The Other Side Of Insanity

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The shadows were eerie, as they always tended to be in that dreamscape. A cold, brutal wind blew the night that Aerin found herself unable to wake, but that was nothing to her. She had grown in the harshest of conditions, where the snow danced in flurries and the storms were violent and dangerous. On those evenings she would normally stay curled up with her friend and life long companion Ezeral. But he wasn't here on this night. No one was.

Staring out over the desolate plains, cracked and dangerous as the earth parted ways, Aerin began to wonder how she had ended up in such a vivid world, trapped in her own mind. It was all so real. She sniffed the air, detecting the distinct scent of charred wood, sulphur, coal, and other scents she couldn't place, simply because she'd never encountered them in her lifespan. Her skin crawled as a burst of heat erupted from a crack near her, and she leapt to the side, yelping in surprise and rubbing her quickly reddening arm. A frown formed on the young E'ljiohn's face, cringing at the pain as it slowly faded. It would be so much easier if she knew where she was or what she was doing there.

'Hello? Is... Is anyone here?' She called, stepping carefully over more cavities in the earth, steam rising from some and unearthly growls rising from others. Where was she? What was this weird place? Was she the only one there? Shaking her head to clear it, Aerin made her way to the ramshackle ruins of what once was probably a brilliant city, full of life and wonder. Glass crunched underfoot as she weaved through the streets, avoiding large holes in the pavement. 'Hello?' How she longed for Ezeral to answer with his whine. A strange scuttle made her brows knit in confusion and abandoning all instinct that told her to ignore it and run, she followed it, scrambling over rubble awkwardly, her white dress becoming quickly smeared with soot and dirt, the material catching on a piece of glass in a window and tearing. 'Come back!'

Just when she thought she had it cornered, she heard a foreboding cracking beneath her feet and the floor collapsed beneath her, plunging her down into the dank depths of a cellar with a scream. She tumbled, bumping down against the walls, scraping her pale skin, leaving red grazes on her limbs and face. Finally she landed painfully, and blinked in surprise and pain. 'Oh...' She managed, pushing herself off the ground. 'Are you alright?' A voice asked from the shadows. 'Who... Who are you?'

A murmur rustled around her and as her eyes adjusted she realised that she was not alone, not in the slightest.
 
Arceon wandered about the wasted city, nervously clicking his sparker as the rubble of the fallen metropolis crunched underfoot. The icy wind whipped about the loose ends of his ash-smudged, sand-colored cloth wraps as it howled past eerily. No one else seemed to inhabit the desolate landscape. However, the kysmrr couldn't help but feel watched, like something else was there with him. It made him anxious, uneasy. Light pebbles tumbled in the wind, buildings cracked under their own weight. The whole place had a post-apocalyptic feeling to it. More pebbles tumbled. No? No, that was the shuffle of a foot. drawing his bone dagger, he spun around, ready to counter any attack. He'd been here three days, and nothing, no one. The to hide from the beast that was likely stronger than he, Arceon ducked into a hole that led underground.

Turning, he found himself face-to-face with several people. Dirty, scared, trapped in this forsaken place just as him. He was too shocked to attack, and too relieved to run. He walked around the room, moving through the huddled crowd of beings, seemingly each from a different world. Soon after, someone crashed through the ceiling. A girl, in a torn white dress soiled with soot, dirt, and ash. He turned on his neuro-com, and spoke to the girl "Are you alright?" he asked her. "Who... who are you?"
 
Layleina came out of the darkness of a corner and climbed on a rock for a better look, curious as who the strangers were. Barely she was able to see them in the little light the hole had to offer. Five days ago had she discoverd this small group of people, not knowing who they all where. She was relieved when she had found them and got to know them. It had helped her forget the loss a bit. But they hadn't anyone else joining the group for a while and suddenly there were two people here. She didn't know if she was relieved or scared that she saw the new faces.

