Dreaming a dream as someone who hates dreams but needs sleep

While the Formless Lands usually took care of itself, there was still much to do in regards of upkeep as well as taking care of existing and future dreams, nightmares and in between. Aiastes moved through vast dreams, easily knowing the way as a crow followed him on calm and gliding wings. While most of the dreamers who entered his world rarely got to see him, he did like visiting a few to see how they were keeping. Mostly to see if their dreams were quote on quote working up to standards. Passing through a jungle, to a darkened alley, he soon found himself in a coffee shop. He knew the dreamer immediately, a rather young female. Of course he only knew about her from having followed her dreams for a while. They seemed to be unstable and far between, which made him worry that something was wrong within his realm. Therefor he had taken the opportunity to see the happenings for himself.
The anger was clear in this dream that was perhaps more of a nightmare to the human. Aiastes had never understood jealousy, but he did understand a longing. He had tried and failed many times, and while some had born fruit, all had ended miserably. He wasn't sure he even believed in love anymore, but he moved over, the crow cawing at him before it returned to his castle. The tall man with darkened clothes walked to the human, nodding as he pointed to the seat, "would you mind?" He was polite in tone, making himself known to the dreamer.

It was nauseatingly sweet how the couple was obnoxious and loud. But when you read it in the book, was it so different than experiencing it. Her focus was pretty much set, at least until a stranger spoke to her, making her turn her head before she frowned a little. "Uh... No, go ahead." she said, glancing shortly at the couple before looking at the stranger if he had sat down. This wasnt a part of the book at all? She at least couldnt remember it if so. "Do you want some coffee?" she asked, as she realized that she was sitting with her own cup. Oddly enough did she not have an urge to even touch it. It was just sort of there to keep up the setting that this was just a dream. She was however curious on this stranger now that he had sought out to sit with her. "Doesnt something feel a little off about this place?" she asked, looking around for a bit before she looked at the stranger again. Or was she just losing her mind? It just felt off and she felt that the more she focused, the less she really wanted to.

What was it about her that was so odd? Perhaps the fact that she was so close to understanding that she was dreaming and yet seemed so far. He sat down, shaking his head no at the offer for coffee. It was all a dream anyways. Looking around the café with careful eyes, she asked if something felt off. He could've almost smiled, but kept a neutral face as he turned to look to her again, his silvery eyes just looking calmly at her. "Well it should be odd," he pondered out loud. He had seen many people wonder about the state of their dreams, but it was the first time in a long time that anyone had asked him such a question. "Perhaps because this is a dream," he spoke with such a calm and deep voice that it could've echoed off the imaginary walls.
He got up, nodding to her, "would you rather see something else?" He was rather surprised at his own forwardness, but perhaps he saw that loneliness in her that he couldn't help but feel bad for. The king of dreams feeling sad for someone? How outrageous! But this was his realm, and what happened here would stay here. Reaching her hand out to her he just had a calming presence, perhaps even a slight bit daring, but he was a little stoic in the face department.

It should be odd? She wasnt quite sure she followed, but she was curious to hear why he would think that. Only that when he cleared why it was odd, that they were in fact in a dream, she frowned and smiled. At least until she realized that he was serious. "No, you're joking?" she chuckled. The question was a little early for the fact that she was only just realizing that she was really not in the middle of reading her book but in fact asleep. But it explained how everything felt off and she was so annoyed by the couple that had now quieted down. Actually now that she was looking at them, it was just some random faces that looked back at her weirdly. She looked at the stranger again. Who was he then? And why did he not really fit in at all? "Uh... sure..." she agreed before she reached out to take his hand. "Where to?" she frowned.

His face didn't move a muscle as she asked him if he was joking. He was clearly not, but anyone who knew him would know that the sovereign of the Formless Lands were never truly jesting. It was clear she was now fully realizing and as she took his hand he just nodded for her to follow. They exited the café and instead of it being the streets they walked into a beautiful green field. The sun was not to harsh above, just a gentle breeze blowing through the valley. "We can be wherever you want to be, so tell me; where would you like to go? What would you like to see?" He felt like he was acting unusual, but perhaps it was because he was starting to get bored.
Bored with the fact that eternity was a long time. He had been around for so long that he was starting to forget how exciting it had been in the beginning when he had been young and everyone had just started dreaming. Had he grown to stuck and old fashioned? Perhaps it was time he helped some people through their dreams, and perhaps this young woman was just lucky enough to be the first to try this new idea he had.

