11877/Wonderland: Looking-Glass Shard

Wonderland: Looking-Glass Shard
Date of Scene:	04 July 2022
Location:	E05 - Kian's Dorm - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Sometimes you dream of the darnedest things...
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil

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Kian has posed:
    Kían really has no idea how he got back to the Tower.  Which is not surprising, since he got cold-cocked by… someone.  He didn't see who.
    When consciousness finally returned, and the reality of what had happened seeped into his brain, the birdman silently got up and collected two things.  First, a bottle of his father's brandy.  And second, a small box of high-end dark chocolates.
    The loss… NO.
    Terry's absence can only be dealt with by flying as far away from it as he can right now.  It's too soon, too recent, too raw to deal with yet in any rational….
    Oh, Gods.  Terry always said he was the rational one, didn't he?
    That just makes trying to think about it hurt even more.  Therefore, alcohol and chocolate, and why didn't he have a couple doses of mindflight sent over the last time Terry opened a Rabbit Hole to….
    Oh, Gods.
    Before opening the bottle, he gets a larger glass.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan slept.  Not well, but some.  He had to be bonked on the head to get him to settle down, and so did Kian for that matter.  Even if Jon said fate had decided this was not the end of things, logic was not getting through at that point in time.
    He never did handle loss well, perceived or real.
    But, sleep only lasts so long and he stirs briefly while rubbing his head.  "…I just had the worst dream," he mumbles, but this is not the usual bed he is waking up in.  Blinkblink.  "Kian?"

Kian has posed:
    "Here."  Kían passes the smaller glass to Gar, about half full of spicy Akiár liquor.  "I have chocolate if you want to take on my—our people's form."  Gar has been through the First Flight, he's Akiár now, regardless of whether he occupies that body.
    "It is my intention," the birdman continues, just a little pompously, "to blow myself back into unconsciousness and hopefully to have some pleasant dreams and memories, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would join me, Gar tenár'h.  I—"
    Here, Kían chokes off, and drains off half his own glass.  Thus fortified, he continues—and not easily—"I really don't know what Earth customs are around… loss."  Terry isn't dead, but Terry isn't here.  Still a loss.  "We will often dream together, to remember happy times with the… missing person."
    He pops a dark chocolate into his mouth and washes it down with the rest of his drink, then refills it.  "And remembering any times with Terry in a sober state of mind seems wildly inappropriate."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan rubs at his eyes with both hands, looking a little hungover in the process.  No, he isn't feeling all that good.  There's a sniff at what's being offered, and while he isn't normally one to just drink anything, he shrugs and goes for it.  He makes a face at it, being something he's unaccustomed to, but a gesture is made for the chocolate.  He remains himself.
    "So that wasn't all just a bad dream," he mutters, grimacing in the process, then he stares in the direction of the views outside and slumps back down, waving at Kian and nothing at the same time.  "You lead the way, man.  You know more about what you want to do than I do."

Kian has posed:
    "What I want to do," Kían replies a little more sharply than he intended, "is to go back and get Terry and put almost anyone else in his place to keep Wonderland alive.  But that isn't really an option.  I… I'm sorry, tenár'h, but I need to see Terry again, even if just in a dream, in a memory, before I'm ready to try to deal with reality.  I hope you understand."
    Without waiting for an answer, Kían's head is on Gar's shoulder, and an arm and a wing are both curled around the other shoulder, and his mental feel is… tired.  Almost old.
    He sets his glass aside and just rolls onto his back, pulling Gar down on top of him, wings splayed out wide.  {I never want to forget.  I want to remember the good.  Like you saw Raká in my memories, before Terry brought us to my w… oh Gods.}
    There's another wild sense of loss—without Terry, he can talk to his family, but he can't see them again.
    {I need to remember so much good that I can live with the loss.}

Gar Logan has posed:
    "Yeah.  There were others who could have done that," Gar states flatly, dismally.  "Maybe there's a way."  Fate is a difficult concept to accept, especially if one does not believe in things being preordained.  It could be more complicated than that.
    He doesn't struggle or resist, doesn't hold back when Kian gets closer and helps position them in a way that's best for the Akiar.  Truth is, he could use something like this for a little while, not so much as a distraction but as a reminder that there are still things to stay focused on.  All the same, memories can be good.
    So sleep will come again.

