hadriel_logs | Event Log: Dreamwalker

Entry tags:

Event Log: Dreamwalker

Who: Everyone!
What: The Dreamwalker event
Where: In your comfy bed and your sleepy head.
When: May 16th-26th
Warnings: Good dreams, weird dreams, bad dreams, straight-up nightmares. Please remember to tag for warnings in the header if things are going to be bad!

Have you been having trouble getting a good night's sleep? Tossing and turning, unable to rest those tired eyes? Or maybe you don't sleep at all, and never have. Not to worry! For a little while, you'll have no trouble at all falling asleep - in fact, as night falls, you'll find yourself overwhelmed with exhaustion whether you want to sleep or not. Lay down and rest your weary head, friends. Everyone could use a little extra sleep.

But what will your dreams bring? Something happy, images of a perfect day? Something hopeful, something you've wanted for a long time? Maybe you'll dream of anger, of the face of your worst enemy. Or maybe - just maybe - you'll have a horrific nightmare, and wake screaming, covered in cold sweat.

Not before others have time to see it, though. As you sleep, as you dream, the other residents of Hadriel, friends and enemies and people you've only met once, might find their way into your dreams. Or you might find your way into theirs - and then have to deal with someone's else's nightmares, or hopes, or anger. For the next ten nights, you'll find yourself either a host or a visitor, and no matter how you try you won't be able to stay awake once night falls.

Sweet dreams, Hadriel. Don't let the asshole fear gods bite.

► This log covers May 16th-26th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► You can't die in the dreams, but if you somehow manage to trip and fall and kill yourself getting out of bed, please report it on the death post.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey!

[Ronan steps forward, incensed. He doesn't seem to notice the forest looming behind them in their anger as he points angrily toward Adam's father, careful to keep himself aligned between the two of them.]

I care more about him than you've ever cared about anything in your miserable life. [His eyes are dark, ready to jump back at the man if he should so much as take a single step toward either of them. Luckily, he seems to be keeping his distance for now, so Ronan spits on the ground and lets out a few more choice curses, before reaching out blindly behind him to grab at Adam's wrist and pull the other boy back a little.

Once he'd certain that Robert isn't going to try to get the jump on them, he finally looks back toward the trees, which he... doesn't quite remember existing outside of Adam's trailer home before, much less with this sort of ominous darkness between them. But there's nowhere to go but out, and Ronan certainly isn't going to swallow his pride and seem remotely scared, so his grip just tightens on Adam's wrist and he moves toward the edge of the forest in long, confident steps.

It doesn't look safe. None of this does, but between subjecting Adam to his father's rage and his mothers severe silence, Ronan would choose this any day, and so he glances over to the boy next to him with a tight smile, squeezing his fingers on his arm in a way that's supposed to be reassuring.]

You with me? I'll protect you.

[His attention is dragged from the trees to his father, and then to Ronan. Ronan is the only thing in the place that isn't a threat, that doesn't come with a sense of fear and danger. Subconsciously, he moves closer, though he still watches the area around them warily.]

Stay close to me.

[He's afraid for Ronan, too, maybe even more than himself. He doesn't pull his arm away. They walk into the trees, the forest folding around them. Adam's father shouts after them, and he might be swearing at Ronan or he might be calling Adam worthless or he might just be shouting. It's impossible to tell, because the trees around them are rustling in the wind.

It's not Cabeswater. It's something much darker. Adam doesn't know if this was a good choice, but he couldn't make Ronan face his father. He couldn't put Ronan in that kind of danger.

Though the forest is thick, there are bits and pieces of familiarity. The hubcap off the BMW, half-buried at the base of a tree. A Latin textbook, waterlogged and ruined. Somewhere, there's the quiet buzzing of bees, and somewhere else the sound of dogs barking. The forest is alive and watching them.]

What are you doing here?

Saving your ass.

[Ronan says it irreverently, like it's nothing, but his posture is anything but casual. The landscape around them is disconcerting, and he doesn't think twice about staying close to Adam when they're surrounded by uncertainty like this.

The traces familiarity in the forest around them only serves to unnerve Ronan further, like it's trying to lure them into a false sense of security but can't begin to hide the darkness interwoven through every branch, every vine. Turning back is out of the question, but Ronan can only wonder how deep they can get in the forest before they run into something equally imposing.

