A straight, dark, metal floored and walled hallway. Various bolted shut or boarded up doors fill the way down, barely in sight, trailing until the pocket ends. A dim red-light, the one source of light, hangs above the one door ajar.

Any footsteps echo down the hall. Inside the room, is what would be a cell. No window, and a small cramped room. It merely contains someone sitting against a wall, not well lit. Surely female.

Okay, Felix will just be thankful for his immortality and ability to commit "suicide" by fire, because this place is out of a horror movie.

Well, he will make the audience scream at him and walk in the room.

"Hello?" Felix says quietly.

The figure's head turns. Someone's here, but the lights aren't on...

Click. The hallway's lights turn on, slightly too bright to be comfortable. Dreamlogic prevails.

The figure, now illuminated, is in view. A female, either in her late teens or early twenties. Hair Dark Brown, short and staying around her head, eyes blue. Wearing a green collared shirt, but also blue PJs.

"Hello there, sir?" Confused likely due to the sudden appearance, not due to gender confusion.

Urgh, light. Felix's first impulse is to shield his eyes with his wings...

...which proves quite destructive to his trench coat. Now one of his wings is very visible.

"So... don't freak out."

"Even if I wanted to, it never helps. Don't worry."

She stands up, and 'dusts' her PJs off (nothing comes off). "I'm Vienne. Good to meet you." Fully formal, standing straight. The longer she has to stare with a blank face, a slight bit of confusion would set in.

"Huh..." Felix wonders if this is actually the dreamshaper or a dream creation. "Do you... remember how you got here?"

Pause.

Headtilt.

Head is fixed.

"No idea... Wings? I'm... Not used to that. Do you have an explanation?"

"Huh," Felix says eloquently, "I was born with them. Do you just remember waking up in here?"

Blank stare, internal sigh of annoyance.

"I'm beginning to think I'm either drugged or asleep. People aren't born with wings." Slightly annoyed, but still trying to be polite.

Pause. "And since there's a distinct lack of sense being made whilst I feel fine, I'm going to guess asleep, since that's the last thing that happened." Why am I making fun of myself in my dreams?

"It's a complicated story," Felix says waving the wing to indicate what he is talking about that, "really complicated. If you are the person I think you are, your life might be in danger."

Still nothing explained.

"Of course. Are we going to leave, or stand here?" She folds her arms. "No use talking here, given the situation." Perhaps elsewhere he'll explain? Or at least won't leave me in the dark.

Felix takes a step back inviting her to leave the room.

"I am going to get you out of this place, and then you will wake up. But I need a way to find you again."

"So I AM asleep." She steps outside, and looks down the hallway. "Makes sense."

Vienne rolls her shoulders, letting her arms go loose. She speaks a bit more casually than before. "I'm listening? I'll just assume that the normal ways won't work." No answer for how to find her afterwards yet, given a slight bit of doubt of Felix being a separate being, and healthy paranoia-based safety.

"There is a portal that I can open and if you walk through it and, if you are who I am think you are, you are going to wake up. But then you will have powers that I would like to... avoid being used in a bad way."

"Sure then. And how do you suppose to find me?" Her eyes drift to the wing. "And where should we meet, given your concern and our odd way of meeting?"

"I am open to idea for locations. Ideally it would be at night, under the cover of fog, which I can create. I could give you directions to a portal and how to get inside... if you can be trusted to not use this information unwisely."

A moment's thinking. "Sure, to a portal. I have no real reason to do anything 'unwise', so that should work. It would also be enough proof that this wasn't just an incredibly lucid yet strange dream." She smiles, a tad awkwardly. "So, again, I'm Vienne. Nice to meet you...?" Prompting him for his name.

"Oh, Felix, Felix Dalkaila. Nice to meet you too." He suggests a alley that should be close enough where Vienne leaves.

Felix stops near the close portal's location. Since the portal is inactive there is no indication the place is noticeably different from anywhere else.

A nod 'yes' in response to the alley. "Am I waking up still during the night? I have no reason to not go right away."

