2019-11-24 - Post-Flu Physical Practice

Dante's ordeal with the flu was, well, no sort of fun. The flu in general is terrible, but even worse when it's layered with the powers of the Veil. There are entire days he barely remembers in between the fever, the nightmares and the Dreams. But now he's on the mend, enough to ask Elias over. He's even made it out for groceries, showered, and run a few necessary errands.

But he's not a hundred percent back to normal, as evidenced by his state when he opens the door for Elias. His hair is in its naturally curly, slightly frizzy state. He's wearing tortoiseshell wayfarer glasses, a t-shirt and skinny jeans. He's barefoot, and has a cardigan loosely draped over his shoulders. "Hello dear," he still looks a bit pale. "Care for tea?"

Elias has managed to evade the flu entirely, throughout its entire course. Perhaps there's some strange immunity that he has, but even though he has been around those with it, he's not come down with so much as a sniffle. During some of those days that Dante can't quite remember, Elias had checked in on him, brought him a bit of soup, something gentle on the stomach, and at least made sure that he was still alive, even if he allowed himself to be shooed away afterward. So it is perhaps with some relief that he receives the message that Dante's feeling well enough for him to be invited back.

Elias is dressed in his usual combat boots that lace halfway up his calves and skinny black jeans. The chill of November is in the air, and so he wears a dark red ribbed turtleneck on, and a black peacoat that he's slipped off and draped over one arm after coming into the building. There's a smile that softens the sharpness of his features when he sees Dante, and he nods, "Tea would be great." There's also a small box in one hand, the easily identifiable Patisserie Vydal logo on it. "I brought a couple of things." Some light pastries.

Dante has also apparently been feeling well enough to tidy up. When Elias last saw the place, the air felt stale and there were things on the countertops. That's really not usual for him, who tends to like surfaces as clear as possible. Everything now is back to its neat and tidy state, and there's the pleasant sharp scent of cleaning supplies in the air. "Come in. I seem to be on the mend. Still sleeping a great deal and I feel my energy drops off more quickly than it usually does. But I even managed about thirty minutes in the gym this morning. Just the bike, but it's a state." He crosses to fill his electric kettle, which he starts to boiling. "Still a clean bill of health for yourself?

Elias brings the box over to the kitchen and sets it down on the counter, untying the string from around it and tossing that into the trash, so that it can easily be opened and its contents explored. Then he turns to lean his back against the counter. "That flu hit you really hard," he says, frowning just a bit. He'd tried not to be too intrusive during the whole thing, but it's clear that he was concerned. "But, it does sound like you're definitely on the road to recovery." That does seem to relieve him a little bit. "I've been fine. I seem to have evaded the illness entirely, even despite being surrounded by it. Perhaps there's some sort of immunity that some people have? I'm not sure.. but I'm okay."

"Or perhaps you had such a mild form that you barely noticed it? I'm very relieved I didn't get you sick." Dante goes about the motions of preparing tea, dropping a few round bags into a silver teapot. He covers it with water and sets it aside to steep for a minute, then goes to explore the pastry package. "Have I missed anything during my time down for the count?"

Within the box there are a half dozen small pastries, light and flaky. One is apricot, another apple, a third chocolate, two of each, not much larger than palm sized, clearly nothing particularly heavy or rich. Elias says, "It's possible, I suppose, though I haven't had so much as a sniffle." He smiles and reaches out to touch Dante's elbow lightly, giving it just a slight squeeze. "You didn't. Though if you had, I would have just moaned at you piteously until it was over." He grins, then, an easy smile that tugs his lips upward at the corners.

"These look delightful. Thank you. I've been eating a lot of chicken and rice." Dante turns at the touch to his elbow and smiles warmly. "I'm sorry if I was short with you when you came by. I'm a terrible patient." He reaches up to brush at Elias' cheek, and to rest his hand at the curve of his neck. "I pride myself on self-sufficiency, so getting sick always does me in."

"Chicken and rice isn't bad," Elias says, "Though I'm sure it will be nice to have something else." Leaning in, he presses a kiss to Dante's cheek and says, "You have nothing to apologize for. You were unwell and I know that you like to take care of yourself. I tries not to be too pushy or to mother you too much. But I couldn't just.. stay away entirely and not at least look in on you a little." He smiles a crooked little smile. "And I'm not apologizing for it, either."