He hopes they don't, for Adam's sake, but Ronan has had too many dreams like this to not be able to predict where it's going.]

Do you know how to get out of here?

[He shakes his head.]

I don't know where we are. This isn't Cabeswater.

[Or maybe it is, but a darker version. Even though Cabeswater is always in his head, Adam still has nightmares. Sometimes the forest changes them, sometimes it doesn't - it doesn't always understand this kind of thing. If Adam reaches out, sometimes he can ask for its help, but not always. Sometimes the connection is hazy, sometimes things are blocking it. Sometimes something else is more powerful.

He tugs his arm away then, but only so he can take Ronan's hand instead. Some tension goes out of him when he's touching Ronan. They can protect each other, maybe. But Adam's had nightmares with Ronan in them before, and they usually don't end well.

He doesn't want to see Ronan bleeding out again.]

But there has to be a way out. I know that.

[Or he hopes so. There's no path, and the roots are easy to trip on, and there's sounds in the forest. And then shapes, dark twisted things with long limbs and sharp teeth, sliding through the darkness under the trees.]

[He tangles his fingers easily around Adam's own and tries not to remember what happened the last time the two of them shared a dream. This isn't that time, there's no corrupted ley line here- just Adam's own mind, working against them.

Ronan turns suddenly at a snapped branch, what he swears is a growl, the sound of weight on the ground, but there's nothing there, save for shadows and the kind of heaviness that only comes with danger. It's not going to go well for them, he knows that already, but maybe if they can push through, move faster, then maybe they can still make it out of this alright.

But it's not Cabeswater. At least, Adam doesn't seem to think so. Ronan can't feel any sort of connection to it, but- then again, since this isn't his dream in the first place, he wouldn't, would he?

Ronan bites his lip, careful to lift his feet over the roots as he moves forward.]

Well, we won't find it by cowering. Come on.

[He follows, keeping hold of Ronan's hand, though his eyes are on the forest around them. The shadows in the trees - he knows something is there, and though it's frightening, it doesn't scare him on the same bone-deep, instinctive level that his father does. There's fear of the unknown, and then there's fear of the known - knowing what will happen, how his anger will imprint itself on Adam.

Whatever's in the trees, he doesn't know what it will do. That leaves some room for being unafraid.

But then it flickers out of the trees at them, and it's not clear what the creature is. Not one of Ronan's night horrors - Adam's fears take different forms - but something many-jointed and skittering, something like a scorpion or a spider or a wasp, or maybe something entirely different. He pulls at Ronan's hand, pulls him back.]

Run!

[He doesn't know what else to do. He keeps thinking of Ronan bleeding out on the floor of the church, and all the times he's dreamed of that, and he can't let that happen. He can't let this become one of those dreams.]

[Ronan starts at the first sign of the skittering creature, pulling back quickly and glancing toward Adam as he's yanked. He's definitely not going to argue: running seems like the best of options they have available to them.

This isn't the type of monster he's used to dealing with. Ronan's demons typically take the form of something avian, possibly reptilian, nothing quite like this. He doesn't know how to combat something that wasn't created in his own head, but he's not about to let it hurt Adam in any significant way either. If it comes to that, he knows that he'll be standing between Adam and whatever it is, no matter what. He's had too many dreams of Adam bleeding out to let that become a reality, even if it's a skewed reality in someone else's head.

It hasn't come to that yet, though. Now, there's just running, pushing Adam forward and trying to keep an eye on the creature behind them. Ronan isn't the dreamer here, but that doesn't mean he's immune- he knows that nightmares can often target other people, just to make it hurt that much more. He doesn't want that to happen to Adam.]

Can you pull something up? [He asks, frantically,] something to kill it with?

[He's not like Ronan, he's not a dreamer, this isn't his natural state - Adam doesn't know if he can pull anything up. He doesn't know if he can change the dream, at least not without Cabeswater's help. And it's not responding to him, whether because it doesn't understand he needs it or because it can't.

