Curiouser and Curiouser [open]

Ugh.

Everything hurt. His back was the worst of the pain, but his limbs just didn't want to move. There was that starting tingle that said they had been in one position without proper circulation. If he didn't move now, then he wouldn't be able to do anything until that stinging, stabbing pain subsided with the return of proper blood flow.

Rhys pushed himself into a sitting position, violet eyes squinting into the light. He had fallen asleep again. Surprisingly, he couldn't recall any nightmares. He had run himself to pure exhaustion again then. He had literally passed out to the point that nothing could disturb him. He hated that. It was the most likely time that the "other" could rise and carry out whatever hellish plans it could cook up.

It was bad enough that he couldn't fully control the illusions. Rhys did not want his id, as he called it, to be able to run wild doing who knows what to the poor people that were close enough to suffer. He sighed, a shiver running down his spine at that eerie giggle. Hehehehe. A doll crawled out from behind some bushes, emphasizing the lack of control he really had. They never really left him. He wasn't able to banish them from sight unless he had passed out like he clearly had however long ago.

He inched away from the blue hellspawn and took stock of where he was this time. It was certainly nowhere he recognized. His eyes widened as a ... he would call it a butterfly but it was like none other he had ever seen. It literally looked like two slices of buttered bread flapping their way passed him. How ... strange. What had his darker side gotten up to that this was where he ended up? A better question was where was he? Hopefully it wasn't another dimension of nightmares.

So gather ye demons, it seems it's your day

I sin but I've paid more than ten thousand graves

The Dark Orb was a rather strange little orb. After Ginji had acquired it, he hadn't quite been able to figure out how it worked. Tapping it, zapping it, pressing it- nothing seemed to activate it's ability. He'd been told that it had the ability to take him to entirely new worlds... He'd started to wonder if the person had pulled a fast one on him. What a mean trick! But shortly after pondering it's authenticity, the little orb had started to glow with a dark purple light, and a strange black portal opened up in front of him! It had been a little scary looking, and he felt bad for doubting the kind person who'd given him the Dark Orb... With the wisps emanating from the shadowy portal, he'd carefully taken a step in.

Inside, it was cold, and so dark that he could barely see anything. He'd felt a strange pressure in his chest, like a sadness. Or anger. Something negative- clenching onto the front of his shirt, he'd slowly moved forward, trying to look around. There was nothing to see. Reaching a hand out, he felt nothing else either. He could only walk forwards. It was quite creepy, and he was extremely relieved when he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Hurrying forward, he stepped through, raising a hand as his eyes adjusted back from the pitch blackness of the tunnel.

A very strange sight greeted him. A colourful world, full of mushrooms and flowers and trees that were far too big to be anything normal. The grass was blue! And purple, and pink! Amazed, eyes wide, he stepped forward, ooing and ahhing at all of the amazing new sights. What was this place? It was like something straight out of a storybook or maybe a dream. Who lived here, in this strange and fascinating forest? What did the native animals look like? Questions filled his mind, as he wandered aimlessly. Giant pink bees buzzed past, singing some unintelligible song as the flowers sang along.

”Is anyone here?” 

Stopping near the top of a small cliff and a gnarled, twisting tree, he called out, looking around. The trees were so tall that they blocked out the sunlight- if there was any. But several of the flowers and plant life seemed to glow of their own accord. What a magical place!

thanks malin @ adox

[googlefont="Oswald"]

The violet eyed man brushed himself off as he pushed himself to his feet. His legs complained, desperately wishing that he would sit back down for a little longer. He couldn't allow for that. He knew that sitting meant that his little nightmares would be able to form a horde of their own accord and there was no telling the state he would end up in. If he moved around, kept his mind occupied, then they wouldn't be able to grow to an overwhelming point. He would really rather not become a babbling nut case again.

He started forward over the uneven earth. It seemed he was in a forest, but like none he had ever seen before. His gaze drifted over everything around him and he finally realized that things that should be at his feet were towering over him. For once, Rhys was one of the smallest things in the area leaving him at only a couple of inches high at best. Is this what bugs felt like? He frowned at his new stature, having liked being six feet tall. This meant that there were all manner of things that could easily end him that couldn't have before. Great, new nightmares to add to the collection.