Kian has posed:
    Kían hugs Gar close, kisses him warmly and deeply, and insinuates his mind into the green metamorph's, gently massaging his sleep centers until both of them begin drifting into sub- and then unconsciousness, buffered by liquor and chocolate.
    A typical Akiár bed is usually described as follows: decadent for one, luxurious for two, comfortable for three, cozy for four, and difficult to find for any larger group.  It sounds a lot better in the original Akiár'shak, where it not only rhymes, but each line is a pun.
    It is right now luxurious, shared by a birdman and a shapeshifter, and well-familiar to both: soft and comfortable, the ceiling transparent to the sky above with a central portion that can open, and the closet where a panicky Kian desperately sought his most formal outfit in which to greet an Imperial viceroy and princess.
    The door is open, as is the ceiling, as if expecting one more.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan isn't hard to drag back to sleep, sharing that kiss with the alien he's come to know better than many Earthlings, and when he 'awakens' in the dream it's to a similar-looking room, but familiar to him as one of a more Akiar design.  Nice bed, peaceful place, but even here… there is the sense that things are not complete, that something is missing.
    Or, rather, someone.  Dreams have strange ways of progressing, sometimes in ways people can subconsciously impact, sometimes more directly than that, but often in completely unexpected, uncontrolled fashion.  "I need a bed like this," he remarks, sitting up.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    And then someone lands outside.  It is only a few seconds before someone approaches the bed.  The young man had red wings.  Not a wingset, but red wings, and is attired in the manner that is traditional to the Akiar because of this, his kilt is almost as red as his hair.  "If you can get one of these through the portal.  They might be a little wider than I can fit, and I don't think birb's people have discovered IKEA yet," Terry says, crossing his arms over his bare chest and winking.
    His freckles look darker than usual, probably because of the amount of time he has spent flying outside.  He glances over his shoulder and tentatively extends a wing, and then he laughs.  "Oh, nice touch…" he says quietly, reaching out to touch one of his red feathers, and then he glances over at Gar and Kian on the bed, and adds "Oh, even better!" with a grin.

Kian has posed:
    Kían smiles broadly and sits up, curling a wing around Gar's shoulders—this is very nearly the sort of thing he expected, this is how it works in dreams.  "There you are, Terry tenár'h.  I knew you had to be near.  Although I always thought if you had wings, they would be white and black like a woodpecker's."
    And he delivers himself of a laugh worthy of Woody of that species—really, Terry, you showed him a cartoon once and it stuck in his head like that?  Entirely the Cheshire's fault, and no one else's.
    "But those suit you well too, tenár'h.  Quite like Raká's, really.  You remember him."
    This clearly seems perfectly normal to Kían, talking to someone who's a memory as if they're actually there in the present.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan possesses green wings.  As an Akiar himself in the dream, it is a perfect copy of the form he's taken on in the waking world, maybe even more accurate in ways.  The natural instinct is to ruffle at a few feathers, but he doesn't get very far with thoughts or actions.
    Because… Terry, there in his own winged version of himself, and real ones at that along with traditional Akiar attire to match theirs.  "Uh…" he answers initially, not quite flabbergasted, but certainly not expecting.  He drops his voice, mainly for a question to Kian: "This is just us imagining him, right?  Or you doing it, and me seeing it?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    The redhead rolls his eyes when Gar speaks, and walks over to sit down by his side of the bed.  He reaches over and cups Gar's chin with his hand and leans in to place a kiss on his lips, and then leans back.  "You know, I am right here.  It's bad manners to talk about someone as if they weren't there."  He stands up and puts his hands on his hips, and sighs.
    "What, if anything, am I ever going to do with the two of you, my boys?"  He shakes his head.  "You call me over and all you do is talk about me like I'm a piece of the furniture."
    The redhead winks and paces the room, looking around.
    "You know, I wish I had paid more attention to the details when I was here.  Clearly there's things I missed…."

Kian has posed:
    "Does it matter, Gar?  You saw Raká in my dreams once, and I treated him as if he was really there.  No one is gone so long as they are remembered, so I am satisfied to think of this as Terry, even if he is really only my memory of Terry.  So as far as I'm concerned, this is Terry."
    He leans over to greet the red-winged… apparition?  Visitor?  Hallucination?  Oh, who cares.  It's Terry tenár and he should be greeted properly, with a tight hug and a kiss.  "Don't worry about the details.  I know them all.  And this time we won't be interrupted by the Imperial family.  If we are, I'm going to have a few harsh words with my subconscious."
    He runs his fingers through Terry's red mop of hair… and then around his wingbase.  Some things are instinctive.

