Brian yawned happily as he walked through the busy streets looking around. New York was a magnificent city and as soon as the sun started to set it still remained as busy as it was during the day. It seemed as if the City didn't knew what sleep was. But he would be testing that theory very soon anyways. He grinned as he crossed the street waking back to his apartment a bit further down the street. He got it for cheap for the time being thanks to the fact that the owners where good friends of his mother before they moved to America themselves. But he didn't complain as long as he could profit of it.

The apartment building was located almost in the center of New York City. Because of this it was situated perfectly to his taste for two reasons. First he enjoyed being in the center of things so it would be easy to reach everything where he needed to be and secondly it would be the perfect location to use and practice his powers.

Brian can pick up dreams of people he passed during the day and enter their dreams as long as they are within a radius around him. And now he is at such a central place he might be able to pick up lots of new people. It’s fascinating to wander around and watch what people dream of since most people dream but don't remember it afterward.

After a short elevator ride he ends up on his floor and walks into his apartment. It was already decorated and he had stored his belongings away this morning. The place was a mess but he was at home there. Outside the sun had just set and New York was covered in darkness that got disrupted by the hundreds of lights that made the city glow up at night. After closing up the curtains he wandered of and changed into his Sleepwear he crashed in his bed.

As he dosed of he smiled since he liked New York a lot. During the day it was a magnificent city and at night it just kept going ... But now Brian would go and take a look at the people that didn't kept going. Slowly he started to slip away into a world where he was the boss, a world where even the most strange and impossible things where possible. It was the strange world of dreams as his sub-consciousness started to float trough dreams of people close in the area before distancing out. "Who should I meet tonight" He wonders while he continues his quest for an interesting dream.

(To the person that wants to join. Brian will have crossed your path at some random moment and is now able to enter your dream. As soon as you start your Dream I will be able to enter it. Enjoy ^^)

It had been a long day, but that was the point. Twyla hoped that walking around the city all day would not only tire her out physically, but maybe over stimulating herself with all the sights, sounds, and people of New York would help her subconscious shape her dreams into something...less clay filled and much more pleasant. What she managed to do that day was make herself so tired that when she finally got back into her room at the Mansion she could barely change into her pajamas before she plopped onto her bed and fell asleep.

The nightmare started out like it always did. Twyla was always in the park but she looked different sometimes and sometimes the people were different. The only constants were the park and Cthulhu...

------

First there was nothing, and then there was a girl wearing a sequined dress. The girl had blond hair with pink highlights but it was messy and tangled up, making the highlights hard to see. She was standing on a hill in a muddy park filled with upside down trees. She couldn't quite remember what she was looking for, but she knew that she was looking for something. Her name was Twyla--she knew that too.

"C'mon, Twyla!" She could hear the voice but she didn't know which direction it came from, it seemed to come from everywhere. "I don't know where you are!" She called into the foggy expanse around the hill. "You'll find me, c'mon!" Slowly at first, and then faster as she started to slip the girl in the glittering dress climbed off of the hill. When she got to the bottom the scenery changed. The upside down trees became park benches and there was a bus that in the back of her Mind Twyla knew should be burning but instead it was emitting bubbles.

Carefully, she made her way to the hulking chunk of metal. A hand went out to tentatively grasp at a bubble. It was cold, like touching a chunk of ice and when it popped it popped with a bang that exploded into a tiny shower of sparks that resembled a firework. Soon she popped a few more, getting the same reaction each time. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as it seemed?

"C'mon, Shy-Twy! You're going to be late!" There was the voice again, and it still had no direction of origin. Not wanting to be late for whatever it was the voice was talking about the blond began to run and as she did there was a terrible noise behind her. Twyla didn't have to look back--it was obvious that the monster behind her was the giant clay beast from that night in the park.

It always was.

Unlike other people dreaming was a rather unique sensation for Brian. The moment he dozed of all his senses come back to him and it feels as if he is floating in a endless void. But this gigantic darkness is far from empty. Inside its a chaos of feelings and emotions that people feel and expiriance during their dreams.

It was the first night he spends here in New York and he was pretty shocked about the shear amouth of dreams he could pick up, all from people he passed on the street today. After getting over the first small shock it’s on too business. For what was he in the mood toninght?

He started to browse trough the feelings randomly as if they where cheap TV shows from back in Belgium. On his way trough he passed all kinds of happy dreams and some verry intimid too so he desided not to barge in into those. But eventualey there was one that sprang out when he came to a place where a lot of sleepers where together. Acording to the dreams and the estimated age of the dreamers he would say he stumbled across a dorm or something like that and one person especialey wasn't having a good night.

