meet in the shop or later? its up to you
and I hope this is okay )

[AuroraSky]

How suspicious he must have looked, pressed so tightly in the corner underneath his brute of a trench coat, frantically trying not to make eye contact with the other patrons.

Hypnos was soaked from head to toe, the rain had saw to that. Everything was wet, and even worse everything was sticking to him with its dampness. His sweater, his pants, his coat, even his underwear (especially his underwear) was pressed against him, unforgivingly chilling every nook and cranny of Hypnos. That alone had been enough to make him miserable. And it hadn't helped that he was here, on the mortal world.

The mortal world. A despicable place, Hypnos had seen. Full of the meek, the weak, the selfish, the conniving, the deceitful, the evil...It was no wonder they were killing each other off every second. The mortals didn't seem to have any sort of moral compass, or if they did the needles were firmly fixed towards hell. Hypnos sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve, which had only made his face more wet. He grimaced.

Whenever Hypnos was forced to come to the mortal world, it was to play. Not with the mortals themselves, no of course not, but with their minds. Specifically their dreams. Dreams were like a drug to Hypnos, a sweet siren song. It was where he felt the most comfortable, the most powerful. There was nothing that Hypnos, the God of Sleep, enjoyed more (not that he enjoyed most things at all) than violating the dreams of the unsuspecting after luring them into a deep, unwakeable slumber. And it had been too long since he had last been able to flex his abilities. And since the Gods of the Heavens were no longer willing, Hypnos had been reduced to this.

The door of the coffee shop chimed, and a very downtrodden young man had walked through. Pathetic thing, he was, especially having been in the rain for so long. But what Hypnos had noticed, rather excitedly, was that this man looked tired. Sleep deprived. So exhausted, that he even seemed to be talking to himself. Which meant that he was perfect.

Hypnos paused, mentally regrouping himself, and came to stand now. Perhaps things would no longer be so bad.

[1]

[ShadowStitches]

Morice did not really take too much notice of the room and its occupants. Even though it was raining cats and dogs out, The coffee shop was relatively empty. which might was a dead give away of the quality of their drinks. His Stomach formed in to a tight knot at the notion of being fed nothing but black coffee again, but he made a beeline towards the Barista.

"one big black coffee" he rumbled towards the young, slightly dull looking girl behind the counter.
Placing the money for the coffee (which he had pickpocketed some time ago, and was dangerously low on again) in front of her, he only vagually heard her asking "for having here or takeaway?"
/take away/ he shook his head slightly, as if trying to fend of a pesky fly "having here" /boy.../
"sht. there is no way I'm going out there again" the way he said it was clearly not directed at the girl, who, after looking at him with confusion, got ready to work at his beverage.

/I thought we agreed that you wont question our decisions anymore/ Whisper was angry, but got interruted by his friend /lets give him 5 minutes. you know, they get sick so easily. And he is completely wet, so...maybe he should dry off/ The two of them still did not seem to completely grasp the concept of Humans needing to sleep and eat too to keep healthy, or they simply ignored it. /fine/.

While waiting  for his coffee, a movement in the corner of his eye starteled him. Turning his head quickly, he saw a man standing up and looking at him. Staring at him, he felt his skin crawl. Sleep deprevation was a funny thing. Even though one felt sluggish and well...tired, one was also very alert, and to some extend paranoid.The man did not even stare at him intensely, but even this small motion was enough to tick Morice off. His whole Body language was tense and his eyes pretty much said who are you? what do you want? go away. and even a bit of I am scared. /who is that? do you know him?/
"no, I dont" he responded quietly, and got vislibly startled when the girl chimed "your coffee, sir!"

Without a thank you, he grabbed his mug and looked for a place to sit, still feeling very uneasy.

[AuroraSky]

Hypnos stood very still as the man surveyed him, and obvious look of suspicion on his face. Which wasn't good. Not because Hypnos was afraid that the man "wouldn't like him", no, he was indifferent about that, but because he was afraid his new target would try and flee. And this one was going to be good, Hypnos could feel; he didn't want to lose him.

When the man had started looking for a seat at one of the tables, Hypnos breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a chance. Hypnos ran a hand through his wet hair to slick it back and adjusted his coat. What was coming next would be the most difficult part. How was he to go about this? He could simply explain to the man who he was and why he was here, but Hypnos had found in the past that the mortals did not respond positively to that. They alway assumed that he was a psycho, and attempted to call the police or escape from him. He could try and lure the man to a hotel room or something, perhaps on the premise of some unsavory human activity? Hypnos sighed. Not that either; he was no master of seduction and who was to say the man would even be interested in him? No, the safest option was to lure the man to sleep here if he would not be led somewhere else. Everyone might just assume they were students who had just stayed up all night studying, or something stupid like that. Hypnos adjusted his coat.