But he knows he has to try anyway. Whether or not he can do it, he has to try, because the alternative could be Ronan's life. Or his own, but Adam has died in his own dreams before - he's more afraid for Ronan, afraid that his powers might somehow make it real for him. Afraid that whatever happens here could affect him in real life, that Adam might wake up to find him torn to pieces on the other side of the wall separating their rooms.]

I'll try.

[He doesn't know what to think of - a gun, maybe, but he flinches from that, reminded too much of his father. A weapon of some kind, but Adam has never been inclined to weapons, to afraid of hurting someone, of turning into the monster he knows taints his blood.

Not a weapon. Something to protect them. Something like Ronan's night horrors, maybe, only Adam has always been a more practical sort, more down to earth, less likely to conjure up nightmare creatures and impossible things. So in the end, he doesn't know what he's asking for, just help, something that will want to protect him, to protect Ronan.

And it's that, and the still-strong memory of the trailer park, that leads to a dog rushing out of the trees, teeth bared to growl at the darkness.

It's not much, but Adam is shocked to see that it worked at all.]

[Ronan can hear it before he sees it, just a flash of brown in the darkness at the corner of his eye, and he turns to look back at the dog, immediately torn between continuing to run and staying back to help it.

He hadn't anticipated this. A weapon, maybe, or some kind of monster- that's what he'd have picked- but the creature that runs to their aid is something so painfully Adam that Ronan finds himself aching to leave it behind. He knows how it feels when he sends dreams to die for them; he doesn't want Adam to feel that way.

So Ronan bites his lip, hanging back for a moment too long, enough to make out an articulated joint and something with far too many sharp ends, before he finally yanks himself away, hating that he has to do it at all. He turns toward Adam then, reaching for his hand once more, and tries to stomach running away.]

-it won't hold it for long, [he warns in a low voice.] What else can you do?

[It's unfair to ask so much of him, but Ronan is also not accustomed to feeling powerless here. Even if he's out of control in his dreams, everything still comes from him. Here and now, his subconscious is removed from his surroundings, and everything is Adam: his fears, his hopes, his guardians. There's not much Ronan can do in the wake of it except try to make it through to the other side, try to protect Adam until the end- but he doesn't even know if he can do that.]

[The sound of that - it won't hold it for long - makes Adam's stomach roil. It's true. There's no way that dog could protect them, not for very long. It's destined to die for them, and Adam hates the thought of that, hates the idea that he's created something that wants to protect him only for it to sacrifice itself doing so.

But if he doesn't let it happen, Ronan could die. Could die for real, for all Adam knows, since this isn't his dream. Isn't saving him worth a sacrifice? Adam has to believe it is. He has to think that it isn't real, that it's just a dream, that he didn't make this dog just for it to die.

But his grip on Ronan's hand is tighter than he wants it to be. His heart pounds. He doesn't think he can create anything else, just to send it to its death. A weapon, maybe? But how?]

I don't know, I - god, I shouldn't have done that. Ronan, we have to get out of here.

[He doesn't know what to do. They should run. They should leave it and go. Pragmatically, Adam knows that. But how can he?]

-it's fine.

[It's really not fine. He can already see the pain on Adam's face, and he regrets asking for any help immediately. Ronan intimately knows the regret of making something to sacrifice itself for you, remembers making something with his own face to take the blows for him, remembers how it felt the moment he took it with him, only for it to die, leaking blood across the floor of the church. He doesn't want Adam to endure that.

So they have to save the dog. It's a piece of Adam, some kind of guardian that Adam defaulted to, something he created. Leaving it to die stopped being an option the moment that he saw the guilt in Adam's expression.

He thinks quickly. Dreams are difficult to control even at the best of times, and he doubts that Adam will be able to shape it any more than he already has. It's generally not any easier to wake up either, but at least that method isn't countered by god influence. So, in essence, all that Adam has to do is wake up.

Ronan turns toward him then, his jaw tight, eyes intense as he lifts a hand onto Adam's shoulder. Somewhere behind them, there's a high-pitched yelp. They don't have a lot of time.]

Listen to me: I'm going to get it. Focus on your body, outside of the dream. Can you do that? Your eyes are closed out there. [He's speaking quickly now, lifting his hand to press against Adam's cheek, to hold eye contact.] You see me touch that dog, you force your eyes open. Got it?