Ten days ago she had discovered that her dreams had become a painfull reality. The cold wind had replaced the warm humid air, only dry unfertile land was where her homeland should be. The poor Lunari had woken up in a nightmare and she didn't know how to wake up. So she had wandered for five days untill she had found a hole in the ground. Tired, dehydrated and hungry she let herself fall inside the hole. If only to be rid of the cold wind. Instead she had found the group and she had stayed with them.

Now that she could see the newcomers she didn't know what to do. Their first questions where obvious for people lost like them. But for her it was the same question. She spoke up ignoring the fact that they were way bigger than her and probably couldn't even hear her. "Who are you? We could ask the same question. Who are you?" she put her hands on her hips and made her voice as loud as possible to be heard. "You come tumbling in without introducing yourself, you have no right to ask before you say who you are." She didn't realize how insensitive she could be or that people way bigger than her could easily harm her.
 
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Valgoris sat looking at the others from afar. This was a strange place was unlike his home world but that didn't stop him from taking his massive defensive form. He wanted to go meet them but was sure they'd view him as ugly like everyone else had since his arrival. He sat silently and had decided that he had to go meet them perhaps they had a leader, and a leader was good. Yes good for Valgoris. He needed to follow the leader they always knew what to do. He was slightly concerned about appearing hostile but it didn't matter if they were friends did it? Well at least he hoped not as he approached.
Who are you?" A girl put her hands on her hips and made her voice as loud as possible to be heard. "You come tumbling in without introducing yourself, you have no right to ask before you say who you are." It made Valgoris quiver in his true form but that didn't matter. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
"I am Valgoris miss and who are you if I may ask?" He was trying to be polite it would be rude if he didn't refer to her properly she could be offended then he'd lose his only hope for savior. His voice didn't mimic the fear he felt inside.
 
Dalibor aimlessly wandered the Darkness he called home. All around, one could see miles of nothing more than black, excluding the occasional signs of life, such as flowers that thrived in the dark and small critters that found the Darkness comforting. It was as if one were walking down an endless tunnel, unable to find that light at the end. The only light emitted was the faint glint from the eyes of a Dha'ahx. Occasionally Dalibor would stumble upon a heap of shadow, a fellow Dha'ahx resting their jaded body. The air was heavy; here, depression was almost a tangible thing. Yet, despite all this gloom, there are at times a Dha'ahx or two conversing amongst themselves; they exchanged jokes and stories of what adventures they might have if they were able to escape the Darkness.

Impractical dreams, though they're nice to have.

Dalibor lumbered on, keeping his thoughts to himself. It was nice to see some sort of hope here, anything to keep the community... dare he say, alive.

Recently, Dalibor had inherited ownership of a terrible, terrible curse. It was most likely not a curse, but that was how he saw it. Recently, Dalibor's scarce accomplices have been dying. One by one, their pained cries would echo in the Darkness and torture the tedious minds of other Dha'ahx. At first, most saw it as a way to escape the Darkness. However, when they found out just how violently they were murdered, they were overwhelmed by a new fear and began to point fingers. At one point, the unstable minds of several Dha'ahx seemed to snap; they lynched out their own kind and interrogated them, slaughtering them.

At the same time all this chaos was unfolding, Dalibor was plagued by bizarre dreams. He became fearful of his surroundings; The Darkness seemed to be trying to constrict him and kill him through suffocation (which is ridiculous since Dha'ahx don't necessarily need oxygen to live, they merely mimic 'breathing' and don't actually require the substance.) . Since then, the Dha'ahx began to avoid him as well. They seemed to take notice of how perturbed Dalibor was.

Insanity began to consume his mind, and he began to grow restless as insomnia developed.

After several untallied years of living on the brink of insanity and fatigue, he couldn't fight it. Dalibor's body collapsed in a heap of shadow. In his mind, fatigue had won the battle against his mentality. Dalibor moaned, accepting his loss.