--------------

He quickley found his way into a girls dream noticing the dark and eary mood as he started to give himself shape in her dream. He could instantly take on his own form but people usually don’t really instantly trust strangers in their dreams. The best thing was to keep it simple so sudenley a soft glow enlighted the park and a small floating orb of light, not much bigger then a marbel but shining incredibley bright apeared.

Brian preferred this wisp like form while exploring somebody's dream. He looked almost like a harmless firefly as he zipped of to look around amusing himself of the fact that all the tree's where upside down. He floated further down as he observed a strange bubbling truck further down the road. The human mind was a curious thing if you saw what the sub-consciousness made up in times like these.

After a bit he could sense the dream changing and he knew something was about to happen so he flew of when he heard a sound in the distance. The voice of a girl echoed through the park as it called out for somebody. When he eventually found the blond girl who was obviously the dreamer even he was shocked when he saw the gigantic clay creature that was following her. Not because of the it was the strangest thing he had seen so far but from the fact that he could sense that she really had encountered such a thing. After all this time Brian had become quite good at getting the right information out of abstract dreams like this.

Quickly the glowing orb flew towards the girl and circled around her a few times to get her attention. He knew that the light he admitted had a pleasant warming feeling and was ideal for dreams like this one. Eventually the orb landed on her shoulder as if it was a strange super charged firefly and he chuckled causing his voice to appear apparently out of the orb. “Hi there. Aren’t you a little too old to be afraid of monsters in the dark?” He did his best not to sound sarcastic as he knew all too well that others couldn’t help what they dreamed.

It got colder and colder as Twyla's legs got more tired. She could feel the chill emanating from the monster as it got closer and closer to reaching out and grabbing her with one of its giant tentacles. The girl was panting and on the brink of tears--she was almost to the part where the monster grabbed her and dropped her and this was the part that Twyla hated the most. Getting dropped onto Gawain had been terrifying enough in real life--she hated reliving it every night at the hands of the imagined giant.

Twyla flinched when something bright landed on her shoulder. This was new--what innovative torture had her mind planned for her this night? In the back of her mind the blond wondered. The light had one thing going for it--it was warm. So much warmer than the icy cold mass that was Cthulhu. It began to speak and Twyla almost stopped running.

"N-no. Do you see that thing?" Her speed feel as she used precious air to reply to the light on her shoulder. Maybe it was meant to distract her so that when Cthulhu finally caught her it would be more of a surprise. "I can't talk r-right now." The landscape was changing once again--the trees were back but this time they were being thrown about by the being behind her. Sometimes Twyla got this far in her nightmare and she knew in her gut that soon there would be mini-claymation nightmares running about, much like the one that had almost suffocated her that night in the park.

As she ran the little warm light never left her shoulder. What on earth is this thing?

Brian couldn't help but to chuckle a bit as he could hear everything she was thinking while the girl runs trough the weird trees, away from the thing that was on a rampage behind her. It had been rather interesting to see the girl’s dreams but now he knew she was getting desperate and he didn't liked seeing people suffer for too long. At least not whiteout a good reason. And if there was a good reason he would prefer to do the tormenting himself but this was beside the case at hand.

Humming happily the orb flew up in front of her face "Don't worry I’m no creation of your mind or a minion of that big clay thing whatsoever. I just noticed that you could use a bit of a help so I came by." He noticed that all around her appeared miniature versions of the clay abomination and decided to fix them first. As the orb fly up above her head it suddenly exploded in a burst of colorful sparks as if it was a piece of firework like she used on the thing the night she saw the creature.

But this only was a start. Soon every spark became a light as well and soon hundreds of colorful shining orbs where circling around her before some flew of and dug into the chests of the mini versions of the creature. The effect was instantly visible as the creatures started to forcefully reform while light sometimes still was visible emitting from deep inside them.

Soon it was clear in what the clay creatures got reformed too. All around you where large clay torches now that each carried a flame in a different color and bathed the area in light that drove of the cold and the darkness. Much too the displeasing of the large creature that stopped for a bit whit chasing you when the area became so bright suddenly.

The rest of the lights swirled together and seemed to merge together in one giant mass of light. Brian adjusted the mass so it slowly took the form of a glowing humanoid that was obviously a guy as his voice indicated. Even though she couldn't see his face clearly yet she could feel his cheerfulness as he patted her comforting on her shoulder. "So, would you like to accept some more help for dealing whit your big friend back there then we can go some place more cheerful"

Twyla barely managed not to swat at the ball of light when it flew in front of her face. It began speaking again and the girl wondered how it knew that she had been wondering if it was another trick her mind was playing in her. Then again, it was her dream, of course she'd know what she herself was thinking. Still, it was a strange phenomenon, even for this particular nightmare and she wondered why she'd conjure up something like the tiny, warm orb in the first place.

