[Hit empty air they do as the Nightmare King drops down, his extra limbs shooting out from their hiding place under his cloak as he steps backwards. A move that, if they have fought Grimm before, they will recognize as the apple does not fall far from the tree even when it comes to vessels.
The Nightmare King quickly straightens and opens his cloak with a flourish. Two flame bats burst out screaming as they hone in on the Vessel. Of course there is a way to dodge if they are quick enough to jump but they will find out the hard way the flames of the God of Nightmare burned hotter then his vessel's did.
Grimm turned his abilities into the tricks of a performer, a beautiful show and dance to behold. That is not to say he was incapable of being a terrifying opponent in the right situations but he was not like the God known as the Terror of Sleep. The Nightmare King has every intention of treating this as a fight to the death.
The tiny Vessel better as well.
They have a chance to take a swipe at the Nightmare Knight if they dodge the fire bats and are quick to close the gap between them and their opponent. But he soon will teleport into the air and float there, staring down at the Vessel as flames erupt from the ground from under them, following their footsteps as they move.
Once again they have a chance to attack the Nightmare King but they need to time it so they do not fall into the fire.]
[ They're scorched by flames; searing pain sends them tumbling backwards, but they quickly roll to their feet, undeterred.
A child without fear; a double-edged sword. Still, not fearing doesn't mean they have no survival instinct. They're fast enough to dodge the fire as it bursts from under their feet, leaping up to swing their sword at the Nightmare King once more.
This is something they understand. It brings them a certain focus, stills their questions and an unsettled heart that, at this point, they still struggle to comprehend. The world narrows to a point at the edge of their nail.
There is something almost soothing about this dance of violence and quick movement. ]
[Stills the mind, the questions and their what ifs. The world turns even without its Gods, began without them and will end without them.
But that is the world's nightmare and this one is still progressing. The Vessel comes after the Nightmare King without fear when many would cower under these flames. Even those brave enough to stand before the Terror of Sleep gave into the instinct to survive and played defensive when it was a derivative. Blades melt, shields broke.
No, not this one however. They did not throw themself into the flames just to fight but they did not run or hide. They did not wake.
The Vessel will stand their ground against the God of Nightmares and fight.
The blows do not stagger the Nightmare King but it comes close. He disappears again and reappears in the air to dive straight down with a vicious kick, fire trailing behind him. A hit or miss, he will continue to shoot across the stage with a blaze following behind.
The Heart is still quiet. It could be so, so much more louder! Burn brighter! Come to him Vessel and turn yourself into flame that is stronger then his!]
[ The Vessel before the Nightmare King has always reflected others' expectations of them. What others see in them, what they desire from them; they are a still lake, a dark night, saying more about the person that stands before them than their own identity. They mimic it, absorb it; it is instinct and nature to do so. The only name they were ever given (if it could truly be called a name at all) spoke to that purpose.
They have never expected or wanted for anything else.
But the flame calls them as an equal; expecting nothing, asking nothing except who are you? It kindles a desire in them to reach out, to leap and be transformed. To see what happens if they are transformed, what they will become - if they make the choice. If they step over the boundary themselves.
"Shadows dream of endless fire."
They don't understand what falls into place, but something within them responds.
The Vessel dodges the Nightmare King's strike with a sudden moment of grace, cloak swirling and lengthening like the darkness they were born from, in response to his flames. They chase after their opponent with nail in hand, striking at their foe, their nail a silver blur.
Something has changed in them. Once again, a spark ignites, a heart-pounding excitement. ]
[The flames contained in the Grimmkins' abandoned staffs erupt, bending and twisting the metal from the sheer heat. The Vessel's strike hits true and the Nightmare King bends over their blade in an arc before suddenly bursting into bats.
They scatter quickly, dark blots against blinding red, but there is one with the same fiery eyes that the Nightmare King shared with Grimm. That alone is the one that will take damage from the Vessel's attacks and they must act quickly as he will reform shortly.