Gar Logan has posed:
    "But… a memory of someone is never as good as the real thing," Gar tries to explain.  Kian may see this winged Terry as actually being Terry, but for Gar, it's not that simple.  It doesn't work the same way.  "When we wake up, he'll still be… there.  In Wonderland, asleep."  His own wings tuck in closer, as if instinctively behaving in the manner of someone trying to curl up in some fashion.
    Even the kiss from this Terry fails to generate much more than a rustling of those wings along with a glance upward.  Even in the dream state, it's as if a part of him has shut off, gone into hiding.  He moves to stand up, to pace, to look around at everything without looking directly at them.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry returns the kiss, and lets out a sigh as Kian touches his wingbase, but then he quickly becomes impatient and huffs, glancing at Garfield, then at Kian.
    "You still think… oh."  He glances around and purses his lips.  "Right. Akiar dream-sharing.  I guess it's to be expected… after all, you think you're in control."  He glances at Kian with a little wistful smile, and slides off the bed.
    "Yes, Gar, I am in Wonderland, dreaming.  And where exactly do you think you are?"  The redhead grins.  "You probably don't realize what you did, but when you deliberately went to sleep with me as the subject, you did more than just rattle off your old subconscious for stored impressions of me, little bird."  He gives Kian's nose a playful tweak, and then he walks up to Gar, to fall in step with his pacing.  "But I guess the proof is in the pudding, isn't it?  Time to do a little show and tell, then."
    The redhead raps on the nearest wall with his knuckles, and suddenly all of the walls of the room fall away as if they were just playing cards blown by the wind.
    And the bed is in the middle of a large forested clearing that houses an enormously long table with over two dozen seats, each place richly appointed for tea.
    "Oh, we have guests?" a voice pipes up.  A very familiar voice, as the Mad Hatter waves 'toodles' from his seat at the head of the table.
    "Not right now, Theophilus.  Private talk."
    "Oh… very well, then.  I shall take my morning constitutional," the Hatter says, and slides off his chair and disappears into the woods.
    Terry glances at Gar and Kian, and smirks.  "So, you were talking about how I wasn't as good as the real thing…."

Kian has posed:
    "And when a memory is what you have left, you enjoy the memory," Kían says, as if it were completely obvious.  "He is asleep, so until we have a way to wake him without killing Wonderland, there's no better place to meet him than in a dream.  And… oh!"
    That's the moment that Terry shifts the setting to a grand tea party.
    "Yes, exactly what I was saying," the birdman remarks, not in the least smugly and finding himself a chair that is friendly to someone with wings.  Doubtless there will be at least three.
    And then Kían just laughs, long and hard.  When he finally masters himself, he says, "I was just thinking, is the teapot large enough to hold Kaida?"
    Yes, Terry, he really did read those books.

Gar Logan has posed:
    If Kian is rolling with all of this like it's normal, Gar is toward the other end of the spectrum.  Even in dreams, confusing him with things he isn't accustomed to isn't that difficult to pull off, intentional or not.  He squints at the following red-winged Terry, answering, "In Kian's room, sleeping.  They got us out of Wonderland after… everything."  His voice remains flat, low on emotion, high on guardedness.
    Before he can say more, the scene shifts.  The bed remains, but the room is replaced by the clearing with the table for tea and enough room for a large group, almost no matter their appearance or origin.  Naturally, this has Gar looking dubious and suspicious, eyeing the Hatter as he initiates a greeting Terry quickly shuts down, leaving just the three of them behind.
    Eyes shift back toward Kian in a questioning manner, the laughter failing to be reflected from him yet.  "Someone help me understand this," he implores, from the periphery of the table itself, a hand touching a chair.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Kian, don't you dare tell Kaida, or you will find yourself clutching a shin…."  Terry, seeming to realize Gar needs more help, makes his way to the green shape-shifter and places his hand over Gar's at the back of the chair.  "Gar, there are things you haven't shared with Kian, have you?  Like that sunset you and I watched on my rooftop when you were injured.  And how we very nearly kissed in the elevator on the way down?  You know, when I was carrying you?  Even though neither one of us wanted to admit it at the time."  He pulls the chair back for Gar.  "Sit your ass down, boy.  It's rude to stand at teatime," he winks, and then sits down between Gar and Kian.
    "Boys, come on.  I wear the Regalia now.  With the Scepter I can be everywhere and every dream, and with the Crown I can see and know every dream.  And you didn't think I wouldn't notice a 'blip' from the two people I love most?  You basically sent an engraved invitation.  But I can't leave Wonderland, so instead…" he shrugs, "I brought you to me.  You basically asked me to.  Even if you didn't know you did."
    Then he grows a little quiet, and reaches for a teacup.  "…it… it wasn't an easy choice to make for me…."

