Peaceful Journey (Tag Stacee Young)

[Dr. Robert Peterson]

Robert was not sure if he ever would get used to the Dream World. Having left it and than returning years later only seemed to exacerbate the frustrations of not being able to get beyond the problems that kept him trapped in his dream form. Once again he was a fifteen your old kid and wearing a robe that looked more like a gown. He rolled his eyes at the thought and took in the rather incredible view around him. Travis, the name he used in his dream form, stood on a high path looking down into a sprawling valley. He knew he had seen the place before. It was beautiful with green trees stretching out almost as far as he could see. Rugged hills rose in the distance towering over the rolling plane that took form where the forest gave way.

For the moment he was safe. No daemons pursued him down one hole and than another. There were no wall for him to move through and no cossets to take him far away to some other portion of the Dream World. Travis sighed, relieved that for the moment he had nothing to fear.

Now if I can only make this last, he thought letting a smile cross his face.

The counselor was getting more used to his nightly escapes. His dreams seemed to keep him in far better shape than exercising did though it typically meant he had to change his seat soaked bed sheets every day.

Being absent from them for a number of years had made him forget just how terrifying and wonderful they could be. Every time he entered the world seemed to take on a new look. When he returned to familiar places such as his childhood home or the school he was now employed each experience brought new and often terrifying revelations.

There was no doubt to the counselor why so many students and faculty beat a path to his door. They wanted, needed answers to the dilemmas they faced, not just in the waking world but also in the Dream World. Often they were connected in ways that seemed to be more intricate than a spiders web yet not near as fragile.

His feet kept on moving up the trail towards some place, a place that Travis had no idea what or where it was? As he reached an expanded area where a large rock sat perched within the shade of a large maple tree he stopped and took in a few breaths of the fresh air. He never knew when the dream would tern on him and he might as well enjoy whatever moments of bliss he could find.

The breeze wafted through his hair and caressed his face. Travis looked upwards towards the sun squinting slightly as he did and hoping whatever it was he saw within its rays was far friendlier than those he had seen before.

[Stacee Young]

Stacee woke in the dream world to find herself in the third square. She gazed around at her surroundings and saw a rugged landscape full of hills, trees, rocks, and streams. She snorted with pleasure when it appeared that she was alone. The third square was such a strange place, and changed forms so often, so this scenery was quite a treat. Stacee shook her long mane, then began to walk.

In the dream world Stacee was a white pegasus. She had never chosen a name, or alias, for herself, as it had never seemed necessary. She was simply called 'the pegasus.' She could mind speak to people, which was such a strange thing experience. She could hardly get used to it. She would simply begin talking as she did as a human, and it would become mind speech, as in talking directly into the other person's mind. Seeing as she could not speak normally, this was the only way she could communicate with the other dream beings.

Stacee moved around trees and bushes till she found a wide open clearing. If she could have smiled, she would have. It was such a perfect place. Her dark gray eyes swept her surroundings quickly to make sure she was alone. She has had good experiences in the dream world as well as bad experiences, and was not very keen on having another bad one when she least expected it. But she appeared to be alone, and her keen horse senses could not detect anyone. She she took off.

Stacee began at a gallop. She moved swiftly through the clearing, her four legs eating up the ground ten times faster then two legs ever could. She jumped over a small stream, however instead of landing she spread her wings and took off into the sky. The wind smoothed back her hair and sent her tail flying out behind her body. Up and up she flew, till the temperature began to drop and her breathing became difficult. Then she plunged. Straight down she dived, tucking her wings tightly against her side. Her legs were curled up underneath her body, hooves pointing nicely backwards.

As she neared the ground, Stacee spotted a boy sitting on a rock under a tree. She stretched her wings out to their full expansion and slowed her speed, then began circling the boy. He seemed small and innocent enough, and because of this landscape it would be easy enough for her to take flight and get away if he turned out to be a mass murderer or something. She she decided to take a look.

The pegasus landed softly about fifty yards away from the boy. Her gray eyes watched him as she moved closer, making sure he would not try to attack her. The dream world was just so strange, you could never tell what you were getting in to. But he appeared to be alone, so that was a plus. When she was close enough, the pegasus snorted and stopped, staring directly at the boy. "Hello," she said, using her mind speak. The boy was just a few yards away now, close enough to be heard but far enough away so she could escape if need be. Personally, she hoped he was nice. She could use a good dream world friend.