[It's a risky play, and maybe one that isn't wholly necessary- Ronan doesn't know what Adam's dreams are like, if they're in any way connected to reality. For all he knows, when Adam wakes up, everything that he dreams ceases to exist and nothing about it matters. But Ronan is here, and so it does matter, doesn't it? He knows better than to assume that dream things are any less real than anything else.

He takes a deep breath and turns back to the fight, preparing to move.]

[Ronan's hand on his face centers him, lets him focus for a moment, which he desperately needed. And he knows that even if this is his dream, dreams are Ronan's turf, they're what he understands and what he can use. Far more so than Adam, whose magic rarely touches on that sort of thing. So he listens, he focuses only on Ronan for a moment, and he nods.]

Got it. Just - be careful. Nothing is worth your life.

[He doesn't know how much danger there really is for Ronan here. Whether he could actually die, or be hurt, whether anything truly awful could come of this. But Adam doesn't want to risk it - even if he also doesn't want to create an innocent creature and let it die for him.

But he thinks he can do this. Adam has always been determined, has always been careful about having control over himself, even if sometimes he's failed. He focuses, he thinks of his body, unconscious somewhere in the real world. He thinks of Cabeswater, reaching out to it for whatever help it can give.

He thinks he can do this. He watches Ronan, ready to force his eyes open, ready to force them both out of the dream.]

[To be honest, Ronan isn't sure how much physical danger he's in either, in here. He takes injuries out of his own dreams just like he takes anything else, but someone else's?

He's not sure if he can get the dog either, if his abilities even work correctly in someone else's dream, but it's such a last-minute idea that they don't really have time to revise it. He hopes they do, for Adam's sake. For his sake, and for this damn dog.

It's not very big, barely an adolescent. Ronan could probably lift it, he thinks, but he wouldn't be able to make it any distance away before the nightmare would strike him down, and so Adam has to be able to pull them out of the dream at the exact right time.

No more time to second guess this. Ronan moves, running as fast as he can, straight toward the many-legged monster and the growling dog in front of it, his teeth grit as he pushes, tries to get himself to go even faster. The scorpion-like tail of the monster comes down and Ronan jumps, wrapping his arms around the dog and rolling forward.

It yelps in pain and Ronan squeezes his eyes shut as he hits the ground on his shoulder and shuts out the rest of the world, focuses entirely on the creature in his arms, instantly memorizing the soft texture of the fur, the weight of it, the feel of it, the way it sounds, everything he can possibly store away. He holds it in the dream and he feels its weight against his chest in reality, the slippery feeling of blood on his shoulder, the scuffle of claws pressing against his chest.]

[He watches, and it's hard to watch, the sight of Ronan running into danger like that tearing at something inside of him. Adam is afraid - something horrible could happen so easily, and he wouldn't be able to stop it, even though this is his dream. Even though he should be able to do something.

But he can, can't he? He can wake them up, or he can try. When Ronan grabs the dog he tenses, focused, telling himself this is just a dream, I can wake up, I can end this. And maybe it's sheer willpower, maybe it's Cabeswater helping, maybe it's that Adam has had to learn how to focus and control his own mind when he's scrying - whatever it is, it works.

It works in an instant. One moment Adam is watching Ronan race toward a monster half-hidden in the darkness, the next his eyes are open, staring up at the ceiling of his room in Hadriel. He scrambles out of bed, wishing for a brief moment that Ronan had stayed with him tonight so he'd know immediately that everything was all right.

But Ronan isn't far. Adam crosses the balcony, not wanting to storm through the living room and wake Gansey up. He doesn't knock. He pushes Ronan's door open, wasting no time, afraid of seeing blood or worse.]

Ronan?

[He's breathing. He knows that much at least. Ronan can feel himself breathe and he can feel the fur of the dog brushing against him, but he doesn't let go of it quite yet. It's not too happy about that and struggles just a little bit harder, and all at once, Ronan lets his grip slacken just a little, enough for the dog to squirm out of it and set about licking its cut shoulder while Adam runs to his balcony door and slides it open.