"And I appreciate it. In retrospect, if not in the moment. I'm also not accustomed to people seeing me in a manner I didn't control." Which is why it's relevant that Dante neither donned a suit nor straightened his hair, nor put in contacts before Elias' visit. He gives the curve of his neck a little squeeze before pulling back to refill the cups. "I think..." he hesitates in between pouring cups. "...I might have crossed over. While I was sick."

Elias chuckles softly and says, "Well, I shall take the appreciation in retrospect." And then a little more seriously, "And I appreciate that you don't seem to mind me seeing you without your suit of armor." He tilts his head a little and says, "I like the glasses." He leans back against the counter when Dante steps away to fill the cups and folds his arms lightly in front of him. His brow furrows a little bit and he says, "There was definitely an Other quality to that disease, so it doesn't surprise me, really.. Did you find yourself in another Dream?"

There's a little bit of colour on Dante's cheeks at the 'suit of armor' comment. He doesn't say anything to that, instead finishes pouring the tea. He passes a mug over. "I think so. But I also had very vivid nightmares. How do you tell the difference when you're feverish?" He looks a little...haunted in that moment, but clearly trying to shake it off.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. If you scratches yourself and woke with the scratch, then perhaps, or perhaps you just scratched yourself in your sleep. If you find mud tracked all over your room, that's a little more obvious, but to be honest while feverish, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell, myself," Elias says with a somewhat apologetic look. Unfortunately, he doesn't always have all the answers. He accepts the mug that is passed to him, and lifts it to his lips to blow on it a little bit, though he waits to take a sip until it has a moment to cool. "I'm sorry that your experiences with these things have been solely terrifying so far. I was thinking, perhaps sometime.. I could take you to see some of the more interesting, but less terrifying things that I've seen." It's a tentative offer, though, and he doesn't seem like he'd be offended if Dante turned him down.

"Are there..." Dante raps his fingers on his mug, "...rules to these things? Tools that could allow me to control it better? I feel like I'm stumbling into a bad neighbourhood unarmed, and without a map. And I have no control over when I'll end up there." Which is not a no, but it's not a yes, either. "You know how to enter it deliberately?"

"The Dreams themselves? No, there's little that you can do to stop them from happening, or predicting when they will. It's a naturally occurring phenomena here, like a freak storm. You can try to wake yourself from them, but that's the best that you can do, there," Elias says. "There's places though, that you can slip in and out of, on the other wise. The Veil that is around Grey Harbor, and that, yes, I know how to get into and out of the Veil at will. The Dreams are harder, and I'm not certain entirely why. I have some theories. I suspect that they are.. deeper, somehow, further away, and less solidly connected to anything in reality, so getting in and out of them is more chaotic, more random."

"I...think..." Dante leans in a little, "...I need to understand it better. So I know when I've crossed. So I can defend myself. You said you think I have abilities, yes? Is that something I can use to defend myself?"

Elias nods his head and says, "It is, and if you want to learn how to use what you have, and try to develop them further, then I will teach you as best I can. Most of what I learned came natural to me, and then I had some guidance from my family, which helped me to experiment and develop further on my own. But I know that your strength is in the same area in which I'm strongest.. and I can show you how to use that to your advantage. You may actually be able to enter and exit the Veil on your own, as well, with some practice."

"I admit," says Dante with a soft laugh. "The whole thing terrifies me more than a little. I saw things in my Dream..." he trails off and looks away. He swallows. "But...this is part of who I am, yes? This..." he twiddles his fingers. "...whatever it is."

Elias takes his mug of tea in one hand and steps toward Dante, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek gently, "I'm going to help you learn what you can do, and learn how to use it to defend yourself. If I could prevent these things from happening, or knew a way to make the Dreams lessen, I would. And if I ever do figure it out, you will be the first person that I will tell. But yes, this is part of you, and though it is as dangerous as everything else, it can be a weapon, and a shield, even when you have nothing else at your disposal."

