The realm of mist

[Sinbad]

He could feel the tip of the serpent´s tail grip his ankle and was oddly surprised by how tight this grip was. This is a dream, it shortly flashed through his mind, but the thought was unable to make him forget the sharp moment of fear that suddenly raced through him when the serpent moved its tail sharply, dragging him along a short distance, making him lose the grip he had on his sword. He couldn´t see Maeve and that was what scared him far more than the beast on his toes - literally.

When the earthquake came he had been about to struggle back to his feet. He could not see what was going on because it had been just then that the serpent had decided to pull on his leg, ready to put an end to the annoying trashing about of that little creature by its side. Therefore, what the captain couldn´t see until it became a problem, was the massive crack that formed, right under the serpent. The ground shaking violently it opened up just where the massive body was just as if something in the dream was now fighting back and wanted to swallow up the beast. And that was just what was going on. The crack bursting open into an about three metre wide gash right under the massive scaly body, ripping through the solid ground, caught the monster unaware, opening up right under it. The serpent could only scream in surprise and fury, still half blinded by pain and rage that Maeve´s fireball had caused, before it tumbled down into the abyss, falling into nothingness.

As it fell, its tail was still curled around Sinbad´s ankle and, only abandoning its prey when it realized that something more threatening than this was going on at the moment, its grip losened late. Instinctively, Sinbad clawed his hands into the ground and even in a dream this hurt, the feeling of fingers scratching along solid something while being dragged along. But then the grip was gone. And so was the ground. With a surprised gasp, the captain found himself dangling from the edge of the newly opened crack, ground gone from under his feet, holding on to the rim of the abyss, his heart hammering. He couldn´t turn around, he could not see where Maeve was, whether she had fallen with the serpent or... he tried to struggle up the inside of the abyss with his feet but it was too smooth. He clenched his teeth and tried to concentrate. Don´t let go, he told himself. Maeve... he had to see where she was...

[Maeve]

Growing more and more annoyed of being robbed of the possible efficiency of her countering attempts, Maeve desperately tried to get back on her feet to check on Sinbad despite the shaking ground underneath her. She had lost complete sight of him when the serpent had gone struggling and twisting under the rumble of the earthquake and she was mad with concern. Hence, the second she was staggeringly standing again, her eyes darted everywhere near the big snake, searching for the silhouette she knew all too well, her heart almost beating out of her chest.

However, as she stumbled to make her way closer, that’s when she saw it. The huge gash tearing the ground open merely a few meters beside her and expending with great speed, threatening to swallow her. Maeve’s instincts immediately took over and the sorceress sprinted away from the edge as fast as she could, her eyes frantically scanning the area near the hideous beast, her heartbeat throbbing in her temples. Then she lost her footing and fell hard on the ground with a grunt. By the time her senses came back to her, Maeve winced and slowly shifted to the side just in time to lift her head and catch a glimpse of the monstrous scaly beast disappearing in the abyss with one last deadly cry.

Then, as everything turned silent again, the redhead froze and stopped breathing as she caught sight of something glittering near the edge of the crevasse. His sword. A whisper of terror escaped her.

“No…”

In a split of second she was rushing to it, every beat of her heart hammering in her chest like the most forceful of fist. He didn’t fall. He didn’t fall. He can’t have. She madly kept repeating this inside her head, but Maeve simply couldn’t think straight anymore. Desperately, she raised her head and searched the gorge’s wide limits like crazy until her eyes found him, clinging to the edge fierce fully.

“Sinbad!”

She dashed to him faster than ever and almost dove to ground, strongly clenching her hands around his forearms, her fingers digging in his skin. “Hold on!” Her frenzied brown eyes locked with his for a moment before she started pulling him out with all her might.

[Sinbad]

He would have yelped in relieved when her face appeared over the rim of the chasm - would have, had not his whole energy been needed to concentrate on clinging to the edge which was not only nearly as smooth as marble it seemed but also still slippery from the water that had vanished a moment ago. His fingers has gone numb and cramped immediately, a pain that felt strangely real for a dream, while his boots, kicking for footing instinctively, had failed to find solid ground.

Forcing his fingers into the stone more thoroughly, he clenched his teeth and tried to scramble when Maeve grabbed his wrists. It seemed impossible to do, too steep, too smooth, too slippery. But it seemed like she was putting all her effort into it and with their strengths combined he suddenly felt himself lifted, then his right boot found a crack at the wall he could use as a lever and then he reached for her with his second hand and slowly, bit by bit, he felt himself partly dragged, partly scrambling out of the chasm.