He prepared himself for the worst as the lights that served as windows of vision began to flit rapidly. Eventually the lights disappeared, and once again nothing but darkness swallowed the depths of the area once lit by his 'eyes'.

It's happening again...

When he seemed to regain 'consciousness', he found himself in an all too familiar place. It was the same place his dreams always seemed to transpire. Dalibor shakily stood up, but something was wrong.

The floor.. felt dry.

It felt.. dry.

It felt dry.

In all of the hellish dreams he's ever had, not one could he actually feel his surroundings. Perhaps... perhaps this was his mind trying to play tricks on him? No, it couldn't be. For awhile, Dalibor stood there, the orbs of light in his 'head' widened with fear. For awhile, he did nothing but stand. However, Dalibor soon heard voices and instantly recoiled. No, there couldn't be other races here, right? This couldn't be right, it just couldn't. Releasing a low, frustrated groan, he sat down on his haunches much like a dog would, trying to accept that he had somehow entered his own dream.
 
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Nadirehs was pacing in circles, her eyes were red and her claws were digging into her palms so they dripped blood onto the ground as she paced. More people were showing up? Those damn monster things just wouldn't stop would they... She was solitary, had been since she arrived. She did not need anyone else, before she came here she had been living on her own several months so no one else would die. But of course a sick traveler came along and she had hope that that time would be different, she wasn't so lucky though.
 
Intimidated by all the bizarre beings that she found herself surrounded by, Aerin could barely speak. Her tongue seemed to twist into knots as she gazed in both fear and awe at the vast variation of creatures. A tiny creature, barely coming up to mid-point on her shin, standing up on a small chunk of rubble and demanding to know who Aerin was. 'This is MY dream.' Aerin's own tone startled her. She'd never been that forward, that demanding, never in her life. She was timid, shy, afraid of others. They shouldn't be near her, this was not good, not at all. What if that thing came here? What if these people, or otherwise, got hurt? 'I'm sorry... My name... My name is Aerin, what's yours?' She spoke nervously, her words catching in her throat every now and then. She gazed about at the many faces or lack there of and tried to conceal a shudder of fear.

'There was... something that brought me here. Someone. I couldn't see them. Where am I?' Confused, scared, alone, yet surrounded by many. The young E'ljiohn didn't know what to make of it all. Her voice shook as she shyly gazed around at everyone. 'Why are you all in my dream?' Were they the creatures that had haunted her life? Were they the ones that had slaughtered everyone she had grown close to? If this was her dream, why wasn't Ezeral here? Maybe it was one of those dreams where everything morphed weirdly? She wouldn't put it past her subconsciousness to do that to her. The strange glow that filled the room seemed to dim as she tried to single out faces, trying to learn more about her situation. 'Where am I? Can someone please tell me?'

Maybe they were like her? Just more souls trapped in the darkness, surrounded by misery and a distinct sense of desperation. It hung thick on the air, you could taste it on your tongue. It sent shivers down your spine, assuming you had one. Or a tongue for that matter. Some creatures didn't after all. 'Why are you all down here?'
 
Arceon couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's plight. "Your dream? I'm afraid this is my dream. And hers, and his, and... its..." he said, pointing to another being in turn. "It seems we've all been plagued by the same blight, preyed upon by the same hunter. I'm here because I was brought here, by the thing that has tortured me and slaughtered my friends. I cannot speak for the others." he said, clicking his sparker. "I found this place while running from something, and with it, this group." he plopped down into the sand, resting his arm on his knee and staring at the girl. It surprised her how she was dressed, he had never seen anyone but humans dressed in white before, and even then it was rare. The tan-ish color he wore blended into the sands of his home far better. But then, perhaps she wasn't from a land of desert?
 