"Excuse me," Hypnos called to the man, waving for his attention and pointing towards his own booth. His voice was void and indifferent, no matter how excited Hypnos was at the prospect of revisiting the dream world. "If you're looking for a seat, there's one right here across from me." He offered.

[2]

[ShadowStitches]

The moment he thought he saw a free spot at a table for one, a young bloke came from the outsdie and snatched the chair to join the rest of his friends, causing Morice's shoulders to slump in slight frustration. He did not like being the center of  attention, but he was very much about to do so, standing there in the room.

Just before the two Voices could start to mock him, there was someone catching his attention yet again, this time intentional. The young man blinked and tilted his head slightly. This was...odd. He still felt uneasy, people usually avoided him, if they could. But this man seemed to actually want something from him. Shifting his weight, he became very aware that he would have to make a descision soon. Even though he was still suspicious of Hypnos intentions, he figured that he only had two options. Going back into the rain, or joining this guy at his booth. Neither seemed desireable, but he really was not up to braving the outside again.

Maybe he is just polite. If I'm lucky, he wont even want to chat. He made some somewhat unsure steps towards Hypnos. What confused him the most was that both Whisper and Murmur where quiet for once. Most likely just as confused as he was by the situation. He made his way to the booth and slit into the seat,eying the man in front of him warily.He did not seem particulary threatening, and seemed to have gotten just as lucky as himself with the rain. One could never be too carefull though. Once he was setteled, he looked down at his mug, grumbled a "Thanks"
and hoped against all odds that the guy would just...start reading a newspaper or whatever, and leave him be.

[AuroraSky]

Hypnos could barely contain his glee as the man (though however reluctantly) accepted his offer and slid into the booth across from him. Only when the man was situated comfortably did Hypnos allow himself to sit. As slyly as he could, Hypnos observed the man from up close. Sunken eyes, dark circles, gaunt cheekbones, it was all too perfect. This man looked like he hadn't gotten a comfortable night's rest in months, which only meant the dream would be all the sweeter once Hypnos had gotten him good and ready. And yet...

Hypnos looked at the man again. He seemed more than just tired, troubled perhaps? This made Hypnos frown. It was not that he cared for the man's well being, but the dreams of the...how should he say, 'mentally disturbed' were a little harder to control. Not impossible, not for Hypnos, but a great deal more difficult. But then again, Hypnos hadn't gotten to play in so long, he was willing to take the chance. The dreams were the only escape for Hypnos from the mundane life of a God. He should take every chance he could get.

But how to go about this? Hypnos had to be skillful, lest he frighten the man away. But he couldn't wait any longer, and he absolutely detested small talk. "Not a problem." He responded quietly. For a bit he just sat there, his hands folded on the table, when he decided to give something a try. "Could I show you something?" He asked the stranger.

[3]

[ShadowStitches]

He could feel the man watching him, making him feel even more uneasy. maybe, if he tried to
force down the coffee as fast as possible, he could escape quicker. After one sip, in which he tried to not make eye contact with the guy in fron if him, he relized that that would not happen. he cringed unvoluntarily,and opted to pretended to look out of the window.

/I dont like the way he looks at us/ Whisper said, being the more nervous of the two./something is...off about him/ Murmur seemed to think, but did not answer. Morice snapped back to reality  when Hypnos asked him a question. confused he blinked at him, furrowing his eyebrows slightly."huh? I...uhm..." he kept his hands busy with the cup.

Great, he knew the guy wanted something from him.
show him something? that just sounded...odd. and suspicious. Whisper thought so too, because the crow spirit practically screamed in his ear to leave right away. "I uhm...I think i should..." /Wait./ Murmur said, sounding calm and starngely intrigued. "what?" he asked softly, his eyes shooting to the right where Whispers voice came from. /lets see what he wants to show us. He cant hurt us here, with all the people around us. I want to know what he has to offer/ /are you crazy? that man...I dont like him. I cant 'read' him as well as all the other humans./

Morice sighed, noticing that he unvolutarily rose slightly from his seat. In all honesty, he personally was a little curious himself. "ah. you know what? okay." he plopped back down, focusing his tired eyes on Hypnos. "what do you want to show me?" /this will have consequences, boy./ Whisper hissed furiously.

[AuroraSky]

It had been risky; Hypnos could have lost his new target altogether. How often was it that strangers had been willing to follow other strangers down the rabbit hole? As soon as he had made the offer, Hypnos had regretted it. No, he should have stuck to his usual protocol. Deceit. It had worked so well for him over the centuries, it was his friend. But his eagerness had overrode his rationality, and Hypnos was sure that he was going to pay for it.