The Nightmare King is aware this battle cannot go on for long. This will wake Grimm, if he was not already trying to wake on his own from the pain, and it cuts far to close to the Heart. The Nightmare King visited those who arrived to the Troupe but did not often pull them into his own nightmare. It was those who dreamwalked that found him and thus this was breaking a few of his own self-imposed rules.
But the flames coming after him were far different. A being that mirrored others finally deciding to look at their own reflection, a still lake whipped up into a frenzy by an incoming storm to meet the raging inferno that burned dreams to cinders.
"Silent voices shout and sing."
Can they hear themself as this continues? Can they see past the boundary of "The Vessel" and find the beginning that does not stop at that name?
All fires burn with the knowledge they will one day run out of kindling. But do not let that spark burn out before it can grow. Do not.
The nightmare rocks as the God appears in the center of the stage. With a sound that is a cross between laughter and a scream, the Nightmare King surrounds himself with his cloak and it puffs up like a balloon. Soon fireballs begin to pour out of his cloak, quick and just as damaging as any one of his attacks.
Just bull-rushing their way through this attack will not help them. Dodge and weave as fast as possible. That is the only way to survive it.]
[ The shadow that grows to dance with the fire has glowing eyes rather than a hollow stare. The last part of their former self, the child who suffocated under the stifling mask and succumbed.
They're caught up in the dance created for them, for a moment. They chase their opponent, thinking of nothing else but fighting, the impersonal point of a nail and the fire of battle, and for a moment that is what satisfies them best.
But the stuttering heartbeat distracts them, something other than their newfound excitement for combat seeping in. The sound is familiar; not from their dreams, but mirrored in reality.
(The sound is painful - not to them, but to another. The heartbeat of something under strain, under stress.
In pain.)
This is a dream. Yes. But dreams affect reality, they understand that.
This heart is-
When their opponent starts to pelt them with fireballs, they dodge as best they can, though they're struck and almost overwhelmed. But they hold on, regardless.
But when the onslaught ends, their nail is no longer in hand. Not melted away by the fire's heat; simply dismissed. Their wielder doesn't want it, not any more.
Something in them has changed. When they raise their head to look at the Nightmare King, there is a spark of light glowing in what was once a previously empty eyesocket. It illuminates their left 'eye', a roiling red flame with a white-hot core.
Rather than offer their nail, they offer an outstretched hand to the Nightmare King instead. ]
[The Nightmare King was the one who governed bad dreams but not to the point of utter madness. He had created a vessel to walk the physical world so he would not become blind to what bugkind was. A cycle where the candle must be put out before the wax completely melted, yes, but he would not cause Grimm undo suffering when it came time for the Ritual.
He appears again, arm drawn back to lunge forward, when he spots the Vessel no longer carries their nail. The expression on his face is a startled one, amusing as the God of Nightmare finds himself wrong-footed and trying not to follow through with his attack.
There was nothing yet to determine a winner of this dance. But the Nightmare King sees the fire in the Vessel's eye socket, sees the hand they offer him rather then the edge of their blade. A flame tempered to a fine point yet with the kind soul to know when to use it.
And he can now hear what they knew before even he did, why they stopped.
"Nightmare...the Heart...hurts..."
The cruelty of the God of Nightmare was in his vicious way of attacking, a flame that even water could not stop. But he was not mindless. He was not.
They knew when to stop and so did he. The Nightmare King breathes and the room does too, the flames of the now-ruined staffs cooling as the minutes ticked by and his stance relaxes. Approaching the tiny Vessel, the God of Nightmare kneels and takes their hand in his.]
I saw it...did you?
[The path that illuminates their way forward, the flame that they created all on their own?]
[ There is no winner, but the Vessel is content; they do not need to triumph, to have determined a victor, to gain something from the experience.
(Not causing someone pain matters far more to them than testing their own strength. They are already striving not to do such things.
Someone showed them kindness, when they had no reason to. It was a simple choice, a simple act, and yet it has already changed them in many ways.)
