Chapter 2 -- Dreams and Nightmares
Snuggled up in sheets of the captains quarters, the otherwise cool interior of the ship made for perfect cuddling, nestled within layers for comfy bedding and quality quilts. Two were asleep, one was awake and concerned. Plasia lay on her side, her huge sapphire eyes watching over Diego with great worry as he twitched in his slumber, obviously agitated.
Despite being held close in Seeth's encompassing arms, clutched tightly against her back-warmed bust, something that would usually bring him no end of pleasure, he jittered ceaselessly. His lips would curl into a brief snarl, bearing his fangs for a split second, his brow furrowing deeply each time. His fists would curl into balls, accompanying his facial expressions in perfect time. She'd never seen him like this, he was usually so relaxed and calm...
What troubles you, lovely man? I wish I could see what's bothering you...
She sighed quietly to herself, her eyes scanning over his body and face slowly.
Seeing his trouble continue, she reached out softly and rubbed his neck with care and attention.
As her hand connected with him, she felt a sudden surge through her, pulling her skin tight and focus towards him sharply, it felt like her brain shunted forward in her skull, beyond her body and merged into his own, darkness surrounded her, clouding her vision until there was nothing in every direction.
Slowly, a golden light filled the void, her vision sharply adjusted to the new light and as it did, the sound of waves lapping at the shores of a perfect beach filled her senses. The void peeled away to reveal a beautiful tropical island, patches of emerald grass waved gently in the warm breeze that caressed her skin, the shimmering ocean lit up by a golden hue in the sky was gently washing up on the soft, pale sand that stretched on and curved around the perimeter of the island.
Serene and perfect, it was nothing short of paradise, with fluffy white clouds that drifted by lazily in the otherwise clear sky. Yet something felt off.
She turned around to survey more of the scene, her feet feeling slow and heavy, able to move but weighed down. In the near distance, a dark figure stood, staring out over the water that splashed calmly over the warm sands. He looked a little different, but she knew him. It was the same lizard in that bed with her and Seeth, Diego.
His hair waving gently in the breeze, his eyes looked fixed on something in the distance, it was difficult to tell his expression at this angle... He did not move or acknowledge her existence however, she tried to call out, but her voice was firmly mute, unable to vocalize so much as a whisper.
This isn't real, is it? At least not now... What could be troubling you in a place like this, Diego?
She continued to soak in the moment, blissful warmth on her skin, pristine sands and water, the immaculate sky, for someone who had spent the last year locked up in a dungeon and much of her life shut in, this was just wonderful.
Yet, the weirdly persistent feeling of unease began to ache across her body, the warmth on her skin began to feel uncomfortable, like it was slowly cooking her rather than merely warming. Everything was silent yet loud at the same time, focused and yet impossible to make out.
Something caught her eye down on the beach, an object was washing up on the surface, large and black, bobbing up and down slightly in the foamy waters.
She inched forward to get a closer look, legs impossibly heavy. The once soft sand began to feel like razors on her feet, every grain pressing deeper than it should have into her skin.
Her curiosity would not allow her to remain still however and she pressed on despite the discomfort. The object rolled back and forth in the tide but eventually came to a still, water still lapping up against it but unable to move it any further. There was a black knotty mess of fur or perhaps hair facing towards her and quickly, fear began to fill her chest.
Slowly, she paced around it and it revealed its details, a pair of amethystine, bloody eyes. A short snout with powerful looking sabre fangs, sable skin- It was Diego. Mutilated and dead. A giant gash through his torso was fresh looking and staining the sands and water a deep crimson as blood oozed out. No ounce of life contained within this still body at all.
Mortified, Plasia turned to look at what she thought was Diego further up the beach. He had not changed nor moved.
T-that's him! But... this is him too...? What the hell happened?!
She looked closer at the standing one, trying to gauge his expression. It was a blank, unfocused stare. Detached and haunted, like he was processing something awful. The sequence began to fall apart, Plasia felt her body being lifted and pulled back into the void. Desperate for more information, she spun around, taking in as much detail as possible before it completely collapsed.