Kian has posed:
    "Terry is a being of dreams more than anything else now, Gar.  At least I think so.  I… hoped it might work this way, but I didn't dare let myself take it seriously or I would not have been able to take the disappointment.  But I think this is Terry, not just a memory of him.  If he was a memory, he would appear the way we expect, not the way he wants.  I expected the Cheshire Cat, but with the wings I saw him wearing in my vision on the stairs in Tarterus.  I don't know what you expected.  But I expect neither of us expected to see a red-winged Terry O'Neil.  So I think this is him, and not a vision."
    Kían just watches Terry for a few moments, satisfying himself that this is correct, this is how Terry would appear and behave.
    And then he says, "I would have stayed behind with you, tenár'h.  To keep you company."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Is Gar being a killjoy?  Not so much.  Uncomfortable and doubting?  This is more the truth of it.  Little has he noticed his own wings have gone away again, leaving him closer to his normal look.  But, vulnerable.  He squints at Terry or Vorpal or whoever while finally taking a seat, leaving him to rub his temples with his elbows against the tabletop.
    "Look, this isn't easy for me."  He throws a quick glance toward Kian as the memory of the sunset and the elevator is brought up, causing him to clear his throat.  "All I want to know is why?  Why did it have to be you, and not just… them?  You're tied to more than just Wonderland.  We need you, too.  The others are saying we have to find a way to wake you up but keep everything… you know.  Fine."
    "I would have stayed with you, too."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "I know you would have," Terry says to both, reaching out squeeze their hands.  "But it had to be.  Wonderlanders can't dream, Gar, they are dreams.  They can't power it.  I am… unique.  Part of me is human, part of me is Wonderland.  With the Red King no longer able… I had to do it."  He glances at Gar.  "We're not killers.  That means also not letting a world die.  And I need you.  I need both of you so much…."  He sighs quietly and looks at Kian.  "But there was just… nobody else."
    "You know I'd never leave you.  Of all people… you know how I might be sometimes a little eager to settle down…."  He gives Gar a smirk.  "But I can't be with you.  Right now.  But this is what I can do.  Maybe there is a solution—I don't know it, right off the bat.  Most of the time, I am dreaming Wonderland into being.  Right now, this moment, is stolen for us.  I can take breaks, briefly.  I can see you every night, or every other night… but until there's a solution… I am stuck here."
    He looks down.  "I'm sorry.  To both of you."

Kian has posed:
    Kían actually brightens, just a little.  "So we can still be with you, just not all the time until we figure out how to keep Wonderland alive without you being there to dream it into place."
    He reaches over to rake his fingers through Gar's hair.  "And how many ridiculously impossible things have we done already?  Extracting you from a black hole, escaping from the underworld, finding my homeworld when I didn't even know where it was myself!"
    He pulls both Gar and Terry close.  "And that's only three impossible things.  We have at least three more before breakfast, right?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan returns the squeezed hand after a moment, but he's staring mostly at the table and the way it's laid out.  "So… the Red King was a real person after all, and just, you know, made everything there?  Where did he go, then?  After he gave up the dream.  Is he still there, somewhere?"  It doesn't all make sense to him, but a lot of Wonderland never did.  Not even when he held the power of the Cheshire Cat.
    He eyes Terry at the talk of settling down, a little 'hmph' surfacing, though he sits a little more upright at the proposed solution.  Or at least, a way to stay in touch.  "We can still talk, then?  While we try to figure something out?"  He glances past to Kian, then they're all scooting closer and he leans into it like it's something he's been wanting to do but couldn't trust himself to do it without falling apart in the process.  "We've gotta find a way."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "The Red King… has gone.  I don't know where.  He's certainly not in Wonderland right now, and he hasn't dreamed since."  The redhead smirks a little.  "I guess five hundred years' worth of sleep probably built up a good reserve.  He'll probably stay awake for weeks."
    "Four more impossible things, accounting for inflation," Terry adds, lightening the mood a little, one arm wrapping around Gar's shoulder and bringing him close as he does the same to Kian.
    "You're also forgetting how we taught Brainiac a lesson.  Think about it, we're a bunch of kids, and all of the stuff we've done.  Of course we'll talk.  Some nights I may have more energy than others, it just depends on how… the flow goes.  You know that you are among some unique individuals?" he asks, his fingers running through Gar's hair.  "Before the Titans, only Alice had actually visited Wonderland physically.  Everybody else visits it while they're dreaming, and they usually don't leave much of an impression behind them."  He leans in and kisses Gar's cheek.  "First men to Themyscira, now first bodied people since Alice.  Impressive."
    He leans back and shares a discreet glance with Kian.  "Wouldn't you say, Kian?"