Ronan still can't move quite yet, but the dog looks up at the sound, pleased to see Adam and so far not seeming quite phased about the fact that it had just been pulled from a dream. There's a little blood from where the monster had gotten it, and it's smeared across Ronan's arm and his sheets, but otherwise, neither of them look too bad.

He wrenches himself up finally, shuddering a little in the aftershocks of everything, trying to center his world again. There's a dog on his bed, Adam at his door, and Ronan reaches up to rub at his eyes, slowly piecing together everything that had just happened.

Fuck.]

Adam. [His voice is a little hoarse, and Ronan clears his throat, startling the dog a little. When he speaks again, he's a little more agitated, as the adrenaline seems from dream into reality.]

Jesus. Fuck, Parrish.

[He doesn't point out the obvious, I pulled out your fucking dog, or the other obvious, that was a fucked-up dream, or the slightly less obvious, I need another new shirt, but he doesn't really have to say any of them to convey his general distaste for the situation altogether. It's not Adam's fault, not really, but that doesn't mean that Ronan isn't allowed to start getting keyed up about it.]

[He takes in the scene in an instant - Ronan, the dog, the blood on Ronan's sheets. The dog Adam knows he'll need to worry about in a moment, it's looking up at him like it's happy to see him, and Adam remembers making it but he's never had anything from his dreams come to life before, he doesn't know what it means or what to do about it.

But regardless, that concern is pushed aside neatly, relegated to a secondary priority. He hears Ronan, and he can hear the burgeoning emotion, upset or anger or something else, but Adam ignores that too. He can deal with that later, he can take Ronan's anger or try to talk him down or something, sure, but first, there's blood on Ronan's sheets and on his arms and Adam needs to be sure he's all right.

He goes to the bed, sinks down on it, takes Ronan's hands in his and turns them over. Adam's touch is gentle but thorough, tracing his arms, fingers delicate on his scars. Then his neck, fingertips against his jaw, turning it carefully so Adam can be sure that red mark is just a scratch from the dog's nails, not even breaking the skin, nothing worse than that. The blood isn't Ronan's.

Adam relaxes, heartbeat slowing now as the fear leaves him. Whatever else happened, Ronan is all right. He wasn't hurt by Adam's nightmares. He'll take Ronan's anger, or whatever else comes, his relief enough to undercut any annoyance he might have felt.]

You're okay.

[And he realizes then that that was probably inappropriate, probably invasive. He didn't ask, he just did it, afraid something had happened to Ronan because of him. It's true that they're easier with each other now, sleeping pressed together sometimes, touching each other in small ways, but even so he should probably not have just - grabbed Ronan to check him for injuries.

He lets his hands fall, but doesn't apologize. He's not actually sorry, even if he shouldn't have done it.]

[Ronan thinks that Adam will go to the dog first. It makes sense- it's new and squirming and instantly curious about the room around it, but Adam goes to him instead.

He's still pumped full of adrenaline, on the familiar rush that comes with defying death in a dream, the gutpunch of exhilaration that comes with taking something out. His pupils are blown and he's tense when Adam touches him, anger clashing with panic and winning handily. He wants to be angry- he's not quite sure why, maybe it's because of the dog, maybe it's because of Adam's dream, maybe it's just that he's frustrated and doesn't know how else to express himself, but he can feel it bubbling below the surface, ready to boil over.

But then, a strange thing happens.

Adam says you're okay, and Ronan stills for another moment or so, surprised at the statement, but also oddly reassured. He can feel his frustration bleed out of him, seeping back into his familiar corners, and Ronan looks at Adam then, quietly overtaken by a soft ripple of affection. This is the same boy who stitched him up, who fought with him over Gansey leaving, who kissed him quietly and earnestly when nobody was looking.

This is Adam, and Ronan doesn't have to be angry with him, he can trust him with the more vulnerable parts of himself. It's harder than it looks, but also easier than it should be, and Ronan reaches out to take Adam's hands back into his own, looking over him for a moment before nodding, deflated and calmer under the weight of Adam's concern.]

I'm okay.

[It's quiet, but an affirmation all the same. The dog is already licking at its cut and Ronan allows himself another moment of this- touching him, feeling that connection under his skin- before he pulls back and turns toward it.]

