Once Upon a Dream (Lana Del Rey version) [Nat]

[Deleted]

@natalia

There was something wrong with the color of this plant. It was shifting shades of neon blue for one. For another... it was floating in the air. Phil wasn't normally a lucid dreamer, they just kind of happened and he spectated. Tonight seemed to be different. He reached up to touch the plant, and it shifted colors for blue to pink and began to spread light like a disco ball. He put his hand back down and looked around the bizarre greenhouse to see what other mysteries might be floating about.

As he explored the endless maze of never before imagined flora, he stumbled upon a sitting room, complete with floating tea set and seemingly unending amounts of cookies. He plopped down on one of the comfortable looking arm chairs and grabbed a cup of tea, dipping his cookie in it before taking a large bite. The room was decorated with various shades of green and pink, a mixture that was actually quite tasteful when the entire room was taken in at once. Another arm chair sat across a small coffee table and there was an umbrella leaning against a hat stand. Overall, nothing like the rest of this crazy greenhouse.

He was just starting on his fourth cookie when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. Could his dream be turning into a nightmare? The colors of the dream-scape were still pleasant, so maybe not. But his stood cautiously, all the same.

"Hello?" His voice echoed in the damp air..

[Deleted]

Natalia wasn’t sure what was happening. One moment she was warm, and safe, and floating, and the next moment she was standing in the corner of a sitting room that was slightly damp and a little too warm to be comfortable. It was decorated in green and pink, which was a strange combination, if Nat was honest. It wasn’t the color of the room that was exciting to her, but rather, the fact that there was another person in the room. Just after she had that realization, the person’s voice echoed through the air, calling out a greeting. “Phil?” Nat asked reflexively. She walked over to the empty seat in the room, sitting down it in and relaxing a little when she was correct, and it was her adoptive brother who was already in the room. This was the first time that she had met anyone that she knew well in her dreams – oh. Natalia hadn’t even intellectualized the fact that she was dreaming until the thought had flitted across her mind. Was it wrong to be in her adoptive brother’s dream? Honestly, Nat would mind just sitting there talking to Phil. She didn’t get to talk to any of her siblings, adoptive or otherwise, as much as she’d like to, and while she couldn’t control whose dreams she walked in on, if it happened to be Phil’s, why not take full advantage of the opportunity? “How are you?” Nat asked eagerly. She realized belatedly that she probably shouldn’t be sounding so excited to ask him that, considering everything that had happened to their family recently.

@philiplongbottom

[Deleted]

@natalia

Natalia... was in his dream. Normally finding people he knew in his dreams was nothing out of the ordinary. So why did he think this was? He sat back down in his chair and decided to worry about that later. He and his adoptive sister hadn't had a chance to catch up since... everything happened. It would be nice to see how she was doing, even if it was just his own imagination making it all up.

"I am doing well, I mean aside from the piles of homework and the fact that none of these cookies I have been eating are real." He teased as he grabbed another off of the floating tray. He nodded to her. "How are you doing? I don't think we have had a good chat since I came home from Brazil." He took a bite of his cookie as he waited for her answer.

This dream felt different from his normal ones. Sure he could still tell he was dreaming, and the dream logic seemed to stay consistent, but there was just something... different. He looked at Natalia. She seemed real enough and the dream had seemed to mold around the fact that they would be talking, hence the two chairs. Maybe that was what was strange, she seemed real. He cocked his head as he looked at her, swallowing his cookies. Could she really be Natalia? He nearly laughed out loud. This was his dream. He was dreaming. That meant she was part of his dream.

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Nat smiled at Phil when he said that he was doing well. It was good to know that, even after everything that had happened, his biggest concerns were still about school. She chuckled when Phil said that none of the cookies that he had been eating were real. “At least the calories don’t count?” She asked teasingly. The best thing about dreams were that she could indulge in anything that she wanted and nothing in the real world could change. Up until recently, her dreams and her waking world had been entirely separate. The fact that Nat was now finding herself in others’ dreams was changing that slightly, but there was still a great deal of separation between the dream world and the real world.

Phil asked how she was doing, and Nat raised one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “A lot of things have been happening.” She said. That was the truth if ever truth was spoken. “I mean, I’m still worried about Abby, and James’s best friend just died, and Neville is sick, and… I wonder if everything is just going to keep spiraling out of my control.” Nat valued control more than anything. When she was with her parents and she believed in blood purity, everything had been under control, and she could ignore everything that wasn’t. Now life was so messy, and she was struggling with how to deal with not being able to fix any of it.

@philiplongbottom

[Deleted]

@natalia

Phil Smiled at his adopted sister. Sure, she was just a dream, but it felt nice to talk with her, he would have to make an effort to spend more time with her when he was awake! As she spoke of all the stuff that had been happening recently, Phil suddenly felt guilty. He shouldn't be so content right now. He should be worried, a mess. But then again... someone had to stay strong. And, well, he liked feeling strong.