She got up and followed, a little surprised to not be ending up on the street as they left the café, even looking around for the entrance of it, to realize that it was completely gone. She quickly forgot about the café as she adjusted to the field. She reached down to touch the long grass but it didnt feel like anything, even if she could see it react to her touch. How odd. "What I would want to see?" she asked more for herself to ponder, still rather confused about what was going on. Could this stranger control her dreams?
"The beach." she said, looking around as the place seemingly changed, the grass turning into sand and falling onto the ground, the waves coming in to fill the otherwise empty shoreline. She watched it all unfold and frankly it was quite amazing. She looked at the stranger with a frown. "Did you...?" she gestured to the water, before she moved over. She looked at it, finding the waves to be beautiful but the closer she looked, the less it looked like water. It was something more beautiful she couldnt describe. The calming sound of the waves were serene to say the least. "How is it possible? I thought this was my dream?"

She said the beach and he nodded, the area around them changing gradually. He looked to the water as it appeared, the brisk wind moving his hair and long cape slightly. Shaking his head no, he hummed softly, "you made up your mind before I could ever do anything," he promised her, looking around. She seemed more fascinated with the water, but to him it looked as it always had done in his realm. He walked along the sand a little as she asked some valid questions. "Anything is possible in a dream," he said rather matter-of-factly. It was just how the Formless Lands worked. They were molded by the visitor in their own domain of it. "And this is indeed your dream; perhaps you are even making me up too?" he said, his lips pulling slightly at a smile, but it was as if he was fighting it. No, if a mortal made him smile then it would mean something, wouldn't it? Or perhaps for the first time in a while he genuinely felt something. A connection? He wasn't certain, but he wanted to find out more. "Why the beach?" He asked, wanting to know of her reasonings. He knew her dreams, but he couldn't read thoughts in the slightest.

His promise made her a little skeptical but for now she would accept it. She was quite taken by the water, so she was a little more forgiving if his promise wasnt true. She did wonder if she would feel it on her feet if she went in, but she didnt want to be disappointed. "So I could feel the water?" she asked, looking at the blue hue of beauty that was washing in on the shore, raising her brows a little. He made it clear that it was her dream but as he said she was making him up, she shook her head. "I really doubt that. You are different. I dont know what you are, but definitely not my imagination." she hummed. He couldnt fool her.
The question about the beach made a small smile creep up on her lips. "You would know if you were a figment of my imagination." she teased him but then she sighed and shook her head. "My parents took me to the beach quite a lot as a baby. They found it fitting that a kid with the name Mari should be loving the sea. Because Mari basically means drop of the sea."

Shrugging it was really anyone's guess. Aiastes could feel dreams, make them appear and change as he wished, but his methods were embedded in him. And every person dreamt differently. "You are a clever one," he just nodded, though not saying what was true. Frankly it didn't matter, did it? She would wake up from this dream and perhaps only remember bits of him, but not a lot of stuff. His purpose wasn't to be remembered unless he willed it to be so. It was his realm, and while he would be respected as a ruler, he also found it so refreshing just to wander about and see how people were dreaming.
Humming at her tease he just waited her to go on. He wasn't giving a lot of clues but frankly was he even interested in leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow? He thought not. She however seemed to open up, telling about her childhood, her family. And not to forget about the meaning of her name. "So why are you drawn to it now, after all this time?" He asked, because she hadn't truly answered what he wanted to know. Was it because of comfort? Uncertainty for the future and perhaps even a longing for simpler times? He had heard all of it before, but he was interested nonetheless.

The question made her shrug a little. "I dont know. Isnt that why it's a dream? Because it's what my subconscious wants?" she asked with a smile. She wasnt sure why it was the beach of all places. "Dont you have a favorite place to be with no questions asked about how or why?" she asked, watching him with a careful eye before she looked back at the water. Hell she had to know the limits of her own dream. She decided to kick off her shoes and wander out into the water, feeling it surround her but she wasnt sure if the feeling was right. Or maybe she just couldnt remember because she hadnt been by the sea for quite a long while. "Come on. dont be shy" she urged him, reaching out for him to join her. "It doesnt feel like it should... I think. But it's nice." she chuckled. "Maybe I should go when I wake up. Even if it's getting colder every day now." she chuckled before she sighed deeply. She looked down at her feet, running them through the water, giggling happily. If he had answered her question about a favorite place with a positive answer, she would poke at it. "Will you show me?" she asked all of a sudden. A smile spread on her lips. "The place."