Dante sets his tea aside, then takes Elias' hand and pulls it to his mouth for a soft kiss on the back of it. He rubs his thumb over the spot. "Have I said thank you yet for being straightforward with me? For helping me? I'm not certain many in this town would have done the same." Then, "If there's anything I can do for you in return, just say so."

Elias's smile softens and he, curls his fingers around Dante's hand, giving it a small squeeze. "No one should have to go through all of this alone. And the fact that I very much like spending time with you does not hurt that situation at all." His lips quirk a little bit and then he says, "You let me in. You take me seriously. You make sure that I'm okay when /I/ am rattled by the things that happen in this town. You're already doing the same thing for me, whether you realize it or not."

"You're too kind," Dante murmurs. Then, "Tell me about some of the Dreams you've experienced. If...you feel comfortable doing so. Just so I know what kinds of things to expect?" He picks up his teacup, then motions towards the living room area.

Elias, with his own mug in hand, nods and heads toward the livingroom and settles himself on the couch, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back into it. "Well, I've experienced many. Just the other night I ended up in a body-swapped murder mystery where I found myself in the body of an acquaintance I met at the Halloween party. But, one of the more interesting and useful ones, one that I would like to go back to sometime, occurred one night when I'd left the shop." He gestures a little with his mug of tea and says, "I'd just closed the door and turned around and downtown was no longer quite downtown anymore, and there was a slothlike creature taking things out of the fountain and loading them up into a wagon."

"Body swapped? Good lord. That must have been disconcerting." But then Dante listens to the other description, his brow furrowing. "That's...very odd. Why did you want to return to that one especially? A fondness for sloths?" He pronounces the animal's name the English way, unsurprisingly. He quirks a little grin. "I can understand why the world of Dreams might be an appealing place to visit. If they're anything like mundane dreams, where all sorts of fantasies can happen."

Elias chuckles and says, "I was suddenly a six-foot-three viking covered in muscles. It was like driving an SUV when one is used to maneuvering a motorcycle." He gestures at himself vaguely and then smiles, "But no, that was merely the beginning. So the sloth appears to be headed into my shop, but it's not my shop. It's a museum of sorts. So I hold the door open for the sloth and it brings its wagon of things and takes it over into a workshop room, and we get to talking, and it explains that this is a museum of wishes, and that the items, all the things found in the well, were the wishes of people who had come before. But entrance into the museum came with a fee, and the fee was something that I had never told anyone else. I paid the fee, and then I wandered through the wishes of my own family, going back to the founding of the town, and found some of my ancestors, and the wishes that they made, including an amulet that I'd seen in my family's collection of occult items from the past. I don't know what it does, exactly, but I haven't really gotten back around to researching it yet. Some other things came up in between, but the point is, that it was absolutely fascinating. Each item was on display, with a picture of the person, and their wish. I browsed a few others, like the Addingtons, but didn't linger too long. It felt a little intrusive, and yet I was deeply curious. I focused mainly on the hopes of my own family. I asked him why he kept all these things, and he said someone had to preserve these wishes and hopes. It was.. kind of beautiful in a way, sad in some ways, but it was a fascinating experience."

Dante looks like he's about to say something cheeky about the bodyswap scenario, but that's distracted by the talk of the wish-hoarding sloth. He leans in and listens thoughtfully. "That...well, that certainly sounds like a dream." Without the capital letter. "Something odd and fascinating that makes perfect sense when you're in it. But after you're out, it feels odd and alien." Then, "Is there something specific you'd look for if you had a chance to go back there?"

"I only looked way into the past, at people who are already long gone," Elias says as he lifts his cup of tea, and then takes a sip from it. "I'm a little more curious about what I might find if I looked for the wishes of those who are more contemporary, what I might be able to learn about them. I'm not even sure what might or might not be there. But I am curious about a couple of people in particular -- my ancestor who marred the Baxter witch burner, and he himself. I'd be curious to see what they might ave wished for that might be in that museum."

"Certainly the kind of thing that would be a researcher's paradise," says Dante. "But you also might see something you don't want to see. I've waded deep enough into supernatural waters to know these things rarely come without danger, and without cost." Dante sips his tea, then balances it on his knee. "I know my own family has its share of skeletons in the closet. Some, I'd rather not know about, to be honest. My family used to be quite well-off and aristocratic, before the First World War. And those sorts of people rarely emerge with clean hands."

