[PRP] Lost in a Dream (Titus / Riyo)

[Inu-Mitsu]

There was a look of contemplation as Morpheus judged the situation but before he could really come up with a solid plan the nightmare was taking flight and headed right for them. "Well, I guess we'll just have to take him with us then."

Since they had fallen down into this place Morpheus headed up even though there was no ceiling to speak of. The black above them seemed endless stretching into forever but suddenly it began to lighten, the dark gray sky began to appear and the city they had once been in took shape around them. This time, however, it was filled with people and nightmares.

The nightmare fiend wasn't far behind clawing its way through the ground to make chase. This time the older demon didn't bother to slow it down.

"If we lead him out we can bring him back to consciousness." Morpheus set Riyo down when there was a somewhat clear path. "Though we might have to calm him down when he wakes up." Because Morpheus imagined the boil was going to be scared and when Titus got scared he usually masked it with anger.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo looked back at Morpheus in surprise as he made his declaration, though her eyes were quick to dart back as they took off towards the sky. The creature was in quick pursuit. What would this solve? It looked like they'd be going on forever.

Until the city returned. The demoness watched in awe as they had suddenly returned to solid ground, listening intently to Morpheus as she tried to steady herself. She had taken a good beating, and frankly felt like s**t, but Riyo was far from done. After the nightmare demon finished speaking, her eyes shifted back towards the black mass clawing it's way through the ground. "I think I can handle that." Riyo was focused again, and ready to do what she needed to... Which in a second was going to be running like a b***h, she imagined.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

"Good." Morpheus smiled despite the urgency. "Because we need to run." They were essentially the bait that Titus was going to follow and he wasn't very far behind. The nightmare fiend had managed to pull its torso from the ground, claws still ripping at the earth as it dragged itself from the pit.

"And we need to run fast, hurry!" The older demon started to run and it was probably a good thing this was the dream world because in reality he never would have been able to run this fast. He could dead lift things but he was terribly out of shape when it came to cardio. The weight he carried around his middle was likely a clue in to that fact.

The scenery changed around them once again slipping by them at a faster speed than what they were running. There was a cold expanse of snow, lonely deserts, and foreboding swamps. Far more places than they had seen coming in but soon the forest of dead trees appeared around them and Morpheus knew they were close. Looking over his shoulder briefly Morpheus saw Titus was still there clawing through the trees trying to keep up but the older demon's dream manipulation was a little better than that.

"Riyo, go on ahead I will make sure he's still coming. You may want to prepare for the freak out that's about to happen." Morpheus took hold of the ghoul's arm without further warning and all but threw her toward the darkness that loomed at the edge of the forest. There would be a rush as she was thrown back to her body, jolting her awake.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo didn't hesitate when she was instructed to run, her legs taking off as fast as they would carry her through the dream. "s**t s**t s**t s**t..." She mumbled to herself, surprised that Morpheus was able to keep up. Of course she didn't know how the dream to reality ratio worked for this kind of situation worked, and now wasn't exactly the time to worry about it either.

The feline did good to keep her eyes looking straight forward as she ran, though it was impossible not to give either a quick glance over her shoulder or look out into the vast expanse of the boil's imagination.

It looked like they were finally approaching the edges of the dream, and Riyo was grateful that nothing had prevented the boil from following. Half way there. They were half way there.

As Morpheus instructed her to go ahead, she turned to look at him. "But how do- AHH!" The ghoul flailed into the darkness, the sudden jolt causing her body to jump where she sat and jostle Titus's sleeping form. She was panting and sweating, even though she hadn't moved in all actuality. Riyo stared blankly out into the living room for a few seconds before she realized there was a ticking time bomb on her lap. "s**t." What did she do? What did she do?!

Riyo pushed his body into a sitting position in an effort to secure him, her arms wrapping around his torso as her forehead pressed against his back. She wouldn't hold him tightly. Not until he started to get wild, which she was fully prepared for. "Please come back.." She whispered to him softly, fingers grasping the cloth of his shirt.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Morpheus' form stood hovering by the couch, hands gripping the back while his eyes were closed like he was asleep. He still gave off the aura of being calm and collected even as his eyes fluttered open a second later. Seeing that Riyo had brought the boil into a sitting position his hand reached out toward him to touch his shoulder. "Titus?"

While he had been sleeping a cold sweat had broken out along Titus' forehead. He was unresponsive as Riyo pulled him up into a sitting position and even a moment after his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder there was nothing. Morpheus began questioned whether it had worked but before he could pull away his nephew's eyes had flow open.

Suddenly Titus's heart was thumping hard in his chest, his brain foggy and disoriented as he jerked forward yelling at the top of his lungs. Black had consumed his eyes and began to leak down his face as his nightmare fiend form began to take shape in reality.

