#dogdream

catnap and dogday but they swap themes(?)

[beginning] …… [<< previous]

the twins rose out of the marsh, horror-movie style. they were identical down to their clothes. grey dresses hung off their bodies stretched unnaturally, their forms languid as they floated, hand in hand, over the bog-water and onto the spongy forest floor where the team of wayward travelers had set up camp. Alma, the Prophet, had been with them for some time now. it was hard to say how long. such was the way of dreams.

"Hello," the twins greeted, the same voice echoing. it was a watery sound, like river on rock. their lower halves pooled, their limbs became syrupy, melting back into thick puddles that leaked away slowly toward the marshes.

Alma greeted them with a bow. Blue-Jay, moody, asked, "Who are you?"

"We are Good and Bad," they responded as one. Dream Elements. more powerful than they appeared.

Blue-Jay did not like this answer. "But you look the same. How do we know which is which?"

"You do not," they said, together.

[beginning] ...... [<< previous]

iron bridges falling down, falling down, falling down, falling down, falling down. a cascade of bridge disappearing into a misty abyss. the bottom unseeable. the falling eternal.

it's one of the ways out of the Land of Dream. but something long ago, forgotten ago, destroyed it.

there are other ways out, though. more difficult, tenuous avenues. but they have options. the problem is getting to them. highway 59 is the best route. but it's so far and they are so deep in the forest. everything would try to stop them from reach it, they'd have to fight every day. they all might not make it.

Alma suggests another passage. through the marsh. then down under the alder tree. there is doorway. corridor. but to gain entrance one must bring an offering, the head of a great Dream Beast.

Sheriff remembers the future head that Alma presented them with when they first met. "You haven't killed this one yet," she'd said, "but you will."

it was a great canine. bigger than any real dog. long-snouted, baring razor-sharp teeth.

"the dog head," Sheriff said, turning to Alma. "that's the one, isn't it?"

Alma held his gaze, her shrewd Prophet eyes assessing. "it's incredibly hard to kill."

"But you said we kill it."

"Yes. How though? That has yet to be revealed."

[<< previous]

thin light, underlining the door. Sheriff's steps quicken, but the light remains distant. he strokes the Dogtooth around his neck, then whispers the words of the Prophet, calling for its magic. Alma had said, "it all comes down to what you really believe." the charm will work if you think it will. it's the way of dreams. so Sheriff believes and believes with every step. the corridor gives an inch. the light grows larger.

[<< previous]

the unexpected prophet came to them at the marshes. she appeared out of the mist, a girl of thirteen, carrying the head of a beast. "You haven't killed this one yet," she said, dropping the trophy at Sheriff's feet,"but you will." her eyes gleamed, asking them to challenge her proclamation.

Blue-Jay was quick to oblige. "What do you mean?" wrong thing to ask a prophet. they are not ones to elaborate.

"The Destroyer's hour draws near." she lifted her arms to the heavens, the sleeves of her sleek grey fur coat falling back to reveal red lining and heavily scarred flesh. she'd been in a fire, maybe. "Yes," she said, snapping her sharp gaze onto the Sheriff. "Prophets are made the same as swords."

Blue-Jay pushed to the front, brushing shoulders with Sheriff. "Say what you mean," they demanded. "Who's the Destroyer? Who are you?"

the girl shrugged, fixing the skirt of her dark denim dress. "Call me Alma."

[<< previous]

they called him the Sheriff, back in the Land of Dream. he was no Sheriff, a boy of only sixteen. but he led the others, he took charge when needed. most importantly, he knew how to use a gun. out there in Dream was the domain of shadow and figment. anything was real. the land twisted, nonsensical, in the way of dreams. one moment, all was well as they headed to the marsh, the next monsters crowded in, strangling plants rose from the damp earth, and they'd have to fight for their lives. It'd be Blue-Jay and Sheriff, back-to-back, taking on four beasts bearing their teeth. Blue-Jay wielded a gleaming sword the color of their namesake. Sheriff shot an old revolver that never ran out of bullets. together they'd shoot-and-slash their way to victory. that's how it was for a long time, before the Dogdream.