Kian has posed:
    "Terry, I am so ready for a normal thing.  I don't want to spend time in Wonderland or Themiscyra, I want to lie around my estate with you two for a couple weeks with no one being threatened or attacked or… or anything."  Yes, Kían is a little frustrated, but he sounds more tired than irritated.  "I want one more impossible thing—you back with us—and then I want some peace and quiet.  There are enough other heroes on Earth.  We deserve some time to relax."
    He hugs them both tight, and there's the tiniest catch in his voice when he adds, "Don't we?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan grows quiet again, letting Kian's frustrations breathe, allowing Terry's reminders about Wonderland and the things they've done to sink in.  He settles for just being there, scooting closer, maintaining contact.
    "Yeah, we've all done some pretty crazy stuff, but sometimes it gets… you know, it gets to be a lot.  We deserve a chance to do something normal."  Left out is the fact that when they did try to do something normal, they ended up on Kian's world.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "We do," Terry sighs, now his hands are stroking both their manes.  "I hate to tell you this, but both of you chose the wrong boyfriend if you wanted normal," he says with a little lilt to his voice.  "But… if there is a solution, I sure would love to spend some downtime with both of you.  A week in Themyscira, a week at your estate.  Sunning on beaches, flying.  It'll be great."
    "Gar," the redhead says, fingers rubbing the back of Gar's neck, "I know it's hard for you.  But right now this is all we have, so let's enjoy the time we have.  And hope for a better tomorrow, yes?"
    He smiles at both of them.  "Because this dream isn't over, and I have an idea of how to spend it."

Kian has posed:
    Kían snickers.  "I'm sure you do, Terry, and I have a couple guesses what your idea is," he says, running a finger up between his wings.
    And then he sighs.  "Well, at least we can still see you.  It's not like when you were lost in that black hole.  And you have got to stop getting stuck in other realities.  This makes three times now, you know!"
    He shakes his head.  "I can't even imagine what I would say if you told me three years ago this would be my life now…."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan drapes himself closer, just trying to enjoy the contact.  Having it is better than not having it, every time.  "How much of it is choice, or fate?  If it's fate we're gonna find a way to get you out of this and keep Wonderland in one piece… well, I hope we figure it out soon.  We can go anywhere after that."
    Shifting to look between Terry and Kian, he wonders, "Are we going to have an actual Wonderland tea party first?  And I'm as weird as anybody else, so don't think you have the market on that cornered."  He's sounding a little more himself, even if the tone of his voice isn't quite there yet.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    The dream around them begins to fade, and it is replaced by Kian's estate once more, with Kian and Gar on the bed.  "Weeelll… I figured something a little less stressful would be in order first."
    The redhead grins mischevously this time, kneeling on the bed between the two of them.  "I figured we should spend some quality time together first.  And then, if there's time, we can have a proper tea party—"
    Suddenly, from the main room, Theophilus bursts in carrying a tea tray.  He's sporting a pair of little wings behind his back.  "Did somebody say tea party?"
    "NOT NOW THEOPHILUS!" Terry says, shooing the hatter away.  The man dashes off, miraculously not managing to drop his teacups.
    Terry rubs his forehead for a second, and then turns back to the two.  "Er… so…"  He clears his throat.  "What do you say?"