"Oh, I'm sure that there are lots of things that I might not want to see, and things that others might not want me to see," Elias agrees, still gesturing a little bit with his mug, though careful that the contents remain inside. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not curious to know, even if I mind discover things that are uncomfortable. My own family, my own life, is filled with strangeness. I can only imagine that there are any number of secrets that I have yet to uncover." He smiles a little then and studies Dante for a moment, "Did it change things for you at all, to know those secrets that you discovered?"

Dante lifts a shoulder. "Mhmm, in a way? By the time I learned much about my family at all, we'd already fallen well from grace. It was more of an initial hit, then a slow circling of the drain that lasted a generation. And I studied enough history not to be shocked to learn my ancestors did some terrible things. They're not me. Perhaps I would struggle more with it if I still benefitted from their legacy, but the family money dried up before I was born." He shrugs, then sets his glass aside. "I say that, but I also went to Eton and got into Oxford. I'd like to think that was all on my own merits, but having an old name certainly didn't hurt."

"The way that I look at it," Elias says, "Being born a Weber was not my choice. Whatever my family did before I was born, and whatever they do now that I'm not privvy to and haven't pried into by sheer curiosity, is likewise not a reflection on me. Now, that's not to say that I don't owe them a great deal for who I've become and what I've learned, but at the same time, I'm not sure that I would feel guilty if some of the money that funded the shop in the early days of the town say came from ill-gotten means. What keeps it running now is legit and I run it that way. So really, likewise, finding out that my ancestor helped her crazy husband burn people alive doesn't truly affect how I see myself or my family. I find it curious and I'd like to know more, to understand why someone would do that.. but I don't think it would change much for me."

"Mhmm. In my experience, you might not think those things will change you. But once you experience them..." Dante reaches out to carefully tuck a strand of hair behind Elias' ear. "Like when I discovered my favourite great-uncle who was a fond part of my childhood was mouth-foamingly homophobic. Some things can't help but taint a legacy. And all of us are made up of threads of our past, for good or for ill."

Elias's lips tick upward at the corners when Dante tucks that strand of hair behind his ear, but then he nods and says, "I suppose you're right. Something like that would change things, something or someone that I was directly connected to. I was more thinking about things that happened long in the past. But you're right. Some things strike much closer to home, and that would change things."

"I've seen many family myths crumble under the weight of a little research. As much as we want to be our own people, we all attach things to our stories." Dante lifts a shoulder. "It's not as bad if you don't go into it with unassailable truths etched in stone, if you're willing and expecting to have myths disproven. But sometimes the pillars of your identity get shaken. Like..." he ponders for a moment before saying, "...like say you found out you were adopted."

Elias considers that and says, "True. Finding out that I was adopted would be.. definitely strange. I'd have to wonder what cabbage leaf they found me under and why. It would definitely lead me to a great deal more questions." He seems to dwell on that for a moment or two, considering the implications. "I'm pretty sure my mother would be shocked, as well." He smiles a little in amusement at that, "But.. yes, if it were true, that would definitely give me quite a bit to think about."

"So my point being..." Dante leans in a little and meets his eyes. "...if you go kicking at ant-hills of your family history, be prepared for something of that magnitude to be overturned. No one can be truly prepared to have too many of those foundational pillars kicked over. We can handle one or two, but some of them are truly load-bearing." And then, after a moment, his mouth splits into a wide smile. "I carried on that metaphor too long, didn't I?"

Elias meets Dante's eyes as he leans in a little, and he tilts his head just a little bit as he explains his point, but chuckles when the metaphor finally draws to a close. "That was quite the lead up. Though, you're not wrong. I've been told that I do, on occasion, have a little bit too much of a cavalier attitude toward things of import. I like to call it optimism."

"Optimism. Confidence. There's nothing wrong with those things. I've been on occasion, accused of being overly cautious. To the point of stagnation sometimes." Dante looks around, then back to Elias. "And what's important to you right now? Career? Family history? Figuring out what goes bump in the night?"