He hummed, not quite sure if he had a favorite place. He had several, but perhaps that was a trait that came with living as long as he had. Having more than one place be his favorite wasn't odd, was it? But he simply nodded, letting her know that he indeed had, but not disclosing where. She headed out into the water and he just watched her with curious eyes, especially as she invited him out into the water. He shook his head no rather politely. He was not one for beaches and even less so the sea. Having seen plenty of nightmares of drowning or monsters springing from it, he wasn't interested in going near it.
She had quite the personality, didn't she? Asking or rather demanding that he showed her. He sighed, walking out to her in the water, taking her hand as the scenery changed. They were on the top of a large hill, a valley with a city in it below. The sun was setting lighting the sky with so many colors that one couldn't possibly name them all even with a still photo. However it wasn't either of those places that Aiastes looked. He looked to a large tree that he walked towards, kneeling down to touch the ground gently before getting up once more. He turned to her, gesturing that this was the place he found solace. Or maybe torture. A bit of both in fact, though she had said it herself that there should not be asked about how or why. It simply was, and he didn't need to disclose further. The scenery changed again, they were back at the coffee shop, though things had changed a little. It was much more calming, more than a book could do justice with pages. "It's about time you wake up now, Mari," he told her in a calm voice, his silvery eyes lingering on her before he disappeared.

He didnt want to join her in the water? She sighed softly but wouldnt force him. For all she knew, he could be scared of water! Forcing him out in it would be cruel if that was the case. She looked back at the water before her curiosity got the best of her. She did sort of demand that he'd show her. Seeing him step out into the water, it was like she barely got to really notice until the scenery changed and they were somewhere else. She looked around, not ever remembering seeing a place like this. It was quite beautiful, and she looked at him smiling faintly. He walked closer to a tree that surely made her feel a little small. His gesture made her nod and she didnt say a thing as she understood. No questions needed. They were back at the coffee shop and as he told her to wake up, she frowned before she woke up to the sound of her book hitting the floor with a thump. She realized she hadnt exactly laid in the best position slumped over and she groaned as she rubbed her back a little. "What a weird dream." she said before she checked the clock. She had managed to get a decent amount of sleep. Without a further word she got up and prepared for work. She kept a mundane life and she was quite content with it. Well despite the fact that she had a big decision that was growing each and every day. It wasnt too bad for now, but she also wasnt really beyond looking a little bloated. Clocking in, she grabbed a couple of filters and a bag of fresh coffee beans, looking around the café that had been exactly as her dream. She exhaled deeply and shook her head, chuckling a little. "It must be all the caffeine." she reminded herself, preparing the machine as the first couple of customers would show up soon enough, before the day would roll in with the chaos of any job that worked in service.

Aiastes still had work to do, moving on into another dream as this one ended, eventually retreating to his castle to continue his work. To think that the King of Sleep never slept was quite ironic, but he was also a being without the need for it. He supposed he dreamt every day of his existence, which in it of itself was rather beautiful, not that it was a beauty he himself could see nor grasp. And yet as time passed he couldn't help himself to think of Mari. What was she up to in the waking world? It was odd. Why would he, Sovereign of the Formless Lands, ever concern himself with a human? And yet he sent Lucienne to keep watch over her, report what she was doing as he couldn't leave his work just yet. A raven landed outside of the café window, sitting in the windowsill, studying the waking world around it. And through the window it spotted the human. There was no mistake in who she was, and yet the raven pondered why a human, so mundane and average, had made the Dream Lord so fascinated.
During her dreams he would continue to visit, sometimes appearing, other times just being a spectator. Though he couldn't fool himself as he quite liked seeing what she dreamt of. It seemed to shift with her mood, and some of her dreams were brief, like a light passing by. Others were vivid and imaginary, even living out the current book she was reading. And during the day, the raven would watch over her with its tiny beady eyes. Was she beginning to notice a pattern? Or was it with all living beings that they barely saw past the tip of their own nose?

Aiastes grew worried. Mostly because she seemed to spend less and less time in his realm. Why was he worried about a human? Perhaps because he had sensed something in her. A kindness that was rare within all of the realms. He had sought council with Lucienne, though a raven and a subject, it gave excellent advise as well. And while the raven advised him against seeking her out, he rarely listened. Perhaps that was why he was now in a house he knew very little of, in a room where she was drifting in and out of sleep. Her parental figures weren't home, and so he made herself known to her, sitting down on the bed beside her. His hand reaching out, moving some hair from her face. "Why are you fighting the sleep so hard?" He asked in a calm tone, studying her face with his own stoic one. "What is keeping you awake?" He had a calmness about him, perhaps not a familiar one, and yet maybe it was. It really ranged from person to person as well as their relationship with their dreams.

