Silver Stars ➣ j. kline

two

➣ [ DREAM DEMONS ] ➣

— ➣ —

THE LAST TIME Arya entered the Dreams, she didn't come out for decades. See, the Dreams are a place between realities where time is irrelevant. To her, it only felt like a few years, but then again when you're traveling from dream to dream and killing the nightmares that lurk in the subconscious of humans, time really doesn't exist in the first place.

As soon as she stepped through, she felt the power of the Dreams wash over her like a warm blanket after being drenched in freezing water. It was familiar and welcoming.

In a blink, a soft glow enveloped her, and her once blood-stained shirt and jacket transformed into a long, flowing white-grey dress. Her feet were bare, but the floor beneath them wasn't cold.

Unlike on Earth where her wings were kept hidden, here, her wings shone brilliantly despite the lack of light in the Dreams. A similar light shimmered next to her and he looked over to see Thelsiel now in a loose white shirt and grey pants. They looked like something right out of a medieval show with the addition of his own wings that were much clearer now compared to Earth.

"You look like you just stepped out of Camelot," Arya commented.

"I am assuming I should be offended, but I do not know what that is," Thelsiel raised a brow once he'd closed the portal with a wave of his hand.

"How do you —" she paused, remembering his situation, "never mind."

She looked up, taking in the view she missed so much. Millions of stars pricked against a night sky. Every now and again one would flicker off and be quickly replaced by another. Each represented a human's dream. She took slow steps across the obsidian floor, onyx dust parted for her as she studied each light. They were all different, some pleasant, some quite odd, and the others were the those that required their attention.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Thelsiel's voice brought her back from her haze.

"Yes, it's probably one of the few things I miss about this place." Arya looked back over at the angel who's expression had turned meloncoly as he gazed up at the stars.

Thelsiel hummed. "Then it is only fitting that you choose where we go first. I hope to take you to a dream so we can have a chance to explore your new powers and if there's time, perhaps the library."

"You can get into the library without Doyal?"

Thelsiel looked offended.

"Technically speaking, that" — he paused, quickly re-evaluating his choice in words — "he was created long after me. He has no where near the powers you or I hold."

Arya hummed at the information. Doyal — the only one of his kind, a creature created by the original Angel of Dreams — had always been a character to say the least. While he had helped her when she first arrived in the Dreams, he'd always been bitter and offput for reasons he never disclosed. He'd always tell her how he hoped she'd "be better than the last" and would chuckle whenever she asked what he meant.