She stops behind and waits for whatever he'll do.

"Yes, it will be during the night. Give me a couple of hours. I need to sleep to create the portal and the area it will lead through."

Felix raises a hand, the gesture isn't useful but it illustrates that he is doing something.

Using his power he gently stirs the air creating an invisible circular breeze, which opens the portal.

The portal shows the transparent imagine of a topiary garden, with large torches nearby providing the light.

"You should wake up as soon you step through."

Another nod. "Understood. See you then."

Vienne steps through the portal. Lights further down the hallway start to turn off, moving towards Felix, rolling darkness down the hallway as it shuts down.

Vienne will find herself waking up, a small smooth shard of quartz rolls away from her head as she does so.

Felix glances at the darkness but walks through the gate shortly after.

Eyes open, same ceiling. Cheap hotel ceiling. Awake.

Vienne sits up, and rubs her eyes, running through her mind what just happened whilst looking at the odd addition to her bed. Then it's out of bed, a quick check of the entrances in case someone put the shard there physically, switch the PJs back to the normal set of dress pants, and repack. Three minutes and she's ready to never come back again, slower than her usual pace due to the mental distraction. Backpacked and gone.

If this dream is nothing, no harm in being prepared. If it's real, there should be no reason to stay in this hotel any longer. If it's real, and malicious... It's time to move.

It's too curious a situation for Vienne to hightail it, so dealing with it is her first concern... After spending some time to eat breakfast at a restaurant. Felix said he needs a couple of hours, and having some pancakes whilst examining the shard sounds like a good way to pass some time. Then it's off to the alleyway.

As she gets close the streets get foggier, maybe not suspiciously so, but still unusual given the concentration, there is a man in the alleyway wearing a ridiculously large coat, his face looks familiar.

"Oh, thank you for coming."

Completely suspicious... He must be the one causing a stir yesterday, so people will be looking. I'll likely have to arrange better ways to meet than this. Just after this all gets explained.

Vienne walks up, and nods her head along with a tiny bow (10% tilted forward, enough to show it but without risk of toppling due to her backpack). "Hello sir. I said I would arrive, and so I did. I have all my things, and the tiny shard that seemed to make it's way onto my pillow."

"Hello... miss. You can just call me Felix, do you mind if we step inside my dimension while we talk?"

"Of course. No need to stay here while we talk." She waves her hand to motion Felix to go ahead.

And in a mumble, "Calling me Vienne is fine too."

"Thank you, Vienne."

The fog parts and a portal opens near where they stand. Felix invites her to follow him as he goes inside.

Once inside, Vienne will find herself in a large garden filled with beautiful and elaborate topiary of various animals.

Step step step. Well it seems I have no idea how anything works.

Vienne will stay close and be quiet until they reach wherever they'll talk at. She's seemingly a little on edge at this weird circumstance, but isn't hesitant to proceed.

Felix absently closes the gate behind him, this action apparently involves a wave of the hand in a triangular gesture.

"I know it is a lot to take in," Felix says while conducting her through a stone path towards a cottage that looks out of a fairytale. "are you hungry?"

"I'm fine. I ate breakfast already as well."

Vienne contemplates smiling at him, to try to reassure him, but decides not to. She doesn't know how much he could have watched her dream, or who he might associate with. Stay normal.

"Okay, feel free to ask for anything. Can I see the crystal shard now? I promise to explain anything either way, better if you know."

"I'll ask when I think of anything, but right now it's all about the basic things. How this all works, are you attempting to kill me, so on."

She pulls the shard out of her pocket, and leaves it in her palm for Felix to see. If he wants to take it she'll let him, but he can see it from where he is now.

"I am not attempting to kill you," Felix says, too stunned to react to the shard, "I know this sounds scary and mysterious, but I am just trying to be safe and secretive."

"I... Didn't mean it like that! I just have... To take care of myself. People out there are looking-... Well, I'm already here, so, it's not likely anymore...?" She smiles awkwardly, then raises the crystal higher to try to deflect the topic.