But what the fuck are we gonna do about this?

[He can feel Ronan relaxing, see his mood evening out. Adam didn't expect that, and he doesn't know quite what caused it - or he does, really, but he's startled to find that he has that sort of power. Maybe it's not power, maybe it's influence, maybe something else - but whatever it is, Adam didn't expect it.

He should have, maybe. After everything they've become to one another, isn't it normal to have an effect on each other? He knows that being near Ronan calms him, helps his thoughts quiet themselves a little, tones down his constant wariness and analysis of the world around him. He doesn't know if Ronan is aware that he has this effect, but Adam notices, he knows he's let his guard down more and more around Ronan.

So it shouldn't be such a surprise that Adam's presence has some effect on Ronan in return. But it is.

He pushes it aside, the absurd pleasure, the surprise and the uncertainty of it, to focus on the problem at hand.

The dog is licking its wounds, but it looks up when Adam holds out a hand. It regards him for a moment, then approaches, sniffing Adam's fingers carefully.]

It's my responsibility. I'll take care of it.

[Adam does feel responsible, but he also - well. He likes dogs, he never really got to have a pet of his own. And didn't this one come from him? He doesn't know if that means it's his or Ronan's or something else entirely, but he wants to take care of it.]

You've already got Chainsaw to look after.

[Taking the dog out had seemed like a good idea at the time- Ronan hated to leave it when Adam had dreamed it up himself and it was meant to be a guardian, but now he's not quite sure what to do with it, and it seems like bringing it to life may have been a rash decision.

It's another mouth to feed, another thing to worry about and take care of when things get bad, but at the same time, Ronan finds that he has difficulty mustering the energy to be angry about it. The creature is so wholly Adam, tentative and careful, dusty brown and somehow still fragile looking, despite being covered in fur. Ronan feels a connection to it- though whether it's because he took it out of the dream or because Adam created it in the first place isn't quite clear.]

'Your responsibility'? This isn't exactly a stray you brought home.

[Ronan points out, because it's pretty clear that they have little option but to take care of it, and Adam is acting like he just stumbled along it and is asking permission to keep it. It came from Adam's head and is born of Ronan's powers and there's no way to put it back- if either of them would even want to.

True to form of course, Ronan loves it immediately. He reaches out to pet it, careful of the wound on the shoulder, and tries to reshape his mind around the idea of them having another pet.

Chainsaw- who is starting to stir and rattle in her cage- is going to be furious.]

I guess we'll figure something out. [Ronan shrugs, scritching along the dog's back, addressing it in turn.]

Isn't that right, Deathfang?

[He knows that he should probably be worried - and in some ways he is. He's already thinking things over. Where he can find food for it, how he can make sure it's safe when things happen here. Should he try to make a leash? Will it run away if he takes it outside? Probably not. Chainsaw always comes back to Ronan, surely this dog will, too. Ronan's dream-things always love him.

He checks the wound on its shoulder with gentle hands. Nothing too bad, as long as it's kept clean it should be fine, but it reminds him that there are no vets here. Even so, even with all these things to think about, Adam can't really regret the sudden appearance of the dog. He likes it already, its soft fur and its cautious nature. He wants to keep it.]

I'll go out and see if I can find something for dog food later.

[He's never kept an eye out for pet food in the stores, but dogs can eat all kinds of things, and there's plenty of dog-edible food there, he thinks.]

I think it's a boy.

[Though he hasn't tried to check yet, not really - he doesn't want to scare the dog. Adam is petting it gently instead, letting it get comfortable.]

And we're not naming him Deathfang.

[Ronan watches as Adam looks the dog over, quiet in order to let him concentrate. However the wound looks, Adam apparently doesn't think it's too bad, which is enough to make Ronan relax a little as the dog nudges away from him and further into Adam's hands.

He lets it go without complaint, though he's forced to wonder just a little about the creature's creation. Adam brought it out in his own dream to protect them both, but Ronan is the one who took it from the dream and made it real- so which one really gave it life? Does it matter? It clearly belongs to Adam: it seems drawn to him, it's reminiscent of him, it even acts a little like him, and Ronan is happy to let Adam own it.