The girl stopped running as soon as lights began to explode above her head. They were pretty, like fireworks and their sudden appearance made her forget that she was running from a giant monster, literally halting her in her tracks so she could watch as they swirled around in the air and then launch themselves at the mini-Cthulhus, causing the miniature monsters to take on different shapes. After a moment she realized that somehow they'd become torches. The light they emitted was warm, like the tiny orb that had been on her shoulder and it seemed as if it caused the real Cthulhu to at least momentarily halt his chase.

The orb that had been on her shoulder looked larger now, and it seemed to be in a male humanoid shape. What the heck is going on? This was not how the nightmares went. There had yet to be any falling (that resulted in the girl falling out of bed) or any of that--she hadn't been caught by any monsters at all. And now the glowing person wanted to help her deal with Cthulhu--nightmares didn't get happy endings, they also didn't involve the comfort of another person (even if that person was glowing). At the mention of the monster the girl turned around to look at her pursuer. She shivered when her eyes explored the writhing body of the clay giant that she had seen that night in the park and had foolishly thought she could help destroy.

Without hesitation she replied:"Yes."

Because there were always two constants in her nightmare--the park and the monster.

Brian smiles as slowly his glowing humanoid slowly descended until it was touching the park ground now. "I don't know where you have met such a creature and I’m sure that there is a good story behind it but for now I’ll make sure that you won't have to worry about it anymore for now. And while I’m at it ill instantly give this park a more interesting look. Nightmares are interesting as long as they don't go on for too long ... and I think you have enough of this one now. And after that there is time enough to properly introduce myself"

He suddenly kneels down and touches the ground that started to ripple as it if was a surface of water where a rock got thrown in. It rapidly spread around the park to the trees around us and they started to shiver as if a strong breeze went through their roots (since they are upside down). Meanwhile the monster got over the light and was heading for them again until suddenly the park ground bursted open underneath him and branches full of young green leaves bursted out plunging deep into the moist clay.

The creature seemed to be writhing in agony as more and more branches dug into its body and after only a minute you could already see the branches move underneath its clay skin. But it wasn't over yet as he send another ripple through the park floor. This time the branches inside the thing stopped moving and started to drain the moisture out of the clay. The creature could only helplessly try and get away but soon its skin grew hard and started to crack open on several places making leaves and branches pop free from within it.

The moisture from the creature made its way to the upside down trees all around the park and suddenly leaves started to grow out of the roots as well. Only they weren't normal leaves because as soon as they unfolded the light of the torches got reflected in a golden surface. The Leaves where made out of pure gold and soon enough the whole park was filled whit the light that got reflected on the leaves and the darkness faded out of the park as in the distance a sun started to rise.

It seemed as instead of in a park they were in some kind of enchanted forest straight out of a fairy tale now whit in the centre of it the giant monster that now completely was hardened up and out of the cracks in its skin branches where growing giving it the impression of a weird overgrown statue. The glowing form got up and instantly flashed up before the light died away. In its place stood a guy obviously in his early twenty's whit short dark blonde hair. He was dressed in a casual outfit consisting of blue jeans, white shirt and a black jacket that he kept open over it. Grinning he turned at you pointing at the remains of the thing. "He looks much better like this doesn't he."

The strange glowing man knelt down and suddenly the landscape rippled, like after a pebble is thrown into a pond. The ripple effect touched everything and made the trees seem like they were swaying in an invisible breeze. Twyla backed up and tripped over her own feet when she realized that the monster was once again heading towards them. Here we go again. Right when she thought that her nightmare was going to end with her in the clutches of Cthulhu the earth ripped open, branches burst from the hole and impaled the monster, forcing it to remain immobile.

Well, that's new. This had never happened before. The monster never stopped its charge any other night.

There was another ripple and then it seemed like the clay was losing its water. A moment later Cthulhu stopped moving and branches sprung forth from the deteriorating clay. The water from the clay swirled about and then flowed onto the roots of the upside down trees, causing them to spring new leaves that were a strange, shiny color. They look like they've turned to gold... She realized after a moment of watching. Soon the park was filled with light from all around and Twyla sat where she'd fallen onto the ground, a small smile playing across her face. This place was pretty and bright, much better than the misty expanse that usually characterized this nightmare.