"I'm sure dad will be fine. And James is tough, he's gonna make it through this. Abby... well, you know her better than I do." He tried to console. He really did think his dad would get better soon. He had to. Phil wasn't really sure what he would do without his dad. He decided not to think about that possibility. Neville would get better and that was the end of it.

Nat wasn't the type of person who would just sit back and watch things happen, even though they didn't have an great relationship, he knew that much. This who thing must be so hard for her. He may not have done it in real life, but this was a dream, his dream, so he got up and hugged his half sister.

"You'll figure this out, Nat. You are one of the more resourceful people I know." He said as he squeezed her tightly. She felt... solid. More than a dream. But that wasn't possible.

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Phil seemed so sure about everything, and Nat just looked at him. He was so young, but so wise, too. He had had a good life, and good parents, and good everything, and that showed. He was empathetic, and courageous, and just… good. The kind of person that her little sister deserved. It wasn’t his place to have to console her, though. She was the older (adopted – for some reason, Natalia still felt the need to add that caveat) sister, and she was supposed to be the one comforting him in times of trouble.

“The key to figuring things out, Phil, is to worry about them a lot before coming up with a solution.” Nat said with a tired smile. Things had been so much easier when she had just been obeying her parents’ orders, because then there hadn’t ever been anything to figure out. Nat was still sometimes shocked that she had gathered the courage that she needed to ask Neville to help her and Andy. Of course, back then, the nightmares had been worse. Now, she just seemed to be getting sucked into other people’s dreams, which was strange, but not nearly as terrifying as reliving her torture every night had been. “But once you have a solution, you have to be decisive about it.” Even if it took her time and worry to come up with the right plan of action, when she had it, Natalia didn’t look back. She couldn’t afford to look back.

@philiplongbottom

[Deleted]

@natalia

Phil felt his smile wane as worry seemed to replace it. Natalia seemed to be feeling pretty down? Frustrated? Exhausted? All were completely understandable, but would Dream Natalia really be feeling that way? Maybe she was more than a dream?

"Well then this should all be a cake walk for you! I mean, when it comes to tough decisions, you can make them. But you know... maybe you don't have to worry quite so much? Especially when we are just chillin in my dream. I mean, seriously, what is there to worry about in here when you have a plate of never ending cookies?" He tried to be extra positive, encouraging. Natalia was the kind of person Phil never would have gotten to know without outside forces pushing them together, but now that they were pushed, Phil found himself really liking her. He was glad she was his sister.

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Nat chuckled when Phil said that this should be a cake walk for her. If only that were true. “There’s plenty I have to worry about.” Natalia protested. “Like how I got here, or why. And how I leave.” And that was just the tip of the iceberg, though Nat was reluctant to admit that she had already discussed how to control this phenomenon with Andy. Obviously they needed to work on things – like choosing the recipient of her dream walking and the length of her stays – sooner rather than later. Though Nat did have to admit she liked having practice with being in people’s dreams when they weren’t nightmares, so that when it was Andy’s turn, the older girl would be able to steel herself a little more. “But, congratulations, Phil. You’ve stopped my worrying long enough for me to eat a cookie.” Nat said, leaning forward to take one of the cookies. When she reached for one, though, her hand passed right through. “Oh, bother…” It was nothing like falling through the chair and into blackness, but Nat was beginning to sense that her time in Phil’s dream was coming to an end. It was a shame, she thought, frowning. Natalia rather liked talking to Phil like this.

@philiplongbottom

[Deleted]

@natalia

Phil watched Nat's hand mist through the cookie plate, put together a few of her comments, and then his eyes widened. "Wait... are you really here?" he blurted, sorta mind blown. If Nat could... what? Dream walk? If Nat could dream walk that meant his sister was way cooler than he ever gave her credit for. And to be fair, he gave her credit for a lot!

"That is so cool!" He exclaimed, jumping out his chair. It disappeared as he left it and he felt his eyes widen. "So, this whole time, you've actually been here? For real? Are you awake? Do you do this a lot? Am I the only person you can dream walk with? That could be awkward. For me! Not for you... well probably for you to. Never mind." He forced himself to stem the tide of questions and comments going through his mind before he got too embarrassed.

[Deleted]

Was she really there? Wasn’t that the question of the hour – or rather, the question of the past month or so since this had begun to happen? Natalia wasn’t really sure how to answer. She wasn’t there in any physical sense, but she had found a way to share Phil’s consciousness within his dreams, so… she really didn’t know how to respond.

“I don’t know if really being here is the best way to put it.” She said when Phil asked the question again. “I’m asleep.” Natalia had always fallen asleep before going dream walking – she couldn’t imagine accidentally transporting herself into someone else’s dreams when she was awake herself. That would be strange to look at, too, the Ravenclaw imagined. “No, I’ve been in others’ dreams. We’re still trying to figure out how and why.” And so far, the answers weren’t exactly plentiful. Natalia’s stomach began to flutter as if it was filled with butterflies, and before she could even say goodbye, she was gone from Phil’s dream.

@philiplongbottom
(end Nat! feel free to start the plot threads whenever~)