It doesn't stop him from feeling responsible for it, all the same. Even if Ronan only exists as the battery, even if Adam is the input, Ronan still brought it to life into this place. How could he not feel close to it?]

Who the fuck says we can't name him Deathfang?

[Ronan asks bluntly, reaching down to tug at its leg, annoying it and earning him a huffy little kick to the hand while his head is ducked a bit, confirming Adam's earlier suspicion in a typical Ronan Lynch fashion.]

Yeah, it's a boy. [A pause, and then-] Throttle's a good boy name.

What, and Deathfang was a good non-gender specific name?

[Then again, Ronan did name his girl bird Chainsaw. Adam doesn't think he is the best person to turn to for naming suggestions.

As the dog gets more comfortable, he starts to look around himself a little. Cautious, but curious. Ronan's room is full of interesting things, so Adam can't blame the creature, and he's inclined to let it roam a bit. It can't be easy, suddenly being brought to life like that. Adam isn't even sure how he feels, yet, except that he already cares about the dog.

It's strange, given his own normal caution, but maybe it's not that strange. He created this dog, in the beginning, and Ronan brought it to life. Does that mean it's theirs, somehow a product of both of them? He's not sure what to think about that. He just knows that he feels responsible for it, watching it poke around the room, not going too far from either of them.]

We're not naming him after a car part. He came from the forest, so maybe something like... Birch. Or Cedar.

[Ronan shrugs unhelpfully at the question, mostly because he seems to think that it's a good enough non-gender-specific name. He wouldn't name a girl Throttle, but Deathfang has a nice ring to it, whether it's masculine or feminine. He's not quite sure why Adam doesn't get that.

But, moving onto more important things, Ronan watches as the dog moves around, carefully trying to note any of the sharp or dangerous things that he has cluttering up his room so that the dog won't hurt itself. There's not too much that he has that would be immediately dangerous to an animal like that, and so after a moment of tracking it around his room, he shifts his attention back to the conversation at hand.]

Jesus, everything comes from a forest. If you wanna be like that, just name it Tree and move on with your life.

[As if Ronan is the perfect person to lecture Adam on a lack of creativity. Nevertheless, he holds his fingers down for the dog to walk to, clicking his tongue to get its attention. It has the adverse effect of getting Chainsaw's attention, and she starts to rattle in her cage, alarmed at the other creature in the room. She caws loudly- it's still the middle of the night- and Ronan frowns, moving to stand and walk toward the cage.]

Or Woodchipper. At least that's still kind of badass.

Tree names are badass.

[Objectively Adam knows that is not really true, but there's no way he's gonna just let Ronan disparage his name choices. Besides, the dog doesn't look all that badass anyway. Though he did try to protect them in the dream - Adam remembers that, and his heart goes out to the poor creature.

For all that it might be difficult taking care of a dog here, Adam can only be relieved that it wasn't left in his dream to die or disappear or whatever might have happened. He has Ronan to thank for that.]

We can't name him after a power tool, either. What would Chainsaw think?

[He hopes they don't try to fight. Do birds and dogs fight? He doesn't think so, but he coaxes the dog over as Ronan makes his way to the cage. Probably Chainsaw won't like Ronan having brought something else to life, and Adam intends to try to keep the peace. Somehow.]

[Chainsaw is very much disgruntled at the idea of a furry thing in the room, though whether or not she realizes that the dog came from a dream like she did is left a little up in the air. She pecks at Ronan's fingers when he lets her out, before climbing up to his shoulder, out of reach of any wet nose or furry paws.]

Fine. Splinter, then. Still wood, still badass, not a power tool.

[Part of him can't quite believe that they're having this conversation. Part of him is still guilty, confused, concerned about the dog, and the rest of him is a little charmed by Adam's immediate taking to the dog.

Chainsaw doesn't seem to want to go near the dog, which is understandable for a multitude of reasons. Ronan already trusts it- it came from Adam's mind after all, it tried to protect them both- but she wasn't there and she wouldn't know about it. That's alright. There'll be plenty of opportunities for her to pick on it in the future.

Ronan stays on the other side of the room for now, so as not to force Chainsaw closer when she's not comfortable with it.]

What do you think?

Event Log: Dreamwalker

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