~\-/.\-/^-+Twilight | Lavender Dusk+-^\-/.\-/~
Giving new meaning to: "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
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~_|-^-_\ LYSANDER | K-NIC + HOTEL /_-^-|_~


“This afternoon, a declaration of war from Reas was confirmed by Krystarian officials on the nation of San Doluca,” the newscaster announced over the broadcast channel that was always playing on the lobby television of the Krystaria National Insomnia Clinic (known as K-NIC by the regulars and staff), “Negotiations between the country heads has begun, but no immediate resolution is in sight. As feared, Krystaria and New Valley Hale are at breaking points and expected to fall into the conflict within the next twenty-four hours. At this time, no further information is known, but new reports will be brought to you here, on Channel 8 News, as developments arise. Please stay tun-”

The announcer was suddenly cut off as one of the receptionists changed the station to a generic sitcom. She sighed and turned to one of her coworkers, “That’s the last thing the people of this clinic need to hear. They’re stressed and sleepless enough as it is.”

As light chatter resounded among the patients waiting in the lounge, I sat in a chair in the corner, my hand nervously drumming on the armrest as I stared intently at the antique door. None of the people I really knew had shown up yet today and I was starting to get anxious. A middle-aged man across from me seemed to notice my fidgeting and moved over next to me. “Liam or Xiao haven’t been here yet today, have they?” He questioned.

I shook my head in dismay, “Nope... I hope they will soon though...” I felt my sleep-deprived eyes start to dampen as the bell on the tattered door jingled. Creaking as it opened, an older woman stepped in from the dusky colors outside; I felt my heart sank as I snuffed my nose.

There were only about 8 of us in the room as we waited for 8 o’clock to roll around. You see, here at the K-NIC, a small, historically restored medicine house, research is done in three 8-hour shifts: morning, afternoon, and night. With only a few handfuls of people suffering from insomnia in the world, funding for its research is low and held in self-establish and supplied centers. This institute is funded by an old woman named Agatha Witherstein; the woman who had just walked in. “Good evening, Madam Aggie!” chimed everyone, including the receptionists. Everyone at the clinic loved Madam Aggie, as she was commonly called, because of her kind heart. She suffered from insomnia like the rest of us and had devoted her life to help those that suffered from it with her, opening her vacation home in Krystaria as the K-NIC clinic almost 15 years ago with only 6 patients. That number has expanded to 50 now, mostly in the last 5 years with the onset of war, one of those being myself.

Madam Aggie waved to everyone and exited the room through the back door to her private quarters. As she passed by me, she smiled faintly and winked. She knew it calmed me down, even though we did it day after day, but it was her way of reassuring that my friends would be coming.

At 7:55, the nurses started escorting us to our rooms for the evening. Just as the opened the doors to let us in, the front door burst open as Linde (a girl who had more recently begun attending the clinic) announced her presence. As if the loud bang of the door against the wall weren’t enough, she also had to tack on an extended “Heeeeey!” as she waltzed through the open door.

“Good evening, Linde. Decided to show up tonight, yes?” Madam Aggie questioned from behind the desk. Linde give a bright smile as she joined the crowd as they caravanned into the hall. Agatha came out of the door from the office and informed us of the plans for tonight. “Daniel, Linde, Paige, Alan, Martha, and...Cyrus, you’ll be downstairs tonight.” Half the group moved toward the basement stairway. “The rest of you will be upstairs. Have a wonderful night, everyone. Perhaps we can make some breakthroughs!”
I smiled happily to myself, knowing that both Liam and Xiao would be nearby.

“Well, I wonder how things will be after dark tonight...” Liam stated, thinking aloud. “With the starting war and all, do think things will follow along...in Another Time?”

“Heh... Probably. You’re usually on the ball with that stuff, Liam.” Xiao smirked and nodded her head a bit.

“Personally, I don’t care... Just as long as you guys are there with me.” I tacked onto the end. They both smiled and headed towards their rooms. Both of them had become like family to me since they had come to the institute and I depended on them to keep me on the sane side of my BPD and insomnia.

I walked into my room for the night and Jocelyn, one of the nurses, soon came in and set up the equipment. Here in Arkos, technology is quite developed, so instead of being uncomfortably rigged up to cords and machines, the sensors were built INTO the rooms themselves. Once activated, patients are given a crystal-like bracelet which acts as a transmitter to the devices.

The rooms are all furnished with a futon, mini-fridge stocked with necessities, toilet facilities, a collection of books and magazines, as well as other various items in order to keep everyone as comfortable as possible; each room is like a small suite in a hotel. Once set up, the room is locked, and you are left to your own business. I, myself, prefer to pace. Wall to wall, door to window, back and forth until my legs get tired, but that’s only during day; for night sessions, I sit on the futon, waiting until just after sundown...

This is when Another Time emerges from the lightless world. The best term for the shift would be ‘time dilation:’ everything seems to slow down; movement, thoughts, time itself, blurs until a near frozen state where detail becomes unimaginable and colors smudge like water on an ink print. Yet, within a moment’s notice, definition and process return to the senses, but you don’t find yourself in the world you came from. While similar, it’s just not quite the same. This is why most people find it dreamlike, but we know it’s not. Twilightwalkers, those of us who DON’T sleep during this time, know this is no dream. It’s a real world!

...And now, it had fallen under chaos. I looked out the window and saw the epitome of corruption beginning; a world where those without scruples could run free. Small fires and juvenile vandalism could be seen up and down the street. It was nothing the police couldn’t handle, but something more than this seemed amiss... Perhaps the Amber-darkened sky? Not irregular, but possibly ominous...

In my deep thought, I suddenly heard loud thumping against the door. In Another Time, the K-NIC was an old, abandoned hotel, so it didn’t take any more than a couple impacts to trample down the door. Through the riled dust, two shadows appeared. “There’s another one in here too!” Suddenly, one of the two sprinted towards me, fist coiled behind him, ready to strike.

I let out a pitiful squeak and ducked to the floor as the man stumbled over me as he attempted to punch my face. The other began to ravage the room, taking any loose articles he could get his hands on. The man who attacked me had fallen, tumbled, and crashed into the wall, causing the window frame above him to break loose and fall to the ground outside. Taking advantage of the opening, I quickly jumped up, leapt forward, and, stepping off the man’s head, flung myself out the opening where the window had just been.

Now, a normal person would just assume this to be crazy, but in this world, Twilightwalkers seemed to have powers: able to control gravity at will. As I breeched the house, I quickly shifted the gravity about me toward, the house, gently landed on the decaying siding, and snuck around to the alley beside the house where I and the others typically met. As I walked along the building’s side toward the ground, I rotated my weight back to the ground and crouched behind a garbage can, waiting for the others to arrive, hopefully, unharmed. “What in the hell is going on here?”

Ok, so basically, have your character arrive, be escorted to their room, experience the change, and then kick ass (or not) however they prefer! Meet in the back alley with Ander! XD The thugs will look like ordinary people, but under some kind of unknown influence. Have fun! ^_^

P.S.- Sorry about the wall of text... T_T