[Maeve]

Maeve could clearly see how much he was struggling and fighting to hold on to the edge and not slip any further down, especially since the ground was still pretty watery, making it slippery and very difficult to find a good and firm grip. The firebrand was even having trouble to stay steady herself. Lying flat on her stomach like she was doing wasn’t quite the best position to drag him out of there, she was fully aware of it, but there was simply no way on earth she was going to let him out of her grasp. No way.

When he reached out for her with his hand, Maeve felt like this was a sign that his footing had somehow gone more secure and more solid against the rocky face of the abyss and so that was her cue. Carefully, she brought her knees to her chest to take on a kneeling position and she started pulling, her knees forcefully digging in the ground to prevent her from sliding any further near the crevasse. Maeve pulled and pulled, one of her hands literally grabbing the fabric of his shirt, until she was absolutely entirely fully sure that Sinbad was safely back on solid ground again.

Then, heaving from the previous rush of adrenaline and the fear of losing him and the effort of the pull, Maeve let herself fall back to the ground, her hand stubbornly refusing to let go of his arm. Closing her eyes and almost savouring this little moment of peace and calm after everything they had just gone through, she tried to catch her breath and let her heart find its normal beating pace again as she let out a small tired laugh, “Not quite the dream I had in mind…”

[Sinbad]

His hands and arms still hurting from the effort to claw his fingers into the slippery surface of the chasm, his muscles half numb from the struggle to hold on, Sinbad allowed himself to just give in when the tension subsided. When he felt himself on firm ground again, his breath that had been cut in his throat slowly released, still clutching to her arm, he let himself just drop to the side. Rolling onto his back so he came to lie beside her, he caught his breath, a small chuckle escaping his throat that was fuelled by her laugh, not the situation itself. It felt real and with that, everything, the whole situation felt like she had just saved his life. But she hadn´t. This was a dream. That thought amused him strangely, also since in that very moment he came to the realisation that her pulling him out and up and thus preventing their separation came very close to "saving him".

The chuckle accompanied by something like a lopsided smile and still bewildered by the strangely real feel of pain in his tense muscles, he stared up to where the skies were supposed to be but which here was nothing but an extention of white nothingness.
"Yeah," he breathed at the same time content and happy and blissfully unaware of the fact that they were holding hands - or rather, wrists - since this was one of the moments where they felt comfortable, the rare times before embarassment set in with a jolt.
"I could do with something more relaxing too for a change."

[Maeve]

“Aye…” A small smile curved Maeve’s lips as she listened to the sound of his exhausted voice matching her own. Somehow, his comment and the improbability of its implication were hiding something close to amusing. Of course, with the kind of adventurous life that they were living, calm, peaceful and relaxing moments were rather rare and uncommon…and even when they did enjoy some, it was never really long-lasting, the instant always being snatched away from them. Combating monsters, rescuing damsels in distress, fighting off evil, rushing off on wild goose chases, risking their necks almost every single day, getting washed overboard…

Maeve opened her eyes and stared at the endless misty whiteness of the place. Now, even in a dream, where they were supposed to possess the full liberty of creating quiet, serene, truthful and non life-threatening atmospheres, the little moments were being stolen from them. As she blinked at nothing but foggy paleness, her shoulder barely touching with Sinbad’s, Maeve almost felt like crying. All her life, she had been robbed of everything she had ever held dear, all the things that had meant the world to her and now, she was losing control over the one and only thing she thought would always belong to her, her dreams.

Breathing deeply, Maeve shrugged off her disheartening state of mind and focused on her hand that was holding Sinbad’s wrist. Bluntly, without any barriers or stubborn pride restraining her, she let her hand slid in his completely. This was one of the little precious moments where they weren’t uneasy about the closeness they shared, where they weren’t embarrassed about it and where they were not trying to play things down and pretend otherwise. At least, right now, she could savour that particular moment, even as short as it might turn out to be… The snake had probably been a mere preview of all the things that could possibly be thrown at them here…

[Sinbad]

It was just a small movement, just a little shift of her hand, but he could tell that she did so consciously. That she chose to entwine her fingers with his not because she did so absent mindedly, but because she chose so. Or at least, Sinbad insisted on that in his thougts right now, trying to calm down the insane whirlwind of straying thoughts that picked up speed at that. In moments like that all his toughness was forgotten and he was completely a young boy again. Only she had that effect on him and only her would he allow to have that effect on him. And he let it happen. Of course he did. However, he was unable to keep a little glance towards her before he looked up again, just as if something extremely interesting was somewhere up there.