Felix takes the crystal absently, then, remembering what he is holding, carefully pockets the thing.

"I guess I understand. I swear I am friendly," he smiles back, warmly like making her feel her safe it is his first priority.

By this point they are close to an outdoor table, he offers her a seat, before taking one himself, pulling the chair backwards so his wings are free.

"So, the first to get out the way, is that you have a magical power now. One to create a pocket dimension of your own."

She takes off her backpack and sits, threading an arm through her leg so it can't be easily taken from her. "Simple to guess... I'd rather you try to explain the crystal first, since you seemed to have taken it."

Vienne swallows hard. "I'm not trying to be antagonistic, sorry sir- Err, Felix." Let's just try to get that line of thinking out of my head...

There is a thermos on the table and Felix pours himself some tea, silently offering it to her.

"It's okay, if you want to be formal. Anyway, the crystal is called dreamshard. When it touches someone that is asleep it starts creating a pocket dimension, apparently based on their dreams. They don't wake up until they find a portal and leave through it, which is why I went to yours, I was trying to rescue you on top of informing you about things."

She pours herself a cup, but doesn't touch it very much. "And I can create these dimensions now, you've said. Anybody who had this stone affect them can?" Pause. "You can explain how you want."

"Don't worry. The important thing is that you understand," Felix smiles benevolently again, "You only have a single dimension, which is constrained depending on your dream. They can have weird rules but you should figure out the next time you sleep, which won't have normal dreams anymore. Anybody that is touched by the stone during sleep will be affected, yes. Most people don't survive without outside help because they have to find a portal out and then figure out how to open them. Portals are open by special circumstances called Keys, the ones I used in front of you had Keys related to my other powers so only I can open them, your dimension will have it's own type of Keys which you can set under their constraints. Are you following?"

"Following." A moment's thought. "Only one dimension for now I assume?"

I'll ask about having a dreamshard of my own later. Or if that one belongs to me. Best learn first.

"Only one dimension per person, we call them dreamshapers. You can expand it quite fast..." Felix says sympathetically, "you are actually stuck with it the way it is. It might not be a good dimension, but they are rarely harmful when under control."

"Well it certainly seems like a good thing to have access to. I suppose the only real problem is being both there and asleep-- Are we still in the 'real world' asleep? Or are we only in here?"

"We are only here. Sleeping is a interface, of sorts to interact with the dimension magic. This place is real, just... unusual in a magical way."

Vienne calms down an octave. "Alright, alright. As long as we're safe here."

She sips the tea. "I'm not expecting everything to have perfect logic. It's magic, as you say, but it all makes sense so far."

"They have self-consistent rules, if sometimes hard to understand. It's very safe in here. Pocket dimensions are nothing but good to hide. They are also called hiddenlands in my Earth."

Pause.

"I might have failed to mention, but I am from another Earth."

With the teacup raised over her mouth, her eyes lay on the wings. It takes a moment to suppress the urge to snark really hard about them.

"I assumed." Sip.

Sip. "Given the reactions from others from your world, it isn't a trivial assumption."

"Well, I have no real reason to sell you to the media. Rather not interact with them either."

Thinking pause. "Well, a reason not to is that you might be able to enter my dreams, if that wasn't only a 'first time' thing."

A second thought occurs, but while waiting for his response, Vienne attempts to 'dream into existence' a biscuit to go with her tea.

The biscuit fails to appear.

"I can't actually enter in your dreams, in a sense you can't dream anymore."

Miff. Distinct lack of biscuit. At least trying is being somewhat amusing.

"I meant this place, my... Hallway. The dreamshaper dimensions. Do I have to worry about people showing up?"

Biscuuuuit...

"Oh, only if the portals are open. It is important to set up portals with unlikely keys or make them out of the way if you want to keep your dimension a secret."

Nodding. "Then, what do you do with these pockets? Are they only private hideaways, or can you do things with them? Perhaps make a tea biscuit?"

