15255/Willow's turn with the dream

Willow's turn with the dream
Date of Scene:	24 June 2023
Location:	Willow Apartment.
Synopsis:	Willow had the dream about the strange critters.
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Willow Rosenberg

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Harry Dresden has posed:
Late in the night, a vision comes to light in Willow's mind. In her dreams she sees herself in a more arid climate area that she is used to. There are small homes, a farming community dotting the landscape.

In the distance, there is a herd of smallish animals and a few juveniles watching over the flock. It is night time and the would be shepherds look nervous.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow wasn't even sure she had fallen asleep, ruminating over several books for some clues - but then again she must have! What with Buffy going to the prom, with a pile of books she was donating to the fund for people in Africa.. good grief!

So at first she didn't know how this scene fit in.

Weird. This wasn't Africa. Nor was it the prom. Mostly it reminded Willow of a shaded glen in England. Maybe, Scotland?

..No. Arid. Spain? Gosh darnit. NOW she wished she had paid attention in geography.

Harry Dresden has posed:
In the distance, near the kids, there is the sound of barking dogs. They are a little more than warning something, rather preparing to stand off with something. Of course, the kids are instantly on edge.

The community is pretty close, presenting almost a town like atmosphere, but none the less she can see close to a dozen sets of eyes looking over the herds. By the look of them, the creatures with the eyes aren't terribly big, but they are fast and they descend on the herd of animals, attacking several. The sounds of goat cries makes it clear what the herd consists of.

For their part, the young protectors throw any projectiles they can find and make a lot of noise, but the creatures mostly ignore them, starting to drag four of the goats away, while a few seem to be drinking at the neck of two others.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Now, she stood up in her dream. (As if she wasn't already!)

The dogs were the first thing that something was wrong here. Then the teens throwing rocks. And amongst that the carrying sound of the goats (how did she know that??) - getting frantic while they were attacked.

Now, Willow wasn't sure /if/ she could use her magic in dreams, but as she prepared to, she focused on the ones who were dragging off the goats. "You stop there!" As her hands filled with energy: force lightning as a matter of fast. "They are not yours!"

It didn't occur to her that she might be scaring the youth as much of the gremlins were. (In her mind, so far, she was calling them gremlins.)

Harry Dresden has posed:
The creatures start to drag the dead goats away, the dogs making lunges at them now. However the creatures aren't afraid of the dogs and a few hold them off as the rest drag the bodies. Lighting, lightning on the other hand gets their attention, briefly and they scatter. Poor Willow's apartment if she does her spells in her sleep.

The creatures suddenly stop as concern with Willow or the dogs. In the distance against the light of one of the farms two massive, shadow bodies stand, glowing red eyes at a level making them easily nine feet tall whatever they are. The smaller creatures run away as they see the bigger ones.

Then, the red eyes move from the goats and they lock on...Willow. They start to move in a lumbering, almost human like way. They never cross enough light for a clean look at them. All the kids and dogs have ran towards the houses again, leaving Willow and the two big monsters in the field with the dead goats. The creature's growl is something akin to a dog or wolf, only much deeper and louder.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Hah! See!

For just one fraction of a second Willow felt smug. The 'gremlins' began to scatter. That would teach then, now wouldn't it! One good deed (even if it was in dreamland!)

*nah!*

She was so very, very wrong! They weren't afraid of Willow. Not in the least. But those lumbering.. golems? Those? Those they were afraid of. Soon enough, there was only them and Willow in the field, and judging by the eerie sounds they are making, her first guess was absolutely wrong.

And so far, they did not look like werewolves.. at least not ones that she knew. Good (like Oz?) or bad.

"um.. maybe.." Drats. Even if it was a dream, she felt she couldn't just leave these country folk to their doom without trying to banish them. Once again she stood up (her whole 5'5"!) and glared at them. "What are you attempting to do? Be gone!"

Nothing like giving inconsistent instructions!

Harry Dresden has posed:
Though the dogs have fled, they still bark from a distance. The two big creatures ignore them completely and continue towards Willow. Then, from beind her, another dog barks. This dog's bark fills the valley in a way that a lion's roar breaks the night over the desert. Passing her on her right side, a massive dog, Tibetan Mastiff by appearance settles between her and the two large creatures.

The dog has a deep growl that nearly rattles her bones. Around him, the air begins to light, a powerful aura around the dog as he stares down the two larger creatures without any fear. The two bigger creatures pause, heads turning from one side to the other. They seem like they might try something, but the dog barks again, mystical energy blasting from his body at the creatures and they finally turn and run. Before they run, Willow gets a glance of a face in the energy, almost like a werewolf, but more canine than lupine.

The big dog watches them flee and the energy around him fades. There is a chuffing sound like a parting insult, then he starts panting like any normal dog, a little drooly. He looks back at Willow with a not so bright look on his face despite the fact he just did what he did.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
This was a really strange dream.

Part of her wanted to brush it off. It was a dream, right? But some things stuck out as too real. Like this dog..

Which seemed normal. Except for that glowing around it previously. And Willow is /certain/ that if she were to try to use mage's sight on it, right now it would be devoid of anything like that.

Which meant someone or something was in her dream with her. Probably several somethings.

*shudder*

"You're just a dog now, aren't you?"

Harry Dresden has posed:

The big dog is pretty much a sucker for scitches and scratches. He leans against her leg and he is heavy. Finally he sits and just lets her pet him for a time if she will.

If she looks down at his collar she will see three pieces of infomation: 1. Mouse 2. Address and 3. Harry Dresden. Slowly the dream starts to fade out and she is able to wake or settle into an easy sleep again as she desires. If she wakes she will find her hand is still sticky, damp with slobber. Another puzzle for her.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Ew! Dog slobber!

But she remembered how real it was, and the name of the dog. 'Mouse'. And /who/ does he belong to? Harry.

Willow took some notes - just to be certain, and made a mental note to call on Harry as soon as she could. Maybe he would have a simple explanation for her. But odds are, she figured there was nothing simple about it. And the odds are Harry was at the center of this.

Finishing her notes to herself she fell back to dreamless (this time!) sleep..