Thytes nodded. "In that case, should we keep close by the owner of the nightmare?" he said. "I would also feel more secure, considering what might be attempting to pay us a visit."
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
Queenie glanced around, "Well I don't think she would have much reason to go further down. Especially not in a nightmare. Common sense says don't stray into the darkest parts of the setting, and I assume common sense si something she possesses." At least, she hoped that the owner of the nightmare they were trapped in had some common sense to her name. It would be highly inconvenient if she didn't, especially since it sounded like they were going to be fighting a while.
Gods, that sounded so much worse when put to words.
Whether or not she was going to be able to wake up from this hellscape depended on whether or not the collective group could kill a gods damned whale.
This was so, so far out of her comfort zone. She doubted even Briar would have a clever way to solve this. She might know a way to poison the water or something, she rarely cared about casualties anyway, but seeing as it was a dream, whether or not Briar would care about the fist or whatever else would be affected by her experimenting was pretty inconsequential.
But Briar wasn't here to weave together some clever way for them all to move on to the next challenge in this sleepy little video game, so Queenie was here. Partnerless and trapped. With a bunch of...she didn't know how to describe them, weirdos? Freaks? Reasons-to-lose-faith-in-sentience?
Whatever they were, she didn't like it. Any of it.
"Ah, I believe she walked up onto the deck after hearing some of Carter's more flirtatious comments," Thytes said. "Not that I blame either party - it appears she did not agree with Carter's level of comfort in this situation."
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
Cleona closed her eyes as darkness settled and the sailors each headed down to their respective hammocks. The time was being messed with, because she had never, ever reached the whale and the equator in one day. But tomorrow, tomorrow was [i]the[i] day. Was it the dream demons Juliet had mentioned? She sighed, knowing she needed to tell the others, but she really didn't want to get up.
"Those moments when your in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down"
"I'm erasing myself from the narrative. Let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted when you broke her heart
Juliet had already been starting to suspect that Cleona had gone back to the surface, but Thytes and Queenie's comments confirmed it - as well as the sailors that suddenly descended below deck. Juliet immediately slunk back into the shadows, not wanting to frighten the figments of Cleona's imagination. When they finally passed, Juliet emerged from the shadows.
"I'm going to head up, then," Juliet finally said, giving a smile that was a strange mix of awkward and creepy.
The walk up to the deck was uneventful - there weren't any demons yet, and all of the sailors were below deck. The only person Juliet ran into was Cleona - who was looking more than a little contemplative.
Juliet glanced out into the ocean.
...And then realized there was no way to interpret events like nightfall in the dream because there was no context.
Juliet let out a quiet sigh.
"...This is what I get for not paying attention in English class," Juliet quietly muttered.
Cleona looked at her. "They're not here yet, but they are messing with the timing, or something is. Tomorrow we meet the whale. wasn't supposed to happen until the day after tomorrow."
"Those moments when your in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down"
"I'm erasing myself from the narrative. Let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted when you broke her heart
Queenie hung back with the others. She didn't particularly like the idea of hanging out with a monster, a rich sentiment, she knew, coming from her. After all, what was she but a monster in a human skin? She ducked her head to hide the smirk that came with that thought. There was something amusing about it. Being so very human in appearance but doing more harm than the creature that stalked their nightmares.
After being ignored by the sailors and joining Juliet in walking onto the deck, Thytes found himself staring out over the endless ocean. "Why such a change in the timing?" he said, while Taber leaned over the railing and peered down. Not extremely safe, but it was a dream. Er, ideally Taber recognized it was one.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
"It's actually nothing sinister," Juliet reassured them. "Dreams are kind of weird - especially when it comes to time. Things speed up when they're not supposed to, or slow down and take longer than they ever would in real life. But because you're sleeping, it feels like everything is just the speed it should be."
Pausing briefly, Juliet followed Taber's lead and leaned over the side of the ship, too - peering down into the murky depths below.
"The only reason you're noticing it now is because I'm here. The same things happens with the dream demons. Things like us make the dreams real, instead of just little passing thoughts in your head. So while it's always good to figure out why a dream suddenly sped up, it's a natural part of the dreaming process."
Queenie glanced around. It was darker than she'd previously thought down here. She closed her eyes and forced the thoughts that accompanied that one out of her head.
Then, silently cursing her own lack of spine, she headed above deck.
She saw the others and remained a few steps away from them. Close enough to hear what they were saying, but far enough that they shouldn't immediately think to include her in the conversation.
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