gunslingerqueen | IC Contact + Overflow

Nice to meet you, Nathan. In recent years, I've been going by Alessandra De Luca, or just "Les".

[She watched him for a moment - the way he rolled his shoulders and stood straight. Unconsciously, she stood straighter, all 5'8 of her. At his question, her eyebrows rose but she sent him a little smile.]

I assure you, I am a person. A witch, actually. I'm used to pre and post cognitive dreams but this is a bit different. It definitely feels different. I'm assuming you're stuck here then? Wherever... here is?

[From what she could make out through the glass, it didn't feel like she was on Earth or at least, anywhere on Earth she's been to.]

Nice to meet you, Les. [He means it. She's attractive, after all ... But he's also not entirely convinced she's real since-]

"Here" is what might happen when a psychic meets a witch, I guess! This is a dream of a memory I supposedly have somewhere in my brain, and we're both in it for now!

[... So well timed with their conversation, the Other version of himself does, in fact, shove the memory of Nariko into the pool, visibly holding her under. ... It looks really bad, and the way his expression twists into awkward regret probably just enhances that.]

It's supposed to be of me and her, but half the time I feel like I'm seeing things that haven't happened yet. [He rubs the back of his neck, his exhausted groan is a surprisingly sharp nose in the depths of his throat, like the real frustration is clawing to get out of his body.] I don't even know if she's really my sister.

[Les smiled with a little nod before she raised an eyebrow.]

So, you don't actually remember any of this?

[It was interesting. She couldn't remember the... okay, no, she could remember the last person she shared dreams with like this. Les looked outside again just in time to see the Other Nathan shoving Nariko into the pool, holding her under.]

Oh shit.

[She glanced at him and frowned. Truthfully, she understood that frustrated and exhausted sound. Then he mentions Nariko is his sister and she blinked. She probably shouldn't find Nariko's brother attractive but here they were.]

Well. Since I've been training with her, in... the real world or awake world, if you will, I can tell you that she's alive. If that helps. And, before the whole drowning thing out there, she seemed younger. As do you.

Yeah.

[It's disconcerting to watch himself do something so violent and horrible, and to have it occur in front of an attractive woman whose kind of taking all of this in stride? If the cosmic Earth could open and swallow Nathan he might thank it on the way to his death.

But he tries to push through it with a mortified flush of red over his cheeks, and the nervous way he scratches one bicep, as if he could tear out the nerves.]

The awake version of me doesn't remember her at all, actually. But a year or so ago, a woman saved me from a really weird situation and when I looked at her it was like ... [The nerves dissipate as he tries to reach for what really happened.] Like finding something after years of searching. Except - Every time I try to find her when I'm awake I either forget again, or something weird happens. Since reality doesn't want to cooperate, I thought I'd try to look through my dream-memory things. They started up after I saw her in person, so I figured it might be a solid lead.

[He laughs, shrugs.]

And that's led me to you, apparently.

[Les exhaled a breath as she continued to watch the scene outside before she tore herself away from it. Instead, she focused fully on the man standing next to her and watched the way he scratched his bicep (a very nice bicep at that). She could spot a nervous tick a mile away. Considering what was happening here, she couldn't blame him really.

She listened to him and frowned at the knowledge that the awake version of him didn't actually remember Nariko. Was the memory loss intentional then because of what happened here? Was it for safety? She wasn't sure but she could admit she was curious to find out.]

So it was like a lightbulb went off, metaphorically speaking? You had a good idea though because I've found dreams to be helpful like that. Well... helpful and annoying at times when you don't want it to happen.

[She tilted her head a little as she considered everything he'd said.]

Lucky for us both then. In here, in the dream, do you remember anything that happened leading up to... forgetting about everything? Or was this - [She gestured to the glass windows.] - the last thing?

[Not that she truly thought she could help restore his memories at all but she was curious.]

And if you want, I can give her a message from you.

[It's definitely the supposed choking because, otherwise, Nathan's never been the type to falter around a beautiful woman, though Les could still give that a run for its money. Her question is fair but the way he blinks hints at his total confusion because how in the world does he even answer that?]

I guess you could say it was like that. After she saved me it was like someone shoved another set of memories into my brain. One version is just my parents and I, and the other is my mother, me, and someone I think is Nariko, but even know I can't remember her face unless I come to this specific memory.

[A violent skit, an odd choice, one that was somewhat helped by the fact that Nariko was defending herself in it, but they were clearly arguing, still voiceless.

The prospect of passing along a message makes him perk up a bit.]

Tell her ... [Something was doing its damndest to constantly erase his memory, and if it was simple magic then he himself would have found it easily. The truth of the matter was that it only made sense for Nariko to have been the one to cause this. But even knowing she might not want it, Nathan couldn't give up on finding her.] Tell her that if there's something keeping us apart I want to face it together. We're family, and we should be together - and if she's going to disagree, then the least she can do is come and say it to my face. No more running.

[Les nodded. Just from what he's told her, it sounded like there was some very powerful magic at hand, and considering how... personal this felt, it seemed like it may be from Nariko. She'd learned a lot about her roommate so far and she didn't know (yet) the full breadth of the other woman's magic. Still, it was a hunch and she'd learned (more recently than ever) to trust her gut.]

Considering how intense and personal this memory is, I can understand why it would be here of all places.

[She was sure there was more to it but she'd have to ask Nariko about that one day. If... or whenever they got closer.

At his message, Les committed it to memory and sent him a smile.]

I'll let her know. If you don't mind me being nosey, where are you living?

IC Contact + Overflow

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I know this went in a different way but I do find this interesting! :D

I was really about to message you and apologize for somehow losing control here omg

No! NGL, I love it! (and apparently she also finds him attractive so there's that. Sorry! Lol!)

haha no need to apologize I love surprises like this!

oh good because me too!