don't stare at my nightmares {abe}

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

Abe stopped looking about for a second to instead look up at Nathan with a confused, slightly wary look.
"Ummm... no?" He said, "Why? Did you?"
He hoped not, because since neither of them had a corpse to hand, the only other body Nathan could be hoping to bury was Abe's. Being buried alive wasn't an experience he particularly wished to go through. Not that he couldn't get out of it with ease as long as one of them was still dreaming, but still, he couldn't imagine the sensation of being covered over by the ground would be particularly pleasant.

"It's so weird..." Abe then went on, scratching the top of his head and frowning at the darkness that constricted them. "I swear I put it right here..."

Then came the sound of an almighty cracking, so deep and loud that it was more like a heavy rumbling, and it was directly beneath where they stood. The ground shuddered and Abe froze instantly. The sound died out as suddenly as it had began, and Abe was left still and silent. His eyes were the only things that moved, and they moved to lock on to Nathan's.

"Oh yes. I covered it over." He said awkwardly, out of the corner of his mouth. "Tell me, Nathan," He continued, still frozen to the spot with his shovel over his shoulder. "Have you ever been skiing before? Like on a ski slope?"
There was another deep rumble, like the Earth was groaning in protest, and the surface of the road underfoot vibrated worryingly.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 260
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ME, actually
Character outfit: Black suit and a high-vis jacket
Notes: Wait for it…

[thejokerlaughsatu]

"No, but I will soon if you don't hurry up and tell me what's going on," he snapped. Nathan was terrified, but he didn't dare let it show. He was trapped alone on a dark road in the middle of nowhere; his father was either dying or dead, and getting farther away every second; and, to top it all off, he had
no idea whether he was dreaming or not.

Then the entire world seemed to shake. He lost his balance and fell to his knees, but quickly scrambled back up. The sound was coming from down there; he didn't want to be on the ground at all, but he had to at least stand. "No, I don't ski!" he cried, but he still couldn't see what that had to do with anything. "What the hell's going on?" Without realizing what he was doing, Nathan stepped closer to Abe. The other seemed calm, at least, and that was better than standing there and panicking on his own.

The ground was rumbling again. For a moment, he feared that it was an earthquake, but that was stupid. If this really was a dream, then he wouldn't allow an earthquake to happen; if it wasn't, then there were no earthquakes around the school, anyhow. "You're doing this somehow, aren't you? This is your power, isn't it? Stop it now!"

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

Abe's frozen expression cracked into an unexpected smile and he laughed happily, just loud enough to be heard over the steadily increasing sound of the rumbling beneath them.

"Best foot forward, Nathan!" He yelled over the noise, still grinning like a lunatic at some joke that hadn't quite reached its punchline yet. "Best foot forward!!"

And that was when the ground gave way.

The road cracked and split and the surface beneath them fell away and they were falling. But something was strange; they weren't falling into the Earth, into darkness - they were falling into light. The purest, most brilliant white light, flooding the world and tearing them from the darkness of the scene they left. And no new ground came up to meet them. They were still falling through the air, and the light gave way to a new scene.

As they fell, they descended upon a snowy mountain landscape, the hills and peaks surrounding them covered with blankets of pure white snow. Cropping up through the perfection of the whiteness was the occasional tree, but apart from that it was just the mountains and the sky, and the place went on forever.

Abe continued to laugh into the wind as he fell, the rushing air tearing at the open jacket to his suit and ruffling through his hair. He still held the shovel in one hand, and he twisted as he fell to look at Nathan.

"TRY AND LAND ON YOUR FEET!" He instructed as they fell nearer and nearer to the snow-covered side of a steep mountain. "AND LEAN TO TURN! THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!" He laughed again, a sound that was both filled with glee and was more than a little unstable. He turned to face the quickly approaching mountain side and prepared to land.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 318
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ME, actually
Character outfit: Black suit and a high-vis jacket
Notes: WHEEEE!

[thejokerlaughsatu]

The world opened beneath him, and he fell into hell. He assumed so, anyway; there was no way he deserved to go to heaven after what he'd done, even if it hadn't been entirely purposeful. He'd spent his entire life lying and fooling people into believing that he didn't have powers, that his father was sane, that he was just an average kid. Now he was falling into the abyss. Good-bye, world.

But he hadn't died. Rushing air surrounded his body, shoving him in all directions. Every movement was impossibly difficult against the force of it, as though he'd again lost the ability to move. A blinding light engulfed them, seemed to fill the entire world, and he shut his eyes tight, praying that it would be over quickly. If he was going to die, at least it could be a painless death. Maybe he was already dead, and this other boy was there only to usher him into the afterlife.

