2021-11-30 - Dueling harmonicas

Oh. Well.

Alexander was trying to catch some sleep, and things like this are why he doesn't often get a solid eight hours. And also why he sleeps in full clothing. In this case, a faded band t-shirt, and some Addington High sweatpants, along with socks. No shoes, sadly. Not even Alexander is willing to go that far to be prepared for Dreams. No knife, either. He looks around with hunched shoulders and a worried sort of resignation. A glance up at the moon, and then he starts to creep along the frosty forest, goosebumps rising on his skin as he tries to track down that creepy melody.

Gabriella hasn't had this happen in a while and she was caught unprepared. She was not ready for Gray Harbor was going to do to her. Her hair is down and she's bare foot as she was sleeping. Her body wrapped in a long t-shirt and probably something beneath it. There is a blink of her eyes as if all she is missing is some snuggly animal.

Those sleepy green eyes peer about the area as she moves towards the unfamiliar man (Alexander). There is a feel of trepidation moving over her. "Do I know you?" The words are sweetly given but her guard is already coming up. A look around as if she's trying to figure out if she's in the Veil and able to alter it.

Dark hair in a long braid that falls over one shoulder, wearing a gauzy black dressing gown fit for discovering your husband just died under mysterious circumstances over a nightgown, Perdita trails through the cold looking more than a little confused. Did she doze off getting ready for bed? Why is the ground so cold? Who the hell wears all this to get ready for bed? Hearing the sound of a voice, Perdita moves toward it, gathering up the flimsy garment as she moves.

"Alexander? ... Gabriella? Not... again."

Alexander freezes when he notes someone approaching, and turns defensively to face Gabriella, his eyes narrowed. He gives her a quick once over, then says, "I don't know you, no." He might be about to offer a name or something, but maybe not, since his expression is set in a twist of mistrust. But when Perdita also emerges from the darkness, he huffs. "You know her?" A tilt of his head towards Gabriella. His eyes turn back towards the direction of the music, then he sighs. "...stick close. It's safer if we stick together. Unless one or both of you are lies."

He turns abruptly and starts making his way closer to the music, his frown deepening into a scowl as the music quickens. He gestures to the nearest trees. "Take cover," he urges, and goes to do so, himself, straining to try and see through the dense, cold fog.

"What I would really like is some pants."

Gabriella says this as if she expects them to just appear for her. As if this happens in the waking world as well. She looks towards Dita and smiles at her outfit. "Does this happen all the time here? It has a few times in a few different areas that we moved. It would happen when I was a kid but.." She trails off as the fear sparks around her and she tries to stop it.

Then she moves to follow Alexander, only after Perdita will do it. "We are all lies, in one way or another."

As the sound within the fog grows, Perdita pulls closer toward Alexander, shrugging ever so slightly as she gestures toward Gabriella, "I met her when I was getting pizza. Careful, she's another grifter, I think." She murmurs to the man, with a smile. Aw, she likes Alexander enough to warn him.

"It... happens more than I would like. At least Ravn's not here, stuck in a corset and high heels... yet." But as Alexander warns for others to seek cover, she looks around. "Where? I don't even know where we are..."

"If you're going to sleep in Gray Harbor, sleep in pants," Alexander advises, with the slightest hint of amusement, although he keeps his voice down, and his eyes scanning the fog. A glance towards Perdita is skeptical. "I don't think Ravn sleeps in a corset and heels, typically. I think that'd be uncomfortable." At Perdita's question, he gestures towards the nearest 'possibly a tree' shape--then abandons it for the cover that Perdita finds, instead. "Hunker," he suggests, quietly. "Maybe it will pass us by."

Then a sigh, because he doesn't really believe that will happen. "But prepare to fight, if it doesn't." Suiting action to word, he crouches and feels along the ground for anything vaguely blunt-weapon-like.

As they are walking through the bushes, Gabriella's foot catches on something and low and behold... jeans. She smiles a winning smile at Alexander as if she had no doubts she could speak things into existence, even in dreams. She's putting them on as she walks. "Well in something. It's a good thing I wasn't naked. Could you imagine me showing up in that?"

She pauses for a moment at the idea of Ravn in that outfit. Her lips quirk. "I just met him. We have a date in six months on May 30th. It's in his phone already. I'm pretty excited." There is clear laughter in her voice as she looks around the area. A breath pulled into her lungs. "I'm always nervous before it happens. I never know what the it is."

"It was... the Dream gave them to him." Perdita hunkers down into the shelter of the tree, pulling Gabriella and Alexander close to her once they're down, and draping all three in the diaphanous sleeves of her gown, which should provide additional cover, one hopes. She whispers out a 'shhh', hoping that whatever sees them passes by soon, because holy shit does she not want to be found by whatever's making that sound.

Alexander gives a quick look at the pants, instantly suspicious. "Careful. Might bite," he says, dubious as she pulls them on. At the news about Ravn from both women, he just stares at them for a moment, then shakes his head. "He gets into the weirdest fucking situations," he mutters, speaking as a man who is in some sort of hell forest, being stalked by music. Music which is now very angry. He clasps his hands over his ears when the music screeches, out of sheer reflex, his eyes squeezing shut for a moment. "Coming...from everywhere."