Elias's lips quirk a little bit as he considers that question, weighing it and turning it over in his head. "What is important to me right now is learning all that I can about the Veil, the Dreams, the Dark Men, and how to best navigate this shifting landscape of dream and nightmare that we find ourselves in. I'm always fascinated by family history, though that's a constant curiosity. I'm not certain its of deep import so much. My career is pretty much on track so long as I manage to keep meeting my deadlines, which I have been. And the shop does alright. I think right now, the things that go bump in the night are of greatest immediate concern."

"And there may certainly be an intersection of the things that go bump in the night with your family history. Given how long your family has been here." Dante watches Elias for a moment, thoughtfully. "I admire your bravery. And here I am, fighting the urge to run away at nearly every turn." He admits that quietly.

"There could be," Elias says, his expression sober at that. "There's a lot of history there, and there's no reason to say that there aren't connections. Only more time and research will tell, to be honest." He shakes his head then and says, "Bravery, foolishness, curiosity that will kill the cat." He reaches out and brushes a hand over Dante's lightly, "I don't think anyone would fault you if you did. Being pulled into some insane alternate reality with no control over when or how it happens, knowing that you could likely avoid it by just getting out of town? Most sane people would pack up and find a nice place where the Veil is nice and thick to enjoy the rest of their days."

"I don't want to forget my time here. I feel like that would be like losing a part of myself. And I've changed since being here. Would I forget that if I left as well?" Dante shakes his head. "If this place is going to change me, if it's going to hurt me, I want to be aware of it. Not wandering off and losing the lessons I've learned, the way I've changed. The people I've met." He turns his hand over and reaches to hold the other's. "If the Veil is going to fuck with me, I'd rather it do it with my eyes open. And if I don't remember the Veil when I leave, how could I know to avoid wandering right back into it?"

Elias nods his head as he listens, studying Dante's features. "You'd.. rationalize it. You'd make it fit into something more mundane. You'd remember going through something, but your mind would turn it into something you could accept as normal, like a car crash, or a break-in, or a particularly bad illness that gave you fever dreams and that's it. You'd remember me, but you probably wouldn't remember anything I'd taught you, just that we were friends, and that we'd been close for a while, in some perfectly normal and explainable way." There's something a little sad in that. Perhaps he's had some people leave who don't, in fact, remember him the way that he remembers them anymore. He lets his fingers brush along Dante's hand and says, "You wouldn't. You'd have no protection from walking right back into it somewhere else. And if you did, maybe you'd start to remember some of it, maybe you'd remember how to use the Glimmmer again, and it would start all over."

"In this case, I'd say ignorance is not bliss. And my chances of stumbling into another place like Gray Harbor would be high. Given my predilections, and my curiosity." Dante smiles a bit tightly, then ducks his head. "I don't want to forget anything I've experienced. Even the terrifying bits. Even the...pillars that have been knocked out from under me. Erasing any of that would make me...false. And I do strive to be authentic." Then he sort of half-motions to his curly hair that's normally straight. "...in my own way." His grin turns sheepish.

"No, sometimes ignorance is not bliss," Elias agrees with a faint smile and nods at the likelihood that Dante, given his predilections, would be more likely to stumble into such a place again. "Losing a part of yourself would make you somehow less than you are. I'm not sure what I would do with myself if I were somewhere completely mundane." He chuckles. "I've become so used to living in the middle of chaos. I'm not sure that I know how to live otherwise." He smiles at that sheepish grin and says, "You are authentic. A football player putting on a uniform, a fencer putting on their padding, an actor putting on their stage makeup, or an author putting on his suit, are no less authentic for dressing the part they wish to play."

"They tried to get me to dress like this all the time when I published my first book," says Dante as he motions down to his much scruffier and less polished attire and hair. "I played along for a bit, but then the newest styles would come out in the spring or fall, and I'd be weak. And the plaid and cable knit would get pushed to the back of the closet." It's hard to tell if he's being serious or just taking the piss out of himself. The grin doesn't help.

Elias chuckles and says, "Well, I think you're gorgeous no matter what you wear. Or don't, for that matter." He can't help it, that little quirk of his lips at the corners and the sparkle in those dark eyes. Then he grows a little more serious and says, "So yes.. no running, even if you want to, and I'm going to try to teach you what I can to help you have some defenses even when you have only your abilities to rely on."