Their vision is...adjusting, right now. When they stepped into the dream, it was monochromatic; a fiery red, with no ability to discern the subtleties of the shadows or any other coloration that existed within it.
When they had experienced the Dreamers' visions, when they had listened to that plaintive song on the stage, it was something they could see and listen to, but couldn't touch or understand. The world had seemed...gray. Washed out and empty, being viewed from a fog, through a distance. A masked shadow creeping upon a clouded world, not able to be part of it.
Now, though, colour is creeping in, adding warmth and casting shadows, bringing a new dimension to their vision. A connection that wasn't present before.
They squeeze his hand and nod, indicating the fire that burns in their eye, that spark grown to a flame.
Yes. Saw it.
They glance at the Heart, at the room around them, with fresh eyes. They seem...worried, and it's not hard to tell why that is.
[If they do finally see the colors they had missed, then the Vessel won regardless of the outcome of the dance.
The Heart is beating a little erratically but is slowing down to a normal rate. Although it was something the Nightmare King did not go out of his way to test, Grimm was rather sturdy. It was only during the Ritual he would fall from the Heart's declining health and be reborn from the ashes of his death.
But the worry the Vessel is expressing for him is good to see. They could have kept going, kept enduring the Nightmare King's assault but they knew it would be a hazard to someone else's health and stopped.
Within their own newly discovered flame they have not lost what made them unique. Grimm would be happy.
The Nightmare King nods.]
Yes. Time to wake.
[The Heart's beating is normal again and the room begins to dim, the fires going out one by one. The Nightmare King closes his eyes as a familiar tune begins to play, the song Brumm often played.
But he has one last word of advice before the nightmare ends.]
Listen. A call. Your dreams will lead you. Your nightmares will remind you.
[Remember it, as the sound echoes around the chamber before everything goes black.
The Vessel will wake up exactly where they were before the Nightmare King pulled them into his nightmare. And if they so happen to hear something crash elsewhere...
Well it is resulting from the nightmare. But not a bad result.]
[ The cry snaps them back into reality, back into the waking world. Their head is still ringing from it, so it takes a moment for them to register the other thing that just happened, and then to connect that with-
Wait, now they remember.
They scramble to get to the source of the sound as quickly as possible. They might be panicking! They might be panicking a lot! Oh no what have they done. ]
[Grimm is sitting up by the time the Knight finds him, having fallen off his perch while he was sleeping. He had not expected the Nightmare King's final words and coupled with the battle that had taken place, it had startled him awake.
He cannot help but cough and press a hand against his chest. It would be a lie to say that did not hurt, to suffer a nightmare where he was trapped listening to his heart pound and stutter under the strain of bearing the Nightmare King's full power.
But the Vessel had to fight the God of Nightmares and light their own flame. That was a harder battle then simply watching the fight unfold. So Grimm smiles when he spots them.]
Good morning, my friend. Quite the wake-up call we both experienced?
[ Smile or not, they're anxious enough about the pain they've accidentally caused that his question gets little more than a nod before they're running over to where he's now sitting on the floor.
Unsure of how to apologise for what has happened, or how to start, they anxiously look him over instead. Tilting their head close in a clear attempt to listen for his heartbeat; it's something they've done before out of curiosity, more than once. They were fascinated with it then, not having one of their own; now it's a cause for concern.
(It hasn't quite sunk in yet that something has followed them out of the dream. There is a distinct red glow lighting their left eyesocket, where once there was merely emptiness. They're too busy worrying about the Troupe Master to notice it, but it's an obvious change to an observer.) ]
[Grimm knows he could assure them that he was fine until the night was over but it would not be enough, so he allows them to listen to his heart. It had indeed been pounding, a quick stutter-stop when the battle had reached its peak, but was calming now. It is not difficult for him to breathe anymore and the true cause of Grimm's fall was because he had not expected the Nightmare King's words and the scream of a lonely, broken child trapped in a cocoon.