He tries to distract it, trying to focus enough to create an illusion of three fleeing forms appearing just 'behind' (he hopes) the music, and running in the other way.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll let you buy me dinner to--"

The words trail off as she hears the song scream. She's already pretty low to the ground, but now she's hunching down even more to look between the other two. It was a high cost for good pants.

There's a whimper of pain from Perdita as she brings her hands up to her ears, a half-gasped prayer to Saint Sarah e Kali, and the girl stays hunkered down with her two human companions, trying to control her breathing, to control her heart rate. She can do this, she knows she can. No different than any con, and it's just a dream, on top of that.

Alexander is concentrating on the illusion, trying to keep the fleeing figures just ahead of the...tiny harmonicas? Even in Gray Harbor, you don't see THAT every day. "We can run," he suggests, a hint of strain in his voice as he tries to picture the illusions in the fog. "Or we can try to take out the, uh, harmonicas. Or maybe fix them? They look broken." His hand comes up, rubbing at his temple as he tries to think in two directions at once. "...ideas?"

Gabriella looks at the harmonicas for a long moment. Her brows arche even more as she watches them move as they. A cant of her head as she looks between the two. "The survivor in me says to run and try to make myself wake up." As if she's not actually awake right now. "The fixer in me says to fix them, but how? I don't have instrument repair in my knowledge banks do you?"

"None of us have shoes, we're outnumbered, and I've never even played a harmonica, let alone fixed one. I don't suppose standing and fighting is a good option..." Perdita whispers, more a statement than a question. "If you're gonna wear the pants, wear them, but... I think we need to get moving to better cover, something we can close up. Maybe we can find a nice creepy cabin or perhaps a shed to hide in. A nice basement." she sighs, slowly coming to her feet and gesturing in the direction opposite the harmonicas.

Alexander turns his head to stare at Gabriella. "...I don't repair musical instruments, no." Then he winces as he feels his grip on his illusion fade, and the harmonicas begin to scream. "Yes," he says to Perdita. "Sensible. Let's go. You two first, quickly and quietly. I'll cover the rear." He waves at them to go, preparing to follow, but keeping an ear out for those harmonicas. If they prove unable to outpace the instruments, he's ready to throw lightning at them to at least distract them and draw them to him over the others.

"We will be alright", Gabriella offers to Perdita. The outsider says to one that's been through this a time or two. Then she nods her head and offers, "Are you good at finding things? Perhaps you should try to find it this time. The last time I found something it pissed them off."

Her green eyes move around the area. "Or maybe we should hope for a forge. We could melt them down and stay warm at the same time." She seems willing to differ to the others.

Quickly and quietly is Perdita's middle name. Well. Technically it's Euphemia, but, still. Her bare feet barely make a sound as she moves, gauzy fabric once more hitched up as she hurries through the strange, fog ridden landscape. She doesn't argue with Alexander, trusting that the man will have her back even as she knows she's got his, doing her best to keep Gabriella between the two more veteran survivors of the Dreams. Why couldn't she be back in Cozumel? Or Ibiza? Or Paris? Why do the dreams always end up being strange and horrible?

Alexander at least seems accustomed to running in his sock feet. He zigs and zags behind Perdita and Gabriella, trying to ensure that he stays between them and the searching instruments. When they reach the cabin, though, he stops. He stares.

He sighs.

"...the harmonicas are missing the rest of their melody, iI bet" He grimaces. "I wish Itzhak was here. This sort of music is more his thing. But...uh, I can try the banjo, if you both want to grab one of the others?"

Well they are here, right? Might as well go full in on the knowledge base.

"Can any of you heal them?" Gabriella offers. "I can only heal or repair slight damage. I don't know how much that can do." She starts to study the cabin and move towards it. It's almost like she's not too sure she wants to be in there. She's seen this movie. It doesn't turn out well for the short blonde.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Perdita mutters as she pulls up short of the cabin, glancing skyward, before nodding to Alexander and moving to pick up the whistle with a little sigh. "I was in marching band for a minute, because Ezra Irons was in marching band and he was really cute. Also, we went to football games, and I was kind of screwing the quarterback. This is... sort of like the clarinet, I guess..." She picks up the whistle. "I don't heal things, honestly. I could hit them with a tree branch, but that would probably make them angrier."

The Harmonics are COMING. Their dissonant harmonics sweep in - but most of them stop as their song hits, then merges, with that of Alexander and Gabriella. Their wailing takes on another tone completely, this one almost beautiful. ALMOST. Under it though some of the harmonicas do not find their balance and sweep in on Perdita, whirling around her. They don't touch, but they do screech loud enough to shatter what little hold there was on reality. Alexander and Gabriella will find themselves at home and more or less unharmed. Poor Perdita though, she's got one hell of a headache.