"Oh, cheeky," Dante drawls. He leans in a bit. "But do you have a preference? If I have to let the curls out, I prefer not to be in a suit. It doesn't work with the lines, you see. So I do go full hipster when I haven't the energy to tame my hair." But then, the tone changes and he nods slowly. "I have to admit, I have been curious about that."

Elias shakes his head, "No, not really. I like it when you seem relaxed, regardless of what you're wearing. That's what I like." Then he says, "So, one of the things that I can do, is that I can get a sense for the types of abilities another person might be capable of, and their relative strength in them. That's how I can tell that you have some natural aptitude for the same things that I am strongest in. I'm going to try and help you hone those first, since they are the types of abilities that you can use both offensively and defensively, as well as allow you to move in and out of the Veil at will."

"Is this something I should wait to regain my full strength before attempting? I'm...well, I'm certainly on the mend, but I am not a hundred percent as of yet." Dante's glasses slip down his nose a little and he reaches to nudge them back up. Very proffessorial.

"This isn't the sort of thing that will take a great deal of energy," Elias says, "And frankly, given how often you're starting to get pulled into things -- it may be wise to be prepared sooner rather than later." There's a faint, but reassuring smile that goes along with it.

"Well..." Dante's voice drops low. He rubs his hand over his leg. He looks a bit nervous. "...what do I do then? How do I..." he makes a vague motion with his hand. "Floating a pencil, isn't that the cliche thing to do with one's new abilities?"

"Levitating something small is a good way to start, yes, generally something non breakable is recommended," Elias says and he glances around for something small, lightweight, that won't break or break anything if it falls. Once he finds the right item, he retrieves it and sets it on the coffee table in front of them. "So.. what we're trying to achieve here, is for you to get a sense for the physical presence of things around you, the nature of its location in space, its size and shape. Don't think about lifting just yet, just get a firm grasp of the object in your mind, and then, attempt to exert your own will on it, to change its position within the space in front of you,a nd in essence, lift it from the table."

Elias demonstrates, and the object lifts for a moment or two, and then settles again, and Dante can feel that glimmer when Elias does it.

There isn't a lot of clutter in Dante's apartment, but there is a tissue box that's nearly empty. Despite everything that's happened, he's still amazed by the act of levitation. He blinks as the box lifts, then drifts back down again. He rubs the back of his neck when he feels something tingly, as he senses the glimmer. "That's...very...strange." He's not usually someone to speak haltingly, but this is an unusual situation.

"That's what it feels like when I use my glimmer to do something like that. Others will be able to feel you using it too. Sometimes you'll pick up on it, and sometimes you won't. It depends on how good they are at concealing their abilities," Elias explains. "So what you felt right there? That was me."

"Or if they're bloody paying attention and would rather not be feeling anything at all?" Dante asks, eyebrows arching. "So, em, how would I...?" he makes a vague wavy-wave motion at the box. "Just focus really hard, like meditation?"

"Kind of like meditation, yes," Elias says, and continues to explain some further technique for how to achieve Zen and the art of Tissue Lifting. It's a little esoteric, but the basic premise is to try and open up the senses that he's already likely noticed before now, that kind of awareness of the things around him.

"I'm sorry, this must be like trying to teach a grown man how to walk for you," says Dante as he looks at the tissue box, hand cupped over his chin. He reaches over and squeezes Elias' knee gently. The box gets his attention again and he tries to focus, and to reach out with whatever sense he happens to have.

Elias gives Dante's shoulder the tiniest nudge with his own and a smile at the touch to his knee, and says quietly, "Focus. You can feel it there, the weight of it, the shape of it, its place in relation to the table, and the floor, and the ceiling. Feel where it is, get a sense of it, and then, lift."

I feel like I should be..." Dante murmurs, and mimes a Magneto-like finger posture on his head. "Or.." and he holds his hand out, psychic style. But then he drops it after a moment and clears his throat. Then he tries the real work of lifting the box. To his utter shock, the thing does lift off the table. But as soon as he sees it, he breaks concentration and the box drops to the table with a smack, then tumbles onto the floor. "Bloody hell."

