Only in Our Dreams are we Truly Free. [Faith/Angelfoodcake]

[FaithWynters]

Private roleplay reserved for

@Angelfoodcake and FaithWynters​

For countless centuries, humans have needed the blessing of a good night’s sleep to perform the most basic of tasks. When the first humans were placed on the Earth by the gods, they needed a companion to assist them in their rest. This is the reason for Sandmen. It is unknown where the human term came from, but they have existed since the first beings walked along the earth.


They walk within two realms. They walk invisibly within the dimension of the sun and the Earth and travel short distances easily through the sky. They also walk within a dimension specifically created for their use. Their job is to seduce their charges into a sleep state so that their body can rest. In some cases, Sandmen can draw their charges’ subconscious being from their bodies into the dream realm. This realm can be manipulated by Sandmen—with the help of the subconscious spirit—to produce pleasant dreams or harrowing nightmares. While the Sandmen have great power in protecting their charge from the nightmares—and in most cases can stop them—they are sometimes unsuccessful.


As the population of the world increased far past the expectation of even the gods, the few Sandmen that had been created had to find another way to supply every human with a Sandman to supply them with sleep.


The original sandmen started recruiting humans to do the work for them. Humans that would die by valiant means—and their souls were accepted by the species—would be transported after death to the dream realm. Here, they were given an ultimatum. If they were to serve the Sandmen for one century, their souls would be transported back to the human world and they would be allowed to live their lives until their passing.


Character A lived long ago in the world of the living. Now, he is coming upon his hundredth year of being a Sandman. He has enjoyed his job and has done it well. Recently, he has been plagued by the worry of going back to his human form and starting over. He has grown attached to all of his charges, but he has been very connected with Character B.


Character B is a single woman living in a small town in the southern United States. She has lived in the area all of her life, and has recently returned after graduating from school to start a life of her own. Since her birth, Character A has been her Sandman. Every night, as she gets ready to sleep, he pulls himself from the dream realm to take her with him so that she may sleep.


Recently, while walking home with a friend from work, Character B and her friend were cornered in an alleyway by a mugger. In an attempt to save the both of them, Character B’s friend tries to save them by taking the knife away from the mugger and he ends up getting stabbed in the process. Character B tries to save her friend, but is unable to save him. She watches him die in her arms.


While the two weren’t great friends, it really scars her, and she blames herself. She relives the regret in her dreams and she’s begun to have more nightmares. Character A tries hard to stop the nightmares, but he is informed that—due to his exemplary work as a Sandman—he must train a new Sandman so that he can take his job when Character A goes back to Earth.


So begins Character A trying to train a new Sandman and help his charges at the same time. There’s only one problem with this new charge; he is Character B’s friend. While he accepted the task, he was unaware that one of his charges would be the person that he blames for his death. So, as Character A attempts to bring him along to assist in bringing his charges to a peaceful sleep he realizes that one of his charges will be the girl that got him killed. His pupil finds it much harder to bring people to sleep than Character A does, and soon enough, he causes havoc in the girl’s dream realm.


Using her regrets against her, the pupil sends her into night terrors. Character A believes that its just Character B’s conscious that causes these episodes, but soon, he begins to make assumptions. He must try to figure out and assist Character B while he adjusts to being a human again. Every day, he is allowed a little more time on Earth. It begins with only a second or two a day, but it slowly evolves into minutes and hours on Earth.


That is more time that his pupil has to exact revenge on Character B.

 

[FaithWynters]

“Well I had a great time tonight” Two pairs of footsteps could be heard as they walked down the dark street. Thick soles hit the ground a split second behind the tapping of heels on the concrete. A couple walked in the darkness. Their arms were joined together at the elbow and they leaned into each other. A few too many drinks had led them to grow very comfortable with each other.


“I look forward to going on another date with you, Emily” The words were low as the man spoke. His lips slurred his words slightly with the warmth of the alcohol that coursed through him. He smiled as they walked together. A quiet giggle escaped from the girl’s lips as they walked. The cool breeze sent chills up her legs. It was a quiet night. Every once and a while, cars would come down the street they walked beside. Bright lights would flash and be gone in an instant. The crowds that bustled down the street at rush hour had slowly faded; those people were now either at home or in a bar someplace.


“I can probably make it home from here on my own, Seth” The voice cut through the cool air as the two held each other. It wasn’t particularly out of love, but it was obvious that the night had raddled their minds and made them too comfortable with one another; this was only the second date.


“Its fine. I can walk you the rest of the way” The two slowed to a stop as they neared a junction on the sidewalk. They spoke quietly to one another about little things—they were forgotten easily. Emily had every intention of leaving him here, but—in an attempt to be a gentleman—Seth insisted on walking her. Neither of them knew what kind of mistake that would be.


So, after the quiet little words were lost to the world, the two walked down the darkened alleyway towards the next street over. From here, what happened was just a jumbled mess of fear and pain. Details were hard to remember.


“Just give me your damn wallet.” The words had been burned deep into her mind. There was a knife. A man in the dark alleyway. Blood. There was so much blood—flashes of red in the moonlight. Then, he was gone.

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Emily’s eyes opened. The sound of the television slowly began to fade back to her senses. She was breathing heavily. She had sat on the couch to watch TV and had found herself getting lost in bad memories. If she closed her eyes, she saw his face, and got caught up in the night all over again. The date had been almost a month before, but it had plagued her almost every day. She was sure his death would be on her mind the rest of her life.


Small hands wrapped around the pink lace at the hem of her nightgown. They tugged at it in an attempt to bring it further down Emily’s legs. She crossed them, and straightened out the soft fabric. She then looked back to the television. She picked up the remote and began changing the channel. One at a time, she checked every channel on the guide menu in hopes of finally finding something entertaining to watch. She looked back and forth from the small box in the corner to the shows that were passing by. She had stopped it on Family Feud a few time slots ago, but now, it had changed over to some gameshow that she didn’t even know.


“We’ll find out if Suzuki has won the hundred thousand dollars ne—“ The screen went black. She shouldn’t be wasting her time with those shows anyway. A quiet sigh escaped into the quieting room. Emily looked to the clock that sat on the entertainment center. It was almost midnight, and she had work in the morning. Her body was tired, and every time she got the chance to relax, she felt like she might drift of; it never happened. She always woke herself up before she could get too comfortable. Now, she gave a quiet yawn. Rubbing her hands against her eyes, she picked herself up off of the couch and walked into her bedroom.


She didn’t bother turning on the light as she walked to the bed. She already had on her nightgown and there was no need to wait around for nothing. She pulled the sheets back on the bed and slid slowly into them. She smiled at the feeling. It seemed like the only place she could relax anymore—even that didn’t always happen.


The prominent sound of the door being pushed open called her from her thoughtless comfort. She smiled at the sound of little feet jumping from the floor and onto the bed. Emily looked down to the foot of the bed. The panting little face of Capone sat staring at her. He was a small dog—a Catahoula and rat terrier mix with the happiest disposition one could have found in a puppy. He walked carefully up beside Emily, and flopped down next to her. She reached out to scratch his head. His tail wagged happily across the bed.


“Goodnight, Capone” She spoke quietly, letting her hand come to rest on his rising and falling chest. She tried to let her body relax, and she closed her eyes. There was a smile on her lips, but she was far from happy.