Re: Nic and Lem
“So, when it was Carson, it was like a voice in my head, like listening to someone talk on the phone. Sometimes it was clear, sometimes it wasn’t, but it was just a voice,” Nic said. “But when he shifted, it was like… like I was hearing feelings. Rage. Hunger. Blood. There was definitely a desire for blood. And it was so fucking loud.” Maybe he would have picked up on the same sort of things from a human if they didn’t have a common language, but so far it had only been words shared between them and Nic hoped it stayed that way.
Lem’s eyes drifted to the big animal-man in the cage thoughtfully. That seemed to make sense, just a bunch of senseless rage and bloodlust, from everything she’d heard about werewolves so far. They didn’t remember who they were or who anybody else was. They just wanted to kill and eat. Maybe the world wasn’t overrun by werewolves because not many of them even survived the attack. She hugged Nic’s arm to her side a little harder. “Glad it didn’t last long then,” she murmured. “But yeah, before next month ... you guys need to learn all you can about controlling it, I guess.”
“I’m glad the tranqs worked,” Nic said. If they hadn’t, then it would have lasted all night. Nic doubted he could have stayed in the house if that was the case, but he would have had a hard time leaving with Lem, Zania, and Rylee there. That was too many people he cared about and had promised to protect, and yet he’d ended up being the vulnerable one. Fuck. They definitely needed to get this weird mind-share thing under control. “I still don’t get how something like that just happens. People that have powers… usually they’re born with them. They don’t crop up because some weird creature is haunting their dreams. It makes me wonder if they’ll go away when we get rid of it.”
She gave a soft hum that said she was glad for that too, then listened to Nic talk, nibbling thoughtfully on her bottom lip. When he was done, she gave a little shrug. “I dunno ... weird things happen,” she offered. “Like, mine didn’t start until ... what happened to me. Maybe the dreams are acting like some kind of trauma. Or like, the creature is tying you together on purpose for some reason.” She shrugged one shoulder, then added in a murmur, “I just hate that it’s so random. I still wanna see it.” Lem still wasn’t positive that she could get pulled into Nic’s dream, or at least be an audience to it, but she really wanted to find out. Not that she could probably do anything to help, unfortunately.
That was something Nic hadn’t considered, that the dreams were acting like a trigger, the same way a traumatic event might. His magic had manifested in a similar fashion, during an extreme outpouring of emotion, so it was possible, though it seemed improbable that they’d all develop the same kind of power. Unless that was why they’d been selected in the first place. “I wish you could see it, but I’m also glad you haven’t. It was able to hurt the dreamwalker who stepped into our collective dream. It could do the same to you.” And there would be nothing Nic could do to protect her. That was the worst part about the dreams, how defenseless he was, frozen on the spot no matter how he tried to fight it.
Lem gave his arm a squeeze and smiled crookedly. “That’s sweet,” she told him. “But I think I’d be okay. It’s not like I’m all the way there, I’m just seeing what you’re seeing.” Granted, Nic hadn’t been able to see the creature yet, from what she remembered him telling her, but every dream was different, so maybe they would still get to see it. It was probably weird that she wanted to so badly, but a lot of things about her were weird. “You should see some of the shit me and Vex have seen together,” she added. Lem lifted her hand to make a little exploding gesture by her temple, complete with a soft sound effect. Then she smiled at him again. “Never came out of it telepathic though, that’s a new one.”