"You can if it helps you," Elias says to Dante with a little smile. "Each of us is different. Some require hand gestures, some murmur incantations, some need some sort of focus. Everyone finds something that works for them. I do sometimes I make unconscious gestures when I do it. Too many movies," he grins a little sidelong and then falls quiet as Dante does, in fact, lift the box off of the table. A broad grin spreads over his features and he applauds, "Nicely done!"

"That was...exceedingly strange," murmurs Dante. He reaches over and picks up the tissue box. He holds it a moment, then sets it back on the table. "And...every time I do that, it's like chum in the water for things that go bump in the night, yes?"

Elias lifts a hand and wobbles it a little, "Sortof. This was fairly minor, and it did send out a little ripple. So you don't want to just go doing it willy nilly every time you don't want to get up and pick up the remote. But, what that ability /does/ allow you to do, is to pick up small rocks, sharp bits of glass, silverware off tables, whatever you might have at hand, and hurl it at a target like a projectile weapon. And that is how you're going to learn how to use this ability offensively."

Dante looks a little bit, well halfway between fascinated and terrified. "I'd imagine it's rather tempting to just...Harry Potter items to your hand once you get used to it." He smiles a bit tightly and chuckles. "If I wasn't still concerned about my stomach, I'd have a drink. It's...a very odd feeling."

"Listen, if windgardium leviosa-ing helps you get the job done, I promise not to judge.. well, not too harshly anyway," Elias teases a little bit and then says, "It can become tempting to do use the abilities more and more once you realize that you really can do it almost indefinitely. Especially the little things, and that's how you fall into the trap of attracting too much attention. Be judicious in its use. Use it when you need to, or when you're trying to achieve a particular goal -- but my advice is -- if you can do it without it, do it without it." He reaches out and lightly clasps Dante's hand, "We can hold off on practicing more for now, but you should be able to lift things heavier than the tissue box, and you might want to give it a try slowly at first, and not too far until you learn to truly feel it, and not drop it."

"And not with anything breakable if I do lose my mental grip?" says Dante with a wry little grin. "Maybe float some water balloons off the balcony?" He squeezes the other's hand. "But yes, I can see how that would be useful in a situation that involves self-defense."

Elias can't help but laugh a little and says, "Water balloons off the balcony sounds like an excellent method of practice." He returns the squeeze and says. "As you grow more comfortable with that, and the ability to sense things, and the forces that you can exert on them, then I will show you how you can use that to protect yourself, creating a kind of barrier that will deflect some of the forces exerted on you, like a bit of a shield against damage. It would have been handy when you'd found yourself in that marsh and would have prevented some of those cuts."

Ah yes. The marsh. Dante swallows at the memory. "So...the things in the Dream can hurt us, but we can hurt them back? Well. That's something. I shall practice flinging objects with my mind, in that case." He inhales, then slumps back against the couch. "I've got so much to learn."

"Yes, though if you have any skill in fighting or have an actual weapon at hand, I'd recommend using them since they are just as effective in the Dream. If there's nothing at hand, however, or you're not particularly good with a gun but have say some sharp rock on the ground you can hurl, then using your telekinesis might be your best bet. It really depends on the situation, but it definitely gives you more tools to work with." He settles back onto the couch next to Dante and rests his head against his shoulder. "You will. I'll teach you. But for now, rest a bit."

Dante barks a bit of laughter. "I'm English. I've never held a gun in my life, and I never intend to. And all of my fitness attempts until a recent foray into boxing has been for aesthetic reasons." Which is to say, he has strength but doesn't really know how to use it.

"I know how to fire one," Elias says with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "Enough to know how the safety works and how to load one and not shoot my own foot off, but I don't own one. Sometimes though, like in the Men in Black dream that I was in, I find myself with one. Knowing what to do with it doesn't hurt, but I'm far more skilled at just using rocks, so I opted for that instead. And I'm total shit at hand to hand combat." Which comes as a surprise to utterly no one.

"Men in Black? Like the movie?" Dante's grin widens. "So are some Dreams like live-action video games, then? Except with...real danger and a chance of death? That's both...exciting and terrifying. But that seems to be the theme, doesn't it?"

