shaper of form.

        something gentled in her, at the slight touch to her arm, in the clear hesitation of the action. she knew, of course, that morpheus often struggled to show his emotions, to be free with them as she was. and that was alright; death loved him, anyway, and always would. even still, however, it made even the tiniest gesture of affection from him feel like a shout. a small touch, from her brother, was the equivalent of hugging her as tightly as she had him. she knew what it took from him to do, and it made her smile at him, a proud beaming thing that showed the whites of her teeth. it gave her the will to squeeze his arms once before finally releasing him completely, instead tucking her arms behind her back and twining her fingers together.

    ❝ it takes a lot more than that to make me disappointed in you, dream, ❞ she countered good-naturedly, fixing him with a knowing gaze. in truth, she was fine with whatever he had been doing in this place, as long as it didn’t involve the dark and sometimes bitter wallowing he often found himself in. especially now, when she hadn’t been sure he’d been completely back on his feet in the first place. feeding pigeons, tromping through the woods, hell, even scuba diving: she didn’t care, as long as dream was taking care of himself. and now that she had found herself here with him, she had every intention of making sure he did just that until they found a way out.

    ❝ adjusting well, i hope? ❞ there was a searching note in her tone, a raised eyebrow that conveyed that the question wasn’t rhetorical. ❝ what have you been up to here, before i found you? ❞

       THERE IS A KINDNESS TO DEATH unlike that of any other endless, and it has only flourished with time. he knows not why his sister toils with niceties oft undeserved by those she expresses them too, and yet, she persists regardless. he finds the question frequently waiting at his lips, but... it occurs to him that might be considered a foolish thing to ask, as though he should already know the answer, and so, his curiosity is abated once more. it doesn’t matter--- she has her ways, and he has his own.

       it is unfortunate that they should share in this imprisonment; he laments the circumstances for them both--- is it selfish to find her presence here a comfort however? it troubles him to think in such a way of his sibling, but... would she not say the same of him? it is in her nature to find even an ounce of goodness where most would find none, even in the most bleak of situations.

               ❝  as well as one can.  ❞ dream answers, lending little else to that conversation, ❝  i have been studying this realm. i had hoped to... understand it, to some avail.  ❞

       it is unusual, and just aside that which he has witnessed in the span of his existence. similar, in that it is a realm beyond the reach of the waking world, but different enough to set it apart from the abodes of the endless. he continues to seek answers as best as he can, and privately hopes the same fate does not befall the rest of their family.

        for a moment, she simply stared, letting her steady gaze scrutinize the form of her younger brother. she cannot help but think of how time stretched and compressed for the endless, how his imprisonment under the cruel thumb of mortals was only barely behind him, still stubbornly clinging to the hems of his robes. and yet. and yet. here he was, again. a prison much wider than roderick burgess’s sphere of glass, but a prison nonetheless. there was a singular moment where death felt a great fury sear through her, at the injustices visited upon her favorite sibling again and again. it was only the great span of her patience that kept the emotion from her face, her eyes. she let go of the impulse to scream, and instead stepped forward to wrap dream in a hug.

    he was taller than her, and it was only by standing on her tiptoes that she managed to curl her arms around his shoulders properly, her cheek pressed against his own as she drew him closer. she squeezed him in an iron embrace, protective and fierce, while at the same time drawing comfort herself from the familiarity of his closeness. from her ability to hold another member of her family in this place where even her function had been brought into question. it was with a sigh that death closed her eyes, melting into the hug even as she allowed the last of her anger to slip away in the face of her affection.

    ❝ flattery will get you everywhere, dream, ❞ she teased as she drew back slightly, unwilling to quite let him go as she rested her hands on his arms. ❝ and how have you been? no more feeding pigeons, i hope? ❞

               EVER THE PURVEYOR OF AFFECTION, his sister, taken aback by the embrace. he tilts his head toward her, as if it would afford him a glimpse of her expression, to no avail. it was no mere gesture befitting a reunion, he notes, but something far more... vehement in the way she holds him, as though he would fall to dust in her hands if she let him go. it is not often she troubles him so, and though he struggles to reciprocate, morpheus peers at her once more, before touching her arm gently. he hopes it speaks to her somehow, in his own way.

       he does not recall employing flattery, but dream grants his sister a resigned silence in answer to her remark. may she think what she will, for he is simply... glad to see her here, unharmed, albeit diminished similarly to himself. if an endless as incomprehensibly powerful as death can be tethered by the entities which govern this realm, then it is cause for concern. granted, an ordinary human has accomplished such a feat in the past, but exerting his will over an entire plane? no--- that is no simple task, even by way of ancient texts, as roderick burgess was aided by. this is something different, something dangerous, though the dream king does not permit his innermost thoughts to the other at this time.

⚔️ //  she  looked  him  up  and  down.  on  further  inspection  he  seemed  an  OLD  soul.  there  was  something  stubborn  within  him  that  ,  in  some  ways  ,  reminded  her  of  lady  rhea.  or  rather  ,  what  she  now  knew  of  lady  rhea  :  that  she  was  a  woman  very  set  in  her  ways.  or  perhaps  he  reminded  her  of  sothis  somehow.  something  STRIKING  about  his  eyes.

          “it  is  not  my  place  to  attempt  to  convince  you  ,  one  way  or  the  other.”  only  he  could  decide  how  to  best  make  use  of  precious  time.  of  which  the  world  spun  very  little  before  it  continued  ever  onward.  “byleth  eisner.”

               HE RUMINATES UPON HER WORDS, noting her manner with a veiled curiosity. it is familiar to him, the way she conducts herself, though he is aware they have never met prior. there is something just aside of human that surrounds her, yet it is not certain--- only a feeling, but he commits it to memory nonetheless.

i'm giving the people what they want, dream: therapy

        your sister is also omnipotent and doesn’t need someone to tell her that.

“Oh!” She scoffs in a form of ‘no worries’ and she’s back down onto her knees. She opens her book then looks up at him to speak, “The writing isn’t going anywhere! I have allll the time to write. OH,” And as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head, she scoots just a little bit closer. 

“You’re an adult! You know how to spell, right?” He still hasn’t told her how to spell Crumbly, so she has to make sure. “I’m still learning. I like reading books, but sometime big words are hard.” She’d think of an example, but she can’t think of one right now. 

“Mmm, but if you have something you have to do then maybe next time!” Adults had adult things to do, after all.

               ❝  i should hope so.  ❞ he answers amusedly.

       it seems he has forgotten the original purpose of this conversation. a curious little thing, this child, and yet he is no closer to understanding exactly what she is, nor where she has come from. it is not of dire importance at present, simply an itch at the back of his mind, where unanswered questions go to await closure. no matter--- dream considers her proposal for a moment, before inclining his head.