But while they fuss over him, it allows Grimm to observe the Vessel and see what has changed.]
I will be fine. But yourself, my friend...have you not noticed the changes that have followed you?
[He presses a hand against the left side of their head. The red glow calls him, a roaring fire to a small, yet strong flame.]
[ They seem relieved that no permanent damage has been done, at least; after a moment, their frantic movements come to a standstill, and then they half-sit half-fall right there. Their sleep hadn't exactly been restful, in hindsight.
They give him an uncomprehending stare; it seems like they're still drowsy, and it's making them a little slow on the uptake.
At least until he touches them -- presses a hand to the side of their head -- and then they feel a connection that wasn't there before, suddenly brought into focus by close contact. They startle, head jerking up as they sit up straight, staring back at him questioningly.
Even with the conversation fresh in their mind, they're clearly still not sure what all this means. Help. ]
[Even if they were fully awake, Grimm could not blame them for not quite understanding all that has happened. It was a large change and the Nightmare King is rarely if ever clear when he speaks, even to his own earthy vessel.
(A disconnect, knowing yet not knowing yourself entirely.)
But as they say, seeing is believing. Rolling his shoulders, Grimm stands and reaches down to pick up the Vessel.]
Perhaps a mirror will show you what I mean. Come, let us find one.
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no subject
The Nightmare King quickly straightens and opens his cloak with a flourish. Two flame bats burst out screaming as they hone in on the Vessel. Of course there is a way to dodge if they are quick enough to jump but they will find out the hard way the flames of the God of Nightmare burned hotter then his vessel's did.
Grimm turned his abilities into the tricks of a performer, a beautiful show and dance to behold. That is not to say he was incapable of being a terrifying opponent in the right situations but he was not like the God known as the Terror of Sleep. The Nightmare King has every intention of treating this as a fight to the death.
The tiny Vessel better as well.
They have a chance to take a swipe at the Nightmare Knight if they dodge the fire bats and are quick to close the gap between them and their opponent. But he soon will teleport into the air and float there, staring down at the Vessel as flames erupt from the ground from under them, following their footsteps as they move.
Once again they have a chance to attack the Nightmare King but they need to time it so they do not fall into the fire.]
no subject
A child without fear; a double-edged sword. Still, not fearing doesn't mean they have no survival instinct. They're fast enough to dodge the fire as it bursts from under their feet, leaping up to swing their sword at the Nightmare King once more.
This is something they understand. It brings them a certain focus, stills their questions and an unsettled heart that, at this point, they still struggle to comprehend. The world narrows to a point at the edge of their nail.
There is something almost soothing about this dance of violence and quick movement. ]
no subject
But that is the world's nightmare and this one is still progressing. The Vessel comes after the Nightmare King without fear when many would cower under these flames. Even those brave enough to stand before the Terror of Sleep gave into the instinct to survive and played defensive when it was a derivative. Blades melt, shields broke.
No, not this one however. They did not throw themself into the flames just to fight but they did not run or hide. They did not wake.
The Vessel will stand their ground against the God of Nightmares and fight.
The blows do not stagger the Nightmare King but it comes close. He disappears again and reappears in the air to dive straight down with a vicious kick, fire trailing behind him. A hit or miss, he will continue to shoot across the stage with a blaze following behind.
The Heart is still quiet. It could be so, so much more louder! Burn brighter! Come to him Vessel and turn yourself into flame that is stronger then his!]
no subject
They have never expected or wanted for anything else.
But the flame calls them as an equal; expecting nothing, asking nothing except who are you? It kindles a desire in them to reach out, to leap and be transformed. To see what happens if they are transformed, what they will become - if they make the choice. If they step over the boundary themselves.
"Shadows dream of endless fire."
They don't understand what falls into place, but something within them responds.
The Vessel dodges the Nightmare King's strike with a sudden moment of grace, cloak swirling and lengthening like the darkness they were born from, in response to his flames. They chase after their opponent with nail in hand, striking at their foe, their nail a silver blur.