[Dr. Robert Peterson]

The lad could hear the chirp of happy birds as they sang in the nearby trees. It was good to have a dream where he was not running like a scared rabbit until he awoke with a start. Just why he had been blessed with the opportunity to enjoy the peaceful landscape rather than his usual madness he still was uncertain though the answer was something he felt he could wait for.

Travis raised his eyes towards the sky and took in the contrast of soft billowy white clouds against the blueness of sky. They floated along slowly and morphed from one shape to another as they made their steady journey to the horizon. A gentile breeze brushed against the boys face as he breathed in the clean fresh sent of the outdoors. He could see a few feathered creatures take to the air and float along the currents as they hovered over the lush green landscape beneath them.

He took in a deeper breath letting the relaxation take his senses. Such dreams were rare and like a fine wine deserved savoring. Travis pulled at his broad sleeves absently as he continued to look around and the unexpected blessing of a peaceful world. They seemed to be getting a little shorter than they had been the last time he had dawned the symbolic garment. White cuffs that contrasted against the blue of the majority of the robe had nearly hung over the tips of his fingers at one point, now they rested only an inch or two below his wrist. The idea meant his dream form was growing, possibility maturing. It was something that the counselor would certainly mark in his dream journal. Such things though seemingly unimportant were the things Robert spent hours trying to decipher. The why and the how of things his mind seemed to have some control over fascinated him and pressed him to solve the riddle that was his dream life.

Behind him he could hear the sound of a snort of some creature for which he had no immediate explanation. For a moment the boy froze uncertain what the intent of the still unseen creature was. Than Travis heard a gentle feminine voice greeting him. It was a strange, unfamiliar sensation to hear something, not with ones ears but with their mind. Compared to the many things he had experienced in this strange place known as the dream world it was not so disconcerting it made him want to break into a run, only gave him reason for pause and caution.

Soon his wandering gaze fell on the beautiful form of a winged white horse and his brow furrowed slightly. It was not so much that he doubted what he was seeing but the idea that a horse, winged or not, was trying to communicate with him. It seemed the only plausible explanation seeing the trees or the birds seemed to be engaged in their own activities and not trying to get his attention. The pegasus was looking directly at him as if studying him. Travis smiled and let his face soften. Things in the Dream World were often far less predictable than in what most people would refer to as reality. He had come to accept such oddities as part of the experience though he still sometimes questioned his own senses.

“Hello,” he said hesitantly leaning slightly towards the Pegasus, “are, are you talking to me?”

The answer seemed fairly obvious. He was the only other sentient creature he was aware of in the general vicinity though he still could not believe that such a beautiful creature would want have a conversation with him.

[Stacee Young]

Stacee watched the boy she had spoken to curiously. He did not attack her when she spoke to him, so that was a plus. But he also did not run. The people, and creatures (as quite a few of them could not be described as humans), were so completely unpredictable in the Dream World. She had encountered one girl once would seemed terrified that such a beast as Stacee would acknowledge her, and fled the moment the pegasus had attempted a conversation. Another one, creature this time which the girl could barely describe, had ran at the horse with murder in his eyes. The winged horse barely had a chance to take flight before being impaled by a deadly looking weapon. So Stacee, obviously, had not attempted much more conversation after such incidents. Instead, she roamed the Dream World freely, exploring and flying. It was nice to just come here and live as if nothing was wrong, no parents were cruel, no abandonment was felt. Unfortunately, she had to wake up.

On rare occasions such as this one, Stacee felt lonely enough to attempt to converse with another dream being. The first impression given off by this boy was that he was harmless, but of course first impressions were almost always completely wrong. Stacee never trusted them. In fact, she did not trust a soul until she felt she knew them well enough, which could take months. She was really screwed up on that issue. One good thing about her though was that she was quite friendly and easy to be around, so if they would just stick around for a while it would probably be in their benefit.