"Also, then, Is a matter of how you... Appeared in this city?"

"You can use them for basically anything one could use space? They often have magical things, but are constrained to their own specific often arbitrary rules. If I fell asleep and started creating things now, I could create a house sized pile of tea biscuits, but wouldn't be able to create a light bulb."

"And... I don't know how, I was snatched by some weird energy and suddenly I was above this city."

He looks deflated explaining this.

Subtle insertion not understood so no biscuit obtained, but...

"So, you have no way back." Vienne stands up for emphasis, leaning forward slightly with her hands on the table. "Then it's my job to find you a way back, to pay for becoming a dreamshaper." She smiles. "And take care of all the media, whilst you teach me. Simple!"

"What?"

Her smile fades. "What? I thought I was pretty clear."

Vienne sits back down. "If you have no way back, and somehow you showing up here made me a dreamshaper, it's only fair that I have to get you back to your Earth. In the meantime, we help each other out."

Felix shakes minutely his head. "No," he says softly.

"I mean, helping each other out is great. But... I don't think finding a way back is going to be easy, my situation is... complicated."

Hard stare. "...So?"

"So... there is no reason to set you on a pointless task? Also, you really shouldn't feel in debt because of the dreamshaping."

"Feeling debt or not, I do want to help... Do you think that with what happened yesterday, people flocking around you, that having someone around to help would be worse?"

Pause. "Are you going to leave me here and head back yourself?"

Felix blinks at the last sentence.

"Oh, sorry for not being clear. I do accept your offer for help with those things. I just don't think you can help getting me back and, forgive me to ask, but do you have... somewhere to return?"

Vienne stares at him for a moment, deciding how to respond. A straight answer seems to be the best. "I don't have anywhere. You met me dreaming of what was my 'childhood home', and I came to meet you here from a nondescript hotel." Not counting the breakfast place.

Sip of tea. "I'm not broken up about it, feel free to ask."

"That was your childhood home? Do you need a hug? Why? Do you need a place to stay?"

"Yes, no, bastards, and... I might have just gotten my own dimension to stay in? I mean, I would have said 'yes' a day ago."

"Bastards? ...Do you want to talk about it? I can just shut up on the subject. Your dimension might not be safe to stay, you will figure that out the next time you sleep. The offer is open either way."

"I said I'm not broken up about it." Sip. Yes, she's using it to give herself moments to think. Just like the narration is using pointing out that fact to keep writing more in some attempt at comedy. At least I find it funny. "I'd like to stay here tonight at least then."

"So well, I'm... Well... Seven hundred ways to kill someone with your bare hands is an understatement to what I was taught, and..." She stares into her teacup, fairly empty by now. "Hard to politely say that I was a child-assassin." Her eyes look up at Felix. "I don't mean you any harm or anything."

"I am so sorry. Are you sure you don't need a hug... Okay, maybe it is one of those things. Well, my offer of hospitality still stands. Are the bastards still out there? There ought to be a way to stop them."

Note how he is completely unafraid of the fact she is a child-assassin, how peculiar.

Small sigh of relief, and a small smile that everything is going alright. "Well, yes. They're still out there somewhere. Haven't gotten any surprise wake ups for awhile, but they won't stop that easily. Was a bit worried you were with them for awhile."

"That is horrible... How extensive of a group are they? ...Regardless it might be a good idea to move to another city. I can expand my dimension and build a train to go there."

Headtilt. "Expand and build a train? Does walking in here relate to moving back on Earth?... Is my dimension sitting next to yours in some sort of... Quantum... Dimensional..." She sighs, then starts aimlessly using a finger to rotate her teacup on it's saucer.

"Yes. I am sorry if I am explaining this out of order, back on my Earth people learn this during early childhood. But the dimensions are sitting next to each other."

Spin spin goes the teacup. "That's fine. Can't say you won't forget tiny things because you never think of it anymore... I don't mind!"

Spin spin. "I can think of a crazy amount of things to do with a private travel dimension, especially if it doesn't have to have oceans in the way..."