Something has changed in them. Once again, a spark ignites, a heart-pounding excitement. ]
no subject
They scatter quickly, dark blots against blinding red, but there is one with the same fiery eyes that the Nightmare King shared with Grimm. That alone is the one that will take damage from the Vessel's attacks and they must act quickly as he will reform shortly.
The Nightmare King is aware this battle cannot go on for long. This will wake Grimm, if he was not already trying to wake on his own from the pain, and it cuts far to close to the Heart. The Nightmare King visited those who arrived to the Troupe but did not often pull them into his own nightmare. It was those who dreamwalked that found him and thus this was breaking a few of his own self-imposed rules.
But the flames coming after him were far different. A being that mirrored others finally deciding to look at their own reflection, a still lake whipped up into a frenzy by an incoming storm to meet the raging inferno that burned dreams to cinders.
"Silent voices shout and sing."
Can they hear themself as this continues? Can they see past the boundary of "The Vessel" and find the beginning that does not stop at that name?
All fires burn with the knowledge they will one day run out of kindling. But do not let that spark burn out before it can grow. Do not.
The nightmare rocks as the God appears in the center of the stage. With a sound that is a cross between laughter and a scream, the Nightmare King surrounds himself with his cloak and it puffs up like a balloon. Soon fireballs begin to pour out of his cloak, quick and just as damaging as any one of his attacks.
Just bull-rushing their way through this attack will not help them. Dodge and weave as fast as possible. That is the only way to survive it.]
no subject
They're caught up in the dance created for them, for a moment. They chase their opponent, thinking of nothing else but fighting, the impersonal point of a nail and the fire of battle, and for a moment that is what satisfies them best.
But the stuttering heartbeat distracts them, something other than their newfound excitement for combat seeping in. The sound is familiar; not from their dreams, but mirrored in reality.
(The sound is painful - not to them, but to another. The heartbeat of something under strain, under stress.
In pain.)
This is a dream. Yes. But dreams affect reality, they understand that.
This heart is-
When their opponent starts to pelt them with fireballs, they dodge as best they can, though they're struck and almost overwhelmed. But they hold on, regardless.
But when the onslaught ends, their nail is no longer in hand. Not melted away by the fire's heat; simply dismissed. Their wielder doesn't want it, not any more.
Something in them has changed. When they raise their head to look at the Nightmare King, there is a spark of light glowing in what was once a previously empty eyesocket. It illuminates their left 'eye', a roiling red flame with a white-hot core.
Rather than offer their nail, they offer an outstretched hand to the Nightmare King instead. ]
no subject
He appears again, arm drawn back to lunge forward, when he spots the Vessel no longer carries their nail. The expression on his face is a startled one, amusing as the God of Nightmare finds himself wrong-footed and trying not to follow through with his attack.
There was nothing yet to determine a winner of this dance. But the Nightmare King sees the fire in the Vessel's eye socket, sees the hand they offer him rather then the edge of their blade. A flame tempered to a fine point yet with the kind soul to know when to use it.
And he can now hear what they knew before even he did, why they stopped.
"Nightmare...the Heart...hurts..."
The cruelty of the God of Nightmare was in his vicious way of attacking, a flame that even water could not stop. But he was not mindless. He was not.
They knew when to stop and so did he. The Nightmare King breathes and the room does too, the flames of the now-ruined staffs cooling as the minutes ticked by and his stance relaxes. Approaching the tiny Vessel, the God of Nightmare kneels and takes their hand in his.]
I saw it...did you?
[The path that illuminates their way forward, the flame that they created all on their own?]
no subject
(Not causing someone pain matters far more to them than testing their own strength. They are already striving not to do such things.
Someone showed them kindness, when they had no reason to. It was a simple choice, a simple act, and yet it has already changed them in many ways.)
Their vision is...adjusting, right now. When they stepped into the dream, it was monochromatic; a fiery red, with no ability to discern the subtleties of the shadows or any other coloration that existed within it.