When he found he couldn't move freely he began to thrash, clawing at the couch with one hand as he tried to get up. The other was desperately reaching for whatever was constricting him around his torso trying to pull it away while his wings unfurled knocking over trinkets on the nearby coffee table and the small set up behind the couch.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo glanced up at Morpheus in a panic when a few moments passed without a peep out of Titus. They had failed, hadn't they? Or maybe-

The cat ghoul flinched as Titus suddenly started yelling, a small squeak escaping her as the boil started to struggle. She couldn't see what was happening to his features, and maybe it was for the better.

She could feel him pulling against her arms, immediately tightening her grasp as she tried to hold him still. "Titus stop!" She yelled, desperate to think of a way to calm him as the sound of objects shattering filled her ears. She shifted herself against the demon in an effort to speak softly into his ear, her form pressed tightly to him. "Please stop... I need you." She was so tired. All this restless sleep had left her exhausted, and there didn't seem to be a break in sight. "I need you to be okay, because I'm so scared that I'll lose you."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus had let out another yell, one less startled and instead bordering on angry. As Morpheus predicted the boil switched from scared to furious at the drop of a hat, lashing out in his confusion. He rose from the couch with Riyo in tow, black having spread from his face and down his arms covering one hand with long black claws. It was that hand that he took hold of Riyo's arm with ready to rip her away from him, though he had yet to realize what or who it was that had a hold of him.

He bellowed out another raged cry, turning as he pulled at Riyo's arms, wings sweeping more items onto the floor. The demon was ready to attack but stopped with his free hand raised when he heard the word please. He was panting, struggling to catch his breath as his brain tried to work out why that voice sounded so familiar. It took a moment longer for his vision to take in the room slowly realizing where he was.

"Titus..." His Uncle's voice called softly across the room. "Do you know where you are?"

Small white dots began to form in the black orbs of Titus' eyes as he began to focus, still not speaking as he took everything in. He was trying to piece together how he had gotten here.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo did her best to remain latched on, gritting her teeth as she felt the boil pull at her arm. It hurt, moreso with the little rips and tears still covering her skin that reopened with the friction. She couldn't hold in a whimper, as much as she was trying to, as hard as she was fighting not to show her own weaknesses. Her grip was growing weaker the more he pulled, and in that moment where he had finally stopped thrashing, she felt herself slipping until her feet touched the floor.

The ghoul was leaning into him more than holding onto him now, taking in as much air as she could in an effort to catch the breath the hadn't realized she had been holding. It was quiet now. She wasn't sure if it would stay that way, but after all the screaming and crying and yelling she had heard, it was a precious moment. It would've been better, however, if he had managed to respond to his uncle. Instead of speaking, Riyo focused on trying to gather up what energy she had left in case it hadn't worked.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus felt the weight suddenly shift from his back as Riyo's feet touched the floor. He turned his head enough so that he could see her there, still breathing heavily as his body slowly eased down from need to fight to survive. There was still confusion written on his face as he looked around again before settling on his uncle.

"How...did I get here?" He had been in his room hadn't he? Had his Uncle really dragged him all the way here?

"The one you should be asking is the young lady who's arm you seem to be gripping rather hard." Morpheus pointed out.

It was then that Titus released his hold, not realizing he had kept a death grip on her this entire time. There was no apology that followed but Titus wasn't known for them anyway. Instead he slowly turned to look at the feline, the black still lingering on his features.

"You...were in my head." It was more of an observation, a statement of an obvious fact. In reality, Titus didn't know how to feel about it, though out of the people who had entered his mind previously this had been a lot less violating.

"I took her with me to help. I thought having a friend there might help ease you back." Morpheus thought about stepping closer but lingered back for the moment encase the two needed some space.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

It was a relief to feel her arm released, though she did little to prevent it from falling limp to her side. The one that remained on his person patted the boil gently before pushing away from his body to stand on her own. She could at least do that.

"I brought you here." She said simply, looking up at the boil with weary eyes. "Carried you out of the dorms, into a cab, and up that Jack-forsaken driveway." Riyo rubbed her arm tenderly as he mentioned her little trip.

"And yeah. I was." And she wasn't about to apologize either, listening to his uncle's explanation before adding her own. "I wanted to do everything I could..." Her ears drooped. "There's not much I can do for these situations, but... " Releasing her arm, the ghoul reached up to touch his cheek. "I'll always do whatever I can to help you."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

"You dragged me here?" Though he had no idea how literal his words were. He was just amazed she had gotten him here at all and didn't really consider the how, though if he saw his back and the dirt that had been tracked into his clothes he would understand.

