reverie overflow.

[vecna]

i still haven't put something less stupid here

Comments

[eggstinction]

I think she may have been a part of whatever this place used to be.

[vecna]

I didn’t consider that. I guess there’s no way to confirm it just yet, though.

…Well, anyway. Power like that is bound to lead to nothing good. Look at how tangled up you are. Do you still want me to work on a few strings?

[eggstinction]

Oh, if you do not mind. Please.

[vecna]

All right.

[He straightens. Any other weird strings floating off into the nowhere, or knotted up tightly?]

[eggstinction]

Thank you. I love my family, but a tangle like this is a little to clingy.

[The number of gold threads seems endless, but with will and effort they can be combed into order. though with all his hundreds of strings in all their colors, there's not a single black thread.

and there's a string for Henry buried in there! it's a nice leafy green, very new.]

[vecna]

[That is an inordinate amount of gold threads. Henry cannot imagine having this many connections, much less so many of them gold, but thankfully, that is not his problem.

Fortunately, Henry is a surprisingly neat and orderly man when presented with a need for organization. It takes a minute, but eventually, the strings are brought into order, fanning out in a wide variety of colors -- minus one.]

All this, and I don't see a strand of black.

[But hey, maybe Moon can move around now!]

[eggstinction]

[stretches his arms and straightens up, admiring being able to actually do that again]

Should there be black?

[vecna]

There doesn't have to be.

[Unlike Henry, who has several black strings fanning out from his fingertips, but the sort that lead out beyond reverie.]

I'm just impressed that you can know so many people without heavily disliking any of them.

["heavily disliking"]

You must be very personable, all the time.

[eggstinction]

Not all the time… Here, perhaps, but not at home. I can be quite intimidating.

[he fans his fingers, looking at his dozens of royal purple threads thoughtfully ]

Really… It may be that few people can afford to earn my dislike.

[vecna]

[That is a lot of purple, admittedly. There is still something to be said about none of them having transitioned to black.]

"Afford to"? What happens when you're not fond of someone?

[eggstinction]

If they are wise, they will banish themselves. In the worst cases, they are executed and devoured.

[vecna]

Devoured?

[He sounds more curious than actually aghast.]

[eggstinction]

Yes. One might also devour someone who challenges them for their rank. It signals that your foe was beneath you, that they were no better than prey against you.

[vecna]

That sounds only fair to me.

[There is nothing ironic about that statement. He just smiles mildly.]

Oh, but didn't you say you hadn't hatched yet?

[eggstinction]

I haven't. Why?

[he murders just fine as a dream??]

[vecna]

[You know, that's also not so far-fetched.]

You can devour people when you're still asleep? As a dream?

[eggstinction]

I can. My body is still an egg, but my mind is strong. I have been dreaming for millions of years.

[vecna]

That's impressive, being able to affect others in such a way even when you're asleep. It's almost like a kind of... astral projection.

[eggstinction]

Astral projection is an apt comparison. At least in my case, since I know I am dreaming. Most of my family have shorter dreams that forget our natures.

[vecna]

You mean that they forget who they are? What happens then?

[eggstinction]

They live a mortal life until they wake up, they realize they're dreaming, or that body is killed. They can go through a lot of dreams like that.

[vecna]

That must be jarring for them, to realize their existence is a dream in one. And that they aren't mortal. I can't imagine it's an easy adjustment for your siblings.

[eggstinction]

It can be difficult for the dream... But my siblings do not talk about their old dreams much anymore. Some have forgotten them entirely.

[vecna]

Maybe that's for the best. I don't think I'd be able to handle it very gracefully if the same happened to me.

[eggstinction]

I like my shallow way of dreaming better… but they were used to it. The dragons I rule over are the descendants of those dreams.