The horse snorted a bit when the boy replied, indicating that she thought his question was quite dumb. The answer was obvious. Although she could mind speak to more than one person at once, there was no one else around, and she was quite sure he knew that. So instead of dignifying that question with a response, she simply moved on with the conversation.

"So what are you doing out here, all alone, in the middle of nowhere?" the horse asked, still quite cautious. She now began to walk again, however this time around the boy, instead of towards him. She felt more comfortable to be on the move. It was one of those natural instincts that was to hard to smother, and she really saw no need. She personally felt it to be safer to be on the move, never standing in one place for to long. Plus, she realized quickly that horses could stand for such a long time without needing to lie down or rest. They were just made to stand all the time. It was interesting, not to become tired and feel the need to sit down and rest. Not necessarily a good feeling, but not a bad one either. It was just... interesting.

[Dr. Robert Peterson]

“I,” the boy began hesitantly, “I was just walking and stopped for a moment.”

Travis’ eyes followed the winged horse has it moved around him until he needed to turn his body as well to continue looking, “if this is your land,” he began apologetically, “I am terribly sorry and will leave.. I mean no harm.”

The creature was beautiful but Travis knew far too well how such things could turn and in a moment become his greatest fear. More times than he would like to remember peaceful dreams had changed and he had become the hunted pray of some merciless demon. He hoped this would not become one of the instances when such a thing would occur. Light from the bright sun made his squint slightly as he continued to look on the horse with wings trying to decipher if it was a friend or just one of many foes. He could use a friend, one that could really fly, instead of just sort of levitate as he did.

“Your not going to hurt me are you,” he questioned finally, “I really meant no harm.”

[Stacee Young]

Stacee continued to circle the boy, however she shook her huge horse head when he implied the land being hers. "The land is not mine,"

[/color] she said, her dark gray eyes fixed on the child. He mentioned that he meant no harm, however many have said that before him. It really meant nothing, however for some reason the pegasus believed him. She did not trust him in any way at all, however for some reason she believed the fact that he would not try to hurt her.

It was strange, these horse instincts she aquires every time she comes to the dream world. She always gets this feeling about a person, whether it is good or bad depends on the person. Stacee's own mistrust of people keeps her from acting upon impulse, as some would do. She has a good feeling about this boy, and that would cause quite a few people to instantly trust him. Stacee, however, was not one of those people. She was still wary of even getting close to him.

"No, I am not going to hurt you, as long as you don't attempt to harm me" the pegasus told the boy. Finally she stopped walking and directed her body towards the child. She suddenly wondered if he was another student at the academy, or perhaps a professor, or just another dream being. She has never ran into another student in the dream world, as she does not like to interact with other dream beings. She just likes to keep to herself.

Stacee looked around at their surroundings once again. "The third square is such a strange place, don't you agree?" she said to the boy. She really did not know what else to say. She did not do this often. It was just so awkward. "I have never seen it so pretty as it is today. I could only wish this was my land."
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[Dr. Robert Peterson]

“It sure is,” the robed boy said still studying the winged horse.

It was so nice to actually be having a conversation with someone or something rather than having to run like a scared rabbit all the time. Travis could not remember when the last time was that he had actually enjoyed his time asleep. Even if the event turned sour on him he was grateful for the few moments of peace he was enjoying.

“Neither have I,” the boy replied taking a chance to look away from the beautiful creature to the grandeur that surrounded them.

A gentile breeze continued to blow wafting across the placid landscape. Such beauty Travis could not recall seeing while here in the third section of the dream world. Most of the places were a grotesque mischaracterization of the real world where the laws of man and nature had no bearing. He offered a smile and took in a deep breath before returning his deep blue eyes to the Pegasus.

“I’m so glad your not going to hurt me,” Travis said offering a smile, “so many seem to want to hurt me here… I mean… in the dream world.”

As he mentioned the name of the place where human came while sleeping ha hint of nervousness entered his expression. To be quite honest he never knew what would be the response of those he talked to when he mentioned the Dream World.

“Oh,” the boy said as if suddenly remembering something, “my manners.” He smiled broadly and began again, “My name is Travis O’Mannin,” he offered. “It is nice to meet you Pe, Pegasus,” he said and offered a slight bow.