Twyla turned around to look once again at the glowing figure when there was a bright flash--only he was no longer glowing. In the glowing person's place there stood an average looking man, wearing normal clothes, and grinning. "Decidedly better." Twyla nodded, still in disbelief at the course her dream had taken. This is SO weird. After a moment of staring at the sprouting mass that had been the monster she asked: "So you said you were going to introduce yourself. Who are you?" The girl scrambled to her feet and dusted off the back of her dress as she took a few steps closer to the man in the jacket.

WHAT are you? She didn't ask aloud the thought, even in her dream feeling it would be rude.

He smiled laughing at the stunned look and the cheer amount of happiness he saw from her. But he was used to it. People usually are very grateful when you can get rid of nightmares like these for them. "I am Brian Pitschon, a pleasure to meet you Twyla. " Smiling he looked behind him and as if summoned by a unheard call one of the branched that sticked out of the remains of the creatures grew longer and towards them. Brian sat back on the Branch while looking at her again.

"And to make it easier ill instantly answer your second question. I am a mutant whit the ability to induce sleep and manipulate dreams from inside them. So in short you could say I’m a dream walker. "The branch grows further and once it reaches you to wood starts to reshape in a bench behind you so you could also sit if you pleased.

"I actually just arrived in this area and was still suffering from a jetlag a bit so during my nap I decided to explore the area a bit. And when I noticed somebody having a nightmare I always get curious and see if I can help. " He smiles as he claps his hands together and leaned his chin on them while looking down interested at her. "You can say a lot but that thing was pretty fascinating if it wouldn't be chasing you. "

His name was Brian. "Nice to meet you--" The reply was automatic and then the girl realized she'd missed something. "Wait, how did you know my name?" She was so focused on the question and intent on listening for an answer that she barely noticed the brach as it sprung from what had been the monster and made its way towards the pair. Finally it came into focus when the man, Brian, sat down on it.

She knew she hadn't asked him what he was out loud, somehow he knew what she had been thinking--just like he'd known her name Was Twyla. So he was a mutant? Apparently dreamwalking came with with the ability to read the mind of the person in the dream. It stood to reason--she was dreaming that she was thinking after all. The branch made its way Behind Twyla and she sat on the bit that looked like a bench so she wasn't standing while the dreamwalker was sitting.

He mentioned jet-lag. "Oh, where are you from then?" The girl asked, adjusting her ankles and pulling at the bottom of her dress. Whatever was going on, Twyla decided to roll with it--it was polite after all since he'd somehow gotten rid of her version of the Boogey man. He smiled at her again and leaned forward, looking for all the world like some kind of interested scholar. "That thing...it's a monster..." She shivered again at the thought of Cthulhu. "Was a monster...?" Twyla had been in the park when it had deteriorated but she wondered if it was really gone if it was still in her dreams.

He smiled as she asked how he knew her name and he shrugged lightly. "My apologies for that invasion of your privacy but I can't really help it. The moment I enter somebody's dreams I can sense and know everything that is going on in there. So I can even know what you think along as I’m here."

When she asked where he came from he was rather casually playing whit her dream. He held out his hand a few golden leaves fell of the tree's around them. But they never reached the ground as in mid air they morphed into yellow feathered birds that looked a bit like canaries. They flew around and some landed on the branch while one landed in Brian's open hand. He looked up at you while playfully scratching the birds head. "I’m from Belgium, a small country in Europe and apparently like so many people I couldn't say no against the famed American dream."

He looks down as he sees her react to the question about that thing and sees that she is still a bit freaked out by it. "Calm down and you don't have to worry. It won't mess whit your dreams anytime soon anymore now that I have been here. But even I can't guarantee that it won't come back anymore if you stay afraid of it." He let the birds go before turning his attention back to her.

"What do you say that we get out of this park hmm? I have made it a bit more manageable but I can see that you really don't have any nice memories about that thing even without having to read you’re taught." He gestured behind her as he got of the branch and gently dropped down. Behind you there was a floating wooden door that seemed to be leading nowhere and was still closed. "Think of someplace happier and open the door. You will see that wherever you would want to go, you will get there. And its much more pleasant to talk to people when you are at a more confortable place is it not ?"

"Oh, I get it..." If it was part of his mutation she couldn't really hold it against him so she told the man: "It's all good." It was still a bit weird and more than a bit disconcerting but Twyla could deal, she'd dealt with more before. She'd have to be a bit more careful with her thoughts from there on out, considering the fact that despite any good he'd done for her nightmares--Brian was still a total stranger. His powers were a bit scary when Twyla got down to thinking about it and she realized that in the wrong hands they could have disastrous effects.