Still, nothing changed. No sudden heat of Hell, no pain, not even the ground. Nathan opened his eyes, and gasped. They were falling into the mountains, a picture-perfect winter scene. He vaguely realized the maniac was falling next to him... and laughing. Nathan twisted around in the air, quite gracelessly, until he managed to face Abe.

"What the hell is this?" he screamed over the rush of the wind. "I want to wake up!" There was no mistaking that this was a dream now; a real road wouldn't have opened up and swallowed them into a stomach of snow. But he didn't want this, any more than he'd wanted the car crash. This was his dream, but it was out of control.

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

"NO YOU DON'T!" Abe yelled back at him, still grinning in ignorance of Nathan's desperate tone. He grabbed the corners of the high-vis jacket he was still wearing and pulled them together in front of him, zipping them up as calmly as he would if he were still standing on the road. The high-vis jacket was perfectly useless now under these conditions, but Abe had grown attached to it, so he kept it.

"WHAT YOU WANT IS CONTROL!" He went on, and shifted elegantly again as he fell so that his legs were stuck out before him, ready to hit the ground. "AND NOBODY CAN JUST GIVE YOU THAT! YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT!"

He made some final adjustments to his posture as the ground rushed even closer. As a final bit of advice, he then cackled joyously and offered:
"FACE FORWARD!"

His feet hit the powder, and the skis that suddenly covered them immediately went to action, shooting him forward on a downward slope on the mountain. With the hand that wasn't holding the shovel, he reached up and pulled a pair of snow goggles down over his eyes. He loved dream-skiing. It was one of his favorites, and that made it one of his first choices for showing guests. He was sure that Nathan could get something from it if only he learned to loosen up.

Leaning to the right, Abe weaved expertly to dodge a tree trunk before taking a glance back to see how Nathan had managed the landing process. As with anything in dreams, there was no right or wrong way to do it. There was, however, a more and a less productive way.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 285
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ME, actually
Character outfit: Black suit and a high-vis jacket
Notes: -

[thejokerlaughsatu]

"No, I don't! You don't know what I want! I want to wake up!" Nathan was a little bit hysterical after seeing his father's supposed death, and that coupled with the feeling of being "trapped" in a dream was too much for him. He twisted around in the air until he was upright, the better to fight. If this freak was keeping him in the dream, then Nathan was going to beat him until he let him go. Never mind that he hated to touch anyone; if it was a dream, he wouldn't really be hitting him. Neither of them would even feel it.

Nathan, however, hadn't been watching the ground's rapid approach. He hit hard, and gasped in shock. He'd expected the air to be knocked out of him, at the very least, but all that happened was that he lost his balance. It took a few moments of wild arm-waving and twisting about before he righted himself. He'd never been skiing before; it was strange how easy it was, how natural it seemed, and he wasn't even thinking about controlling it. If he wanted to go right, his body seemed to shift itself to take him there.

He looked around, taking in the landscape, almost in wonder... but then his eyes fell on Abe. His anger immediately returned in full force. "What the hell are you doing? I told you I wanted out! You can't keep me somewhere against my will. Let me wake up!" If Abe had been within shaking distance, Nathan would have grabbed him and shaken him until his grip on the dream released itself, if that was what it would take. What this maniac was doing, Nathan didn't want any part of it.

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

The thick trunk of a snow-topped tree zoomed up to meet the two of them, and Abe swerved gracefully around it, taking his time in reply to what Nathan was shouting at him. In fact, he seemed to be taking his time just to let Nathan sizzle in his tantrum for a moment.

"I'm not keeping you anywhere!" He eventually, and truthfully, replied, keeping his eyes on the white path ahead. He steadied his course using the ski poles in his hands that weren't there a moment ago. "You're lying now, all wrapped up nice and tight in bed..." He went on, allowing his trail of movement to meander freely. He was totally at ease. "If someone shakes you, you'll wake up. If an alarm rings, you'll wake up. It's all the same, whether you know you're dreaming or not. And if you're dreaming, why not spend the time with me, since I clearly--" He dodged another tree "--know how to have fun."

They approached a stretch of blank white canvas, free of trees, and Abe took the opportunity to try a few tricks. He jumped into the air, pulling various aerial stunts, and then twisted his body around so that when he landed he was skiing backward down the hill, facing the direction they had come from.

"Ah!" He then sighed contentedly, apparently refreshed by the exercise. "Sorry Nate, there's nothing I can do to wake you up. I'm just as asleep as you are. You'll just have to wait 'til morning, I guess."