Layleina smiled to the two who had introduced themselves as Valgoris and Aerin. She also felt a bit insulted when the big guy didn't anwser, clearly not acknowleding her existence. But as Lunari were prune to manners so was she. The Lunari curtsied to the two confused strangers and ignored the big guy. When the guy was done talking she immediatly introduced herself, even before he had sat down she began. Putting her hand on her chest, as if swearing a oath, she started talking loud and clear. "I am Layleina Decordia a butterflytrap Lunari. A child born from the moonlight and the pollen given by the other butterflytraps, who I am proud to call my parents and clan."

For creatures who didn't know Lunari she would often seem pompous. For the Lunari it was tradition, honour and a way of living, a way to know that you were part of something bigger. Layleina also refused to put anything of her introduction in past tense. Because she knew that if she would do that, then she would acknowledge the fact that everyone from her clan was gone. She knew they weren't here, she couldn't feel them. Always she was able to feel them trough their roots, trough just touching the ground with their feet. But they weren't there and she never would admit that they were gone.

After she was done with the introduction she smiled again at the two, mainly at Aerin. "This is not only your dream anymore. This is our nightmare. Yes, a nightmare. Wich would be less of a nightmare if the guy staring at you had the manners to introduce himself." Layleina had a policy of being nice to people who were nice to her and, of course, had enough manners to keep a decent conversation. She looked once more at the one who had introduced himself as Valgoris and smiled again. He was just a bit more quiet than she was used to. It unsettled her a bit, everything at her home was always full of sound. He just didn't really fit in her comftortable zone, as did the big rude guy. But she tried to not ignore him as to not being unpolite.
 
The Kysmrr turned to Layleina, believing himself to have been referenced by her as the guy staring at the female who had fallen in. "I am Arceon Jiramrr. Most call me Arson. I would have introduced myself earlier, but it is custom not to reveal one's name unless asked to do so. To introduce one's self without being asked is arrogance. Ego. To put one's own mind before that of their companion. I was not asked for my name. Anyway, I would prefer if I am called Arson." he said, pulling out some modified Barium and setting it alight with the sparker. He set it in the sand, and watched the emerald blaze flicker about, reflected in his goggles. "As you can see why." he added, continuing to stare at the burning hunk of metal.
 
Valgoris was curious about Layleina she seemed to know what was going on.
"A butterflytrap Lunari? A child born from moonlight and pollen gives by other butterflytraps? Where are you from Layleina?" He was so immersed with Layleina that he had nearly forgotten about Arson. Then he spoke again this time his voice cracked slightly letting a glimpse of his nervousness out. "Sorry I'm curious and I don't mean to be rude please tell me if I am." He was concerned about both of them really. He hadn't met anyone here. He didn't want to met anybody afraid that they might hurt him or he would hurt them. He didn't want to met new people to watch them die like the others. He wanted to make friends and keep them but he was so scared of new people that it seemed impossible.
 
Layleina looked at the fire. She wanted to take a closer look at it or touch it. It didn't matter for her wich one, fire was rare and worth the watch. Her world had been a rainy jungle, a lot different than this dry dream. It just meant for her that she had an opportunity to see fire in her live. Wich most Lunari would never see beyond the shared memories. She hestitated to go closer as she heard Valgoris talk again, asking many questions this time. It were questions about her introduction, wich ment she had to uphold on the policy to explain. "It's not rude at all I will explain. Just excuse me for a moment." She turned to Arceon, or Arson as would liked to be called, and curtsied. "Nice to meet you Arson, that is a beutifull fire. And I apoligize for my rude behaviour about a simple misunderstanding." She turned back to Valgoris and started to explain. "If you want to know everything than I shall explain now." She was obligated to explain everything proudly about her people and so she had no quelms about it. She scraped her throat and started, as if she had explained it many times before in the same situation. "I'm from the plains in a world without name, so don't bother asking about that. It's just one big jungle and almost everything is alive and connected. Creatures like all of you have never been seen before. A Lunari is a flower that is alive." She pointed at the big butterfly shaped petals on her head and continued. "These petals indicate that I'm a butterflytrap I'm connected with all the other flowers. But now..." She was cut short in her speech when the petals suddenly snapped together. It slowly opened up showing many thorns on the inside. Layleina felt the thorny petals for a moment before she sighed. "Does anyone of you have some food?" She looked at Aerin. "Aerin do you have anything to eat?" She looked again at the others. "Any of you?"
 