When the man stood, Hypnos' breath hitched in his throat. Exactly what he had dreaded; the man was going to leave. And why shouldn't he? Hypnos might have been a serial killer, or a rapist, or a serial rapist. No, he had lost what looked to be the perfect target and now-...The man sat. He sat and agreed. Shocked, but not showing it, Hypnos watched the man stare at him expectantly. By the good grace of his fellow Gods, he had been given a second chance. Hypnos decided he would take it and run, before there could be any further hiccups in the plan.

Hypnos stretched his arm across the table. "Take my hand." He ordered. Again, an unusual request, but if the man had been willing to even go this far...Under the table his leg was shaking with nervousness and excitement. The man must have truly been tired; Hypnos swore he had seen him just ask himself a question.

[ShadowStitches]

The movement of the man's hand, allthough not sudden, made Morice shrink back slightly. He was awfully nervous  after all, and any and all movements toward him tended to put him into high alert lately. The situations resulting from that where quite awkward most of the time. This situation was getting more and more bizarre. Part of him wanted to leave, the other part was curious, and the voices in his head starting to argue with eachother where not helping. He could have kicked himself for being so...tired to actually letting himself getting in to this situation in the first place.

What was left of his rational thinking kicked in sluggishly. what is the worst thing that could happen? Him to arm wrestle you? Most likely he's some sort of wannabe magician or something and wants to try out his new trick.   He was, in a way, surprised at the clarity of his own string of thoughts. Besides...Murmur is awfully curious. She most likely wont let you back out of this anyway.

/Damn right you are/ the voice hissed. /stop wasting time, boy/. He felt a familiar, strange tingeling in his right hand. Murmur only took control if she felt like it was worth it, and it always hurt like hell. Not wanting to give her the satisfaction, he quickly decidet to give ot a shot, despite his ancious thoughts. He took the mans offered hand,
still looking at him rather then their hands.

"oookay? why?" he flatly asked, the confusion clearly visible on his face.

[AuroraSky]

Hypnos watched the man with great intent, unsure of the decision he would make. Hypnos was already out of his own comfort zone, so he could only imagine how the man must have been feeling right now. But none of that mattered. The itch of need was at an all time high right about now, and Hypnos had already decided that he would take this target with or without his compliance. After all, he was a God. Who was this mortal to deny him?

But then to make things easier on the both of them, the man had taken his hand, however begrudgingly. Hypnos gripped his back, firm in case the man had wanted to change his mind, his eyes beginning to shine a more brilliant color of their blue, brighter and brighter until they were almost glowing. It was then Hypnos began his chant, soft but confident: "A somnium somniorum. A somnium somniorum." As he did so, he could feel himself becoming more and more tired, and he knew the man was too. "A somnium somniorum." He let himself fall to the sudden, overwhelming exhaustion, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. Yes, he was so close now..."A somnium somniorum." And then at the right moment, just as he had commanded thousands of times before,

"Accipe me ad regnum."

And that was all it had taken. Hypnos and the target both fell at the coffee shop table, into a deep, deep sleep.

[ShadowStitches]

For a few seconds he thought that he was right about his assumption of the man wanting to perform some form of fake hocus pocus. Then however, his eyes started to glow. That was not a trick. something was happening, and he tried to back out and wriggle his hand free. Panick was rising in his chest, but it was overshadowed by a incredible tiredness. Not like the one he felt before, oh no. It was more like he was...drugged with something, but different. Either way, he had no chance of fighting against it.
He faintly noticed that Whisper and Murmur where acting oddly, like they where...scared maybe?
Before he could waste any more drowsy thoughts on that, he slipped in to a deep sleep.

Morice opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing on a long, winding road. Big trees where lining it, larger then life and looming ominously over him. There seemed to be shadows moving behind them, but whenever he tried to focus on them they disappeared. The light was similar to the twilight in the early morning hours, but oddly green-ish tinted. what was going on? He spotted the flashing taillights of a
crashed car, but it seemed far, far away. He got a horrible feeling just looking at it. Then it hit him. He must be in a dream of some sorts. But that was impossible. His dreams, if he ever was allowed to sleep, consisted of either him standing alone in a everlasting fog, with no where to go, or a 1 on 1 replica of the carcrash site he was involved in...back then. But it was neither night now, nor was it raining, and the car seemed much further away. Am I dead? he asked himself, before realizing one more crucial detail. There where no voices. nor Corbines. Blinking, he turned around. Timidly, he called out "hello?", waiting for an answer. or...anything happening really.