Now that was a lie. A little one. There were several things Abe could do to shove a person out of the land of dreams and back to reality, but none of them were particularly pleasant, either to execute or be on the receiving end of. If his guest truly couldn't stand it any more, he would put him out of it, but Abe still held the hope that Nathan could get something out of his lucid dream.

"So, since you're stuck here," He started, checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't going to smash into anything, "What do you want to do? You've got an imagination, you can go anywhere. Do anything. Your call."

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 375
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ABE
Character outfit: Black suit, high vis jacket, ski goggles, skis…
Notes: Brrr, I feel cold writing these posts.

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan wavered unsteadily on the skis, taking care to give any trees a wide berth. He didn't want anything to do with this, especially not when he'd never done it before. Most say that you can't feel pain in dreams, but he did, usually emotional. His father had just died in front of him, and, dream or not, he was sure he was bleeding inside because of it. All this boy wanted to do was take him skiing?

"You are too keeping me here, you liar, and you can wake me up! How else would you get here in the first place? You probably made all of this happen!" he yelled over the wind. "Wake me up now, or the next thing I'll imagine is you dying violently!"

Of course, Nathan didn't know quite how he was supposed to control this, or even how Abe was doing it on his end, but that wasn't the issue at the moment. If threats would help him out, then he would use them, and besides, Abe claimed that Nathan could control the dream just as much as he could. That was in his favor.

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

Nathan continued his droll performance of yelling threats and demands, calling Abe a liar and trying to make him wake him up. It was becoming much too predictable now, and he was getting bored. He sighed (difficult against the rushing wind), and leaned forward, and then the snow beneath their feet was gone, replaced suddenly with warm yellow sand. No longer were they skiing down a hill at a ridiculously steep angle, but they were once more level. Immediately following this, the snowy mountain range that enclosed them flashed out of existence and was replaced in one swoop by the backdrop of a beach.

The sea was there, to the left, and cool blue waves slowly lapped up and down the shoreline peacefully. The sky was blue too, completely cloudless, with the burning yellow sun high in the air. Underfoot was soft, warm sand that stretched in front of them for as far as the eye could see. A few metres to the right was the outskirts of some sort of town. Wooden wheels and metal horseshoes were audible clip-clopping over cobbled streets. Palm trees swayed gently to mark the edge where the town ended and the beach began. The air around them had flicked like a switch from being biting and cold, to being warm and still.

Instead of stumbling into the all-new setting, Abe's skiing motion evolved swiftly and smoothly into a walk at a comfortable pace. The skis on his feet, along with the boots and goggles he had been wearing, had vanished along with the snow. He still wore his suit and high visibility jacket.

"Now," Abe said, turning to Nathan. "Take a deep breath." He instructed, apparently not even bothered about explaining the sudden change of scenery. To him, such a drastic change in pace and environment was normal - this was evident by how quickly he had adapted. "Death threats aren't going to help anyone." He stretched his arms out lazily, and cracked his neck from side to side as though he had just awoken from a long sleep.
"Think it through Natey. If you kill me, where does that leave you? You'll still be here, in your dream, but you'll just be all alone. Now. Let's take a chill-out break. Is this more to your liking, if you're not a skiing person?"
He gestured to the ocean to his left. On his cue, a faraway dolphin, or something that looked like a dolphin, jumped out of the water, lingered in the air, and disappeared once more below the surface.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 446
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ABE
Character outfit: Black suit, high-vis jacket
Notes: -

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Suddenly the air around him changed. The stinging cold was gone, and the rush of air stilled into a calm warmth that seemed almost heavy. He stumbled forward, then fell to his knees in sand. His lungs and nose already told him what his eyes now saw: they were by the ocean. There was a small town nearby, complete with what sounded like horses. This wasn't the modern day, was it? He didn't know anywhere that used horses as a main method of transportation, or at least not anywhere that would also have a beach. He buried his fingers in the sand and let the warmth of the grains soak into his skin. It was thick and soft to his touch, like warm silk. It took a moment for the change to sink in. He'd expected it to be cold, like the snow, but they were in a completely different climate.

Finally, he looked up at Abe with a glare. "Look, stop giving me stupid nicknames. I'd rather be alone here than with you. I could go into that town, find somebody who would tell me how to get out of here. I don't need you playing around with my mind like this." Still, this place was much better than the mountain. Nathan preferred warmth, and he'd found out rapidly that he wasn't a fan of skiing. It was much nicer to sit on the beach with the sand and ocean around him, and just take it all in.