Arson looked away from the fire and watched Layleina since she apologized for her misunderstanding, listening to her explanation of what she was. A race of flowers? Well, hopefully he wouldn't have to kill her. Kysmrr do not digest plants very well. "If you eat the flesh of animals, I have a small, dry piece you can have." he offered, pulling the small, jerky-like chunk of meat from his pocket. "I'm not hungry, and I'm sure there are other animals in this realm. There always are, especially with signs of civilization like the place above us." He wasn't sure whether she'd take it or not, but if he wasn't to consume it someone might as well. If it were to rot it would be a waste of flesh and life, a true pity.
 
Aerin moved away from the fire hastily, her skin blistering with the heat that the fire emitted. She rubbed the reddening flesh on her arm with a cool hand, cringing a little. 'Arson... Is that something to do with that strange substance? The travellers sometimes have it... but we stay away because it hurts.' She said in a timid tone, feeling crowded. She was used to her own solitary existence, so to be crowded by so many strange creatures... It was frightening. 'What is this place?' She gazed upwards, and all around the large cavernous cellar, and her voice echoed a little.

Footsteps approached, nothing out of the ordinary, until a new voice spoke up. 'You're in a realm of insanity. It used to be ruled by a god, but now it's home to all things dark and twisted.' A figure emerged from the shadows, tall, with fiery red hair. 'You can call me Spot. I'm a shifter.' He said before anyone could ask. He looked around at the most talkative of the bunch, smirking a little. 'You are all here to become a meal for the beasts that have taken over this realm, once they've had their fill of the turmoil that your existence caused. I'll fill the rest in for you later if you like. But for now, the natives are getting restless. We can't keep hiding out in here. The larger the group the easier we are to notice.' He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, shaking his head. 'We need new digs. Who wants to volunteer to come with me and find a new camp?'
 
"Interesting," He made note of her interactions with the fact she could interact with all life on her planet. So much different then his home. He was so afraid of other things. He cringed slightly at the fire never having enjoyed one himself but soon become caught by it. He stared at it wildly and then felt the warmth from it. It was usually dark on his home world and they had only the sun to bring them light. He had seen this 'fire' before during hot summers. He sat down near the fire enjoying the warmth it brought. Then he decided it would be best to inquire about arson and his ability to make this fire. "So you're called arson because you make fire but exactly how did you do this? Sorry if I'm intruded I'm just naturally curious I suppose. I'm curious about all this and especially this nightmare we are in or world or what ever it is." Then he noticed Aerin moving away from the fire taking note she didn't do so well around it. He was taking notice of everything but so wrapped up in his curiosity he had missed something clearly.
 
"I need to find something to hit." Nadir growled as she shook her hands, the blood droplets going flying. Once the bleeding had stopped and her hands were dry she bolted from the area. She was running nowhere in particular, she just needed to find something to take her anger out on. A crumbling wall would even do~
 
Layleina accepted the piece of dried meat from Arson. It was a bit on the big side compared to her size, but it was nothing compared what she normally ate. "Thank you for your kind offer Arson." As soon as she had the meat in her hands the petals showed their thorns. She held the meat near the petals and they clamped shut tightly around the meat. The petals only left a little piece outside their grip. Layleina ripped that piece of and ate it like a normal person would. At the moment the tasted it her face almost cringed in disgust. It was nothing like the juicy taste of a vine frog or the crunchy feel that only the big critter bugs have. But Layleina knew that she should be happy with what she got. She smiled at Arson instead of showing a disgusted face, to show her thanks and to be polite. As tradition required Layleina stayed near the person who offered her food as a showcase of appreciation, in this case she would stay near Arson untill the flower had digested the meat. Calmly she sat down while making sure her dress wouldn't get dirty from the ground. The fire still fascinated her so she sat as close as she could before she felt the need to stay away from it.

