OOC: Dream

[earthen_hope]

A towering figure in blue armor. His helmet pointed, a narrow slit where his eyes looked down on the four of them, spikes standing out from every joint on his armor. Horrible laughter boomed out, echoing off of the ghastly walls--skulls and bones, pulsating gently. Cara shuddered, trying to fight down the terror. She looked around at the other three--Bartz. The woman with pink hair and gentle eyes, face now set in determination. The woman with the long violet ponytail and tanned skin, snarling at the hellish figure with pure rage and no trace of fear, already moving to draw her sword. Cara gripped her spear harder. She couldn't be afraid. The four of them here together--they had to stop him.

They would stop him.

She rushed forward and and found herself standing on a parapet with a wind drake, the same one she had turned into. A moogle approached her--she spoke to it and then turned to a guard in armor. "Are you sure, Lady--" The scene faded before he spoke her name.

Dull heat radiated around her. A scorching red glow fought with inky darkness, casting everything in a strange light that gleamed off of the hideous... things. Cara swung her spear at one, grimacing at the horrible stench as it ripped through rotting flesh. But she felt different here. Not like she had in that horrible place; she felt more at ease in her own body. She leapt, feeling nothing but confidence in her skill (and a lack of enthusiasm for landing on the next blobbish thing).

Then she landed on a stone floor, hopping down from a flight of stairs and running into a room. Everything was bigger now--well, not exactly bigger. But magnified. That or she was a lot shorter... it didn't matter. Various people were leaving the room, several of them in armor, but one person remained: the man sitting on the throne, tugging at a small but bushy beard. His eyes lit up when he saw her and a smile brightened his face still more--he called her name, but she couldn't hear it.

But she did hear what she said--Grandpa!

Grandpa!

The field of stars again. He smiled at her, pale, the stars shining through him faintly. "It's too early for you kids to be meeting us!"