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

Abe said nothing while Nathan took the chance to rant at him for a bit, but he also made no attempt to speak even after he'd finished. Instead, he seemed greatly distracted by a large, bright red seagull that was flying overhead. He raised a hand over his eyes to shade them from the bright sun as he watched it swoop through the air.

"That's a pekeedra." He noted, "They spontaneously explode immediately after they lay eggs. It's very messy, but it means it's easy to tell which ones are parents." Then, still peering high up into the sky, he said "Go on then. Off you trot."

He looked to Nathan, his expression impossible to read, though he seemed to be placid; not bothered at all by Nathan's rebellion. He nodded at the side of the town behind him.
"I don't know who - or what - you'll find in there though. Let me know when you find out."
He positioned his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose, and looked at his companion expectantly.

He had a preset for that particular town. It had buildings, people, animals, vehicles, a market, all the nice sounds and lighting. But presets would only apply if he was there. If Nathan went into the town alone, or if Abe simply withheld his command over the dream, Nathan would have complete (if subconscious) control over what he found. It would be an interesting character study. It occurred to Abe that Nathan was right; he was playing games with his mind, but they were harmless games, which had no real losers. Because of that, he didn't see that there was anything wrong with it. After all, it was Nathan that was demanding freedom. They were dreaming, and you couldn't get much more free than that.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 308
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: ABE
Character outfit: Black suit, high-vis jacket
Notes: I’m sure Abe will follow Nathan into the village, incognito…

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan barely glanced back. He was sick of this guy, sick of all the crap he was giving him, and sick of taking it. He was going to be in control of his own life now, whether he was dreaming or not, and the first step was to simply walk away. It was just like quitting a drug, or leaving somebody you cared about: keep taking one step at a time until you're far enough away that you can't see it in the distance behind you.

He wasn't generally a fan of towns, if only because the crowds were too close for comfort, and the likelihood of being touched, even accidentally, rose exponentially with each person added to the crowd. Each new boy jostling for position and fighting to be close to their friends meant another person who might be shoved into him, accidentally or otherwise. Nathan wasn't sure if he could handle that. His father had raised his son to share his unhealthy fear of human contact, and though it wasn't quite as bad (he didn't have a mental breakdown at the slightest touch, like his father), it was still better for him to keep away from people.

Soon enough, he drew close enough to the town to see people moving ahead of him. Passing each other on the streets, yelling over each other's heads, the people swarmed about. Still, he had to continue if he wanted to get away from that infuriating Abe boy. Taking a deep breath, Nathan paused to steady himself, then continued on into the town.

[abraham kip winters.]

I’ll travel the SUB-ZERO TUNDRA

I’ll BREAK GLACIERS and FROZEN LAKES

-*-*-*-

Abe had stayed still, staring back at Nathan as he wandered away, just in case he happened to look back. But no, he continued on into the outskirts of the little town, and Abe was alone - as alone as one can be, whilst occupying another's dream.

For a minute or so, he still didn't move. Just stood and listened to the gentle waves lapping on the shore, letting the warm sun beat down on him without having to worry about all the little realities of the world like sunburn.

Then, when Nathan didn't come running back out in terror, he decided it was time for him to follow.

He flapped black feathered wings and his talons left the sand, the grains falling away from his grip as he lifted up into the air, not needing air currents for flight. His little beak pointed toward the town, he flapped again and moved over the little cluster of buildings, circling over the streets until he spotted Nathan, and then he swooped in slightly lower, but not too low - he didn't want to be noticed. For now he was just a crow. Any crow, and he perched himself contentedly on the edge of a building and looked down to watch.

Nathan had already created people, it seemed. They milled about, doing people things. He wondered if the boy even realised that these were little pieces of his subconscious. Abe had nothing to do with anything here. Every detail on the streets, every person and market stall he came across was totally him. All he had done was given him the idea - that it was a small town next to a beach. Nathan was doing the rest.

It seemed to be going fine so far, but the little black crow maintained his watch. With awareness came a certain amount of danger in dreams. Especially for someone like Nathan, who seemed to be going through some kind of rough patch. If anything went wrong, he could easily drop down and bring things to a halt. For now, he twitched his feathered head in the way of birds, and kept his little black eyes on his host.