She heard Valgoris asking questions and saw Aerin scurrying away from the fire while she was busy eating. Knowing a little bit Layleina wanted to anwser Aerins question. She had wandered in this world for a while after all. But her anwsering had become unneccesary when she heard footsteps and someone else talking. He is rude was Layleina's first impression untill he introduced himself before she said anything. She quickly stood up and curtsied to him and sat down again. Introducing herself again felt unneccesary since she assumed that he had heard the whole conversation. "I just have a few things to say." Joining his talk was no problem for her and he seemed like he knew what he was saying. "I'm connected to most thing that even touch the ground for a little bit. I find it strange that I haven't felt any creatures getting restless or wake up." She held back the fact that she couldn't feel the connections at all anymore. "Also, I would love to go find a new place. I need more light than that small hole offers me anyway. But don't you think that if I join you that I will hold you back, comparing my size to the others and all." For her was her size no disadvantage but most people saw it as a bother, Butterflytrap Lunari are smaller than other Lunari after all.
 
Arson looked up at Aerin and the strange creature that had introduced itself as Valgoris, while still keeping an ear on the firey-haired man who had just approached and began talking to Aerin. "Yes, it does. Do you see this metal?" he asked, pulling out a small lump of the barium. "It is flammable, like dead wood. I take this sparker," he added, showing Valgoris his sparking device, clicking it once or twice to make sparks shoot out, "and I use it to make sparks that ignite the metal." He held the small piece of barium in the claw tips of his fingers, and clicked the sparker near it. It burst into a bright, green blaze like the one currently on the ground. He quickly plunged it into the sand, extinguishing the flame.

"As for finding a new place to stay, I volunteer gladly."
 
Aerin still felt so out of place amongst these strange people. Were they all like her? The redhead that introduced himself as Spot seemed to know more about the realm than she did, and didn't seem like he was in fact a victim like he said they were. Perhaps she could stay close to him. He might be able to protect her. The others scared her, even the little one with the bad temper. As another piece of metal ignited the E'ljoihn jumped, flinching further away from the flames. 'Could you please stop that...' She whispered timidly, not making eye contact. She wanted to wake up. Why wouldn't she just wake up? Why couldn't she be back at home? Panic rose in her throat again, making it difficult to breathe. One of the group muttered something about needing to hit something, and Aerin almost felt inclined to follow. She just needed to breathe open air. She needed the ice under her feet, and snowflakes in her hair.

Zak, aka Spot, smiled a little at the group, who seemed fairly keen to listen to him. 'Alright. Well, I think it'd be best if we all got out of here really. No man to great or small, or whatever.' He shrugged, adjusting his jacket, brushing some dust off the sleeves. 'Firstly, you don't feel anything because most of this place is dead. The only creatures that wander around up there are carnivorous beasts that snack on anything they can. You don't want to meet some of those, they're not friendly. The hierarchy around here has changed drastically since the war.' A vicious cry sounded from the world above, as if to punctuate what he said. It was like something out of a horror movie. A mix between a bloodcurdling scream and a tortured howl. It set Aerin's teeth on edge. Spot raised his eyebrow. 'Any more questions or can we go down that way and get away from our friend the toothy beastie?' He gestured towards a dim tunnel right at the back of the cavern.
 
Nadir smirked widely as she came across a creature, eating another creature. It was bigger than her of course, but that never stopped her before so she whistled loudly to get it's attention as she picked up a large sharp rock. When the beast charged at her she ran and met it half way. But she used her small size and speed to jump high enough to let her roll along it's back and land behind it, laughing when it stumbled and tripped. It gave her an opening to dash in and rake the rock through the soft skin of an inner hind leg, cutting open the flesh with a tearing sound. She could have used the opportunity to kill the beast but she needed to vent, to draw out the kill.
 
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