Twyla watched transfixed as the man in the jacket transformed some of the funny colored leaves into yellow birds. No matter how dangerous it could be it was still a decidedly cool power and the girl wondered how much concentration it took for him to manipulate other people's dreams. It looked very easy but she assumed parts of it could be complicated. He looked back at her to answer her question. Images from geography class flooded the girl's mind. She knew where Belgium was, even if she'd never been there. She'd never actually been out of the country before. A giggle escaped her lips after a second. it was ironic, in a way that he was in her dream and he'd just said something about the American dream. "I'm so sorry, I'm not laughing at you!" The girl fought for control of herself and then added in a more normal tone: "So you're from Belgium, that's pretty cool."

He told her to calm down and not to worry about Cthulhu. It was comforting to know that at least for a while she'd be able to sleep a bit better. Twyla appreciated it and that appreciation showed in the smile she gave to the blond man.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." The girl hopped of the bench and walked towards the door that suddenly appeared. Thinking for a moment, she concentrated on a long room with creaky floorboards and a glass-less window that was pouring in light. When she pushed open the door she was no longer in the park but in the loft of her barn back home. There were bales of straw stacked as high as the ceiling in some places but in others the bales had been moved to make what looked like tunnels and a fort. In the center of the room there was clear area and a stack of horse blankets. It was just how Twyla remembered it--complete with the soft mooing of the cows in their stalls beneath the barn. The girl smiled as she breathed in the scent of her old life.

"That is a wicked sweet power, hands down." She said after a moment and turning back to look at the dreamwalker.

Brian couldn't help grinning as he heard her think about what a sweet power it was and what it would cause in the wrong hands. He knew what it would do since he had plenty of experience himself whit messing whit somebody's nightmares and make then even worse. He wouldn't deny that he had quite some fun whit that too.

He followed her trough the door behind them disappeared leaving them there. "Ah Belgium isn't that special but it has its own charms too." He chuckled along whit her after seeing his American dream remark made her laugh. Walking over he sat down on a bale of straw.

"Hmm pretty coasy, is this your home?" He smiled as he looked at hear and smirked at her compliment. "Yeah I must admit it’s a rather fun and interesting power too has."He leans back against the straw and looked at her curiouse. "So if you wouldn't mind me asking, are you in a dorm or so ? When i was sensing around for dreams i have found quite some dreamers concentrated in the same place."

Twyla shrugged uncomfortably when asked if the loft was her home. "No. It used to almost be for a while...If this was really my barn my family's house would be across the way if you looked out that window." The girl pointed to the large window that was pouring in light onto the dusty floor. The farmhouse wasn't her house anymore. You don't runaway from somewhere for a few years and still call it home--not when you didn't come home for Christmas. The Mansion was home now, or as close to a home as she could get in New York.

"I'm sure it keeps life interesting." She meant his power. Her power could probably keep life interesting--if she wanted to use it to sneak around or something like that but Twyla wasn't a big fan of that kind of thing. The girl walked around the straw bales, her tennis shoes kicking up tiny poufs of dust. If she hadn't been dreaming she would have worried about the state of her shoes--that was a plus about dreams, they didn't require you to replace your wardrobe.

She looked up from the swirling dust when she was asked a question. "Oh, I guess you could call it a dorm. I live at Xavier's Sister School, have you heard of it? There's a lot of mutant kids there and some adults too..." The girl bit her lip as she tried to think best of how to explain the Mansion. "It provides schooling and a place to stay for mutants--not just kids. I've lived there for..." She paused again. "over six months, I think..." Everything ran together from the summer and the spring in the blond's mind.

He smiled at her remark about his power. "Well interesting is indeed a way to describe what I can do." He suddenly looked up surprised realizing she was a mutant too and apparently there was a school for them too. Something called the Mansion. Rather interested he followed her explication.

"Well that’s interesting, I have met only a few mutants in person myself and now I move in this huge country, the first person I come across in my dreams is one herself. Euh if you don't mind the curiosity would you mind to say what it is you can do then." No longer casually hanging around he jumped up obviously interested by what she had to say.

"A whole school full of mutants... I heard that America had the highest concentration of mutants on the world but I would never expect to find a place like that, and so no I haven’t heard of it." He wondered how it would be like of instead of being around normal people to be around people like him. He always had felt himself a stranger among others even though he easily could blend into everywhere he wanted too.

"Well I see that you have it rather difficult to describe it but it sounds like a great place" He pointed towards the large open window that once again was replaced by a large door now. "Would you mind instead of just speaking to show me this place you call your home now Twyla?" He smiled happely hoping she would agree.