Mo-more of them?! More corpses in the waves?! A-and that's not a star either... that- that's an- Diego?!
Suddenly she was pulled back into the endless black of the void, her body ran cold and then slowly, feeling returned to her limbs, normality filled her senses again, her brain pulled back into her head where it belonged, back in the bedroom, curled up in the sheets, holding Diego's hand and watching him closely. He was waking up, eyes fluttering tiredly as he joined the land of the living once more.
Opposite, Plasia was staring directly at him, her bolted wide open with shock and fear and she held his hand tightly, processing what she'd seen. Although he was obviously agitated at something waking up, his concern over Plasia was much greater and his faced softened immediately, squeezing her hand back and shuffling over to her.
"Plas...? Everything OK? You look scared..." He whispered softly, as not to disturb Seeth behind him.
"M-me?! I should be asking you that!"
"Wha-what do you mean?" He went unusually shy, breaking eye contact as if he'd done something wrong.
It suddenly dawned on her that she might have done something rude, gaining access to someones personal memories like that and decided it may not be a good idea to question any further.
"N-nothing Diego, its OK. You looked like you were having a bad dream, that's all... I was worried about you."
"Its fine, just a bad memory, thats all. You sure you're OK, Plas? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"I feel like I have... I'll let you sleep, I just need to gather my thoughts..."
"Well, alright, come back to bed when you want and we can cuddle up? Your bodies are such a comfortable temperature, I'm usually too warm cuddling in bed." He yawned with a quiet whine and snuggled back into Seeth's arms who may or may not have been awake and Plasia pulled herself up from the bed, grabbing a dressing gown to cover her form and making her way into the kitchen a few doors down.
Her mind wouldn't stop replaying the vision. She fidgeted nervously as she stood alone next to the work surfaces, wondering what best to do. She couldn't shake it, the heat on her skin, the sand like glass under her feet, the corpse, the thousand yard stare. It played over and over, she knew there was more to it than that, the vision felt like a cliff edge and she wondered if things could get a lot worse for him before they got better...
Fetching her sketchpad and pen, she decided to draw out the scene to get it out of her head and somewhere she could process it. Drawing the beach, the body and ocean in rough fashion, it came together in a matter of minutes as she scribbled relentlessly thoughts into ink in expert fashion. With the scene drawn, it stopped fluttering around so violently in her head and her heart rate began to fall to something more reasonable.
It didn't make sense to her, it likely never would- unless he explained it. She wanted to bring it up with him and help ease whatever was burdening him but... how?! She had never been able to see into peoples dreams before! Then again... she'd never actually cuddled with someone in bed before either... Not like that.
She turned the page in her pad and scribbled a big messy ball of lines and ink, labeling it "Mine and possibly Diego's brain" before slapping the pad closed and going to fetch herself a drink. She felt better for the messy scribble, even if she had no answers yet. A goal came to the forefront of her mind, something to push her energy into. She wanted find a way to help him...
**** Back on the freighter -- three days prior ****
"Romeo, report on you and Judas? How is the breached section looking?"
"Not good Captain! Not good at all..."
Romeo cautiously approached through the demolished bulkhead door, this was a super heavy construction made from solid metal and built right into the very hull of the ship and someone had ripped it apart in brutal fashion, meta-steel plating torn and bent, hydraulic locks dripping fluid over the floor in their battered state.
Armed in similar fashion to the captain, both guards walked forward cautiously, weapons raised and flashlights on. More black goo coated the walls and floor, looking akin to someone dragging a giant oiled paint brush through the damaged interior of the ship.
"This is fucked up, man. It looks like someone let a Warshee loose in here."
"You think a Warshee could tear through a meter thick bulkhead door like that? I don't think so. Whatever did this, its dangerous." Juda's shone is flashlight around the corridor, a short barreled twin barreled shotgun in his other hand.