"Right." he said. "after all these snakes and floods and chasms... how about at least a little blue or something?" He had near called the last few words. Just a joke. Nothing he believed would happen. His mind had not connected the appearance of the snake to his earlier mentioning of one, it had not connected the earlier rising water to their fear of being separated by just that, nor had it seen the connection between the suddenly appearing chasm and Maeve´s desperate wish to get the serpent away from him. He just called it out. He had no idea how this weird dream world worked and joking about it at least took away some of its scare. And now that he was just lying there, that felt like a safe thing to do.

[Maeve]

Caught in a semi-peaceful trance, produced by the appeasing and comforting warmth spreading from their intertwined fingers, Maeve slowly turned her head to the side, her brown eyes drawn to the sailor as he spoke. Lying there, side by side and holding hands, Maeve realized that she was feeling closer to him than ever, but, as usual, she shrugged off the cause of their comfortable intimacy immediately. Unconsciously, she found herself studying his features attentively, captivated by how much he had changed and yet also by how much he hadn’t. The longer hair, the little neglected stubbles, the rough seriousness and closed off image he now reflected…Maeve wasn’t used to it at all and yet there was something in his expression, in his voice, in his eyes…The man she knew was still there, hiding behind that mask of recklessness and carelessness and for a second, Maeve wondered what truly had gone on inside him these past few months…Back when she had still been sailing on the Nomad, she used to read him like an open book, but after the storm, she had found herself only capable of deciphering the cover, fighting with herself to find out what was going on inside him but a part of her, the part that she never admitted to herself, had been afraid of what she would discover…

Maeve shook away the maze of questions in her head, not wanting to be caught staring. As the sailor joked about the sky, she brought her gaze back to their white surrounding, a slight corner smile dancing on her lips as she completed the imagined scenery they were building up, “And how about something a little bit more natural, like trees, instead of this endless nothingness…” Then, a little thoughtful frown appeared on the sorceress’ brow. She didn’t really know what to expect yet something about the mechanism of the place was curiously beginning to make sense in her head…

[Sinbad]

He had been aware of the fact that she had her head turned towards him, had been aware that she was watching him and, without meeting her glance, had done the same, looking up and yet studying her from the corner of his eye without turning his head. He didn´t know why he did that but there it was again. That familiar, strange fear that as soon as they got too close, they would get awkward. He was trying to fight that. He didn´t want to get awkward around her now. Not for anything.

The captain chuckled when Maeve spoke, about to add something to that far nicer image, but something about her minute behaviour felt off so in the end he did turn his head. He couldn´t tell why he knew but she looked bewildered. Oh please, he thought, his thoughts not travelling into that same direction yet. "What?" he asked, noticing her frown. High above their heads the endless white took on a faint trace of bright blue.

[Maeve]

Maeve was so deeply concentrated that she ignored Sinbad’s question at first, not wanting to interrupt all the connections that were being made in her head as the pieces of the puzzle were tumbling down into places. The water rising up as they had been talking about the storm, the snake coming out of nowhere right after Sinbad’s mention of one, the chasm responding to her desperate need of getting the serpent away from him, and now…Her perplexed eyes traveled up to the pale blueness that was emerging from the mist above them, earning a thoughtful murmur from the Celt. “It’s turning blue…” Maeve sat up promptly, her eyes darting to their foggy surrounding where something mysteriously seemed to be disturbing the white hazes. The redhead narrowed her eyes, trying to make out if the tall silhouettes she was discerning through the fog really belonged to what she thought.

Ever so slowly, the winding mist dispersed itself, uncovering rows of blooming trees just like the ones Maeve had imagined. A small bewildered smile curved her lips as she turned to Sinbad with her eyes sparkling with a strange understanding.

[Sinbad]

When she suddenly sat up, his hand was pulled up with her, for a moment jerking at his shoulder before he let go, bewildered both at her behaviour and at what was going on around them. It seemed as if she had more of an idea about what was going on around them since he didn´t have the full picture yet. However, he realised that there had to be a connection between Maeve´s earlier words and the appearing trees.

His eyes travelling across the strangely changed landscape ahead, he wasn´t quite sure what to think of this. This place seemed to be really strange and unpredictable. Dangers seemed to be coming out of nowhere just like now, all of a sudden, trees had been appearing apparently just because Maeve had wished for them. A small part of himself was sceptical, a part of him that had been born from a fear that he had not known when he had still been younger: fear to lose that was partly overlayering that larger part of him that just wanted to laugh about how marvelous this place looked now. And that little part of him refused to abandon all carefulness. "Whow..." he exclaimed, getting to his feet to have a proper look around, unsconsciously extending his hand to her to give her a hand up. "That looks... better. As long as this place doesn´t have any other strange dangers up its sleeve that is..."