As he absently considered his own position, the illusionist completely forgot that there was a doll running around, although unable to physically cause issues. It was still scaring the ... plant life. Shrieks of terror and screams of "weed" drew his attention and Rhys hurried to the source. The flowers were terrified of the tiny azure monster who had brought along friends. The dandelion lashed out at the dolls to no avail. The leaf that it used as a hand to swat the dolls away passed right through them, causing more fear among the foliage.

Is anyone here?

Another voice caught Rhys' attention, and the attention of his nightmares. He looked toward the direction of the voice then back at the ragged toys. Stay put, He snapped at the dolls even though he knew that it wouldn't do a damn thing. The beasts simply giggled with that wicked grin on their faces and stood staring at him as he walked away. If he could exert his will over them to at least keep them terrorizing the flowers, then maybe he could save whoever else was out here from the things that haunted him daily. The thin man would really like to find a way out of here to somewhere a lot more normal before he started to scare others off first. This was not a place for a human and he wanted to be back to his normal size. He didn't need to fear anything more than he already did.

He wandered through the grass, looking for the source of the voice. He finally came to a cliff side and his stomach dropped. There was a blond man standing beneath the biggest tree Rhys had ever seen. It was creepy looking and made worse by the luminescent flowers around it. He was beginning to really not like this world. Um ... Hello, He said, somewhat nervously. He was in a strange place, with weird things surrounding him, small nightmares following at his heels, and greeting a strange. What could possibly go wrong? There was no reason for his paranoia to start going haywire. There was no reason at all why his hand should start shaking the way it was.

So gather ye demons, it seems it's your day

I sin but I've paid more than ten thousand graves

As Rhys gave the other a nervous greeting, Ginji looked over towards him, a grin spreading across his face. "Hi!" He called out cheerfully, taking a step away from the tree. "My name's Ginji!" Introducing himself with a goofy, friendly smile, he was quite easy going and open. Oblivious as Ginji was, he didn't immediately notice how nervous that the other one was, trying to hide the shakes. As friendly and outgoing as the blond was, he had a hard time reading other people and seeing if they were shy, considering that he generally considered everyone he met outside of jobs a new friend.

"I kinda wound up in this place by accident and I have no idea where I am! You wouldn'a happened to see a black haired man around with purple glasses, would you? His name's Ban, and he's my best friend, but we got separated." Making his way down the small hill, he stopped a few feet away from the other, studying him curiously. It was now that he noticed the other wasn't reciprocating his friendly manner, and he blinked in surprise. "What about you, are you lost too? What's your name?"

(Ugh I apologize for how short this post is, tell me if you need more to work with!)

thanks malin @ adox

[googlefont="Oswald"]

Rhys was a little taken aback but the chipper attitude of the person he had come across. How was that possible? Perhaps the violet haired male's outlook was a little more bleak than the average person's but this situation was terrifying. They were about three inches tall with strange creatures around them, talking flowers, and who knew what else was lurking unseen in the grass. Oh yes, thinking about it more certainly made Rhys feel better. His shakes started to get a little worse, but he was determined not to look like a complete coward.

He actually had to fight himself to stay put rather than back away as Ginji approached. His jaw clenches as he pushed to keep his paranoia from taking over as the blond spoke. He actually felt bad for the guy even though he didn't seem to be particularly distraught at missing his friend. Once upon a time, the lavender haired male would have been fine being separated as well. When he had been in that stupid gallery with that little girl -- he was mostly sure that she had been real -- he had been okay when she wandered off. He had been worried for her, sure, but he hadn't been the absolute mess he was after he found that bloody doll room.

I haven't seen your friend, He said quietly. Sadly, he wasn't much exactly a promising outlet of answers. I'm Rhys. I just woke up here, wherever here is. He bowed his head and stared at the ground. Bad idea. He hadn't noticed the creepy blue dolls in tattered dresses collecting at his feet. They were staring at Ginji, red eyes glowing. Just one turned its head to look up at the illusionist, giggling at its "master."

Damn it, he couldn't help but be a coward now. Rhys couldn't help the whimper that escaped him and he took a step back out of the little group of dolls. Sorry, I'm pretty useless. He slowly raised his gaze to meet Ginji's, bothered at his own incompetence and the fact that he hadn't even gotten himself here consciously which just made his situation worse. He couldn't even answer how it was possible to get here.