"Something like that. I've noticed that there are a number of Dreams that those of us who live on Oak seem to be finding ourselves in that are all silver screen themed, and they always start off in black and white, it seems. One was Pleasantville, then Men in Black, and most recently Freaky Friday with the body swapping.. there was apparently another that I didn't share, TRON," Elias says then he smiles bemusedly, staring up at the ceiling, "Sometimes it's a little like playing a role, and just trying to figure out what the objective is to find your way out. Though yes, there is real danger and you can really get killed. Your body is physically present there when it happens. So whatever happens to you, stays with you when you wake."

"Except body-swapping, apparently? Unless..." Dante rolls over and moves closer with a mock-conspiratorial look on his face. "...you're not Elias at all, but some viking in his body." Toothy grin as he half-looms above.

"Yeah I'm not entirely sure how that would have worked, because I felt his sore muscles from the last dream he was in, so I wonder if he had gotten my body killed, if I would have died," Elias ponders this, and frowns just a little bit, not having thought much about it at the time, but now that he considers it, that was kind of a more scary situation than he'd realized. He's a little distracted, but then Dante is looming over him a little bit and he looks up, lips flickering into a smile, distractions forgotten. "How can I prove to you that I am Elias and not some strange viking, I wonder?"

"A very existential question," says Dante. And one that he doesn't seem too interested in pondering over right now. "And a very interesting question," he says to the last. "I don't think I know any vikings, so I suppose by knowing anything about me, you've already passed the test."

"I know that you make delicious crepes with just the right amount of carmelized onions," Elias offers with a little smile, lifting a hand to rest it against Dante's chest, fingers brushing there lightly before he leans up to steal a kiss from his lips, soft and brief. "I know that you like things very neat and tidy, everything uncluttered, and that after a certain point at night, your writing becomes utter gibberish and you could use a distraction to stop, and that you are a very good dancer, conversationally, even if not quite literally." His tone is teasing, and light.

"Oh but what if there was a viking obsessed with me from afar?" Dante taps his lip, then gives Elias a wry little smile. "Very well. I suppose you're you." He leans in and presses a kiss to his forehead. "And some people might say that my writing is utter gibberish no matter the time of day."

"Well, some people don't have the appreciation that I do for finely penned gibberish," Elias counters in reply. "Though, I'm glad that you believe that I'm me. I'm not entirely sure how else to prove it otherwise." He chuckles a little bit at that, letting his hand smooth lightly over Dante's chest and then withdrawing it.

"I guess we are still getting to know each other," says Dante. He reaches out to capture Elias' hand. He holds it against his chest. "Would you like to go out for dinner sometime? Properly, with all the pomp and circumstance of an actual date."

"We are," Elias agrees, as it's certainly true. His fingers press lightly against Dante's chest once his hand is held there again, and a little smile touches his lips. "Yes, I would very much like to go on an actual date with you. Whenever you're feeling well enough and up to it."

"Ah yes. Best to make sure I can hold down a nice meal first, hmm? But I'm getting there. Shouldn't be too much longer." Dante pulls Elias' hand to his lips and he kisses the back of it. "Thank you again for looking in on me. I'm sure I'd still be sick if you hadn't dropped a few things by."

"I can be very patient when I want to be," Elias says with a soft laugh, because he is not terribly patient most of the time. "I will gladly wait for the opportunity." He tilts his head a little to the side and he says, "I wanted to be there as much as I could. I didn't like seeing you suffer through that, knowing that there wasn't much that I could do to heal it. Because I would have, if I could."

"My ex would say you need the patience of a saint sometimes to deal with me. But she had to be around me while I was getting my first taste of success and was a little high on myself." Dante takes a deep breath. "Am I keeping you from anything? I'm certain you have a lot going on between your own writing and your shop. And your friends."

"Well, I suppose I'll let you know if you ever manage to start trying my patience," Elias laughs just a little bit. He shakes his head, then, and says, "No. I had no plans for tonight aside from coming to see you. You do realize that you are part of what is going on with me, right? You fit in there, among my friends and writing and the shop as things and people that are important to me." He gives Dante's hand another little squeeze. "So, I'm going to stay a little longer, and then I'll head back so that you can get some rest and recover fully. I am looking forward to that date."