[Maeve]

Captivated by the now enchanting panorama and all its implications, Maeve instinctively took the hand he was offering her and stood up as well, literally mesmerised by the luxuriant vegetation spreading around them, her eyes dancing on the blooming trees. Finally, she understood how this weird, unknown, and up to now hostile place seemed to work. Finally, her mind was grasping a little bit of control over it, and that new tiny little amount of power was lifting up a great deal of the pressure and fear that had been weighting in her chest ever since she had arrived to the mysterious realm. Now that she wasn’t in the dark anymore, Maeve somehow felt like she could find a certain peace of mind.

In the sky, or in whatever it is that was out there above their heads, a bright blue was sparkling, softly contrasting with the rich green of the trees’ leaves.
The sorceress slowly turned to Sinbad, a calm and reassuring glow flushing her face, “Well as long as we keep thinking happy thoughts, we should be alright.” Then her eyes went back to surfing on the delicate white flowers of the trees. Now, the only fear eating at her was the one concerning time, since she had yet to control that aspect of their dream. She had no idea of how much time they would be granted here and that was even more frightening than floods, monsters and earthquakes…

[Sinbad]

Sinbad scowled slightly, both at her words and at the sudden change this place had seemingly gone through, changing from some eery, barren wasteland full of unseen perils to... this. He was still trying to get his mind around what was happening there, yet he was beginning to understand. "So you mean you´re responsible for all the green?" he asked, grinning a bit, her mood reflecting on him. He had drawn the connection between Maeve´s words and the sudden change by now, but didn´t have the full picture. "Then we just shouldn´t be scared of whoever made up the other stuff." He was referring to her mention of ´happy thoughts´a moment earlier, thinking that if there was some strange power working behind that place, maybe they had indeed a way to fight it. By not being scared. Think happy thoughts, she said and he couldn´t help but smile at that. With her looking at him like that, without the slightest bit of awkwardness or irritation, just being herself, he was hardly capable of any other thought anyways.

[Maeve]

As he pointed out that she was the cause for all the sudden flourishing vegetation, Maeve knew he was beginning to grasp how the mysterious realm was working, and the small grin plastered on his dimple face triggered the smile that curved her own lips. The new calm and light atmosphere of the place sure had a direct effect on their moods and the sorceress could tell that her captain was as amused as she was about the whole situation, even though something still felt a bit off about it all, meaning they both weren’t letting their guards and vigilance completely down.

Nevertheless, Maeve allowed her little grin to show at his next playful observation concerning “the other stuff” that the realm had thrown at them, or rather, that they had thrown at themselves. Casting Sinbad a sideway smirk, the redhead slowly made her way to the closest line of trees, only a few feet away, but she cautiously made sure not to wander too far from him. “Well….” She began, letting her eyes rest on one of the trees for a brief moment. She didn’t really know why, but she had the urge to make sure that it wasn’t all but an illusion or a trick. She had to feel it. Just like a small child needed to let his hands touch an object he was presented with for the first time to fully grasp its realism. Approaching the tree she was slowly aiming at, Maeve went on, “…the only thing we should be worried about now…”. Delicately, her fingers went brushing against the trunk, dancing with the smooth yet tortuous bark. It was real. It was all real. Then she circled the trunk completely to reappear on the other side of it, now facing Sinbad with a teasing smirk. “…is what’s going to come out of that head of yours, sailor.” If he was able to conjure up a snake unconsciously, who knew what else he could come up with consciously.

[Sinbad]

Sinbad had been following her, watching her from the corner of his eyes. His mood had improved a lot in recent moments and even though his guard was not completely down yet and his muscles were still somewhat tense, habit making him be ready to defend if anything else funny should come their way, he was starting to feel much more relaxed and at ease - and Maeve´s behaviour was contributing to that a large deal.

At her remark and grin he narrowed his eyes at her in mock suspition, half a smirk playing around his lips. Had he been able to watch himself he would have noticed that by and by the bitterness, the loneliness and the wall that he had been building around himself in those last few months were slipping away, discarding the image of the seemingly tough sailor to reveal what lay underneath, who he had once been. "My head?" he asked with half a chuckle, still trying to understand. The memory of his mentioning of a snake earlier was lost to him now, thus that puzzle piece lost to him. He started to come to the conclusion that she obviously had moreof an insight into the workings of this place and part of him wanted to ask her all about it. Yet there was that little stubborn something that was perking up again, a little playful corner of himself that had always been there in the past, denying small victories in verbal banterings just for the fun of it. That, too, was resurfacing, but just a little bit. Other than that, he didn´t understand fully, seeing that he didn´t make a real connection between his own thoughts and the happenings in this dream world. Magic stuff was her realm, not his, therefore he hadn´t really considered his part in all of this, yet.