Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*:･ﾟ✧
Gazing: an alien custom in which a Crenata and their trusted confidant share dreams.
No matter the variety of experts, none have been able to deduct or conclude an answer as to how a Crenata may fuse their dreamscape with friends or family, whether the individual are of the same species or not. The link between minds originates from the lead operator which is the Crenata, always. Somehow they're able to communicate with a person whom they deem worthy of their respect and love, wandering a world private only to them; a world where it's just those two, secrets and truths. Gazing is regarded as a truly intimate ritual, which leaves them radically open to surges of revered emotion.
Gazing happens with every single member of the species. Meaning once an adolescent Crenata reaches adulthood, they're prone to the random acts of Gazing with other people.
Therefore it's taught to them how they should manage the swings of liable Gazing, and repress invading another person's safe space. If not, it may appear entirely at chance and return with each powerful rift of emotion until it's somehow carefully taught otherwise.
Gaia, personally, was never taught to master that aspect of herself. She knew what Gazing entailed, but as she was nearing her thirties and the first signs of the procedure were scheduled to show, her parents weren't there to guide her through any of it. And to Gaia's great disappointment, it never came for her.
As fingerprints are unique to each individual, some Crenatas happened to be "late bloomers", including Gaia who went on to experience her first act of Gazing years later:
Mando.
Gaia has wondered if it were a mere coincidence or if he was actually the one to trigger it. The thought is shattering because she never Gazed with Lavendea, not even once. However, just as Gaia never went through it, Lavendea never shared her own dreams either. Gaia has thought about it many times before and speculated if it were because of the circumstances they had found themselves in. The Crenatas who were enslaved suffered suppression in numerous ways: they were forbidden to speak in their language, practice any sort of religion, and were forced to be separated. The only times a group of Crenatas could be seen together were during lunch, training sessions, or certain missions with their assigned squad.
Such an anguished pondering has crossed Gaia's mind on several occasions, and even now in her miserable position right here.
A slumbering ache resides upon Gaia's temple with a developing bruise, wherein the uninvited guest had struck her when she was warned in the dead of night by an invading force within the Razor Crest. She has absolutely no clue how they managed to pry their way inside the ship, but doing so out of good intentions were far from it. As a result, Gaia barely managed to rouse when she was attacked and rendered unconscious. Some hours must've passed by while she was out. The sun shifts if she elevates her head, dimples of sunlight spilling through the canopies. If she moves, she may be able to spot it behind the tree she's been shackled to.