"It is slightly easier if I copy the terrain, but I am not limited by cost, if I wanted to create a bridge that crosses the atlantic I totally could. I could even cover the entire thing in gold and jewels if I felt like it."

Spin spin. "No wonder you want to keep it under check. If you can just create that, well, can you bring stuff out? That'd break everything."

"Yes... my stuff is real and can be taken out. I know the thing is related to dreams, but this is reality, but just in a different placement. And yes, it is really something to be kept in check. The dreamshard was abused in the past."

Vienne drinks the last bit of tea. "I can guess how, even without knowing all the specifics."

The cup is placed back down, and it's idle spinning continues. "Well, only thing I can think to ask is, does everybody there have wings? And... Do they work? I think the news said you could fly."

"Oh, they work. I have other powers too. But not everyone from the other Earth had them or magic. My kind of magic person is called Skymage."

"Ah, neat..." Pause. "So, C-... Ah, can I..." Obvious embarrassment.

"Touch your wings, sir- I mean, Felix?" A small smile, trying to not look as stupid as she thinks she does.

Blink, then a smile. "Sure... Just don't pluck any feathers."

He offers her one of the wings.

"Of course, it's attached to you, would be stupid."

She stands up and walks over to the offered wing, then lightly trails her hand down the wing.

"That tickles," Felix says.

His wing flays a little, brushing against her.

Soft, neat feeling--

And then she gets brushed against. Vienne immediately locks up in place, and stops moving. She slowly then retracts her hand and takes a pair of steps backwards. "I didn't mean to, well..."

"Huh? Are you alright?"

She straightens herself out. "I'm fine? I didn't mean to inadvertently tickle you. I just wanted to feel it after all."

Vienne sits back down in her seat.

"It is okay, no harm done. I guess even in my world people don't realize the wings can be ticklish."

Vienne nods her head, but keeps her head looking down at the end.

It's undeniably in front of her, this unknown place between universes. Even if she knew some sort of philosophy, it wouldn't help that her mind is already running near max capacity trying to be conscious of anything that could harm her, now or later. Throw in on top of that trying to remember everything she was just told and understand it, stay polite and courteous (which she feels she is doing badly at), and also start thinking about her own pocket... Then she doesn't like being touched, and will likely have to explain that somehow...

The snap of her brain overloading is nearly audible. She slumps in the chair, the simplest thing to stop worrying about. "I need... A moment to think, sorry."

"Take your time, as much you need."

"I... Think I'd rather be outside of any pocket right now. Back on Earth."

Mental recentering...

"Should acquire a set of maps for you. That might be a good idea for time."

"I can get maps myself, but it might be a good idea get news about me in the media. I can only get those after sleeping."

He thinks for a moment.

"Do you want something you could pawn for money?"

_"Oh."

She straightens up a little. "I'm alright for money, if that's what you're asking. If you want me to sell it for you, I could do that."

"I meant for you. Thank you, but I don't need money, at least not for now."

"Well, what are you intending to pawn? It'd be good to at least have an idea of how quickly you could get money for something."

"I didn't had an specific idea, just something portable and fancy in case you needed cash. You haven't seen inside, but my dimension's trademark is overdecorating everything and I wouldn't miss tacky vase number 56. I might have jewelry somewhere too, but haven't looked."

The dimension's trademark is-... Later.

Head shake. "No need. I have enough with me, and unless there's a big need, I suppose I'll have my dimension soon."

Sigh. "I... Still would rather step out of here for a little while. Even if there isn't much of an idea right now."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Felix says standing up and starting to lead her to the portal.

"We should set an hour or date for your return, I can't keep the portal open all the time."

Vienne is following after him, of course. She takes her backpack with her.

"That's new info. Well, would it require me going to sleep to make my own way here? Assuming that I can open your portal, or make my own."

"I mean, I can keep it open, but I shouldn't because someone else might see it. This portal can only be opened if you have one of my other powers. You can make a portal to your own dimension and then one here."