Be it that he was still a little frazzled or even still dazed from the dream, Titus managed to flinch as Riyo placed a hand on his cheek. He reached up, wrapping his fingers around hers to pull it away from his face, realizing too late what he was actually doing. Clinging to her hand even after he pulled it away he took in her words, brow furrowing at her display of concern for him. It was a foreign concept for the most part and he was trapped between reveling in the idea or pushing her away before Riyo dug herself a deeper grave. He wasn't sure he could ever return the level of care she was showing him and it made a sense of guilt rise up in the pit of his stomach.

"I...don't want you too involved with my family." There was no thank you or heartfelt words. Such things were lost on Titus. He just spoke the truth, or at least part of it, as it came to him though at the mention of family his eyes grew a little wide. "Merde, is Father-?"

"He's not here and don't worry about him. I'll take care of it." Morpheus reassured. "You should really sit back down. Try to calm down and relax."

"N-no." Titus shook his head, his free hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes tightly. It looked like he was fighting back a headache. "I'm fine."  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"Yeah." She wasn't about to brag to him, or rub the fact that he was heavy in his face. The boil was still out of it, and these were things she could playfully hold over his head later.

The ghoul sighed as she watched him pull her hand away, not really expecting him to hold onto it afterwards. Her eyes glanced down to to the boil's hand, her thumb delicately caressing his fingers. Riyo hadn't gotten into this situation thinking her main goal was a thank you or some display of affection for her efforts. The objective had been clear the whole time. She only wanted him to be awake. It was enough. Seeing him standing by himself with open, seeing eyes.

A single eyebrow raised at Titus's words, incredibly tempted to tell him 'it's too late for that'. She imagined it was only a matter of time before her feet crossed paths with the rest of his kin, especially if his father was so determined to bring Titus home.

"Are you wanting to go back already?" Personally she really didn't want him to go back, especially if is father was planning on dropping in. Perhaps though, Morpheus could take care of that well enough.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

"I don't know." He grumbled, pulling his hand away from his face and looking over the blackened claws that how graced his fingers. There was no real control as he tried to call it back and he could feel it edging down his torso.

"Titus," Morpheus was behind the boil before he realized it and he released Riyo's hand in order to turn to face his Uncle. When he did the older demon pulled him into a hug which left Titus struggling to decide what to do with his hands. He didn't look like he wanted to return the hug but he also didn't pull away. "I'm glad your back."

Morpheus patted Titus on the back lightly and had started to pull away when he realized Titus' arm where there to return the embrace, though weakly. It was the first time since Titus was small that he remembered getting a hug from the boil and he tried not to get emotional over that fact.

"Relax for now Titus." Morpheus didn't want to hastily pull away but he knew it would only make Titus feel awkward the longer he lingered. "I'll take care of your father. Just sit for now. I'm sure Pipsqueak and Squirt will want to visit."

And as if on cue the pitter patter of tiny feet came running through the house and circled around the large boil. They yipped happily trying to climb up Titus' legs though they were too small to get very far.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo decided to back up when his uncle came in for a hug, unable to conceal a small smile at the gesture. She couldn't explain the feeling of warmth it gave her to see him being cared for and appreciated. It was somehow satisfying, even though she wasn't anywhere in the picture. She supposed she was just glad that the boil had someone who cared so much about him, and it surprised her that a feeling of envy didn't follow.

Taking a deep breath, Riyo rubbed at her eyes and tried to shake off how tired she was. It was gonna be a long walk back to campus, because there was no way she was paying cab fare again.

As great as it was seeing Titus up and about, even with the strange new additions to his hands, the ghoul was starting to feel more and more awkward about standing around in his uncle's living room. She'd done what she'd come to do, maybe it was time to go before she overstayed her welcome.

Stealthily she started inching towards the hall, pausing as the sight of two familiar fluff balls darting into the room came into view. As much as Riyo wasn't a dog person, she couldn't deny they were precious little dust mops. "They're so happy to see you." The ghoul commented, folding her arms over her chest as she watched the small creatures try to dart up his legs. Her head tilted to the side as she finally added, "I am too." Whether he liked it or not.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Looking up from the fluff balls circling around his feet, Titus focused on Riyo, the black slowly edging away from his features as he managed a lopsided grin. "Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?"

He was coming around from his forced dream but it looked like he had calmed down quite a bit. Soon he was back to normal and looked only tired despite the sleep he had just endured. Riyo looked tired as well and he couldn't help but notice her slowly edging further and further away.

"I would stay, Uncle, but I think I'm going to head back to my dorm. I'm....tired." It was so odd to say but it was true. "Plus I think Riyo needs a ride."

"In that case you better take your car, but don't get too comfortable with it. I want it back here tomorrow. You're still in trouble for getting suspended."

Titus' eye lit up for only a brief second until his expression flattened again. With the roll of his eyes he nodded. There was no sympathy in this place.

Morpheus dug the keys out of his pocket and Titus took them heading over to where Riyo was standing. "Care for a lift?"