(Okay, I thought that it would be more interisting to let Morice dream his own dream at first, or at least a sort of mixture of his and the fabrication of the Corbine's. Whisper and Murmur could be so confused or lost
in his brain for a moment that they have to gather their senses before stepping in and confronting both Hypnos and Morice...if thats cool with you)

[AuroraSky]

((Yikes, I'm sorry that this took so long! While I'm home for break I'll try and get as many responses to ya as I can! ^^))

Hypnos groaned, turning over onto his back. He slowly forced his eyes to open, his vision fogged by a greenish light. Blinking the tears away, his focus finally adjusted and Hypnos could see that the man's mind had placed them along a road of some sort. Hypnos rolled over onto his stomach, his hands pushing at the asphalt as he rose seamlessly, as if floating upwards. He gave himself a quick inspection; everything seemed to be intact, which was lucky. In the past, sometimes the transportations hadn't gone quite as planned.

When Hypnos stood, he could see up ahead there was what looked to be some sort of accident. The car was pretty wrecked and the lights were flashing frantically, as if trying to call for help. The trees, the light, the car...Hypnos was intrigued by the man he had selected. Evidently this man had some sort of troubled past that was torturing his subconscious. Hypnos grinned. This was shaping up to be quite an adventure after all.

Hypnos spun around and saw the man whose dream he had entered, staring at the car up ahead. He looked absolutely terrified as he gazed at the accident, so terrified he hadn't even seen Hypnos lying there before. "Hello!" Hypnos called back gleefully, giving him a wave.

[ShadowStitches]

(No worries! I've got a lot going on since wednesday too, I understand )

After a short wait Morice heard the response, and finally noticed the other man now standing on the road.
he visibly shrinked back, eyes widening in confusion. This wasn't right. Unless the corbines changed their game, there had never been anyone else but him and them in his dreams. And them both still being silent did not exactly calm him either. Then realisation set in, and he backed away slightly, even holding out a hand in front of him, as if trying to stop the man from getting closer.

"you are the guy at the coffeeshop" he bursted out perplexed, while eyeing Hypnos up and down. This did not make any sense. What exactly happened in the cafe anyway? He felt himself starting to panic, and a result out of this was that the shadows behind the trees seemed to grow more restless. They where far from taking shape yet however, and stayed where they where.

"what is...you're not supposed to..." he stammered, before asking the obvious question "who orwhat are you?"
He hoped that he sounded somwhat intimidating. He greatly doubted it however

[AuroraSky]

Ah, finally his unwilling companion had noticed him. Hypnos had begun to make his way towards him, when the man held out his hand and began to back away from him, like he was some sort of criminal. Hypnos stopped then, frowning and holding out his hands for the other man to see. "I mean you no harm." He offered, though that wasn't necessarily true. If it came down to it, Hypnos would have no qualms about harming the mortal, especially if it would make the dream more...interesting. But there would be plenty of time to decide that.

Around the pair, the trees rustled almost violently. Hypnos glanced up at them, curiously. "Your influence in this dream world is strong. Stronger than most." He observed. "Wherever we are must have been quite a traumatic time for you." Which would explain the car crash and the very ominous setting they had been placed inside.

Hypnos decided then that an introduction was finally in order. Besides, he needed whoever this man was to calm down. "My name is Hypnos." He began, taking a gentle step forward. "I am the God of Sleep. I lulled you into somewhat of a coma, and transported us both in your dream world." He explained, as patiently as he could.

[ShadowStitches]

Morice was torn between believing the stranger, and dismissing him as some figment of his imagination, or worse, some sort of sick joke of his hitchhikers. It could very well be that he simply dreamt of the man he saw last. but then again, why woul Whisper and Murmer allow him to sleep?

Hypnos words, all though strange sounding, seemed almost plausible in this scenario. He lowered his hand slightly, but kept his distance and was as twitchy and alert as before. He was not entirely sure how to respond to Hypnos revealing his identity. His eyes flickered to the trees and back towards him/God or not, he is still an intruder/.

He did not bother to state his name, but he hesitently replied "It was..." He was not even sure why he said that. Suddently,as if a veil had lifted, the weight of their situation crashed down on him. "Wait. Why the hell would you do that?!" he asked, his voice raising. It was not anger, but fear that was motivating him. The clouds in the sky seemed to shift along with the trees, casting odd shadows on the street. He almost stumbled over his words, growing more agitated "do you have any idea what you have done?
If they find us..." He stopped himself. Surely the man who claimed to be a god had no idea what he was going on about, and frankly, he did not feel like elaborating. Instead, he gathered all his will, and forced himself to say the nex few words as calmly and clearly as he could "I am not in control"

He stopped caring for the wellbeing of strangers a long time ago. especially those who invaded his dream world. But he was sure that as soon The Corbines finally found..themselves again, they would raise hell, and it was mostly his brain that would suffer from it. He had a lot of motivation to get out of this situation as soon as possible...