Video| In all my dreams, it's never quite as it seems

[ushahin]

[When the video opens up, Ushahin is lying once again inside his bathtub. It's about five o' clock in the morning, so at least he's only waking up the resident of Hadriel up at the crack of dawn instead of the middle of the night this time. He's considerate that way.]

Does anyone else hear it? The music? It's so lovely.

[There is, of course, no music. What he's hearing is the tune he's caught from passing through someone's mind while they sleep. It's had quite the effect on him.]

Music makes everything quiet inside.

[He starts humming to himself, tapping his fingers to keep rhythm. If that tune sounds somewhat familiar, well, it might have been your mind he was tapping into.]

Comments

video;

[keep_smiling]

[Gosh, it's early. But Elmer doesn't seem to mind being woken up. His hair is suffering from a severe case of bedhead. Listening intently for a moment, Elmer eventually shakes his head.]

Afraid I can't. What am I supposed to be hearing? The song, I mean.

[ushahin]

[Oh, it is the smiling one again.]

It is a song about...well, I confess, I am not sure. It sounds like a song about war. Something about "stay the swords and stay the arrows". Beautiful tune, though I cannot find out where it is coming from.

[keep_smiling]

Sounds like you've tapped into a radio station I can't hear. I haven't even managed to find a radio, so I'm a bit jealous. It's always so quiet around here!

[He yawns and rubs at an eye.] Unless maybe I've been sleeping through it. Where are you? Maybe the gods are goofing around with the frequencies. [Elmer smirks at his own remark. He's still not really on board with all this gods business yet.]

[ushahin]

I am in my house. What's a radio?

[One would think he would have learned what that is by now, but Ushahin's psychic abilities tend to be a haphazard in what he picks up from people's minds unless he's concentrating on the mind in question. He only learned what a truck was just the other day.]

[keep_smiling]

Eh? No radios where you're from? Or should I be asking "when"? Hard to tell around here, what with people coming from all over who-knows-where. Ah, well... [Give him a second to think.] A radio is a device that picks up signals that plays voices from far away. News, any kind of music, chat shows, all that sort of thing. Hadriel could really benefit from a radio station. I used to carry one around with me everywhere, not too long ago.

[ushahin]

From what I have seen, my world is far different from those I have seen in other minds. We have nothing like these phones where I am from. The most advanced thing that we have is a water wheel to create energy. I do think creativity might have stagnated by too much reliance on magic.

[Also, too much reliance on gods, but don't get him started on that train of thought. All it does is make him angry to think of the wasted potential caused by the gods of Urulat.]

It sounds like a very useful device. The only voices I hear are the ones in my head.

[keep_smiling]

We have phones where I'm from, but these ones do a lot more than mine. [There's some rummaging as Elmer pops off screen for a moment. When he comes back he holds up his phone from home.]

Wait - hang on. Did you say "seen in other minds"? [Elmer blinks in surprise at that.] What do you mean by that? Do you read minds? Is that what you're hearing?!

[ushahin]

Ah, yes. I can. I believe that where the music may be coming from.

[He failed to mention that the last time they met. Curious. It's usually one of the first things that comes up in conversation.]

[keep_smiling]

Well, there's that problem solved then! Well, sort of. Is it the kind of thing you can switch off and on, then, or does it just happen whenever?

[Because now Elmer is wondering how much time he wants to spend near Ushahin, if he can just freely read his mind. Things might get complicated.]

[ushahin]

I have a measure of control over the ability, but it is not complete.

[That's as close as he'll get to admitting that his powers have a weakness attached to them.]

Let us simply say that there is always a mind touching mine.

[keep_smiling]

I see. Sounds a bit intrusive. Do you enjoy it, though? Or do you get lots of things you'd rather not know?

[Elmer ruminates on this for a moment.] I think I'd welcome an ability like that. It'd be much easier to find out how to get someone to smile for me, then.

[ushahin]

After all this time, I tend to enjoy. Even the parts of a person's mind that they would rather no one see fascinate me. I am one of the few privileged to see people as they really are, not as they pretend to be.

[This isn't the first time Elmer has mentioned smiles. Ushahin tilts his head in curiosity.]

Why are smiles so important to you?

[keep_smiling]

[Give him time, and he'll bring smiles up a lot more. He's also almost always has one of his own slapped on his face, bright and welcoming.]

It's important to me that people are smiling. And in a place like this, getting people to smile is the most important. It could be very easy to get dragged down by all the monsters and scary bits and boredom, yeah? But if I can get people to keep a smile on their face, then I'm content.

[ushahin]

I find precious little that makes me smile. I have seen too much for that. But some of the people...

[His eyes lose their focus. He trails off. Over a thousand years old and this is one of the first times he's ever had to make friends in his life.]

...some of the people here, I like their minds. That is what makes me smile.

[keep_smiling]

Seeing a lot in your life should only show you more things to smile about, not less!

[Look how fresh-faced and optimistic Elmer is at age 312! Although helps to be completely out of your mind like he is.]

But that's good! I'm sure there are some nice and interesting people here, eh? You'd get to learn about new subjects you might not have even thought about before, and places you'd never have known ever existed without this opportunity. I'd definitely say that's a reason to smile.

[ushahin]

It's hard to move past the thoughts of war and death.

[Come talk to Ushahin when he reaches quadruple digits. Then he'll see how optimistic Elmer still is.]

Yes. I have made friends. It's nice, a most unusual feeling to have.