[The City] IC Contact

[hypnagothic]

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[keepgodwaiting]

She just saw Astra. [ No, that's not fair. She winces a little. ] Just something pretending to be Astra.

[hypnagothic]

As well as your reaction to it.

[ he glances to her again. ]

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Yeah, she's avoiding eye contact. ]

Did you get chased by any of them? I mean, do you know what was happening in there?

[hypnagothic]

I did not, but the woman I came across was already being pursued.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Flat: ] When they caught you, they murdered you.

[ She remembers the encounter with Kim and amends: ] Or you murdered them. And the people around you experienced it. Hallucinated it with you.

As my counselor used to say, it's the sort of thing that can undo your progress.

[hypnagothic]

I did experience such an occurrence with her. Thankfully, that seemed to bring the event to a lull for the night until we could leave the following morning.

[keepgodwaiting]

--Was she all right? Were you?

[hypnagothic]

She was understandably upset, but a night of uninterrupted sleep aided her a great deal.

[keepgodwaiting]

And you?

[hypnagothic]

[ he tilts and turns his head back to facing forwards in a way that suggests a shrug. ]

It was not dissimilar to dreams of one's death.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Constantine blinks, genuinely a little surprised. ] Do people have many of those?

[hypnagothic]

They can be more prevalent in certain cultures and worlds.

[keepgodwaiting]

Huh. I think I always wake up before I die. Before I hit the ground, or they catch me ... whatever it is.

You don't dream yourself, though, do you?

[hypnagothic]

[ he nods. ]

Most creatures wake before that point. But no, I do not.

[keepgodwaiting]

You're just responsible for ours.

[ There's no heat behind the statement, though there's some wryness. Not responsible like she blames him for her dreams -- responsible like a teacher is responsible for his students. ]

... People still dreamed when you were down there. I know I did.

[hypnagothic]

Mortals may still create their own dreams and nightmares. Those who were sensitive to such changes were the ones affected by my absence.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ She nods slowly. Mortals do create their own nightmares, don't they. ]

Strange how the world keeps moving when you're not there for it, isn't it.

[hypnagothic]

[ he goes quiet again, no reply to that question. if she glances at him, she'll see the way the muscles of his jaw tighten, too. ]

[keepgodwaiting]

[ The silence has a subtly different feel to it than when he's simply acknowledging her with a nod. She glances over, spots the clenching jaw. Shit. Good job, Jo. ]

... Sorry.

[ Dream should count himself lucky. Usually it takes her weeks or months to apologize for anything. ]

[hypnagothic]

[ he returns the glance, if she's still looking at him. ]

Why?

[keepgodwaiting]

[ A short breath of laughter. ]

Seriously?

Because you seemed upset. I'm capable of noticing.

[hypnagothic]

You simply spoke what I now know is the truth. The universe continues, even for the Endless. I suppose I should have realized it centuries ago ...

[keepgodwaiting]

[ She shrugs. ] When would you have had a chance to find out?

[hypnagothic]

[ his jaw clenches again, his expression closing off. ]

[keepgodwaiting]

[ All right, that one, she has no idea what she might have said wrong, though clearly something hit him badly. Apologizing for trampling over a sore spot she understands is one thing; she's not going to apologize for a rhetorical question.

... So this silence is gonna get a little awkward, then. ]