When they had experienced the Dreamers' visions, when they had listened to that plaintive song on the stage, it was something they could see and listen to, but couldn't touch or understand. The world had seemed...gray. Washed out and empty, being viewed from a fog, through a distance. A masked shadow creeping upon a clouded world, not able to be part of it.
Now, though, colour is creeping in, adding warmth and casting shadows, bringing a new dimension to their vision. A connection that wasn't present before.
They squeeze his hand and nod, indicating the fire that burns in their eye, that spark grown to a flame.
Yes. Saw it.
They glance at the Heart, at the room around them, with fresh eyes. They seem...worried, and it's not hard to tell why that is.
It's the reason they stopped, after all.
Time to wake up? ]
no subject
The Heart is beating a little erratically but is slowing down to a normal rate. Although it was something the Nightmare King did not go out of his way to test, Grimm was rather sturdy. It was only during the Ritual he would fall from the Heart's declining health and be reborn from the ashes of his death.
But the worry the Vessel is expressing for him is good to see. They could have kept going, kept enduring the Nightmare King's assault but they knew it would be a hazard to someone else's health and stopped.
Within their own newly discovered flame they have not lost what made them unique. Grimm would be happy.
The Nightmare King nods.]
Yes. Time to wake.
[The Heart's beating is normal again and the room begins to dim, the fires going out one by one. The Nightmare King closes his eyes as a familiar tune begins to play, the song Brumm often played.
But he has one last word of advice before the nightmare ends.]
Listen. A call. Your dreams will lead you. Your nightmares will remind you.
[Remember it, as the sound echoes around the chamber before everything goes black.
The Vessel will wake up exactly where they were before the Nightmare King pulled them into his nightmare. And if they so happen to hear something crash elsewhere...
Well it is resulting from the nightmare. But not a bad result.]
no subject
Wait, now they remember.
They scramble to get to the source of the sound as quickly as possible. They might be panicking! They might be panicking a lot! Oh no what have they done. ]
no subject
He cannot help but cough and press a hand against his chest. It would be a lie to say that did not hurt, to suffer a nightmare where he was trapped listening to his heart pound and stutter under the strain of bearing the Nightmare King's full power.
But the Vessel had to fight the God of Nightmares and light their own flame. That was a harder battle then simply watching the fight unfold. So Grimm smiles when he spots them.]
Good morning, my friend. Quite the wake-up call we both experienced?
no subject
Unsure of how to apologise for what has happened, or how to start, they anxiously look him over instead. Tilting their head close in a clear attempt to listen for his heartbeat; it's something they've done before out of curiosity, more than once. They were fascinated with it then, not having one of their own; now it's a cause for concern.
(It hasn't quite sunk in yet that something has followed them out of the dream. There is a distinct red glow lighting their left eyesocket, where once there was merely emptiness. They're too busy worrying about the Troupe Master to notice it, but it's an obvious change to an observer.) ]
no subject
But while they fuss over him, it allows Grimm to observe the Vessel and see what has changed.]
I will be fine. But yourself, my friend...have you not noticed the changes that have followed you?
[He presses a hand against the left side of their head. The red glow calls him, a roaring fire to a small, yet strong flame.]
no subject
They give him an uncomprehending stare; it seems like they're still drowsy, and it's making them a little slow on the uptake.
At least until he touches them -- presses a hand to the side of their head -- and then they feel a connection that wasn't there before, suddenly brought into focus by close contact. They startle, head jerking up as they sit up straight, staring back at him questioningly.
Even with the conversation fresh in their mind, they're clearly still not sure what all this means. Help. ]
no subject
(A disconnect, knowing yet not knowing yourself entirely.)
But as they say, seeing is believing. Rolling his shoulders, Grimm stands and reaches down to pick up the Vessel.]
Perhaps a mirror will show you what I mean. Come, let us find one.
[There is likely one in the crawl space.]