Depression? He had always wondered about mental sickness. But perhaps him and his family were strange in the sense of their duties. They did have emotions; They were capable of falling in love, being jealous and bored. But he wasn't sure he had ever been depressed, well in the general sense of needing a diagnosis. She turned away and his lips pulled up in an ever so slight strained smile, as if he didn't want to but was letting his façade slip a little. "Would you like me to cheer you up?" He asked, though that was something she could decide for herself. He could feel something about her, something he recognized, but he was uncertain about what it was. "Or perhaps help you sleep?" That could be arranged as well. A raven cawed outside the window, Aiastes' head snapping to look at it, giving it a stern look, but he understood its words. His head turned back, eyes looking to the young human woman. "It can be one and the same if you wish it." He assured her. What compelled him to help her? Maybe because he didn't like to see her suffer. But for now he pushed those thoughts aside.

"Would you let me show you?" He asked instead of answering her question. However the sigh made him reach out, touching her arm in an almost affectionate manner. "Have you not listened to what I told you when we met?" He asked in a soft voice, still deep and yet there was more to it, "you were so clever then, finding me out straight away." He got up, walking around to the other side of the bed so he could look at her. His silvery eyes studying her tired face, reaching out to touch her cheek. She was truly fighting sleep, fighting the rest that she deserved.
"Sleep will do you good .. I promise you your dreams will be nothing but comforting," that was a promise he could keep better than anyone in this world. Digging into his pocket he showed her his bag, "are you familiar with the story of the sandman?" He knew that was a popular tale to tell children, how each night the sandman would come and sprinkle magical sand into the kids' eyes and make the dream wonderful dreams. Digging into his pouch, he retrieved a bit of sand that he used on the young woman, drawing her into his realm and letting her body rest for a while.
In the realm everything was slowly taking form as she arrived. Aiastes stood there waiting for her, his face calm yet welcoming. It was strange how he mimicked mostly with his eyes. He reached his hand to her, "come," he urged her.

She sighed at the question, clearly conflicted about it. She felt the touch and it surprised her a little, though she remained where she was. His words did stir her thoughts and once he moved to look at her, she looked back at him, her eyes tired but she really did doubt that she could even sleep if she tried. His hand on her cheek felt nice but she didnt really know if it was real or just her tired mind trying to soothe her. Not that she minded either. Whatever she got was fine.
He mentioned sleep and she looked at the bag, blinking tiredly. "I think I do?" she muttered. Wasnt it some children's tale? She looked at the pouch and how he dug out some sand before blowing it on her face. She fell asleep right away, and woke instead in the dream world. Seeing him, she scoffed softly with a smile. Odd how she felt way better here than she had when she was awake. "I'm not sure what you did. But it's pretty cool." she said, reaching out to take his hand as he offered. "So where are we going this time?"

She took his hand, and he showed him through the vast fields of greenery that most came to for calmness. She asked where they were going, "last time we each showed each other a special place." It was more of a statement, but a true one nonetheless. He pointed to the distance, "we are seeing a place that I've been working on .. and I would like some input," he did usually have dreamers test out different things he had created, but it was something new that he let them know it was a dream. Or that they were even experiencing something like this. His job was not to be seen.
With relative ease they passed the green fields, entering an oasis. It was truly like shifting planes, yet rather comfortable. The air was warm, but a pleasant one with a bit of humidity to it. In the middle was a beautiful lake, the same water as she had shown so much care for at the beach. Willow trees were around the lake, their long branches caressing the surface. In the distance there were sounds of birds and running water, a rather serene place indeed. "How is it?" He asked, wanting her input, letting her take it in. He stood behind her, easily towering over her, "what does it lack?"

"I do," he simply stated, because that was his function after all. He created dreams, he made nightmares - and everything in between. "I've made every dream and nightmare since the beginning of dreamers," he spoke so casually about it, but this was his existence. However after so long, he still needed input on his creations. He was not without flaws. And as she spoke of life he hummed, leaning down to lift up a clump of the dirt by his feet. Crushing it together soon a small squeaking noise was heard. Releasing the squirrel down on the ground it quickly went for the trees as it was in their nature. He made sure that it would have a partner to mate with as well, also so it wouldn't be lonely.
Watching her with careful eyes she spoke of fish and he hummed, walking over to the lake. He placed his hand in the water, taking up some small pebbles of rocks that he lifted up. He threw the pebbles back in one by one and transformed into fish as soon as they hit the water. She asked what it was for and he looked to her, "it is for an old friend of mine .. his life is at its end, but in his dreams he is still young .. I've offered him to stay here in my realm after his death." He spoke calmly before joining her. He pointed towards a cottage, a small and simple house that had the structure almost as an old farm house. "If he decides not to stay, it could become a place of refuge for those in need of a simple dream."