-*-*-*-

And that’s just the TIP of the ICEBURG

I’ll do whatever it takes to CHANGE

Character/s used: Abraham Kip Winters (click)
Word count: 365
Lyrics credit: Owl City – ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (click)
Tagged: NATHAN
Character outfit: Uh… Abe’s a crow right now. Black feathers?
Notes: -

[thejokerlaughsatu]

He'd been walking down the same street for a while when he finally began to relax. The crowd wasn't trying to touch him; if anything, they were giving him a little bit of space. Maybe it was because it was all part of his dream. Each person here was part of his mind, and they could tell that he didn't want them near him, so they backed off and gave him room to breathe. Even if it was only wishful thinking, it was a good enough explanation for Nathan, and he calmed just enough to examine the world around him.

Slowly adjusting to the crowd, he began to pick out snatches of conversation around him. Most of it was idle chatter, things that didn't matter at all to him, but it was somehow thrilling to be spying on this little people in his mind. Was this what his mind did when he was bored, why he always thought about strange things when there was nothing better to occupy him? A couple off to the side was discussing their views on mental hospitals, and a few boys just ahead of him were laughing about football. What a strange place.

Though the words were innocuous enough, Nathan studied the faces. They were all vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place them. Then a red-headed boy ran by, shouting back to one of his friends, and Nathan immediately remembered fourth grade. Jacob Firth, the boy who'd teased him about his father's insanity. He'd completely forgotten... but who were the rest of them? Upon closer inspection, Nathan picked out a few more long-forgotten classmates, but the adults were all oddly-familiar strangers. Perhaps he'd seen them at the mall or on the street, people he'd never thought twice about.

Then, up ahead, he recognized a voice. Nathan froze just long enough to listen. Every part of his being told him to get away, to run and never look back, but the smallest corner of his heart wanted to redeem himself. Barely even conscious of his legs moving, he crept forward and peered around the corner at his mother. She was dressed up to go out, and her latest boyfriend was standing nearby. He knew without listening what scene she was reliving; her boyfriend of the moment had convinced her to stop caring for Nathan on the way to a nice dinner, as though it was a casual topic of conversation. "All right, I'll refuse to care for my son. I'm sick of his ridiculous phobias anyhow. And while we're at it, let's grab some milk on the way home, we're running low."

His fists clenched, and his muscles tensed. It would be more satisfying than anything he could imagine to hit both of them, to make them pay for sending him to this damn school... but he stayed frozen at the corner, unable to move. Finally, he turned away and forced himself back down the street, the way he'd come. Even in his anger, he couldn't bring himself to touch them.

[abraham kip winters.]

Nathan seemed to be getting along alright in his own little dream town. Not that Abe had expected him to run in and fall apart or have a panic attack... though it wouldn't have been the first time something like that had happened to a dreamer on Abe's watch.

The crow had flapped between rooftops, perching and watching his new friend as the boy made his way deeper into the town. While he watched, Abe started thinking of more nicknames he could call Nathan, since he seemed to dislike it so much. It was out of no desire to be mean, you understand, but like a child, if one tells Abe not to do something, one can place a safe bet that Abe will do it. The Pandora effect, perhaps. Abe didn't know if it was really called that, but he liked it.

A conversation that was going on snapped Abe from his wandering thoughts and he turned his attention back to Nathan.
Oh, he thought, is something kicking off?
Natters (since that was the most infuriating one that Abe could come up with) had clearly run into some people that he knew, or once knew. Overhearing a conversation like this usually meant the dreamer was confirming suspicions he or she had, and by the sounds of it Natters was scared of his Mom not caring about him anymore. Abe suddenly got the impression that this was an individual with more than his fair share of problems. He had already dreamed his father into a car accident, and now that he had semi-conscious reign, he was having his mother relinquishing care of him. Abe had to ponder whether or not Power's Academy had a counselor on hand. More importantly, he now had something of a craving for milk, and he wasn't certain that crows could even have milk. He had heard once that feeding rice to a pigeon would make said pigeon explode, and that wasn't a fate he was willing to risk. Though rice was by no means milk. And he was by no means a pigeon.

Once more he was snapped from his thoughts as he noticed Natterby make a turn and storm back down the street that he had entered. The town behind him was already ceasing to exist as he left it behind. Deciding that the boy wouldn't like that he was spying on him, the crow took flight and made a hasty retreat back to the beach where the two students had parted. He hit the sand and his talons were suddenly feet. The black feathers melted into his black suit, and then he turned back to the direction that Nathan had gone. As if he had been there the entire time.

"Nathan!" He said, when he saw him again. "You just missed it. There was this mermaid, popped up out of the waves just a second ago, she had these two HUGE..." He pretended to realise something was wrong, "...seaturtles. Is something the matter? Didn't you like what you found in the town?"

--Sorry it took so long, I promise I'm going to be around more now--